A Gilmore's Return

Chapter Twenty-Five: Higher Perspectives

The morning sunlight streamed through the windows of Luke's Diner, casting a warm glow over the familiar hustle and bustle. Alessia stepped inside, the faint jingle of the doorbell pulling Luke's attention from behind the counter. He gave her a quick nod, already pouring coffee for the table next to her.

"Morning, Alessia," Luke greeted gruffly, setting the pot down. "Back again already?"

Alessia shrugged, sliding into a stool at the counter. "What can I say? Your coffee's better than Harvard's." She smirked. "Thought I'd squeeze in one more visit before heading back to school."

Luke opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a familiar voice called out from behind her.

"Well, well. Twice in twenty-four hours. Someone's making a habit out of this."

She turned to see Jess emerging from the kitchen, wearing an apron over his leather jacket and holding a stack of plates. His hair was tousled, and he looked half-amused, half-exasperated.

"Don't flatter yourself, Mariano," Alessia shot back, rolling her eyes.

Jess smirked, setting the plates down at a nearby table. "Flattery's not my thing. Sarcasm, though? That's a language I'm fluent in."

Luke grumbled something under his breath about teenagers and their "constant snarky back-and-forths" but waved Jess off when he tried to pass him in the kitchen again.

"Go do something useful upstairs," Luke barked. "You're in my way down here."

Jess shrugged, wiping his hands on the apron. "Guess that's my cue." He turned back to Alessia. "You coming, or are you sticking around to babysit the coffee drinkers?"

Alessia hesitated only a moment before grabbing her bag. "Might as well. I can't resist the lure of your sparkling personality."

They climbed the stairs to the apartment above the diner, and Alessia took in the familiar clutter. Books were stacked on nearly every surface, the faint smell of coffee lingering in the air. Jess flopped onto the couch, fishing something out of his pocket.

"Wanna smoke?" he asked, holding up a small bag and a lighter.

Alessia raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little retro?"

Jess smirked, already rolling. "So is Stars Hollow. Call it nostalgia."

She thought about it for a second before shrugging. "Why not? For old times' sake."

A few minutes later, they were sitting on the roof, legs dangling over the edge as Jess lit the joint and passed it to her. The first inhale was sharp, pulling at her lungs in a way that felt oddly grounding. She handed it back, exhaling into the crisp morning air.

"So," Jess said after a moment, leaning back on his hands, "when are you heading back to Harvard?"

"Today," Alessia replied, glancing out over the quiet streets of Stars Hollow. "Figured I'd delay it as long as I could, but... time's up."

Jess nodded, taking another drag. "Gonna miss the chaos of this place?"

She laughed softly. "Maybe. It's weird, but sometimes I think I hate it less than I let on."

The weed started to settle into her system, loosening the sharp edges of her thoughts. She leaned back, her gaze drifting upward to the sky. "Do you ever wonder," she began, her voice slower now, "why this town feels like it's stuck in some kind of time loop? Like... it's not real."

Jess chuckled, passing the joint back to her. "It's definitely not real. It's Stars Hollow. A place where Taylor Doose has power and Kirk can do anything."

She snorted, the laugh breaking free despite herself. "Maybe it's not real," she mused, "but maybe that's the point. Like, it's a little bubble where nothing actually matters."

"Except when it does," Jess countered, his voice quiet now. "It mattered to me. For a while."

Alessia looked over at him, the haze of the high softening the sharpness in his expression. "Yeah," she said after a pause. "I guess it mattered to me, too. Even if I didn't want it to."

They sat in silence for a while, passing the joint back and forth, their conversation drifting into weirder territory as the weed took hold. Jess started theorizing about parallel universes, suggesting there was another version of Stars Hollow out there where Taylor was actually cool. Alessia countered with the idea that Kirk was secretly a genius orchestrating everything from behind the scenes.

"What if," she said, giggling now, "we're not even real? Like, what if we're just characters in someone's story?"

Jess raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching. "That's a little too meta, even for me."

"But think about it!" Alessia insisted, leaning toward him. "What if someone's just... writing all of this? Controlling everything we say and do?"

"Then they must be bored out of their minds," Jess quipped, shaking his head.

Alessia laughed, the sound bright and unrestrained. For the first time in what felt like forever, she felt light, untethered from all the expectations and weight she carried.

Eventually, the joint burned out, and they sat quietly, the effects of the high still buzzing faintly in their heads. Alessia glanced over at Jess, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Thanks for this," she said softly. "I didn't realize how much I needed it."

Jess shrugged, but there was a hint of warmth in his smirk. "Anytime, Gilmore. Just don't let Luke catch you smelling like this. He'll probably ground me, and I'm way too old for that."

She laughed again, shaking her head as they climbed back down. For a moment, as they stepped back into the apartment, the weight of leaving felt a little less heavy.

Stars Hollow might not be real-or maybe it was too real-but at least for today, it had given her something she hadn't realized she was missing.