If Vanessa Never Came Back (Part 2)
"Gossip Girl here. Ur 1 and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite. And who am I? That's one secret I'll never tell. You know you love me." - XoXo Gossip Girl
"Living life as the Manhattan teenager is always fun, especially when you have a Daddy who will buy you a Strip Joint anytime you want. Here's hoping Chuck Bass's Daddy tips well."- XoXo Gossip Girl.
Blair woke up, hungover and not in her own bed. Next to her were Jenny and Serena, both still in blissful sleep unaware of the hangovers waiting for them when they awoke. "Hey! Wake up guys!" Blair nudged them, and when they didn't immediately respond she shoved them. This time, Serena was rolled off the bed, effectively waking her up.
"I'm up." She said, pulling herself up and back into the bed. "Ow. Oww! I remember one of the reasons I stopped drinking so much. I definitely don't miss the throbbing in my head."
"Guys, where are we?" Jenny mumbled. She blinked a few times, still half asleep.
"We're at my place." Serena answered. She had gotten up to go to the bathroom, and was brushing her teeth. "What did we do last night?" She asked.
"I remember breaking up with Nate, six shots of tequila, and then…" Blair fell short. "I don't know. How did we get here?"
"I think we took a cab." Jenny filled in. "I remember that much, but after we started drinking, that's it. It's all kinda hazy from there." The three girls all thought for a moment.
"Gossip Girl!" They all shouted at the same time. They all pulled out their phones, and checked in to see the latest hit.
"Chuck bought a strip joint?" Serena asked. Jenny blushed, remembering her encounter with Bass at the Kiss on the Lips party.
"No, it was a burlesque club. He's trying to get his dad to invest in it. He was supposed to show me today at 10." Blair looked at her phone again. "Oh no, it's already 2. Chuck's going to kill me. He wanted to show me before he showed his dad." Blair scrolled down more. "Okay, so she livestreamed the break up and said we were hammered, but that's it." Blair dialed Dorota's number waited for her to answer.
"Hi Dorota, I'm going to need you to bring a change of clothes to Serena's place stat. And hurry!" She scolded her maid. She shut the phone and got out of bed.
"Serena, Jenny, last night was fun… I think. But regardless, that does not mean that I am over Nate. I just wanted to let you know, so you understood when I forbid both of you to date him. You two are both my friends, and friends don't date each other's exes. Serena, you're with Dan; and Jenny…" She paused. "We'll find you someone." She smiled and left to the bathroom. Serena and Jenny stared at each other for a moment.
"If she wasn't my friend, I'd think she was being rude." Serena said. Jenny laughed and nodded.
Meanwhile, Chuck Bass was looking over his papers for his father again. Blair was supposed to come and look everything over, but after seeing the picture of her drinking the entire bar he hadn't expected much. It would definitely help dull his nerves and quell the anxious feeling in his gut. He walked into his father's building, took a right to the elevator and went up. As he got out, he saw Lily Bass walking out of his father's office.
"Lily." He said. He flashed a cocky grin and spoke in the laid back tone he always used for sarcasm. "A pleasure as always. How is Serena? I thought she had changed, but after last night…" He let his voice wander off. "Oh well. I liked her better before anyways."
Lily sighed. "Well, you know Serena. She's a wild one. I had thought that maybe she was finally… Well she's young. She just needs some time to "sow her wild oats," so to speak. Well, I really must be going Charles. I hope I'll be seeing you soon. Good bye."
Her words and the way she had acted had been polite, but Chuck had known her long enough to know that underneath it all she was secretly worrying about Serena, and if he was being honest with himself, he was too. While he had always claimed to enjoy the "wild" version of Serena, he truly did care about her as a friend and had hoped that her change had been real. He shook the thought away and took a deep breath before walking into his father's office.
"Chuck, what have you done now?" Bart had expected the worst. He looked down at Chuck, unsmiling.
"Nothing worse than usual Father; in fact, I've been pretty busy lately." He smiled, and walked toward Bart's desk. "I have a business proposal for you." He placed the binder on the modern desk in front of him. Bart's expression shifted to one of surprise with a hint of pride.
"Really Chuck, I mean I've been waiting for you to show me that you've become responsible, but now I know!" Rarely did his father smile at him, but today he did. Chuck's eyes brightened and he found that he also had a grin on his face. "I have some meetings, but how about we meet after-"Chuck cut him off, eager to prove himself to his father.
"After's perfect!" He shook his father's hand jubilantly, and then exited the room. It was the first time in his life that he could finally feel that his father was proud of him. He thought about going to the hotel bar for a drink, but found that he no longer had a craving for one.
"After's fine." Chuck cut him off. He gave him the papers and shook his father's hand. The feeling in his heart was indescribable, and he wanted nothing more than to keep feeling it.
Meanwhile Dan and Serena were passionately kissing at school. After their spectacular time at the dance, they decided it was time to move forward with things, and Dan had no reservations when it came to Serena. He saw her as the sun; able to not only light up his path, but warm him with an energy he never knew was possible. He was falling in love with her.
"I've heard of PDA, but this is getting ridiculous. I'd say get a room, but in the Upper East Side we prefer mansions. At least Lonely Boy isn't so lonely anymore." Xoxo- Gossip Girl
They both felt their phones vibrate, but after reading the blast they ignored it and simply continued on as before.
"Serena… I would love… to continue this… but… class…" He spoke in between kisses.
"Why... do we have... to go to class? I'd say… you're learning… a lot more… with me…" She pulled away and looked into his eyes, barely managing to restrain herself.
"I guess missing one day won't hurt. My dad's not home right now, he has a big art thing across town today, and he won't be home for hours." Dan gave her a mischievous smile. "Come one!" He kissed once more and then pulled her away to the street where he hailed a cab.
"Dan, what are you doing?" She looked around, searching for prying eyes.
"Gossip Girl said to get a room, and I know it's not a mansion but the Loft is free right now and I was thinking…" He looked at her. She was biting her lip, thinking it over for a moment.
"Okay, but we have to hurry. We are deep in Gossip Girl territory and I don't want my mom to see. She's already furious about my drinking with Blair." Holding hands they climbed in the cab and continued with their make out.
Jenny looked over and saw her brother and Serena excitedly hailing a cab before leaving in it. She smiled and shook her head. Those two were so obvious. The school uniforms weren't exactly easy to blend into normal clothing. She pulled out her cellphone and sent a text to Gossip Girl. A moment later the blast was sent, and Jenny laughed. That served them right. If she was forced to go to school with the mother of all hangovers, then it wasn't fair that Dan got to play hooky with Serena. A few minutes later…
"Looks like my advice has been taken a little too literally. After partying like it was 2006 and now ditching school, it looks like our It Girl is back to her old ways and she's taking Lonely Boy with her. A minor backslide, or the beginning of the end?" - Xoxo Gossip Girl
Already at the apartment, Dan and Serena got the blast. They pulled away from each other and read the message. Awkwardly, Serena moved away and sat opposite of Dan on his bed. The room was silent for a few minutes. Dan reached over and held her hand.
"Ignore that, this is just a onetime thing. I'm sure that our attendance won't be permanently damaged after this." He tried to laugh, but it died quickly.
"Maybe for you it wouldn't. But Dan, you didn't know me before. I would always do this and now… I'm trying to be different. Maybe… Maybe I should focus on school for a while?" She looked at his window and now at his eyes, which would have calmed him.
"You want to break up?" His voice was low and he pulled his hand away.
"No." Her voice was low too, but forceful. "I just think we're moving so fast and it's all so confusing. I like you Dan, a lot. And I definitely don't want to end things, but… I want to… slow down." She slowly turned to face him and eventually raised her eyes to meet his.
"Serena." He breathed a sigh of relief. "You don't have to look so afraid. Come here." He reached over and pulled her to him, so she was now lying in his arms. "If you want to slow down that's fine. I'm actually glad that you want to work on school and stuff. We're young, we have nothing but time. As long as you still like me, and I still like you." He kissed her hair and for a while they sat like that, just looking up at the ceiling.
"Where is Serena?" Blair asked her minions as she looked around for her best friend. Lunch on the steps never felt complete without the full cast of royalty there.
"Gossip Girl said she went with Dan to, you know." Penelope pulled up the photo on her phone and showed it the Blair. As much as she despised Blair, Blair was Queen of Constance. Minor traces of friendship lingered from their shared childhood friendship, but Penelope knew that nowadays Blair considered her a minion and not a true friend. While it stung, it made it easier to despise her position as Queen.
"Ugh! When will Serena dump the Brooklynite and find herself a real boyfriend?" She rolled her eyes and sighed. Jenny looked down and pretended to not have heard the comment. Even after the events of the day before, she wasn't surprised to hear Blair's comment, but it had still stung. Blair texted Serena, "You know when you can back to New York; I expected to be able to actually see you at lunch. I didn't expect you'd ditch me to go have sex with your lower class boyfriend!" A minute later she got a message back.
"Calm down B, Dan and I decided to wait. IDK, I just think that I don't want to rush things right now. Can you come over later so we can talk?" Blair smiled at her phone.
"Girls, Serena needs to learn a little respect." She showed them the text. "Maybe Gossip Girl can help?" She sent the hit in, knowing that Serena would know who sent it.
"This just in from Queen B herself, looks like Lonely Boy hasn't "sealed the deal" with our Serena. Has our It Girl finally learned to say no? – Xoxo Gossip Girl
"Umm, guys. I have to get to class early to talk to my teacher. Anyone want to come with?" They all shook their heads as she had known they would. Jenny had to get away from them, even if just for a moment. She stood up and made her way to her English class, which was possibly her worst subject.
The halls were mainly empty, minus a few passing groups. Anyone who was important was outside on the steps, or in the quad. The only few left were people leaving early like her, or the kids with no friends. Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth and she felt herself being dragged into an empty classroom. Fear coursed through her as she tried to scream before she was turned around. Her scream stopped as she saw who her "attacker" was. She was staring directly into the deep blue eyes, of Nathaniel Archibald. She moved his hand from her mouth.
"Nate, what are you doing? What if Blair sees?" Her eyes darted around the room.
"Do you always do what Blaire wants?" He chuckled, relieved to see her again. "Come on, live a little. Let's go do something exciting." He pressed his lips to her, unable to stop the joy he was feeling. She pulled away, but now she was smiling too.
"Okay, okay, but not here. Promise me you'll meet me at the Loft afterschool." She stared at him with wide, vulnerable eyes.
"I'll see you at 2." He pulled her close once more, throwing all of his passion into one short kiss.
"Nate… I… Have… Class…" She had to speak between kisses. Jenny pulled away, and gave him a quick peck before leaving. "See you at 2." She left the classroom, but as the door swung open, someone snapped a photo of Jenny leaving the room with Nate in the background. Jenny barely made it to her class before she got the hit.
"Since the dawn of time, people have used affairs to liven up their days. Well I'm gonna use this one to liven up my page. Sorry B, but it looks like once you go Brooklyn, you never go back."- Xoxo Gossip Girl
Jenny froze in her tracks. How would she explain this to Blair? She kept walking, trying to form a plan or even an excuse in her mind. Should she be honest, or try to protect her status. Being Nate Archibald's girlfriend may have helped her with other social ladders, but at Constance it was basically a call to war. And did she want that? Could she even handle that? She stepped into her classroom, a plan forming in her mind.
"Thank you Father, I promise you won't be disappointed." Chuck shook his father's hand, relief flooding through him.
"I better not be. Chuck, if you keep this up then maybe me wrong about you. You have potential. Don't waste it." He gave the place one more glance, and then exited to his limo. Chuck waved as his father drove away with some girl. He wondered briefly if that was where he would be in thirty years, taking a new girl into his limo every night. He had been ready when his father came, to intercept him before he walked in. Per usual, Bart came early, so Chuck had had to explain to him quickly the numbers of the place. Then after a quick tour Bart agreed, he saw that Chuck was serious and that he was maybe even growing up.
"Is Chuck's daddy finally proud of him? Wonder how long it'll take him to mess it up?" – Xoxo Gossip Girl
Nate was walking down the street to Jenny's ignoring the blast the Gossip Girl had sent. Although he didn't want Blair to be hurt, he didn't care who knew about them. He was almost to the Loft when he saw it. What was his father doing in Brooklyn? And who was he talking too?
"Dad, hey Dad!" Nate jogged across the street towards his father. "Dad?" He had almost made it to the other end of the street, when he felt something strong and fast run into his side. He felt like he was flying, and then he hit the ground and everything went dark.
