Lots of love to all of those who continue to read my story! You keep me going! Even with the way things are looking on our screens, I still love our Serenate. Damn it, they deserved a better chance.
Warning – this chapter does contain a semi-smutty scene but I hope you stick with me.
Again, I don't own anything.
Chapter 4: I See You
June 24th, 2021
"So where to now Blair? More shopping?" Serena asked as the two best friends continued arm and arm down the sidewalk, shopping bags in hand.
"Actually, let's take a break and get a drink at the café up the block," Blair gestured to a restaurant across the street. "Give us a chance to relax and gossip." She was actually feeling a bit tired and she really did want to spend some time gossiping with her BFF.
"Sounds great to me. As long as Ellen doesn't show up, that is." Serena was half joking and half serious. She knew from past experience that it was entirely possible that they would bump into that woman again. The Hamptons could be a very small place sometimes.
"Oh, don't worry about her," and Blair just swatted the air with her hand like it was no big deal. "She can't be so pathetic that she would follow us into another place."
Serena stopped walking and said nothing; she just raised her brow in response.
This caused Blair to stop walking as well.
"She wouldn't?" she deadpanned.
"Uhm, Blair, in case you haven't noticed, that woman shows up everywhere I turn. There is something seriously wrong with her!"
"Well, I've known that for a while now," scoffed Blair who resumed walking down the street. "I find it ridiculous that someone who is supposedly so happily married keeps obsessing about you."
"Tell me about it," sighed Serena as she kept pace with Blair.
"I mean, you and Nate have been in each other's lives since we were little kids. Did she think you were just going to vanish from Nate's life?"
Serena couldn't help but laugh. "Who knows what she is thinking sometimes."
"Yeah," agreed Blair. "I can't believe the psycho bitch is still married."
"Usually she manages to flaunt her ring in my face. You know, to prove a point," and Serena swung her hand in front of Blair's face, parodying Ellen.
Blair corrected her, "Don't you mean her heirloom ring?"
"Oh yes, how could I forget," mocked Serena. "It's a family heirloom."
Thinking about Ellen wearing a family heirloom ring on her finger made Serena flashback to the first time she saw Ellen wearing the infamous Vanderbilt ring.
XOXOXOXOXO
December 27th, 2014
This year, Serena had elected to spend all three weeks of her semester break back home, partly because she missed her family and partly because couldn't get enough of her godson Victor. She originally thought about staying with the Basses, but reconsidered when she found out the Waldorfs and Roses would be staying there at least part of the time. It ended up working out for the best because Serena still saw plenty of Victor and Blair, but she also got to spend some quality time with Eric, something she hadn't done in quite awhile.
That was how Serena ended up here, sitting on the floor in her mother's penthouse, playing a game of Scrabble with Eric, Dan, and Jenny. After briefly reconciling with Bart in the Spring of 2012, Lily realized that her heart truly did lie with Rufus and the two of them found their way back together by December of 2012. This meant that holidays were now often shared with Dan and Jenny, and this was fine with Serena. She and Dan had re-established their friendship and talked every now and then, and while she and Jenny would never be sisters, they had put the past behind them and had learned to be cordial with each other. It helped that Eric was always around when the two of them were visiting at the same time; he maintained the peace.
Dan was currently living in Philadelphia, teaching English Literature for 'Teach for America' while still pursuing his writing dream. His second novel, the expose "Inside Out", never found a publisher willing to take a chance on it, which Dan now sees as a blessing in disguise. He would have alienated his friends and been pigeonholed as a writer. Currently, Dan was back to writing fiction and even close to finishing up his third book.
Just as Dan was about to gloat about getting a score of 42 for the word 'flummox', the butler approached the group carrying a garment bag.
"Mr. Humphrey, your suit is clean," and he offered the bag to Dan.
"Oh, thanks," replied Dan as stood from his seat and took the bag.
The other three sat there, a little surprised, because Dan wasn't exactly the suit kind of guy.
"Hot date tonight?" Serena teased. "Won't Liz get jealous?"
"HaHa Serena. Very funny," Dan joked and he then laid the suit over the back of his chair. "It's for Nate and Ellen's engagement party tonight. Liz knows all about it. She was supposed to be my date, but she bailed on me."
"Even she's embarrassed to be seen out in public with you," cracked Jenny.
"At least he cut his hair. He's somewhat presentable now," jibed Eric.
As Jenny and Eric continued to rip on Dan, Serena was oddly quiet. She couldn't believe that Dan was invited to Nate and Ellen's engagement party and she wasn't. She assumed it was primarily a family event. She understood that Chuck and Blair being invited; Chuck was going to be Nate's best man. But Dan wasn't in the wedding party and Nate and Dan weren't even as close as they used to be. Meanwhile, she and Nate had been friends since they were children. They still talked, okay texted and emailed, all the time. Serena could feel her eyes starting to tear up. She was hurt and couldn't wrap her head around why she'd been selectively excluded from the party. Suddenly, she heard Dan address her.
"Hello Serena! Earth to Serena," and he waved his hand in front of her face, effectively bringing her out of her trance.
"Huh, sorry. I was trying to figure out my next move on the board," Serena recovered. "What were you saying?"
"I was suggesting that we go to the party together."
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." She didn't want to admit to them that she hadn't been invited, so she came up with a quick excuse. "I don't want to create any tension between you and Liz."
"Liz won't mind at all. She's not the jealous type." Jenny and Eric nodded in agreement as they had both gotten to know Liz over the past year while Serena had yet to meet Dan's current girlfriend.
"Oh," mumbled Serena as she realized she was out of excuses.
"So it's decided. We'll go together," insisted Dan. "Dinner is being served at 8pm, so I was thinking of leaving here around 7:15pm. That way I don't have to spend an hour making small talk with people I don't really know. Does that sound okay with you?"
"Uhm, sure," Serena reluctantly agreed when she couldn't think of a way out of attending with Dan. "That sounds great."
In the back of her mind, Serena was already dreading going to Nate's engagement party. There was something about toasting Nate and Ellen as a couple and their impending nuptials that didn't sit well with her. She didn't know if it was jealousy that Nate was getting married, leaving her as the lone single person in their original group of four, or if she was jealous for another reason. Jealous that Ellen was going to have a future with Nate and she wasn't.
Serena shook her head from side-to-side to clear her mind. She needed a distraction. And since when did shopping not work for that.
"If you guys will excuse me, I just remembered seeing a clutch at Bendel's that would go perfect with my dress for tonight."
As soon as Serena was out of the earshot of the others, she whipped out her phone and called Blair.
"Blair! I have a serious fashion emergency! Can you meet me at Bergdorf's?"
Hell, if Serena was going to crash this party, she was going to do it looking her best!
XOXOXO
That evening, at 7:30pm, Serena and Dan entered the lobby of the Carlyle Hotel. Serena was overcome with the sudden urge to turn around and run. She had been telling herself all afternoon that it was simply an oversight that she had not been invited to the party and that surely Nate would not object to having her there.
But now she wasn't so sure.
Dan must have sensed her uneasiness, because he nudged her and whispered, "Everything okay?"
"Yeah," Serena reassured him. "I was just trying to see Blair and Chuck. You know, find some friendly faces in this crowd of people."
"Friendly? Chuck and Blair?" Dan asked sarcastically. "Are you serious?"
"Come on," rebuffed Serena as she rolled her eyes. "You guys all get along now. I believe you even had a civil conversation with them on Christmas Eve."
"Yes," Dan recollected. "Blair commented that my recent piece in the New Yorker wasn't half bad and I think Chuck may have even wished me a Merry Christmas. Becoming parents has definitely softened them."
"Look, there they are," Serena ignored Dan's insult and pointed to the bar at the side of the room. "Let's go join them."
"Ooh, I can't wait," and Dan reluctantly followed Serena across the room to meet up with Blair and Chuck, as well as some of their former classmates from St. Jude's.
As Serena settled into conversation with her best friend, her brother, and her stepbrother, she started to relax and feel more comfortable with being at the party. That was until she looked around the room at one point while Dan was going on about an exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and locked eyes with Ellen. Her face was hard and cold, without even a hint of happiness on it. Serena began to realize that maybe it wasn't a mistake that she wasn't invited. Maybe that's what Ellen had intended.
An anxious feeling took over Serena in that moment. She didn't want to ruin Nate's night, so she decided that she would check with him, make sure that he was fine with her being here tonight. So she scanned the room for the future groom and witnessed him being dragged from the room by Ellen. Serena peered into the hallway and saw them go into a room alone, with Ellen shutting the door behind them. Serena hated the idea that Ellen was upset with Nate for her being there, and she was determined to apologize and make things right between the couple.
Meanwhile, Ellen closed the door after she and Nate had entered the small meeting room.
"Ellen, what's going on?" Nate asked, confused. "What do we need to talk about that couldn't wait until after the party?"
Biting her bottom lip, Ellen coyly brought her eyes up to Nate's. Slowly, she stepped closer to Nate, took his face in her hands, and brought her lips to his. As they kissed, Ellen slipped her tongue into Nate's mouth, an action that he readily reciprocated, and they began to explore each other even more with their hands.
After a minute or so, Nate broke free. Breathless, he murmured, "We really should be getting back. We've got a room full of guests and dinner is about to be served."
"Sshh," and Ellen placed her finger on Nate's mouth to silence him. She then seductively whispered in Nate's ear, "Nobody is going to notice if we disappear for five minutes."
"But Ellen," Nate started to argue, however he noticed that she was positioning herself to kneel in front of him so he went silent. Shocked, he struggled with his words. "Ellen, what are you doing?"
"Reminding you of one of the many things you love about me," and she confidently made short work of Nate's belt, his zipper, and his boxers, until she held his cock in her hand. Within seconds, she had taken him into her mouth and began to simultaneously suck and use her tongue in a way that she knew drove Nate crazy.
Nate was gone. Lost in a land of ecstasy. He shut his eyes and let the sensation of Ellen's magic mouth take over his body. He leaned forward and used the wall to support himself while all thoughts of propriety left his mind. He couldn't think of anything in that moment except for how good it felt when Ellen sucked him off.
"Fuck, Ellen, that feels really good." He then put his hand on her head to encourage her.
At feeling Nate's hand in her hair, Ellen stopped what she was doing and released him.
"Don't mess up my hair," she snapped.
Nate didn't even think about arguing because honestly, he didn't care. He just wanted Ellen to continue with her impromptu blowjob. So he put both of his hands against the wall and Ellen went back to worshipping Nate with her mouth. He continued to moan and groan expletives while Ellen cupped his balls in her hand and took him further in so that the tip of his dick was hitting the back of her throat. Nate felt a growing urgency take over, one he knew very well.
"God, I'm almost there. Don't stop," Nate said through panted breaths. Suddenly, he felt all the blood in his body rush south and he started bucking into Ellen's eager mouth.
"Yes, yes," Nate gasped, euphoria flowing from his body. At that moment he opened his eyes and found himself staring into Serena's beautiful blue eyes. Shocked, he choked out "Serena," as she fled from the room.
"What did you just call me?" a livid Ellen screamed as she wiped the side of her mouth with the back of her hand. She bolted up and angrily began swatting at her dress so remove any creases that may have formed when she was on her knees.
Nate reached out for her arm, "Ellen, no, you don't understand."
Ellen jerked her arm away from Nate, not wanting him to touch her at all.
"Oh, I think I understand perfectly. You were fantasizing about your ex-girlfriend while I'm getting you off in the middle of OUR engagement party!"
Ellen pulled out her compact, reapplied her lipstick, and gave herself a once over. While she was doing this, Nate rapidly pulled up his pants and fixed his shirt and tie.
"You've got this all wrong Ellen. The only reason I said Serena's name was because she was standing in the door while we were, you know," he trailed off as blush started to cover his face.
"Wait, you're telling me that Serena was watching us?" Nate just nodded. Ellen was appalled. First she shows up to the party uninvited and then she had the audacity to watch as she pleasured her fiancé. She felt the anger rising inside of her with each passing second.
"For how long?" Ellen demanded as she threw her compact back into her clutch.
"What?" a confused Nate asked.
"How long was Serena standing there watching us?" Ellen was clearly frustrated with Nate's answer as well as his calmness over the entire situation. "Oh, you know what. Forget it. I'm just going to give that little voyeur a piece of my mind."
Ellen then stormed from the room with Nate trailing closely behind her. He didn't really want to see Ellen and Serena come to blows over this. He needed to keep them both calm and at peace. They easily found Serena talking with Dan and one of Nate's former lacrosse buddies.
Ellen rudely interrupted their conversation, "Excuse me Serena, we would like to have a word with you."
Serena was having a difficult time looking at Ellen and Nate. When she looked at Nate, she kept picturing his face just as he was about cum; that look of satisfaction. And Ellen. Well Serena couldn't even make eye contact with her. She also avoided looking at Ellen's mouth because she knew where it had been less than five minutes earlier. That's when she saw the Vanderbilt ring on Ellen's finger and she decided to focus on that while she regained her wits.
"Can't it wait?" Serena was embarrassed, annoyed, and desperately trying to avoid being alone with the two of them. "I'm in the middle of a conversation here."
"It's just that I don't remember seeing your name on the guest list and we have a set number of seats for dinner."
At that moment, Dan piped up, "She's my plus one."
"You came to my engagement party with Dan?" Nate reeled. "Isn't that story over with yet?"
"Oh, it's nothing like that man," Dan replied defensively. "Liz couldn't make it, so I told Serena we should come together."
"So, Serena had been planning to crash all along," fumed Ellen as she crossed her arms in front of her.
"What?" retorted Serena. Then she finally clued in to what Ellen was insinuating. "Actually, no. No. I wasn't even going to come until Dan suggested we come together."
"You weren't going to come to my engagement party?" Nate asked, clearly upset at hearing this. "I thought we were friends Serena."
"Me too, Nate," she replied, her voice only slightly raised. "That's why I was hurt when I found out that Dan received an invitation while I didn't."
"Don't be stupid," Nate countered. "Of course you were invited. You were one of the first names I put on the list."
"Well, I'm still waiting on the invitation."
Nate then turned to look at Ellen. She had overseen the arrangements for the party, which included the guest list.
"I guess it got lost in the mail," and she just shrugged her shoulders as she grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and took a sip.
That's when everything clicked to Serena. Her invitation wasn't lost in the mail – Ellen made sure that she wasn't invited. She deliberately excluded her. This inflamed Serena. She and Nate had been friends forever – Ellen had no right.
From the other side of the room Blair could tell that her best friend was about to explode. She grabbed Chuck and whispered in his ear, "We need to stop whatever is going on over there." She pointed in the direction of Nate, Serena, Ellen, and Dan.
As they approached the group, Chuck calmly put an arm around both Serena and Ellen and shuttled them into the hallway with Blair, Nate, and Dan not far behind.
"Ladies," Chuck said in his suave way. "While I may love a public spectacle, I'm quite sure the two of you don't. So please, let's take your hot and bothered bodies away from the eyes of the drooling public and into a more private setting."
"Better yet," Ellen interjected. "Why doesn't Serena just leave? It's not like she was invited anyways."
Serena turned at Ellen's admission. "So you admit that you didn't invite me? That you did this on purpose?"
"Why the hell would I invite you to my engagement party?" sneered Ellen.
"Excuse me," Nate cut in. "Don't you mean our engagement party?"
"Whatever," and Ellen just blew Nate off before turning her attention back to Serena. "Every time you fly back into town, you always manage to somehow be all over Nate. Don't think I haven't noticed."
"Oh, please. Nate and I are friends. Right Nate?"
Nate looked a little shell-shocked by all the accusations being tossed around. He didn't understand how the situation had evolved into this.
"Yeah, right," he hesitated, unsure how to handle himself. He knew one wrong word would put him in the doghouse for a potentially very long time. "Serena and I have been friends forever. That's why I wanted her invited to our engagement party." He stressed the word 'our' to make two important points: that this was a party for both him and her, and that he and Ellen were getting married, not he and Serena.
"Oh, okay. I see how it is," Ellen was embarrassed and angry, as she felt Nate was taking Serena's side over hers. She was his fiancé, not Serena. "Why don't we just invite her on our honeymoon too? I mean, we know she likes to watch. Maybe she wants some lessons."
"That was a mistake and I'm sorry," Serena apologized sincerely.
"And you expect me to just believe you?" Ellen took a deep breath as she challenged Serena, hoping to gain control of her emotions.
"Why would I lie about that?" Serena was angry at all the allegations that Ellen was flinging at her.
"Okay, I'm clearly missing something," Blair said aloud and then turned to Dan for an answer, "Well?"
"Hey, I'm just as lost as you are Blair," admitted Dan in a low voice.
The two of them then looked at Chuck who had a huge grin on his face while he stroked his chin and chuckled. He obviously had an idea of what had transpired between the other three but he wasn't saying a word.
Nate was trying to calm down Ellen by stepping between her and Serena and rubbing her arms up and down.
"Ellen, it was an honest mistake," reasoned Nate.
Instead of pacifying Ellen, Nate was actually riling her up more.
"Of course you take her side. I mean, why am I surprised," scoffed Ellen. "You're just as guilty as she is."
"Ellen, please," pleaded Nate as he grasped her hands.
The group was then brought to silence by the sound of a bell alerting them all that dinner was to be served.
Ellen took a deep breath to calm herself, shook her body out, and lifted her head with her perfectly happy fiancé face in place. She then grabbed Nate's hand and without a glance at the rest of the group she said, "Shall we?"
As Nate and Ellen proceeded into the dining room, Serena turned to Dan, "I'll meet you at our seats. I'll just be a minute."
That left Blair, Chuck, and Dan just as clueless as they were before. And they stayed that way for the rest of the night, as Serena, Nate, and Ellen acted as if nothing had happened at all.
XOXOXO
When Nate and Ellen returned to their apartment that night, Ellen was exhausted and went straight to bed. Nate stayed up for a bit and played some video games to unwind. Once dinner was served, the evening took a much better turn and he and Ellen had a great time, both soaking up the attention. He never got an opportunity to talk to Serena alone, so that he could explain that he would never deliberately exclude her from anything. He did, however, overhear a conversation she had with one of his mother's friends (who appeared to be friends with Lily as well), in which Serena said that she would most likely stay in Los Angeles after she finished her degree that Spring.
For some reason Nate couldn't get Serena's words out of his head. No amount of alcohol or killing of zombies seemed to help. Those words were haunting him.
Serena was staying in California.
Serena wasn't moving back to New York.
Nate knew it shouldn't bother him. After all, he was starting a life with Ellen. But he couldn't deny that it did. And deep down, he knew why. He had been waiting for Serena to come back home, come back to him, for years now.
It was this realization that propelled Nate to open the tab on his laptop that he had started filling out two months earlier. He checked it over and confirmed that all his information was correct. Then, with the click of a button, Nathaniel Archibald's transfer application for UCLA Law School was submitted. After that, he joined Ellen in their bed and went to sleep easily.
XOXOXO
Monday morning Ellen placed a call to an old sorority sister of hers on her way to work. Turns out she works in the publishing business. Ellen couldn't believe it, because she was just talking to a friend over the weekend that was looking for a publisher for a novel he had written. It was about an insider's view of life on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
XOXOXOXOXO
June 24th, 2021
Serena looked down at her own left hand and smiled. She didn't have a family heirloom on her finger. In fact, she didn't even have a diamond engagement ring. But that didn't matter. She didn't need that. Her wedding band was perfect for her: two rows of brilliant diamonds surrounding a row of vivid pink diamonds, set in platinum and rose gold.
"What are you grinning about?" Blair couldn't help but ask as she saw her best friend's glowing smile.
Serena laughed to herself. "Did I ever tell you the story about Nate and Ellen's engagement party?"
The two best friends then continued walking down the street as Serena divulged the events from that night six and a half years ago.
A/N: I must apologize to everyone who was disturbed by the Nellen smut. I couldn't resist – I just really love Nate! HeHe. Also, that's the 1st time I've really written a scene like that, so I hope it didn't repulse too many readers.
Many thanks to those of you who reviewed: RauhlPrincess, maryl, SnowedUnderNJ, JuhAlves, BikerChick101, annabelle12, scarlett2u, sydcasy, preettygabbysz, DeDe, ericaalynn, and Elise, as well as those who favorited and followed. You keep encouraging me to write more!
