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He sees her first.
Rory freezes for a few seconds while Jess watches, keeping his hands locked behind his back. She starts down the hill towards him and he meets her partway. “What are you doing here?” she asks.
Jess smiles. “Hello to you, too.”
“Is everything okay?”
He ignores the question. “You look nice.”
“Thank you.” Rory looks nervous, he notices. Her eyes flit from a spot behind him, then back to his face. “What are you doing here?” she asks again.
“I moved back,” he says easily. It’s not easy. But Rory is one of few things that make this hell town worthwhile.
She stares. “What?”
“I moved back,” Jess repeats.
“But–what…why?”
“Just…wanted to.” He tries to shrug it off, but he knows, seeing her here now, he’s a goner. Rory looks at him, and he thinks she’s distressed. Maybe Luke was right and he should’ve left well enough alone, but he had to see her, so here he is.
He isn’t expecting it when she surges forward and kisses him, her hands immediately on his waist. He doesn’t waste any time before kissing her back, her soft lips moving against his, his hand cupping her face.
It’s mere seconds and then she pulls away. “Oh my god.” She turns away and Jess doesn’t want her to walk away. Leaving her behind to go back to New York was hard enough. Watching her get on that bus after she came all that way to see him was hard enough. He doesn’t think he can bear it. He wants her to stay, wants her to stop denying what’s between them. He gets it, really, but if she just gave this a chance…fuck. He’s in so deep, and the thrill he felt just moments ago, the actual fucking butterflies in his chest, are gone. “Oh my god.”
“Rory,” he starts.
She looks back at him. “Don’t say a word!”
“Okay.”
“I have to go,” she says, already turning to run away. She looks back over her shoulder and calls, “Oh, welcome home!”
Jess watches her go, and he doesn’t have any idea what’ll come next, but he knows that, yeah, he’s definitely a goner.