Disclaimer: I don't own any of Gossip Girl…unfortunately.
Here's the next chapter for y'all. Please R+R.
Serena
I looked up into Vanessa's face. I immediately tried to walk past her; I didn't want a scene in the street. But she grabbed my arm, stopping me. She hissed at me,
"You bitch. How could you do that to him? He's been devoted to you and then you just leave him at the altar. And then you ask him to run your errands for you."
I replied as coolly as possible,
"I love Dan, and I would never want to hurt him, but to marry him would have been to hurt him even more. We would never have been happy, because I would always have wanted Nate and he would never feel secure. And I asked him to do that because the things are at his house and I don't have the right to go in there unannounced after what I did."
I could see she was taken aback. I don't think that she was expecting such a candid answer. She opened her mouth, then seemed to change her mind and walked away. I was more shaken by the experience than I cared to admit. I continued walking to the café where I said I would meet Blair.
I looked at my watch and realized I was late. I hurried and finally reached the café where Blair was nonchalantly sipping her non-fat cappuccino. She looked up with cold eyes and smiled an empty smile.
Blair
I saw Serena, and although I gave her a warm greeting, I could not put any enthusiasm into it. I could tell that she knew I was mad at her. We sat in silence for a while and my thoughts wandered to Nate and then Chuck. I was surprised at how nice Chuck had been to me. I didn't think that he had it in him.
"Do you still love Nate?"
I started as Serena's voice broke through my reverie. I opened my mouth to say yes, but then something stopped me. I swallowed and thought whether I really loved Nate. Then I realized something. I gave a short sharp laugh that sounded foreign even to me.
"You know, Serena, when you ran off with Nate after your attempt at a wedding, I was furious with you, because you had Nate again. But now I realize that I love Nate, yes, I'll always love him, but I'm not in love with him anymore. I was more in love with the idea of being in love with him and having a boyfriend who loved me."
I could see the relief flood Serena's face. She took a deep breath and then smiled at me. I had not thought it possible but she actually looked more beautiful then than she had ever. I smiled inwardly, because she was my best friend still and I was glad that I was able to make her happy. I hugged her and we chatted about everything that had happened since she left Dan at the altar.
Nate
I sat on the couch in Chuck's temporary place. He was drinking a lot.
"I can't believe that I asked her that! What was I thinking?"
Chuck's drunken slur held more than a little bitterness and disappointment in it. Thinking out my words carefully I replied,
"Look, with Blair you have to give her some time. Be there for her. She will become so mad at me that she'll forget about me and realize that she doesn't actually love me."
Chuck gave a laugh, but there was no humour in it.
"You don't realize how lucky you are, Nathaniel. You had an amazing girl and then you dumped her for her sluttish best friend."
I tensed, and said, trying to keep my cool,
"You have no right to say that about Serena. Just because she wouldn't sleep with you doesn't mean that she's a slut. And you should be thanking me. If I had stayed with Blair, I would never have made her happy."
"So you don't mind if Blair's unhappy now?"
"No, I don't because I know that this is better for her in the long run."
As soon as I said those words I wished I hadn't. Chuck had a murderous look on his face. He was obviously waging an inner battle. Then he came up to me and the next thing I knew I was on the floor bleeding.
I thought I might add a little action for you guys. Hope you liked it.
