Nate found himself walking through Central Park, thinking about Serena. The cold air was refreshing as he thought back through all the moments in which Serena had touched his life. Feeding the ducks in the park when they were in first grade, laughing as they threw bread crumbs at the greedy yellow birds. The time in seventh grade when Blair had been away and the two of them had spent hours sitting in this park, talking about everything and nothing. He had kissed her that night, and she had kissed him back, but the next day she had pretended like nothing had ever happened. He had been heartbroken. Of course, the clearest and most painful of all the memories was the bittersweet recollection of what had occurred at the wedding of Tom and Emma Shepard. They had been drunk, but they had known exactly what they were doing as she ripped of his shirt and his hands found their way up her dress. It had been heaven then, but in the morning he had woken up on the floor of the bar, and Serena had been gone. It had been like that with them, her always running away when he expressed the slightest feeling. It was almost as though she was afraid of his love.

He wanted her friendship back more than anything else. He missed her carefree spirit and gentle kindness. And he missed seeing her beauty. Of course, he was a gentleman, and it wasn't as though he was making passes at Serena or staring at her boobs all day. But just watching her as she walked through life, so utterly and completely happy and unaware of how she looked, her deep blue eyes shining and her perfect blonde hair cascading down her back, was heaven on earth. If he saw Serena and Blair in a picture, he would have certainly said that Blair was the prettier of the two. She had finer features and more grace and poise. But the life in Serena was infectious, stunning. Everything about her was entirely brilliant. The two girls with whom he had grown up were both undeniably pretty, but as they lived their lives, Serena outshone Blair with her captivating vivacity. Never in his life had Nate seen anything like it.

Nate wasn't exactly sure who he was in love with anymore. Blair's betrayal had hurt him so deeply that he felt he must have loved her. But seeing Serena lately, and talking to her, experiencing her lively warmth rather than watching her from afar or replaying his memories over and over had been something else entirely. He had felt something inside him stirring, as though spring was coming, and the barren wasteland of winter was disappearing. It sounded cheesy, he knew, but that was really how he felt when he was with her. Not that he was really with her, of course. There were too many obstacles for that. But he was content just to be with her as a friend and admirer. For now.

His phone buzzed and his heart leapt when he saw that it was a text from Serena. can you meet me at the palace bar in 5 min? i need to talk to u.

Quickly, he typed back. yeah be right there. Serena wanted to talk to him! That was a start. Hopefully. Unless she wanted to tell him that their newly rebuilt friendship wasn't going to work after all. You never could tell what Serena was going to do next, he thought, smiling slightly.

Blair could hear the hottie laughing with his friends as they walked slowly toward the bar. Their volleyball game had ended, and it was evident that they were looking for a very different kind of sport. He noticed that he said something to them in a low voice, though, and with a few hoots of laughter, they walked in the other direction. She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn't turn around. Better to tease him, she thought, than to throw herself at him.

"Hi," said a rumbling, low voice from behind her.

She turned, and sure enough, it was him. "Hello," she said sassily. "Do I know you?"

"Jared Cole. I'm from Palm Beach," he said in a friendly, warm voice, extending a hand to her. She shook it and held it for a second too long, and met his sea-blue eyes with her most seductive gaze.

"Blair Waldorf. New York City." She noticed that his eyes were traveling up and down her body, slowly. "If you really want to see my body, you could just ask, you know."

Jared looked up and at her and grinned mischievously. "You don't like to beat around the bush much, do you?"

"Never saw the point," Blair replied, her voice hard and cool. "I'm guessing you want a peek?" She began to untie her bikini top, making every motion deliberately slow.

"I think I could help you with that," Jared said, and she could hear desire quivering in his voice as he reached for the knot at the top of her black halter-top. Blair felt it slip to the ground and fall on the sand beneath her toes.

Slowly, she knelt to the sand. "These are going to have to come off, too, aren't they?" she asked, snapping her bikini bottoms against her thighs.

"I'm afraid they are," replied Jared in mock apology. In one sudden motion, he ripped them off. "That's much better." He began caressing her thighs as she wiggled her hips in the sand. As Blair looked at him, she realized that there was no going back now, and she took it as it came.

Hours later, Blair was panting from exertion. The sky was already a deep blue color, and stars glowed with a shockingly bright white fire. She sat up and looked at Jared, who was lying in the sand, wearing nothing but the pale white sand. His body glowed in the moonlight, sweaty and sticky as he was. He smiled at her. "That was sweet, baby. You sure know what you're doing."

As she heard those words, she realized what had just happened and felt nausea overcome her. She felt tears stinging her eyes. This was what was happening to her, thanks to Nate and Serena and Chuck. They had ripped her heart to shreds, all three of them, and this was the result. "I'm a whore," she whispered, and burst into tears.

Jared looked up at her, astonished. "What's the matter, sweet thing? No harm in being a whore if you're a good one. And I must say, I think you're excellent." He reached over and squeezed her ass with his sandy, sweaty hands.

Blair felt her stomach churn. She needed to get away from him. She took off running, the cool white sand sinking under her feet. She never knew how poignantly beautiful she looked in that moment, the moon shining on her perfect body and silent tears dripping down her cheeks as she ran across the purely white beach. She was a fallen angel, beautiful and devastated, and she didn't know the way back to heaven. At the rate she was going, she would be in the bowels of hell unless someone could save her. A prince, perhaps?

Dan sat completely still on the train back to Manhattan, staring out the window dumbly. All he could think about was how much he had screwed up and how nothing would ever be the same again. Why had he let some stupid gossip get to him like that? He had ruined his relationship with Serena because he didn't trust Nathaniel Archibald. He couldn't believe that he'd been so stupid, giving up on the girl of his dreams just like that because of something that had happened ages ago, something that didn't even matter anymore. He wasn't sure why he let it get to him, why it bothered him even to think of Nate and Serena that way. All he knew was that he had to fix this. How, though?

He looked over at his sister, his usual adviser on such things. She was chatting on her cell phone, oblivious to everything around her. He could see the eyeliner caked onto her eyes and the carefully applied foundation coating her skin. She was wearing high heels and a skirt that was so short that it was barely visible. No, he decided. He couldn't go to Jenny for help. She wasn't the sister he knew anymore. She was a self-absorbed, superficial bitch. Who could he ask for help, then? There was always Vanessa, but he had a feeling that she would be secretly happy that Serena and him were over. It was obvious that she wasn't completely over him, and he didn't want any feelings that she might be hiding interfering with her romantic guidance. For a minute, he seriously considered calling Blair Waldorf and telling her exactly what had happened, but then he realized how idiotic he was being. He wasn't even friends with Blair. She would think he was such a freak, calling her about his relationship problems. Why did he even care what she thought?

Dan nestled himself into the fuzzy fabric of the seat, trying to scoot as far away from his giggling sister as was physically possible in this small of a space. He rested his head against the window, and before he knew it, he was asleep.

He was running, as quickly as he could down a dark alley. He was in Venice, he soon realized, and the city was enveloped in a thick clock of mist. All around him, gondoliers were rowing through the canals, and strange ghostly figures were whispering something inaudible. He stopped, confused. "What are you saying?" he asked a passing wraith.

"Find her…find her…find her!" the creature replied, its voice high and sweet.

"Who? Serena?"

The creature shook his head sadly. "She is in Egypt. Find the other one."

Before he could ask any questions, the ghostly creature evaporated and he was alone in the fog of a Venice night. The other one? Egypt? What the fuck? He stood puzzling as the gondoliers began singing mournful love songs.

Suddenly, a figure wearing a cloak rose from water. He stared at it, and noticed its enormous, velvety brown eyes. God, this thing looked familiar. "Dan," it said.

"Blair?" he asked, his voice quivering with uncertainty.

"Help me!" she pleaded, in a voice he never would have expected a Waldorf to use, no matter how much trouble they were in.

"How?" Something about her now, so broken and fragile, made him feel as though he needed to help her or the world would end.

She threw back her cloak, and tossed her chestnut curls. She was so beautiful, and he stood their stunned by her quietly pretty features. She opened her mouth as if to scream, but suddenly her features froze in place. Her skin became entirely white, and he realized that she was becoming a doll. Her face cracked in half, her mouth till open in an eternally soundless scream. Slowly, she slipped back into the water without so much as a splash.

"Blair!" he called, desperately. a

He bolted awake, and found his sister and several other passengers staring at him inquisitively. "Um, Dan," Jenny said, curiously. "Why did you just scream 'Blair'?"

Oh damn. What the hell? "Did I?" he asked, uncertainly. "That's funny…I was, uh, dreaming about Serena." He shrugged. Okay, not his best lie.

Jenny looked at him skeptically. "Right."

He ignored her and sat back, puzzling over his dream. Why had he dreamt about Serena's best friend? He was supposed to dream about the love he had just lost. Serena was the most beautiful girl in the world, with her pale golden hair and stunning navy eyes. And yet, as he remembered the chocolaty doe eyes that had stared at him with such fear and helplessness, all he could think about was how delicate and pretty Blair was. Stop it, Humphrey, he thought, annoyed with himself. He decided that he was just tired, and one too many coffees that morning had made his thoughts jumbled. That didn't sound very convincing, even to him.

Serena drummed her fingers on the glass table as blue lights flashed over her head and jazzy music played softly in the background. The Palace was the place to be on a Saturday night. The waitress came by and, taking one look at her puffy red eyes and runny mascara, asked, "Drink?"

Serena thought for a second. Hard alcohol was exactly what she needed right now, he was barely over last night's hangover and another splitting headache and dry throat wasn't a particularly appealing thought. "Uh, just water for me, thanks."

The waitress looked confused, but scurried away. She sighed, regretting her choice already. Oh well. Nate would be here soon, and maybe he would make everything all right. Or he would just mess everything up. You never could tell with Nate. Suddenly, two hands covered her eyes. "Guess who?" asked Nate playfully.

Serena smiled a sad smile, and once again her mind was overcome by memories of her golden days. This was a game they always used to play, when they were younger and bolder, and they thought nothing could come between them. "Hmm…Blair?"

Nate laughed. "Guess again."

"George Washington," Serena said, teasingly. "OH, I know! Nate!"

"How'd you guess?" Nate asked, walking around to sit across from her at the table. He was astonished when he saw her face. Her makeup was all over the place and her eyes were rimmed with red. And he knew that look in her eyes well enough. Something was definitely gone. The smile vanished from his face instantly. "Serena, what's wrong?"

The concern in his voice almost frightened her. He really cared about what she was feeling, and wanted to hear talk about it. Why did that make her heart beat so quickly? "Well, um, it's the Gossip Girl text. Blair saw it, and she's not answering my calls or texts. Look Nate, I know you're really upset with her, but I'm worried about her. She's been having a lot of trouble with herself lately, and I'm afraid that reading that text might have sent her over the edge. Do you think you could talk to her? If you can't do it for her, could you do it for me? I'm not asking you to forgive her, but could you maybe just...I don't know?"

Nate looked at Serena's worried face, the blue disco lights dancing on her pale hair and illuminating her stunning features. He thought of Blair, and he knew that if he even began to talk to her, he would find himself pulled back into a relationship with the one girl who he never wanted to speak to again. It worked that way with Blair. She manipulated everything to make it what it wasn't, and he knew that if he didn't keep his distance he would be right back where he had been a few months ago. But as he looked at Serena, he knew that he would never be able to refuse her this one selfless plea. "Yeah," Nate said softly. "I'll talk to her." He turned away, as it suddenly pained him to look at her.

Serena didn't feel the jolt of glee that she had expected. Instead, she felt as though everything was totally blank, and she was looking at a world in which there was no color. She felt her stomach sink as Nate turned away. He was obviously lost in thoughts about Blair and how deeply he loved her. Why did that bother her so much? She shook her head. She had just broken up with Dan. Nate didn't even know about that yet! "Oh, and uh, Nate, Dan and I broke up." Saying it out loud made it sound so final and sharp, and she felt the words slice the silence in the air. The world became vibrant with color again, and she could feel electricity in the air as Nate snapped his head around and stared at her right in the eye.

"What?" he asked incredulously, certain that he had heard wrong.

"Yeah, earlier, after he saw the text. He…we…I don't know, I don't really feel like talking about it, k?" The pain in her voice was raw. Nate had heard it once before, the day in front of the Palace Hotel when she had told him once and for all that she didn't want him. His eyes clouded, remembering how broken he had felt that day, and how sick he had felt as he watched her exit the Kiss On The Lips Party, holding the hand of Daniel Humphrey. Her soft and quavery voice now embodied everything he had felt on those two occasions.

Nate wanted to strangle Dan Humphrey for what he had done, and he certainly would have if he had been close by. Since he wasn't, he reached out and took Serena's hand, because it felt like the natural thing to do. "It's okay Serena," he whispered gently, soothingly. "Everything's going to be all right." She shook her head slowly. Nate realized how much Serena must have cared about Dan. He couldn't help wondering why.

Serena felt all the emotions that had been swirling inside her rush back at her, and the salty tears started afresh. She was crying like a child now, a lost and lonely child who didn't understand why things were the way they were. Nate pulled her closer to his chest, holding her tightly and letting her tears soak his cashmere sweater. "Shhh, shhh, shhh," he cooed softly. "Serena, don't worry, I'm here."

She felt Nate's strong grip on her, and his comforting words began to melt her heart like butter. Nate was here, and Nate cared. Her world was spinning out of control, and everything she had fought hard to create was toppling, but Nate was here and everything was going to be all right.

Hey, Upper East Siders,

Gossip Girl here, and boy do I have some juicy news. Let's start with the best. Spotted: S having a late-night cryfest in the Palace Bar. And who was there to comfort her? You guessed right…N! She was seen crying on her chest like he was her daddy…or possibly her boyfriend? And remember Brooklyn Boy? S's (former) charity case? He was seen on a train to Grand Central waking from a deep sleep and screaming our ex-princess's name. That's right…looks like someone was dreaming about B. This story is definitely taking some interesting turns. And where is B, anyway? We're beginning to wonder. We remember the last time an It-girl disappeared. It wasn't pretty, but it sure was fun to watch! Which is exactly what I'll be doing, thanks.

You Know You Love Me,

Gossip Girl