#and he definitely took one of Rory with him when he left Stars Hollow in season 3

[not-with-you-but-of-you]

Nice picture.

GILMORE GIRLS | 2.05 x 2.12 x 3.14

Requested by @jess-stolengnome

[jaksfanficsaver]

  Welcome Back to Stars Hollow

 You looked up at the old hardware sign that hung above the diner you frequented, a small smile quarked your lips and you wiggled in your coat a little before stepping up. The little bell above door rang and you closed your eyes, savoring in the smells and sounds; it'd been too long. You took one last deep breath and opened your eyes.

"Y/N?"

Luke.

Perhaps you missed him the most.

You smiled while his eyes set on you. 

"Y/n? Like, old friend, coffee guzzling, cookie baking y/n?" You cocked your head at the dark-haired woman who swivelled around on the stool. "Hi caffeine sister!" She grinned at you "coffee?" Luke fixed her with a perplexed look "what? You said she's like me with the coffee! That means she runs on it, don't ya?" She whipped around and looked back at you.

"And spite."

"And spite."

You and Luke spoke in unison, both chuckling.

"Hah, that was weird." A younger woman spoke.

"Uh, y/n this is Loreali-" he introduced the elder of the two "and this is her daughter Rory." He pointed out the younger woman. You waved vaguely with a small awkward smile.

"Well, c'mon, we don't bite, sit down! Luke, where's the woman's coffee?" The flannel clad man sputtered a moment when Lorelai slapped her hand against the counter while you peeled off your coat and sat down across from where he was. 

"Yeah, Lucas, where's my coffee?" His nose scrunched and he let out a growl.

"Don't you start."

Lorelai gasped.

"Yeah, Luuuuuucas." She giggled,a grin on her face.

"See what you started?" He sighed when you smiled innocently and he threw a towel over his shoulder and poured you a mug. "This stuff wipes out your brain cells."

"Yet I'm still intelligent enough to know that you gave me decaf." You beamed up at him when he groaned and leaned on the counter fixing a glare on you.

"You did what? Blasphemy! Luke! How could you?"

"I switched yours too."

Lorelai let out an offended squeal.

"How could you do this! I thought we were friends?"

"You think you know a man." Rory chimed in, shaking her head.

"Oh my god." He shook his head and pulled out three new mugs "fine, kill yourselves, see if I care."

"Aw, you act like you wouldn't miss me." You bat your lashes at him before smelling your coffee and taking a sip. Luke rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Strawberry stuffed French toast?" 

"You remembered!" You gasped in delight and he just shook his head and disappeared into the back.

"Mom, did Luke smile?"

"How did you do that?"

You stopped your glancing around the cozy diner. "Do what?"

"The coffee thing, and the French toast thing, and the smile thing." Lorelai prattled off making you snort.

"He's been trying the coffee thing for years, when we were in highschool-"

"You guys went to school together‽” she interjected

"Yeah, we did, it was something my ma would make for us- and he did not smile." You rolled your eyes.

"He did too," Rory peered around her mother at you "I've only seen him do that like three times."

"It's quite a feat."

"What's a feat?" The man in question inquired while he set a plate in front of you. 

"Making stuffed French toast better than my mama." You murmured, and Luke scoffed waving it off.

"I've got other customers."

You laughed lightly and began eating.

Lorelai watched you in awe for a few moments.

"Can I help you?" You offered with a laugh around a mouthful of strawberries.

"Teach me your ways, pass on your feminine wiles, we must educate the youth!" You snorted when Rory threw her hands up and asked to be left out of it. 

"So how long are you gonna be in town?" Luke interrupted Lorelai's babbling while he separated some cash in the drawer.

"I dunno, I really missed it here, ya know? Nothing beats the small town vibe, Plus! I can't find a good diner anywhere, ya know one?" You held your tongue between your teeth with a grin as you watched him. He let a huff out of his nose and shook his head with a small quark to his lips.

"I can think of a few," he offered catching your eye for a moment before busying around with some of the other tables.

 "Wow." Lorelai shook her head.

"What?" You looked to her and stuck a fry in your mouth from a plate he dropped by as he rounded the counter.

"Wooooow." You shook your head and shrugged when she repeated. "How long were you two together?" You choked on your throat, sputtering when she passed you your coffee. You gratefully accepted it and gulped it to clear your throat.

"No, no, nonono no." You shook your head and laughed "me and Luke?- no. We never-" your cheeks heated up, a pink hue settling across your face, and you glanced at him while he poured some coffee for Kirk.

"Coulda fooled me." Her eyes followed your line of sight. "Whatcha think Rory?"

"Huh?" She hummed around her Danish looking like a doe caught in headlights.

"Ah," Lorelai waved her off "well, there's something there." It was your turn to look like a caught deer.

"Oh, y/n and Luke?" Rory glanced between you and her mother "yeah, definitely." You tossed your hands up with a sigh.

"I dunno what y'all're seeing."

"Lorelai!"

"What dad?" She shot up, whipping to look at Luke

"Quit harassing my customers!" He sighed "and don't call me dad."

"Aw, you don't love us dad?" You teased

"Stop that!" He pointed to you "don't encourage her." You laughed and shook your head.

"Fine, fine." You smiled "how much do I owe ya for lunch?"

"Ah, nothing, consider it a 'welcome back' gift." He shook his head and stuck his pencil behind his ear.

"Aww, keep that up and people'll think you're sweet on me." You grinned at him.

"Bah, you're crazy."

"You just notice? Nothin's changed in the last six years."

"Get outta here, you still have to make your rounds." He shouted an order back to Caesar.

"Pushy, pushy! Fine, but I do have to go see Patty, she'll know any places for sale. Bye Rory, Loreali!" You sprang up "see ya around, Luke."

"Mhmm, I've got the coffee, so."

"Yeah."

Luke, Lorelai and Rory all watched you walk out.

"So she's moving back, huh?"

"What?"

"Luke!" Lorelai scoffed "she said she was going to talk to Patty about listings, I assume that means she's moving back." She swatted his shoulder.

"I suppose that does."

"Well?"

"Means between the three of you I'm going to keep Folgers in business single-handedly." He was back to scribbling down orders.

"God men are stupid." She shook her head.

"You makin' any sense of her, Rory?"

"There was a thing there, Luke."

"Not you too- there was no thing-"

There was a resounding 'yes there was' from the patrons of the diner, making him sigh and shake his head.

What was he going to do.

[jackiebuckley]

If it Stings Let it Burn (chapter two : & your flannel cured)

word count: 3,107

Warnings: mentions of f**d and kidnapping

Admin note: leave a comment or send in a yellow heart to my inbox to be added onto the tag list for the next chapter ! :) heres the official first one. I’m so excited for you to read this. look for a longer one coming soon !!

Summary: “It's more of a prison if you ask me.”  but before it could have been questioned, she marched over to the door, knocking as she hit her fist against the door. “Mom it's Lorelai.” she spoke, and though there was a tinge of something in her that Hotch could see but he didn't want to profile this woman, at least not yet.   [...] read more here: XXX

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.

- Robert Frost

What was there to expect from a place where everyone knew one another? Here was definitely a safety net. A sense of wonder where everyone knew everyone in their community. Home is a place where usually it doesn't matter how many walls or how many stickers lay on the back of a minivan. Representing each child. Instead though it seemed to be people. Different ones showing different personalities. From the woman who taught ballet who called Reid "Sugar." To the man at the news-stand asking for any information that could be given for this case. You could tell this was the perfect place to grow up. Nothing fell apart. Until it all did. Seemingly in one go. Piece by piece shattering beneath you.

Hotch sat in the small dining area, discussing different items of the case with members of the team. "These abductions don't seem to have a pattern to them in correlation to when they were done. We don't know for sure the innkeeper's daughter has any part in this." JJ offered from where she was sitting on a counter. The chef of the inn brought out cupcakes which made for happy team members. 

"But we also don't know for sure that she isn't playing a part in it." Morgan offered back. Messing with his pencil, tapping it against his notebook as they sat down. They had absolutely no direction for this and despite being in town for less than a day, members of the team thought that with a small town like this. They would have had something by now. As Hotch went to object or say anything to move them along. In walked Lorelai Gilmore. Bright-eyed as she looked at them. Her eyes showed compassion and warmth to the team of complete strangers who were as lost as anything else. 

"So! Can I offer you anything? Tea...coffee. stories of stars hollow. Answering your questions. If you need to know anything. I'm here to help." She spoke the words. And before Hotch could speak, asking where her daughter might be. Rossi beat him to it. 

"Actually Miss Gilmore. Could you show us where your daughter might be?" He asked and Lorelai's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. 

She took a second before she spoke. "If you have questions for her. She'll definitely answer those. Good kid. Great kid actually — and I'm not just saying that because shes MY KID. LOCATION. RIGHT.  Shes at my parent's home, just outside of the town…" she spoke and JJ seemed to have gotten the information from that. Even though the brunette seemed to have spoken 9000 miles per hour. "Which I can take you to...now." she offered. 

“I’ll ride with Lorelai, Emily, why don't you come with us,” Hotch stated, making a statement even though his words truth be told sounded questioning. 

In the Gilmore truck there was a moment where if Hotch wasn't here with the team, he realized he wouldn't even know of its existence. It nested quietly among everything going on in the world. This was the kind of place Haley wanted to raise Jack in, too bad he couldn't find himself listening to that, and lost her in the process. The road was nice and sturdy despite the recent snow that frosted over. There was something magical to all of it, but it was an eerie kind of magic, like when you don't know what is going to happen. But you know something is. The anticipation builds up within you, it bubbles and keeps itself going. But whenever you dare ask what is to come, fear happens and you're afraid to break the chain. 

Everything seemed quaint and small about this area until you saw the home belonging to Richard and Emily Gilmore. The walls were high, it was a clean shade of creme and had perfect scenery lining those walls. This was the kind of place that made castles feel small and made homes tremble because they knew there wouldn't be a way to compare. “Nice home.” JJ mumbled to Derek who nodded. The agents almost missed a hum of a noise from Lorelai who stated

“It's more of a prison if you ask me.”  but before it could have been questioned, she marched over to the door, knocking as she hit her fist against the door. “Mom it's Lorelai,” she spoke, and though there was a tinge of something in her that Hotch could see he didn't want to profile this woman, at least not yet.  When one of the maids answered the door that's when they got a deeper look into the home. “Mom, wheres Rory?” she asked, and while she didn't sound annoyed or even angry. She did still seem weirded out, was it being in her childhood home? Was it the fact her daughter could be in trouble and they needed to get this figured out?

“Well hello to you dear.” Emily Gilmore spoke, holding her wine glass in her hand. “She's in with your father. Why do you ask?” she asked taking a sip from the glass. 

She ran a hand through her hair before speaking, “I ask for the FBI agents who are currently sitting in your front room.” she stated, raising a brow. Emily Gilmore's face paled, the natural blush fading away before she sighed.

“I’ll go get her now.” 

Within a few moments, Rory walked out in her clothes from earlier that day. She had come to work on something with her grandfather. She offered a concerned doe-eyed look before walking over to the agents who sat circled in the room. “Morgan, Reid,” he told the two who took it as a signal to go question the youngest Gilmore. 

Lorelai listened to her mom drone on and on about the bad press that this would bring to the neighborhood newspaper. She sighed as she listened to it, looking intensely at her glass of water that sat in her hand “mom. It's not like I WANTED them to come and question Rory. I don't exactly like this much either.” she stated as she took a drink from the glass. Rory was a good kid, also couldn't keep a secret to save her life. So even if there was something Rory was hiding from them. She would spill it in no time. 

“You know we have the young leaders gala tonight,” Emily spoke to her daughter. “This is a BIG deal in these parts.” she offered and Lorelai rolled her eyes. She knew this was a big deal, she had been dragged to a few of those when she was Rory's age. Then she had Rory. None of those teens wanted to be there, she knew this.  She was once in their shoes. 

“I know, and we’ll be out of here soon. As soon as they finish questioning my child, or she gets arrested. Whichever comes first I guess.” she said, receiving a shocked and disgusted gasp from Emily. 

One of the agents entered the room, the one she thought was Rossi but truth be told they all blended together. She knew there was a Jareau somewhere in there. And a Garcia but she thought that was the one on the phone. “We didn't find anything, we’re heading out.” he spoke, and she nodded. Taking a deep breath as she walked out the room. Every time she left this house, she left something behind.  As she went to leave though, she heard a conversation that perked her ears.

“Well if it isn't Emily.” Rossi spoke as he crossed his arms.

“Dave Rossi,” she replied back with a small cross looking smirk on her face. 

“Always knew I’d run into you again. Didn't think it would be under these circumstances,” he noted and she nodded. 

Lorelai listened to them talk for a few moments, and as Rossi left. She approached him “so you're my almost daddy.” she said and noticed a glare coming from the man. 

The ride back to Stars Hollows was quiet as they entered back into the small town. Maybe there was more to what was happening than met the eye for a place that seemed to have heart. What secrets did it hold?

"Are you hungry?" Lorelai asked them from the driver's seat. "We could show you Luke's?" 

"He makes the best burger," Rory added in as Lorelai let out a happy hum.

The agents looked to one another. "I mean, I could eat?" JJ offered and Reid and Derek made their own comments of 'agreed' because truly they hadn't been too worried when it came to food since arriving in town.

Luke’s Diner, definitely looked as if it belonged straight out of an old Hallmark Christmas movie. It was cute and had a charm to it. To JJ who was raised in a small town it felt like home. But to Hotch he didn't know what to think as he viewed the area. He looked to Lorelai who talked to the man he assumed was the famous ‘Luke.’ The thing that caught his eye was the young man who entered the room. He had a certain air to the way that he walked. How his eyes were dim and looked like they had seen enough battles throughout his life. Hotch had seen this look in his own eyes far too often. “Who is that?” he asked after a moment. Pointing in the direction of the young man. 

“That is Jess. He’s Rory’s boyfriend.” Lorelai stated before eating one of her fries. 

“What can you tell me about him?”

“He came here a few months ago and is staying with his uncle, Luke. His mom sent him here due to his rebellious nature and outbursts.” she continued. 

“Is he trouble?” Hotch dared to ask. 

Lorelai took a deep breath before looking at the other. “If you think he had any part in this case, think again. He might be trouble and I might not be his biggest fan. But he had NO part in this.” she finished, “and I’m standing up for him, that is something I didn’t see coming.” she mumbled while taking a drink of her coffee. 

“I didn't mean to imply…” he offered and she threw her hand as to say ‘don't worry about it.’  “Spencer, what can you tell about the young man on the stool?” he asked, pointing to the boy sitting next to Rory. 

 He took a second to examine the boy. From the way he stood to the way he dressed. “Well from the crumbled and rolled book in his back pocket I can tell that he’s more careless with his belongings. From the crumbled flannel he’s wearing and the denim jacket with paint on the sleeves he doesn’t care much for his appearance. He stands with a stature, as to say he doesn't care much about his reputation but with the playful movements he’s taking over there he cares for her deeply.” he finished. Hotch nodded, before looking to Rossi to see if the older man had anything to add. 

“Whatever the kid said,” Rossi said with a shrug. 

Well, that answered that… 

 “This rebellious nature needs to stop Aaron.” his grandmother shouted to her grandson from where he was standing. He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked at his grandmother. “You're lashing out, falling asleep in classes?! This isn’t the kid that I know so well.” she continued on. In some ways she was right, he knew better than this. Always had, he knew exactly what was needed. But things were getting tough at home, his father’s constant pushing into what he needed to do in his future. To his mother and her habits. 

He was home for the break from his boarding school, and if he was honest. He didn't want to go back. He was missing so much and didn't like that much either. So in a way his rebellious nature was him wanting things to go back to before. ‘

“Aaron,” his grandmother’s voice faded out into the voice of Emily Prentiss who shook him lightly. Her own voice saying

“Aaron… Aaron. Hey, you're dazing out. We’re heading back to the inn… if you're ready?” she said, trying to keep her tone gentle. 

Hotch sighed, smoothing his shirt as he stood up. “I’m ready,” he said as they exited the diner. He watched Lorelai move to her daughter as they walked out into the bitter November chill.

November 21st (11:35pm)

 Family of four driving down a town street as they find a curve in the road. “When are we going to be there?!” a voice cried from the back seat. 

“Our hotel is down the road another fifteen minutes.” a mother sitting in the front seat spoke. As she reached for her husband’s hand. As they kept driving down the path, they was something eerily quiet about the entire situation. 

“HELP.” a voice yelped as she ran in front of the car. “HELP ME. PLEASE.” she shouted again. She wore an olive green dress. Curly brown hair and the makeup that sat on her face smeared in every direction. She looked as if she had walked straight out of hell.

The third victim in less than a week span, and this was absolutely sick. “My brother and I were at the Young Leaders Gala, and as we exited the home...we were driving. And someone jumped onto our car. He threw a blindfold onto me and my brother. Threw me out of the car and kept driving with my brother in it." She said looking down to her feet as she watched the agents across from her speak. 

"Your brother James. Has he gotten into any trouble?" Emily asked from where she was sitting. 

"No — he has always been a great guy. Top of his class…" she stated as she looked up to who she was sitting across from

Hotch sighed. Standing up, dialing a number into the phone. "Penelope, can you run a background check on our victims?" He asked as he exited out of the room. 

"Will do sir." The blonde on the other end said as she typed on her computer. "No obvious connection. But I'll take a look and get back to you." She said with a nod as she continued on. Hanging up on the call. 

"And as she does that...Rossi. Reid. Back to the Gilmore residence. Get a list of guests, servers, and anyone else that was present." Hotch instructed. The two nodded as they moved towards one of the cars. 

“Babygirl, please tell us that you have good news,” Derek spoke as he stood in the scene of the newest part of the case. Or at least where the victim’s sister had run into the family who took her to the police station.

Penelope took a moment before spoke, a smile to her voice “i do in fact.  so a piece of information that separates this victim from the others... James Newton attends Chilton, a prep school miles North of Stars Hollow. Looks like he got into a fight with a student at the start of last year and THAT student got expelled.” Penelope spoke as she looked through the pieces of the puzzle that she had in front of her. 

“So the other student might have a part in this… can you check what student took the expelled student's spot?” 

"...Rory Gilmore." Penelope's voice stated after a moment. "Oh, God." She said running a hand through her hair as she read through it. 

"Pen...I think we need to alert Hotch. Rory is our connection." He said. As they hung up on the phone, he ran inside to where their bold leader had been. "Hotch. Our connection." He said looking at his boss and friend. "It's Rory…she's the end victim." Hotch's eyes widened as he looked at him. 

 Hotch knew that what he was about to suggest wasn't going to be the best idea. With him doing this, Penelope would have to come to Stars Hollow to help assist on this end. "I'll be staying with the Gilmores to keep Rory and her mother safe…" he sighed "call Pen — ask her to come here. You'll need the extra hand."

Telling the older of the two Gilmores what was needed was a lot easier than expected.  She seemed to be a pretty easy going woman. But with all of this she definitely had a fire to her. "Hey, Rory! We're having an FBI man coming over for a sleepover." She said to her daughter. Her bright blue eyes looked up at her mother. 

"Hotchner is coming over for a sleepover?" She asked looking at her mom.

"No...I'm not." He offered. But the mother and daughter both cheered a statement of 

"FBI SLEEPOVER." They cheered as they raced out of the inn. Hotch following them as Emily laughed a comment of 

"Well, have fun," she said with a smirk on her features. 

November 26th 

She opened her eyes, going to rub them to wake herself a little more. And at that moment it's when she realized, her hands were stuck. She had absolutely no way of squirming them. She was completely restricted. She tried to see if she could stand but it looked as if those were bound together too. She wasn't sure what it had been tying her up. It didn't feel like rope. Didn't seem like twine.  It was too heavy. What was this?!

Taking a deep breath she steadied herself. Going to call out a "HELP." Or anything.  But she didn't know where she was. So who knew if anyone could hear her. "So you're finally awake." The voice called, and it floated through the air. Chip, Matt, Dean and a few more were all sitting. Tied to various places around the room. Each one looked more and more wounded than the last. 

"What am I doing here?! What do you want with us??" She asked. Trying her best to know what the hell had been happening. Fear drifted throughout the room as the boys and the other girl that was tied up looked terrified.

"All the guests are here. I believe you all know our newest guest… Rory Gilmore." The voice greeted, and it definitely didn't sound like a friendly greeting.  It sounded mocking. Condescending. Like it had been waiting for their entire life to say those words. But who was it. And what the hell did it want with them?

TAG LIST: @hotchsbabygirl, @paget-prentiss , @willlemonheadsupremacy

[athingthatwantsvirginia]

James Dean and Daria

PART TWENTY-FIVE OF THE DO YOU SEE HER FACE? SERIES

Pairing: Jess Mariano x Original Character (Ella Stevens)

Warnings: mentions of alcoholism, plentiful pop culture references

Word Count: 5.3K

Summary: Ella receives a book in the mail and attends an open house.

two years later

A Ramones song was stuck in her head, and Ella hummed along with its tune as she twirled around the diner. Her hair, freshly cut, was back in a black bandana. She blew her wispy curtain bangs away from the sides of her forehead as she served up lunch. Lane was on shift, and they bounced around together in sync. Working with her made everything a little sunnier. Lorelai had always said Ella and Lane were night and day, respectively. The thought of it made Ella smile as she joined her friend behind the counter again. Recently, Lane had been experimenting with contacts, and it was still jarring to see her without her trademark glasses.

They made a dynamic duo, as Luke was off to fix random bits and bobs at the Inn. With he and Lorelai engaged, he was over there doing repairs for free nearly half the time. During which time, especially in the afternoons, Ella was left to look after Luke’s daughter, April. To say she was shocked when Luke told her he had a twelve-year-old kid that some woman from his past had never told him about would’ve been an understatement. But soon, April was fitting into the groove of town. Ella was always glad to do homework with her (not that the brainiac ever needed help per se) or listen to the girl’s long-winded monologues about obscure scientific principles. Sometimes, Ella hardly believed Luke and April were related. The girl could talk for days without taking a breath if she had the chance. Watching April concentrate over her textbooks and scribble essays during the early dinner rush sometimes made Ella’s heart do a little, nostalgic twist. She was no longer the girl doing calculus at the corner table. To everything there was a season.

“‘I Wanna Be Sedated’?” Lane asked, breaking Ella out of her reverie.

Ella turned to Lane with a small smirk, arms crossing over her chest. Breathing out a sigh, she gave a nod. Things were finally slowing down, almost everyone with a plate in front of them. She had taken over the floor for the day. Lane’s wedding to Zach was only weeks away, and Lane was stressed enough as it was. Ella figured having Lane on register would at least be a decent method to avoid her passing out.

Lane narrowed her eyes and tilted her head at her friend. “What’s got you in such a good mood?”

Shrugging, Ella turned to make a pot of coffee. “I don’t know. I’m a college graduate. Besides, is Ramones really good mood music?”

Lane scoffed. “For you? Definitely.”

“Just happy to have all this education, maybe,” Ella said.

Though it had been a whole five days since her graduation, she was still basking in the glow of it. She couldn’t believe she had managed to get through school in three years instead of four. It meant the upcoming summer would be her first real break from school since the summer after high school. During her last finals, she had been nearly ready to tear her hair out. Suffice it to say, it was time to stop studying for at least a little while.

“So, I guess we’ll be hearing about this summa cum laude thing forever, huh?” Lane teased.

Ella’s smile grew wider. “Forever is a strong word. ‘The foreseeable future’ would be more accurate.”

Lane rolled her eyes with a chuckle.

“And what’s got you all grumpy today? That’s my job. Did a Freaky Friday situation happen without my knowledge?” Ella asked.

Sighing heavily, Lane went back over to the register, seeing some customers finishing up their meals. “I told you my mom wants me to wear her wedding dress, right?”

Ella nodded.

“Well, she finally showed it to me. And it has pants!”

Biting the inside of her cheek, Ella swallowed down the laugh which threatened to leave her lips.

“I gave it to Lorelai. Hopefully something along the lines of salvageable will come of it,” Lane grumbled, adjusting her apron anxiously.

“Hey, Lorelai made that renaissance dress I wore to Liz’s wedding wearable. I’m sure she’ll work her magic,” Ella said, turning to see Luke return as the bell over the door jingled.

“We’ll see,” Lane said, sighing again as a young couple came up to the register, ready to pay for their patty melts.

As Luke approached, Ella saw he had the mail in his hands. He looked almost haggard, with dark circles under his eyes. She knew he and Lorelai had been having some problems, but didn’t know the details. It wouldn’t be surprising if the new daughter or the prolonged engagement had something to do with it, though. Since she and Rory had fallen out of touch, Ella saw Lorelai less and less. And it wasn’t like Luke was a chatterbox.

“Something came for you,” Luke said shortly, handing Ella a puffy orange envelope.

As soon as she took it, she could tell it was a book. Confusion painted her features; it wasn’t often she got mail addressed to Luke’s. She’d been living at Lane’s for almost two years. Furrowing her brows, she looked in the upper right corner and her face immediately fell when she saw the familiar, spiky handwriting. Clearing her throat, she plastered on a complacent expression.

“I’m gonna take a fifteen, okay?” she said, clutching the package tightly in her hands.

Luke nodded. “You alright?”

Ella smiled thinly. “Yeah. Just gotta take the smell of the stock room in as much as I possibly can. I’ve only got it until the end of July.”

Rolling his eyes, Luke shook his head. “I’m counting the seconds.”

“Hey, I could quit right now! Then where would you be?!” she exclaimed dramatically, a bit which never seemed to get old.

Luke grunted doubtfully. “Don’t tease.”

Smirking slightly, she finally turned on her heel and went back into the stock room. It was dim, piled high with boxes and cans. But there was the comforting smell of dust and pine, making her feel just a touch less queasy. Sitting on the lone table in the middle on the shelves, her legs dangling over the sides with boots heavy on her feet, Ella stared down at Jess’s writing for a moment. It only made sense he would send her something at the diner. He probably had no idea where she lived, if she was still even in Stars Hollow.

Her mind wandered to their last conversation, her night up on the plaid couch, crying. When Jess had called to tell Luke he was back in New York, Luke said Jess had told him to say hello to her. She’d told him to say hello back, a half-hearted message. And she was glad to know his trip had been safe. Glad he had apparently mended fences with Luke. But when she thought of actually speaking to him, hearing his voice, it made her feel sick with nerves. All she could see was his heartbroken expression when she had told him she wouldn’t come with him. Hear his pleading. Many times, she had pulled out the small slip of paper with his cell number written on it, had thought about reaching out. But, it simply hurt too much.

And she would have no idea where to begin. He had apologized. And she had rejected him. She didn’t regret it, didn’t feel bad about what she had said or done. But she knew there would be a shift between them. All the words they spoke would have a whispered ‘what if’ underneath. It seemed like too much to put him through. Jess probably wouldn’t like to hear her voice either, she thought. As angry as she had been before, she just couldn’t bear to hurt him anymore. It was more trouble than it was worth. So, each time Luke spoke with Jess, they exchanged fleeting greetings through him. It was impersonal, cold, but, they always knew the other was alive. The deal still stood, even after everything.

Running her finger along the address on the package, written in black permanent marker, Ella felt a storm of emotion brewing within her. Time and distance had been kind; when she thought of him, she didn’t think betrayal, she didn’t think resentment. Somehow, their final argument had cleansed her of those feelings. He had come back. She had never expected it. But, at least, he had come back for her, even if she didn’t exactly want it. Instead of anger, there was only sadness, for months. She had walked around with an aura of gloom. But then, life had gotten busier, and it faded.

Instead, as the pad of her finger curved over his name again and again, she thought of her books, filled with their writing to each other. She thought of his smirk, ever-present when she was around. And his brown eyes, guarded but so often kind. And his fears, shared only with her. And, above all, she thought of him telling her he loved her. With tears running down his cheeks, anxious hands raking through his hair.

Love. That word she had always scoffed at. While she still wasn’t one to utter it lightly, she had slowly come around. As the world moved around her, and she was finally away from her childhood home, she began to see it. Luke and Lorelai, mostly. She almost felt silly, having watched a love story unfold before her eyes in the diner for years and years. Perhaps as a teen, she had been too headstrong. Perhaps she had been unable to see how her own fears had stopped her from living the way she wanted to, a pattern she had been able to see so clearly in Lane and Jess. Without the constant reminder of her parents’ doomed union, she felt better each day. More open.

But still, she had no idea how to feel about Jess. Surely, he had moved on. She didn’t know where he was, what he was doing. Luke had only told her he was doing well. And she had never asked for details. No use in ripping open old wounds. But it seemed the ball wasn’t entirely in her court. Jess had made a move. Again. Biting at the inside of her cheek, she heaved a big sigh and ripped open the side of the package. Inside it, she found a book, as she expected.

But her breath caught as she ran her eyes over the black-and-white cover: The Subsect by Jess Mariano. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest and a grin came over her lips before she could stop it. She knew it was only a matter of time. He was a writer. He always had been. As she flipped open the inside cover, a slip of heavy, purple paper fell out. A crease formed between her brows as she took the paper in one hand, eyes gravitating to the words scribbled in pen on the novel’s second page.

Before she could begin the handwritten message, she looked to the dedication. A lump formed in her throat. For Eleanor, it read simply. Her hazel eyes shone with glassy tears, and the surreality of the moment hit her like a ton of bricks. Swallowing down the sob which threatened to escape, she turned to the inscription before she could get caught up in her emotions.

I wasn’t sure how to tell you about this. But I wanted to let you know somehow, considering it wouldn’t have happened without you. And writing in a book seemed like the best way, since it’s worked for us in the past. I included an invite to the Open House thing we’re having at Truncheon, the place which was stupid enough to publish this. You don’t have to come, and I don’t expect you to. But, in case you did want to come see what I couldn’t have done without you, you’re more than welcome.

-Jess

Chewing on her thumbnail, Ella picked up the purple invite and ran her eyes over the address. Philadelphia. She smirked at the coincidence. She could see him there. Always a city boy. And, though nerves coursed through her veins and butterflies flew around in her stomach, she knew immediately that she would soon be seeing the liberty bell.

.   .   .

Smoothing her hands over her dress, Ella took in a deep breath. Her battered blue station wagon was parked behind her on the street, and for a split second, she thought about running back to it. Driving all the way back up to Connecticut in a continuous three-hour stretch. But she knew there would be at least a few familiar faces inside Truncheon Books. Luke had offered to be a chaperone for some road trip with April’s school, and they, of course, were also invited to the open house. Initially, Luke had been wary of them both being away from the diner, but Ella assured him Lane and Caesar could handle it. And, of course, he would have to learn to deal without her by the end of the July. She and Lane would be even when Ella took all the shifts for the week of her and Zach’s honeymoon. Yes, Ella’s final week as a waitress at Luke’s was bound to be grueling.

Biting down on the inside of her cheek, Ella opened the door and entered the publishing house before she could talk herself out of it. The place was crowded, lots of people mingling at a table near the entrance and next to the coat rack. The green walls were lined with art, and the room was filled with warm, richly-toned wood. She hung her bag as her heart sat heavy in her chest. She hadn’t realized just how anxious walking into Jess’s new world was going to make her. A small smile formed on her face, though, as she scanned the crowd for Luke and April. When she didn’t instantly find them, she crossed her arms and walked toward the collection of photographs on a wall near the door. They showed visions of the city: an old newspaper stand, a rusty bike, a group of angry teenagers sat around a statue of Thomas Jefferson. She’d never been good with technology, including cameras, and she envied the photographer who could capture images like these.

Across the room, Jess spotted her. Her blonde waves fell down her back, just past her shoulder blades, shorter than he’d ever seen her hair. There was a tattoo on the back of one of her calves, and one on the inside of her left forearm. She was too far away though, and he couldn’t quite make out what they were. As expected, she was dressed only in blacks and greys, her dress checkered with the two colors. And, as expected, her all-black oxfords had no heel. Before he could stop it, a grin crossed his face, and his hand tightened around the half-empty beer bottle he was nursing. Never had he actually thought she would show up. But there she was. Matthew, who stood next to him on the stairs, instantly noticed his friend’s change in expression. He followed Jess’s eyes, and it dawned on him. Jess didn’t talk about the woman he’d dedicated The Subsect to a lot. But the blonde standing before the photography section fit the description Jess had spewed drunkenly on his last birthday almost perfectly.

Matthew raised knowing brows. “Is that her?”

“What?” Jess asked, blinking slightly as he looked away from her and turned back to the co-owner of his business.

Scoffing out a chuckle, Matthew shook his head. “That’s the girl, isn’t it? The one you wrote the book for.”

Breathing a big sigh, Jess took another sip of his drink and nodded slowly. “Is it that obvious?”

“Oh, yeah,” Matthew laughed, clapping Jess on the shoulder. “Now’s your chance.”

Jess snorted a bitter laugh, looking away from his friend and down at his shoes. “There’s no chance.”

Before Matthew could say anything more, Jess descended the final two stairs. Matthew was still chuckling behind him. No matter how much Chris and Matthew drove him up the wall sometimes, he would always be grateful. They’d published his book. They’d welcomed him into the company before it even existed, into the apartment upstairs. They’d become his family without him even noticing it. And he knew no matter how torn up he would be after speaking with Ella (and he knew he would be, at least a little), they’d get him through it. As they had gotten him through the heartbreak the first time, when he’d shown up on the doorstep of a company he’d heard about through some friends in New York, a company which didn’t even have a name, just some printing equipment. Tossing the empty beer in the recycle near the front refreshment table, Jess took another breath in. He could thank her for everything she’d done, then watch her leave without completely crumbling. Maybe if he was confident enough in himself, Jess thought, it would be so.

Walking up next to her, Jess bit down on his bottom lip and shoved his hands in the pockets of his blazer. His palms were sweaty.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Jess said, eyes on the photographs. Immediately, he regretted his words. How cliché could he possibly sound? Usually, the nerves didn’t affect his mouth. But not around Ella.

Though she startled on the inside, Ella didn’t visibly jump. Instead, she cracked a small smile. “And yet, here I am.”

“Didn’t expect to see you.”

“Well,” she said, shrugging, “I’m full of surprises.”

“Stealing my line, huh, Stevens?” he asked.

Still, they hadn’t turned to face each other.

“Funny, I didn’t know you had the trademark,” she quipped.

“Touché,” he said, feigning disappointment.

Smile growing, Ella finally turned to him. “Never thought I’d see Jess Mariano in a suit jacket.”

His hair was cut differently, parted and combed. Not as unkempt as it had once been. He had dark, shadowy stubble on his cheeks. Just as any brooding writer would. Underneath his black jacket, he wore a t-shirt with a black-and-white photo of  a little girl smoking a cigarette on a beach. Ella thought she recognized it from one of her art classes, but couldn’t quite place it.

Chuckling under his breath, Jess built up his courage and faced her. “Yeah, well, I guess corporate America finally got to me.”

“I don’t know. I think this place feels pretty counterculture,” she said, eyes flicking around the room again. “Might as well be in the Haight-Ashbury.”

“Coming from you, I feel like that’s meant to be an insult,” he said.

“Trust me, it’s not,” Ella replied, with more sincerity than he was prepared for. Before he could interject with some deflection, she continued on. “I mean...this place. It really feels like you. And the book. It was...fuck, Jess, you’re really too smart for your own good.”

He shook his head, blushing and refusing to meet her gaze. Ella Stevens was still the only person who made him blush nearly every time he spoke to her. “I don’t know. If I could do it again, everything would be different.”

Ella scoffed. “C’mon, Mariano, you and I both know how amazing it is.”

“Whatever you say, Stevens,” he said shyly.

“I’ll keep complimenting you until you accept that you’re a kickass author, who I can definitely tell has a beatnik fetish,” she warned, mock severity crossing her features.

Jess rolled his eyes. “Fine. Thank you, Eleanor.”

“You’re so very welcome,” she replied, eyes alight with a teasing, mischievous glint. But, underneath, Jess could tell how genuine she really was. It made his heart ache for her.

After a moment of awkward pause, charged air, Jess pointed a thumb over his shoulder to the table with the refreshments. “You want a beer?”

Ella shook her head. “No thanks. I don’t really drink.”

“Hm,” Jess hummed, eyes narrowing just a touch. The way she’d said it, he could tell there was more. He knew why she didn’t drink. He remembered her father smelling of liquor on Thanksgiving day. And he remembered how upset she’d been the morning after she stole her father’s tequila. Nostalgia washed over him in a wave, and he was relieved when she took the initiative and spoke again.

“And,” she said, gaining a lighter tone once again, “I’m not of legal age yet, anyway.”

“Oh, well, I certainly couldn’t break the law,” Jess said with a furrowed brow. He was always forgetting he was ten months her senior. She had always seemed older.

“Right,” she said, nodding along, “you wouldn’t dream of it.”

Again, an uncomfortable pause began. It made Ella want to grimace. Things had never been so awkward with the two of them, not even when they’d first met. It had always been easy, without the world complicating things for them. Her eyes did another quick sweep of the room.

“Have you seen Luke and April?” she asked.

Jess nodded. “Yeah, you just missed them. They had to get back to the field trip, I think.”

Ella nodded back in acknowledgement, though she immediately felt her heartbeat quicken. The idea of Luke and April being there as a kind of safety net was half the reason she’d been brave enough to come. But, she’d had a morning shift at the diner, and the traffic had made it so she had shown up only twenty minutes before the end of the open house. All of a sudden, she felt silly for thinking they would still be there. Silly for showing up at all. In the note, he’d said she wasn’t obligated at all. Why had she come again? At the moment, the panicked thoughts were too loud for her to focus on anything else.

“But Luke was here long enough to complain about all the abstract paintings and the spoken word performances,” Jess continued, noticing Ella try to grab for a necklace she wasn’t wearing, and instead fiddle with a lock of her hair. In all the time he had known her, he had never once seen her without the key hanging from her neck. Not even in bed. But he knew better than to ask about it.

Ella’s smile returned, though it was not altogether convincing. “Sounds like him. I think one of the few areas of agreement between the two of you is a natural aversion to poetry.”

Jess shrugged. “I don’t know. I might finally be coming around.” Then, he saw Chris approaching, and felt himself relax. Someone else to act as a buffer. He wasn’t quite ready for the words creeping up his throat, begging to get out. “But, my friend Chris is the real poetry guy. He hires all the acts.”

He gestured for Chris to come over. Ella raised her eyebrows at the man, tall and blonde and grinning widely. A hyper energy practically radiated off of him. She could tell why he was the one on the business end of things.

“Chris, this is Eleanor,” Jess said. “She’s an old friend.”

“Hey.” She extended her hand. “You can call me Ella.”

Somehow, Chris’s smile grew larger as they shook hands. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” she replied amiably, as their hands broke from each other.

“You have a very firm handshake,” Chris commented, towering over her. Jess was tall, but this guy made Ella feel like a Polly Pocket figurine.

She snorted a chuckle. “Um, thanks. Guess those steroids are really paying off.”

Jess smirked. Sometimes, he thought Chris was to him as Lane was to Ella. Chris laughed, tickled at her wicked humor, as he called it, but soon his expression grew earnest again.

“Well, it’s good to finally put a face on the famous Eleanor,” Chris said.

“I’m famous?” Ella asked, titing a teasing nod at Jess, who blushed but didn’t have time to explain before Chris cut in again.

“Anyway, I just wanted to let you know the magazine interview went alright. I’m gonna go catch up with the beat poet and make sure everything’s squared away,” Chris told Jess.

Nodding, Jess glared slightly at his friend, unable to hide his irritation. Chris said once again how nice it was to meet Ella before disappearing back into the central swarm of people, though it was slowly dissipating. The afternoon light outside was slowly morphing from bright to dusky. Evening would soon fall.

Smirking, Ella faced Jess again. He made a pointed effort to avoid her gaze, panic rising up in his throat.

“What is it, Stevens?” he asked, sighing slightly.

She cleared her throat, biting on her bottom lip for a moment. “Nothing. Just didn’t realize I was famous around here.”

He rolled his eyes, embarrassed. “Well, I did dedicate my book to you.”

For whatever reason, the comment caught her off-guard. They both knew he had dedicated it to her. But, she couldn’t help but think about how before, Jess would have never been able to admit such a gesture out loud. Hell, at seventeen Jess couldn’t even admit fixing the toaster in the diner for Luke.

“Yeah,” she said slowly, searching for a witty remark but coming up empty. “Yeah, you did, James Dean.”

He faltered for just a moment. She had come, she had called him James Dean. It was confusing, but nonetheless, wonderful. Still, he knew there was no use in getting his hopes up. He would never have her again, he reminded himself. Furrowing her brows, Ella watched his expression fade from a smirk to a small, sad smile. Jess ran a hand over his mouth and tossed an anxious glance over his shoulder before taking a big breath in and blowing it out through his nose.

“Are you nervous?” she asked suddenly, face softening.

Jess nodded self-consciously.

“You don’t have to be, Jess. It’s just me,” she shrugged, gesturing down at herself humbly.

Regaining a touch of composure, Jess raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know. You’ve got bangs and tattoos. New shoes. Doesn’t look quite like my Daria.”

Ella broke into a full grin, and a warmth swelled in her chest like she hadn’t felt in such a long time. Something shifted within her. For a moment, she worried her eyes would fill with tears. But, instead, she only uttered a breathy chuckle. “Don’t worry. I think I’ll always be your Daria.”

Swallowing thickly, Jess echoed her laugh. Then, he looked over his shoulder again, only partly because he wanted to hide his face. He couldn’t risk her seeing hope flash across his expression. “Can I show you something?”

“Sure,” she said, nodding.

Gently, he grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd of young creatives. The room smelled like weathered books and hot ink. An eclectic variety of bohemian rugs covered the blue tile floor. Maybe it was a little more colorful than she would have initially guessed, but Jess truly looked like he belonged there. People waved and nodded greetings at him as they passed, Jess reciprocating shyly each time. It was refreshing. She had never seen him so in his element before. Something about the way he held himself, confident and relaxed. His hand was warm and familiar.

Eventually, they made it to the far wall, near the staircase and next to the small stage area. A few people sat around on the cushions and beanbags, drinking their beers and writing in small moleskine notebooks. She wanted to snort and roll her eyes at them, but she was simply too happy. The anxiety which had been so nauseating as she hesitated at the door was almost completely forgotten. Because Jess was excited to see her. He had taken her hand. When he disentangled their fingers, he gestured to the wall, with a collection of small frames.

As her eyes roamed over the framed sketches, it took her only a moment to recognize them. They were hers. Nine pictures, all those she’d given to Jess over the years. Jess’s car with skeletons in the seats, a screaming woman, a garden filled with snakes. Others she’d handed him in shining moments, lying together in bed, on shift at the diner, sitting in the gazebo with her head on his shoulder. And, in the center, the Hudson River. Drawn on Mother’s Day four years earlier, as they sat together on a dirty hill and escaped reality for just one day.

Before she could hold them back, tears stung her hazel eyes. Beside the arrangement of drawings, she saw a small, printed index card stuck to the wall.

Eleanor Stevens

Nine Untitled Sketches

Not For Sale

She breathed out a flabbergasted scoff, the ghost of a smile on her lips when she turned back to Jess. He smirked fondly at the look of pleasant surprise on her face. For a fleeting moment, she looked younger. Innocent in a way she so rarely was, shocked and alive. He missed that look, but hardly realized until he saw it again.

“Jess, I…” she said breathlessly, shaking her head in disbelief and facing the sketches again. Eventually, she gathered herself and found her words. “I had no idea you saved these.”

“Of course I did,” he said, shrugging as though it were obvious. “I knew they’d be worth millions someday.”

She snorted a laugh. “Not likely.”

“I’m serious, Stevens. People have been asking about these. But I didn’t want to set a price on them or anything, since I didn’t have your input,” Jess explained, eyes on her as she stared at her own past work.

Ella felt as though she might explode, almost too moved to bear. She sniffed and blinked harshly, unwilling to let the tears actually spill over, especially in public. Her hands were shaking at her sides, and she began wringing them together in front of her.

A few astonished giggles escaped her, and she shook her head a final time before she looked back at Jess. He had grown up, and so had she. But as she locked eyes with him, she felt seventeen again, could practically hear the Interpol song playing in her head. The urge to kiss him came over her, made her skin feel tingly and electric. She swallowed harshly, letting the thoughts fade in her mind. As if he had waited all this time for her. He would surely have a girlfriend. Someone who actually liked Hemingway, who could dance, who didn’t have a sailor’s mouth and a broken family.

“I don’t know what to say.” She fought the urge to bite at her nails.

Jess laughed quietly. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

She rolled her eyes at his teasing half-heartedly.

“You don’t have to say anything. I was the one who wanted to say thank you. For everything. I couldn’t have done any of this if I hadn’t met you,” he told her. Jess surprised even himself by being able to maintain eye contact with her.

“You definitely could have,” Ella said resolutely.

He smirked. “No use in arguing with you, I know. So we can agree to disagree but…”

Pausing, Jess sighed and ran a hand over his mouth again. He glanced behind him, and could see Chris and Matthew pretending they hadn’t been staring at the exchange as they bid people goodbye. There were only a few others left milling around. Jess still almost couldn’t believe Ella was standing right in front of him. For two years, he’d imagined what he would say. But, as usual, the sight of her was staggering. Her hazel gaze pierced his scarred heart and immediately all the scripts he’d written disappeared from his head.

“Look, do you...we’re going out for drinks after. Me and Chris and Matthew, the other guy we own this place with. I know drinking isn’t your thing, though I wasn’t planning on getting wasted anyway, and I don’t know when you have to go back but...do you wanna come? We can catch up?” he asked, hesitant.

Her small smile spread to a grin, and the dimple shone in her freckled cheek. “Sure, Mariano. I’d love to.”

[literatiheadcanons]

Hey guys, I’m the blog owner (Jess) and I don’t know if this is any good or not but I just wrote an 800 word Drabble thing set at Luke and Lorelai’s wedding. Honestly I’d like to flesh it out more one day but this is what it is for now. Hope you like it!

A quick story written in the notes app so you know it’s bad.

(And also written without having rewatched AYITL for a few years so any mistakes just means it’s an AU)

The gazebo was a welcome sight as the town of Stars Hollow partied into the night. Having long ago discarded her shoes, Rory padded along to the beacon of the town centre and sat carefully on the steps.

She’d never been so sober at a wedding. Even when she was underage she always managed a glass of champagne. It wasn’t something she’d really considered before tonight, not drinking for nine months. No more sushi either, or the other thing she was trying not to think about. If she stared at Kirk leading a rousing rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody long enough she could shake the image of warm cups filled with milk and sugar, and of course... coffee.

How was she supposed to live without coffee?

She was too busy willing the glass of sparkling apple juice in her hand to turn into a latte that she didn’t notice she was no longer alone until he spoke.

“God, hasn’t Freddie suffered enough?”

The warm voice made Rory smile as she looked up to face Jess. She was happy to blame hormones for her eyes lingering a little too long at the impressive way he filled out his suit. She’d always found him attractive, no matter their current relationship status. But while high school Jess was cute, grown up Jess... well, he was hot. A wave of lust shot through her as she considered his beard touching her skin literally anywhere.

Calm down Gilmore, thoughts like that are what got you knocked up in the first place.

“You should’ve seen his performance of ‘We are the Champions’ at his and Lulu’s wedding. Just be grateful he’s still wearing a shirt... and pants.” She shuddered for effect and was greeted with an equally exaggerated look of horror.

“Yikes,” he paused to take a sip of his own glass that almost definitely contained alcohol. Rory suddenly felt jealous of both the drink and the man enjoying it, “your mom was wondering where you were. Don’t know why she asked me.”

“Mom’s drunk enough that she probably didn’t recognise you. Just be grateful she didn’t think you were Luke,” she grinned at his eye roll and then decided to push at the thing that she always felt whenever he was near. It was dangerous, but nothing in her life felt particularly safe anymore, “I’m not surprised she asked you. You’ve always been good at reading me.”

She wasn’t sure what to expect from her comment, but an eye roll and a bark of a laugh were low on her list.

“It’s funny you say that, because I’ve been trying to get a read on you all night and I’ve gotta tell you, I’ve got nothing.” He looked like he wanted to say more, so Rory obliged.

“But you know something’s up, don’t you?”

“Big time. So what is it, Gilmore? Married? Divorced? Pregnant?” It was clear he saw the flinch she gave when he made that guess as he let out a low whistle. “Seriously? You’re pregnant?”

“That’s what the lady with the wand and gel told me.”

“Damn,” he took another swig from his glass, “it’s Huntzberger’s, right?”

“As far as I can tell.”

“You two not exclusive?”

“He has a fiancée.”

“But we can rule her out, right?” Jess offered with a look so serious it caused her to let out a gasping laugh. Pleased his joke had landed, Jess finally sat next to her. Nudging her leg with his, he continued, “guess you’ve got a big decision on your hands, huh? I mean what to do, tell him now, or wait until you can gather him and two other men on a Greek island and sing ABBA until you figure it out?”

“You know I can’t sing,” she smiled up at him as she rested her head on his shoulder. Years ago these gestures between them would be unheard of, but as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders it just felt right. She needed her friends more than ever, and just knowing she had Jess by her side was enough to calm a few of the nerves that hadn’t stop shaking since she saw the two pink lines.

He left the conversation there as they watched the chaos of the town unfold around them. The town that had felt so stifling to the both of them but for different reasons. Rory knew she’d have the support of each and every person that had been planning this wedding long before her mother and new stepfather had even dated the first time. She wasn’t sure what Logan would do, but in this moment it was the furthest thing from her mind, at peace in her home with Jess’ warmth enveloping her.

She’d be okay.

[aion-rsa]

The Best Thanksgiving TV Episodes

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Halloween and Christmas are objectively the two best American holidays. One allows for us all to indulge in our gothic, spooky side, while the other comes along with family and cheer (forced or otherwise). There’s another holiday between them, however, that is at constant risk of being overlooked.

Thanksgiving doesn’t have candy like Halloween or presents like Christmas. What it does have, thankfully, is television. Just like its Halloween counterpart, Thanksgiving comes along in the fall at an important time in the TV schedule. Traditionally, the last week of November is when many network TV shows are looking for a quick boost of creative and commercial energy to get through the Christmas break. And what better way than to do so than with a Thanksgiving episode, where all characters are basically culturally required to get together?

Though Halloween and Christmas specials often get the most attention, there are many fascinating Thanksgiving-themed episodes of popular TV shows. Here are just some of our favorites. 

Bob’s Burgers

Season 3 Episode 5 – “An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal” 

Fox’s beloved animated series has staked its claim to Thanksgiving as its holiday of choice, which makes sense given that the Belcher clan takes their food quite seriously. Of the many Bob’s Burgers Thanksgiving specials, season 3’s “An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal” is likely the best.

This episode finds Bob reluctantly agreeing to “rent out” his family to landlord Calvin Fischoeder (voiced by Kevin Kline) to pose as his family for Thanksgiving dinner while Bob poses as the family chef. While this is a strong enough set up to begin with, the episode excels at escalation and goes to some wild places – even indulging one of the series’ favorite recurring gags of Bob losing his mind and befriending an inanimate object. Of course the inanimate object this time around is none other than a Thanksgiving turkey.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Season 5 Episode 7 – “Two Turkeys”

“Two Turkeys” is a prime example of what makes Thanksgiving such a creatively rich holiday for sitcoms and other serialized TV endeavors to exploit. Brooklyn Nine-Nine had already long established that both Jake (Andy Samberg) and Amy’s (Melissa Fumero) respective parents were crazy. All that was left to do was to get them in the same room together.

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That’s just what “Two Turkeys” does. The whole family, including Jake’s dad Roger (Bradley Whitford), Amy’s dad Victor (Jimmy Smits), and Amy’s mom Camila (Bertila Dama), decides to have Thanksgiving at Jake’s mom Karen’s (Katey Sagal) house. Quickly, dueling Thanksgiving turkeys are set up, competitive juices start flowing, and a thumb or two is lost. “Two Turkeys” is Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s best Thanksgiving episode but “Mr. Santiago” in which Boyle intends to behead a live turkey certainly gives it a run for its money. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Season 4 Episode 8 – “Pangs”

Most TV Thanksgiving specials ignore the complicated origins of the holiday…and perhaps wisely so. For a long time, most sitcoms and network dramas lacked a real capacity to carefully discuss Thanksgiving myth-making while also addressing Native American genocide. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, however, had no such misgivings and dives right in. “Pangs” is technically the beginning of a Buffy/Angel two-hour Thanksgiving event. It’s got all the usual Thanksgiving episode trappings: food, friends, and family. It also has an army of Chumash Indian Warriors coming back from the grave to punish Sunnydale for its colonial sins. 

Chuck

Season 4 Episode 10 – “Chuck Versus the Leftovers”

This is cheating a bit as “Chuck Versus the Leftovers” technically takes place on the day after Thanksgiving. But Black Friday shopping and turkey leftovers are certainly a part of the Thanksgiving experience. 

This episode finds Chuck’s mom Mary (Linda Hamilton) and international arms dealer Alexei Volkoff (Timothy Dalton) coming over to Chuck’s place for a day-after-Thanksgiving leftover feast. Meanwhile Chuck’s friends at Buy More have to contend with the Black Friday shopping crowd. This is the definitive Chuck Thanksgiving episode as it highlights what the show does well. It balances the high-octane drama of Chuck’s spy life with his supposedly tranquil home life. Getting to enjoy Linda Hamilton and Timothy Dalton going head to head is just icing on the Jell-O salad. 

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Season 1 Episode 12 – “Talking Turkey”

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air features a few Thanksgiving episodes over its six season run but its first attempt remains the best. Will’s mom Viola makes one of her rare series appearances here when she joins the Banks’ household for Thanksgiving. 

After the parents see how the kids mistreat everyone’s beloved butler Geoffrey, the gang is forced to cook a Thanksgiving meal on their own. Predictably it doesn’t go well. This is a big episode for all involved but for Viola and Aunt Viv in particular. It’s fascinating to watch through a modern lens, given original Aunt Viv actress Janet Hubert’s steadfast lack of involvement in all future Fresh Prince reboots and reunions. 

Friday Night Lights

Season 4 Episode 13 – “Thanksgiving”

So many of the best moments in Friday Night Lights happen at the Taylor family dinner table. How then could the show pass up an opportunity for a good-old fashioned Thanksgiving episode?

“Thanksgiving” is an excellent episode that also serves as its respective season’s finale. This hour concludes Coach Taylor’s first year with the East Dillon Lions in truly satisfying fashion. Before that there’s still plenty of time for a heart-to-heart with QB Vince Howard and Buddy Garrity’s attempts at frying a turkey. 

Friends

Season 5 Episode 8 – “The One With All the Thanksgivings”

Perhaps no series on television took the responsibility of Thanksgiving episodes more seriously than Friends. Friends has so many Thanksgiving-themed episodes that the entire list could essentially be made up of them. And that makes sense given the show’s premise of friends as a found family in the big city.

For the purposes of this list, however, let’s go with the aptly-named “The One With All the Thanksgivings.” In this fifth season episode, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Joey, and Chandler flashback to all of the Thanksgivings they’ve shared together. Consider this a Canterbury Tales of Thanksgiving … that just happens to feature Monica with a turkey on her head.

Gilmore Girls

Season 3 Episode 9 – “A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving”

Stars Hollow, Connecticut on Gilmore Girls just looks like a town itching for a good fall holiday. The New England hamlet is the kind of place that absolutely lights up with some fallen leaves and the warm aroma of turkey in the oven. Thankfully, the show agreed and rolled out a Thanksgiving-centric episode in its third season.

“A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving” adopts the tried and true “accepted too many dates to the ball” trope as Lorelai and Rory are pulled among four competing Thanksgiving dinners: Lorelai’s parents, Sookie, Luke, and Lane. It’s a jam-packed (and tofurkey-packed) episode that still somehow finds the time to introduce the beloved Cat Kirk.

How I Met Your Mother

Season 3 Episode 9 – “Slapsgiving”

In many ways, How I Met Your Mother was the natural sitcom successor to Friends. Like its NBC forefather CBS’s comedy followed a group of friends living their best lives in New York City. Another area in which HIMYM picks up the Friends ball and runs with it is with its appropriately respectful treatment of Thanksgiving.

How I Met Your Mother loves itself a good Thanksgiving episode. None of them, however, are better than the season 3 installment “Slapsgiving.” This episode finds the gang gathering at Marshall and Lily’s house for their first Thanksgiving as a married couple. Meanwhile, Barney is living in mortal fear of the third slap Marshall owes him due to losing a “slap bet.” That countdown to The Slap imbues an already excellent episode with a real fun sense of urgency. 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Season 9 Episode 10 – “The Gang Squashes Their Beefs”

Dennis, Dee, Charlie, Mac, and Frank have made a lot of enemies during It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s very long, very creatively lucrative run. That’s why for the show’s ninth season finale, the gang decided to gather several of the folks they wronged together and get to squashing some beefs. And what better way to do so than with a nice Thanksgiving dinner?

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This installment is a one big setup to a dinner table with the gang’s rogue’s gallery at the end and it is all well worth the wait. Some dry turkey and even dryer conservation is nowhere near enough to make nice with the McPoyles, Hwang, Cricket, Gail the Snail, or Bill Ponderosa, but bless the gang for trying anyway.

Mad Men

Season 1 Episode 13 – “The Wheel”

Not many Thanksgiving episodes can lay claim to being their respective series best hours, but then again AMC’s all-time classic Mad Men isn’t just any other series. Season 1 finale “The Wheel” is certainly among the best Mad Men installments ever and it just so happens to take place during the week of Thanksgiving 1960.

The Thanksgiving timeframe serves as an elegiac backdrop and Mad Men viewers are forced to confront what kind of man Don Draper really is. Don delivers the pitch of his lifetime to Kodak executives as he urges them to imagine their latest photo wheel creation not as a sleek, dispassionate time machine, but a carousel that can bring families back home to all the most important times of their lives. Then when Don returns home for Thanksgiving, he discovers what he probably already knew – those times are gone and no carousel can bring them back.

Master of None

Season 2 Episode 8 – “Thanksgiving”

OK, we know we just said that not many Thanksgiving episodes can lay claim to being their respective series’ best but here is another contender. “Thanksgiving” is the eighth episode of Master of None’s second (and thus far, final) season and it’s a perfect example of everything the show does well.

This episode takes a break from Dev’s (Aziz Ansari) storyline in the present to delve into the past of his friend Denise (Lena Waithe). Over several Thanksgiving meals throughout the years, Denise comes to realize her attraction to women, processes it, and does her best to communicate her identity to her mom (Angela Bassett). It’s a touching saga made possible by the Thanksgiving season. It also serves as many viewers’ introduction to the storytelling dynamo that is Lena Waithe. 

This episode takes a break from Dev’s (Aziz Ansari) storyline in the present to delve into the past of his friend Denise (Lena Waithe). Over several Thanksgiving meals throughout the years, Denise comes to realize her attraction to women, processes it, and does her best to communicate her identity to her mom (Angela Bassett). It’s a touching saga made possible by the Thanksgiving season. It also serves as many viewers’ introduction to the storytelling dynamo that is Lena Waithe. 

The O.C.

Season 1 Episode 11 – “The Homecoming”

Mid-2000s teen drama The O.C. always paid proper respect to holidays. Who could forget the Cohen family’s dutiful observation of “Chrismukkah?” But the series’ first Thanksgiving installment in season 1 might just be its best holiday offering ever. 

“The Homecoming” is a wonderful example of everything that The O.C. does well. The plot splits itself in two with Ryan (Ben McKenzie) and Marissa (Mischa Barton) heading back to Ryan’s hometown of Chino to meet Ryan’s brother in prison. That sets up a ludicrous crime arc that would make even the Riggins brothers of Friday Night Lights jealous. Meanwhile, back at the Cohen household, Seth’s (Adam Brody) inelegant juggling of the two women in his life comes to a chaotic head.

Orange is the New Black

Season 1 Episode 9 – “Fucksgiving”

Orange is the New Black’s Thanksgiving episode debuted all the way back in 2013, when Netflix was just proving itself to be a spot for original content. So imagine viewers’ surprise that in the streaming world, you can include the F-word in episode titles.

As is the case in every OITNB episode, a lot happens in this hour-long installment. But with Thanksgiving as the backdrop, there’s a real festive air to the proceedings. Perhaps it helps that Taystee (Danielle Brooks) is set to be released and returned to the real world or that Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) is praying for the rightful end of said real world. In any case, “Fucksgiving” passionate conclusion makes a convincing case that Thanksgiving is among the sexiest of holidays.

Riverdale

Season 4 Episode 7 – “The Ice Storm”

Riverdale’s Thanksgiving episode is about just as insane as one would imagine a Riverdale Thanksgiving episode would be. “The Ice Storm” (which borrows its name and concept from Rick Moody’s 1994 novel of the same name) finds Jughead and Betty stranded at Stonewall Prep due to an ice storm on Thanksgiving while Archie hosts a Thanksgiving dinner at the community center.

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Of course this episode features cartoonish levels of scheming, but it also takes the responsibility of the holiday seriously. Riverdale spends the episode’s opening once again addressing the tragic death of Luke Perry and his character, Fred Andrews. Amid all the plot twists, the show still excels at putting family first. 

Seinfeld

Season 6 Episode 8 – “The Mom and Pop Store”

Many episodes of Seinfeld feature dense plotting, but even by those standards “The Mom and Pop Store” is a very busy episode of television. These 22 minutes feature Jerry getting tricked by a mom and pop shoe store, George trying to find Jon Voight, and Kramer having some major nosebleed problems.

But the Thanksgiving portion of the episode is what stands out as Elaine gets the invite to Jerry’s dentist’s (played by none other than Bryan Cranston, beginning his fruitful arc of Seinfeld guest appearances) Thanksgiving. Jerry is unsure if he himself is invited, but when dental issues begin to pop up, he decides that a Thanksgiving dinner full of dentists might be a useful place to stop by.

Smallville

Season 6 Episode 7 – “Rage”

While it was cruel for Smallville to wait until after the Jonathan Kent era to hold its first Thanksgiving episode, it’s nice that it got around to it all the same. Granted, Thanksgiving doesn’t factor much into “Rage.” Instead much of the hour deals with Clark assisting his good friend Oliver Queen with his mysterious addiction.

But when the Thanksgiving table moment finally does arrive, it’s a real winner. In terms of pre-Arrowverse WB/CW warm and fuzzies, it’s hard to top a dinner featuring Clark Kent, Martha Kent, Lionel Luther, and Green-freaking-Arrow. And of course the presence of NXIVM’s own Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan just adds a strange glow over all.

The Sopranos

Season 3 Episode 8 – “He Is Risen”

Many classic Sopranos scenes take place around the Sopranos family dinner table (mostly so Tony can yell at the insufferable A.J.). It’s only natural then that the show would feature a Thanksgiving episode at some point during its classic six-season run.

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That moment comes midway through the excellent season 3. Granted, Thanksgiving doesn’t play a major role in this hour, aside from Janice’s creepy elderly boyfriend muttering “he is risen” during dinner. But this episode is filled with classic Sopranos moments all the same: the introduction of Gloria Trillo, the death of Gigi Cestone on the toilet, and Ralph’s continued seasons-long efforts to dig his own grave. All of those events will factor heavily in the episodes to come, for now, however, The Sopranos is happy to just pass the gravy (actual gravy, not red sauce).

South Park

Season 15 Episode 13 – “A History Channel Thanksgiving”

Over the span of its staggering 23 seasons (plus one Pandemic Special), South Park has revealed a real affinity for holiday episodes, particularly the Christmas ones in which the show can feature longtime characters Santa Claus and Jesus Christ.

In this season 15 episode, however, South Park turns its satirical eye to Thanksgiving…or the History Channel version of it more accurately and weirdly. After the boys are assigned a paper on the history of Thanksgiving, they watch the History Channel to discover that the holiday’s origins are far more extraterrestrial than expected. Soon, Stan and company are involved in an interdimensional Thanksgiving adventure involving wormholes and Natalie Portman.

The West Wing

Season 2 Episode 8 – “Shibboleth”

A “Shibboleth” is a long-standing tradition or custom (often a phrasing or even a single word) that distinguishes one group of people from another. The best episodes of The West Wing seek to understand what the shibboleths of this strange country are…and “Shibboleth” is undoubtedly one of the series’ best episodes.

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It’s the night before Thanksgiving at the White House and the West Wing staff are all facing decisions. CJ has been tasked with choosing between two turkeys to pardon; Toby, Josh, and Sam must figure out how to watch football on Thanksgiving day; and most seriously: President Bartlett has to decide what to do with a boat of persecuted Chinese evangelical Christians seeking asylum. It’s a typically hectic day in the West’s most powerful executive office, but the show explores how one holiday can bring all the chaos to a halt. For a little bit at least.

The post The Best Thanksgiving TV Episodes appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[love-geeky-fangirl]

Rory and Lorelai were chatting on Chilton campus on Rory's graduation day, when suddenly, Rory's cell phone rang. She picked up.

"Hello? Hello?!"

Nothing. Complete silence on the other end and then all of the sudden, the other person hung up.

"Another hangup?" asked Lorelai.

"Yeah."

"You're getting a lot of those lately."

Rory tried to look as if she doesn't know what she's talking about, but she did. She very well knew- at least she assumed- that it was her boyfriend who she's gotten into a big fight with and who later skipped town without even saying goodbye to her. Yes, he was still her boyfriend, because they still hadn't broken up properly, but they weren't on good terms. He kept calling and then hanging up as soon as he heard her voice.

Rory's cell rang again. She picked up.

"Hello?"

Silence. Rory tried again:

"Hello?"

Still nothing.

At that point, Rory had enough. If he wasn't going to talk, then she was. She walked away from her mother and walked into an empty hall of her old school to have some privacy.

"Jess? Is that you?"

Not a word from the other end.

Rory sighed.

"Jess, I'm pretty sure it's you and I'm pretty sure you've been calling and not saying anything, but wanna say something."

No response.

"Hello?"

Still no response.

"You're not going to talk? Fine, I'll talk. You didn't handle things right at all. You could have talked to me, you could've told me that you were having trouble in school and weren't going to graduate and that your dad had been there, but you didn't and you ended up not taking me to my prom and not coming to my graduation and leaving again without saying goodbye again and that's fine I get it, but that's it for me. I'm going to Europe tomorrow and I'm going to Yale and I'm moving on. And I'm not going to pine. I hope you didn't think I was going to pine, okay?"

Rory took a deep breath.

"I think... I think I may have loved you, but I just need to... let it go."

Still no response. Rory's blue eyes started to fill with tears again, the tears she was always trying to fight, because she didn't want to be that girl who falls apart when she doesn't have a boyfriend. She didn't want to cry, especially not on her graduation day. She's graduating as a Valedictorian from Chilton, one of the best schools in the whole state, and she got accepted to three Ivy League universities and she's going to cry over some guy, she dated for not even six months, who didn't even finish high school?? No!

"So..." she said, her voice shaking, "that's it... I guess, um... I hope you're good, I want you to be good and um... okay, so goodbye. That word sounds really lame and stupid right now, but there it is. Goodbye."

She hung up. That was definitely the weirdest break up she's ever had. She stood up and turned around and...

There he was. Standing at the end of the hall behind her.

"Jess?" asked Rory in disbelief.

No, it couldn't be him. She's definitely just hallucinating, because of how stressed she's been and how little sleep she's been getting.

She walked in his direction. It was really him- black leather jacket, dark messy hair and a daydreamy look in his eyes he'd always had when he looked at her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came back," he said.

"What? For real?"

"Yeah, dad wouldn't let me crash at his place. So I went back to Stars Hollow and asked Luke to take me back."

"Oh."

Awkward silence. Jess stared at his shoes, having no idea what to say, but knowing he should say something and Rory trying to gather her thoughts.

"How long have you been standing here?"

"Not too long."

"And how much from that phone call did you hear?"

"Not much. Who was that?"

"You. I mean, I thought that was you, but it couldn't have been you, since you're standing right here, so it must just have been some random scam caller."

"So what did you want to tell me? That you're moving on and aren't going to pine?"

"Oh. So I guess you did hear something."

"I heard pretty much everything from the Europe part."

"Oh."

Suddenly it was Rory who was staring at her shoes, embarrassed. That means he also heard the part where she said she loves him. And that also means that some random scam caller heard her rant. She felt so embarrassed. She had never been good with love declarations.

"Is that true? Are you moving on and not going to pine for me anymore?"

"I... I don't know. I mean you just took off without a word, a note, a warning, anything really and left me in the dark for weeks. And then, someone started calling me and hanging up just as I picked up, so I assumed it must be you and..."

"It was me. At first. But not today."

"Why didn't you say something? Why did you just call and abruptly hang up?"

Jess shrugged.

"Jess! Don't just shrug! A shrug is not gonna cut it this time! Tell me, why did you do what you did in Kyle's bedroom, why did you not tell me you weren't going to graduate and leave without saying goodbye, then call but not say anything and hang up and then crash my graduation and how did you even get here?! Talk! If you want to be with me, then you're going to have to talk to me, okay?!"

Jess was quiet.

'Of course he's not going to talk,' Rory thought bitterly, 'Mom was right. I can't make him talk, he has to want to.'

"Jess?"

Nothing.

Rory turned around and walked away. She wasn't going to spend her graduation day like this, arguing with her high school boyfriend.

"Rory, wait!"

He caught up with her and took her hand.

"Look, I'm really sorry about Kyle's bedroom, okay? And about everything else that you just listed."

"That's it? That's all you have to say to me?"

"No. Look, Rory, I know I messed up. I know I did so many dumb things, basically all of the above that you just listed and I hadn't been there for you..."

"Well, at least you're self-aware," Rory snapped.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you in California. I went to this bookstore and saw this... and..."

He reached into his back pocket and took out a book and handed it to Rory.

"The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway," Rory read aloud.

"I though of you. I remembered the Bid a Basket Festival and how we talked about Hemingway and you promised to give him a chance if I give Fountainhead a chance. You read Farewell to Arms and really liked it so I loaned you some of his other books and you loved them. So I decided to buy you this one."

"Oh."

Now it was Rory who didn't know what to say. He remembered a conversation they had over a year ago? Wow.

She skimmed through the pages briefly.

"You've written in this."

"I just thought I'll put some notes in the margins for you, since it's kind of our tradition."

Rory looked deeply into his eyes. And then , just like the first time they kissed, she reached out and put her hands around his waist, pulling him close to her. Their lips locked and caressed her cheek gently."

"Rory!" yelled Lorelai from afar, "Rory! You've been in there for a while now and I'm getting worried!"

Rory pulled away from Jess.

"Oh my God. This is my graduation. I completely lost track of time and my mom's looking for me and I have to go say bye to my friends and take pictures and..."

"It's okay, I get it. Do your thing and I'll call you later."

"Okay. But this time, please, say something."

Jess laughed.

"Don't worry, I will."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Now I should go, because I feel like if your family finds me, they'll kill me."

Rory laughed, gave him a quick peck on the lips and then ran away, looking for her mother.

[prosciuttoe]

Congrats on your milestoneeeee (and your book)! Prompt: Gilmore Girls AU with Clarke as Rory and Bellamy as Jess and all the 100 gang corresponding to some quirky character in stars hollow please :)

A|N: This ended up being a mix of bellarke being jess/rory and also luke/lorelai all at once because, well… I’m a mess. Sorry love, hope you like it! 

p.s: You guys don’t have to have watched gilmore girls to read this! Just think small-town bellarke being cute. The end.

___________________

You see, the thing is, Bellamy doesn’t set out to be the town’s asshole. It just sort of happens.

It starts because it doesn’t occur to him that this arrangement he has with Kane is permanent. He figures that it’s only a matter of time before he and Octavia are allocated to another foster family, considering Kane is single and owns a diner and basically has a laundry list of traits that makes him a less-than-ideal foster parent. He fully expects to be gone by July; August latest. And in the meantime, he’ll just go on with his life without putting down roots. Simple.

Of course, this loosely translates to him being standoffish and rude to most, hence the label. Not that he minds, all that much, since it ensures that he’s left alone most of the time. He has his books and his job and Octavia. That’s all Bellamy needs, really.

Until Clarke Griffin comes into his life, and proceeds to fuck everything up.

The first time he meets her, she’s behind the counter of the diner, helping herself to the coffee pot.

“Hey!” he barks, crossing the room in three easy strides and herding her out into the open, “what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She blinks over at him, hands still clenched protectively over her cup. Then, suspiciously, “I’m— wait. Where’s Marcus?”

“Out.” He snaps, slinging a dish towel over his neck. “Look, I’m not sure what your deal is, Princess. But where I’m from, we pay for the stuff we get.”

She bristles at that, her gaze cold as she sizes him up. “I had every intention of paying. Ask your goddamn boss, he can vouch for me.”

“Well, luckily for you, he’s not available at the moment.” He shoots her a thin smile at that, extending his palm out. “That would be a dollar fifty.”

He’s expecting her to storm out after, or throw a tantrum, at the very least- so it definitely comes as a shock when she plops down by the counter instead, sipping at her coffee before she cracks open a book.

“You know,” he manages, once he’s composed himself. “That’s actually a to-go cup.”

That earns him a saccharine sweet smile on her part; practiced and distinctly condescending. “Well, I’m not planning on disrupting my morning routine on your account.”

“Glad to hear of it.” He deadpans, giving her a sarcastic half-bow of sorts before retreating back to the kitchen. (It doesn’t help that she’s reading Ender’s Game, which has been on his to-read list for months. He almost wished that she had bad taste so he could hate her for it.)

She comes back the next day, and the day after, too; always with a different book in hand but with the same breakfast order of black coffee and waffles. She always sits by the counter-  despite the numerous free tables available- and finds a way to get under his skin constantly. Whether it’s the incessant tapping of her nails against the countertop or folding the pages of her book or even, god forbid, writing in the margins. It drives him fucking crazy, to the point where it’s impossible to stay quiet about it.

Look, Bellamy is committed to his cause of self-isolation, okay? But not enough to idly look by as someone vandalizes a book.

“If you’re going to start defacing your book again, I’d prefer it if you didn’t sit here.” He points out, curt, the next time he spots her with a pencil clenched between her teeth. “It ruins my appetite for pop tarts.”

“How is writing in the margins considered a sacrilegious act?” Clarke points out, mild, tilting her chin over at him in challenge. “If anything, it enhances the reading experience. I get to look back at my notes and see if I think of the book any differently now.”

“You can reflect on it without actually writing it down in your book.”

She shakes her head at that, exasperated. Then, thrusting the book out at him, “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, mister.”

“Fine.”

(Bellamy thinks he catches a glimpse of a smile, then, but it could just be a trick of light.)

His initial plan had mostly involved ignoring her notes in the margins so as to prove a point, but he fails miserably in the end anyway. Her words are magnetic; insightful and intriguing and wholly impossible to miss, and there are times where he finds himself enjoying her thoughts more than the text itself. He finds himself writing back most of the time and it’s almost easy to fall into a routine of sorts, after that; leaving pieces of themselves in between the pages and picking out the details found in the blank spaces.

They’re well through December when he realizes that he’s not going anywhere, and that he’s pretty much half in love with Clarke.

“You should probably tell her before the rest of the town does,” Miller tells him. They’re friends- despite his best attempts at resistance- and Miller likes to drop by for breakfast before heading to his job over at the inn. “It’s not like you’re subtle, or anything.”

Bellamy can’t help but scowl a little at that. “I thought it would be a non-issue considering how half this town hates me.” He points out grouchily. “I’m an asshole, remember?”

“Yeah, but, like,” he searches for the words, shrugging, “an endearing asshole. One with a love life that a lot of people are way too invested in.”

Groaning, he drops his head onto the counter with a solid thump. “Great. Just what I wanted.”

“Just tell her before Jasper does.” Miller sighs, patting at his shoulder in what he supposes is a comforting gesture. The intended effect is more awkward than it is soothing, but Bellamy lets it slide. “That guy is a major gossip.”

He mulls over it all through the lunch hour rush crowd, fucking up several orders in the process until Kane takes pity on him and shoves him behind the cashier instead. He doesn’t do any better in that regard either considering how it all goes out of the window the second Clarke walks through the door, toting a basket in hand.

“Do I want to know?” he asks, jerking his chin over at the garland of ribbons weaved over the basket handles.

“It’s a Stars Hollow tradition,” she frowns, dropping the basket onto the counter. “Well, an outdated and antiquated one, at least. Women make the baskets, and the guys bid on them for the food and the company.” She punctuates the statement with a exaggerated roll of her eyes. “I tried asking Jaha if the guys could provide the baskets this time, and he nearly bit my head off.”

Grabbing at the mug that he’s beginning to think of as Clarke’s, he fills it with coffee, sliding it into her grasp. “So why participate, then?”

She shrugs, picking at the ragged ends of the ribbon. “It’s tradition, you know? Far be it for me to break it. Besides, I have some intel that Finn Collins is planning on bidding on mine this year, and he’s not all that bad.”

“Finn Collins?” he gapes. “As in, boyband? As in, the guy who works over at the minimart?”

“Uh, I could do worse.”

“I don’t see how anyone is worse than Finn Collins,” he declares, hating the petulant note in his voice. “That guy barely has two brain cells to rub together.”

She fixes him with a look at that, inscrutable. “It’s not like I’m drowning in prospective bidders as of the moment.”

For some stupid reason, he flushes. “Right.”

There’s a tense, awkward beat, as if she’s expecting him to say something else in response.

“So, anyway,” she says, averting her gaze. “I should probably get going. The bidding is starting up in a bit and I don’t want to be late.”

He blinks, has to remind himself to wipe the flummoxed expression off his face. “See you?”

“Yup.” She says, shooting him a tight, almost pained, smile. He watches her go for half a second, still attempting to reorder his thoughts into something comprehensible—

It all falls into place then- coming into the diner, her disappointment at his apparent disinterest- and he finds himself scrambling through the drawers of the cash register, muttering out a hasty excuse before emptying it and charging out.

“Hey!” he calls out, before she can get any further. “Shit. Clarke.”

She stops in her tracks, her expression quizzical as he draws up next to her, panting.

“Sixty.” He says, in between breaths.

“What?”

Pulling out a wad of bills from his pocket, he presses it into her palm, his pulse thundering in his ears. “Sixty for your basket,” he says, swallowing. “And your company.”

She stares at him, the minutes dragging on—

Before she breaks out into a smile, bright and fucking delighted, pulling one from him as well. “Took you long enough,” she goes, beaming, before looping her arm around his. “Can you spare a few minutes?”

“Yeah,” he laughs, reaching over to lace their fingers together; planting him in place. “I have time.”

[wittywallflower]

So I clicked on some clickbait on FB, as one does, and started reading 25 Things Wrong With Gilmore Girls We All Choose To Ignore thinking “I’m not gonna get defensive on every little point because no media, even my faves, are perfect”. And several of the points made were actually good points that highlighted problematic elements of the show.

But. Plenty of the points still left me with Things To Say.

I’m not gonna touch on all 25, feel free to click the link to see them all. But here’s the ones I decided to nitpick about:

19. STARS HOLLOW'S WEIRD OBSESSION WITH RORY

"Seriously, were there no other cool kids in Stars Hollow for the entire town to creepily focus its attention on? Everyone is obsessed with Rory – Taylor basically forces her to be Queen of Stars Hollow and everyone else is thinks the sun shines out of her forehead for literally no reason.

Sure, she’s nice and the whole “it takes a village to raise a child” idea is endearing, but at the end of the day, the Stars Hollow residents’ level of investment in Rory Gilmore is creepy, inappropriate, and kind of annoying. What about Lane?"

I feel this entry has a little tunnel vision. The show is about the Gilmores so the focus is on Rory as the cool kid the town loves. But i see plenty of evidence the townspeople act similarly towards other kids, not just Rory. Everyone in town knows what Mrs. Kim is like but instead of respecting her parenting decisions, they are happy to slyly aid and abet Lane in breaking all her rules. They give her rehearsal space and hire her band for events. They dont tell Mrs Kim when they see Lane change into a Sex Pistols tshirt in a phone booth (example invented: we all know it was the Dead Kennedys) Dean is in town for like 2 minutes before everyone (including people who haven’t met him yet) know he is looking for a job and they all start comparing notes on where he should work. I think there is enough evidence in those glimpses to suggest that SH adults are like this with more kids than just Rory. We just dont see a whole about many SH kids. Frankly we get to see more about some of the Chilton’s kids (I know exactly where Louise’s father is (prison) yet no fucking clue about Mr Kim).

THE GILMORES ARE IMPOSSIBLY JUDGMENTAL

"Okay, we get it, the Gilmores were dysfunctional. It made sense that after the first few seasons of them getting to know each other again they would still hit roadblocks.

It took Emily and Richard nearly seven years to give Lorelai the credit she deserved.

We get that they wanted her to succeed on a higher level than she already was, but after seven years of Lorelai insisting on living her life the way she wanted to, the most Richard and Emily could do was basically give her a punch on the arm in the series finale. That made both of them seem more emotionally stunted than they actually were.”

This is where i started to wonder if the author of this listicle had actually… met real life people. They WERE emotionally stunted in more than one way, but also they were prideful. Pride will make it so people refuse to bend even when they know they are wrong. Especially when they know they are wrong. I find this completely realistic and it makes sense to me because I know people whose parents still haven’t forgiven them for choosing a different college than their parents wanted them to attend and well into their kid’s (successful) adult life were casting shade on their career choices because of it. This isn’t something that is “wrong with the show” (the entire premise of the listicle), this is something that is a negative personality trait of two characters.

16 THE STARS HOLLOW VORTEX

“Part of the charm of Gilmore Girls was the idyllic town of Stars Hollow. It was adorably and sometimes painfully charming, but at the end of the day provided a dreamy backdrop for the real-life difficulties Lorelai and Rory faced regularly.

The show made it seem as though no one in Stars Hollow had any ambition to do anything else but to live out their lives in Stars Hollow.

Neither Lane nor Dean go to college and both settle there, and none of the adults have lives that take them out of Stars Hollow. It’s completely self-contained and kind of weird.”

This is making so many assumptions about characters whose backstories were never developed. Did Gypsy live in SH all her life? Did Sookie and Jackson? Did the town troubadour? For all we really know, Taylor backpacked through Europe and served in the Marines before he turned into Taylor...

Lane toured with her band, which was her goal from the second she fell in love with that drumset. Who knows what else she would have done if she hadn’t gotten pregnant? (blame the babies, not the town!) Dean got married and then divorced. He talked enough about college that I feel he probably would have gone if he hadn’t decided to get married too young.  

Patty was on Broadway. Michel is from France. At what age did Mrs Kim move to Stars Hollow, even? the other characters were not the focus and so we never learned about their ambitions or their past. This entry gives me a vibe of coming from someone who just cant understand why life in a small town would be so appealing to so many different people. I cannot shake my assumption that OP is younger than i am by a decade or so.

15.LORELAI IS ACTUALLY REALLY UNGRATEFUL TO HER PARENTS

“Lorelai had a point about not wanting to live in her parents 'world, especially given how insistent they were that she do so while she was young. But once she struck out on her own and they had no choice but to accept that, she should’ve softened a little toward them.

Any help they offered she resented, to the point of hurting Emily’s feelings on a regular basis. Richard had to point out to Lorelai how devastated Emily was when her only daughter ran away because Lorelai had never thought to ask. It’s just too much.”

She should have softened to the people we were just saying were way too judgemental of her for Rory’s entire childhood? Accepted their help that always came with strings? And where would young Lorelai learn that emotionally mature tactic? From said emotionally stunted parents? She is Emily’s daughter as much as she doesn’t want to admit she is anything like her mother. The example she was given as she grew up was that if someone displeases you, you freeze them out. Hell, Lorelai even does that to her own daughter when Rory drops out of Yale.

Parents or not, Lorelai making nice to people who have berated her probably her entire life (if we judge by the flashback of Lorelai’s coming-out dress fitting), and definitely since she got pregnant is unreasonable to expect. They have criticized every choice she made up until midway through the series. Why does she owe them gratitude for anything except “thanks for feeding and clothing me till i started doing it myself literally as young as i legally could?

Also throwback to my talk about pride: Lorelai learned pride from her parents. She is less officious about it by far, but she still has the Gilmore pride. Plus she was a literal child herself the first couple years of Rory’s life. There were things she just couldn’t understand (like Emily’s devastation) until she experienced parenting a teen herself.

10.RORY'S ANTI-DIGITAL ATTITUDE

“Let's discuss Rory’s performance at her job interview with SandeeSays, the Buzzfeed-type company she considers a job far beneath her.

She shows up completely unprepared, she has no pitches to offer, and she generally comes across as completely entitled.

Her interviewer at SandeeSays was totally courteous, and Rory was totally shortsighted to act as though she was too good for a job there. That job has benefits, Rory Gilmore! Just who do you think you are and when did you start exemplifying entitled rich people stereotypes?”

Who does Rory think she is? The person who already got the job. Rory very clearly thought she had been offered the position, not offered the chance to interview for the position. Whether she thought that because of a misunderstanding, because of an unconsious sense of privilege, or because SandeeSays doesnt have a hiring manager to run these things smoothly, we don’t know… i’d guess a combination of all three. But SandeeSays repeatedly contacted her and asked her to come to them even when she kinda blew them off about it. That is just not normal for people to do for someone they just want to interview. But Rory though she was showing up for her first day on the job, not a job interview. We know Rory, she would have been over-prepared. She never would have worn that dress, she would have wore her Conde Nast dress. But she arrives and is asked to jump through a bunch of hoops for a job she didnt even want in the first place. They are reasonable hoops for a job interview like that. I would think someone showing up for a job interview in journalism without being prepared for that is a fool. But Rory didn’t know it was a job interview!!!

Also her interviewer at SandeeSays was pretentious and smug af, don’t lie.

9,WHY DID PEOPLE TOLERATE TAYLOR?

“Oh, man was Taylor Doose a a pill. He was pushy, selfish, vindictive and weirdly obsessed with his town. We can forgive the last one – everyone has a thing, but the rest of his behavior is rude at best and abusive at worst.

Yes, Stars Hollow is a magical fairyland that allows for everyone within it to live their idiosyncrasies, but Taylor Doose crossed the line.

He demanded whatever he wanted, abused his position by using it to push people around and then had the gall to get all mopey and depressed when Jackson beat him in the town selectman election. Get a job, man.”

Why do people tolerate Taylor? Because he is a white man with political power. (Granted its only a tiny bit of power that applies only locally. Taylor makes it seem like he controls a lot more than he does… or maybe not, since we do find out he owns like half the rental properties in town)

The author of this listicle seems young, like they havent been around. Its pretty realistic for people to put up with a shitty white man throwing his weight around. The only unrealistic part was that brief moment where he was mopey and depressed, but then Taylor did the realistic thing: he belligerently doubled down when he asked for a recall election.

That’s 100% authentic believable Shitty White Man behavior there. If anyone could explain why people tolerate it in real life, we wouldnt have Trump destroying the country rn. Art is just imitating life here.

6.MICHEL WAS NEVER FIRED

“While Sookie was brilliant comic relief, she also did her job fantastically well. Michel was great comic relief, but also literally the worst person to work customer service in the hospitality industry.

We almost never saw him do his job well.

In fact, we saw him shirk his duties so often it stopped being charming and started becoming ridiculous. There’s a way to write someone who hates working customer service but is actually good at customer service and make it funny. Michel just stopped making sense after a while. We still love him, though.”

Author of listicle has clearly never had a shitty boss that was terrible at their job and also a jerk. These people dont get fired nearly as often as they probably should.

the actual way this is super unrealistic is the fact that Michel didnt get fired despite being a black, gay, foreign man. If he was a white American dude, i wouldnt question it at all. (It would be more realistic for Sookie to get fired because despite being an amazing chef, she clearly hemorrhages money in the kitchen, scrapping entire menus when the perfectly edible vegetables aren’t perfect enough for her.)

And its not true we never see Michel do his job well. He did a great job as concierge in that scene when Lorelai and Sookie go to visit him at the other hotel he is working at while the Dragonfly is being built.

4.RORY COULDN'T HAVE GRADUATED ON TIME FROM YALE

“Rory took nearly a year off from Yale after a major breakdown – sometimes you need to take a break. But realistically, Yale is a demanding school. There is no way Rory could’ve made up all the credits necessary to graduate on time without taking summer classes, while still putting in considerable hours at the Yale Daily News as well as having a boyfriend and a social life.

While it was ultimately very realistic for her to finally crack under some pressure, the fact that she didn’t have to pay for the long break she took speaks to the inherent privilege at work on the show.”

IIRC Rory only missed a semester. (Remember she points it out when they are talking about electing a new head of the Daily News? when they nominate her she says “I did miss that semester so i dont have seniority”)  Which would be difficult to make up, but far from impossible... Rory has experience coming from behind and catching (Chilton). I don’t know exactly how credits work at Yale but in my own university experience, you’re only take a couple classes a semester. Remember Rory being upset that she had to drop a course because 5 classes was more than she could juggle. If she missed a semester of say 3 classes (a reasonable number if one of those courses was a lab or a difficult upper level course), she would only have to add an extra class to on to 3 semesters: her first semester back and then each semester the next year. She mentions taking extra classes (and being stressed by that). Things like independent studies also exist. Some schools give credit for internships (shadowing THE Mitchum Huntzberger would be worth one credit at least for a journalism major). The extra courses and eventually cracking under the pressure WAS Rory paying for the long break.

2.JACKSON LYING ABOUT HIS VASECTOMY

“This was so messed up. Not only did Jackson lie to his wife about something incredibly important, but he didn’t take other precautions to make sure she wouldn’t get pregnant. Sookie didn’t basically got pregnant through no choice of her own the third time and that is not something that is funny at all.

The show made light of it because Sookie and Jackson were never anything but comic relief, but this is a part of the show that absolutely does not hold up in any way shape or form. Shame on you, Jackson.”

I ain’t here to dispute this one but to chime in and agree. Shame on you, Jackson. This show is largely pretty wholesome and tbh i consider this to be one of the worst things one person does to another in the series. Completely devoid of any maliciousness, yes, he 100% did not intend it to happen but it did. Rory can steal a yacht and I’m like “whatever, they got the boat back intact, Rory probably even filled the gas tank later cuz she felt bad for stealing it” But Jackson knocking up a woman who did not want to have that baby because he was too cowardly to get snipped and then too cowardly to admit he didnt do it… is super uncool. (idk what kind of pressure exactly Sookie was putting on him to have the vasectomy. trying to force him into it would also be super uncool. But did Jackson even really try to make Sookie understand how very much he didnt want to do it? Neither party is innocent, but Jackson didn’t have to grow a whole baby so frankly, he gets my scorn)

1RORY ENDING UP BACK AT THE BEGINNING

“Part of what made Gilmore Girls so successful in the first place is that Rory and Lorelai went through very different experiences. That's why it made sense that they would relate on a friendship level as opposed to butting heads like Emily and Lorelai did.

Rory getting pregnant at the end of A Year in the Life kind of undermined a lot of the show.

It also felt really tacked on and contrived. Considering there was no second season promised at that point, it was a really strange way to end. It seemed odd to make Rory so driven and career-minded, only to lead her back to same place as her mother.”

Author of listicle is charmingly naive. That’s just life sometimes, kid. Shit happens to screw up our plans and goals. A lot of us end up more like our mothers than we wanted to when we spent out teen years swearing we wouldnt. Given Rory’s lifestyle of living out of boxes stashed at three different houses, jetsetting between Stars Hollow, Hartford, New York and London, being so stressed out that she continually forgets she has a boyfriend… who is surprised the girl missed a pill or two??

Accidents happen. There’s at least 3 major accidental pregnancies in the series that have life-changing consequences for the woman. 4 if we count Lorelai’s teen pregnancy that kicks off the entire premise of the show. I don’t see how it undermines the show when the show has clearly made an minor theme of this. They show that it can happen to anyone in any situation from a brand new bride like Lane who had dreams she wanted to pursue, to a happily married mother of two who wasnt planning a third, to a relationship that is actively in the stage of crumbling (a la Sherry).

Its not contrived. Its realistic. OP just hasn’t experienced enough reality to see that.

[athingthatwantsvirginia]

Oliver Twist and Little Orphan Annie

PART TWENTY OF THE DO YOU SEE HER FACE? SERIES

Pairing: Jess Mariano x Original Character (Ella Stevens)

Warnings: discussions of physical/emotional abuse, anxiety about future, serious angst, plentiful pop culture references

Word Count: 5.8K

Summary: As graduation approaches, Ella and Jess paint a room, and attend a party.

“How have you never painted a room before?” Ella asked, tiling her head at Jess as she guided his hand, armed with a roller, up and down.

A creamy white streaked the wall in stark contrast with the old color, giving off pungent fumes. Her one window was opened all the way, letting in the late May air. Rain poured on Stars Hollow, a thunderstorm which brought humidity and lightning. The sky had faded to a dark greenish-gray, a dull bruise. But Ella felt her spirits lifted high. Lorelai had paint leftover from redoing the Independence Inn following the fire, and she’d given it all to Ella. Sometimes, she didn’t know what she would do without the Gilmore matriarch. If she had to stay in her room during college, the least she could do was have a new mural. Three of the walls would be soft eggshell, while she had yet to decide the exact design of the one behind her bed. She had a lot of purple to use, and was thinking something floral. But the base coat was all they needed for the day.

Jess had volunteered rather than been recruited, but it quickly became clear to Ella that he had no idea what he was doing. His first few strokes were patchy at best, textured at worst. She was thankful Luke hadn’t gotten a new apartment back when they were thinking of moving. The plan then had been to have Jess paint it. Ella could only imagine the quarrels which would have ensued. As she guided Jess’s hand, she maneuvered around the mattress in the center of the room, piled high with almost all her belongings and surrounded by layers of plastic to protect the carpet.

“We can’t all be Michelangelo,” he quipped, frustrated with his clear incompetence. In theory, painting a room evenly wasn’t hard. But, a perpetual renter, he had zero experience. Theory was proving much different than practice.

Ella snorted a laugh. “Jess, it’s not the Sistine Chapel. You’re painting one wall with one color.”

“Easy for you to say. You paint all the time.”

She rolled her eyes. “You didn’t have to help. Just don’t apply too much pressure. We’ll have to do a few coats, but that’s the only way to make it look good.”

“I’ll do my best,” Jess grumbled as she stepped away from him, going to her own paint tray and prepping her roller for the wall next to his.

“I know you will, James Dean,” Ella said, more sincerely than he was expecting.

Smiling a tiny smile, Jess glanced over his shoulder at her. Her hair, held away from her face in a black bandana, fell down her back. The old Pixies t-shirt she wore rose up as she reached high on her tiptoes, exposing the dimples in her back, above the waistband of her worn jeans. His stomach buzzed with pleasant butterflies as he turned back to the wall.

“You write your speech yet?” Jess asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

Groaning playfully, Ella shook her head more to herself than to Jess. “No. Not quite ready to pretend to have some inspiring message about the last four years. Also, I’m pretty sure my speech is going to be the last one. I’ll have to follow whatever those student government kids have to say.”

“Well, graduation is still three weeks away. You’ve got some time, Miss Valedictorian,” he said.

“One of four valedictorians,” she reminded him, her tone dismissive. “With the lowest GPA of all four.”

“How many times, Eleanor? It’s still a huge deal.”

“Yeah, whatever,” she said, breathing a soft sigh.

Before Jess could speak again, a quiet knock sounded on the door. Ella’s father didn’t wait to be invited in before he opened the door. Both of them turned and Jess could almost see Ella’s body turn rigid. Jess bit his lip again and put his paint roller down in his tray as Jake Stevens began to speak.

“Hey, Ellie, how’s it going in here?” Jake asked.

“Fine,” Ella shrugged, gazing around the room. “Should be done by tomorrow or day after next.”

Jake nodded. “Good. Don’t want the house smelling like this forever.”

“Right,” she said. “I just figured...white will be a better color for a guest room when I move out, and with the pink gone only one wall will need painting by then.”

“But that won’t be for a while, right?” Jake said, eyebrows raised.

There was almost a warning tone in his voice, Jess thought. In the interactions he’d seen between Ella and her father, it was never blatant. Jake never said anything overtly cruel or malicious, but it was in the way he said things. Like he knew there was nothing his daughter could do to get out from under his thumb. Like he could forever bind her to the role her mother used to fill, the chores and the emotional labor, while still ignoring her as if she didn’t live in the room right next to his. It was such an odd dichotomy.

Jess could definitely understand having a parent who was often neglectful, but there was a strange, controlling element to Jake’s behavior which Jess had never experienced himself. Many of Liz’s boyfriends (and sometimes fiancés, and sometimes husbands) were addicts with less than friendly personalities. But they were never around long enough to establish true manipulation of him. Instead, Jess would fight with them (more often than not, to protect Liz) until they got fed up and left. Then, Liz would blame him for driving the guy away and the cycle would begin again. The last time he’d gotten into a scrap with one of her men, punches had been thrown. Jess had even landed a few himself, but his fighting back proved to be the final straw for Liz. Instead of watching the man walk away from her, she’d sent Jess to Luke. But, of course, she’d moved onto the next one by the time Jess returned to New York following the accident with Rory’s car.

Those men, their main weapon was fear. But Ella’s father wielded guilt instead. He used his words, how he said them, and small actions disguised as discipline, instead of his fists. He loomed over his daughter coldly. She didn’t often talk about it, but Jess knew Ella’s father had slapped her at least once as a child, for talking back to him at the dinner table. She’d made the comment off-handedly, as though it was nothing. As though all parents kept their kids in line using such methods. And she claimed her father hadn’t touched her in anger since, that things were getting better between them, that her father had a hard childhood of his own and he had learned to parent in an abusive environment. But touch wasn’t always the vehicle for household violence. A family could have some kind of love without it being a healthy kind of love. It wasn’t dramatic, he didn’t witness any blow-outs. And though Jake always had a beer in hand when he was home, Ella only shook her head when Jess brought it up, told him her father never got blackout drunk anymore. Not since Fiona came around. But the subtle, warning tone was always there. And Jess could see shades of it every time Jake and Ella spoke to each other.

“Yeah,” Ella said, offering a weak smile. “Not for a while. But I’ll be thanking myself in four years.”

“Smart,” Jake agreed, nodding. Then, he turned to Jess: “And how are you, young man? No college plans I hear?”

“No,” Jess said, shaking his head. “Personally, I think I’m better equipped for trades.”

Again, Jake nodded slowly, keeping his eyes on Jess. “I suppose only time will tell, won’t it?”

“Yes. Yes, it will,” Jess said shortly.

Jake smiled thinly. “Well, I can’t wait to see the room when it’s done. As you were, kids.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Ella said, picking her roller back up as her father shut the door behind him.

Swallowing dryly, she took a second to listen to the rain outside. She flexed her free hand once and then got back to work, humming a Fleetwood Mac song under her breath. Jess watched, hesitant to say a word. Slowly, he began to paint again, rollers squeaking quietly against the walls.

“I hate it when he calls me ‘young man,’” he said, trying to keep his tone light.

She scoffed. “Wow, I’m shocked.”

“Yes, I’m very unpredictable,” he quipped. “There you go, type-casting me again.”

“Hey, I can’t help it if you’re James Dean back from the dead,” she teased, smirking over at him. “Speaking of which, are you too cool for the party next weekend, or are you gonna come watch Lane play with me?”

Running his free hand over his mouth, Jess locked eyes with her, looking over his shoulder again. “Depends. Are we gonna go make fun of everything like we’re gonna do at prom?”

Ella nodded. “Everything except the music. You can come be a Grinch with me, just like at the diner on Christmas.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“And you don’t get to complain about my driving at prom. It’ll be a station wagon instead of a limo, since your rust bucket is gone,” Ella reminded him. Three weeks prior, Jess had walked out of the diner one morning and found his car gone. He had heard no leads about it since.

He sighed through his nose. “Whatever you say, soccer mom. I’ll get the tickets this week.”

“Okay, but I’m paying you back for mine.”

“If you insist,” he shrugged.

“I do.”

His eyes lingered on her a moment longer as she reached high on the wall. Sidestepping his painting tray, he brought a gentle hand to the small of her back and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Scrunching up her nose, she chuckled and told him not to distract her. And he went back to work laughing.

.   .   .

Though there were rips in her fishnets, Ella felt an added, confident skip to her step as she passed town square. The Spring Fling festival banner was still hung over the gazebo, though it had ended with a parade the night before. Bunches of flowers still lined the streets, beginning to wilt in the heat of May. In the back of her mind, she worried vaguely about her dark eye makeup melting off in the sunshine. Her Doc Martens squeaked on the tile floor of Luke’s as she waltzed in, breathing a small sigh at the gust of cool air conditioning. She smoothed down her black floral dress, blowing loose strands of hair, which had fallen from her half-up, half-down look, away from her freckled cheeks.

Only a few customers peppered the red tables, and no one occupied the counter. Luke scribbled on his pad as he stood behind the ancient register, preparing to close.

“Hey, Luke,” she called, smiling slightly at him.

He mumbled a greeting to her, not glancing up. Ella scoffed out a laugh at his disinterest, and didn’t bother asking if it was alright before going behind the curtain and trudging up the stairs. He’d been acting off lately, and though she wondered if it was something to do with his lawyer lady friend, she knew better than to ask. She’d spent the afternoon before visiting Julie in New Britain, and he seemed to have cooled off at least a little since she’d last seen him. Granted, it had been a Thursday, inventory day. One could always expect a fair amount of open hostility from Luke on inventory day. Ella could hear the sound of the Sex Pistols before she even neared the apartment door. Only knocking twice, and assuming she wouldn’t be heard over the music anyway, she stepped into the apartment. Jess sat up in his bed, reading Dead Souls, brows furrowed in concentration in spite of the noise.

Smirking, she came over and turned down the music to half volume. He only looked up to see her as Johnny Rotten got quieter, and blinked in surprise at her. She set her bag shoulder bag down on the worn wooden floor and sat at the end of the bed, legs hanging off the side.

“Hey, James Dean,” she said. “More light reading?”

He shrugged. “Seems that way.”

Clicking her tongue, she shook her head to herself. “I can just never stomach the Russians.”

Finally, one corner of his mouth quirked slightly upward. “So unrefined.”

She shrugged. “Maybe someday you’ll convert me.”

“Someday.” Jess put his book on the nightstand and ran a hand over his mouth. “You look ready to rock and roll all night and party every day.”

Rolling her eyes, Ella ignored the (millionth) KISS joke and cast her eyes down to her outfit once more. “Thanks. I was going for sort of a Winona Ryder thing.”

“Aren’t you always?”

“That I am,” she smiled, standing from the bed and holding a hand out to him. “We gotta go if we want to see the full set.”

Sighing through his nose, he grabbed her hand to pull himself up and nodded.

“Oh, and I finished my speech today,” she said as she watched him go over to the dresser to change out of the shirt he’d worn on shift and into his Metallica tee.

“Huh.”

“If you wanna read it before graduation, I can give you inside access,” she teased. “Or you can be surprised at the actual ceremony.”

“As long as it doesn’t mention me,” he muttered as he changed and checked his hair in the mirror.

She snorted a laugh. “Don’t flatter yourself, Mariano.”

Watching his reflection in the mirror, she saw a half hearted smirk cross his face. It didn’t reach his eyes. He ran a hand over his mouth again as he appraised his reflection, and Ella’s brows furrowed in concern.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He turned back to her and gave an unconvincing nod. “Fine.”

“Really? We don’t have to go if you’re not okay, y’know. I mean, I want to see Lane play, but in general I think parties are meaningless excuses for teenage debauchery.”

Jess didn’t look back at her when he spoke, turning off his music and going over by the door to grab his shoes. “We’re going. I know how much you wanna see Lane.”

Biting the inside of her cheek, she noticed the storms brewing in his brown eyes. His face was slightly pale. He looked exhausted. When he straightened up, shoes on, she went over and put her hand to his cheek.

“Do you feel sick?” she asked, feeling him lean into her touch though he wasn’t feverish. “You were fine Thursday night, but you closed alone. Did you get to sleep afterwards? I know sometimes if you work too late you can’t get to sleep-“

“Eleanor,” he cut her off, his voice tired, “I’m fine. Let’s just go. Please.”

Raising at a hesitant brow at the shortness of his tone, she bit her tongue and nodded slowly. He certainly didn’t seem fine, but they would be late if they waited much longer. And Lane was counting on her being there. Jess grabbed her hand and led her out of the apartment. And when he felt her give his hand a reassuring squeeze, he had to swallow down the myriad of emotions which rose in his throat.

.   .   .

Lane’s band, which still had yet to earn a name, got through the first set with little to no bumps in the road. The living room was stuffy, a suburban wet dream filled to the brim with drunk students. An ever-present smile shone on Ella’s face as she watched her friend banging it out on the drums, despite how much she disliked the stickiness of the atmosphere. She knew how much Lane had always wanted this, her own band, her own instrument. As they finished up with their first thirty minutes, having announced an intermission, Dave Rygalski walked by her, Jess, and Rory with a nod. Ella was glad Jess and Dave had been getting along so well. If Jess was going to stay in Stars Hollow for the foreseeable future, he had to have some other friends besides her and Rory. As soon as Lane hopped up from her drums, she came squealing over to the three of them in excitement, engulfing Rory in a hug. However, before she had too much of a chance to babble about the set, Dave whisked her away for a private conversation.

Rory smiled over at Jess and Ella weakly when she saw Dean nearing their vicinity with his new girlfriend, Lindsey, and quickly retreated to another room. Ella leaned back against Jess, who stood behind her, near the pristine couch, with his arms wrapped around her waist. She could feel his breathing against her back, smell his pine scent. And she thought for the first time in a very long time that the future might not just be survivable, but bright. Soon, she would be a high school graduate, be (tentatively) majoring in history, which had been her second-best subject in public school, still working at the diner. It wasn’t what her wildest dreams called for, but it certainly wasn’t bleak.

Jess’s breath was hot on her neck as he spoke into her ear, which was still buzzing from the loud music and the crowd. “You wanna go?”

She shook her head against his chest. “I think we should stay for the second set. And I haven’t even gotten a chance to talk to Lane yet. She’ll probably need my sage wisdom after whatever she and Dave are talking about.”

“Elle, I don’t-”

Before he could finish, he saw Dean and Lindsey heading directly for them.  Ella could feel Jess’s muscles instantly tense, his hands tightening around her own, his face stony. She knew how the feud started, with Dean trying to pull Jess away from a fight when Jess first came to town. But, then again, she had once gotten him off of Peter Smith. Only then, he didn’t take a swing at her like he had at Dean. If Jess hadn’t changed so much since then, and Dean hadn’t been such an asshole to Rory, she probably would’ve been on Dean’s side. But in the few times she’d heard Jess and Dean speak, she knew there was fault on both sides. And she was inclined to align with one of her best friends and her boyfriend before some possessive dick from Chicago.

“Hey, guys,” Dean began, his hand in Lindsey’s grasp as they ambled over. “Have you seen Rory?”

Ella actually liked Lindsey. They’d been acquaintances in high school (though in a class of only about seventy kids, one was usually acquaintances with everyone else), and had always thought her very sweet. And she could rock the bleach blonde look like no one else in their grade. It was certainly a style choice Ella could admire.  

Ella shrugged. “She’s around here somewhere. Why?”

“Just thought I’d say hello,” Dean replied, eyes searching the room for his ex-girlfriend, while his new girlfriend stood at his side.

“How sweet of you,” Jess said, venom in his voice.

Ella cleared her throat and pivoted the conversation before Dean could shoot anything back. “Yeah, anyway, you guys like the band?”

“Oh, they were great. I can’t say I recognized a lot of the songs, though,” Lindsey smiled, her voice light.

Nodding, Ella attempted a generous smile back. “Don’t feel bad. Lane knows every song in the English language. And some in pretty much every other language, too. There are bound to be some deep cuts in their repertoire, if she has any say in the set lists.”

Lindsey chuckled.

“So, Ella, I heard you’re going to Southern Connecticut State?” Dean asked, continuing the small talk despite the thick tension in the air.

Still, Ella forced a plastic smile on her face. She knew Rory wouldn’t want her causing any trouble, as the heartbreak was still so fresh. And she’d been able to master her people-pleasing artificiality after her years of serving Taylor at the diner.

“Yeah. Managed to score a spot.”

“Me too,” Dean said. “What are you going for?”

“History.”

“Oh, cool. I’m thinking maybe business, but I’m not entirely sure yet.” Dean had at some point focused his attention away from Ella and onto Jess, who still had his arms wrapped around Ella, watching the awkwardness silently. He just wanted whatever small town, false polite nonsense which was necessary to be over. “What about you, Jess?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re not going to college or anything, right? Seems like you’re not going to school at all anymore, anyway.” Dean narrowed his eyes at Jess, and a momentary staring contest ensued.

Disentangling himself from Ella, Jess decided not to humor Dean’s attempt to rile him. “I’m gonna go check out the state of that bathroom line,” he muttered to Ella before trudging off.

Brows furrowing in concern, Ella's eyes lingered on him as he went, until he turned a corner and she lost sight of him. Huffing out an angry breath, she turned back to Lindsey, and Dean, who had a pleased expression on his face. Shaking her head, mostly to herself, she excused herself to go find Lane, maneuvering through the sweaty bodies and drunken mumbles.

.   .   .

Balmy air and crickets, Ella finally found Jess again out on the back porch. Most people were inside, gearing up for the band’s second set. She’d had to spend a pretty long time pulling a drunken Lane off the phone to her mother, aided by a still-shaken Rory. The evening seemed to have come to a screeching halt in the hour since the first set, and Ella was debating grabbing Jess’s hand and dragging him out. It was doubtful Lane would be conscious enough to make it through a song, let alone a second set. When Ella didn’t see his gelled black curls in the living room sea of teenage heads, she knew right where Jess would be. The night was pleasant, not quite too warm or humid, despite it being late May.

He stood with his forearms leaned against the railing, facing the lush green backyard, and he didn’t even look back when he heard her open and close the screen door. Ambling up next to him, her boots felt heavy on her feet. The air was cool on her hot skin, and the spring breeze blew her hair from her face. Arms against the polished wooden rail, mirroring him, she waited a few moments before finally speaking in a soft tone. She tilted her head to the red solo cup Jess held in his hands.

“Penny for a sip?” she asked.

Jess smirked. Saying nothing, he held the cup out to her. Taking a gulp of his slightly warm beer, she grimaced and then handed it back to him.

“Thank you, good sir.”

“Who are you? Oliver Twist?”

She shrugged, noncommittal. “Or Little Orphan Annie. Can’t keep my broadway straight. You could probably help me out.”

“Very funny, Stevens,” he said, a ghost of a smile on his face. But it didn’t meet his eyes. They lacked their usual sardonic sparkle, even in the glowing moonlight.

Leaning into his shoulder, Ella took in another deep breath of the fresh air. “What are you doing out here, James Dean? Did you not bring your sulking book?”

“Just couldn’t handle it inside.” He took another swig of his drink, emptying the cup, and set it carefully on the railing next to him.

“Was it Dean?” Ella asked, placing a hand on the back of his neck and running her fingers through the ends of his hair.

Jess glanced down at the ground with a bitter chuckle. “You think I actually care about Frankenstein’s monster in there?”

She scoffed knowingly. “Okay, fair enough. We can go soon, if you want. Lane’s wasted and Rory’s all messed up about Dean being here. And, I think I forgot to feed the cat? I have no idea why I let him stay in our house. He showed up right after my mom died, and kept hanging around our porch. He was already so old and he was so skinny. So I started letting him in when it got colder. My dad barely even noticed. I thought he’d be grateful, but now he hates us. Guess there was a lot of yelling and crying going on when he first came to live with us. But I suppose misery loves company-”

“I just…” Jess began, cutting off her rambling voice. He knew she was still waiting for an answer, but didn’t want to ask him another question. “You work your ass off for four years, and Dean still gets into the same college as you.”

Ella shrugged. “I don’t mind. There’s lots of people there. I probably won’t ever see him.”

“At least he’s finishing high school,” Jess muttered, shaking his head to himself and looking down at his hands, clenching and unclenching them in fists.

Brows furrowed, Ella’s hand fell from his skin and she tilted her head in askance. “What do you mean?”

He heaved a big sigh, looking out into the woods beyond the yard. Somewhere through the trees, he thought he could see the shine of the lake. An ache tugged at his heart, and his stomach did a flip before he spoke again.

“I went to get prom tickets when you were in the art room at lunch today. But then I got called to the principal’s office. He said I missed too many days.”

“And?”

Chewing on his bottom lip, he shook his head again. “Don’t make me say it, Elle.”

Pursing her lips, she brought her hands to her hips and nodded. “Guess you’ll need my speech in advance, then.”

“Guess so,” he echoed flatly, finally stealing a glance at her to gauge her reaction. With her strong stance, he could practically see the gears moving inside her head. There was a crease of concentration between her eyebrows, and she began biting at her nails absently.

“And you haven’t told Luke yet?” she asked.

“Nope.”

Again, she nodded, more decisive this time. “Okay...okay. I wish you could stay with me, but my dad will have you dead inside a day. I bet if you take twelfth grade over Luke’ll let you stay. I mean, I know he tries to act all tough, but I don’t know who he thinks he’s kidding.”

Jess straightened up again, running a hand over his mouth. He turned to face her. “I’m not going back to school. I can’t.”

“Of course you can, Jess. World bites you, you bite back.”

“Fine, then. I won’t.”

“Why not? Where are you gonna go?”

He could only shrug in response, looking back down at his shoes. Sometimes her gaze was so intense, even he couldn’t handle it. Usually, though, it was because of butterflies in his stomach, not because his heart was pounding nervously in his ears.

Swallowing dryly, she tried to maintain a calm facade. “No, Jess. You can’t do that Kerouac bullshit right now. You need a plan. I mean…” she paused to sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You told me you had it under control. You told me all I had to do was trust you.”

Closing his eyes for a moment, he composed himself and then wiped all emotion from his face when he looked back up at her. “I thought I did. I didn’t know how many days I missed, alright? But who cares! I never learned anything there anyway! It was a waste of my time!”

“And driving that forklift at Walmart forever isn’t a waste of your time?” she retorted, beginning to raise her voice. “If it made you happy, I’d say go for it. But it doesn’t! You’re too fucking smart for your own good, Mariano! You’re meant to be a writer! And you’re gonna settle on wasting your brain just because you were too proud to repeat senior year?!”

“Don’t talk to me about settling!” he countered, shaking his head.

“Fuck you, Jess,” she said, eyes narrowing as more blood rushed to her face, turning her skin scarlet with frustration. “Not everyone can just go wherever they want! Live wherever they want! I have people I actually care about!”

Rubbing at his mouth again, he sighed. “Yeah, well, lucky you! My mother is a wackjob who shipped me off because her boyfriend of the week didn’t like me! And my father is a fucking loser who couldn’t say more than two words when he finally met me!”

Ella took a step back in surprise. “What are you talking about?”

Jess breathed another exhausted sigh. “On Thursday, after you left. While I was closing. My dad came in, saw me for the first time in eighteen years. He told me who he was, took a good long look at me, and then ran right back out of the diner!”

There was a seismic shift in her face, eyes softening, color draining. Shaking her head, she went to touch his shoulder. “Oh my god, Jess. I didn’t-”

He shrugged off her hand. “Yeah, you didn’t know. Because I didn’t tell you. Because I’m just your deadbeat, high school dropout boyfriend who’s gonna work at Walmart for the rest of his life! How disappointing!”

“That’s not what I said!” she exclaimed, swallowing back the sting of tears in her eyes.

“Yeah, well, I can read between the lines pretty well at this point, honey,” he shot back, with a vicious, contemptuous tone.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she tried to remain calm. She tried to remember Jess had just failed senior year and met his dad for the first time in a span of two days. But, as always, the fire in her stomach won. It was something about the way he looked at her. So cold. Like he felt nothing for her at all. Her heart dropped and she began to back away, towards the screen door.

“Fine. Fuck it! Go and find yourself. While I stay here, and think about what a fucking mistake it was to trust you when we said no cop-outs! Serves me right. Holden fucking Caulfield!” she shouted, slamming the sliding door behind her.

Raking a hand through his messy hair, Jess took no more than one moment of hesitation before rushing after her. It was crowded inside, people standing around waiting for a second set which would likely never be played. After a little frantic searching and weaving through smelly bodies, he found her. She was marching up the stairs to find Rory, who stood looking exceedingly uncomfortable speaking with Dean and Lindsey on the landing. Ella tugged on Rory’s sleeve, muttering something about finding Lane and leaving the drums to pick up later. A scowl crossed her face the moment she looked back to see Jess.

“Did he do something, Ella?” Dean piped up, towering over her and casting an authoritative glance at Jess.

Ella snorted a laugh and shook her head. “You can stand down, Dean. He did nothing. Nothing at all. Fuck off, alright, Mariano?”

Catching the finitive, vitriolic tone in Ella’s voice, Jess shook his head back at her. Apparently she had decided the conversation was over. “Right back at ya, then, Stevens.”

But as he went to leave, Dean kicked into action. Before Ella, Rory, or Lindsey, could grab him and pull him back, he went into full testosterone rage and lunged after Jess, turning him about and clocking him square across the face. Ella watched in horror, and immediately went after them. Confusion painted her face. She heard Dean muttering under his breath as he fought, about what an asshole Jess was, about how Rory’s friends were his responsibility too, and they shouldn’t be spoken to that way. About how it was time Jess got a taste of his own medicine, making him feel like an idiot in class and acting like he was too good for Stars Hollow. She’d never had any classes with Dean and Jess, but the altercation made her wonder how deeply the feud ran. Apparently, much deeper than she ever thought. If not for the urgency of the situation, Ella would have rolled her eyes harder than she had prior known was humanly possible. She couldn’t help but wonder what at all Rory or Lindsey saw in that sexist prick. In Ella’s opinion, the Donna Reed Show incident two years earlier should’ve been the end of the relationship.

All around the house, they fought, various others trying to pull them off of each other. Each time Ella thought she had an opening to grab Dean or Jess around the waist, they moved, jostling around. It was far more intense than the quarrel in the schoolyard had been. No, tonight there would be blood drawn. Finally, after a decent amount of carnage to the mid-century Connecticut two-story, someone managed to throw the two of them out onto the front lawn, still at each other’s throats. Ella yelled endlessly for them to stop, but neither listened. Only the sound of the police sirens approaching, red and blue lights flashing on the manicured grass, finally made them separate, a few boys at the party also aiding the effort.

Just as Ella started rushing over to Jess, Lane began vomiting up the shitty keg beer she’d gulped down all night long into the trimmed bushes. Rory was by her side, but ultimately Ella cast only a sympathetic glance their way before continuing after Jess. She caught up with him a few paces down the sidewalk, grabbing the sleeve of his t-shirt to finally stop him.

“Jess, Jesus, are you okay?” she demanded, trying to get a substantial glimpse at his face.

Once again, he shook off her touch. He turned back to her in the light of the sheriff’s car, eyes darker than she had ever seen them. “Get outta here, Eleanor! I don’t need your help!”

“But, your-”

“Stop, Elle, just stop!” he interrupted, gesturing with his arms and practically bursting with anger. “Stop chasing after me! Stop trying to help me! That’s over! I don’t need it, alright? You can just fucking stop!”

Clutching at her necklace, she felt a heavy weight settle in her stomach, gluing her to the spot where she stood, hazel eyes impossibly wide. Watching him go, watching him disappear around a corner, watching him walk away. And the worst part was how unsurprised she felt. Had it always been this way? Him ready to leave at a moment’s notice, and her stuck in her old, familiar ways? Were they bound to end the moment they began? She should have seen it sooner. Suddenly, the sounds of the siren and the singing of late spring crickets overwhelmed her ears, and she could do nothing but stand motionless, feeling a sharp crack in her heart.