A/N: A new story--yay!! HeHe. This one isn't as good as 'CoffeeJunkie02 meets NYer02', I must say...I guess that's not a good way to start out if I want you to keep reading, though, now is it?? Anyway, I'll let you judge for yurself if you wanna keep reading or not. Please, no flames...just constructive criticism?? Thanks guys. So...enjoy, and don't forget to review. I'm gonna go back to the 'I'll add the next chapter if I get at least 5 reviews' rule. ;) That's all...hope you like it!! [Oh, and another thing--I know it's ooc, but hopefully later on it will be better. Just keep reading.]

Chapter 1

"Have a nice day," Shea Taylor said, a fake smile on his face. He watched the elderly woman walk off, and as soon as the door closed behind her, the smile left his face. He rolled his eyes, flexing his jaw.

"Whoever said it never hurts to smile, huh?" a voice asked.

Shea grinned, turning around to face his best friend. "Dude, don't make me laugh. I think I pulled something. I may never smile again."

"Don't joke. Your smile is good for business."

"So you've told me. I should get a raise or something for having to smile this much." Shea rubbed his face.

"Sorry to disappoint ya, kid, but we've only been open two weeks. Can't afford any raises yet."

"Look at you, all modest. Ever since you re-opened my grandfather's bookstore, there have been twice the number of customers and three times the sales. How do you do it?"

Jess Mariano, the Literati Corner's new owner, shrugged. "It's not that hard. You stock books, you hire people to stand at the counter to ring up sales, and you wake up early to open the store. That's all there is to it."

"Sure," Shea replied. "If that's all there is to it, then how come my grandfather left the bookstore to you instead of me, his own flesh and blood, in his will?"

"Easy. He liked me better." Jess laughed, ducking as his friend swatted at him. "Okay, I'm going to go sort through some books in the back."

"Go right ahead, I got it covered." Shea opened and closed the cash register repeatedly, obviously out of boredom.

"Stop that," Jess ordered. He disappeared into the back room just as the bell above the door jingled and a teenage girl walk in. Shea put on another fake smile and went back to work.

"I'm coming home tomorrow," Rory Gilmore announced. "I know I said that last week, but I had to look for a job. I need a job. I can barely afford rent as it is." She paused, moving her cell phone to her other ear as she listened to her mother's response. "No, I'm not moving back. I'm getting a job."

She raise her arm for a cab, and one screeched to a halt at her feet. She got in and told the driver where to go.

"Mom, no. I'm not--I'm--no!" Rory laughed. "I'm coming back tomorrow afternoon, but I have to be back by Sunday evening." She paused. "Yes, I know I can stay as long as I want because I'm not working, but--oh, hold on. Hey--can you let me out here?" she asked, addressing the cab driver.

He obediently pulled over, and Rory paid him and got out. He sped away, and Rory vaguely heard her mother's whine for attention on the other end of the phone.

"Mom, can I call you back? I just found the cutest little bookstore. Actually, it's pretty big, but you know what I mean. I'll call you later? Bye."

Rory hung up and stared at the store before her in awe. "I'm going to love living here," she said to herself, making her way into the building.

Her eyes darted around the room. There were so many books...she didn't know where to even begin looking.

Suddenly, a handsome man appeared before her.

"Can I help you?" he asked. "You look new; I haven't seen you around."

"Oh, yeah, I kind of am. I just moved here about a month ago. I haven't noticed this place before."

"It's only been open a few weeks. It used to be my grandfather's store, but he passed away recently."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, he died peacefully," the man told her. "Anyway, he left this place to my best friend, and he kind of fixed it up. So you probably wouldn't have recognized it, I guess."

Rory smiled. "Looks like a great collection you have here."

"Yeah. I'm not much of a reader, though," he admitted. "It's all my friend's picks. We've got some real classics here."

"Oh. Well I think I'll just browse around..." Rory told him.

"Tell me if you need help with anything," he called over his shoulder as he walked back to the counter.

"Will do," Rory mumbled, already scanning the shelves of books.

Forty-five minutes later, she dropped a pile of books onto the counter in front of the man she had talked to earlier.

"Done!"

"Wow, I thought you got lost," he joked. "Did you find everything okay?"

"Yeah, but I didn't look at everything yet. This is just from that side of the room." She pointed. "I have to get going, so I'll come back and finish looking some other time."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Okay, guess I'll be seeing you," he said as she handed him the money for her books. He put them in a bag and she took it from him.

"Yup, probably. It was nice meeting you."

"You too."

Rory left the bookstore, and Shea whistled softly just as Jess came back into the room.

"What?" Jess asked, following his friend's gaze. All he saw was the entrance to the bookstore...

"I think I'm in love," Shea joked.

"Taylor in love? Now that's a first," Jess said sarcastically. Shea had a new 'love' every day.

"You should have seen this girl," Shea exclaimed.

"Okay, describe."

"She was tall--"

"If your next words are 'dark and handsome', let me just stop you right there."

Shea laughed. "She had dark hair, and blue eyes, pale skin..."

"Sounds like yesterday's love."

"No way. She spent almost an hour here, and she came back with about twenty books and said she had only looked at the first few aisles. She said she'd come back later when she had time. Nobody has ever spent that much time in this bookstore. Besides, I don't think 'yesterday's love' even knew how to read." Shea frowned.

"Sounds like a girl I used to know," Jess commented thoughtfully, choosing not to say anything about the other girl not knowing how to read comment. "So, what's this one's name--Ashley? Christina? Lily?"

"I didn't get her name. She said she'd come back, though. And when she does, I'm going to ask her out."

"Good luck."

"Luck? I don't need luck, don't jinx me."

"Sorry, my mistake."

"So, Mariano, how's Sarah treatin' ya?"

Jess laughed. "It's going good."

"Get the feeling yet?"

"Nope."

"Cool. Maybe this one's a keeper," Shea said, making a weird face and giving Jess a thumbs up.

Jess sighed. Every time he got a girlfriend, it never lasted very long. He started thinking about Rory Gilmore, a girl from his past. At the time, he thought it was just a crush. But after he moved to Bridgeport, and she went off to Harvard, Jess knew different. Never a day went by when he didn't think about her and wonder 'What if he had just confessed his feelings to her?' or 'What if he stayed in Stars Hollow?'

But now, it was too late for 'what if's'. He frequently talked to his uncle, Luke, who told him that Rory had moved again a few weeks ago. He didn't say where, but it didn't much matter. So he moved back to New York, thinking that maybe if he got out of Connecticut altogether, he could finally be rid of the memory of Rory. No such luck.

Jess, now twenty-three years old, remembered the day he left Stars Hollow, Connecticut, as if it were yesterday...

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"Is that it?" Luke Danes asked his nephew.

"Yeah. You can just ship the rest of my stuff whenever," Jess replied.

"Call me as soon as you get there, alright?"

"Yeah." Jess glanced around as he piled his suitcases into the back of Luke's truck. "Where's Rory?"

Luke frowned, shaking his head.

"She already left?" Jess asked. Without saying goodbye? he silently added.

"I'm sorry, Jess. She left this morning."

"Huh."

Jess nodded, a sadness he had never known before creeping into his heart.

Luke felt for him, he really did. He knew how much Rory had meant to Jess, and even though his nephew was a nuisance, no one deserved that kind of pain.

Jess held back his emotions. No point in obsessing over her, since she apparently didn't care enough about him to even say goodbye.

"We have to go," he said emotionlessly.

"Alright, sure. Let me just call Lorelai. She wanted to say bye."

Jess, surprised, looking up. "She did?"

"Yeah. She said she has something for you."

More than a little curious, Jess waited for Luke to call Lorelai, and then they got in the truck and headed to her house.

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"Hey, Mariano, wake the hell up!"

Jess snapped out of his daydream, blinking and looking at his friend.

"You're scaring the customers."

Jess looked around. "Ms. Fisher is the only one here. And she can barely even see anymore. I don't know why she still comes in here."

"I don't think she had anywhere else to go," Shea said with a sigh. He nodded at the small old woman as she looked up. "Are you finding everything alright, Ms. Fisher?"

"What?" she asked. "I don't need help. And if I did, I wouldn't ask for yours."

Jess grinned, walking over to her. "Hello Ms. Fisher, how are you?"

She smiled at him. "I'm good. You have a good collection of books here."

She said that every day. Jess didn't even think she realized that she came into the bookstore every day. She never bought anything; she just browsed around for awhile, said hello to Jess, shot death glares at Shea, and left. Every day.

"Thank you. Did you find anything today?"

She sighed. "Not this time. But you have a good collection. Good collection," she echoed, almost to herself. Her eyes flicked back to Jess. "I must go now. Mr. Fisher is waiting outside for me."

"Tell him I said hello," Jess said politely.

She nodded, slowly walking off. As soon as the door was safely closed behind her, Shea turned to Jess.

"What the hell did I ever do to her?"

Jess shrugged, laughing.

* * * * *

"Yes, Mom, I told you I'm coming. I'll just be a little late."

Rory placed some clothes into her open suitcase, talking to her mother on speakerphone.

"Aw. Hurry, I'm bored."

"Talk to Luke."

"No. He won't give me anymore coffee," Lorelai said stubbornly.

Mom and her coffee, Rory thought with a grin as she grabbed some books and stuffed them in her suitcase. Some things never change.

"How dare he," she joked. "Listen, if you want me to get there tonight, I have to leave soon."

"Alright," Lorelai agreed reluctantly. "Bye sweets."

Rory told her mother goodbye and hung up the phone. She frowned at her suitcase. Did she have enough books? She ran a hand over the half dozen or so books laying on top of her clothes.

Maybe I should check out that bookstore again. At least finish looking.

That decided, she left her small apartment and headed back to the bookstore that she had left not long ago. Upon entering it, however, she was hit with a flashback.

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"Ror, you'd better hurry. Your bus leaves in twenty," Lorelai called.

Rory came out of her room, a suitcase in each hand. She set them next to the box on the floor, which she picked up and placed on the coffee table.

"I don't have time to go to Luke's. Tell him bye again for me, will you? And give this box to Jess."

Lorelai picked up the shoebox and shook it, holding it close to her ear. "What's in it? It's heavy...and it's got a clunky sound to it."

"Mom! What if it were breakable?"

"Is it?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, okay." Lorelai shook it some more. "What's in it?" she repeated. She picked at the tape that sealed the box closed.

"It's some books I borrowed," Rory answered, taking the box away from her mother.

"Books? How boring. I know what you'd rather give him," Lorelai teased.

"Mom, please," Rory said tiredly.

"He's gonna be upset that you didn't say goodbye..."

Rory let out a breath. "Yeah, well, he should have thought of that before."

Lorelai said nothing. She picked up one of Rory's suitcases and led the way outside to the jeep.

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"Back so soon?"

Rory snapped back to the present. "Yeah," she said sheepishly.

"Need any help this time, or you got it?" Shea asked.

"I think I got it." Rory went to the bookshelf where she had left off and saw out of the corner of her eye that he was following her.

"By the way, my name is Shea."

Rory smiled. "Hi, I'm Rory."

"Rory. That's unusual."

"It's short for Lorelai."

"Cool."

She laughed, her eyes going back to scanning the bookshelf.

Shea rubbed his hands together, a nervous habit. He cleared his throat. "I know we just met and everything, but would you like to get a cup of coffee?"

Startled, Rory slowly turned around. "Um..."

"If you aren't interested..." Shea trailed off, after a moment.

Rory bit her lip. She really couldn't avoid guys forever. Just because she got her heart broken before, didn't mean all guys were bad.

"It's not that," she said quickly. "It's just...I'm going out of town. In fact, I was leaving right after I bought some more books."

"How long will you be gone?" he asked curiously.

She tried to hide a smile. "Just for a few days. I'll probably be back around Tuesday."

Rory realized she had told Lorelai she'd leave on Sunday, but she figured that her mother would talk her into spending a few more days in Stars Hollow, like she always did. No wonder Rory didn't know much about Hudson yet, like where all the good restaurants and hangouts were. She wasn't 'home' long enough to find out! It was almost as if she never left Stars Hollow. 'Who am I kidding? Maybe I should just move back, like Mom says...'

"We could get together on Wednesday, if that's better for you?"

Rory thought about it. A voice in her head told her to go for it, and she found herself accepting Shea's offer.

"Sure. What did you have in mind?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to double with my friend and his girlfriend."

Double? Not exactly the typical first date, but, hey, at least it wouldn't be as intimate. In fact, it would probably be a lot easier for her if there were other people there. Besides, what did she know about this guy, anyway, other than his name? He already said he didn't really read--he could be a total bore. She usually preferred the intellectual types. Her literary arguments with Jess had been a favorite pastime of hers.

Oh, god, not him again! When would she get over this? She was sick and tired of constantly thinking about him. It had, after all, been five years! Shouldn't she be past this already?

"Hello? Rory?"

Rory blushed, the thoughts of Jess slowly floating to the back of her mind, where they always were.

"I'm sorry, I spaced out for a second there. Sure, a double date sounds fine."

"Okay. Here is my number," She said, quickly scrawling his digits on a piece of paper and handing it to her. "You can call me when you get back, and we'll plan it."

"Alright."

He left, and Rory went back to searching for books. Her stomach was in knots. She hadn't been on an actual date in months. She was glad that she was going home to Stars Hollow. Then she could ask her mother for advice on how to act so she didn't screw this one up.

A/N: how do you like it so far?? I may not be updating this one every 4 days like I did 'CoffeeJunkie02 meets NYer02', b/c it's taking me longer to write this one for some reason, but...i'll try not to take WEEKS like I did for 'Mixed Emotions', k?? ;) anyway, please review...it's greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!

Oh, and...i need some more fanfics on my website [http://www.geocities.com/vgm269] if you have any and wouldn't mind letting me host them, send 'em over!! Please...i especially need some new categories...