A/N:...Hi.
I hope 14,000 words makes up for my absence. Carry on if you're still interested in finding out what will happen in this story. Enjoy!
If you need a refresher, here is a recap of last chapter:
Previously on TCCOMB: While Chuck and Blair take a road trip to incriminate Donovan Tucker in Evelyn's hometown, Evelyn prepares for her first introduction to UES society with Serena. When the Van der Bass family arrives at Bart's close friend (Philip Montgomery) and business partner's engagement party, Evelyn is stunned to to find out his fiance is Ruby Taylor, whom she knows. The Taylor's are on of the oldest family dynasties in New York; however, due to a shocking scandal sixteen years ago, Ruby was outcasted by her family. Now Ruby finally has her ticket back in the UES with Philip. Her only son, Oscar Taylor, is revealed to share a history with Evelyn, and is one of the reasons she escaped Connecticut for New York. While they finally discuss their fight before Christmas, Chuck and Blair incriminate Donovan-who Chuck realizes is not very different from himself. Blair reassures Chuck that he's far from Donovan, and reveals that she loves him. Hours later, Chuck and Blair arrive at the engagement party, where Blair tells Evelyn they're even for helping each other out. Finally, Chuck realizes he's in love with Blair.
Chapter 20: A Steetcarr Named Conspire
When Monday morning arrived, it was far too early for Chuck's liking. His alarm rang too early, so he rolled over and fell back asleep. It was one of those mornings where Ina had to come in and shake him awake. He was tired after a late night alone at a bar. He was tired from the weekend in general.
After leaving the engagement party on Saturday night, Chuck got home and talked about his road trip with Evelyn. He didn't tell her about his revelation regarding his feelings for Blair though. Instead he spent the night tossing and turning still thinking about it. Chuck slept through the morning and woke up in the early afternoon. He struggled through bullshitting his major American literature essay by nine and proceeded to get hammered until midnight.
Chuck walked into the kitchen and everyone was seated at the round table eating breakfast. Bart read the front page of the Wall Street Journal and Lily was on her cellphone. Evelyn flipped through a deck of flashcards, furiously memorizing chemical equations her half eaten plate of food abandoned, while Serena and Eric were in mid conversation. He sat down in the vacant chair between Evelyn and Bart.
"Good morning, Chuck," Lily said without looking up from her phone screen.
"Morning, everyone," Chuck said. He lifted the tucked in napkin from the water glass and pilled scrambled eggs on his plate. Ina poured him a cup of coffee.
"Good morning," Bart said. He set the newspapers overtop of his plate charger and reached for a sip of coffee.
Chuck stabbed at his eggs. He forked some into his mouth and his teeth grinded together. Chuck had been avoiding Bart since their incident at the engagement party. He wasn't interested in enduring another lecture (which had become a new thing since becoming involved with Lily). He preferred their usual avoidance of all of their issues, which worked well for them before amalgamating houses with the Van der Woodsens.
"Have you heard back from any colleges yet?" Bart looked over the edges of his morning paper.
Chuck sipped his coffee. "I haven't checked the mail."
"Maybe you should. It's stacked on the kitchen counter."
"Maybe I will. Maybe I won't."
Sure enough, a stack of thick envelopes was waiting on the counter. He sifted through them before he sat down for breakfast. Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Princeton. All the schools he had someone apply to on his behalf. Each envelope carried the weight of acceptance, his options for the future.
He left them in the kitchen unopened and returned to his seat at the table. He had no desire to open each envelope with an audience. That was something he reserved for his own eyes. He was in charge of making a judgment of this rather trivial matter anyway. It didn't matter which school he accepted. All he needed was a piece of paper to show Bart he didn't completely screw up in school, and he could take over the company. It was an unwritten contract they made when Chuck entered high school.
"Anything?" Bart's eyes question Chuck.
Chuck smirked. "You already looked through them. They're all there in the kitchen."
"And you didn't open them yet?" Lily said. Her phone was stashed away. She shared a concerned look with Bart. Eric and Serena continued to chatter while Evelyn looked furiously busy flipping through her study cue cards and squinting her eyes as she mumbled equations under her breath.
"Whatever for? The weight alone carried acceptance on all of them," Chuck said.
"Charles, this is excellent news. I don't understand why you aren't excited about this?" Lily said.
There were many things Chuck got excited over. Whenever any girl, especially Blair Waldorf, rubbed herself on him was one thing. The anticipation and prospect of waking and baking with Nate was another. What 'excitement' could school offer?
He was still contemplating an answer for that.
Chuck shrugged. "I guess the acceptance hasn't sunk in quite yet."
"Well, you should be very proud of yourself, Charles. Getting into one Ivy League school, let alone multiple is quite a feat," Lily said.
The shuffling of crinkled newspapers distracted him. Bart was folding his newspaper back in the condition he found it. This was his routine. He would take one more sip of his coffee before announcing his departure for work.
Bart checked his watch. "Let's meet afterschool at my office to discuss this. Bring the envelopes." Bart kissed Lily's cheek and stood. "Be there at 3:30, and don't be late."
Bart bid his goodbye to everyone (as expected) and marched out the door. Chuck pushed the remaining bits of egg around his soggy plate.
"Charles, don't worry. He's just stressed about a major flood in one of the buildings."
Chuck nodded to placate Lily and rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking. Lily's phone rang. She looked at the ID and sighed. "Excuse me."
Meanwhile, Serena continued to prattle on to Eric. "…So I was telling Blair that I wanted a type of dress that was strapless and short. I mean, we'll be dancing at prom, and I don't want to be constricted with a floor length gown."
Prom. It was forthcoming far too soon for Chuck's liking. He wasn't one to oppose school dances, but prom was almost as important as Cotillion. For public school kids, prom was their Cotillion. After the disaster Cotillion was last year, he wanted to make sure everything this year was perfect. He spent many hours at the bar last night mapping out a plan in his mind.
"Blair has everything planned out. I helped her make a scrapbook of her ideas when we were in seventh grade. She had every detail planned out for the whole evening. I wonder if any of that will come true for her…" Serena's eyes flickered across the table to Chuck.
"Chuck?"
"Yes, sis?"
"What are you doing for Prom?"
Chuck smirked and noticed that Evelyn looked over her deck of cards. Ah Serena, always four steps behind. "I think you should be asking who I will be doing for Prom."
"You're disgusting."
"I always appreciate your witty banter, but you've already used that on me. Why do you ask? Do you need me to escort you or are you going with Humphrey Dumphry?"
"No and no! I just thought you should know that Blair has not accepted anyone's promposal yet."
"Promposal? What is this? Practice for marriage?" Eric said with disbelief.
Serena and Chuck ignored him. "Why would you think I needed to know that information?"
"Well, I thought you'd be interested to know and maybe have the balls to ask her yourself. I hear grand romantic gestures are your M.O."
Chuck held a look of disdain. "You heard wrong as usual. I'm Chuck Bass."
His usual upturned smirk that would accompany that comment didn't happen. Chuck pushed the soggy yellow remnants of egg around his plate. Chuck remembered Donny behind bars retort, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" It was a good question. What did that mean? Did that identify him as an over-privileged womanizing heathen who took pleasure from girls without asking? Yes. And yes.
He took a swig of his coffee, enjoying its scalding heat that burned the roof of his mouth and down his throat. Who was he kidding? He's Chuck Bass. That's his M.O. Maybe he could be someone else. He was certain life would be much simpler as someone else.
He cleared his throat. "Thanks for your insightful suggestion, but I'm going to leave for school before my breakfast makes a reappearance, preferably aimed at you. Come on Eric, Evelyn, let's go."
Eric followed suit behind Chuck. When Serena called for him he simply shrugged. Evelyn gathered her cue cards and kept reciting information, her head bent, shoulders slumped. Her shoulder hooked onto the wall, and she sprung back. She dropped her cue cards and held her shoulder in pain. Then, she began to laugh manically.
"I think the stress got to her," Eric whispered to Chuck.
Chuck and Eric gathered the cue cards scattered around Evelyn's feet. Her laughs dissipated, and she said, "Thank you. I don't know what came over me, but second period can't come fast enough. I'm so over organic chem."
They passed the kitchen and Chuck dropped the sealed envelops into his school bag. They rode the elevator down and kept idle conversation with Eric.
And suddenly he was thinking about Blair Waldorf and prom again.
Evelyn shuffled out of her Chemistry class with a sigh of relief and a sore hand. Her mind was numb from staying up so late cramming. She fumbled with her lock, spinning the dial too far or too soon from the correct combination. Her heavy chemistry textbook thudded on the second shelf of her locker.
Evelyn took a step back and put her hands on the small of her back. She leaned back and stretched; her droopy eyes fluttering closed. Her muscles released the knotted tension one vertebra at a time. After a couple standing spinal twists, she reached into her locker to pick up her lunch. She specifically asked Ina to pack a childhood favorite, macaroni and cheese from scratch, to reward herself after the test. It sharpened her focus on studying, knowing she was working toward something tasty.
Evelyn swung her locker door shut. She looked down the bustling hallway and noticed a blonde walking toward her. Jenny wore bright pink knee high socks with her uniform. Like most other girls at Constance, her pink socks went nicely with her custom tailored uniform. It was all about the accessories, and using them in a way that stated who you were. The only accessory Evelyn ever wore was her golden locket.
"Hey, Jenny!" Evelyn called.
Without so much as a glance, Jenny brushed past her.
"Well then, be like that why don't you," Evelyn mumbled.
Jenny still hasn't so much as looked at Evelyn much less talked to her since their birthday party. She didn't know why she tried anymore. Jenny was never going to forgive her.
Evelyn entered the courtyard and sat at one of the stone picnic tables. She opened her lunch bag, and set up her food. Eric was still avoiding her too, or rather avoiding getting involved in the situation, so he now ate lunch with Jonathan on the steps. Chuck was also away, so she had no one to sit with. She twisted her thermos open and stabbed a piece of creamy macaroni.
Her phone vibrated on the stone table. On the display read the name 'OZZY'.
Evelyn flipped open her phone while swallowing. "And here I thought Ruby doesn't approve of long distance calls?" She smiled through the line.
She heard a chuckle on the other end. "That's only the calls she knows about. Well, she seems to be more open to it now that Philip is paying for it. How are you?"
Evelyn sighed and prepared another forkful of macaroni. "Not bad. I just wrote a Chemistry test. I'm still recuperating. You?"
"I just got out of an assembly."
Evelyn stopped mid bite. "Oh? What for?"
"It was about addressing the Donny situation. These advocates came from RAINN to talk to us about drinking and sexual conduct safety. They talked about bullying too."
"Wow. Southington really stepped up. Mrs. Young acted fast."
Evelyn heard the whipping of wind from the other end of the line while she chewed. "I still think it's weird that you actually know the principle, but yeah. Administration did step up, but it would have been more effective if people weren't laughing and texting through it."
Evelyn rolled her eyes. Those were the immature kids who had no idea what going through a situation like that was like. "They're so stupid. Must've been Donny's friends huh? James, Ty, and Dean probably?"
"That's about right. It's like you were there."
"I've been with them since kindergarten. I don't need to physically be there to know. " For a moment, it felt like she was still apart of their community, still knowing everyone knowing everyone else. In New York each borough was its own self-contained community. They all had their quirks, values, and scandals. Her new community still differed vastly from her old counterpart.
"So are you on lunch now?" Evelyn said.
"Yeah. I'm walking to Subway now actually. I'm trying to beat the rush."
The Subway restaurant was one of three restaurants that were within walking distance from her old school. The restaurant pickings were slim, and the school cafeteria food wasn't the best. The trifling selection of restaurants was something she didn't miss from Connecticut. In the city, there was always a new restaurant to try.
Suddenly, two long nails jabbed her on the shoulder. Evelyn turned, and met with the grinning face of Blair Waldorf. Her evil grinning face. Evelyn set her fork down. "Hey, Oz? I have to call you back. Someone is asking for my attention. Talk to you later."
Blair took a seat beside Evelyn. "Sorry for disturbing your call. I came over here to remind you of our plan. I hope you didn't forget what today was."
Evelyn stabbed at her macaroni. "Forget what? I already had my chemistry test today."
Blair rolled her eyes. "Hm. Very convincing. Save it for your meeting with the Headmistress."
Evelyn scrapped the last piece of macaroni onto her fork. "Relax Blair. I've already talked to the Headmistress this morning, and my appointment is after lunch." She scraped her thermos a couple more times.
"Good. Do we need to go over the plan again? You are about to lose you scheming virginity. I wouldn't want you to pull out before it happens."
Evelyn almost chocked on her last bite. "No. You've grilled me enough about it. I'll tell the Headmistress my story of how I caught Dan and Rachel in the props room, and how Dan threatened me, which I'll try to cry, but I honestly can't give you a guarantee on that. I'll then show the picture of Dan and Rachel that you took with them out for dinner to reinforce the evidence, and allow the Headmistress to do the rest."
Blair sat up straighter and smiled. "Good. That sounds very good for a first timer."
"Well, we'll see if I can live up to expectation. Following in Chuck's scheming footsteps is a lot of pressure."
Blair's minions clustered at the courtyard door trying to get her attention. Evelyn sealed her lunch container while looking over Blair's shoulder. "Do they always follow you around like that?"
The fluorescent screen illuminated in Blair's craned face while she said, "Of course. Now if you'll excuse me, I must attend to my other loyal subjects. Report back to me afterschool with details."
Evelyn peeled back the seal of her yogurt. "Sure."
Blair sauntered to her minions who eyed Evelyn curiously. Evelyn set down her yogurt smiling, and waved at them. They scoffed, rolling their eyes and returned their attention to Blair.
After finishing her yogurt in a record of four spoonfuls, Evelyn packed her thermos in her lunch bag, and sighed. This was it. This was her time to ruin the lives of two people. She knew if she did this to Dan, there would be no way to mend her relationship with Jenny. But she already made her decision. This was for Serena. Her family. If her earlier run-in with Jenny was any indication, it showed that there was no possible way to gain her trust back regardless of what she was about to do.
Evelyn walked toward Headmistress Queller's office, and opened the door. With her eyes downcast, she shuffled from the receptionist's desk to Headmistress Queller's office. Her lunch churned in her stomach, and her hands were cold and blotchy. She would never do this if she were in Connecticut. She would carry the secret to the grave because it was never any of her business. Yet here she was, knocking on the Headmistress' door like the pounding of her heart against its cage.
Spotted: E heading to the Headmistress' office without a detention slip in hand. Has E been acting naughty? Or has E been too good to tell the truth?
Chuck Bass waited in Central Park during third period that day. Spring had sprung, flowers had bloomed, and the air in the park smelled like the earth taking its first breath of the year. Joggers passed him, some pushing baby strollers, while others held onto leashes. Central Park offered a serene oasis in the middle of the bustling city, and it was a haven for Chuck. Typically he would use Central Park to get high with Nate, but this is the first time he'd been in the gardens section of the park. He had it all planned out this way. Well, he planned it all out according to the scrapbook.
When Blair was in ninth grade, they were friends mostly through association with Nate. Chuck remembered one of the last days of the year; she made a scrapbook of her dream prom with Serena. She showed it off, especially to Nate, but she showed it to Chuck too. She wasn't exactly quiet about it. According to the scrapbook, she wanted to arrive at prom with one of the horse drawn coaches, in a black peacock feathered dress. Blair also wanted to be asked to prom in Central Park Gardens.
Chuck was intent to make all of that happen. It was apart of his plan to win over Blair for once and for all. If he was going to make this commitment, he was going make it in the best possible way. He waited in the Conservatory Garden in front of a water fountain, with pruned bushes and pink flowers surround him. He may have added a little twist to her scrapbook plan, but he was sure his burst of creativity would add a personalized touch.
"Chuck? What are you doing here?"
He turned to see Blair Waldorf walk towards him; her lips parted, eyebrows in her hairline. "I thought you knew?" He smirked. "This is one of my favorite places to smoke up."
"And here I thought that is one of your favorite places to lure me." She took a step dangerously close to him.
Chuck had to look to the ground before he did something stupid like kiss her. He had to stick to the plan. He looked up at her again. "Did you like the clues?"
"Yes. Guiding me to every place we experienced a 'first' was almost…romantic. I've been practically running around the whole city since you sent me the first message at lunch."
He stood up straighter. "Good."
She scoffed. "Good? I've been missing class."
"Even better."
Blair rolled her eyes. "So, what is this leading up to, Bass?"
Chuck paused. He grew serious for a moment, worried of a possible rejection. Because if anyone had the strength and resolve to reject Chuck Bass, it would be Blair Waldorf. He looked into her warm chocolate eyes, and grabbed both of her hands. He needed to grip onto her, for her to realize that he was indeed serious about his proposition. "Waldorf, will you do me the honor of accompanying me to Prom?"
Blair blinked a couple times, as if she didn't expect him to say that. She looked down to their clasped hands and back up at him. "W-wait a second. I thought we said we'd wait. Stay friends until we were ready."
"That's the thing. I've been giving that a lot of thought and you see I-I think I'm ready."
He watches the information travel through her eyes and through ever muscle down to her mouth. "Oh." He watches her skeptical eyes look for the lie, look for the deceit laced his question.
He licked his dry lips. "So Waldorf, what do you say?"
Her lips curve into a smile. "Yes, Chuck Bass. I will grant you that honor." She squealed and jumped into his arms. Her sweet curls flew into his face, and her short arms curled around his neck. They held onto each other longer than a couple friends normally would, but neither wanted to let go of the other. They have circled each other for so long, that they didn't want to lose touch again.
When they finally parted, Chuck still held onto her arms. They stared at each other for a few seconds too long, their heads gravitating towards one another. Chuck turned to the fountain before he did that stupid thing he referred to earlier. He let go of Blair's arms for good measure. There would be plenty of time for that in their seemingly less complex future.
Spotted: C giving B an offer she couldn't refuse. It looks like the Queen B will be attending Prom with our Dark Knight. Is this the beginning of the end for C? We'll be sitting in the front row to find out.
"Good afternoon Miss Ainsley," Headmistress Queller said when she opened the door.
"Good afternoon Headmistress Queller." Evelyn stepped in the overwhelmingly spacious office. Both of her clammy hands clenched together in front of her waist. She waited for the Headmistress to close the door before speaking.
Miss Queller motioned for her to take a seat in the leather chair facing her desk. "Well, I must say, I reviewed your transcript, and it's pristine. You've seemed to be transitioning into Constance very well academically."
Evelyn grinned at the compliment. She reached for the golden locket that she always wore under her starched button down shirt. She was never conscious that she did this, but the warm metal reminded her why she was talking to the Headmistress. Because it was the right thing to do.
"So what brings you to my office?"
Evelyn sat up straighter in her chair. "I'm here because I wanted to bring a certain…situation to your attention that's been happening at school. What I came to speak about does not necessarily concern me directly," she said.
Headmistress Queller removed her narrow glasses, and leaned back in her leather chair. She interlaced her fingers in her lap. "Very well then. Proceed."
"Well," Evelyn began. She sighed deeply. "A few months ago, I found one of our students behaving inappropriately with one of the teachers." Evelyn bit her lip. She knew she was being way too general with that statement.
The Headmistress's eyebrows scrunched together. "Do you feel comfortable elaborating about this? We can call in our school psychologist if this is triggering anything for-" The Headmistress said in calm, measured breaths.
"No, no, no. That won't be necessary," Evelyn said waving her offer away. "I'll tell you. That's why I'm here. Before the Age of Innocence play… I witnessed Daniel Humphrey engaging in…well… s-sexual intercourse with Miss-Miss Carr in the props room."
The Headmistress' eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Miss Ainsley that is quite an accusation to make. If you don't mind me asking, how did you come to witness this act?"
Evelyn tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her feet were planted firmly on the ground, her back straight as a board. "Well, I was the assistant stage manager, and-uh-before the play started both Dan and Blair were missing. I-I was in charge of finding them before the play began. You can confirm this with the stage manager Rose, the director Julian, and practically the entire cast."
"I see. So, you said that Daniel Humphrey threatened you after this?"
"Yes. He begged me to not tell you. It's just," Evelyn paused, and tried her hardest to squeeze out a few tears for this. "He threatened me, so I wouldn't say anything. I was so scared you know? But it's been eating me up inside for the past month. I couldn't even walk straight this morning."
Evelyn halted the words that tumbled out of her mouth. She may have overdone it with that last line. It was probably too much. So Dan didn't actually threaten her per say, but he did suggest that she did not go tell the Headmistress about this issue-for Rachel's sake.
"What made you decide to come forward?"
"This situation was hurting so many people that I care about, that I couldn't hold it in anymore. And last night," Evelyn paused again, and scooped out her phone from her purse, "I saw them out together. I took this picture to prove to you that I'm not just making this claim. It's real. I know I'm a new student, but I'd hardly normalize this type of behavior for all students to accept."
Evelyn found the picture that Blair sent to her phone, and handed her phone to the Headmistress. The Headmistress put her glasses on the bridge of her nose, and held the phone at an arms length. "I see. Hmm. May I please have a copy of this?"
Evelyn nodded. She rubbed her eyes and heaved a sigh. Her shoulders slumped, her head propped up by her right arm, her lips pursed. She knew she needed to look more upset about this, but she couldn't muster up the tears. Crying on demand was more difficult than she thought.
The Headmistress made some notes on a piece of her stationary paper. Evelyn said, "I'm so sorry I waited this long to speak up, but at first I didn't think it was in my place to say anything. Daniel also demanded that I didn't say anything, which I realize was wrong too."
The Headmistress set down her pen. "Thank you for coming forward to report this issue Miss Ainsley. I know it took you a lot of courage, but just know that the school appreciates people like you. People who stand by what is right over what is easy."
Evelyn mustered up a sad smile. "Thank you Headmistress Queller. That means a lot coming from you. But I have a question?"
"Yes?"
"Both Miss Carr and Daniel Humphrey will be punished correct?"
"Certainly. But I will be calling a board meeting immediately to discuss the terms in which both of them will be punished. I suspect the charges can start with the prospect of letting Miss Carr leave the school."
"What about the student?"
"At minimum he will be suspended for a couple weeks, but I wouldn't be surprised if the school board members voted to take away his privileges of attending school events, or even running for Valedictorian. This is the first time we've had a situation like this since I've worked at this school. I suspect we'll treat Dan Humphrey as an example, so students understand the rules and expectations we uphold here at this institution," The Headmistress said.
Evelyn appeared to sigh in relief. "Okay. I'm glad you're taking that approach Headmistress Queller." She stood up, and slung her bag over her shoulder.
Headmistress Queller rose from her chair, and guided Evelyn to the door while saying, "This is all strictly confidential material Miss Ainsley. There will be an assembly tomorrow, which will reflect the decisions that pass at the board meeting over this issue. So until then, please refrain from telling any of your friends or family about this situation, and how it's going to be handled."
Evelyn reached for the door handle. "I will. Thank you again Headmistress Queller."
"You're welcome. Remember if this situation happens again, my office door will always be open for you."
Evelyn exited the office and heaved a large sigh once she was in the hallway. It was done. There was no going back now. She walked to her instrumental music class and assembled her saxophone while her mind analyzed her performance. She played the notes on the page, but her heart was elsewhere. It was confused. Sad for Serena. Relieved for her plan working out. Scared for what was to come. Evelyn then attended her pre calculus class. She heard the lecture, and evidently wrote down the lesson from the chalkboard, but she didn't listen to the lecture. She gave up taking notes in calculus since she couldn't focus any longer.
The final bell rung and Evelyn left class like a sleepwalker. She swayed through the halls with hooded eyes, while everything around her moved like fuzzy pictures with the speed of sound slowed down. She couldn't control where she was walking to, or what she was thinking. She didn't think of Dan. Or Miss Carr. Or even Blair. Evelyn found her way to her locker in a fuzzy haze. She twirled the combination of her lock, and dropped her books on the shelf, but everything was so loud around her. She didn't feel remorse or regret. She felt as if she'll wake up at any moment and all her intervention would be undone. The dreamy haze guided her like the wing of a dream, guiding her to her wake.
In her periphery, she sensed Constance uniforms brush past her, until one slammed her locker door shut for her. Evelyn jumped, her sight clear and sound crisp again. She stared into the luminous face of Blair Waldorf.
"Sooooo," Blair said. "You said you'd report back to me."
"I had class. You said we'd talk after school anyway. You could wait."
"School's over, and I don't want to wait any longer," Blair said. Her arms roped across her uniformed chest.
Evelyn slung her backpack over her shoulders and faced Blair. "What I'm about to say is completely unofficial and confidential alright? The Headmistress will be meeting with the board members after school. With that being said, unofficially, Miss Carr will be fired on ground of inappropriate conduct with a student. Dan will also be suspended for two weeks and will be on probation for the rest of the semester."
Blair's eyes widened. "Wait, you not only got him a suspension, but probation?"
Evelyn rubbed her burning eyes. "Yes. He is not allowed to attend Prom, and will be withdrawn from the running of Valedictorian for St. Judes. He can still attend graduation, but that's pretty much it."
Blair nodded with approval. "I must say, I didn't think you had it in you."
"Neither did I," Evelyn said under her breath.
Blair clapped her hands together. "This is wonderful news. Thank you so much for helping make it happen—for Serena of course."
Evelyn's brows rose. Yes, because Blair only did this out of the goodness of her heart when she took a photo of Dan visiting Rachel months before their affair even started. Evelyn didn't buy it at all.
"This calls for a celebration."
"It does?"
Blair brushed a stray clump of hair behind Evelyn's shoulder. "Yes. Whenever a scheme comes to fruition, I always visit my friend Henry Bendel. You'll come won't you?"
"I-I will?"
Blair pulled out her phone from her purse. "I'll call Serena, so she can join us. It'll be fun."
"Um…oh-okay."
Blair smiled and looped her arm around Evelyn's. "You've been to Bendels haven't you?"
Evelyn thought back to the time Chuck took her to Saks and was her personal shopper. A laugh tumbled out of her mouth from the memory.
"What's so funny?" Blair said.
"It's just- I haven't been to Bendels before, but I have been to Saks once. With Chuck actually."
Evelyn pushed through the doors and allowed Blair to walk through first. Blair scrunched up her face in confusion.
"Remember the night you celebrated Hazel's birthday? He took me to Saks to find a dress, so we could conveniently run into you that night. I didn't know that at the time though."
"Oh that's right," Blair said. "I'm sorry for how I acted. I didn't know-"
"It's okay. I didn't either."
They neared the limo, where Evelyn opened the door for Blair to hop in. "Your majesty." Evelyn bowed. Blair tilted her chin up higher like a real queen would in the face of her servants. Evelyn climbed in after her. Blair instructed the directions to the driver, and they jetted off to Fifth Avenue. Here she was, the outsider, with the most popular girl in school. The more and more she thought about the current situation she was in, the more Evelyn failed to piece it together into comprehension.
In all of her days since arriving on the Upper East Side, this day was becoming the most absurd.
Can old foes really become friends? That may not be true unless B is scouting for her successor. It looks like our newbie E already has a head start. Watch out courtiers, it looks the competition to rule the court has already begun.
Chuck was still in such a good mood when he walked into his father's office at the Palace. He was complacent once he returned to his seat in the back row of his class, imaging what Blair will be wearing underneath her prom dress. That part wasn't in the scrapbook, but a guy could dream. It seemed like nothing could bring him down to the ground. He was going to prom with Blair Waldorf.
After Bart's receptionist gave him permission, he entered Bart's office. The fresh spring air was vacuumed out of the room instantly. Chuck's shoulder's tensed when he saw his father propping his cellphone to his ear, leaning back in his leather chair.
When Bart spotted him, he held his hand up, motioning for Chuck to wait until he finished his call. Chuck ambled in, and sat in one of the leather chairs facing him. He smoothed his St. Jude's uniform tie and checked his phone. Bart still wasn't off the phone yet. Chuck got up, and resorted to staring out the window, watching the stop and go on the congested New York streets. Cars would glide forward one minute, and halt the next. It was maddening.
After ten more minutes of Bart's monotone voice drag through the stiff air, his father finally finished his call. Chuck returned to his chair and said, "Afternoon, father."
"Good afternoon, Chuck. How was school?"
"The usual."
"Well, if I don't get a call saying you skipped a couple classes, then it would be unusual."
Chuck gripped the armrests. "Expect a phone call then."
Bart sighed, thinking it would be better to not prod into his son about the issue. "We need to talk about your plans for next year," Bart said.
He made it sound like his future was his choice, when they both clearly knew that wasn't true. He's trying to be a pretend to be a model father with Evelyn, but Chuck knew better. This had little to do with Chuck, but more to do with him protecting his legacy. He wanted to make sure that Chuck didn't fuck it up. It was a tall order.
"Would you mind pulling out the envelopes you received?"
Chuck pulled them out of the first pouch in his messenger bag. He offered them to Bart, but he shrugged them off. "No, no. The letters are addressed to you. You should open them."
So he did. One by one, Chuck tore the seals of each envelope. All of the letters had the same generic opening of acceptance except Princeton, which was a pity to Chuck because the representative he met last year was a good fuck.
"And?"
"My choices are Brown, Dartmouth, and Columbia."
Bart eyebrows shot up. "Well, that's uh more than we could have hoped."
Chuck glanced at the letters again. These collages were all the same to him anyway. It would give him four years and a piece of paper before he became an apprentice to his father's company. It really didn't matter where he went, as long as he got a paper at the end of four years. He looked at Dartmouth, Brown and Columbia's distinct emblems. His eyes paused on Columbia's.
"What about Columbia?" Chuck said.
"It's an excellent school and it's in the city, but you always said you wanted to move away after college."
He did used to say that. He told Nate all the time; how he would travel to the west coast, to the likes of Stanford or Berkley, as far away from Bart as possible. He didn't think Bart would care where he was or where he wanted to go. Now, so many things have changed. He didn't want to leave Evelyn so soon, and Chuck realized that Blair was going to Columbia too.
"Son, I just want you to know that whatever school you choose will need to offer classes that will help you transition for your profession in business. That's all I ask you to consider. It's your choice, but remember that."
So he needed to choose a school that offered whatever skills he can learn in a classroom that will help him with his takeover of Bass Industries. That's his life. He'd never considered anything different. Whereas, Nate on the other hand waffled between possibilities, Chuck was always cemented in the certainty of running Bass Industries. Columbia would help him on his way to that future. He never considered another option. With the three college pamphlets in his hand, he realized for the first time he did have a choice.
"I expect you to make your decision before graduation," Bart said.
Chuck shuffled the letters one atop the other in a neater pile when Bart's phone rang.
"Bart Bass…"
Chuck didn't wait for his father to finish his call. He excused himself silently, stashing the letters and envelopes in his messenger bag. He wouldn't need time to decide what school he was going to attend. Why change what was already guaranteed? There was no need to make his life unnecessarily harder than it already was. It was now a matter of when to tell Bart his decision.
The limo glided to a halt in front of Bendels. On the car ride over, Blair offered her chocolates like she was a guest. It got weirder when she pulled out a bottle of champagne to commemorate their accomplished scheme. Evelyn knew that they worked together one time, but since when did that turn into courtship?
Evelyn hopped out of the car and followed Blair into Bendels. The five-floor building with two American flags pegged above the double doors seemed too elegant to be real. An attendant opened the golden-framed doors, where customers were greeted upon entry. Evelyn looked up to see openness of dead space that went all the way to the top of building. The staircases and next floors box around the perimeter of the building unit with iron and glass railings. Purses and jewelry were artfully displayed on tables and encased in glass boxes. Everything glittered and sparkled and for a moment the beauty of the items around her blinded Evelyn.
"Can I help you with anything Ms. Waldorf?" A sales associate in a black dress asked.
"Not today Catherine. But thank you."
Evelyn followed Blair around like a lost puppy. They climbed the stairs to the fourth floor—the top floor- where Evelyn made sure to keep up with Blair. It was easier to accomplish due to the high heels Blair wore, and the flats that she wore.
"Now, we are entering the gowns section. The best section if you ask me," Blair said.
Once on the floor, a limited selection of dresses was on display on narrow racks and lines of mannequins. Blair stopped in front of each mannequin, studying the artful dress one at a time. Evelyn continued to follow her, one slow step at a time with her arms crossed.
"So, are you looking for something specific?" Evelyn said after five minutes of browsing.
"No. But you are," Blair said with a knowing smile.
"Excuse me?"
Blair turned to face Evelyn. "Find me a dress."
"Me? Why?"
"I need a new dress to wear out tonight. I'm thinking something sophisticated and elegant, but don't be afraid to pick one that's… risqué. You have five minutes."
Evelyn gripped the rack beside her. "I'm sorry, let's back up here. You want me to pick out a dress for you? I think you can do a far better job than me," Evelyn said.
"You have four and a fifty five seconds. You better hurry."
Evelyn twirled on the heels and bolted across the room to the racks of dresses. She flipped through the few racks that lined the outside walls, looking for something that screamed Blair. She didn't pay enough attention to what Blair wore; she was always too concerned with never making eye contact with her at all.
Some of the dresses were clearly modeled on a runway. A peacock inspired dress billowed from a feathery tapered waist to the floor. Another was a long black sheer dress whose two thick sashes roped around the shoulders before fastening in the waist and flowing out. Another sparkling intricate dress was a creamy beige with a plunging neckline, with short sleeves and sequences, ranging from small to tiny sizes, curved from the back of the neck, to the edges of the tail. Evelyn had never seen such detail in dresses before. She was accustomed to cheap prom dresses girls would wear to formal that barely covered their G-strings with spaghetti straps. Suddenly, she saw fashion in an entirely new light. It was a way to express oneself. She never considered fashion to be anything but materialistic because of the mass produced retailers that she was exclusively exposed to. Fashion could express the character of a person just as much as makeup could paint a face. Maybe, Evelyn considered, it wouldn't be so bad to learn how to use it to express herself.
"Two minutes," Blair called from the chaise outside the dressing room.
Evelyn balked and rushed to look at every dress on display. Why on Earth would Blair ever ask for fashion advice from her? Last time she went out shopping in one of these stores, she took Chuck's advice. She didn't intently pay attention to why he picked out the dress that night. She thought her eyes were blue, the dress was blue and that was that.
"Time's ticking!"
A sleek black jumpsuit caught her eye. Evelyn unhooked the hanger from the rack, and held it up against the light. It was a black halter that cuffed around the neck with a peek a boo cut in the front. A thin gold belt looped around the suit. Evelyn turned the suit to the other side. A circular gaping hole would expose Blair's entire back. It was risqué and sophisticated—just like what Blair asked.
Evelyn draped the suit over her one arm, and walked over to Blair who waited outside the door of a changing room.
"Here." Evelyn handed the suit to Blair. She stood straight with her hands on her hips.
Blair picked up the hanger and looked at the outfit, her mouth scowling. A scoff escaped her lips. "You can't be serious."
Evelyn's elbows sank. "Why not? You asked for sophisticated and risqué, and that was the only outfit that fit your description perfectly. What's wrong with it?"
Blair's fingers brushed the material. "Well, I asked for a dress. I'm not wearing…a track suit!"
Evelyn jutted her chin out. "It is not a tracksuit!"
Blair put a sympathetic hand on Evelyn's forearm. "I am not Jane Lynch. I'm Grace Kelly. Sweetie, you got it all wrong and clearly need help."
"You haven't ever tried something like that on have you?" Evelyn challenged.
Blair looked at her with pity. "That's because it's never been in style since the seventies and with good reason," she added under her breath.
Evelyn crossed her arms. "You asked for something to wear tonight, and here is what I found for you. The least you could do is try it on."
"It's not even a dress!"
"So? That's risqué for you, isn't it?" Evelyn countered.
Blair pursed her lips and turned into the changing room. Evelyn grinned at herself in the three-paneled mirror down the changing room hallway. She considered Blair's compromise a small victory. How many people could claim they got Blair Waldorf to try on a jumpsuit?
A blonde flurry of hair whipped through the archway of the changing rooms. "I'm here!" Serena said breathlessly.
"Hi Serena," Evelyn said.
"Oh. Hi Evelyn. Is Blair trying something on?"
Evelyn leaned against the door to the change room across from Blair's with arms crossed. "Yes. She's trying on something I picked out for her."
Serena readjusted her bag over her shoulder. "Since when? Blair never lets someone pick out a dress for her…" Serena's eyes widened before they found the carpeted floor.
Evelyn's brows scrunched together. "What is it?"
The changing room door swung open. Blair stepped out; her arms crossed, and her face in a grouse.
"B…" Serena began but the words died on her mouth.
Blair stopped in front of the three-paneled mirror. The suit tapered in all the right places. The collar elongated her elegant neck, and the suit hugged her every curve. The front slit was teasing, while her pale back contrasted well with the blackness of her outfit. If she wore her hair in a bun with red lipstick, she'd be ready for a night out. Granted, she picked the right type of shoe to finish her outfit.
"What? I know it looks hideous. I don't know what I was thinking-"
"Are you kidding? You look amazing B!" Serena said.
Blair looked at her best friend with disbelief. "Serena, have you lost your mind?"
"B, have you looked at yourself in the mirror properly? Here," Serena dragged Blair to the end of the hallway. She forced Blair to look up at herself, and once she did, Blair's face revealed a look of wonder. She turned to her left and right to reveal the gap that framed her back. Blair looked from her figure in the mirror to Evelyn in the mirror, her lips parted, eyes confused.
"Well, it's not completely hideous. But it would look better on someone like Serena."
Still leaning against the change room frame, Evelyn pushed herself up. "I disagree. You don't always have to wear dresses you know."
"Yeah, B. I think if you wore this, people would turn heads more than they already do."
"You both nauseate me." Blair returned to the change room and slammed the door.
Serena rolled her eyes while walking toward Evelyn. "Love you too, B."
"So how did you get roped into this?" Serena whispered.
Evelyn shrugged. "I honestly don't even know. How was your day?"
Serena paused before answering, "It was…okay. How was yours?"
Evelyn didn't reply immediately. She tried to find the word to express the day she had. "It was stressful. Glad it's over now."
Serena frowned before her eyes bugged out. "Oh that's right-you had your chemistry test today! How'd it go?"
"I think it went well…I kind of seconded guessed some of my answers after I left class, but I always do that, so I guess I'll have to wait and see-"
Blair reappeared with the suit on the hanger.
"So are you going to buy it?" Evelyn said.
Blair wrinkled her nose. "No. Did you really think I'd purchase something that you picked out for me?"
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Nope, but you are still holding it. I wouldn't want you to make any hasty decisions now."
They walked out of Bendels empty handed, where Blair decided they needed to stop for coffee. Blair ordered a non-fat mocha soy latte, while Serena ordered a decaf Frappuccino. When it became time to order for Evelyn, she mumbled a hot chocolate suddenly feeling very simple.
"So, Serena. Evelyn spoke with Headmistress Queller today."
Serena looked between the two of them, putting two and two together. "Both of you-no-what did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," Blair said innocently.
"Blair…" Serena said.
"It was me actually," Evelyn said in a small voice. She swiveled the hot chocolate around the saucer.
"Evelyn…what did Blair get you to do?"
"I confessed to the Headmistress about Dan and Rachel."
Serena's eyes hardened. "You got Rachel fired? And Dan…but, I don't understand. You don't even know them."
Evelyn couldn't look at Serena. Her eyes were hardened with judgment, just like she kept envisioning her Aunt Kim would do if she knew. God, her Aunt Kim would have her grounded for months. Better yet, she wouldn't be in this position had she stayed in Connecticut.
"I did it for you," Evelyn said quietly.
"What?"
Evelyn sighed. "Dan cheated on you Serena, and I know you were hurt, so I thought with helping out, at least the right thing could be done to make something right around here."
"Right? Rachel is probably fired by now, and who knows what Dan will get. Their lives are probably ruined. Evelyn, I just never thought you were capable of this."
"Don't be sympathetic to them, S," Blair interjected. "If they didn't want to screw their lives up, then they shouldn't have been screwing each other. Simple as that. And don't think you can save Humphrey on this one. He's lucky he didn't get expelled. I can't say the same about Yale. I know from personal experience that they have strict policies about student conduct…"
"Blair, there are a lot of things I've forgiven you for, but you keep doing these things over and over. And why do you always have to pick innocent people to do your dirty work?"
"Both of them cost me my dream, Serena. And why can't you see that he cheated on you? You could do so much better. We did this; so you wouldn't have to do anything but move on. That's all."
Evelyn took a sip of her hot chocolate. Her eyes darted between both best friends. They just stared intently at each other for a few seconds before Serena grabbed her purse.
"You know what, I'm leaving. You might as well start planning other people's lives to tear down for all I care. I can't even look at you right now Blair. Evelyn, let's go."
Evelyn gulped down the rest of her hot chocolate and shuffled behind Serena and into the waiting limo. She didn't say anything, and played with her fingernails in her lap. She leaned her head against the window, and thought what her Aunt Kim would say right now. She could feel her, sitting beside her in the car saying, "Didn't I warn you? These people will change you Evelyn.
Bestie alert. B, E, and S grabbing coffee after an impromptu shopping session at Bendels. But what's with S and E running off? Is E coming between B and S? It looks like ditching Brooklyn for Fifth has given E a hand of spades. We'll all be waiting to find out what she'll do with them.
The next day, an assembly was called after the morning bell rang. Chuck entered the Chapel five minutes after it started. It was his usual routine when he felt the need to wake and bake. Normally he would miss it altogether because announcements in the morning were usually brief, but today he walked into a full Chapel with Headmistress Queller addressing the seated students in the pews.
Chuck took a seat in the back row behind the Constance girls. Several rows of benches separated him from the lines of his classmates. Constance girls had to sit on the left side, while the St. Judes boys had to sit on the right. Chuck always made a point on sitting on the ladies side whenever he was late. Since ninth grade, he'd never been publically called out for it.
"Over the past couple of months, there have been many rumors surrounding one of our faculty member's relationship with a student. As such, one of our teachers has resigned from teaching at our institution. We would like to take this opportunity to reminder each and every one of you that this behavioral conduct will not be tolerated. Any student who participates in this behavior will face certain suspension and possibly expulsion…"
So Miss Carr had finally got the boot from Blair. Chuck made a point to congratulate her after the announcements ended. He looked for her in the pews ahead of him and spotted her in the back row in the far corner. That was highly unusual. Blair was always in the center of the front row. He noticed her head bent toward the girl beside her, as they whispered through the Headmistress' lecture. The other girl's chestnut hair was pulled into a high ponytail. Her shoulder began to shake from laughter. The head turned and Chuck realized Evelyn was sitting beside Blair.
Sine when were they so buddy buddy?
Chuck leaned back in the pew wondering this very idea until the Headmistress dismissed the students for first period. As they all shuffled out, Chuck waited outside the double doors for Blair and Evelyn. Once they walked through the doorway, Chuck sidled up beside his sister.
"I think a congratulations are in order," Chuck said.
Blair turned to him. "Thank you Bass. Your timing is late as usual. You missed the assembly."
"That's not true. I arrived just in time for the important parts."
They passed through the St. Judes hallway. A locker door shut, and Dan Humphrey slung a backpack over his shoulder. He saw the three of them walking down the corridor and marched right up to them.
"Shouldn't you be on your way out Humphrey?" Chuck said.
Dan shook his head with agitation. "I am. Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" He asked Evelyn.
"Whatever you want to say to her can be said to all of us. We all know what you did," Blair said crossing her arms.
Dan looked between Chuck and Blair, and then focused n Evelyn who was sandwiched between the two. "I can't believe you. You promised you weren't going to say anything about Rachel and I," Dan said.
Evelyn opened her mouth to reply, but Chuck interrupted.
"Ah yes, Humpty Dumpty. Promises and devotion are always fleeting. You should know that."
Evelyn grabbed Chuck's arm firmly. "Chuck, it's fine."
She turned to Dan and said, "Dan, I tried to keep to my word, but there were too many people getting hurt in the process. I mean, I couldn't stand by and let you continue to hurt Serena any longer. I'm sorry that I had to do this in this way, but there was no other option."
"There were so many other ways you could have dealt with it. You should have come talk to me instead of being sucked in to a scheme by this one hundred doe eyed package of girly evil," Dan said while pointing to Blair.
"Please, like you've never participated in a scheme Humphrey. Remember Georgina Sparks?"
Dan held up his hand to silence Blair. "That was different."
Blair's lips curled into bitchy smile. "You're right. This was different. You cheated on my best friend, who let me tell you deserved so much better than you. I mean you don't even deserve to be the gum stuck to the bottom of her shoe—"
Evelyn jumped in between Dan and Blair. "Let's just calm down and not make a scene of this okay?"
Dan stepped back and looked from Blair to Chuck and then Evelyn with disappointment. He slung his backpack on his back angrily and stormed up the corridor and through the front doors.
"Don't worry yourself with people like that Evelyn," Blair said. "They're not mad at you, they're mad at themselves for getting caught."
Chuck saw Evelyn's lips curl inward, her eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, you're right."
A couple of Blair's minions called to her from the approaching courtyard. "If you'll excuse me, I have another minion to discipline."
Chuck turned to Evelyn, whose forehead was creased. "Well, if anyone could take your scheming virginity from you, there is no one better than Blair."
Evelyn pasted, her eyes stuck to the floor. "I guess."
"You're okay with it though, right?"
They halted in front of Evelyn's locker. "Yes…but I don't know, I still feel bad. I did it for Serena, but I can't help but feel terrible that I ruined two people's lives in the process. I-I'm just confused."
Chuck leaned against her locker door. "It's okay. Confliction is normal during this stage of a scheme."
Evelyn stacked two binders in the crook of her arm. "Do you ever feel this way after a scheme comes to fruition?"
"No," Chuck said immediately. "But I'm not normal. Neither is Blair. Both of us rather enjoyed our first time. Not everyone enjoys their first time."
"Then why was it so hard for me and not you or Blair?"
It was a question he'd never thought of before. Chuck took a minute to contemplate it. "You see, it takes a terrible person to do what we do, and fortunately for you, you're not a terrible person. You're far from it."
Evelyn wrapped her hand around her locker door. "What makes me a better person?"
Chuck stood straight allowing Evelyn to shut her locker. "You're compassionate. You don't like to hurt other people for sport. Blair and I do. If anything, you're rather intent on saving people."
The first period bell rang. Chuck offered to walk Evelyn to class. Halfway there, he said under his breath, "But let's be clear. If you ever seek a scheming opportunity, you need to do something for me."
"And what would that be?"
Chuck scoffed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Include me."
Evelyn stopped and chuckled. "You? Why so you can take over?"
"Well, you know what Bart always says. If you want something done right…hire the best you can find. And we both know it's me."
"Oh really? I don't think Blair would agree with that."
"Please, there are some schemes I've pulled off that even Blair could never dream of."
"Ooooh, you are so accomplished. Do they give out medals for that?"
Chuck smirked. "Depends on the wager. But I'm serious. If you're ever in trouble or if someone is giving you a hard time, you let me know, and we'll deal with it together."
Evelyn smiled and stopped outside her homeroom door. "Deal."
That afternoon, Evelyn found Bart reading the paper on the living room couch with his right ankle propped across his left thigh. His cold eyes scanned across the paper back and forth, his mouth pursed. Despite his causal posture, he still wore his starchy business suit while holding a mug of coffee in his other hand. When she exited the elevator, his eyes flickered above the top of his newspaper.
"Evelyn. Welcome home."
"Hi. What are you doing home so early?"
Bart closed the business section of the newspaper he'd been reading. "My client had to cancel our meeting last minute, so I had the late afternoon off. How was school today?"
Evelyn dropped her backpack and sunk into the couch beside him. "It was okay. We had an assembly today. It turns out one of our teacher's was having an illicit relationship with a student."
Bart placed the wrinkled paper onto the coffee table. "I heard about that. Last night Lily attended an emergency parent-teacher meeting about it."
Evelyn looked to the shaggy rug. "Yeah, that must not have been too pretty."
Bart took a sip of his coffee. "Lily was telling me some parents were pretty upset about it. It looked bad on the school for hiring Miss Carr, so they made sure the repercussions were severe. It's nothing to worry about. It didn't concern you, so just go about your business and things will return to normal by Monday."
Evelyn's stomach twisted. If only he knew how much it did concern her. "Yeah, you're right. It's just the big gossip for everyone right now. It'll blow over eventually."
Evelyn leaned back into the pillows, her eyes fixed on the coffee table. "How was you're your day?"
"Good. It was pretty slow, but it uh gave me time to catch up on some business proposals I've been meaning to draw up. Lots of paperwork-which reminds me," he set down his coffee on a glass coaster.
"I've been meaning to talk to you about something important."
Evelyn sat up. "Okay? What's up?"
Bart unfolded his legs and cleared his throat. "With the school year coming to an end soon that also means your time here is also coming to an end." He paused looking intently at her. "Unless you don't want it to end."
Evelyn blinked a couple times. "Oh? Well I-"
"You don't need to answer that right now. But uh I've been talking about it with Lily, and we've really appreciated you becoming apart of our family over the past few months, and we would like to see you stay. I just wanted you to know that you will always be welcome to stay with us. If you choose to return to Hartford to your Aunt and Uncle, we completely understand, but if you want, you can stay with us. Permanently. "
Evelyn nodded her head.
"It's all your decision. Neither Lily nor I want to pressure you into anything, so for the next few weeks, start thinking about where you want to stay. If you want to stay with us, we can arrange an application to change your legal guardians to Lily and I instead of your aunt and uncle. That's one option. Or, you could return to them if you see fit."
Evelyn nodded again. "Okay. I'm sorry this is just a really big question for me. I just don't know-"
Bart held his hand up. "Don't worry. I completely understand. Take your time to think it over, and when exams are finished you can let us know."
Evelyn's hand reached up and touched the golden locket. She lifted the chain to her lips and moved it back and forth. "That sounds fair. I will. You know, think about it. I just-you know- exams are coming up, so I'll need to focus on that first, but I'll think about it. I just need time to think of this. Whatever my decision is, it's going to change my life. I don't take that lightly."
"As you shouldn't," Bart said.
The elevator chimed and laughter spilled out. Lily, Serena, and Eric turned the corner to find Evelyn and Bart sitting on the sofa. They each carried bundles of shopping bags.
"Bart. Evelyn. Good to see you both."
"Hi, Lily," Evelyn smiled.
"We just go back from shopping, if I would've known I would have told you to come along Evelyn," Lily said setting her bag on one of the armchairs.
"Don't worry about it Lily. We were just talking."
"And we're starving," Eric said. "Where's Ina?"
"She booked the day off. I was thinking we could all have our family dinner out tonight," Bart said.
"We were just out. How about we order in?" Serena said as she climbed the staircase.
"We could even do room service," Eric offered.
Lily turned to Bart and Evelyn. "How about Chinese?"
"Sounds delicious to me. I'll text Chuck to see where he is." Evelyn got up from the couch and pulled out her phone.
She walked down the hallway and into her room. After she sent a text to Chuck, she tossed her phone on her bed, and collapsed onto it. The question her father posed still resonated with her. Everything was beginning to feel normal here. Now, she faced the possibility to leave it all. To return back to Connecticut where she'd have to work and restart her life all over again. For the first time in her life she couldn't run away. She had to make a decision. She rolled onto her side, and smothered her face into the pillow.
The bigger decision was figuring out what she wanted, and Evelyn realized that for the first time she didn't have a clue.
Chuck returned to the penthouse that night to the sight of his siblings setting the table. Serena was placing plates in front of every chair, while Eric trailed behind her with paper napkins. There was no breadbasket or platter of steamed vegetables. There was no scotch set up on the butler's tray ready for him to pour a glass. There was no sparkling water in a canister. The table seemed suspiciously bare to Chuck. Only a couple white bags were placed in the middle of the round table.
"What's this?"
Evelyn, who was busy setting up the plastic forks and knifes side-by-side, looked up at him and said, "Dinner."
"Dinner?" He scrunched his nose. "Why are their plastic bags on the table?"
"We ordered takeout. Chinese," Eric said breezing behind Chuck.
"You like Chinese, right?" Evelyn set up the last place setting of cutlery, looking up at her brother.
"He does. He's just never had takeout," Serena said.
"Of course he must have," Evelyn scoffed.
"When did we become peasants?"
The fork Evelyn was holding clattered on a plate. "Oh my God. You haven't had takeout before."
Chuck pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ina always cooks for us. Where is she?"
"Ina had the night off. We all came home late, so we ordered some dinner," Eric said.
"Since when does Ina have time off?" Chuck said pulling back his usual chair at the table.
"Chuck? Could you please fill each of the glasses with water?" Evelyn asked.
Chuck sighed. His nose wrinkled, the edges of his mouth pointing to his chin. "Fine."
"Mom! Bart! Dinner's ready," Serena called.
Chuck opened the cupboards in the kitchen. China plates were neatly stacked in front of him. He opened the next chest of cupboards, this time finding an assortment of bowls. He was so used to picking up a glass on the butler's tray that Chuck couldn't remember where the glasses were stored.
"The glasses are in the cupboard closest to the sink," Evelyn said, breezing through the kitchen. She opened the doors Chuck had just closed, and picked up six small salad bowls.
"I'm looking for the pitcher actually."
"Oh. That's in this corner cabinet here." Evelyn handed him the glass pitcher. "Don't forget ice. I trust you know where that is?"
"Yes. Even though I've lived in this house longer, I do know where it is. I know the first place to look. Let me check the champagne basket."
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "You're right. That's the first place I thought to look too."
Lily and Bart took their seats at the table, as Chuck finally emerged from the kitchen with the water pitcher. The table was littered with Styrofoam boxes filled with fried rice, fried sweet and sour pork, deep fried chicken balls, and wonton soup. Everyone scooped and passed each container to each other.
"Now that we're all here, I think it's time for Serena to share her announcement."
"Announcement?" Evelyn asked.
Serena folded the creases of her napkin in her lap. "Yes," she exhaled. "After much consideration, I'm accepting my offer to go to Brown in the fall."
The table erupted into squeals and applause. Everyone offered his or her congratulations. Eric hugged Serena, while Evelyn bounced in her seat, letting out a bright squeal. Lily looked on to her daughter proudly, while Bart even shook her hand.
"To Serena," Chuck raised his glass of water.
They all clinked glasses.
"Well as happy as we are that Serena has made her decision, I know Charles here hasn't yet. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, Charles. You still have time to decide."
Chuck thought about his meeting with Bart that afternoon. He already knew where he was going to go. Why put it off any longer? He would have to accept his offer by next week's deadline anyway.
"I've actually made my decision too, Lily."
"You have?" Bart said, his eyebrows disappearing into his receding hairline.
"Yes. I've decided that I'm going to accept my offer at Columbia."
Lily held a hand to her heart. "Charles, that is incredible! We are so happy for you!"
"Yeah, Chuck," Eric said.
Bart gave a stern nod of approval.
"So you'll be staying in the city, then?" Evelyn said.
"I'll be in a dorm for first year, but yes, I'll still be in the city. Providence and New Haven were a little too…quaint for me."
Evelyn stabbed another chicken ball with her fork. "Quaint places are easy to outgrow."
Evelyn raised her glass. "Let's raise our glasses to Chuck, and his future at Columbia! I really wish we knew you both were going to tell us your decisions at time where I didn't impose take out on you. I wish this was all a little more special."
"Oh we will be celebrating at their graduation party, Evelyn. This is just the beginning," Lily said. "And speaking of beginnings, Bart and I have been talking about the possibility of spending summer vacation as a family."
Serena and Chuck groaned, while Eric bowed his head. Evelyn looked between her stepsiblings.
"Now, before you sigh, just remember that this could be the very last time we can spend time together in the same place at the same time just as a family."
"But Blair and I were thinking of going to visit her father and Roman in Paris."
"And I wanted to spend the summer with Jonathan."
All eyes were on Chuck. "I'm Chuck Bass."
"Well…I've never taken a family trip before," Evelyn said quietly.
"You haven't? Have you ever travelled anywhere before?" Serena said.
"Not really. I've been to Vermont once and Boston for a band trip, but that's really about it."
Lily sighed, drawing the attention back to her. "Look, I'm not saying this is a full summer commitment, but we would like to spend some time as a family. We have become a stronger family unit over the past three months, and we expect you to set aside time with it. Even you Charles."
Chuck smirked, while Serena grimaced at the thought of spending family time with Chuck.
Serena signed. "Okay, fine. Where do you want to go?"
Lily grinned at her guilt tripping victory. "We were thinking of discussing that now. We could always stay in the Hamptons like we do every year….but here's a thought. Evelyn, since this is your first year joining us, why don't we let you decide where we go?"
"Oh, I haven't been anywhere really, so I'm honestly honoured to go anywhere. I'm sure the Hamptons is beautiful. "
"No, you can't say that!" Serena said. "If you could choose anywhere around the world to go, where would it be?"
"Serena that's like asking me what my favorite food is, and you all know by now that I don't discriminate."
"Start with a continent. Is there any place you've always been drawn to?"
Evelyn swirled her spoon in her wonton soup. "Europe obviously for its history. But then there is South America…but Australia…wait, but Thailand…I'm sorry but I don't…Wait you know what. I do know what place I've always been drawn to. I've always wanted to go to Africa. See a safari, and just you know be."
"Africa?" Lily nodded her head. It wasn't a place she'd typically pick first, but there was a beauty to Africa that was unlike any other place in the world. It helped that nobody at the table had visited any place there before.
"I got it," Evelyn said. "Tanzania."
"Well that just got oddly specific," Eric said.
"No, I used to always read National Geographic in ninth grade, and out of all the countries in Africa, it not only has desserts, but it has mountains and beaches. It really has it all."
"I've always wanted to climb Kilimanjaro….I dunno…we don't have to do that, but that sounds crazy doesn't it?" Evelyn said, her face flushed.
"No, that sounds like an amazing idea," Serena said. "I'd have never thought it."
"We'll do some more research to see if it's safe and all, but I'm sure we could go for at least three weeks in August. That's the best time I can get off." Bart said.
"And we can make it back for the annual White Party," Lily said already scrolling through her phone calendar.
"Wait, no one at this table has been to Tanzania right?" Evelyn asked.
Everyone shook their heads or said no. It wasn't exactly their first choice on their list of destinations. Europe, the Hamptons and the Caribbean were usually their most habitual choices.
"Alright then." Lily put her phone face down on the table. "We'll call the travel agent tomorrow and we'll see what we can do."
When Evelyn spotted Nate's fleeting eyes in the courtyard the next day, she felt a pang of remorse. She knew she handled things horribly since her birthday party and had yet to speak to Nate about it since. He'd given her plenty of space, barely exchanging a glance at her since she ran out on him. So when Evelyn saw him after school, still at his locker, her legs slowed. She didn't breeze by him like she usually would. Instead, she paused, his back facing her. She folded her arms across her chest tightly.
"Nate?"
He turned, slinging his lacrosse duffle bag over his shoulder. "Evelyn. What are you doing here?"
"Hi. I-I'm sorry if I'm interrupting you. Do you have practice now?"
"Not today. I just thought I'd bring home my uniforms to wash before the game on Friday."
"Oh right. Yeah, Of course. Listen, I'm really sorry about how I've been handling things lately. I mean- I'm sorry, I just don't know how to explain-okay. I'm just. Sorry."
"It's okay. I thought you didn't really want to talk to me right now. So I thought you just needed space."
Evelyn's arms dropped to her hips. "Really?"
"Yeah. And to be honest, I was confused where we stood."
"If I were being completely honest, so was I," Evelyn chuckled.
Nate smiled, and she wondered if she knew where they stood. She looked at Nate, and wondered if there was something there. Something that made her excited. Nervous. In that moment, with his kind smile and rumpled St. Jude's uniform, she saw Nate for the first time. Charming. Kind. Comfortable. Older. Intriguing. She couldn't decipher what it was, but there could be something, but she wasn't sure if it was the right time.
"What are you doing right now?" Evelyn asked.
"Well, I was going to go home, unless you have a better idea?"
"Do you want to do something? Maybe discover where we stand?" She didn't feel awkward or guilty for asking him this time. This time, she wanted to spend time with him. Get to know him.
She won't forget how he smiled to the floor before looking at her while saying, "Yes."
They took a walk though Central Park. Evelyn had never been, so she witnessed the bloomed flowers and fresh foliage from the trees. If she plugged her ears, she felt like she was back in Connecticut. She lived in a smaller county, where stocky trees lined up the end of each driveway, the long branches dangling over the roads. Without the distant hustle and bustle from the city, Central Park was a natural oasis. An oasis Evelyn was happy to be sharing with Nate.
They stopped at a hot dog vendor on the way because Nate had complained how he was starving. "I can't help it. I'm just always hungry."
To which Evelyn admitted, "You're not alone with that. So am I," Evelyn was used to having a snack after school, and she had yet to walk through this rite of passage.
They walked at a slow pace, at first making small talk until Evelyn spotted an unoccupied bench, "Want to sit down?" Evelyn said pointing to it.
"Sure."
Evelyn leaned into the bench as she sat down. "Nate, I'm really sorry if I gave you a lot of mixed signals."
Nate brushed a little dab of mustard at the corner of his mouth. "It's okay. You've had a lot going on since you moved here. I think I was moving too fast, and assumed too much of you."
Evelyn sighed as she chewed on her hot dog. "Yeah, I think you may have assumed that I'm more experienced with this stuff than I actually am. I've never been in a relationship before, so the prospect of one kind of freaked me out a bit. My handling was really terrible."
Nate "It wasn't that terrible. Now it makes sense. You've never been in a relationship before."
Evelyn shook her head. "Yeah. I thought I would be back in Connecticut, but things didn't turn out, and I left before it got resolved-"
"So there's someone else," Nate said, looking straight ahead at the bridge.
"Well, no, there isn't. In fact that isn't the point of the way I acted," Evelyn said.
Nate turned with a knowing look on his face. "Please don't lie to me now, Evelyn."
"Okay, maybe there was someone I had feelings for—just a little bit—but that's over now. Resolved. I can't tell the future, but the only way I can describe it as maybe. An iffy maybe. It's complicated, and requires time to forgive…" Evelyn drifted off wondering if she and Ozzy will only stay friends after what happened. She wondered if there would ever be a sizzling spark without being coupled with an ache of pain.
Evelyn shook the thought from her head. "The point is that this whole time, Jenny still had feelings for you, and since you and I were friends though Chuck, I promised her I'd help reacquaint you two since you grew apart in the late fall. I just wanted to see her happy. She showed me the letter you wrote her, and I thought maybe you'd be happy too."
"Jenny? That was a long time ago. We've both changed so much since then. I don't have feelings for her anymore."
Evelyn swallowed the last piece of her hot dog. "Well, I didn't know that in the beginning. But when Jenny saw us kiss, I just felt horrible. I never ever thought I'd be that friend, and it happened. The whole time it led up to my birthday I just felt guilty."
"Guilty about what?"
"Misleading you. I didn't mean to, but it just kept happening. I kept encouraging you without entirely meaning to."
"Did you ever think you felt guilty because you had feelings for me? Am I crazy to think you may have felt something?"
Evelyn crumpled her hot dog wrapper in her hand. "You're not crazy to think that. I just wasn't ready to like someone again. I got burned so badly last time that I wasn't ready. I had to forgive before I could move on."
"What last time?"
Evelyn's shoulders sagged. "That's a story I'll tell you another day. I don't want to rehash the details right now. Right now it's just you and me."
For the first time there was no lingering presence of Jenny or Ozzy between them.
After a long pause, Evelyn said, "Nate? What are you thinking?"
Nate crumpled his wrapper in a tight ball. His hand formed a fist. "I'm thinking that if I let this go, you'll get away."
Evelyn swallowed. "Maybe I already have. Maybe I was out of reach from the start."
Nate smiled crookedly. "I think you were. I just felt something different from you. I didn't really understand it."
Evelyn put her hand over Nate's. "I don't want us to lose touch. I don't want you to think that I won't ever feel that way because I have no idea what will happen. Right now, I'm not ready for a relationship. There's so much going on, and everyone seems so distant…right now, what I think I need most is a friend. Can you still be my friend, Nate?"
Nate covered his free hand over hers. "Of course."
Evelyn leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."
"What are friends for?"
Evelyn let out a gwaff. "Really Nate? Did you just recently watch Winnie the Pooh or something?"
"Hey! There are some wise words to live by with that show. Don't mock it."
Evelyn smirked. "I would never mock it, but mocking you is totally fair game." She flashed a toothy smile and jumped up from the bench, their knotted hands untangling easily.
She started to run away from him when she heard him yell, "Where are you going?"
"I'm racing you back to the limo. Duh."
Nate sprang to his feet, engaging in a full on sprint toward her. "That's not fair, you had a head start!"
"Whining about disadvantages is for losers. See you at the finish line!"
He chased and chased her, through the tunnels, bridges and winding paths. Always within an arm's reach. She touched the black limo first, with him a second behind. A hand away. He stood back, his hands on his hips, heaving for breath. He looked at her flushed face and frizzy hair, noticing for the first time she had opened up to him. She was comfortable around him, fun, and real.
Nate vowed that this wasn't the end of their relationship. This was the beginning. The beginning of everything.
It's true that when two people are ready for forgiveness, they can kiss and makeup. But what happens when one of those people always wants more? N has always wanted what he couldn't have, so I doubt this will be the last kiss we see from these two. This battle may have ended with a ceasefire, but the war is far from over.
You Know You Love Me,
XOXO Gossip Girl
A/N: Well there you have it! So what did you guys think? Please sound off your thoughts and comments in a review!
Next chapter preview: The next chapter will be titled Prom Wars. Chuck and Blair go to prom together (you guys didn't think I'd go there did you? But I am!) while Evelyn contemplates her upcoming decisions about her future. I don't want to say too much more because it would be too much of a spoiler.
Clearly, the focus of the next chapter will concern the night of prom. I recently rewatched "Valley Girls" and was reminded of how little screen time was allotted to covering prom in favor of showing a prequel series pilot of Lily's adolescent years in LA (that never took off...). Here's hoping I can provide the story we all wished would've happened during that episode.
To those who are still reading this story, I give endless thanks.
Till next time,
XOXO EZ11