Sunday was known as the day of rest in the Quinn household. Mainly because the only two residents in the house both thought that six days a week of school and work called for at least a day off.

So when her mother woke her up at half past eight she was more then just confused. She was furious.

"Someone better be dying if you're waking me up this early," I grumbled at her as I pulled the duvet up to cover my head from the bright morning light.

I could hear my mother opening the blinds up before she pulled the warm duvet away from my body. "I know this is not our usual routine, but I need to get down to the inn."

I sat up on my bed and leaned against my headboard. I was about to speak when I realised that my mother was already dressed up in her work clothes with her hair up in a high ponytail. "How long have you been up?"

Maria looked at her daughter through the hair falling in her eyes as she went around the room picking up stray clothes and books on the ground. God knew her daughter had too many books. However according to Cassie, 'you can never have too many books.'

"I've been up since seven-thirty," Maria replied.

I nodded my head as I looked out the window. I could already see people bustling around the small town even at this time in the morning. People never ceased to amaze me. I wonder if Jess is up yet. 'Ew, Cassie,' I mentally scolded myself. You only spoke to the guy once.

Quickly pushing Jess out of my head I began to talk to my mum. "And why are you working on a Sunday? You don't work on Sundays."

"Well, if you must know Michel is sick and I have to cover for him."

Mum works down at the inn next to Michel. Despite what many people think, Michel absolutely loves me. Seeing as I speak french from all the extra lessons at Chilton and share the same hate for most people as he does. Besides working at the reception, sometimes mum would also help Lorelai out as the assistant manager.

I groaned and asked her, "What does that have to do with me?"

Mum looks at me as she picks up one of my many books and lays it out on the table. "We need groceries," she simply says.

I look at my mother with wide eyes. "It's eight in the morning! Why am I buying groceries at eight in the morning?" I exclaim. Doose's Market only opens at half past eight anyways.

"Oh come on Cassie, you know how crazy Babette and Miss Patty are. One time I caught Miss Patty with six bottles of toothpaste. Six bottles! And she lives alone!"

I sigh at my mother, realising that she does have a point. She almost always does. "Fine, I'll be out in twenty minutes."

My mother nears me as I get up from my bed. She tries to pat down my hair as she speaks, "Aw, sweetie. You make it sound like you had a choice." She gives me a teasing smile as I swat her hand away from my face. "The list is on the table, along with some money. I'll be back later, ok?" She starts as she nears the bedroom door.

I give her two thumbs up with a smile. "I know the drill, mum," I confirm with her. We say our goodbyes and I lay back down in the bed. Closing my eyes as I try to get what little shut eye I have left before I have to start the day. The sound of front door slamming close signals that it's time for me to get ready.

Once I was done giving myself a nice cold shower, I quickly got dressed. Before I left my bedroom I made sure to pick up a book from the stack my mother had so neatly kept for me. I didn't look at the cover as I grabbed it.

You see, this was a game I liked to play. I would randomly choose a book from somewhere in my room and slide it in my back pocket. This way when I wanted to read I would be surprised at what I got.

I ran down the stairs and grabbed the money and the list of groceries off the kitchen table. I stuffed them both inside the pocket of my jeans and headed towards the door. I laced up my shoes and grabbed my jacket then headed out the door.

As I walked to Doose's Market I took a good look around me. There was the occasional tourist who took pictures of the quaint little town. But then there was also Ms. Kim who I saw every Sunday as I passed Al's Pancake World. She was probably the only person I knew that went to someplace other than Luke's.

I also saw Kirk arguing with Gypsy in front of her shop. Kirk was waving his hands wildly and saying something about how his mother wouldn't trust him after this. Gypsy just looked at him like she was about to combust on the spot. She took a step closer to him and pointed her wrench in his face as she said something in a threatening manner. It was nothing new.

Everything in this town was the same. Same routine everyday. I knew everyone here and they knew me. There was probably more people in Chilton than there was in Stars Hollow. As much as I loved this town -it was where I grew up after all- I already had my three phase plan in place.

Phase One, ace my SAT's.

Phase Two, Get accepted into Yale and graduate with a Law Degree.

Phase Three, move to New York and become an amazing lawyer.

That was what I wanted to do with my life. It's been something I've been dreaming about since I was ten. Rory had Journalism and Harvard, and I had my passion for Law. I snapped out of my daydream and continued towards the market.

Passing by the bookstore took every bit of strength in me not to dash straight inside. I could practically smell the scent of old paperback books and ink from outside. 'You're here on a mission Cassie. Get the groceries then sleep till noon.' I told myself.

I had almost managed to pass by without going inside when I saw Rory Gilmore waving at me from inside the store by the big glass window. I raised my hand and waved at her with a small smile. She motioned me to come inside. Despite my best efforts, I still managed to wind up in the bookstore.

"Cassie!" Rory called out to me from behind a row of shelves. I followed her voice to find her standing behind the bookcases with a couple of books in her hand. Her light brown hair held back by a pretty purple hairband. I saw that her jacket laid discarded on the floor of one of the shelves.

I gave Rory a small grin as I spoke to her, "How long have you been here Rory? It's only nine!"

Rory gave me a sheepish look as she fixed her hair that was falling into her clear blue eyes. "You know me, I just wanted to get the good stuff cleared out."

What she said reminded me of what my mum told me this morning about the groceries. Oh I'm supposed to get the groceries! "Hey would you want to follow me to Doose's? I gotta get some stuff for my mum," I asked Rory.

She gave me a sympathetic smile as she explained, "Ah, sorry Cassie. I'm hanging out with Dean today. I was gonna ask you to hang with us though."

Just as she said those words I saw Dean come up from behind her with another stack of books in his hands. "Ok, so I asked Merritt. This is all he has from the list you gave me." He says to Rory, not realising I'm here.

I give a scoff and look at him. "Nice to see you too Dean," I joke as he looks up to see me.

He gives me a playful eye roll before saying, "Hello, Cassie."

"Well, as much fun as this has been I've got to go buy the groceries before my mum has my head. Save some books for me, Ror! Bye!" I call out behind me. I hear a few shouts in reply as I close the door behind me.

~~~

"Why the hell are there no carrots!" I say to myself in anger as I stared at the empty basket. There was always carrots. We had a constant supply of carrots at our house. Most likely because I liked to eat carrots as a daily snack. I had to find Taylor, he would know where the carrots are.

"Well I think we can blame Peter Rabbit for that," a low voice said behind me.

I turned around to see Jess Mariano standing in front of me in all his leather jacketed glory. His dark brown hair was perfectly styled. He held a book in his hand along with a packet of Haribo gummy bears. He gave me a smirk at my startled expression.

'What? No kiss for me, Cherry?" He teased with a pout on his lips.

Instead of responding to him I just walked along the aisle, knowing he would follow me. "I don't think you deserve a kiss after almost giving me a heart attack," I retorted with a playful smile on my lips.

I turned my attention away from Jess' intoxicating smirk and towards the shelf in front of me. I scanned all the brands of bread until I found the kind I was looking for. I grabbed it and dropped it into the basket in my arms

I was about to keep walking when I saw something being dropped into the basket. "If you think I'm paying for your Haribo Jess, you got another thing coming," I said facing him with a raised eyebrow.

Jess just gave a small chuckle and said, "Relax, Cherry. I jus wanted to see what you thought about the ending."

"What?" I asked, confused as he held up a copy of 'The Princess Bride'. I looked in his jacket pocket to see that his book from before was there. That meant that the copy in his hands was mine. "Oh I didn't realise that was my book," I continue.

Now it was Jess' turn to be confused.
"How do you not know what you're reading?" He asked, his eyes not leaving the last page of the book as he leaned against the shelf.

"Sometimes I'll choose a book at random without looking at it. I'll read it then once I've finished it the cycle repeats," I explained as he read the notes in my margins.

"Why?"

"Well there's not many ways you can surprise yourself," I reply.

Jess just nodded his head as he read on. "You think they die." He clarifies before looking up at me with a small smile playing on his lips. He hands me back my book before taking his pack of Haribo back.

I give him a look that said 'obviously'. "Of course they died," I confirm as I take my book back from his warm hands.

He was about to ask why when a third voice interrupted our talk. "Cassie, dear, would you mind scooting over a bit?"

Jess and I both turn towards the voice to see Miss Patty standing there with a cart full of syrup bottles and god knows what else. 'Mum was right,' I thought. Her hair as red as ever as she casts both me and Jess suspicious looks.

I give Miss Patty a small grimace as I move closer towards Jess so she could get through. Despite there being a respectful amount of space between us, I could still smell her strong perfume. I was watching Ms Patty take multiple bags of bread when I realised how close me and Jess were.

Our arms were touching, but there was no heat except for in my hands that were brushing against his. I quickly felt the heat rise to my cheeks before clasping both my hands in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Jess smirking at my flustered appearance.

"Well, I gotta go back to Luke's. I'll see you later? Then you can tell me why you think they die?" Jess asks as I just nod. "Bye, Cherry." He finalised with the corners of his lips upturned before walking out of the market.

I pried my eyes away from where Jess had just been standing to see Miss Patty still there. She was looking at me with a look that implied something.

"Whatever you're thinking, don't."