After returning to the good graces of Eleanor Waldorf and agreeing to make her wedding blazer Jenny decided she needed to check on Eric again. Turning around her eyes were instantly drawn to the tall, dark, and handsome young man standing beside the stairs. His shirt a radiant blue to match his eyes, the eyes that had set her soul on fire and made her feel loved. Nate had his hands shoved in his pockets and trained his gaze on the carpet beneath their feet. He looked like he was in another world, distant and alone within his own thoughts.
Sighing she set down the drink she had been holding and walked over towards him. Not once in the course of her journey did his orbs look up at his surroundings or the young woman approaching him. But when black peep-toed pumps sneaked their way next to his shiny tuxedo shoes he was forced our of his reserve. He cracked a grin at the vibrant purple of her toenails, he need not have to guess who they belonged to. Slowly his head rose and the crush of sea blue washed over her emerald eyes, nothing was said as they took a moment to read each other, but eventually they both smiled and looked down before back up at each other.
"Hi" she let out the word just above a whisper, afraid still that beneath his charming grin he still detested her for her recent actions. She didn't blame him, what she had done was horrible and his anger was well deserved.
He could sense she was nervous, but so was he. After he had left the ball with Vanessa that night he had spent most of it awake in his bed thinking if how he handled the situation was the best. He was sure of the feeling she held for Vanessa, but he was also sure that he had held the strongest feelings ever experienced for Jenny. When he analyzed the situation and put himself in the mind of a passionate teenage girl he saw how Jenny could react the way she did. And since that night he had struggled with the words he spat at her and left her hurt and confused. "Hi."
The fidgety disposition of him only increased the flutter of butterflies in her stomach and she nearly turned and bolted for the door. But her goal was to show Nate she was the person he thought her to be, the person he had cared enough for to defy Dan and her father at the fashion show to stand at her side. So she took a deep breath and extended her hand to lay at the bend of his left elbow. "I know I may not be your most favorite person in the world, but I wanted to see how you were holding up."
A small bit of heat seeped through his jacket and dress shirt to his arm where her fingers rested gently in a caring gesture. His eyes immediately flowed to where their bodies currently connected and he stared there for a moment as he took in her words. To hear concern and worry for him fall from her lips he jerked his head up and fell back into their longing gaze. "Me?"
Genuine shock was painted across his features and it caused her to giggle at how easily he forgot himself. Nate was always the one that worried for others, took care of them before he even gave himself an ounce of thought. It was a quality that had taken her heart hostage and refused to let go without the ransom of her love. "Yeah you, I've watched you and Blair doting after Chuck all day. You guys are amazing for being there for him, but Serena and Blair have each other when Chuck takes to his disappearing but here you stand alone. I wanted to let you know that even if I came here with Eric I have two shoulders and I can reserve one for you."
Fingers squeezed his skin and he shivered at the action, all day he had taken care of Chuck and worried about Chuck. It was nice to know that someone was thinking of him, Bart was like a second father to Nate and when the news struck he had frozen. Left the coffee shop he was at with Vanessa for a long walk through the park, cried alone for some time and then went out in search of Chuck. Once he found him he never let him out of his sight for very long, taking care of him was his priority. Taking his right hand out of his pocket he brought it over atop of Jenny's and returned her squeeze. "Thanks Jen, that means more than you'll ever know."
Her body lit up at his touch and she had to bit her lip to keep in the soft moan that knocked at them. Their hands stayed like that; their bodies close enough she could feel a small wind in her bangs each time he took a breath. Watching the rise and fall of his tie she got lost in the moment and forgot that there were hundreds of people surrounding them. It was becoming too much for her, her muscles were screaming at her to hug him close and kiss those soft pillow lips. She was not going to be the girl she thought of Vanessa when that image had filled her cell phone screen last week. Taking a deep breath she took the last step that separated them and looped her arms around his waist in a hug.
Thankfully he responded and encased her thin frame in his embrace, hugging her tight and close like the night he kissed her outside Agnes' apartment. Bowing his head in her hair he took in the scent of her shampoo, a reminder of how close he had once been with her when he could recite the name and picture the bottle sitting on the bathtub edge of the Humphrey's shower. After a few moments she began to pull away and he regretfully untangled his arms from around her shoulders.
As her mouth passed his ears she took a risk and whispered what she had wanted to tell him that night of the ball. "You'll mean more to me than you'll ever know. I love you Nathaniel Archibald." In another bold move she looked to his face and saw the awestruck and punch to the stomach look in his eyes. The one that had filled them the moment she first kissed him on a hunch he felt something more than sisterly for her.
Nate couldn't believe she had uttered those words, couldn't believe he himself hadn't said them yet. Somewhere deep in his heart he knew the things he had experienced and felt with Jenny; kissing her, holding her in his arms, and loving the passion and drive that filled her petit frame, was love. But as he tried to hold her gaze she looked away and took the remainder of steps out of his embrace.
One last glance at him she gave a week smile and dropped his hand from hers as she walked away to find Eric. She had placed the ball in his court now, the ball being her heart, and it was his decision what to do next. But whatever it was he did he would have her heart, and not even that could move Jenny to shed a tear in worry or hurt. The strongest thing she had felt run through her veins in her short time with Nate was trust and safety, she instilled both in him and was positive of the fact he could not do more hurt than she had caused herself.
When tragedy strikes the best thing to do is start a new, never forget what brought about the tragedy but learn from it and make sure it doesn't occur again. Jenny was taking that notion to the letter making sure to let Nate, and herself, know that if they find a way into each other's arms, minds, hearts, and souls again that nothing will break that bond. Together they would be like a phoenix, inviolable and unremitting.