A/N: Thanks to those who commented on the first part of the story. Here is the second part. The third one's not written yet and the weekend will probably be busy, so you'll have to wait until next week ;) Also, I'm looking for a beta, if anyone's interested. Thanks!

Part 2

They didn't say anything else for the rest of the cab ride, or on the elevator ride to his floor. When they walked in, she immediately went to the window without turning on any of the lights. She loved the view from his apartment, especially at night. It made her feel as though they were in a separate world, completely cut off from everything else that was going on in their lives. She heard Nate take two steps then stop, and she turned around to look at him.

"That dress looks beautiful on you," he said, surprising her. He'd been thinking it during the whole cab ride, and just couldn't keep it in anymore.

"Thanks," she said softly, and hugged herself, feeling a chill. They hadn't had time to grab her coat on their way out of the Empire. Nate cleared his throat.

"You're cold, let me get you something to change into," and he walked over to his bedroom. She followed him and he handed her a pair of sweat pants, a t-shirt and a hoodie. He grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for himself and left her to change in the bedroom while he went to the bathroom.

When Jenny came out to the living room Nate had turned on the lights and was making coffee. She felt uncomfortable. She didn't know what to say or do, as she and Nate seemed to have lost that ease that used to be between them.

She sat on the couch and Nate brought her a cup of coffee. She whispered a thank you and he sat on the couch, turning around to look at her. The silence was unbearable to her and she looked for something to say, anything, to break it.

"I didn't know you still kept this place," she ended up saying.

"Well, I spend most of my nights at the Empire, but with Chuck around sometimes it gets loud. I like having a quiet place to study and grab a good night's sleep now and then," he replied. She nodded, but didn't say anything back. She took a sip from her coffee, trying to think of something else to say, but nothing came to mind. She knew they'd have to talk seriously about what happened, but she didn't know where to start. Finally, she just decided to jump right in.

"Serena never got your text about your date tonight. We switched out her phone," Jenny blurted out.

"You what? I don't get it, why would you do that?" Nate asked.

"Why not? She treats me like I'm a leper, like I'm the worst person she's ever met. I don't know if you remember, but Serena has done some not-so-great things in her life too. And she's schemed and plotted just like me, but because she's Serena, she gets to stay here, and toy with whoever she wants, while I go rot in Hudson!" Jenny stopped, not because she had nothing else to say, but because the tears were threatening to fall down her cheeks, and she didn't want to cry in front of Nate. He'd seen her cry too many times.

"I don't get it, Jenny," Nate said, "I thought you wanted to leave, that you didn't like the person you'd become, that you wanted to spend time with your Mom."

Jenny got up and walked over to the window once again, turning off the lights on her way in order to see the view better. Nate turned to look at her but didn't say anything. Jenny pressed her hand against the window, feeling the coldness that was seeping in from outside. It was a nice contrast with the warmth of the cup of coffee in her other hand.

"Turns out, Hudson's not so great," Jenny started. She knew she would have to explain everything to Nate, that it was the only way he could understand why she was doing what she was doing. "My Mom was glad to see me at first, but now, I just feel like I'm in her way all the time. She has friends there, artist friends, and a new boyfriend who didn't sign on to be a full-time step-dad. They've started fighting a lot. And school... well, school sucks too. I haven't really made any friends there, and it's... it's too easy." She snorted. "Never thought I'd say that about school! But it's definitely not Constance. There's no drama but there's also no challenge."

She walked back over to the couch, feeling lighter somehow. She'd never told anyone how she felt about being in Hudson. She just wanted everyone to think that she was happy there, that the mistakes she made were all made right by the fact that she was happier somehow. She sat back down on the couch, wondering if she should say what's on her mind next. Her relationship with Nate was so fragile, and she wanted him to really hear her. In the end she decided to speak up because she figured she might never get the chance again.

"I miss you and Dan the most." She looked at Nate and saw that he was surprised.

"Don't look so shocked, we were good friends before I did what I did," she said. She can't say 'before I slept with Chuck.'

"When I see how you both get over Serena, it makes me mad. She doesn't deserve you." Nate starts to say something but she cuts him off, "Please, let me finish. She can never make up her mind about who she wants, and you both follow her around like lost little puppies, hoping for whatever shred of attention she can give you. Don't you want someone who just wants to be with you, Nate? Someone who couldn't even imagine being with anyone else? Whose sole purpose in life would be to make you happy?"

It was Nate's turn to get up and walk over to the window. He was silent for a minute, or maybe more, Jenny couldn't tell, but when he spoke it stole her breath away.

"Are you saying you could be that person, Jenny?"