A/N: I Hope you all had a lovely Veteran's Day weekend! As always, thank you for the reviews. Here is the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy.
Chapter 8
"Foolish Hearts"
"Serena, wait!"
Dan chases her down a few flights of stairs from his apartment building after an unexpected visit from Serena. "Please, can we talk about this?"
She stops on her tracks and turns around to face him. "You lied to me, Dan. How could you?"
"I shouldn't have lied to you, and I'm sorry." He says all out of breath. "I don't know why I even did it." Serena rolls her eyes. "Look, it's not what it looks like. Vanessa is my best friend. She moved to Vermont year ago and now she's back…and so we're catching up, spending some time together."
Serena places her hands on her waist and glares at him. "Why didn't you tell me this before instead of lying to me about it?"
"I don't know." He looks at her apologetically. "I guess I was afraid to bring up my past." Serena wrinkles her forehead in bewilderment and listens closely. "Vanessa and I had a history. Before she left, I told her that I loved her."
Serena's eyes grew larger in surprise. "So you two were together."
"Not exactly," Dan says, followed by a sigh. "It didn't come to that. But that doesn't matter anymore." He shakes his head and faces her. "The one person I truly want to be with is the one standing in front of me. You're the one, Serena."
A single tear came running down the side of Vanessa's cheek as she stands behind a wall, listening in to their conversation. She watches on painfully as Dan and Serena share a sweet kiss in the middle of the hallway. Vanessa shuts her eyes as she exits the building—making her way to the bar alone.
"Hey, sis!" Ruby joins Vanessa at the bar after doing a few numbers on stage with her band. She notices the sad look on her sister's face as she frowns on her behalf. "So where is that geeky, weird boyfriend of yours?"
Vanessa shot her a look. "First of all his name is Dan. And second, he is not my boyfriend."
Ruby bit her bottom lip. "So where is he?"
Vanessa deeply sighs as she looks down at her drink sadly. "He has other plans."
"Vanessa?"
The two sisters both look over their shoulders as they watch Dan and lovely Serena van der Woodsen join them at the bar. Vanessa immediately looks away as the blond becomes the center of attention with all eyes on her. "Fuck," she mutters under her breath as she takes the glass of her martini drink and gulps it down.
"Vanessa?"
She turns back around and faces Dan as Serena stands hesitantly behind him. Vanessa then shifts her gaze back to Dan. "Can we talk?"
"We're talking now aren't we?" She looks at the bartender. "Can I have another drink please?"
"Sure thing, cutie." The handsome male bartender winks at her as Dan purses his lips and sighs.
Ruby stares awkwardly between the two. "Uh…I'll leave you guys alone. In the meantime, drinks are on me!" She offers as she hurriedly runs back on stage with her band to avoid their drama.
"Look, Vanessa…"
"Do you want a drink?" She asks him. "Perhaps you would want one too?" Vanessa says looking at Serena as tension begins to rise between them.
"Dan," Serena grabs his shoulder, "maybe this isn't a good idea. I should just go."
He nods his head. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I mean you two should talk. I'm just gonna make things awkward."
"Okay, let me get you a cab."
"No, I'll be fine." Serena tells him reassuringly. Dan plants a sweet kiss on her lips and watches as Serena exits the room. He then turns back to Vanessa.
"Why don't you run after your new girlfriend whom, by the way, you never mentioned before?" Vanessa scoffs bitterly as she takes another mouthful of her drink.
"I know." Dan looks at her apologetically and sighs. "I wanted to, and I was about to--"
"I can't believe I came back thinking that you and I--" She stops in mid-sentence and laughs pathetically at the thought. "Forget it."
"That you and I would finally be together?" Vanessa looks up at him as silence lingers in the air.
She nods her head in dismay as tears begin to stream down her cheeks. "And you said you love me."
Dan's lips slightly parted. "Loved, Vanessa. I loved you. And then you left." She listens intently as she could sense the hurt in his eyes. "You know how hard it was for me to never have you around? I was lonely and I missed you every single day you weren't here." He tells her sincerely. "But I moved on." Vanessa averts from his gaze. A small smile suddenly crept over Dan's face. "Hey," he lifts her chin up so that her eyes would meet his. "I miss my best friend."
Dan gently wipes away her tears, brushing softly against her skin as Vanessa slightly shivers at his touch. Vanessa stares longingly into the eyes, and without warning, she presses her lips against his, taking Dan by surprise.
Outside the bar behind vast windows is where Serena van der Woodsen stood as she watches on wide-eyed, her heart aching at the sight of them. Serena looks down, trying to fight back the tears as she simply walks off.
"No," Dan immediately breaks the kiss as Vanessa stares at him in confusion. "I can't do this." He shakes his head shamefully. "I'm with Serena now. And you're drunk."
She grins. "But that didn't stop you from kissing me back now did it?"
"That was my mistake."
"Dan--"
"I'm taking you home now." Dan puts her arm around his neck as he begins lifting her up from the bar stool. Vanessa stands up, unbalanced and completely intoxicated as she leans against Dan with her head resting on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Dan." She whispers as they make their way towards the exit. Dan stops and stares closely at her. Vanessa struggles to keep her eyes open. "I never meant to leave you…"
He weakly smiles, "everything will be okay." He tightens his hold around her waist and kisses her lightly on her forehead, "I promise."
To be continued...
