September 1997: Kindergarten
"Mama, please don't make me go!" Serena van der Woodsen clutched at her mother's coats and wailed, her giant blue eyes wide with fear.
Lily smoothed down her daughter's blonde hair and shushed her. "Now, dear, no need to make a scene. See all the other children? They're just as nervous as you," she soothed.
Serena glanced around. It was true, almost every child was clinging to their parents and crying, with the exception of two little brown-haired children high on the steps. The little girl was pushing her mother away and sizing up the school like a queen surveying her subjects. And the little boy had no parent in sight, but he was looking at all the children in detail, like he was trying to figure them out.
Serena sighed. Her head was already hurting from the thought of starting school, and all the new faces she would have to meet. How would she ever make friends? The only real friend she had was her little four-year-old brother, Eric.
Her mother gave her a gentle push up the stairs with small tears in her eyes. It was time for her baby to grow up.
Little Serena squared her shoulders and climbed up the stairs, playing with her tie absentmindedly. As she was rounding the corner to go to the co-ed kindergarten building, as she had been shown in her interview, she found a little boy slouching against the brick wall, looking confused. When he saw her, he jumped out and caught her hand. It was warm and a little sweaty. Probably nervous, just like her.
"Can you show me the way to the kindergarten? I, uh, kinda got lost," he said, embarrassed.
Serena smiled. Maybe this was her first friend! "Sure! Have you been here before? I went with my mommy on my interview a week ago. My name's Serena, what's yours?" she babbled.
The boy knitted his eyebrows at the onslaught of questions. "Well, my grandpa told me I didn't need an interview and that he would get me in without one, so I've never been here, yeah. And my name's Nate Archibald."
Nate walked in companionable silence next to Serena, who was chattering happily along about anything and everything. He found himself distracted by a little brown-haired boy walking a few paces in front of him, already chuckling about something or other with a few boys he recognized from his little tykes lacrosse camp.
"And here we are. Oh! I hope we get to see each other more!" she gave him a huge hug and skipped off to find the teacher for a nametag. Nate stopped in his tracks. She smelled good. And her hair was so shiny.
Once Serena had gotten her nametag, she was directed to her table. The desks were arranged in little squares and were arranged so two boys and two girls were sitting at a table. Serena felt another wave of nervousness wash over her. More people to meet, more names to memorize.
The little brown-haired girl she had seen at the top of the steps this morning was seated at the table already, across from Serena's seat. "Hello, I'm Blair Waldorf," she said merrily, holding out her hand for Serena to shake. Serena didn't shake hands, that was for grownups. But she still shook her hand hesitantly, looking this Blair girl up and down.
Blair's uniform was impeccable. She was wearing a little plaid skirt, a navy blazer, purple tights, and a matching purple headband in her curly locks. Serena bet she looked sloppy next to Blair in her too-short skirt (hey, she couldn't help it if she was going through another growth spurt), untucked shirt, and swinging plaid tie.
Just then someone cleared his throat right next to Serena. It was Natie! Serena launched into his arms. "Nate! You're sitting with me! Meet Blair," she said with a flourish, presenting the little princess girl to Nate.
Blair smiled. "Nathaniel Archibald, right? I'm Blair Waldorf." She stood up and Serena thought she was going to shake his hands, but instead she took a cue from Serena and hugged him tentatively. Her now-shining brown eyes caught Serena, and she could have sworn that Blair gave her a challenging look, as if they were competing for the affections of this blue-eyed boy. But Serena wasn't sure.
Their hug was interrupted by a tap on Blair's shoulder. "Hate to interrupt this moment, but I wanted to introduce myself properly." It was the dark-haired boy from the top of the steps. He was also impeccably dressed in his navy uniform (the kindergarteners wore a different uniform than the upper schoolers), complete with a little purple bow tie.
Blair broke away, annoyed. "Well, go for it. And make it speedy. The teacher's about to start."
The boy rolled his eyes. "Okay, goody two-shoes," he murmured. "My name's Chuck Bass." He held out his hand for them all to shake, just like Blair. Nate seemed to take an immediate liking to Chuck, sidling up to him and clapping a hand over his tiny shoulder. "I can tell we're going to be great friends," he said with conviction. Chuck just smirked in reply, eyes more on Blair.
Serena found Chuck sort of amusing-the boy was so confident, she felt like she could learn a lot from his demeanor. "Me, too," she echoed Nate.
But Blair reacted differently. She just looked Chuck up and down critically. "You're wearing purple," she accused.
Chuck looked at her with interest. "So?" he challenged.
Blair stood on her tippy-toes to give herself a height advantage to Chuck as she talked down to him. "So, purple is my color. No one else is allowed to wear it. See, my other friends over there-" she gestured to a gaggle of girls who all had on different colors of tights and headbands "-are respecting my rule. Kati is wearing pink, Isabel is wearing red, and Penelope is wearing yellow." She smiled triumphantly to Chuck.
Chuck raised a dark eyebrow. "But I'm not one of your 'other friends.' I'm Chuck Bass. And nobody can tell me what to do." He stood up on his tiptoes as well, so now he was taller.
Blair stood on top of the chair. "I can tell you what to do."
Chuck got up on his chair, too. "Why?"
Blair hopped up onto the table. "Because I'm Blair Waldorf, that's why."
Chuck frowned at her and climbed up the table, steadying himself by putting his hands on her back. She flinched away. "You're bossy!" Chuck yelled, causing the teacher to snap her head to the two little brown-haired children on top of the table.
"Blair Waldorf and Charles Bass! You two get off the table this instant!" They both climbed off the table, cheeks flaming but heads held high, not looking at one another.
Once they had complied, the teacher sighed. It was going to be a long year for her with those two at the same table. "Now, this seems like a perfect time to go over the rules. Number One: always use your inside voice..."
Blair, who was sitting across from Chuck, leaned over to whisper something in Chuck's ear. As he saw the brunette girl leaning toward him, Chuck's face got all shiny and happy. Curious, Serena leaned in to hear what she was saying.
"I hate you, Chuck. And I always will."
Chuck's happy smile fell a little, but his face changed into a smirk. "Right back at you, Waldorf. Nothing you can do will change that. Ever."
They both turned back to the teacher, listening intently. But Serena noticed that Chuck was still watching Blair with a fascination in his dark eyes. And Blair hadn't moved her seat back, so she was sitting so close to Chuck that their shoulders touched. And she looked like she couldn't be happier about it.
One month later, they were all best friends. Serena was best friends with Blair, Chuck was best friends with Nate and had taken a liking to Serena and all her blonde girlyness, Nate was best friends with Serena, Blair had become Nate's girlfriend...
Only Chuck and Blair refused to admit they liked each other. Serena could see it as clear as day that they probably had a stronger bond than any of the other friendships in the foursome. They just got each other. Whenever Blair would make a reference to some kind of grown-up movie or book, Nate and Serena would just stare at each other, confused. But Chuck would get it and even make another joke relating to it. They also liked to talk to each other quietly during naptime, whenever they thought nobody would hear. It was usually about all the other kids in the class and 'what to do about them.' Nate and Serena were never mentioned, of course, but Serena could never make out much of the other conversation. It seemed as if they had very detailed plans on how to rule their respective classes.
But whenever Serena would try to bring up the fact that Blair and Chuck were, in fact, good friends, they would both turn beet red and deny it loudly.
So she decided to resort to desperate measures. Of course, she had known even in her young age that a Serena van der Woodsen scheme would not nearly be as effective as a Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass scheme, but she had to try. For the sake of her best friends.
She started one day when she decided to talk to Nate about the issue. Chuck and Blair were doing what they did best-presiding over different parts of the playground with their respective posses, shooting glares at one another.
Nate was on the outskirts of Chuck's little group, juggling a soccer ball and not looking nearly as brooding as Chuck did. Chuck had started to wear all purple, just to spite Blair-even going so far as arriving in a purple blazer and switching to navy before the teacher saw. Blair, of course, not one to be outdone, had gotten a new purple trench coat and purple ballet flats.
Serena left Blair's group, who were gossiping about the boys, way ahead of their time, and joined Nate. "We need to figure out what to do."
Nate nodded, understanding. "Chuck and Blair are meant to be friends. We just have to find out a way for them to stop hating each other," Nate huffed. He didn't especially appreciate all of Blair's smothering attention, and maybe she could be distracted if she actually admitted her and Chuck were friends.
"They're practically the same person," Serena said, pointing at the two simultaneously. Blair had gotten annoyed at one of her friends (more like followers) and had now taken their Dannon Juniors yogurt and threw it in their face. And Chuck had seen that a member of his group had copied him by drinking his apple juice in a glass tumbler with ice, so he ripped the cup from the boy's hands and poured the amber-colored liquid on his head. Both the little boy and the little girl fled the scene, crying, and Chuck and Blair had exchanged a triumphant glance before it turned into a glare and they looked away.
Nate snorted at the outbursts. "Seriously. But they're just too stubborn to admit it..."
Serena raised her eyebrows. "What do you suggest?"
"I think we should do an intervention."
"Cool..." Serena frowned, her blonde brows furrowing. "What's an intervention?"
Nate fumbled. "Well, it's...it's a plan. We have to make a plan to get Blair and Chuck to like each other. And then our foursome will be complete."
"Well, let's do it, then. The intervention." She was positively shining now.
"Sure! Wait...do you have any ideas?" Nate asked, his excitement turning into wariness.
"Well, I was hoping you'd have an idea..." Serena trailed off, looking glum.
"Hey! I have one!" Nate yelled.
"What?"
He stuck his hands in his pockets. "It's not very good...and Blair will probably hate me...but you know how we sometimes play bride and groom?"
Serena nodded, her face in a frown. "Blair always makes me be the maid of honor because she always marries you."
Nate snapped his fingers. "Exactly! I think the next time we play it, we can get married, so Blair will have no choice but to marry Chuck!"
"And then they will see how much they like each other!" Serena crowed.
"Okay, when should we do it?"
"Tomorrow at lunch recess," Serena decided.
Suddenly, Blair and Chuck's glares at each other didn't seem nearly as condemning as before now that Serena and Nate had come up with a foolproof plan.
"Let's play brides and grooms!" Serena called to Blair after she was done eating her yogurt, pulling her to the courtyard and skipping.
Blair looked suspiciously at Serena, who had already rounded up an eager Nate and a confused Chuck. "You usually hate that game. You say I can't always be the bride."
Serena smiled. "Well, Nate and I-" Blair's eyes narrowed at the mention of her boyfriend- "decided that we will be the ones getting married this time."
Blair huffed. So did Chuck. "What about me?" Blair practically sobbed. "Nate and I always get married."
Chuck looked crossly at the blondes. "And what about me? I'm always the best man," he huffed.
Nate smiled at them. "We thought we could do a double wedding. Me and Serena, and Blair and Chuck."
"We even got a priest and more bridesmaids," Serena pointed out, gesturing to Kati, Iz, and a little curly-haired boy whose name she didn't remember.
"Who's he?" Blair said, pointing at the boy.
"I don't know him," Chuck said, crossing his arms. "I will not have someone I don't know marrying us."
Serena felt a little thrill at getting Chuck to admit he was okay with marrying Blair. Then it all went south.
"I'm Dan Humph-," the boy tried to say, but it was interrupted by Blair stamping on Chuck's foot and Chuck crying out.
"What was that for, Waldorf? Or should I say Mrs. Bass," he teased.
She stuck her tongue out. "As if. I will never marry you."
Chuck reeled backwards. Serena would have sworn the look on his face was hurt. "Why?" he asked.
"Because it's always going to be me and Nate. You and I will never ever happen."
Chuck crossed his arms. "If you say so, Blair. But if that's true, why did he agree to marry Serena?" he gloated.
"Ugh!" Blair screamed, then ran away.
"This was a bad idea," Chuck told Serena and Nate. And then he left, suspiciously in the same direction as Blair.
Nate and Serena just looked at each other helplessly. The wedding party had disbanded, Kati and Iz going to find Blair and the Dan boy going to sit on one of the benches, alone.
"What now?" Nate groaned.
Serena looked around the yard for an idea. Then, she saw one. It was in the form of a tiny dark-haired girl who was eyeing the wedding disaster and grinning gleefully. Georgina Sparks.
Nate followed Serena's eyes. "Hey, don't Chuck and Blair both hate Georgina?" he asked. He was right. They both despised her because she was always looking for a way to break up their respective posses.
Serena nodded slowly. "Yes. And if we can get Georgina to help us, I think Chuck and Blair might be friends."
Nate looked lost. "How?"
"I know that Chuck and Blair love a scheme. And if Georgina pretends to do bad things to us, then they'll come together to get rid of her. And then they'll be friends."
It was still a little too complicated for Nate, but he got the gist of it. "Should we go talk to her?"
Serena nodded. She wasn't particularly fond of Georgina, and she knew Nate wasn't either, but they had to do it for Chuck and Blair.
"What do you want, van der Woodsen?" Georgina scoffed. "And Archibald," she exclaimed when Nate stepped out from behind her back. "It really must be trouble if there's both of you."
"We need Blair and Chuck to be friends," Serena blurted.
Georgina raised her eyebrows, intrigued. She had a sort of soft spot for Chuck-grownups might call it a crush, but she was sure that wasn't it-if only he wasn't always so enamored with Waldorf. So she had antagonized him as much as she had done so to Blair, hoping he'd finally notice her and realize she had a better criminal mind than the little princess.
"I thought they were friends?" she asked slowly.
Nate shrugged. "Maybe, but they won't admit it to anyone. We need your help with a scheme."
Georgina smiled, happy that someone recognized her skills. "I know the perfect thing."
Serena couldn't contain her excitement. "What?"
Georgina smirked. It was all too easy. "I pretend to do mean things to you guys-like spread some rumors, pull some pranks, that sort of thing. You guys will act devastated to Chuck and Blair and beg that they do something to help you. They will band together and then realize that they are friends."
Serena clapped her hands. "Perfect!"
Georgina held up one hand. "I will need payment if it goes right."
Nate looked at her warily, pushing his bangs out of his face. "What is it, Georgie?"
"I have to be part of your guys' group."
"How will we know you won't try to destroy it?" Nate asked, knowing that an evil genius like Georgina couldn't be trusted.
Georgina smiled. "You don't. But at least you will have a group. So, you in?" She stuck her hand in the middle of their little triangle, motioning for them to pile their hands on top.
Nate and Serena followed suit. "We're in," they echoed.
Georgina's plan had been going accordingly. In three weeks, she had managed to fake-humiliate Serena and Nate in a million different ways and turn Chuck and Blair on the offensive.
Chuck approached Blair one day after school when he was sure no one was looking. Serena was hiding behind one of the oak trees, her face obscured by orange leaves, watching their conversation.
"Waldorf," he hissed. They definitely hadn't been on the best terms since the wedding day blowup.
She snapped her head up from the book she was reading. "What, Bass?" she sneered.
"Georgina, Blair. We have to get rid of her."
Blair sighed. "You're right. Poor Serena and Nate. This can't keep happening to them."
Chuck dared to take a step closer to her, letting out a breath when she didn't push him away or stomp on his feet. "What do you propose?"
Blair flinched at the word choice. Ever since the horrors of that botched wedding, she had refrained from playing brides and grooms.
She cleared her throat, regaining composure. "I was thinking..." she said, her face curving into a smile, "total social destruction."
He was smirking now. "And here I thought you'd gone soft, Waldorf. No schemes for a month! At least not with me," he muttered the last part, his face turning dark as he realized that she could have found someone new to scheme with.
Blair shook her head. "I was merely taking a break for a month. But Chuck! How dare you call me soft!"
Chuck let out a breath of air. So she hadn't found another partner-in-crime. He daringly took a step forward, touching one of her curls. "Your hair looks pretty soft," he remarked, a light in his eyes.
Blair smacked his hand away. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Bass," she said airily. "What should our plan be?" she asked, serious now.
Chuck raised his eyebrows slowly, as if there was any question to what they had to do. "I'd say let's get the meanie," he told her cockily, offering her a hand. After a little hesitation, she took it and allowed him to lead her to his waiting limo. Crafting a plan had to be done in complete secrecy.
When the limo had rolled away, Serena crept out from behind the tree, giving the okay signal to Nate, who had been crouched under a neighboring bench. They exchanged a gleeful look. It was working.
Two days later, Serena watched it all go down during lunch. She couldn't believe how well their takedown worked, even going so far as making everyone at her table leave. Georgie actually had tears streaming down her face!
Chuck and Blair were triumphant, and even linked arms as they walked back to Serena and Nate's table. Serena felt a little guilty that she had set them up, but at least they were friends now. Too bad she had to be nice to Georgina now.
So the next day, she tried as best as she could to act like Georgina was one of them. She even invited her to sit at their table during lunch and play with them during recess. Chuck and Blair exchanged a look of pure distaste.
"Serena, can I borrow you for a second?" Blair asked after it had become unbearable to listen to Georgina's whiny voice. Chuck was doing the same thing to Nate.
"Uh...okay." She exchanged a quick look with Georgina, who looked a little mad.
Blair pulled her to a secluded corner and regarded her with her hands on her hips. "What was that all about?" she demanded. "After me and Chuck's amazing takedown three days ago, you invite her to hang out with us?"
Serena looked at the ceiling, trying to come up with an excuse. "Uh...I felt bad for her. She was crying!"
Blair huffed. "That was the point. She was completely torturing you and Nate!"
"But, well, she apologized yesterday. She said please give me another chance. So me and Natie talked and we forgave her and said she could sit with us, and...stuff." Serena cringed. Blair would never believe it.
She tapped her foot. "When was this apology? I never saw it. She needs to get out of our lives, Serena. She's like a little pest."
"Who's a little pest?" Georgina said from behind them, smiling. "Serena was very gracious to me. The lease you can do is give me a chance. I'm not that bad," she said, her eyes wide.
Blair huffed, rolling her eyes. "Fine. For one day. But I've got my eyes on you."
She left to find Chuck. "We need another plan," she hissed when she was out of Georgie's earshot.
Serena overhead them and took in the way their faces were inches apart and smiled to herself. Maybe Georgie being a part of their group wasn't a bad thing.