A.N.: The angst continues! If there are any mistakes in this chapter, it's because I wouldn't stop fiddling with it after my beta gave it back to me. Lots of NJ in this one, enjoy!
When Jenny got out of school that day she was surprised to see Chuck waiting out front for her next to his limo. She walked directly to him then went inside when he opened the door for her.
"What's going on, Chuck?" Her first thought had been that something bad had happened to Lily, but then she realized that he didn't look sad but rather embarrassed.
"I don't mean to sound like a jealous girlfriend, but what is going on with Nate?" he asked hesitantly.
Jenny was confused. "Nothing that I know of. Why?" She cocked an eyebrow at him.
"Because I haven't seen him since I was at his place that time you were there and he hasn't been returning my calls," Chuck replied honestly.
Jenny was silent for a moment, trying to think of something to say.
Chuck started again when she didn't answer. "Look, I don't know what you told him, but I want you to know I'm sorry for what happened between us." He actually sounded sincere.
"No, Nate doesn't blame you for that. I told him it wasn't your fault, it just happened; I made the decision. We don't really talk about you." She shrugged.
"Well, either way, I never apologized, and..."
Jenny interrupted him. "Don't apologize. Frankly, it's condescending and patronizing. I knew what I was doing. I was at my lowest; I was self-destructing as much as I possibly could and you got caught in the crossfire. If I had thought for one second that it would ruin things between you and Blair, I never would have done it," she confessed and Chuck was surprised.
"I really thought Blair and I were over, you know," he said softly.
"I know." Jenny nodded as she laid a hand on his arm. "I'll talk to Nate again. I don't know why he's acting like this. He just broke up with Serena; he needs his friends right now," she said and he smiled at her.
Chuck dropped her off at home and then Jenny tried to concentrate on her homework. That was proving to be difficult as she kept thinking about what Chuck had said and how she had practically ruined every friendship Nate had. If she wanted to be a different person, this wasn't the way to do it. What made her really upset, however, was that Nate was letting her alienate everyone from his life. She didn't see that as a good thing for him or for her. The last thing she wanted was Blair to banish her again.
The only thing that stopped her from going to confront him right away was that she knew he had lacrosse practise after school. So she waited until after dinner to go to his apartment.
As soon as he opened the door, she unleashed on him. "What do you think you're doing?" she chastised him.
Nate was confused and tired and he wasn't in any mood for any drama. "What are you talking about, Jenny?" He sighed and went back to the living room, letting her shut the door behind her.
"Chuck says you guys haven't spoken in weeks. When was the last time you talked to Dan or Blair?" Jenny asked him curiously as she tried to refrain from being angry at him.
Nate ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "I decide whether I want to talk to them or not, Jenny and right now they're not my favourite people," he pointed out.
"Can't you see what you're doing? I'm the reason you're not friends with them anymore! Nate, you've been friends with Blair and Chuck forever, you can't just end a friendship like that because of me!"
"Why not? Maybe I just realized they're not the kind of people I want in my life," he countered.
"I can't do this, Nate; I can't be the person who destroys your life-long friendships!" She started crying. "I don't want to be that person! Please!" she begged.
Nate took her in his arms and held her tight. He could never resist her when she was crying. "Shh, it's okay, I'll fix it. Jenny, I'll fix it!" he told her in a soft, soothing voice.
Slowly she started to calm down. He pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes with the pads of his thumbs.
"God, I'm such a drama queen." She laughed in self-derision.
"You're allowed to be upset every once in a while," Nate replied compassionately before sitting down on the couch. She followed. "But like I said, I don't know if they're the kind of people I want in my life right now," he continued in a softer tone.
"You've had plenty of time to realize the kind of people they are, Nate. They have their flaws but they've always had your back. They're loyal to you and friends like that are hard to find," she said with conviction.
"Alright, maybe you're right," Nate conceded while he suppressed an eye roll. "I'll talk to them." How did she get him to do whatever she said?
The conversation moved on to more pleasant things and finally Nate invited Jenny to stay and watch a movie. She ended up falling asleep and when she woke up the movie was over and Nate was asleep as well at the other end of the couch.
"Crap," she muttered as she looked at the time. Nate stirred and opened his eyes. "I'm in so much trouble!" she exclaimed.
She called her father immediately as she didn't want to rock the boat. "Dad, I'm so sorry! I fell asleep and lost track of time," she apologized as soon as he answered.
"It's alright, Jenny," he said. She was surprised he wasn't yelling at her, but he had been giving her more and more leeway recently. "But if I had known you weren't home I would have sent the driver to get you. We dismissed him for the night and I don't like the idea of you taking a cab alone at this hour." He sighed.
Jenny thought for a moment. "Well, I could spend the night here and then you could send the driver in the morning?" She looked inquisitively at Nate and he nodded.
"Yes, I suppose that could work," her father answered.
Jenny hung up and saw Nate rubbing at his left shoulder and his neck. "What's wrong with it?" she asked pointing to his shoulder.
"I think I pulled something during practise. The coach told me to go to the clinic to get it checked out but I didn't go. I'll just put some ointment on it and it'll be fine in the morning."He shrugged then grimaced at the sharp pain.
"Well, go get it and I'll help you," she ordered in a definitive tone, hoping he wouldn't argue with her and he didn't.
He came back, handed her the ointment and took off his shirt. He sat next to her on the couch and turned so she had access to his back.
Jenny took a good amount of the balm and ran it in between her hands, warming it up. Her small hands felt good on his shoulder as she rubbed it in. He could feel her body heat behind him and he was hit with a flashback of kissing her in the street. He remembered how perfectly she fit in his arms and how soft and pliant her lips had been. He felt himself getting worked up and got up before it got out of hand.
"That's great, thanks," he said awkwardly as he took the bottle from the couch. Jenny's hands were still in the air, surprised by his sudden movement.
"Uh, sure, no problem. I'll take the couch; you need to sleep in a bed tonight," she offered.
Nate shook his head violently then stopped when he felt the pain run down his shoulder. "No, you take the bed; I'll be fine," he replied with more conviction than he really felt.
Jenny got up defiantly. "No, you're hurt. If you sleep on the couch, you'll make it worse."
"My mother would kill me if she knew I let a woman sleep on the couch." He smirked at her.
Jenny sighed in defeat. "Fine, then we'll both sleep in the bed. It's not like we haven't done it before."
The only problem was that Nate had been too preoccupied by Serena those other times to care that Jenny was sleeping next to him. Now that there were no distractions, he knew that it would be harder to keep his hands to himself. But Nate had no choice. Short of taking her home in a cab and then driving back home, there were no other solutions. Besides, he told himself, he was tired enough that it wouldn't matter if Jessica Alba were to lie in bed next to him.
He knew he was wrong when he saw her come out of the bathroom wearing that blue shirt of his that she loved so much. His eyes went directly to her long legs and he had to consciously remember to breathe.
Nate grabbed a blanket and lay on top of the covers. Jenny was disappointed that she didn't get to feel him lying next to her but she knew Nate would always be a gentleman.
"So, how's Quinn?" Nate asked absently. He hoped that bringing up her potential boyfriend would remind his body that he and Jenny were just friends.
"He's fine, busy. He's been helping me study for finals and I've been helping him learn his lines for the play even though it's not until next semester. He's really nervous about it, it's kind of cute," she replied tiredly.
It was the cold shower Nate needed. He wished her goodnight and turned to face away from her. It still took him longer to fall asleep than it should have, considering how tired he was.
Jenny practically jumped out of the limo as soon as it stopped in front of her building. She had forty-five minutes to eat breakfast and get ready for school. When the elevator took forever to arrive, she even contemplated taking the stairs.
She had her coat off and was going to take her shirt off when she noticed Dan was in her bed. She coughed loudly until he stirred.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in an amused voice. He looked like he hadn't slept more than two hours.
Dan slowly sat up in the bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes. They remained so small however that Jenny knew he was mostly unsuccessful. "Serena and I were up late talking and I didn't walk to take the subway back to Brooklyn. I saw you weren't coming home so I crashed here. Where were you?" he asked casually.
Jenny shook her head. "Nuh uh, don't try try to change the subject! You and Serena again, huh?" She tried not to sound judgemental, but it was typical for the both of them to gravitate towards each other when they were single. She had to seriously fight rolling her eyes. She didn't understand the fascination with Serena when she was so fickle.
"I don't know, we were just talking. But... maybe. I don't know," he muttered.
Jenny rolled her eyes at his indecision. She couldn't help it. Dan had never been good at making decisions for himself, especially regarding Serena.
"I need to get ready, so you need to go," she finally said.
Dan got up and slowly walked to the door. "You know, Serena made me realize what a jerk I've been to you. I'm sorry," he said softly.
Jenny was surprised that Serena had spoken for her, but then again she had seemed to warm up to her over the past few weeks. Was it possible that her family could go back to accepting her? Her father was already trusting her more and more and Dan seemed ready to give her another chance. After all this time, Jenny finally had hope that everything would be right again.
"I missed you, Dan," she said as a response. She couldn't say she forgave him completely for letting her down, but she knew with time it would take care of itself.
"I missed you, too." He smiled and waved before leaving to let her get ready.
When she looked at her alarm clock she realized she had only twenty minutes left before leaving for school. But she was in such a good mood for once that it didn't matter.