Author: Encarta
Pairings: Rory/Jess with Luke/Lorelai undertones.
Rating: T
Timeslot: Beginning of Season Three. Jess is with Shane. Rory has broken up with Dean.
Chapter One
The phrase 'too close for comfort' had never been made more clear in her mind then it had right then.
Sitting next to Jess Mariano in the back seat of a cramped pick-up truck was more than she could handle. It was a wonder her nerves had remained intact after the first three hours of driving. It just wasn't natural with all the meaningful glares he had shot in her direction combined with his annoying ability to turn every comment he made into a pointed remark that stung worse than anything else he could throw her way.
It made her extremely angry that he was being so childish about there whole situation. Yes, she had kissed him. Yes, she had run to Washington. But she had broken up with Dean and he was still sucking face with that Shane girl.
He had nothing to be angry about, and yet he still sat there with a scowl on his face, headphones glued to his ears and a book at his side, not uttering a word. He just left her there, entirely bored, with nothing to entertain herself with except her mother's singing and Luke's complaints about her mother's singing. No books, no music, just time to contemplate how she had gotten herself into this mess in the first place.
"Ah hah!" came Lorelai's muffled voice from under Rory's bed. Her room was unnatural dirty, with clothes strewn about the floor and piles of bedding and bags leaning against the wall.
"Ah hah, what?"
"I found it!" she replied as she emerged, sporting her characteristic grin. Rory frowned as she looked at the item in her mother's hand.
"A feather boa? You've been searching the house for an hour and a half looking for a feather boa?"
"You obviously haven't heard about the mountain climbing incident of '99 and being your mother, I feel obligated to keep you informed-"
Rory sighed. "This should be interesting."
"Well, a few years back there was a group of climbers and one of them just happened to be a professional drag queen. I don't remember his real name but I know his show name was Starina-" she continued.
"Any relation to the character Nathan Lane played in the 1994 film The Birdcage?"
"None whatsoever. Now as I was saying, they were up in the mountain and of coarse Starina was wearing his lovely purple feather boa-"
"Of course."
Lorelai just glared at the comment and continued. "-when their ropes snap and they all fall."
"They all snapped at once?" she questioned.
"Yep."
"Well, that makes perfect sense."
"Wait until you hear the end. All fifteen of these people are falling and then just before they hit, Starina's magical boa gets caught on a branch saving him from his impending doom."
"What happened to the rest of the people?"
"They all died." Lorelai stated with a sparkle in her eye. Rory tried not to laugh.
"Aside from the fact that you just made that up, I'd say that's a pretty unique fairytale."
"Blasphemous child." She joked as she pinched Rory's cheek in mock compassion. "You spend a few weeks away from mommy and you think you're so smart."
"Smart enough to know that you have no idea how to pack for a camping trip. Remind me why we have to go again?"
"Because Luke told me that I wouldn't last a day without the comforts of modern technology." She stated as she stuffed more shoes into the bag by her side. "But what he doesn't know is that us Gilmore's are very clever animals who recognize the use of batteries and cell phones. Unlike Luke, who won't even spring for a cordless even when it risks the lives of his customers."
Rory smiled as her mother continued to talk. Despite what Lorelai claimed, Rory was almost positive that her motive for going camping with Luke was just that, so that she could go camping with Luke. It was obvious that they liked each other, despite their obliviousness to each other's feelings, and maybe this trip would be good for them. Maybe Lorelai would finally be happy, even if it cost Rory her sanity at the fault of a certain dark-haired rebel.
That had only been yesterday and now her thought pattern had completely changed. She didn't think she could take it anymore.
She looked over at Jess who appeared to be asleep, even with the music still blaring in his ears. How could he sleep like that? It was just too annoying.
'…I'm on the highway to hell. No stop signs…'
"How ironic." She muttered, while trying to steal a glance at the book by his side. After all, he was asleep, he wouldn't be needing it. She sighed, he was practically sitting on it and it was almost entirely out of view.
If only she could pull it out without him noticing…maybe even read a few pages…
She balled her fists in determination and then waved a hand in front of his face. No response. Now was her chance.
She quickly reached over and tried to grab the binding, pulling it out slowly. She almost hit her head on the ceiling in surprise when she felt his hand enclose around her wrist.
"I just wanted to- I was just-" She stammered. Damn. He was awake the whole time.
Jess smirked and raised an eyebrow at her. "You were just what?"
"Nothing. I was just…going to roll down the window." She stated matter-of-factly. "It's getting hot in here."
"In that case, all you had to do was ask." He replied as he tapped the window button. He ignored the fact that her own window was still closed and settled back down in his seat. "I'm just full of good deeds."
She rolled her eyes at his sarcasm and rapped her arms around her shoulders, staring defiantly out the window. Now she was not only miserable, but cold as well.