GOSSIP GIRL
You Know You Love Me
Extended Chapter
Hayley Blakemore
CRWR - 254
Gossip Girl
You Know You Love Me
Extended Chapter
Serena quickly wiped away the single tear that escaped from her eye while watching Blair leave. How come she was so upset over somebody who clearly wanted nothing to do with her? She turned away from the door and stared down at her almost-empty drink. She chewed on her perfectly manicured index finger and considered her options.
1. She could chase after Blair and demand what's really going on.
2. She could just go home.
3. She could stay here and party by herself.
She contemplated her options. Chasing after Blair would probably do more harm than good. It would probably turn into a huge argument with Blair screaming at Serena for the many things that she had done wrong. Let's be real here, Blair isn't the most understanding at times, Serena thought to herself. She's obviously angry about something I did and it doesn't exactly seem like she's willing to forgive me any time soon. She contemplated going home. Seemed easy enough, except for the fact that she had spent hours getting ready for what? Nothing? Besides, the house was probably empty, which would make for a pretty depressing night, and it's not like she had any friends she could invite over. Well, she could always just stay here and have a good time by herself.
"Another Cosmo, Serena?" Missy appeared out of nowhere.
"Why not," Serena replied, without a second thought.
I suppose that's that.
Serena scanned the bar for any not-crazy looking potential friends. She was only away at boarding school for less than a year, but it seemed as though none of her friends wanted anything to do with her anymore, and she had no idea why.
Missy returned just minutes later carrying a Cosmo along with a tequila shot to Serena's table.
"I didn't order this," Serena said, looking down at the tequila shot. She hated tequila. Missy pointed to the three tall boys standing by the doorway. They smiled as Serena glanced over at them. They were probably in their late twenties, wearing businesses suits and all very attractive. Serena lifted up the tequila shot and nodded at them. Even though she'd rather do a shot of soy sauce than a shot of tequila, she was willing to make a little sacrifice.
"Cheers beautiful!" one of the boys called out to her. All three smiled back at Serena and lifted their beers. Serena drank the shot, trying to be polite and not make a face that would reveal how disgusted she really was. The boys walked over to her table.
"I'm impressed," the boy with the dark hair and glasses said.
"Just wait," Serena winked, "the night's just getting started."
The three boys took a seat at Serena's table.
"Waitress! Four more shots," one of the other boys demanded.
It was a little cramped, but there was just enough room for all three of them. Serena knew that it was against her better judgement to be sitting alone with three strangers taking tequila shots, but she had already gotten kicked out of boarding school, forgotten to send in her college applications, and lost all her best friends. She didn't have much else to lose. At least that's what she thought.
"I'm James, by the way," the guy with the dark hair and tanned skin introduced himself. "And that asshole's name is William," he chuckled. "And that's Francis in the glasses, sitting next to the asshole. He's kind of shy". What kind of introduction was that? The two boys glared at James.
"Nice to meet you guys, I'm-" Serena started.
"Serena Van Der Woodsen, right?" William asked.
Serena nodded. After her recent modeling gig, she was starting to get used to being recognized, and she wasn't complaining.
"I heard you got kicked out of boarding school," said Francis.
Isn't he supposed to be the shy one? she wondered.
"Yeah, it's true. I just recently moved back here to New York. I'm kind of glad though. Boarding school wasn't really for me. It was too… strict," she explained.
"Don't blame you," James nodded in agreement. "Good thing you're back, though. I'm sure New York missed you."
Yeah, right.
"Is it true that you got kicked out for sleeping with your teacher?" Francis asked.
James punched Francis in the arm and gave him a dirty look. Francis shrugged.
"No actually, that's not true," she snapped. She had heard of many ridiculous rumours about herself, but hadn't yet heard of this one.
"Terrific question to ask, Francis," James said sarcastically. "How about you leave and come back when you learn some social skills you weirdo".
"It's okay Serena, we don't judge," William chuckled, completely disregarding what James said.
"Yeah whatever, but like I said, that never happened. It's just a rum-"
"Lighten up, we're only kidding!" William interrupted.
There was an awkward silence. God, she was sick of awkward silences.
"How about some more tequila shots?" James suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
"Actually, I should get going," Serena was starting to feel annoyed.
"You really do need to lighten up," William repeated. "Just take a joke."
"Just don't be a dick," James snapped at William. "Serena, I apologize for these idiots. You know they're only teasing you because they know you're way out of their league. It's an ego thing I guess. Just ignore them."
Serena shrugged. Maybe she was being too sensitive, maybe William was right. Maybe she did need to lighten up.
Missy suddenly appeared carrying a tray with more shots.
"This round is on the house guys. Enjoy!" she said as she placed the tray on the table and smiled at Serena, then walked away.
"Check it out, Serena! Free tequila shots! How can you say no to that," James said enthusiastically, trying to cheer her up. He felt bad that his friends were being such jerks. They usually weren't that bad, but I guess beautiful women make some men act like idiots. Not James, though.
Serena sighed. Not that free really meant anything to her since her parents were millionaires, but she didn't have anything else to do. Maybe this night could somehow magically turn around.
"Sure… I guess one more won't hurt," she said.
Everyone lifted up their shots and swallowed them. Serena was starting to feel a little lightheaded.
"So, Serena, I should probably mention that I'm actually a teacher," William said, grinning at Serena. James glared at him. Serena was intrigued. James didn't trust what was about to come out of William's mouth.
"Really? That's actually really cool!" Serena's eyes lit up. Finally, something to talk about. "What University? Or College? What classes do you teach? I'm supposed to be starting college in September, but I kind of forgot to send in my application. It's okay thought because maybe-" William put his hand in front of her face to cut off her excitement.
"Wow, slow down there girl! What I meant was that since I'm, you know, a professor, maybe you'd want to come over to my place later. Seems like my chances might be good," William slurred, in a sarcastic tone.
"WILLIAM!" James pounded his fist on the table. His mouth dropped and he stared at William in disbelief. Francis didn't care though, he just burst out laughing. William and Francis gave each other a high-five.
Serena's heart started to pound, and she could feel the warm blood rush to her face. She gripped onto the side of the table with both hands, and started to shake. She was at her boiling point and could not contain her anger.
William continued to laugh and looked at Francis.
"Look at her dude, what's wrong with her? It looks like she's going to transform into a beast," William pointed at Serena. Francis laughed.
"Guys, what the hell is wrong with you? I didn't know tequila turned you both into assholes. You're both just jealous because neither of you could ever get a girl like her!" James shouted, trying to defend Serena. Serena didn't hear any of it though. All she could hear was the two jerks laughing at her over some stupid rumour that wasn't even true.
"Seriously, what's your problem? " William demanded of Serena.
"YOU are!" she snapped. She swung her right hand across the table and knocked over all the empty glasses. They smashed as soon as they hit the floor.
The three boys stared at her, eyes wide open, not saying a word. They couldn't believe what they were witnessing.
She jumped off her bar stool and picked it up and threw it across the bar. The stool flew across the room, over top of a middle-aged couple's table. Not that she was aiming for them or anything. The woman at the table screamed. Luckily, the stool didn't hit anyone, but it came close. The three boys jumped up, quickly grabbed their coats and ran out the door. They had a feeling Serena's next outburst would be directed at them. Missy rushed over to the table where Serena was standing, with fire still in her eyes.
"SERENA!" Missy demanded. "What has gotten into you!"
"Everyone just needs to leave me alone!" Serena cried. She grabbed her purse and headed for the door, but was stopped by a six-foot three-hundred pound bouncer who stopped her. He stood in front of the door to block her from leaving.
"I need to see some identification, now," he demanded in a strict tone. He knew exactly who she was, though. She was Serena Van der Woodsen; just another spoiled, privileged teenager who got whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. He knew that under the bar's policy he was supposed to escort her off the premises, and leave it at that. He was just so sick of all these spoiled kids getting away with everything. This time, he wanted justice. Even if it meant losing his job.
"Don't you know who I am?! I'm Serena Van der Woodsen! Just let me leave." Tears were streaming down her face. She was humiliated by what had just happened. Not that she hadn't ever completely lost her temper before, but it was the first time that it happened public. She just wanted to leave.
"Well, Serena Van der Woodsen, you're in a lot of trouble. Are you aware of the legal drinking age in New York?"
Serena grabbed the table beside her to stop her head from spinning. She had never been questioned before at a bar on whether she was legal or not, but then again, she was intoxicated and acting pretty belligerent, even for her.
"Yes, I'm aware," she mumbled. She was starting to really feel the alcohol.
"The legal drinking age is twenty-one. I know for a fact that you are not twenty-one, and you are clearly very intoxicated," he said.
"Yeah, but you really don't understand. My best friend hates me, and these guys were making fun of me over some-" the bouncer cut her off. He couldn't care less what she had to say. She broke the law, and there was no excuse she could say to justify what she just did.
"Save it," he snapped. "The police are on their way to discuss this. Sit here so we can sort this out, alright?" he pointed to the chair for Serena to sit on and wait. He didn't care if the bar got a fine for serving underage kids; he wasn't going to let this girl get away with breaking the law just because she's rich and well known.
Serena sat on the chair and looked around. There was a silence in the room and she could feel everyone staring at her.
"Psst, that's Serena Van der Woodsen sitting there. Can you believe it?" she heard one girl whisper to another.
"I know. I thought she was in boarding school. She must've gotten kicked out for being crazy. I bet she punched the principal in the face or something," the other girl whispered back.
Serena looked up and just as she thought, almost everyone in the bar was staring at her.
Click, click. Click, click. Click.
They started taking cell phone pictures too. This was sure to be in the newspaper.
Obviously.
As soon as the bouncer turned to look out the window, waiting for the police to arrive, Serena took the opportunity and bolted for the door.
She flew open the door and ran outside without looking back. There was no way she was going to sit there and be publicly humiliated. She ran across the street to her car, quickly opened the door and jumped in. She saw the bouncer bolt out of the door after her, coming towards her car. She stuck her hand in her purse and reached around for the keys, and pulled them out. She jammed the keys into the ignition, revved the engine, shifted the gear into "Drive", and pounded her foot on the gas pedal. She could hear sirens in the background, and it sounded like a cop car that was speeding up towards her. She made it about two blocks, not really knowing what she was doing, until all of a sudden the roads were all blocked off with about seven cop cars.
Shit she thought.
She slammed on the brakes and took the keys out of the ignition. Her heart was racing, and sweat was dripping from her face. She started breathing very fast, very heavy, and her whole body started to shake.
Oh god, what just happened? She felt like she was in a horrible dream, and wished she could wake up. But this was real, and this was happening.
"STEP OUT OF THE VEHICLE. NOW. PLACE YOU HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD," she heard a voice coming from a loud speaker outside.
She opened the door, and tried to keep her balance as she stepped outside the vehicle. Everything was spinning. She turned around and did exactly as she was told. Her whole body was still shaking.
A police office walked over to Serena, grabbed her arms, and put her wrists in handcuffs.
"Serena Van der Woodsen, you are under arrest for public intoxication, underage consumption of alcohol, minor in a licensed establishment, and driving under the influence. Anything you say can and will be used against you. I suggest you call a lawyer," the police officer escorted Serena to the cop car, opened the back door, and motioned for her to get inside.
God, what have I done…