#jess mariano fic

[ilyasorokinn]

“HOLDING HANDS UNDER THE TABLE” prompt with jess mariano please and thank u 🫶

SPOIL

this is the first thing i've ever written for jess, so i you enjoy besties <3 also, i am a lorelei and rory stan, so if you aren't or want to say anything mean, say it to a wall.

"holding hands under the table." (from this prompt list)

when you and jess got together, you wanted to keep it on the dl. well, he wanted to keep it on the dl. although you weren’t best friends with rory gilmore, you were kind of friends and he didn’t want to create any animosity between you, so you decided to not tell anyone about it.

before school, you would meet in the back parking lot where no one ever was. jess brought a surprise pastry to share and a cup of hot chocolate while you brought a new book.

"on the menu today, vanilla scones with lemon icing."

"ooh, luke's getting fancy." you teased.

"i'm pretty sure he bought them."

"then disregard what i said."

"and what book did you bring today?"

"kirk told me i had amazing taste when i bought the book."

"kirk told you that? why would kirk be working at the bookstore?"

"who knows? i've learned to stop questioning kirk." you handed it over to him.

"really?" you shrugged, "i am not reading this."

"oh, you're boring. come on, it's a good book." you insisted. he opened his mouth to argue when the bell rang, "are you actually going to come to class today?"

"i don't know, i kind of like hearing you recite everything back to me." you playfully shoved his head and grabbed your stuff, "i'm kidding. we'll see. i have some stuff to do before."

"what could you possibly be doing right now?"

"stuff." he responded, "i'll see you later. promise i'll be there."

"you better." he leaned down and kissed your forehead before he was on his way, "i'm holding you to it, mariano." he gave you a thumbs up.

true to his word, jess walked into class as if he hadn't missed the majority if the day, "you know, when you said you had some stuff to do, i didn't think it would take all day."

"you'll be happy to know i got you something." he produced a flower he had definitely picked from the garden on the way to school.

"awh, that's sweet." you cooed, "how much do we owe taylor for it?"

"he won't even know it's missing." jess rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair then grabbing your hand and holding it in his lap under the table, "i got you something else too, but that'll have to wait till later."

"ooh."

"not like that." he rolled his eyes, "a cd."

"cd? jess mariano, you are spoiling me." you smiled.

"anything to see you smile." he gave you a sarcastic smile.

taylor's 2.5k celly!

[teddypickerry]

Can you do a Jess Mariano blurb where the reader is helping Jess with his homework but he keeps trying to distract her by kissing her lips and neck? 😄 (think of the episode “teach me tonight” but with Jess and the reader dating and he’s kissing her like he kissed Rory in S3 EP10 when they’re walking and kissing)

𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 !

pairing! jess mariano x gn reader

warnings! imply of sex (i think that’s it?)

word count! 833

a/n! took me forever ‘m sorry!!! this is also not my best work but back & writing for my boy is good enough for me. <3

the diner was quiet on the particular evening. despite the typical eight o'clock late dinner rush, the door were locked and a red 'closed' sign hung from the blue painted door. the only sound erupting throughout the small former hardware store was the sound of your voice reciting the words from the textbook balanced on your thighs. you were leaned back in your chair, your legs pressed against the table with the book pressed into them. your hair was falling in-front if your face which kept the attention of the boy who sat beside you everytime you pushed it behind your ear.  "and the trail of tears was what year?"

your head bopped up from its current slouched down position as your eyes caught glimpse of the dark haired boy sat beside you. he was leaned on the table, specifically over his book. his head rested on his palm as he held his head up from falling down in boredom.

"is your hair shorter? it looks shorter." your boyfriend was far from an idiot. but in this moment you honestly doubted him. jess was one of the smartest people you'd ever had the privilege of knowing. hell, he was way smarter than you. but here you were sat helping him with history... and geometry, and biology. it wasn't like you were the smartest person in school, but you got your fair share or a's. plus you knew how serious luke was about his nephew passing the twelfth grade. and you'd do anything to get your boyfriend on a good path.

"1828 and 1829." you explained to him simply before continuing onto the next page, him leaning closer to you. it wasn't hard for the smell of cheap cologne, cigarettes, and luke's laundry detergent to catch your attention. especially when you glanced up at your boyfriend's face far too close to your own. "i like it." he mumbled as he lightly pressed his finger to your face, pushing back the strand of hair that fell once more. no matter how long you'd been together, the small touches and glances still made you go mad. "you liked president andrew jackson's racist speech against the cherokee?"

"no," he rolled his eyes at your statement as you tried to diffuse the way he was making you feel on this tuesday evening. "your hair. it's a good length... and you know — i know all about good length."

his comment resulted in a laugh escaping your lips with a smirk growing on his face. jess felt accomplished for making you laugh, especially when you'd just spent half an hour explaining nonsense to him. "okay cmon, back to work." you ordered as he stayed in his exact position. you were about to scold him for not taking this study date seriously. but you lost time when his lips pressed to yours. your eyes immediately shut as your hands cupped his face. he deepened the kiss and leaned over the table to press into you even more. you found yourself getting lost in the kiss that warmed your soul. but before you could be taken by him, you pushed away and pressed your lips together. "jess, we're studying."

"okay we can study," he nodded as he positioned himself back on the chair and balanced a pencil between his fingers. which immediately caught your attention. "i'll start with the inside of your mouth and you can start with mine."

"jess," you hinted with a tone reaching annoyed. he let his smirk grow a bit before glancing around for a moment. "'mkay tell me more about the Indian Removal Act," he shrugged. you gave him a proud smile and muttered a "gladly" before opening the next page and reciting the next paragraph. you were only two and a half sentences in when you felt him move closer to you. and then some more... then some more.

it was when you finished the first paragraph that you felt his dark curls against your jaw as his lips connected with your neck. his arms wrapped around you as he continued to harass your neck with several kisses that would definitely leave a mark. something jess was certainly good at. "jess! we have to study!”

"no, i think you've got this stuff pretty much down." he mumbled as he pulled away for a second before you felt the feeling of his lips reaching your sweet spot. you held in a breath as you found yourself not fighting the feeling for a moment. "you need to learn this stuff if you're going to graduate, jess. please, work with me." you begged as he drew his face away slowly. just enough so that you could face one another. "and after, if you get a b... you might just get something starting with a b.”

the glow on the boy's face suddenly erupted with slightly wider eyes. he simply sat back as he sat his textbook in his lap, leaving only one arm behind your shoulders. "mkay, teach me tonight."

[lovings4turn]

☆ these are the days . . . (j.m.)

— a couple of days in the life with your boyfriend

+ title taken from 'these are the days' by inhaler.

+ just fluff. dividers from cafekitsune! and always, likes and reblogs are much appreciated

it's another friday night. though in any other city such an occasion calls for a big, crazy night out, stars hollow is not really that kind of town.

jess hangs his head from the edge of your bed, surveying the cds you're leafing through from his upside down position as you sit on the floor next to him. your cd collection in no way rivals that of lane - in fact, you don't think anyone's could - but you still pride yourself on just how extensive it is.

"that one," he hums, straining a little to nod his head in an appreciative gesture towards the 'elastica' album that currently sits in your hands.

wordlessly, you hold it out to him and admire the way his deep brown eyes narrow as he attempts to bring the upside-down cover into focus. anyone else would be surprised at the gentle way in which jess plucks it from your fingers, but jess is nothing but soft in all matters pertaining to you.

in all honesty, the thought that seemingly everyone in stars hollow apart from you see jess as some cold, harsh ‘teenage dirtbag’ is, quite frankly, hilarious. so much so, that you can't stop a small laugh from escaping your lips, a sound that jess instantly picks up on.

he turns away from the cd to look at you once more, treacle brown eyes obscured by the way he squints and furrows his brow in a silent question.

"something funny?" he questions, though there's fondness laced in every word.

"nothing, nothing," you placate, but jess knows you far too well for this schtick.

"yeah, right." his tone is sarcastic, but the crooked smile he shoots you reveals he's more amused than anything. “cracks in your floorboard tell you a joke or something?”

you knock his shoulder with your own, a gentle reprimand that you don’t even mean.

“just thinking,” you admit. “like, ‘s funny that everyone sees you as some sort of devil incarnate, yet here you are, staying in on a friday night to ransack my cd collection.”

“it’s not ransacking if you enabled it,” jess refutes, raising a thick eyebrow teasingly. “but if we’re talking theft, i believe you still have at least three of my books laying around here.”

an indignant laugh escapes your lips as you sit up straighter, but before you can protest, jess is pointing to various corners of your room.

“i spotted franny and zooey when i came in, y’have high fidelity resting on your desk, and i swear please kill me is still sitting in your bag.”

“touché,” you concede, knowing that jess was absolutely correct in his accusations. “i’ll make it up to you.”

jess perks up at this, turning to face you better. he’s still upside down, and you’re surprised he isn’t dizzy from all of the blood rushing to his head in this position, but you aren’t complaining.

you’ve studied jess countless times when he’s standing the right way up; here was an opportunity to admire him in a totally different perspective.

“yeah?” he asks.

his grin tugs the corner of his mouth up into a smile, as though it’s attached to a string with you, the puppeteer of his joy.

a hand comes to trace your cheek. it’s warm, loving. all you can do is nod before your lips meet his own. it’s a tad awkward, jess still hanging from your bed, but he manoeuvres his neck to ensure your kisses become seamless.

as your tongue slips between his parted lips, jess decides that the discomfort his neck will feel tomorrow will be more than worth it.

saturdays are reserved for the infamous diner rushes.

without you there, you’re sure that luke and jess would have killed each other ten times over today alone.

your vantage point at the register allows for you to remind jess to refill people’s coffees or take a table’s order. instead of stalling, like he does when it’s just him and luke, he goes without hesitation, wanting to be back to you as quick as possible.

luke learned not to comment on it. the first time he’d bore witness to jess refilling kirk’s coffee the moment you’d asked him to, he’d made some witty remark about jess being wrapped around your finger.

jess had stubbornly refused to refill any more coffee cups that day in protest.

currently, he’s standing at the counter with you, watching you doodle onto his order note-pad. though luke keeps shoving plates into his hands and sending him to different tables, jess is keen to see how your drawing progresses each time he returns.

he’s glad he has a decent enough memory to remember the orders he takes; he would rather scribble them onto his own hand than ask you to hand his notepad back.

it’s after he gives taylor doose his omelet that he returns to his notepad in the centre of the counter, turned around so he can see it properly.

artistically speaking, it’s no masterpiece. but to jess, it’s priceless.

there, immortalised in black ink, is a glorified stickman portrait of the two of you. jess is in what he thinks is supposed to be a metallica t-shirt, and one of your eyes is a little bigger than the other, but jess doesn’t care. all he notices is that stickman you has stickman jess’ hand clasped tightly.

the moment his shift is over, jess pins it to his wall.

ᝰ.ᐟ tags ; @faerieroyal

[scarlet4rose]

Sleepless without you

Jess Mariano x reader

--------------˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖---------------

story: your boyfriend Jess wakes you up in the middle of the night cause he can't fall asleep, he's too busy thinking about you

--------------˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖---------------

It´s 3 am and Jess lies awake in his bed. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees your face before his eyelids. He turns around in bed, but he can't get you out of his mind. Jess sighs, thinking about you all the time without you with him is driving him crazy!

When he dropped you off at your house at 10pm, you said you were super tired, so he didn't want to ask you if he could stay over. So he had decided to go to bed early himself too, but now he couldn't find any sleep no matter what he tried. Dammit! One thing was clear, despite of what he had set out to do he just had to see you!

A few minutes later, he had crept to your house in the dark of night and was now standing in front of your window. He knocks, at first gently, then louder.

"Y/n", he whispers your name and fervently hopes you hear him and have not yet fallen into a deep sleep. After a while he hears noises in your room and you open the window a crack.

"Jess?", your sleepy voice couldn't sound any sweeter to Jess and he starts to grin "Yes, it's me babe, as I live and breathe"

You open the window all the way to let him in and he doesn't let a second pass before he joins you in your room.

"What are you doing here?" you ask confused, "I thought we were both going to bed early?" Jess pulls his left leg through the window and is immediately right in front of you, he puts his hands on your hips and gives you a quick kiss on the cheek. "Change of plans, I guess."

"Oh nooo, Jess, I'm really tired," you sigh.

"Yeah, me too, angel"

"Then why the hell didn't you stay home in bed?"

Jess smiles guiltily and lets out a small chuckle "I couldn't sleep without you. I just... I couldn't help it, I had to come here to see you" Your knees go a little weak and you notice his gaze, which he hasn't yet taken away from you for a mere second.

You sigh again "Alright Jess, then stay, I guess" Jess leans in and kisses you deeply, he pulls away from you and then gives you a second kiss. he really can never get enough of you.

"Thanks, babe, I was hoping you'd say that" he then laughs suppressedly "Without your mercy, I probably would have died of insomnia tonight" you roll your eyes "Oh please! The way I see it, I'm the one now who's gonna die of insomnia tonight instead"

Jess shakes his head as he gently twists your body around so that your back is now pressed against his chest. He slowly walks you back to your bed in the corner of the room. "Nah, no way Y/N. You`re gonna get your sleep, I promise".

Standing in front of the bed, he slowly lowers you onto the mattress and pulls the covers over you before getting in bed himself. He wraps his arms around you and whispers softly "Y/N, angel, I swear I came here just cause I needed to see you. Needed to be with you, alright?" You can't help but smile while you lean back against him "Oh Jess, I guess you`re growing soft. My Jess, my poor Jess..."

Jess frowns slightly "whatever that means. I snuck out and came here to see my girl, that`s not... well- I thought you wanted to get some sleep. You wanna start arguing now?" You grin and turn your head around to kiss your boyfriend on the cheek

"No need to argue, baby, you´re the toughest guy I know, really. well, and...", you can feel his heart beating faster behind you, "and I love you"

Jess presses a kiss on your forehead and hugs you even tighter.

"I love you, too, Y/n"

you snuggel into him and the two of you drift off to sleep.

Good night ˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

[perseephoneee]

I have a request if you are interested? :)

A teen!dad jess. He has a best friend from New York (she can have a name or it can be Y/N, you can choose) (they are endgame, jess never had feelings for Rory but she has feelings for Jess, it won't go anywhere) Jess and his best friend have a kid, they co-parent (whether they are dating already or in the future is up to you) Jess gets sent to Stars Hallow, she ends up moving to stars Hallow to, to be close to Jess and so their kid can be with him too (she is emancipated, plus Jess knows she's coming because they keep in contact) if anyone reading this would like to turn this into an actual story, I'm totally down for reading it :) if you choose this request, I look forward to reading it. Thank you!!

alright i kind of changed the story idea around a little bit butttt i tried my best *cries*

don't be a stranger (jess mariano x afab!reader)

cw: angsty, unexpected pregnancy, but otherwise fluff??

↳ masterlist  ↳ ship exchange ↳ taglist

When you got pregnant, it was…unexpected—not planned whatsoever. You were only sixteen, not ready to raise a kid, of all things. But you couldn’t find it in yourself to give it up. And when your daughter was born, it made all the pain worth it. She was ethereal.

She was three years old now, full of personality, a lover of all things squishy. She preferred to hide behind you in the grocery store than talk to people, but she smiled at every book she saw and pet every dog you passed. Even with all of that, she didn’t have her Dad.

It wasn’t surprising that Jess got freaked out and ran when she was firstborn. You guys were just friends who hooked up, and suddenly you were pregnant. With the way his life went, it didn’t surprise you. But it hurt; it made you so angry you wanted to scream. You endured, though; you had to.

That’s why it was unexpected when an unknown number called you in the middle of the day.

“Hello?” You answered, shoving the phone between your shoulder and head as you finished cutting some carrot sticks for a snack. There was breathing at the other end of the line, and for a second, you worried something nefarious was at play. “I will call the cops—“

“Don’t,” the voice said, the familiar baritone New York accent you had spent years learning. The intonations, the snark—you knew it like the back of your hand.

“Jess?” You guessed, setting down the kitchen knife and holding the phone tightly.

“I, uh….fuck,” you heard him swear on the other line. You didn’t say anything; just let him work out whatever he wanted as you tried your best to control your breath. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“How are you?”

“Really,” you deadpanned. “Three years, and that’s all you got?”

“I don’t know what to say to you,” Jess sighed. “I thought I did, but, fuck, hearing your voice…” He didn’t elaborate, but he didn’t have to. You knew all too well. You were experiencing that same feeling right now. “I’m sorry.”

“I…appreciate that,” you coughed.

“I want to see you and…”

“Her, Maria,” you responded. It occurred to you that Jess never learned your kid's name. He wasn’t around long enough for that.

“Maria,” he said, feeling the name around his tongue. I want to try.”

You laughed at that, some of that bubbling anger surfacing in a way you hadn’t felt.

“Why now?” You inquired, your fingers tapping on your cutting board.

“I’m ready now,” Jess said, and you could hear that familiar snark you used to love so much.

“I wasn’t ready; I just had to deal with it,” you seethed, and it took a deep breath to help you not start yelling. “I didn’t get that choice.”

“I know, god, I’m…sorry.”

You don’t remember the last time Jess ever really apologized for anything.

“You can’t choose to show back up because it’s convenient.”

“Y/N…” his sigh was evident on the other line. “Please, let me be better.”

You were silent for a few moments, contemplating everything—whether it was worth it, whether you wanted to try. You rubbed your eyes as if it would clear your head.

“Lunch,” you sighed. “You get a lunch with us. And only if Maria wants to. It’s her choice whether she wants you in her life or not. Alright?”

“Alright,” the relief was evident in his voice, and you tampered down any softness that might undermine your frustration.

“Alright.”

Lunch happened at Lou’s, a deli you frequented with your daughter. It was public, safe, but neutral territory that helped you see Jess again after so many years. You almost didn’t recognize him when he came in, even though he looked exactly the same. He just seemed…older. You guess you were, too.

Maria was quiet during lunch, picking at her sandwich and sending shy glances towards her father. You didn’t realize that they had the same eyes, the same suspicious furrow of their brow that showed how intelligent they were. You convinced yourself she had none of him at all.

One lunch became two, then three. Then it was routine to get lunch. At some point, it became dinners. Eventually, you let Jess take Maria out, just the two of them. She’d come home with a smile and some book he bought her. He introduced her to the Ramones (you thought she was a little young, but it wasn’t terrible, so you let it pass). She sometimes would mumble the words “Judy is a Punk” to herself while she read.

Jess became such a staple of your life that you allowed yourself to open up to him again. He was writing, getting his GED, and working on opening a publishing press with some friends. He was excited to hear you were still in college and hadn’t given up. He said the saddest thing that could’ve become of you was never realizing your potential. You had to hide your flush when he said it.

One night, when Maria was asleep, and the two of you were picking up toys in the living room, he asked you to move in with him.

“Can you even support that many people?” You scoffed, piling her books on one of the side counters.

“Yes.”

“Why?” you inquired, standing with your hands on your hips. Why was the question that haunted you throughout this entire experience. Why did he call? Why does he care? Why did he leave? Your life was dominated by the second-to-last letter of the alphabet—why?

“You guys are my family,” Jess breathed, fingers twiddling from nerves. You raised a brow, wanting more of an answer. “I had a revelation, after spending time with my Uncle…that I was terrible. I want to be better.”

You took a breath before answering. “Where do you live?”

“Stars Hollow.”

“Where’s that?”

“Connecticut.”

Your eyes bulged from your head, and if you had a drink, you would’ve spit it out.

“Jess!” You exclaimed. “That’s three hours away!”

“I’m aware since I’m the one who travels it,” Jess said, his hands in his pockets, indicating obvious discomfort. You were wrapping your brain around the fact that Jess traveled three hours every week just to get lunch with you—with your daughter—and he had never brought it up. Something shifted in your mind about that. “Look…”

“Jess–”

“I want to try again.”

“Another baby?” you exclaimed, and Jess put a hand up to his face and groaned. 

“No, Jesus Christ,” he swore. He cut you off before you could say anything else. “I was a complete idiot for leaving you, for leaving Maria. I don’t deserve half the kindness you’ve given me, but, fuck, I want to try this…family thing. I want to try with you.” Jess shoved his hands in his pockets, reminding you so much of his teenage self that it was almost painful. “I want to try with us.”

It took you a second to decipher what he was saying, and you felt your eyes widen. You were never actually in a relationship with Jess, just two friends who had drank too much one night. But you always cared. You loved everything in his nature up until he left. With him back, you remembered why you felt so much in the first place. 

“Okay,” you stammer, watching Jess’ eyes widen with disbelief. “Let’s try. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“We hate each other?”

“I’m looking forward to it,” you chuckle, and that coaxes a similar laugh out of Jess. You both end up dissolving into laughter, something raw and so unlike the layer of the past that has haunted you guys for the past months. It felt like a dam opening up, everything crashing down but resolving into something tangible. 

A few weeks later, you move to Stars Hollow, your meager items in matching luggage. The college agreed to let you finish your degree online, and you find work at the Dragonfly Inn. The town is much more colorful and friendly than the New York you are used to. Still, you find yourself loving it—just as you find yourself loving Jess, how he responds to your daughter, and the apparent way he’s grown up. 

Yes, it was unexpected. But not unwanted.

[cilliansprincess]

i am BEGGING for everyone to write more jess mariano imagines, not a want but a need

[cauliflowertree]

jess mariano—it hurts to say, but i want you to stay.

summary: the breaks are the best parts of studying.

word count: 1.4k

fanfiction no. 004

the principal of stars hollow high approached you one unsuspecting morning, asking you to follow him to his office for he had an important question to ask you. sure you were not in trouble, you followed him with eager curiosity, despite the worried looks on your friends' faces—they always worried for nothing.

"you know jess mariano, correct? asked your principal as he sat in his office chair and gestured for you to take a seat opposite him.

"yes?"

"I'm sure you've noticed jess has been skipping classes," he waited for you to acknowledge this, and only continued when you nodded vigorously in response. "in order for him to graduate this year, he needs to improve his grades."

he stopped there, waiting for another response, but this time it seemed he desired for it to be verbal.

"okay," you replied with a hint of confusion.

"it is perhaps...unconventional for me to propose this of another student," he prefaced, "but i would be remiss if i didn’t ask—would you be willing to tutor mr. mariano? now, of course," he continued before you could interject, "there would be benefits for you. extra credit."

extra credit? you knew yourself well enough to know you would have accepted this offer with or without these proposed benefits, but to save your silly little heart, you pretended to think over the offer and ask a question or two about the details.

｡+ﾟ☆ﾟ+｡★｡+ﾟ☆ﾟ+｡★｡+ﾟ☆ﾟ+｡★｡+ﾟ☆ﾟ+｡

jess trudged down the steps to the diner, peeking out from behind the curtain to see where y/n was sitting. scanning the room, he found them at a table close to the window, not far from the door, their nose buried in a textbook the size of his torso and thicker than drywall. he fiddled with the cd in his hand before finally shoving it down his back pocket and walking out into the nearly empty diner.

"hey," he announced himself.

you looked up from your history text book and turned to the voice's origin. jess mariano looked at you with a lopsided smirk while he pulled out a chair, turned it around, and rested his elbows on the back of it as he sat down.

"hey," you glanced at your watch, "you're right on time, i half expected you to at least be late."

jess shrugged, "i don't want to waste your time."

"that's considerate of you," you thanked him, "are you ready to get started?"

"on the reunification of italy during the eighteenth century? not really," he sucked in a breath through his teeth.

"well, when i don't want to study, i schedule out my breaks so i'm not working for too long at a time and i have something to look forward to," you suggested, "why don't we do that before we start?"

"okay," he nodded, "what do you do on your breaks?"

"anything. listen to music, get a snack, take a walk, read."

jess took this in and decided he knew exactly what he'd like to do for his first break. in fact, he was looking forward to it so much already, he found himself less inclined to do the work than he was before. but he settled himself down, looked over to you and your encouraging smile, and asked for a pen.

the next forty-five minutes clung to the clock's hands, dripping away slowly like honey from a spoon. jess's leg was bouncing impatiently, he tapped his pen against his notebook rhythmically until you told him to focus and stop distracting both himself and you.

"so, what was garibaldi's significance to reunification?" you asked jess, eyeing his notes and wondering whether he'd written down anything of importance, or just scribbled something down when he thought he was supposed to.

"it doesn't matter, because it's break time," he smiled mischievously.

you looked at the clock on the wall, and though he was right, you were eager to learn whether he had been paying attention, or whether your time had been somewhat ill-spent, for it was not all ill-spent if it was time spent with jess.

"can't you answer the question before we start the break?" you asked almost pleadingly.

"nah."

you looked at him with disbelief as he stood from his chair and headed over to the stairs that led to his shared apartment with luke. shaking your head, you went back to your own studying as he walked away, writing away almost immediately, which took jess by surprise when he turned around.

"aren't you coming?" he asked, forcing your attention away from work and over towards him.

"oh, sure," you replied awkwardly, rushing to catch up with him.

you'd never been in jess' apartment before, well, luke's apartment. but since jess was living there, it was much as you had expected—messy. clothes were strewn across the floor and bed, boxes lined every surface and every wall, music albums were scattered around his cd player, and there must have been at least a few dozen books littered across the entire space.

"it's very you," you broke the silence.

"uh, thanks. i got this new album today," he informed you, flashing the cover too fast for you to read the band's name. "they're called 'the strokes'."

you hadn't heard of them, but kept an open mind as jess put the cd on and skipped past some of the tracks until it landed on an upbeat song with light drums and a catchy guitar riff. immediately, jess began bobbing his head to the beat, subconsciously biting his lip as he watched the cd spin. he waited a moment before he turned to gauge your reaction.

it was hard not to move to the beat in some way, it was one of those songs. the man singing through the speaker had a unique voice that both you and jess seemed to enjoy.

"you like it?" he asked.

"yeah," you laughed, "i think it's awesome. can i see?" you pointed to the cd case.

jess raised his eyebrows, offering it to you. daring to walk across the room and further into his apartment, you took the cd from his hand, acutely aware of the way your fingers brushed over his, and turned it over to see the track list.

"we're listening to track five," he said.

"'someday'" you read the title aloud.

"yeah, my other favourite is 'last nite'" he added, noticing the first song was fading.

"put it on, i wanna hear," you demanded gently.

jess didn't get flustered, but if he did, he kew this would be one of those times where he'd be tripping over his own feet and fumbling with the buttons on his cd player. instead, he was collected as he changed it to track seven and tapped his foot to the beat.

"i think i’ll have to get myself this cd," you smiled excitedly, tapping the plastic case against your palm.

jess didn't say anything at all, he just watched you put the cd back on his dresser and stare at the music spinning in his player, your eyes going bright when the instrumental part sounded through the upstairs apartment, your head gently nodding to the beat. he thought you were perfect. and when the principal dragged him into his office to express the idea he had for him, he was sure he'd decline swiftly, certain anything he had to suggest would be stupid and not worthy of his time. but he had never been so wrong. he knew the moment he heard your name in that odious man's office that his life would become infinitely better seeing you twice a week in luke's diner.

but here you were, in his apartment, validating his music taste and enjoying it almost as much as him, being the most wonderful person he had ever known or read about. if he were a poet, he would create poems for the ages, poems that would one day be discussed in dingy classrooms, analysed to the heavens, and they would wonder who the person was that had him so enraptured beyond anything or anyone else. he would make the whole world desperate to get to know you.

you felt his staring, his unwavering gaze upon you. could you bare to look at him?

"this one's called 'hard to explain', i like this one too," jess whispered as the next song came on, and you found yourself involuntarily turning to look at him as he spoke—he was closer than before.

"yeah?"

"yeah," he breathed against your lips, rushing into a quick kiss before he could talk himself out of it.

you reciprocated his advances rather quickly, and once he felt this, the kiss became slower and more purposeful. his hands reached for your waist, trailing up your back to grip your hair.

"i- um, i don't usually do this on my breaks," you laughed breathily, "just in case you thought this was just something i got up to."

jess sniggered, "is it something you want to get up to more often?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"only if it's with you," you confessed, cheeks heating from the bold confession.

"i only like to share music and literature," he winked, leaning back in.

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE 2023

Here’s a masterlist of all the Fics I have wrote/will write for my Halloween challenge. The aim was to post a fic a day for 10 days between 21st - 31st of October. All are song fics and not necessarily Halloween-themed. I’ll be updating the list as I go. Hope you like them🧡

Day One // Tennessee Orange

Fandom: Elvis Presley, RPF Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Rating: Teen Word Count: 2407 Summary: I met somebody, he’s got blue eyes. Song Link AO3 LINK

Day Two // Die From A Broken Heart

Fandom: Elvis Presley, RPF Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Rating: Teen Word Count: 1837 Summary: Was it ever really real if he don't feel like I feel? Song Link AO3 LINK

Day Three // Pieces

Fandom: Supernatural Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader Rating: Teen Word Count: 1494 Summary: Baby, please release me, let my heart rest in pieces. Song Link AO3 LINK

Day Four // Southern Boy

Fandom: RPF Pairing: Austin Butler x Reader Rating: Explicit Word Count: 1455 Summary: Ain't nothing in the whole wide world like a southern boy. Song Link AO3 LINK

Day Five // Stay With Me

Fandom: Daisy Jones x The Six Pairing: Daisy Jones x Reader Rating: Mature Word Count: 1399 Summary: Guess it’s true I’m no good at a one-night stand. Song Link AO3 LINK

Day Six // Good 4 U

Fandom: Daisy Jones x The Six Pairing: Graham Dunne x Original Female Character Rating: Mature Word Count: 4793 Summary: Maybe I'm too emotional or maybe you never cared at all. Song Link AO3 LINK

Day Seven // I'd Lie

Fandom: RPF Pairing: Austin Butler x Reader Rating: Teen Word Count: 3271 Summary: And if you ask me if I love him, I'd lie. Song Link AO3 LINK

Day Eight // You Ain’t Woman Enough

Fandom: Elvis Presley, RPF Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader Rating: Mature Word Count: 4106 Summary: You’ve come to tell me something, you say I ought to know. Song Link AO3 LINK

Day Nine // It Hurts Me

Fandom: Elvis Presley, RPF Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader, Jerry Schilling x Reader Rating: Mature Word Count: 7849 Summary: It hurts me to see him treat you, the way that he does. Song Link AO3 LINK

Day Ten // Jess' Dad

Fandom: Gilmore Girls Pairing: Jess Mariano x Reader Rating: Teen Word Count: 2426 Summary: You know I really like Jess a lot but… Song Link AO3 LINK

Day Eleven // Little Bird

Fandom: Elvis Presley, RPF Pairing: Elvis Presley x Addison Goodwin Rating: Mature Word Count: 4553 Summary: Walked down the aisle, breakin' my heart, lay down my pride, I know I gotta let you go. Song Link AO3 LINK

[collecting-stories]

Hey! Happy 11K girlie!! You deserve it!! Also funny enough I just left OBX and didn’t realize until I saw one of your posts and put 2&2 together that that stood for OuterBanks lmaoo anyywayyy:

I’d love to request a Jess Mariano x Roommate! reader

The first bullet point on the Roommate AU’s where they move in with a mural friend it’s like enemies to lovers: what if the mural friend is the Readers Brother (Foster , biological, adoptive whatever). They know Jess from the publishing scene and their sister (Reader) needs a place to crash for a while. Jess and the brother have been living together for a while and are comfortable but like the sister comes and messes up what Jess calls in a sarcastic tone “the  Feng shui”.Maybe Reader is an Artist and fills the flat with art and that’s how her and Jess bond? Or

((This is the Roommate AU : We’re both moving into the same apartment with a mutual friend of ours but we didn’t know each other and it’s dislike at first sight, but now we’ve got to live together))

Thank you!!! And 🤣 about the obx/outer banks thing!!

-

Roommates - Jess Mariano

Summary: you move into your brother's apartment and clash with his roommate, Jess.

A/N: You know I wrote this whole thing and forgot the feng shui line! I really wanted to use it too but then I couldn't figure out where to fit it in and I really wanted to post this so I apologize for that!!

Gilmore Girls Masterlist || Celebrate 11k with me

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

Maybe if he closed his eyes and opened them again, or punched himself hard enough, everything would be back in its place. His mug, sentimental in that he’d swiped it from Luke’s the first time he moved out of Stars Hollow, would be sitting right there inside the cabinet door above the coffee maker (the only valuable thing you’d contributed to the apartment, in his opinion).  

“Are you having an aneurysm or something?”  

Jess turned around almost comically slow, hand still on the doorknob of the cabinet, to find you standing behind him with the exact mug that he was looking for in one hand, eyebrow raised skeptically. No one had ever claimed that Jess wasn’t judgemental, but you might have outmatched him in that category. The look on your face right now surely beat half a life’s worth of judgement on his end.  

“I was trying to have a cup of coffee, couldn’t find my mug.” He made a point of looking at the mug in your hands, his mug, as if to get his words across. Passive aggressive maybe, but when he moved into this apartment with another editor at Truncheon he hadn’t expected to be saddled with you too.  

You were only supposed to be down in Philadelphia for a week. At least, that was what your brother had led Jess to believe when he’d first posed the idea to him. “Hey, my sister’s in town for a couple days, would it be cool if she crashed with us?” Jess wasn’t heartless, he agreed to a couple days (your brother apparently didn’t understand the definition of a couple) but this wasn’t visiting. You had all your stuff in their apartment, crammed in with their stuff. Clothes and wound up in the wrong pile, in the wrong room. Art supplies that littered countertops and desks.  

He’d admit that you were a talented artist, he’d admired a few of the pieces that you had in your room whenever he happened to be in there (returning pairs of socks or taking back the pen you borrowed and never returned).  But being a talented artist didn’t make you less of a pain in his ass.  

“There are other mugs.” You replied, finally stepping around him and refilling the mug that was in your hands. His mug.  

In all honesty it was a simple mistake. You hadn’t intentionally taken the mug that apparently had such a sentimental place in Jess’ heart that he was debating not having coffee at all, you had just reached for the first one available.  

When Jess didn’t say anything and made no move to acknowledge that there were, in fact, other mugs in the cabinet, you finally spoke again, “I can throw this out? I’ll even rinse all the girl cooties off it,” you teased.  

Your brother had described Jess as ‘super chill’ and while your brother had never been spot on with descriptions you hadn’t expected him to be so far off either.  

“I don’t want any.” Jess finally said, closing the cabinet and moving passed you into the hallway.  

“It’s a mug Jess, it’s not the end of the world,” you remarked, setting the cup of coffee on the counter and going into the refrigerator for cream.  

“My mug,” Jess clarified, turning back around to you, “and my printer because apparently yours is busted and my t-shirt cause you don’t wanna get stains on yours. You know; I put up with a lot of your brother’s shit at work, I don’t feel like getting stuck with your shit around the apartment when I’m home.”  

“First of all, the printer is in the living room, you don’t want me to use it? Move it. Second of all, do you even listen to Metallica or was it just some stupid ‘don’t talk to me’ shirt you got in high school to repel people? Cause you don’t really strike me as the heavy metal type.” 

“Stay out of my stuff.” Jess replied, leaving the kitchen and heading to his bedroom. He was half-tempted to rip the mug off the counter and pour the coffee in the sink but he was thirty and that seemed a little childish for thirty.  

- 

Things with Jess didn’t get any better when you extended your timeline in Philly to include a couple extra months (“I’ve got a show in D.C. but it’s stupid for me to move everything down there for a month when I can just commute on the weekends”). Jess made a comment about you grifting your way along the east coast despite both of you knowing that you paid your share of the rent every month on time. Things didn’t get better, necessarily, but they didn’t get worse either. You stayed out of his way for the most part and, aside from the Metallica shirt that had paint stains on it, you made a mental note to stay out of his things.  

“I already told you I wasn’t going,” Jess commented, hanging his keys by the door and dropping his backpack. He was on the phone, switching it to speaker and placing it on the entryway table as he kicked his shoes off.  

Your brother’s voice came through the speakers, “Oh come on man; I can’t go. I thought I could but I’ve got a date tonight and I can’t cancel again.”  

“That’s not my fault, I told you I didn’t wanna do these parties.” Jess replied.  

You had been working on a painting in your room, door ajar, and you could hear Jess on the phone. You weren’t one to eavesdrop but you couldn’t help yourself, stretching your arms and heading into the hallway, slowly making your way into the living room. Jess was still on the phone, attempting to make a case for not going to the party. It was more a wine and cheese night to schmooze the people who gave money to Truncheon and that wasn’t Jess’ scene at all but your brother was never good at scheduling himself, or being responsible, and Jess was usually the one to pay the price.  

“I’ll go with you,” you spoke up before you could even really think about what you were offering. Spending an entire evening at a stuffy cocktail party in a used bookstore with a roommate who actively hated you; it wasn’t your best decision but you were art blocked and Jess was a surprising source of inspiration.  

Your brother asked what was happening as Jess stared at you, mildly surprised, “your sister’s gonna go with me.”  

“Maybe you guys can resolve all the weird sexual tension.” Your brother announced and Jess scrambled to quiet the phone.  

“You were on speaker you moron,” he snapped, carrying his phone and his backpack into his bedroom.  

- 

Jess didn’t give you much more information but you’d been to plenty of events like this for galleries and knew most of what to expect. You dressed nice enough, you sipped at a familiar red wine and you talked to some older man about the Subsect and tried to keep an eye on Jess just in case you needed an excuse to make a get away.  

A couple of times throughout the evening you made eye contact, raising your eyebrows in amusement or offering a smirk at something someone else said. Jess would smile or roll his eyes and you couldn’t help that little flutter in your chest, you were actually enjoying his company even if you were mostly separated. This was better than you expected it to be. Long and tiring but better than you had expected.  

“Thanks for helping out,” Jess mentioned, as you tossed the last of the small plastic hors-d'oeuvre plates into the trash bag he was carrying. 

“Oh, this isn’t the first time Chris has dropped the ball and it definitely won’t be the last. Besides, I don’t mind cleaning up.” You replied, honestly. You weren’t sure you wanted to outright admit to him that you were actually enjoying the evening; bickering with each other at home wasn’t always ideal but there was a part of you that enjoyed the relationship you and Jess had.  

“I meant coming along tonight.” Jess answered, “I hate these things...made it a little more bearable.” 

“Are you saying you enjoyed my company?” You laughed. 

“From the sounds of it you enjoyed that shitty book I wrote.” He replied. He’d overheard you mention it a few times and talk like someone who truly understood the subject matter.  

“I’ve read it a couple times, I really do enjoy it.” You replied, setting down the cups in your hands, “you should be proud of your work Jess, it’s really incredible.”  

“You too,” He finally said after a long pause, “your talented, your art pieces are really something. Almost makes up for you being a terrible roommate.” 

“Hey! Would a terrible roommate have come here with you?” You asked. This was the most you and Jess had really gotten along with each other since you moved in and you were enjoying the chance to really talk to him. 

“They would have forced me to go in their place,” he replied, obviously insinuating your brother.  

“Oh, I’ve got no control over Chris,” you moved over to the desk that they’d converted into a makeshift bar top, checking for empty bottles of wine. In among them was your favorite red and you realized than that you’d been sipping it all night. Jess had gotten drinks for the both of you when you’d first arrived and you hadn’t even realized that the wine was that until you were standing there holding the bottle. “This is my favorite.” 

“I know,” Jess commented, “I asked Matt to get it for tonight.” 

You couldn’t wrap your mind around his admission, whether because you were slightly tipsy or because the evening wasn’t quite going the way you had expected. “How’d you know?”  

“I remember you bringing it home a couple months ago, you said you couldn’t believe the wine store had it and that it was your favorite.” Jess recalled. You’d been so excited that night you had poured Chris and Jess both glasses and insisted they each had some. 

“Sorry I just...I didn’t even know you were paying attention.” 

“I’m a writer,” Jess shrugged, “I have an eye for detail.”  

You laughed and nodded your head, replacing it on the desktop. You wanted to say more about it, ask him what other details he might have noticed about you, maybe even mention a few that you had noticed about him, but this didn’t quite feel like the time yet. Maybe soon, hopefully soon, but just not yet. For now, cleaning up Truncheon after a party and talking about stuffy rich people who thought they were cultured because they liked indie books was good enough.  

[finnicks]

( fic ) pumpkin mania

pumpkin mania

gilmore girls | jess/rory; teen; 6828 words

Pumpkin Mania is here! Stars Hollow’s annual pumpkin carving contest and auction is back for another grand season of competitive pumpkin carving and robust bidding!

This year, Rory does her best to try and persuade Jess to sign up, Lane works hard to dissuade Dave from participating, Lorelai tries to trick Lukeintoparticipating, and Paris, well… Taylor Doose may update the event’s terms and conditions to uninvite her next year.

[thehedgehogsdilemmaa]

HEY EVERYONE!! I wrote a literati fic, again! it's called Jupiter and it's only 2 chapters, around 5k words each, and it's canon-compliant (ta da duuun). it's like a missing moments fic. I HOPE YOU'LL LIKE IT!! <3

Summary: while Lorelai's spending the night at Sookie's, Rory's plans to invite Jess over for a date go differently than she had expected, and the two end up having a night destined to last in their memories.

EDIT: chapter two is up!!!

[teddypickerry]

I just had a random thought that I think is so cute 🥰 could you do Jess messing with the reader by pulling on her belt loops as a way of flirting. Like he’d do it when she’s not expecting it and she tries to not show how much she likes it but Jess already knows 🤭

𝐉𝐄𝐒𝐒’𝐒 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄 !

pairings! jess mariano x fem reader

warnings! so. much. fluff. jess being a dork.

word count! literally so short. not even 500😭

JESS MARIANO had always been a bit of a flirt with girls that were worth his while. There was a never ending obsession with making these girls flustered. He was practically addicted to the attention of girls nearly waving their underwear  at him — whether he liked it or not. Yet with his girlfriend, he had a special move that never failed to make her heart race. Whenever they were together, he would sneak up behind her and pull on the belt loops of her jeans, giving her a playful tug.

At first, his girlfriend would try to ignore it, pretending that it didn't bother her. But secretly, she loved the way he flirted with her. She loved the way his hands felt on her hips and the way his touch sent shivers down her spine. Jess had a severe lack of interest in any PDA before he met her… but his hands were always fumbling with her belt loops.

One day, they were walking through Stars Hollow, and Jess snuck up behind her, giving her belt loops a gentle tug. She turned around, a smile spreading across her face, and he grinned back at her.

"I know you like it," he said, giving her another tug as if it was nothing. She laughed, leaning into him. "Maybe I do," she admitted. "But you're lucky I love you, or I might have to punch you for that."

Jess chuckled, pulling her closer to him. "I think you secretly love it," he teased, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

His girlfriend rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face. "You're such a dork," she said, wrapping her arms around him.

Jess grinned, pulling her in for a kiss. As they walked through town, hand in hand, he couldn't help but feel grateful for this girl who loved him, quirks and all.

And as for the belt loop trick, well, he knew he'd never stop using it. It was just one of the many little ways he showed his love for her.

[a-aexotic]

i can see you, 𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔.

✫ 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 . . . y/n cromwell was nothing if not a sophisticated, pampered, and ambitious socialite. she had lived in manhattan for about five years with her workaholic mother since her divorce with from her father. in the five years she had lived in the upper-east side, she had conquered the elites and made them her minions. she was living her best life until she heard the worst news she could ever fathom...

tristan dugray was nothing like y/n, in any sense other than maybe the fact they were both rich, spoiled and rather confident - okay, maybe they had more in common than what meets the eye. they hadn't seen each other since she had moved away with her mother five years ago and they were happy that way.

until of course, her mother decided it would be best for y/n to spend the next few months with her father back in connecticut after y/n got in trouble with her friend group. what y/n didn't know until she eventually got to connecticut was that her father was engaged to none other than tristan dugray's mother. how could her year get any worse?

✫ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 ;; tristan dugray x fem!reader, platonic!paris geller x reader, platonic!rory gilmore x reader

✫ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ;; not canon gilmore girls timeline (for the most part), rom-com energy, adult humor, asshole!tristan, family issues, the rest is to be determined...

✫ 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 ;; i am rewatching gilmore girls and of course, i've been inspired to write a fanfic because there are not enough tristan fanfics on tumblr. i hope y'all enjoy, this is very self-indulgent lmao. i love tristan sm and i think a rom-com esk fanfic would bring me (and everyone) so much joy. thank you so much for reading! let me know if i should make a taglist for this series.

dedicated to my beautiful best friend, @autumntales 🩷

main masterlist. gilmore girls masterlist. playlist.

0 of 15 chapters published. started: july 31, 2023 deadline: october 1, 2023

prologue

chapter one

chapter two

chapter three

chapter four

chapter five

. . .

[scarlet4rose]

Dating Jess Mariano headcanons

-Jess can’t believe his luck, he thinks he’s living in some sort of dream. You’ve always been his dream girl and now you’re actually his

-He likes to show you off, at school, in Stars Hollow, at work and whatnot, he makes sure to pull you beside him and likes to put his arm around your waist.

-When you refuse and pull away, he’s gonna accept that and act as if it wasn’t bothering him although it sure as hell is. He likes to play it cool and he gets on with his day but he’s thinking about you rejecting his touch until midnight.

-He won’t show you but he DOES get insecure at times. Sometimes he can’t bear being around you cause he thinks he knows you’re way too good for him and it hurts him to realize it more and more day after day. He’s scared you will realize it too and leave him

-On good days though (when he misses you too much) he will invite you over or he simply shows up right outside your window to ask you to come with him/ to sneak out with him

-Likes to kiss you as if it would be the last time, most of the time behind some shabby cabin where no one can see you two

- when you two are walking around town, he likes to kiss your neck and teases you about giggling or laughing about it

- he works extra shifts to be able to afford taking you to a fancy restaurant. When you two finally wind up there, Jess usually complains about all the “snotty, snobby and super spoiled ol' rich people” in that place which makes you wonder why he even wanted to go there with you. He says he did it because that’s what a good boyfriend does and he’s a damn good boyfriend after all. He’s rather sarcastic while saying it and you two share a laugh.

- he’s convinced to stay with you until forever, provided that you don’t leave him of course. He even thought about marrying you one day although that thought kinda freaked him out a bit. No one in his family ever managed to stay happily married for more than a year and he doesn’t know if he will be able to work it out. He’s not the luckiest guy after all

- Still, once he got with you, he knew luck had been on his side for the very first time in his life.

-You’re an angel to him. Sometimes he says stuff like “hold on, my angel is coming over in a minute” or “wait, my angel is on the phone right now” when he’s around Luke and isn’t thinking too much about what he’s saying so it kind of slips out of his mouth. Luke restrains himself from mocking him because of it cause he genuinely likes to see Jess happy

- Jess buys you flowers whenever he’s got the money to do so but downplays it every time when he gives them to you. He acts as if it was “no big deal” but secretly he loooves when you get all excited about flowers and thank him over and over again.

- On Friday nights he loves to cuddle up with you on the couch but he doesn’t admit it. He says he usually isn’t into all that mushy stuff but he’s gonna act as if he was into it because of you. You know he’s lying.  

-he actually loves you, damn it ;-)

[cilliansprincess]

me waiting for people to write jess mariano imagines

[cauliflowertree]

for a blurb u should do first date w jess mariano

:)

love me sweet—jess mariano.

summary: your first date with jess mariano.

word count: 0.6k

fanfic no. 009

the sun was beginning to set below the horizon as you walked through the quaint town of stars hollow, nervously fixing your hair and pulling down your jacket every few seconds. you stretched your neck out to see if jess had arrived yet, but could see nothing but faint shadows around the back of the poorly lit gazebo. but jess mariano watched you from a short distance, cowering where the light couldn’t touch, smiling softly, and wondering why you might be nervous to see him. he was nothing. you were everything.

he shook his head in disbelief as a small chuckle escaped his lips, slipping a book into his back pocket and pushing himself off the gazebo and into the light.

“hey there,” he greeted.

“hey,” you grinned, eyes brightening.

jess’ eyes raked over your figure, taking in the clothes you’d spent a long while choosing above all others. he didn’t say much, he never did, just a simple ‘you look good’ under his breath before he headed off. it was both endearing and satisfying.

“where are we going?” you asked, feet still planted into the damp grass below as you watched him march forward.

“you’ll see. come on, don’t you trust me?” he tilted his head with a mischievous smirk.

you hardly knew him, truth be told, but there was an inexplicable sense of safety you felt in his presence—an inclination you possessed that he would never lead you astray. but despite this, there was still a small part of you that felt as if you were free-falling with no access to a safe landing. but you were generally a good judge of character.

“i haven’t decided yet,” you hesitated. “trust is earned.”

“how am i supposed to earn it if you don’t take a leap of faith and trust me a little?” he cocked an eyebrow.

you suppressed a smile. “alright.”

as it so happens, jess had no plans at all as to where he was going to take you. he walked you through town, to the small bridge over the lake, past luke’s diner and then finally into the bookshop which was always open late of fridays. he simply valued your company and conversation.

neither of you bought anything, only browsed the shelves of limited titles the small store offered and pointed out which books you had read, which you desired to read, your favourites and the ones you hated beyond anything. jess laughed at your distaste for ‘the great gatsby’, how your face scrunched up in disgust.

on the way home, for jess insisted to walk you back, you exchanged book recommendations, music suggestions and talked of the films you should watch together in the little theatre in town. and when you reached the door to your house, jess tucked his chin into his chest as he looked down at your hands, cautiously reaching out to touch them.

“i had a nice time tonight,” you told him, wrapping your fingers around his.

“me too,” he nodded, still keeping his eyes away from yours.

you didn’t want to go inside, and jess didn’t want you to either, but you were both too anxious to make the first move. but after a moment, jess could feel the warmth leaving your fingertips, and he knew you couldn’t stay out there forever. he slipped his hands delicately up your arm until he reached your neck, which he caressed gently.

in spite of his feather light touches, the sting of his cool hands nipped at the warmth of your skin, but you hadn’t the heart to care. your heart was preoccupied, perhaps indefinitely.

his lips reached yours tentatively, sweetly, flowing into open-mouthed kisses after a few seconds to find your shared rhythm. he was perfection.