Thanks for all the nice reviews! I love reading them. Enjoy! xo

...

"But we just graduated two days ago, why are you leaving so soon?"

Serena smiled at her. "I want to be lying on a beach in Nice."

Blair crossed her arms. "I want to come with you!"

"Chuck's birthday is in two days! You can't miss it."

"So you leave tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yes. But you can come meet me. I will not be completely disconnected. I just need to get away from here."

Blair understood. With Isabel here, the coven was stifling. Serena had spent the last week living with her. "Okay. I will come though! When will you be back?"

Serena shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't know if there's much for me here."

"What does that mean?"

Serena looked at her. "Except for you, obviously. But…it's so hard seeing Nate with Isabel and I'm just here making him feel guilty every time he looks at me. I was thinking, how cool would it be to go to school in Paris?"

Blair frowned. "But Paris is part of the Western European coven. I thought you wanted to get away from Isabel."

"Well, that won't be a problem. She'll be here."

"Fine, I guess I can't talk you out of it. How do you want to spend your last day?"

…

Nate walked into the Waldorf's penthouse and up to Blair's room. He knocked then let himself in.

Blair looked at him. "I'm almost ready!"

Nate nodded. "No rush." He looked around.

"Serena isn't here."

He frowned at her. "Where is she?"

"She's back at the coven, she had to pack."

"Pack? For what?"

Blair grabbed her purse and tried to sound casual. "She is going to France, I think."

"For how long."

"She didn't say. Honestly, I doubt she will be back any time soon."

They were supposed to spend the day shopping for Chuck's birthday present. It was unlike Blair to leave things at the last minute but she'd bought him 6 different presents over the past few months and nothing was perfect. "I'll meet you there. I gotta go say bye."

Nate hopped out of his town car and walked quickly up to the coven and up to Serena's room. He knocked and then let himself in. "Serena?" He went into the common room and to her room. Maybe if he hurried he could catch her at the airport. He turned and walked out of the room and almost bumped into William.

Nate looked at him. "I was just…"

William looked at him disapprovingly. "She's already left for the airport."

Nate turned to leave but William grabbed his shoulder to stop him. "It's too late."

"But—"

"It's for the best, Nate. You both need some space."

…

Serena took a sip of her lemonade and stretched out on a lounge chair on the beach in Nice. She wished Eric could join her, but he was on a trip with all of his friends. She'd seen him and her mom during graduation but they didn't get much time to themselves.

William had arranged to get her all the blood she needed so she was set with that but she still felt so empty and alone. She looked down at her ring and frowned. She was dreading the day Isabel turned 18; she knew it wouldn't be long for her and Nate to be bonded after that.

When the sun set, Serena set out to explore the city. She'd never really traveled by herself before and it was hard to be motivated to get out of bed but she put on make up, a tight pair of jeans and a white tank top and went out.

She stared bitterly at all the couples walking around her hand in hand. She turned a corner and walked into a street where there were a bunch of bars and clubs, she noticed one that everyone seemed to walk past. There wasn't a bouncer, just a door with a black sign that said Eclipse. She shrugged and walked over to the door, she pulled it open to find a big man dressed in all black standing in the way. "Uhh…hi."

He gave her a confused look. "Are you lost?"

"Um, no, not really. I was just –"

"Is that your amulet?"

"My what?"

He looked at her like she was an idiot. He snatched her hand for a second and then stepped out of the way.

She hesitated before going in but decided to anyway. She walked through the dark hall and turned to see a beautiful open room with a big bar on the far end and combination of tables and couches, and about 50 people say around drinking and conversing.

She walked for the bar and felt heads turning her way. She looked behind her and saw people gaping at her. Jeez. She went to the bar and stood in front of the bartender. "Hi."

He looked started to see her. "Hi. Are you lost?"

"People keep asking me that. Maybe I should go." She grabbed the purse she set down and turned to leave.

"No, no no. I was just…well mostly this place is for regulars…but if you found this place then you're welcome here."

Serena cautiously took a seat in the bar. "You're…Australian?"

"Yes. American, correct?"

"Yes."

"What would you like?"

Serena looked at the expansive selection. They had so many bottles she'd never seen before.

A voice came from beside her. "How about the house drink?"

She turned to see a guy a bit older than her, looking at her expectantly.

"Okay, that sounds fine."

The bartender nodded and started making her the drink. She turned to the guy next to her. "You're American?"

"Yes. And you are too, which confuses me because we've never met before."

She looked at him. "I don't know what you mean. It is a big country."

He chuckled. "But it's a relatively small coven. So…who are you?"

Serena's eyes widened. He knew what she was? William was going to kill her. "I'm Serena. How do you know about the coven?"

He held out a ring to her to show the same crest she was on her ring. "I'm part of it. How is old William these days?"

She took her drink from the bartender and sipped it. "Oh my god…this is incredible…wait is this…"

"Blood? Yes. You're welcome." He looked at her. "So did you join from another coven or what? But your American accent is perfect…is there another coven on the west coast? I knew it! I left three years ago and never looked back."

"What? Um…no. I wasn't born like this. In fact, I've only been like this for about a year."

Carter looked at her incredulously. "What…you mean you were turned? And William let you live in the coven?"

Serena wasn't sure what was so confusing. She did know that turning humans was extremely rare. "Yes."

"May I ask who turned you?"

Serena looked away and took a sip of her drink. "Nate. Nate Archibald."

Carter looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head. "What? Nate? Nate Archibald? Golden Boy Nate…he broke the rules? How did it happen?"

Serena was unsure why she was telling her life story to a stranger…maybe she was just glad to have someone to talk to. "I was in a bad car accident and I wasn't going to make it. He happened to be in the area and heard the crash and saw me and saved my life."

Carter was still gaping at her. "Wow…I guess I missed a lot. Well it's a pleasure to meet you Serena."

Serena realized she didn't know his name. "And you are?"

"I'm Carter. Carter Baizen. I'm a bit of an outsider."

"How come?"

He shrugged. "Not a huge fan of rules."

She gave him a smile. "So what is this place?"

"A place we can come and relax. Only our kind can see the sign but there are some humans that come here every now and then."

"Humans? Who know about us?"

Carter nodded. "If you fall in love with a human and decide to tell him or her. They may accept who you are and you are able to lead a relatively normal life together. Until they die about half a century before, of course. Anyway, we don't discriminate."

"So where do you live?"

He shrugged. "Anywhere I want. I love to travel and learn to do things. I was in pilot school in Berlin for a couple of years and I just moved to Italy to work at a vineyard. I heard about this get together and decided to come to Nice for the weekend."

"There are alerts about these kind of things?"

"Yeah, there are dozens a year all over the world. It's a good chance for the more loosely affiliated of us to get to know each other. So what about you? How did you hear about this?"

"I didn't. I mean…I just happened to be here, which I know is unbelievable but I didn't even know there were vampires that didn't live in covens."

He laughed because it was such a ridiculous idea. "I have to go, but what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Um…nothing. Why?"

"I want you show you the city. Carter Baizen style."

…

Serena had just finished getting dressed when there was a knock on her door. She opened it to find Carter smiling at her. "Good morning." He handed her a tiny espresso cup. "Wasn't sure if you were a coffee person or not."

"Morning. And yes, thank you." She took a small sip. "You're just in time." She closed the door behind her and followed him down to the lobby. She finished her cup and put it on the trolley before they exited the hotel. "So where to?"

"Let's go see the coast." He walked over to a motorcycle. "I would offer you a helmet but you don't really need it." He smiled at her and swung his leg around the seat. "Ready?"

Serena took a second to put her hair up and then climbed in behind him. "Ready."

"Hang on." He waited until she grabbed on to him before taking off.

Sunday night rolled around and Carter sat at table near the water. Serena smiled as she took her seat across from him. "Do you really have to go?"

"Yeah…I can't stay here forever." He reached over and put his hand over hers. "Come with me."

"What? We don't even know each other."

He shrugged. "What better way to get to know each other than by living in a cottage in the Italian countryside?"

Serena looked at him in silence.

"I've had a great time hanging out this weekend. You're on vacation, so you're looking for new places to explore right? Besides, I'm not expecting anything, if that's what's holding you back."

Serena smiled at him. She could feel her attraction to him but they hadn't so much as kissed, which made the idea of being with him so much more exciting. "Okay. For a few days."

"Awesome. Our train is at 10am tomorrow. Now, let's eat. I hear the mussels here are amazing."

…

Carter opened the door to find Serena wearing an apron in the kitchen. He gave her a confused look. "Are you lost?"

"Oh, shut up. I made lasagna!"

"You did?"

She nodded. "Well…I had some help from the woman next door. She brought us pastries too! Are you hungry?"

Carter looked over her shoulder. "Yeah, sure that looks great. I'm gonna go wash my hands."

Serena served both of them plates and poured some wine. Carter took the seat across from her. "Thanks. I didn't realize you were so domestic."

She rolled her eyes and took a bite. She was relieved that it was actually delicious. Carter nodded in appreciated. "So good."

After they finished eating and cleared their plates he put on his shoes again. She frowned at him. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah. I'm thirsty so I'm going to go hunting. Would you like to come?"

"I have blood bags."

He shook his head at her. "Oh, you're so fancy with your pre-packaged blood."

She pretended to pout at him. "Well, it's just so much more practical. You're welcome to them."

He feigned disgust. "I like mine fresh. I'll be back soon."

Serena walked over to him silently and kissed him. She pulled away and turned around but he pulled her back and kissed her deeply. After a few seconds, she pulled away and licked her lips. "That was our first kiss."

Carter smiled at her. "And hopefully not our last. What was I doing again?"

She laughed. "You're going to hunt. Go. I'll see you when you get back."

…

Serena kept tossing and turning until she gave up and walked down the stairs to watch tv on the couch. She heard footsteps a few minutes later. "Is everything okay?"

She smiled at Carter. "I just couldn't sleep. You?"

"Yeah. Same. What is this?"

"It's some Italian soap opera. I don't really get it but it's entertaining."

Carter grabbed a handful of her popcorn. "Well, I'm here now."

"How long ago did you leave the coven? Why?"

"Hmm…I guess I left right after I matured…so about three years ago. My parents are on the council and I'm their only son. You can imagine how well that went over. We haven't spoken much since. I guess I didn't feel like living in a dictatorship. I wanted to be my own person."

"It's not a dictatorship."

"You were probably on William Vanderbilt's good side. He can be very unpleasant."

Serena couldn't help but laugh. "You couldn't be more wrong. He dislikes everything about me."

"Really? I can't imagine that."

Serena looked down at her lap. "He didn't approve of me and Nate being together."

Carter was confused for a second. "You and Nate were together? But doesn't he have a mate."

"Yes. I didn't know that when we first started seeing each other, but I wouldn't take it back. We fell in love and then…well, obviously it didn't work out. Do you not have a mate?"

He shook his head at her. "No. Well…I did once. Her name was Anna. She killed herself when we were 13. She had a very troubled soul."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Well, this took a dark turn, didn't it? I gotta say, I never liked Nate much. For one thing, they all hate me."

Serena smiled at him. She knew exactly who he meant by 'they'. "They're great. Blair is my best friend now." Serena suddenly remembered to check her e-mail. "She's turning 18 soon. If I miss her party, she'll kill me."

Carter frowned. "You're going back to New York?"

Serena nodded. "Well, I can't stay here forever. This has been so fun but it's not the real world."

Carter kissed her cheek. "I'm going back to bed."

"You're so quiet today."

Carter looked up from his bowl of grapes. "Am I?"

Serena nodded. "Is it because of our conversation last night?"

He shook his head. "No."

Serena smiled. "Good, because I'm here now." She walked over and stood in front of him.

He placed his hands on her waist and smiled. "Yes, you are." He pulled her in and kissed her softly.

Serena leaned into his arms and deepened the kiss for a few seconds before pulling away. She held her hand out to him. "Let's go to bed."

Carter woke up to the sun hitting his face. He turned to see a naked Serena sleeping comfortably next to him. He kissed her cheek and left her a note. 'Went into town to get groceries. Will be back soon to make breakfast.'