BLANK SPACE ; jess mariano

xɪx. ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪɴɴᴇʀ

3 MONTHS LATER

JESS wanted to be anywhere but pulling up onto the elder Gilmore residence driveway. He turned off the ignition and flapped down the sun shield, opening the mirror. He gently touched the bloody bruise, feeling it almost burn as he did so. He shook his head, already knowing he would be overwhelmed with questions from his concerned girlfriend, Rory. He treaded up to the white stoned porch and knocked on the mahogany door. Rory answered it, her grandmother peeking over her shoulder, and a frown settled upon her features.
"What.." she eyed Jess' bruise with a look of horror.
"Sorry I'm late." Jess apologised bluntly.
"Oh, that's all right. Come in, come in. It's cold out." Emily grinned in a ladylike manner.
"Uhh, grandma, this is Jess. Jess this is my grandmother." Rory spoke slowly.
"Nice to meet you." Emily still maintained the grin.
"Same here." Jess nodded with her response.
"Uh, what happened to your eye?" Rory finally managed to get the question out.
"It's a long story. I don't want to bore you." Jess tried to imply to the girl that he didn't want to talk.
"Oh, this is new?" Emily asked.
"Brand new." Rory said, not taking her stern glare off Jess' injury.
"It looks bad, does it hurt?" Emily queried.
"I'm fine."
"Is that why you were late?" Rory inquired. Jess was starting to get annoyed with all the questions washing over him.
"84 was jammed." he simply responded.
"We knew that, too. There was something with a big rig. Oh, those things, they scare the life out of me. And apparently, all the men who drive them are hopped up on bennies and goofballs. Come, come, have a seat at the table. I'll go check on dinner." Emily explained and walked away in the direction of the dinner table.
"Shouldn't we go with her?" Jess questioned when Rory held him back.
"Did you get in a fight?" Not answering her query, Jess replied,
"Dinners waiting." through gritted teeth.
"Jess, were you in a fight?" Rory repeated herself.
"I told you. It's a long story. I don't want to talk about it." Jess already knew he was arising suspicion.
"Why?"
"Look, Rory, I'm already in a crappy mood. Traffic sucked. Traffic I hit going to a function I didn't particularly wanna go to. And I'm thirsty. And I'm hungry. So let's eat." Jess exclaimed and latched on to Rory's arm, dragging to the dining table. The two took their seat at the table, each opposite from eachother before Emily walked to the table with a broad smile on her face.
"The roast looks perfect. Oh Jess, you eat meat, I hope. I forgot to ask." Emily formed an embarrassed look.
"I'm a carnivore." Jess joked, still feeling Rory's stare resting on him and his every move.
"Good. I don't see how anyone can resist eating meat."
"It's why we have teeth." Jess said.
"That's how I feel. Dinner parties used to be simple. Now every time we give one, I have to run my menu down with every person on the list. It's tiring. This one eats just about anything." Emily pointed a finger at Rory.
"Grandma.." Rory laughed slightly.
"I'm sorry, but the way you and your mother eat, and those slim figures of yours it's a medical marvel." Emily guffawed.
"They should be studied." Jess added, although gaining a deadpan stare from Rory.
"I don't think so." why can't she take a joke? Jess thought, staring back at the girl.

The next conversation proved to be about Jess' current occupation. The boy politely nodded along and answered, but none of it seemed to be enough for Rory.
"Oh my God, there's no salt and pepper on this table. We'll need it for the meat. These people are supposed to be trained before I get them, but God knows that's never the case." Emily leapt up from the table and into the kitchen.
"What is your problem?"
"You're not telling me the truth, that's my problem!" Rory answered, aware of her tone rising.
"Look, I don't want to get into this here."
"And it's obvious why.." Rory muttered.
"Oh, it is?" Jess scoffed.
"You got in a fight with Dean." Jess laughed.
"Unbelievable."
"What?"
"That it always comes back to Dean. Y'know, Sage would never-" Jess stopped himself from speaking.
"Oh my god!" Rory exclaimed. Jess stayed silent.
"It's always Sage! All I ever hear is 'Sage this, Sage that' it's unfair!" Jess had to admit he had been mentioning her a lot, even thinking about her. He didn't know what he felt for her. He liked Rory. Rory was his girlfriend. But Sage was just...different. He was even starting to believe that what her mother had said at the fair might even be true, or at least in his kind it was.
"It's unfair to me for you to keep accusing me!" Jess retorted.

JESS and Rory had retreated to the study where they had ultimately had an argument.
"I can't deal with this." Jess said. Sharing their opinions on Jess' way to the door, Rory stood in shock as he closed it, slamming it in her face. Jess knew this was wrong. But he was so annoyed at Rory for accusing him of getting into a fight with Dean, when he had done nothing of the sort. He pulled up at the white door and stormed out the car. He knocked angrily and it opened. Her short brunette hair fell onto her shoulders and her green eyes gazed at him.
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah, of course." she mumbled, helping the boy in.

really long chapter ik