"So your mom is finally sending all your stuff?" I asked as Jess and I walked out of school.

"Yeah, should be there today," he confirmed.

"Wait, how will that all fit up there?" I asked. The apartment above the diner wasn't exactly roomy.

"I don't have a lot of stuff," he shrugged.

"Jess," I said pointedly. "The books alone I assume would fill that tiny… Grandpa?"

My grandfather waved cheerfully, approaching us quicker than I could send Jess away.

"Hello, Ava," he smiled. He looked at Jess. "And who is this?"

"Grandpa, this is my friend Jess," I introduced. "Jess, meet Richard Gilmore."

"A Farewell to Arms?" Grandpa said, seeing the book in Jess' hands. "Ava, you didn't mention your class was reading Hemingway."

"Thankfully, we're not," I said. "He's Jess' favourite author."

"Really?" Grandpa said, looking at my friend with respect. The pair shook hands. "Good luck trying to convert this one, young man. How she can get through Ayn Rand without complaint but refuses to commit to Hemingway is beyond me."

"I couldn't agree more," Jess smirked at me. "I even managed to get her to buy them, and still she resists."

"This is a conspiracy," I said suspiciously, looking between the two.

"I better get to the diner," he said. "Always nice to meet a Hemingway fan."

"Nice to meet you too," Grandpa said, smiling as Jess left us to it.

"So, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I can't come by and see my granddaughter?" he asked innocently as we began to walk. "Especially when I hear she may no longer be coming by to see me."

And there it was. There always was a catch when it came to my grandparents.

"Oh, you heard about that, huh?"

"I may have heard you had a fight with your father," he said. "And in that you expressed a disinterest in continuing Friday Night Dinners."

"It's not like I'll never come by," I said awkwardly. "It's just… I never made a deal with you. Mom asked for money for Rory's school and somehow I was roped into it."

"You know, you are absolutely right, Ava," Grandpa nodded, and I looked at him warily. He never agreed this easily – clearly he was up to something. "You didn't make a deal with us. But that doesn't mean that you can't."

"Excuse me?"

"I came to offer you a deal," he said with a bright smile. I can't say I was expecting that.

"But I don't want anything," I countered.

"Not even a fully paid college education?"

Shit. Well, he had my attention now.

"When you say fully paid…" I said apprehensively.

"It means your grandmother and I will pay for your entire college education," he confirmed.

I bit my lip. Rory and I had both already started looking into scholarships, knowing that Mom would never be able to afford to send both of us to college. But there were no guarantees that one of us would get one, let alone both of us.

"And what conditions would come with you paying for college?" I asked shrewdly.

"The same that come with your mother's Chilton loan," he said. "We expect you at Friday Night Dinners."

"And that I'll pay the loan back in full, of course," I nodded. "We could arrange a payment plan, once I'm earning some money?"

"Of course," he said, his eyes lighting up. "Does that mean you agree to my proposal?"

Honestly, I'd be a fool not to. Eventually I was going to get roped back into Friday Night Dinners regardless, and at least this way I was securing myself a college education.

I grinned, and held out my hand. He gave it a firm shake.

"You have yourself a deal, Grandpa."

"Please tell me you got a ton of maraschino cherries," I called from my spot sprawled on the couch, as Mom and Rory returned from the video store.

"You know, you could have made sure of that had you deigned to get off the couch, Queen Ava," Mom quipped as Rory handed me some ice cream.

"But then what would become of my subjects, if not to cater to my every whim?" I retorted, sitting up so my twin could sit beside me.

"We have good news about the rain gutters," Rory informed me.

"Did your cape arrive?" I asked Mom, who grinned.

"Jess is going to come clear them out," Rory said, and Mom's grin became a bit strained.

I raised an eyebrow at Mom. "You're letting Jess come to our house?"

"I said I was going to try," she reminded me. "I'm gonna head to the bathroom. Ladies, chose our first movie!"

She bounded upstairs and I turned to my sister.

"This has you written all over it," I said bluntly.

"What do you mean? Mom…" she trailed off at the disbelieving expression on my face. "Okay, Luke offered, Mom was hesitant. But she came around."

"Why did you even bother?" I groaned. Nothing good could come of this.

"Because he's clearly important to you, Ava," she said, getting up to select a movie. "So we should all make an effort."

I opened my mouth instinctively to argue, but then shut it when I realised how obvious I had become about Jess.

"He's my best friend," I said defensively.

"Exactly," Rory replied easily. "You and Mom are nice to Lane. So we can be nice to Jess."

She really was the good twin.

Rory and Mom were cackling over Mom's new alarm clock that produced barnyard animal sound sounds when there was a knock on the door.

I practically skidded out of my bedroom to beat them to the door, trying to limit the amount of interaction between everyone.

"Someone's punctual," I teased when I opened the door. "If only Mr. Thomas could see you now…"

"Well, it was this or continue apartment hunting with Luke," he said as he came inside.

"I told you the books alone were too much for that tiny apartment," I reminded him. "Mr. I Don't Have A Lot of Stuff."

"I don't," he protested.

"How much room do your hair products alone take up?" I retorted.

"You sound just like Luke," he scoffed. "He flipped out last night, and the next thing I know, he's dragging me all over town, banging on pipes and measuring square footage. It's crazy."

"You're right," I nodded, and he looked at me suspiciously. "No, really. It's not every nephew who wants to share a room with their uncle. Personally, I think it's sweet."

"Personally, I sometimes think you're as crazy as the rest of them," he said. "Did you do something with your hair?"

"What?" my hand flew up to my hair, immediately self conscious.

"Your hair looks different," he said.

"That would be because I normally have it out," I said, touching the low ponytail. "Bad different?"

He just grinned at me, and Mom and Rory joined us before I could push him for a response.

"Oh, Jess, you're here," my mother said in a tone I assumed she meant to be friendly but came out as not exactly thrilled at his general presence in her house. "Terrific."

"So, um, would you like to come in?" Rory asked, nudging Mom subtly.

"Yes," I spoke quickly before Mom could. "I'll show you out back…"

"Did you want something to drink?" Mom asked as we walked through the house. "You have good timing because we shopped yesterday, and in addition to a case of Maybelline fresh lash mascara, I also bought some of that new freaky Coke with the lemon in it. It's very addictive."

"It really is," I admitted, grabbing one for myself. A tense silence fell, and it became clear Jess wasn't going to say anything. "Come on Jess, I'll show you where everything is."

I quickly hustled him out. That was so awkward, but I had to give Mom props for at least trying to be civil.

"Someone was in a rush," Jess commented as he looked in the bucket which held the gloves.

"Next time I'll let you marinate in the awkwardness," I offered, and he smirked. "Well, she's trying at least."

"I took the Coke," he pointed out. "Personally, I think it's a bit crazy to put lemon in coke, but I took it anyhow."

"Firstly, she's not wrong in saying it's addictive," I said. "And second, I don't think you actually spoke in there."

"Well, you did rush me out," he reminded me.

"Really? Like you were about to start speaking?" I said.

"Why does it bother you that I didn't talk to your mom?" he asked.

"Why?" I said incredulously.

"Yeah, why?"

"No, you're right, I should enjoy the awkwardness," I rolled my eyes. "Look, if you care about me at all…"

"What makes you think I care about you?" Jess asked, with this little smirk on his face that made me want to either hit him or kiss him.

"I don't read Hemingway for people who don't care about me," I retorted.

"You won't read it regardless," he scoffed.

"I've yet to see The Fountainhead in your hands," I said defensively. "And damn it, you won't distract me with this argument again."

"To be fair, you started it," he said.

"Look, we're friends, right, so it's not exactly weird that I would like you to be able to be in the same room as my mom without it being awkward," I said with annoyance.

"Okay," he said, giving in just like that.

"Okay?" I said skeptically.

"Okay, I can't guarantee that it'll work, but I'll try," he said.

"Thank you," I said, still a little thrown off by his agreeing. Normally it took a lot longer to argue the point with him, although sometimes I thought he liked to rile me up just for the hell of it. "And as a reward, I will leave you to the gutters."

"Gee, thanks," he deadpanned.

"Okay, remember the library is having a book fundraiser," I reminded him. "I'll buy you a present for all your hard work."

"No Austen!" he called as I went back inside.

"Your boyfriend is so handy," I said to Rory as we both walked over to Dean. There were so many great finds, but Rory and I had to shop together to avoid buying the same thing. Our poor bookshelves could only take so much as it was, so we tried to avoid doubling up.

"He's a keeper," she agreed as we added more books to the pile. "We won't be long," she promised him.

"Another half hour, tops," I promised, and he just grinned at us. He so adored Rory, so despite being bored, he was more than willing to keep an eye on our hoard as we continued searching.

We headed back to the books, and I was debating what to buy Jess when Rory brought him up.

"I'm surprised you aren't at home, trying to prevent Mom and Jess from ever speaking," she said with amusement.

"As tempting as that sounds," I said. "Jess said he'll try and get along with her. Plus, we wait for this sale all year."

"Jess is going to try and get along with Mom?" she said in disbelief.

"I know," I nodded. "I'm pretty sure the pigs from the new alarm clock will fly any day now."

"That's nice of him," she said. "To want to get along with Mom for you."

"We're just friends, Rory," I reminded her.

"Did I say you were anything else?" she said with faux innocence, a look that would work on someone who may hadn't known her since the womb.

I let out a groan. "I shouldn't have left them alone together."

"Stop, they'll be fine," she assured me. "Astronomy section?"

I followed her, worrying the entire time. I carried the load of books home, while Rory and Dean headed to see The Lord of the Rings for the approximately hundredth time together.

"Help!" I called as I struggled in the door, and both Mom and Jess exited the kitchen to find me staggering under the weight of the books.

"Whoa," Jess said, rushing to my aid and taking half the books. "Did you leave any books there?"

"You should have seen their haul last year," Mom laughed.

"To be fair," I said, as Jess and I dumped the books on my bed. "These are for me and Rory. So it's not as bad as it looks."

"My little bookworms," she grinned, and I caught sight of the food on the table.

"Were you guys having lunch?" I said in surprise. "Together?"

"You know, we are both known to eat food," Mom replied as we walked back into the kitchen. "Although you did say something once about Jess using sarcasm for nourishment."

Jess looked at me, amused.

"To be fair, I also occasionally use sarcasm for nourishment," I assured him.

I was in a pretty good mood by the end of the week, until I went to get into the car for Friday Night Dinner and both Mom and Rory looked at me with confusion.

"I thought you were no longer attending Friday Night Dinner," Mom said suspiciously.

"Oh, yeah, I am now," I shrugged. I hadn't told Mom about the deal I had made with the grandparents for my college education.

Though she repeatedly asked why I'd had the change of heart, I remained silent as we drove to Hartford. Once we were waiting at the door, I decided it was now or never.

"I made my own deal with Grandpa," I said quickly, the moment she'd rang the doorbell.

"You made a deal?" Mom said incredulously, as the maid opened the door. "What kind of deal did you make?"

"One that means I'll be joining you and Rory at Friday Night Dinners," I answered, following the maid into the parlor.

"Hello, girls," Grandma said with a bright smile as we entered, but Mom's eyes instantly found her father.

"What deal did you make with my daughter?" she shot across the room.

"Hello to you too, Lorelai," Grandpa said.

"Hi, how've you been? Entered any deals with Ava lately?" she retorted.

"Why don't we all sit down?" Rory suggested.

"Yes, good idea, Rory," Grandma approved, but Mom wasn't having any of it.

"This isn't a big deal, Mom," I said, taking a seat.

"Yes, Ava was quite right in saying she hadn't made a deal with us, therefore she was not required to attend Friday Night Dinners," Grandpa said matter of factly. "So we struck a deal. We will be covering her college tuition, and she will pay us back. In the meantime, she will attend dinners each Friday along with you and Rory. Now, can I get anyone a drink?"

"No."

We all turned to Mom, who had her arms crossed and steam coming out of her ears.

"Lorelai," Grandma sighed.

"Oh don't 'Lorelai' me," she snapped. "I came to you and made a deal. You do not approach my daughter and make a deal, behind my back may I add, to blackmail her into coming here each week."

"Mom," I said, and she turned to me with daggers in her eyes. "I love you. But you can't afford to send us both to college. This way, my future is secured."

"There are scholarships," she began.

"That is no guarantee," I argued. "I am happy with this deal, please do not ruin it with your pride."

"This was Ava's choice," Grandpa said. "She could have turned me down. But she sees the sense in securing her future. Are you really going to deny her that?"

Mom went silent, obviously unhappy.

"Now, would you girls like a club soda?" Grandma asked with a triumphant smile.

The drive home was silent. Rory and I kept eyeing each other, just waiting for Mom to explode. When we walked inside, Mom finally spoke.

"Could you give us a minute, Rory?" she said quietly, and I looked at my twin with wide eyes. Don't you dare leave me alone with her.

All I got was an apologetic look as Rory went to our room and closed the door. Mom and I stood in the living room, staring each other down.

"I thought we were doing so much better than this, Ava," she said, going straight for the guilt trip. "I made nice with Jess, I stopped with the Ultra Cling, and you've been making deals behind my back?"

"Okay, that makes it sound a lot worse than it is," I said bluntly.

"Ava!"

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about this," I said. "But I knew you would say no. And I wanted to take it. This is my future, okay? And we all know I was going to be roped back in to dinners regardless. Why shouldn't I ensure I get a college education with that?"

"You shouldn't be worrying about that," she said. "I'm the mom, that's my job!"

"And are you?" I pressed.

"Of course I am!"

"And now you can just focus on getting one daughter through college," I said. "And it's your Ivy League girl."

"Is that what this is about?" she said shrewdly. "You think I would get Rory into college before I would get you in?"

Obviously she would, but I wasn't about to add fuel to the fire.

"Maybe I was just trying to make this easier on all of us, Mom," I said. "Did you ever think of that?"

"You went behind my back," she snapped.

"He came to me," I said defensively. "And I'm sorry I didn't ask for permission, but this is my ticket out of Stars Hollow! I would do anything to make sure my future is somewhere amazing, like London, Paris, New York! Mom, please don't take that away from me."

"I want your future to be everything you want it to be," she said sincerely. "But I don't want you to have to sell your soul to do it."

"Dramatic much?"

"I could be worse," she reminded me, and I nodded in agreement. "Look, if this is really and truly what you want…"

"It is," I interrupted.

"Then I will accept it," she said, with obvious reluctance. "But no more shenanigans behind my back, do you hear me? You hid how well you were doing at school, and now you're hiding deals with the grandparents. I want you to be able to come to me. Even if you think I'm going to say no."

"I am trying," I said, biting my lip. "But the closeness you want isn't going to come overnight."

"I know," she said softly, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "But we'll both keep trying, right?"