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IT HAD BEEN four months since Jess and Marley had first met, and to the surprise of no one and to the despair of Luke, their arguments had not become less frequent nor had they become less intense.
Luke had found himself (on multiple occasions) simply watching the two of them in awe as they found a way to fight about everything under the sun. The salt shakers. The temperature of the pickles in the back room. Jess' way of short-handing orders that Marley knew was only to piss her off. Luke had decided that he could leave them to stare at the goddamn wall and in when he came back in two minutes, they'd have already argued about the wall, and found a way to turn it into whether or not Stephen King was a hack.
It was exhausting just watching. At this point, Luke had found his efforts to stop their bickering nearly pointless. The two of them knew the rules by now, so they didn't make it as public as they once had. It was often quiet, them hissing insults back and forth in a way that was discreet but still destructive.
However, Luke would be foolish not to notice how much more comfortable they were around each other now. It was a strange dynamic to accompany an even stranger relationship. It was effortless between them, the way that they responded to each other. Luke would have thought that they were friends hurling insults at each other if he didn't know any better.
Unfortunately, Luke did know better. He knew that his nephew and his employee did not get along and would never get along. It was that simple. It didn't make it any less weird, though.
But today, for God knows what reason, there was a lull in their back-and-forth. Luke had chalked it up to the seasons changing and the snow falling outside. That was the only way he could make sense of what the hell was going on. For the first time in four months, Jess and Marley were quiet. Luke made a mental note to savor this moment for the rest of his life.
It was a slow day at the diner, a day that almost seemed sleepy. Maybe everyone had decided to stay indoors because of the snow? Whatever the reason was, the three of them tried not to think about it. It was best not to question a day like this.
The radio was softly playing a station that Jess and Marley had agreed on about a month back. Marley was standing up, studying for her Anatomy mid-term at one end of the counter (she didn't care that it was two weeks away, she needed an A). Jess was leaned back in a stool near the register, a book in his hands. His right one gripped a little tighter than his left, remembering that Marley had left a note in there when she clocked in.
Marley drummed her fingers against the counter, biting her bottom lip in concentration as she looked away from her flashcards, attempting to recount the names of the muscles she had memorized. Jess looked up from his book with raised brows, frowning at Marley.
"You mind, Ringo?" he said, gaze focused on her fingers that now seemed to be tapping a beat. Marley looked down at her hands. She didn't even realize she was doing that. She quickly stopped the drumming. "The hell are you doing over there anyway? You look like you're about to pass a stone."
Marley scowled at him. "I'm studying for midterms."
"You're studying already?"
"I'm sorry, have we not met? Yes, I'm studying for midterms already."
Jess shook his head. "Why?"
Marley's face was incredulous. "Again, I ask, have we not met?"
"I wouldn't be stressing out as much as you are if I had a four-point-oh."
"Well, to get a four-point-oh, you actually have to go to school."
Jess hummed. "Never said I wanted one."
Marley rolled her eyes, focusing back on her cards. There was no way she was going to be able to study if he kept talking. She wasn't even sure why she bothered.
There was something that stuck out to Marley, though. How did he know that she had a 4.0? She'd never told him that, and hardly anybody knew. She liked to keep shit like that quiet. People knew she got good grades, but she left it at that. She couldn't say that she liked people knowing things like that about her.
After a moment, she turned to Jess. "How did you know about my GPA?"
Jess hid a smirk. "Courtney likes to talk."
"I'm going to kill her," Marley muttered. He was right. Courtney did like to talk. She'd found that Courtney had been getting involved in the arguments that she and Jess had, quickly jumping to Marley's defense to help. While Marley was grateful to have someone in her corner, she didn't need Courtney telling Jess stuff like that about her.
"Why don't you like people knowing about it?" Jess asked, closing his book, fingers between pages. Marley didn't look at him. "It's not exactly a bad thing, Acosta."
"I just don't see a reason for it," she said. "People bragging about their grades is annoying. I don't need to be that kid."
When Marley glanced up, she found that Jess was staring at her strangely, almost as if he couldn't figure her out. "Huh."
"What?"
"I don't know," he said, shaking his head again. "I just took you for someone who would compete with everyone for valedictorian. Like Laura Samuels."
Marley gaped at him. "You've been comparing me to Laura Samuels this entire time?"
Jess chuckled, nearly smiling at her expression. "You two look like you'd get along."
"You asshole," Marley groaned. "Laura Samuels is the reason why I don't tell people about that kind of shit. She harassed my brother for two weeks about McMasters' Huck Finn analysis. He ended up getting a better grade than she did and she didn't sleep for three days."
"Is that why she passed out in the middle of the hall last month?"
"Different reason. My brother said that Lindsay Lister did better on a pop quiz than she did."
Jess scoffed. "I'd pass out if Lindsay Lister did better on a pop quiz than I did too."
"Hey, she's nice," Marley scolded, the laugh in her voice contradicting her tone. She shrugged. "But I would too." Her voice was soft, but Jess heard it. A smile pulled at his lips.
"Who's your brother?" Jess asked.
Marley raised her brows. "You go to a school with like, seventy kids in your grade and you've never met someone with the last name Acosta?"
"You said it yourself, I don't go to school."
She scowled at him. "His name's Jacob," Marley said.
"Football kid? Friends with Dean Forester?"
"That's him."
Jess sucked his teeth. "Yeah, I'm not sure he likes me."
"That's outrageous," Marley deadpanned. "You're so likable."
"I don't need anybody to like me," Jess said. His voice was louder and more firm than usual.
Marley grinned. "Nobody except Rory Gilmore."
"Walked right into that one," Jess muttered to himself, looking back down at his book.
"I think it's nice. It shows that you actually have a heart."
Marley reveled in the pained look on his face and the fire in his eyes. "I'm not talking about this with you."
"You're the kid who moves into town who's dangerous and probably sells other people's socials on the black market--"
"You're insane."
"--and she's the nice girl who sees past your death-to-the-world exterior and major flaws so you start to develop a soft spot for her and knife those who wrong her. It's cute."
"Don't you have midterms to study for?"
"It's like a Nicholas Sparks book."
Jess narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "You did not just compare me to a Nicholas Sparks character."
"You compared me to Laura Samuels."
The boy went to say something in return but quickly shut his mouth. Marley looked at him expectantly. He pointed at her. "Fair enough."
Marley felt herself chuckle, shaking her head and turning back to her cards with a smile. When she realized that she was, she quickly wiped it off her face. What are you doing? Stop that. You're not friends. People who aren't friends don't laugh with each other.
The two of them went quiet again, only the sound of Marley's cards flipping over and Jess turning the pages of his book filling the diner. Caesar had been sent home early, and Luke was up in his apartment, telling them to call him down if somebody came in or if somebody called in an order.
There wasn't an interruption until the diner door slammed open, the bell nearly falling off the door because of the sheer force of which it was opened.
Jacob Acosta stood with his cell phone in his hand, out of breath, but with a grin adorning his features. He didn't see the look Jess gave him for his entrance. He was only focused on Marley and the news he had.
"I'm in," he told her simply, shaking the phone slightly in his hand.
That was all he had to say. Marley knew exactly what he was talking about. She dropped the flashcards she held, her squeal muffled by her hands she'd slapped over her mouth. She ran over to her brother to hug him, laughing as they rocked back and forth.
"Did you just get the call?" she asked, gaping at him.
Jacob smiled proudly. "You're officially looking a D-Squad tight end for UConn."
"You're not going to be D-Squad," Marley laughed, shaking her head. She looked at her brother again and started squealing once more. "I can't believe you did it."
"Yeah, you and me," he said, shaking his head.
Marley hugged him again, squeezing him tighter this time. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered. She felt his arms tighten around her. "You deserve this, Jacob."
"Thanks, kid," he replied. He pulled away from her, smiling wider this time. His eyes flicked to Jess, grin faltering slightly. He nodded toward him. "Hey, man."
Jess simply replied with an uninterested wave, quickly turning back to his book. Marley rolled her eyes at this, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't mind him. He's just upset that I have the ability to ruin his life at any moment."
"Bite me," Jess said, not turning back to face her.
Marley scowled at him then looked toward Jacob. She sighed, her frown only getting deeper as she heard the chuckle Jacob was trying to hide at her situation. "Don't be an asshole," she muttered. Jacob cleared his throat, throwing his hands up in defense. "Have you told mom yet?"
"No," he answered. "I wanted to tell you first. But I better do that."
"Go," Marley urged, practically pushing him out the door. "She's going to lose her shit. She'll probably cry. Then call Aunt Kimberly. Then bake. Not necessarily in that order."
"I think I get the picture," Jacob chuckled. "I'll let you get back to work." He looked over at Jess again, wincing as he found Marley's gaze once more. "Have fun."
"I'll try my best," she replied. "Tell mom to save me some of whatever she makes."
Jacob nodded in response, practically skipping out of the diner. He threw a goodbye to her and then ran down the street, turning the corner to go home. Marley shook her head, shutting the diner door, shivering as she felt the cold air creep around her.
Marley smiled to herself, feeling more proud of her brother than she'd ever felt. He deserved this. He needed this. The family needed this. God, did the three of them need it.
She wished she could be there to see the look on her mom's face when Jacob told her the news. Her mom would probably actually smile. Not like the smiles that she'd been giving since her father left. An actual, real smile. They were rare, but man, were they a relief to see.
Marley thought about this as she returned to her work, unable to lose the smile from her face. She continued to skip through the cards and reference the pages in her various pages of notes, feeling Jess' gaze on her the entire time.
After a minute, she'd had enough. "What?" she finally asked, looking up at Jess with a glare.
Jess was silent for a moment. He kept looking at her, biting the inside of his cheek. He then looked back at his book. "Go home."
Marley froze. "What?"
"Go home," he said, waving her off.
"No, I heard what you said," Marley told him, shaking her head. "Sorry, the better question would be, why?"
Jess sighed, putting his book down. "We close in two hours. I can handle this mad rush myself." He gestured to the empty diner. "Go home. I'll tell Luke that you were here the entire time."
"Seriously?" she asked. Marley couldn't believe this. Was Jess actually... being nice to her? Was he actually aware of her feelings? She still felt frozen in her spot. "You're going to do that for me?"
"This isn't for you, Acosta," he muttered, turning a page. "I'm just sick of being around you. Five hours alone is way too many for me."
Marley glared at him but found herself moving to pack up. "I hate you."
"Feeling's mutual."
"You're really not going to tell Luke?" she asked, throwing her backpack over her shoulder.
Jess huffed. "What would I gain from it?" he asked, shrugging. "We'll just say that you owe me one and leave it at that."
"Fine," Marley said, putting on the hat she'd brought with her. "By the way, are you going to that dinner Lorelai's putting on tomorrow?"
"That Renessiance freakshow?" He raised a brow. "I think I'll pass."
"Good. One less event I have to see you at."
"Thank God for that."
Marley walked to the door quickly, tugging at her coat. She opened the door and stepped out before pausing. She moved back into the diner, a sigh leaving her lips. "Hey, Mariano," she said, nodding at him as he turned around to face her. "Thanks."
It looked as though Jess barely registered her words. "Whatever." As he turned back to the counter, he called over his shoulder, "You still owe me one."
The only response he received was the jingling of the bell on the door as it shut.
Jess found himself looking up from his book to glance out the window. He watched Marley as she moved as fast as she could throw the snow. He couldn't help himself from thinking about the way that Marley interacted with her brother. The genuine joy on her face as he had given the news, the way she'd hugged him and the way she'd said that she was proud of him. Jess couldn't remember the last time somebody had told him that. He couldn't ever imagine having a relationship with somebody in his family like that.
He gripped the pages of his book tighter, swallowing down whatever he was feeling in the depths of his stomach. He refused to be jealous of her family. He refused to be jealous of her.
Jess put down his book on the counter and got up from his stool. He rounded the counter and went into the back room, opening the refrigerator and grabbing a can of whatever soda Luke had. He opened it and returned to the counter, leaning back, making sure his head didn't hit the mugs behind him. Jess watched as the snow fell outside. It would have been peaceful if he didn't have a million different things running through his mind.
His gaze traveled to the counter, eyes narrowing as he caught sight of a folded up piece of paper. He shook his head, a smile gracing his lips. Jess put his can on the counter and unfolded the note, squinting as he read.
Jess laughed despite himself. She'd shown in the notes they'd been passing back and forth these past couple of months that she could be ridiculous when she wanted to be.
"Fuckin' weirdo," he said under his breath, the smile on his face not quite matching his words. He folded the note back up and put it in his pocket. Jess turned to the stereo in the corner of the diner, turning it on and replacing the ABBA CD Taylor had left four months ago and had yet to claim. He made a mental note to hide this from Marley yet again.
The music played quietly and Jess returned to his seat, tearing a piece of paper out from his notebook. He clicked the pen in his hand and began to write his response, including one or two choice words in reference to the type of writer she thought he was.
There wasn't another person in Luke's diner for the rest of the night.
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author's note: hey everyone i'm back
super boring update but i need to rip this chapter out so i can get to the better stuff that's to come !! i'm super excited for it !
anyway thank you so much for reading! love u all tons!
-mags