DISCO NIGHTS, gilmore girls

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

"They believed in drugs, booze, and petty crime." Paris disagreed with Jess' previous claim as she fuelled their dispute even further.

"You could say that they exposed you to a world that you wouldn't have otherwise known," Rory chimed in, in defence of Jess as she dipped a fry in sauce and popped it in her mouth. "Isn't that what great writing is all about?"

"Yeah, sure, if we weren't talking about Jack Kerouac, that is what great writing is all about." Maeve shrugged nonchalantly.

Paris nodded along to Maeve's words in attestation, and she seemed to be relieved that someone was openly agreeing with her. "Not great writing. That was the National Enquirer of the '50s."

"You're cracked." Jess stubbornly murmured while he pointed a fry at her before lifting it to his mouth and chewing it right after.

"Typical guy response," Paris combatted. "Worship Kerouac and Bukowski, god forbid you pick up anything by Jane Austen."

"Oh, no, no, no, you're mistaken, Paris." Maeve interjected before Jess could defend himself, a taunting smirk gradually lifting the corners of her lips up as she slowly turned to face Jess—the sudden spike in suspense was practically horror movie-like.

Jess immediately knew where she was going to go with her statement, and his eyes slightly widened as he shot her a warning glare. "Don't."

Maeve's smirk grew as she kept her eyes, which were twinkling with mischief, trained on him. "Mariano loves feminist literature."

"Maeve, seriously," Jess solidified his glare on her, shifting his attention back to Paris and speaking up before Maeve could reveal the full extent of his 'feminist literature' past. "I've read Jane Austen."

"You read Jane Austen." Maeve cleared her throat as she rephrased the tone of the word, Jess sending her a minor, irritated look and earning himself an amused smile from Maeve as the girl knew his mind flashed back to their whole 'read vs read' debate the other week.

"You have?" Paris raised her eyebrows surprisingly, the girl not expecting the words about Jess at all.

"Yeah, and I think she would've liked Bukowski." Jess contended, earning himself an offhanded stare from Maeve.

Jess stood up, the boy leaning down to lowly speak near Maeve's ear as he swiped her coffee bottle from her hands and began to make his way to the coffee pot that he brought specifically for her, but not without quietly uttering a serious warning before he did so. "I'm so getting you back for that."

Maeve threw her hands to the sides in annoyance as she watched him refill the bottle and return to the table, the boy reluctantly placing the bottle back in front of her.

Maeve's, previously irritated, expression swiftly faded at the, surprisingly kind, action, and she opened her mouth to thank him—in her own insulting way, of course—but was suddenly cut off by another sardonic warning from Jess. "It's coming when you least expect it, Davis. Watch your back."

Maeve rolled her eyes as any pleasantry of the moment was now rapidly faded, and as she shifted her attention back to the table, she only now realised that Rory was effectively staring at the pair, her, once hardened, eyes now hurriedly flickering to the table when Maeve met them.