𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗚𝗘 (JESS MARIANO)

30

chris stood above a sleeping teagan holding a pillow, after repeatedly trying to wake her up gently, this was the only solution.

"sorry babe." he whispered before hurling the pillow at her face. "oh shi-!" he shouted after initial impact. "that was harder than expected."

"jesus christ!" teagan groaned, rubbing her forehead. "did i just die? what the hell just happened?"

"craziest thing." chris backed away from her. "the ceiling just collapsed on your head and then it just disappeared."

"you hit me, didn't you?"

"i resent that accusation."

"you did!" the brunette launched from her bed, jumping on the back of her attacker. "listen buddy, you better behave yourself for the next few weeks or i swear to god-"

"swear to god what? you'll tell on me? ooh i'm so scared!" chris laughed from underneath her, trying to shake her off him.

"really?" teagan teased, out of breath. "tara!" she shouted down to chris' foster mother. "your son is-"

the teen was cut off when a hand covered her mouth. "don't even think about- did you just lick me?" chris quickly moved his hand away from his friends face. "how old are you?"

"it worked, didn't it?" teagan laughed. "now leave me, sir. i must begin my preparations for our journey." she slumped back into her bed.

"you have an hour, my good friend." chris called back to her, as he left her room. "call your mom!"

teagan rolled her eyes at the suggestion, completely ignoring it. "i did! you tell me that everyday!" she shouted back to him as she began getting ready.

~

after a long goodbye to chris' foster parents and filing into his car, the pair were finally on their way to Stars Hollow. teagans stomach was twisted in anxiety, she had no idea what to expect when she arrived at the town.

she had no reason to be worried about going back, but something gave her a bad feeling about facing jess again after disappearing for the entire summer.

"teagan." chris voice broke through to her spirals and she snapped her head over to him. "i've been trying to get your attention for the past two minutes."

"sorry." she looked back towards the road. "in a different world."

chris eyed her dazed expression before letting it go. "i asked if you called your mom- well anna."

"i called last night, cal picked up. they seemed happy that i was coming back. i'm sure taylor won't be so excited to see me." she smiled.

the boy stayed quiet for a few moments, preparing himself to ask the next question, unsure if the reaction would cause a 'teagan tantrum'. "what about jess?"

"you are very nosy." teagan breathed out a laugh, she knew this was going to be a topic of conversation. "i- uh- haven't spoken to him since the wedding. i didn't exactly tell him i was leaving."

"idiot." chris sighed. "you think he missed you?"

"probably not." she shrugged. "not a big deal."

"did you miss him?"

teagan hesitated before answering, the knot in her stomach becoming tighter as she spoke about partner in crime. "i guess. i don't know, can we drop it?"

"yeah, sure." chris kept his eyes on the road, sneaking quick glances at the girl next to him who seemed to be uncomfortable with the conversation. "can i tell you about yale?"

teagans face immediately perked up at the topic change. "please, tell me everything. just leave out the parts with huntzberger and his clan."

"i was planning on it." chris smiled as they continued their journey.

~

"my legs are dead." teagan called as she stepped out of the car in Stars Hollow. "they're seriously aching."

"shut up!" chris laughed. "i missed this place." he looked towards the clear sky, the small town had a way of always looking beautiful no matter the weather.

"me too." teagan sighed contently, welcoming the familiar feeling the town brought that began to wash away her anxiety. "right come on, grab your bag, the folks are going to be all over you."

almost on cue, anna and cal came bounding out the door and towards the two teens.

"hey kids." cal beamed towards the two. "how was the drive?"

"it was alrig-" teagan was cut off as he pulled her in for a hug. "well isn't that sweet, missed you too cal!"

just as he let go she was ambushed with another hug from anna. "the house was too quiet without you, sweetie." the older woman whispered into teagans ear as she squeezed her. the teen couldn't help but smile at the simple comment.

"well you can drop your bags off and head to the town square if you want, we can all catch up later." cal suggested, trying to please the two teens that probably didn't want to spend a summer afternoon talking to their parents.

"i think lorelai is at luke's so we could head there?" teagan suggested.

"yeah sure, i don't mind." chris shrugged, impartial to what they did, just happy to be back in the picturesque town.

"okay, let's bring in our bags." teagan smiled, heading towards the door. "i'm starving anyway."

anna quickly grabbed the brunettes arm, gently pulling her behind the two men. "jess is back."

teagan knew she had to act surprised as her foster mother didn't know she had seen him at sookies wedding. "oh! really? i- uh- thought he was staying in new york."

"apparently not." anna shook her head, holding onto her daughters hand. "i know that whatever i say about him is going to go in one ear and out the other, so just be careful, okay?"

"yeah of course, anna." teagan sent her a soft smile, surprised that she wasn't banned from seeing one of her only friends in the town, but still completely ecstatic.

"i still don't like him." the woman rolled her eyes at the thought of him.

"yeah, i know." teagan laughed, still slightly anxious about how the mariano boy was going to react to her sudden re-appearance in the town.

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authors note
new chapter!!!! finally!!!
i'm so sorry about the wait, i've had so much college work the past few months and also actual work-work! but i'm hoping to update more regularly.
bit of a filler chapter but i wanted to give the good bits a chapter to itself!
enjoy! and don't forget to comment & vote!
(p.s i love reading the comments, they make my day!)