Serena stood at the stove with Blair, trying to steal bits of chocolate chip cookie dough from the bowl Blair was holding as the smaller girl spooned dough on the cookie sheet. Blair swatted her hand away every time Serena tried it, making the blonde laugh in response.

It was a random weekday after school. Serena and Blair were at Serena's, making cookies. When it came to anything food related, the girls always went to Serena's, free from Eleanor's watchful eye on Blair's waistline. They always had a blast together, but today something seemed off about Serena's laughter. Serena stopped trying to eat the cookie dough from under Blair's nose and sat down at the kitchen table, no longer in the mood to participate.

Once the cookies were in the oven, Blair joined her best friend at the table, putting the bowl in front of Serena. "What's going on, S? Cookie dough will fix it." Serena only shook her head, finally looking Blair in the eye.

"My dad says I can't go to the Shepard wedding."

"What? Why?"

Serena grinned a little as she summarized the events from the night before. "I came home way too late last night. When I finally got back, around 3 AM, he was still up waiting for me. I don't know why, 'cause he never cared too much before. But anyway, he started this whole tirade and I was just sick of it, him pretending to care when all he does is work and stay away from his kids. So I told him he was a faker and I didn't know why he even came back in the first place, since nobody wants him here. He just lost it at that point, calling me disrespectful and ungrateful. He said I'm grounded for a month. Luckily he and mom are never around anyway, so I can still do stuff after school. But I definitely can't get away with going to the wedding."

"Why are you listening to him? You never did before."

"He threatened to send me to boarding school," Serena admitted, looking down into the cookie bowl. "And it's not like I like him being here all of a sudden, thinking he can act like a parent when he was never around for me and Eric, but I…" She stirred the remaining dough with the spoon, watching the chocolate chips pass one another and form new groups. "He's my dad. I just got him back, and no matter how much I push him away, I don't want to screw up so bad that he sends me away or leaves again."

Blair gave her best friend a sympathetic look, patting the girl's head and running her hands through her golden curls. "He's not going to leave again, I promise. But you'd better be on your best behaviour for the next few weeks. I don't want you missing any more weddings or divorce parties. They're not the same without you getting drunk and dancing on bars," she joked with a wry smile.

Serena laughed and put a spoonful of cookie dough in her mouth. "I'm sure I'll make it to the Shepard divorce party in a few years. He can't keep me grounded forever!"

Xoxo

"I heard you're not going to the Shepard wedding."

She was standing in the courtyard at school when he came up to her. Her breath caught, just for a second, when he spoke. It was silly, really, feeling this way after so many years of having delightful conversations with him while maintaining a perfectly normal breath and heart rate. But somehow there was this tension building between them and inside them, and she didn't know where it came from or how to stop it, or even if she wanted to.

"Yeah, my dad's really mad this time. I'm grounded for a month," she replied, in what she hoped was a casual tone of voice.

"Too bad," Nate said, staring into her blue eyes just a moment longer than he should. "I was going to ask you to save me a dance."

Serena broke out into a huge smile. "Next time," she promised.

"So what are you gonna do on Saturday, then? You're probably gonna be pretty bored."

She pouted in only the way she could. "I'll probably end up re-watching Dawson's Creek all day. And order a pizza all to myself. While you and Blair and Chuck will be having all the fun, stealing champagne bottles and causing scenes."

"I'll tell you what, after I drop Blair off, I'll come see you and sneak you a bottle of champagne. We can still have a wedding party." She didn't even ask What about Blair? It seemed so natural to exclude Blair these days, without either of them even having to think about it. Blair wasn't into parties like Serena and Nate were, anyway.

Serena enthusiastically nodded. "Yes, please come save me from the endless Dawson/Pacey debate! My parents won't be back until late, so we should have a couple hours."

Nate smiled, squeezing her arm. "I'll be there," he assured her before walking away. Off to meet Blair for lunch.

Xoxo

At 9:30 PM on Saturday, Serena received a text. She jumped up from her bed, not even bothering to press pause on her show. Her heart dropped, just the tiniest bit, when she saw it was from Blair.

N is wasted. Left him in bar to sober up before we leave

Even so, she waited for him. He just needed to sober up enough to come over, she reasoned. It would only take a few hours.

Hours later, she was just about to give up and go to sleep when her phone beeped again. She grabbed it, an expectant smile on her face as she checked the text. The smile went away. Another text from Blair.

Home now. We missed u! U could've made it a nite to remember

Serena threw her phone on the bed and tucked her knees up to her chin. It was a complete waste of a night. All because of her asshole dad. She could really use a joint right about now.

Disclaimer: I still do not own the story or characters.