Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl.

A/N: Waah, thank you for all your reviews! I'm so glad you like it. It gives me so much motivation to go on. ^^ Here's the second chapter. Hope you all like it just as much. And finally, CB comes in this chapter too.

Chapter 2

It was a pretty uneventful day. Nothing out of the ordinary; everything bland, and normal. Except the fact that resident good boy Eric now seemed to have turned into resident badboy Eric, thanks to a little tip off, and a picture of a bloodied Eric being shipped off to the hospital, from Gossip Girl.

Good morning Upper East Siders! We have all caught the prom fever recently, but here's some heads-up on something totally unexpected. Eric van der Woodsen, whom we all adore as our dear little brother, all knocked up. No, not that way. (Dirty minds.) Has Little E been in a fight recently? The blood certainly didn't spurt out on its own.

…………………………………..

"Mom, for the hundredth time, I did not get into a fight." Eric said impatiently, starting to lose his temper. He was seated on a hospital bed. "Serena, you believe me, right?"

"Of course." Replied his older sister promptly, nodding her head vigorously at her worried mother. "Eric was just dragged into the alley near St. Judes by some thugs, and beaten up for money."

"And they left after they found out I had forgotten my wallet." Eric added on. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"The doctor said it was just a concussion." Serena continued.

Lily smiled for the first time since she had arrived at the hospital in a rush. The Gossip Girl message had even managed to reach her phone, and remembering Eric's problems two years ago, she had expected the worst. Her youngest son, in a fight. Gone to the dark side. Lost. She guessed she was just being overly-dramatic. "Of course." She said. "I believe you Eric."

There was a knock on the door which interrupted the family talk. It was Jenny.

"Ah, my saviour." Eric said half-jokingly, looking happy to see her.

"Mom, shall we go out?" Serena asked. Lily nodded, exchanged a greeting with Jenny and stepped out of the room with Serena.

"So, how are you?" Jenny asked tentatively. "Okay?"

"I feel like I've committed suicide again, the way everyone is fawning over me." Eric complained.

Jenny's face coloured. "Sorry."

Eric paused. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. It's just bringing back some unhappy memories." Jenny nodded understandingly. "I'm fine. I'll be discharged in just a while, after the doctors run a final scan of my brain."

"I'm glad, I was really worried about you."

"I know. Thanks. A lot." Eric said earnestly.

Jenny waved her hand. "It's no problem. Chuck and Nate did a lot, not me. Chuck was the one who called up the people to find out where you were, and Nate asked around everywhere for you."

After Jenny had virtually collapsed in Nate's arms, Chuck had taken control and started calling people to find Eric. Having failed to reach Serena on her cell phone, he had ordered Jenny to find her and tell her the matter. Finally, Chuck's limo driver had found Eric crumpled in an alleyway just besides St. Jude's compound.

"I didn't know who to call." Eric said slowly, as if finding it difficult to form the words. "You just-"

Before Eric could continue, there was another knock on the door. Nate's head poked in through the half open door.

"Eric, man, how are you?" He asked casually.

"Fine. Just great." Eric said, his smile forced, as the suicide incident came back to him.

Nate's eyes roamed the room and fell right on Jenny. She blushed as she stared into his blue eyes, and quickly turned away. She heard Nate clear his throat uncomfortably, and leave the room, with a quick "I'll talk to Serena first."

Eric gazed at Jenny carefully. "You really like him, huh?"

Jenny didn't reply, instead looking at her feet and fiddling with her skirt frills. When she looked up, Eric was staring out the window, his face blank.

……………………………….

"I had to convince my mom, for like the hundredth time, that Eric is just fine." Serena said to Nate, her voice amused. "She needs to have a little faith in him."

"She's just worried." Nate said evenly.

"I know…" Serena's voice trailed off. She glanced at the hospital room, where Eric was still apparently talking with Jenny. "So, how have you been, Nate? Everything all right?"

"Yeah, just fine." Nate knew she was asking after his family problems especially, but he liked to pretend nowadays that they never existed. "I got a really bad sore left shin from soccer."

"Oh really?" Serena tried to sound sincerely worried, but her confusion at this sudden and rather random admission showed through more, causing Nate to laugh.

"Dan was a little eager to get the ball."

There was a short silence, in which Serena's expression changed to a rather confused one. Nate shuffled on his feet uneasily. He was sure she was thinking of Dan and their past relationship now, and found the thought uncomfortable. Ever since prom came up, he had been thinking more and more of Serena, and despite his best efforts to beat it down, his old flame for her was starting to reignite.

"Nate…" Serena said slowly, eying him carefully.

Nate panicked slightly. Had she seen something on his face which gave some insight into his thoughts?

"I need to tell you something."

Nate said in a controlled voice, "What?"

"Serena." Jenny called from the room. "Eric wants to ask something."

Serena looked flustered, and colored a bit. Nate wondered what she had meant to say. He felt his stomach twisting. "I'll tell you later." She said hurriedly, and walked into the room, leaving him alone. That is, until Chuck and Blair duly arrived bickering.

………………………………..

"Chuck, the prom is two weeks away, you know." Blair said sweetly as they entered the lift.

"Yes, I know." Chuck said evasively.

Blair was starting to get impatient. She had been hinting at him like this for the past week, and he always evaded the subject. "People are already talking about their dates. Penelope's going with this guy from Dalton."

"I care." Came the sarcastic reply.

Blair resisted the urge to kick him. Did he have to play these games? 'I HATE Chuck.' She screamed at herself in her mind.

Chuck smiled. "You know, if you are so desperate to go with me," The lift door opened and they stepped out. "Then ask me yourself."

Pleased as she was that he was finally talking about prom, anger overtook the former feeling. "I am not desperate to ask you!" Blair said indignantly.

"Waldorf, it's clear you are on the edge of begging me to go with you."

"I do not beg." Blair said, enunciating the words carefully. "Pigs will fly the day I prostrate myself on all fours like you are some holy and divine God I have to pray to!"

Chuck was silent. Blair glared at him. "Well?"

"Oh sorry," Chuck said, smirking arrogantly. "The thought of you prostrating on all fours gave rise to some thoughts, none of which are holy or divine."

Blair's lips went white with anger, when she spotted Nate standing alone in the hospital hallway. Her lips curled unpleasantly. She smiled at Chuck oh so sweetly, and slinkered to Nate's side.

"Hey Nate."

"Blair, hey."

"I need to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

Chuck could not believe what she was doing.

"Would you come with me to the prom?" Blair asked, pulling slightly on Nate's arms.

Chuck could have laughed out loud. Was Blair so pathetic as to go ask Nate? Really, was this the Queen Bee he knew? Surely not. (We agree, C.) Like Nate would say yes.

Nate, with his back to Chuck, replied, and Chuck could barely believe his ears, "Sure, why not?"

……………………….

Serena took a seat at the end on Eric's bed. Jenny was chatting with her little brother, and she thought she heard Blair and Chuck outside. Deciding to go greet them, she quit the game she was playing on Eric's phone.

As she exited the game, she clicked the wrong button by mistake, and went into his inbox. At the top, she could see the beginning of a message from Andrew, Eric's boyfriend.

Bring the money today. They wa-

Serena was too honest to open the message and read. She quickly reassured herself that the letter wasn't serious. She was thinking too much into it. However, as she looked at Eric, Serena felt a deep sense of foreboding, and her mother's worried face came rushing into her mind.

To be continued

A/N: That's all for now. Please, please, review. I really love it when you all do. Thank you to all those who do review! You all make my day. XOXO And if you think Blair asking Nate was a little too rushed and pathetic, I know it was. Just wait for the next chapter to come. ^^