A/N: Hello readers! I know I've been super MIA lately, but I cannot stress enough how busy life has been! Aside from real life, I've been wrestling a few problems with this chapter, which is why I haven't posted it yet. I need to work out these issues with the chapter because future storylines depend on it. Unfortunately, I won't be able to post the full chapter until April (after I complete my final exams), but in the meantime, I thought I would post the beginning portion of the chapter. So I suppose this is considered a half-update?

Once I upload the full chapter, I will be halfway through Part 2. Because of the long waits between updates, I am considering shortening the chapters, so I can update more regularly. I will confirm if this will happen when I post this full chapter in April. Thank you so much for your constant support and patience for my story. I can't tell you how much it motivates me to continue! I hope you enjoy this teaser!

Preview: Evelyn Bass's Day Off

Winter was coming.

New Yorkers could feel it with the wind piercing through their thin trench coats when they crossed the streets. The wind penetrated even the most guarded pedestrians, whose umbrellas unravelled and hats danced away. November in New York could even knock the sturdiest of pedestrians if they didn't clamp their hand down on their hat, or look both ways before crossing a street. The trees, now almost bare, rustled or rather cracked and croaked, as the leaves were printed onto the muddy sidewalks.

Evelyn peeled a yellow leaf from the bottom of her new boot. She pinched the leaf at the tip of the stem, and threw it into her brother's overflowing trashcan stowed underneath his desk. Evelyn hopped onto his unmade bed, her feet dangling off the edge. She fluffed up the pillow and fell to her side and set her school's copy of Great Expectations onto Chuck's desk. She held the pillow tightly, kicked her shoes off, and curled into a ball. She breathed in the scent of her brother's cologne. In the silence, all she could hear was the wind whistling, and the window cracking.

The past couple weeks had whizzed by in a complete blur. Since the masquerade, Evelyn kept a low profile and continued each day as if nothing had happened. She went to school, studied during lunch or went out with Eric, and in the rare case, she sat on the Met steps with Jenny and her minions in the morning. She avoided it for the first couple days because she feared she might clobber Catherine. It didn't get any better when she did show up to the Met steps and she felt the need to describe how happy she was with her new boyfriend, Ozzy.

Evelyn pushed the thought away. As far as she was concerned, they were both dead to her. They weren't even worth wasting a thought over.

The door swung open and a surprised Chuck looked at her. "Hey, sis."

"Hi, Chuck," she mumbled. "Nate let me in." She turned her head into his pillow and groaned.

He dropped his briefcase and sat on the edge of the bed. "As pleasantly surprised as I am to see you, I have to ask what are you doing here?"

She pulled his duvet cover over her body. "Finding a hovel."

"And why would you need a hovel? We're Basses. We don't find hideaways. We watch from above."

"Because..." She murmured through the pillow.

"Evelyn," Chuck said seriously. He pushed her tense shoulder back so her flushed face would mirror the ceiling. "What's wrong?"

"School sucks, I hate everyone, and my social life is pretty much over."

He chuckled. "That all?"

She crossed her arms. "Yes. And I mean every word of it."

"Ouch. You wound me. And here I thought you loved me."

Evelyn rolled her eyes, and pushed herself up on her elbows. "Well I don't hate everyone because that would mean I hate you too. Let me rephrase. I hate everyone except Eric and Jenny at school."

"School huh? This wouldn't have to do with a Gossip Girl blast from a masquerade party would it?" He raised his eyebrows.

Her eyes moved to Nate's desk that was lined with beer bottles. "Why would I be mad about that?"

Chuck gave her a knowing look. "What? I don't care. I hate everyone. That includes everyone at the party."

"I never disagreed with you," Chuck said in his usual measured voice.

Evelyn's shoulder's slumped. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bite your head off. I came to see you because I miss you, and it would be nice to talk to someone about my melodramatic woes than Eric because I always feel so stupid around him."

"He's by far the wisest of us all."

"Exactly." She sat, her back finding the wall. "So you saw the blast huh?"

"I've been keeping up. Does this have to do with the new power couple at Constance?"

She rolled her eyes.

"It's my fault really," Chuck said. "I should have told you Catherine's brother Carter is practically my mortal enemy."

She scoffed. "It runs in the family doesn't it? She's such a psycho bitch."

"But she's smart too. As much as I hate to admit it, Carter is too."

"I agree with you there. I was naive to think that she could be contained. Instead, she went after me," Evelyn said. "And she won. Sure she somehow convinced Ozzy to drop me, and she pushed me into the lake in the dark when I was drunk-"

"She what?"

"Allegedly," Evelyn said. "She allegedly pushed me into the water. I'm fine. It was in the summer."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"Look it was no big deal. Really Chuck, I'm fine. It was probably an accident."

"With Baizens it's never an accident," Chuck said.

"Although a fair point, in this case I didn't exactly capitalize on the moment. In usual Bass fashion, I ran at the sight. Now, here I am."

Chuck nodded. He understood why she would run. He'd done it so often before. "So what are you going to do?"

"Gossip Girl says I have two options. I could get revenge and destroy both of them, or I could move on."

"We both know which one I would pick," Chuck said.

"It would never be a choice for you, but I haven't been able to choose yet because I've been too angry. A part of me is tempted to be vengeful, but it would take so much time and energy to do that, and I'm not sure I want to play that game. I don't think it would get me there." Evelyn looked out the window and noticed it began to rain. "I think I need to move on," she said. Evelyn looked up at him. "What do you think?"

Chuck guided his sister so her head leaned against his shoulder. "I think you're right. You know what's best for you." He kissed the top of her head. "But if you change your mind, you do have a professional schemer at your disposal. Lucky for you, I'll also throw in a discount."

"Thanks, Chuck." Evelyn hugged her brother and said, "With a brother like you, who needs a boyfriend anyway?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Chuck said. He truly hoped it stayed that way.

Evelyn hopped to her feet and put her shoes on. "Are you finished with your classes today?"

"I am, and I'm hungry." He looked at his watch. "Want to go out for dinner? I refuse to eat what they claim is food in the cafeteria."

She giggled. "I'm not surprised. Pad thai?"

"You are seriously hooked on that stuff."

"But it's so good Chuck!"

"I know. I'm the one who introduced it to you." He opened the door, and they both walked down the stairs and outside in the rain. Evelyn held onto her brother's arm and hopped over all the puddles. They talked and talked, and for the first time since the school year started, things were beginning to feel normal again.

Fall was Ozzy's least favourite season. It was the prelude to winter, and he hated the forthcoming snow. Most of his life he lived in the southern states where it was generally warm all year long. For the past two years, he endured the brutal North Eastern winters. He liked snowboarding and all, but the long winters were never worth it.

Since the masquerade, Ozzy found himself in a 'relationship' with Catherine Baizen. He wanted to make something very clear. He never asked her to be his girlfriend. He never made a move on her. She made a move on him. She kissed him at the Masquerade. Big deal. People hookup at parties all the time. But everyone made a big deal out of it, and suddenly they were this 'couple' that Ozzy had no interest in being.

Sure he texted Catherine back every now and then when she'd try talking to him. He didn't want to be rude or anything, and he didn't think she was a bad person. The night at Victrola when he walked out of the club to get some fresh air, he saw Dash and Evelyn nearly having sex against the wall…on a dare. That was enough to turn his stomach, and he almost went over to break it up. Catherine was there for him in that moment, and stopped him from doing something he would have regretted. He talked about it with her once, and he did feel better afterward.

As for a girlfriend? Sure she was pretty and charming and all, but he didn't feel anything when he was with her. There was no shock, no chemistry, just business. Since he most certainly ended any possible reconciliation with Evelyn, he was just going along with it. It was better than being alone.

He let Evelyn go. Ozzy knew he had to do it because it was the right thing to do. It was the only thing to do because he didn't think he could be a friend with her anymore. He wasn't a friend with her for a long time now. Before their falling out in Vermont, before they got to know each other, he hated her. When he first met her, he instantly resented what she stood for; stability, family, values. He didn't want her help; he didn't want to even help himself.

Evelyn may think they were friends, but Ozzy knew he fell for her hard and fast.

Ozzy sat at the kitchen table, his Calc textbook open. He began learning about optimization, which his teacher claimed was the most difficult topic of the course. The equations weren't the difficult part for Ozzy, it was working through the word problem that was tough. What information was important? What information wasn't what it appeared? What variable corresponded to what value? Once that was sorted, the problem was easy to solve. Ozzy knew he wasn't grasping what each variable stood for. It was the first time this school year that he struggled with a calc concept.

Who would always help him in these situations? Evelyn. That's where it all started really. They met because he needed Math help. Although he knew he didn't need help, he went through the motions at the time. Everyone had given up for him. Until she came along.

Five minutes. Evelyn Ainsley had been waiting five minutes after school and the kid she was assigned to meet with still hadn't showed. She only agreed to do this for the money. Her math teacher, Mr. Issac, had persuaded her to help tutor incoming students in her school program to earn extra money.

He saw her walk into the empty library. Her hair was pulled back into a thick ponytail. A backpack was slung over one shoulder, her face fresh. Her eyes scanned over him like he wasn't even there. He sunk in his chair. This was just what he needed; another prep to tell him what to do.

Her eyes kept moving around the room as she wandered toward him. "Are you waiting for someone?" He mumbled from his chair.

Startled, she turned toward him. Her eyes immediately scanned over him. His jeans were ripped, sneakers dirty and oversized moss green sweater hung from his narrow frame. His curly hair was as long as his chin, and covered half of his face. He made no attempt to push it away.

She shifted from foot to foot. "Um… yeah. I'm here for a tutoring session. I don't know if you may know him, but I'm waiting for Oscar-"

"That's me," He interrupted, his eyes downcast.

"Oh, well, hi. I'm Evelyn."

He nodded, and looked at the clock. Fifty minutes to go. Evelyn cleared her throat and motioned to the cleared desk beside her. "Why don't we get started?"

}i{ }i{ }i{

Okay, so he knew he judged her a bit harshly, but what was he supposed to do? There were so many people that came and went out of his life that they all became the same to him. By that point of his life, he was so jaded that he pretty much hated everyone and everything. It wasn't right, but it's what he felt.

Another memory came to him followed by another. He dropped his pencil and slouched back into the booth, as the scene he almost forgot played again.

"Uh hello? Are you even listening to me?" she said, waving her hands in front of his face.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said to get the factors of x, you need to isolate x," Evelyn's eyes narrowed. "Are you even listening to me?"

He's silent and chewed on his thumbnail.

Evelyn slammed her pencil on the table. "Excuse me, I'm talking to you!"

"What?"

"Here I am trying to help you, and you won't even try."

"Why should I? School's pointless."

"No it's not-"

"Well it is for me okay? Not everybody comes from a perfect family Evelyn where that's even financially an option."

"My family isn't perfect," she said quietly.

He scoffed. "Right, it must be so hard to have two parents that love you and get whatever you want."

"You don't know anything about my family," her hands balled up into fists, her teeth gritted.

"I don't. What could possibly be so tough?"

"First of all, My aunt and uncle adopted me, so I live with them. I've never met my father, who for some reason gave me up and…and..." The words died on her mouth when her mother's face popped into her head. Her eyes brimmed with tears out of frustration. She tried to blink them away hastily.

"And what?" The anger in his voice was gone. She turned her head away, and took a deep breath.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said.

"You didn't. I'm fine," her voice cracked on her last word, telling him otherwise.

He drummed his fingers on the desk and both were silent for a moment. "If it makes you feel any better, I never met my dad either. My mom says she doesn't even know who my dad is."

A mistake, Evelyn thought grimly. She often wondered if she were the same. "Well, you're mom kept you for a reason."

"To remind her I'm the reason she lost everything? She's very maternal," He said sarcastically.

Evelyn wondered what he meant by everything, but didn't think to ask. "Regardless of our similar situations, I'm here and you're there. Clearly, it doesn't matter where you start."

"What are you suggesting?"

"All I'm saying is that you can choose who you want to be if you just applied yourself."

He shook his head. "I am applying myself. I just don't get it."

Evelyn's eyebrows rose. "Oh really? Then how come for each problem set you're whole process is right, but your answer is wrong?"

}i{ }i{ }i{

It was December and they had yet to have a first snowfall. They were walking up her driveway, matching each other's stride. It was a usual night for them.

Evelyn stepped up to the porch. He stayed behind, a couple steps down. She turned to face him, and he would never forget the way the light made her glow. It was a full moon after all. The porch lights were on, and a fully decorated Christmas tree was in the front window.

"See you tomorrow?" It was her version of saying goodbye.

He couldn't find any words. Instead, he walked up the steps to her. She didn't back away. She looked at him curious. Their puffs of breath crystallising in the air. "Yeah," he said quietly.

He caressed her cheek and guided her lips to his. Her cold lips warmed quickly, and it was as if he took a first breath. He pulled her closer, and she embraced him. Her rosy cheeks dimpled when she eventually pulled back.

All she said was "okay," and retreated up the steps. Before she disappeared through the front door, she looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"What a day," Ruby huffed. Ozzy shook himself awake and picked up his pencil. His mom set two boxes onto the centre island. "Doing homework?"

"I was," Ozzy said. He rubbed his eyes and stood from the kitchen table. He rounded the centre island and saw that the two boxes were filled with responses from the wedding invitations. He picked one envelope that confirmed that Mr. and Mrs. Ashford would be attending the wedding.

"Just curious, mom, but how many of these invitations are actually from our side?"

"More than you think," she said. She typed away on her phone.

"Are you sure about that? Because I couldn't tell you half the people that responded with that they're going."

Ruby sighed. "Ozzy, I don't have time to talk about this right now. I just had a very busy day getting alterations, and now I need to call the caterers."

Ruby held the phone to her ear and walked away. Ozzy leafed through the responses and noticed only two responses with the last name 'Taylor'. They both declined the invitation to the wedding. Huh. It could be a coincidence, but it could be something else. He took both response cards and carried them upstairs. Once in his room, he started up his laptop and waited for it to boot up.

He heard a knock at his door. "Bro!" It was Dash.

"I'm about to play some COD on the X-box. Want to play?"

Ozzy looked closely at the names on the cards. Lucy and Edward Taylor. Edith and Anthony Taylor. "Not now, Dash. I'm in the middle of something."

"Middle of what?" Dash walked in, and stood behind him.

"I'm not sure yet."

Dash inspected the cards. "Are these people your family or something?"

"I dunno."

Dash crouched down to watch over Ozzy's shoulder. "You know, I'm totally up for an investigation. You can be my Watson to my Sherlock Holmes."

Despite Dash's light tone, Ozzy's heart sank. Did he really have to resort to investigation to track down his family? He knew it was more than odd, but he couldn't wait for answers anymore.

Ozzy turned to Dash. "Where should we start?"

"Lets look for the addresses where the original invitations were sent to..."

"I can't believe Cotillion is almost here," Lila said.

"I know right?" Kate said.

The girls of Constance buzzed about their most important evening of their adolescence: Cotillion. Most girls dreamed about this evening since they were little girls. They dreamed about what their dresses would look like and who their Princes would be. And then there were some girls, like Evelyn Bass, who didn't even learn of this event until November.

Although she'd already had her preliminary introduction to society in the spring, Evelyn quickly learned that attending an engagement as a guest is one introduction, but being introduced as a member was different. There were dance practices, dress shopping, finding a date…it was more work than attending a Sadie Hawkins dance.

"I still can't believe Abraham Wells asked to be my escort," Kate said.

"You've only had a crush on him since you were eleven. It's sweet actually," Sera said.

"There's nothing wrong with going with a childhood friend," Jenny said.

"This is coming from the girl who has the hottest date in Manhattan," Lila said.

Jenny sat up a bit. "Everyone has their time ladies. We all have to kiss many frogs before we find our Prince."

"Well, can it happen a little sooner?" Lila asked.

They all giggled.

"How about you, Catherine?" Sera said. "Has Ozzy asked you yet?"

"Not yet, but he's been really busy since he joined the swim team. I'm sure he will soon."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Evelyn said under her breath. Jenny was the only one who heard her since they sat on the top step together.

Jenny bit back a laugh. What? She meant it. He was not the most reliable person she ever met. She couldn't imagine how any girl could ever trust him as a boyfriend.

"He better ask soon," Kate said.

"He will," Catherine said seriously. "I bet he has something really romantic planned."

Evelyn snorted. Ozzy? Romantic? Suddenly her shoulders spazzed up and down.

"What's so funny?" Catherine asked.

Evelyn struggled to catch her breath "Its…nothing."

Catherine stared intently at her. "You're lying. We all know it bothers you that Ozzy chose me over you, but I think you need to get over it."

"I am over it," Evelyn said. "Believe it or not, I actually feel sorry for your naiveté. Don't expect Ozzy to be a romantic, least of all forward. If you're happy with that standard; then, I'm happy for you."

"Well thanks because we are happy together," Catherine smiled.

"And I'm sure your love is eternal," Evelyn replied.

"It will be, but who are you to judge? Who is escorting you to Cotillion exactly?"

Evelyn scraped the remaining bit of yogurt from her cup. "I haven't decided yet."

"Oh," Catherine said. "That many options huh?"

"Yes actually," Evelyn lied. She hadn't even got one offer yet.

"Catherine's right, Evelyn," Sera said. "You should make a decision soon."

"Yeah before all the good ones are gone," Kate added.

"She'll take that under advisement," Jenny interjected. "And we, meaning I, will help her evaluate her choices. Lila? Kate? Go set up my desk for the first period. Sera? I want you to pull up a list of all the best available dates that don't go to St. Jude's. And Catherine? You can take out the trash." Jenny dropped her empty yogurt cup on the steps.

Jenny linked her arm with Evelyn's, and they walked down the steps together. "Why do we let her sit with us again?" Evelyn said.

"Because although I like to keep my friends close, I like to keep my enemies closer?"

"Ugh. I hate that principle," Evelyn said.

"I know, but it'll be worth it when we win the war."

"Still. Does she have to be so annoying and rub in the fact that she's with Ozzy right in my face every chance she gets?"

"Yes because she won that battle. I still don't understand what he was thinking when he did it."

"When you know, can you please tell me?"

"Don't worry. I'll find you the most irresistible date, that he'll be so remorseful that he didn't pursue you."

"Yeah about that, it didn't go so well last time you chose me a date, so you better let me have some input this time. It's my choice."

"Of course. How's this? I'll give you a short list of potential candidates and you can decide from there."

Evelyn stopped outside the front gates of Constance and St. Jude's. "Fine, but I don't have to chose any of them if I don't like them."

"Deal."

They shook on it, and parted ways to their first period classes. She didn't take anything Jenny said seriously. She could try to find as many suitors for her as she wanted, but Evelyn didn't want her help. She'd rather go with someone she knew, a friend she could rely on and have fun with. There was already enough pressure riding on this night, and Evelyn hoped by miracle that everything would fall into place.

By the time Evelyn arrived to her chemistry class, she was already feeling nervous about her deal with Jenny. She was so nervous that she wasn't sure if she even wanted to go to Cotillion anymore. It didn't seem like all the effort needed to pick the right dress, date, and pictures were worth it.

Evelyn dropped her bag at her desk, and gathered her usual supplies for her lab. Dash had yet to show up, and she counted the moments of solace before he did.

Evelyn had to admit that he wasn't a bad partner. He showed up relatively on time, and he always did what she asked. Sure, he made mistakes with his work occasionally, but she never got mad at him for it. She would correct as necessary, but appreciated that he put effort into this class. Evelyn went through many different partners before Dash who struggled to pull their weight, or even show up. Dash was a lot of things, but he hadn't let her down yet.

The stool beside her squeaked. "How's my partner doing today?"

She sighed. "Okay, I guess."

"Still moping over my future brother I see?" He shook his head.

Her eyebrows knitted together. "No. Just stressed about Cotillion."

"Why should such a beautiful girl like you worry about Cotillion?"

Evelyn rubbed the eraser on the tip of her pencil against the black countertop. "For more reasons than you know." She paused and looked at him. "It doesn't help that every teacher thinks it's suddenly helpful to assign as many assignments as possible while they know this event is happening too. You have it so easy. All you have to do is show up."

"Yeah, a little too easy maybe," Dash said quietly.

Mrs. Becker breezed through the room and explained their next lab assignment, as one assignment sheet was handed to each pair. She said, "If you have any questions, you can come ask me. Okay? You may begin."

Evelyn read over the assignment sheet while other classmates shuffled to the back storage closet. She sighed when she read the instructions.

"What is it? If you're sighing than we're in trouble," Dash said.

Evelyn pushed the sheet in front of him. "It's not that. I just…don't want to do it."

"Really? You—Evelyn Bass—not down to make things explode? What has the world come to?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, but I just don't care about this. You can take the reigns on this one."

"Really?" Dash gaped. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

She shrugged. "It's the only idea I have right now."

Dash looked back from the sheet and to her. "Wow," He said. "I think I'm speechless."

"So this is what it took all along to shut you up." Evelyn smiled.

Dash smirked and leaned in close to her, as if he were about to whisper something. "It's one of many ways."

Evelyn chuckled and pushed him back. "And that I'm sure."

"So you don't want to do this lab; then, I don't want to do this lab either," Dash said.

"No, but you have to—"

"No we don't. In fact…" Dash stood up. "I have a much better idea."

"This can't be good."

"The only way we can find your inspiration again is if we go find it. I propose you take a mental day off."

"Day off?"

He nodded quickly. "It might be a foreign concept to you, but it's totally normal on the Upper East Side. When school gets a bit too stressful, or if you need more time to study for a test, or you just want to go to the spa for the day—you get the idea—We take a day off."

"But we'll get in trouble," Evelyn said.

Dash waved this off. "No we won't. You'll just get a warning."

"Are you just saying this to get me to ditch class with you, or is this because you've already ditched before?"

"Both."

"So if I were to take a day off, what would I do?"

"We would do anything you want," Dash said.

"Anything?"

Dash smirked. "Anything."

"Hold up. When did this become a 'we' thing?"

Dash scoffed. "Did you really think I was going to do this lab by myself?"

Evelyn rolled her eyes. He was right. He'd be helplessly lost without her in this class.

Then, she thought about his idea. A day off. She never had a day off in her school career. Sure she'd been sick a handful of times, and her Aunt Kim let her stay home, but she'd never skipped a class, let along a day in her life.

"What do you say, Bass?"

She did say she wanted to start over. She wanted to take a break from school, Cotillion, and the monarchy. Surely a day off would give her a mental break she needed.

Evelyn stood up, her shoulders back. She had to tilt her head slightly to look up at Dash, who grinned at her like the devil.

"I'm in."

A/N: An thus, Evelyn's day off commences! In the full chapter, you can expect to follow her day off, Cotillion, Thanksgiving, and a wedding!

Till next time,

XOXO EZ11