CHAPTER 1

"I love you!" she exclaimed, a giggle escaping as her blonde hair swept against his neckline, and then straddled herself on his lips, slowly leaning in to kiss him. He laughed as well, running his hands through her hair, a trick he'd learned from the first time they slept together (which was a trick she seemed to enjoy a lot).

"I love you more than anything in the world," he told her. "Being here, right now, with you... that's the only thing I want, and this is the only place I want to be."

She'd be lying if she said she didn't have her (un)fair share of hook-ups, but she'd never had a proper boyfriend until him, and no guy had ever looked at her the way he did. He was the only guy who had ever truly cared for her, and had not just wanted to screw her for fun because she was Serena van der Woodsen. With him, she didn't feel like a prize. He did treat her like she was everything, but with him, it was never like a game to say that he got to sleep with Serena van der Woodsen.

"You are amazing," she whispered, biting his lip when they kissed again, which he found insanely hot. "How much time do we have before your dad and Jenny get home?"

"Maybe thirty minutes," he guessed. "But, who cares? Let them see the show."

She laughed loudly, the laugh he loved so much, and toppled over on the bed with him. She had never felt butterflies in her stomach, and she'd never felt the feeling of loving somebody so much. She was, for once, happy.

PRESENT TIME

"S, you're going to NYU," Blair reminded. "Sure, it's not Brown, but you're going to have a good time. And not to mention, Columbia isn't too far, so I'll be seeing you quite often."

The beautiful blonde nodded her head with a sad, sincere smile before saying, "Of course I'm happy to go to NYU. It's an amazing school. I just don't know if I'm ready for a college life. I've spent most of high school partying, and I finally changed my ways, became a better person, and with college, I'm not sure if I can stay that way. Ever since-"

"-Ever since you and Dan broke up?" Blair guessed.

"Yeah," she said, her sad smile remaining.

"As much as I despise Brooklyn Humphrey, I'll have to admit, he changed you for the better," Blair agreed, nodding her head. "But you're Serena. He doesn't define who you are. You don't need him to be a good person. You can have fun in college. Just don't go overboard. And call me frequently."

"You know I'm not going to stop calling you, B," Serena laughed, smiling happily. "I just... I don't know how to navigate myself without being with him. I still don't even understand what happened between us. Why did we break up?"

"That is what you can discuss with him when you arrive at NYU!" Blair exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Thanks for reminding me," Serena said, sighing. "Not only will I have to try and be a good person in college, but I also have to go with my ex-boyfriend, and watch as he probably has the time of his life with other girls."

"You're overestimating his skill," Blair laughed, rolling her eyes. "The only thing Dan Humphrey will be kissing is his pillow, because girls at college aren't going to chase after him. Trust me. And, if you want to keep him captivated with you, just hook up with him every now and then. He'll be so chained to you that he won't go after any girls."

"Dan is a great guy, and I know girls are going to go after him, B!" Serena cried. "Especially Vanessa."

"We all know V has had a major crush on him for years, but she'd never getting D's D, trust me," Blair said with a smirk. "D's D is all yours, van der Woodsen."


After finally getting settled into her room, Serena sent a text to Dan. She didn't want to sound obsessed or anything, but she needed to see him in college for the first time. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't responding to his phone. And Blair didn't want any interruptions while she was on her date with Chuck, so she was hopeless and alone.

Luckily for her, while she was sitting outside and desperately waiting for Dan to respond to her, she saw a familiar face. It wasn't exactly one she was super joyous to see, but it was one who could help her locate him.

"Vanessa!" the blonde exclaimed, standing up.

"Oh, um, hey, Serena," the Brooklyn girl greeted, scratching her head. "How are you adjusting?"

"Fine, thanks," she said, biting her lip. "I was wondering if you've seen Dan, or at least know where his room is."

"I do," Vanessa responded. "I haven't seen him today, but I'll write you down his dorm room. You guys aren't back together, are you?"

Serena let out a nervous laugh before saying, "No, we're not. We're still broken up, but I'm not sure if that decision was the right one to make—"

"You're having withdrawals and second thoughts?" Vanessa asked curiously.

"I guess, but don't tell," she pleaded. "I'm not going to his room to win him back. I just want to see how things feel now that we're only friends. You can keep a secret, right?"

The Brooklyn girl faked a smile before saying, "Of course. I have no reason to tell him, anyways. I should probably call Nate. We haven't talked much since I got here. Here's Dan's room, by the way."

She handed Serena the piece of paper, and they went their separate ways. The blonde nervously approached the room that Vanessa had written down for her. She honestly was... really scared. They spent almost all of high school together as a couple, and all of a sudden, things crashed after graduation day. They sort of remained friends, but didn't really talk much after their break up. How was she supposed to act like his best friend when they were high school sweethearts?

"Dan," she nervously greeted, knocking on the door. "It's me... Serena."

However, her knock caused the door to open. It seemed he had forgotten to lock it, but it was more of a negative for Serena. On the bed of Dan's room was Humphrey and a new girl. Serena's heart fell to her stomach. She hated seeing him like that. They weren't just talking- they were kissing on his bed. If she hadn't walked in, would they have had sex? Serena liked knowing that she was the only girl Dan had slept with. It killed her to see him with other girls.

"S-Serena!" he cried, pushing the girl off of him. "This is um, my friend, Tiffany."

"Hi, Tiffany," the blonde unenthusiastically said. "I'm also one of Dan's 'friends'."

"Tiff, maybe you should go," Dan quietly said to the other girl. "I think I need to talk to my other friend here... alone. Her name's Serena, by the way."

Tiffany didn't even offer a word to either of them before exiting his room. Serena stood there, arms crossed. She knew she couldn't be mad at him. They were broken up. He had every right to sleep with Tiffany if he wanted to, but she still didn't like it. She didn't know how she was going to explain why she was so upset about it, but she had to say something. Dan already knew she was upset.

"Tiffany?" Serena asked, arms still folded.

"I can explain," he tried, biting his lip. "We were talking in the coffee shop, and she asked if she could come see my book collection, and then she kissed me. I wasn't planning it, and I didn't know you were dropping by. I'm so sorry, Serena."

"I... I shouldn't even be mad," she quietly said. "We're broken up, Dan."

He scratched his neck, understanding what she was saying. If they were broken up, why did it feel like he had just cheated on her with Tiffany? She felt like it was cheating, and so did he!

"What if we shouldn't have?" Dan asked, which confused her.

"Shouldn't have broken up?" she guessed.

He nodded his head and elaborated, "I've been with a few girls since we broke up. I didn't sleep with them. I couldn't. Kissing them and talking to them... if never felt as special as everything felt with you, Serena."

"I-" she began.

He cupped her cheeks and kissed her gently, his hands running down to hold her waist. His lips moved down to her neck, causing a moan to escape from her mouth. They tumbled onto Dan's bed, their lips fiercely pressing against each other. Dan reached for the hem of her shirt, slowly pulling it over her head, and tossing it to the floor. She started to unbutton his shirt as they continued kissing. It felt like magic to be reunited with him.

"How did I know this was going to happen?"

They paused from their bed kissing and looked up at the doorway in unison- Vanessa Abrams.

"How many times do I get walked in on in a day...?" Dan mumbled, sitting up. "Hello, Vanessa."

"Humphrey," she acknowledged. "Serena."

"Can I help you with something?" Dan asked, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Yeah, yeah you can," she said, rolling her eyes. "What happened to being broken up? I literally talked to Serena like ten minutes ago, and she said you guys were over, and she wanted to talk to you as a friend! I should have known that things always go back to this way. Dan, you always just crawl back to her."

He sighed and said, "Vanessa, I didn't ask for your approval. I don't tell you what to do with Nate. And to be fair, a lot can happen in ten minutes."

"Look, I hate to interrupt your sex, but Nate wants to talk to you, Dan," Vanessa announced. "That's why I came back here. I just got off the phone with him, and he wants to see you. He says it's important, too."

"If Nate needs you, then..." Serena began.

"Thank you," Dan said, smiling at her and pecking her cheek. "Can we talk when I get back? Or maybe... not talk?"

She bit her lip with a smile and agreed, "That sounds amazing. Give me a call when you get back from Nate's."


"You're making a mistake if you're planning on getting back together with her when you get back."

"It's not a mistake if I'm still in love with her," Dan told her. "We had the best relationship last year, and that ending was a mistake. I still want to be with her. I love her. I do."

"Or maybe you're just trapped because she's Serena van der Woodsen, and like every guy would die to get into her pants. The only thing is, you have easy access to her pants because you were her high school sweetheart," Vanessa told him. "It was just puppy love. You should be over her by now. It's time to find your true love."

"She is my true love," Dan said with a smile. "And shut up!" He laughed as he continued, "Easy access? Really? I think it's a sign that summer shouldn't have been the end of us. The sign being that I'm still not over her. Are you just being negative because Nate broke up with you right now? Because you're being awfully quiet about that."

"No, no, I sort of wanted things between us to end," Vanessa said. "There's this other guy I kinda like right now."

"Care to give me a name?" Dan asked, grinning.

"No, that's alright," Vanessa laughed. "I feel you might blab to him, so we'll keep all names under wraps. That doesn't mean I didn't like Nate, though, because I did. I always sort of knew he had a thing for Jenny."

"I can't believe he called me over there to ask permission to try and win Jenny," Dan said, shaking his head.

"You almost punching him made it sort of clear that he doesn't have Dan Humphrey's blessing," Vanessa joked.

"I just don't want Nate Archibald's hands all over my little sister," Dan said with a sigh. "He can go after her, but I'm not going to support that relationship. At least for now. Let's hurry. I need to get back and give Serena a call."

"You're making a mistake," Vanessa warned.

He rolled his eyes, and pulled out his phone when he heard a ring. It was an alert. Gossip Girl just posted another blast. He glared at it when he opened it.

"I can't believe it," Dan muttered.

"What happened?" Vanessa asked, grabbing his phone from his hand.

Hey, Upper East Siders. Looks like Serena van der Woodsen has given up her Dan Humphrey days and moved from Brooklyn to better. She can't seem to keep her hands off of Carter Baizen. But who would blame her? He's high society. She really got the upgrade this time!

Attached was a photo of Serena kissing Carter Baizen, just like the article said. Dan had to admit, he was disappointed. He thought he had a chance getting back together with her. But he didn't call for like a few hours, and she already found a new guy to kiss?

"Don't sweat it, Dan," she advised. "I knew it was a mistake, anyways. She means so much to you, yet you're so replaceable to her. She can find somebody rich and better than you in seconds. She was a phase. Always a waste of time."

"I wanted to believe that she was a good person," he said, sighing. "I would have understood if we didn't have that talk about getting back together earlier, but we did! She made it seem like she wanted to, and then she kisses Carter Baizen? It doesn't make sense. Serena's always been a good person to me."

"That's what you don't get," Vanessa said with a sigh. "She's not a good person. She never has been! You were blinded by your adolescent crush on her. It's time you see her for who she really is. I hate to say it, but behind the scenes, she's a manipulative bitch."

Dan swallowed hard and said, "It's just... whatever, Vaness. I need to get back to my room."


"Hey, B," Serena said into the phone. "I hope Columbia is all good, and I hope you're having a great time with Chuck tonight. I just wanted to let you know that I think Dan and I are going to get back together. We were making out earlier, but then he had to go see Nate. He said he'll call when he gets back."

"Making out with Humphrey? You're dirty, S!" Blair exclaimed. "Today with Chuck was perfect. Tell me if D and S reunite tonight."

"I will, Blair," Serena said with a smile. "I should go. I don't want to miss Dan's call."

"Night, S."

She hung up the phone and waited excitedly for Dan to call her. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't checked Gossip Girl, so she had no clue that he, and the whole world, knew all about her dirty little secret kiss with Carter!


Dan stared at his phone. Despite what she did, he still wanted to call her. Part of him just wanted to believe that Serena wouldn't do that to him. That wasn't the girl he has fallen in love with during junior and senior year of high school. Vanessa made it seem like she was nothing but a bad person, but after dating her for two years, he felt like he knew her enough to know she wouldn't hurt him that way.

But it had to be true. The photo with Carter was date-stamped to the same day and everything. Plus, people were talking about how Serena became close friends with Carter over the summer, after Dan and Serena broke up.

"Don't do it, Humphrey ," Vanessa advised. "Don't call her. She's only going to hurt you. Restrain yourself. I'm going to get going."

He sighed as Vanessa left. He stared at his phone, contemplating hard if he should call Serena or not. He felt that Vanessa was right, though. She could replace him so easily. Guys like Dan Humphrey never ended up with perfect girls like Serena. Even Cece Rhodes told him they ended up with people like Carter.

With that, he put his phone to charge, and didn't call Serena that night.


Few notes:

-Nate was still in love with Jenny while dating Vanessa

-Gossip Girl is not Dan

-Serena and Dan dated throughout all of 11th and 12th grade, then broke up over the summer

-Blair's at Columbia, Serena, Dan, and Vanessa are at NYU, and Georgina isn't there