CHAPTER 3

GRADUATION

"Graduate," Jess reads. "Verb. Intransitive. Successfully complete an academic degree, course of training or high school. Mighty fine dictionary you got here, young lady," he jokes. "You coming out of that bathroom anytime soon?"

"When I'm dressed," Rory answers.

The morning had gone by in an instant. As soon as they'd sensed movement outside, Rory had released her hold on Jess and had silently walked out of the room.

It wasn't exactly like they were pretending the connection between them hadn't happened. It was more a question of taking it in, allowing it to sink in, reveling in whatever meaning it could have.

That the meaning wasn't clear yet was evident, and there was a freedom in not knowing that was like nothing he'd ever experienced before.

He'd always prided himself in having control over the way his life would spin out of control. If there was chaos, he would be in the middle of it, commandeering it.

But with Rory, things just didn't work out that way. Rory was the eye of the hurricane, and he was just along for the ride.

It's exhilarating, this moment of calm before the storm.

"Ok, I'm coming out," Rory calls from the bathroom, throwing the door open. She's wearing a simple blue top with long sleeves and a pair of khaki pants. "So, waddayathink?"

"That you were abducted by a country club," Jess volunteers.

Rory frowns. "Nicest thing I could find with sleeves that doesn't look like I missed the off ramp for Siberia."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Jess mutters.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about," Rory says, almost in passing. "Me, I'm sorry I won't be able to wear the dress mom made for me."

"Can I see it?" Jess asks.

Rory pulls her hair back into a ponytail, checking for stray hairs in the mirror. "See what?"

"The dress."

Rory looks at him sideways. She pulls at her long sleeves, trying to make them even longer. "Why?"

Jess shrugs. "I just want to see what it would've been like. Your perfect graduation."

Rory's eyes waver. She walks over to the closet and pulls out a hanger with light blue fabric draped over it.

The dress is sky-blue, sleeveless, v-neck. It would've ended just below the knee.

"You'll look beautiful in it," Jess says, looking into Rory's eyes. She looks away.

"I'm not going to use it. I don't have anywhere to use it," Rory points out, sticking it back in the closet.

"What about the re-enactment?"

"The town reenactment of my graduation ceremony?" Rory asks. "How do you know about that?"

"Luke said something about it."

"The bruises will show," Rory whispers.

"I hear Lane has this newfangled thing people call makeup."

"Jess," she hisses, slamming the closet door closed. "Why are you pushing this?"

Jess approaches her with a certainty held only by gods and strangers. He's neither, he's both. He knows her as if he were omniscient, he knows nothing at all. He surrounds her wrist with his hand, trying to gauge her fragility. She looks up into his eyes and tries to read him, to annihilate the need for speech. But they aren't doing the mind-reading thing well today. "If you avoid the things that matter to you, because of what he did to you, he wins and you'll always be his prisoner."

"I don't want anyone in town to see, to know," Rory says, looking straight at Jess. There's no hesitance. In this she is adamant.

"They won't."

"He doesn't get to win," Rory adds.

Jess nods, pulling her into a hug. "He won't win."

- - - - - - - - - -

They drive to the ceremony in silence, and it seems like the Jeep has shrunk. Lorelai rides up front, Luke drives as slow as he possibly can.

Squished in the back-seat, Rory crosses and re-crosses her legs, once, twice. She wrings her hands nervously. She doesn't even know she's doing it until she feels Jess's hand on her knee.

There's a calming warmth that his hand manages to convey and she stops the hand-wringing. She doesn't look up at Jess, doesn't look in his eyes. But she does stare at his hand.

Jess doesn't move his hand, and he knows he's breaking the third rule of leaving.

Right now, he can't quite remember what it was.

But he knows with the certainty only skin-to-skin contact provides, that the rule is breaking.

Broken.

- - - - - - - - -

It's a castle of Ivy and white stone, and Jess doesn't quite know how to deal with it. He didn't remember this, from the time he came to see her, when he irrationally asked her to run away with him. Now that he sees it, he's glad that they'll be avoiding her old dormitory building.

He walks beside her, towards the cattle drive of graduates. He's holding her cap and she's adjusting her gown and the nerves have started again, hand-wringing and all. Luke and Lorelai have gone in the search of their seats, threatening to push whoever is sitting next to them in order to make room for Jess. He smirked and waved them away.

He doesn't intend to let Rory out of his sight, doesn't intend to be far from her.

Of course, these are intentions and there's a lady trying to usher him away from the door as Rory passes through. "Only graduates," she says. Rory looks at him, half apologetic, half scared. Jess doesn't hand her the cap, but instead mouths to her that he'll find her.

He'll just have to find a window to break into.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

It's some auditorium-like building behind the stage, somewhere they probably hold smaller ceremonies. Jess finds a couple of windows ajar. Peeks in. A bathroom.

He jimmies the window open and hoists himself up. The opening is small but he's skinny enough to wiggle through, and he does.

He straightens out his shirt, the blue one Rory wore on the drive down, his only good shirt, and sets off in search for Rory.

He follows the signs and banners that have been laid out for the graduates to follow, because as much as he'd like to, he doesn't have a sixth sense as to her whereabouts. It amazes him, still, that they have found each other so many times. Even with directions, he never thought he'd see her again after he first left Stars Hollow.

He finds her huddled next to Paris and some other girl who Jess can't recognize. He's evidently walked into some sort of girl's locker room because he is the only male in sight. Though maybe he's wrong. Caps and gowns are all the rage in here, and it's hard to tell what's under them. Sure enough, the girl wasn't a girl but a guy. But at least it's not Logan.

"You made it," Rory says, standing and smiling. "I was afraid I'd have to walk out there without this."

Jess hands her the cap. "I never joke about breaking and entering."

"I should know that already."

Paris smirks at their exchange and steps forward to shake Jess's hand. "Read your book. Not half bad," she says, gripping his hand forcefully. "Glad to see someone with brains stepping back into the picture."

"Whoa. Take it easy, Paris," Rory says, blushing just a little.

Jess shrugs it off. "I'll take all of it as a compliment."

"I'm feeling a little left out here," the tall boy with curly dark hair said, approaching the group.

"Sorry," Rory apologizes. "Marty, this is Jess. Jess, this is Marty."

"I think we could both use a little more information," Jess insists.

"Right," Rory smiles, mischievous. "Jess, Marty woke up naked in the hallway next to my door at the beginning of freshman year. Marty, Jess asked me to run away with him at the end of freshman year."

"I'd say that's enough information," Marty says, extending his hand.

Jess shakes it. "More than enough. Good to meet you."

"Same here. I'm with Paris. It's so nice to know the blonde dick is out of the picture," Marty adds.

"Trust me, no one's happier than I am," Jess says. His eyes go to Rory, who has resumed checking her cap in the mirror. She's looking into mirrors again.

She looks sad, but determined. "Except maybe me," Rory says, looking back at Jess through the mirror.

"I should go," Jess says. "Find someplace to watch you march across the stage."

"Right," Rory says, turning to face him. She bites down on her lower lip. "Wish me good luck?"

Jess approaches her and pulls her into a strong hug. "Good luck," he whispers. Rory clings to him for a minute, not wanting to let go.

Finally her hands slip off his shirt. "I'm wrinkling your shirt," she whispers, smoothing it out.

Paris shakes her head. "I'm not a big believer in this luck thing, Mariano. Give me your cell phone number so I can call you in case Logan shows."

"I don't have a cell phone," Jess announces.

"Damn caveman," Paris mutters.

Marty shrugs. "Take mine," he offers, handing Jess the phone. "I'd love to keep an eye on things, but my last name starts with a Z."

"Ok," Jess says. He smiles, glad to know that Rory has some sort of support system. "I'm gonna go find some open window."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

There is a field, green and summery, where the stage has been erected. No one questions Jess's being there, sitting in the grass right beside the stage, because it's that kind of school. It is the kind of place where everyone does what they are supposed to, so everyone just assumes Jess is supposed to be there, sitting on the ground, pulling at blades of grass.

"My man here has the right idea," Jess hears a voice with a thick Australian accent proclaim. There are two sets of footsteps approaching. "Close to the action, but out of the way, so you can run in case of fire or extreme boredom."

A regular american voice chimes in. "You think we should follow his example?"

"We should."

"We shall."

They sit cross-legged behind Jess. Jess just shakes his head. Damn weird rich kids.

"Remind me again why we're watching this instead of walking up there with all those people?" the australian asks.

The other kid shrugs. "Might have something to do with us just taking three credits this semester and failing that class."

"Oh, that."

Jess tries not to snort. At least these rich kids have a sense of humor.

"I hope we're not interrupting his quiet time," the australian says, pointing to Jess.

"I'm sure we're not."

"We'd better ask."

"Excuse me, kind sir, I was wondering if you don't mind our incessant chattering," the australian attempts.

Jess turns to face them. Both are skinny, both look stone-drunk, and both have elaborately-carved silver flasks in their hands.

"Not at all," Jess says.

"Care for a drink?" the american guy offers.

Jess shakes his head. "I'm not drinking today."

"Right," the australian comments. "Have to keep alert for that roster. Don't want to miss any speeches."

Both guys burst out laughing. Jess manages to crack a smile. "Something like that."

"Finn," the australian says, extending his hand.

"Jess," Jess answers, presenting himself. He's feeling quite unlike himself, meeting people, shaking hands.

A Gilmore-induced transformation.

"Colin," the other guy says. Jess shakes his hand as well.

"So who are you here for, Jess?" Finn asks, looking up to the stage. "An A, a D, an M or – gasp – a Y?"

Jess guesses he means letter of the alphabet. "A G. You?"

"An H and a G," Colin says. "They're our smarter, more applied friends. Good thing they have early-in-the-alphabet last names. That way we can leave soon."

"Poor Z's graduate to empty chairs," Finn points out.

"Huh," Jess says, turning his attention back to the grass.

"I think we bored him," Finn says.

Colin shrugs and takes another drink from his flask.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Colin and Finn keep busy making fun of people's first, middle and last names.

They are pros at this mocking thing.

Jess shakes his head and waits. The G group is nearing its middle and Paris has already walked across the stage.

And then it's Rory's turn. Jess jumps to his feet and stands in attention at the mention of her name.

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore," the announcer says. "Graduates Cum Laude from Journalism."

"He stood up," Colin comments.

"She must be his G," Finn adds, standing.

"But she's our G," Colin complains, standing as well.

"I guess we'll have to share her," Finn sighs. "I'm fine with it, so long as I get her mother..."

Rory takes her diploma and holds it high for Lorelai to see. She scans the crowd and finds the spot on the grass where Jess stands. She waves at him. Jess, Colin and Finn all wave back. Rory shakes her head and laughs. Unbelievable. She continues her stride across the stage.

Jess looks behind him at Colin and Finn. "So she's your G."

"Well, not ours exactly," Finn says, gathering that Jess could be menacing if he wanted to. "We sort of adopted her."

"She dates a friend," Colin clarifies.

"So your H would be Huntzburger," Jess states.

"That he would. Do you know him?" Colin asks.

"Met him," Jess growls.

"Right, well, no love lost, I see. Oh, there you go, H's have started," Finn says, sitting back down. Colin and Jess follow suit. It's hard to see where Rory has gone to, and Jess wants to get a look at Logan before going.

But when they call Logan Hunztburger, no one walks up to the stage.

"Huh," Colin says.

"Was it your turn to give him the wake up call or mine?" Finn asks.

"I thought the redhead promised to wake him," Colin argues.

"Yes, but who was supposed to wake the redhead?" Finn points out.

"Ah, yes. Good question," Colin agrees.

Jess snickers and stands up to leave. He feels... relieved. "Have a nice one," he says, walking away.

"Don't walk away angry, man," Finn calls out.

"At least give us your number," Colin adds.

Then they both burst out laughing.

Jess is already out of earshot when Finn looks to Colin and asks, "D'you think we should follow him?"

Colin shrugs. "Do you have anything more interesting to do?"

The answer is evidently no, so they skulk off in the direction Jess has taken.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The action is, of course, behind the scenes.

Jess hears it before he actually sees the fight, and he can't run fast enough.

Logan is not being loud enough to be heard above the graduation announcements, but his whispered screaming is even worse. When he gets to his destination, Jess is proud to find that Rory is yelling right back at him.

Logan has grabbed Rory's arm, but Rory isn't standing still. She's trying to kick Logan, whose gown is hanging askew from his frame.

"Fucking let go of me, Logan, or I swear to God..." Rory is saying.

"You're gonna do what, huh, Ace? Gonna run along and tell your mom? Sic that hick town on me?" Logan whispers, gripping her arm harder.

Rory has no choice.

She kicks him in the balls. Hard.

Logan lets go of her arm and sinks to his knees. "I don't want to see you. Ever. Again," Rory says, heading over to Jess. Paris picks up Rory's cap, which had fallen to the ground, and walks over to Jess.

"What, you have some homing device or something? You got here before I could call," Paris says.

Jess shrugs. "She handled herself pretty well, I would say," he replies.

Rory isn't smiling, but there's triumph in her eyes as she approaches.

Logan is all red in the face and he looks to where Rory is walking, to where Paris and Jess are standing. Suddenly, they are also flanked by Finn and Colin.

Rory groans to herself. Great. The cavalry.

"This is about him, isn't it? It's about Jack," Logan says, standing unsteadily.

"Isn't his name Jess?" Finn asks. Colin shrugs.

"It's not about Jess," Rory says, giving Logan a death glare. Jess keeps his hands to himself, even though he feels the sudden urge to hug her, to smooth her hair. "It's about the fucking bruises on my arms and legs."

Finn looks from Rory, to Logan, then back at Rory.

"Bruises?" Colin asks, confused.

Rory doesn't even try to answer. She keeps her eyes trained on Logan. "Keep all the stuff I had at your place. It's just stuff. It doesn't mean anything to me. And now you don't, either."

With that, she snakes her arm around Jess's waist and walks away with him.

Paris, however, decides that it doesn't have to be so peaceful. With Finn and Colin watching, she walks over to Logan and lands one more swift kick in the balls. Logan groans. "That, boys," Paris tells Colin and Finn, "is what real friends do."

Smiling, she walks away, passing between Colin and Finn with great ease.

"Knew the redhead would keep her end of the deal," Colin muses.

Finn shakes his head. "That was low, Huntz. Even for us," he says. "That was a great girl you fucked up."

"She's just a girl," Logan spits out.

Finn looks right through Logan, then bumps Colin's shoulder. "Let's go."

Finn and Colin walk away, leaving Logan behind in a sea of blue graduation caps and gowns.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Your arm ok?" Jess asks, bumping Rory's hip with his. He enjoys this closeness, more than he enjoyed watching Rory grow her backbone.

Rory nods. "Nothing Lane's newfangled thing won't hide."

Paris catches up with them, a bit winded. "You ok?"

"Yup," Rory answers. "What took you so long?"

Paris shrugged. "Just doing something friendly."

"I'm afraid to think what that might be," Rory says.

"Then don't think about it," Jess says, his eyes meeting Paris's conspiratorially. "Let's go find your mom."

"Yeah, let's," Rory says, pressing herself closer to Jess as they walked.

TBC...

Ok, so this has one, maybe two more chapters left in it, but I think we just got over a big hump. I hope you enjoyed the inclusions of Marty, Paris, Finn and Colin. I hope I did justice by these characters, who may not be the center of the show but who added all the necessary color... Please let me know what you think about the character's reactions, and the writing. Any and all comments are of great help.