(we're skipping around a bit in this chapter. but it's like over the course of like a week. hope that's okay. also the first two sections focus more on marley and her other relationships with the characters, so don't be surprised by the lack of jess. however, this is a big chapter for them, boys. strap in. this is also unedited. will fix in the morning. love u. -mags)
✧✧✧
IT HAD BEEN nearly two months since Jess Mariano had left Stars Hollow and things had been quiet, to say the least.
Marley worked more hours now, though these hours were in a less stressful environment. It seemed like a decent tradeoff to her. Luke hadn't been as on edge as he had once been, but it was obvious he wasn't feeling one-hundred percent. Not many people saw it, but Marley did. He'd become so accustomed to his nephew being around him all the time that now that he wasn't... it was different. A good different in some ways, but different nonetheless.
That was how both Marley and Luke felt. They knew that that fact he was gone was probably for the better, but it didn't always seem like it. Especially not today, when they could use an extra set of hands on deck.
The diner was packed this morning. It was a Saturday, so the early morning rush was expected, but the Brunch hour rush was something that had taken both of them by surprise. Marley held in a groan as she skirted around the family in the corner table, trying her best not to spill hot coffee on the five-year-olds who were standing on their chairs. She glared at the family then transferred that look to Luke who returned it.
"Can we please kick them out?" she asked, putting the coffee pot back beneath the brewer.
"You wanna be the one to tell Stone-Cold Steve Austin to shut his kid up?" he countered. Marley glanced over at the father of the family who looked as though he could crush Marley into dust at any given second. She groaned. "Yeah, I didn't think so."
"If I throw some arsenic into their waffles, will you fire me?"
"I'm not going to be an accessory to the murder of a family of seven."
"Fine, if I spit on their waffles, will you fire me?"
"That's a health code violation."
"But will you fire me?"
"Go give Babette her omelet and get out of my face."
Marley scowled at him. "Coward," she muttered, practically hearing Luke roll his eyes in response. She grabbed the two plates sitting on Caesar's window and brought them to Babette and Morey who sat in the middle of the diner.
Jess' departure had brought she and Luke closer in a way, the two of them (and perhaps Rory Gilmore as well) being the only people to have been around him more than anyone else. They knew that Jess wasn't as bad as everyone had made him out to be, even if at times they couldn't stand looking at him. He was just a kid. An asshole kid, but a kid just like her. Not everyone had to mature as quickly and early as Marley had.
His absence had been noticed at school as well. Courtney didn't pester her about him as much as she had, the halls were quieter without their fighting, and there was no longer any tension that hung in the air when Jess and Dean Forester passed each other. It was quiet.
Stars Hollow had finally returned to its sleepy ways. The most exciting things that they could count on happening were the town meetings. Well, that, and that Alyssa Williams had just gotten let off parole. It was a waiting game to see what she would do next.
Marley sent her kindest smile to the children in the corner as she bussed the table beside it, the smile immediately dropping as the father looked away. The glare she now wore made the eldest stop bouncing up and down and sit in their chair. It was only then when Marley genuinely smiled.
Luke shook his head as she walked passed him. "If that kid starts crying, I'm taking your tips."
"Worth it," she called, placing the dishes in the sink. She returned to the counter and stood next to Luke. "Also, I'm pretty sure that's illegal."
"You just threatened to put arsenic in my customer's waffles and now you're telling what and what isn't legal?"
Marley could feel the eyes of the people sitting at the counter on her. She turned to them with that same smile she first gave the kids. "He's gone off the end deep end over the years. He's hearing things." She gave an apologetic shrug. "Old age, I guess."
Luke moved to guide her away from the customers, a scowl pulling at his lips. "Stop talking," he told her. Marley chuckled, shuffling along to the end of the counter, where a pile of mail sat. Luke began to go through it, picking through bills and letters until he came across a smaller envelope. He threw it in Marley's direction. "He sent you another one."
Marley flipped the envelope in her hands, recognizing Jess' handwriting immediately. "That was quick," she commented, mostly to herself.
"I don't get why he sends them here. Wouldn't your house be easier for us all?"
She scoffed. "Like I'd ever give him my address."
"You two are so goddamn strange," Luke muttered.
"You've said that."
"And I'll keep saying it until I understand it," he responded. He gave her one more disapproving look before he heard Caesar ring a bell. He went to go pick up the food and left Marley alone with the note in her hands.
She placed the envelope in her apron. The note could wait. Steve Austin and his hell family could not.
✧
"HAS THERE EVER been a time when you weren't a freak?" Jacob Acosta asked his sister, almost a week later, receiving a glare in return. "I'm serious. I need to know if this is a medical condition or if it's just the way you are."
Marley turned to her brother's best friend with a blank stare. "Are you going to back me up, or are you just going to sit there and look like an idiot?" she asked.
Dean Forester huffed a laugh, putting his hands up in surrender. "You know that I'm not getting involved in this," he replied.
"So you're going to sit there and look like an idiot."
"No, he's on my side," Jacob said. "He's just afraid of you."
Marley nodded as she finished cleaning the salt shaker in her hand. "Smart."
"Tell her that she works too much," Jacob said to Dean, motioning to the diner they were currently in. "She's a freak. I don't know anybody who works as much or as hard as she does."
"You know why I need to work so much." Her voice was light and airy, but there was a warning beneath it. He did know. He knew better than anybody.
"Yeah, but I don't know why you feel the need to schedule your life to the minute," he said, shaking his head.
Marley sighed, putting the salt shaker down. "We're not having this conversation again, Jacob. Not now. Not here. Not ever."
Jacob frowned at her, looking as though he wanted to say something more. Dean was quick to cut him off. They didn't need to start a fight. Not at closing time at Luke's. "I think it's cool how hard Marley works," he said, offering his voice. "Not many people would be willing to do that."
Marley nearly smiled at this. Dean had known the two of them long enough to feel when an argument was coming between them and he always made an effort to diffuse them. It was nice to see that things hadn't changed.
"Thank you, Dean," she said, though her eyes were on her brother. "I'm good. I'm perfectly stable. I am beauty, I am grace."
"You walked into our sliding door this morning because you were so tired."
"I didn't say I was flawless."
Jacob rolled his eyes. He sighed heavily, then turned to Dean. "Fine, if you're too scared to tell her she's a freak, can you tell her to get some sleep? I woke up at three-thirty last night to use the bathroom and her light was still on."
Dean looked at her strangely. "Jesus, Marls. Was that your third all-nighter this week?"
Marley gaped at him. "How the hell would you know that?" Dean's eyes shifted to Jacob who was still staring at Marley disappointedly. She scoffed. "What? You can't find anything better to talk about?"
"I never know how to talk to you about this. I was looking for some advice." He said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.
"And this was your battle tactic?" she scoffed. "No offense, but get a better coach."
The sigh that left Jacob was long and sad and it left a twinge of guilt in Marley's stomach. He got up from the table, throwing some money down on the opposite end, and put on his jacket. "We're not finished talking about this," he told her.
"We were finished about five minutes ago."
Jacob sent her one last look before he opened the door. "See you at home."
Marley leaned back on the front of the counter as the door slammed, leaving only her and Dean in the diner. She didn't look at him. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she'd honestly forgotten he was there.
His chair scraping against the floor snapped her out of it. He threw his own coat over his arm, then turned to her. "You know he's only like this because he loves you, right? He's really worried about you."
"He shouldn't be," she mumbled.
Dean gave her a look. "I think he should," he said. Marley's frown only deepened. "You look like you haven't slept in days, Marley. I know you want to get into that school, but--"
"It's not just about the school."
"Then what is it about?"
Marley glanced away from him. "Nothing concerning you."
He went quiet, and for a second, Marley had thought she'd hurt his feelings. Instead, Dean looked out the window to where Jacob stood, waiting for him. "Just... talk to him. He's your brother and he's worried about you. You guys are so close. Seeing you like this is hard for him."
Marley gave him no response, but Dean took it as an 'okay'. He gave a small smile then left the diner, following his friend down the street.
As soon as the door shut, Marley wanted to scream. If she could, she would have. She would have yelled at the top of her lungs, finally releasing all of the stress that weighed her down.
She knew she was overworking herself. She knew she was pushing herself too hard. She knew she was trying to reach goals she could never. And above all else, Marley knew that she was tired. She was so, so tired.
But she couldn't sleep. She had her last final tomorrow. A Pre-Calc final she had to ace. She would make sure of it, even if it meant pulling another all-nighter. She didn't care. She would have time to sleep after finals.
She took the bin of dirty plates in her hands and brought them to the back room. Marley could feel her mind wandering off as she began to wash them, thinking about what her brother had said. The look of disappointment he wore. How worried he actually was.
She didn't want to make him worried. She was trying to do the exact opposite with her schedule.
The bell suddenly rang from behind her and Marley glanced at the clock on the wall. She shook her head. "We're closed," she yelled, hoping the person would hear her.
When she received no response, she groaned. She stepped away from the sink and moved to the doorframe where she saw the back of somebody's head toying with the sign on the door.
"Hey, asshole. We're closed," she said.
To say that she was shocked to see Jess Mariano turn around to face her would have been an understatement. However, no matter how shocked she was, she was not surprised.
That didn't stop her from doing a double take, one that made Jess smirk to himself.
The diner was quiet. Neither of them said a word, waiting for the other to say something. This was not what Marley would have expected to come from tonight.
After a moment, Marley crossed her arms over her chest. "You're back."
Jess nodded. "I'm back."
Marley nodded as well, but slower. "Just... on a vacation? A field trip back to your own personal hell?"
This time, he shook his head. Marley could see him fiddling with his fingers behind his back. "Nope. Back for good." He reevaluated his words. "For now."
"Huh."
Jess didn't like the way that Marley was trying to hide her smile. "What?"
"Nothing," she replied.
"Don't pull that shit," he said. "Say it."
"It's nothing." She shrugged. "I just think that it's awfully convenient that you come back a couple of weeks after Rory visited you."
Jess' eyes were like lasers. "How the hell did you hear about that?"
"Lorelai."
"'Course."
Marley grinned at him. "I think it's cute."
"We're not having this conversation again."
"No, seriously. I really think Nicholas Sparks should be interviewing you two."
"Shut up."
"You should turn that book you were talking about writing into a romance novel."
"And you're still talking."
Marley finally laughed at this, shaking her head softly. Jess listened as it fizzled out and suddenly became quiet again. They were quiet. They were never quiet.
To break the silence, Marley cleared her throat. "So," she began. "You're back."
"I'm back."
"For good?"
Jess stuffed his hands in his pockets. "For good."
Marley could have said something nice. She really could have. But the way they were talking right now felt so wrong to her. They weren't supposed to be peacefully quiet or smiling or laughing with each other. They weren't friends. They would never be friends. The last thing she wanted to be his friend.
So, Marley went with what she knew.
"Damn," she said. "I thought I had finally gotten rid of you."
Jess rolled his eyes again, a wave of relief coursing through him as he heard her words. Their conversation had been veering toward something possibly heartfelt and that was the last thing he wanted. "Trust me, I didn't want to see you again."
"Hey, you know I live here."
"Maybe I was hoping that you died from lack of sleep," he replied, a note in his voice letting her know that he was teasing. "However, you do look like you did." There was no teasing note this time.
Marley frowned at him. "For that comment, you're washing the rest of the dishes in the sink."
She expected a groan, a retort, a fight-- anything. Marley didn't get any of those. Instead, she got a tiny smile (one she had to squint to see) and a nod. "Okay," he told her.
She didn't hide her surprise. "Interesting."
"What?"
"Nothing," she answered, shrugging. Marley didn't want to ruin getting out of washing dishes. She grabbed her backpack from the place she had left it, placing her things inside and making sure they didn't harm her flashcards. "Absolutely nothing." She smirked when she saw Jess looking exasperated. "Have fun with the dishes."
When she finished packing up, she glanced at him. He stood there, not looking at her, pulling his hands out of his pockets to play with his fingers again. Marley threw her backpack over her shoulder, walking a little slower than usual to the door. Before she could say goodbye, she heard his voice. It was quieter than before, timid even. "You didn't listen to me," he said.
"About what?"
"I told you to get some sleep."
Marley froze, eyes refusing to leave the door. He had told her. Was it really that noticeable?
She swallowed harshly, turning to Jess with a small smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. Frankly, to Jess, she looked a little sad. Her voice was small when she answered him.
"When have I ever listened to you?"
And with that, Marley Acosta ran out of the diner, bell ringing in her wake, leaving Jess Mariano alone in the diner for the first time since he returned.
✧
THE NEXT DAY began with sun and ended with a rainbow.
Marley was sure she had gotten an A on her final. School was out and summer was taken in with open arms. There was no more homework to do and no tests to study for for the next two and a half months. Now, while this didn't mean that Marley could fully catch up on sleep just yet (she had to work at five-thirty tomorrow and then go teach a seventh grader how to write a paper), it did give her a little more time to do so. This also meant she could work more.
Things were good. She was good. That was a lie. She wasn't good right now. She would be good. Eventually. Maybe. Hopefully.
That wasn't important. What was important was keeping her eyes open.
Luke's was completely dead and the silence was getting to her sleep-deprived brain. Her eyes kept fluttering shut and every now and then she would doze off. Luke trusted her to close up and Jess had gone off to get something for Luke about two hours ago (something that should have taken him fifteen minutes tops to get, but she was willing to let it slide for some peace and quiet), so she had no one to keep her up. Her multiple all-nighters were catching up to her.
Maybe ten minutes wouldn't hurt, a part of her brain told her. Just give in for ten minutes.
It felt as though she didn't have a choice. She'd fallen asleep at the counter not even a minute later.
When Jess returned to the diner, he realized that he'd been gone for three hours.
When he had left, he noticed that Marley was working slightly slower than she should have. Not that that was an issue. There were about two people in the diner at the time. When he returned, he wasn't surprised to find her asleep on her hand at the counter, a completely deserted Luke's around her.
Jess chuckled at the sight and flipped the door sign to 'closed'. He grabbed the rag Marley had left on the table by the window and threw it at her, hiding a smile as it hit her softly in the face. Marley awoke with a jolt, brows pulling together as she registered where she was and who she was with. She groaned as she realized that it was Jess.
"Why are you here?" she muttered.
Jess looked at her in confusion. "I happen to live here, Acosta," he replied. "And if you look outside, it's dark. And you know what it means when it gets dark."
"Don't patronize me, I'm not in the right state for your bullshit." Marley wiped a hand down her face, then looked at Jess with widened eyes. "Wait, what time is it?"
He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Eleven-thirty. Bedtime."
"Shit!" she hissed, jumping up from her chair. "I told my mom I'd be home by ten at the latest. I have to prep for tomorrow. I'm not going to have time to shower—"
"Your mom doesn't seem like the type to flip shit because you're a little late," Jess said. "I think you can relax."
"No, it's not her, she's not going to care, it's me," Marley explained, throwing her stuff in her bag. "This is just going to throw everything off—"
Jess stepped in front of her, placing his hands on the counter between them. "Are you okay?" he asked, tilting his head. "Because you've been weird all day."
"Weird?"
"You just seem, I don't know... lethargic."
"If you're going to harass me about my sleeping schedule, I don't want to hear it."
Jess huffed. His nicer approach wasn't working. "Listen, when was the last time you slept? Because you look like shit."
Marley glared at him, going to move from behind the counter. "Bye."
Jess boxed her in. "Acosta, seriously, what is up with you?" he asked. "You're usually better at the whole back-and-forth thing. You're off."
"I'm just tired is, all," she said, not making eye contact. "Now, can I leave?"
"No, you have to answer the other question you avoided," he responded. "When was the last time you slept?"
She kept her eyes away from him. "I don't see what it matters to you."
"It doesn't."
"Then why are you asking?"
"Marley."
At the use of her first name, Marley finally met his eyes. "I got a couple hours last night," she said.
"Try again."
She shrugged. "I pulled an all-nighter."
"And the night before?"
"Two hours?"
Jess looked at her in disbelief. "Are you kidding? Why the hell have you pushing yourself like this?"
"I really don't want to talk about this with you, please," she begged. "Can I please just go?"
"No, not until you tell me—"
"Jess, please."
"Marley!"
"My dad's officially out of the picture," she snapped, hoping to make the boy in front of her shut up. It worked, as Jess moved back in surprise. "He's been gone since I can remember, but he sent a letter in September saying that as soon as Jacob's eighteen, he wasn't going to be sending checks to help us anymore. Jacob's birthday was last month. So, that means he's completely out. Gone." Marley felt herself get choked up, but she wouldn't let herself cry. Not in front of Jess. "He's off fucking some secretary at his firm in Chicago, wanting to start over and wants no proof that he has a family he left in Connecticut."
"Jesus Christ," Jess said under his breath. Marley almost didn't hear it. She did, however, see the way his hands tightened on the sides of the table.
"That means we're down about two thousand a month. My mom's doubling her shifts at the hospital, Jacob's got a job over at Tom's contracting place, and I have to work as much as I possibly can here."
"Acosta—"
Marley couldn't stop. It all just came flowing out. She had to get this out of her system. "And Jacob doesn't even need to worry about college. He's got a full ride to UConn for football. So what the hell am I going to do? I want to go to Penn for fuck's sake! I can't play sports for shit. I mean, I'm smart, but I'm not a genius— I'm useless."
"You're not useless."
"And the only time I have for studying is when I get back from work, which isn't until ten most nights, so I'm lucky if I get an hour." She huffed, eyes burning. No crying. No. "So, thanks for the diagnosis Doc, but sleep isn't exactly my main priority right now."
Jess said nothing. He just kept looking at her. Even when she looked away, his gaze was still there. It made Marley slowly move back into the space behind the counter.
She sighed and threw her hands up. "That's what's wrong with me."
The diner was silent. They didn't speak. Jess just stood there, looking at her. His eyes held question, but there was something that looked like pity gracing his features. Marley couldn't help but be confused by this.
She threw her bag over her shoulder, moving Jess out of the way to step out from behind the counter. Before she could push past him, he grabbed her wrist. Marley didn't turn around.
"You never told me about your dad."
Marley pulled her wrist from his grasp, looking at him incredulously. "When would I have done that? Between, 'hey Jess, don't be a dick to the customers' and 'get your head out of your ass long enough to fill Babette's mug'?" Jess said nothing, but he knew she had a point. "We're not friends, Mariano."
"No, but if it was bothering you as much as you said it was, you could have talked to me about it," he argued.
"Why would I ever do that?"
"Because I'm no stranger to this kind of shit," he snapped. Marley looked at him, taken back by the bite in his voice. She'd never seen Jess like this before. He didn't get serious, he didn't get passionate (unless they were fighting about some book or band whilst serving customers). This was true, raw emotion, something she had never seen from Jess.
Marley knew that he had moved here because he was forced to. She had inferred it was because of his mother, but she had never asked him why. It wasn't her place. She knew that much.
But as Jess stood in front of her, glaring at the floor, she knew that she had to ask.
"What do you mean?"
Jess glanced up at her, then back to the floor. "The whole absent father, parent-not-giving-a-damn about you thing. I've lived it. Christ, it is my life, Marley. Why the hell do you think I'm here?"
"I don't know," she shrugged, voice soft.
"It's because my mother couldn't give less of a shit about me. My dad knocked her up and then walked out as soon as he got the news." It looked like Jess was going to go on, but he quickly shut his mouth. He swallowed harshly then exhaled shakily. "I know what it's like."
Marley found herself doing the same. "Why are you telling me this?"
Jess didn't answer for a second. She didn't think he would answer at all. She fully expected him to run up the stairs to Luke's apartment and never talk to her again. She was shocked when he opened his mouth.
"Because I know how badly I would have liked someone in my corner when I was dealing with this," he said quietly. Marley was sure she could have fallen over from pure shock alone. "It's not easy, Acosta. Especially not when you're first getting a grip on it." He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So if you need someone to talk to about it," he said, looking around the diner, "I-I guess... I guess I'm here." He shrugged. "Or whatever."
Marley didn't know what to say. She knew that she was standing in front of him like an idiot, but she couldn't care less. When she finally remembered what words were, she began to nod slowly. "T-thanks. I'll, uh, definitely keep that in mind." Marley walked slowly toward the door, looking over her shoulder to him. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Don't come in tomorrow," he told her as she opened the door. Marley whipped her head around in confusion. "I'll cover for you. You can study or sleep. Or something that isn't work. Just don't come in."
Marley shut the door, crossing her arms over her chest. The bell jingled above her. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Jess looked at her. "What?"
"We don't do this," she said, pointing between the two of them. "We fight, we bicker, we yell at each other, and from time to time, we make fun of Luke. I've known you for like, nine months. In that time you have not shown any sign-- I mean, besides those notes we never seem to talk about-- that you like me at all."
"I don't like you, Acosta," he told her, "I respect you. There's a fine line."
"Why?"
"Why is there a fine line?"
"No, why do you respect me?"
Jess deflated, sighing heavily. He shrugged, suddenly getting small again. "Because you're one of the few people in this stupid town that I can actually stand." He swallowed, fingers tracing the surface of the counter. "Everyone here is exactly what they look like. Everyone but you." Jess shrugged again. "I don't know. You just surprised me, 's all. I don't get surprised that often."
Marley had no idea what to do with this information. Jess had never been open with her like this before. Never. It was strange to hear, though there was something about it that Marley couldn't help but like. What he had said was new. Nobody had ever told her anything like that before.
As Jess watched Marley react to the things he said, he cursed himself. He knew he had entered a new territory that neither of them were comfortable with. They had spent so much time fighting and arguing that actually being unabashedly nice to one another was... strange. He couldn't seem to regret what he had said. He wanted to, but he couldn't.
Jess didn't have many people he got along with. But Marley? There was something in him that wanted to see what it was like.
When she realized she hadn't spoken for a solid minute, she loosened up. She didn't stand as stiff, her eyes weren't as wide, and there was even a smile that adorned her lips.
"You know that you're not what you look like either, right?" she said. Jess' eyebrows rocketed up. "And you're not who you want to be."
"What does that mean?"
Marley smirked. "Well, first of all, you have a six-five personality when you're five-six at best--"
"I am so much taller than five-six--"
"--and secondly, you're not the terrible person you want this whole town to think you are." Marley shrugged, not making eye contact. "And frankly, I like this version of you a hell of a lot better than the version I met when you first arrived."
Jess didn't say anything after that. Honestly, what could he say? For a writer, he wasn't particularly good with verbal words.
Thankfully, it didn't look like Marley expected him to say anything. She gave him one last smile before moving toward the door. "I'll see you Sunday," she told him.
"Yeah, Sunday. That's right," he said, seeming to come out of whatever thoughts were swirling around in his head. "If I even see you looking in the window tomorrow, I'll make Luke fire you."
"You're a lot less threatening when you're nice to me," she replied, making the ends of Jess' lips turn up.
One that grew into a full smile when she was gone.
✧✧✧
author's note: wow this was the longest chapter yet but YAY they're finally getting along !!! i know it might seem a little soon for a premise like this but again i remind you this is more segments of their early days that form into a cohesive story
i hope you're still enjoying this story because i know that i'm really in love with writing it. thank y'all for reading it's really nice getting your comments and feedback it's what keeps me wanting to write this story
love u all tons!
-mags