( 𝘨𝘪𝘧: 𝘫𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘯 )

i see the way you're acting like you're somebody else
— complicated, avril lavigne

WEEKS PAST BEFORE RORY FOUND OUT MAX AND LORELAI WERE BACK TOGETHER.

And when she did, it wasn't a pretty sight. Shouting and arguing against her mother's decisions, Rory stormed off with a slam of the door and rushed to the only place she could think of at the moment—her grandparents. 

Digging her face into Jo's pillow and letting out a frustrated scream, Rory ranted to her cousin about how terribly wrong everything was turning out to be. And while Jo agreed that it was somewhat awkward to have a family member date one of their teachers, Lorelai wasn't her mother, and therefore Jo wasn't as bothered by the idea. 

However, she could understand Rory's point of view. Chilton was infamous for whispering behind your back over every single detail of gossip ever—especially something as big as this. 

So Jo only found one thing left to do—distract Rory and have some fun away from Chilton. So she invited Natty and Kim for a sleepover, grabbed a few snacks from the kitchen without Emily knowing, and lit a few scented candles ( orchid and sandalwood ) around her bedroom. 

Kim and Natty settled in nicely, being used to constantly coming over to Jo's over their years of friendship, welcoming Rory to their Chilton group with open arms (well, maybe not fully at first, but by now they appreciated the blue-eyed girl's company ). 

"Right, first order of the night," Kim drawls, lying on her stomach with her legs softly kicking back and forth as she pops the lollipop out of her mouth. "Your mom is really dating Mr Medina?"

"Kim!" Jolene protests, throwing a pillow at the dark haired girl. "The whole point is to distract Rory."

"So it's true!" Kim ignores Jo, and even Natty can't deny her curiosity about the question. Rory nods gloomily, staring at her cup of hot chocolate with a teaspoon. "That's actually pretty cool if you think about it. Good grades assured. Also, they make a hot couple. Step-daddy Max."

Rory scrunches her nose, refusing to think about Mr Medina in that way. Jo and Natty however, couldn't help but desolve into a fit of giggles, which put a smile on Rory's face. "Yuck Kim, that's our English teacher you're talking about."

"Come on Natty!" Kim argues, sitting up properly. "Broody, quiet guys are the new thing."

Jo raises an eyebrow, taking a bite out of a Snickers bar. "And what broody, quiet guys do you know, Kim? 

The girl avoids everyone's eyes, acting nonchalant as she picks at her red nail polish. "Well, Grayson for one." at the mention of his name, Rory glances at Jo, noting the blush across her cheeks. "Victor Dyer too, being the new boy an all. Dean." This time, at the mention of Dean, it's Jo's turn to glance at Rory, who is reminded of the frostiness between her and her ex. Realising her error, Kim's eyes widen. "Oh Rory I completely forgot, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." she mutters, pulling at the ends of her sweater.

Jo and Natty share a look, before the latter breaks the silence. "You don't have to answer, but why did you guys break up?"

A few moments of silence persist, but Rory doesn't deny answering the question. She grapples with phrasing it, gnawing her bottom lip with uncertainty. "He told me he loved me. And I didn't say it back."

Kim's eyebrows shoot upwards as she leans back, but for the first time, she doesn't say anything. She would have acted like Rory in the situation, running away from the prospect of love. 

"And do you?" Jo asks, before clarifying. "Love him, I mean. Do you love him?"

Rory opens her mouth, before closing it, unsure. "How do I know if I do?"

To that end, none of the girls really have an answer. Rory, with her lack of a father figure. Jo, with her focus on tennis. Natty, with her nose in fictional books. Kim, with her mother's affairs behind her father's back. Did these teenage girls really know anything about love?

Due to the lack of answers, Jo couldn't help but begin laughing. At first, the others stared at her, confused, but then they couldn't help but join in. "Well, what do we know about love?"

Natty snorts, which causes another round of giggles. "Well, if you ever figure it out Rory, let us know the secret."

"Fingers crossed." she replies sarcastically with an amused roll of the eyes, which makes the other three girls to bounce on her, screeching and giggling and feeling like whatever happened, at least they had each other.

But even the strongest of things could fracture at times. 

And it all began the next morning.

Jo offered to drive Rory back to Stars Hollow, not wanting to worry Lorelai much longer about their dispute. While Natty excused herself to meet up with Johnny, Kim suggested she'd come along, all in the name of providing Jo some company on the way back ( which seemed a bit suspicious to Natty but having no idea on what Kim was planning under her sleeve, she let it go ). 

Parking outside the Dragonfly Inn, the trio clambered out of Jo's car, as Rory waved them goodbye.

 "Reconcile with Lorelai— I wanna be a bridesmaid." Jo shouted out, earning a glare from her cousin. Chuckling, she turned to Kim, who was looking over her shoulder as if looking for someone. "Ready to go? Might squeeze in a tennis game this afternoon."

"Yeah just,—" Kim turned and starting waving. "Hey, Grayson!"

Looking over her shoulder, Jo clocked as Grayson jogged over to them, slightly breathless as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Hey ladies, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, we were just dropping off Rory." Jo replied.

"Poor Rory," Grayson crossed his arms over his chest as he joked. "Stuck with you two."

Kim laughed, a bit more forceful that it made Jo raise an eyebrow, as the joke hadn't been that funny. "Always the jokester, huh?"

"Well, you know me." 

Jo moved her gaze between the two, suddenly feeling as she was intruding on a new sense of familiarity between the two that Jo hadn't known even existed. She thought she was the bridge between Chilton and Stars Hollow—it hadn't occurred to her they'd grow closer behind her back. She wasn't sure she liked this new piece of information.

"I should get going. Promised I'd help my mom."

Kim tucked her dark hair behind her ear. "Bye Grayson."

And Jo had also known Kim for a long time, and recognised Kim's signs of when she liked a boy. The loud laughter, the hair tucking, the sudden shyness. The mention of his name the previous night.

Kim liked Grayson.

Grayson, the boy who Jo had connected to because of their shared understanding of misunderstood passion. Grayson, the boy who had always gone out of his way to help her. Grayson, the boy who had made her feel like no other boy ever had.

"Lovely town this, isn't it?" Kim ondered, heading towards the car. "You alright?"

Jo mustered a nod, feeling a knot sink into her stomach.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

THE NEXT WEEK WAS TORTURE FOR JO.

Well, maybe torture was a bit dramatic. But hearing Kim chat only about Grayson all the time . ..  Grayson this, Grayson that. Every time she mentioned his name, it was like another splinter in Jo's skin.

It felt like every creek and inch of her body was now covered in splinters.

But what could she do? I mean, it's not like herself liked Grayson, right? No, of course not. Besides, Kim sounded so happy and giddy. Jo didn't want to ruin that over her own complicated feelings.

Yet not addressing it is what makes the mess an even bigger one. But that is for future Jo, Kim and Grayson to deal with.

Avoiding Kim's locker, Jo went the longer way to exit the Chilton school. Guilt nestled into her bones, but it was Friday, and all Jo wanted to do was get to the field and forget all of her problems. Taking in the feel of the warm sun on her face, she clutched her textbooks to her chest and sighed.

"Finally Friday, am I right?" Jo snapped out of her thoughts to see that Victor was addressing her. He was leaning against the brick wall, his sweater wrapped around his neck as he pushed the sleeves of his white shirt to his elbows. "Any plans for the weekend?"

"Honestly?" Jo shifted her weight from leg to leg. "Not really. I just want to cocoon myself in my room. Not see anyone until Monday."

He scoffed, which gained a glare from her. "So you won't go play tennis at all then?"

An embarrassed pink tint dotted the top of her ears. "Leave me alone, will ya?"

Across the yard, Kim had found it strange to not find Jo outside her locker, but assumed she'd gone to play tennis and thought nothing of it. Humming to herself, she checked in her pocket mirror and reapplied her lipgloss as she headed towards the bus ( having failed her driving test three times already ). 

Which is when she saw Grayson leaning against his car outside Chilton. She felt her heart begin to race, thinking that perhaps he had come all that way to see her.

Really, Grayson had been there to see Jo. Well, not exactly to see her, for she had left her sweater at the Dragonfy Inn and he was there to return it. Sure, it could've waited, but part of him had wanted to see a glimpse of her soft smile. However, he hadn't been able to move, for he was watching Jo with another boy ( Victor, was that his name? ) in fond conversation.

"Grayson?"

He turned, pushing himself off his car. "Oh, hey Kim. Any plans for the weekend?"

"No . . ." she trailed off, suddenly perking up. "Why? Wanna do something together?"

"Oh! Well, uhm, sure." not being able to turn down that beaming smile, he returned it. "I think they're showing a film at Stars Hollow. Dunno if it'll be any good, but─"

"Great. It's a date." she stated, before pressing her lips into the corner of his, and Grayson could smell the scent of her cherry scented lotion. And despite being surprised, Grayson smiled down at her, for Kim could be quite endearing. Besides, Jo was with another boy. 

"Maybe I'll see you on the court." 

Jo laughed at Victor. "Don't be daft. Do you even play tennis?"

"Don't mock, I could be the a progidy for all you know." he prattled on, trailing after her. "Or perhaps you could teach me."

"I've got better things to─" Jo stopped in her tracks, causing Victor to frown and nearly trip. But the sight of Kim kissing Grayson, him staring down at her with a smile.

Victor hesitated, following her direction of gaze. "You okay?"

"Never better," her voice clipped, turning her back on the duo. "Well, what about that game of tennis?"

And as the two walked away, Jo had to fight the urge to look back, somehow feeling like she had lost something fundamental.

and that's act one finished!

this chapter was hard to write ngl

jo would love 'challengers' and would defend tashi so hard