A/N: Hi guys! I've written a lot of creative/fun stories but have never posted any online. So this is my first ever published story and I hope you like it. It's one of my favorites that I've ever written so I'm pretty excited. I would love to hear your thoughts. This is loosely based off the episode "Oh Brother, Where Bart Thou?" S2/E13 (I don't own GG nor the lines I used from said episode).
Zoella arrived at the grand church where her father's funeral was taking place, dressed head to toe in black and all by herself. Her brother, Chuck Bass was nowhere to be found, not that she was surprised. Her and Chuck weren't on the best of terms at the moment. A few months ago, he found out that she wanted no part in the future of Bass Industries. Instead, she wanted to be on Broadway. He didn't take the news very well and accused her of leaving the family and of leaving him. Of course she wasn't abandoning her family, she just didn't want a career in business. Chuck wanted to rule over the family business with his sister by his side. Zoey didn't quite see the big deal. She would still do her part and help when it was needed but other than that that was it for her. Now, he goes out of his way to avoid her. She could count on one hand the number of times he's spoken to her since then.
There were a lot of people at the funeral, at least a hundred and she didn't know most of them. The guests mostly consisted of Bart's business partners and fellow high society families. It's not like all of these people even knew him or were friends with him. They didn't come for Bart but for Bart Bass of Bass Industries. Honestly, all she wanted to do was find her brother. She saw the van der Woodsens arrive just after she did as well as her friends. Even Dan and Jenny were here. Still, her brother had yet to show. She was stuck with the job of greeting people at the door and all they wanted to do was hug her and kiss her cheek but she didn't want their comfort; she didn't like people touching her trying to make her feel better.
While she was standing there she heard yelling coming from somewhere across the yard and one voice in particular stood out. Her brother. She looked over and low and behold there he was. Her friends were over there too as well as Lily and Cece. She ran over, across the rocky asphalt, trying not to trip and fall in her high heels. When she got there Chuck was trying to have a go at Dan.
"What the hell is going on over here?" Zoella whisper screamed. "Chuck, we are at our father's funeral; you're drunk and are acting like a child! And you're trying to pick a fight with Dan."
"Oh spare me, Zoella," Chuck drawled, saying her full name as if she were the misbehaving child. "The reason our father is dead is because of his father and I do not want him here," he said pointing at Dan. Cece suggested Dan go ahead and leave since after all it was Chuck's father's funeral. Dan decided it wasn't at all worth it and agreed to leave but apparently Serena wouldn't have that and then for some reason Aaron, Serena's boyfriend decided join in as well. Zoey ignored them and just focused on her brother.
"Are you being serious right now, Charles? You cannot possibly believe that; he was in a car accident. An accident, meaning it was no one's fault," she said.
Chuck wasn't too pleased to hear that. "Of course you would say that dear ole sister of mine. You have always hated Father." He gave them all one last look and stumbled past them. The others walked behind him, still trying to talk some sense into him.
"And for good reason," Zoey mumbled. She turned around and caught up with Chuck right before he made it inside the church. "Chuck, you should be with your family." He may be a mess and doesn't want anything to do with her but he was her brother and she still loved him, no matter what.
Chuck stopped and turned around sharply, a hard look on his face. "I don't have a family," and with that he walked off into the church. Zoey was taken aback. It was true that they have been on rocky ground lately but she wasn't expecting that kind of a response from him. She didn't want to admit or show how much his words hurt her but she couldn't help the sting she felt behind her eyes. Zoey willed herself not to cry because dammit she was a Bass and Basses didn't let silly things bother them. She felt a hand touch her shoulder, she knew it was Lily but she shrugged it off. She didn't want to be comforted. Not for her brother and not for her father. By the time she pulled herself out of her thoughts, she realized why Lily was trying to comfort her; she was crying. Dammit, she thought. She wiped her cheek of the pesky tears and went into the church, desperate to avoid the watching eyes.
After the funeral, Lily held a get together at the apartment for the people who were the closest to the Bass family. Aside from the incident with her brother the funeral went off without a hitch. Chuck was too inebriated to give a speech. Lily nor Cece would let him stand in front of all those people for him to just sputter hateful words and embarrass himself as well as the family. Allowing a drunk Chuck Bass up there would have been ill-advised anyways. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. It really was the death that rocked the city. Zoey stood up in front of the hundreds of people and gave them a heartfelt speech about what they wanted to hear.
She talked about how great a person, a father and family man, and a businessman Bart was. They didn't want to hear his daughter talk about how when on the rare occasion they had a family dinner, it felt more like a business meeting, so formal and polite. They didn't want to be told that in her 17 years she couldn't recall a time when he told her he loved her. They didn't care about the truth because it wasn't their business to know. Their job was to mourn the man that built half of Manhattan. Not that Zoey would ever want him dead but she couldn't exactly mourn for him either.
Things at the gathering were going well so far. The food was good and no one had yet to break down crying. However, Chuck was again nowhere to be found. Zoey figured he had gone to find more scotch; it was his drink of choice. Surprisingly that was something they had in common. Whereas most other girls drank girly drinks such as martinis; scotch and other dark liquor were what she liked best. When her and Chuck were fourteen and fifteen, they would raid their father's liquor cabinet, trying the different kinds of scotch he had collected over decades. However, Bart wasn't too pleased when he found out. She pulled herself out of her own reverie and found Nate and Blaire sitting on the couch talking. She walked over and sat down with them. She asked if either of them knew where her brother was. They said he went upstairs and that Lily was up there with him. She sighed deeply, laying her head back against the couch.
"How are you doing, Zoey?" Blair asked, briefly touching my hand. Again with the touching, Zoey thought; though Blair quickly pulled it away. I really did appreciate her caring for me though.
"I just wish he would talk to me," she sighed, exasperated. "Ever since he found out that I didn't want to work in the family business, he's been shutting me out. Every time I try to talk to him, he goes into Chuck Bass mode and shuts down." Chuck Bass mode was what Zoey called it when he talked to people he didn't like. He spoke politely but in a condescending tone and he was closed off and short.
"Don't worry," Nate said, "he'll come around. You're his sister, his twin sister, he can't stay mad at you forever. You guys are too close." What he said was sweet and kind but it wasn't true.
"You're wrong Nate. Maybe if our father hadn't just died but he did which means Chuck and I will be coming into Bass Industries a lot sooner than planned. I don't want to be in charge of the company. At least with our father alive and well, I wouldn't have had to worry about it until way into the future but now he's gone and I don't know what to do." She wanted to go to NYU Tisch and make it to Broadway, not run a company, even if she was to do it alongside her brother.
Serena came over and sat down; the four of them sitting together in silence. They were just listening to the other people talk around them when she Chuck come down the stairs. All four of them shot up out of their seats and walked over to him. He asked for his coat and Blaire asked where he was going. He replied saying he was going for a walk and Zoey rolled her eyes at that. Eric then came over, asking Chuck not to leave, "I just lost my step-father, I don't want to lose my brother too." Chuck gave him a hard look and turned him away just like he has everyone else today. Blair started to go after him but Nate caught her arm, wanting Zoey to handle it. Zoey barely managed to catch the elevator before it closed with Chuck inside.
As they started to descend she slammed her fist on the red emergency stop button. Chuck opened his mouth to say something or rather to yell at her but she beat him to it. She was mad and that was putting it mildly.
"What the hell was that? You had no right to say that to Eric. What you said to him was cruel, Chuck."
"Zoella, their mother is responsible for Father's death. Her and Rufus Humphrey. She was married to our father and was sneaking around with another man."
Zoey didn't quite know what to think, "And how did you come to that conclusion?" she asked.
He told her about the conversation he overheard between Lily and Rufus at the Snowflake Ball. "He was on his way his way to come talk to her."
She looked at her brother with sad eyes. "Chuck, I can see how you came to that but you need to understand that it was just a car accident. It wasn't anybody's fault. You're upset and angry and the alcohol isn't exactly helping either," Zoey said softly. She went to touch his arm but he shoved her hand away with too much force that caused him to stumble.
He looked at her accusingly, "Stop belittling me! I can think clearly and our father is gone because of those two!" All this was crap and Zoey was tired of Chuck hating and yelling at her. She'd had enough of his pettiness. And now it was her turn to scream at him.
"These are our friends, Charles and you're turning your back on them. They don't deserve that, they have never turned you away. Sure there have been fights but they are still your friends and they are still here for you." He may not want to hear it but he needed to recognize the truth. "The same can't be said for our father." She was on a roll now. All these pent up feelings and anger and resentment for her now dead father and also for Chuck. Her twin brother who was so mad at her because she didn't want to work in the family business and just threw away their relationship. She could feel her eyes welling up with angry tears. "You know why you're like this right now?" Indicating to his current drunken state of mind. "It's because even though you act and say so otherwise, you've always cared about what he thought of you. You sought his approval and his acceptance. You wanted care and love but instead what you got, what we both got, was a business man. He was a father but he was never a dad to us." Zoey had stopped yelling at her brother and spoke in a softer tone. "These people whom you are so willing to hate right now have been more of family to us than Bart ever was."
The anger in Chuck's eyes was gone. His hardened eyes and face had softened but more importantly he was letting his sister back in. Truth was, he really missed her. Hating the person he loved most in the world took a lot out of him. Not a lot of things bothered Chuck or got to him but if and when they did, he could hide it well. I mean, he is Chuck Bass after all. He doesn't need anyone, or so he thought. He loved his sister, she was his twin and his partner in crime. They rarely ever did anything without each other. She was the most important thing/person in his life, they told each other everything. He could easily hide stuff from other people but it was impossible to keep anything from her, she could read him too easily. She knew about his conflicted feelings for Blaire and how much she meant to him. Zoey helped him to try and open up more to Blaire. It was still a work in progress. And even though he refused to admit it, even to himself, these past months without his sister just downright sucked. He missed her.
So he told her that. He took a deep breath and said, "I've missed you, Zoey and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what happened a few months ago and everything up to now." He smiled softly, "You're my baby sister and I want you to be happy, even if that happiness isn't with me at Bass Industries."
Zoey knew he meant what he said. He was back to calling her Zoey and referred to her as his baby sister. They're twins but Chuck always took pride in the fact that he was the older one by a few minutes. But he wasn't done. "And you're right about them being our family and what you said about our father. He wasn't that great." Relief flooded through her, she finally had her brother and best friend back. Chuck reached down to hug her and she clung to the back of his suit jacket.
They let go of each other and Zoey cupped his face with her hands and told him, "Growing up, it's always been you and me. Mom died and he left parenthood to the nannies. You're my family Chuck; my dad, my mom, and my brother, and nothing will change that." And she meant that to the fullest. He and the business were her number one and two. She may not want to work for the business but she would stand by Chuck's side to help him run it. He smiled and kissed her forehead. Zoey smiled back at him, happy that her and Chuck fixed their relationship even though it took their father dying to do so.
Zoey hit the elevator button to resume it's decent to the lobby. Chuck still wanted to leave which was fine by her, it was a little stuffy upstairs anyways. She probably wouldn't go back up either. "And besides," she said, "so what if Lily loves Rufus, somebody in this damn city deserves happiness. Whether it's them or you and Blaire or god forbid Serena and that Aaron guy, even though I really don't like him." Thankfully he laughed at that. Although they patched things up and she helped him to see sense and rationality, she knew he wasn't completely convinced Bart's death wasn't Lily and Rufus's fault. But hey, they made progress.
They reached the lobby and stepped off the elevator. Chuck was still fairly tipsy so it was a good idea that he was leaving. They said their goodbyes and then Chuck was out the door. Out of nowhere, a distressed Blair came running past her and outside after Chuck. Zoey laughed and wondered if she ran down the stairs all the way from the penthouse. Zoey knows they'll make a good couple one day, just not right now, Chuck had some internal stuff to work through. Zoey stood in the lobby for a few minutes until she realized that she was without a coat. She decided that she would just go up to her old room and grab a different coat rather than go back the room where everyone else was waiting for her. She turned around to go upstairs until she saw Nate standing off to the side holding her coat.
She walked over to him and greeted him with a smile. Nate was on his way to go meet Vanessa and assumed Zoey wasn't coming back since she had been gone for so long. She thanked him and took her coat from his hand, offering to walk with him to the subway. He was determined to start riding the subway when going to Brooklyn now. Since Nate was Chuck's best friend, the two of them had become close friends as well over the years. They walked arm in arm in the cold towards the subway. Zoey filled him in on what happened in the elevator. As they reached the steps that lead down to the subway, the retelling of the story came to an end. Nate told her that he was happy that they had resolved their issues and that Chuck was in a better state of mind. They said their goodbyes and Zoey told him to say hello to Vanessa for her. She really liked Vanessa for Nate, they were good together. Zoey continued to walk down the street only to find herself at the gate of the cemetery where her father would later be buried.