𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 | 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴

01 :: 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴

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❝ You're new here, aren't you? ❞

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SHADOWS HAUNT THIS earth. They creep out from behind corners and pounce out from the daylight to dim the light and warmth you once bathed in. They remove all things pure and sweet in the world and hold you back, always following you and never pausing the torment they exist to wreak. Shadows were the strangling arms, restraining you from reaching your full potential as they stowed you away.

The shadows were Melissa Gilmore's first friend. They kept her safe, holding her when the sighs of disappointment from her mother became too much for the child to bear. The shadows may have strangled her, suffocated her to the point she broke; but they were always her first friend. The one thing she could always count on. She hid in the shadow of her twin sister and caught all the ruthless comments Rory allowed to roll from her back into her shadow.

Melissa was nine years old before she learned how to sidestep the shadow that fought to restrain her.

Now, older and wiser and a tad bit more mature, Melissa had created her own shadow, a veil of darkness she blanketed others with. Despite never having to once try, Rory had mastered the art of shadow dodging and had yet to fall victim to the coat of despair her twin had learnt to generate.

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"DO YOU BELIEVE in love?"

The question had been so abrupt neither of the two girls had been expecting it. Melissa hadn't been expecting to ask the question and Gracie certainly hadn't been expecting her best friend to ask such a burdening thing at such an early hour of the morning.

Gracie shrugged. She brought her coffee mug to her lips, sipping daintily with her pinkie finger protruding ever so slightly. She swallowed cautiously before looking up to her brunette friend. "Of course, I believe in love. What prompts such a heavy question might I ask?" Gracie always spoke properly, slang entering her vocabulary merely from hearing her dearest friend use it. 

Melissa downed the last of her coffee before answering, "Well, I was reading a book —,"

"Do you ever do anything but read?" Gracie snorted, laughing erupting from her throat.

Melissa rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. Now shut up for a second." Gracie laughed at how ridiculous the serious tone Melissa put on sounded, but she obliged to the request all the same. "I was reading a book, and I don't know. It all just seemed so... fake. Their love seemed rushed and it just made me question the idea of love. It doesn't really make sense."

"No, no it does," Gracie assured her. Melissa didn't appear overly convinced however and Gracie's eyes scoured the bustling diner for something they could confide it. A checkered shirt and backwards baseball cap glided past them, a coffee pot in hand. "Luke!"

The man turned to face the two teenage girls and he smiled when he saw them. Melissa and Gracie were two of Luke's most loyal customers. Gracie smiled softly up at him, her face not creasing with wrinkles and her skin remaining perfectly smooth. "Coffee to go?" Luke grabbed two coffee cups from behind the counter, the two he gave the girls each morning. Melissa's was a shade of light pink, a daisy adoring the front. Gracie's was a cool green, a sunflower standing out in the centre. He poured them more coffee from his pot, just how they liked it.

"Do you believe in love?" Gracie inquired, smiling gracefully up at him. He looked shocked to say the least, surprised by the deep conversational topics arising at this table before nine am on a Monday morning. Despite his shock, Luke nodded, twisting the lids of the coffee cups shut and handing them to the girls.

"Why?" he asked, passing Gracie her travel cup.

Gracie pointed at the girl across from her. "Mel read a book that has now caused her to question whether or not love exists." Luke turned to look at the sulking brunette. She sat with her eyes downcast, fingers toying with the ends of her blazer.

"You'll find love, Lissa. There's someone out there for everyone and trust me, you'll find them." He handed Melissa her coffee cup as she looked up at him, admiration swirling in her eyes as she took the cup into her own hands.

"Positive?"

"1000%." Luke smiled at her before shifting his attention to the watch on his wrist. "And as much as I enjoy having you two hogging all the table space, you should probably get going. You don't want to be late on your first day of Junior Year."

The two girls silently agreed and stood, grabbing their school bags and briskly tidying the table to the best of their ability. The girls smiled at Luke as he warned them to drive safely before they passed Taylor Doose on their way out of the diner towards Gracie's car.

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"JUST BECAUSE IT'S your car doesn't mean you get to control the radio every single time we drive somewhere."

Gracie rolled her eyes, shooing her friend away. "Yes it does, and be grateful you even have a chauffeur, Gilmore. Or I might make you take the bus to and from school tomorrow."

Melissa gasped, reaching back into the car to grab her coffee cup from the holder in the centre. "You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me."

The two held eye contact momentarily before they erupted into laughter. "Thanks for the ride, Gray. I'll call you later."

"See ya, Mel."

Melissa stood out from the car and shut the door. She sent a small wave to Gracie as she pulled out, turning back the way she came to return to her home in Hartford. Gracie honked the horn as she drove by, smiling widely and mimicking her wave.

Melissa sighed, turning swiftly. Except instead of walking forwards, her body collided with that of another figure, her coffee spilling all over the shirt of the person she bumped into. "Oh, my God — I'm so sorry, Jesus, sorry I wasn't expecting anyone — I'll watch where I'm going next time, I swear —,"

Her voice cut off when she saw the smirk playing on the boy's lips. He looked impressed yet somehow extremely judgemental of the Gilmore girl. His fingers pressed into his shirt, the coffee-soaked material spreading liquid to his fingertips.

"You're new here, aren't you?" Melissa cocked her head to one side, her eyes boring into his.

The boy nodded, looking down at her. He was only two or three inches taller than her but the close proximity forced it to feel like a greater amount. "That I am. How'd you piece that one together?"

Maybe it was something in the way he spoke. Or maybe in the way he looked down at her with the warmest eyes she had ever seen. But there was something about him that left her starstruck. "Stars Hollow is a small place. I know everyone here. Everyone but you."

"Jess Mariano." He stretched out his hand to her and she took it gladly.

"Melissa Gilmore." She smiled.

"I look forward to getting to know you, Gilmore." And with those simple words, he turned and made his way to the diner. She remained where she was standing in the centre of the town square. She watched as he carelessly crossed the street and advanced up the few steps to the diner door. He paused, hand grasping the handle, and turned back to her. He smiled and she couldn't help but smile back.

He pulled gently at his coffee-drenched shirt, mouthing, "You owe me." She laughed and nodded, waving slightly to him as he disappeared from sight.