Chapter Text
A Wild Adventure
The Five Musketeers Chapter 3
S9 Ep20 The One With The Soap Opera Party and Season 3 Ep 19 Keg Max
Trigger Warning:This chapter deals with underage drinking and a brief mention of sexual assault. Proceed with caution.
My cell phone buzzed when I was doing my homework on a Wednesday night in May. I saw Rory’s name on the caller ID screen and I smiled, grateful for a distraction.
“Hey Jen, guess what?”
“What?”
“Lane’s band is playing a house party this weekend. Can you and Savannah come down to Stars Hollow?”
I hesitated. “My Uncle Joey is having a party with his soap opera co-stars. I’m not sure if we can”
“Check with your folks and call me back. Please, I haven’t seen you in so long!”
I agreed to try, then hung up and left my room to find Uncle Chandler in the kitchen.
“Dinner’s about ready, honey. Who was on the phone?”
My toe dug into the carpet. “Rory.”
He must have picked up on my anxious tone because he asked, “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, yeah, she was inviting me and Savvy to a house concert Lane is playing. I'd really love to go. Do I have to stay here this weekend for Uncle Joey’s fancy party? I’ll be so bored.”
He nodded. “Go have a fun time with your friends, baby girl. I promise to get you something autographed for your collection.”
“Thank you so much, Daddy!” I wrapped my arms around him. He was so close with his own friends, I knew he’d understand.
He rubbed my back gently. “I love you too. Be safe, okay?”
I nodded. “I promise.”
“There’s probably going to be some drinking there, so keep an eye on your glass or your cup at all times, okay?”
“Of course.”
“And I don’t want you drinking. It’s fine–”
“Lemme see if I’ve got it…” I interrupted him and recited the speech he always gave me when I went out. “‘It’s fine to have a drink in a safe environment with people who care about you. I’d much rather you have a drink with me in this apartment than with people you’ve never met.’ Is that it?”
“Do I really sound like that? I’m like an actual dad now!”
“Yeah, you are,” I laughed. I didn’t mind his rules. I knew they made sense, and since the apartment was regularly stocked with beers that I could have nicked at any time, alcohol didn’t have any allure for me. Besides, the smell alone was disgusting. “And don’t worry, if I was gonna drink, I think I could do a little better than cheap, house party beer.”
“Only the best for my girl,” Uncle Chandler agreed, ruffling my hair.
Savannah and I got out of school earlier than usual on Friday to catch the 1:15 bus to Stars Hollow. Lorelei met us at the bus station and put her arms around us. “How are my favorite girls?”
I hugged her back. “Hi, Miss Gilmore. We’re great!”
Savannah nodded. “We’re so excited for Lane’s concert. Even though Rory’s roped us into helping them set up the equipment.”
Lorelei smiled. “I’m so glad you all are getting this time together before she starts college.”
“We’re gonna miss coming here to visit.” I whispered, tears starting to fill my eyes. I couldn’t help myself.
Lorelei’s lips grazed my forehead. “Honey, don’t cry. Tell you what: I’ll let your parents know whenever I visit Rory, so you can come with me, all right?”
I leaned my head on her shoulder. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Come on, Rory’s meeting us at Luke’s. Let’s get some food.”
The next day at the concert, I got a little anxious when I noticed the host’s cousin bought a whole keg of beer.
Rory looked over as well, and her nervous expression matched mine. “You know that we’re not allowed to have that stuff, right?”
I nodded. “Are you going to tell your mom?”
Rory exhaled and shook her head. “Not worth it. She’s gonna make us leave. It’s not like anyone’s forcing us to have any.”
“Yeah. We should just stay away from wherever that keg is set up.”
During intermission, I noticed that Lane was hanging around the keg. She seemed more chatty and friendly than usual, especially with the boys who were hanging around her.
“I’m just gonna go check on Lane, okay?” I told Savannah, and walked towards her. She’d flung her arm around a cute boy, and they both turned to look at me. “Jennie, this is Josh!” She informed me, her speech slightly slurred. “He’s so cool. He’s the host’s cousin.”
“Hi.” I mumbled, always a little tongue-tied when cute boys were involved.
“Lemme get you some,” he offered, and before I could refuse, there was a cup of beer in my hand. I stared at it for a second before taking a sip. Maybe it would make me less shy with him. Maybe it would make me more chatty and fun like Lane. I swallowed, and tried to hide the disgust on my face.
“Thanks! It’s great!”
We were interrupted by a scuffle and noticed that Dean and Jess were fighting.
Crash Jess and Dean’s bodies smashed through the window next to the front door.
“What a disaster!” I muttered, backing away from the broken glass. Rory bounded up next to me, Savvy in tow. “Savvy, Jennie, we’re leaving. I’m gonna call my mom, okay?”
She stared at the cups in Lane’s and my hands. “How many drinks have you fucking had?”
“Outta my way. I’m gonna puke.” Lane demanded, pushing herself out of Josh’s arms and towards a potted plant.
Rory looked at me. “Did you have anything?”
“Josh gave me one. I didn’t even finish it.I just had a sip, I–”
We froze at the sound of a siren outside. Rory groaned, “Mom is never gonna let you guys visit me at Yale if we get arrested. Dump your drinks; this party is going to get busted.”
I was grateful when she dragged me towards the door. The thought of being arrested, of having to go to jail, of having something on my permanent record, of having to face Chandler and Monica and tell them what happened…I didn’t know what was worse, and the cold fear made me freeze up. On the way out, I dropped my beer as instructed, and allowed Rory to pull me out of a side door and down an alley, where we forced ourselves to walk slowly so we wouldn’t make noise or look suspicious. After what couldn’t have been more than three minutes, but felt like three hours, we sat in a booth at a coffee shop down the street.
We caught our breath and reassured each other we were okay, then Lane excused herself to use the restroom. I touched Rory’s shoulder. “Why are Dean and Jess fighting in the first place?”
My friend had tears in her eyes, “When I tried to ask Jess why he was so moody, he tried to…force himself on me. Dean saw me crying when I was coming down the stairs and he was trying to protect me. I just wanna go home. This night has been a disaster.Call Mom, okay? I’m gonna go check on Lane.”
“Okay.” I sat back and let her go to catch her breath. I couldn’t believe it. I had been so terrified of the cops busting the party, but Rory had to deal with that and whatever Jess had tried to do to her. But she was still so calm, while I got too freaked out to move. I didn’t know what I would do without her when she went to college.
When we got back to the Central Perk apartments Uncle Tim and Aunt Izzy were waiting for us.
“We need to have a serious talk with the two of you.” Aunt Izzy said.
I gulped.
“What about?” Savannah asked.
Uncle Chandler cleared his throat. “Mrs. Kim called us up while you guys were out shopping and she told us that Lane got shit faced at that party last night.”
I nodded. “We tried to get her to stop because we knew she had a performance to complete. But this guy, Josh, was really pressuring her” I lied easily, trying to deflect blame from my friend.
Savannah squeezed my hand. “Lane also gave beer to us, Mr. Bing.” I was furious for a second, but I knew she was doing the right thing in telling him.
Concern clouded his eyes “You promised me you wouldn’t drink, Jennifer. You didn’t get drunk did you?”
I shook my head.”No sir. It tasted so bad, I just had a sip .”
Auntie Monica squeezed my shoulder. “You could have said no.”
“I know, but…he just handed me the cup. I couldn’t refuse it without seeming like I was judging them, and…I thought it might make me seem more grown up,” I confessed, ashamed at what a corny reason that was.
Aunt Izzy got up from her seat on the couch and wrapped the two of us in a hug. “Everything is alright now. We’re happy you are safe.”
“Is Lane okay?” Savannah whispered.
Uncle Tim cleaned his throat. “She is going to be fine. Do either of you have any idea why she’d want to get so horribly drunk in the first place?”
“Some guy she was dating wants to go to the prom with her, but she wants to break up with him and go with David instead.”
Uncle Tim sighed. “I’m not sure Lane is still going to prom. She is currently going to be grounded for at least five days.”
“Am I getting grounded too?” Savannah whispered.
Uncle Tim nodded. “Yes.”
“You too, Jennie,” Uncle Chandler added. “You can have access to your phone, but no going out. Just school and home.”
“Are you not gonna allow us to visit Rory at college?” I whispered.
Uncle Chandler squeezed my hand gently. “Nothing will impact that honey. I promise. It doesn’t sound like Rory had anything to do with it, so we trust her to be responsible.”
“So we can’t hang out with Lane anymore?” I was shaking.
“We still want to support her music.” Savannah said.
Auntie Monica pulled me close to her. “Honey, your friendship with Lane will not end because of one mistake she made. You’re teenagers. You had one drink, you got caught, you’re getting grounded. It’s not that big a deal,” she whispered. “There’s not a single adult in this room who didn’t do something similar when they were a kid. Of course you and Lane can still be friends.”
“Do you promise?”
“I do. When Mrs. Kim called, she told me that Lane’s sorry. Give her a call, okay?”
I dabbed at my eyes with a tissue.” Okay,”
Uncle Tim kissed Savannah’s head gently “Let’s get you home, you little thrill seeker. You have school in the morning.”
Savannah nodded. “Okay, Daddy.” They walked out, leaving me alone with Chandler and Monica. I wanted to tell them about everything else that happened, about what almost happened to Rory, about the fight between Dean and Jess, about our narrow escape from the cops, but I just couldn’t bring myself to. I hated keeping secrets from them, and I needed to get everything off my chest, but I knew it would only make things worse. A party with alcohol was one thing, but if they knew I’d been to a party with sexual predators, fistfights, and cops, they’d never let me out of their sight again. So, I kept it all inside, and just offered them a tiny smile. “Does being grounded mean I can’t watch TV with you guys.”
“No, but it does mean you don’t get dibs on choosing what to watch.”
“The true danger of underage drinking: missing out on Arrested Development,” I said in my best PSA voice.
Uncle Chandler and Auntie Monica laughed in spite of themselves, and I knew everything was going to be okay.
Later that night I was curled up in bed reading my book Hamlet for English class when there was a knock at my door.
“Come in.”
Uncle Chandler peeked in. “I have that souvenir from Uncle Joey’s party for you.”
I smiled. “Awesome. Thanks Uncle Chandler.”
He placed the autographed picture on my dresser and then sat down on my bed and opened his arms. “Come here sweetheart. I know you’re still upset from earlier.”
I pulled back my covers and curled up into his lap feeling three years old.
His arms engulfed me and I snuggled into his embrace.”Dada.” I whispered
His lips grazed my forehead gently.”I’m right here baby girl. Talk to me.”
“I let you down by drinking at the party, didn’t I?”
His eyes met mine. “This is a learning curve for both of us honey..”
“What do you mean?”
“Well you know that Grandma and Grandpa divorced when I ten right?”
I nodded slowly.
Uncle Chandler sighed. “I’m so new to being a parent. I had to work through figuring out your punishment with Auntie Monica because I wasn’t really the kind of kid who rebelled.”
“I was never a drinker or partier either Uncle Chandler.. my first beer tasted so disgusting.”
He rocked me back and forth. “You did not let me down at all honey. I’m just a little shocked that Lane would pressure you to drink. Her behavior is so out of character.”
“She was mean to me.”
“Shh… I’m right here Angel. Let those tears flow, okay?”
I sobbed and buried my face into his chest.
“Daddy loves you endlessly Jennifer Ava. I hate that you are hurting.”
“I love you too.” I kissed his check softly.