One In The Same - Jess Mariano

Play Nice

-

Y/N POV

  Lorelai opens up the door, a warm smile on her face, and she lets our trio into her home. She shows Jess around, and I walk in toe, guessing I am expected to be his babysitter the whole night. You would have thought the adults would know better by now than to offer me any responsibility. It's obvious by now I don't exactly have the best reputation for these sorts of things.

  Jess keeps stopping abruptly, pretending to observe the house as Lorelai points out different rooms, causing me to bump into his leather jacket clad back. This is always followed by some variation of 'watch it' being muttered under his breath. Seriously, where does this dude get off purposefully making me do things just so he can make a comment about it. Douche. After the third time, I push his side, heading straight for the kitchen, which is lively with the voices of Sookie and Jackson.

  "Y/N! How are you, it's been too long," Sookie's childish glee hits me in the heart every time. I envy that I never got to grow up like that, so pure and fun. Instead, a hollowness formed in the part of the heart where that joy would have been nurtured and praised. 'Thanks a lot, Christopher'.

  "What are you cooking?" My nonchalant voice never dampens the smile of the beam of sunshine that is Sookie St.James, which deep down makes me glad. I've been around Lorelai and her coworkers plenty of times that they have grown to understand that's just the way I work. Michel was a large fan from the get-go, drained from hanging out with the caffeine fiend and the girl who was far too sober to be bouncing off the walls at all times, he appreciated a change of tone every once in a while.

  "It's pot roast," Jackson cuts in, "Or you could have some chicken wings, the mashed potatoes, one of the four different kinds of salad- Honestly, we have enough food here to feed a small village,"

  "It never hurts to come prepared. I just want to make sure the newcomer can have something he likes," Right on cue, Jess is led into the busy kitchen. "Everyone, this is Jess," He waves, half-heartedly and Sookie perks up.

  "Do you eat cheese?"

  "What?" Jess replies, caught off guard by the question - and the energy it brought with it.

  "Oh my God, this is the greatest lemon I have ever grown. I mean, this is a great lemon. Sookie, you gotta try this lemon. Isn't it a great lemon?" Jackson is equally as frantic, and I get a little kick out of seeing the perplexed look that Jess is sporting.

  "Jackson grows fruit and then scares people with it. Rory, they're here," Lorelai calls for Rory, who must still be in her room. I walk over to her door, and stop before reaching it, causing Jess to bump into me. Honestly, I didn't know he was following me really, but I seized the opportunity to get back at him for what happened a moment ago.

  "Hey, watch it," I hissed under my breath, turning to look at the boy who replied with a tense of his jaw.

  "Wow, did anyone tell you that you're just hilarious?" Before I can bite back with the same ferocity, Rory's door swings open. She jumps back a bit, clutching her heart at the sight of us right outside.

  "Oh hey, you must be Jess. Nice to see you again, Y/N. Is she causing you any trouble yet?" Her playful tone is one that I've grown accustomed to. Mine and Rory's relationship has always been a little odd. Despite our polar opposite personalities and attitudes to life, we clicked very easily. We found a mutual friend in Lane while we all still attended Stars Hollow High, which helped a lot when Rory got into Chilton. She isn't my definition of a best friend, but she always seems to know the right thing to say, and reins me in when I take my hijinks a little too far - though her love of following the rules can get a bit grating sometimes.