IDLE TOWN, jess mariano

²⁰an ode to new york

「 chapter twenty 」
❝ teen girl from a small town in connecticut found dead in new york „

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"SO WHEN ARE YOU GOING BACK TO STARS HOLLOW?" Jess asked.

It was nearing dinnertime, apparent not only from the watch on their wrists but also from the influx of businesspeople getting off of subways.

"Why? You tired of me already?"

"You know what I mean."

Aries shrugged. "I'm obviously not staying here forever, but it definitely is more interesting here than back home."

"Did you tell anyone you're coming here?" he asked.

"Um ... not really," she said. "I'm sure I'll be back before anyone notices, though."

He looked at her before nodding a little. Aries took out the wallet she had stolen earlier and looked through it.

"I'm sure ... Adam Peters," she said, reading the license, "has enough money to get me at least a night in some motel. Lame name, good money."

She pocketed the money, change, and credit card before discarding everything else in a nearby trash can.

"You're gonna stay in a motel?" Jess asked incredulously.

"Yeah? What's wrong with that?" she said with furrowed eyebrows. "I guess if Adam's money doesn't cover it, I could always beg on the street until someone gives me money or lets me stay at their place."

Jess furrowed his eyebrows, pursed his lips, and tilted his head a little. "Or ... they might think you're another type of person who stands on the street asking people to give them money and take them home."

Aries blinked slowly and grimaced as she came to that realization. "Yeah, okay, very true. I'll just stick to the hotel and if not, I'm sure there's some open house or apartment listing that I can sneak into and stay at."

"Come on," Jess said, picking up their pace; Aries assumed that meant he had a plan as to where they were going rather than just wandering around and people watching.

"Where to now?"

"You can stay over at my place," he said.

"Well, I don't want to intrude."

He scoffed. "You're not intruding."

"I mean I showed up to New York without any warning and now I'm crashing at your place."

"Trust me, it'd be a lot more inconvenient if you didn't have a place to stay and got murdered," he said.

"Well I'd be dead, so you wouldn't have to worry about me," Aries said nonchalantly.

Jess looked at her with a concerned expression and she shrugged. "No, I think I would be very worried if you died—especially if it was preventable."

"How do I know you're not just taking me to your place to kill me?" she asked. "You say you're looking out for me by letting me stay at your place, but maybe you're just taking me to your murder room."

"I don't have a murder room," he said. "Plus, if I wanted to kill you, I would've already done it."

"That's reassuring," said Aries.