Freudian Slip

Summary: Rory let's something slip that completely changes the chain of events. AU Lit, starting at the dinner in Nick & Nora, Sid & Nancy.

A/N: I know, I don't usually do this, continuing an actual scene in the show, but I got this line in my head and I had to use it, because there are so many things I'd like to change about the way Jess started his time in Stars Hollow.

For this little story, just imagine Rory actually realized she didn't say I love you back to Dean simply because she did not love him. And this lead to Rory and Dean never getting back together after their break-up in season 1. She still kissed Tristan, but nothing more happened. Which brings us to the moment at hand: namely Jess entering her house for the first time.

Disclaimer: You should know by now that none of these characters are mine.

In the beginning good always overpowered the evils

She's typing up the last question in preparation of her interview with Mr. Medina as she hears the knock on the door and the following sound of voices in the hallway. Biting her lip in thought, she listens to the voices coming closer, stopping just outside her door, and finishes the last sentence. She quickly saves the document, intending to go over and see if she missed anything later that night and is just about to turn off her computer when her mother calls out for her.

She turns around with a smile and greets the boy standing just outside her doorway, looking somewhat out of place in his dark clothes and gelled up hair. So different from all the other boys around here, she thinks.

They exchange greetings and she watches him enter her room, feeling strangely nervous at his presence. She's not exactly used to having boys in her room.

He walks past her, and stops at her bookshelf, scanning the titles, and she hopefully asks if he reads. She's a little surprised that she feels so disappointed when he says no, but still offers to loan him the copy of Howl he's flipping through.

He doesn't take it, instead putting it down on her drawer before walking over to her, and she can't shake the feeling that he seems sad. But then again, she can't even imagine her mother sending her away to live with some relative she's hardly met.

She tells him the offer still stands and is about to ask what he likes to do, when Lorelai stops by the door to announce that dinner is served.

"Be right there," Rory tells her, looking forward to lots of great food.

As soon as her mother is out of sight, Jess turns to her windows and she watches as he steps up to one of them and pushes the curtain out of the way, asking if they open.

Like the good girl she is, she tells him readily and he starts pulling at the latch, turning back to her and suggests they bail. She supposes she should have seen that coming, but is still surprised at the suggestion, though not entirely unpleasantly so. Still, she says no.

"Why?" he asks. He's watching her now, with an expression she can't really place.

"Because," she says, amused, "it's Tuesday night in Stars Hollow. There's nowhere to bail to. The twenty four hour minimart just closed twenty minutes ago."

"So," he says, turning back to her fully, "we'll walk around, or sit on a bench and stare at our shoes."

Rory smiles at his ridiculous idea, but can't ignore the fact that it sounds oddly tempting. She still tries to convince him to stay. "Look, Sookie just made a ton of really great food and I'm starving, and though it may not seem like it right at this moment, it's gonna be fun. Trust me."

"I don't even know you," he says, but she's got his full attention now, which is a step up.

Meeting his eyes seriously, she asks, "Well, don't I look trustworthy?"

"Maybe," he says, but she can still sense his reluctance.

"Okay," Rory relents, not sure what is compelling her, "if you stay just a little bit and eat with us, I'll go out with you."

At her words, Jess raises an eyebrow, "Huh."

Realizing what she just said, Rory feels a blush creeping up her cheeks, and averts her eyes. "I didn't…I mean, that's not…I'm…" she stutters, growing more and more embarrassed.

"Okay," Jess simply says, and Rory's eyes dart up to his face. What she sees is a small smile tugging at his lips and something inside her wants to do anything she can to keep it in place.

She smiles back at him, her cheeks still flaming, but feeling strangely comfortable nonetheless.

"Okay," she agrees. "So…"

His smile transforms into a smirk and he nods his head in the direction of the living room. "I suppose we should go eat then," he says, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Right," Rory agrees. "Good idea, because I'm starving."

"So you said."

"And it's true," she says. "So, I guess we're going to eat."

"There seems to be a consensus," he acknowledges.

Rory looks at him for a moment longer, meeting his intense gaze and feels the color creeping back up her cheeks. She quickly averts her eyes.

"Let's go eat!" she exclaims and darts out of her room.

A moment later she closes the refrigerator door and turns around with two sodas in her hands, just as he steps out of her room. She stands frozen for a second, but then decidedly walks up to him, offering him one of the sodas.

He takes it without a word, their fingers touching lightly as he does, and she swallows hard at the contact, her eyes shooting up to meet his briefly.

"I…we…" she tries, pointing with her other hand towards the living room, frustrated at her inability to form words.

He smirks at her, amusement evident in his eyes, and turns towards the living room, his free hand brushing against her arm as he passes her.

She is left with the feeling of his fingers burning her skin and she takes a deep breath to steady herself, staring after him, trying to figure out what's happening. After another deep breath she plasters on a smile and walks out into the living room.

The scene that greets her is almost too funny and she can barely hold in her laughter as Sookie and Jackson worriedly hovers over a scowling Jess, making sure he eats chicken and isn't allergic to eggs.

He notices her enter and looks up, his scowl deepening, and mouths, "You owe me."

Rory just smiles brightly, feeling like she's in control of the situation again. That is until Lorelai ushers her into the room and places her on the chair next to Jess' and she feels his hand lightly brushing against hers under the table.

Her breath hitches in her throat and she swears she can feel him tense beside her, but she doesn't dare to look. So when Luke breaks the spell she's under by asking if she wants some mashed potatoes she jumps at the chance of a distraction, quickly reaching out her plate to him.

In the few minutes everyone is busy piling food on various plates, Rory chances a sideways glance at Jess and finds he's already looking at her, that almost smile lingering at his lips again. She smiles back, shyly at first, but more confident when she sees his smile reaching his eyes.

With the smile still gracing her features she accepts her full plate, mumbling, "Thank you." Then she digs in, her stomach growling in appreciation, and for a moment the only thing on her mind is the delicious food.

Finally, it's a muttered 'Huh' that brings her back to reality and she looks up to her left and finds herself looking into Jess' amused face.

"What?" she whispers.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were starving," he says with a vague gesture between her and her plate, the contents of which has severely diminished in the last couple of minutes.

"A Gilmore never jokes about food," Rory says proudly and is suddenly grateful she's sitting down as she's rewarded with a lopsided grin that makes her weak in the knees.

"Clearly," he says, holding her gaze.

She isn't sure how much time has passed when she's suddenly brought out of her daze by her mother's voice. "Rory will back me up, right honey?"

Startled, Rory quickly pulls her eyes away from Jess'. "What?" she stammers, feeling confused and more than a little embarrassed.

"Planet Earth to Rory," Lorelai says dramatically. "We're having a very heated discussion here about which is the best TV show, V or Star Trek, and Luke won't budge."

"Sorry mom, I must have been too focused on this delicious food," Rory says, not meeting her mother's eyes.

"Okay," Lorelai says, sounding far from convinced, drawing out the word, and Rory catches herself holding her breath.

"So, which am I rooting for?" she asks, when her mother remains silent.

Lorelai gasps in mock horror. "Rory, Rory, how could you ever think we'd be rooting for anything but the marvelously fantastic V!"

"I'm sorry, mother dear," Rory exaggerates. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Hmm…" Lorelai appears to be thinking about it for a while before reaching a conclusion. "Of course I will," she says pleasantly, "if I have your absolute attention for the rest of the night."

"But mother!" Rory chokes out, her eyes growing wide in terror. "You are condemning me to starvation!"

Lorelai scrunches up her face, and sighs dramatically. "I suppose we can't have that," she relents. "You will be allowed to eat, as long as it does not stop you from hearing my unlimited wisdom."

"I promise, my ears will not miss a single word," Rory says, trying not to break her serious façade as Jess scoffs beside her.

"Ok then!" Lorelai exclaims cheerfully. "Intermission over. Everyone can now go back to eating."

Jess snorts beside her, Luke makes a comment about them being crazy, Sookie giggles, Jackson just shakes his head, and they all go back to eating their food. And the rest of the dinner Rory makes sure to pay attention to what goes on at the table, though she chances a few stolen glances in Jess' direction.

Soon enough the last fork is put down on an empty plate and everyone is more or less stuffed. With nothing left to occupy her hands, Rory fidgets with the hem of her shirt, listening to the conversation going on between her mother and Sookie, feeling herself grow more and more nervous. And the restless energy she swears she can almost taste as it emanates from the boy next to her isn't exactly helping. Finally she can't take it anymore.

"Mom," she interrupts, and continues before she can lose her nerve. "I told Jess I'd give him a tour of the town after dinner."

"Oh," Lorelai says, turning her attention to her daughter. "Ok."

"Ok?" Rory says, almost surprised at how easy that went.

"Yeah," Lorelai confirms. "After all, I did tell him you'd show him where all the big wilding in this town goes on."

"Oh, you did?" Rory asks, amused.

"You can ask the diner boys if you don't believe me," Lorelai says matter-of-factly.

"No, no, I believe you," Rory assures her, then frowns. "Diner boys?"

"Yes, isn't it perfect?" Lorelai squeals, ignoring Luke's protests.

Rory giggles. "Of course it is, mom." Then she turns serious again. "So, it's ok if we go?"

"Yeah, just stay clear of the bikers," Lorelai warns. "We don't want a repeat of last year's event, now do we?"

"Mom," Rory protests, "that only happened in your head!"

"Oh?" Lorelai looks bewildered for a moment, then brightens. "Yeah, that's right. Sorry, I get confused sometimes."

"Only sometimes?" Luke deadpans and hearing Jess snicker beside her Rory decides it's time to leave and stands up.

"We're leaving now," she says firmly, at which Jess quickly gets up from his chair.

"Oh, ok," Lorelai says, her smile faltering as she watches her daughter carefully. "Can I just talk to you for a second?" she asks, standing up and motioning towards the kitchen.

"Um, sure," Rory mumbles hesitantly, glancing over at Jess before following her mother.

Lorelai walks up to the kitchen table and sits down in one of the chairs, and Rory slowly sits down opposite from her.

"Rory, honey, please be careful," Lorelai says as soon as she is seated.

Rory crosses her arms protectively over her chest. "What are you talking about?"

Lorelai gives her a meaningful look, "He's not Dean."

"I know that," Rory counters defensively. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I'm not blind, Rory," Lorelai says pointedly. "I saw the way you were looking at him."

"I wasn't…" Rory starts to protest, but at a raised eyebrow from her mother she stops. "So?"

Lorelai gives her a sad smile. "So, I just don't want you to get hurt."

"We're just taking a walk," Rory defends.

"I know," Lorelai says with a sigh.

"You don't have to worry, mom," Rory assures her mother.

"I can't help it." Lorelai shrugs. "It's an unwritten law that you have to worry when your daughter leaves the house with the handsome and mysterious stranger."

"Mom!" Rory exclaims, not sure if she's supposed to be amused or embarrassed.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," Lorelai says with a sheepish grin, but soon turns serious again. "I just want you to be careful."

"And I will, I promise."

"I know you will honey," Lorelai says and stand up. "Now, give mommy a hug."

Rory giggles, but gets up and throws her arms around her mother. "I love you mom."

Lorelai hugs her back tightly. "Love you too, kiddo. Now go have fun."

"I will, mom," Rory smiles, slowly letting go. She starts back towards the living room, but is stopped when her mother calls her name, and turns around.

"Just don't do anything I would," Lorelai says and winks at her.

"Mom!" Rory protests, her cheeks coloring slightly.

Lorelai grins at her and Rory shakes her head, continuing into the living room. "Bye, mom," she calls over her shoulder.

"Bye offspring!" Lorelai calls after her and she enters the living room with a smile.

As soon as she enters, Jess stands up from the chair he'd once again sat down in, and looks at her questioningly. She nods and smiles brightly, quickly saying goodbye to Sookie, Jackson and Luke, thanking them for the amazing food, before making her way to the front door with Jess, grabbing her jacket on the way.

"Finally," Jess mutters as soon as they're out the door, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad," Rory tries to defend, but Jess just gives her an incredulous stare. "Ok, so they can be a little bit…" she trails off, searching for the right word.

"Crazy?" Jess offers.

"Yeah," Rory agrees and smiles up at him. They stand there for a long time, eyes locked.

"So…" he breaks the silence.

"Right," Rory mumbles, casting down her eyes, trying to hide her embarrassment. "So, where should we go?" she asks nervously.

"I believe you were gonna show me where all the wilding goes on," Jess says, clearly amused.

"Yeah, sorry to disappoint, but this is kinda it for tonight," Rory says, pointing back at her house.

"Ah damn."

"Yeah, so how about a tour of the town?"

He shrugs. "Sure, why not."

"Ok then," Rory nods, smiling at him. "So," she continues, turning towards her house, spreading out her arms, "this is the Crap Shack."

Jess gives her a disbelieving look. "The Crap Shack?"

"Yeah, it was the only thing we could think of when mom and I moved in here," Rory says defensively.

"Of course."

"Well, anyway, over there is where Babette and Morey lives." She points over to the house next door. "I'd watch myself if I were you the next time you come here."

"Why?"

"Well, Babette is a bit…" She trails off, not finding a diplomatic way to describe the neighbor.

"Ah."

"The first time Dean came here she ambushed him and wouldn't let him go."

"Huh."

Rory cringes at the memory. "Yeah, it wasn't pleasant."

Jess shrugs. "I think I'll manage to stay clear of Babette."

"Well, if not, don't hesitate to call for help."

"Noted." He nods. "So, Dean?"

"Um…" Rory's eyes shoot up to his at his mentioning of the name.

He's watching her with a blank look on his face. "Boyfriend?"

"No!"

She sees a small twitch at the corner of his mouth. "Huh."

"Well," she starts, trying to explain, "he was, but that was a long time ago, and he isn't anymore, so no, no boyfriend."

"Ok," he says, drawing the word out, an amused smirk on his face.

She looks down, embarrassed. "Yeah."

Neither of them says anything for a long time, until he breaks the silence once more.

"So, are we gonna stand here all night, or am I actually gonna get that tour?"

"Oh, sorry," Rory says, startled, and snaps her head up at him. "Where do you wanna go?"

He gives her that amused smirk of his again. "I wouldn't really know."

"Right," she mumbles, wishing there was some way that she could stop making a fool of herself. "We could just walk and see where we end up."

"Great," he agrees, motioning towards the stairs. "After you."

She smiles at him and walks down the stairs, half turning her head to see him following. He comes up to walk beside her and they make their way down the driveway in silence. The night air is clear and she finds herself breathing in his scent. The clean smell of soap and washing detergent mixing with faint traces of cigarette smoke and something she can't put a name on.

She finds it intoxicating.

Shaking her head to clear her mind, she is rewarded with a questioning glance from the boy beside her. She fights to suppress the blush that's once more creeping up her cheeks at the thought of being caught, even though he can't possibly know what she was thinking.

Trying to cover it up she looks around to see if there's anything of interest anywhere near and spots a dog in the yard of one of the houses, immediately launching herself into a story about the time when the poor creature was found hallway up a tree with three cats patrolling the ground beneath it.

Jess just stares at her when she's finished, and then shakes his head.

For the better part of an hour they wander up and down the quiet streets of Stars Hollow, not meeting a single soul, while Rory tells him stories of things that happened there. Finally they end up at the Town Square and steer their steps towards the gazebo. Slowly she ascends the steps and then turns to him.

"So, we've done the walking part. Is it time to sit and stare at our shoes yet?"

"Maybe," he says, lingering just at the foot of the stairs. "But not here."

"Where then?" she asks.

"Come on," he says, taking a backwards step away from the gazebo. "I know where we can go."

She looks at him questioningly, and he raises an eyebrow at her.

"Don't you trust me?" he says, almost echoing her own words from earlier that night, and she can't help the smile that creeps onto her face.

"Lead the way," she says and she's rewarded with a smirk.

She smiles at him and joins him outside the gazebo, wondering where he could possibly be taking her.

They walk in silence for a few minutes, side by side, almost but not quite touching. She has just mustered up the courage to reach out and, not quite so accidentally, touch his hand when he abruptly makes a left turn, ending up just out of reach.

Disappointed, she stops for a moment, and then she notices where they are, and hurries to catch up with him as he leads her down the path towards the old bridge.

Slowly they walk out onto the wooden planks, their footsteps echoing out over the water. In the middle he stops and unceremoniously sits down, his feet dangling over the edge.

She falters for a moment, and he looks up at her. "I know it's not quite a bench, but…"

"Sorry," she shakes her head and sits down next to him. "I was just surprised."

His eyes still at her, he raises an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Not many people come here," she says, motioning towards the bridge. "They probably think it's gonna dissolve under their feet. There's been a donation cup at Doose's Market for repairing it for as long as I can remember."

"Well, had I known it was gonna dissolve I'd never have brought you here," he says with a smirk.

"Good to know," she smiles. "So, how did you know it was here?"

His expression turns to one of disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"Um," she hesitates. "I mean, you just got here, I just thought…"

He shrugs. "I scouted town."

"Oh."

"Took about five minutes."

"Hey!" she exclaims, wanting to defend her home. "It's not that small."

"Uh yeah, it really is."

Rory huffs a little, but can't stay mad at him. "So, why here?"

"Just felt like it," he says dismissively.

Rory frowns. "Not gonna tell me, are you?"

He gives her a blank stare. "I thought I just did."

"You are impossible!" she exclaims, throwing her hands out in frustration.

He just grins at her.

She huffs again, crossing her arms over her chest, pretending to be angry, but then she glances over at him, and she feels a smile tugging at her lips.

"I think I like this place," he suddenly offers, startling her, and she stares at him, speechless for a few moments.

"Stars Hollow?" she finally asks, dumbfounded.

He looks at her as if she's crazy. "No!"

"Sorry, my bad," Rory says, rolling her eyes.

He ignores her and nods out over the pond. "Here."

"Oh," she comments with a teasing smile, eyes glittering.

"Whatever," he says, his tone defensive, scowling.

She almost laughs at his offended look, but checks herself, and gives him a peace offering. "I like it here too."

He's still staring out over the water, but she can see the scowl disappearing.

She sits in the silence that follows and thinks about the events of the night so far. And then she remembers the article she still has to go over.

"Crap," she mutters, inwardly cursing Paris.

She can see him turning his head towards her, a questioning look in his eyes, and she sighs.

"I have to go home," she says apologetically.

"Oh." He looks down, but she catches the disappointment in his eyes.

"It's just that, I'm on the school paper, and I have to make a really awkward interview tomorrow or Paris will make my life even more miserable. And she's the editor, so she definitely has the ability. And she's totally crazy, in an obsessive, compulsive way. I mean, she's already got it in for me for some stupid reason and she actually thought she could make me quit the paper by giving me this ridiculous assignment to cover the repaving of the parking lot and now…"

She cuts herself off abruptly at the sound of Jess chuckling beside her, and glares at him, taking a much needed breath.

"What?" she asks, crossing her arms over her chest, trying to look indignant.

He shakes his head, the amusement evident in his eyes. "Nothing."

She huffs at him, and he shrugs.

"Sorry, I've just never met anyone who can talk as fast as you."

"That's not true," she corrects him. "You met my mother."

"And here I was trying to forget about that," he says, and there's that smirk again.

She feels a laugh bubbling in her throat, but she refuses to let it out, instead hiding her amusement by abruptly standing up.

He's on his feet in a second, and she ducks her head out of his sight.

"Rory, c'mon, it was a joke."

"Well, it wasn't funny!" she exclaims, not at all happy with the way her voice sounds.

"Huh."

That little word that she's heard so many times this night is what gets her, and she swirls around with the intent to send him a deathly glare. Only to find herself unable to keep the smile off her face any longer.

His smirk grows if possible even bigger. "Are you sure, 'cause I kinda thought it was."

"Jess!" she protests, but her smile grows nonetheless. And she finds she doesn't want to stop it.

He is watching her, clearly amused. "See, that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

She gives him her best indifferent look, and he shakes his head at her.

"Not gonna admit it, are you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Fine," he shrugs. "C'mon then, I'll walk you home."

She stares at him for a moment, surprised. "How very gentlemanly of you," she remarks.

"Well, you know me," he smirks and nods back towards the shore. "So, shall we?"

"Sure," she nods and they start off the bridge together.

"So, repaving, huh?"

"Yeah," she sighs. "She gave me the wrong time for the first meeting, and when I finally figured it out the repaving was the only story left."

"Ah, nice," he says, and she's almost certain she can hear sympathy in his voice.

"Very," she agrees. "But I turned it into a story of the archaic nature of things, and Mrs. O'Malley really liked it."

"Good for you," he says and she turns to see him smiling at her.

And then her foot gets caught in something on the ground, and it's like those silly romance stories she always laughed at, where the heroine is about to fall, and the hero catches her, and their lips just happens to connect, and there are instant sparks and fireworks going off in the background...and she will never laugh at them ever again.

She's having trouble breathing but she doesn't care because her whole body is tingling and he's doing something with his tongue and it feels so good. And then he stops.

She opens her eyes, only now noticing she had closed them, and finds him looking at her, his eyes slightly widened and breathing elevated. Quite like hers.

She thinks he looks absolutely beautiful.

His right hand is at her cheek, gently pushing her hair behind her ear, and he smiles at her. That smile that makes her weak in the knees.

"Hi," he says quietly and somehow she knows he's about to kiss her again.

And then she runs.