── CHAPTER ONE──

PRE- ROAD TRIP TO HARVARD

" BREAKFAST AT LUKE'S "

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THE MOMENT LEXI CAMPBELL stepped off the bus and into Stars Hollow she wanted to get right back on and head back to New York to charter her flight back to Seattle.

The sickly sweet smell of lilacs and endless summer sun lingered in the air as she stared out at the bustling town with a furrowed brow and downturned lips.

Stars Hollow, Connecticut.

The birthplace of her father. The tiny village where she was supposed to spend the next two years of her life.

All because her stupid boyfriend wasn't able to keep his mouth shut about their late night trip to the liquor store and the university from his parents.

Not that she could blame him, Nate's parents were the worst people she'd ever met and that included her own parents. She'd crack under the pressure of Nate's mother's gaze too, but she at least thought he'd last longer than twelve hours before spilling the beans.

And then it was bye bye Seattle and hello Stars Hollow.

Shipped off to live with her eccentric Aunt instead of being grounded for a month or given a reasonable punishment she could actually sulk about and annoy her parents with.

But god forbid Elijah and Susan Campbell be seen with a disgraced daughter. Oh the humanity. So she'd been forced to pack a duffel with the promise they'd be sending the rest of her stuff before long, not that she really believed them.

The only saving grace was Lexi being able to salvage a couple of fake IDs from Mags before being shipped off to the other side of the country to a town straight out of the Hallmark channel. Maybe if she was lucky she'd meet a wealthy man looking to hire her to be his underage girlfriend. Or a douchebag making a bet on whether or not they can make her the belle of the ball.

Shouldering her backpack, she made her way toward a quaint shop on the corner across what seemed to be the only park in town, duffel bag in the other hand. Her Aunt Ella was nowhere to be found—not really a surprise if Lexi was being honest—so she figured she had some time to kill as she entered the diner in search of some actual good coffee this side of America.

Although, as she looked around, she figured she'd be hard pressed to find anything quality here unless it was one of those towns that held weekly farmers markets and had a community garden.

Oh god, this was a town that probably had their own community garden.

The bell of the diner rang but no one turned to look at her.

Good. Exactly what she wanted.

That meant she actually blended in with the locals instead of sticking out like a sore thumb in her sundress and converse.

"One cup of coffee please," She asked the man behind the counter, dropping off her bag beside the stool and leaning against the linoleum. The man cosplaying as a lumberjack didn't even spare her a second glance, handing her a rather large cup and pouring a freshly made pot for her.

"What are you? Sixteen? Seventeen? You know this stuff can't be good for you." He mumbled under his breath, still not meeting her gaze. His shoulders were hunched in a way that told her that he'd been doing this for a very long time.

Lexi simply shrugged and lifted the cup to her lips, "Actually I'm a twenty five year old journalist trying to find my latest story by going undercover at Stars Hollow High. It's all very Drew Barrymore."

The man let out a monosyllabic grunt, "Yeah, I can see the resemblance, just leave my diner out of your expose okay?"

Lexi sucked in a breath as if she were contemplating it, "I don't know, I think the people deserve to know whether or not this small town diner serves better coffee than the big chains. I can see the headlines now," She lifted her hand up in a dramatic fashion as if she actually was someone writing an expose for a magazine or newspaper, "Local Diner owner furious with recent Starbucks invasion, claims his coffee is better."

"Hey," He pointed the coffee pot in her direction, "Don't you dare compare my homemade coffee to that overpriced, calorie infested crap." A beat passed between them and Lexi raised her brows, "Mine's way better." He muttered.

For the first time since she stepped off the plane, Lexi's lips tilted up into something resembling a smile. "Sensitive topic then?" She asked, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice and failing. "Then I'll just be over here, making no noise and pretending I don't exist," Lexi took another gulp of coffee, hiding her growing smile as the man grew more and more irritated.

A moment of silence passed. Then another and Lexi's smirk grew wider until finally the man let out a frustrated sigh and pulled out a tattered notepad and a small pencil, "Alright kid, what are you having?"

Lexi folded her arms, sending him a sickly sweet smile, "Well, since you asked, I figured I'd take my time, really browse the menu, make sure I'm making the right decisions," She reached over and patted his arm in a manner that made it clear she was making fun of his previous words, "You know, since I'm only sixteen or seventeen, I want the stuff that's good for me."

He let out another sigh and stared her down, "Pancakes, then?"

"With a side of bacon please." She flashed another sweet smile his way and handed him the menu, watching as he hung up her order and refilled her coffee cup, "You treat all new customers this way?"

The lumberjack didn't look up from the counter, "Only the ones who look like they stepped out of a Nirvana music video." he gestured toward her flannel shirt and black choker.

"Ah," Lexi nodded, stirring the vanilla creamer and two packets of sugar around with a wooden stick, "Well I'll have you know I'm much more a Cranberries girl than a Nirvana girl, if it's any consolation."

He blinked.

She made a face, "Not a music guy I'm guessing?"

"You must be new here," The man set down the coffee pot and leaned against the back counter, crossing his arms with a curious expression on his face.

Lexi shrugged, kind of upset her charade as a local was up, "How'd you know?"


"Lucky Guess. I'm Luke." He held out his hand and she grasped it, immediately recognizing the name.

"Oh, so you're that Luke."

His relaxed posture disappeared and his eyes grew wider than she'd ever seen that day, planting his hands against the front counter, an expectant look on his face, "What do you mean, that Luke?"


"Nothing," She shrugged again, another smirk widening across her face, "My Aunt likes to talk about you, that's all."


"Your Aunt? Who's your Aunt?"

Her response was cut off by the ringing of the bell and the sound of heels clacking against the floor, without even turning around, Lexi knew who it was.

"Nope, out" Luke yelled, pointing toward the door, "You know you can't be in here with that disgusting habit of yours, Campbell,"

A curvy figure in a camisole floral top and flared jeans cocked her head at the diner owner, thick dark curls bouncing around her shoulders at the gesture.

Aunt Ella blew out a smoke and moved toward the counter, blatantly ignoring his outburst, "Oh relax, Danes, I'm here to pick up my niece and then I'll get out of your hair." Her dad's sister smiled sweetly at her and pulled Lexi in for a hug, "God, it's good to see you Lex."

"Oh god," Luke let out a gruff sigh, rolling his eyes and gesturing toward the newcomer in an  overdramatic fashion, "She's your Aunt?"

Clearly Luke and Aunt Ella had history that Lexi would have to force her Aunt into revealing later. Plus it meant more of a chance to actually get to dig to the bottom of the drama in this picturesque town. And she knew it had to be deep.

"I know right?" Ella winked, Lexi leaning into her Aunt's side, "I'd say we're more like sisters at this point."

Lexi tried to stifle the giggle that was forming in the back of her mouth as the diner owner's face grew redder than a tomato.

Luke rolled his eyes again, "OUT! NOW!"

Aunt Ella lifted her hands up in mock surrender, Luke practically running out from behind the counter to push her and Lexi out into the hot summer air, the flannel-clad man ripping the cigarette from her Aunt's lips and stepping on it before striding back into the diner in a huff.

Lexi shouldered her bag and let out a cackle, "Oh my god, what was that about?"

Her Aunt broke out into a similar sounding laugh, "Ancient history, Lex," Ella linked her arm with her niece's and escorted her to the pickup truck that was parked just around the corner from Luke's Diner.

When Lexi crawled into the passenger seat, her Aunt shot a cheshire cat smile her direction, "I'll tell you over dinner," The beaten up truck belched out smoke through the exhaust pipe and Lexi was already regretting her choice to move to the New England area, "I made your favorite by the way."

Her Aunt lit up another cigarette and offered her a drag, which Lexi politely refused. "I prefer the more natural alternative." She announced, and her Aunt almost looked proud.

"Smart, preserve your lungs that way" Ella spoke nonchalantly, flicking the ashes away with her finger, like she actually believed what she was saying, "I have plenty at home. Don't tell Taylor though."

Lexi creased her brow, trying to keep her dislike of cigarette smoke from showing itself all across her face. Hopefully her room would be a place of refuge from her Aunt's habits, but as of right now she had no idea what her Aunt was talking about, "Who's Taylor?"

Her Aunt let out a mirthless laugh, words slightly warbled by the cigarette in her mouth, "Oh you'll find out soon enough."

They sped down the narrow streets of town, and Lexi quickly learned just how small Stars Hollow was.

Oh she was gonna hate it here.

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pop culture references

"breakfast at luke's"
( breakfast at tiffany's , 1961 )

"maybe she'd find some wealthy man to hire her to be his underage girlfriend"
( pretty woman , 1990 )

"Or a douchebag making a bet on whether or not they can make her the belle of the ball."
( she's all that, 1999 )

"Actually I'm a twenty five year old journalist trying to find my latest story by going undercover at Stars Hollow High. It's all very Drew Barrymore."
( never been kissed , 1999 )

"Then I'll just be over here, making no noise and pretending I don't exist,"
( harry potter and the chamber of secrets, 1998 )

"Only the ones who look like they stepped out of a Nirvana music video."
( nirvana , 1987 - 1994 )

"Well I'll have you know I'm much more a Cranberries girl than a Nirvana girl, if it's any consolation."
( the cranberries, 1989 - 2003, 2009 - 2019 )