❝BEAKED IS THE NEW VERB❞
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⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ chapter fifty-nine,
Gilmore Girls — Season Three

𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟎𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟑
―୨୧⋆ ˚ LUCY'S POV

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   𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄, 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄. His tongue demanded entrance into my mouth and I let him in, whimpering quietly because wow. My body feels electric── it always does whenever he kisses me.

I've spent the entire day with him, studying alongside him, and now we're taking a well deserved break if one would call this a break. I'm being picked up in an hour, and I've studied enough, so now all I want to do is spend the last hour like this.

He freed my wrists, and one hand tucked under my back, lifting me up and into him. He continued to kiss me, tasting me, until I was merely breathless. Every kiss feels different but all the same, and I can't seem to get enough.

I looped my arms around his neck. He nipped at my bottom lip, and the sting made me flinch, but he soothes the bite with his mouth. A noise── something like a laugh and a moan leaves my mouth, and Tristan smirks against my mouth. His other hand moves upwards, fisting my hair. He rubs delicate, soothing circles against my scalp, and I sigh contently.

One leg lifts, moving to rest around his back, and Tristan pushes forward. A grunt leaves his mouth, and my hands grip at his hair. The hand around my back moves, and just when he's about to tug on my shirt, I hear a car horn sound just outside.

We pull apart, breathing heavily, and the car horn beeps again. "W-What?" I lift myself up, and Tristan begrudgingly moves off me. I move off the bed, towards the window, and if looks could kill from this far away, that freaking car would explode. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What?" I look over at Tristan, and I move to grab my bag. "You don't have to be home for another..."

The car horn beeps again. "Bastard!"

I hope he can freaking hear me.

Tristan moves to the window, peering past the blinds to see the car waiting outside. "Why is he here early? I thought he had that──"

"Oh, he probably screwed in up." I shrug my bag onto my shoulder, and I pull on Tristan's arm. He looks down at me, and I lean up to push my mouth against his quickly. "Sorry, sweets. I gotta go."

"You sure you don't want me to drive you home?"

I shake my head. "No, it's okay."

Tristan pushes a kiss against my lips again. "Okay. Call me when you get back, okay? I love you."

"I love you too."

I love Tristan, but the person sitting outside is somebody I loathe very, very much right now. When I exit Tristan's house, I skulk towards the car that I really don't want to be in. I know the car's been checked out repeatedly, but I don't trust this or the person driving it for that matter.

I pull open the car door, and I lean down to look at Jess in the driver's seat. "Hi."

"Took your sweet time."

"You're an hour early." I climb into the car, disgusted by the smell of this thing.

   Once I'm in the car, things are a little clearer to me. I turn on the only working light in Jess' car and I stare at him for the longest moment as he drives away from Tristan's house. "You have a black eye."

   "Well aren't you observant."

   "Why do you have a black eye?"

   "None of your business."

"Well, you ruined my night, so tell me why you have a black eye."

"I did not ruin your night," he grumbles. "I just stopped you from procreating." I roll my eyes, scrunching my face up in disgust.

"Did Rory's grandmother punch you?" Jess scoffs. "What? It's not a dumb question."

   Rory invited Jess over to her grandmother's house for dinner. After the dinner, he would pick me up from Tristan's and we'd drive back home. But I'm amusing it all went wrong. Clearly, he walked in there with a black eye, and now I'm trying to figure out where he got it. I haven't seen him all day today, but I know he didn't have it yesterday.

   Jess remains silent, and I realise he isn't going to talk, so I'm going to pester him until he finally caves and tells me.

"Uh, did you get into a fight with my dad?" Jess remains silent, and I nod, not thinking that was the reason for his black eye anyway. "Okay. Did you slip on a banana peel and hit your face?"

Silence. Hmm.

"Did Rory punch you──"

"Lucy, stop."

I sigh, turning to face him. "Okay. Cereal hour."

"We don't have cereal."

   "We don't need it. Just──"

   "The whole point of cereal hour is to eat the cereal. We don't──"

   "Oh, my God. Just talk."

   Cereal hour is code for talk. Whenever there's something we've got to discuss, we call "cereal hour", and we talk about any issues going on with us. After talking over a box of cereal, we never discuss it again. We let everything out in the open, giving each other solid advice, and then we don't talk about it again.

   We have a very odd relationship, I know that, but we also get along very well thanks to our cereal hours.

   Well, I think we get along. I'm not so sure anymore.

   "I'm not talking about this."

   "If you don't start talking, you're going to have another black eye," I threaten, but I'm not actually going to punch him── not when he's driving anyway.

"Rory and I got into a fight," he admits, but I suspected that. "She thinks I had a fight with Dean." I scoff, finding that to be ridiculous. "What? You think I did?"

"No. You aren't that stupid."

"Well, she thinks I did. We got into a fight, and I stormed out of there. I can't..." He shifts in his seat, obviously uncomfortable. "She's got this whole other life that I just don't need to be involved in. I'm dating her, not her family."

"I hate to break it to you, but dating Rory means knowing her entire family."

   He shrugs. "Well, I don't want that."

   "You like her, Jess," I say. "And when you like someone, you don't just give up. I imagine her family are difficult to understand, but you need to give them more of a chance. You showed up with a black eye that you didn't even explain. I can't blame Rory for being upset with you."

   He knows I'm right, that's why he doesn't say anything else. "Where'd you get the black eye?"

   "I'm not telling you that."

   I groan. "Oh, come on."

   "Cereal hour is over."

   "Over? It's barely started," I complain. "It can't be that embarrassing. Where'd you get it?"

   He shakes his head, staying silent, and I let my imagination run wild as I think of how Jess could've got a black eye. I know he didn't fight with Dean. Rory and her grandmother had every right to punch him, but I don't think they did. My dad wouldn't punch him.

   Maybe somebody kicked a ball in his face. Maybe he slipped and fell down. Maybe it's self inflicted if one can even punch themselves in the eye. I hate not knowing.

"Stop." I snap my head over to Jess, confused.

"Stop what?"

"Trying to figure out where I got it."

"Well, you won't tell me so I'm letting my imagination run wild," I joke, but he doesn't look amused. "The funniest scenario is you slipping on a banana peel and falling face first on the floor."

   I peer over at him, and his face has hardened. Whatever happened must've been embarrassing because otherwise, he'd just tell me where he got the black eye.

   Knowing that I'd eventually find out where he got the black eye from once Dad finds out, I shut up for the rest of the journey.

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𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐘𝐎𝐑𝐊 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘.

Her interview is tomorrow, and she promised she'd call after the interview. She's been practising her routine religiously for the past two weeks, and from what I've seen, she's going to ace it.

Also, her freaking mother actually pulled through and drove her to New York. I think they're staying at some hotel, but I didn't ask many questions. I was too busy staring at her, mouth gaped when she broke the news that her mother would actually be taking her to New York.

I never thought, in a million years, that Addy's mother would ever──

The door to the diner is pushed open, and I'm met with an exhausted Lindsay. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I just stare at her as she moves towards the counter, completely out of breath.

"Addy's in New York, right?" I nod, still speechless as I slide a glass of water over to her. "Oh, thanks." She quickly downs it, still trying to level her breathing. Was she running? "She's in New York with her mother, right?"

What is she trying to get at? "Yeah. Why?"

   "Well, I just passed her mother on the street."

   I jerk back. "What?"

"I just saw──" She pauses, tapping her hand against the counter and I push another glass of water towards her. "Thank you."

"But her mother is in New York with Addy." Lindsay shakes her head, still drinking her water quickly. "Linds, breathe."

She inhales sharply, placing her glass down. "She's not in New York with her mother, but I think I know who she's there with." I stare at Lindsay for a long moment, waiting in anticipation but she doesn't say anything. She just drinks her water.

"Lindsay, what──"

"She's there with Nathan," she interrupts, and my mouth gapes.

I reach for the phone, and I immediately start dialling Addy's cellphone number. Lindsay rushes around the counter to join my side, and I hold the phone up in between us, listening to it ring several times before she finally picks up.

She's laughing when she answers, and I grin widely. "Hey, Ad!"

"Uh, hey, Luce. Everything okay?"

"Y-You're──" I'm just gonna cut right to the chance. "I know your mother isn't in New York with you!"

"Yeah, I'm here with Nathan."

"Ha! I knew you──" I pause, realising she just told me that so easily. I look over at Lindsay, a little confused. "I can't believe you just admitted that."

"No point lying to you, babe."

I laugh. "So why are you there with Nathan?"

Addy begins speaking, but Dad steps over and distracts me, looking at me and Lindsay with a very confused expression. "What the hell are you doing?" I smile up at him, and I push the phone back on the receiver.

I'll call her later and get the details. Besides, I know Nathan is there because they're obviously back together. "Why does Jess have a black eye?" I peer past his arm to see Jess standing there.

"I-I──" Jess glares at me. "I punched him," I choke out quickly.

Dad looks back at Jess, silently asking if I actually punched him. Jess nods, somewhat of a smile on his face. "Yep. Lucy..." He exhales. "...punched me."

Lindsay squeezes my arm. "I'll leave you to it."

Once Lindsay leaves, I turn to Dad and Jess, now ready to hear how he got that black eye. "So Lucy punched you?" Dad asks, and Jess nods, but Dad knows better. He knows I did not punch Jess even if I really, really want to some days.

Dad looks back at me, and I smile innocently. "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday," we reply.

   "You went to Rory's grandmother yesterday. She punch you?" Dad asks, and I grin. "Where'd you get it?"

   "Lucy."

   Dad sighs, obviously frustrated. "So you're not gonna tell me?"

   Jess nods. "It was Lucy."

   "It was not──"

The phone begins to ring, and Dad steps away to answer it while Jess and I stare each other down. "It's Rory." We look over at Dad.

"I'm not here," he says.

"What?"

"Get a clue, Columbo. I don't wanna talk to her."

When Dad explains to Rory that Jess "went somewhere", Dad grabs ahold of Jess' shirt and drags him away, and I eagerly follow after him. I know this is between Dad and Jess, but I really want to know where he got that black eye from.

   Dad drags Jess into the back room, and I stop next to them, smiling excitedly. They don't question my presence, but Jess is definitely wishing I'd disappear or something.

   "Look, you're my responsibility." Dad stares at Jess, arms crossed, and I flick my eyes between them. "You're exhibiting signs of violent behavior and I don't care how much you don't wanna talk about it, you're not leaving until you tell me. Now, tell me, where'd you get the black eye?"

   "You wouldn't believe it anyway." Jess tries to turn away, but Dad pulls him back.

   "Try me, tough guy."

   Jess sighs, obviously looking uncomfortable. He looks down at the floor, hitting his foot against the ground, and then he looks back at Dad and says, "A swan."

   I jerk my head back, more lost than before. "Excuse me?"

   "I was attacked by a swan," he confirms, but it almost doesn't sound believable. "Okay, you happy? A stupid swan."

   Dad nods, not convinced. "Now, how bout the real story?"

   "That is the real story," he insists, and a grin cracks on my face because even if this is fake, it's too funny not to smile at. "It hangs out by Larson's Dock. I was just walking by and the thing came out of nowhere and bam──" He emphasises by waving his hand in front of his black eye, and the smile on my face only widens. "──beaked me right in the eye."

   Dad's restraint cracks and he smiles. "It beaked you?"

   "You still don't believe me."

   "I just never heard anyone use the word beaked as a verb before." We laugh, and I cover my mouth to try and stop myself but it's no use. Out of all the scenarios I concocted last night, Jess being attacked by a swan never made the list.

   He shakes his head. "No, no, this isn't funny. That stupid bird attacked me. He could've blinded me. It's a vicious, vicious bird, and..." He looks to me and Dad, and he sees that we're no longer listening. We're just laughing. "...fine. Forget it."

   Jess walks back into the diner, and we quickly follow after him. He steps around the counter to retrieve a utensil. "What are you doing?" Dad asks, watching as Jess pulls out a ladle and walks towards the door. "Where are you going?"

   "I'm gonna do a little beaking of my own."

   "Jess, not the ladle," Dad calls out, no longer laughing. "That's a brand new ladle. Take the baster!"

I don't know why I follow, but I do, and now I'm sat in a boat in the middle of the lake with my dad and cousin. While Jess being attacked by a swan is the funniest thing I've ever heard, I still think I should've stayed at the diner because this is boring. Jess plans to attack the swan with a... ladle by the looks of it, but we can't see this swan.

Every time I look at Jess, a smile cracks on my face because, for the rest of my life, I'm going to remember that a swan attacked him.

"Stop looking at me, Lucy." I snap my head towards the water, focusing on the area where no swan swims.

"I don't see a swan," Dad says.

"Put your oars down," Jess demands, and I bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing because that's the strangest demand ever. I don't know what putting the oars down will do, but whatever.

"They don't like oars?"

"Just lay low, it'll come."

"Will it?" I ask, smiling innocently.

"Does it act all peaceful and Bambi-like and then suddenly attack like the rabbit in Monty Python?" Dad asks, and a laugh bubbles out of me which earns me a respectable glare from Jess.

He definitely shouldn't have told me and Dad.

"Your voice is probably scaring it away." Yes, because that's the reason the swan isn't attacking us.

Dad looks over at Jess, placing his oars down. "So how'd you explain the black eye to the Gilmores?"

"I didn't," he answers bluntly. "The whole night sucked. I'm happy it's behind me."

"Behind you? You ain't got nothing behind you."

Jess looks away from the water towards Dad. "What do you mean?"

"You'll have plenty more events like that in your future," he replies, and I hum in agreement. I told him this last night, but he didn't want to hear it.

Jess shakes his head. "No way."

"When you date a girl like Rory, you're involved with her whole family," Dad tells him, but Jess doesn't seem to be having any of it. "Just like Tristan is involved with our entire family because he's dating Lucy."

With me comes my father, and with that now comes Jess, and then the entire town is involved. Dad's right. Tristan is dating me, but he also has to make nice with my family and my town because they're damn important to me, and if they don't like something, I tend to not.

"I'm dating Rory, not her family."

"All these people come in a package with this girl," Dad informs. "The mother comes with this girl. The grandmother comes with this girl."

"And apparently a bunch of others," Jess grumbles, and I figure out who he's talking about before he says it. "Everybody she's ever met, including Dean."

Dad points to him. "She picked you."

"God knows why."

"Jess, being jealous of Dean──"

"I am not jealous of Dean," he interrupts a little too quickly.

"Being jealous of Dean is pointless," Dad continues. "You're just gonna drive Rory away. You wanna have a relationship with someone, you're gonna have to learn to open up your mouth and say something."

I raise my hand. "Damn straight." Dad claps his hand against mine, and Jess scowls at us, probably wishing he wasn't stuck with us.

"Give it a rest, Dr. Phil."

"You can't shut down, you can't avoid her calls."

"I didn't wanna talk."

"Well, when are you gonna wanna talk?" Dad asks, but Jess just shrugs in response. "So, what are you gonna do, just keep avoiding her and never take her calls again?"

"She'll find me eventually."

"If she keeps looking for you."

I stare at Dad, mesmerised. "You are on fire today, sir." I look back to a scowling Jess, and I offer him a sarcastic smile. "Sorry."

"I'm not gonna be a wuss like Dean."

"Dean had that girl for two years," I tell him, deciding to lecture him too because, from the looks of it, it's fun.

Dad nods. "You have a little fight after two months, you walk out, and it's over?"

"I don't care." He does care, he just doesn't want to talk about it.

"Okay, fine, you don't care, that's obvious."

I look past Dad to see a swan gliding across the water, and Jess tells us to shut up. "Is that the one?" I ask.

"That's it. Watch it."

Dad looks to the water. "I'm watching it. It's pretty." I chuckle.

"Shh!"

It continues to glide across the water, completely ignoring us. "Is it gonna double back?" Dad asks, and I snort out a laugh.

"It's lulling us into complacency," I say, still grinning because this is the funniest thing in the world, and I can't wait to tell Tristan, Lindsay and Addy.

"He's vicious, I'm telling you."

"Yeah, his butt's terrifying."

I hide my laugh behind my hand, but Dad doesn't bother. He's laughing openly, but Jess doesn't find us amusing. "It's outnumbered," he says, being completely serious. "That's the problem. It knows there's three of us."

"So you want us to get under water, swim along with the boat, breathe through a straw?" Dad asks, and I hit my hand against his arm, tears in my eyes from laughing.

"Forget it," Jess sighs, grabbing the oars.

"Maybe it's gonna get another swan and come back and make a fight of it, huh?"

Jess being attacked by a swan might be the best thing to ever happen, way better than discovering that Addy and Nathan are back together.

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authors note:

messy, funny chapter lol

next chapter you'll see way more tristan and lucy i promise :))

ALSO I may have started writing a Jess Mariano fic that ties in with this fic── it takes place after Jess leaves Stars Hollow before season four, and is set in California & New York

I'm desperate to write a Jess fic bcos he's my fav (duh) and I still wanted it to be related to this story because I love Lucy and Jess' relationship, so I may upload the first chapter once I finish the next few chapters

Oh and I'm also planning on writing a Criminal Minds fic bcos I just finished it lol

I have a lot of plans and no time *cries*

anyway, thankyou so much for reading :)