Up&Out - Jess Mariano

UnderTheBubble

Stars Hollow was about as sleepy and quaint as a town could get. All of those stories with little forest villages that were so peaceful they didn't even have a police force, that was Stars Hollow. It was under a bubble, and when you were under that bubble the magic of the town made everything perfect. You just floated through life and nothing, not even gravity could bring you back down. Even Taylor Doose, who was the poster boy for being an uptight and difficult pain in the ass, had a single speed and that was barely above a stroll.

The only issue with the bubble was, if you were from the town and had that peaceful, prefect small town magic in your blood, you could never escape. If you were lucky you would be free for a week, a month at the most, but you would always end up being dragged back. Kendall-Rose's blood was only half sleepy little town, and the bubble must have known that because the magic had never worked on her. She was like her mum, an outsider from a big city, and she lived life a thousand miles a minute and had a personality a thousand times as big as the town. The bubble wasn't big enough for her, but because her dad had been born and raised there, it still dragged her back.

Kendall didn't hate the town, or the people in it. It was home to her. For the past twelve years, she and her father and lived on the corner of Cherry Tree Lane and Chapel Way in a little house with a porch swing and an actual cherry tree outside of her bedroom window. Every morning they would go to Luke's Diner for breakfast. Saturday morning she would go to Dose's Market to get groceries. On Sunday nights she would go to her Aunt Sookie's for dinner. Each week she would be dragged to the book shop with Rory, to the record store with Lane. Her spare time was spent at swim training or out with her boyfriend. There were no issues what so ever with her life. If you were an outsider, you would think everything was just as it should be, and it was. But Kendall was like a dog living in a studio apartment. It was small and cramped and she wasn't really supposed to be there, but she stayed because the people she loved were there. Because she didn't really know how much life there was outside.

"How's that boyfriend of yours going, Kendall, sweetie?" Asked Babette loudly. "He still blonde and gangly?"

"Oh, Babette," scolded Miss Patty, slapping her friend on the shoulder with a rolled up magazine. "Don't you listen to her, darling. That boy is yum yum."

"He's doing alright," said Kendall with an awkward smile, winding a lose thread from her blazer around her index finger over and over. "Just as blonde but a little less gangly."

She didn't want to be there. She never wanted to be there, but it was a bit like an unofficial, immensely enjoyable tradition (for Kendall at least). Apparently the gossip was a little slow on Tuesdays because that was the day that Babette and Miss Patty would corner her at the news stand while her and her dad were walking to Luke's for breakfast. The first few times it was almost a compliment, they wanted to know how she was going in school and what was happening in her life. But when the old lady who lives on the corner of her street came up to her asking how her boyfriend was, she knew what was going on. She was being used as a source of entertainment.

Miss Patty's eyes lit up. "I just love it when the testosterone kicks in," she said hugging that magazine to her chest. "They fill out a bit, grow into their limbs."

"Grow into their you-know-what's as well, don't you think, Babette?"

Babette and Miss Patty erupted into peels of laughter at the same time Kendall's eyes widened and her face turned the same colour as Miss Patty's scarf.

"Well would you look at the time," said Kendall bluntly, raising her wrist in front of her. Her watch was on the other hand, but they didn't notice. "I'm gonna be late for school. See you later, ladies, it's been fun."

Hoisting her bag higher onto her shoulder, a leather book bag her boyfriend had gifted her, she turned quickly and ran across the street to Luke's. That diner was like another home to her, just like the man who owned it was like another father. The time she had spent in that old converted hardware store would have been almost equal to the time she spent in her actual house.

The bell above the door rang loudly as she opened the door, turning the door knob and then leaning into it with her body, looking over her shoulder to make sure she hadn't been followed. Thankfully, she had not. She couldn't bare to continue on with the boys growing into themselves conversation.

The diner was pleasantly busy, filled with the regulars like Kirk, Lorelai and Rory and her dad, Patrick. It was an unspoken rule that the two families spend their mornings separate and then dined together for dinner (if they were eating at Luke's) so the Gilmores were sitting at a table by the window while Kendall's dad was at the counter. Luke, who had undoubtedly been talking with him just moments before, was yelling at Taylor and his troop of boy scouts. Typical Luke behaviour, and that's what Kendall loved him for.

"What did I miss?" Asked Kendall, throwing her bag onto the counter and almost knocking over Patrick's cup of coffee. Luke grabbed it before it fell and pushed it back towards Patrick, all without breaking his aggressive conversation with the eleven year old boys.

"Our dear friend over here is lecturing these charming boys on the ethics of crispiness," said Patrick watching the entire scene avidly.

Kendall picked up the fork her dad had been using and scooped up a mouthful of the eggs he had been eating before she arrived. "Okay, now why are you talking like a butler from England in the 1920's?"

Patrick smiled at her and pushed his plate towards her. Whether he had finished eating or not, that half a plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon and tomatoes was now Kendall's.

In front of them, Luke turned away from Taylor to answer the phone. Holding the phone between his shoulder and his ear, he began to make Kendall a cup of tea. Earl grey with half a teaspoon of honey.

"You ready for school, Birdie?" It was a nickname he had given her when she six; back when she was in that two year period where she would eat and eat and eat like she was about to grow four feet but didn't move an inch. Hollow bones, her Nana had said that Christmas. You get them from you Grandad. He was just like you when he was a kid. Skinny as a stick but ate like an oak.

Kendall just shrugged. "School's school," she said. "The teachers will be boring, the hours will be long, the homework will be painful and Tri-"

"You know what?" Shouted Luke, slamming Kendall's take away cup onto the counter top. "You'll never change. You are unbelievable!" He slammed down the receiver just like he had with Kendall's tea.

Patrick grimaced. "You right there, buddy?"

"Do you have a sister?" Huffed Luke. He stormed a few feet to the left and bagged up a donut for Kendall, completely ignoring Lorelai who had snuck around the counter and was helping herself to them as well.

"Yeah. You've only known her the twenty years you've known me," said Patrick in that same blunt tone he always used. Kendall was the exact same. "Remember Sookie?"

"Well, you have my sympathies."

"You've known Luke twenty years?" Said Kendall teasingly. "You two are like so old."

"Get to the bus stop, Kenny," Luke said handing her the cup of tea and bagged donut, ignoring her statement. "You're going to miss the bus."

Behind them, they heard Rory let out a gasp. "Oh my god, Kendall he's right. We've got to go."

Kendall rolled her eyes and lazily dragged her bag off of the counter. As she leaned forward to give her dad a kiss on the cheek, Rory grabbed her elbow and dragged her out of the diner.

NOTES FROM LIV:
welcome back for take two, guys. it's pretty different from the first go but i'm really hoping you like it. there's some big plans for this story and i actually have an idea for where the plot is going (which i very obviously did not have the first time round). it might get a little heavy so just be warned. please tell me what you think of my writing, it means the absolute world to me.
all the love - LIV XX