Hey everyone! I haven't been on here for a while but I've gotten really good feedback on other stories I've written so here's another one.

Context: Serena lives in LA and in a marketing executive at a successful company. Chuck is running Bass Industries. Blair is a socialite/helps Chuck run his company. Nate is the youngest elected congressman.

...

Hey old friends,

Remember me? My deepest condolences go out to the Rhodes family. Celia was one classy lady. But you know what this means? S just got back in town for the funeral. Get ready.

xoxo

Gossip Girl

Blair's mouth fell open. She can't even remember the last time gossip girl sent out a blast. Of course she knew that Serena would be at her own grandmother's funeral but she hadn't even thought about how their encounter would be. She quickly pulled out her cell phone.

"Hey Blair, what's up?"

"Serena is back." She heard the sound of Nate's breath halt.

Nate shook his head at himself. "How do you know that? She called you?"

Blair let out a sarcastic scoff. "I read about it on Gossip Girl."

Nate let out an empty laugh. "This should be interesting." He hangs up and walks into his office to see Chuck sitting at his desk chair. "Hi."

Chuck looks over at him. "Serena is back."

Nate motions for him to get up and Chuck rolls his eyes at him but moves out of his way. "So I hear."

"Oh. She called you too?"

Nate can't manage to stop himself from glaring at his best friend. "She called you?"

"I thought she called all of us…" He put a hand on Nate's shoulder.

"Well she didn't call me or Blair." Nate runs a hand through his hair. "I have a lot of work to do. I'll see you at the funeral."

…

3 DAYS BEFORE

Serena sat at her favorite coffee shop in LA and bit down on her pen cap lightly. She was supposed to come up with a sales pitch for a new product but she kept drawing up blanks. She looked at her watch. If she left now she could surprise her boyfriend Dean before he left to work.

She gathered up her notebook and laptop and shoved it in her bag then hopped into her car. She let her mind wander while she drove along the beach to get to Dean's condo.

She'd just managed to park when her phone buzzed. A text from her assistant telling her she'd emailed her an attachment containing more information about the product. She quickly texted a thanks back.

Serena let herself into the condo with her key. "Hey babe! You home?"

She heard the shower running and decided to take a look at the email. She rolled her eyes when she realized her computer was dead. She tossed it on the couch and walked over to the counter where Dean's laptop was.

She opened the browser and saw a Facebook page come up. Dean had a Facebook? She was about to exit the window when a message popped out on the screen.

Dean: so hot

Samantha: so do u still have a girlfriend?

Dean: she's gone this weekend so you can come over and play again ;)

Serena's mouth dropped open. She heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Dean smiling at her. His smile faded as soon as he saw her face. "What?"

Serena stood up angrily. "Who the hell is Samantha?"

He reached across from her and slammed his laptop shot. "Why were you going through my stuff?"

Serena shook her head and went to grab her bag. "It popped up! You're unbelievable."

"Whatever you saw it's out of context."

Serena let out a sarcastic scoff. "Can you please just be honest for one second? How long have you been cheating on me?"

He shook his head. "She's just some girl I was flirting with online. You've been gone the past 2 weekends and you're leaving again this weekend! I get bored and lonely."

"How dare you try to guilt me? I'm leaving this weekend because my grandmother died, you asshole!"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'll do anything to make it up to you. I'll delete my account right now."

Serena rolled her eyes. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she stormed out and stopped to turn back at him. "I obviously can't trust you. And I can't be in a relationship with someone who I don't trust."

"Baby, please. I love you so much. I'm begging you –"

"Stop. I just need some space, okay? I'll call you."

…

Blair rubbed her neck like she did every time she felt stressed out. She turned her head to see Nate approaching her. "Hi."

Nate gave her a small smile. "Nice dress."

Blair looked down at her black dress and smoothed it out on her lap. "Thanks. Where is Chuck?"

"He's meeting us there. He went to meet with Serena before the funeral."

"Why did she call him? I don't get it."

Nate shrugged. "Let's just go. It should be starting soon."

Serena slid out of the car and shielded her face from the paparazzi. She linked arms with Lily and let Eric and the security guards shuffle them to the church. Lily froze next to her and Serena stopped walking too. She looked out to the benches to see everyone else already seated and the wooden casket in the center of the aisle.

Serena gave her mom a kind smile. "We can do this. Together." She kept a tight grasp on her arm and led the way down the aisle and into the first row.

Serena wasn't really listening to what the priest was saying. She looked up when she felt Eric nudge her. The ceremony was over and close family was allowed to say one last goodbye before the casket closed. "Mom and I went already. You're the last one."

Serena stood up slowly. She pulled a letter she'd written her grandmother out of her purse and held it tight in her hand. She knew every single person was watching her and she took a deep breath before she walked to the altar.

…

Chuck greeted Serena with a quick kiss on the cheek and then gave Lily a big hug. "It's beautiful, Lily."

Lily smiled at him and looked around the room. They were hosting a memorial dinner for Cece and all the proceeds went to breast cancer research. "Thank you Charles. It was mostly Serena."

Chuck slipped a check in her hands. "It's wonderful. Serena, may I have this dance?"

Serena nodded and they made their way to the dance floor and he twirled her around before falling into step with the song. "I haven't talked to Blair or Nate."

"I know."

"I'm really happy for you and Blair. And Nate…he's New York's most eligible bachelor. Everyone seems to always talking about him."

Chuck gave her a smirk. "He hates all the attention but you know Nate, always so cool and collected. Speak of the devil."

Serena followed Chuck's gaze and saw Nate walking towards them. "May I cut in?"

Chuck nodded. "She's all yours."

Nate took her hand in his and started moving with the music. "Hi Serena."

Serena smiled at him. "It's so good to see you, congressman."

Nate rolled his eyes at her. "I'm sorry I didn't get to speak to you at the funeral. I just didn't know what to say. How are you holding up?"

Serena shrugged. "I'm fine. Cece was tired…it was time for her to go."

The song ended and Nate stopped dancing. He kissed her hand quickly. "I'm going to get us drinks."

…