DISCO NIGHTS !
CHAPTER THIRTY
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY

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MAEVE WALKED INTO the classroom, side-by-side with Flynn.

The girl had come straight from the closed diner this morning, and if there was one thing Maeve was happy about regarding Luke's absence, it was the fact that it gave her an opportunity to get a head-start on any schoolwork she hadn't had a chance to start yet.

This occurrence was incredibly scarce, as Maeve usually started and finished all of her schoolwork several days—weeks, in fact—in advance, to prevent this exact situation from happening.

As Maeve sat down in her usual seat, she turned to face the one beside her, her previously neutral expression slightly faltering at the sudden emptiness that was now reflecting from it.

Just barely slumping down further into her seat as she kept her eyes focused on the one beside her, her attention was suddenly brought to Flynn sitting down right on it.

"Where did you go just then?" Flynn lightheartedly huffed a chuckle.

Maeve slid her eyes up to meet Flynn's as she just hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "Nowhere. Why?"

"Your face did that thing," Flynn watched Maeve begin to pull out her textbooks. "Y'know, where you drift away into your own head."

Maeve let out a disagreeing, nervous chuckle as she continued unpacking her backpack. "I didn't know you noticed that."

Flynn shrugged. "I didn't until, like, three days ago."

Maeve was actually relieved that he only just noticed her certain habits now. It sure saved her from many uncomfortable conversations, particularly relating to if she was truly okay with sacrificing her books to watch his games, or the matter of if she was truly ready to lose her virginity to him or not.

Either way, Maeve was happy that he didn't know how she was truly feeling in situations similar to those.

Maeve plastered on a tight-lipped smile as she finally glanced at him. "Well, I have many thoughts, so it's kind of a common thing for me to get lost in them."

"I'll have to keep an eye on that, then." Flynn attempted to joke around with her, letting out a small laugh as he waited for her to reciprocate the action.

Maeve, however, wasn't in a particularly jokey mood, but decided to force out a convincing huff of a chuckle to appease him before she turned to face the front of the classroom.

•

It had been several hours since Luke had 'gone fishing' for the day, and Maeve had decided to stop by the diner that night to check if Luke had come back yet.

As she had predicted, and hoped, Luke's truck was parked in its usual spot right outside the diner, the man unloading his fishing gear from the back.

"Luke, hey!" Maeve grinned as she quickened her pace towards him.

Luke turned around, eyebrows raised at the sudden call and a smile tugging on his lips. "Hey, kid."

"How was your trip?" Maeve inquired as she gestured to his mini-freezer. "Catch anything cool?"

"Just a few small fish, nothing too crazy," Luke huffed out a breath as Maeve went to grab one of the toolboxes out of his trunk. "Oh, you don't have to do that, I can take them up myself."

"That's okay, I don't mind." Maeve simply waved off the concern as she let out a grunt while picking up the heavy box, and began to make her way towards the diner.

Luke grabbed the rest of his supplies and opened the door, allowing Maeve to walk in and place the box on a table.

Once Luke unloaded the rest of his supplies, he faced Maeve again, the man releasing a deep breath as he spoke up. "Hey, so, I should've told you about the whole 'kicking Jess out' thing. I meant to, but it all happened so fast, and I was more concerned with making sure that he was okay."

Maeve raised her eyebrows as she was momentarily taken aback by the words. Of course, Jess' safety was the key concern, and Luke telling Maeve of his nephew's exile was objectively the least pressing issue relating to the entire incident.

Stuttering out an eventual reply, Maeve just shook her head, arms crossing over her chest comfortably. "Oh, no, that's fine, you didn't have to tell me."

"Well, I just wanted to apologise anyway, I know you guys were becoming friends," Luke let out a breath as he gestured towards her. "Very slowly, but you were...on that track, I guess..."

"It's no big deal, Luke, really," Maeve sent him a reassured look as she then nudged his arm with her elbow, her arms still crossed over her chest. "I'm just glad you came back though, Margie would be beside herself if you moved to New York too."

Luke huffed out an amused breath that resembled a chuckle. "I'd never move, let alone without taking Margie with me."

Maeve smiled at Luke's reinforcement of the strength of his friendship with her grandmother. It was sweet, how the two of them had stayed best friends for so long.

"I'm assuming you're gonna be open tomorrow?" Maeve's eyebrows lifted as she changed the subject. "Kirk's blood sugar was low, he forgot his wallet inside, and he made sure to bring the fact that he was craving a 'delicious burger' up the whole day."

"Absolutely, and I'm not surprised," Luke blew out an expected breath, nodded in confirmation, and went around the register, seemingly remembering to pull some cash out of it. "Let me get your paycheque from yesterday..."

"What?" Maeve widened her eyes as she shook her head and advanced towards the register. "I didn't work, you don't have to pay me."

"Yes I do, I closed the diner and didn't tell you, so you should be paid for the work that I know you would've done." Luke pulled out the cash and held his hand out to give it to her.

Maeve's eyebrows etched inwards as she tried to refuse. "Luke, I can't take th-"

"You can and you will," Luke determinedly cut her off, holding his hand out towards her further and nodding his head. "If you don't take it, I'll just give it to Margie."

Maeve let out a deep breath as she sent him a pointed look but reluctantly took the money. She knew he wouldn't rest until he gave her the cash, and there was no point unnecessarily prolonging the gesture. "You're impossible. Fix that."

"Thanks for the tip." Luke matched the jokingly sarcastic tone as he then went around the counter to pour her some coffee.

Maeve gasped at the action as she sat on one of the counter seats. "How did you know?"

"Because I've known you all your life, kid," Luke stated in an obvious tone as he slid the coffee cup towards her. "And you always want coffee."

Maeve grinned as she just happily took a sip of her coffee.

•

Maeve was currently situated in her room, comfortably lying stomach-down on her bed and reading 'Jailbird' by Kurt Vonnegut.

Right as she flipped a page, her phone sprang up with a vibrating ring, stealing her attention away from the riveting novel. Dog-earing the page she was on, the girl carefully closed the book and reached over to place it on her bedside table before answering the phone, the girl still on her stomach. "Hello?"

A brief silence followed, causing Maeve to furrow her eyebrows in question. She opened her mouth to repeat the question, however before she could voice anything, the person on the other end of the line decided to eventually speak up. "Hey, princess."

Maeve sat up immediately at the familiarity of the voice on the other line. "Jess?"

"You sound surprised."

"Well, I- yeah, I kind of am," Maeve just stuttered out an answer as she was entirely taken aback. "I didn't expect you to associate with Stars Hollow again, to be honest. Let alone remember my number."

"What do you mean 'remember your number', I've called you, probably, a thousand times by now."

Maeve didn't miss the huff of a chuckle that accompanied the words, and she just let a small smile overtake her features. "I just meant, like, calling me from New York. Speaking of, how's the weather over there?"

"I'd say exactly the same as the weather there." Jess didn't waste a second to change the subject. "What were you reading before I called?"

"How did you know I was reading?" Maeve's voice was laced with intrigued amusement.

"Is that a serious question?"

"Tonight's read was 'Jailbird'." Maeve answered his previous inquiry.

"Nice. I personally couldn't get through 'Hocus Pocus', but 'Slapstick' was pretty good."

"That's an appropriate choice for you," Maeve hummed, verbalising the connection between the novel and Jess' view of the world. "Don't tell me you liked 'The Sirens of Titan', though."

"Not really. I know that you're not a science fiction fan, so I won't even bother with that one."

Maeve's eyebrows quirked upwards. "Take comfort in the fact that I didn't mind 'God Bless You, Mr Rosewater'."

"In other words, the most accurate depiction of the hypocrisies of humankind."

Maeve let out a humoured laugh at his evident sarcasm. "Don't forget the darkly humorous fashion in which Vonnegut cleverly executed said hypocrisies."

"Is that Slowdive in the back?"

"Specifically When the Sun Hits." Maeve's eyebrows lifted.

"You were making progress with Vonnegut, but now that I know about you listening to such an overrated song, all hope is lost."

Maeve's jaw dropped in offence. "Well- yeah, it is, but that's not the only Slowdive song I like, you've heard one song amongst several. And you just missed a Deftones listening party, so you have no say."

"Okay, Deftones is a sign of redemption, you're back in the running. Slowly getting there."

"Shut up, listen to Lush and Descendents and you'll be converted." Maeve offhandedly scoffed.

"Black Flag and Rancid. Thank me later."

"Hm, it sounds like we need to start that mixtape thing back up again." Maeve tauntingly drew out, narrowing her eyes despite the knowledge that Jess couldn't see her.

"And how would we do that, given the situation?"

Maeve tilted her head as her smile slightly grew. "Christopher Robin, have you lost your sense of imagination? We can write down our choices and talk about them."

"I hated that comparison."

"Good, my goal was achieved, and now I'm validated." Maeve quipped, the girl adjusting her position so she was comfortably sitting up, cross-legged.

"Your boyfriend's Robert Bly impression is going really well."

A frown overtook Maeve's features at the suddenness of the confronting statement. "What?"

"He was about to break into song about how 'natural masculinity has been suppressed' the other day, a concept Robert Bly wrote all about in 'Iron John'. Let me guess, that's number two of two of the only books he's ever read?"

"Flynn was just having a bad day," Maeve's eyebrows etched together in great offence. "It's not like he's going to become a spokesperson for the mythopoetic men's movement, he's usually a good guy."

"You're making excuses for him."

"I'm not...making excuses," Maeve scoffed defensively. "He shouldn't have said all that stuff, but I told him off for it, he apologised, and said he wouldn't do it again."

"And you believed that?"

"Okay, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, stop being annoyingly nosey and stick to your own personal life." Maeve deadpanned, still offended by his intrusive badgering.

"Take a shot every time you try to one-up my references."

"Well, if we were playing that game, we'd both be plastered by now." Maeve jested, the tone gradually shifting to their previously lighthearted one at Jess' change of conversational direction.

It was frighteningly obvious that the two were trying to throw in as many references as possible, likely catching up on the pop culture debates they had missed out on thus far.

"I've been counting, and we'd be way past plastered. Have you even read the blurb of 'The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test' yet?"

"I haven't, which is a little out of character for me, since I enjoy Tom Wolfe. I've been too busy trying to pull myself out of the melancholic back hole that is existential dread, thanks to Vonnegut," Maeve then tilted her head as she smirked. "Does that mean I'm public enemy number one?"

"Not just yet, but it bumps you up from fifth on the list."

Maeve gasped, feigning offence as she clasped her hand to her chest for dramatic effect. "I'm fifth?"

"Unfortunately, you haven't made the top three yet."

"I'm wounded." Maeve exaggeratedly drew out.

Maeve heard Jess huff a humoured breath that resembled a chuckle from the other end of the line, and he decided to change the subject again. "What was Margie's baked good of choice this week?"

Maeve grinned at the question. "Well, those muffins last week were a hit, so she made a blueberry truffle pie."

"Ask her if she can send some to me."

"I'll put a word in," Maeve replied, smile still on her face. "You know, she actually said earlier today that she misses the chaos you brought to town."

"I don't know whether to thank her for that or take it as an insult."

"Oh, it's definitely a compliment," Maeve lightheartedly chirped. "Margie's quite prolific and deliberate with her language and how she talks about someone."

"Are you?"

Maeve blinked in confusion at the briefness of the question before clarifying a second later. "Am I what?"

"In your words, 'missing the chaos'?"

Maeve hesitated to reply as she took a few seconds to process the question and find an answer to it.

"Still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Maeve quickly chimed in to ensure he didn't hang up. "I mean, it's way quieter without you."

"I can imagine it would be. People probably aren't running around town, looking for me with their pitchforks raised anymore."

"No, they've packed up their pitchforks since your departure, actually," Maeve attempted to joke around with him as she continued to find a way to verbalise her thoughts without sounding as though she liked him too much. "Delaney mentioned that she liked our diner games."

"You didn't answer my question."

Maeve tightly squeezed her eyes shut as she was internally hoping he'd drop the subject. "Uh, 'missing' is too broad of a word. I'd say...my tolerance for horrible music, movie and novel tastes have grown since then..."

"Still not answering the question."

"I'll hang up the phone." Maeve combatively stated.

"That's still not an answer."

"Fine, yes, I may be missing the chaos," Maeve rolled her eyes as she threw her free hand to the side and let it fall back to her lap. "You happy now?"

"Not at all. I think I'm depressed now."

"Okay, that's enough from you," Maeve snapped authoritatively. "I said I missed the chaos. Not you."

"Well, I made the chaos, so you're technically missing me."

"I did not say that." Maeve widened her eyes in hurried protest.

"Yeah, but you implied it."

"No, you implied it, I said I missed the chaos. The chaos, Mariano." Maeve annunciated curtly.

"Oh no, I've been demoted to the last name again."

"Consequences for your actions, my friend." Maeve 'tsked'.

"I'll take note for next time."

"Good." Another smirk appeared on Maeve's face.

•

"Jess called you last night?!" Delaney widened her eyes at Maeve in utter disbelief. "This whole week is getting way better."

"I found myself...missing...him..." Maeve let out a reluctant breath. "Is that weird?"

"No, you guys are friends, that's not weird at all. It would be weird if you didn't," Delaney simply shrugged. "What did you guys talk about?"

"To summarise, we just reverted back into our usual 'my taste is better than yours' thing, I'll spare you the details of which books and bands we criticised..." Maeve waved off the exclamation as she just summarised the entire phone call.

"Please do, I can't deal with all of...that again." Delaney gently stroked her forehead to convey her stress associated with their little debates.

"Anyway, it was...nice." Maeve let a smile tug the corners of her lips upwards.

"That's so 'When Harry Met Sally', a short-term friendship turning into a beautiful reunion," Delaney straightened up, eyes excitedly widening. "Ooh! Ooh! What if he comes back and re-enacts the Lloyd Dobler boombox scene?!"

"Those are two completely different movies, and what?" Maeve let out an incredulous giggle as she stared at her best friend with widened eyes and furrowed brows. "We don't know if he'll even come back."

"Yeah, but it's fun to theorise." Delaney visibly deflated.

"Okay, sure," Maeve disbelievingly answered. "Believe me, Jess wants nothing to do with Stars Hollow."

"I'm offended that you say that," Delaney held a hand to her chest dramatically as she put on her best acting face. "I thought we had a solid friendship, Jess and I."

Maeve's eyebrows lifted at the words, and an entertained grin appeared across her lips. "If I had to rank the best duos in Stars Hollow, you and Jess would be first on the list."

"I appreciate that, Maeve, thank you," Delaney nodded slowly. "I'm sure my best friend, Jess, would appreciate it too."

Maeve laughed in full amusement, and Delaney knew she had successfully cheered her best friend up, or at least distracted her from her complicated thoughts.

•

AUTHOR'S NOTE
take notes, flynn.

also, i'm giggling and kicking my feet over my own made-up ship...delusional isn't a strong enough word...

© voidvaleska