(well, hello friends. dear god, this took way longer than i thought it would. this was easily one of the hardest chapters i've ever had to write, not just because of the formatting and whatnot. it's a different style than anything y'all are used to from this fic, so it definitely won't be for everyone, which is fine.)

(we're covering A LOT of time in this chapter, hence the ridiculous number of pages/scroll time. it's told all through conversation, whether it be phone calls, texts, or email. i'm calling it chapter thirteen's older, tech genius brother. i know it's a lot, but bear with me.)

(there are dates at the top of every conversation held, just like real calls, texts, and emails would tell you. these are IMPORTANT. it'll tell you just how much time has passed, so you're not jumpscared by the time jump shown for the next interlude. the next interlude is the amount of time that passes between marley leaving philly to the integral event of part 3. this is the shit that went down during that time. like i said. bear with me.)

(okay, with that out of the way, hi!!! i missed you! i'm sorry for the delay but we're back in business! love you guys tons! hope you enjoy! -mags)

✧✧✧

TO: Jess Mariano [[email protected]]
FROM: Marley Acosta [[email protected]]
SUBJECT: URGENT
sent June 13th, 2008 at 10:34 AM GMT.

Mariano,

Hi, it's not urgent, but it felt so official writing that.

It's totally sacrilegious to be messaging you from my very serious, very professional work email right now, but they FINALLY gave me this address and I fully intend on abusing my power on company time. I'm not even three weeks into my job and I'm already slacking. Woo! Also, I just think it's cool that I have a work email to talk to you on your work email now.

I've got pictures on my desk now and I keep looking at the one you gave me of all of us the night of my 21st. I have to try not to cry every time I look at it, but what really makes me tear up is the fact that I just realized that Lauren's wearing my favorite shirt and she never actually gave it back to me after that night. I give you permission to bully her because I can't be there to do it myself.

I miss you guys. I miss you. Counting down the days until you visit. Call me whenever you're free. I'm up late tonight because I've got some paperwork to do. I want to hear how your meeting went.

Love you.

-M

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES / NO
June 13th, 2008 at 6:21 PM GMT

"Hey! I was wondering if you were gonna call."

"Your email got sent to my spam folder. I've already yelled at Matthew about it."

"Imagine if it was actually urgent."

"That's why I yelled at Matthew."

"And here I was thinking it was because you cared about me."

"I do. But I care about possible urgent messages from our clients going unseen just a little bit more. God, I hate technology. Can we start writing letters again?"

"Wow. I didn't realize I called Luke instead of my boyfriend."

"Shut up."

"It's getting very 'old man yells at cloud' in here, peepaw. Gonna complain about those damn kids and their damn techno music next?"

"You know what? Now that you say it..."

"Forget I said it. No need for a reprisal of your vendetta speech against EDM."

"It's the Everclear of music."

"Shhh, peepaw. Go toward the light."

"Cute."

"So... how did your meeting go yesterday?"

"Well, the Calloway success story keeps going. The investor I was telling you about likes our progress and is willing to fund some of our bigger ventures. Expanding and growing and whatnot."

"Okay, that's incredible."

"One of the ventures is publishing my book. Bigger than last time."

"You're kidding."

"I knew Matthew and Chris weren't bullshitting me when they said they liked it, but I didn't realize they liked it so much that they sent a rough manuscript to the guy we had a meeting with. And apparently, he liked it."

"Jess! This is huge! You should be celebrating. Spraying champagne off balconies and twirling around in confetti."

"I am, I am."

"Well, you sound lame about it."

"I'm excited. There's just a lot of moving parts and I don't want to get too excited just yet. When it's printed, I'll start popping some corks, okay?"

"I'll send you a bottle. Steal one of Logan's nice ones that he keeps in his special fridge."

"Speaking of, how're you doing with him? How's the living situation going?"

"Pretty well, actually. I mean, besides the fact that I quite literally see him twenty-four hours a day and already want to bash his head in a little. I'm praying Juno and I aren't gonna get sick of each other when we move in together. Other than that, he's surprisingly clean and has his shit together for the most part. So, you know. He's a better roommate than you already."

"Has London made you meaner? Should I expect being called a "wanker" within the next few minutes?"

"Don't be ridiculous. It's been like, three weeks. I haven't adopted the lingo yet, tosser."

"..."

"This is the part where you tell me I'm funny."

"I'd be lying."

"Jerk. Anyway, good news! I think I found an apartment."

"Really? That was fast."

"I know. I wasn't expecting to find an opening until the end of the month at least, but Juno came down to my desk like an hour ago. Apparently, her brother's boyfriend does real estate in the area and finally found an opening in an apartment that's within our budget. She's said she's been living with them for a while and the boyfriend is trying to do everything to get her out of the house, so. More convenient for us, I guess. We're checking it out tomorrow."

"Let me know how it goes. Send pictures if you can."

"Definitely. Or, you know, if it's the one, you'll see it when you come to visit for my birthday."

"Oh, nice segue."

"Sorry, I'm just excited. I know it's super far away but I've been thinking about it ever since you mentioned it last week. The fact that you've already bought a plane ticket is ridiculous."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm allowed to be excited too. I did want to come earlier but we're swamped here and I don't know how the rest of the summer's gonna go. But, I'm planning on telling the guys I'm taking that week off tonight."

"Ooh, what's tonight?"

"Nothing major. Just going to the bar."

"...Why do I feel like there's more to that?"

"...Courtney's coming in for the weekend. She's staying with Lauren."

"...Oh. She didn't... tell me that."

"She probably didn't want to make you homesick."

"Yeah, but she lied to me. I literally called her yesterday."

"Marley--"

"I know. I get it. I understand. But seriously. You guys need to stop walking on eggshells around me when talking about what you guys are doing. All of you have been doing it."

"Nobody wants to make you feel like you're missing out."

"But I signed up for missing out when I went to London. I knew you guys weren't going to, like, sit around and stare at the wall until I came back to visit. It sucks that I'm not there, and I love you guys for trying to protect my feelings, but I really would rather you just be honest with me. I want you guys to feel like you can talk about your weeks with me and fill me in on your lives without thinking I'm going to burst into pieces."

"...Okay. I'm sorry. I'll spread the word."

"Don't bother. I'm already coming up with a scathing voicemail to leave for Courtney."

"Can I ghostwrite it?"

"Honestly, I might allow that. My Courtney hate meter is a lot less stable than yours."

"Well, I am the leading expert in that field."

"...I miss you."

"I miss you too. October's only a few months away."

"It's too far."

"I know. But it's earlier than Christmas."

"Yeah... I just wish it wasn't such a bad look for me to take a week off or something in the next couple of months. I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"I know. You know I'd do the same if it wasn't so busy." 

"I know... Alright, I'm cutting this conversation before I get too emotional about this. I have paperwork to do and I can't do that sad. I'm sad enough doing paperwork as is."

"I've got a super depressing manuscript to finish reading. Imagine how I feel."

"Yeah?"

"This guy's giving Sylvia Plath a run for her money. He's just not as good as her."

"Well, maybe you'll be able to relate to it better this time around."

"Or it'll just make me want to stick my head in an oven."

"Don't you dare do that before October."

"No promises. I'll let you go."

"Alright. Good luck with the reading."

"Good luck with the apartment. Call me tomorrow and let me know how it went."

"I will. I love you."

"Love you too, Acosta. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Call with JESS MARIANO ended!

✧

messages with logan
july 15th, 2008 at 11:32 PM GMT

logan
hey

logan
remember how colin and finn couldn't make it last week

marley
oh dear god

marley
please tell me they're coming this week and can help move me and juno's shit into our apartment

marley
we have been eating dinner around a box and watching tv in lawn chairs for the last week

logan
they're currently at my apartment and are open to moving services for the right payment

marley
i am terrified to know what that payment is

logan
colin is requesting a drink and finn is requesting a kiss

marley
suddenly i am superman and can lift the couch by myself

logan
he says it was worth a shot

logan
he thought he'd have a chance now that you're single

marley
okay there's a thing called shutting up and honestly i think you'd be really good at it

marley
i am very much not single and you know that

logan
alright, alright, i justy wasn't sure where you were todaty

logan
you told me you told jess it was okayy for hinm to move on so i assumed that meant you could too

marley
logan

logan
penn

marley
are you drunk

logan
shmvery much so

marley
okay well

marley
i have been away from philly for less than two months

marley
in no way shape or form am i ready to move on

logan
fair enouf

logan
finn saysa to let him know when you are

marley
let him know that i'm going to drop a couch on him tomorrow

logan
i will relay the infor

logan
we'll be there around 1 tomorrow

marley
ok see you then

✧

COURTNEY BURKE is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
October 8th, 2008 at 7:29 PM GMT

"Hey! How'd the date go?"

"Marley, I think I'm in love with him."

"I forget baby steps aren't a thing for you."

"Marley, I'm serious. He's perfect."

"Brendan... is perfect?"

"Yeah. We went to dinner and saw a movie. He paid for all of it. And then I spent the night at his place and he made me breakfast again."

"Did he burn the toast this time?"

"He made pancakes. Burnt those too. He can't fuckin' cook to save his life but that's okay. If that's his one flaw, I'll accept it. I'll learn to cook so we can have someone in the family that can when we get married."

"Oh, my God, dude, seriously? You're thinking about marriage already?"

"Bitch, I was thinking about marriage when I met him at your twenty-first. I know I'm going to marry him. I knew it as soon as he pulled out my chair for me at dinner."

"God, the bar is so low."

"Of course, you think the bar is low. Jess absolutely worshipped the ground you walked on. Still does. It's brutal out here for the rest of us."

"Well, you just found your husband, apparently. How brutal can it be?"

"I literally just left his apartment. Is it too soon to call him?"

"You're sounding very Single White Female right now."

"...Is that a 'yes' that it's too soon to call him?"

"Single. White. Female."

"Fine, fine, I'll follow the three-day rule. Whatever. If he loses interest in me, I'm blaming my failed marriage on you."

"I'll take full responsibility."

"I guess I should take advice from you. You've got a man whipped from four-thousand miles away. How do you manage that?"

"Witchcraft, mostly."

"Figures. He's coming to visit next week, right? I wanted to fly over for your birthday too, but work is getting in the way."

"Yeah, I'm picking him up from the airport on Monday. I can't believe I'm finally seeing him. It feels like it's been five years, not five months. But it also... feels like it's been way shorter than that too. Like it's been slow but fast at the same time."

"...Has it actually been five months since you left?"

"More or less, yeah. It's crazy, right?"

"No shit. I mean, it's good that it's felt quick, right?"

"It's better than time, like, dragging on. It's not like I'm having a bad time here and waiting for the months to change."

"And things are getting better?"

"So much. I know how it was. And I mean. I really wasn't sure about all of this for the first months or two, but now, I'm... I'm having the time of my life. I love everything about what I'm doing right now. I'm really, really happy. But, I almost..."

"What?"

"I almost feel guilty about it?"

"Why the hell would you feel guilty about being happy?"

"I don't know. I just do."

"Well, stop it."

"I can't help it."

"You should be happy. This whole thing is proving to be as great as you thought it would be. You shouldn't feel guilty about that. There's no reason for it."

"I know. I guess you're right."

"And the roommate's still good?"

"You know how you feel about Brendan?"

"You're gonna marry Juno?"

"If platonic marriage was a thing, I'd force her hand. You and Lauren might have to be downgraded to my side pieces."

"I'm gonna pretend like you didn't say that before I start crying."

"I really wasn't sure about the whole living with someone you work with, but she's literally the perfect roommate for me. We're on the same page about fucking everything. It's freaky. Don't tell Lauren I said any of that."

"You just called me your side piece, I'm telling her fuckin' everything."

"Wait, hold on a sec... Shit, Logan's calling me. I think I forgot to send something in to him. Can I call you back in like, five?

"Sure. But I'm a side piece, so who knows if I'll answer your little booty call."

"Oh, my God, goodbye."

Call with COURTNEY BURKE ended!

✧

messages with jess
october 23rd, 2008 at 11:48 pm GMT

jess
this tea you sent me home with tastes like dishwater

marley
did you make it the right way

jess
i made it the exact way you guys showed me

jess
it still tastes like ass

marley
you told me you liked it when you were here!

jess
yeah, because your roommate helped and i didn't want to be a dick and tell her it was bad

jess
i just don't think i'm a tea guy

marley
that's okay some of us were born without taste it's fine

jess
you didn't like tea until you moved to london you bandwagoner

marley
it's a part of my culture now

marley
and i'm gonna make it a part of yours whether you like it or not

marley
the entire time we're in stars hollow at christmas i'm just going to be waterboarding you with tea until you like it

jess
christmas is soon i better start training

marley
i'll be home the 20th

jess
good

jess
a week wasn't long enough

marley
i know

marley
i'm glad you were able to make it though

marley
with all of your book stuff i was starting to get worried you weren't going to be able to

jess
were you seriously worried?

jess
i wouldn't have missed seeing you for the world, marley

jess
you know that right?

marley
no, i know

marley
but i also know how important this all is to you and how big this publishing deal thing is getting

marley
and that stuff should come first

jess
i love you and your support

jess
but there was no way i wasn't coming to london

jess
and besides all of that stuff is happening next week we're hoping to have it all finalized by new years

jess
speaking of, are you coming to philly for new year's eve?

marley
i should be able to

marley
my flight back to london is on the 2nd i think, so i should be fine

jess
perfect

jess
excited to have you back for a little while

marley
and i'm excited to guantanamo your ass with dishwater tea

jess
go to bed psycho

✧

FROM: Logan Huntzberger [[email protected]]
TO: Marley Acosta [[email protected]]
SUBJECT: Meeting December 28th
sent December 2, 2008 at 9:14 AM GMT

Penn,

So sorry to do this to you, but I need you back in London on the 27th at the latest. Huge meeting on the 28th that I need you at that was just scheduled out of nowhere.

I can help you rearrange your flights for the holidays. But hey, look at the bright side. You get to spend your first New Years in London a year early.

Call me if you have any questions.

-Logan

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
January 1st, 2009 at 6:36 PM GMT

"Hey!"

"Oh, God. Not so loud."

"You're the one who called me."

"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting that type of Girl Scout greeting. What's got you so chipper this morning?"

"...Mariano, it's six-thirty at night my time."

"... And I just woke up."

"Hmm. Had a good New Year's, I see."

"For the most part, yeah. Would have been better if you were there. I drank way too much so I wouldn't feel miserable seventh wheeling."

"Seventh wheeling?"

"Chris and Lauren, obviously. Courtney and the Brandon kid."

"Brendan, but go on."

"Like it matters. And then Matthew and Jenna."

"Fuck no. When did they get back together?"

"Last night. I'm surprised Lauren didn't drunk call you."

"Maybe it's better I wasn't there. I would have been a bit problematic."

"Lauren was problematic enough for the both of you last night. She didn't do anything but Jenna didn't feel... welcome."

"Too bad. Anyway. I'm sorry I couldn't make it."

"It's fine. Work comes first, y'know. How'd the meeting go? I haven't talked to you since you left Stars Hollow."

"It went really well, actually. I didn't really do much, but it went super well for Logan. He was happy with how everything turned out."

"That's good. At least going back was worth it."

"Yeah... Hey, can I call you tomorrow? I'm about to go out with some friends."

"Sure. Wait, where are you going out New Year's Day?"

"One of my work friends is hosting a little dinner thing at his apartment. It starts at seven so Juno and I are about to head over."

"Gotcha. Have fun."

"Thanks. Love you."

"Love you too."

✧

FROM: Juno Bishop [[email protected]]
TO: Marley Acosta [[email protected]]
SUBJECT: hi
sent March 13th, 2009 at 11:34 AM GMT

mar look at your phone

messages with juno
March 13th, 2009 at 11:32 AM GMT

juno
i'm bored come hang out with me

marley
sorry dictator huntzberger has assigned me all the shit he didn't do when we were in france

marley
i'll get back to you in 7 business days

juno
nooooo come hang out with me

juno
fuck logan he doesn't matter! i matter more

marley
dude one of us is fucking logan and it's certainly not me

juno
SHHHUUUUTTTT UUUUUUPPPPPPP

juno
IT HAPPENED ONCE

juno
NEVER AGAIN

marley
whatever i just need you two to stop avoiding each other

marley
being the go-between-girl for you guys since we got back has been annoying as fuck

juno
it's been two days i'm sure you can handle the rest of my life

juno
besides you owe me i've heard you talk about jess enough to earn myself a lifetime of you being a go-between-girl

juno
speaking of is he still visiting next month

marley
if i can get him on the fucking phone

marley
he's been busy as hell with this book release

marley
we're basically playing phone tag

juno
i'm sorry babe

juno
whenever you talk to him tell him i say congrats

marley
i will

juno
what are the odds you ditch your work to get lunch with me

marley
50/50

juno
i have the company card

marley
ok the odds are 100% now let's go

Voicemail from JESS MARIANO!
LISTEN? YES/NO
March 14th, 2009 at 3:26 AM GMT

"Hey, Acosta. I know it's like, three AM your time, but I just got out of work. I hate that we keep missing each other. Things are absolutely crazy over here and I can't step away. Good crazy, but it's still... crazy. Call me back when you get a chance. Love you."

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
March 14th, 2009 at 5:10 PM GMT

"Tag, you're it. Again. I'm glad things are good crazy and not bad crazy. Things on this end are insane too. Logan's got me going to Dublin next week, so that should be an adventure. I didn't realize how much traveling we'd be doing this year, but it's fun. Also! I already put in my pre-order for your book. Can't wait to finally read the finished thing. I'm going to dinner with my neighbor tonight, so call me tomorrow if you can. Love you."

Voicemail from JESS MARIANO!
LISTEN? YES/NO
March 19th, 2009 at 8:43 PM GMT

"Hey. I heard Courtney already dropped the bomb, but I... I don't think I'm gonna be able to make it out to London next month. I don't know I didn't think this time was going to be as busy as it was, but I literally can't see a clear path right now. I'm gonna try to reschedule the flight for sometime in the summer. But, on the bright side, you get to see Courtney and Lauren in April now. That's gotta count for something. I'd love to talk to you about this in real-time. I feel awful. The two minutes we got on Monday weren't enough. Call me when you can. Love you."

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
March 20th, 2009 at 2:31 PM GMT

"Hey. I'm sad about the London thing, but I totally get it. Bad timing and whatnot. It looks like I'm gonna be in New York in July, though, so maybe we can all meet up there? Or just you and me? Whatever. We'll figure it out. Oh, shit. Logan's calling me. I gotta go. Love you, bye."

✧

messages with lauren
april 12th, 2009 at 6:54 PM GMT

lauren
okay asking for the last time

lauren
what's the weather in london gonna be like next week

marley
and answering for the last time

marley
the forecast changes by the hour

marley
bring a rain jacket idk? wellies?

lauren
you have been in london for ten months

lauren
call them rain boots you freak

lauren
you sound like brooks when he went abroad to spain and came back with a lisp

marley
juno calls them wellies it's grown on me

marley
it's cute

lauren
whatever

lauren
you better not have an accent when i get there

marley
i don't don't worry

marley
nothing's changed since you saw me at christmas

lauren
speaking of changes

marley
uh oh

lauren
as your best friend i feel obligated to report this because i saw it and have no idea if you know about it

lauren
and i know i'd be pissed if you saw something like this and knew about it and didn't tell me

marley
dude you're scaring me

lauren
anna was at truncheon last night

marley
what?

lauren
i don't know if anything happened but i went to bring the guys dinner and she was there

marley
oh

marley
did she say anything to you? about what she was doing there?

lauren
i think she's a little afraid of me if we're being honest so no

lauren
she's definitely afraid of courtney

marley
she's met courtney?

lauren
we bump into her at the bar sometimes

lauren
chris has said nothing's happened between her and jess and he's usually pretty transparent about that

lauren
but i just wanted you to know that she's around

lauren
i love jess but you're way more my friend than he is

marley
no yeah thank you for telling me

marley
i mean

marley
it's good he's moving on, right? like you said, it's been ten months. i never wanted to him to wait around for me. i told him not to

lauren
it's okay to be upset about this

marley
i'm not

marley
ok i'm not psyched about it

marley
but like i'm glad he's doing okay enough to start moving on or whatever

marley
i haven't actually talked to him in forever so i wasn't sure how he's been doing

lauren
he seems pretty good

lauren
and you are too?

marley
yeah no everything over here is great

marley
i'm having way more fun than i honestly ever thought i would

marley
i can't wait to show you guys around next week you're gonna love it

lauren
marley...

marley
dude can we just drop it

marley
seriously i'm okay

marley
let's start talking about next week

lauren
okay

lauren
so bring wellies?

marley
see i told you it was cute

lauren
shut up

✧

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:27 PM GMT

"Hey. Call me when you get a chance. We should... uh, probably talk about some stuff."

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:32 PM GMT

"Hi."

"Hey. Your voicemail scared me a little bit. What's going on?"

"I... just... I, uh, heard Anna's been hanging out with you guys."

"..."

"..."

"...Fuckin' Lauren."

"Don't put this on her. She was just being a good friend. Being honest with me. More than you've been doing."

"Marley, c'mon. I was going to tell you."

"Yeah? When?"

"When it became relevant. Because nothing's actually going on there."

"Have you slept with her?"

"Jesus fucking Christ."

"No, Jess, I'm serious. I need to know how long this has been going on. I genuinely don't give a shit if you're fucking her, but I need to know if you slept with her anywhere close to Christmas. Because I fucked you a lot over Christmas and we didn't use a condom during any of it. I need to know if I have anything to worry about."

"...You seriously think that I'd do that to you?"

"No, I don't, but I'm trying to cover all my bases right now. I just need to know if there's any chance there was any sort of drunken mistake or whatever, because—"

"Marley, I wasn't sleeping with her anywhere close to Christmas. I promise you."

"..."

"..."

"...But you are sleeping with her?"

"We've hooked up once. About a week or two ago. She was at Truncheon last night to pick up some stuff she left. That's what Lauren saw."

"...Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't I— It's not exactly the easiest thing to bring up. I wasn't ready to rip that band-aid off yet."

"I know. I just... is that going to become a... y'know. Regular thing?"

"Marley—"

"No, I need you to be honest. I am completely impartial here. I told you I wanted you to move on. I never wanted you to wait around or stay celibate, or whatever. I just..."

"What?"

"...If this is going to become a regular thing, maybe we... should stop sleeping together when we see each other. And just go back to the way things were before. Just do the friends thing."

"..."

"..."

"...Is that what you want?"

"I mean, no, but if you're going to get into a relationship with her any time soon—"

"I'm not getting into a relationship with her."

"But you might! And if you see yourself doing that, or with anyone for that matter, maybe it's time that we start to change some things up."

"..."

"I just don't want you attached to something that's four-thousand miles away. You should be able to open yourself up to other people. Long-distance stuff works with friends, but it doesn't really work with relationships. It certainly hasn't been working these last months."

"...Have you... seen anyone else?"

"What?"

"Have you been seeing anyone else? Because it kind of feels like you're trying to end this for other reasons."

"Oh, my God. Are you kidding?"

"No. I'm not."

"No, Jess. I'm not seeing anyone else. I didn't know we were officially doing that."

"I didn't know I needed your 'O-K' after you told me to fuck other people the night you left."

"God, don't be a fucking child. I don't know how you're still bitter about me being rational. This shit has been hard on me too, Jess! This type of relationship we have right now isn't something I wanted. But J, it is where we are. And it doesn't look like it's changing any time soon."

"...I know."

"...Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay."

"And I don't care that you're hanging out with Anna. I mean, I'm not like cheering you on, but I'm happy you're doing well enough to... do that. I just wish you told me."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"..."

"...And you haven't been talking to anyone else?"

"...No. Not really."

"...Maybe you should."

"..."

"..."

"Oh. Okay."

"I mean, if we're just going to do the friend thing like you said, maybe it'd be healthy if you started."

"No, yeah. Yeah. You're right."

"..."

"..."

"Marley?"

"Yeah?"

"...I didn't tell you because I was afraid it was going to make things weird between us. And I really don't want that to happen. I can't have another two-year stint without talking to you."

"...That's not going to happen. We've been there before. We're over that. Things are probably going to be a little different, and they have been. But like you said a while ago, we're... friends. Despite all of this, we're friends first. And I'm okay with being just that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. If you're game, I'm game, Mariano."

"Always. I'll tell Courtney she's been demoted to second place on the friendship scale again."

"You'll do no such thing. You'll break that girl's heart."

"That's the point."

"You're wildly annoying."

"And you're not denying the demotion."

"Is that even a word?"

"Of course it is. It's what Courtney just got."

"Oh, my God."

"You're laughing. I hear you laughing. You know I'm right."

✧

messages with logan
april 27th, 2009 at 8:34 PM GMT

marley
hey

marley
tell finn it's finally time

marley
i'm ready to move on with quite literally anyone but him

logan
incoming

FINN DEVEREUX is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
April 27, 2009 at 8:39 PM GMT

"Go away, Finn."

"Quite literally anyone but me? Darling, you couldn't find anyone better suited for you if you tried."

"Why are you calling me? Isn't it like, seven AM your time?"

"That it is. And that's how devoted I am to wooing you. Do I need to shrink six inches and wear a leather jacket for you to want me? Because I'll do anything."

"Dear God, goodbye, Finn."

"Darling, don't shut me out! We could be so wonderful togeth—"

Call with FINN DEVEREUX ended!

—

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
July 6th, 2009 at 4:23 PM GMT

"Hey! So, it looks like I have a couple of days to spare after my meeting in New York next week. Logan's giving me some time off. I'm thinking about coming down to Philly, and I'm just curious if you're gonna be around. Wasn't sure what your schedule was. Courtney's letting me crash on her couch, so I'll be in Philly either way. Just let me know. Bye!

Voicemail from JESS MARIANO!
LISTEN? YES/NO
July 7th, 2009 at 3:49 AM GMT

"Acosta, hey. Just saw your message. So, believe it or not, I'm actually going to California that week. Depending on how long you're staying I might catch you for a day or two. Text me when you know for sure what days you'll be in town. I'd love to see you. I'll talk to you later."

—

messages with courtney
august 4th, 2009 at 1:37 AM GMT

marley
i am a bad person

courtney
it's wonderful to see the turntables turning

courtney
what did you do

marley
you can't make fun of me when i tell u or say i told you so or whatever

courtney
you know i'm going to do all of those things but continue

marley
ok well i didn't tell you this but i fucked jess the one night he was in philly in july

courtney
IIIIIIIII KNNNNNNEEEEEWWWW IIIIITTTTTTT

courtney
he was way too happy that night

courtney
he was being nice to me it felt like i was in an episode of the twilight zone

marley
so i'm a bad person for that

marley
but i'm a worse person because i met a guy when i went out with my friends last night and i like..... really like him

courtney
that's it?? that's so much tamer than i was expecting

marley
i just feel like a shitty person

marley
i told jess we were just gonna do the friend thing and then i allowed myself to go back on my word and i just feel bad about all of it for whatever reason even though he's actively doing the same thing i am with anna

marley
i know this is hookup culture or whatever but it makes me feel icky

courtney
because you've never done it before

courtney  
as long as you two are on the same page you have nothing to feel gross about

courtney
you should be able to go crazy with this new guy and have fun

marley
i guess you're right

marley
still feel bad though

courtney
what's the new guy's name

marley
don't make fun of me

marley
it's james

courtney
god you and the fucking j names

✧

Voicemail from JESS MARIANO!
LISTEN? YES/NO
September 29th, 2009 at 7:23 PM GMT

"Hey. Courtney told me that you and, uh, James made it official yesterday. I know you probably wanted to tell me yourself, but she was drunk and it slipped out. I'm really happy for you. Seriously. I am. But I also... uh, have some news. Anna and I are also a thing now. We have been for about a week. And it's different, y'know? But it's good. I'm happy. I hope you feel the same. Call me later. Can't wait to talk to you. Bye."

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
September 30th, 2009 at 8:20 AM GMT

"Hey, I was out last night so I completely missed your call. I'm about to get on the Tube now, so sorry if it's noisy. Congrats on the Anna thing, though! You better treat her better than you did the first time you two were together. I'm happy you're happy. I'm happy too. You'd actually really like James. Reminds me a little of you in some ways. Call me when you can, though. I talked to Luke for an hour the other day and I've got some Star Hollow gossip to fill you in on. Bye."

✧

TO: Logan Huntzberger [[email protected]]
FROM: Marley Acosta [[email protected]]
SUBJECT: Requesting Time Off
sent December 10th, 2009 at 9:31 AM GMT

Hi, don't know how early I need to put this in, but I need time off for the last week of May in 2011. My brother just proposed to his girlfriend and they're already planning stuff. If I don't get those days off I'm just straight up a bad sister so do what you will with this.

-Marley

✧

messages with jess
december 25th, 2009 at 8:48 PM EST

jess
where are you luke's getting antsy

jess
lorelai and rory made up a drinking game that has something to do with the number of times that luke and sookie were fighting while making 2nd dinner so they're wasted

jess
and the lady in the house next to them keeps bringing up when i stole her gnomes

jess
i am the only sane person in this house

marley
1. the gnome thing is on you suck it up and let babette tell her stories

marley
2. tell luke to fuckin relax jacob is attempting to wrap his swap gift

jess
don't tell me he actually bought a fish for a gift

marley
fun fact: fish bowls are really hard to wrap

jess
remind me not to pick his

marley
like i'd tell you which one it really is

marley
wait!!!!! did sookie make founders day punch like she said???

jess
hence why the gilmores are trashed

marley
FUCK YEEEEESSSSS I LOVE FINALLY BEING INVITED TO THE CHRISTMAS NIGHT PARTY

marley
ok tell luke to put the conniption on hold jacob and i are on our way

jess
thank god

marley
remind me that the downstairs bathroom tile is bad on my knees when u take care of me tonight

jess
i am no longer dating you i have no obligation to do such thing

marley
mariano i will throw up on you and it will be your fault

jess
i hate being your friend

✧

LAUREN HENDERSON is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
April 28th, 2010 at 6:34 PM GMT

"Hey! Why are you freaking out, what's going on?"

"I think Chris is going to propose to me."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"He's been fucking weird lately and I caught him yesterday looking at my rings and I don't know, I'm just getting the vibe. And I'm freaking the fuck out."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure! Dude, I can't get married! I'm like, two years into med school! I don't have any of my shit together! I can't plan a wedding right now!"

"You don't get married the day after you get proposed to, Lauren. You know that right?"

"Yes, bitch, I know that. Don't fucking patronize me right now."

"You need to stop hanging out with Courtney. You never called me a bitch before you guys became friends."

"Marley, this is so not the point of this conversation."

"Dude, I need you to relax. If you're not ready, you're not ready. And that's okay. And Chris will be okay with it too."

"But I love him. And I would say yes if he asked me. I just am not ready to be, like, married, married."

"Back to my original point. You can have a long engagement. That is a thing people do."

"I guess. I don't know. Of all the things going on right now, I really wasn't expecting this one."

"Just... don't freak out about it. It takes a while to get a ring set up. If he's only now trying to figure out your ring size, that means you have time."

"Yeah... you're right."

"I know I am. Now, what type of ring do you think it's gonna be?"

"You're gonna make me fucking pass out."

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:37 PM GMT

"I'm packing, what do you want?"

"Hello to you too."

"I'll say hello when I see you guys tomorrow. James in coming over in an hour and I have nothing packed. No time for hello right now."

"Alright, freak. Do you have time to tell me when your flight's getting in tomorrow?"

"Wait, are you picking me up? I thought Courtney was."

"She was, but apparently something came up at work, so you get me behind the wheel now."

"Oh, joy. Can't wait to get your road rage in real-time again instead of over the phone."

"I'll be fine. And I'm gonna have Anna with me, so I'll be on my best behavior."

"...Anna's coming to pick me up?"

"I didn't come up with the idea. She's got Fridays off and seemed really excited about seeing you again, so I didn't say no. It's cool with you, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah! No, that's fine. I just wasn't expecting that. I haven't seen her in a while, so it'll be good to catch up with her."

"Okay, perfect. Alright, I'll let you get back to packing. Tell James I say hi."

"I will. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Acosta."

"Bye."

✧

LAUREN HENDERSON is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
September 4th, 2010 at 3:24 AM GMT

"Lauren? Dude, it's three AM here, why the fuck are you calling—"

"Chris just proposed to me!"

"..."

"..."

"Oh, my God! No way!"

"Why do you sound like that?"

"Sound like what?"

"Sound like you..."

"..."

"...Oh, my God, you asshole, you knew! You knew he was going to propose to me! And you didn't give me any warning!"

"I was going to warn you about you own proposal! That kind of ruins the whole thing!"

"Fuck, everyone knew but me! He told everyone. I thought I might have a chance with you because you're in a different country, but no!"

"Chris called me last week out of his fucking mind last week. He was so nervous and freaking out. He wanted my advice on everything. It was so sweet."

"I guess it was. I said yes, by the way."

"I assumed you did. I wish I was there to see it. Or at least celebrate with you."

"He did it really privately. He knows I don't like to make a scene. But we're about to go meet everyone for drinks. I wish you were here too."

"Well, I'm so happy for you, Laur. I'm so fucking happy for you two. I love you guys. Can't wait for the wedding."

"Please. That's crazy far away. We need to save up and get our shit together and whatnot. You're helping me plan stuff, by the way. I need your psycho organizational skills."

"Absolutely. Hey, go have fun. Take a shot for me tonight. I'll buy you guys a drink the next time I come visit."

"I'll hold you to that. Love you."

"Love you too, dude."

—

messages with courtney
october 17th, 2010 at 12:00 AM GMT

courtney
it's technically not the 17th over here but i wanted to be the first to say happy birthday

courtney
SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY I LOVE YOU

marley
james was actually the first to say happy birthday

marley
but it's sweet that you tried

courtney
go fuck yourself

courtney
he doesn't count

courtney
i don't care how nice he is he doesn't count

marley
he says he's never felt more validated

marley
but thank you <3

marley
miss u i wish you guys could be here logan's throwing me a little party tomorrow

courtney
i know but have the best time

courtney
jess is reading over my shoulder and just ran to his phone

courtney
idiot

courtney
at least i beat him

marley
tell him he's on thin fuckin ice for being the fourth person to wish a me a happy birthday

marley
juno just ran into my room and threw herself on my bed

courtney
there's no information i'd rather relay

courtney
call me later this week

marley
i will love u dude

✧

FROM: Logan Huntzberger [[email protected]]
TO: Marley Acosta [[email protected]]
SUBJECT: Good News
sent December 14th, 2010 at 10:31 AM GMT

Penn,

You're gonna want to be in my office at 1:30 today. I have some fantastic news concerning the promotion we've been talking about.

(Spoiler: You got it. Missing my assistant already, but can't wait for you to be my colleague.)

-Logan

—

Voicemail from JESS MARIANO!
LISTEN? YES/NO
December 23rd, 2010 at 2:47 AM EST

"Hey, Acosta. Before you ask, yeah, I have been drinking, but listen, I... I'm in like, one of the worst fights of my life right now. With Anna. And I... I know I should be more upset up about it and I should be... y'know, like, trying to do everything I can to make up for it, but I'm... not. And I hate that. I hate that I'm not. Why am I not? I always did it for you, why can't I do it now? Because I should. Because she doesn't... deserve someone like that. Like me. She's just... good, y'know? She's like you, in that way. And I like her, I really do. I just... I don't know what's wrong with me. God, I— this is fucking pathetic. I shouldn't be talking to you about this shit. Just, ignore this voicemail. Delete it if you can. Shit—"

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
December 23rd, 2010 at 11:20 AM EST

"Hey. Uh... well, first of all, I'm currently in a bookstore in Woodbury and your fucking book is on the shelf right now. That is absolutely wild. I'm tempted to buy all of them right now. But also... if you need to, y'know... talk about anything, Jess, you know I'm always here. Even if it's about Anna. I'm here, okay? I know you get into Connecticut tomorrow, so if you need anything, just, let me know. You know where the key to my house is, so... yeah. See you whenever."

✧

messages with lauren
january 4th, 2011 at 8:32 PM GMT

lauren
hey when was the last time you talked to jess??

marley
i don't know? two days ago? why?

lauren
he's just been a little off lately

lauren
i don't know what's up he won't really talk to anyone about it

lauren
i wasn't sure if he'd said anything to you

marley
he's been a little standoffish with me but nothing too weird

marley
i think he was fighting with anna a little bit ago but he hasn't said anything about that since he left me his weird ass voicemail i told you about

lauren
hmmm okay

lauren
just let me know if you hear anything

lauren
he's fine i'm just trying to make sure nothing's up

marley
yeah totally i will

✧

UNKNOWN NUMBER is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
January 7th, 2011 at 10:23 PM GMT

"Finn, if this is you prank calling me again, I'm breaking both of your ankles."

"...Um, Marley?"

"..."

"..."

"Hi? I'm sorry, who is this?"

"Oh... oh! It's, uh, Anna. I... stole your number from Jess's phone."

"...Oh, okay. Uh, hi, Anna. Is everything okay? You sound a little..."

"Weird? Stressed? Out of my mind?"

"I mean, I wasn't going to use any of those words, but sure. Are you alright?"

"No. Not really. I'm kind of... going through some stuff right now. Me and Jess both are. And I was just..."

"..."

"...calling to ask for your input on some stuff."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry to ambush you like this, but I just... I'm not in a great place right now, Marley. And you know Jess better than anyone. And I kind of started dialing before I could chicken out."

"...No, no. It's okay. I just wasn't expecting to hear from you tonight. What's going on? Did something happen?"

"...Uh, yeah. Something did. And I... Um..."

"..."

"...I had a pregnancy scare about two weeks ago."

"Oh, my God."

"I know. It was just a scare, so I'm fine, but it just... my period was super late, and I had a false positive test, so it was a whole thing. And Jess found that test before I went home for Christmas, and you can probably guess how freaked out he got by it."

"No shit. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But the whole thing was just sort of the thing that was the catalyst for a fight that was long overdue, and it kind of ... put some things into perspective for me. Put the entire relationship into perspective for me."

"Right..."

"And just... Jesus, I hate to even tell you this, but at the end of the day, a lot of the issues boil down to you."

"...To me?"

"I feel like such a bitch right now, oh my God. I don't know. He loves you Marley. He always has. Always will. And that is totally okay with me. I've never gotten in the way of that, because I know you guys' situation and I know you can have more than one love in your life, and man, I wish I had something like that. Something like you guys have. Even though you guys have all that history, you can still be friends like you are. I love that, I really do. And I mean that in the most genuine way possible."

"...But?"

"...But, I... I love him too. I really do. And that's part of the reason why I'm so on board with the relationship you two have. Because I want him to be happy and I want you to be in his life. But, Marley... He's still hung up on you. He can't... He won't move on. Despite what he says, he hasn't."

"..."

"..."

"What are you saying?"

"I... Shit, I don't know. I don't! But I... What would you do if you were in my position? If you were me and you saw the guy you were dating, and at one point in time could have possibly had a child with— if you saw him in pain over a girl in London who's not coming back any time soon, what would you do? If you heard him talk about her the way he does and talk to her almost daily, how would you handle that? I want him to be happy. And I know you do too. Because you and I don't have a ton in common, but I know we both want what's best for Jess. I want him to be happy. But I don't..."

"You don't what?"

"...I don't think he can be happy if he's still in love with you. Not like this, at least."

"..."

"..."

"...So, what are you suggesting that I do, Anna?"

"...I don't know. Just let him move on, Marley. Take that as you will. I know you know that it's for the best. It's the best for both of you. Do it for both of your sakes."

"..."

"This is the hardest call I've literally ever had to make. I'm so sorry. And if I'm being completely honest, I care about him enough that if I thought you were ever coming back to Philly, I'd leave him so he could be with you. But I don't see that happening for you right now. Jess told me you just got promoted, and that you have a boyfriend, and friends, and a... a good life, over there. And that is absolutely incredible. That's a rare thing to be able to find again. But I think you guys are holding the other back from being happy in these new places you're in. And I don't want that for either of you."

"..."

"...I'm sorry. Please know this comes from a good place. I swear. I... I didn't know what to do anymore. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I—"

UNKNOWN NUMBER has ended the call!

✧

messages with jess
january 8th, 2011 at 4:23 AM GMT

marley
hey... we should probably talk about some stuff
MESSAGE ERASED!

marley
i think you should know that anna just called me and essentially told me she'd think it be best for us to stop being in each others lives
MESSAGE ERASED!

marley
i think i'm going to fly to philly just to dogwalk that ginger fuck for telling me not to be your friend anymore
MESSAGE ERASED!

marley
but there's a piece of me that knows that's she's right. and i honestly don't know what i'd do if i were in her position. fuck, jess i thought you said you moved on.
MESSAGE ERASED!

marley
i have told you so many times that i didn't want to be the reason you couldn't be happy and i legit feel sick to my stomach that it's actually happening
MESSAGE ERASED!

marley
i can't be the reason. i can't love you the way i want to from all the way over here. and she's right! i don't think i'm coming back any time soon! god i hate that she's right. she was right about fucking everything
MESSAGE ERASED!

marley
god i'm not gonna send any of these am i? i'm just gonna go lay down in oncoming traffic
MESSAGE ERASED!

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
January 15th, 2011 at 5:29 PM GMT

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
January 21st, 2011 at 7:33 PM GMT

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
January 25th, 2011 at 10:23 PM GMT

"Hey! Fucking finally. I thought you died, or something. You've been dodging my calls for the last, like, two weeks."

"Oh, uh, hi. This isn't Marley. Terribly sorry."

"...Oh. Shit, sorry. Hey, James."

"Hello! Sorry, Marley's in the shower at the moment. She officially stepped into her new position at work today, so I'm taking her out. I saw your contact and figured I'd answer. Can I take a message?"

"...Uh, no. It's... nothing important. I didn't realize today was the day she actually started."

"Yeah! I'm rather proud of her. I'm sure you are too. She's had her reservations about the company and London in the past, so it good to see her kind of find her way like this."

"...And she seems happy? With the job, I mean?"

"Very much so. She's really thriving out here. You'd be amazed. Her boss, Logan, says that he hardly even recognizes her some days. It's been wonderful to get to know her like this."

"Yeah... No, yeah, I'm sure."

"You must miss her."

"...I do. But it makes it easier knowing she's doing well."

"Yeah, and between us, she misses you too. I can tell it holds her back sometimes, but she still manages."

"Hold— holds her back? From what?"

"Oh, no. No, I mean this in the kindest way possible. Just from, you know, an outsider's perspective of it all, it appears she doesn't fully embrace all of it. I don't know if that's because of everything that's back for her in the States, or you, or whatever, but I do worry about her in that regard sometimes. It seems like she wants to, but all of that just..."

"...Holds her back."

"Yeah. I don't mean to step on any toes here, mate. This is coming from a good place. I love your girl, y'know?"

"...Yeah. No, I get it. I do. Thank you. I'll, uh— don't worry about telling Marley to call me back. I'll call her later this week."

"Are you sure? It's no problem—"

"No, it's fine. You guys seem busy. It was good to talk to you, man. Thanks again."

"Of course. Talk soon."

JESS MARIANO has ended the call!

✧

messages with jess
january 27th, 2011 at 11:43 PM GMT

jess
hey, are you awake? we should probably talk about some stuff

jess
if you can't that's okay

jess
just return my calls at some point

marley
i'm up. i'll call you in a sec

marley
james is asleep so i just have to go into the hallway or something

jess
okay

✧

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
ANSWERED!
January 27th, 2011 at 11:49 PM GMT

"Hey."

"Hi."

"It's good to finally hear your voice. It's been a while."

"..."

"...Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, no. I've... just been busy. I know you have too. I saw that the New Yorker reviewed your book. That's really big."

"Oh. Uh, yeah. I wasn't really expecting that to happen. We were all pretty excited."

"...I meant to call you about it when I heard, but..."

"...You're busy."

"Yeah."

"I get it."

"..."

"..."

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh, right. Yeah..."

"..."

"...Do you ever worry about moving on?"

"...What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you feel like... I don't know, like you're stuck in the past? Like you can't enjoy where you are now because of other shit that you're holding on to?"

"...I don't... I mean, sometimes, but I— Jess, where is this—"

"Sometimes?"

"Where is this coming from?"

"Where is it— I don't know, Marley, life? Everything that's happened since you left? Things that other people are saying, I—"

"What other— is this coming from Anna? Did she finally talk to you about this shit instead of ambushing me over the phone?"

"What are you talking about? Did she— she called you?"

"Yeah, Jess she did. And frankly, she was out of fuckin' line, but she... she made some valid points. I didn't like everything she said, but I understood it. I got where she was coming from. And maybe... she was right."

"Right about what? What did she say?"

"Nothing you haven't heard before, I'm sure. But the gist was that you haven't been able to fully move on yet. And I haven't either."

"...You haven't?"

"Of course not, Jess. And that's the fucking problem. Because I'm not coming back. I'm not. And you're not moving here. And I'm not someone who can be in a relationship where I'm only seeing you at Christmas."

"I... can't do that either."

"And it's not fair to anyone who's involved. It's not fair to me or you and this whole thing certainly isn't fair to Anna and James. Because I... I love him, Mariano. I really do. And I don't want to hurt him."

"...I know."

"So, I don't know what the solution here is. Because I don't want to lose you, but I can't keep doing this. Because I just... keep hearing Anna's voice in my head telling me to allow you to move on, and it's fucking haunting me. Because I want you to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted."

"I know. I, uh...I talked to James the other day."

"What?"

"Yeah, I called you and he picked up. You were in the shower or something. And he said everything you've got back home is holding you back from fully embracing where you are. It was put nicer than that, but that... has been kind of haunting me too. Because you know I never wanted that for you either."

"Oh. I didn't know you talked to him. He didn't say anything."

"I figured he wouldn't. But I... I don't know, Acosta. He might be right too. Maybe we should... I don't know."

"Maybe we should what?"

"...Maybe we should just give each other some space for a while."

"..."

"..."

"...Is that what you want?"

"No. But maybe it's what we should do."

"Oh."

"...I'm not saying that we stop calling each other or whatever, but... y'know..."

"Give each other space."

"Yeah."

"...Okay."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...I, uh... I should probably get to bed. I have work in the morning."

"...Okay."

"I'll, uh, I'll maybe—"

"Marley?"

"Yeah?"

"I... never mind. I'll talk to you whenever, alright?"

"...Yeah. Whenever. Bye."

"Bye."

Call ended with JESS MARIANO!

✧

messages with courtney
february 3rd, 2011 at 12:21 AM GMT

courtney
what in the everloving fuck happened with you and jess

marley
i don't want to talk about it

marley
why? is he being weird

courtney
he's been in one of the worst moods imaginable since like last week

courtney
we're trying to figure out shit to do for his birthday in like 2 days and he wants nothing to do with any of us

courtney
he hasn't said anything i just assumed something happened

marley
yeah no something did but i'd rather not get into it right now

marley
let's change the subject

courtney
you got it

courtney
let's talk about the fact that brendan's meeting my parents this weekend

marley
LMAOOOOOOOO RECORD THAT SHIT FOR ME PLEASE THE POOR BOY IS GOING TO CRY

✧

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
February 5th, 2011 at 3:37 PM GMT

"Hey, Jess, I'm just calling you to wish you a happy birthday. I... uh, I hope everything's going well and I hope twenty-seven is the best year yet. Do something fun tonight, okay? It's a busy couple of weeks coming up for me, so I might not be able to talk much, but uh... Alright. Happy birthday. Bye."

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
February 15th, 2011 at 3:29 PM GMT

✧

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
February 29th, 2011 at 9:52 PM GMT

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
March 2nd, 2011 at 6:02 PM GMT

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
March 10th, 2011 at 8:14 PM GMT

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
March 16th, 2011 at 8:21 PM GMT

✧

messages with lauren
june 10th, 2011 at 8:32 PM GMT

lauren
are you coming back to philly the week 4th or the week of the 11th

marley
week of the 11th, plane tickets are cheaper

lauren
fair enough people were asking i'll let them know

lauren
everyone's excited to see you

marley
everyone?

lauren
whatever weird thing that's still going on between you jess you both need to get over

lauren
i know you both needed space (which like i get and respect) but also it's getting a bit ridiculous

lauren
you guys went from talking once a day to like calling one another every three weeks

lauren
i'll never understand the weird thing you two were doing before this, but at least it was better than actively avoiding each other

marley
we agreed it was for the best

marley
i don't want to be in the way of anything and he's made it pretty clear he doesn't want to do that either so it's necessary

marley
i know none of you think so but the two of us are on the same page

marley
we both needed to move on from each other it's okay

lauren
whatever, you know i'm with you no matter what happens

lauren
but i just hope you guys know what you're doing

marley
we do

lauren
mmhmm

lauren
anyway can i rant to you about how insane my mother is driving me over the wedding stuff

marley
i've got the popcorn ready

✧

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
July 12th, 2011 at 4:23 PM EST

"Hey. Look, I know you don't owe me anything, but I really wish you would have mentioned that you weren't going to be in town the week I came back. Chris said you had no way of controlling it because of work and whatnot, but I know him well enough to know when he's bullshitting me. I get the message, Jess. I've been MIA from my phone because of work and you're upset. I get it. I just wish you would have told me you weren't going to be here. Whatever. Bye."

✧

Voicemail from JESS MARIANO!
LISTEN? YES/NO
October 17th, 2011 at 11:23 PM GMT

"Hey. Happy birthday. Twenty-six was an alright year for me, but I'm sure it'll be great for you. You'll make it great. I know the day's almost done over there, so I hope you're doing something fun. I'll talk to you later. Bye, Marley."

✧

TO: Juno Bishop [[email protected]]
FROM: Marley Acosta [[email protected]]
SUBJECT: :(
sent December 2nd, 2011 at 9:31am GMT

am i supposed to be this bored of my job this early in the game? is that normal for this position? or am i just burnt out less than a year after i got this promotion

FROM: Juno Bishop [[email protected]]
TO: Marley Acosta [[email protected]]
SUBJECT: RE: :(
sent December 2nd, 2011 at 9:42am GMT

it's normal <3 welcome to corporate life mar <3 it'll get more exciting when we pick up next year <3

✧

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
December 23rd, 2011 at 9:47 PM GMT

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
January 2nd, 2012 at 7:50 PM GMT

JESS MARIANO is calling!
ANSWER? YES/NO
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:47 PM GMT

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
LEAVE VOICEMAIL? YES/NO
January 5th, 2012 at 6:21 PM GMT

"Hi. I know you didn't leave a voicemail, but the night you called, Luke left me one. He said that you were upset. I know I should have told you I wasn't coming home for Christmas this year, especially when I was upset you didn't tell me you weren't gonna be in Philly a couple of months ago. But frankly, Jess, we haven't talked except for the occasional text since like, October, and even then it was a fucking weird three-minute call. I didn't think you cared. Or wanted to see me. I don't know. I wish things were more simple. I hope things are going well on your end. I'll, uh— I don't know. Bye."

✧

messages with courtney
march 19th, 2012 at 10:11 PM GMT

courtney
can you seriously not visit in april anymore

marley
dude work has been so crazy busy i honestly can't see myself visiting until whenever the fuck lauren has her wedding

marley
has she picked a date yet

marley
all she's done is send me inspo boards on pintrest

courtney
no but i've heard may of next year being talked about

courtney
she and chris really want this one venue over memorial day weekend

marley
well then i guess i'll see you then

courtney
BOOOOOO ABSOLUTELY NOT

courtney
UR DEAD TO ME BOOOOOOO

marley
lauren has no sisters so she has plans for us both to be her maid of honor so you better revive me before then

courtney
you know what's gonna be super fun

courtney
chris is an only child

courtney
if lauren's doing two maids he's probably going to have matthew and jess be his best men

courtney
they're totally going to parent trap you two the entire weekend

marley
no they won't because you will absolutely 100% not allow that

marley
he cannot talk to me like a normal human anymore do you want to make lauren's wedding as awkward as our relationship currently is

marley
don't even fucking joke about that

courtney
i can't stop what the bride wants marley

courtney
lauren got her own parents back together

courtney
she's been successful before

marley
i just bought a flight home to strangle you

courtney
at least i'll see you before the wedding <3

✧

Calling... JESS MARIANO!
ANSWERED!
October 30th, 2012 at 10:34 PM GMT

"Hey."

"Oh— Wow, uh, hey. I'm surprised you answered."

"I'm surprised you called."

"I've been calling."

"Yeah. Once a month. If I'm lucky."

"It's not like you're making much of an effort either."

"...I've been busy."

"Busy?"

"Yeah. That's your excuse every time, isn't it?"

"..."

"..."

"...Is something wrong?"

"No. Everything's fine."

"Really? Because it feels like you've got something to say."

"Nope. Nothing to say here."

"...Okay. I was just calling to talk to you about the wedding."

"What about it?"

"Now that they've set the date, I'm currently trying to plan my flights, and I think I'm going to stay for a couple of days after and go to Stars Hollow. I was going to see if you were open to driving back with me to see Luke and whatnot."

"..."

"..."

"...I don't know what my schedule's going to be."

"Okay, cut the shit. You obviously have something to say, so just fucking say it. What is going on?"

"Nothing's going on. I told you."

"Well, you're being a douchebag right now. I thought we'd left this shit in 2002."

"I feel like I'm having a completely rational response to someone who hasn't really spoken to me in months, who is now asking me to drive her to Connecticut."

"...I haven't spoken to you in months?"

"..."

"Jess, you don't pick up your fucking phone."

"Neither do you."

"Jesus fucking Christ, pick a side! Either you want space or you don't. You don't get one or the other. You don't get to put no effort in and expect me to do all the work."

"I put effort in. I just never know if you actually want to talk to me."

"How the hell do you think I feel? It is exhausting trying to understand you, you know that, right?"

"You're not much easier. You're saying that you're being the bigger person, but then you're complaining about the possibility of having to stand next to me at our best friend's wedding."

"..."

"...I saw Courtney's texts from a couple of months ago."

"...This isn't fair, Jess. You don't get to be upset at me for just trying to do what we agreed on. It has been so brutally awkward between us and I... can't get a read on you anymore. And I'm tired."

"..."

"This whole thing, I think it's worked the way we intended. Being able to move on and all that. I miss having you in my life in the way that I used to, y'know, but things are going really well with James. And I know they're going well with Anna. Everyone's told me, even if you haven't. And I still want to have a relationship with you. But, if we're being completely honest right now, calling you used to be one of the highlights of my day. Now when I call, sometimes I hope you don't pick up, because it's fucking painful."

"..."

"Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me that tiptoeing around this bullshit hasn't been awful for you too."

"...Fuck you, Marley."

"What?"

"Calling me is 'painful?' Are you serious?"

"Yes. It's painful because you made it. You were the one who said we should have some space, you're the one whose girlfriend called me to tell me to fuck off so you could move on, you're the— I'm... I'm trying! I'm trying to give you space and let you figure things out but I don't know what you want! You want me to back off but you also want me to call you! You want me to—"

"I don't want you to do anything, Marley. Not if it's too painful for you."

"Do you understand how unfair you're being? Do you get that right now? I'm just trying to make you happy. That's all I've been doing. And it's an impossible task."

"You know what? If you want out, just say it. It's your turn to say what you mean."

"Out? What are you talking about—"

"I'm saying that if you don't want to continue to hope that I don't pick up when you call, you don't have to. If that's how you really feel about all of this, then fine. I won't."

"..."

"...I don't want to burden you with any more pain. You've got enough of it."

"...I knew this was going to happen. I fucking knew it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I knew this shit was going to fuck up everything. Between me and you. I knew we could never be normal after it."

"...And by this shit, you mean our relationship?"

"God, every single one of my fears came true! This is wild! I should go into fortune-telling or some shit. I knew I was going to lose you. I knew it."

"What?"

"I told you four years ago that if I loved you, I'd lose you, but we went through with it anyway. And here we are. In this weird fucking limbo where we can't talk to each other about anything anymore."

"..."

"...We lost each other the second I went to London. And we just don't want to admit it."

"..."

"..."

"...Maybe you're right."

"..."

"..."

"...You know, there was a point in my life, just right after I left Philly, where I used to envision us... y'know... telling our kids about this epic love story their parents had. One of them would be having some sort of relationship issue, and I'd start to tell them about us. About how we went from hating each other, to being the best of friends, to falling in love, and somehow, against the odds, making it work after you unselfishly pushed me to follow my heart. And for whatever reason, it always took place around our kitchen island at night. Eating cereal or ice cream or something. I never expected it to ever come true, but there was a piece of me that just kept hoping."

"...You never told me about that."

"I know. Because as things changed and... well, life happened, that little vision got further and further away. Things started getting fuzzier. I couldn't picture that kitchen anymore. I couldn't see the cereal we were eating. I couldn't... see this thing that used to be so clear in my mind and it just... hurt. So I stopped thinking about it. It felt better just to keep it, like, tucked away as this fond little fantasy I had in my head."

"..."

"..."

"...I wish you had told me about that."

"Yeah... I don't even know why I'm telling you now. I haven't thought about that in years."

"...Oh."

"..."

"..."

"I don't want to fight with you anymore, Jess. I want to stop feeling like this."

"I know. I don't want to fight with you either."

"...But at this point in time, I feel like we're in too deep to ever go back to normal. We've been in too deep for years now. And I'm tired of drowning."

"...I know. I am too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"...Nobody can say we didn't try."

"...No shit."

"..."

"..."

"...I'll see you at the wedding, Jess."

"...See you at the wedding, Marley."

Call with JESS MARIANO ended!

✧

✧✧✧

(author's note: let the shit show begin<3 see you in part 3:) -mags)