Two Guys and Two Gilmores
By Fiana Muhlberger
A/N - Wow, I'm getting mad reviews over here! That's SO nice of you guys to take the time to review my story! I'm sorry I kept you waiting but here it is, the R/J confession chapter! Enjoy! :)
Pairing - L/L and R/J
Rating - PG
Summary - When Rory finds out that Jess might be moving back home, she confesses to him that she likes him as more then a friend. Luke and Lorelai go to the dance together and then take an unexpected detour to the Independence Inn, afterward.
Two Guys and Two Gilmores
Chapter 6 - Two Walks To Remember
The sun shone through Lorelai's kitchen window, the light bouncing off of the metal toaster that was thrown into the garbage can by Lorelai. She sat at her kitchen table, staring at a few cold pop-tarts on a plate in front of her. She picked one of them up and smacked it against the edge of the table to test how hard it was. It remained in one piece. She scrunched up her nose and wandered around the kitchen, opening and shutting the cupboards without really looking inside of them.
Lorelai became restless, banging the cabinets shut. "Nothing! Zip, zero, nadda nothing!"
She glanced over with hatred at the broken toaster, resting comfortably atop some garbage. "Stupid toaster.....don't you know I need my Pop-Tarts?" She mumbled to the toaster. "I need my coffee and Pop-Tarts on Saturday morning because it being Saturday morning automatically would make the previous night Friday. And, we all know that Friday night means my mother and my mother means I have a migraine. So, please toaster, work.....pretty please? I'll cut back on Pop-Tart usage in the future if you'll sacrifice one more minute of your life with me.....please?"
The toaster did not move, considering it was an inanimate object and had no idea was she was saying, so Lorelai kicked at it until it broke even more. Lorelai started yelling profanities at the toaster until she looked up and saw Luke, watching her, amused, from the doorway of her kitchen. He shook his head and proceeded to walk toward her. She looked at him with a sheepish grin on her face.
Luke looked from Lorelai down to the toaster and sighed. "What did the toaster ever do to you to deserve to have the crap beaten out of it?"
"Evil toaster wouldn't make me my Pop-Tarts. It must die a slow and painful death." Lorelai answered in a cave-man-like voice.
"Well, you're in luck. I brought you some pancakes and a donut." He showed her a bag with the "Luke's" logo written across it.
"Oooh, yay! Did you bring coffee?" She sat down and opened the bags hopefully. She pulled out a take-out container. "This better be coffee or you don't get to go to the dance with me tonight."
"Oh, what a shame." He rolled his eyes.
"Luke, considering the horrible night I had last night, I think you could at least pretend to wanna go to the dance with me."
Luke smiled. "I didn't say I didn't wanna go with you."
Lorelai took a large sip of her coffee then spoke. "Really? I could've sworn you said you wanted to go with Taylor. My mistake."
"Of course I wanna go with you, but you know how these people are. They'll all be hovering around us, asking us stupid questions about our relationship and our dates and everything." Luke sighed. "I hate being gossiped about."
Lorelai smiled weakly and sighed also. "I know."
Luke nodded and pulled a few carrot sticks out from the take-out bag and arranged them on his plate from tallest to shortest before eating them. He noticed Lorelai had barely touched her food, instead, she was picking at it.
"Something wrong with it?" Luke asked her.
Lorelai looked back up to Luke. "Oh, no. It looks great, Luke, thanks."
"So, why isn't it gone yet?" Luke inquired about the food.
"I'm just tired." Lorelai cut up a piece of pancake and shoved it into her mouth. "Wow, this really is good. You have great culinary skills, Luke. I'm jealous."
After a few minutes of silence, Luke saw the sad expression on her face. He reached over and poured her some more coffee. "Sorry about last night. I shouldn't have brought Jess. I knew he'd be trouble, yet, I brought him anyway. Big mistake. It won't happen again."
Lorelai looked into Luke's eyes and spoke sincerely. "My mother shouldn't have acted like that, no matter what the reason. It's not Jess's fault, he didn't even do anything. I just get so mad at her. I mean, it seems as though right when we start getting along again, she blows up at me for God knows what reason."
Luke nodded and lifted Lorelai up from her current seated position and let her fall into his arms. They embraced each other for a while until they heard Rory open her door. They quickly let go and sat back down.
Rory walked into the kitchen looking groggy. "Hey."
"Hey hon." Lorelai smiled and patted the empty seat next to her and Luke. "Look, Luke brought us food! And coffee!"
"What a good provider." Rory smiled at Luke.
"He is, isn't he?"
Rory laughed. "We don't even have to go to the diner anymore, we get the food delivered right to our door at no extra cost."
"Extra cost? There's not even a cost. It's completely and 100% free because if it's not then I won't go to the dance with him."
Rory's eyes widened. "Luke? You're going to the dance?"
Luke sighed. "Involuntarily."
"Oh my God, Luke! I'm actually gonna get to see you dance?" Rory laughed happily.
"I don't dance." Luke said flatly.
Lorelai scoffed. "Oh, yes you do."
"When have you ever seen me dance?"
"That is so not the point, you're dancing with me tonight or I'll be forced to take back that cap I bought you."
"You gave it to me as a gift, I own it now and you can't take it away." Luke retorted. Lorelai jumped up and started trying to steal the cap by chasing him around the kitchen.
The two kept chatting about the dance and Luke's cap while Rory just sat there, watching. She silently wished to herself that she had someone to share that kind of bond and synchronicity with that her mom and Luke shared with each other. She missed Dean. But, she missed Jess a lot more, even though he hasn't left, yet.
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Lorelai and Rory were running around the house in a frenzy, getting ready for the dance. Clothes were piling up on each of their beds and their voices were hoarse from yelling to each other from their separate bedrooms. Finally, Lorelai came running down the stairs in a short and slinky-looking black dress. Rory came out of her room, also, in a rose colored shirt and skirt outfit. They met each other at the couch.
"How do I look?" They both asked at the same time.
Rory laughed. "You look great, Mom. What about me?"
"Janet Reno, only taller." Lorelai grinned.
"Ew. Now, seriously."
"Seriously? You look beautiful."
Rory nodded, but a look of disappointment spread across her face and she slumped into the couch cushions.
Lorelai walked over to her and sat down. "Hey, why the long face?"
"Dean will be there." She said sadly and looked at her mom.
"Ah. Well, maybe you won't run into him."
"Maybe not. Plus, I'm going all alone."
Lorelai frowned. "I thought you were going with Lane?"
"I mean alone, as in, without a guy."
"Well, judging by the way you look tonight, I wouldn't bet it stays that way for long." Lorelai smiled.
"Isn't it too soon after the break-up to be dating other guys?"
"Nah, you're young. Do whatever the Hell you want." Lorelai smiled.
Rory grinned and hugged her mom fiercely. The doorbell rang and Lorelai scrambled off of the couch and ran for the door.
Lorelai swung the door open. "Hey, Luke!" She yelled excitedly.
"Okay, I'm here. I promised I'd go, but I can't guarantee there'll be any sort of dancing."
Lorelai just waved him off and gave him a big hug when Rory came out of the living room.
"Hey, Luke." Rory smiled at him.
"Oh, hey Rory. You look nice."
"Thanks. Have fun!" Rory told them and headed out the door for the townsquare, where she was meeting Lane. Once Luke and Lorelai were alone, Luke dug into his pocket and revealed a small, wrapped box.
"Here." Luke said and handed it to her.
Lorelai smiled excitedly. "Aw, Luke. What's this for?"
"It's our two week anniversary." He smiled proudly.
"Oh! Luke, you didn't have to get me a present."
"I know, but I wanted to."
Lorelai blushed slightly and wrapped her arms around him, sweetly kissing his cheek.
"Go ahead, open it." Luke urged.
Lorelai grinned and started tearing apart the paper. Once the paper was removed, she opened the tiny box and revealed a pair of diamond, heart- shaped earrings. She stared at them, speechless, not knowing what to say.
"Oh, wow." She finally cracked, while still looking at them. He took them gently from her hands and took the earrings out. He unclasped them and, leaning toward Lorelai, carefully slipped them through each of the holes on her ears. When he brought his face back away from hers, her saw a few stray tears escaping from her eyes.
Luke pulled her in closer to him. "Hey.....why the tears?" He whispered.
She backed away from his warmth and clutched the small box in her hands. "Luke.....this was so incredibly sweet of you." She started sobbing and lightly pressed herself against his chest. "Thank-you so much."
They stood there in the doorway for a few minutes until Luke rubbed her back.
"I think the dance is almost over." Luke joked.
She brought her gaze up to meet his eyes and slowly lingered her lips against his, letting his tongue slid underneath hers. He brought his hands up behind her back and cradled her in his arms. When they pulled apart, Luke took her hand in his and led her out the door, to the dance.
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"Too tall." Rory stated, looking at a large blonde boy to the left of the gazebo.
"Yeah." Lane agreed, but then her eyes lit up. "Oooh, look at that guy!"
"What guy?"
"That guy over there, in the blue suit."
Rory made a weird face. "Yeah, what about him?"
"He was totally checking you out."
Rory rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Lane, that guy wasn't even looking at me."
"He hasn't stopped staring at you since we've been here!"
"And where was I during all of this?"
Lane smiled slyly. "Looking at Jess." She reached over and took a deliberately long sip of water.
"What? You're crazy!" Rory blushed.
"You're blushing." Lane smiled.
"I am not, you're imagining things. Just like when you thought your pet hamster had a freckle shaped like Justin Timberlake's head."
"I am not! And, my hamster did have a freckle shaped like Justin, the hair was a little off, but it was still pretty darn close."
"Lane-"
"Anyway, don't you like him? Admit it, Rory. You would much rather be over there with Jess then over here all by yourself."
"You're with me."
"I mean with a guy, Rory."
"You mean you're not a guy?" Rory teased Lane.
"I'm not, but Jess is." Lane smiled.
Rory took in a deep, exasperated sigh. "I just broke up with Dean, okay? I really don't feel like running around with other guys, especially guys that happen to also be my friends."
Lane stared at Jess, who was clear on the other side of the area, alone by himself at one of the tables. She saw Rory staring at him, also.
Lane tapped Rory gently on the arm. "Hey, why don't you go talk to him?"
Rory looked unsure. "What about you?"
"I'll be in Stars Hollow for the rest of my life. Jess is leaving in two weeks. I'd talk to him before it's too late." Lane suggested.
Rory nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Of course I am." Lane grinned. "Now go over there, I'm fine."
Rory smiled excitedly. "Okay. I call you later and fill you in on all the details."
"You better." Lane reached over and gave Rory and quick hug. Then, Rory got up to go talk to Jess, who was looking pretty lonely.
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Inside of the gazebo, Luke and Lorelai could be seen, eating their buffet dinner. Lorelai's plate was chock full of unhealthy cakes and cookies, instead of real food, and Luke's was all fruits and vegetables. After a few minutes of eating, Lorelai started nagging Luke to dance.
"We're supposed to be dancing." Lorelai groaned at Luke, who was eating his food rather slowly.
"Who says?"
"I say. Now, c-mon, get up, we're gonna go dance like everyone else." Lorelai demanded while grabbing his arm and trying to pull him off the seat.
Luke looked panicky. "Wait, I'm not done eating."
"We'll go to the diner afterwards. Now, let's dance."
Luke sat back down and Lorelai stood next to him, looking restless.
"What is it, now?" Lorelai asked.
Luke sighed. "I'm not very good."
"Neither am I, a match made in Heaven, now get up."
Luke groaned loudly and mumbled. "Fine."
"Yay!"
Luke stood up and reluctantly took Lorelai's hand. He led her out onto the dance area and stood there, awkwardly.
Lorelai laughed. "Luke, you do know that part of the dancing process means that you're gonna have to move, don't you?"
"I feel weird."
"Aw, don't feel weird. We'll have fun, Luke, I promise."
"Everyone is staring at me." Luke moaned.
Lorelai smiled and pulled him in, closer to her. "No, they're not."
Luke smiled faintly and slowly started to move, swaying back and forth with Lorelai. They wrapped their arms around each others warmth and closed their eyes, listening to the soft music play. When the song ended they were still swaying and dancing, not noticing that the music had stopped. Miss. Patty, Babette and the rest of the town's gossip circuit all stared at the two, smiling and pointing at them. When a faster song came over the place, Luke opened his eyes only to see everyone staring at him and Lorelai.
Luke gently lifted Lorelai's head up from his chest and she to opened her eyes.
"Wanna bail?" He asked, smiling.
"Most definitely." Lorelai agreed, noticing all the people. She groaned and shook her head. "Man, don't these people have lives of their own? Jeez."
"I know, they're strange."
"This whole town is strange."
Luke and Lorelai gathered up their things and linked their hands together. They were strolling down the street, the crowd of people getting farther and farther away from them.
Luke glanced over at Lorelai, then around the town, which was still lit up with Christmas lights. "I love it, anyway." Luke said, quietly.
"Love what?"
"Stars Hollow."
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, me too."
Luke and Lorelai gave each other warm glances, then continued to walk in silence. Finally, they passed the Independence Inn and her and Luke sat themselves down on a bench nearby. Luke let Lorelai lean her head against his chest.
"Mmmmm, this is comfy. You now have the job of being my permanent body pillow." Lorelai snuggled closer to him.
"I don't remember applying for that position."
"I know. It was generously given to you by me."
Luke laughed then looked over at the Inn. "Hey, how are your plans going with the new Inn? You know, you and Sookie's Inn?"
"Ugh, not too good. All the places we want we can't afford and all the places we hate are practically being given to us. Fran won't let us buy her Inn, you know, the one in the Rachael pictures."
"Oh, yeah." Luke swallowed hard.
"Oh, Luke. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up Rachael." She apologized and lifted her head up from his chest.
Luke forced a smile. "No, that's okay."
Lorelai sat thoughtfully before speaking again. "Do you miss her?"
Luke whipped his head around to face Lorelai. "What?"
"Rachael. Do you miss Rachael?"
Luke looked surprised. "Uh, wow. That was unexpected."
Lorelai smiled. "Well, I am the queen of unpredictability."
"That you are." He gave her a weak smile. "Um, you know, I don't really miss her at the moment, but I guess I'll always miss her a little bit." Luke still wasn't looking at Lorelai. "I've known her for a long time, I don't think you can really forget anyone who's been a part of your life for so many years."
Lorelai took in a shaky breath. "Right."
Luke quickly looked at Lorelai. "No! I didn't mean I want her to come back, I don't want her to come back. I just wish she would keep in touch once in a while."
"Oh, okay."
"If you ever went away somewhere, I'd miss you a Hell of a lot more then I miss Rachael. You're so much different then her. You're the best." He leaned in and kissed her gently on her soft lips. He took her body into his arms and rocked her back and forth while kissing her. When he pulled away, he saw her smile. He brought his hand up and slowly caressed her face with his fingertips. He hugged her close and leaned into her ear, whispering softly. "I love you."
Lorelai crept closer to him. "I love you, too."
They sat there for a long time, holding each other, with the dark blanket of sky hanging over them. From a distance you could see him and Lorelai walking up the stairs, going inside the Inn, kissing each other every spare second they could.
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Rory and Jess were walking silently over the Stars Hollow bridge, neither of them speaking. When they got to the center of the bridge, they sat down. Rory hung her legs over the edge and Jess did the same.
He looked over at Rory, who was staring into the water, looking mournful.
Jess spoke quietly. "So, why'd you bring me here?" He turned to face Rory.
She broke out of her trance. "What?"
"Well, you pulled me away from that lame-ass dance and brought me to the bridge....why?"
Rory looked uncomfortable and stammered nervously. "Well, uh, because. Just because."
"Because.....?"
Rory sighed. "Because.....you're moving away and I only have a couple of weeks to spend with you and I thought I'd take the opportunity to do that now." Rory turned away from his eyes to continue staring at the water.
"What? You want me to stay or something?"
Rory looked surprised. "Well, yeah...kind of. I mean, we're friends, right? Friends usually want each other to stick around."
Jess nodded. "So, you think we're friends?"
Rory looked up at him and grinned. "Yeah, I do."
"Well, you're in the minority then, because most people here would rather drink rat poison then spend any amount of time with me."
:That's not true, Jess." Rory rolled her eyes, smiling. "Idiot. Don't you realize how much Luke cares about you? You're almost like a son to him, now."
Jess looked at her, doubtfully. "Yeah I'm his son and he's Elvis Presley, visiting us from the beyond." Jess shook his head. "I bet he's thrilled knowing that soon I'll be gone and he could go back do doing whatever he did before I came."
"You mean sitting up in his apartment, all alone, playing solitaire, wishing he was with going out with my mother?" Rory smiled.
"Wow, what a pathetic existence." Jess agreed.
"It was very pathetic. But, don't you see? You've changed all that around. He now has you to worry and care about and plus, he's going out with my mom, now."
"I don't think he really cares if I stay or leave." Jess shook his head again.
"Man, what a hard life he must have."
Jess looked up, confused. "What?......Why?"
"I mean, his mom died when he was only in like the fourth grade, his dad died about fifteen years ago, he's never been married and the only woman he's ever really loved left him without any notice, twice, and now his nephew is leaving him, too. I'd hate to be him right now."
Jess thought for a second. "So, you're saying I shouldn't leave? That I should stay in this God-forsaken town that has held secret meetings about me being banished from Stars Hollow? In a town where I can't even walk down the street without being bombarded by facist grocery store owners, yelling at me to never set foot in their stores? Oh, man, sounds like fun." Jess sighed deeply. "I don't think so."
"Well, if you won't do it for Luke, then will you please do it for me?"
Jess looked surprised, again. "Uh, for you?"
"Yeah. I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but, I think I'm gonna miss you......lots." She smiled sheepishly and looked down, studying her feet.
"Wait, let me get this straight, you're gonna miss me?"
"Yeah, I will. You're the only person here who's ever been even mildly exciting. I mean, you're always doing crazy, funny things that Stars Hollow doesn't see very often." Rory smiled at Jess and he laughed lightly. "I mean, nobody else would have drawn an outline of a pretend murder in front of Doose's."
Jess chuckled. "You liked that, huh?"
"Or, spend ninety bucks on a basket with disgusting, old food inside it, just to make someone's boyfriend extremely mad and then have lunch with his girlfriend."
"Yeah....I had a good time that day."
Rory looked up at him and smiled. "Me too."
They stared at the moving water for a few minutes until Rory nervously reached out her hand to Jess. "Walk me home?" She asked.
Jess smiled. "Sure."
He took her hand in his and they started for Rory's house. When they passed the Inn, they looked at the bench and noticed Lorelai's purse sitting there and also that one of the rooms had a dim light on. Rory smiled to herself and her and Jess kept on walking. When they reached Rory's steps, they placed themselves on the swing bench, not talking.
After a while of just sitting, gazing at the moon, Rory finally got up. She took in a breath that was shaken and nervous. She watched Jess get up, also, and a small tear rolled down her face. She wiped it off and stepped toward him.
"I'm gonna miss you, Jess." Her tears were now running down her face and she frantically tried to wipe them away, but couldn't. Her emotions got the best of her and her hoarse voice started talking quickly. "I broke up with Dean last week." She broke down in tears and plopped onto the bench. Jess didn't know what to do, so he sat down beside her. "It was crazy, Jess, ever since you got here, everything's been all weird between us and I just couldn't take it anymore. He was so jealous of you all the time and it made me so mad, because none of it was justified with truth. But, now, when I look back on it, I guess he saw something I felt for you, but didn't know myself."
Jess swallowed hard. "Are you saying you broke up with Dean....for me?" He stuttered.
Rory nodded and stared in front of her. After a long period if empty silence, Jess wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her tight. She rested her head on his chest and tried to calm herself down.
Jess lifted her head up and looked into her eyes. "You know, maybe I'll stay here for a little bit longer, you know.......for Luke." Jess smiled wryly and bent down to kiss her. She pressed her lips against his and hugged him tightly. They stayed on the bench until Jess decided he better get going, before Luke and Lorelai get back. Rory agreed and went inside to call Lane.
TBC............
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*Chapter 7 - Will be updated soon! Promise! Review, please!*
By Fiana Muhlberger
A/N - Wow, I'm getting mad reviews over here! That's SO nice of you guys to take the time to review my story! I'm sorry I kept you waiting but here it is, the R/J confession chapter! Enjoy! :)
Pairing - L/L and R/J
Rating - PG
Summary - When Rory finds out that Jess might be moving back home, she confesses to him that she likes him as more then a friend. Luke and Lorelai go to the dance together and then take an unexpected detour to the Independence Inn, afterward.
Two Guys and Two Gilmores
Chapter 6 - Two Walks To Remember
The sun shone through Lorelai's kitchen window, the light bouncing off of the metal toaster that was thrown into the garbage can by Lorelai. She sat at her kitchen table, staring at a few cold pop-tarts on a plate in front of her. She picked one of them up and smacked it against the edge of the table to test how hard it was. It remained in one piece. She scrunched up her nose and wandered around the kitchen, opening and shutting the cupboards without really looking inside of them.
Lorelai became restless, banging the cabinets shut. "Nothing! Zip, zero, nadda nothing!"
She glanced over with hatred at the broken toaster, resting comfortably atop some garbage. "Stupid toaster.....don't you know I need my Pop-Tarts?" She mumbled to the toaster. "I need my coffee and Pop-Tarts on Saturday morning because it being Saturday morning automatically would make the previous night Friday. And, we all know that Friday night means my mother and my mother means I have a migraine. So, please toaster, work.....pretty please? I'll cut back on Pop-Tart usage in the future if you'll sacrifice one more minute of your life with me.....please?"
The toaster did not move, considering it was an inanimate object and had no idea was she was saying, so Lorelai kicked at it until it broke even more. Lorelai started yelling profanities at the toaster until she looked up and saw Luke, watching her, amused, from the doorway of her kitchen. He shook his head and proceeded to walk toward her. She looked at him with a sheepish grin on her face.
Luke looked from Lorelai down to the toaster and sighed. "What did the toaster ever do to you to deserve to have the crap beaten out of it?"
"Evil toaster wouldn't make me my Pop-Tarts. It must die a slow and painful death." Lorelai answered in a cave-man-like voice.
"Well, you're in luck. I brought you some pancakes and a donut." He showed her a bag with the "Luke's" logo written across it.
"Oooh, yay! Did you bring coffee?" She sat down and opened the bags hopefully. She pulled out a take-out container. "This better be coffee or you don't get to go to the dance with me tonight."
"Oh, what a shame." He rolled his eyes.
"Luke, considering the horrible night I had last night, I think you could at least pretend to wanna go to the dance with me."
Luke smiled. "I didn't say I didn't wanna go with you."
Lorelai took a large sip of her coffee then spoke. "Really? I could've sworn you said you wanted to go with Taylor. My mistake."
"Of course I wanna go with you, but you know how these people are. They'll all be hovering around us, asking us stupid questions about our relationship and our dates and everything." Luke sighed. "I hate being gossiped about."
Lorelai smiled weakly and sighed also. "I know."
Luke nodded and pulled a few carrot sticks out from the take-out bag and arranged them on his plate from tallest to shortest before eating them. He noticed Lorelai had barely touched her food, instead, she was picking at it.
"Something wrong with it?" Luke asked her.
Lorelai looked back up to Luke. "Oh, no. It looks great, Luke, thanks."
"So, why isn't it gone yet?" Luke inquired about the food.
"I'm just tired." Lorelai cut up a piece of pancake and shoved it into her mouth. "Wow, this really is good. You have great culinary skills, Luke. I'm jealous."
After a few minutes of silence, Luke saw the sad expression on her face. He reached over and poured her some more coffee. "Sorry about last night. I shouldn't have brought Jess. I knew he'd be trouble, yet, I brought him anyway. Big mistake. It won't happen again."
Lorelai looked into Luke's eyes and spoke sincerely. "My mother shouldn't have acted like that, no matter what the reason. It's not Jess's fault, he didn't even do anything. I just get so mad at her. I mean, it seems as though right when we start getting along again, she blows up at me for God knows what reason."
Luke nodded and lifted Lorelai up from her current seated position and let her fall into his arms. They embraced each other for a while until they heard Rory open her door. They quickly let go and sat back down.
Rory walked into the kitchen looking groggy. "Hey."
"Hey hon." Lorelai smiled and patted the empty seat next to her and Luke. "Look, Luke brought us food! And coffee!"
"What a good provider." Rory smiled at Luke.
"He is, isn't he?"
Rory laughed. "We don't even have to go to the diner anymore, we get the food delivered right to our door at no extra cost."
"Extra cost? There's not even a cost. It's completely and 100% free because if it's not then I won't go to the dance with him."
Rory's eyes widened. "Luke? You're going to the dance?"
Luke sighed. "Involuntarily."
"Oh my God, Luke! I'm actually gonna get to see you dance?" Rory laughed happily.
"I don't dance." Luke said flatly.
Lorelai scoffed. "Oh, yes you do."
"When have you ever seen me dance?"
"That is so not the point, you're dancing with me tonight or I'll be forced to take back that cap I bought you."
"You gave it to me as a gift, I own it now and you can't take it away." Luke retorted. Lorelai jumped up and started trying to steal the cap by chasing him around the kitchen.
The two kept chatting about the dance and Luke's cap while Rory just sat there, watching. She silently wished to herself that she had someone to share that kind of bond and synchronicity with that her mom and Luke shared with each other. She missed Dean. But, she missed Jess a lot more, even though he hasn't left, yet.
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Lorelai and Rory were running around the house in a frenzy, getting ready for the dance. Clothes were piling up on each of their beds and their voices were hoarse from yelling to each other from their separate bedrooms. Finally, Lorelai came running down the stairs in a short and slinky-looking black dress. Rory came out of her room, also, in a rose colored shirt and skirt outfit. They met each other at the couch.
"How do I look?" They both asked at the same time.
Rory laughed. "You look great, Mom. What about me?"
"Janet Reno, only taller." Lorelai grinned.
"Ew. Now, seriously."
"Seriously? You look beautiful."
Rory nodded, but a look of disappointment spread across her face and she slumped into the couch cushions.
Lorelai walked over to her and sat down. "Hey, why the long face?"
"Dean will be there." She said sadly and looked at her mom.
"Ah. Well, maybe you won't run into him."
"Maybe not. Plus, I'm going all alone."
Lorelai frowned. "I thought you were going with Lane?"
"I mean alone, as in, without a guy."
"Well, judging by the way you look tonight, I wouldn't bet it stays that way for long." Lorelai smiled.
"Isn't it too soon after the break-up to be dating other guys?"
"Nah, you're young. Do whatever the Hell you want." Lorelai smiled.
Rory grinned and hugged her mom fiercely. The doorbell rang and Lorelai scrambled off of the couch and ran for the door.
Lorelai swung the door open. "Hey, Luke!" She yelled excitedly.
"Okay, I'm here. I promised I'd go, but I can't guarantee there'll be any sort of dancing."
Lorelai just waved him off and gave him a big hug when Rory came out of the living room.
"Hey, Luke." Rory smiled at him.
"Oh, hey Rory. You look nice."
"Thanks. Have fun!" Rory told them and headed out the door for the townsquare, where she was meeting Lane. Once Luke and Lorelai were alone, Luke dug into his pocket and revealed a small, wrapped box.
"Here." Luke said and handed it to her.
Lorelai smiled excitedly. "Aw, Luke. What's this for?"
"It's our two week anniversary." He smiled proudly.
"Oh! Luke, you didn't have to get me a present."
"I know, but I wanted to."
Lorelai blushed slightly and wrapped her arms around him, sweetly kissing his cheek.
"Go ahead, open it." Luke urged.
Lorelai grinned and started tearing apart the paper. Once the paper was removed, she opened the tiny box and revealed a pair of diamond, heart- shaped earrings. She stared at them, speechless, not knowing what to say.
"Oh, wow." She finally cracked, while still looking at them. He took them gently from her hands and took the earrings out. He unclasped them and, leaning toward Lorelai, carefully slipped them through each of the holes on her ears. When he brought his face back away from hers, her saw a few stray tears escaping from her eyes.
Luke pulled her in closer to him. "Hey.....why the tears?" He whispered.
She backed away from his warmth and clutched the small box in her hands. "Luke.....this was so incredibly sweet of you." She started sobbing and lightly pressed herself against his chest. "Thank-you so much."
They stood there in the doorway for a few minutes until Luke rubbed her back.
"I think the dance is almost over." Luke joked.
She brought her gaze up to meet his eyes and slowly lingered her lips against his, letting his tongue slid underneath hers. He brought his hands up behind her back and cradled her in his arms. When they pulled apart, Luke took her hand in his and led her out the door, to the dance.
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"Too tall." Rory stated, looking at a large blonde boy to the left of the gazebo.
"Yeah." Lane agreed, but then her eyes lit up. "Oooh, look at that guy!"
"What guy?"
"That guy over there, in the blue suit."
Rory made a weird face. "Yeah, what about him?"
"He was totally checking you out."
Rory rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Lane, that guy wasn't even looking at me."
"He hasn't stopped staring at you since we've been here!"
"And where was I during all of this?"
Lane smiled slyly. "Looking at Jess." She reached over and took a deliberately long sip of water.
"What? You're crazy!" Rory blushed.
"You're blushing." Lane smiled.
"I am not, you're imagining things. Just like when you thought your pet hamster had a freckle shaped like Justin Timberlake's head."
"I am not! And, my hamster did have a freckle shaped like Justin, the hair was a little off, but it was still pretty darn close."
"Lane-"
"Anyway, don't you like him? Admit it, Rory. You would much rather be over there with Jess then over here all by yourself."
"You're with me."
"I mean with a guy, Rory."
"You mean you're not a guy?" Rory teased Lane.
"I'm not, but Jess is." Lane smiled.
Rory took in a deep, exasperated sigh. "I just broke up with Dean, okay? I really don't feel like running around with other guys, especially guys that happen to also be my friends."
Lane stared at Jess, who was clear on the other side of the area, alone by himself at one of the tables. She saw Rory staring at him, also.
Lane tapped Rory gently on the arm. "Hey, why don't you go talk to him?"
Rory looked unsure. "What about you?"
"I'll be in Stars Hollow for the rest of my life. Jess is leaving in two weeks. I'd talk to him before it's too late." Lane suggested.
Rory nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Of course I am." Lane grinned. "Now go over there, I'm fine."
Rory smiled excitedly. "Okay. I call you later and fill you in on all the details."
"You better." Lane reached over and gave Rory and quick hug. Then, Rory got up to go talk to Jess, who was looking pretty lonely.
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Inside of the gazebo, Luke and Lorelai could be seen, eating their buffet dinner. Lorelai's plate was chock full of unhealthy cakes and cookies, instead of real food, and Luke's was all fruits and vegetables. After a few minutes of eating, Lorelai started nagging Luke to dance.
"We're supposed to be dancing." Lorelai groaned at Luke, who was eating his food rather slowly.
"Who says?"
"I say. Now, c-mon, get up, we're gonna go dance like everyone else." Lorelai demanded while grabbing his arm and trying to pull him off the seat.
Luke looked panicky. "Wait, I'm not done eating."
"We'll go to the diner afterwards. Now, let's dance."
Luke sat back down and Lorelai stood next to him, looking restless.
"What is it, now?" Lorelai asked.
Luke sighed. "I'm not very good."
"Neither am I, a match made in Heaven, now get up."
Luke groaned loudly and mumbled. "Fine."
"Yay!"
Luke stood up and reluctantly took Lorelai's hand. He led her out onto the dance area and stood there, awkwardly.
Lorelai laughed. "Luke, you do know that part of the dancing process means that you're gonna have to move, don't you?"
"I feel weird."
"Aw, don't feel weird. We'll have fun, Luke, I promise."
"Everyone is staring at me." Luke moaned.
Lorelai smiled and pulled him in, closer to her. "No, they're not."
Luke smiled faintly and slowly started to move, swaying back and forth with Lorelai. They wrapped their arms around each others warmth and closed their eyes, listening to the soft music play. When the song ended they were still swaying and dancing, not noticing that the music had stopped. Miss. Patty, Babette and the rest of the town's gossip circuit all stared at the two, smiling and pointing at them. When a faster song came over the place, Luke opened his eyes only to see everyone staring at him and Lorelai.
Luke gently lifted Lorelai's head up from his chest and she to opened her eyes.
"Wanna bail?" He asked, smiling.
"Most definitely." Lorelai agreed, noticing all the people. She groaned and shook her head. "Man, don't these people have lives of their own? Jeez."
"I know, they're strange."
"This whole town is strange."
Luke and Lorelai gathered up their things and linked their hands together. They were strolling down the street, the crowd of people getting farther and farther away from them.
Luke glanced over at Lorelai, then around the town, which was still lit up with Christmas lights. "I love it, anyway." Luke said, quietly.
"Love what?"
"Stars Hollow."
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, me too."
Luke and Lorelai gave each other warm glances, then continued to walk in silence. Finally, they passed the Independence Inn and her and Luke sat themselves down on a bench nearby. Luke let Lorelai lean her head against his chest.
"Mmmmm, this is comfy. You now have the job of being my permanent body pillow." Lorelai snuggled closer to him.
"I don't remember applying for that position."
"I know. It was generously given to you by me."
Luke laughed then looked over at the Inn. "Hey, how are your plans going with the new Inn? You know, you and Sookie's Inn?"
"Ugh, not too good. All the places we want we can't afford and all the places we hate are practically being given to us. Fran won't let us buy her Inn, you know, the one in the Rachael pictures."
"Oh, yeah." Luke swallowed hard.
"Oh, Luke. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up Rachael." She apologized and lifted her head up from his chest.
Luke forced a smile. "No, that's okay."
Lorelai sat thoughtfully before speaking again. "Do you miss her?"
Luke whipped his head around to face Lorelai. "What?"
"Rachael. Do you miss Rachael?"
Luke looked surprised. "Uh, wow. That was unexpected."
Lorelai smiled. "Well, I am the queen of unpredictability."
"That you are." He gave her a weak smile. "Um, you know, I don't really miss her at the moment, but I guess I'll always miss her a little bit." Luke still wasn't looking at Lorelai. "I've known her for a long time, I don't think you can really forget anyone who's been a part of your life for so many years."
Lorelai took in a shaky breath. "Right."
Luke quickly looked at Lorelai. "No! I didn't mean I want her to come back, I don't want her to come back. I just wish she would keep in touch once in a while."
"Oh, okay."
"If you ever went away somewhere, I'd miss you a Hell of a lot more then I miss Rachael. You're so much different then her. You're the best." He leaned in and kissed her gently on her soft lips. He took her body into his arms and rocked her back and forth while kissing her. When he pulled away, he saw her smile. He brought his hand up and slowly caressed her face with his fingertips. He hugged her close and leaned into her ear, whispering softly. "I love you."
Lorelai crept closer to him. "I love you, too."
They sat there for a long time, holding each other, with the dark blanket of sky hanging over them. From a distance you could see him and Lorelai walking up the stairs, going inside the Inn, kissing each other every spare second they could.
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Rory and Jess were walking silently over the Stars Hollow bridge, neither of them speaking. When they got to the center of the bridge, they sat down. Rory hung her legs over the edge and Jess did the same.
He looked over at Rory, who was staring into the water, looking mournful.
Jess spoke quietly. "So, why'd you bring me here?" He turned to face Rory.
She broke out of her trance. "What?"
"Well, you pulled me away from that lame-ass dance and brought me to the bridge....why?"
Rory looked uncomfortable and stammered nervously. "Well, uh, because. Just because."
"Because.....?"
Rory sighed. "Because.....you're moving away and I only have a couple of weeks to spend with you and I thought I'd take the opportunity to do that now." Rory turned away from his eyes to continue staring at the water.
"What? You want me to stay or something?"
Rory looked surprised. "Well, yeah...kind of. I mean, we're friends, right? Friends usually want each other to stick around."
Jess nodded. "So, you think we're friends?"
Rory looked up at him and grinned. "Yeah, I do."
"Well, you're in the minority then, because most people here would rather drink rat poison then spend any amount of time with me."
:That's not true, Jess." Rory rolled her eyes, smiling. "Idiot. Don't you realize how much Luke cares about you? You're almost like a son to him, now."
Jess looked at her, doubtfully. "Yeah I'm his son and he's Elvis Presley, visiting us from the beyond." Jess shook his head. "I bet he's thrilled knowing that soon I'll be gone and he could go back do doing whatever he did before I came."
"You mean sitting up in his apartment, all alone, playing solitaire, wishing he was with going out with my mother?" Rory smiled.
"Wow, what a pathetic existence." Jess agreed.
"It was very pathetic. But, don't you see? You've changed all that around. He now has you to worry and care about and plus, he's going out with my mom, now."
"I don't think he really cares if I stay or leave." Jess shook his head again.
"Man, what a hard life he must have."
Jess looked up, confused. "What?......Why?"
"I mean, his mom died when he was only in like the fourth grade, his dad died about fifteen years ago, he's never been married and the only woman he's ever really loved left him without any notice, twice, and now his nephew is leaving him, too. I'd hate to be him right now."
Jess thought for a second. "So, you're saying I shouldn't leave? That I should stay in this God-forsaken town that has held secret meetings about me being banished from Stars Hollow? In a town where I can't even walk down the street without being bombarded by facist grocery store owners, yelling at me to never set foot in their stores? Oh, man, sounds like fun." Jess sighed deeply. "I don't think so."
"Well, if you won't do it for Luke, then will you please do it for me?"
Jess looked surprised, again. "Uh, for you?"
"Yeah. I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but, I think I'm gonna miss you......lots." She smiled sheepishly and looked down, studying her feet.
"Wait, let me get this straight, you're gonna miss me?"
"Yeah, I will. You're the only person here who's ever been even mildly exciting. I mean, you're always doing crazy, funny things that Stars Hollow doesn't see very often." Rory smiled at Jess and he laughed lightly. "I mean, nobody else would have drawn an outline of a pretend murder in front of Doose's."
Jess chuckled. "You liked that, huh?"
"Or, spend ninety bucks on a basket with disgusting, old food inside it, just to make someone's boyfriend extremely mad and then have lunch with his girlfriend."
"Yeah....I had a good time that day."
Rory looked up at him and smiled. "Me too."
They stared at the moving water for a few minutes until Rory nervously reached out her hand to Jess. "Walk me home?" She asked.
Jess smiled. "Sure."
He took her hand in his and they started for Rory's house. When they passed the Inn, they looked at the bench and noticed Lorelai's purse sitting there and also that one of the rooms had a dim light on. Rory smiled to herself and her and Jess kept on walking. When they reached Rory's steps, they placed themselves on the swing bench, not talking.
After a while of just sitting, gazing at the moon, Rory finally got up. She took in a breath that was shaken and nervous. She watched Jess get up, also, and a small tear rolled down her face. She wiped it off and stepped toward him.
"I'm gonna miss you, Jess." Her tears were now running down her face and she frantically tried to wipe them away, but couldn't. Her emotions got the best of her and her hoarse voice started talking quickly. "I broke up with Dean last week." She broke down in tears and plopped onto the bench. Jess didn't know what to do, so he sat down beside her. "It was crazy, Jess, ever since you got here, everything's been all weird between us and I just couldn't take it anymore. He was so jealous of you all the time and it made me so mad, because none of it was justified with truth. But, now, when I look back on it, I guess he saw something I felt for you, but didn't know myself."
Jess swallowed hard. "Are you saying you broke up with Dean....for me?" He stuttered.
Rory nodded and stared in front of her. After a long period if empty silence, Jess wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her tight. She rested her head on his chest and tried to calm herself down.
Jess lifted her head up and looked into her eyes. "You know, maybe I'll stay here for a little bit longer, you know.......for Luke." Jess smiled wryly and bent down to kiss her. She pressed her lips against his and hugged him tightly. They stayed on the bench until Jess decided he better get going, before Luke and Lorelai get back. Rory agreed and went inside to call Lane.
TBC............
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*Chapter 7 - Will be updated soon! Promise! Review, please!*