Disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl – I own Lydia and Sebastian who are from my previous story "The Unheard Sister of Chuck Bass"

A/N: Over a decade has passed since Gossip Girl was revealed, but there's a new kid in town, picking up the gauntlet laid down by Gossip Girl to keep everyone updated on the new elite of the Upper East Side

*Most of the characters have come from a lovely RPing forum here: forum/Gossip-Girl-20-Years-Later/211735/ - there is a topic there if you wish to submit a new character to feature in a future chapter of the story

SYOC!

Chapter 01 – Henry Bass

Roll up, roll up…The Upper East Side has been quiet, but I'm here to ruffle a few feathers. You might have heard the legends of Serena Van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf, or the many relationships of our good Mayor Archibald – but that was all the work of Gossip Girl…

Don't worry, Gossip Girl is dead and gone… Oh but who am I? That's a secret I'll never tell – well, that was Gossip Girl's phrase but I'm going to be different. Know this kids, I'm bigger, better and even more ruthless than my predecessor. This is your warning Upper East Siders, you're not safe whilst I'm around. Times have changed and you cannot avoid me because I'm everywhere and we are prepared…

Keep my secret, know my name… Jane Doe – kisses x

I was curious about the message that had come up on my phone – it wasn't like anything he had ever read before.

What a cliché… I thought, reading the name again. Slipping my phone into my pocket, I was almost ready to hit the Upper East Side with the legendary Bass magic running through my blood, but only after one last look in the full length mirror to check my appearance.

Tie – knotted perfectly and straight. Shirt – crisp and neatly tucked in. Shoes – shiny and polished. Blazer – brand new, never been worn.

"You got this…" I Mombled, pushing a rogue clump of brown hair back off my face. "First day of the new school year and all that…"

Throwing my bag onto my shoulder, I made my way towards the front door, passing Mom who was deeply engrossed in designing a new line of clothing for Waldorf Designs. She was a hardworking woman who was so unbelievably dedicated to her work on the fashion line that whenever there were looming deadlines, it was best for me to lock myself in my room. Despite having never pressed the pedal of a sewing machine, Mom was a back seat driver through and through when it came to the clothing lines.

"Henry?" Mom called out, I backtracked so that I was standing in the doorway. "Come here, let me look at you. First day of a new school year only come around once…"

"Mom, it just a new year- not my first day of big boy school…"

She walked up to me, heels clicking on the shiny floor. "I know a lot has changed over summer, but remember you are a Bass and we keep our heads held high. All four of us, you sister included- which reminds me- she left early for practice, so she's left ahead of you."

I smiled weakly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I got this, Mom. Don't worry, and I'll look out for Tiff too when I can, although I'm pretty sure she doesn't need me." Over Mom's shoulder, I could see the clock and the time. "Sorry, but I have to dash. I said I'd meet Sebastian on the way. See you later…"

That was the thing about Mom, she worried about a lot of things that she really didn't have to worry about. But looking at it positively, it showed she cared. Sometimes it might have verged on being too caring, but it encouraged me to break free a little and do some potentially unorthodox things. Things that I won't go into in so much details.

Stepping out onto the main streets of the Upper East Side, I looked down the path to see a sleek black car with blacked out windows waiting to take me to school.

That was the one thing I didn't really like about my lifestyle – sometimes it felt like everything was provided for me on a silver platter. People would look at me with envy and disgust, like I was some kind of spoiled brat. I had a chauffeur, a nanny and a private tutor to help me with my studies. Part of me wished I could have the chance to fight for something for once in my life.

"I'm going to walk this time, Xander…" I waved to my driver. He nodded before rolling the window back up as I started on my way towards Sebastian's.

Sebastian Archibald was my marginally older cousin – my dad and his mother were twins. Charles and Lydia Bass. My aunt Lydia was someone who encouraged her children to fight for what they want and not rely on the Archibald or Bass name to get it – just as she had done. For two guys who had such prestigious parents, Sebastian and I were two very different people.

The sun was shining down on me and I felt ready for the day ahead as I approached the Archibald home. Unusually, Sebastian was ready and waiting for me, sat relaxed on the stairs.

"Henry! You made it… Ready for a new day of a new school year?" He pushed up off the steps and jokingly put an arm around me, ruffling my hair. "The Wonderboys are back!"

I writhed and wriggled free from his grip. "Come on man, don't mess around… You know I hate it when people mess with me like that, especially the hair."

"God, how are we related? So tell me what's on your agenda this term? Which girl is going to catch Henry Bass' eyes?" Sebastian smirked, checking his phone and stopping in his tracks. "Hey, have you seen this?"

On the screen of his phone, I could see the Jane Doe webpage. It was weird that it had come out of nowhere – the person behind it wanted to expose some stories about the current residents of the Upper East Siders, and was sending messages to me and Sebastian – and probably a bunch of other kids in this district. I felt like a target had been plastered onto the back of my blazer and I knew then that I had to be extremely careful.

"Yeah, I saw that, but I don't even know who or what Gossip Girl was…" I said, checking the road before we crossed.

"Oh- I overheard Mom and Dad talking about it one time – it was some site that posted all these stories about them when they were kids. About hook ups and drunk nights, just stirring trouble to be honest. Just gossip." Sebastian paused. "So I am going to give myself a little bit of a reputation – give this Jane Doe girl a run for her money." He winked at a fellow schoolgirl passing us by, eyeing her up and down, she smiled back appreciatively. "Oh come on, don't look at me like that. I can't let these Archibald blues go to waste, can I Henry?"

I rolled my eyes at Sebastian's overly confident approach and lack of fear over this new Jane Doe person – that was just Sebastian in a nutshell. Looking up at the gates of St Jude's, I knew it was the place for me – and just being closer than around the corner from Constance, we were able to meet up with some of the girls after school.

A girl pushed her way between us and didn't even stop to apologise as she climbed the steps up to school. Her take on the school uniform was incredibly different to that of the other girls in Constance. She wore the tartan skirt like it was a miniskirt and added a maroon leather jacket which added to the overall look. She looked amazing, and Sebastian and I weren't the only ones watching her as she walked into one of the buildings like she owned it.

"Who- was- that?" I whispered slowly, turning to look at Sebastian.

I barely even noticed Victoria running up to us, throwing her arms around Sebastian to hug him tight. Victoria was the one girl we were close with. Everyone would describe her as the pretty and notoriously well-known girl of Constance, but she really only focused on her friendship with me and Sebastian – well, Sebastian way more than me but I didn't mind. I genuinely think she only had one or two friends in Constance.

"Vick- hey!" Sebastian said, laughing at her enthusiasm. "I take it you missed me over the summer then?"

"Well yeah- the Hamptons weren't the same without you two visiting, but I was spending so much time horseriding and practicing for galas that I don't think you would have enjoyed it." Victoria pulled us up the steps. "So what did you get up to?"

I smiled softly, turning to face the pair. "Oh you know me – what happens on Bass Summer holidays, stays on those holidays…" I slipped my hands into my pockets and dropped my gaze on the floor, before jolting to look Victoria dead in her blue eyes. "Do not interrogate Tiff about it either – I know what you're like! Not that she'll know…"

Victoria laughed before pouting playfully at me. "But you're hiding something and I thought we didn't keep secrets!" She checked her phone for a moment. "Oh- I have to get to class now. Are we still grabbing a coffee at the Boathouse after school?"

I nodded. "Sure- but Tiff will probably want to come too if she finds out."

"Well I don't see what's so bad about that. I love your sister, she's adorable!" Victoria smiled sweetly before shaking her head to readjust her hair. "There… Let the first day begin. Wait in the courtyard for me later!"

And like that, she was gone. When I glanced at Sebastian, I noticed a look in his eye that I hadn't seen before. At least not from him.

"Sebastian- are you… you okay?" I asked calmly, walking towards the door into St Jude's.

"Yeah, sure- I'm fine. Just preparing myself for lessons and hoping I can get out of any trouble for not doing my best on the English assignment. I pretty much just whacked it out a couple of days ago. The Great Gatsby hasn't got nothing on an Archibald extravaganza…"

"Well Mr Gatsby," I joked, indicating rabbit ears like I was taking the mickey. "Let's just get our timetable and head to our first lesson."

When we received our timetable, I saw that we were in the same English class first thing with a new teacher. I didn't recognise the name that was on sheet of paper. Miss E. Clark. No doubt she was probably some kind of trainee teacher fresh out of university that had some 'rad' ways of encouraging our extended learning. One of those trainees that would probably only last about a single term, if that…

"English with Miss Clark," Sebastian murmured before adding a sarcastic comment. "Come on, I want to get a good seat…"

We walked towards the classroom where we found a hoard of boys hovering by the door, looking in but not entering. It was weird, Sebastian and I exchanged a quizzical look. As we got closer, my mouth could have hit the floor with a metallic clang.

"Wow."

All the boys were staring at the new teacher, this Miss Clark. She had long, chocolate brown hair with streaks of lighter brown and almost blonde, it was loosely curled past her shoulders, subconsciously drawing the eyes to her chest. Perched on the bridge of her nose were these black rimmed glasses that somewhat confused me. They made her look more like a fantasy geek – someone who played those mythical games in a basement, but her figure hugging pencil skirt and fashionable white blouse said she wouldn't be seen dead in a dingy basement playing fantasy games.

"Good morning class, if you actually are in my lesson, then come and sit down," Miss Clark said sweetly, smiling softly as the group split into two.

Sebastian punched me in the shoulder. "Mouth closed, eyes up Henry." He smiled broadly, saying with a wink, "Oh boy, I'm pretty sure English is going to easily become my favourite lesson this term."

Let's just say Sebastian could have gotten away with murder at school – after all, he was the son of the mayor, and that mayor happened to make some hefty donations to the school. Despite claiming to have only put a small amount of effort into his summer homework, Miss Clark claimed to have been incredibly impressed with his essay on Gatsby.

After school, over at the boathouse café, I looked out over the lake at the little boats that were moored in nearby. One of my earliest memories was of my dad taking me and Mom out on the lake. I must have been less than one or two years old. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and Mom's red and white striped dress rippling a little in the wind. It wasn't that long from that day that Tiff came along.

"Hey! Daydream Henry, come back to us, Henry!" Sebastian tapped my leg with his foot. "Boy… Someone was deep in thought- and you haven't touched your drink since we got here…"

"Oh- it was nothing. I just got distracted with everything that is going on at home," was the first thing I could think of, and it was true – there were some issues going on at home.

Victoria gasped at something on her phone. "Oh my god- have you seen what this Jane Doe uploaded to her site and snapchat?" She turned the phone around to face me, trying to keep it from Sebastian's gaze. "Look!"

Taking the phone from her hand, I looked at the website that had its first post up. About the first day of school…

Hello Upper East Siders – recess is over and it's time to be schooled.

They say that cats have nine lives, but the Upper east Siders have three. Public, private and a secret life.

Take Sebastian Archibald for example… In public, he comes across as the model son of the prestigious Mayor Archibald. In private, Sebastian Archibald thinks himself to be the Gatsby party boy of the Upper East Side. In secret, he's hiding a relationship – looks like he's becoming the womanizer of St Jude's, but I'll leave this special lady's identity a secret on this one occasion. Sebastian, be careful ;)

My inboxes and DMs are officially open, so if you think you've got something better to tell – let's hear your secrets and perhaps we can unearth the greatest scandal that the Upper East Side has ever seen

Keep my secret. Know my name. Jane Doe. Kisses xx

My mouth dropped open – this Jane Doe person meant business and they had just unearthed a secret about Sebastian that I didn't even know.

And I thought we told each other everything.

Obviously I was wrong…

Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = So there you have it – the next generation of Upper East Siders are here and ready to make their mark on New York. Any questions/criticisms/encouragements, please review! If you want to create a secondary character (preferably unrelated to the main characters) then send me a message