Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Spoilers: Post-Covenant, slight A/U for GG.

LIKE YOU LIKE AN ARSONIST

CHAPTER 4: Crash Into Me

Two weeks went by in a blur. Soon it was Friday. The day before Serena's big birthday bash. It didn't take long for her to plan a party. With Blair Waldorf on your side, who needs party planners? Invites were sent several days ago to an exclusive set of their closest friends. Blair had not been too happy to see Chuck Bass on the guest list. Neither was she too happy to see Reid Garwin's name on it either.

"Are you ready for the big day tomorrow?" Tyler asked. They were having Cappuccino Lattes at a nearby café. The four of them had gotten to be really good friends in the past week. Despite the fact that Blair and Reid quarreled like cat and dog.

"Am I ever. I can't wait to see everyone again. Two weeks has seemed like forever." Serena said with an excited grin.

"Speaking of everyone, I see Vanessa coming." Blair said in a bored voice.

Serena waved her over. Vanessa approached them with a smile on her face. Beside her was a pretty blonde with a friendly smile. She looked familiar. Serena wondered where she had seen her before. "Hey Serena. Thanks for the invite."

"Sure, no problem." Serena said, waving her off.

"Who's your friend Vanessa?" Reid asked, his eyes on the blonde.

"Oh. This is my roommate, Olivia Burke. Olivia, meet Serena, Blair, Tyler and -- " Reid cut her off.

"The name's Garwin. Reid Garwin."

"Bond. James Bond." Blair mimicked under her breath, rolling her eyes in disgust as Reid kissed Olivia's hand. "Wait, no wonder you look so familiar. You were in a few episodes on that new soap last summer , right?"

Olivia blushed and nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to improve my acting skills so I enrolled in NYU. I wasn't too good was I?" She suddenly looked worried. It was sort of endearing.

"Nonsense." Blair said dismissively. "That was the only good soap that summer. Come. Sit." She shoved Reid to the side to make space for Olivia. She slowly sat down. Vanessa grabbed a chair and sat down next to Serena.

"Do you have any plans tomorrow night?" Serena asked her.

Olivia stopped and thought for a moment. "Not really. Why do you ask?"

"Well, its my birthday tomorrow and I'd love for you to come."

Olivia brightened. "That would be great. Thank you."

Vanessa Abrams used to hate going to high society parties such as the very one Serena was going to throw. But truth be told, she had actually become good friends with more than a few of them. Even Blair was becoming tolerable.

"So, how do I look?" Olivia emerged from the dressing room. They were at Barney's, a place where Vanessa usually avoided like the plague, but this was Olivia's favorite place to shop and who was she to deny her only friend at NYU that opportunity? The bubbly blonde was dressed in a simple strapless white dress that fell to her knees in electric pleats.

"I like it. Its pretty." Vanessa said approvingly. Serena required all her guests to come in white, hence the shopping. Vanessa, on the other hand, was sure she could put together some of her vintage stuff back at the dorm. She always had a few things hanging around that could work.

Olivia beamed. "Alright! I'll get it."

"Hey, I'm going to go wait outside. I need some fresh air. Is that okay?"

"Sure. I'll meet you there."

Vanessa went off. She was just exiting Barney's when her mobile phone began to vibrate. It was Dan.

Hey V,

You going to Serena's big white party?

D

Vanessa grinned. Dan Humphrey had been her best friend in what seemed like forever. But now he was off at Yale on scholarship. She missed him quite terribly already. It would be awesome to see him again. She replied a quick yes to the text along with a 'see you there.' She had been so busy staring at her phone that she crashed into someone.

Someone with a rock-hard chest.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry." Vanessa apologized, taking several steps backward. She looked up to see…a Greek god.

"No worries. I'm good." He said with a smile that made her heart flutter. She smiled back tentatively. Guys who looked like him usually did not smile like that to girls like her. But then again, he didn't look like he was from around here. I mean, he certainly doesn't go to St. Jude's. She thought. "I'm Pogue Parry. What's your name?"

"Vanessa Abrams." She said, shaking his hand and feeling a bit more confident. "So um, are you going in?"

"To Barney's?" He asked with a laugh. "Yeah. Two of my friends already went in. I just grabbed something to eat a few minutes ago. We need to do a little shopping, you see."

"Okay." She said suddenly feeling uncertain. Shopping with two guys? Is he, like, gay? Because he certainly did not look gay.

He stared at her, puzzled. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Are you gay?" She blurted out. OH MY GOD VANESSA. YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT.

Pogue burst out laughing. "Well that's a first! But I guess guys don't usually go shopping together huh?"

She shook her head slowly.

"It just so happens that we're going to this party where we all have to wear white. I, for one, do not own any pair of white pants. Or white shoes for that matter." He chuckled, obviously amused.

Vanessa, however, was feeling more than a bit stunned. "White party? That wouldn't happen to be Serena Van Der Woodsen's birthday bash, now would it?" She asked, skeptically. Of course Serena would know the hottest guys in the planet. Guys like that practically gravitated towards her.

"Actually yes. You know her?" He seemed interested now.

"She's a good friend of mine." Vanessa said. "You?"

"I haven't met her." Pogue said with a shrug. "But my friend Nate is good friends with her too. Serena asked him to invite us as well."

"Nate? Nate Archibald?" Vanessa repeated. My, my, what a small world we live in.

"The one and only. Let me guess your good friends with him too?" Pogue asked, amused.

"We used to date a while back." She confessed.

"Well what do you know." Pogue said with a grin. "So what do you say we meet up with them inside?"

She smiled. That grin was simply adorable. "I'm actually waiting for my friend. But I'll see you tomorrow night."

Chuck Bass took a long drag from his cigarette. He was currently sitting inside his private car. They were parked near the café that he used to frequent often with a certain brunette. He was about to climb out when said brunette walked out of the café. Chuck had never been happier that the car's windows were heavily tinted.

A tinge of some unknown emotion poked at his heart when he saw that she was not alone. A guy with platinum blonde hair that could rival Billy Idol's strolled beside her, an arm wrapped casually around her shoulders. They disappeared around a corner, and he was unable to see Blair disgustedly shake off the arm of her companion and smack him upside the head.

Chuck Bass was not a jealous person. And even if he was, he had no reason to be. It was not like he was in love with Blair Waldorf. She was simply an infatuation he once had. A fantasy he had wanted to transform into reality. Another notch on his bedpost. Nothing more.

If that was the case, then why did he feel like strangling blondie's neck?

S's nineteenth birthday looms closer. I see a reunion in the making. I wonder if anyone will dare gatecrash the big white birthday bash? I could think of a few people who might.

Sightings:

V chatting happily with her new friend, O about a certain long-haired Son.

N, P, & CD browsing white pants at Barney's. How cute is that?

CB drowning himself in liquor at a nearby bar.

Your Email:

Dear GG,

I hear O is still a virgin. Do you think that's true?

- Whitey

Dear Whitey,

She could be. She hasn't been on the Hollywood scene that long yet. We'll see if she'll manage to stay one after hanging out with our favorite bunch.

- GG

Keep the e-mails coming. You know how much I love hearing from my fans.

You know you love me,

XOXO Gossip Girl

A/N: Review please. :D