In the heart of Harvard, Alessia Gilmore is ready to embrace her second year and the independence it brings. After a summer spent reconnecting with friends and discovering herself, she's determined to step out of her twin sister Rory's shadow and ca...
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AN: i didn't realise i posted the same chapter twice sorry!!
The cold air bit at Alessia's cheeks as she stepped out of the diner, the bell chiming behind her like it was announcing her return to the whole town. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and started walking—anywhere, everywhere, just to move.
Stars Hollow looked the same. Too much the same.
She picked up some groceries for Lorelai at Doose's because the note on the fridge had said We're out of coffee. Again. Taylor watched her scribble her name on the little slip for the tab like she was signing a treaty. Mrs. Kim stopped her outside the shop to ask why she'd been away so long—Alessia answered vaguely, and Mrs. Kim nodded like she approved of the deflection. Kirk jogged by wearing a reflective vest, announcing he was training for a 5K no one asked about.
Everything was familiar. Nothing felt comfortable.
By the time she dropped the groceries at the house, the sky had already turned that blue-purple bruise of early winter dusk. Her breath fogged in the air. She didn't want to go inside yet—not with the silence waiting, not with the ghosts of last night.
Her feet took her where they always had when she needed space.
The old docks.
The wooden planks creaked under her boots as she stepped onto them, the lake black and glassy beneath her. The air smelled like cold water and pine. She lowered herself onto the edge, letting her legs dangle, exhaling a breath that felt like it'd been locked in her ribcage all day.
She didn't hear him at first.
Just the soft thud of boots on the boards, then the small shift of weight as someone sat beside her. Not too close. Not far enough to be casual.
Jess.
He had a hoodie pulled over his head, hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket, eyes fixed on the water.
"Didn't think anyone came here anymore," he said, voice low.
"I didn't think you did," she countered.
He shrugged. "Still quiet. Still ugly in a pretty way."
That made her smile a little. "Yeah. It's the same."
"Everything here is." Jess glanced sideways, studying her profile. "You're the one who left."
She swallowed. "Yeah. I guess I am."
The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable. It was thick, charged, carrying everything between them that never got said.
Jess's foot nudged hers—barely, like he wasn't sure it happened until she didn't pull away.
"You look better than this morning," he said.
"Thanks. I think that's the nicest way anyone's ever told me I looked like hell."
He huffed a laugh. "Didn't say that."
"You implied it."
"Maybe."
Another moment passed, colder, sharper. The wind pushed strands of hair into her eyes, and Jess reached out before he even seemed to think—fingers brushing her cheek as he tucked it behind her ear.
She froze.
His hand lingered a second too long. His eyes held hers, dark and searching, like he was trying to read a book written in a language he used to know fluently.
Jess leaned in, slow, cautious, like giving her time to stop him if she wanted.
She did.
But her body didn't move.
Her voice did.
"Jess..."
He stopped, barely inches away. Breath mixing with hers in the cold air. "What?"
She swallowed, heart rattling. "I'm... dating someone."
Jess's jaw tightened, but he didn't pull back yet. "Who?"
"Logan," she whispered, like it hurt to say it out loud. "I'm... seeing Logan."
Jess's expression changed—just a flicker, something between disappointment and resignation and something heavier than both. He nodded once, small, controlled.
"Okay," he murmured.
Then he pulled back, leaning on his palms, staring out over the lake instead of at her.
"Didn't know that." "I know." "And you didn't... want to mention it?" "I didn't think it mattered." Jess huffed, a single humorless breath. "Right."
The wind rattled the reeds. The water lapped quietly against the wood.
Alessia wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm not trying to—hurt you."
Jess shook his head. "You're not. I just... misread things."
She looked at him then—really looked. His shoulders were tense, his jaw tight, but his eyes weren't angry. Just tired. And honest.
"I shouldn't have—" he started.
"It's okay," she cut in gently.
Jess gave the smallest smile. "You always say that."
"I don't always mean it."
He let that sit between them.
Then, softer than before, Jess asked, "Is he good to you?"
Alessia thought of Logan—the stability, the warmth, the way he made the world feel structured instead of chaotic. And the part of her that loved escaping her old life by slipping into his.
"Yeah," she said. "He is."
Jess nodded. "Good."
The word held a lot of things he didn't say.
The sky darkened fully around them, the world turning quiet and cold. But neither of them stood to leave—not yet.
They just sat there, side by side on the old wooden dock, surrounded by everything familiar and everything changed.
