Second Time Around

[CoffeeQueen]

Hey! This is my first Gilmore Girls fanfic, I really hope you enjoy it! Please review! This fanfic can also be found at fanfiction.net only my pen name is OnlyHope2007. Feel free to reply here or there...or maybe both! Anyway, I hope you like it! Happy reading!



Chapter One

As the early morning sun streamed through the curtains, Rory Gilmore stirred. She tossed and she turned, trying to break out of the nightmare that was her reality. The words of last nights events still playing in her head.

"Rory, I think we need to...um...break up." Dean had mumbled, looking down at his plate.

"What did you say?" Rory had asked in disbelief.

"I'm sorry Rory, but we're through. I've found someone else..." Dean had said softly.

"What? No, no! We've always been together Dean, you can't leave me! Please don't leave me. I love you." She had pleaded.

"Rory, please don't make this so hard. No one can last forever.." Dean tried to soothe her.

"You don't love me. Do you?" Rory said, hurt in her voice.

"Rory, I love you...but I'm not in love with you. Can't you see that?" He replied, looking into her eyes, which were brimming with tears.

"No Dean, I don't see it. I have to get out of here." Rory said, tears streaming down her face, as she stood up from the table.

Dean stood up immediately. "Wait Rory. Please don't go yet. I don't want us to end like this..."

"Well, sorry Dean, you just made it pretty clear that 'Us' are ended." She replied, crying even more as she walked away.

"Rory. You know I still care about you. I never meant to hurt you." Dean said, grabbing her wrist.

"Yeah? Well, Dean you did." And with that Rory ran from the restaurant all the way home in tears.


*******************************************************************

"Sunshine? It's time to get up..." Lorelai sung to her daughter, shaking her gently.

"I don't want to. I wanna stay in bed forever, never to see the piece of crap I loathe, which is Stars Hollow." Rory mumbled into her pillow dramatically.

"Aww, come on hunny! All of Stars Hollow, is not Dean. Plus, ever since Uncle George, I vowed to never let any of my family become hermits!" Her mother replied, sitting on the edge of her bed.

Rory sat up, "Who was Uncle George?"

"The man who went crazy...that was in the thing..."

"Uh! You liar! There was never any Uncle George on either side of this family!" Rory accused.

"No, no, I'm telling the truth! I believe he was your grandmother's brother..." Lorelai lied.

"Mom! Grandma is not crazy!"

"Oh, that's what you think. Once I heard her soothing her antique furniture after I spilled cranberry juice on them once."

"Mom, stop!"

"Ah ha! Got you up didn't I? Your mind is too filled with, 'Maybes and What ifs' about your grandma to go back to sleep now!" Her mother smiled, pulling Rory out of bed.

"Not exactly Mom." Rory groaned, pulling back.

"Come on! Coffee at Luke's on me! Come on Rory, get up." She said, pulling Rory up again.

"Mom, coffee at Luke's is always free. We never pay." Rory countered.

"Oh come on!" Lorelai finally pulled Rory up. "Phew, there. Now, get dressed, and we'll go! And if I see you laying back down when I come back. You just consider your toast burned missy!"

"Ooo, I'm real scared Mom." Rory said as her mother left the room.

*******************************************************************

"Lukey-Luuuke-Kins! Where are youuu?" Lorelai called as she and Rory entered the diner.

"Right here." Luke said, refilling coffee for a girl sitting by the window.

"Good! Get us two coffees please." Lorelai cooed.

"Coming right up." Luke said, going back behind the counter.

Rory and Lorelai sat down at their usual table. "You want anything to eat sweetie?"

"No, I'm fine..." Rory mumbled, looking at the table.

"You're starin' pretty hard at that table, you know..."

"Mom, Everyone in here knows. I can feel it."

"No they don't! It's your imagination." Lorelai said.

"Then why is everyone staring at me?"

"Cause you're so pretty." Lorelai grinned.

"Yeah, that's it." Rory said sarcastically.

"Rory! Hunny, how are you doing dear? Everything okay?" Miss Patty boomed, placing her hand on Rory's shoulder.

Rory looked at her mother. "Yeah, Miss Patty....I'm fine."

"I heard, and well, I just wanted to let you know that I and Stars Hollow are very sorry, sweetie. And you just come to me if you need anything OK?" Miss Patty said sympathetically.

"Yeah, she'll be fine Patty." Lorelai said.

"Yes, I'm sure she will. She's a very strong girl."

"Yep, she is. Well, I guess we'll talk to you later than." Lorelai said, encouraging her to go.

"Yes. Well, good-bye Rory, Lorelai."

"Bye." They both said.

Rory looked at her mother. "Yeah, sure nobody knows!"

"I'm sorry hun!"

"So, it's official. Everyone in town knows that Dean broke up with me! Great, just great!"

[CoffeeQueen]

Chapter Two

"I can't believe he did that to you Rory." Lane Kim said, sitting on her bedroom floor with Rory.

"I know." Rory replied, after telling her best friend what had happened.

"Dean was always so nice. Why'd he have to go and break up with you...especially for another girl. That is just so wrong." Lane said, looking through her hidden CD collection under her floor boards.

"I don't know. I don't know what to do now, you know?" Rory said, looking around Lane's room.

"Yeah. But one good thing about this is that you get to spend more time with me!" Lane said, still searching though her CD's.

"Yep, that's definitely a good thing. I'll add it to the 'Pro / Con' list." Rory replied.

"Yup, definitely a Pro!" Lane said.

"Uh huh." Rory replied.

"Rory! Cheer up girl! You're making me sad with all of the depressed vibes your giving me." Lane said, moving to another floor board.

"Sorry. It's just I miss him so much."

"Yeah, I know. It's ok. Ah ha! Here it is!" Lane said, extracting a CD from the floor.

"What is that?" Rory asked.

"It's a burnt CD, some sad sappy love songs. And when you're ready to feel better, turn it to the peppy feel good ones. There's a distinct difference, so you'll be able to tell when they change." Lane said smiling, handing Rory the CD.

"Thanks Lane." Rory said, hugging her.

"Your welcome." Lane hugged her back.

"Lane!' Mrs. Kim called from down stairs.

Lane rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mama?"

"Come down! I need help with costumers!" She continued to yell.

"Alright, I'll be down in a second!" Then turning to Rory, "I'll talk to you later, ok? Go out the window so Mama won't see you and make you help too."

Rory laughed, "Okay. Bye Lane. I'll call you tonight."

"Bye Rory."

And with that Rory went out the window.

*******************************************************************

"Rory!" A familiar voice called to her as she walked down the street.

She turned around, "Yeah?"

"What are you doing?" Jess asked.

"Walking."

"Yeah, I see that. Can I walk with you?" He asked.

"I guess, seeing as were both walking in the same direction." She replied.

"Yeah. What's wrong with you?"

"So, I'm guessing you're the only one in town who doesn't know?"

"Know what?"

"Dean broke up with me." Rory said sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I always thought he was a little punk anyway."

"I didn't..."

"Yeah. You want me to beat him up for you or something? Mess up his shelves maybe?"

Rory laughed, "No, that's ok."

"Alright. Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Yup, I sure do." Rory replied as they reached her house.

"Well, I'll see ya tomorrow or something then." Jess said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah. Thanks for walking me home Jess."

"Anytime. See you later, bye." He said walking away.

Rory walked up the sidewalk to the font door. When she got into the house her mother was standing at the window, looking out.

"Was that Jess I saw you walking with?" She asked.

"Yes." Rory replied, heading towards her room.

"Why?"

"Because he was walking, I was walking. So we said, Hey, why don't we just walk together. Bright idea, huh?"

"Yeah, genius."

"Yeah, I thought so too." Rory replied, putting in Lane's CD.

"Did he give that to you?" Lorelai asked suspiciously.

"No, Lane did. It's her dealing with breaking up mix."

"Ah."

"Why are you so interested in Me and Jess anyway?" Rory asked.

"No reason, I just don't want you getting mixed up with the wrong kind..."

"Wrong kind?"

"Yeah, you know. The James Dean wannabes." Lorelai explained.

"Oh yeah that kind. Don't worry, that's not happening."

"Okay. Oooo, nice choice Lane. 'They say breaking up is hard to dooo, now I know, I know that it's true.''' Her mother sang along.

Rory just shook her head at her crazy mother who was imitating the singer. Lorelai pulled Rory into a dancing motion. Soon they were both laughing and dancing together to "Breaking Up Is Hard to do" by Neil Sedaka. And together the Gilmore Girls sang:

Don't take your love away from me
Don't you leave my heart in misery
If you go then I'll be blue
'Cause breaking up his hard to do

Remember when you held me tight
And you kissed me all through the night
Think of all that we've been through
Breaking up is hard to do

They say that breaking up is hard to do
Now I know, I know that it's true
Don't say that this is the end
Instead of breaking up I wish that we were making up again

I beg of you, don't say goodbye
Can't we give our love another try Come on baby, let's start anew
'Cause breaking up is hard to do

[CoffeeQueen]

Chapter Three

"Coffee Luke! We need more Coffee!" Lorelai yelled from their usual table at the diner.

"I'm coming Lorelai! Gimme a break, this place is packed today!" Luke replied, severing a girl some more eggs.

"Yes Lukey." Lorelai said, turning to Rory. "So, you ready to go back to school Rory?"

"Kind of. I mean it'll be a good distraction." Rory replied.

"Yeah. It'll all be okay soon sweetie." She said, giving her daughter a reassuring smile.

"Here, two coffees. Happy now?" Luke grunted, placing the coffees on the table.

"Very much my humble servant. Now, shoo. The Coffee Queens of Stars Hollow need to proceed with their early morning coffee ritual." Lorelai said, inhaling her coffee.

Luke looked at Lorelai as if she was crazy then went to aid another costumer.

"Well, it's true!" Lorelai said to Rory.

"Yes, very true." Rory replied, taking a big gulp of her coffee.

The bell above the door rang and in walked Dean. He strode over to a table where a strawberry blonde was sitting, leaned down and kissed her. Unfortunately Rory witnessed this.

"Ugh. I have to get of here!" Rory said, standing up abruptly.

"What?" Lorelai asked, looking around. "Oh. Sweetie, I'm so sorry.." she added spotting what was wrong.

"Tell Luke I'll bring back the cup ok? Bye Mom, I love you. See you later." Rory said, bolting for the door.

"Okay sweets. Have a great day!" Lorelai said as the door shut behind her.

Lorelai stood up coffee mug in hand. She gracefully walked over to the table where Dean and his new girl were sitting and gave him a little piece of her mind.

She coughed loudly. "Dean.."

"Lorelai! Hi." Dean said, nervously.

"I understand that you.oh I dunno.broke my daughter's heart a couple days ago. I just wanted to let you how she feels about it."

Dean looked at Lorelai, "I'm really sorry Lore-"

Before Dean could even finish his sentence, Lorelai turned her hot coffee cup over on Dean's lap. As he screamed as said, "Burned! That's how she feels, burned by you! And now you know how it feels too." She inhaled a deep breath, "Now, that that's over with.Luke! More coffee!"

*******************************************************************

When Rory finally reached Chilton she was in tears. She tried to dry her eyes the best she could before she got off of the bus.

"What happened to you? You look like you were hit by a Mack-Truck." Paris Geller said to Rory at their lockers.

"Please, not today Paris." Rory said, taking out the books she needed for her first classes.

"Fine Rory. I was just telling you how you look today. That's what friends do." Paris said.

"Well, I would exactly call us friends now, would you?"

"Yeah, I would Rory." Paris said, sounding almost hurt.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you're always competing with me and trying to make me look bad." Rory tried to explain.

"Yeah, whatever Rory. Sure I wanna be the best, but I'm also trying to challenge you. Gosh, never mind. You don't wanna be my friend.that's just fine. I don't need you!" Paris said hotly, walking away.

Rory shook her head and closed her locker. 'This is gonna be a long day', She thought.

For the remainder of the day Rory was treated coldly by Paris, Madeline and Louise. She didn't talk to anyone.all she could think about was Dean and the fact that she would love nothing more than to go home. 'How could one little event change everything? Ugh, my life so sucks right now.' Rory thought as the day wore on.

Finally at 3:15 the final bell of the day rung and Rory, for once, was happy to be leaving Chilton. Thankful that the Newspaper staff meeting had been canceled for the day, Rory got on to the bus and headed back to Stars Hollow.

*******************************************************************

When the bus finally pulled up at the bus stop in Stars Hollow Rory was surprised to see Jess sitting on the bench waiting for her. Rory got off the bus smiling.

"Hey," She said.

"Hey Rory. Have a good day?" He asked, closing the book he was reading.

"Uh.not really. I think I lost a friend I didn't know I had." Rory replied, sitting beside him.

"Oh, sorry to hear that. If it makes you feel any better, my day sucked too. Teacher always hassling me. Eh, no biggie." Jess replied, looking in Rory's eyes.

"Thanks." Rory replied.

"You wanna go on a walk.or to Luke's or something?" Jess asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Sure, let go to Luke's. I'm supposed to be meeting my mom there later anyway." Rory replied smiling.

"Okay, lets go." He said, pulling Rory up.

Rory felt a shiver go through her body at the touch of Jess's warm hand. "Yeah, Let's go."

In a matter of minutes they were entering Luke's. They sat down at Lorelai and Rory's usual table.

"I'll be right back." Jess said, getting up and going behind the counter.

"Rory, hey!" Lane called from behind her.

"Hey Lane. What's up?" Rory asked as Lane sat down beside her.

"Not much, just escaping from helping Mama sell antiques for a while. Besides, I couldn't let ya set alone." Lane said.

"Cool. But, I'm not actually al-" Rory began.

"Alright, Rory. A coffee for you and one for me." Jess said, setting the coffee down on the table. "Oh, Lane.Coffee for you too?"

"Oh no thanks." She replies looking at Rory.

"Uh.Jess, could you get me some sugar? Please.." Rory asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be back in a second."

"Rory? What's going on here?" Lane asked. "You and Jess?"

"Nothings going on Lane. We're just having coffee." Rory replied.

"Sure. Rory, I just don't want you to get too involved with a guy like Jess.I mean they're bad news." Lane warned.

"I'm not getting involved! Gosh, why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Okay, okay. Sorry. Well, I've got to go. Call me later. Tell me what happens." Lane said as she got up.

"Nothings going to happen!" Rory said getting worked up.

"Yeah, ok Rory." Lane said leaving Luke's.

'Nothings going to happen. I know nothing's going to happen.' Rory thought as she waited for Jess to come back.

[CoffeeQueen]

Chapter Four



LKMusicManiac: Hey Rory! What's up?

BookWorm: Hey Lane, not much. You?

LKMusicManiac: Same here. So, how's it going?

BookWorm: How's what going?

LKMusicManiac: You and Jess.

BookWorm: Lane! Nothing is happening and nothings gonna happen. We are strictly friends.

LKMusicManiac: Yeah, sure Rory. Just friends.

BookWorm: Yeah, Lane that's right.ONLY friends. He's nice

LKMusicManiac: Whatever Rory! I can tell you so like him! You're always smiling even when you not with him. And Rory.come on.You two have been hanging out for two weeks straight! You passed up the chance to go to Book Barn because of him! You LOVE book Barn!

BookWorm: I don't like Jess like that, okay Lane?

LKMusicManiac: Okay..

BookWorm: Is it THAT obvious that I like him?

LKMusicManiac: It couldn't be more obvious if you were making out in front of Miss Patty's studio

BookWorm: I really like him Lane. I think Maybe.maybe I'm kinda getting over Dean

LKMusicManiac: I know! Yeah, maybe you are.which isn't a bad thing Rory

BookWorm: Yeah.I know. It's just that.well, I don't know if Jess has feelings for me..

LKMusicManiac: Well, there's only one way to find out.

BookWorm: Yeah.I'll tell him how I feel soon

LKMusicManiac: You better!

BookWorm: But Mom's gonna freak if we date!

LKMusicManiac: Oh.yeah Rory she is. That's definitely a Con

BookWorm: I think she hates Jess

LKMusicManiac: Yeah.that's kinda obvious too

BookWorm: Well, maybe I can get her to see this from my point of view..

LKMusicManiac: Maybe..

BookWorm: Well, I've gotta go Lane. Mom's home. I'm not gonna tell her yet.but I will soon.

LKMusicManiac: Okay, talk to you later girl! Bye.call me!

BookWorm: Okay, I will. Bye bye!

*******************************************************************

NY-Guy: Lane?

LKMusicManiac: Yeah? Who's this?

NY-Guy: Jess

LKMusicManiac: Oh, hey Jess. How'd you get my screen name?

NY-Guy: That guy who sits behind you in English gave it to me

LKMusicManiac: Oh, ok. So why are you talking to me?

NY-Guy: Uh.I wanted to know what our Science homework was

LKMusicManiac: Oh. Read pages 45-59 and the review questions on page 60. Why? Are you actually planning on doing your homework?

NY-Guy: Yeah, I am

LKMusicManiac: Wow, I thought I'd never live to see the day

NY-Guy: Lane, you barley know anything about me.So you don't have any room to talk

LKMusicManiac: Oh yeah I do! I know everything Rory tells me

NY-Guy: Rory tells you stuff about me? Like what?

LKMusicManiac: Oops! Sorry wrong IM!

NY-Guy: Too late to cover it up now Lane. What does she say about me?

LKMusicManiac: I'm not at liberty to discuss that

NY-Guy: Fine.you won't tell me.I'll just ask her

LKMusicManiac: NO! She'd kill me if she knew..

NY-Guy: Yeah, exactly. Now, what does she say Lane?

LKMusicManiac: I hate you Jess, she'd kill me if she knew

NY-Guy: Yeah, but she's not gonna find out.

LKMusicManiac: Rory says.

NY-Guy: Yes?

LKMusicManiac: Um.that she.likes.the way you brush your hair

NY-Guy: That's IT? She likes the way I brush my hair?

LKMusicManiac: Yep, every time I see her she's all, "Oh, I love the way Jess brushes his hair!"

NY-Guy: Quit lying to me Lane LKMusicManiac: I'm not! Ask her if you don't believe me..

NY-Guy: Yeah, ok. Listen I've got to go help out Luke. But I'll be back on later ok? Talk to you then. Bye

LKMusicManiac: Yeah, talk to you later. Bye

*******************************************************************

Lane rubs her forehead, "Phew, that was close!"

[CoffeeQueen]

Chapter Five

Luke's diner was almost empty when Rory and Lorelai walked in, under Rory's suggestion. Rory scanned the room for Jess. Sure enough there he was, helping Luke by taking orders. Rory smiled at him as she and her mother sit down at their usual table.

"Hello ladies." Jess says walking up to them.

"Hey Jess." Lorelai says flipping through the menu.

"Hey." Rory says doing the same as her mother.

"May I take your order?" Jess says, taking his time.

"Yeah, I'll have a double cheese burger with fries. And Dr. Pepper to drink." Lorelai says, looking oddly at Jess.

Rory smiles at him, "I'll have the same."

"Coming right up." Jess said winking at Rory and walking away.

"I wonder what's up with him. He's acting all goofy." Lorelai said, looking at her daughter expression.

"Yeah. I wonder." Rory tries to play her weird behavior off.

"Wait. Rory, is there something I should know about? Between you two?"

"What? No Mom, no. Definitely not. We're just friends." Rory says, looking anywhere but her mothers eyes. She had this weird way of telling if she was lying or not.

"Okay. Just checking. Maybe you wanna talk later?" Lorelai says giving Rory a knowing nudge.

Rory tried to play clueless. "Uh.sure. Why not."

Jess walks over with their food. "Here you go ladies. Enjoy."

"Thanks. Uh.Jess? You trying to practice up for an etiquette test?" Lorelai asked.

"Um.no."

"Then why are you all of a sudden being all gentlemen like?"

"No reason. Gosh, can't a guy be nice once in a while?" He says, walking away.

"Why'd you do that?" Rory asks.

"Do what?" Lorelai asks innocently.

"You know what you did."

"I have no clue what your talking about.Jess lover."

"Mom! Now I have no clue what you're talking about." Rory says hoping Jess or Luke didn't hear.

"Sure, Cher Horowitz!" Lorelai laughed.

"How dare you compare me to Alicia Silverstone! Especially in 'Clueless'!"

Lorelai sticks her tongue out at Rory. "Eat, Cher."

*******************************************************************

"Hey," Jess said to Rory wile cleaning off their table, "You wanna go for a walk or something?"

Rory looked at her mother who was trying to keep a straight face. She gave her a 'If you don't stop!' look.

"Sure," Rory replied looking at her mom. "I'll be home later okay?"

"Alright Rory.then we're gonna have that talk of ours.." Lorelai replied, barley containing her giggles.

"Okay then. Let's go." Jess said walking towards the door.

Rory followed him, looking back at her mother who was winking at her and giving her a thumbs up.

"Stop it!" Rory mouthed to her.

Lorelai just shook her head between giggles as Rory and Jess went out the door.

"What was that all about?" Luke asked, wiping down the counters.

"Oh nothing." Lorelai replied.

"Oh, okay." Luke grunted.

"So, Lukey." Lorelai says grinning.

Luke almost seems hopeful. "Yeah Lorelai?"

She winks at him, smiling. "How about some more coffee?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure, coming right up." Luke replies, as he walks through the empty diner to refill her cup.

"Thanks. Hey, you can join me if you want to.." Lorelai said, taking a sip of her coffee. "Okay. Sure, why not." Luke said sitting down.

*******************************************************************

"So." Jess says as they're walking through Stars Hollow, "This place is kinda cool at night."

Rory smiles, "Yeah. Very pretty with all the lights."

"Mmm hmmm." Jess replies.

"Yeah," Rory said, shivering.

"You cold? You want my jacket?" Jess asks, beginning to take off his jacket.

"No, no. I'm fine Jess. I wouldn't want you to freeze." Rory says touching his arm.

Jess smiles at her touch. "Okay. Just let me know if you if you do."

She smiles back at him. " I will.."

"Come on." Jess says taking Rory's hand, leading her to the gazebo in the center of town.

Rory felt warm inside when Jess grabbed her hand. She felt safe. "Okay.."

They sat down on the floor in the center of it. They sat there not wanting to let go of each others hands. But Jess soon had to, Rory's gaze was getting way too intense.

He ran his fingers through his hair. "So.uh.do you like the way. I um.brush my hair?" He felt ridiculous.

Rory tried to contain her laughter, "Um.yeah, sure Jess. It's fine."

Jess felt incredibly stupid, "Uh.I.I didn't mean to say that. It's just the only thing I could think of to say.." He tried to play it off.

"Yeah. Okay.." Rory giggled.

"It's the truth!" Jess said, grabbing Rory's arms.

Rory continued to laugh. She only stopped when she realized what was about to happen. Jess's face was not that far away from her own. He was staring into her blue eyes very hard, she was staring into his. They were getting closer and closer to each other inch by inch.

Rory began to panic, 'This is what you want! why are you scared?' The truth is that she didn't know. All she knew is that she had to get out of there and fast. Just as Jess's lips were about to meet hers, she backed away, stood up abruptly and ran towards her house. Leaving Jess there alone and confused.

[CoffeeQueen]

Chapter Six

When Rory entered her house she was out of breath. She had ran all the way to her house without stopping.

"Mom?" She panted. "Mom! I'm so ready to talk now."

Rory continued to walk through her house. "Mom? Where are you?"

Rory sat down on the couch, "Where are moms when you need them?"

Rory tried her mothers cell phone but she got her voice mail, "Hey, you've reached Lorelai's cell. Obviously I'm not here right now. But if ya leave a message I'll be sure to get back to ya! Peace!"

"Mom! You're not supposed to turn your cell phone off! It should stay on at all times! I really need you now! So wherever you are, please come home soon! We really need to have that talk and I can't call Lane, Cause it's after 10. Come home soon Mom! I love you! Bye!"

Rory began to pace around the room. 'What did I just do? Why did I run? Jess was about to kiss me, and I ran away! Gosh, I'm an idiot!' Rory thought.

"Gosh I don't even want to think about it anymore." Rory said to herself, while crawling into bed.

Rory laid her head down on her pillow and tried not to focus on the events of the evening. She had to talk to her mom and Jess, to straighten things out with both of them.

*******************************************************************

"So then I was like digging in my ears like to clean them and all, there was so much wax I mean I could of made a candle! But I made the horrible mistake of doing this in front of her Garden Club. Well, needless to say, she flipped out on me, not in front of her Garden Club though, never! And then I-" Lorelai was telling Luke.

"Lorelai, can we please stop talking about all the times your mother has yelled at you?" Luke said, rubbing his head, "Your giving me a migraine with all this talking."

Lorelai grins at Luke. "You know you love it when I ramble!"

"Oh yes Lorelai, I look forward to it everyday." Luke said dryly.

Suddenly the door swung open and in walked Jess, looking half sad half confused.

"Hey Jess. What's wrong?" Luke asks as Jess walks passed them.

"Nothing." He mumbles, walking straight up to the apartment above the diner.

"I better go check on Rory." Lorelai says, getting up and grabbing her purse.

"Why? Rory's a good kid, she can take care of herself Lorelai." Luke said, trying to persuade her to stay.

"I'm sorry Luke, I gotta go. They were just together, something might have happened. I'll see you tomorrow, Okay? Bye Luke." Lorelai said before rushing out the door and getting into her jeep.

*******************************************************************

"What's wrong with you Jess?" Luke asks, throwing the apartment door open.

"I told you, nothing." Jess says, not looking up from the book he is reading.

"Oh yeah? I know something's wrong. You came in there and ruined my d-" Luke began.

"It wasn't a date, Luke." Jess said.

"How do you know? And who said that I wanted to date Lorelai?" Luke asks, getting angry.

"Lorelai was just being nice, to a tired old diner owner."

"Jess, If I were you I wouldn't say another word!" Luke says fuming.

"Yeah Luke, it's so obvious that you have a thing for Lorelai it's not even surprising anymore." Jess said.

"That's it! Get out of my house now!" Luke yells.

"Fine, I'm out! But you know Luke, pink is not a good color for you. Especially not on your face." Jess says, grabbing his coat and a book.

"Out!" Luke yells again.

"I'm gone. Later." Jess says leaving the apartment.

*******************************************************************

Lorelai rushed into her house, throwing her purse and coat on the floor. "Rory?" She called, panicking.

"Mom!" Rory yells from her bed, getting up.

"Sweetie, what happened! Are you okay?" Lorelai asks, leading Rory to the living room.

"Yes.No.I don't know!" Rory said, frustrated.

"Awww, babe. Tell me what happened." Lorelai replies, sitting Rory down.

"Gosh, Mom. I really like Jess. And we were laughing and we stopped and then he almost kissed me!" Rory said, trying to make sense of it all.

"Jess kissed you?!"

"No.he almost did. I ran away before he had the chance." Rory said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Aww, sweetie. You ran away?" Lorelai asks, stroking her hair.

"Yeah. God, I'm so stupid!" Rory whimpered.

"Hunny, why did you run away?" Lorelai asks.

"I don't know. I think I was scared. I thought I was over Dean but." Rory replies.

"Scared of Jess?"

A tear fell down her cheek. "No, scared of another relationship.I guess."

"Awww, sweetie. I really don't think Jess would hurt you.."

"Well, I didn't think Dean would either." Rory reminds her.

"Well, Dean was way too perfect anyway. Something was bound to go wrong." Lorelai says, smiling.

"Yeah," Rory giggled.

"So..are you gonna give Jess another try?" Lorelai asks, encouraging Rory.

"Yeah, I think I am." Rory says hugging her mother, "I love you so much Mom."

"Oh I love you too Rory." Lorelai replied, kissing Rory on the forehead.

Soon, the Gilmore girls went to bed, both planning big things for the next day.

[Liz]

Really interesting fic so far. You've captured the characters pretty well. Hope you continue soon!

[CoffeeQueen]

(pretty...huh?...LOL)

Chapter Seven

"Rory, sweetie. Hurry up!" Lorelai called to her daughter as she finished getting ready.

"I'm coming.." Rory called sleepily.

"Alright, let's get a move on."

"Okay, I'm almost ready." Rory replied, putting on some lip gloss.

"Kay."

"Mom, how do I look?" Rory asked going into her mother's room.

Lorelai smiled, "Perfectly kissable! Now come on lets go!"

"Alright. The Chilton uniform doesn't make me look too un-kissable?"

"No! Now, come on!" Lorelai replied, dragging Rory out the door and into the jeep.

*******************************************************************

Jess entered the diner slowly. "Luke?"

"Jess, why didn't you come back last night? You had me worried." Luke says, walking over to him from behind the counter.

"Sorry. I just got the impression that you didn't want me back.." Jess replies, heading towards the apartment.

"Well, I do Jess." Luke said, "Now, go take a shower and come down and help. You look like crap, you know."

"Awww, thanks Luke. Your so sweet." Jess said sarcastically.

"Yeah yeah, I know. Now, get outta here. You're scaring the costumers away!"

Jess just ignored him and headed up stairs, to take a shower.

*******************************************************************

"Okay, so are you ready?" Lorelai asked Rory as they were about to enter the diner. "I could never be readier!" Rory replies, nervously.

Lorelai squeezes Rory's hand, "It'll be ok!"

"Okay, lets go."

"You ready?"

"Yup, Mom I'm ready.."

"Okay, let's go."

Rory nods in response as they enter the diner.

"Hiya, Lukey!" Lorelai shouts to him.

"Hey, Lorelai. Hey Rory."

"Hey Luke. Um.do you know where Jess is?" Rory asks, scanning the room for him.

"Yeah. He's upstairs." Luke replies.

"Okay." Rory said smiling at her mother and heading towards the apartment.

"So Luke.how bout a coffee?" Lorelai says, leaning over the counter.

Luke smiles at her. "Coming right up."

*******************************************************************

Rory timidly climbed the stairs to Jess's and Luke's apartment. Flinching with every creek the floor boards made, she finally made it to the top. Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned the door knob.

"Jess?" Rory calls into the apartment, slowly walking in. Rory looks around, hoping to see any sign of Jess.

"Rory?" Jess says, from the corner in which he is standing.

Rory turns around to see Jess only in his boxers. "Oh, God! I'm so sorry! I so should've knocked!" Rory spins around and heads for the door.

Jess pulls on some pants. "No, wait Rory! Wait!"

"Are you decent now?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Uh, so." Rory says, turning back around. She blushes, seeing Jess shirtless.

"So." Jess looks into Rory's eyes.

"Um.I'm sorry about yesterday."

"No.no. Uh.it's ok."

"I shouldn't have run away like that. I mean I was." Rory begins stepping closer to Jess. "No, Rory really.it's fine." Jess replies, looking at the ground.

"Jess, no it's not fine. I was scared.I mean I wanted to."

"You did?" Jess sounds surprised.

Rory takes a step closer. "Yeah."

Jess smiles. "Well.um.we could try it again sometime. I mean if you still want to."

"Yeah.I want to." Rory says.

Jess takes a step towards Rory, looking into her eyes. Rory's and Jess's hands close together, feeling warmth from each other. Rory looked into Jess's deep chocolate brown eyes once more before she closed her own, leaning slowly forward. Jess did the same, greatly anticipating what was about to happen.

Rory felt a rush of warmth as Jess's lips met hers for the first time. Gently removing his hands from hers, Jess drew her closer, deepening their first kiss. Rory hugged into Jess, slowly she moved her hands around his neck, pulling him even closer.

Moments later, Jess and Rory slowly pulled back, neither of them wanting the kiss to end. Jess looked into her baby blue eyes, which were staring back into his. Neither of them said anything, they only stood with their arms wrapped around each other, breathing hard, and gazing into each others eyes.

Rory hugged into Jess, never wanting this moment to end. It was the most incredible thing she had ever experienced in her life. Jess's kiss was full of passion and emotion, Dean's had never been like his.

Jess squeezed Rory into him, then he reluctantly let her go. He kissed her on the lips once more and then said, "Rory.that was amazing."

She smiled at him. "Yeah.it really was.."

Jess looked into her eyes again. "I really don't want you to but."

Rory frowned. "I know. I've gotta get to school."

"Have an awesome day." Jess whispered, placing another sweet kiss on her lips.

Rory smiled and kissed him back. "You too.."

"I will.now that you've been here."

Rory blushed, gave him a peck on the lips, and then waved bye to him as she left the apartment. Jess waved in return, smiling.

*******************************************************************

Rory skipped merrily down the stairs and bounced into the diner. She couldn't stop smiling. When she saw her mother standing by the counter, she giggled and smiled at her.

Lorelai stopped mid-conversation. "So.how'd it go?"

Rory grinned at her mother. "Very very well."

Lorelai's face lit up. "Awww hunny! Great! Details.I need details!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'll mound your ears up with details when I get home. But right now I've got to go." Rory said, cheerfully. She kissed her mother on the cheek.

As Rory passed by her mother, Lorelai whispered, "Oh.what's that I smell? Oooo, the sweet smell of Jess-breath!"

Rory giggled as she playfully punched her mother. "Bye!"

"Bye sweetie!"

As Rory got on the bus to Chilton, she looked up to the apartment window. There was Jess, smiling down at her, waving at her. Rory smiled and waved back. Rory put on her headphones and switched her CD player to the song that was now her anthem. The song played steadily in her ears, "I will survive. Ooo as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive. I've got all my life to live, I've got all my love to give, I'll survive. I will survive." 'Finally, the feel good songs.' Rory thought as she let her head roll back onto the seat as the bus lurched towards Hartford.

[DodgerRory18]

excellent story ;D

[CoffeeQueen]

Chapter Eight

“Mom?” Rory asked as they made there way up to her grandparent’s house.

“Yeah?” Lorelai replied, brushing lint off of her skirt.

“Why are you so okay about me and Jess? I mean about two weeks ago you hated him.” Rory said as they walked up to the door.

“Yeah. Well, I just want you to be happy. I mean if Jess is what makes you happy…then go for it. I’m not going to stand in your way the way my parents did.” Lorelai replies as she rings the doorbell.

“Thanks for understanding Mom.” Rory said smiling at her.

Lorelai winks at Rory as she Gilmore’s door swings open. “Rory! Lorelai! Come in!”

“Hey Mom.” Lorelai said, stepping inside.

“Hey grandma.” Rory says, taking off her coat and handing it to a nearby maid.

“Come on girls! We have company waiting.” Emily Gilmore said, clapping her hands together.

“Company?” Lorelai mumbles to Rory as they walk to the living room.

Rory just looked at her mother and shrugged.

“Emily! Good to have you back.” A man said who was sitting on the couch.

Emily blushed as the man stood up and kissed her hand. “It’s good to be back Arthur.”

“Excuse me, but…what’s going on here?” Lorelai asked looking at them suspiciously.

“Oh! Lorelai, Rory, this is Arthur Wingate. He’s one of you father’s golfing buddies.” Emily said turning to them.

“Oh okay. Hmmm….then what is he doing here, Mom?” Lorelai questioned.
“I thought it might be nice to have a little testosterone in the house while your father’s away.” Emily replied.

“Mom!” Lorelai gasped.

"Not tonight Lorelai. We can deal without your wisecracks for one night.” Emily told her daughter warningly.

“Fine.” Lorelai pouted. “Well, in that case. Hiya Art, nice to meet ya.”

“Hello Lorelai. It’s nice to meet you too. And by the way, it’s Arthur.” He said, shaking her hand.

“Right.” Lorelai replied, sharing glances with Rory.

“Hi Arthur, I’m Rory.”

“Hello Rory. Nice to meet you.” Arthur replies, shaking her hand as well.

“Same here.” Rory replies.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Gilmore. Dinner is served.” One of Emily’s new maids said.

“Alright. Thank you Lucille.” Emily replied. “Lets go eat now.”

“Good with me.” Lorelai said walking into the dining room.

When they all sat down they began to eat their salads and talk.

“So, Arthur, why don’t you tell Lorelai about your fascinating job.” Emily said, smiling.

“Oh yes. Let me tell you Lorelai, most people think my line of work is boring and dull. But I find it quite fun.” Arthur said proudly.

“And what exactly is your line of work?” Lorelai asked, a sarcastic grin playing on her lips.

“Accounting!” Arthur said with enthusiasm.

Lorelai and Rory both stifled a giggle. Emily warned them with her eyes.

“Um…well, accounting. Very interesting.” Lorelai said.

“Oh, let me tell you!” Arthur grinned as he began to explain his job thoroughly.

“Oh great! This Outta be fun!” Lorelai whispered to Rory.

Rory giggled. “Oh yeah! Loads.”

*******************************************************************

On the way back to Stars Hollow Rory and Lorelai discussed the evening.

“Wasn’t that entertaining.” Lorelai said.

“Oh yeah! I just loved the part about filing!” Rory laughed.

“Definitely. But you know the part I really loved? It was when good ole’ Mom told Art to ask me out!” Lorelai said, now frustrated.

“She shouldn’t have done that.”

“Yeah, I know. God, can she not just leave my love life alone?”

“Maybe he won’t be that bad…” Rory offered.

Lorelai snorted. “Oh yeah! And maybe my root canal next week’ll be a breeze!”

“Mom…give him a chance. It might be fun.”

“Oh yeah! The part where he offers to do my taxes or the part where I sleep through it all?”

“Mom, please…” Rory said, giving her a look.

“Fine. Why do you have to be so sensible?” Lorelai pouted.

Rory grinned. “That’s just the way I am.”

“Yeah. You must have gotten it from your father.”

“Yep, must have.”

“Uh! Daughter of mine you hurt me so deeply!” Lorelai mocked.

Rory laughed. “Really?”

Lorelai paused for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts. “Nah!” She giggled as they pulled up at Luke’s.

“What are you doing Mom? We just ate.” Rory asked following her mother inside.

“Coffee, of course!”

“Ah, yes. I want to see Jess anyway.” Rory smiled.

“Yeah…I knooow!”

“Just don’t say anything to Luke, okay. He doesn’t know…yet.”

“Really? You guys didn’t tell him.”

“No. Just please don’t say anything.”

“Alright, my lips are sealed.” Lorelai said as they entered Luke’s.

“Rory, Lorelai! Hey guys.” Luke said as the bell on the door jangled.

“Hey Lucas!” Lorelai said.

“Hey.” Rory replied, searching for Jess.

“Rory! Hey.” Jess said, walking to her.

“Hey Jess.” Rory replied as they begin to act out their routine.

“I got that new book up stairs, if you still want it.” Jess smirks.

“Oh. Yeah, I still want it.” Rory replied, following Jess upstairs.

“We’ll be right back Luke.” Jess calls to his uncle, as he grabs Rory’s hand and leads her up to the apartment.

“Yeah, ok.” He replies, getting Lorelai some coffee.

Rory and Jess almost trip as they run up the stairs. As they throw open the door, Jess immediately grabs Rory and begins to kiss her long and hard. Furiously they kissed, grabbing on to one another.

They pull away moments later, gasping for breath. Rory shut the door quickly.

“I’ve been waiting for that all week.” Jess pants.

Rory grins at him. “Me too.”

“It really sucks that we have to hide this from Luke and Stars Hollow.” Jess says, leading Rory to the couch.

“Yeah I know. But you know what would happen if Luke found out.” Rory replied, curling up in Jess’s strong arms.

“Yep. He’d flip out and overreact.”

Rory sighs, “Yeah.”

“This whole week I’ve been dying to see you. Well…to kiss you and hold you. Luke wouldn’t let me go anywhere.”

“Yeah me too. You’ve really gotta bring those math grades up, Jess. Luke’s just gonna ground you more if you don’t. But at least we got to see each other around town.” Rory replied, looking up at him.

“Yeah I know. I don’t want just to see you Rory…” Jess said, placing a sweet kiss on her lips.

Rory giggled as they began to trade pecks. Finally Jess kissed her long and deeply, pulling her close to him.

Rory moaned slightly as Jess ran his fingers through her hair and deepened the kiss as much as possible. She pressed her body to his, her arms looped around his neck.

As the kiss grew even more intense there was a knock at the door. “Rory? C’mon…time to go home. Meet ya in the car.” Her mother called through the door.

Jess and Rory ended the kiss as fast as possible, sitting up. Jess looked longingly at Rory as she stood.

“I Don’t want you to go.” Jess whispered, grabbing Rory’s hand.

“I don’t want to either..” Rory replied, looking down at Jess, who looked like a lost puppy, on the couch.

Rory leaned down and kissed him once more. While pulling away she whispered in his ear, “Bridge.”

Jess smiled at Rory. “Okay. Twelve?”

“Mmmm hmmm…Bye!” Rory said rushing out the door as Jess blew her a kiss.

Jess sat there and smiled to himself as Rory left. ‘This is gonna be a good night..’ He thought, leaning back on the couch, waiting desperately for midnight to come.

[Liz]

Good story! ;D

And I love the banner!

[CoffeeQueen]

"u

Chapter Nine

At 5:30 in the morning Rory crept into her house, hoping not to wake her mother. She tiptoed to her room, and crawled into her bed. With the warm covers surrounding her and her eye lids growing heavier, sleep found Rory quickly.

As if it were moments later…

"Get up, get up! It’s coffee time! No time to waste!" Lorelai said energetically, shaking Rory.

Rory groaned. "What time is it?"

"Time to get up!" Lorelai said, pulling at her daughters limp hand.

"Mooom!" Rory grumbled, looking at her clock. "It’s 10:00! Please let me sleep!"

"Oh no! Not today, we’ve got stuff to do! Why are you so tired anyway? You went to bed at eleven o’ clock."

"What stuff? And I couldn’t sleep well last night." Rory lied.

"My dearest daughter, has your lack of coffee affected your brain? Today is the Annual Stars Hollow Snowman Building Contest! We do it every year! Come on Kirk can’t beat us this year!" Lorelai said with pleading eyes.

Rory sighed as her mother attempted to extract her from the bed. "Fine!"

"Yay!" Her mother cheered as Rory got up.

"Be ready in twenty minutes okay? I wanna go ahead and get out there!" Lorelai called to Rory, leaving her to change.

"Okay." Rory yawned, rubbing her eyes, trying to awake.

*******************************************************************

Jess trudged down the apartment stairs and flung open the door to the diner. He sleepily made his way over to the counter and reached for the coffeepot.

As he poured himself a cup and began to sip on it slowly, Luke’s voice boomed out. "Glad to see you finally up!"

Jess mumbled something unheard by Luke under his breath.

"Grab a coffeepot! Make yourself useful." Luke said, giving Kirk his eggs.

Jess followed his uncle’s orders and started to go around filling customers cups.

"I’m going to win again this year Luke." Kirk said excitedly to him.

"Yeah, Kirk." He grumbled.

"My snowman is going to be molded after me!"

"And how, may I ask, are you going to do that? Let someone cover you in snow?" Luke asked, hoping so.

"Very funny! I’ve got a picture!" Kirk said.

"Okay Kirk. Well, I’ve got to go give the customers their food." Luke said, hurrying away.

"Mark my words! I will win!" Kirk laughed evilly.

"Dream on Kirk!" Lorelai called as she and Rory entered the diner.

Kirk glared at her making a hissing sound.

"We are so gonna win this year!" Lorelai said to Rory as they sat down.

"Mmmm hmmm." Rory said, laying her head down on the table.

"Get up!" Lorelai yelled, thumping Rory’s ear.

"Ow!" Rory said rubbing it.

"That’s what you get! Anyway, what are we gonna do?" Lorelai asked as Jess came over with two coffee cups in hand.

"Just to let you know, Kirk is planning on constructing a life size model of himself." He said, pouring the coffee. All the while gazing at Rory.

"Oooo that dirty little rat! He’s going down. He’s gonna be completely blown away by our magnificent…Ummmm…creation!" Lorelai said, gulping down her coffee.

Jess and Rory exchanged smiles as he walked away.

"So what are we going to do? Heellpp meee!" Lorelai whined.

"Ooo! I know! We can make the earth!" Rory said, sipping at her coffee.

"The earth? I don’t think us making a snowball on the ground and calling it the earth is going to blow Kirk away!" Lorelai said throwing her hands up in the air.

"Yes. But it can be a very big ball!"

"I don’t think so! Okay…new suggestions!" Lorelai replied as Luke came over.

"Can’t think of a good idea?" He asked.

"Yeah. Help us Lucas!" Lorelai pleaded.

"Hmmmm. You could re-create Frosty." Luke offered.

Lorelai snorted. "No. Frosty is a thing of the past! We need something new and fresh!"

"I’m still diggin’ my world idea." Rory supplied, only getting a look from her mother.

"Face it Lorelai, you’ll never beat me!" Kirk yelled, as he was leaving.

Lorelai glared after him and stared into her coffee cup. Suddenly she gasped.

"What?" Rory asked, looking at her mother curiously.

"Coffee! Oh I’m a genius!" She squealed. Then she jumped up and ran out the door.

"Mom!" Rory got up and followed her. "What are you doing?"

"Coffeeeeee!" She squealed, falling into the snow. She started to dig some up into a pile.

Rory couldn’t help but laugh at her crazy mother as she played around in the snow.

"Lorelai!" Taylor snapped. "You can’t start yet! It’s not time!"

Lorelai just laughed in her supposed brilliance, and she jumped up to explain her idea to Rory.

*******************************************************************

"Alright people! Calm down! We’re about to start!" Taylor called over a megaphone.

"Woooohoooo!" Lorelai screamed. "We are so gonna win guys!" She said to Rory, Lane, and Sookie.

"Oh yeah! Girl power!" Lane yelled, tossing snow into the air.

"Ladies! Calm down! I’m trying to read the rules." Taylor hissed.

"Blah blah blah! We’ve been doing this for eight years, you woulda thought by now that we all know the rules." Sookie laughed.

"I know!" Lorelai replies.

"So everyone know what we’re doing?" Rory asked.

"Yep! The coffee mug!" Sookie chirped.

"Yeah, thanks to me! I’m so proud of myself." Lorelai said, wiping imaginary tears from her eyes.

"Me too hun!" Sookie laughed.

"Ready…Set…Go!" Taylor called, as the contestants dug into the snow, beginning to create their masterpiece.

Lorelai, Rory, Lane, and Sookie, all dug their hands into the icy cold snow, furiously digging and trying to mold their coffee cup.

"Come on girls we can do this!" Lorelai encouraged, as she scooped up snow into a sand bucket. She turned the bucket over onto the steadily growing pile in the center of their huddle.

"Yeah, c'mon!" Sookie joined in. Trying to scoop the snow into something that resembled a coffee cup.

Lane and Rory helped gather more and more snow as Lorelai and Sookie attempted to get it in a rounded form.

After thirty minutes of this method Lane gave up, "Guys, this isn't working!"

"Yeah Mom, I'm still down with my world idea." Rory pitched in.

"Team work girls! Team work! That's what we need!" Lorelai said, still set on her idea.

Sookie looked at Lorelai sympathetically. "Hun, I dunno if this is gonna work..."

Lorelai sat back in the snow, a disappointed look on her rosy cheeked face. "I guess Frosty lives on."

Sookie patted Lorelai on the knee. "But Frosty can be so pretty."

"Coffee break?" Rory asked her disappointed mother. Attempting to cheer her up.

"No, not for me." She responded quietly, looking at the snow.

"Oh, okay. Sookie? Lane?" Rory asked them.

"Not for me. Thanks." Sookie replied, still trying to make the coffee cup work.

"Come on Rory." Lane said, getting to her feet, helping Rory do the same.

"All she wanted to do was win..." Rory told Lane as they walked to the diner across the street.

"I know. Maybe we can think of a good idea to do so." Lane said, encouragingly.

"Yeah." Rory replied as they pushed the door open.

"Hey Rory..." Jess said, walking over to them.

"Hey!"

"You guys are working pretty hard out there. Need some fuel?" He said referring to their precious coffee.

"Yes thank you." Rory replied, as he went behind the counter.

He re-appeared with four to-go coffee cups in hand. "Four?"

"Yeah, they'll want some later." Lane said.

"Okay. Here you go." Jess said, handing Rory two and Lane two.

"Thanks." Lane said, walking out the door.

"I'll be there in a second." Rory said to Lane.

"'Kay." She replied, leaving Luke's.

"Come here..." Jess said, going into the kitchen, with Rory on his heels.

As soon as they were in the privacy of the kitchen, Jess pulled Rory to him, kissing her softly.

As the kiss ended Rory said, "Last night was great."

"Yeah it was..." Jess agreed, kissing Rory once more.

"So...what's wrong with your Mom? She looked kinda sad out there." Jess asked.

"She's upset because she can't get the coffee cup idea to work." Rory replied.

"Oh, sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, she really wants to beat Kirk."

"I know. Well, if I think of a good idea I'll be sure to go and tell you." Jess replied with a kiss.

Rory smiled. "Thanks."

After a lengthy kissing session in the kitchen, Rory and Jess returned.

As Rory began to put her scarf and hat back on to go out into the cold again, Luke called her name.

"Yeah?" She replied, turning to face him.

"I was wondering...Maybe you could tutor Jess in math sometime? I mean he's got an F." Luke told her, shooting a look at Jess. "I mean I know you’re not a genius in math, but I figured you could help. You're a smart kid."

"Yeah, sure. I'll help." Rory replied, smiling.

"Thanks Rory. Your an angel!" Luke replied as she smiled at him again and went back into the cold.

"Mom! I brought coffee." Rory said, returning to the contest.

"Good!" Lorelai replied cheerfully.

Rory handed her mother the coffee. "You’re in a better mood."
"Yep! Look!" Lorelai said, taking the coffee and then pointing to the snow.

"You’re taking my world idea?" Rory asked, looking at the giant snow ball before her.

"Nope! It’s gonna be a humongous smiley face!" Sookie chirped.

Rory smiles as she kneels into the snow with the others. "Cool."

"I know!" Lorelai said.

"So…it took you a while in there with Jess…" Lane whispered to Rory.

"Yeah. I’m gonna tutor him in math." Rory replied.

"That’s it?" Lane asked.

"Yeah…well, there was a whole bunch of kissing too." Rory giggles.

"Ahhh." Lane replies, adding a big ball of snow to the ball for an eye.

"Mmmm hmmm." Rory answered. "So, Mom, did you think of this all by yourself?"

"Yep!" Lorelai replies proudly.

"Cool." Rory said, adding more to her mother’s ‘fabulous’ creation.

[CoffeeQueen]

(Continued


*******************************************************************

"Come on people! It’s time to announce the winners!" Taylor shouted into his megaphone.

Lorelai clapped her hands excitedly. She smiled nervously at Luke, who she had drug out of the diner to watch her win. He smiled back wondering how Lorelai could always make him do things he didn’t want to do.

"Second runner up is…" Taylor said into the megaphone. "Amy and Ashley Herring with their re-creation of Frosty the Snowman."

Lorelai rolled her eyes, remembering Luke’s suggestion.

"First runner up is… Miss Patty, with her ballerina."

Lorelai’s fingers dug into Rory’s hand as Taylor announced the next winner.

"And first place goes to…Kirk, with his re-creation of himself. Congratulations to all the winners! And thank you to all the contestants for participating!" He said, leaving the gazebo.

Lorelai’s shoulders slumped. She stared at the ground, almost looking tearful.

"Mom…it’s okay! We’ll get him next year!" Rory encouraged.

"Yeah Lorelai. Don’t let Kirk get to you." Luke soothed her, rubbing her hand.

"Yeah, c’mon. Look at Kirk! He looks so stupid doing his little victory dance. Like a chicken." Lane supplied.

"Guess Frosty really does live on." Lorelai muttered, walking away. All four of them watched as Lorelai walked up to Kirk, who was in mid victory dance.

"What Lorelai? Came to congratulate the first place winner?" Kirk laughed.

"Not exactly." Lorelai grinned. As Kirk returned to his strange form of dance, Lorelai threw both of her hands into Kirk’s scrawny chest, forcing him to fall back into his ‘Kirk-man’.

Lorelai turned to Sookie, Luke, Lane, and Rory and smiled as she skipped back over to them.

"Lorelai! That was very unprofessional!" Kirk called, trying to get out of the snow.

"I feel so much better!" Lorelai said to them as they laughed.

"That’s great hun!" Sookie said in between giggles.

"To the diner!" Lorelai said, leading the way as the five laughed watching Kirk struggle in the snow.

[CoffeeQueen]

Chapter Eleven

"Rory! I need your help!" Lorelai called from her bedroom.

"Yeah?" Rory replied, walking up the stairs.

"What should I wear?"

"Hmmm…..the blue skirt with the baby blue v-neck and your black boots." Rory replied.

"But that’s what I had on first!" Lorelai said, pointing to the mound of clothes on her bed.

"Yeah, that’s why you should wear it! It was your first instinct." Rory told her, handing her the boots.

"Fine." Lorelai said, going into the bathroom to change.

"Why are you so concerned about how you look anyway? I thought you said you didn’t wanna be caught dead on this date with Arthur." Rory asked.

"A lady must always look presentable!" Lorelai replied daintily from the bathroom.

"Ha! You just wanna make him think that he’s gettin’ lucky!" Rory laughed.

"Never!" Lorelai responded in mock shock.

Rory grinned at her mother as she walked out of the bathroom. "You look pretty."

"Thanks." Lorelai replied, checking herself out in the mirror.

"Where are you going to eat?" Rory asked as Lorelai began to apply her makeup.

"Well, he wanted to take me to this cozy little French restaurant in Hartford, but of course the red flag went up on that idea. I mean come on! ‘Cozy?’ ‘French?’ With him? Big no-no. So I suggested Luke’s." Lorelai replied, adding some blush to her cheeks.

"Yeah. But Luke’s? He’d probably die there, I mean there would be no imported wine or snails!" Rory replied, sitting on her mother’s bed.

Lorelai snorted. "Yeah. But at least I will be comfortable. I mean I know nothing about this guy except his face looks like something smells all the time and he’s a stiff neck accountant! Dad has probably told him my whole life story by now."

"True, very true." Rory replied as he mother added her last coat of lip gloss.

"Well, I’m ready." Lorelai said, almost disappointed.

"Yep, you are."

Lorelai turned towards the door, but immediately turned back around and ran to Rory. "Please don’t make me go!"

"Mom, we’ve been through this! Please, give him a chance. And if the date totally sucks, at least you’ll have Luke there." Rory replied.

"Oh it will totally suck. Trust me." Lorelai said, trudging to the door.

"Give it a chance, Mom!" Rory called to her as she disappeared down the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah." Lorelai grumbled, heading towards Luke’s.

*******************************************************************

Luke wiped down the tables at the diner quickly; moving around the customers at a fast pace. ‘Why? Why do I always get caught up like this? Whenever she asks me to do something, anything for that matter, I always agree…..no matter what the circumstances are. Now I’m stuck here…..stuck here watching Lorelai on a date, with another man. I’m such an idiot…..’

As the bells jangled over head Luke looked up to see a distraught Lorelai walk through the door. Luke forced a smile, despite his pervious thoughts, it was always a joy to see her.

"Hey Luke….." She said as she walked over to him.

"Hey. What’s wrong?" He asked, still wiping down the tables.

"Nothing. Well, okay…..I am really not looking forward to this date." She sighed.

"Really?" Luke was surprised. ‘Great.’ he thought.

"Really. The guy is like a boring old accountant from Hartford. Plus he’s like so conceded." Lorelai replied.

"Well, maybe he won’t be around here too longer." Luke said, hoping so.

"Yeah maybe….." Lorelai said, sitting down at a table near Luke.

"So, do you want some coffee?" Luke asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, that’d be great." Lorelai replied.

Luke gave her a soft smile as he went to the counter, wondering how Lorelai Gilmore had captured his heart.

*******************************************************************

"So, what are you doing tonight?" Jess asked Rory.

"Nothing really. I’ll probably study or something….." Rory replied into the phone.

"Oh…..so you don’t want me to come over?" Jess sounded hurt.

"No……I mean I do but I’ve gotten really behind on my school work lately. And-"

"It’s okay Rory…you don’t have to explain….." Jess told her.

"Okay…..I just don’t want you to be angry….." Rory said.

"It’s okay…..I’m not." Jess said a little too quickly.

"Okay…..well I probably should go….." Rory said, a little unsure.

"Yeah."

"You can call me later though….."

"Yeah. I know….."

"Okay. Well…..I’ll talk to you later. Bye." Rory said.

"Yeah, sure. Bye." Jess replied hanging up the phone.

Rory sighed as she hung up the phone, wishing he weren’t so mad. She went into the den to gather her books when she heard the low rumbling of a car.

She walked to the door wondering who it could be.

"Move it Gilmore." Paris said, pushing Rory out of the way.

"What are you doing here, Paris?" Rory wondered aloud as Paris made herself at home on the couch.

"I was in town…..visiting a friend. I also wanted to see what pathetic task you’d be up to tonight." Paris responded coolly.

"A friend? In Stars Hollow? My town?" Rory asked, unable to believe her.

"Yes…..but it couldn’t be you since you don’t consider me a friend." Paris said quietly.

"Paris," Rory began, taking the opportunity to apologize. "I’m so sorry about that. I do consider you as a friend. It’s that I was upset that day and everything came out wrong. I really am sorry."

Paris sat there for a moment contemplating Rory’s words. "Okay, I accept." She finally said.

Rory smiled at her. "You came all the way here for an apology?"

"Yes, and to see if you needed any help with that piece on ‘The 50 Ways Abraham Lincoln Changed The Outcome Of The Civil War’." Paris told her.

"Yeah, I do. Thanks." Rory said, smiling at her again.

"Well, my books are in my car." Paris said, getting up.

Rory followed Paris out to her car, getting the first smile from her in weeks.

*******************************************************************

Jess snatched up his coat and headed down the stairs to the diner. He walked past Lorelai and Luke, who were talking at the counter.

"Hey where you going Jess?" Luke called to him.

"Out." Jess said before slamming the door behind him.

His anger was bubbling inside him, Why was she pushing him away? Had he done something? Anything to make her upset with him?

He was immediately pulled out of his deep thought when he felt himself crash into another human being.

"Watch where your going jackass." Jess growled.

The stranger looked deep into his eyes, studying his appearance. "Oh my God, I can’t believe this."

"What? That you don’t look where your going?"

"Jess…..I…..I’m…..I’m your Dad."

Jess stared at him with complete disbelief. "What?"


A/n: Okay, before you get out your tomatoes and commence to throw, here me out! I know some of you are hating me right now because I turned this story into the direction of the show, but let me explain. Okay, here’s the deal, I got a good inspiration for a sequel to this story. Which means that Jess(even though I love him so very very much) needed to go; only for now though. Believe you me, he will be back in my sequel. So bear with me on these last few chapters! It’ll be worth it.
To anyone who has Rory’s valedictorian speech, Please e-mail me it([e-mail]), or just post it with your review. The sooner you do, the sooner the last chapter comes, and then on to the sequel! Help me please ;D

[Trory4ever]

great story. I love the banner too