Big Girls Don't Cry

It was Saturday afternoon and Jenny was bored. She sat in her room, glancing over some books she had to read for homework. She felt somewhat embarrassed by the idea that doing homework classified as her plans for that morning.

Serena's presence was still having its effect on Blair and Chuck. Blair did not seem pleased to see her. Blair uttered fewer words to Serena than to Jenny. If anyone didn't know better, they might think that Blair actually liked Jenny. That wasn't true at all, though. Blair simply hated Serena more. As for Chuck, he was hauntingly quiet. Although Jenny had only known Chuck for a week, she felt qualified to say that this was uncharacteristic behavior. If it hadn't been for the fact that Chuck was a disgusting pig who was blackmailing her, she might have felt inclined to ask him what was wrong.

Jenny herself still hadn't decided how she felt about Serena. Serena seemed nice enough, but she questioned someone who went head-to-head with Chuck Bass. Either Serena was extremely brave or frighteningly foolish. Whatever the case, the fact that Serena was able to blackmail Chuck in the first place told Jenny that Serena was not someone to approach lightly.

Jenny wanted to approach Serena, though. She needed help. She no longer wanted to be part of Blair and Chuck's club, but Chuck wouldn't let her leave. He had that video and she knew exactly what he would do if she upset him. This was why Jenny was hoping for some sign that Serena was more of a saint than an evil bitch. Alas, there was no concrete evidence to support either theory, and so Jenny remained reluctant.

She heard knocking on her door. She sighed. It was Dan, of course. He was probably coming to criticize her for her friend choice or to lecture her. She rolled her eyes as she opened the door.

"What?" she asked, her voice full of irritation.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to Nate's for the day. You'll be on your own for dinner."

"Fine, whatever."

Dan paused. He looked as though he was going to say something, but decided against it. He gave a lame wave and turned around. Jenny closed the door behind him and sat on her bed again.

Even her lame brother had plans. And with Nate Archibald, no less! It was so unfair. Dan was boring. He probably didn't care that he was friends with the hottest boy at school. They probably didn't even have any common interests. How was it that Dan was friends with Nate, while Jenny was stuck as collateral damage in a feud between old rivals?

For a split second, Jenny considered calling Vanessa. Vanessa had called her once to let her know that if she ever needed a friend, Vanessa was there. This was likely a plot of Dan's to try and reach Jenny. If Dan thought that the prospect of being friends with Vanessa Abrams was enticing, he was a clueless as he was bland. Why would Jenny befriend the school freak show? To further her social career?

Jenny couldn't take it anymore. The fact that seeing Vanessa was becoming an actual idea told her it was time to do something new. She decided to call Serena. After all, since her return, it had been Serena orchestrating every social scenario. She called Serena.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Serena? It's Jenny."

"Oh, hi, Jenny. Look, can I call you back? I'm just about to have lunch with Chuck-"

"Oh, lunch? Where at? Maybe I could meet-"

"This is actually a very private lunch. If you want, though, maybe we can all meet up for dinner later?"

"Dinner? Um, sure..."

Jenny doubted she had enough money to afford dinner. Blair and Chuck had such expensive taste, after all.

"Great. I'll call you. Bye."

Jenny hung the phone up. A private lunch with Chuck? What could they possibly have to talk about? Jenny's mind began wandering. What if he told her about the video? What would she do? Would she say anything? Would she sympathize? Fear began to overwhelm Jenny, so she grabbed her jacket and headed out of the loft.

She couldn't stay at home waiting for something to happen. She headed to Central Park and went on a long leisurely stroll. She was surprised to find her phone ringing. It was Vanessa. Jenny pondered and then decided to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Jenny? It's Vanessa-"

"Yeah, I know. What do you want?"

"I... I was just wondering what you're doing today. I thought maybe we could hang out-"

"No," Jenny refused, "I'm out actually. Maybe another time?"

"Sure... What are you doing?"

"I'm going for a walk in the park. Listen, I need to go. My phone is almost dead."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

Jenny hung up. No, hanging with Vanessa would never trump boredom. She continued walking through the park, her fear slowly fading away into nothingness. Eventually, Jenny's feet began to tire and she found a nice, private bench to sit at. She sat, staring up at the sky wondering what was happening? Was Chuck telling Serena about the tape? Was Serena judging her? Was Vanessa laughing about hoe lame Jenny was? Were Dan and Nate having a great time, not caring that Jenny was bored to tears?

Everyone seemed to have other things to do. No one cared enough about Jenny to include her in their plans. Were these really the people she chose to surround herself with? What was she thinking? Just then, a short, thin girl with long, brown hair walked up beside her.

"Hi, is this seat taken?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, no. I was just leaving, actually-"

"Please, don't. I'm new in town and it would really mean a lot if I could say I made a new friend on my first day..."

Jenny considered this. Jenny had no real friends at the moment. Neither did this girl. She seemed sweet enough. Her smile was bright and she definitely had a great sense of fashion. Perhaps spending time with this girl wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

"Sure," Jenny agreed, "I'm Jenny, Jenny Humphrey."

"Hi, Jenny, my name is Sarah."

She smiled as she extended her hand. Jenny returned the gesture and shook the strange girl's hand.