Do You See Her Face? (A Jess Mariano Fanfiction)

KISS v. Phantom

Disclaimer: All Gilmore Girls content belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino.

. . .

Awakening on the Gilmore couch, Ella squeezed her eyes tightly shut against the morning light. Of course Dean had chosen to break up with Rory the first day of spring break, upon hearing about her acceptance to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. After her shift, Ella had rushed over and been a shoulder for Rory to cry on, along with Lane. Buckets of cookie dough ice cream sat empty on the coffee table, tissues strewn around, and Ella's makeup had been smeared around her face in her sleep. She was alone. At some point, Rory had gone to bed, she supposed, and Lorelai would be upstairs. Glancing down at her watch, she swore under her breath. It was half past eight; she was meant to be at the diner thirty minutes earlier.

Slapping lightly at her own cheeks, she spread her eyes wide. Taking in a deep breath, she hoisted herself up off the couch and tugged on her shoes, then grabbed her bag by the door. She almost forgot to say goodbye, her hand on the doorknob, before she ran back through the kitchen and into Rory's bedroom. Rory's back was to the door, asleep on her side. Ella placed a hand on her shoulder and shook slightly.

"Hey, Ror? I gotta go to work. See you later when you get your coffee, alright?" Ella whispered, watching Rory stir.

Rory grunted some sort of sleepy response.

Smirking, Ella ran back out the door and left the house. The late March morning was dewy and almost too fresh as she raced across town. Her boots were nearly slipping off her feet, her hair flying loose behind her. As she passed the gazebo, she ran nearly straight into Kirk, who had recently taken over as mailman. The most inconvenient time of the century, he'd ended up mixing up several peoples' college acceptance (or rejection) letters. Though she knew she was late for work, she couldn't help the slightly sick excitement in her stomach.

"Kirk!" she shouted as he tried to pass her. "Could you give me my mail, please?"

He faced her with a stony expression. "How many times do we have to go over this, Ella? I'm not permitted to give you your mail unless we're standing on the address property."

Crossing her arms, she looked down at her shoes and shook her head. Breathing out a frustrated sigh, she put a polite smile on her face. "Kirk, please. Just this once. Please do me this favor."

Kirk blinked at her, unrelenting.

"Four rhubarb pies," she wagered, narrowing her eyes at him.

He was silent for a moment, looking like one of the Village People in his mailman getup. She wondered how many of his clothes were regular and how many were various uniforms. "Six pies. By next weekend."

"Deal," she smiled, putting a hand out for him to shake.

He shook back, then shuffled through the many envelopes in his huge satchel. Fighting the urge to tap her foot, she watched him for what felt like an eternity. A throb was just beginning to form behind her eyes when he finally pulled out an envelope. A grin came to her face as she saw the return address.

"Thank you!" she chirped, immediately off again in the direction of the diner.

"Six rhubarb pies by next Saturday!" Kirk yelled after her, then went on ambling through town.

She felt a bit like Charlie with his golden ticket, despite having no idea what the content of the envelope would entail. It was the difference between a two-year degree and a four-year degree, community college and a public university. She didn't really care much either way, but Southern Connecticut State was her top choice. Realistically, she wasn't excited for the results, she was only excited for the suspense to end. Her dimples shone on her freckled cheeks as she made it through the front door of the diner, the bell above jingling happily. The diner was relatively packed, and she was reminded again how late she was. Luke's face was stony and gruff, and Jess smirked over at her.