Chapter 13 : Hungry Eyes

CHAPTER 13

Jess stared at the computer screen. He didn't know what to say. Should he tell her? If she had already figured it out...

He smiled. Figures she'd miss all the obvious clues before she figured it out.

'A true Gilmore,' he thought, now thinking of Lorelai and Luke. The sound of the IM brought him back from his reverie.

CoffeeJunkie02: hello?

Jess bit his lip. He had to tell her something...letting out a quick breath, he went for it.

'No turning back now,' he thought, pressing SEND.

NYer02: Rory.

CoffeeJunkie02: oh my god.

NYer02: yeah

CoffeeJunkie02: how long have you known you were talking to me?!

NYer02: well, since you told me your screen name, I guess. But I kind of suspected it before that.

CoffeeJunkie02: I feel so stupid. How could you...oh my god. All this time...

CoffeeJunkie02: I told you things!

NYer02: I told you things too.

Rory didn't reply for a moment. She was obviously thinking back to what they had talked about.

CoffeeJunkie02: how come you didn't tell me sooner? Why would you just mess with me like that?

NYer02: I'm sorry. I tried to tell you, but...

CoffeeJunkie02: but what?

Jess sighed. 'But I wanted to see how you felt about me first,' he thought.

CoffeeJunkie02: well?

NYer02: It was complicated. It got to the point where it was too late to tell you without my coming off as a jerk for not telling you. I was going to just let you figure it out for yourself. Like I did.

NYer02: and, look, you did too.

CoffeeJunkie02: I can't believe you've known all this time. I feel so...

NYer02: so...?

NYer02: blonde?

CoffeeJunkie02: no. listen, I need to think. I'm going to get off, and I'll talk to you...i don't know, whenever.

NYer02: alright. Bye.

CoffeeJunkie02: bye.

Rory signed off the computer, tears in her eyes. She didn't know if they were tears of anger, or what, but she felt like she needed to cry or something. She wanted--no, needed--to talk to Lorelai, but at the same time, she didn't want to, because she knew her mother would just get upset.

Even if Jess had been acting all nice to her...However Lorelai had maybe started to feel about him being, in, well, Rory's life, had probably changed once she had heard about Jess and Rory purposely missing their bus back to Stars Hollow.

And this online thing surely wouldn't help the situation any.

Even though Rory was a little mad at Jess for not telling her, she was also sort of glad. He had gotten her to admit things she had barely been able to admit to herself. She now knew how she really felt about him. But...oh god! So did he!

Rory groaned, sinking down low in her chair.

Jess woke up the next morning feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't know what would happen today, but he was ready. In fact, he wanted to talk to Rory, With that thought in mind, he picked up his laptop from the floor where he had left it, and signed online.

He decided to write Rory as e-mail asking her to meet him online later.

He wasn't sure she would read the message in time, but if she didn't, oh well. He'd write her again.

Jess logged back offline and went downstairs to help Luke with the breakfast crowd. Luke looked up in surprise but didn't question him. He just nodded at the coffee.

Jess offered everyone coffee refills. They he cleared a few tables, wiped the counter, made some more coffee, and even stood at the counter for awhile, reading his book. The Gilmores never came in, which must have been a first. They couldn't live without coffee, and they came in so frequently, he wasn't even sure if they knew how to make it for themselves.

Jess wasn't surprised; he knew why they weren't there that morning. He just wondered if Rory had told Lorelai yet, or if she had just made up some kind of lame excuse as to why she didn't want to go to Luke's.

Oh well, hopefully she would get his e-mail and meet him online later. If not, he would just have to find another way to get her to talk to him.

Rory stared at the e-mail from Jess. Lane read the message over her shoulder.

"Are you going to meet him?"

"I don't know," Rory replied, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Come on, it's like a cyber date!" When Rory didn't respond, Lane continued, "You should at least see what he has to say." She paused. "And it's just like a phone. If you don't want to talk to him anymore, just hang up."

Rory turned off the computer, going into her room and laying on her bed. Lane followed her and sighed as she watched her friend.

Rory stared at the ceiling, trying to make out the individual paint spots that the re-painting had caused.

Lane plopped onto the bed next to Rory. "It's only two o'clock. You still have a few hours to think about it. But I still think you should do it."

"But what about Dean?" Rory asked, turning her head to look at her friend.

"Well, when was the last time you talked to him?"

"Good point."

"And let's put it this way. Are you still in love with Dean?"

"I love Dean--"

"That's not the question. Are you still in love with him?"

Rory thought about it carefully, before answering in a small voice, "No."

"Then let him go. He obviously thinks you two broke up, because he's avoiding you. So just let him go."

"I know, but--"

"Meet Jess online at four."

"But--"

"You know you want to," Lane teased.

"Alright," Rory relented.

Lane gave Rory a hug, and Rory hugged back, wondering what in the world she was getting herself into.

Jess signed online at precisely four o'clock, and minutes later Rory signed on as well.

NYer02: hey, good, you got my message?

CoffeeJunkie02: yeah.

NYer02: I'm really sorry about not telling you sooner.

CoffeeJunkie02: huh.

Jess laughed. She used 'his word'. Getting serious again, he told her he didn't know what else to say other than he was sorry.

CoffeeJunkie02: that's it? You asked me to meet you so you could tell me you were sorry again?

NYer02: you're really going to stay mad at me just because I didn't tell you I was talking to you online?

CoffeeJunkie02: no, I'm going to stay mad because you made me tell you things that I, under any other circumstance, wouldn't have told you.

NYer02: and what about the things I told you?

Rory took a deep breath. She thought back to their previous conversations and tried to remember what exactly he had told her.

Oh god. He had talked about her. The girl Rory had given him advice about was her. She had told him to go after her. God, she felt so dense.

CoffeeJunkie02: I don't know.

NYer02: don't know what?

CoffeeJunkie02: anything.

NYer02: welcome to the club.

Lorelai walked into the room and glanced over Rory's shoulder.

"Ooh, you still talk to that guy? Have you found out any more about him?" she wanted to know.

Rory sighed. "More than I knew before, that's for sure."

"Cool, like what?"

'Like it's Jess, for one thing,' Rory thought.

"Well, he likes to mess with my mind."

"Don't we all," Lorelai joked.

"What?"

"What?" Lorelai countered. Rory laughed.

"Hey...Mom? I'm going to go to Luke's for a little bit, is that okay?"

"Sure. Want me to come with you?" Lorelai offered.

"I'm just going to find Jess."

"Oh. That's okay, I wanted on the computer, anyway."

Rory grinned. She switched over to her mother's screen name, not even telling Jess goodbye.

Jess frowned as Rory signed off. She hadn't even made up some dumb excuse about why she had to get off. She just...did. He sighed. Looks like he should have told Rory at the very beginning, after all. Who would've thought.

Luke came upstairs as Jess turned off the laptop and put it under his bed. He came in and frowned at Jess, glancing around.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah, I know. You're just sitting there."

"I'm thinking. Sorry, is that not allowed anymore?"

Luke ignored him, grabbing the folder he had come upstairs to get and going back downstairs.

A few minutes later, Jess picked up his book and found his place. Just as he started to read, there was a knock on the door. He went over and opened it.

Rory stood in front of him, a troubled look on her face.

Jess motioned for her to come in, and she passed him without saying anything. She sat on the couch, and Jess closed the door and walked over.

"Hey."

"Hey," she replied.

It was the first time they had seen each other since she found out that he was NYer02. Jess would be lying if he said it wasn't awkward, seeing her just then.

"How are you?"

"Good."

"Good," Jess echoed. He waited for her to say something else.

"Did you mean what you said before?" she asked after a moment.

"When?"

"Before--when we talked. You were talking about me?"

"Yeah."

"Did you mean it, or were you just messing with me again?"

"I meant what I said."

"Oh."

Rory looked down and Jess sat beside her. She finally looked up and caught his gaze again. She searched his face to see if he was telling the truth. He appeared to be. She closed her eyes for a second and let out a breath.

When she opened her eyes again, she was looking at Jess with a new expression. He couldn't tell what she was thinking anymore. He was almost afraid she was about to hit him or something. She sure looked like she was about to do something to that effect, anyway. But, being Rory, that was highly unlikely.

Yet...she had this intense look on her face as she studied him that made him nervous.

Suddenly, she shot forward. Jess instinctively moved backward, but she grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him back over to her, and her lips met his in a passionate kiss.

Woah, Jess thought. Maybe he really should have told her sooner.

Jess, over the initial shock, wrapped his arms around her, and Rory let go of his shirt and her hands flew to his neck. She pulled him closer, but after a moment, pulled away.

Both breathing heavily, they stared at each other wordlessly.