Work Text:
They'll hang us in the Louvre
Down the back, but who cares—still the Louvre
-The Louvre
Checking the mail was starting to become a habit. Every day for the first two weeks of summer break, he checked the mailbox first thing in the morning. When the phone rang, his heart would beat just a little faster. Reading in peace had become a challenge, considering his eyes constantly wandered to the landline.
The first two weeks of summer, Jess was patient. He stayed out of trouble and waited for a letter, a call, a damn smoke signal. The first week was easier to write off. A week is a fair amount of time for Rory to figure out what she wants to say to him.
Week two was a little more grating, but he still waited for her to reach out. It didn't matter if she said something good or bad, he just wanted her to say something. Washington was keeping her busy because he couldn’t imagine Rory ignoring their kiss and moving on with her summer.
That simply isn't Rory.
When the first month of summer is officially over; Jess decides to go to a house party. Stars Hollow parties are not so different from the ones in New York.
The clock hanging from the wall read 1:46 am. He took a sip of warm beer while flipping the page of ‘ Naked Lunch ’. The smell of cigarettes and sweat and cheap beer was familiar, like his old apartment when his mother made her monthly return.
He didn't look up when someone sat beside him on the window seat. After a few seconds of ignoring them, a perfectly polished hand reached forward and tugged at his shirt sleeve. Jess sighed and leisurely looked to his right while dog-earing the page. He was met with a pretty girl who had short blonde hair. A flirty smile stretched across her glossy lips.
She raised her pale eyebrow.
“You brought a book to a party?” She let out a faux giggle while speaking. Jess didn't answer, instead, he just stared at her. He did not want to be bothered, the reason he came to the party in the first place was to get away from Luke's constant knowing looks. His silence did not seem to deter her.
She leaned forward. “I'm Shane.”
“As in ‘A man has to be what he is, Joey. ’?” He draws in a low voice. Jess glances behind Shane's head and sees a boy with tan skin and dark hair glaring at them from the kitchen.
She shrugs, unbothered.
“Sure, whatever. You want to go outside or something?”
His attention goes back to the blonde in front of him. Her brown eyes are clear, nothing glazed or drunk about them. Jess nods his head in agreement and stands up, putting his book in his back pocket. Shane smirks at him and leads him through the teens and to the front door. He feels a blazing glare on his back the whole time.
They walk down the street in silence until he breaks it.
“So..” He pushes his shoulder into hers playfully. “Who was that guy you were trying to make jealous?”
She laughs and shoves him away while still trying to keep her balance on the sidewalk edge. “I'm gonna need your name if I'm telling you personal shit.”
“Jess.”
“Okay, well that guy was my ex who cheated on me with Carley Vandak.” Jess gives her a disgusted look and it only makes her giggles louder. “I know, I know. I was seriously offended. So, I'm getting a little revenge.”
He shakes his head but still finds himself smiling. It was strange he had not heard of this drama before now. The old ladies in this town loved to gossip. It was starting to become clear that Rory was seriously the golden girl of Stars Hollow. It was almost like every other teen was irrelevant or juvenile compared to her
“So what? You're making him think I'm taking you home.” He questions. Shane grabs his arm when she loses her balance. They come face to face, their mouths only a breath away.
“You are, though.” Her smile is bright and her voice is quiet. “You're taking me home, aren't you?”
Jess swallows. He thinks of Rory, how she would probably be pissed that he hooked up with a girl while she was in Washington. He thinks that it could damage the budding relationship between them. He thinks of all the reasons he should not do this.
She has a boyfriend
It paints over all of the reasons and he leans forward and kisses Shane. Her mouth tastes like jolly ranchers and her watermelon lip gloss makes his chin sticky, but it's good. It's a good kiss and he follows her inside when they finally get to her house.
He doesn't think about Rory for the rest of the night.
***
They don't talk about important things. They make out and have sex and watch shitty movies. Shane is fine with the relationship they have, doesn't seem to mind that he is waiting for Rory to reach out.
Even though it's nothing serious, he likes her. Shane’s dad is never home, so they spend most of their time at her place. He lounges on her bed with a book while she paints hot pink on her nails. He had painted her right hand before starting his book, sloppily but she said it was better than what she could do with her left hand.
She blows on her fingers then walks to where Jess lays, draping herself on his chest.
“Do you want to go out?”
He doesn't look away from his book even though her hair tickles his nose, “Right now? Or tonight?”
Shane shrugs, her hands in the air above their heads. “Whenever, but I have work tomorrow so we can't be out late tonight.” She tells him while digging her spine into him. Jess likes physical touch, more so with the people he’s sleeping with. She figured this out after running her hand through his hair and he practically purred.
It had been embarrassing at the time but she didn't say anything about it, just started falling on top of him more often.
He thinks that if Rory didn't exist, he and Shane could be more. But Rory does exist and he’s hooked on her.
Jess sets his book down on her bedside table with a sigh. “We could go get dinner in a few hours.” He says lightly while pulling at the lace of her tank top. She rolls over so they're chest to chest. Shane raises one pale eyebrow.
“Don't you have to go home and check your answering machine?” She teases. Jess grabs a fistful of her hair and drags her mouth to his.
Mostly to shut her up.
Mostly .
She laughs into the kiss, his love sickness for Rory amuses her.
He peels the tank top off of her and rolls his eyes when she squeals for him to be careful not to smudge her nails.
***
Luke is weird about Shane. He doesn't like their relationship, he thinks dating is serious. He thinks it's wrong to sleep with one girl while wanting another. Jess would explain their dynamic but he doesn’t think it would make his uncle feel any better.
How do you tell your prudish uncle that you and your girlfriend are basically friends with benefits but also not really friends and also dating?
Shane is cool with anything life throws at her, she’s a ‘ roll with the punches ’ type. He hopes she keeps that energy when Rory comes back.
Three days.
She will be back in three days and he has no fucking clue what he plans on doing. He hopes that she breaks up with Dean, but he heard the beanstalk talk to Loralei about a conversation he had with Rory the night before. So, he gets the feeling they’re still going strong. He tries not to dwell on her inevitable return, but it's starting to close in.
Jess and Shane are sitting on the bridge Luke pushed him off of when she brings up his clear distraction.
“So, that girl is coming back soon?”
He turns his head to look at her, but she’s focused on the moon's reflection in the water. The cigarette between his lips crackles when he inhales.
He shrugs. “I guess.”
Shane giggles a little cruelly, rolling her head back in a feline way to meet his eyes. Her eyes are so dark at night, the honey brown turns to tar and he's glad they aren't blue. Her gaze only lasts a moment more before she stands abruptly.
Jess’s brows pull together in confusion when she kicks off her shoes.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking off my clothes.” She says it with some exasperation, like it should be obvious and he's the fool for questioning her. Shane unbuttons her skirt and shimmies out of it.
He looks around to see if anyone is out, but they are completely alone. He puts out his cigarette and watches her strip. She pauses before lifting her top over her head, giving him a rather pointed look.
“What?”
“Get naked, we’re skinny dipping.”
He's startled into a laugh, “That's not happening.”
She huffs. “Look,” crossing her arms over her chest, covering up a cherry red bra, “you are kinda pathetic.”
“Thanks.”
“You clearly need a distraction and to have some fun, so take off your damn clothes.” She reaches out and tugs his jacket down his arms.
Against his better judgment, Jess takes off his belt.
The water is cold when he dips in, but Shane seems to love it. He goes underwater to grab her ankle, choking on water while laughing at her scream. They splash each other and she tries to drown him like a psycho . While they swim around the shallow pond, she tells him the gossip she heard at the beauty shop.
She kisses him and then wraps her arms around his shoulders.
“You won’t be mad forever, Jess.”
It's not the first time someone has told him that, but it's the first time he thinks it could be true.
***
They sit in the car in silence, but his heart is pounding out of his chest.
Jess pulls into the driveway of her house.
“My lip gloss is at your place.”
He turns to look at her to see she's already facing him.
Nodding casually, he answers flatly, “Yeah, I'll get it to you.”
Shane smiles at him like he’s funny. Then, she leans forward to press her lips to his. It's the softest kiss they have ever shared. She pulls back, still smiling.
“It was nice being your girlfriend for a while.” She tells him, starting to pull her purse over her shoulder.
He nods his head again, “Yeah.”
“Bye, see you around.” She throws over her shoulder as she gets out of the car.
When he goes to find Rory, she’s sitting on the bridge. It's daunting that this place will always remind him of Shane now.
He drives Rory home, starting the beginning of their relationship. Neither of them talks about the relationships they just ended.
THE END