Disclaimers: I own not the show, the characters, or the beautiful Ben Harper song (entitled Another Lonely Day).
Author's Note: This takes place around the time of the fifth season, but I'm pretending the interactions in season four didn't happen. I'm also ignoring the Jess seeing his father, and assuming that he went back to New York after he left.
It was an ordinary day. Jess walked through the city with nothing but a book and a few crumbled dollar bills in his back pocket. He had been fired from yet another minimum-wage job. He walked through the crowds of people, each with their own problems and oblivious to others around them. He realized that no one cared about him.
He settled on a bench in a sunny park and pulled out an Ayn Rand novel. He tried to immerse himself in the book, but couldn't help but be distracted by the happy people strolling through the park. The sun was shining brightly on the green grass, and it disgusted him. Before it got even got dark, he headed to his apartment.
He climbed the dilapidated stairs and slid into his room.
Nobody stopped to say hi. Nobody cared.
He dropped his book on the counter, turned on a rusted radio and threw himself on a couch.
A crackly Ben Harper song drifted through the old box and surrounded him, wrapping him tight.
Yes indeed I'm alone again
And here comes emptiness crashing in
It's either love or hate
I can't find in between
Cause I've been with witches
And I have been with a queen
Why did it have to be like that? Ever since he had left Stars Hollow two years ago, thoughts of Rory haunted him; what-ifs.
What if I had talked to her?
What if I hadn't left?
What if I had told her I loved her?
It wouldn't have worked out anyway
So now it's just another lonely day
Further along we just may
But for now it's just another lonely day
He missed her. But he doubted she ever thought about him.
She was too good for him. And that was it.
He just had trouble accepting it.
Wish there was something
I could say or do
I can resist anything
But temptation from you
But I'd rather walk alone
Than chase you around
I'd rather fall myself
Than let you drag me down
She wasn't the type of girl he was used to. Perhaps he was scared of what was different.
But he had blown it. It was over, and he knew it.
He was lucky to have had her for that short time.
It wouldn't have worked out anyway
And now it's just another lonely day
Further along we just may
But for now it's just another lonely day
Two years… she had probably forgotten about him completely.
He found his mind drifting back to that time. The short time, a long time ago, when he had been happy.
He had felt secure. He had felt cared about.
Yesterday seems like a life ago
Cause the one I love
Today I hardly know
You I held so close in my heart oh dear
Grow further from me
With every fallen tear
But there was nothing he could do about it now.
It wouldn't have worked out anyway
So now it's just another lonely day
Further along we just may
But for now it's just another lonely day
As the song ended, he grew frustrated and threw his shoe at the radio. As it smashed against the wall and the music came to an abrupt halt, he heard the angry voices through the paper-thin walls telling him the "shut the hell up".
He sighed and got up, walked to the fridge and opened it, and stared at the little contents. Two beers, a container of mouldy cottage cheese, and a sock that was perhaps in worse condition than the cottage cheese. He picked a beer, hit the cap cleanly off on the counter, and raised the bottle to his lips.
His crashed on the couch again and gulped down the rest of the beer, wishing for a sleep untouched by the many emotions that flew around his head.
He meandered through the city again the next day, not having a destination or even purpose. As he walked by Washington Square Park, he paused as a familiar-looking form caught his eye. He shook himself and decided that his eyes were playing tricks on him.
She wouldn't be in New York. She wouldn't be sitting on a bench in the same park where she'd visited him before everything began.
Or would she?
He walked by and casually glanced in her direction. The closer he got, the more it looked like Rory. But when he turned and looked from a different angle, he saw that it wasn't her.
He sighed and walked in a different direction. He stopped twice and did double takes, before realizing that he was seeing her everywhere.
He decided to ignore it.
So when he passed the girl that looked remarkably the most like Rory, but with shorter hair, he didn't pause and look back.
But she did.
"Jess?" She called. She had a kind of unbelieving tone in her voice. "Jess?"
He thought for a second that his ears may be part of the conspiracy against him, but finally turned around. He saw her through the swarms of people, with her hand up waving frantically at him. It looked as if she was drowning, and desperately trying to hold on to him before she slipped away.
He jogged through the crowd and reached her, pulling her out from among the fast-paced people and into the small alcove of a building entranceway.
"Rory," he said when they had stopped, his heart still thumping in his chest.
"Jess, I can't believe I ran into you!" she was saying, full of disbelief. "I mean, of all the people in this city, and I run into you. Talk about a coincidence!"
Or fate, he thought.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked.
"I came with a friend," she said. Then her face flushed. "We got separated, and I think I'm lost."
Jess grinned. "Well I guess it's a good thing you ran into me."
Rory smiled at him.
His heart skipped as she smiled, and he was brought back to times when they were both happy. 'The good old days' as some would say. It was weird; at that moment, it was almost as if nothing bad had happened between them.
"How've you been doing, Jess?" She asked. "I mean, last time I saw you was… that day after that keg party."
Snap. Jess sighed.
"Yeah. I came back to New York. I've been doing fine, I guess. Life is… different. How about you?"
"Wait." She stopped and looked around. "What time is it?"
"I don't have a watch. But I think it's around two."
"Dammit, I really need to find my friend," she muttered. "But do you think we can… catch up later?"
"Sure," he said, not wanting her to leave, but conscious of the fact that they were standing in the entranceway of a building while people whizzed by.
"Meet me…" she looked around and pointed at a nearby bar. "There. Nine o'clock fine by you?"
"Yep," he said.
"See you later then," she said.
He sighed again to himself as he watched her dive into the crowd and get swept along. He followed her with his eyes until she was around a corner and out of sight.
Author's Note: I will continue this if there is interest. Please review and tell me what you think!