Jenny sighed loudly in the empty hall of Constance. She had recently made a habit of getting to school early to avoid any unnecessary interaction. She had no desire to see Nate and Blair make up, or make out, and wanted to delay the inevitable heartache that she knew was coming. She shook her head in frustration and disgust. She hated that she was hiding. It just wasn't her, but she had no one to blame but herself.
When she and Nik had gotten home from the masque, exactly on time thanks to an amazing cabbie who was willing to do whatever he could to get them home by curfew, Jenny had spent the rest of the weekend in girlish daydream about what would happen next. She had preserved her costume is a dress bag not wanting to ruin anything that was a part of what was the best night of her life. The tiara has gone in a plastic display case she had lying around; sitting proudly on her nightstand, and her dreams had been filled with the prefect fairytale ending.
She had practically floated to school on Monday ready to find Nate and hopefully get the kiss that she had really wanted to give him that night. But Nate had been nowhere to be found before the first bell rang. She had spent all of first period anxious and distracted before rushing out of the room to find him. She had searched frantically with no success before running into her second class without a second to spare, and the pattern had continued between second and third periods. The only thing that gotten her through third period, she still had no idea what was talked about in that class, was the thought of Nate waiting for her at their spot before her design class next.
Jenny was crushed when he wasn't waiting for her around the corner like he always was and had gone straight into the classroom, not having the heart to try and find him after that disappointment. At lunch she didn't see him and assumed that he was eating out with Chuck to get away from the gossip that had been circulating about him and Blair all day, but when she had sat down with Nik that hope had been smashed to pieces. Blair had chosen to forgo the steps of The Met to do damage control and was at the next table telling everyone that of course she and Nate were still together, one little disagreement wasn't enough to separate them.
That was when Jenny has started actively going out of her way to not see either of them, unable to take the constant feeling of betrayal. Maybe he had thought she was Blair or maybe he was using her to prove that Blair could no longer tell him what to do but either way he had led her on.
In the days that followed, Jenny heard about Nate's attempts to distance himself from Blair and it helped a little but she was so confused. Nate had been absent from their spot since before the masque and Blair was insisting that it was just a fight and they would work it out.
She was so wrapped up in her own world that she didn't hear the growing noise that signaled she had been in the hall too long and was no longer alone, so when the slam of a door caught her attention she simply ducked her head and pulled her final book out of her locker, praying with everything she had to get out of there before she had to face anyone she was avoiding.
Still preoccupied, Jenny jumped slightly when a voice said close to her ear, "You must be Grace."
She turned slowly and came face to chest with Chuck Bass. She took a small step back and looked up at him. The hall was full and they had gained the attention of a few people but that was to be expected when you're Chuck Bass. She steeled her spine and pushed the insecurity down. "And you must be Chuck. Nate talks about you a lot."
"You too." he said casually, still trying to get a read on her.
She looked him right in the eye and asked "Is this the part where you tell me to stay away from your best friend because he's happily attached?" feeling her heart drop in her chest at the thought of no longer having even the little hint of Nate in her life.
He cocked an eyebrow at her and could practically feel his respect for her grow as she didn't waver in the slightest. "No. I really can't stand her. This is the part where I tell you that if you hurt my best friend, I'll end you."
She gave him a long, slow, considering look before continuing, a warning tone to her voice. "Don't let the pretty blonde hair and the big flirty smile fool you. I'm not all sweetness and light."
Chuck looked at her curiously, intrigued even. "I would never dream of underestimating you Grace. You look like that would be hazardous to my wellbeing."
"Good." She replied with a perfectly serious expression on her face. "Because this in the part where I tell you that the same rules apply to you." And with that she gave him a brilliant smile and flounced off, leaving him thoroughly confused. Until, at the end of the hallway, he saw her link arms with a suspiciously familiar redhead and quickly pull her from the building.
He just stared after them, dumbfounded, for a moment before breaking into hysterical laughter, completely unconcerned with the people watching him.
Maybe, just maybe, he had found a girl good enough for his Nathaniel.
