18 {Jess MarianoxOC}

11

THIRD PERSON POV

Becky woke up to the sound of the familiar bell ringing. Trying to blink the sleepiness from her eyes, she looks around the diner.

"Hey,"

The girl looks up to see Jess with a sleepy smile on his face. She sent him a small smile before placing her head on his shoulder again, "Hey," she whispered.

The bell rings again and a tall blonde walks in. Becky's eyes widen when her gaze falls on him and she runs towards him. Leaving Jess completely confused.

"Tristan!" she yells, as she wraps her arms around him. Her smile grew wider as she remembered the tall blonde had escorted girls countless times. "Hey Tristan, do you love me?" the girl asked as she pulled away from her friend.

"Of course I do,"

Love

The word caused Jess's breath to hitch. How could I be so stupid? he thought. Of course, Becky has a boyfriend! She's so sweet, she's funny, caring, and-

"Oh my God! I love you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Becky's happy giggling snapped the brunette out of his thoughts. He looked up to see her leaning in to press a kiss to the blonde's cheek, causing his small smile to falter into a firm line.

"Jess, this is Tristan. Tristan, this is Jess." the green-eyed girl introduced, just now realizing that her friends had never met before. As the two boys awkwardly shook hands, Becky noticed that Jess's demeanor had changed completely. Before he was smiling and joking around with her but now, he was quiet and staring straight ahead, almost as if he zoned out.

Feeling very uncomfortable she turned to Tristan, "Not that I don't enjoy your company, but what exactly are you doing in Stars Hollow?"

"Well, I figured we could have that sleepover we were talking about a while ago. We haven't had one of those in a while," He looked between his friend and the dark-haired boy. "Unless you have plans already, then we can just do some other time."

Before Becky could even reply Jess cut her off. "No, no, we don't have plans. I was planning on going up anyways." The girl stood there as she watched Jess turn around and make his way toward the stairs, frozen in shock. She didn't expect him to sound so annoyed.

"Jess," she called out. When the brunette turned around Becky wrapped her arms around his middle, pulling him into a tight hug. It took the boy a second to process what was happening before he hugged her back. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?" she whispered in his ear.

"You know where to find me, Alvarez," he smirked as they started to pull away from each other. When they let go of each other completely, the boy turned around and continued to go up the stairs.

As Jess lay on the mattress his uncle had on the floor for him, he noticed a book out of the corner of his eye. It was tucked between a pile of CDs he had near the stereo, hidden in plain sight. I don't remember leaving a book there, he thought. Curiosity getting the best of him, he got up and made his way toward it.

The boy let out a small laugh as he read the title. It was a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. As he opened the book to the first page a small note fell out.

I expect to get that Hemingway book tomorrow

-B :)

Jess smiled as he folded Becky's and placed it in his jacket pocket. How did she get this thing up here without me noticing? he thought. He grabbed a pen, ready the annotate the hell out of the novel. As he sat by the window, he saw Becky making her way home with the blonde.

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"You know, I never thanked you for agreeing to be my escort," Becky smiled as she peered up at her friend through thick lashes. The pair walked side by side as they made their way toward Peach Street, arms linked together.

"To the debutante ball?"

"No, to prom," Becky said sarcastically. Tristan turned to look at her, brows furrowed. "Yes, to the debutante ball. Where else?" she laughed as she playfully smacked his arm.

"It's no big deal. You're my best friend. Why wouldn't I agree?"

"Awwwwww, you love me," the brunette teased.

Tristan rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at the ground, "Yeah, I do,"

"Hey, why'd you have that look on your face when we were walking out of the diner?"

"What look?"

"You were smirking. And you had this look on your face." Becky looks at her blonde friend. Her eyes widen. "That! That look!" she points.

"It's not a look," Tristan scoffs.

"Yeah, it is. Come on, why'd you make that face?"

"I'm not telling you,"

"Come on, Tristan!"

"You're not gonna believe me," the blonde laughed, shaking his head. He turned to look at the brunette and saw an expecting look gracing her features. "Fine, I'll tell you."

"Yes!" Becky smiled as she pumped her fist.

Tristan sighed, "He has a thing for you,"

The girl stopped in her tracks, green eyes wide in shock. "What?" she laughed.

"The guy at the diner. He has a thing for you."

"Jess does not have a thing for me."

"Uh, yes, he does. And you have a thing for him too,"

"Nuh-uh," the brunette denied.

"Yuh-huh, you think I didn't notice how you were sleeping all leaned up against him and how you had your head on his shoulder." he pointed out. "And, how serious he was when you introduced us. He looked like he wanted to rip my limbs apart!"

"Tristan, we're just friends," Becky said, emphasizing the last word.

"Right, keep telling yourself that. Deep down, you think he's attractive, even by a teeny-tiny bit." Tristan put his arm around her shoulders, pausing before continuing his sermon. "I know you sort of swore off from dating after Ben, but he seems like a good match for you. " The brunette's smile fell at the mention of her ex, remembering the bittersweet memories of their time together.

"I know I just met him, and it was for a second, but it seemed like you're comfortable around him." her friend continued. "I'm calling it right now. In a year, your guys are going to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Then you guys will get married and have kids. And I'll be able to spoil the shit out of my future godchildren."

Becky placed her head on Tristan's shoulder as her mind wandered. She thought about what he said and how most of it was true. She did swear off dating after her breakup with Ben. She did think Jess was attractive. And she did feel comfortable around him.

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Hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter!

I know updates have been slow recently and I'm sorry. I've been busy with school work turning my stuff in on time. I'll try to update more often!

-J <3