Hey people! Sorry for not updating sooner, I totally have writer's block and its killing me! Thanks to all the people who have reviewed! But I want more reviews that's my fuel when I write!
Summary: A mysterious new girl graces the streets of the Upper East Side. She seems sweet and innocent but what happens when dirty little secrets start to reveal themselves. Natalie Wright swore no one would ever find out about them. But what happens when she starts playing with fire as in flirting with Blair Waldorf's boyfriend Nate Archibald behind her back?
Words: 1,314
Rating: Teen (PG 13)
Pairings: Nate/OC Nate/Blair
Disclaimer: Natalie Octavia Wright belongs to a girl called me! However Gossip Girl and all its fabulous characters belong to a girl called Cecily Von Ziegesar (who is not me).
Misc: This story is not Beta'd. So there may be some grammar mistakes here and there. This story is AU in a way.
Enjoy!
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Chapter Eleven
"Dinner with a Bass"
"And remember to smile" Victoria replied nervously as we entered Le Bernadin, a trendy French restaurant on the Upper West Side. There was a soft chatter throughout the restaurant, while French classical music played in the background. "For the hundredth time I get it." I snapped annoyed by Victoria's constant nagging. She was a nervous wreck all day. I didn't get why she was so nervous about me meeting her new boyfriend. I mean I can't be that bad! She spent four hours at Saks Fifth Avenue trying to decide on the right outfit for tonight. She decided on a black dinner dress with a cinched waist. I was wearing a black pencil skirt dress, a black cardigan, and moss green Manolo crocodile skin booties. My long black hair was in a tight ponytail accessorized with a diamond-encrusted headband.
On the cross town drive over to the restaurant, Victoria was nagging me on how to act in front of her very powerful boyfriend. I was to make her look good, I was to be well mannered, polished, and say all the right things at all the right times. She wanted me to speak in an eloquent tone, wanted me to wipe my mouth after every bite, and wanted me to not disagree with anything she or Jack said. I was to be the perfect child that she wanted to show off like a new Prada handbag. Although she would deny it, she didn't trust me all too much with the task at hand. "May I help you?" the flamboyant maitre d' asked uninterested. He was picking at his perfect manicured fingers and eyed us apathetically. "I'm Victoria Wright" Victoria stated with a toothy grin. The guy's expression was indifferent and he raised his pointed nose contemptuously as if we were from the Lower East Side. "And?" he asked obnoxiously his thin lips turned into a small frown, he shrugged his narrow shoulders. Victoria fell silent embarrassed that this guy was treating her like a D-List celebrity; her already blushed cheeks turned a red color. I rolled my eyes and decided to break my mother's first rule of etiquette: Don't be rude.
"What my mother is trying to say is that we are here with Jack Bass." I retorted sassily returning his bitchy stare. He cocked a perfect brow and when he saw that my sassy expression did not change, he composed himself. He fiddled with the ends of his orange ascot and straightened his jacket. He looked down at his podium pretending to be looking for a paper. "Oh yes yes yes!" he grinned broadly. He took two leather menus and escorted us to the very back of the restaurant. Although Victoria knew I broke a vital rule, she took my hand and squeezed it appreciatively. "A bottle of wine on the house" the maitre d' cooed vivaciously when we arrived at the table. "A bottle of bourbon please" I replied. He shuffled away leaving me with the menus. "Natalie darling" Victoria called enthusiastically. I turned and my mother was standing with a handsome man. "So this is Jack Bass?" I asked with gracious smile. "And you must be the Natalie" he responded extending his hand. I took his hand and shook it, he had a firm handshake. For a forty-one year old woman, my mother had excellent taste. Jack was tall and robust with a healthy head of black hair. He had the same smirk that Chuck Bass had. He wore a grey pin stripe suit and Italian loafers. I mentally scolded myself for even thinking that Jack Bass, my mother's boyfriend was handsome. "Victoria has told me a lot about you" Jack added. "And she has told me so little about you" I joked with a giggle. Jack laughed at this and Victoria let out a nervous chuckle. Victoria gave me a discreet glare. I took a seat next to Victoria and Jack sat across from us.
The maitre d' came with a new shiny bottle of bourbon. I grinned at him mischievously. "I changed my mind I would like a strawberry daiquiri" I gave him a twinkling glare. He smiled embarrassed and through clenched teeth he said, "Of course madam." He turned and trotted away cursing under his breath. "So how do you like New York so far?" Jack asked with a charming smile "I love it" I smiled. Throughout dinner, Jack told me exactly what he did for a living, all the interesting places he's been, and all the famous people he ever met. This guy was pretty legit. He seemed to be nice and professional. Towards the end, Victoria excused herself to go to the restroom. There was a short uncomfortable silence until Jack finally said something.
"I think I'm going to ask her to marry me" Jack mused taking a gulp of his scotch. I nearly choked on my drink and Jack noticed this. "You don't think it's a good idea?" he asked. I wanted to take him by his blazer, shake him furiously and yell on the top of my lungs, "No!" Instead I just dabbed my glossed mouth with the white silk napkin. "Don't you think it's a little too soon to ring wedding bells considering you guys just met?" I asked with a tentative stare. "I mean isn't that what she wants considering all the things I do for her?" Jack asked a little confused. "What does that mean?" I asked confused by his ambiguous question. "Didn't she tell you?" he asked arching an eyebrow, that trademark Bass smirk playing on his lips. "Tell me what?" I asked hesitantly. "I paid this month's rent for you guys" he replied as if it were obvious. "What do you mean?" I demanded still not understanding where he was going with this.
"It means that your mother has no money" he said a little too harshly. "That's impossible" I scoffed, giving Jack an incredulous eye roll. As if on cue, Victoria waltzed back to the table and gracefully took her seat next to me. "What did I miss?" she asked brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. "Jack says that he paid our rent this month. Tell him that he's lying mother" I replied with a light laugh. Victoria's cheerful face morphed into one of nervousness. She gave Jack a small glare. "We'll talk about this at home" Victoria whispered to me. "He's lying right?" I repeated persistently. Victoria cast her eyes ashamedly to the carpeted floor. The truth hit me like a ton of bricks. "We have no money?" I asked in a small shriveled voice. "I wanted to tell you sweetheart" Victoria said with an apologetic look.
This was not happening! I can't be on the verge of destitution. What's going to happen to my stuff? Will I have to sell them in order to live? What about my reputation? If Gossip Girl ever found out about this I would be the laughingstock of the Upper East Side. I just got here! I would be banned from the steps of the Met. Nate wouldn't love me anymore; he's too good for a poor girl. I imagined myself in tattered clothes and tangled hair walking the streets of the Bronx. A shiver traveled up my spine and I twitched at that. Anger suddenly ripped through my body. "You're just like Dad!" I exclaimed in a hurt angry voice. "Natalie calm—" Victoria started but I cut her off. "You make me sick" I managed to say in a shaky voice. I threw the napkin onto the table and stormed out of the dark restaurant. I burst into a fit of uncontrollable tears as I staggered down the bustling New York street. I took a seat at a empty bus stop. After all, isn't this the way I would be getting around from now on?
To Be Continued…