That Same Old Lost Kid
This town. It's dark, and its darkness goes unseen by its oblivious townspeople. Two of the first townspeople whose shroud is about to be lifted from in front of their eyes are crossing the street, shadows playing in the light. The two women are yammering about something or other, with little coherency.
They make their way to the brightly lit building with a pair of familiar faces inside. As the older of the two women pushes open the door of the establishment, a little bell jingles. The younger of the two men looks up and the older rolls his eyes, going straight to the coffee.
The younger woman steps inside behind her mother and the nephew makes his way over to her, taking in her beauty step by step – her sky blue eyes, her chestnut hair, her porcelain cheeks. Heat rose though his body as it always did when he saw her, and vice versa.
"Rory," he said in his dark, deep tone of voice he had about him, nodded his head for emphasis. She returned the gesture and took a seat next to her mother at the counter. The boy bit his lip slightly and turned to go and wipe off some more tables.
"Wow, Friday night dinner was horrible," said Lorelai, the older woman. Luke, the own of the diner, just gave her a stern look, which she returned with a sweet one. "Don't you want to ask me how Friday night dinner was, Lukey?"
"Lemme guess… it was horrible. And never call me Lukey again," he spat back.
"Or you'll what?"
"I gave you decaf." Lorelai coughed and gagged and Luke looked at her with laughter in his eyes. Jess walked his way behind Rory and took her hand, dragging her out the door and away from the scene in the diner. Lorelai and Luke were quite lost in each other's eyes, despite both being in relationships.
Jess dragged Rory off to the gazebo and pulled her up into a deep kiss, which made her fall him in his arms, responding to his every move with a quiver or a quake. He pulled away and the two took a moment to catch their breath. They were breathing rapidly, holding every movement sacredly. He smirked, and she looked upon him with adoring eyes, despite their foreheads touching.
"Hi…" he whispered sweetly.
"Hi…" she whispered back. He kissed her again, holding it long, pulling her close to him. When she pulled her head away, his arms were still pressing her hips to his. He removed one of his hands and smoothed her hair. She smiled meekly and pressed her lips to his.
"Missed me?"
"Greatly…" she said into his lips. When the two pulled away, longing dripping off them like sweat, Rory's hand had found a home on his chest. He was warm against her despite the bitter November cold surrounding them.
"Good, because I missed you too." Rory laughed.
"In the three hours that you haven't seen me, you missed me?"
"In the three hours you haven't seen me, you missed me too? How sweet."
"Indeed," Rory chuckled as she kissed him sweetly. "Sadly, I should probably go now."
"Don't. Let's go… somewhere. Anywhere. It's a Friday night in Stars Hollow, there's got to be some fun to be had." Rory sighed, smiling, and kissed Jess lightly.
"Don't get me wrong, I would like to go somewhere, anywhere with you, however, I did have a terrible time at dinner tonight, and I think my mother and I need to comfort each other."
Jess made a puppy dogface, and kissed Rory softly on the cheek, grasping her hand in his. "What if I don't want to let you go?"
Rory moaned softly into Jess's lips and pressed herself into him, "Nobody ever said I didn't want you to let me go, but I really should."
"Please? Another, I don't know, five minutes. Your mother can wait five minutes, can't she?"
"You know Lorelai, and she cannot ever wait five minutes. She is an extremely impatient woman. You yourself know this."
"I wouldn't let it bother me," he said, kissing Rory playfully. She turned into jelly in his arms and she truly did not want to leave, but there was something happening – she sensed it - and she needed to leave. "Please don't leave," he pleaded.
"I have to," Rory said putting her head on his shoulder. He stroked her hair softly and kissed the top of her head.
"You are the world's biggest tease, you know that, right?"
"Definitely," she smiled to him and left his side. Jess stood in the gazebo for a moment more, watching Rory run to catch up with her mother. A soft breeze, bitter cold, rustle through the leaves of Stars Hollow as Jess wandered off, shivering with cold. There was something happening to the town, he could feel it in the marrow of his bones, he just couldn't tell what.
Rory looked back at her boyfriend woefully for a second, as she really did want to be with him at that moment in time. What she saw scared her completely.
As the wind kicked up, blowing an icy blast in Rory and Lorelai's faces, Rory could've sworn she saw a dark, black figure against the shadows of the town, following Jess as he wandered off into the night. Before it continued after him, the figure turned and seemed to stare directly at Rory. She shivered and held on to her mother tightly. Lorelai smiled down at her daughter, oblivious.
Rory wasn't sure if it was just her imagination or if it was something real, but whatever it was, it had sent her real, true feelings of terror.
Luke watched Jess and Rory part ways, and Rory and Lorelai join. He had seen Jess walk off into the night and could've sworn that he saw someone following Jess. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, if anything, but it had a foreboding air. Something was happening to the town, but what?
He turned off the lights in the diner and left the door unlocked for Jess, although he had never needed it to be.
Jess continued walking through the abandoned Stars Hollow. It was so different at night, especially now, in late November. Everything seemed dark and evil, and he could feel eyes piercing his back as he strode through the streets.
Something big was happening here.
THE END of chapter one