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Samuel Ritcher was working on one of his school assignments on his laptop when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in"

"Hey," came his sister, Isabella's voice.

"Hey,"

"Are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Samuel, confused.

Isabella hesitantly looked at her brother. They didn't resemble each other much. Sam was a brunette and more closely resembled their father, Andrew, while Isabella was blonde and more closely resembled their mother, Jenny. She began feeling twinges of guilt. She convinced herself that Sydney genuinely loved Sam and didn't intend on hurting him. She needed to do this to stay in Sydney's in-crowd and be crowned Queen Bee once Sydney graduated. She shoved any bouts of conscience she had and went ahead with Sydney's assignment.

"Okay, don't freak, but I might have overheard Caitlin and you," Isabella began cautiously.

"You whaat? You mean you eavesdropped on me and my girlfriend," Sam said indignantly.

"I wasn't eavesdropping. I swear," Isabella said defensively. "I came to your room for something and I happened to overhear you,"

"Yeah well, that was nothing," said Sam, dismissively.

"It wasn't nothing. Losing your virgi…"

"Izzie, I'm sorry, but you're my sister and I'm not comfortable discussing that with you. That was between me and Caitlin," said Samuel.

"That's not … I mean, I'm worried about your relationship in general, because Caitlin doesn't seem to love you as much as you love her," said Isabella.

"What are you talking about? Of course she loves me," said Sam.

"I don't know, Sam. If she loved you, why wasn't she ready?" asked Isabella, eyeing her brother's reactions closely.

"What does love have to do with being ready?" asked Sam.

"Sam, as a girl, I know how the female psychology works. Most of the girls in your grade have lost their virginities. Half of them to guys they weren't even in love with, and yet Caitlin who's supposed to be in love with you ….?" Isabella dragged her last point.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam crossed his arms.

"That it's not losing her virginity that she has doubts about. It's losing it to you," said Isabella.

"You're wrong. Caitlin told me herself it wasn't the case," said Sam defensively.

Isabella was pleased to sense a hint of denial in Sam's voice.

"You've both been together for years and you'll both be turning eighteen in a few months, and she's not ready even if she's apparently in love with you? Does that make sense if you consider the attitudes of the other girls at our school?" Isabella pressed on.

She searched her brother's face carefully. To her delight, he looked nervous and worried.

"Look, Sam. I have no reason to make this up. I don't intend to interfere in your love life, but I just want you to be careful because you're my brother and I love you. I don't want you to get hurt if Caitlin doesn't feel as strongly about you as you do about her," said Isabella with fake concern.

Judging by the look on Sam's face, she knew that she had successfully planted the seeds of doubt in his mind.

"Just think about what I said and be careful. If Caitlin doesn't feel the same way about, you, it might be best to move on to someone who actually returns your feelings," said Isabella.

She kissed him on the cheek and walked away with a satisfied smirk, leaving him to his thoughts. Phase one was complete.


James Archibald and Haley Baizen entered the Archibald library to work on their English assignment.

"Nice library," said Haley, taking in the beautiful marble flooring, panel walls, furniture and racks.

"Cameron and your brother love spending time here," said James.

"Yeah right," said Haley, disbelievingly.

"It's true. Napping on the extra-comfy couches happens to be one of their favorite pastimes," said James as they both sniggered.

They were browsing through books for their assignment when Haley looked around at the other inviting books at the library.

"You can have a look around and check out the other books if you like," said James courteously.

"Thanks!"

Haley browsed through a section that contained law books. She picked one up and flipped through the pages.

"Great law book collection," said Haley.

"Courtesy of my dad," James shrugged.

"Planning on going to law school like your dad?"

This question escaped Haley's mouth without her even thinking. She inwardly cursed her tactlessness. She had asked him a question that was too personal as if they were buddies. To her relieve, he didn't seem to mind.

"Maybe, but I think I prefer specializing in Criminal Law instead of Family Law," James shrugged.

"That's great!" said Haley.

James and Haley launched into a conversation about the laws they disagreed with.

"So, what do you plan on doing in college?" asked James.

"I haven't decided on my Pre-Med yet, but I plan on going to Medical school and specializing in Pediatrics," said Haley.

"Cool! My Grandpa Will's a doctor too," said James impressed.

As James and Haley sat down working on their assignment, Haley couldn't help but steal a lingering look at James. It was gradually becoming easier for her to be around him but she wasn't sure if it was good thing as she liked spending time with him and talking to him. She hoped this meant she was gradually coming to view him as a friend, but she was afraid her attraction was turning into something deeper as she got to know him. She couldn't tell the difference, but she knew he still had that effect on her where he made her heart flutter. She constantly told herself to suppress those feelings as he had a girlfriend, but it would take time to completely get over the feelings that she harbored for him years.


Cameron Archibald and Audrey Bass were having dinner at the HINGE Club.

"How's the food?" asked Audrey.

"Excellent. You have good taste, Auds," said Cameron, impressed.

Audrey smiled at the complement and reached across the table to put her hand on his. Cameron returned the smile and put his other hand on hers. For a few moments, they gazed at each other with their palms clasped together. But alas, the moment didn't last, as Cameron's cellphone rang. Audrey rolled her eyes at the sight of Caleb's picture on his screen. It was the third time that Caleb had called in the past hour and each time, Cameron had no qualms about giving Caleb his full attention.

"Sorry Auds," said Cameron as he answered his cellphone.

"Caleb, what's up," he said, enthusiastically.

Each time Cameron answered Caleb's call, he answered with more enthusiasm than the last and it was beginning to wear Audrey out.

"Oh man. No way. I can't believe I missed it," said Cameron, disappointedly as Audrey began tappying her fingers on the table.

Caleb was at the card game that Cameron missed for their anniversary dinner. After about fifteen minutes, he finally put his phone down and was in a sulky mood throughout dinner.

"What's wrong?" Audrey asked impatiently.

"I missed the best card game of the decade. They played a more interesting card game and there were new stakes," Cameron crossed his arms, pouting.

"Cam, why don't you go to your stupid card game alright? You don't have to torture yourself spending the evening with me. I'm done," Audrey stood up with her hands in the air.

"Done with dinner?" asked Cameron.

"Done with RELATIONSHIP," said Audrey abrasively.

"You're breaking up with me?" asked Cameron disbelievingly.

"That's right. We're over," said Audrey dismissively.

"But Auds…What did I do?" Cameron implored.

"You spent most of the evening on the phone with Caleb and complaining about missing a 'great' card game. Go ahead to Caleb and your card game which are clearly more important than me and our relationship," said Audrey bitingly.

"Auds, I'm sorry. I promise, no more complaining," said Cameron.

"Forget it. It's not just about today. You hardly ever show an interest in our relationship and your endeavors with Caleb have always been more important to you. This is the last straw," said Audrey with defeat in her voice.

"Auds ..." Cameron began.

"Goodbye, Cameron," Audrey said before storming off.

"Auds … Audrey … Come back," Cameron begged but Audrey stood by her decision.

Cameron watched hopelessly as she walked away.

A/N: Please, please review, so that I know if I need to improve or change anything. One thing I need to apologize for is if I come off as using tell instead of show in areas when I'm supposed to used show instead of tell. The "show not tell" is something I'm definitely working on.

For those of you who were waiting for Chuck and Blair, they appear next chapter. There would both an Archibald family moment and a Bass family moment next chapter. And also a Humphrey family moment too, but that would involve Henry Bass.

I haven't decided if I want Audrey to eventually get back together with a reformed Cameron, or if I want her to move on to Jonathan Humphrey. Which would you prefer?