realist ━━ jess mariano

24| the fountainhead

ROSIE DIDN'T BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT, but stepping off the bus and gazing at New York for the first time in her life made her reconsider her beliefs on the cliche.

     She was struck by a sense of thrill as she strolled around the streets, distancing from the bus stop she got off of, making her way to the park out front. Right off the bat, she was startled by how crowded the street was, so used to the serene streets of Connecticut. She crept around the borders of the park, trying to look for the entrance she was supposed to stand by.

     When she peered down at her watch, it first occurred to her that she was a whole hour early. Secondly, she was transfixed with horror when she realized she forgot to switch her birth mother's vintage Rolex with the cheaper watch she once got herself from Casio.

     A voice spears through the tranquility, hoarse and familiar. "You made it."

     Rosie turned around, smiling sweetly when she saw Jess standing there, his thumb between the pages of the book he held. "I did."

     "You look like you just saw a ghost."

     "On a scale of one to ten, how dangerous is it that I'm wearing this?" She flashed him her wrist by sliding down her jacket's sleeve.

     "Nine, if you're gonna keep your arm like that the whole time for about five more seconds."

      She jolted her arm down in terror, rolling down her sleeves to cover the watch and not-so-discreetly scanning the environment around her to check if anyone noticed.

     When she turned to him, she saw him biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing at her. "Relax; this is real life, not Reservoir Dogs."

     "I'm cool, I'm cool." She brushed off, relaxing her shoulders. Her gaze melted into his, analyzing him from his sharp and chiseled smirk to his inspecting eyes, mirroring her. Rosie felt herself alleviate when it clicked with her why she checked her watch in the first place. "You're early."

      The corner of his mouth hitches, choosing not to elaborate on that comment. "So, the tour." He commenced, clapping his hands together. "Excited?"

     "Fairly so."

     "How much time do you have?"

     "All the bus rides are an hour earlier than scheduled, so I still only have about an hour."

     "Then we better get started. Any suggestions?" He asked, gesticulating at her to walk alongside him.

     "Only a few." She said, "I want to eat a dollar pizza while standing on the side of the street, yell at cars while I jaywalk, cry on the subway, and make fun of all the tourists in Times Square."

     "That's ambitious." He retorted. "But have you considered just taking a stroll around Central Park first?"

      She pretended to consider it for a moment. "Starting off typical, but I'll accept."

     "I promise not to disappoint."

     "You better not." She pressured him as they crossed the street.

     "So..." He set a side glance her way, his eyes darting to the plaster on her forehead. "How's the cut?"

     "It gets better the less people talk about it." She explained. "Which is why the healing process has been really slow so far." She remarked bitterly as she recalled Stars Hollow and all its snoopy residents.

      "I can imagine." He said. "And how's..."

      "Luke?" She guessed. "He's fine. Bummed since you've been gone. He can't get the coffee machine started."