Disclaimer: Gossip girl and it's characters are not mine, only little Lydia and darling Sebastian but that's enough.

A/N: Firstly I want to apologize if I offend or upset anyone in relation to the shooter storyline, I know stuff like this can be all too real. Mine is pure fiction so I've tried to make it both heartfelt (what I think it might be like) and also a bit hollywood with the heroics so it's not too depressing. Does that make sense? It may be a little sappy but let me know what you think.

Thanks again to all my reviewers!

Let the cliches begin..:P

"You fuckers listening now? Good."

Mr. Miller was grasping his book like a vice, pure bewilderment was drawn over his strained features.

"Hugo what on earth are you doing?"

"Making a point!"

Lydia recognised the boy now, she hadn't ever talked to him but she had seen him around. He was slightly overweight but otherwise plain enough, he was the typical book nerd everyone ignored.

Nobody had ever looked so terrifying.

All she could think was that this kind of stuff didn't happen to her. It was a selfish thought but when does anyone prepare for something so surreal? This was the upper east side after all!

She gazed quickly at Seb who stared back at her with a 'what-the-fuck?' look on his face.

"Yeah hey everyone remember me? Of course you fucking don't even though I've been in your class all year. Finally though I've got your attention. Too bad it takes the threat of death to get some recognition but you gotta do what you gotta do."

He laughed slightly to himself, otherwise it was as silent as a morgue in the room. Luckily it also was quiet everywhere else, people had obviously heard the shot and had took the safety precautions of locking the doors and turning off the lights to avoid detection. Either that, or everyone has sensibly fled the vicinity. Hopefully that meant the police were on their way.

"Hugo what are you doing? You're not capable of this!"

Mr. Miller who had always thought Hugo was a good student and felt it his duty to lead as an educator was trying to appeal to his better nature but it came out more of a taunt to Hugo.

"Oh really?"

He pulled the trigger again in front of Mr Miller. Lydia and Seb both closed their eyes to avoid watching such a chilling scene. Many students were shaking or crying while Seb's brain was again filing this incident under 'personal distress and suffering'. Mr Miller's surprised gasp sickened Lydia's stomach as she finally looked desperately at Seb. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She wanted to somehow convey with her eyes how much he meant to her in case she never got to verbalise it.

Mr. Miller made another unnatural noise of pain as blood began to spread across his white shirt around his abdomen.

That's when Lydia took action. Her self-preservation instinct had yet to kick in and instead her need to help spurred her to her feet.

"No!"

What are you doing?

Hugo turned to her with his gun aimed at her chest but he looked as scared as she did, whether he had really intended to shoot the teacher or not she didn't know but he had definitely crossed the point of no return now.

Mr. Miller was slouched in his chair but managed to hiss to Lydia to sit down, people were looking at her like she was crazy. There were so many blank expressions around her too, like some people had shut down completely. Why couldn't she have done that? Seb's heart began to race a hundred miles an hour at her outburst.

"What?"

"Please-"

She wanted to rush to her teacher and somehow stop the bleeding like she had been shown in first aid but now her courage failed her. Having a loaded gun aimed at her killed any heroic ambitions she might have had.

"Please what? You have no right to ask anything of me! You're the worst of all of them! I'm here on scholarship, I wanted to have a great life here but you all either treat me like shit or as if I'm invisible just because of my lack of wealth! You don't know what it is to be lonely or hate yourself just because of fucking income!"

Seb didn't know if he expected some sort of reply or apology but no one dared open their mouths, luckily Lydia had shakily sat down although Hugo was still staring angrily at her.

"Lydia you're the worse, you are blessed with everything and you think you have it tough or you pretend to be different but you treat me just the same as fucking Sebastian Bass and Amber Grayson! I have had a crush on you for years and tried to sit next to you and even asked you questions but you still never knew my name! Well now you all do, because with this gun in my hand no money in the world can make a difference to your fate."

More students began to cry at such a proclamation of doom.

"I-"

Lydia was once again trying to mediate somehow but her throat had gone dry. All she could focus on was how devastated her parents would be about now. It seemed a funny way to die, murdered for being oblivious just like she always was. Her eyes were wide open now, even if it was too little too late.

Hugo walked towards Lydia proudly and grabbed her hair.

"You can be first."

The police sirens could be heard coming closer which gave Hugo pause. His eyes were frightened, Lydia tried to believe he wouldn't hurt her but if anything that made him more likely. Seb knew this too, it was in that moment that Sebastian Bass decided to do something, he wasn't about to watch his best friend die in front of him.

"Whatever Hugo."

"Excuse me?"

Seb tried to keep his voice calm and sneering just like it always to people like him but there wasn't a muscle in his body that wasn't rigid with anxiety.

"No offence man but you're not going to massacre us all."

"And why not?"

Hugo glowered at Seb but had let go of Lydia's hair. Tears were slipping silently down her cheeks without her realising. Bass was trying to help her and she was petrified he was going to pay for it.

"Seb be quiet!" She whispered hoarsely.

Seb ignored her.

"Well in all the other school shootings the guy just goes in, starts shooting everyone indiscriminately before fortunately offing himself too. There's no self-pitying speech that he forced them to sit through. You're not going to kill us if you're as smart as you imply. You just want to make a point like you said and get some belated attention."

Hugo was beyond furious mainly because Seb had hit the nail on the head. His cause was supposed to be noble, finally getting the underdog some recognition but now he felt embarassingly vain and self-centred under Seb's cold stare. Seb of all people! It didn't last long.

"Fuck you Bass."

"Right back at you."

Lydia watched in abject horror as the two males stared each other down. So many thoughts muddled together in her mind.

She had wanted to play the piano, she wanted to make Seb watch moulin rouge with her. She wanted another shot at a peaceful thanksgiving dinner, she wanted to let her father win at monopoly for once, she wanted to beat up Seb's bully just like she did when they were little. It was her and Bass against the world, she didn't want that to end.

Another shot was fired.

"Fuck!"

Seb grabbed his shoulder where a bullet was now painfully lodged.

"Want another asshole?" Hugo smiled brightly at his newfound bad boy attitude.

Seb was wise enough to stay silent. His plan had worked, he had distracted Hugo from Lydia and stalled her fate in the hopes the cops would intercede on her behalf instead.

"I thought not."

Lydia didn't care if she was risking injury she couldn't help herself when she dived next to Seb as he slid off the chair in agony.

"Seb!"

"Oh so you have sympathy for him? The guy that made your life as well as mine hell and you want to take care of him? You people really are unbelievable."

Mr. Miller was almost passed out but he felt it his duty to warn Hugo anyway. He was obviously a mentally ill young man and needed help.

"Hugo if you kill anyone you are looking at first degree murder on top of all the other charges you are looking at. Do yourself favour and quit now."

Hugo looked tearfully at his teacher. Almost in an instant all the bravado had vanished, he remembered his brother and the hope he once had entering the doors of this institution.

"Thank you for being concerned but who said I was looking to the future? I fucked up my exams anyway."

The final shot of the day was fired straight into the mouth of the terroriser. It had been merely minutes since he first entered the room but for everyone inside it was like weeks had passed and it would take even longer to overcome.

As soon as Hugo hit the floor in a bloody heap everyone began running desperately for the door.

"Seb! Are you okay?"

Seb rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Do I look okay shorty?"

Lydia began crying harder.

"I love you."

"What?"

Lydia began repeating it over and over like a mantra each time getting more passionate before she began kissing all over Seb's face impulsively. They were alive! She kept saying it in case it was all a dream she had made up in her misery and that in seconds they'd be back to fearing for everything they knew.

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you!"

Before Seb could even try and reply Lydia had remembered Mr. Miller's critical condition and went to press her shirt to his wound to stem the bleeding of the unconscious teacher. She was aware that now she was only wearing her bra on her top half but at least it distracted her from wondering if Hugo was still alive. She couldn't bring herself to look at him.

After what seemed like an eternity for Seb the paramedics finally located their room. They automatically went to Mr. Miller to put him on a stretcher and stabilise him so Lydia went back to her best friend.

"Feeling any worse?"

Seb smiled even though he had never been in so much physical pain.

"Actually I feel much better. So you love me huh?"

Lydia had forgotten about her outburst and embarrassing kissing frenzy.

"Weird right? I was going to tell you earlier before the whole hostage crisis but maybe the whole fearing from my life thing was the only way I'd finally admit the truth."

She laughed weakly at herself, it took alcohol for dutch courage with Nate and imminent death with Seb.

"I guess I have something to thank Hugo for then."

Lydia smiled tearfully and moved some of his long hair out of his face.

"You're my knight in shining armour Bass."

"The pain is pretty bad, I think you should distract me by elaborating on the whole love thing. I'll just focus my eyes on your bra area and listen to your voice to numb the pain."

Lydia rolled her eyes but couldn't deny him anything.

"How could I not be in love with a guy stupid enough to try and save my life? Don't worry though I still want to be your friend and I get you're with Becky-"

"Are you kidding? I'm ending it with her as politely and quickly as possible once I'm out of the hospital. At least now I have proper motivation."

"But you said you didn't love me anymore."

"I was lying to you dumbass, I needed to keep a little of my dignity after all."

"So I've been torturing myself all week over whether we could possibly have a future for nothing?"

"Now you know how it feels."

They were so caught up in each other they didn't even notice the paramedics remove Hugo and were the last people hustled out of the building with Seb in a wheelchair. He thought the stretcher and oxygen would be too much of a shock for his parents.

The banter had distracted them from the circumstances for a moment but as soon as they were left with their own thoughts it was hardly a movie magic moment anymore. Lydia vomited in the empty corridor and Seb did the same on the entrance steps to their school. It wasn't quite the legacy he wanted to leave behind but he was only human, even if he was Sebastian Bass.

It had been both the best and worst day of Seb and Lydia's lives.

"Seb oh my god!"

Blair was in tears as she ran to her son in the courtyard, news cameras and other parents were still milling around behind them.

"I'm okay mom."

"No you're fucking not!"

"Mom you swore!"

Chuck was standing off to the side with Adele looking shaken, he had never seen his father cry before but it was obvious he was close to it. Chuck was always the calm in a crisis which was mainly because Blair usually collapsed into emotional hysterics and someone had to keep the balance.

"Seb!"

Adele pulled out of her father's grasp and ran to his side too.

"We were so worried!"

At least Adele was at the age where she didn't believe people close to her were capable of dying, she was mainly upset because her mother was. She knew Seb would be okay but looking at all the blood on him made her whimper.

"It looks worse than it is little one, before you know it I'll be home watching Hannah Montana with you."

It was a complete lie, Seb would rather be shot again than watch that show but Adele didn't need to know that yet.

"Really? Cool!"

Seb never watched TV with her let alone a Disney show so she was more than happy. Blair was sitting clutching his hand tightly as he was put into the ambulance.

"I'm his mother and I'm coming with him."

"Me too!"

"No Adele stay with daddy he'll follow us to the hospital."

Chuck nodded, still in a daze. He was processing things slowly so he wouldn't freak out. Get keys from pocket, go to car, follow ambulance containing wounded son. Ignore bullet injury just follow ambulance. Son is okay just be calm. Adele! Shit Adele! Remember to take daughter with you. Breath in, breath out.

He tried to forget that his son came close to death, how close only the students would know, Seb would never tell his parents he voluntarily put himself in danger even if it was to help Lydia.

The courtyard was cleared as Hugo was finally removed on a stretcher to the final ambulance. Surprisingly he was still clinging to life despite practically blowing his brains out into Lydia's hair. It didn't look good for him but he wasn't dead yet.

Needless to say it was quite a different last day of school than anyone could have ever expected.

A/N: So what do you think? I've never done big drama scenes before so I hope it wasn't too corny. The aftermath is the next chapter with lots of parents.