My room was dimly lit by the reading light beside my bed. Moving my position slightly against the head board so I could get myself more comfortable as I read my book. My pyjama pants and long sweater making me feel warm and cozy, despite the lack of duvet over me.

I read a few more chapters before checking the clock by my bedside table. Eight-thirty. I sigh before closing my book and putting it down.

My mum usually gets back late on Saturday nights so I get the house to myself for a while. That meant watching movies that my mum would never wanna watch with me. Namely, Finding Nemo and A Goofy Movie.

I stand up and stretch before heading toward my closed room door. My hand was on the door handle when I heard a tap from my window. I turn towards it skeptically. I had my curtains drawn so I had no idea whether it was a serial killer or a squirrel outside.

As carefully as I can, I grab the nearest thing to me that could knock someone out. That happened to be my blue water bottle. Slowly, I make my way towards the window with my arm raised. I push the curtain aside, ready to face a murderer but all I got was a face full of Jess.

He sends me a wave as I drop the bottle in my hand. I push open the window to see Jess was standing on the same ladder he had used last time. He leaned against my now open windowsill with a grin.

"You planning on drowning me with that bottle of water?" He mocks.

He climbs inside as I shut the window behind him. "You know I have a front door right? You don't have to keep coming through the window."

He just shrugs. "I figured your mum still doesn't like me much."

"She's not home." I start as Jess sits on my bed. I watch as his eyes glance to my discarded book. "What're you doing here? You could've just called."

"I don't have your number." I clicked my tongue as I realise he was right. "Also, I need recommendations for apartments."

I take a seat opposite him on my bed. "You're moving out?" I asked surprised.

"More like me and Luke and moving out." He says as he recounts how Luke completely freaked out about being chased around by boxes with arms. He also added how he was supposed to clean Lorelai's gutters tomorrow.

Letting out a few laughs here and there, I answer his original question. "Well, there's some good apartments on Plum Street," I suggest as I try to think of other places. "Um, Peach Street too. Basically just any street named after a fruit."

Jess nods, no doubt taking mental notes of my suggestions. "What were you doing?" He changes the subject.

"I was just about to watch a movie downstairs," I point towards the closed door behind me.

"Cool, I'll join you."

I ran a hand through my dark hair at his forwardness. "Um, are you sure? If my mum see's you she'll pull a Norman Bates on you."

"She really doesn't like me, huh?"

"To be fair, we both didn't like you for a while," I clarify.

I could see Jess stiffen as I said those words. "But we're good now, right?"

I send him a soft smile at his concern. "Yes, we're good."

"Then let's watch the movie, you said your mum's not home anyways." He tries as he stands up as makes his way toward the door.

I sigh before following his lead and opening the door. "Fine, but I'm choosing the movie."

I lead him down the stairs to the living room. I watched as Jess looked at the many pictures that we had in the house. He walked toward one of me and my mum from thirteen years ago.

That was when we had visited my grandparents in London and I had first went in a plane. I think it was taken in front of the airport. My mum had her arms around my small frame as I struggled to her out of her grip. It must have been Christmas time, judging by the snow around us.

"You were a cute kid," Jess remarks. He looked at me with a smirk.

I nod my head as I grab the movie to put it inside the tv. "You should have seen me at eight." When the movie was set up and ready to go I noticed that Jess was still looking at the pictures.

"You can take off your coat you know," I tell him as I take a seat on the couch.

He draped his coat over the arm of the couch and takes a seat next to me. "What're we watching?"

"A Goofy Movie."

Jess sits up straight as the movie starts to play. "There's a movie about Goofy?"

"Oh you poor child," I tsk pitifully.

There was no talk from either of us until halfway through the movie. "You know what this is?" Jess pipes up despite me shushing him. "It's like On The Road."

"By Jack Kerouac?" I confirm as I turn my attention away from the tv and towards the person beside me.

He nods his head at me. "Exactly."

"You're not wrong," I say as I turn my attention back towards the movie.

It was silent for a few seconds before Jess spoke up again. "Hey, I think-"

He was cut off by me shushing him again. He tried speaking but I grabbed his arm and shook it lightly. "This is the best part."

Max and his friend were in the hotel room with a box of pizza and taking about Roxanne. They were on one of those water filled beds. When I was younger I always wanted those kind of beds. But now I fear that if I had them it would burst from me constantly jumping on them.

As we both watched the screen, I realised I still hadn't let go of Jess's arm. I quickly cleared my throat before retracting my hand, hoping that the dark would hide the redness in my cheeks.

When the scene had passed Jess tried to talk again. This time I let him. "I think you have a crush on Max."

My head snapped towards him. "How did you know?" I asked instead of trying to deny it. I think I've had a crush on Max since I was ten. I know, it's messed up but he's just so darn adorable.

Jess laughs at the fact that he had caught on to me. "Just a wild guess." He starts. "Also, I think it's because he kinda looks like me."

I scoff at his words. "You wish you looked like him." He was close enough to me that I could feel him arm against my own.

Maybe I did like Jess because he reminded me of Max. Wouldn't that be something to talk about in therapy. But I think I liked Jess because he was himself. There was quite a few things I liked about him but overall he was just Jess. I don't really know how else to put it.

It's just a lot of small things that make up a person. Sometimes people have their bad parts and their good parts but when you smash them all together you forget about the bad parts. The good outweighs the bad. I don't think I've seen Jess' bad parts but I doubt they're worse than his lack of movie knowledge. I mean, who doesn't know A Goofy Movie?

We both send each other teasing smiles before bright lights flashed in the driveway of the house. "It's my mum," I tell Jess nervously. I check the clock on the wall. "She shouldn't be back for another two hours." I reach for the remote and pause the movie.

He quickly makes a move to get up. "I should go." He says as he picks up his coat.

"No, wait." I protest as I stand up beside him. "Stay, this'll do you two some good to be nice to each other."

Jess shakes his head at me before making his way to the door. "Why should I?"

I stand in front of the door. "Because she's my mum, and she's a very important person in my life and so are you. So I'd appreciate if you'd both try to get along."

"I'm important to you?" He raises his eyebrow, letting my words get to his head.

Quickly realising my poor choice of words I began to stutter. "I- uh, just be nice." Jess sends me an amused smile at my flustered face. "Please?"

He sighs before stepping away from the door. "The things I do for you," he mutters before retreating back into the hall.

I send him a grateful look. "Now, I'm gonna talk to my mum for a while. Just wait here."

"Yes ma'am," he says.

Giving him one last pointed look, I open the door and head out to greet my mum. She steps out of her car as the headlights go out. She was wearing her usual work attire, some slacks and a shirt. Her dark hair had fallen out out its usual ponytail. The dark night making it hard to see.

When she notices me standing on the porch her eyes narrowed. "What're you doing out here?"

"I thought you didn't get back till later," I avoid her question.

She shrugs as she approaches me, her handbag hanging from her left arm. "It was a slow night, Michel said he could handle it." She makes an exaggerated sniff around me. " I don't smell any alcohol, so why're you out here?" She repeats.

I shift my weight from one feet to another. "I was watching A Goofy Movie."

She groans. "I don't know why you're still hung up on that movie." My mum makes a move to open the door behind me but I don't budge.

"I was watching it with Jess."

My mum stops her movements. She looks at me incredulously. "Jess? Jess the Jerk?"

I ignore the childish nickname she had given him. "Yes, we're friends again. So I'd really appreciate it if you would be nice to him," I plead as she just crossed her arms at me.

"Why?" Oh my god, they were exactly the same person. My mum and Jess, I mean. I explain to her whatever I had said to Jess quickly. She looks at the desperation in my eyes before giving in. "Fine."

"Thank you," I say quietly before opening the front door.

My mum hangs her coat by the door. I turn on the lights, that had been off for the movie. I saw Jess standing in the middle of the room with his coat in his arm. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something.

"Jess, you know my mum." I quickly introduce. Although I'm quite sure they've met sometime at Luke's.

He makes his way toward us and gives my mum the ghost of a smile. "Hello." Well, that's something. It's not much, but it's something.

"Yeah, hi." My mum says, looking around the room awkwardly. "Um, did you guys get anything to eat?"

"You hid the popcorn again, remember?" I tell her, not knowing where she kept it.

She nods, recalling what she did. "Okay, I'll just go and get it out."

My mum made a move to the kitchen. "I'll help you," Jess pipes up, surprising all of us. I look at him curiously. "I promise I won't tell Cassie where you keep the food," he aims the last part at my mum.

"Sure, come on." She says, regaining her senses. She beckons Jess to follow her into the kitchen. He walks in front of her as she turns to look at me. She gives me a face as if to say, 'he's trying?' I give her two thumbs up.

This was going to be a long night.