DISCO NIGHTS !
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
THE PRINCESS BRIDE

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MAEVE CRINGED AT the sight of Jess and Shane aggressively making out, Jess leaning over the counter to reach Shane, who was propped up on one of the counter seats.

Deciding to break up the disgusting sight for the benefit of both herself and all of the patrons in the diner, Maeve grabbed two plates from the kitchen and consequently pushed the pair apart as she quickly walked straight through the centre of them.

"Hey!" Shane offhandedly scoffed, while Jess just rolled his eyes at Maeve's movements.

"There was plenty of room to walk behind me." Jess stated exasperatedly, Maeve slightly tilting her head as she continued her journey around the diner.

"Believe me, I know." Maeve remarked as Jess just shook his head and soon continued making out with Shane, effectively conveying his lack of care for Maeve's interruption.

"How are you not pissed at Tim?" Delaney spoke up when Maeve arrived at her table.

"I'm obviously a little upset, but it's nothing I haven't felt before," Maeve shrugged as she poured her best friend a cup of coffee. "I've been preparing for yesterday, essentially, for seven years now, so it's not like I wasn't expecting it. It was my own decision. I imagined a million scenarios, a million possible ways that conversation could've gone, and I think I chose the best one. It's better for Margie and I anyway, to put him behind us."

"Well, I think that's a great solution," Delaney raised her eyebrows. "That man has been nothing but a menace your whole life. Never called for longer than fifteen minutes, never stayed long enough, doesn't even give you any money, it's ridiculous. You and Margie don't need the stress, and I'm just glad he's out of your life for good now."

Maeve knew she should've felt offended by the words, anyone else would be if they had an estranged parent, but all Maeve could feel was relief and acceptance. She agreed, entirely, with what Delaney had said, and the fact that the entire town knew exactly just how much of a horrible, distant, and deadbeat father Tim was only amplified how justified she was in feeling like this.

Finally, Maeve didn't have that nagging, disappointed feeling in her gut that formed whenever she thought about her father. When he'd call next, if he'd suddenly surprise her by showing up and declaring that he would finally be the father that he hadn't been before, but to her incredible dismay, every single time, that fantasy had fallen short.

Maeve had never felt so free in her life.

"He should've left for good years ago," Luke shook his head, the man's words laced with pure anger. "Would've saved everyone unnecessary trouble and pain."

"Well, what's done is done now, I think we should all just move on and forget about him." Maeve waved off the words as she just wanted to entirely take her mind off the situation. Delaney sent her a sympathetic smile as she nodded and reached over to give Maeve's wrist a supportive squeeze.

On her way to the counter, Maeve stopped in her tracks at the sight of Jess and Shane making out again, the girl blowing out an exasperated breath, hardening her glare, and strutting directly towards the centre of them with purpose, again, tearing them apart. "Coming through!"

Luke watched the action, and more importantly, the irritation in Jess' face as he stared at Maeve, the man huffing out a wholly amused breath that resembled a laugh as he got back to taking a customer's order. She essentially just saved him a trip.

"Hello?!" Shane exclaimed in a loud scoff as she shot ice-cold daggers and a disgruntled look Maeve's way.

Maeve plastered on a tight-lipped smile as she whipped around to face Shane, keeping her tone purposefully calm to vex the blonde girl further. "Hi Shane, how are ya?"

Shane fired back narrowed eyes, and as she opened her mouth to likely insult Maeve, Jess just told her to "leave it", to which Shane then proceeded to roll her eyes, twirl her hair, and grab his face in order to commence another make-out session.

Before Maeve could push past them once more, Jess seemed to have sensed the act, and he pulled away from Shane momentarily to glare at Maeve, the boy deadpanning, "Go around."

Maeve pushed past them anyway. "Too late!"

•

Maeve clicked through the photos on her digital camera as she walked down the street, the girl wholly engrossed by her own photos as a small smile appeared on her face.

"Hi." A familiar, soft voice suddenly sounded from the position right beside her, startling Maeve entirely as she jumped, the girl letting out a small noise in fright.

Maeve let out an elongated breath when she looked to the side and realised it was Jess next to her, and the girl held a hand to her chest as she allowed herself to calm down. "Don't do that, Jess! Asshole."

Jess let out an amused laugh as his eyes flew up and down her, now shaken, frame, his hands comfortably interlocked behind his back and only growing his, already inflated, ego. "How didn't you hear me?"

"I was distracted." Maeve released another breath as she lifted the hand that was holding her camera up.

"Right." Jess drew out, and before Maeve could see it coming, the boy's eyes lowered to the camera, and he snatched it right out of her hand without hesitation or warning.

"Wh- Jess!" Maeve's jaw dropped as she shot him a glare, the girl defensively crossing her arms over her chest as her mind flashed back to the similar moment in which Jess tried to steal her photo, and when her stomach involuntarily flipped—a sensation that sparked some internal incredulity within her—, she just cleared her throat. "Give it back."

"Not until..." Jess slightly turned his body so his back was now grazing the side of her arm, the boy flicking through the photos on her camera as they continued to walk. "I see these."

Maeve sighed, this time in a mixture of minor indignation and expectancy, and she rolled her eyes, glanced away, and waited for him to finish, the girl holding out her hand for him to return her camera when he was done looking at her photos.

"Are these new?" Jess inquired as his eyes shifted between Maeve's face, down to her extended hand, back to her face, and finally, to the camera, the boy turning so he was walking properly beside her. "You haven't printed them yet."

Maeve furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Stalker."

Jess just shook his head and handed her back her camera at the word. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"You set yourself up for them, really." Maeve chirped as she placed the camera in her jacket pocket.

"But seriously, though," Jess raised his eyebrows at her as his hands went to interlock behind his back again. "They're not half-bad."

Maeve's eyebrows flew upwards at the compliment. Coming from Jess, that was essentially like saying she could put them up in a museum. "Who are you and what have you done with Jess Mariano?"

Jess shrugged casually. "Don't get too excited, I'm feeling nice today."

"You being remotely amiable has never been thing for you, ever. And wait a second..." Maeve gasped theatrically, and Jess blew out a breath as he knew that she was going to make another joke. "Is this your way of telling me that you're reformed? Oh my god, are you a Ken doll now?! Does Malibu Barbie let you in her Dreamhouse?! I just realised how that sounded, that wasn't what I meant, but of course she does, you charmer."

"And she's back." Jess' voice was laced with expectation and faux-frustration as he glanced away, the boy clearing his throat at the last part of the sentence.

At the sound of Maeve chuckling, his head turned back towards her, and his eyes landed on hers again. "I'm kidding, Mariano, relax."

A small, barely noticeable smile tugged on the corners of Jess' lips as he looked ahead after a few seconds of surveying the side of her face, slightly squinting his eyes to avoid sunlight beaming directly into his retinas.

"Thanks for letting me stay in the diner for a while longer last night. And slamming the door in his face," Maeve's tone fell earnest after a brief period of comfortable silence, her eyes on the ground. "I just couldn't relive the whole thing with Margie for the rest of the night, y'know?"

Jess' eyes fell back to the side of her face, which Maeve didn't seem to notice, and despite the millions of thoughts and possible responses about his own familial relationships formulating in his mind that he knew Maeve related to, and would likely take solace in hearing, he, instead, waited a few seconds to take in her words before plastering on a nonchalant exterior, accompanied with a shrug. "I had to run to Doose's this morning to get more coffee for the diner since you drank all of ours, but no problem, Buttercup."

Maeve stopped, bewilderingly staring at Jess as she slowly drew out a sarcastic response after a brief pause. "I hope that was a reference to 'The Princess Bride'."

Maeve wasn't stupid.

She knew a small amount about his parents, only picking up little anecdotes from overhearing him talk to Luke and Luke talking to Lorelai in the diner, however she simultaneously knew that he was definitely not one to express his feelings. At all.

Maeve was well-acquainted with Jess' form of reassurance, and that was through utilising sarcasm and humour, which she didn't necessarily mind. Sometimes she just wanted to vent, and in those occasions, she didn't want to have lengthy conversations about how certain occurrences were affecting her.

Maeve was admittedly tired of talking about her father a million times over, and in her eyes, she was all talked-out of anything relating to him. Humorously conversing with Jess about their similar father situations, while it wasn't necessarily productive for Jess in the communication department, it was, simultaneously, a comforting experience for the pair of them.

Some good did come out of their unlikely bond, though, as Jess had made more progress saying less than ten words about his father at Doose's to Maeve than he ever did talking about him to anyone else.

Jess, deciding to lighten the mood and continuing to keep her mind off the events of the previous night, just met her gaze and allowed an entertained smirk to tug at the corners of his lips. "Actually, no. I thought I'd give you new nickname, what do you think?"

"Hmm," Maeve tilted her head, looked up, pursed her lips, and pretended to be lost in thought for a moment before firing back a sardonic quip. "I can't say I'm a fan, Ned Ryerson. Maybe try it out on Malibu Barbie, see if she likes it."

"You already used that one," Jess hummed. "Can't think of another insult? You're getting rusty, Lady Macbeth."

"Oh, no, believe me, there are a plethora of insults that I can throw Shane's way, but the girl's done nothing to me, except for setting back feminism, like, a hundred years or so." Maeve shrugged as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Jess, unamused and disbelieving, lifted his eyebrows, and he held his gaze on her face as he waited for her inevitable addition.

Maeve momentarily met the look, and she just glanced in a few directions as she sang the lyrics to 'Copacabana' in a quiet murmur. "Her name was Lola..."

"There it is..." Jess blew out a breath.

"What?" Maeve's eyebrows flew upwards as she held her hands up in a surrender motion. "It's a catchy song."

"You know what that song's about." Jess shot her a pointed look.

"Barry Manilow's words, not mine." Maeve glanced away faux-innocently and crossed her arms over her chest again.

Jess just huffed out a breath that resembled a chuckle, not at Shane's expense, but at Maeve's jesting, and he shook his head and glanced away in amusement.

•

All day, Taylor Doose had been suspiciously circulating the diner—specifically, the space Luke owned beside it—, and it had only contributed to the immense perturbation that Maeve felt for Taylor.

She had come to the conclusion that, despite his many over-dramatic events and sneaky schemes, which she was used to by now, Taylor always found a way to out-insane himself—Maeve and Delaney's words.

As she noticed Taylor doing, yet another, lap around the space beside the diner, Maeve placed her hands on her hips.

"Hey, why is Taylor taking photos of the space beside the diner?" Maeve furrowed her eyebrows as Luke stood beside her.

"Why is who doing what?" Luke frowned in confusion as he watched Maeve gesture to the window outside.

As Luke followed the gesture with his eyes, his frown deepened, and he just placed down the coffee vat on the counter as he made his way over to the window to get a better view, Maeve following curiously.

When Taylor straightened up and noticed the pair watching him perplexedly, the man just directed the camera to random places on the street, pretending like he wasn't just taking pictures of the space next to the diner.

"What an odd man." Maeve incredulously drew out as she watched Taylor walk away awkwardly, Luke tilting his head slowly as he also observed Taylor's movements in utter bewilderment.

•

AUTHOR'S NOTE
i just think maeve and jess should kiss 🤷‍♀️

© voidvaleska