#jess mariano stories

[mqrianos]

jess mariano and rory gilmore are literally the SAME people at their core, just in opposite fonts. they MIRROR each other and are each other's TWIN FLAMES. that's exactly why they understand each other better than everyone else (asp herself said so). both are raised by teen moms and have deadbeat dads. yet, one is nurtured with love and care with a mom like lorelai. and the other is abandoned & ignored by a flaky mom like liz. both develop an immense love for reading regardless of whether it became kind of a coping mechanism. both exceed normal expectations of intelligence required for their age. hence, one goes above and beyond, strives for perfection with it, and craves validation while the other could not care less what people think and says "fuck it. rules don't matter anymore for me. i know stuff". one becomes stars hollow's princess, held onto a pedestal by everyone around her. the other becomes stars hollow's pariah, hated by every person he meets. both are under intense scrutiny by people where one is held to exceptionally high standards and the other is seen as "good for nothing". both of them break out of those respective moulds as soon as they become young adults. and both play a pivotal role in helping each other break out of those moulds and still be true to their inner selfs. I COULD WRITE AN ENTIRE TEN-PAGE ESSAY ON THE PARALLELS BETWEEN THEM....I REALLY COULD!

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

GILMORE GIRLS | 3.15 "Face-Off"

[graysnetwork]

i was watching Gilmore girls at the beginning of the year i think and then i suddenly got the urge to watch again, so i'm finally on the last episode of season 2. Im completely in love with Tristan but at the moment i'm loving jess (i also searched up jess edits on tiktok and i've spoiled things for myself so i will be debating on skipping that one scene)

Also Ik this is not the best but I hope u guys like it

Warnings— none

Summary— Jess is turning into a great student and Luke not lorelai can think of a reason he’s become an amazing kid all of a sudden.

The library

Two full weeks, two full weeks had gone by now and no calls from the school had been made to Luke's phone. This was more concerning than actually getting calls from the school. And another notable thing was that Jess started leaving every day at the same time 6:30 and he'd come back home at 9:30 or even earlier.

Luke was getting suspicious but he didn't exactly know how to bring it up since it was very possible he was cheating on his tests, maybe copying off some one else for work. So he decided he'd mention it another day, and every time that decided day came by he'd put it off again, and again.

the two of them were in the diner, it was surprisingly very quiet, there was only one person which was also surprising and then the person walked out. Jess started cleaning up the table before checking his watch.

6:15

He dropped the towel and rushed upstairs, he came back down with a backpack, had he been hiding that thing?

"where are you goin?" Luke asked, finally looking up from the counter “somewhere.” “what do you have in there?” “some things” he shrugged and opened the door, before he could even get one foot out the door he could hear Luke’s heavy steps get closer to him, he turned around again.

“What do you have in there” Luke said again, “why do you wanna know, it’s nothing important” Jess rolled his eyes and checked his watch again.

6:20

“I’ve never even seen you come outside with a backpack, and I need to know if you’re stealing things again” Luke gave him an annoyed stare, Jess unzipped the the bag and showed the books in his backpacks.

“Oh” Luke muttered, and looked over to the side “happy? Cause I need to get going” he zipped the bag up again. “where have you been going?” Luke sighed, it was time he got the truth.

“why do you wanna know?” Jess rolled his eyes again, “because I gotta know these things” another sigh came out of Luke, and Jess mumbled something. It took a good few minutes to get him to admit.

“I’m goin to the library”

He said it quietly but at least it was coherent.

———

“You’re late” you smiled as Jess sat down in front of you, “I know, I’m sorry, Luke wouldn’t let me go until I told him where I was going and what I was bringing” he smiled back at you and took out his books. “well, you’re here now, that’s what matters to me, now what’s today? math?” You smiled again and the two of you started opening your books.

“Today is math day” jess nodded and started reading your math notes.

———

“Jess, in the library? Is he meeting behind it and doing something?” Lorelai drank her coffee, “I didn’t think about that” Luke said as he gave her a doughnut.

The moment very quickly ended when Jess came in and quickly went upstairs without saying a word, Luke and Lorelai could hear the thud from Jess’s backpack hitting the floor.

Jess came back down and grabbed a doughnut; pink icing. Very weird to the two adults in the diner. Unknowing to them the only reason he grabbed it was because you swore that the pink icing on the doughnuts taste different.

———

“So anything new and interesting happening?” You asked as you and Jess walked around after studying, it was the quickest you’ve ever studied but that was because it was English, all jess had to do was read and write some answers.

“no, but, if you call getting a new shipments for the diner interesting, than yes, there something new happening” he smiled at you, “sounds very interesting” you smiled back at him.

“what about you?” Jess turned to you again “what about me? Nothing” you shrugged “cmon there’s gotta be something that’s happened so far this week” Jess said, “there’s nothing, nothings happened, and im 100 percent sure nothings gonna happen” you smiled again at him.

He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and smiled “how about I give you something to look forward to then since you’re free” Jess’s brows perked up, “really? how?” your hand reached up and grabbed his that was on your shoulder.

“how bout you, me, and chinese food, and we can do it on, Friday? You said your parents are leaving on Friday right?” He smiled as you two got closer to Luke’s diner.

“yeah, my parents are going on Friday.. that sounds like a plan” you smiled “it’s a date” he smiled. “Cmon I’ll walk you home” he walked past the diner “thanks Jess” you wrapped your arm around his waist as the two of you continued you way down the street.

-

“Did I see that right?” Lorelai’s eyes were wide and her brows were furrowed, “wow” Luke said, it was the only thing that could be uttered at the moment as they had just seen; You and Jess walking together.

“That must be why he’s going to the library so much! y/n’s always at the library!” Her mouth hung open in shock, it was silent for a few moments “y’know what, this is good” like said as he nodded while drinking his coffee.

“This is good?” She looked at him confused, “yes, he’s doing good in school, and it seems like he really likes y/n, as long as he isn’t hurting her, or doing bad things than I’m happy about this” Luke smiled “I guess this is good..” Lorelai smiled back at him.

———

[loonylupinblack3]

Jess Mariano x Reader

Pairing: Jess Mariano x reader

Warnings: none

Summary: it's cold outside and Jess helps you out

Word count: 1.1k

You’d been walking around town for a while now, the chilly night air starting to get to you. You rubbed your arms to get some semblance of warmth as you tried to think of what to do. You didn't want to go home, not with your mother bound to be there. After the vicious fight you two had, you had no longing to be anywhere near her, which unfortunately left you with no place to sleep tonight. You knew you should go back, you knew it would be the smart, reasonable thing to do, but you just couldn't bring yourself to do it as you remembered the words your mother had spat at you as she stared at you with revulsion.

Of course you’d had fights with your mother before, but when she wanted she could be particularly cruel, and tonight she had certainly wanted to be cruel. She was pissed at you because you’d failed an important test at school, a failure she said had to do with a certain raven-haired boy currently residing above Luke’s diner. She believed that Jess was a bad influence on you and since you'd refused to stop hanging out with him, your mother sought other ways to convince you he was bad, namely blaming every single failure you had onto him. You were sick of defending him to your mother whenever you made a mistake, and so you had said some things you shouldn’t have, which caused the massive fight to implode, and here you were. Walking around Stars Hollow late on a Tuesday night with nowhere to sleep.

You were about to relent and go home, wondering if you’d be able to sneak into your second story window, when you heard someone call your name.

“Y/n.”

You looked up and found Jess leaning out of his window, staring at you with a slight smirk and smug expression.

“Jess?” you asked in disbelief.

His smirk widened “Y/n. Enjoy your walk?”

Your brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“Seen you walking around for a while. Cold night for a stroll, don’t you think?”

You let out a huff, crossing your arms as you stared at the boy you were so reluctantly fond of.

“Shut up,” you muttered, though you made sure you were loud enough for him to hear you.

“I’m guessing that means you don’t want to come in for a hot chocolate.”

Your head perked up as you stared at him. “Are you offering?”

Jess rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t very well say it if I wasn’t offering, would I?”

You grinned and walked up to the diner, crossing your arms to savour any warmth you might have while you waited for Jess to come downstairs. How slow could he be? Eventually you saw the diner light up and Jess walk towards the door, his stride leisurely despite the fact you were contracting hypothermia right that second.

Jess did open the door though, and as soon as he did you were inside, as far from the door as possible as you felt your whole body shiver in delight at the change of temperature. Maybe you wouldn’t contract hypothermia after all.

Jess snorted at your reaction and started making the hot chocolate while you trailed behind him, unused to being in the diner when everyone else was gone.

“Where’s Luke?” you asked, eyes darting around the place as if Luke would spawn there any moment.

Jess shrugged, his back to you as he stirred the hot chocolates. “Out at something. Can’t quite remember. He’s not gonna be back till later.”

You raised your eyebrows, checking your watch which said 11:45pm. “When exactly is later?”

Jess shrugged again. “I dunno. Later.”

You rolled your eyes but gratefully accepted the warm cup of hot chocolate he placed into your hands. You took a sip, burning your tongue slightly but you didn’t care. It was nice and warm and you were still so cold after spending most of the night outside with the snow in just a flimsy cardigan.

“You look cold,” Jess observed over his hot chocolate.

“You don’t say?”

Jess placed his mug on the counter. “I’m serious. How long were you out there?”

You checked your watch again. “I don’t know. A few hours? I left just after dinner so…”

Jess didn’t need to ask why. You’d complained enough about your mother that Jess knew when you had a fight it tended to be big, and staying outside while it snowed for hours was a pretty clear sign that whatever happened had been big.

Jess sighed. “You’re an idiot, you know that? Come on, I’ve got blankets upstairs.”

Jess took your hand and you complied, though you brought your hot chocolate with you. When you arrived in Luke and Jess’s tiny apartment, Jess led you to his bed where there were clothes, books, and most importantly, blankets scattered across the area.

You carefully placed you cup on a table and found one of Jess’s jumpers to put on, as well as not one, not two, but three blankets that you wrapped tightly around you. Still, you couldn’t stop the chills racking your body from all your time outside. Jess had sat next to you on his bed and was quietly watching you while you froze away, until he let out a frustrated sigh and tugged you towards him.

“What are you doing-“

You didn’t get to finish before Jess ripped you of every layer you had just wrapped yourself in – minus the jumper – and you squawked in outrage. Jess ignored you, rewrapping both of you in the cocoon of blankets and pulling you closer until your head rested against his chest.

“There,” he said. “Body heat.”

You rolled your eyes but nestled further into his embrace, feeling the delicious heat surround you. The two of you stayed there like that, holding on to one another, until you tilted your head to look up at him.

“Thank you,” you said. “For doing this.”

Jess raised an eyebrow. “Doing what, exactly?”

You shrugged. “Letting me stay over, keeping me warm, the hot chocolate.”

Jess looked at you silently before carefully brushing some hair away from your face. His hand stopped on your face, before a slow smile crept across his face.

“You’re all good,” he said quietly, tugging you closer to him.

You placed your head into the crook of his neck so he couldn’t see you smiling, and slowly, as you listened to the steady beat of Jess’s heart and felt some feeling come back to your fingers and toes, you drifted to sleep, wrapped up in Jess’s embrace.

[iasikaijutopia]

"Don't get all West Side Story on me, okay?"

[sarabethsilver]

Thanks for the tag @belleandsaintsebastian ❤

A little Lane and Jess being besties wip that's been languishing in my laptop for a year.

The first time Lane sees him is in 2nd period Spanish. Stars Hollow High is a tiny school, and new students are rare. They tend to cause a flurry of excitement. And new students who are particularly cute? It’s likely to be the gossip for weeks to come.

And Jess Mariano, despite his mildly pretentious popped collar and James Dean wannabe hair, is undeniably cute. He’s not Lane’s type, really, but it’s impossible not to notice those deep brown eyes, the slight curl to his hair, and full lips that occasionally quirk up into a crooked smile. 

He walks into class, late, with nothing. No backpack, no notebooks, not even a pencil in his hand. Mrs. Russo makes him stand at the front of the class (why do teachers do this?), and announces, “This is Jess…" she checks the paper in her hand, "Mariano. New student, straight from New York City. Let’s welcome him. En Español, por favor.”

“Bienvenidos…” a few students mumble. Jess smirks. Okay, cute is not the word. The boy is gorgeous. Lane can admit that in the privacy of her own brain.

“All done up here?” he asks Mrs. Russo, adopting a tone of false sincerity. 

“Yes, sure… sit there,” she gestures. Jess promptly sits, folds his hands on the desk, and looks up. Just waiting. “Um, do you need a notebook?” she asks.

“Nah. I’m taking notes up here,” Jess taps his forehead. Wow. This dude is bold for a new student.

Mrs. Russo is clearly flustered by this, so after a moment of fumbling she resumes teaching. Jess stares straight ahead, but within seconds he gets distracted. Which, in turn, distracts Lane. He’s looking around the room, drumming his fingers on his desk, staring out the window for a long moment, examining something on the bottom of his shoe, then folding his hands and twiddling his thumbs. It’s mesmerizing. He suddenly looks up and makes eye contact with Lane, like he’s completely aware that she’s been staring at him this whole time. She flushes. But he just smirks and tosses her a little wave. Lane quickly looks away.

*******

By the end of the week, he starts bringing something to school: paperbacks. There’s a new one every day, always folded in his back pocket. Without fail, in every single class, Jess sits in his seat, waits approximately 45 seconds, and then pulls out a book. Reads uninterrupted for the entire class. Lane’s initial intrigue has now turned into a full-blown fascination. Because this guy makes zero effort despite the fact he’s obviously smart. He reads continuously, brow furrowed as he holds the book sort of bizarrely close to his face. He is seemingly oblivious to the entire world around him. Yet every single time a teacher asks him a question - trying to catch him in his inattention - Jess answers it correctly. It quickly becomes apparent that this habit is infuriating to his teachers, Mrs. Russo most of all. After he answers three questions about the subjunctive tense correctly, she finally loses it.

[sophplanetoflove]

why did my jessrory (A STRAIGHT COUPLE) obsession have to appear during GAY MONTH

[rhiawriter]

They F***k You Up Your Mum and Dad

“Dream child,” she nods at Rory and then turns to him. “Jess.”

“Lorelai,” Jess nods back. 

“Mom, are you sure you can take today off?” Rory looks nervously between Jess and Lorelai.

“I’m the boss, honey.” Lorelai shrugs. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to be rid of me for the day.”

“What about you?” Rory asks Jess. “You haven’t gotten any writing done this past week. Do you need to work today?”

“Jeez, it’s the holidays? Can’t a guy take a break?”

“I just don’t want you to feel anxious when you get home.”

“My deadlines are all under control.” Jess leans across the table and squeezes Rory’s hand. “We’ll be fine, Rory. Your mom and I are going to have fun today.”

“We’ll both be on our best behavior.” Lorelai fiddles with her coffee cup. “I promise to bring him back alive and in one piece.”

“There will be no need for body bags today,” Jess says. “We’re going thrifting.”

“You both love thrifting,” Rory admits grudgingly.

“See?” Jess smiles at Lorelai. “What could go wrong?”

“I don’t think murder has to be on the table for this day to go badly,” Rory says. “I mean what are you even going to talk about?”

“You, of course!” Lorelai says. “How shiny your hair is in the morning. We’ll compete to see who can come up with the perfect adjective to describe the exact shade of blue of your eyes. Then we’ll have competition to see who loves you more. Seeing as I created you, I get 1,000 bonus points before we even begin!”

Jess takes one last sip of coffee, stands up, and kisses Rory on the forehead. “It’ll be fine,” he says. “I promise.”

One-Shot on Ao3.

[saltygilmores]

Slutty Jess Origins

My heart swells with pride to see my favorite Jess Mariano headcanon, the one where he sticks his dick in anything that moves in the years roughly between 2006-2009 (and possibly beyond) suddenly gain popularity on Tumblr in the last week or so. Have you ever read a fic that rewires your brain chemistry forever? Well, here it is: the story that actually implanted the Slutty Truncheon Philadelphia Jess Mariano headcanon into my brain in the first place. (it is actually the only Gilmore Girls fic I've finished reading beginning to end. I'm not a big fic reader unless it's filthy as hell and damn if this one isn't the filthiest Literati fic I've ever read).

Now, I wouldn't necessarily call him a raging superwhore in this story, (he only has sex with Rory), but he is certainly uh...sexually confident. tldr Jess and Rory have multiple sexual encounters, several times in public, the plot is thin, there's no sappy romance, it's something of an AU, and God, it's just fucking perfect.

[jojoblessed365]

Okay, after reading @frazzledsoul Literati band AU, I was tempted to write a proposal for a Literati AU with both Jess and Rory as screenwriters.

So, I wanted to pay homage to different screenwriting couples (Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich, Dan Palladino and Amy Sherman-Palladino, and Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumchuch) and establish Jess as a novelist turned screenwriter and Rory as a passionate screenwriter wanting to have her big break.

They first meet in the 20s, writing a screenplay on Jess's bestselling work and fall in love, but then Jess marries an actress, leaving Rory heartbroken. She starts writing many movies which gain her immense recognition, and she eventually moves to London and reconnects with Logan, eventually marrying him. I wanted to pay homage to couples who marry young but eventually divorce, especially Hollywood couples. The examples are many but, maybe I'll write it in a reblog.

Eventually Jess and Rory reconnect when they're older and are chosen to work on a reboot of The Thin Man, which gains a lot of backlash (like Greta Gerwig when Barbie was first announced) but eventually they attempt to fix their relationship and fall in love again, eventually marrying once the movie is released (which is a hit, like Barbie). This is in homage to many couples who reconnect eventually (like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez or Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine).

What do you guys think?

Tagging @ernestonlysayslovelythings @disasterbiwriter @stellaluna33 @sagesfandomspot @anxiouspotatorants @frazzledsoul @roeyliteratiforever

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

Forgive me, Jess, please know that I tried To hold on to the days When you were mine

— requested by @emmafallsinlove

[iscahmckrae]

Always saw posts saying jess was an animal abuser because 'a swan wouldn't attack unprovoked'—which is a complete laugh. Try walking through/near a group of swans or geese without being chased/attacked. But only if you're willing to risk being chased/attacked. Have even watched this happen to really nice people who feed and care for them. It's geese, rather than swans, but where do you think the term 'goosed' comes from? From people being 'beaked' by geese.

Ten to one, Jess was walking by the dock with his nose buried in a book, oblivious to the fact he had entered the swan's territory or even near a hidden nest.

[notes-in-the-margins]

Want to keep us safe from harm….But a love was in my heart

Back to Oz

Sufjan Stevens and Angelo de Augustine

[professional-bulshitter]

i think i always found rory and lorelai to be completely normal human characters going through life in a manner that was more or less understandable of them as complex people who make mistakes and shitty decisions and have to live with them with a lot of luck and a whole shooting crew behind them.

but i think that AYITL made me despise Rory a little in regards to the way she behaved with the matter of the book and the content of it and the way she handled Lorelai's refusal (not to say that there aren't other points in the whole series where both Lorelai and Rory have their moments where you're screaming at the screen but this one was a big one for me and I don't know how to get back from this)

Because writing the book is one thing but writing it mostly centered around her mother and expecting her to be entitled to telling the story even without prior consent from her mother is a little insane to me (ik she goes and tells/asks Lorelai about it at the graveyard but its more of a given for her when she proposes the idea, as if its a given that Lorelai would be okay with it,,, and then she's mad at her for not immediately agreeing to it and giving her access to her complete life for other people's enjoyment) yes, she says that it's about their life together but the first few chapters she talks about? how the book would start when Lorelai was 16? I don't remember anything from the time I was in the womb so I don't really know how she could imagine herself having equal access to her mother's life story,,, the riches to rags to riches story is Lorelai's, not Rory's, and technically while she's writing a story about the 'Gilmore Girls' in actuality, she's writing her mother's story to which she was a witness, and I absolutely stand by with Lorelai when she says no

especially considering the kind of person that she is,, Ik she is not really looked at as a "private person," but that is with the people she knows and chooses to disclose her story to,,, in addition throughout the beginning, her story has been one about her desire to have and make something of her own so much so that she ran away at 16 with a newborn baby with no way to know where she was going or what she would do to survive,,, all of the decisions she makes in some way or the other go back to her wanting to exist separately and outside of her parents and what they could give her because she knew that, all of that was always and will always be theirs,,, so it astonishes me when this response is not expected out of Lorelai considering the life that she worked so hard to build and have, is now being taken away from her, by her own daughter,,, in a way it's again losing control of her story and life that she worked so hard for just so her daughter can write a book about it and feel relevant and with a purpose again,,

and ofc she agrees to it because she understands that Rory is at a point in time wherein nothing is happening for her (or at least that's what she feels like) and most of everything that she's done since Rory was born, is to help her survive in the world in the only manner that she understands she will be able to (even when she makes bad decisions, a lot of it stems from her understanding of what is good for Rory which while not always okay or correct for Rory, has good-ish intentions behind them)

and yeah,,, i don't think I will ever be able to move past the fact that this is an actual canonical thing that the writers felt was good for the storyline and their characters (I understand why Rory wanted to write it but no.) (also the fact that the idea came from Jess worsened the situation because, throughout her life, Lorelai has lived life on her terms and faced a lot of judgment and despise for it so I understand why she wouldn't actually be thrilled to know that Jess, a person she famously does not (or did not) get along with, telling her only daughter to write a book about their relationship when it could come from a similarly (perceived) antagonistic pov as Jess')

[amoosarte]

WHEN YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW 𝜗𝜚 𝐉𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐎

━━━ in which he knows he’s fallen for her but chooses to ignore it but she doesn’t, causing both of them heartbreak…

Jess wouldn’t know what love feels like, simply because he doesn’t know how it feels like. Coming from a mother who was too busy getting boyfriends than to be paying attention to her son, he didn’t know.

He was a troubled teenager, he knew but he didn’t care, but living in such a small town, it made him go insane. Then again it gave him the chance to experience love.

Her name was Maggie short for Margaret, she was a sweet experience for Jess, but he wouldn't say that out loud. She was a girl with a sweet attitude if approach with one, though Jess didn't really introduce himself like that.

He laid eyes on her the moment he entered his uncles diner, she was helping a customer and bussing tables. "Mags, come over here for a sec." Luke gestured the girl over, making her slowly but surely examine the boy.

"This is my nephew, Jess." Luke introduced him, in which he had a bratty face, looking the girl up and down with judgement. "Jess, this is one of my employes named Margaret." Luke signaled to the girl.

"Pleased to meet you." She wiped her hand with her waist apron, wanting to shake the boys hand. "Right.." Jess pushed around her, making her just stand there. Luke sighed and walked over to Jess taking him upstairs.

Margaret looked at the boy with a glare and got back to work.

The second time Jess had an encounter with Margaret was when he was escaping dinner at the Gilmore household. He was sneaking out from the back and making his way on the main road, there he heard a light voice reading.

It was a story he's heard about it but never read it, but it made him surprise who was reading it. There she was, sitting in by her window, was Margaret, quietly but somehow clear in her words when reading. "Taming of the Shrew?" Jess smirked looking up.

It made the girl jump in her skin, quickly shutting her book, looking down to see the boy smiling. She looked at the boy confused, she was out of her work attire and she hadn't seen the boy since that day.

"Jess, was it?" Margaret asked, looking at the boy, in which he nodded. "why are you here, at night, all alone?" She asked, looking around the street. "Escaped dinner." He muttered. His eyes shifted towards her, he examined her.

Her hair was loose (she was a brunette, he noticed) and a semi large 'The Smiths' shirt covered her upper half. He smiled stupidly, looking up at her again. "the smiths?" He said it like it was a joke. She focused her attention to him again. "yes? they're my favorite band." She says.

"Interesting choice.." Jess said making it a bit insulting. "At least it's not ABBA.." She muttered making him whip his head back at her. "No way you think of that." He wanted to laugh. "Go home Jess!" Margaret said before shutting her window's close.

Jess had this asshole smile, as he walked away, he knew something of her little by little.

Jess didn't really like Star Hallow, but this was interesting. "Whatcha doing?" He leaned on the diner counted looking at the girl below, in which she was organizing the inside of her basket. "Getting ready for the Annual Basket auction." She replies.

"Got good stuff in there?" Jess tried to peek in it before she closed it, looking up at his as if he was stupid. "You have to bid on it if you want to know whats in there." Margaret huffs up as she walks into the back to get her coat.

"So what if I bid on it?" Jess asked, this got her attention. "Now why would you do that?" She asked making him wonder about it before replying. "To see what's in the basket..?" He teased, making her groan and roll her eyes.

When it came to her basket, she was surprised on how many boys bid on it, making her nervous. "20, do we have a 25?" Taylor asked making the crowd shift, making the girl eye the last boy that bid 20, until someone actually bid 25 dollars.

"Twenty-five, here." Jess rose his hand, making the crowd look at him, and so did Margaret. "No more bidders?" Taylor asked the others, watching as the boy groan and lose the basket and the girl he wanted to go out with.

"It goes to the fellow in the yellow jacket." He hammers the table lightly before moving on. "You actually bidded on my basket?" Margaret looked at him confused. Making the boy keep walking with the basket in hand.

"Yes I did, let's move on." They walked away from the plaza, Jess was taking her away from the crowd. He actually brought her to the lake luke had pushed him into some days ago. "My goodness, did you bring me to the place Luke pushed you in?" She snickered, in which made him look at her.

She giggled and sat down near the edge, making him follow along. "You're actually in luck, I put some good stuff in this basket." Margaret smiled and opened the lid, revealing the goodies inside. "This seems like diabetical murder scene." Jess said in a monotone voice.

"Hush, there some healthy options here." Margaret pulled some sandwiches out, handing one out towards him, the scene was a comfortable silence.

Jess looked around before swallowing his bite. "The boy bidded on your basket because he wanted to make a pass on you.."Jess said making the girl look at him. "oh, um well thanks for doing that.." She smiled at him.

The silenced became a bit unsettling, the boy looked away from her, noticing how he made the situation a tad bit more still? "Sorry the guy was being an ass, so I did the more responsible choice.." He said, taking a chip from the basket.

Margaret looked at him, nodding in understandment. "Thank you for being responsible." She smiled slightly, then the silence turned a bit more comfortable.

"Maggie."

Margaret didn't know the Bracebridge Dinner would be such a problem, it was never one, not until this year. She was so fussed up with what to bring, what clothes to arrive in, what to look like, why was this so hard?

Maybe it was because he was here this year. She didn't really understand, they haven't properly interacted since Annual Basket Auction, but there was always signs..

When he would peep around just to glance at her, little actions such as him giving her a peeled orange, her cup of coffee at the diner, doing her chores little by little. It made her develop something she didn't want.

She had developed love towards the boy, and she wanted to throw up. She didn't mean it in a disgusting way but deep down she knew it was a one sided love.

Margaret could only look at herself in the mirror and just let her imagination go wild. What if Jess developed the same feeling as she did?

Would they become more? It made her heartbreak because it wouldn't work.

She ended up going to the dinner with a white knitted sweater and a black skirt, the black tights weren't really helping tring to block the cold winter air.

The first thing she saw was Jess talking to Rory, both noticing her when she walked in with her older brother and his wife. Maggie hated fidgeting with rings, and made her anxious.

Jess was about to tease her until she had walked passed them, making both of the teens look at her. She was talking to Lorelai, who was directing her to their room.

Jess could only look at her and just stare, what was going on with her? Was there something bothering her, or was he bothering her.

The dinner was intense, Margaret could feel his eyes burn holes into her. She could only just sit and eat, ignoring his presence because it made her think of things she didn't want to imagine.

She was half of the people that had left for a sleigh ride, some left before dinner and the other half did it again after. Maggie had a nice warm mug of hot chocolate sitting on her lap, along with a blanket to cover her exposed legs.

She huffed as she could see her hot breath seep out. She was alone once again, her brother and his wife having their own moment. The driver was about to move until there was a shift in the carriage.

"You didn't have the patience to wait for me?" It was Jess. Then instantly her palms became clammy and the warmth that was just in her legs suddenly rose up to the rest of her body. "You're ignoring me or something?" He kept pestering.

"No, just didn't feel like talking today." Maggie just knew that sounded lame once it came out of her lips. Jess kept looking at her and he saw her eyes go somewhere else. He stood still for a moment before sitting straight in his seat.

They had been sitting there almost half of the sleigh ride, and the air was thick. Until a head was placed in her shoulder, Maggie looked over just to be greeted with black hair in her way.

Jess had began to lean into her body more, making her lean away. "What are you doing?" Margaret could feel her face heat up, and he could feel it. "You're hogging the blanket, jeez don't you know how to share?" Jess said before it returned back to the quietness.

Then he could feel the blanket go around him, but he could feel the body next to him more clearer now. The rough thick khaki jacket he had on was a big contrast to her black leather jacket.

He could see her rosy cheek, her puffed out pink lips and her messy brown hair that was under the white beanie under her head.

When you know, you know.

Jess huffed and Maggie could feel him relax under the blanket, but he still had his face shoved into her neck. "I got you a present." Jess had whispered, making her the only one able to hear it. Maggie could only chuckle, the vibration making its way towards him.

"Me too."

Everything had changed after that, Jess seemed to be around more frequent, he seemed to care more. He had became a little bit more open with her, more genuine with her.

Then it had all changed a month before graduation, when he found out he wasn't eligible to graduate.

Now Maggie stood in front of him, near the bus station going to hartford. He had things packed and he hadn't said anything about leaving, not even her.

She just by chance was passing through there, she had came back from visiting harvard. Coming home to tell him the news, that she had been accepted.

Instead of seeing him near the diner, he was getting ready to leave her. It was eating him alive when he saw her get off the bus and head towards him. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business." His voice was blunt, making her flinch just a bit. "Excuse me?" She was confused, why was he sour?

"You're excused." He huffed out. "What's up your ass today?" Maggie was speechless. Jess on the other had sighed, visible annoyed. Maggie huffed, sitting down right next to him.

"Where are you going." She asked again, after some time of silence. Jess was still ignoring her, making her knee shove itself towards him. "I'm leaving.” His answer didn’t affect her, she knew it was going to happen either way.

Maggie looked at him, making him stiff as a board. “Okay.” She had finally peeled her eyes away from him. Jess was starting to bite his nails, he felt uneasy about this drastic change he was about to commit.

Both of them saw a bus going towards Star hallow coming their way. Maggie was going to tell him, before she would never see him again.

She knew she couldn’t make him stay, so she would unravel it all today, before he left. “Here.” She handed him a fresh book that was wrapped. Jess could see her hands shake, he could hear her voice shake, and he was the cause of it.

Jess looked at her, her face was somewhat in denial but it was putting up front he knew too well. He took it out of her hands. “this is your early birthday present.”

Before he could respond, she stood up grabbing her bag and making her way towards the bus. She stopped and grabbed something out of her bag.

“Here, this is my new address starting in March, feel free to write me or to drop by.” Maggie smiled at him, making him take the letter, it was a street near Harvard. His eyes were wide, this was big news, for her, for them.

He had encourage her to at-least apply and she agreed now she had been accepted. “Just because you’re leaving doesn’t mean we’re no longer friends, we’re friends.” She said.

“Friends can lean on each other, you can lean on me if you want to Jess, but that is a step you need to take, okay?” Jess was still, a million thoughts running through his head, He was barely able to hear her say.

“I love you, Jess.” It was like the world was becoming still, and the last horn to Star hallow blew and she walked away. Forever leaving him until he decided to reach out and lean on her.

Jess saw nothing but truthfulness on her face, and his heart palpitated. Jess was in love with her, he wanted nothing but to kiss her, hold her just for a minute but his time was up and she had been nothing but patient.

Jess however had turned hesitant, she was headed toward her dreams and he was still lost. So he let her leave, leaving her with hope that he will choose her... he never did.

He would say that was his biggest regret.

She waited, waited for two year that eventually turned into four, and ended at five. She was now twenty two, and has only a dash of hope, but it flew away when she met him.

A boy who was like her, waiting for someone. Somehow they met as an accident that turned into a friendship that healed them, and turned into love.

His name was Theodore, and he had healed her waiting heart that was stuck in denial and hope. Two years had flown by and she had moved on, now planning her wedding.

She had returned to Star Hollow to hand out wedding invitations to closer relatives and friends. Maggie had contacted her brother to meet up at Luke's diner. "My, look how you've grown up!" Eliza her brothers wife had said. "Hey Maggie, how's Theo?" Tyler, her brother asked, making her roll her eyes. "You haven't seen me in a long time and you ask for theo?" She said, making the man surrender jokingly. "How've you been?" Tyler said slinging his arm around, making her laugh. "Happy."

Luke was surprised when he saw her enter the diner, he was happy but he had gotten a tinge of sadness in his old heart. The last time he had seen her wasn't that long ago but to him, she was still seventeen.

"Hey Mags." Luke side hugged her, making her smile. "Hey, how've you been?" Her smile had turned large, she wouldn't lie, she had missed him. "Busy and tired running this place." He exaggerated, massaging his shoulders jokingly. Maggie laughed, making him smile a bit. "This place needs you back, miss my handy employee."

She had laughed harder this time and continued to talk to him before eventually going to sit with the people she was originally going to talk too. "Here it is!" Maggie pulled something out of her bag, in which was the wedding invitation. "God, you're growing up." Tyler took the card, almost tearing up watching his baby sister grow into a wonderful lady.

"I want Eliza to be my maid of Honor." Maggie asked shyly making the other woman jump in excitement, then sitting back down. "I'd love too!" She smiled.

Eventually they had invited her to their house, her little nephew had missed her dearly.

Margaret smiled big, she loved this part Connecticut, her little town. She watched the kids she once knew pass her by telling her hello, and other things. She had entered Luke's diner with no thought in her mind, looking up to find Luke.

Then again, she turned into a fool everytime he looked at her. "Jess." Maggie felt her heart drop as his name became a foreign language.

Jess was surprised to see her, then his mind went blank.

The two adults had stood there still, what was wrong with her? She had waited for this moment, because she was over him. "Hi, um how've you been?" She said taking a step near the counter. Jess was still looking at her, taking her features in.

"I've been good, you?" Jess finally mustered something out, making the girl look around before responding. "I'm fine, do you know where you uncle is?" She asked looking around again, the diner was empty, it was just them. Jess's eyebrows frowned "Upstairs.."

"Alright, it was nice seeing you." She smiled at him before walking away. Jess could only think about was why was she so calm, acting like she didn't care.

"Luke you in there?" Maggie knocked before the door swung open. It was Lorelai, and Luke, they seemed flustered. "Woah is this a bad time?" She said, before the two yelled a 'no'. "Well this is actually a good time for me, Lorelai come here." She said, walking to were luke was.

The other two looked at eachother, as the younger one pulled something out. Lorelai was the first one to see it, making her scream. "You're engaged!?" She yelled, leaving no time for the girl to respond before pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

Luke was shocked but congratulated her, but when he was done she laughed. "Gosh, you guys, wait!" She said before pulling out wedding invitations, making the other woman scream more. "You're getting married!?" She yet again pulled her into a hug.

"I want both of my parent figures there..you guys mean so much to me." Maggie gave them a sad smile that was quickly wiped off. Luke had laughed a bit, while Lorelai cried happy tears just a bit.

After some time Lorelai had left to tell Rory the news, after her Luke walked her down. That was when Luke remembers what happened between her and his nephew, quickly looking at her. "It's fine, I'm over it." She smiled.

Jess had noticed her and Luke walk past him, before leaving the diner to talk outside. "Luke, I wanted ask you for a favor." Maggie said, catching the attention of the older man. "I want you to walk me down the aisle, but it's totally up to you!" Maggie continued to talk until Luke hugged her. "I'd love too."

With that Maggie smiled and hugged him back, after sometime they parted. Maggie could see on luke's face that he was thinking about something, and she knew what. "He can come too, I don't mind."

Luke looked at her with worry, only for her to shrugged it off. "I'm over it Luke, I've met the love of my life, and I'm happy.." She stated while Luke nodded, then she left.

Luke smiled a bit before going back upstairs only to find Jess staring at the invitation back upstairs. "Are you going to go?" He asked a bit dull. "I am." Luke snatched it out. “Ironic.”

"She was nice enough to invite you too, knowing you broke her heart." Luke had a harsh habit of reminding him, making him wince. “You need to get over it.” He continued, making the boys anger grow once again.

“She’s finally moved on and able to find happiness, you should follow in her steps.” Luke said. “Please why are you so angry about this? It was just a stupid crush she had.” Jess anger began to bubble.

“It wasn’t a stupid crush, she was waiting for you for five years!” Luke declared. Jess anger disappeared, now he was looking at his uncle with a confused look. “What do you mean five years?”

“Five years my ass! When I finally had the courage to go see her, she was already with him! She broke that promise.” Jess yelled, making Luke frown.

“She met Theodore when they were both healing! He was nothing but a friend to her, a year later they began dating, she moved on! Now she’s over you and now getting married.” Luke screamed back, making Jess quiet again.

“You didn’t have enough courage, but she did. She was able to look at you and forgive you, takes a really nice person to do that.” Luke finally said. “I’ll be going to that wedding, and I’ll be walking her down that aisle.” He said slapping a rag down the counter.

Jess looked at his uncle who stormed upstairs, now wanting to scream at himself for being an idiot. Jess ran outside and looked for her around the plaza, he saw no one.

She looked eternal, that's how Jess would describe her. She was like a model you would see in a bridal magazine, the ones that found the perfect dress.

Jess was nothing but awestruck, watching her walk down the aisle with his uncle's had guiding her down, handing her to her future husband. Jess saw it in his smile, he looked in love with her, it made him think. Would that have been him, if he chose her?

The whole ceremony was beautiful, Jess eyes were just on her. Capturing every time she smiled, when her eyes twinkled towards her lover. When she cried reading her vows, and looked at him while he read his.

When she kissed him as everyone erupted cheered for the happy couple, making him stand up as well. Finally watching her walk down the aisle but now with someone that would cherries her like he should've done.

As the party, Jess wanted to run away from the crowd. So he did, sneaking around before he made his way to his car, until he heard a voice he knew so well. "What are you reading these days?"

Jess looked behind to find her with a kind smile, her after party dress that made her move freely now. Jess could only think of their first encounter years ago. "Mostly taming of the shrew and others.."

"Jess, was it?" Margaret smiled, looking at the boy, in which he nodded. "why are you here, at night, all alone?" She asked, looking at the sweet boy with a knowing look he knew too well. "Escaped dinner." He muttered, his eyes shifted towards her, as he examined her.

Her brunette hair was loose, while it was halfway tied up, and her body contained a loose white sundress, god was he a fool. He smiled stupidly, looking up at her again. "The smiths?" He said as the background noise was her favorite Smiths song, the singing along of her guest said so too.

She focused her attention to him again. "yes? they're my favorite band." She says. "Interesting choice.." Jess said making it a bit insulting. Margaret looked sadly at him, the air became a bit awkward. “Just because we had a rough time with our relationship doesn’t mean we’re no longer friends, we’re friends.” She said.

Jess eyes widen, how could she? How could she still say he's a friend after everything he's done. "Jess, you have to put in mind we both experience the same hurt, in the end we didn't end up together." She said, making him look at her nervously. "As your friend, I would want you to move on.. as the girl you broke her heart, I would want you love someone better."

“Friends can lean on each other, you can lean on someone special if you want to Jess, but that is a step you need to take, okay?” Margaret said, giving him a sad smile, before turning away. "Bye, Jess, Love you." She said, before walking away.

Jess stood there, as the tears finally bursted out. Maggie short for Margaret, she was a sweet experience for Jess. She was an experience he wished he could relive and do the right thing, because he had finally lost the girl he loved, the girl who genuinely was ready to be by his side, but she needed him to take that step.

A step he regretted not doing everyday after he wedding.

𐙚 @landitolover, @moneygramhaas, @d6za1, @ch3rryknots

𝓂𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉, ⟢ more!