Do You See Her Face? (A Jess Mariano Fanfiction)

A Regular Keats and a Regular Mozart

Disclaimer: All Gilmore Girls content belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino.

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Evening light waned in the Connecticut sky. Ella watched the stars appear slowly, in her usual corner table near the windowed wall at Luke's. She'd tried to get through her calculus homework three times, but eventually her brain would start frying and she would have to take a break. Lane would have been with her, but she was grounded yet again. So, Ella was flying solo. It didn't bother her. Most days she wasn't on shift, she ended up at the small corner table anyway, pouring over her textbooks with occasional interludes for tea and a burger around dinnertime. Luke had long since cleared away her dishes and left her by her lonesome.

After a few unproductive minutes, watching the townspeople walk by, she glanced at her watch and found it was nearly half past eight. The twinkling string lights illuminated the main streets and the town's gazebo. It was beautiful. No matter how many times she sat and watched the cozy yellowish glow envelope Stars Hollow night, she never got tired of it. She had a decent view of the sky from her bedroom window at home, but Luke's view of town was far better. It was one of the many reasons she preferred to spend her nights away from the little blue house near the edge of town.

She had just gone back to the nearly illegible problem below her when Jess's knuckles rapped on her table. A nervous blush crept up on her freckled cheeks though she hadn't visibly startled. Her heart had still skipped a beat at the noise. He sat down across from her without being invited, a smirk on his face and an apron around his hips.

"What are you doing here? You're not on shift today," he asked. The sarcastic twinkle had never left his eyes the entirety of the time they had been working together thus far.

"I like to study here on my days off," she told him, her pencil still in her head. She debated ignoring him and going back to her notes, but decided to humor him for at least a few minutes. Apparently, it was the first time he hadn't been out raising hell on an evening shift she wasn't working. It had been a part of her routine for so long, she found it odd anyone would be surprised to find her there on a free weeknight. "What are you doing sitting down here when you're supposed to be working?"

Jess chuckled a little. "Thursday nights apparently aren't too big around here. Luke's already closing it up. I just clocked out." He paused to untie his apron and throw it over his shoulder, as if to prove his point. "I knew this town was boring, but damn. Do you really not hang out anywhere else on your days off besides the place you already work?" he asked.

Ella shrugged, looking down at her work again. Just the sight of it made her insides squirm in frustration. "There's places to go."

"Well, could you let me in on them?"

Pursing her lips, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Hm?"

"Show me around. Apparently you know of some interesting spots, and I haven't found any yet."

She scoffed. "You've been here almost a month and no place in Stars Hollow has piqued your interest at all?"

"No," he told her nonchalantly. Though he didn't continue, she only stared at him suspiciously. Sighing through his nose, he produced a deck of cards from the pocket of his jeans. He fanned them out in front of her, the deck with wrinkles and scuffed spots on the royal blue designs. "Pick a card."

Instead of going along with his trick, she rolled her eyes dramatically and shut the textbook in front of her. "Why don't I just cut this magic show short and give you the world's fastest tour?"

"Oooo, so impatient." Jess pretended to be offended. "Homework makes you cruel."

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