𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍. . . A Boyfriend Scandal
❝ It's 'cause you weren't here, Gilmore. ❞

  STARS HOLLOW WELCOMED Charlie home with open arms as if the town itself and all its residents had felt the brutal chill of winter in her absence, and the second she drove past the town line they felt a subtle warmth from the sun.

  Alright, that was how Charlie wished she was welcomed home.

  It was not.

  "When were you gonna tell me?"

  Charlie furrowed her brows, allowing her bag to drop to the tiled floor of Luke's Diner with a thump. She decided to stop by the diner before heading home, say hi to Luke, say sorry to Jess. Avoid her mother and sister to allow the hope that they'd made up to last a little longer.

  Not be interrogated.

  "Right, sorry," Charlie ran a hand through her hair, "I got these highlights—"

  "This is not a time to be funny."

  "You think I'm funny?" Charlie grinned, only for it to melt under Luke's glare. "Okay, I give, what'd I do?"

  "You're dating someone and didn't tell me!"

  "I'm what?" Charlie laughed. Not a giggle or a snicker, a full-blown, clutching-her-stomach laugh. "Who am I supposed to be dating?"

  "The Hobo."

  "Finn?" Charlie crossed her arms, "He's just a friend. And he's not a hobo!"

  "Wait so you're not. . ." Luke stuttered, blinking rapidly, unable to digest what she was saying. "Dating anyone?"

  "Why would you think I was?"

  "Well. . ."

  "Charlotte!" Miss Patty came bustling into the diner, Babette in tow, "We've all been waiting for you to come home and tell us about that scrumptious boy you've had on a leash."

  "So that's why," Charlie mumbled, receiving a nod from the diner owner. "I'm not dating him," Charlie defended, only for Patty to wink, "No, like, I'm really not dating him."

  "Sure you aren't," Patty shooed Luke, the man walking away with a  small scowl, "Okay, now that it's just us girls—"

  "He's not my boyfriend!" Charlie repeated, shocking both women, "Can't a girl just have friends?"

  Patty gave her a look that said all she needed to know, so Charlie scoffed and turned on her heel. Acting without thinking, Charlie fled up the stairs stomping her way up. 

  She grumbled, opening the door and shutting it behind her with finality, allowing her head to rest against the frosted window as she shut her eyes tightly. 

  "Rough day?"

  Charlie didn't have to look to recognize his voice.

  "I really hate this town, Mariano."

  "Me too," Jess let his book lay on his makeshift bed, making his way to the girl. "Especially last week."

  "Was it the holidays?" Charlie opened her eyes, seeing Jess sat on the ground across from her, "Being away from home?"

  Jess laughed half-heartedly, shaking his head, "It's 'cause you weren't here, Gilmore."

  Charlie sat for a moment with a small smile on her face. It was just them, in the pitiful apartment of Luke Danes. On the dusty floor, the sounds of the diner were muffled by the door, and for a moment nothing else mattered.

  The girl quickly pushed herself up, wrapping arms around Jess' shoulders into a hug. Which would have been fine, had he been prepared for it.

  He was not.

  Jess had attempted to keep them both upright, failing miserably. Now, it was a tangle of Charlie's hair and both of their limbs all mixed up, the teens closer than ever before. Jess could see the nearly invisible freckles across her cheeks, and for the first time, Charlie noticed how long his eyelashes were.

  "Oh, my God," Charlie fretted, seeing the pain on Jess's face from his head hitting the floor, "I am so sorry." She tried to push herself up, only to find out her hair had gotten tightly wrapped around the button of his shirt, "Ow."

  "What a way to make up, though," Jess stated, rubbing the back of his head. Charlie couldn't hold her laughter anymore, turning into a mess of giggles, and contaminating Jess.

  Soon, the duo was laughing hysterically. Charlie had given up trying to untangle her hair, Jess had attempted to but it was difficult whilst both were laughing.

  "Okay, really, please free my hair."

↬

  "Charlie!" Both Lorelai and Rory pulled the girl into a hug as she walked through the front door, "Tell us all about it! Did you eat those little tarts my Mom makes? Stay up late on New Years'—?"

  "Woah, hold your horses," Charlie cut her mother off, "Can we have this conversation over breakfast? I'm about to pass out where I stand."

  "Okay," Lorelai smiled, "I'm glad to have you home, kid."

  "Glad to be home, mom."

  Lorelai watched Charlie's every movement. The teen was uncomfortably cutting up her pancakes, eating them slowly and skeptically. Rory was half eating and half watching her sister, wondering how long it would take for one of them to crack.

  "You three are weirder than normal," Luke mumbled, filling their coffee cups.

  "She won't stop staring at me!"

  "Because she won't tell me about her break or if she actually has a boyfriend!"

  "She doesn't." All eyes snapped to Jess, who was lazily wiping down the counter. He turned his head, eyeing the three curious faces, "I know Charlie better than you, shocker."

  "Jess!" Charlie chastized, ignoring his smirk as he continued cleaning, "I don't have a boyfriend, Mom."

  "Okay. . ." Lorelai trailed off skeptically, "How was your break?"

  That was where it got interesting. Charlie went on and on about Christmas, how there were waffles for breakfast and they watched A Christmas Story, she explained how Emily and Richard were very shocked she could actually play the guitar they bought her.

  Lorelai listened intently as Charlie explained New Year's, how she and her grandparents watched the ball drop (they let her have a sip of champagne) and sent her off to bed.

  "Sounds like you had a busy week."

  "I did," Charlie breathed out a smile, "But it was really fun."

  At least this much wasn't a lie, Charlie thought, hurriedly shoving pieces of french toast into her mouth. The last thing she was going to do was tell her mother about her experience partying with upper-class families in the same social circle, if not higher than, the Gilmore family. This alone would face judgment but sharing that she'd visited New York without her mother's permission?

  Charlie would never hear the end of it.

  "That is a word I never thought would be used to describe my mother."

  "What'd I miss here?"

  "Not much," Lorelai sighed, "Luke's glare got worse, the town was scary quiet, and Kirk crashed his bike into Babette's bushes. Oh, and Jess officially has worse customer service skills than Luke."

  "Mom," Rory warned lightly, not wanting to upset Charlie. The trio was preparing to leave, shuffling on coats and finishing the last sip of coffee in their mugs.

  "No, it's fine," Charlie nearly laughed, "Jess and I are good now. I talked to him before I came here."

  "Oh. . ."

  "What?" The teen questioned her mom, who seemed rather quiet all of a sudden.

  "Nothing," Lorelai lied lamely, giving in under her daughter's flat stare, "Okay, I just don't know if it's the best idea for you to be around Jess."

  "Mom—"

  "I just don't want you to get hurt again." 

  Charlie sighed heavily, pulling her Mom into a tight hug.

  "I love you, Mom."

  And perhaps it looked fine at that moment like all had been forgotten when Lorelai wrapped her arms around her oldest daughter and the youngest joined it. That they were all on the same page about the boy that had wormed his way so deeply into Charlie's life there was a question of where Charlie ended and Jess began.

  But things were just never that simple.

( AUTHOR'S NOTE. )
FIRST CHAPTER OF ACT 2!!
charlie and jess are back to
bein buddies, and lorelai
is back to worrying about it!
I missed Charlie a lot so EXPECT
A LOT OF UPDATES IN THE
NEXT FEW DAYS LOL-- I might
actually double update rn
and post the next chapter
OOPS