CHERRY. [JESS MARIANO]

The Smell of Bleach is The Smell of Freedom

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I question Lane as the three of us walk towards Stars Hollow Beauty Supply.

Rory looked toward Lane who was walking between the two of us. "Yeah, if your mum finds out she'll kill you."

Lane had an ingenious idea of dying her hair as a form of rebellion against her strict mother. After she had realised that her life was slowly slipping out of her control, she had decided she need to do something about it.

I adjust the dark blue jacket on my shoulders as Lane responds to our pessimism. "I need to do this," she tells us with a nod of her head as if convincing herself. "If I don't, I'll be stuck with her choosing what underwear I wear in the morning."

Rory scrunched her nose up at her words. "Hopefully she doesn't choose the Spongebob ones," she adds in.

With a quick glance towards me, Lane shushed Rory. "That was supposed to be our secret," she whispers to Rory while looking at me out of the corner of her eye.

"You guys keep secrets from me?" I ask, slightly hurt. I didn't realise they did that, I mean I never kept anything from them. Well, the whole Yale or No Yale thing was a very different kind of secret. A big secret.

"It wasn't a secret," Rory rephrased with an apologetic glance my way.

"Yeah, it was more of a 'we will never speak of this again' kind of thing." Lane agreed as she pushed her thick framed glasses up the bridge of her nose.

I rub my left hand up and down my right arm awkwardly. "I know, I just thought you'd tell me. You know as a 'Hey, guess what just happened' thing." I tell them with a shrug. This wasn't a big deal, they just did something funny without me. It's all fine, it happens sometimes.

"It's just that every time we hang out you're usually busy with Jess," Lane continued on truthfully.

"No I'm not," I say defensively. "I'm hanging out with you guys aren't I?"

"Yeah," Lane said with a nod. "For the first time in two weeks." She adds the last part with a raised eyebrows.

I turn to Rory who was unusually quiet as the three of us kept on walking. Rory with her gaze trained on the sidewalk. "So?" I direct my question to her. "Is it true?"

She looks up at me with a grimace. "I mean kind of," she begins as I groan as the fact that she agreed with Lane. "I only ever see you in school anymore."

"Let me put it this way," Lane piped up. "Remember when Rory first went out with Dean?" She asked me as I nodded in response, not knowing where she was going with this. "And she completely ignored us for a while."

"Hey!" Rory exclaimed in protest.

"Not now," Lane and I told her simultaneously. Rory let out a huff of air exaggeratedly as Lane continued.

"That's you now," she tells me as I feel a frown creep on my face. I began to protest but Lane stopped me. "Exactly you."

I began to think about how maybe she was right. Maybe have been spending a lot of time with Jess. I wouldn't say too much time but a lot of time nonetheless. So, they might have a good point.

"Am I really like how Rory was?" I say distastefully as I remember how neglected Lane and I felt at her lack of contact. It wasn't a nice feeling if I was honest. So it made sense if Lane and Rory weren't feeling too happy with me either.

Rory looks toward me with a scoff. "I'm right here," she shakes her head at the way I say her name.

"You're doing what she did," Lane ignores Rory and answers my question.