Chapter 8

"Ror?" Lorelai called, looking around as she closed the front door. No Rory in the living room, no daughter in the kitchen...She swung open Rory’s bedroom door and smiled. Rory was in bed, fast asleep and breathing lightly.

Lorelai paused in the doorway, trying to decide whether to wake Rory up or not. Finally deciding her daughter looked too peaceful to disturb, Lorelai quietly left Rory’s room and softly closed the door after her.

She headed to her own room and changed her clothes and got ready for bed. Just as she finished brushing her teeth and was slipping into bed, there was a knock on her door.

"Come on in, hun," Lorelai called, pulling down her shirt.

The door opened, and a sleepy Rory walked in. She went straight for Lorelai’s bed and curled up on it.

"You’re home." She yawned.

"Yeah, and it’s a good thing you’re up. I have news."

"Me too. You first."

"Okay, but first—is the ‘lowlife’ gone?" Lorelai asked, making air quotes with two fingers on each hand.

"Yes he is."

"Oh, no...You mean he’s not in your room hiding out until I go to sleep, when he will then climb out the window, but end up slipping and falling and breaking a leg?"

"No?" Rory raised an eyebrow at her mother. "That’s too farfetched even for—"

Lorelai held up a hand, silencing Rory. "Trust me—it happens."

Rory grinned, nodding. "Alright then."

"So he’s really not here?"

"He’s really not here."

"Did I not teach you anything, dear child?"

Rory shrugged. "I’ll do better next time."

"Very good." Lorelai fell onto her bed, causing Rory to bounce into the air. "So—what’s your news?"

"Well, you know Tristan used to go to Chilton..." Rory trailed off, looking at her mom.

"Yeah, so? He was part of the reason you and Dean broke up the first time, right? Before Jess came along?"

"No!"

"Oh, whoops." Lorelai grinned. "My mistake, continue."

Rory frowned. "Well, anyway, some guy in Hartford, one of Tristan’s old friends, is throwing him a party. And he asked me if I wanted to go. He said I could bring anyone I wanted. You know, Lane, Dean—"

"Dean?"

"Tristan doesn’t know we broke up. He also suggested I invite Jess."

"Jess? At a Chilton party? I would pay to see that," Lorelai laughed. Her smile faded into a look of confusion. "Wait, how does he know about Jess?"

Rory blushed. "I mentioned him."

"Oh, Rory..." Lorelai gasped. "Oh! I almost forgot about my news!"

Rory looked at her mother expectantly. "Yeah?"

"Jess is going back to New York."

"He’s what!" Rory cried. "When?"

"In the morning. Ror, you have to stop him."

Rory sat back, regarding her mother thoughtfully. "Why—"

"Because you obviously like him."

"I obviously like him?"

"Yeah, but don’t worry, hun, guys are clueless. I think he saw you and Tristan earlier, and—"

The color drained from Rory’s face. "But I don’t like Tristan."

"I know that."

"Tristan doesn’t even like me like that."

"I—well, okay."

Rory sighed. "So what do I do now?"

"Ror, I think you meet him at the bus stop."

Jess groaned, rolling over onto his back. It was useless—he couldn’t sleep. He had tried reading, listening to music, thinking about, well, her...Nothing seemed to work.

Finally he sat up and punched his pillow in frustration. Deciding to just catch up on sleep on the bus ride to New York, he got up and went downstairs to get a cup of coffee.

Three cups later, it was almost time to leave for New York.

Jess went back upstairs and grabbed his suitcase and made sure he wasn’t forgetting anything. He spotted a copy of Oliver Twist on top of his bookshelf, and he quickly shoved it in the suitcase before giving it a second thought. His eyes fell on his walkman, and he grabbed that, too. What the hell, right? Who knew when he was coming back to Stars Hollow, anyway.

Jess, finally satisfied he had all of his essential stuff, once again went downstairs. He left the diner and headed for the bus stop, which was conveniently just down the street. He looked up and froze in his tracks for a split second, but willed his legs to keep moving. His hands in his pockets, he walked over to Rory.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here, Jess?"

Jess nodded at the bus stop sign. "Waiting for a bus to stop. After all, this is the bus stop."

"Not funny."

"I guess I’m just not in a funny mood."

"Why are you leaving?"

Jess glanced over to Rory. "Why did you come here, Rory?"

"To...Well, to stop you, I guess," she answered, blushing furiously.

"Why?"

"Just wanted to."

A bus pulled up, and Rory’s face fell as she saw the words NEW YORK printed in big letters on the bus.

Jess made no move to get on it. Instead, he stared at Rory. She turned back to him.

"What?" she asked nervously.

"I’m getting on the bus," he told her.

She frowned, crossing her arms. "Then go."

"I will."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Jess started to move closer and Rory closed her eyes. Just as he was about to kiss her, someone screamed over a loudspeaker that the bus to New York would be leaving in ten minutes.

Jess leaned back, and Rory sighed in disappointment. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jess was already walking off toward the bus.

"Jess, stop!" she cried. "Don’t go!" She felt all of her hurt from his ignoring her over the past few days coming back. She didn’t want him to leave her again. This feeling scared her, but she remembered her mom had said to stop him. The trouble was—she didn’t know how.

She stood there, trying to decide what to do. Her thoughts were pulling her in so many different directions her head was spinning.

She would have still been standing there, confused, if a song hadn’t popped in her head just then. She recognized it as ‘Open Your Heart’ by Madonna. She had no idea why she had thought of it, but it stuck in her head.

-

I see you on the street and you walk on by

You make me wanna hang my head down and cry

If you gave me half the change you’d see

My desire burning inside of me.

But you choose to look the other way

Well, I’ve got something to say

-

Rory glanced up at Jess’s bus, and he gazed back at her from the window.

-

Open your heart to me, baby

I hold the lock and you hold the key

Open your heard to me, darlin’

I’ll give you love if you, you turn the key

-

By now, Jess had gotten back up and walked to the front of the bus. Rory watched him, waiting for him to get off the bus and walk back over to her. But he didn’t do either. He just shook his head and went to sit back down.

Without thinking, Rory ran up to the bus and got on. She paid the driver and got her ticket and went over to Jess.

"Is this seat taken?"

Lorelai watched as Rory got on the bus and it pulled away and headed to New York.

"He’s a good kid," a voice said, interrupting her thoughts. "He won’t let anything happen to her."

Lorelai turned around and smiled at Luke. "I know," she said softly.

Luke gave her a small smile and led the way back to the diner.

Not long later, Luke had taken his usual spot behind the counter, and Lorelai sat before him, feeling somewhat out of place without Rory there.

"Coffee?" Luke offered, holding up a full coffeepot with freshly brewed coffee.

The smell soothed Lorelai some, and she nodded.

"It’s going to feel weird with Jess gone," she commented.

Luke glanced up as he poured her coffee. "He’s coming back."

"He is?" Lorelai asked, not sure whether she was disappointed or not.

"Well, he said maybe, but..." Luke leaned forward. "He is."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Rory is here," Luke replied, walking off to offer coffee refills around the diner.

Lorelai’s expression turned thoughtful as she tried to picture Rory and Jess going out. Holding hands—the whole nine yards. He’d have to dress nicer, of course, or it just wouldn’t look right. She pictured him in a Chilton uniform and burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Luke demanded, making his way back over and taking his place behind the counter.

"Nothing," Lorelai said innocently. "Can I have more coffee?"

"Already? You’re not even finished with that cup yet!"

Lorelai shrugged, feeling more like her usual self. "Hey—can we listen to music?"

"No."

"Do you remember our little talk about you not saying no?"

Lorelai and Luke smiled at each other, and Lorelai slowly sipped her coffee, dreading the fact that soon she had to leave to go to work.

"Donut?" Luke asked, motioning to a plate of donuts next to her.

She snapped out of her reverie and looked at the plate, her stomach growling loudly.

"My stomach has spoken. We want that one," Lorelai said, pointing.

Luke raised an eyebrow, choosing not to comment for fear of the weird conversation it might start. He had definitely heard enough of Lorelai’s donut speeches to last a lifetime.

He put her donut on a plate and slid it over to her.

"Here."

"Thanks Luke."

"Luke! When will my order be ready?"

Luke’s smile quickly faded back into his usual guarded frown, and he turned his attention away from Lorelai.

"It depends on what you ordered, Taylor," he growled.

"Be my guest."

Rory sat down just as the bus started to move. ‘Oh no...’ she thought. ‘I guess I’m on my way to New York.’ She hadn’t actually meant to go anywhere...she just got on the bus to stop him from leaving.

Rory panicked, looking past Jess out the window as they left the bus stop.

"Uh, Rory?"

"Yeah?" she glanced at him, a worried expression on her face.

He flashed her his famous half-smile. "We’re on our way to New York."

Rory thought of Lorelai and felt herself relax. She knew her mother wouldn’t be mad at her for following Jess to New York. These past few days, Lorelai had actually been...dare she even think it...approving of Jess. Rory knew it would only be a matter of time before the merciless teasing would start. She groaned just thinking about it.

Rory glanced over at Jess. He was leaning back in his seat, his head turned slightly, looking out the window. As if he felt her eyes on him, he turned to her.

"What?"

Rory stared at him for a moment longer before answering. "Why are you going back to New York?"

He shrugged in response.

"Did you tell Luke you were leaving?" Rory paused. Seeing as how he didn’t look like he was going to answer her, she added, "Why are you ignoring me?"

"What’s with the twenty questions?" Jess returned.

Rory blushed, looking down. She folded her arms across her chest. "I shouldn’t have come here," she realized. "I...I need to get off," she said urgently. "Is there a way to stop this thing?"

She started to stand up, but Jess lightly tugged on her hand and made her sit back down.

"Rory."

Rory refused to answer, leaning back in her seat and staring forward. Jess shrugged, digging into his backpack and pulling out a book and his walkman. Rory glanced over curiously. Jess turned to her, caught her eye, and handed her a book. She smiled gratefully and began to read as Jess put on his headphones and got comfortable, opening his own book.

"I’ll see you later, Luke," Lorelai called, standing up.

Luke looked up as he handed Kirk his sandwich and drink. He nodded at her. "Will you..."

"I’ll let you know if Rory calls," Lorelai said. "You too, okay?"

He nodded, heading back to the counter and grabbing the coffeepot. Lorelai watched him a second longer before leaving the diner, getting into her car and leaving for work.

An hour later, as if her day wasn’t hectic enough, a new problem occurred. One she just didn’t want to deal with right now. Just as she was about to run off and hide, Michel’s voice rang in her ears.

"Mrs. Gilmore, Mr. Gilmore, how nice it is to see you," he said, giving Lorelai a smirk. She shot him a death glare as Emily and Richard made their way over.

"Now, that’s just mean," Lorelai muttered as Michel blocked her escape route.

"Hello, Lorelai," Richard greeted.

Lorelai smiled politely, hoping she looked genuine. "Hi Mom, hi Dad."

"Hello Lorelai," Emily echoed, looking around.

Lorelai stood there a second, waiting somewhat impatiently for them to tell her why they were there. "What’s up?" she asked slowly, looking from Richard to Emily.

"Your father decided...Richard, you tell her."

Lorelai, confused, looked at Richard. "Uh, Dad?"

Richard opened his mouth to speak, but Emily cut him off. "Your father has decided he wants to go on a roller coaster at ten in the morning and he wanted to know if you and Rory care to join us."

From her mother’s facial expressions, Lorelai could tell Emily was less than thrilled about the whole idea. Lorelai pictured her and Rory going to a theme park with her parents. Riding roller coasters, eating cotton candy...she shuddered at the thought. And it would be even worse without Rory there!

"Oh. Um..." Lorelai willed herself to come up with something—anything—to get her out of this. "Rory’s sick," she heard herself say. "I...I think I should stay with her," she said slowly, looking at her parents and trying to tell if they bought it or not.

"Oh no, is she alright?" Emily asked, concerned.

Lorelai mentally pat herself on the back. "Nothing serious, I’m sure. But still...I think I’ll keep her company."

"Alright," Emily said with a sigh.

"Speaking of Rory being sick," Lorelai said suddenly, "I’m not sure if we can make it to dinner tomorrow. I wouldn’t want you guys to catch anything."

"Very well. Call if you change your mind," Emily said.

Lorelai nodded, said goodbye to her parents, and watched them leave, a self-satisfied smile on her face.

"Rory is sick?" Michel asked her.

She turned to him. "No."

He opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it and walked off.

Rory sighed, putting down the book she had been reading. She glanced over at Jess. He was slumped low in his seat, his head turned slightly to her, and sleeping soundly.

Rory felt herself smile. She reached over and took his headphones off his ears; he didn’t look comfortable. She put them on her own head, wondering what song was playing. She didn’t recognize the song, but she kept listening anyway.

She let her head fall back against the seat and closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted.

Jess opened his eyes and looked over at Rory. He leaned over and her eyes flew open.

"My walkman," he told her, taking it back.

Rory swallowed, her heart beating fast. "Oh, I was just—"

Jess cut her off, standing up as the bus stopped. "This is my stop," he announced.

"Oh." Rory moved out of his way, into the aisle, and led the way to the front of the bus. She got off, took a few steps, and turned around. She didn’t see Jess. Just as she was beginning to worry that he had tricked her into getting off at the wrong stop, she spotted him stepping off the bus with a small suitcase in hand.

"Are you hungry?" he asked as he caught up to her. He kept walking, not waiting for an answer.

"Uh...sure," Rory replied, even though he wasn’t really looking for a response. She followed a step behind him, glancing around at her surroundings.

Jess stopped suddenly and Rory almost fell on him. Once she regained her composure, she looked up to see where they would be eating. A quaint little coffee place stood before them.

"This is it."

Jess led the way inside and sat down in a booth near the back.

"This reminds me of Luke’s," Rory exclaimed, grinning as she took in the old-fashioned paintings and other décor around the small room.

Jess shrugged. "I know you like coffee. And this seemed like your kind of place."

"It is, I love it."

He smiled. "Good."

She smiled back. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad experience after all.