Morning Upper-East Siders, Gossip Girl here and I come bearing invites. Time to wear your latest fall dresses because we're going to Blair Waldorfs to celebrate the start of a new school year. Be there or be forgotten XOXO Gossip Girl
"Hey Dan, I just got a text. Somebody called Gossip Girl? Are you at a party again tonight?" Evie was still running a little slow after being woken by the buzzing of her phone but remained curious as to who the mysterious texter was.
"Trust me Evie, you should ignore it," she heard Jenny respond from behind a wall. She was still settling into the loft and found the proximity of the rooms took some getting used to. "Gossip Girl has the power to ruin lives, I should know."
Strangely, she found herself disappointed by Jenny's advice. Although she expected to feel out of place at another upper class party she was also fascinated by their world.
"Jenny's right," Dan said popping his head round the door, "Gossip Girl is bad news. She will hate you immediately because you're a Humphrey. Enjoy being under her constant watch."
"You're being a drama queen! There is no way somebody is going to stalk me. I don't do anything interesting to tell people." She replied shaking her head in disbelief, "she invited me to a party...are you going?"
Immediately Dan's face changed into one of worry. He never could hide his feelings. She could even guess that once he opened his mouth the words would come out fast and confused.
"I'm going but I don't think you would like it. I don't even like it, I'm required to go because of Serena otherwise we could stay home and watch a film. I mean an evening at Blair Waldorfs is pretty much the worst thing I could imagine." She always knew him too well. Maybe he was ashamed of his cousin who wasn't raised in the city. The girl who could ruin his rise to the upper-east side. She hated to think it but maybe Dan had changed.
"Oh yeah, it isn't really my thing. I was just curious." Even though she tried to hide it, the disappointment was obvious in her voice. "Jenny, do you want to do something before you go to work?"
The morning was spent drinking coffee at a local cafe which Dan had pointed out a couple days before. Jenny told her all about the mean girls and repeated her warning about avoiding the upper-east side.
After Jenny left, Evie decided to wander. She figured if she was going to stay with the Humphreys then she ought to know about the area around her home. Unlike the few places she had ever lived, New York was covered in concrete and high rise buildings. She had spent time with her uncle previously when her mother became too much to handle but it was never for a long period of time. Now she vowed to stay and spend senior year at a normal school.
She suddenly noticed her attention had wandered and found herself almost walking into a pretty boho girl.
"Sorry, I didn't mean...Vanessa?" Startled she recognised the face of Dan's childhood friend. She remembered from his letters that she was back in the city but she didn't expect to just walk into her on the street.
"Evie! I haven't seen you in such a long time." she cried, pulling the girl into a tight hug. "Are you busy? We can catch up over coffee." Evie giggled, New Yorkers and their coffee! She was sure she'd be a caffeine addict in a week.
"I've just been for coffee with Jenny but we could go back to the loft?"
"That was just where I was headed. Are you going to Blair's party tonight?" When she said Blair her voice dropped to a snarl as though there was something she disliked, no hated, about the girl.
"I wanted to but Dan wasn't so keen on me tagging." she sighed wondering if it was a mistake to say that to Vanessa. After all, she was Dan's best friend and likely to share this little fact with him.
"That makes two of us. I was planning on going with Nate but now he doesn't want me to go. I thought he wanted to get back together but I guess I'm just too embarrassing in front of all his rich friends." Evie was alarmed by how angry Vanessa became when informing her about Nate. She never raised her voice but the tone she was using became more and more irritated until she practically snapped the last word out.
There was a slight pause hanging in the air but before it could become too awkward, Evie put on her brightest smile and pulled out her phone.
"Well according to Gossip Girl, I'm invited. Screw what the boys want, we should throw on our best dresses and paint the town red." Her smile had always been infectious and so it wasn't long before Vanessa was mimicking her facial expression and nodding in agreement.
Only 3 hours later and she was sitting in a taxi with Vanessa heading to Blair's penthouse. Differing to the previous party she had attended, this time she was wearing a cream figure hugging dress which she had bought a year earlier for special occasions. It may not be the latest design but it was a label dress and cost her what she considered a large sum of money. With her hair she had been more cautious, tying her sleek brown locks up into a ponytail. Evie felt confident which was a rare event.
When they finally arrived at an expensive looking building they were ushered into an elevator by a doorman. Even the elevator was expensive with its glossy wooden panels.
"Wow if I lived here I would be full of self-importance too." she mumbled to herself much to Vanessa's amusement. They remembered to make plans to meet up after, she didn t want to pay a cab fare all by herself, and Vanessa added her number to Evie's phone in case of an emergency.
Finally the doors pinged open and Evie found herself in a luxurious lobby filled with many wealthy young people. A quick glance around told her what she feared, Dan wasn't there although there was one face she recognised.
"Chuck Bass, right? I remember you from the library last week." Under usual circumstances she wouldn't stand and chatter with this guy who gave her the creeps but Vanessa had already disappeared into the crowd and the only alternative was standing alone.
"Of course, you're a fast learner it would seem. And you are the Humphrey girl although I don't see how anybody as beautiful as you could be related to that family." Evie's cheeks blushed a deep crimson and she furrowed her eyebrows.
"Hey, they're my cousins so you have to be nice. Could you introduce me to your friends? I hate to ask but I don't know anybody else here." Happy with her plan that she'd soon be rid of the wanna-be playboy, Evie flashed a smile in his direction. She always did know how to make a good impression.
After a short while of introductions to girls who smiled superficially at her and boys who stared uncomfortably, Chuck excused himself leaving Evie with the seemingly pleasant Nelly Yuki. They chattered about school and she discovered Nelly was quite a prodigy at pretty much anything she put her mind to. It was then that the lights went off.
Screaming echoed throughout the building as Evie's thoughts jumped through crazy scenarios that could have occurred. A grand heist, a murder? She was mildly disappointed when their host appeared and informed the guests that there had been a power cut.
"Everybody take a candle and please watch out for each other. You will have to stay here until the power returns." despite her instructions to stay calm, the panic in Blair's voice was evident.
The candle light gave the room a dramatic appearance although the people rushing around trying to gather up friends counteracted the atmosphere. Evie wondered if Blair had planned the power cut to ensure her party would be talked about but then phones started beeping and another text from Gossip Girl arrived.
Hey boys and girls. My sources tell me the party tonight is not Queen B's finest. Lucky she has this surprise twist - a city wide blackout. Oh the antics we can have when nobody can see them. Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. XOXO Gossip Girl.
Evie looked around the room, every person there was reading the same text regarding it in quite a serious way for something she thought of as a joke. It took her a moment to realise it and once she did panic set in - she was standing in a room full of strangers in the dark and this mystery person had just encouraged, no demanded, bad behaviour. She had to find Vanessa and quickly.