𝓒𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓲𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚☕︎

The kitchen was alive with noise, steam, and the smell of something buttery and garlicky melting in the air.

Brooke stepped inside with her mom, Sienna, trailing just behind. The afternoon sun poured through the windows, catching in little golden flecks on the flour-dusted counter where Sookie stood mid-chop, surrounded by bowls of prepped vegetables, pots bubbling on the stove, and Jackson, hunched over a cutting board, eyeing a block of cheese like it had personally offended him.

"Maybe I should make grilled cheese," Sookie said suddenly, pausing with her knife hovering above a carrot.

Jackson didn't even look up. "But you're making pot roast."

"Not everybody likes pot roast," Sookie replied, now slicing faster, more erratically, as if stress could be diced.

"Well, then they can have the chicken wings, the mashed potatoes, or the four different kinds of salad that you're making in addition to the pot roast," he said, ticking them off on his fingers.

Sookie exhaled. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Jackson raised a brow. "So I should start slicing the cheese?"

"Oh, that'd be great," Sookie said, relieved. "Would you?"

The clatter and chatter paused just long enough for Brooke to take a breath and say, "This smells amazing."

Sookie startled, jumping a bit. "Oh! You scared me—thank you, sweetheart." Her eyes crinkled with warmth before she turned back to the stove.

The kitchen door opened again, this time admitting Lorelai with dramatic flair.

She immediately crossed the space and wrapped Sienna in a quick, tight hug.

"Tell me you're gonna keep me sane this whole time, will ya?" Lorelai muttered into her hair.

"Of course, my girl," Sienna said with a grin, already at ease, like she lived in the Gilmore kitchen.

"Oh wow, something smells good," Lorelai added, sniffing the air.

"I just said that," Brooke deadpanned.

Lorelai gave her a cheeky grin. "That's why you're my 2.0."

"It's the garlic," Sookie chimed in from the stove, lifting the lid of a pan to release another burst of heavenly steam.

"Three heads of it," Jackson confirmed with a nod.

"Nice," Lorelai said, impressed.

"I want everything to be perfect," Sookie murmured, almost to herself now. "We're gonna make this kid think that he died and went to heaven."

Sienna laughed softly. "Trust me, he will."

"Or Henry the Eighth's house," Jackson added dryly.

Leaving the chaos of the kitchen behind, Lorelai padded knocked gently on Rory's bedroom door. "Milady?"

"Come in," Rory called from behind it.

Brooke followed Lorelai up, slipping inside the room just behind her.

Rory sat at her desk, staring at her computer screen with the kind of intensity that could set it on fire.

"You joining the festivities?" Brooke asked, leaning against the doorframe with a teasing smile.

"In a sec," Rory replied, not even turning.

"You sound crabby," Sienna said from behind Brooke.

"I'm concentrating."

Brooke crossed the room and looked over Rory's shoulder. "Ooh, I wanna read the paper when you're done."

"Of course," Rory said, smiling slightly without looking up.

Brooke caught her reflection in Rory's mirror and quickly straightened her shirt, fluffed her hair, and adjusted her hoops.

Just little things. Still... she didn't know why she cared so much tonight.

It wasn't like anyone new was coming—except Luke's nephew.

Who she hadn't even met. Who was... seventeen. Which, okay, was just slightly intriguing.

"Okay, try hard," Lorelai said, watching her with a smirk. "Boys like 'em confident, right, Jackson?"

"Jackson!" Lorelai called.

Jackson answered immediately: "If you can navigate yourself around a tree, keep on walking."

Brooke blinked. "Huh?"

Before she could untangle the metaphor, a knock came at the front door.

"Coming!" Lorelai called.

In the kitchen, Sookie suddenly panicked. "What if he doesn't do dairy?"

Brooke waved a hand. "He's Luke's nephew. He'll be fine."

Still, her eyes drifted back to the mirror again.

"You look good, babes," Sienna said, nudging her daughter's shoulder. "Why are you so worried about how you look?"

"I don't know," Brooke mumbled, though her cheeks warmed.

"Oh, 'cause he's seventeen, huh? You think he's gonna be some hot older guy?"

"Mom!"

"Hey, I fell for it too! That's how I got you."

"Stop!"

Sienna smirked. "Just promise me—if you fall for the brooding boy, fall smart."

The front door creaked open and Lorelai returned, leading Luke and a boy behind her.

Brooke's heart skipped without permission. Her gaze snapped up—there he was.

Tall. Dark-haired. Lean. There was a quiet tension in the way he moved, like he was coiled just under the surface, all alert eyes and unreadable expression.

He looked up and around the house like he didn't quite want to be there.

"Hey, Jess, you wanna come on in the kitchen?" Lorelai said brightly. "Sookie, Jackson, I want you to meet Luke's nephew. This is Jess."

Sookie looked up immediately. "Do you eat cheese?"

Jess blinked. "What?"

"Sookie!" Brooke said, mortified and amused all at once.

Jess turned toward the voice. And for the briefest second, Brooke and Jess locked eyes.

Something unspoken passed—maybe confusion. Curiosity. A flicker of something that felt like spark.

Jackson, oblivious, held up a giant lemon. "Oh my God! This is the greatest lemon I've ever grown!"

Jess raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, this is a great lemon."

"Jackson grows fruit and then scares people with it," Sookie explained.

Jess turned to Lorelai. "This your daughter?" he asked, nodding toward Brooke.

Before Lorelai could answer, Sienna slid in. "No, this pretty girl is mine. Hi, I'm Sienna—nice to meet you."

Jess gave a polite nod. "Likewise."

"Sorry, my manners," Lorelai said. "This is my best friend, Sienna—we became best friends because we had kids at sixteen. That's why we look so young. And that's her daughter, Brooke."

Brooke gave him a small, cool smile. "Hi, I'm Brooke. Nice to meet you."

"Jess," he said simply, lips twitching. "Nice to meet you too."

Lorelai knocked again on Rory's door. "Rory, they're here!"

Rory opened it. "Hey."

"Hey," Jess said.

"I'm Rory."

"Yeah, I figured. Nice to meet you."

Jess's eyes scanned her room. "Wow. Aren't we hooked on phonics?"

"I read a lot," Rory said, defensive but polite. "Do you read?"

"Not much."

"I could loan you that if you want. It's great."

"No thanks."

"Well, if you change your mind."

Brooke lingered just behind them, pretending to smooth a picture frame on the wall.

"Okay," Lorelai said, "we really need to get Jackson away from the lemons now, so we're moving the feast to the living room."

"Be right there," Rory said.

Jess was fiddling with the window. "Do these open?"

Brooke stepped forward. "Oh yeah. You just have to unlatch them, then push."

Jess nodded. "Great. Shall we?"

"Shall we what?" Rory asked.

"Bail."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it's Tuesday night in Stars Hollow. There's nowhere to bail to. The 24-hour mini-mart just closed twenty minutes ago." Rory said crossing her arms.

Jess shrugged. "So we'll walk around or sit on a bench and stare at our shoes."

"I'm tempted," Brooke added, surprising herself.

Jess grinned. "See? She's tempted."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Sookie just made a ton of really great food and I'm starving. And though it may not seem like it right at this moment, it's going to be fun. Trust me."

"I don't even know you," Jess muttered.

"Okay," Rory said. "Let's eat."

Brooke looked over at him. "Maybe another time."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "I'll keep that in mind."

They followed the others into the kitchen. Rory opened the fridge. "You want a soda?"

"I'll get it," Jess said.

"I want the pink one," Brooke announced, pointing.

"You had the pink one last time!" Rory said, nudging her.

"I'm the guest."

"You're always here."

"Still," Brooke grinned, ducking away.

She paused when she spotted Jess slipping a beer into his sleeve and stepping outside to the back porch. After a moment, she followed.

"Boo," she whispered, leaning in the doorway.

He didn't jump—just smirked over the rim of the can.

"You know," Brooke said as she folded her arms, "Stars Hollow isn't exactly a covert drinking town."

Jess didn't look over, just took another sip. "Is that your way of tattling?"

"It's my way of warning you," she said. "Taylor Doose once chased a kid down for chewing gum on a Sunday. You really want to get busted with a beer?"

Jess finally glanced her way, eyes catching the light. "You always this dramatic, or is it just when I'm around?"

Brooke shrugged. "You bring it out in me."

He cracked a faint smile, like he wasn't expecting her to keep up but kind of liked that she did.

"I take it you're from here," he said.

"Born and raised," Brooke replied, stepping further onto the porch and leaning on the railing beside him. "My mom and Lorelai went through hell together. Now they just bake casseroles and gossip like it never happened."

Jess looked out into the dark yard. "So you know everyone."

"Unfortunately."

"Must be fun. Every time you trip, someone's grandma hears about it by lunch."

"That's Stars Hollow," she said dryly. "Where your business is everyone's dessert conversation."

Jess let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh. "I hate it already."

Brooke smiled. "You'll survive. Just don't try too hard."

He glanced at her again. "That why you don't?"

She raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

"You're not trying to win anyone over," he said. "You're just... you."

Brooke blinked, caught off guard. "Is that a compliment?"

"I don't know. Is it?"

A breeze picked up, lifting a piece of her hair across her face.

She tucked it behind her ear, realizing how close they were standing now.

Not on purpose—just one of those shifts that happened quietly, like a tide rolling in.

"Look," she said, nodding at the beer in his hand. "Finish that fast and I won't tell Lorelai."

Jess raised the can and gave her a mock toast. "Thanks, deputy."

She smirked. "You're welcome... criminal."

As she turned to go back in, he lingered for a second, then said, quieter this time, "Hey... Brooke."

She paused, looked back.

He gave a half-smile, eyes softer now. "Nice meeting you."

Brooke felt that weird flutter again—surprised at how fast this boy could shift from smirking sarcasm to something... else. Something quieter.

"You too," she said. Then, flipping him off with a grin, she slipped inside.

Jess watched the door swing shut, then exhaled, almost smiling to himself.