Author's notes: We're coming down the home stretch for sure now. Two more chapters, and an epilogue are left. I know the last chapter was largely filler, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. There's a big turn in here I've been hinting at for a couple of chapters, so I hope the payoff is worth it. This follows canon a lot closer than any chapter has in awhile, but with a few nice turns thrown in as well. I know I haven't been updating as regularly, but real life interfered. I really like this chapter, so I hope you do too.
Even though Dan didn't have a class first period, he dragged himself out of bed in time to walk to class with Serena. He was hoping to have a chance to talk to Serena, as she'd been studiously avoiding him in the few days that had gone by since the SAT. Furthermore, he wanted to keep an eye on Jenny as best he could, not trusting this new boyfriend of hers.
He got dressed and went into the kitchen, surprised to find Serena there alone.
"Where are the youngins?" Dan asked Serena as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
Serena took a sip of her own coffee and shrugged her shoulders. "They both went to class early," she said, then looked thoughtful. "Have you noticed that Eric's been acting kind of funny lately, especially around Jenny?"
Dan thought about it, then realized there was some merit to it. He had been so caught up in Serena, Jenny and his own problems that he hadn't noticed that Eric had been acting funny. He felt bad, as he hadn't really made much of an effort to get close to Eric with everything else that had been going on.
"I hadn't noticed until you said something, but he has been acting weird, basically ever since Jenny started dating Asher," Dan said, contemplating the significance of this. The last thing they needed was another set of almost-siblings to have romantic tension.
"They're pretty close; maybe he just feels left out," Serena said, looking sad. "I've probably been neglecting him lately."
"Me too," Dan agreed. "We should try and do something with Eric, though he's probably pretty busy being Gossip Girl."
Serena laughed. "Those Gossip Girl rumors are crazy right now. Anyhow, I have to study for four hours yet again tonight, and for the foreseeable future," she said regretfully. "You guys should hang out though. Eric could use a little guy time."
Dan smiled, feeling a rush of warmth pass through him. He knew how much Eric meant to Serena, so he felt touched that she would want them to spend time together.
"I'd like that," Dan said. "I feel like I spend too much time with girls sometimes myself."
"Who are all these girls you're hanging out with? With all the Gossip Girl rumors, I would have thought you'd pop up if you were seen with someone," Serena said teasingly, nudging him with her shoulder.
"Just one girl, I guess," Dan said, somewhat sheepishly. He didn't really want to discuss all the time he and Blair had spent together in the past few months, especially now that it seemed like that was over for the most part. "I met this girl in the park the other day, Sarah. He's from Oregon, and just visiting the city right now. She's pretty cool and easy to talk to. "
Dan had gone out to coffee a few times with Sarah, and he was amazed at how easy she was to talk to. Even though she knew nothing about his life, she somehow knew just the questions to ask to get to the heart of his problems. He found himself telling her all about Blair, relieved that he finally had an outlet with someone he could trust and who knew nothing about Gossip Girl, Serena or Nate.
"You should let me meet her so I can decide if she's good enough for you," Serena said with a soft smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Oh, it's nothing like that," Dan said quickly. "I'm not ready to jump into anything right now."
Dan tried not visibly flinch after he said that, as he had a feeling Serena was going to misinterpret his comment to mean that he was still hung up on her. Sometimes he wished that were the case, as it would probably make his life less complicated, which was kind of messed up in its own right.
"I know you're going to date again," Serena said softly, not looking him in the eye. "So will I."
Dan's heart sunk a little as he had a horrible thought. "I know I don't like the guy, but you really can tell me if you and Chuck…." Dan tried his best to keep his expression neutral, even though he was internally disgusted by the thought.
To his relief, Serena's nose scrunched up and she grimaced. "No, it's not like that at all," Serena said firmly. "Sometimes it's just hard to move on from the past. Like I told you, I told…Chuck that I'm trying to be a better person, and that I take a lot of my strength from you."
Dan smiled softly at her, reaching over and giving her hand a light squeeze. "Thanks, that means a lot to me," Dan said sincerely, but felt it was time to lighten the mood. He took a breath, and widened his smile. "So, what crazy rumors are Jenny and Blair going to concoct today?" Dan asked, rolling his eyes. Jenny and Blair's little war had moved to Gossip Girl, with one new insane rumor after another. It had reached the point of ridiculousness where nothing could really be believed. Dan was just trying to stay out of it, as was Serena.
"Maybe you'll finally be at the center of one of these salacious stories," Serena said, smiling in return. "You want to walk to school together?"
"I'd love to. It keeps the paparazzi off my case to be seen with you," Dan said with a grin. Dan felt a small amount of relief. Serena seemed like she was returning to her old self. Whatever she told Chuck must have worked.
When they arrived at school, Dan was immediately greeted by a sight he did not want to see: his little sister making out with her new boyfriend.
"I don't need to see that," Dan said, cringing.
Serena just laughed at him. "You had to know she was going to date someday, right?"
"I guess so," Dan sighed. "I just didn't need to see her tongue down some guy's throat."
"Oh, it's cute," Serena said, giving him a light shove. "Do you even know him?"
"No, not really," he admitted. "There's just something about him I don't like."
"You should give him a chance," Serena reasoned. "You have first period off. Why don't you take the time to go talk to him?"
Dan thought about it, and realized Serena was right. He was probably just being overly protective of Jenny like always, and the least he could do was try and get to know her new boyfriend.
"I guess I can do that," he conceded. "You know, you're very wise."
Serena beamed at him. "It's all the SAT studying, I'm sure," she said. "So, after you're done worrying about Jenny, you're still going to hang out with Eric, right?"
Dan let out an exaggerated sigh and smiled. "I suppose. It's tough being the big brother these days," he said in mock seriousness.
"You know you love it," Serena said.
Dan smiled and laughed, knowing there was some truth to it. While sometimes his life felt a little claustrophobic with so many people around all the time, he was slowly coming to enjoy being less alone.
After Serena went to class, and presumably Jenny too, Dan went to seek out Asher on the street, deciding he'd give the guy a chance. He was completely unprepared for the sight that greeted him instead.
He saw the unmistakable profile of Asher Hornsby, his sister's new girlfriend, kissing a guy. Dan couldn't make out the face of the guy, and he didn't want to draw attention to himself to get a closer look. Eventually, the two broke apart and had what appeared to be a tense conversation before Asher took off down the street, presumably to go to school. The other boy took off before Dan could get a good look at him. Slumping his shoulders, Dan tried to decide what the next step was.
After much thought, Dan decided his best plan of action was to move forward just like his original plan, though now he had more to say to Archer. He took a deep breath and started to walk toward Unity, hoping to catch Asher there.
It was nearly lunch before he finally saw Asher in the Unity courtyard.
"Hey, Asher, can I talk to you for a minute?" Dan asked hesitantly.
"Sure, but I've just got a minute, " Asher told him. "I'm meeting Jenny for lunch in a few minutes."
Dan sighed, and gathered his nerve. "Look, there's no easy way to say this….so, uh, I'm just going to say it," Dan stammered out awkwardly. "I…uh, saw you this morning."
"Saw me what?" Asher said, looking at him suspiciously.
"I saw you…You know…saw you kissing that guy," Dan finally finished.
"You're wrong," Asher said, looking angry.
"No, I'm pretty sure that was you," Dan said decisively. He wished it were a possibility that he was mistaken, but he knew what he saw.
"Are you call me queer?" Asher said in an accusatory tone.
Dan did a double take, because he would never use that word. He couldn't care less if Asher were gay or straight, or anyone else for that matter. He just didn't want his sister to get pulled into anything that would break her heart.
"That's…Not at all what I said," Dan finally said.
Asher took a couple of steps forward, getting into his face. "You wanna know how queer I am? I'm so queer, I'm gonna pop your sister's cherry tonight."
Dan felt a rush of anger overtake him, and he immediately reached forward to show Asher exactly what would happen if he carried through with his threat. Unfortunately, that was the exact moment that Jenny showed up.
"Dan! What are you doing?" Jenny screamed at him. Reluctantly, Dan let Asher go, still furious.
"Jenny, can I talk to you in private?" Dan asked pleadingly.
Jenny scoffed at him. "Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of my boyfriend."
"Really? Okay, fine then. Your boyfriend isn't being honest with you," Dan said, not wanting to elaborate, as he felt that was a quick way for things to escalate. The last thing Dan needed was to actually kill the guy with Jenny standing right there.
"Jenny, your brother's just upset because I told him I was planning to take you to the country this weekend and he thinks things are moving too fast," Asher said, smirking at Dan.
Dan noticed Jenny visibly tense up before she turned to Dan, looking angry. "Dan! Can't you just let me be happy for once? I've never stood in your way, even when I had my doubts. "
Dan sighed, wondering how this conversation had gotten so far away from him so quickly. He hated that Jenny didn't think he had her best interests at heart.
"Jen, I want you to be happy. Just not with a guy who…" Dan started, but Jenny cut him off before he could finish.
"Yeah, I understand that you're threatened by him, because he's clearly everything you want to be: He's good-looking, and worldly, a legacy at Dartmouth…But even you should know that jealousy clashes with L.L. Bean pants," Jenny said in a huff, shooting Dan one final glare before she pulled on Asher's hand and led him away.
Dan had had his suspicions about Jenny's ability to fight dirty, and he hadn't forgotten her stealing from him a few weeks ago. However, he was completely unprepared for how she turned on him like that.
Feeling dejected, Dan went to the Met steps in hopes of finding Serena. Of course, Blair was there too. Surprisingly, he had rarely had to interact with Blair and Serena at the same time since he and Blair slept together. He desperately needed advice, so he hoped that Blair would be civil. He felt like they had reached an understanding after the SAT, but she was very mercurial, not unlike his sister.
"You okay?' Serena asked, looking concerned. "You look stressed, even for you."
Dan's shoulders slumped, and he let out a dejected sigh. "It's not me, it's Jenny."
"Oh, so you've finally discovered that she's self-obsessed, self-serving, self-centered…" Blair started, smirking at him slightly, though he could see the sadness in her eyes.
"I wish it was about her," Dan cut her off, not wanting to hear more. He was also afraid delving too deeply into the subject would reveal more than either of them wanted Serena to know. "I tried, but she just completely blew me off. And she dissed my pants!"
"Seriously, you get money from Lily now. Why hasn't your wardrobe improved?" Blair asked, shooting him a grin. He couldn't help but chuckle, the mild insult making him feel more at ease than he'd felt all day.
"Blair," Serena chided Blair before turning back to Dan. "She's just going through a phase. We all went through it."
Blair nodded. "All that matters to someone like Jenny right now are the four G's: guys, girlfriends, and Gossip Girl," Blair said, giving him a sympathetic smile. He briefly caught her eye and returned the smile, knowing that it was hard for Blair to give him advice about his sister.
The moment ended when Serena spoke again. "It's true," Serena agreed. "Don't feel bad. Unless it's coming from one of them, she's not going to hear it."
Dan smiled at them both, not sure what to do next. "Thanks for the advice. Hopefully I can figure something out."
His mind was racing as he started to walk back from school. He didn't really trust any of Jenny's supposed friends to be his ally in this. He wished he could trust Blair, as she would probably be his best chance at getting through to Jenny. However, history indicated that telling Blair would be a terrible idea, and that she would only use the information to hurt Jenny in the end, deploying it at just the right moment. Serena and Jenny weren't very close, and he wasn't sure if Serena would want to risk the relative peace in the house.
Feeling an air of desperation, he picked up his phone and texted Gossip Girl for the first time in his life. Flipping his phone closed, Dan hoped he had done the right thing.
When he arrived in the courtyard, everyone was abuzz with the latest rumor. Unfortunately, the general consensus seemed to be that Jenny and Blair's feud had reached the tipping point where nothing could quite be believed. Dan began to doubt his strategy.
He saw Serena, and went over to talk to her, hoping for some further advice, or at least to get her take on the rumor. Serena looked distant and almost scared, running off almost immediately. Then, out of nowhere, Blair appeared.
"Dan Humphrey, I didn't think you had it in you," Blair said smugly. "You're dirty."
"What?" Dan asked, confused about the abruptness of this conversation. "I don't know what you're hearing, but I haven't…with anyone else…and you know all the dirty stuff I've ever done first hand."
Blair rolled her eyes at him. "No, it's not about that," she said exasperatedly. "Cheating, drinking, drugs, it's all fair game, but outing your sister's boyfriend is dark. How did squeaky clean Humphrey even come up with that, given how you wanted nothing to do with me when I dared fight back against your precious sister."
"Oh," Dan said, embarrassed. "I wasn't making anything up. I might have seen Asher kissing another guy."
Dan inwardly cringed when he saw a look of pure glee pass over Blair's face. "Do you have any details?"
"What does that even matter?" Dan asked, happy to not have any more details. The information he already possessed was making him miserable enough.
"It doesn't," Blair agreed. "The thing is, right now Gossip Girl has no credibility. If I can prove that Asher's duplicity is more than just a rumor, then they'll break up. That's what you want, isn't it?" Blair's look of glee had subsided some, and he suspected she might be somewhat sincere in trying to help him along with her own cause. Dan finally nodded, encouraging her to go on.
"Asher's just using your sister as a cover. It's your brotherly duty to save her from becoming the next Katie Holmes!"
Dan gave her a skeptical look, feeling that scheming with Blair would probably be the last straw with Jenny before he lost all pull with her. Plus, he didn't want to think about what scheming with Blair to out Jenny's boyfriend would mean to his own relationship with Blair. Even he could see the level of hypocrisy that would exist if he stayed mad at her after that, but he still didn't really trust her to not just use him again to further her own interests.
"Blair, this isn't a game to me," he said seriously. "I don't want to see her get hurt."
Blair just scoffed at him. "Right, because that text to Gossip Girl about your sister being a glorified hag wasn't at all hurtful," Blair said defensively, crossing her arms over chest. "You know what, you just mope and I'll do what I'm going to do. You can say what you want about me, but at least I'm not a hypocrite."
"Blair…" Dan tried to protest, but he knew he didn't have much of a defense.
"I'm just glad I didn't jeopardize my friendship with Serena any further to be with someone like you," she bit out. "The sex wasn't worth it."
"Just stop, Blair," Dan said angrily, trying hard to keep his voice level to avoid drawing attention to them. They were in a relatively private location, and no one seemed to be paying them any attention. "I can see my own questionable judgment here and the hypocrisy. I get it. You also used me, and I had a right to be pissed. On top of all that, you keep acting like we didn't have a bond before we had sex, and that we just slept together because we're attracted to each other and horny. You know that's not what happened."
He heard Blair's sharp intake of breath, and he took the opportunity to lean in closer, deciding he didn't care if anyone spotted the intimacy of the moment. He figured anyone who saw it would just assume they were fighting.
"You can call me too romantic or cheesy or whatever," Dan said into her ear. "From the moment I was first inside you, we didn't take our eyes off each other. We connected in both mind and body in a way I always wanted for my first time. No matter what you say, you can't take that memory away from me. I was there."
He stepped back out of her personal space, looking at her closely. She looked like she was in shock, completely unprepared for his words. He saw her straighten up, her face closing off completely.
"And why are you telling me this now?" she scoffed dismissively. "I know it's not because you want to be with me. If you're trying to hurt me, I don't care enough for you to have that power."
He thought he saw a flash of something in her eye that contradicted her words, but Dan was tired of this whole thing. He wasn't sure if it was worse if Blair actually didn't care about him or if she didn't want to care about him. Either way, they arrived at the same impasse.
"Well, I guess once everything settles down with Serena we won't have anything to discuss," Dan said coldly.
"I guess not," Blair agreed.
When Dan got home, he plopped on his bed and buried his head into his pillow. If the day could have gone worse, he wasn't sure how. He heard a soft knock on his door.
"What?" he snapped, sure it was Jenny coming to berate him some more.
The door slowly opened, and Eric tentatively walked in. "I'm sorry, I can come back later…" Eric said, looking down at the ground almost timidly.
Dan immediately felt ashamed. "Hey, man, I'm sorry," Dan said. "Come in. It's been a long day. I just thought you were Jenny, and let's just say she's not real happy with me right now."
Eric closed the door behind him, seating himself in Dan's desk chair. "Join the club," Eric said grimly.
Dan shot Eric a sympathetic look. "You not a fan of Asher either?" Dan asked.
Strangely, Eric avoided his gaze and blushed. Dan decided his and Serena's earlier suspicions were probably on target, and he felt bad all over again.
"Hey, it's only natural for you to develop certain feelings when we're all cooped up on this lavish penthouse like this…." Dan said, trying to keep his tone light. "Believe me, I wish when Serena walked around here that she would remember that I'm a teenage boy and we used to date…I know it's over, but I'm still a guy, you know?"
Eric visibly blanched, and Dan wished he'd kept his mouth shut. Sounding like he lusting over Eric's sister was probably not the way to get him to open up, even if Eric was guilty of the same thing.
"Sorry…" Dan said sheepishly. "Sometimes I run my mouth off inappropriately."
"I've noticed," Eric said, smiling weakly. He noticed Eric sit even more upright in his chair, looking nervous. "Um, anyhow, it's not what you think."
"Then what's going on? I promise I won't tell anyone," Dan said sincerely. He knew it would be hard to keep a secret about Eric from Serena, but he knew she would be happy that Eric felt he could confide in someone.
"I'm worried about Jenny," Eric started. "I know that the rumor about Asher is true."
"Did you see it happen too?" Dan asked, surprised. He hadn't seen Eric anywhere in sight.
"Wait, you saw?" Eric asked, looking confused. "Why didn't you say anything to me?"
"Why would I?" Dan wasn't sure what Eric was getting at.
"So you sent the blast?" Eric asked, looking appalled. "I can't believe you'd go and do that to the both of us. I guess Serena didn't know what she was talking about when she said what a great guy you are."
"Wait, what did I do to you?" Dan asked, thoroughly confused now. He went over this conversation in his head, and the pieces slowly fell into place. Dan now felt even worse, which was something he hadn't been sure was possible.
"I'm so sorry," Dan finally said. "I didn't realize until now it was you. I just saw Asher, and Jenny blew me off when I tried to tell her. I was worried about her, so I got desperate."
Still not meeting his eyes, Eric tentatively spoke up. "You really didn't know?" Dan shook his head, and Eric visibly softened. "It doesn't…bother you, does it?"
"No, of course not," Dan said, hoping his sincerity was evident in his voice. "The only thing that bothers me is that I think Asher's an asshole."
Eric smiled grimly. "Yeah, I'm beginning to figure that out," Eric said. "You ever want to be with someone when it goes completely against your better judgment."
Dan couldn't help but laugh. "I definitely know exactly how it feels," Dan said sympathetically. "It's no fun."
The next day, Dan once again dragged himself out of bed, not looking forward to the day ahead in the least. He felt good about his conversation with Eric, happy that Eric trusted him enough to confide in him. However, he had no idea what he was going to do about Jenny. To top it all off, Serena was acting strange again.
He didn't have first period again that day, so he decided to call Sarah up to drink coffee in the park. He needed someone to talk to who could be unbiased in all of this.
As always, she listened attentively. "It sounds like it was a long day," she said sympathetically, rubbing his arm soothingly.
"I don't even know where to begin to help everyone," Dan said dejectedly.
"I think you should start with Serena," Sarah told him. "She seems like she's drifting again, but if you could get her to open up to you she may be able to help you with everything else."
Dan tilted his head skeptically. "How can I get her to open up?"
"Tell her your biggest secret so that she knows you're not perfect," Sarah suggested. "I think her problem right now is that she doesn't think she can trust you with the bad stuff because she thinks you won't understand."
"I can't tell her about Blair," he protested. "It would just hurt her. It would also get me punched in the face by Nate."
Sarah shrugged. "I don't know Serena, but from what you've said, she would have no right to judge," Sarah pointed out. "I bet you guys would be a lot closer if she knew you were trusting her with this, and then she'd be more open to you."
"I don't know…" Dan hedged.
"Just think about it," Sarah said.
"You still want to grab dinner tonight?" Dan asked.
"Sure," Sarah said. "You should invite Serena. It sounds like she could use a night out."
"Maybe I'll do that," Dan said, that idea sounding much better than telling Serena about Blair.
After school, Dan took some time to walk around the park, taking Sarah's words to heart. Maybe it was time to relieve himself of the burden of secrets. While he was happy to keep Eric's revelations private, he beginning to think it would be freeing for everything to be out in open about him and Blair so that they could all just deal with it. The only problem was, he might be jeopardizing Serena's friendship with Blair, which is something he definitely didn't want to do.
As much as he wanted Serena to trust him, he just didn't see how he could do it. He figured he'd just invite her to dinner and see how things went from there.
When he got home, he knocked on Serena's door lightly, noticing it was already open a crack. He slowly stepped in, not wanting to startle her.
"Serena?" he said tentatively, knocking again as he entered.
She almost jumped out of her chair, snapping her laptop shut. "What?"
"Are you okay?" he asked, feeling concerned.
"I'm fine," she said, though she didn't look okay.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Dan told her truthfully. "Is this Chuck again?"
"Yeah," she sighed. "He just won't let up. I don't even know what his endgame is."
"Do you want me to talk to him?" Dan asked, wanting to help. He'd try to not deck the guy.
"No," Serena said quickly. "I'll handle it."
"Okay," Dan said carefully. "I think maybe you need to get out. You want to come to dinner with me and Sarah tonight?"
"Oh, I finally get to meet the new girlfriend," Serena said, a small smile on her face.
"She's not my girlfriend," Dan said, rolling his eyes.
"Whatever you say," Serena said in a sing song voice, perking up as she teased him.
"Just come," Dan said. "You'll see it's completely platonic between us."
"I'll come," Serena agreed. "I'm just willing to bet that she has a huge crush on you."
Dan chuckled. "Thanks," Dan said, blushing a little. "Let's head out in an hour or so, okay?"
Just then, his phone buzzed with a blast from Gossip Girl. "Breaking news: Asher Hornsby overheard bragging that Little J swiped her V card at his register…"
Dan's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
"What?" Serena asked, looking concerned that his face might freeze that way. When he didn't respond, she looked at her own phone. "Oh, Dan…" Serena said sympathetically.
Without a word to Serena, Dan then moved down the line to Jenny's room. Her door was also open, where she stood inside examining her wardrobe choices for the party she was hosting with Asher that evening.
He flashed his phone in Jenny's face. "Is it true?" he asked, dreading her response. He didn't want his sister's first time to happen so soon, and especially not with someone who didn't care about her.
"It's private," she snapped.
"It's on the internet, so actually, it's not," Dan replied.
"Fine, then it's none of your business," Jenny scoffed.
"You're fifteen years old and I'm your big brother. It is my business," Dan told her firmly. He was hoping she understood that he was just worried about her, wanting to protect her from the world. He knew how crazy his life had become since he started having sex with someone under questionable circumstances, and it's the last thing he wanted for his sister.
"It's not true," she finally admitted. "Just don't tell anyone. Everyone has to believe it."
Now Dan was more confused than ever. "I don't get it. You want all your friends to think you had sex with someone who's gay?"
"Do you believe everything you read on Gossip Girl?" Jenny asked him. Dan looked at the ground, knowing he'd have to admit the truth.
"No, but I know it's true. I didn't just read the tip, I'm the one who sent it in," Dan confessed. "Look, I'm sorry, but I tried to tell you. You wouldn't listen to me, so I needed to get your attention somehow."
Jenny straightened up, and looked at him. "Well, I knew about him all along."
Dan just gaped at Jenny, shocked. "He's using you!" He wanted to get through to her, as he wasn't sure she understood how damaging all of this could be down the road.
"Maybe I'm using him too," Jenny told him. Dan's heart sunk. He had no idea what to do, but he knew once Jenny developed a reputation that it would be even harder to protect her from the Ashers and Chucks of the world.
She turned to him then, looking him dead in the eye. "You think you're so different, and so good? Well guess what, Dan? The minute you start sending tips to Gossip Girl, you're in the game with the rest of us."
The words hit home, and Dan hung his head shamefully. "Jen…."
She cut him off immediately. "You know, I could have sold you out a long time ago if I wanted," she told him. "I know things, and when the moment's right I might just let other people know those things. Now get out of my room."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Dan asked, more perplexed than ever.
Jenny just grinned at him menacingly, yet calmly, an expression he'd only ever seen before on Blair's face. "If no one finds out the truth about Asher, then I won't tell anyone," she said. "You can be surprised along with the rest of the world if anything does leak out."
With that, Dan went back to his room to lick his wounds. Even as conflicted as he had been over Blair, this whole fiasco with Jenny was definitely in another league, especially with Eric involved. Dan was moping in his room when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," he said despondently.
"Hey, you ready for dinner?" Serena asked. "It's been a long day-I think I could use a night out."
"Me too," Dan agreed. "Where's Eric?"
"He is doing something important," Serena said with a calm smile. "You'll find out later."
Deciding not to press matters, he stood up and started out the door with Serena.
When they arrived at the coffee shop to grab a light dinner, Sarah was already waiting for them. When Dan introduced them, he noticed that Serena got very tense. He felt bad; maybe Serena wasn't ready to see him with even potential future girlfriends yet. He was just glad that he hadn't followed Sarah's advice and told Serena about him and Blair.
"It's so nice to finally meet you!" Sarah said warmly, standing up to shake Serena's hand.
Serena just gawked. "Are you okay?" Dan asked.
"I need to talk to you alone," Serena said.
He gave Sarah an apologetic look and pulled Serena aside at the entrance. "We just got here," Dan said, confused. "What's going on? Is it whatever's happening with Eric? Is it about you and me being out with a different girl?"
Serena shook her head. "You can't trust Sarah," she said bluntly.
"What?" Dan asked, shaking his head. "You're not making sense."
Serena continued to look at him pleadingly. "I know this sounds crazy, but you have to believe me. You cannot trust her."
Dan was beginning to get fed up. The past couple of days had worn on him greatly, and he just wanted to be done with all the secrets and lies.
"Serena, what's been going on with you? Surely, this hasn't all been about Chuck these past few weeks…." Dan tried to reason with her. "Please, just talk to me. We can go somewhere and talk if you want. I know you think you can't trust me with the bad stuff, but you can. I understand better than you know…."
"I know you sent the blast about Asher," Serena said. "I know you're not perfect, but you can't understand…"
"Please, just talk to me," he pleaded. Just then, Sarah walked up.
"Am I interrupting?" she asked, somewhat timidly. "Are you okay, Serena? I know Dan's been really worried about you lately."
Serena shot him an astonished look. "You told her about us? About me?"
"I'm sorry," Dan said. "She's just a good sounding board because she doesn't know any of us, so it gives a new perspective."
"Oh, Dan…what have you told her?"
"She doesn't know Eric or Jenny or Blair…or you," Dan said. "Really, it's okay. I'm just worried."
"I've gotta go," Serena mumbled, and fled the coffee shop.
"Should I go after her?" he asked Sarah, completely at a loss.
"I'd just let her go," Sarah said sympathetically. "Do you still want food? I'm here to listen."
Dan sighed, feeling resigned that nothing was going to get better that night.
"Yeah, let's eat."
After talking to Sarah, he felt better. Sarah didn't really say much; she just listened. Before putting her in a cab, they made plans to go see his dad perform in concert the next night.
After Sarah was gone, Dan decided to walk home. He looked at his messages, seeing a Gossip Girl blast that had detailed information about Eric and Asher. He felt bad for his sister, but he hoped she could learn from the experience.
As he got closer to home, he began to dread his entrance. Jenny and Eric were probably not speaking to each other, and Dan was pretty sure that Serena nor Jenny were speaking to him. He was still worried about both of them. He had a feeling he and Eric might grow a lot closer during the coming week.
When he was a block away from home, his phone rang. He did a double take when he saw the caller ID. He wasn't sure why Blair would be calling him at all, let alone so late.
"Waldorf, I swear if this is a booty call," he answered irritably.
"Don't flatter yourself," she snapped. "I need your help. Serena showed up here upset, said a bunch of crazy things and fled. Can you come over here so we can try and find her?"
"I'm sorry for how I answered the phone," he said, properly chastened. "I'll be right over."
Doing an about face, Dan practically sprinted to Blair's. Just as he entered her building, his phone chimed with yet another Gossip Girl blast. Rolling his eyes, he looked at his phone. He nearly dropped it when he saw the picture message that had been delivered to all of the Gossip Girl subscribers.
There, in living color, was a picture of him in bed with Blair at the loft, the two of them covered by a sheet but clearly shirtless at the very least. He was asleep on his back, Blair's head resting peacefully on his chest. He couldn't help but stare at the picture, the contented looks on their faces confirming what he'd known all along: that night had not been just about sex.
Before he could process it completely, he felt a blow to the face and he was knocked down, his phone flying across the room. Nate Archibald was looking down at him, glowering, looking as mad as he'd ever seen him. Chuck was standing over his shoulder, smirking in the background.
All Dan could do was stare, waiting for whatever Nate was going to do next. He knew that whatever it was, he probably deserved it.
