AN: First part of episode one.
Disclaimer: I'm disclaiming!
PINTEREST FOR THE FIRST EPISODE IS ON MY ACCOUNT: uk. pinterest manhattanapple
SONG FOR CHAPTER: See the World - The Kooks
HEY! YOU! YOU CLICKED 'NEXT' MEANING THAT YOU KNOW HAVE THE MEANS TO KNOW IF YOU LIKE THIS FIC OR NOT! EITHER WAY... review please :3
The happy 'ding' of the elevator chimed enthusiastically as the doors slid open into the Waldorf's elaborate, five-star apartment. I had hoped that, it being Sunday and two in the afternoon, it was just going to be Blair and her family. Instead, when stepping out of the plush elevator, I found that the intimate, family day included; Blair, her mom; and over thirty other guests, all dressed elegantly for what seemed to be a Sunday brunch. I glance down at the baggy ripped jeans and converses that clothe my lower half, knowing that if I was going to be forgiven by Blair on my attire alone, I was screwed at ever being friends with her in the foreseeable future. Reaching for the 'Ground Floor' button, ready to escape this polite-conversation-and-cocktails-nightmare, I hope that no one notices me and my departure. Unfortunately, today, hope hasn't gotten me very far.
"Evie?!" No living, important socialite could mistake the entitled, know-it-all voice for anyone but Eleanor Waldorf. Letting out a quiet groan of failure, I jump through the closing door and act as though I had every intention of coming in.
"Evie Elma, my God! Where have you been?" Eleanor doesn't wait for me to answer until she pulls me into a tight hug (partly for show and partly an attempt to strangle me for leaving), her black, floor-length skirt billowing around me. After an awkward few seconds of her rubbing my back and making the noises that people tend to make when they stretch, she releases me from her hold.
"Oh, uh, Tuscany." I get out, nervously eyeing her wide smile- a shark's smile.
"I bet it was beautiful and I'd love to hear all about it over some of these gorgeous tarts." Like the professional conversationalist she is, Eleanor managed the sentence on one, meager breath. "Come, come." Eleanor excitedly pushes me towards one of the buffet tables where she fills up a plate without asking what I wanted or if I was even hungry.
"I'm fine, Eleanor, really. I just wanted to see Blair but I didn't know how busy you were," I gesture to the guests and the waiters- which clearly isn't my scene, "I'm sorry for intruding. I'll just see Blair at school."
The famous Waldorf smile falls into a frown and I know that my escape plan has been thwarted.
"I will hear none of it. You will stay, I insist. I'm sure Blair will be down soon but in the meantime, have a tart," she forces the plate into my hand, "and say 'Hello' to all your old friends."
Eleanor struts off before I can protest further, though I know it wouldn't have made any difference: the woman likes to think and treat me as though I came from her very loins.
Looking around the sea of people, I notice how many of them I do not know. Awkwardly placing the jam tart back on the table, I tread carefully towards the balcony, hoping not to ruin the maze of Persian rugs with my dirty converses. Focusing on my feet as they manoeuvre through the floor décor, I don't realise that I'm walking into a coffee table until a sharp pain shoots up my shin as it makes contact with the brass.
"Fuck." I mutter and I take a breath through gritted teeth.
"You took the words right out of my mouth." My head snaps up when I realise my bump into the furniture didn't just avert my concentration.
Chuck Bass, the one and only, leaning forward in obvious interest, his signature smirk gracing his face and his weirdly styled hair not looking any different from the last time I saw him.
Not knowing what else to do, my hand lifts into a pathetically limp wave, "Hey Chuck."
He rises from the sofa where he sat between Kati and Is, who have both started to type furiously onto their keyboards (no doubt emailing Gossip Girl about my lost invitation to this shindig), and comes to stand in front of me, one hand rubbing his chin in thought and the other holding a glass of scotch.
"I've got to say, when Gossip Girl said that you were back, I was doubtful… it's not like she's the most reliable of sources."
I snort due to the irony of what he just said. "Please, Chuck. From what I remember, you're the one who sends most of the gossip bombs in."
"And I'm looking for some new ammunition." Ensue mysterious, I-know-things-you-don't wink, "So what did E get up to during her summer abroad? Was it your usual drugged up escapade? Or maybe something a little more peaceful… or as peaceful as our little Evie can get."
Swallowing the lump that had surfaced in my throat I let out a weak, "No."
"No? I highly doubt that." Chuck takes an intimidating step closer, lowering his voice as though we were sharing and intimate secret. "Come one Evie, we've been friends for such a long time… you can tell me anything, including what made you run off in the first place."
My palms were getting sweating and jaw was clenching so tightly it was borderline painful.
"Chuck I-"
"Oh my God! You will not believe what is on Gossip Girl" Kati exclaims, saving me from the conversation that I had been dreading for a very long time. Chuck and I both turn back to the girls, me because I'm thankful for the distraction and Chuck because he is drawn to scandal like a dog is to a bone.
"Someone saw Serena getting off a train at Grand Central." My eyes widen in shock, Serena's back? How long was she gone for?
Chuck throws a smirk over his shoulder at me before looking back at his glass and taking a swig of scotch. "My, my… just when I thought that things were getting a little dull around here, the Golden Girls are reunited."
"Evie!" Blair's voice screeches from the staircase, a grin (yet to determine whether it is fake or not) plastered on her perfect face. "Hi!"
Her petite from hurtles down the steps and into my unprepared arms.
"Hey Blair," I murmur into her ear, "I'm so sorry for leaving." As soon as the words leave my mouth she pulls buck to stare at me with an incredulous look on her face.
"Leaving? You didn't leave, silly! You just when on holiday." Her smile falter in slightest before she lowers her voice a fraction, "But I missed you. Why didn't you answer any of my calls?"
"My phone had no service in Tuscany."
"Bullshit, if there is anyone who can find service it's Evie Elma." I laugh at the reminder of the time we were lost on some excursion that the school sent us on. I had to climb this massive tree to get two bars so that Blair, Serena and I could call a town car so we didn't have to take the bus back. "So tell me the truth, E… I was worried."
"Look, Blair, its complicated."
"We've been friends forever, you can tell me anything-"
"Blair! Darling, Serena's here!" Even with the music and the buzzing of conversation from the guests, you could still hear Eleanor's voice crystal clear.
Blair and I, along with every other guest eager to see the return of the infamous Serena van der Woodsen, spin in the direction of the new arrival. And there she is, in all her blonde splendour. I thank god that she's wearing casual clothes as well.
Blair wastes no time in enveloping Serena into a hug much like the one she gave me, yet this one was stiff and a little too calm and collected.
"Hi! Serena, it's so good to see you!" I watch the two have their moment before coming in to hug her myself. The reunion between us is short lived: both of us don't quite know how to act around the other after 'that night'.
"Come we're about to have dinner," Blair and her mother begin to usher us both towards the dining room, "seeing as all of you are back together again you can sit next to each other and catch up." Serena throws me a confused look as if to say, "You left too?"
Eleanor looks as though she could clap her hands and jump up and down in glee- if only she wasn't using them to entrap me in a dinner I really didn't want. Unfortunately for her, Serena looks ready to pull another Houdini.
"Yeah, actually, um, there's somewhere I have to go." Blair's face begins to look like someone shoved a lemon in her mouth.
"You're leaving?" Despite being said with a smile, hurt is evident in my friend's eyes. Nobody notices but me: we both use the same defence mechanisms.
"Yeah, I-I just—I don't feel well." I use that line also. What the hell happened in the four months that I was gone? "I just wanted to come by and say hi." Serena begins to back away towards the exit, looking as though she'd run if she could, "I'll see you at school tomorrow."
School. Now there is a thought to improve this already delightful situation.
Blair Waldorf never looks anything less than cool and composed, but I can see that she's hurt- we're not best friends for nothing. I grab her arm and drag her off to the side, away from Is, Kati, Nate and Chuck's prying eyes.
"School?" Even though it's posed as a question, it sounds more like an admittance of defeat- but I don't know what the battle was over and who against. "So I guess she's back for good."
"Wait..." I say, realising what she's implying, "Didn't you know she was coming?"
"What? Like I knew you were coming?" She snaps, giving me the Blair-Glare.
"I really am sorry, Blair." I plead, nervously playing with frayed piece of material where my jeans had ripped. "I would've called but I just- I didn't know what to say."
"What do you mean? You didn't know how to ask me how I was doing? Or what my summer had been like?" She huffed, crossing her arms and pouting like she does when she doesn't get what she wants.
"Yeah, I screwed up big time Blair. But I'm here and I'm going to make it up to you. I promise." I think of last night when I contemplated calling her. Maybe I should've done that… let her know that I was back in the city instead of leaving her to find out from some stupid website. If I did that then maybe this whole 'forgiveness' thing wouldn't be so goddamn difficult. "Anything. I swear on those smores that we made in third grade that I will do anything if it means that I get my best friends back."
Her head lifts slightly as her interest is piqued. "Anything..?"
I smile, knowing that I've got her, hook, line and sinker. "Anything."
Taking a second to go over it, probably just to make it seem as though she had more will power, Blair waits until she can't contain her natural self before she squeals and jumps up and down.
"Okay, okay! Fine! I forgive you E!" She eagerly grabs my hands and starts dragging me up the stairs and towards her bedroom. "Oh my! I have so much to tell you… have you been on Gossip Girl lately? No?" Blair pauses and gasps as I shake my head. "You have to see what that slut, Emily Richards was wearing at the White Party- it was positively see through." She giggles, thinking of the embarrassing photos of this poor victim that no doubt are waiting to be shared on her laptop.
In a lilted voice she sings, "I'm so happy to have you ba-a-a-ack." Smiling back, she takes my hand and leads me into her room, stopping short of closing the door, "And Evie," her face becomes serious and I fear that I'm not yet out of the dog house, "If you ever wear those disgusting jeans when I'm around, I'll destroy you." Laughing, I follow her in, hoping that she doesn't mean it considering a lot of the things I wear now are a lot like this.
Word is that S bailed on B's party in under ninety seconds, and didn't even have one Limoncello, whilst E was left behind to pick up the pieces like the loving friend she never really was. Have our bad girls really gone good? Or is it all just part of an act to keep us from snooping around? Why did they leave? Why did they return? Send me all the deets.
And who am I? That's one secret I'll never tell.
Xoxo Gossip Girl