1retro series
"Serena van der Woodsen"
"A Milestone."

It happened on a cool and crisp night in the autumn New York air. Her body was still cold and dank from her impromptu dip into the Archibald family fountain, a most beautiful marble statuesque fountain than any you'd probably ever seen. It was so massive that it took up a good chunk of the Archibald family backyard, which meant that unlike other 12 year old boys his age, if he ever felt a need to play football or any other adolescent game, he couldn't. Not that Nate minded much, the game he liked to play involved lacrosse sticks and helmets in a field way more massive than his family's summer home in the Hamptons. The usual suspects were all in attendance and having the time of their lives. Nate Archibald, for without him this exciting scenery wouldn't be possible. Chuck Bass, his debonair yet devious best friend was also along for the ride. His girlfriend Blair Waldorf, and his other best friend, the beautiful eternally youthful Serena van der Woodsen, the girl who made plenty heart a flutter with one bat of her Lancome groomed eyelashes.

"I'm so cold." complained a shaky Serena who had found a nice spot to sit in since Chuck was so gracious in laying a towel down next to him. Sitting beside Chuck and in front of Blair and Nate who were wrapped up together in their own towel, Serena shook and shaked until Chuck finally took mercy on her and wrapped his towel around her shoulders.

"No one told you to play 'Serena Water Goddess.'" Blair jokingly chastised. Even she had to admit it was a good show. The team had been lounging by the pool all day at the van der Woodsen estate, which was just up the road, and the boys quickly jumped right in while the girls just lounged around the pool in their cute Abercrombie and Fitch bikinis and basked in the sun. Once they were done, they all walked back to Nate's house were they snuck into his family's liquor cabinet and drank champagne and feasted on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that they made themselves.

"Well I had on a bikini, so I thought why not do it?" Serena laughed while doing her 'Water Goddess' pose. She flicked a lovelorn gaze at Nate and then looked away just as quickly as she did it. She didn't mean to but she couldn't help it. She'd been friends with Nate as long as she could remember. Their family had been friends for decades, their grandmothers were even acquaintances. Nate possessed a lot of good qualities that Serena loved in a boy now that she was finally ready to start pursing them just like they had pursued her for years. He was charismatic, charming, cute and cuddly, the 4 cs that reminded her that he'd make an even better lover than he did best friend. It was safe to say that Serena harbored a crush on Nate. Only problem was, was that he belonged to her best friend since birth, Blair Waldorf. And Serena already knew that if Blair so much as thought that Serena might have a crush on her boyfriend, Blair would probably kill her.

Which is what Blair does best.

"I happen to like the water goddess." Chuck chimed in using his arms to reverently dry Serena off, so she'd quit shaking. Serena tilted her head back and smiled at Chuck. For as long as she's known Nate, she's known Chuck as well. Nate might have been the ones to make the girls swoon, but it was Chuck who kept them coming back. He had this aristocratic appeal about him, that made him appear more worldly than actually was. He seemed to know things before anyone else and while he could be an ass about things, he normally was coming from a good place.

"Awwww" Blair cooed, forcing Serena to look back her way. Serena turned just in time to catch Nate toss a look towards Blair, and once Blair caught it she nudged him with her elbow forcing Nate to fake a hurtful wince.

"What's going on guys?" Serena asked hating to be out of the loop.

"Oh nothing." Nate lied rolling his eyes and then topping it off with a whistle.

"Love is in the air." Blair called out in a girlish sing songy voice.

"You're in love, we get it already." Chuck ruefully quipped, although there wasn't a hint of anything in the least bit jovial in his voice.

"Yes." Nate happily admitted. "I am in love, but I'm not the only one."

"What do you mean?" Serena asked again, this time more confused than ever. She felt as if her best friends were up to something and she didn't like not knowing what. Suddenly Blair tossed Nate's towel off of her shoulders and wriggled her free from his strong 12 year old grasp. She yawned and stretched and then dashed off towards the Archibald lot's glass doors where she opened them and then motioned for Nate. Within a dash, Nate too had lept to his feet and ran off towards Blair who shut the door on Serena and Chuck, locking it from the inside.

"What the hell?" Serena asked astonished, her 11 year old self still too timid to utter the word 'fuck.'

"It's pretty obvious isn't it?" Chuck said amused. "Those two have been whispering and gossiping like hens all day."

"Whispering and gossiping about what?" Serena whirled her head towards Chuck, then she too had gotten to her feet. She felt a little better now, less cold. perhaps because she was more confused. Chuck took this time to now gaze up and at her damp body which now glistened like a true water goddess underneath the moonlight. It's pretty obvious to note that Serena was easily the prettiest girl in Constance Billard, the school that she and Blair went to. It was even easier to note that both Serena and Blair were the most sought after girls in the 6th grade, they had the factor of 'guys want to date them and girls want to be them' appeal. They were also the most gossiped about too. Chuck's vision couldn't help but drink in Serena's unhinged beauty. At just 11, Serena was already 5'7 which put her at the top of her class when it came to height. She already had a figure, with budding hips that jutted in her bikini and budding breasts that hinted that she'd already began her menarche. On top of that, she had the face of an uninterrupted angel who was just as pure as the day she was born.

"About you and me." Chuck answered softly. "It was really lost on you my little blonde minx."

Serena nervously chuckled. She didn't know what minx meant.

"What about you and I?" Serena asked, smoothing out her damp white bikini bottom which really didn't need to be smoothed out.

"Well they didn't really tell me but you don't have to be Einstein to figure it out." Chuck answered diplomatically. "Well think about it. Nate and Blair are together, so naturally they'd want their best friends to be together. I'm guessing for the double dating thing even though double dating was so 5th grade,"

"Oh" Serena blushed. "Like you and I get together?"

Chuck nodded and Serena kept on blushing. Now that she thought about it, she did kind of like Chuck. She came to him quite a few times whenever she didn't understand something about a boy, or just failed to understand life in general. She'd witness him be so cruel to classmates less rich than him, which was everyone because Chuck Bass is easily the wealthiest boy in all of New York. But because of how she saw him act towards other students, she was amazed at how calm and patient he was with her. Does that mean that Chuck liked Serena too? Truth is, Serena had never entertained the idea before this moment. She didn't think it was fathomable. However now that he's right in front of her and the idea is tossed out there, it might not be a bad one. Chuck was ultra handsome, he looked like those boys on the cover of Bop. It's only a wonder what kind of handsomeness he'd turn into once he gets older.

"Quite frankly, I'm not sure how I feel about it." Chuck admitted. Suddenly Serena loved to hear him speak and the words he'd use. No one else their age used them. Suddenly Chuck Bass made vocabulary ultra exciting. "I mean you're gorgeous, don't get me wrong. Dating you would be fun I'm sure. But dating just because our best friends are? How lame."

"I agree." Serena really didn't. She wanted to date Chuck. She really did. She already liked him now but with time she'd sure she'd grow to like him a lot rather than a little. Plus, Chuck wasn't involved with her best friend. And if she couldn't love the one she wanted, she'd love the one she's with. Isn't it how the song goes?

"I think I want to kiss you." Chuck said softly, making his way towards Serena. Serena had already began shaking again, this time from nerves. Serena normally felt squeamish whenever a boy told her that. In fact the last one who did, was an 8th grader named Bobby Nelson who told her he wanted to kiss her. The butterflies that were circling within her stomach prevented her from enjoying it, but then again the kiss that he gave her was just a peck on her lips. It was over quicker than it began. She remembered how nervous she felt then and how she wanted to run away. But with Chuck she wanted to do anything but run. She invited him standing uber close to her, and even kinda liked it when he wrapped his arms around her waist. Serena tried her best not to stand there limp, although she really had no idea what the hell she was doing. So she did what she thought she would do as if this were a scene in a movie, she wrapped her arms around neck and then tilted her head to the side. She closed her eyes and Chuck placed his lips on hers and simultaneously pulled her body in closer to his. She parted her lips and he subsequently invited his tongue to the party. Before she knew it, she had invited hers too and the both of them were enjoying this tweenage milestone. For a beginner, Serena sure seemed like a natural, at least in Chuck's humble opinion. And as if suddenly becoming attracted to Chuck wasn't new enough, she had to go and kiss him which in return made her like him even more.

Once the kiss had ended, Serena smiled up at Chuck, really happy that he could be her first real kiss. Meanwhile Chuck smiled back and tilted his head down, like a gentleman. On instinct, Serena looked towards the house, the glass door specifically and caught Nate's reflection staring back at her.

And he wasn't smiling.