Hello lovelies! First of all I want to thank all of you for your wonderful reviews, I'm honored and glad that you liked the first chapter. I was scared that people would hate the idea of AU and everything and I'm incredibly glad it went okay. So here is the second chapter and hopefully many more to come. Enjoy!
I don't own the characters, just the ideas.
''So tell us Serena, where are you applying?'' Anne Archibald asks wearing that sweet smile of hers that may seem endearing to Serena, but very pretended to Nate who is sitting next to her.
Serena puts down her fork and smiles back. He can tell she's feeling nervous by the way she squeezes his hand now and then, even though she really has no reason to. For one he doesn't give a crap what his parents think of her, because his parents are awful people. The fact that she wants to impress them so hard makes him sick to his stomach. Speaking of feeling sick, Blair's probably out with his sleazy womanizing friend at the moment and it takes a lot of self control not to react on it. He tries and tries not to think of it and fails miserably. Why does he even care? It should be simpler than it is. Blair is just another toy for Chuck to play with tonight, and Chuck is just another page in the scrapbook that is Blair's life. They won't start a relationship, even if they do it won't last more than a month, not that it's any of his business. So why does he feel like screaming? Why does he feel like punching someone in the face, strangling that someone with his signature monogrammed scarf.
''Are you okay?'' a sudden whisper brings him out of his reverie. Serena has a concerned look on her otherwise calm angelic features. He nods and whispers a 'yes'. She's still holding on to his hand when she turns back to his parents.
''My first choice is Brown.'' There's a terrified look on her face and when he finally stops thinking about Blair and Chuck and focuses his attention on Serena, he notices that and he feels like telling his parents off. They've been torturing her with that type of question all night. How's your brother doing at Dartmouth? How are your grades? You plan on attending an Ivy League college? Is your family vacationing in Hamptons this summer too? It is all so obvious to him, not to her obviously. As terrified as she is she is somewhat enjoying this, she's getting in to the part. She reminds him of his mother, it takes a while for that dark thought to leave his mind. She is so excited when talking about a cotillion that it almost seems revolting, he has a sudden need for a joint but can't think of a lie bright enough to get him out of this. He swallows his needs and decides to do nothing, exactly what he's been doing with his life so far.
Serena takes another long sip of her white wine. She is nervous and ecstatic at the same time. Nate's parents seem to really like her despite her thinking they wouldn't and she couldn't be happier. Well…she could if her boyfriend didn't look as dead as a corpse right now. Sure he was acting weird lately, but nothing out of usual, she supposed it was because of the whole Ivy League thing and his lacrosse coach making him work extra hard in order to keep his position as a captain of the team. There's this other thing that she thought of a lot these past few weeks, another issue that could be bothering him and it was all her doing. They were together for good three years now, she's been in love with him even longer and yet, they've never had sex. He's failed to admit it was bothering him, but she knew it did and she knows it still does. He is a guy with raging hormones just like any other eighteen year old. She hates to be the prude she often comes to be, but it is a big deal for her and she wants to be completely sure before doing the deed. He lost his V card a while before they started dating, he came clean about that, never said who it was with and she never asked. Nate is not the kind of guy to break up with a girl because she doesn't want to put out, but there's also a possibility it's pulling them apart and she isn't sure how much longer he'll be willing to wait for her.
''You're late.'' He mutters quietly and sips on his scotch or whatever dark colored poison of choice it is tonight.
She eyes the red head leaning on the bar between them and sends her an evil glare. ''And you're not wasting your time obviously.''
The girl takes it as her sign to leave, this brunette seems like a bitch and whatever is going on between her and the dark haired man buying her a drink seems personal and threatening. She gives one last suggestive look to the guy before leaving, giving him a possible outlet. He doesn't even bother to look at her, his eyes are focusing on the girl that he was obviously waiting for. She feels pathetic enough to pick her stuff up and leave without a word, this looks intense and she has no intention of being a part of it.
''Classy.'' Blair mutters with a sarcastic quality to her voice and takes an abandoned sit next to him. The bartender appears immediately, he gives her a flirtatious look and she can't deny that he is quite easy on the eyes, but picking up random guys isn't her mission for tonight. She eyes his drink once more and looks up at him with a questioning look ''Should I even dare to try?''
Chuck smirks and downs whatever's left in the expensive scotch glass. ''It has a burning aftertaste, you'll fall in love with hating it.''
She's intrigued enough to order the drink and he seems equally intrigued by her presence there.
''So-'' he starts with that sultry tone of his and she knows the next thing coming out of his mouth won't be very innocent ''-is there a reason we're here, besides the obvious.''
She gives him the trademark Waldorf eyebrow raise that she perfected over the years ''Obvious? Which is?''
''You're feeling nostalgic and want a repetition of last year's -what I like to call- Blairpiphany ''
She laughs at the ridiculousness he's bringing to the table. ''I'd rather not remember that fiasco, thank you very much.''
Their drinks arrive and he stands up, pushes his drink towards her and puts the jacket of his suit on. She has a near terrified look on her face. ''Where are you going, we just got here.''
''You-'' he points out matter-of-factly ''-just got here, I've been waiting for almost an hour for you to come around, now you're here and what, expect us to talk like friends?''
She sees his point of standing and if she didn't know better she'd be annoyed. But what else is there to expect from Chuck, nevertheless herself. For god's sake she called him out for drinks at ten o'clock on a Friday. Even thought she realizes it's her fault this time, she isn't exactly the kind of girl who lets guys push her around so there's no hesitation when she pulls him by his forearm and pushes him back to his seat on the bar stool.
His expression is rather amused than angry so she feels confident enough to continue.
''Uh-uh. Not tonight.'' He seems confused with her and Chuck Bass is not the one to get confused on daily basis. ''You're not leaving home with a nameless fling tonight, not in this lifetime. Tonight I call the shots and you're staying right here, for now.''
He is half annoyed half astonished with the guts she has to play with him like this. He knows he can walk away without a ping of guilt, still he can't make himself to do so, he's far too interested to why it's so important for her to have his company tonight, and he's about to find out.
''For now.'' He mutters under his breath and downs his drink, signaling the bartender to bring a new one ''Keep them coming both ways, it's going to be a long night.''
''Is that the last one?''
He puts down the heavy box marked 'literature' and looks around, nodding ''Yeah, should be it.''
His father scrunches up his nose disapprovingly and takes another sip of his drink ''Someone could've taken it up for you, we have people for that Daniel.''
Now it's his turn to scrunch, he hates when people use his full name and his father does it constantly. He shakes his remark off, decides to ignore it.
''I'm capable of carrying a few boxes myself-'' unlike you, who probably needs his servants to wipe your ass too. He keeps the last part of that to himself, in no mood to fight with his father again. It's been a long day of travelling, moving in to a new house, new environment, the worst part of it is the Upper East Side bit. He's been there for 20 minutes and he hates it already, resents it. Everything reeks of hypocrisy, double standard and rich people, starting with his father.
''I never said you weren't capable, I just said you don't need to.''
Steven Humphrey will never understand his son's point of standing, it doesn't make any sense. He worked his entire life to make a good living for him and his mother (who decided she liked the comfort of their pool-boy's one bedroom apartment in Queens rather than their mansion in SF) and what does he get for it? Not a bit of gratitude. Daniel was always stubborn and hard to deal with, but he thought that getting older would make him smarter, make him realize that he should follow his father's footsteps, become a successful lawyer and honor the family tradition. But no, what does he do? He wants to become a writer.
''I still don't see why we had to move here. Weren't there enough divorce candidates in San Francisco'' he is extremely bitter with the situation and doesn't bother to hide it. At the moment he hates the world, every living human being walking the face of Earth, his father for making him go through it all, himself for letting it happen in the first place.
''Why? Do you care to write a book about it?'' his father mocks in a low tone. Dan decides not to start that fight again cause he's in no condition to follow trough. He takes his box of literature in a freshly painted and barely furnished bedroom that he's supposed to call his room. The walls are white and grey, everything about it minimalistic, there are no bookshelves, reading lights or anything that speaks 'Dan' . Tired, he sinks down in to the white linen sheets that probably cost more than his scholarship for the year. He decides that for once he's not going to fight the luxury of it all and simply enjoy the unpleasant comfort he finds and all he wants to do is sleep. There'll be more time to plot against his father and make this room livable tomorrow because right now he's fine with being filthy rich…as long as the bed is comfortable.
Serena tries to concentrate on the talk she's having with his mother, their bonding is important to her, but she can't put herself completely in to it because Nate's behavior is out of proportions and honestly, she has no idea what's going on with him. The rest of the dinner goes the same and by the end of it she's had enough.
He offers to drive her home which she accepts and she makes a promise to herself that from this moment she won't be the first one to talk. They sit quietly for the first ten minutes of the ride. Nate's mind drifts to Blair and Chuck again, he's so frustrated that his fingers start nervously tapping on the steering wheel. Serena notices the motion; it annoys her to the point where she can no longer be quiet.
''Would you just stop that.'' It comes out as a loud hiss and it startles both of them. She feels stupid for her little outburst and looks at him apologetically.
''Sorry-'' she blinks fast, her tone is soft as she speaks ''-I didn't mean to. I meant, can you please stop tapping?''
''Yeah, sorry.'' He keeps his eyes on the road, his mind drifts from the pair that's giving him a headache and returns to the things that should matter more. Serena. She is awfully quiet, it's times like this when he realizes just how strange it is between the two when she's not endearingly rambling. He takes his right hand from the wheel and puts it on top of hers.
''Hey-'' he calls out and runs his thumb along her palm, urging her to look at him ''-what's wrong?''
She is to say startled when she feels his hand on top of hers. Her heart hurts with emotions because it's been so long since he's showed any signs of affection towards her when they were alone. He never rejects her, but he's never the one to make the first step, not anymore. It hurt beyond words, but she swallowed it and kept silent. Him asking her if anything was wrong isn't a lot, but it shows her that at least he's aware of her and hasn't given up yet. She fights the urge to cry; it would be impossible to explain that she was crying simply because he touched her hand. It's sad actually, borderline pathetic.
''Nothing.'' Everything.
He lets out an exhausted frustrated breath. He is aware of the fact that he isn't the world's best boyfriend, the worst part of it is that he doesn't care too much for it. He isn't sure why Serena and him kept their relationship going for so long when clearly things have changed. He blames both of them; her for being stuck in a dream of them being the perfect couple, him for not putting an end of it because he's simply scared. He's a coward, nothing more, nothing less. He knows it isn't right but he'd never put an end to their relationship because he is terrified of being alone. He is the captain of the lacrosse team, he is rich, he's dating one of the most popular girls in Constance. He has a status and he's not ready to give up the spotlight just yet. Yes he is a hypocrite, but at least people know of him. Another thing that's eating him up is his mixed up feelings…towards school, towards his parents, towards Serena, towards Blair.
Blair. He tells himself she's just a phase, something he needs to get out of his system and forget about before it gets in the way of the real thing, meaning Serena and him.
He is so into his thoughts that he almost forgets to stop when they arrive to her place. He stops the engine, not sure what to do next. She sits there for a moment before collecting her stuff and heading out. He gets out of the car too, he is too late to open the car door for her and by the time that he's out she's already up the stairs, taking two at a time.
''Hey-'' he calls out after her, trying to catch up ''-will you talk to me?''
She turns around at the sound of his voice, but the look she's giving him tells there won't be much talking tonight (or ever).
She tries to keep her anger in control but she can't. She's so fed up with him that she feels like she could either throw him from a rooftop or simply close herself up and cry herself to sleep. The second option is most likely to come true. She wanted to give him a chance tonight, she wanted to open up to him and he does what exactly? Nothing. He knows she isn't fine and he doesn't care. He acts like he wants to talk to her and understand her all the time, but it's bullshit and she knows it, she's just waiting for the right moment to call him out for it.
She turns around on her heel and her eyes focus on something above his head, he won't have the pleasure of getting her attention again tonight.
''I have nothing to say to you, so no.'' with that she's out of his view and into her building.
Okay, that's it for chapter two, I know there's a lot going on and perhaps it's kind of dull 'cause nothing's really happening yet, but just wait. We're getting to it. Plus Dan is now a part of the story, I'm kind of nervous about his character, as you see he's very OC, I hope it'll work out. Thank you for all the lovely feedback last week, I cannot tell you how much it means to me, also as you can see it makes me update on time;) so humor me, I love loooong reviews and even more suggestions of what you'd like to see, criticism if you have any. Don't be shy, till next update xoL