(HAPPY GILMORE GIRLS SEASON BABYYYYY! i've returned from war and have missed you dearly. hope everyone's doing well.)

(this was a incredibly hard and a pain in the ass to write for multiple reasons, but i'm hoping things will get easier from here as shit starts to pick up. you'll see what i mean. and we're unedited as always. never expect anything from me.)

(hope you all had a great summer! let's bring on my favorite season and i hope i've come just in time for your fall rewatch. let's fucking goooo!)

(love u all tons. <3 -mags)

✧✧✧

MARLEY AWOKE THE next morning to a painfully recognizable ringtone wailing in her ear.

The noise made her jump so violently that she nearly rolled off of Courtney's couch that she'd slept on (a couch that once resided in her and Jess' apartment, but that was neither here nor there), her heart racing fast enough to ensure that she'd not be able to fall back asleep. Marley scrambled to grab her phone from the table it'd been charging on overnight, a scowl finding a home on her lips before she even answered it.

Her greeting was less than amicable and she cursed the rasp in her voice. "I'm on vacation."

"And apparently not catching any R&R," Logan said from the other line, tone way too chipper for the hour it was. Marley flopped back onto the couch, already regretting answering the phone. "You spending these Philly nights with Tom Waits?"

"I'm on vacation," she repeated. "And you're calling me."

"Your perceptive nature is why I hired you."

"You're not supposed to be doing that."

"I'm not supposed to be doing it if it's about business," he said, and Marley could picture his stupid little eyebrow shoot up, as if he'd gotten her. "This is a personal call."

Marley wasn't buying it. "Is it really?"

Logan hesitated, then answered after a beat, "No. But—"

Marley hung up on him immediately, throwing her phone back on the table.

She cast her eyes up to the ceiling, annoyance settling into her chest as her phone began ringing again. She truthfully considered grabbing it once more just to throw it against the wall and see it shatter, but knew that that wouldn't solve anything. Nothing in the long run, at least.

With a groan, Marley reached over and picked up her phone, bringing it to her ear once more. "I hope you're prepared to die. The second I land at Heathrow, it's on-site, dickhead."

Logan chuckled. "Thanks for the heads up, Inigo."

"I'm serious. Your death will be long and your eulogy will be short."

"On what planet would you be the one giving my eulogy?"

"I'm ninety-eight percent you'd Lazurus yourself back up if either of your parents gave it," Marley reasoned through closed eyes, hearing an affirmative noise on the other end. "And I'm still not convinced Colin and Finn can read. I guess we could have your sister do it."

"Honor's would be shorter than yours," he replied, voice trailing off. "Speaking of short—"

Marley's eyes snapped open. "If you're calling to ask me for the short-term campaign notes I'm hanging up on you again."

"I can't find it in your office," he said, and Marley could swear she could hear the shuffling of papers from the other line. "I looked through your computer too. Nothing."

"Feel like we're toeing the line of an HR violation, but okay."

Logan scoffed. "We leapt over that line years ago, Penn." Before Marley could retort, he was already speaking again. "Also, get a better password."

Marley frowed. "What's wrong with my password?"

"Bowie2007?" he asked incredulously. "What, was your mom's maiden name and the street you lived on already used?"

"I'll have you know, I've never been hacked," Marley replied, sitting up against the arm of the couch to defend herself. "And I use different passwords for everything. I'm very secure."

She could practically hear Logan rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say," he told her. "But seriously. I need those notes. I need at least an idea of what we're working with before my meeting tomorrow."

Marley's lip drew up in disgust. "Who scheduled a Friday meeting?"

"I did," Logan said. "It's a quick one. It's the only time I could get all our favorite higher-ups together. They're all in New York next week."

"Oh, joy," Marley muttered. "Tell my father I say hello."

"Top of my list. Now, notes?"

Marley scowled once more. "Well, if you had been listening before I left, you'd remember that I told you I sent them off to Alex and that you could ask her if you needed anything like that," she answered, referring to her coworker who had replaced Juno after she'd left.

"Well, I wasn't listening," Logan replied. "And Alex isn't in her office, so..."

Marley suppressed a groan. "You're useless," she sighed. "I forwarded all my stuff to her. You can break into my email to send them to yourself."

"Thank you," he said, and she could tell he was smiling. "What's your password for this one, Snowden?"'

The words left Marley's mouth before she could realize the significance of them. "Priscilla. 01, 30, 08."

Somehow, being back in Philly, being on this couch, on the current terms she was with Jess, that stupid fucking name and that stupid fucking date hit even harder. She'd been meaning to change that password for ages, but had just gotten used to typing it in at this point. It didn't mean too much to her in London.

But here, in this city, right now, it meant everything. And it hurt.

It hurt even more when Logan asked her, "Should I know who Priscilla is?"

Marley blinked out of her trance and answered a moment later. "N-no," she stammered. "It's something stupid. Name of a car."

She felt herself drift off again as Logan hummed in acknowledgment, talking to himself as he searched for the email she'd mentioned previously. She hated thinking about that car and that date. Marley had once looked back on it fondly, knowing that that phase of her life was over, but it was something wonderful she'd lived through. But now? Everything was different. Especially after these past two days.

She hadn't thought of the car in months. Did Jess still have it? According to her friends, he only seemed to get around via motorcycle now (like a douchebag, Marley thought bitterly), and if that was the case, it was tough to have one vehicle in this city, let alone two. Had he sold it? Did he pawn it off to spite her and get money for the motorcycle?

The thought of that legitimately churned her stomach. He wouldn't. As much as Jess seemed to hate her now, he wasn't the type of guy to do petty shit like that.

He's apparently in talks to work with your father, the other part of her brain reminded her. He's exactly the type to do petty shit like that.

Marley tuned back into her conversation with Logan as he told her he'd found the email and sent it to himself. "Now that that's done," he began, "How's the wedding prep going?"

She could hear how distracted she sounded as she answered, "It's what you'd expect," she told him, quickly moving on to the next topic. "Hey, by the way. Have you heard any talk about Blackwater either acquiring or investing in an indie publishing house called Truncheon?"

Logan thought on it for a moment. "I mean, there's always talk about acquisitions and whatnot. The name doesn't sound familiar, but I can't say I listen to that stuff too hard," he replied. "I can look into it for you, though. They're called Truncheon?"

"Yeah," Marley said. "Thank you."

"Of course. Any particular reason why we're focusing on them, or—"

"No," Marley lied, though she knew how quickly she'd answered had given her away immediately. "It's not important. Swear. If you could just keep an eye out, that'd be great."

Logan knew Marley well enough not to press her in times like these. "O-kay," he drew out. He let the word hang there for a second before he got the hint to change the subject. "Have you punched your writer boy yet?"

Any sort of strangeness or anxiety Marley had felt in the last couple of minutes dissolved completely. "You know I don't partake in violence," she said lightly. The voice was dropped instantly. "But no. I want to. But I haven't yet."

"Yet?"

Marley glanced over her shoulder to make sure Courtney wasn't awake and hadn't entered the living room yet. "We're pretending to be friends for our friends," she attempted to explain, though her voice had gone down in volume marginally. "But he's making it really hard."

"I can't possibly imagine why," Logan replied dryly. "He's always so agreeable."

"Hey," she warned. "I'm allowed to talk shit about him. You're still on thin ice, blonde dick at Yale."

"He's been shitty to you. As your friend, I think I get a pass."

"Your pass was slamming him into a wall while I was hospitalized," she told him, hearing Logan chuckle to himself. "You are so lucky I was on drugs for that."

"Yeah, yeah," Logan said. "Well, I'm sorry things aren't great. I guess the bright side is that they can only go up from here."

Marley pulled her knees to her chest. "Thanks for the jinx, Huntzberger."

"I'm serious. I'm sure things will get better. You'll figure out a way," he encouraged. "You can blame me if they don't."

(Logan Huntzberger truly had no idea how much he'd be blamed for in the next twenty-four hours, and he'd later regret saying that.)

"You can count on that," she said, turning as she heard Courtney's bedroom door open. Marley sent a sleepy Courtney Burke a soft smile as she entered the living room. "But you're all set with the notes and stuff?" she asked Logan.

"Yeah, I think I'm good," he replied. "Thank you."

"And if you have any more issues...?"

"I'll take them up with Alex," he answered in a sing-song tone, making Marley grin softly. "I got it."

"Good," she said. "I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later. Personal calls only, though. I'm off next week too."

Logan sighed with a laugh and Marley could picture him running a hand down his face. "Noted. And Penn?" Marley said nothing, cueing him to continue. "Breathe. It'll all be fine."

Marley returned his sigh, eyes shutting once more. "And if it's not?"

"Then I hope you'll finally give me permission to not only punch him in the face, but also shit talk him too."

That elicited a genuine laugh from Marley, and she shook her head in response. "We'll talk about it," she told him. "I'll talk to you later."

"See you," he said, hanging up as Marley did.

Marley stared down at her phone in her hand, another sigh escaping her. This one was heavier, though. Like she just severed her connection to her other world and knew she'd have to deal with whatever was thrown at her in this one.

Marley didn't know what it meant that this world was currently giving her more grief than the one she'd been desperate to escape from for the last year, but she knew it wasn't good.

The sound of coffee brewing from the kitchen caught her attention, and Marley looked over to see Courtney waiting on the pot she'd started brewing. Courtney glanced up from her phone as Marley got up off the couch.

"Morning," Courtney said. "Rich newspaper boy?"

Marley nodded. "Yeah. Work questions. Hope I didn't wake you up."

Courtney waved her off. "Please. Brendan's always up like two hours before I am and physically cannot be quiet when he's getting ready, so I've learned to sleep through anything."

Marley snorted. "I heard him leave this morning."

"Oh, did he slam the door five times per usual? Or was it the singing when getting his bag ready?"

A knowing smile twisted at Marley's lips. "He was singing."

"Oh, my God. I'm sorry."

"No, it's totally fine," Marley replied. "I awoke to a botched cover of that One Direction song. It was sweet."

Courtney put her face in her hands. "He's such a fucking loser," she said, though the smile on her face told her best friend that she didn't mean it at all. "He's got a fifteen-year-old sister who's obsessed. He's taking her to their show in June and she's forcing him to learn their entire discography."

Marley's brows shot up. "I vaguely remember a certain someone doing the same to me for Avril Lavigne back in 03."

Courtney pointed at her. "That was different. That was Avril."

"You forced me to put a pink streak in my hair so we could match."

"Exactly. It was for Avril," she repeated. "It was so worth it. You know, despite the whole scrubbing my hair bathroom after the show so my mom wouldn't dismember me."

"Oh, yeah, no. That was so fun," Marley deadpanned. "Loved every second of that. Especially when we got yelled at by the custodial staff for staining the sink."

"Whatever. You had fun, poser." Courtney glanced over at the coffee machine as it fizzled out and finished brewing, nodding over at it. "You want some?"

Marley looked at her. "Do you even have to ask?"

"Sorr-y," Courtney drew out, moving to grab the pot. "I'll excuse the attitude because I feel bad for you."

Marley had momentarily forgotten about why exactly Courtney would be feeling bad for her, but then deflated as she realized. Truncheon. Huntzberger/Blackwater. She really hoped Logan could find some shit about that, even just to know what to expect from it.

"Because of Jess?" she asked, but her voice was weak. "Oh, no we're fine. We figured it out."

Courtney looked as unconvinced as ever. "Right," she responded, nodding slowly. "Figured it out. Because you two are great with handling conflict."

Marley wasn't selling her on it, but she felt the need to try. "We talked it out. Resolved it." She glanced down at her hands with a humorless chuckle. Marley knew the answer already and felt bad for asking, but still felt the need to. "But, uh... you guys didn't know about all that, did you?"

Courtney whipped around so hard Marley thought she might spill the coffee out of the pot. "Absolutely fucking not," she said. "Lauren didn't even know. And Chris tells that girl everything."

"I get this could be a big opportunity for them. And I get that Blackwater came to them. They didn't like, seek out an investment from them. But it's just..." Marley trailed off, hoping to find the right phrasing. "It's the principal of it. The fact that they're even entertaining it. That's what I told him."

(She decided not to mention the legitimately mean things they said to one another. Sidebar fights were their own shit to worry about.)

Courtney nodded in agreement. "They've been talking about expanding for a while. And they've been looking for investors. But they never dropped names or anything," she said. "Does it sound like they're going to take it?"

Marley shrugged, saying a quiet thank you as Courtney placed a mug in front of her. "I don't know. Jess sounded like they were leaning toward it," she said. "I think it depends on what the offer is. If they get an offer."

She wanted to tell Courtney about what he'd said to her. I figured that if anybody got putting your career over personal relationships, it'd be you.

She wanted to talk it out. About how he'd said it so matter-of-factly. As if that had been how he'd been rationalizing it to himself. It made her physically ill.

Because he wasn't... wrong, per se. He was completely out of line saying it, but that's what had happened when she went to London, wasn't it?

But they were two completely different things. One of them was a decision that had been made after much deliberation, with emotions and everything else taken into consideration. The other seemed to be made with blatant disregard for... well, for her. It felt personal.

Maybe London felt personal for Jess, the less logical part of her brain said.

But he encouraged it, the better part replied. He didn't stop you. He wouldn't have stopped you. He wanted you to do it. He didn't even have the decency to consult you about this.

Marley took in a deep breath, fingers tightly gripping the mug before her. None of it made sense. And thinking about it probably wouldn't make it make sense either.

Yet again, Marley was snapped out of her trance by Courtney swearing. She looked over at her friend who was now staring down at her phone with a frown. "Shit," she repeated. "Um..."

"What?" Marley asked.

Courtney's eyes met hers. "Nothing, it's not like a huge deal, but..." At Marley's expectant glance, her shoulders sagged. "I need you to drop something off at Truncheon for me."

Courtney's hesitance about this meant nothing but bad news. "Are you being weird because he's going to be there, or...?" When she nodded, Marley cocked her head. "I thought they were taking today and tomorrow off?"

"They are," Courtney replied, seeming slightly confused by these questions. "Jess lives there. In the upstairs apartment."

Marley blinked at her. "What? Since when? I thought he and Matthew had a place together."

"Since this year," Courtney stated, as if the answer was obvious. "Matthew got his own apartment, like a minute ago. I have no godly idea why Jess moved back into Truncheon, because, like, it's not like he doesn't have the money to get his own place or whatever, but—"Courtney cut herself off. "I thought you knew all this? I swear to God we talked about this."

Marley shook her head. "We definitely didn't."

"Oh," Courtney said. "Well. That's where he is right now. And I'd do it myself but I've got a doctor's appointment in the next hour, so—"

"You booked a doctor's appointment this week?" Marley questioned.

Courtney pointed at her. "Hey, this is the first week I've had off in months. I haven't been able to schedule anything. This just happened to work out." She motioned to a handful of boxes in the corner of the room. "Can you please just drop these off? You probably won't even have to talk to him."

Marley crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "I have no problem talking to him," she lied. "We're trying to be friends, again. Remember?"

"Of course you are," Courtney agreed. The sarcasm in her tone didn't go unnoticed. "Then you should have no problem dropping those boxes off, right?"

Marley nodded. "Right."

"Incredible. Thank you," she said. "And you can take my car. I'll get a cab or something. And by the time you're done, I'll be done too, and then it'll be time for our nail appointment, so like, it all works out."

"Right," Marley repeated as Courtney grabbed her coffee and went back into her bedroom to change. "It all works out," she said to herself, fighting the urge to put her head on the counter and scream.

She was already drafting a text to Logan in her head, blaming him for this.

✧

ONCE MARLEY HAD found parking within a reasonable distance of Truncheon, she mentally talked herself up in the driver's seat of Courtney's car to actually walk in.

In and out. Hello and goodbye. Nothing more nothing less.

That pep talk continued as she grabbed as many boxes as she could from the backseat, now becoming a bit more verbal as she shut the door and locked the car. She prepped herself for the minimal things she planned on saying in case she were to see Jess, knowing just how insane she was for this and how insane she must look.

What are these boxes? I don't know. I don't ask. I just run errands this week. Maid of honor and errand-runner. More important than fighting with you.

She didn't care what she looked like. Little things like this helped her get through this bullshit. And it worked.

For the most part, at least.

Now, unfortunately, wasn't one of those times. Because as soon as she approached the Truncheon door and realized it was locked, her prep stopped. If it was locked, someone had to open it. And that someone was likely the person who lived there now.

The boxes now felt heavy in her arms. And they felt heavier as she reached out to knock and waited for the door to open.

The door swung open a moment later, revealing Jess from behind it. He looked as surprised to see her as she was to see him. He glanced down at the boxes in her hands.

"Why do you have so much shit?" he asked as a form of greeting, making Marley roll her eyes.

"Can you just help me?" she huffed, feeling her arms start to burn at the weight.

Jess moved to take the top boxes from her, setting them down in the foyer. "What is all of this?"

"I don't know," she answered, attempting to reach back to her planned speech. "I don't ask. Running errands. I'm Errand-Girl. I lift things up and put them down."

She could have sworn she heard Jess chuckle. "Got it," he said. "Any more boxes?"

"Yeah," she said. "Couple more in Courtney's car."

Jess nodded, awkwardly rocking back on his heels. "Do you... need help with those?"

"That'd be nice," Marley replied, trying to ignore the tension that currently stood between them. She had a new plan of attack: ignore the weirdness until she had to leave. It seemed easier to just not deal with it. Especially now. Especially when she knew anything that she'd say to him would be strictly out of anger and unproductive. "I parked about a block away."

Jess nodded, following Marley out of the shop. "Parking hasn't gotten any easier around here," he said, the small talk he'd forced out sounding painful even to him.

Marley was desperate enough to beat the awkwardness to go along with it. "Apparently not," she said. "Do you get a spot because you live here now?"

She saw Jess's eyebrows fly up in her peripheral. "Uh, yeah. We've still got that small lot in the back. So, I keep my bike there."

Marley pursed her lips and nodded. She held back from mentioning the car. "Right. The bike."

"I really don't think you'd hate it if you saw it," he tried. Marley looked at him dubiously, and this time she saw him actually laugh. "I'm serious."

"Right," she repeated. "Because everything about me screams motorcycle lover. That's a known fact about me. Got a cute leather jacket and a helmet with fun little flames on it."

"Well, I know you've got a jacket so you're halfway there."

While Marley would ignore the tension, she wasn't in any mood to engage in some half-baked banter with him. "Why'd you move back into Truncheon?" she asked.

Jess's brow scrunched at her sudden change in subject, but he didn't question it. "Uh, Matthew and I agreed we were over the roommate thing. He found a place, I moved back into Truncheon when I was looking for one. I never found one." There was something in his voice that sounded off to Marley, but she couldn't figure it out. "Been there for a couple of months."

Marley nodded as they arrived at Courtney's car, unlocking it with her keys. "Must be weird being back there."

Jess shrugged. "A little," he said, grabbing one of the boxes from the back seat. "Commute's easy."

She almost smiled but suppressed it. "I bet." She pointed at two of the boxes on Jess' side. "You grab those two. I've got this heavier one."

Jess nodded, doing as he was told. He shut the car door with his hip, hearing Marley lock the car once more. "Are you still living with Juno?"

"Yeah," Marley said. "She's incredible. Best roommate I've ever had." She glanced over her shoulder with a faux apologetic wince. "No offense. She doesn't leave her beard clippings in the sink. Brings her up a rank."

"None taken. She seemed cool," Jess replied with a polite chuckle. He paused as if he had more to say. Turns out, he did. "I'm kind of surprised you're still there."

Marley looked at him again. Huh? "Where? In London? Or that apartment?"

"The apartment," he answered. "I just figured you'd move in with your boyfriend, or something."

Jess's attempt to get more information about her relationship was poorly disguised by nonchalance and Marley could see right through it. He wasn't going to get anything from her. Especially not now.

"No," she responded after a beat. "Not yet at least. James's family's kind of traditional and he didn't see us moving in together until we were, uh..." The words were hard for Marley to say. "...engaged. At least."

Jess's grip on the boxes got looser at that, and he subtly fumbled to recover it. "Right." He cleared his throat. "Makes sense."

"Yeah," she said shortly. "He's got it all thought out."

If Jess noticed how dejected she sounded, he didn't mention it. In fact, he didn't say anything. He just went quiet, and the two of them walked the block back to Truncheon in silence.

Marley tried to think of a time when it had been like this between them. Quiet. Awkward. Neither of them knowing what to say to the other. The only other time she could think of was that strange period of their lives where they were dancing around their feelings for each other, attempting to navigate their weird new feelings and uncharted territories of tension. And while that felt awful, it couldn't possibly compare to this.

Because while both of them were keeping things from each other, biting their tongues despite the things they desperately wanted to say, everything else was laid out before them. They knew what had happened and they knew how it all was going to end.

They could pretend for their friends all they wanted. But they knew the outcome of this weekend. And they knew everything else was downhill from here.

But still, it seemed that Jess wanted to try to be something they weren't. "Are you still going back to Stars Hollow after the wedding?" he asked as they arrived at the Truncheon front door.

Marley nodded. "That's the plan. Jacob and Emily are there hanging with my mom now, so I'll meet them Sunday or Monday."

"Nice," he said, opening the door. "Courtney still driving you?"

"I don't have another way out of here," she said. She couldn't stop herself from reminding him, "You made it very clear you had no interest in going with me."

She heard him sigh as she entered the shop. "Marley..."

She dropped the boxes down and turned back to him. "What? Am I wrong?"

"No," he said. "But—"

"But what?" she asked. Marley crossed her arms over her chest, watching him place his things down next to hers. "What, were you going to offer to drive me back? After you told me to fuck off when I asked you?"

Jess ran a hand down his face. "No, I was— Luke called me last weekend. Liz called me a couple days ago. They've been talking about me visiting and I... I've got work stuff in New York next week so I was thinking about stopping in. And if you were going back, I figured we could go together. I wasn't sure what your plan was."

Was that not the exact plan she had proposed months ago? In lieu of yelling at him, Marley sighed heavily and held out her hands. "Look, I don't want to fight with you," she said. "But if you're trying to like, make up for being shitty by offering this, I just—" She waved her hands. "I have no interest in you being nice to me right now."

"I'm not being—" Jess gave her a look. "I'm not trying to make up for anything. I was just asking. It felt weird not to."

That rubbed Marley the wrong way for unexplainable reasons. "Okay, well. You asked. I said no," she muttered. "Definitely not weird anymore."

It was Jess's turn to sigh. Marley watched as his eyes went colder. "Y'know, for someone who doesn't want to fight with me, you seem like you're trying to start shit."

"This shit has been started for months," she shot back. "And you're the one who opened it back up. But you're right." Marley gave him the fakest smile she could. "Thank you for the offer. But Courtney's got me covered." That smile continued as she motioned to the boxes. "Those are your issue now. I have to go."

"Thanks," he said, not sounding thankful at all.

Marley rolled her eyes as she walked to the door. "Whatever."

Jess said something inaudible when she exited Truncheon, and as the door slammed, she suddenly felt the urge to cry. She hated that all of their interactions now left her feeling this way.

But she had no time for that. Errand girl had to drive on back to drop off Courtney's car so she could do more wedding stuff.

Like she said, that was more important now, anyway.

✧

HOURS LATER, AND with a freshly painted set of nails, Marley, Lauren, and Courtney sat in Lauren and Chris's apartment, awaiting the arrival of the boys.

Their pre-wedding to-do list had been checked off and the three finally had a moment to rest before the shitshow of rehearsal dinner festivities kicked off tomorrow. Lauren had thanked her friends endlessly for all of their help, knowing that she couldn't have gotten done half the shit they did without them.

Lauren had returned to her apartment after dealing with her parents to find her friends lounging on her couch, half-asleep, and watching some shitty reality show. As she found the physical list on her counter and saw that it was, in fact, actually all checked off, she figured she could join them for the time being.

They were anticipating Chris, Matthew, and Jess any minute, hoping to finalize the plans for tomorrow before everyone went home for the night. It was necessary that everyone knew of their duties before the weekend went into full swing.

Marley's anxiety had been at an all-time high since she'd dropped those boxes off at Jess's, but she couldn't figure out why. It wasn't that anything had felt off, or that their rather short interaction had affected her more than the others, but there was something. It was like she was waiting for something to go wrong.

Perhaps that was just that— her anxiety. Sometimes it didn't have a reason. In Marley's case, the majority of the time it didn't have a reason. But this felt different.

She chalked it up to being paranoid about the wedding and just wanting everything to go well. That was the only explainable and logical reason.

The door to the apartment opened moments later, and the three boys walked through, each wearing a smile despite how tired they all looked. While this week had been fun (for the most part), it had been busy. And it had clearly drained all of them.

All six of them were thankful for the early night ahead.

"Are we done?" Chris asked Lauren, looking at how each of the girls had sprawled themselves out across the living room.

Lauren grinned at him. "I think we're done," she said, getting up to greet him. "Fucking finally."

Chris laughed, opening his arms to hug her. "You can say that again," he replied. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "My parents are all set up in the hotel. I think they're getting dinner with yours."

"Good," Lauren muttered. "They can find more things to complain about and then stress us out more tomorrow."

Matthew shook his head. "I don't see how they could complain about anything," he said. "It all looks great so far. I don't know about you assholes, but I've done my jobs well this weekend."

Lauren nodded at him. "Yes, you have," she encouraged, using the voice Marley assumed she talked to her child patients with. "Again, seriously. Thank you guys for all the help this weekend. Everything's gone so smoothly and... you're just the fucking best. We love you so much."

Chris hummed in agreement, only to be cut off by Courtney who raised her hand from the couch. "We've still got two days until the actual thing," she said. "Let's make sure we're not speaking too soon."

"Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all," Lauren stated, glaring at Courtney. "I love how much faith you have in my special day."

Courtney shrugged, moving Marley's legs off of her so she could get up. "I have plenty of faith. I'm a God-fearing Catholic, bitch. I'm just saying."

"Whatever," Lauren said with a roll of her eyes. "Can we just go over our stuff so we can all go to bed?"

At this, Marley finally arose from her spot on the sofa. Immediately as she stood and faced the group, she met Jess's eyes. He only nodded at her.

Right. Friends. Sidebar fighting.

"Okay," Lauren continued, going down the mental checklist. "Matthew. You're picking up the marriage license, correct?"

Matthew saluted at her. "Yes ma'am. Tomorrow at ten."

"Wonderful." Lauren looked over at Courtney. "You're checking on the buses and dealing with my nieces' readings tomorrow."

"Yes," Courtney agreed. "I still don't know why I'm the one dealing with the children, but I've got it."

"God-fearing Catholic," Lauren said, pointing at her. "We're having a mass. Put two and two together for me, yeah?"

"I'm just saying. Marley's way better with kids than I am."

"Marley can't deal with the kids," Lauren told her, suppressing a smile at Marley's incredulous expression. "Because she's dealing with..."

Marley turned back to her, finishing the thought. "I am dealing with both of your parents and families. I am the entertainer, the small talker, the mediator" she said, pointing at her. "I'm so Julie McCoy it's crazy."

Lauren grinned. "Exactly," she replied. Her gaze focused on Jess. "And most importantly, you're in charge of what?"

Jess stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. "Ring duty."

"And you have them?" Lauren confirmed.

"They're sitting on my dresser at Truncheon."

Courtney scoffed. "Entrusting that thing with the rings is your boldest move yet."

"Well, he certainly wasn't going to deal with the kids," Lauren said, glaring at Courtney once more. "He would be teaching them some Clash song instead of the reading."

"Yeah," Jess agreed. "Clampdown sounds like it could be right out of the Gospel According to John."

Marley couldn't help but snort at this, drawing all eyes to her in surprise. Her cheeks tinted pink as she felt Jess's eyes on her. "What?" she said to the group. With the attention now on her, she had every intention of playing into their 'friends' bullshit. "He's right. London Calling's basically a Bible in itself. I can make the church organist learn Rudie Can't Fall."

She saw Jess smile out of the corner of her eye. "Lost in the Supermarket would be easier to walk down the aisle to," he offered.

"Their parents would kill them," Marley chuckled, finally looking over at him to see that his grin only got bigger.

Courtney crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, my God, fine. Jess is a menace who likes The Clash, I get it. Both of you shut up." She shook her head. "I hate that you're trying to be friends again."

Lauren shook her head with a soft smile. "You've got the rings?" she asked Jess once more in confirmation.

Jess drew his eyes away from Marley to meet Lauren's. "I've got them. Don't worry."

"Good," Lauren said. She looked around the apartment, running through her head once more to see if she was forgetting anything. "I think that's everything."

Matthew's brows shot up. "We're all set?"

"I think we're ready," Lauren giggled, leaning into Chris. "Shit guys, I think we did it."

Chris's arms went up. "Let's get fucking married!" he shouted, earning a chorus of cheers from the group. Marley and Courtney immediately went into hug their two friends, finding that Matthew and Jess weren't far behind them.

After everything, here they all finally were. They were all together, all six of them, with their arms around each other, ready for the event they'd been talking about for ages.

It was hard to believe, but they'd made it. And it was all happening.

Chris was the first to withdraw from the hug. "I love you all dearly," he said. "But I need you to get the fuck out of my apartment so I can go to bed."

Everyone laughed, saying some form of agreement as they moved back from each other. Each of them reconfirmed the time they'd be meeting up tomorrow, all aware of their individual duties as they grabbed their things and began to move out of the apartment.

Lauren and Chris shouted their goodbyes as their friends exited, and the group of four talked about their plans (or lack thereof) for the rest of the night. Matthew was off to pick up food and then head back to his apartment. Jess was going back to Truncheon. Marley and Courtney planned on heading back to Courtney's to rot away all night and eventually fall asleep.

However, as Jess and Matthew took off, Courtney got a text. She glanced down at her phone, lips pulling to the side in thought.

Marley didn't like that look. "What?"

Courtney glanced up at her, guilty. "Brendan just texted me. He's out with his coworkers and wants us to meet him for a drink."

There was literally nothing in the world that sounded less appealing to Marley. "Oh."

Courtney knew that voice all too well and shook her head with a smile. "You definitely don't have to go," she told her, reaching into her purse and pulling out her set of keys. She unhooked one from the chain and tossed it at her. "Here's my spare for the apartment. I'll be back in an hour, tops."

Marley looked at her gratefully. "Thank you," she said with a soft smile. "You're good to walk alone?"

Her best friend waved her off. "It's like, two blocks from here. You good?"

Marley nodded. "I know the way back. I've gotta call Juno back anyway. I've been missing her calls all weekend."

Courtney nodded, pointing at her as she started to walk away. "Okay, be safe. Text me when you get back."

"Will do," Marley said, pulling up Juno's contact on her phone as she started off.

She brought her phone to her ear, hearing it ring. As she did so, she looked around the area that she was still surprised she knew like the back of her hand.

It was so unlike London. She didn't think there could be two more vastly different cities. And while yes, Philadelphia had its flaws (as did London), she couldn't help but think about how much she missed it. How much she had missed her friends and everyone here.

Or maybe she was just nostalgic for a different time. It was probably both.

Juno picked up just before it went to voicemail. "Well, it's about bloody time you called."

"I'm sorry," Marley laughed. "It's been busy on my end."

"I'm sure it has been. But I have needs too, Mar. I'm feeling neglected."

Marley hummed at her dramatics. "Right. Jasper's not picking up either?"

It sounded like Juno had slumped into her pillow at the sound of her brother's name. "No," she said, though it was muffled. "And you know I have no other friends. Like I said. Needs."

"Sounds like you need to get out there more," Marley replied, earning an offended gasp.

"I'll have you know," Juno began, voice going up an octave. "I used to be wildly popular. People loved me. I've just been in a bit of a hermit phase."

She'd been in a hermit phase since she and Logan had mysteriously ended things, but Marley didn't feel like bringing the mood down to mention that. "Of course," she agreed. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you. I won't do it again."

"Damn right you won't," she replied. After another dramatic pause, Juno asked, "So. How's it going over there?"

Exhausted, Marley didn't exactly feel like getting into it. So, she opted for the same vague answer she'd given this morning. "As you'd expect."

"Wow," Juno said. "That good, huh?"

"That good." Marley really wasn't interested in talking about this and chose to change the subject. She didn't care how abrupt it was. "Anyway, what's going on with your job that you said you needed to vent about in your voicemail?"

Juno paused, but seemed to get the hint as everyone else had. So, instead of asking further questions, she chose to launch into the story she'd been waiting to tell Marley. Something about a bitchy coworker and company politics and whatever else.

Marley, truthfully, wasn't paying a ton of attention. And this was because her phone started ringing in her hand about ten seconds into Juno's rant.

Marley felt her phone ringing in her hand, and her brow furrowed as she brought it down from her ear to see who was calling. She only got more confused when she saw that it was Jacob.

She continued to let it ring, allowing Juno to continue. She'd call him back afterward.

But as Juno went on, her phone started vibrating again. Jacob.

If there was one thing she knew about her brother, it was that when he was in the mood to talk, he'd call and call and call until she'd answer.

"Hey, dude, I'm so sorry, but can I call you back?" she asked Juno. "I think Jacob's having a fit, and I need to tell him to fuck off. He gets pissed when I don't pay immediate attention to him when he calls."

"Ugh. Fine. Of course," Juno responded. "Let me know how everything goes."

Marley nodded. "I'll text you tomorrow with rehearsal dinner updates."

"Please. I'm dying of boredom over here. Help me, Obi-Wan. You're my only friend."

She rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, loser," she sighed, hanging up on her so she could answer Jacob's call. "How many times were you planning on calling me before—"

"Marley?" Jacob asked, voice slightly frantic. Everything on his line sounded loud. "Marley. Shut up. You need to come home."

Marley's blood ran cold. "W-what? What happened? Is everything okay, what's going on?"

"Marley," he said again. "Marley, it's mom. You need to come home right now."

Everything around her froze. Time stopped. The world had gone past tipping on its axis and everything had simply just turned upside down. Marley was barely able to process the words that left his mouth before she stopped breathing completely.

Mom. Her mother. Get home.

"What?" she barely got out. Her chest couldn't move. She couldn't move. "Jacob, what happened?"

"I-I don't know!" he stammered. His voice was shaking. "I don't know, Emily and I left the house to g-grab food, and when we came back she was..." He caught his breath. "She passed out in the, in the kitchen. I don't know what— We're in an ambulance. And I don't know what's happening, but you need to get here."

Marley couldn't breathe. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to get back to Stars Hollow. She didn't have a car. A cab probably wouldn't take her from Philly to Connecticut. All of her friends had their own things to worry about, they were getting ready for a wedding for fuck's sake, what could she do—

She could hear Jacob's voice calling her name. Her grip on her phone was weak and she was afraid it would fall out of her hand. Her mom. Her mother. Unconscious in their kitchen. Get home.

"Marley!" Jacob's voice finally got through to her. "Marley, hey, listen to me. You can't shut down right now. I need you, okay? I need you here."

Marley nodded against her phone, chest loosening up enough to allow her to say, "Okay. Fuck, I-I'll find a way to get there. Call me if anything happens."

Marley hung up before she could hear him say anything else. And her chest tightened right back up and began heaving up and down.

Her fingers started shaking as she tried to find one of her friends' contacts to call them. Ideally Courtney. With Courtney, maybe she could take her car, she wouldn't stress Lauren out before tomorrow, wouldn't take anyone away from the wedding, she could make this work, she could—

However, when she found Courtney's number, she was barely able to press it.

But when she did, Courtney didn't answer.

So, she tried again. And again. And again.

And nothing.

Where was she? Why wasn't she answering her phone? What was going on that she couldn't reach her? She needed her. She needed someone. She needed her best friend—

Marley's feet began moving before she could stop herself. She walked a route she'd taken millions of times before, one that she knew like the back of her hand. Her body was on autopilot, barely containing the panic attack that she knew was arising in her system, trying her best to stop from hyperventilating on the street.

Her mom. Her mother. Unconscious on the kitchen floor. Get home. I need you here. Mom.

The tightness in her chest refused to let up despite the way it continued to move up and down. She felt sick. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

Marley's shaking fist beat against the door as she reached her destination. She wiped at her face, realizing that there were tears streaming down it. She turned away from the door, attempting to collect herself enough to speak. She didn't know if she could. It was too much. It was all too much.

She heard the door open behind her. The voice that had answered was tired. "Marley?"

She whipped around, barely able to see through her tears. She couldn't breathe. Fuck, she couldn't breathe.

The second that Jess Mariano saw her face, he stepped out to meet her. "Hey, hey," he said, voice softer than she'd heard it in years. "What's going on?"

She could barely get out, "M-my mom."

It was a pathetic, barely audible, wet squeak, but thankfully Jess heard it. "Your mom? What's wrong with your—"

"Jacob just called me," she interrupted, the words coming out all at once. It was like her throat had allowed her a moment to speak, and she had to take advantage of it and tell him everything. "He just called me and he said my mom collapsed? She's been sick for a while, and they're in an ambulance right now, but it sounds b-bad. She's— like, she's unresponsive, I think? Jacob was like, freaking out on the phone and now I'm freaking out, and oh my God, Jess, I don't know what to do."

Marley took in a shuddering breath, barely able to catch it before she continued. "He told me that I needed to get to Stars Hollow now and everyone's busy and the wedding and Courtney's not answering her fucking phone and I can't get her keys for her car because she has them and I don't—" Her entire body was shaking. "I-I didn't know where else to go. There's no one else I can—"

Jess had neared her throughout her rambling, ghosting his hands over her shoulders as if it would calm her down. He didn't want to touch her or freak her out more. But he also didn't know what to do here. All he could think to say was, "Hey, breathe. Breathe. It's okay. We'll get you back."

Marley shut her eyes, tears continuing to fall as she did so. "Please, Jess," she whispered. "I don't— I need—" She sucked in more air, attempting to calm her rapidly beating heart. "Help me. Please."

When she looked up through her tears, she saw him. And not the Jess she'd gotten to know over the last year. No, this one resembled the person she knew when she left for London. Everything about him now seemed more open. Softer. Like any resentment or malice he held for her had been forgotten about for the moment and replaced with nothing but concern.

And when he finally allowed himself to touch her, to put his hands on her arms in a way that he hoped was comforting, in the way he used to do when he attempted to calm her down, Marley's efforts to breathe got marginally easier.

"I got you," he said softly. His jaw tensed as she grabbed his wrist. "I-I got you."

Marley sniffled, chest heaving once more. "I don't know what to do," she whispered helplessly. "I can't even think— It's my mom. I need—"

It was then that Jess pulled her into his chest, wrapping one arm around her as he let Marley continue to grip his other arm. He chalked it all up to instinct, watching the girl he could barely keep up with be straight-up unintelligible before him, but right now, he didn't have it in him to care about what it actually was. It didn't matter. This did.

"I've got you," he repeated and his own chest tightened as he felt Marley melt into him, her tears seeping into his shirt. "I'll get you back. I will."

"I didn't know where else to go," she whimpered again. Marley let out a heartbreaking noise, one that Jess wasn't sure he'd ever heard before. It made him hold her tighter. "Jess, I didn't know who else..."

Jess had made up his mind the second he heard her mention her mother. He had already mapped out their plan to get out of the city.

But seeing her like this, hearing her repeat that phrase over and over? It was a no-brainer. Of course, he was going to help her. It was fucking Marley. Of course he was.

"I know. I'll get you there," he told her. "Y-you came to the right place. I've got you."

Suddenly, there were more important things on their plate than the wedding.

And fucking Logan said they couldn't get worse.

✧✧✧

author's note: well. aren't you glad you waited a couple months for that??

they're both very confused and upset and unsure of everything right now. lots of uncertain terms and uncharted waters. take it easy on 'em alright?

like i said, this was a ROUGH one to rip out, but i'm hoping to have 43 out within these next two weeks (i'm already working on it wooooo) but i shall keep u posted

thank u so much for all the love while i was gone, i know you guys were waiting for this one. hope it kind of delivered?

ok gotta go love u all tons!
-mags