chapter-1
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what if rufus and lily did take that trip to figure things out in season 1 before serena had the chance to ruin everything? set in 1x12 school lies
lily van der woodsen was in an expensive high-end restaurant in the upper east side with her maybe fiance bart bass who had just proposed to her on christmas day and was waiting for her to give him an answer to his proposal. physically she was in this restaurant but her mind was someplace else, recalling her meeting with rufus at her hotel room just a few hours ago
"something on your mind lily?" bart asked in his usual cold business-like tone
"oh um" lily started ready to give him some lame excuse like she had a headache or something when the ringing of bart's phone interrupted her
"yeah? what are you saying?" bart spoke into the phone
"I'm sorry it's sheldon, he has those numbers I was asking for, do you mind?" bart asked her
"no" lily replied with a smile, she was used to their conversations being interrupted like this. after hearing lily's response bart stood up from their table and went a few feet away to talk to his business associate. lily watched him leave and it was like everything was in slow motion, she started thinking about how it was going to be if she did actually accept bart's proposal.
as she looked over at bart, she could hear what rufus had said to her earlier in her mind "claim your life this time, live it the way you want to live it" she sighed and thought is this really the life she wanted? having a husband who was too wrapped up in his work to care about her? she didn't even need to think twice about her answer, this is not the life she wants. she wants a life with rufus.
she picked up her phone and dialed an all too familiar number, after only two rings rufus picked up
"hello?" rufus said not bothering to check his caller id
"I was thinking about what you said, let's do it. let's see what we are, let's see what we could be" she said with a smile
"who is this?" rufus asked jokingly
"rufus" lily said playfully
"lily this is great, do you know how great this is?" he asked, not believing that he was actually getting a second chance with lily
"well yes, I mean I do, I mean I think so" she replied
"let's go away tonight, let's pack a bag, let's get away from everything and everyone and just figure it out" rufus suggested
"but where would we go?" lily asked
"who cares?" rufus said
"okay, sounds like a plan uh ninetieth and fifth, six-o-clock?" lily asked with a soft smile on her face, already excited about this trip
"okay" rufus said with a cheesy smile on his face
"I'm scared rufus, in a good way" lily admitted
"me too" rufus replied
lily cut the phone after that and bit her lip excited and nervous about this whole figuring it out thing
"I'm sorry about that lily, what were you saying?" bart said as he came back to their table
"nothing don't worry" lily replied with a convincing smile
~come home~
lily was now back in her hotel room and was packing for her trip with rufus, she packed lots of sweaters and coats for winter as well as swimsuits and summer clothes because they still haven't decided where they would go and she wanted to be prepared. she still wanted to go shopping for a few more things and started preparing a list in her mind when the ringing of her phone interrupted her thoughts. she saw it was rufus and smiled as she picked up the phone.
"hello?" she said cheerfully
"hey so I just booked a bed and breakfast in vermont for us if that's okay?" rufus asked
"That sounds amazing" lily said and started taking out her summer clothes from her suitcase minus the swimsuit
"great so what are you doing now?" he asked softly
"I'm just packing for our trip and I'll go shopping later for a few things I need" lily replied
"do you think you could fit me into your schedule? I can help you shop and we can have a late lunch together" rufus suggested
"I would love that, come pick me up in thirty minutes?" lily said
"I'll be there" rufus replied
lily cut the phone and chuckled as she went into her huge closet and started getting ready to meet rufus
~come home~
rufus was supposed to pick up lily in fifteen minutes and was just about to leave the loft when his son dan walked in
"oh hey dad where are you going?" he asked
"oh um I was just going to the gallery to pick up some stuff, what are you doing here? shouldn't you be at school?"
"yeah I just came here to grab a few books" dan replied looking at rufus weirdly, his father was acting strange for some reason
"oh okay and uh I won't be home during the weekend I thought I would take a trip to new jersey to visit a friend" rufus lied
"what friend?" dan asked
"just an old one from my band days it's not a big deal" rufus said trying to act nonchalant but failing miserably
"alright I'll tell jenny when she gets back" dan said not believing his father
"okay I have to go now I'll see you later son" rufus said trying to flee as quickly as possible
"okay I'll-" dan started but cut himself off as he saw his father had already left
"see you later" dan finished
~come home~
lily has just finished getting ready and stood in front of her mirror to make sure she looked fine, she was wearing a grey cashmere turtleneck sweater with white jeans and a grey chanel trench coat. she paired the outfit with grey ankle boots and had her blonde locks down in waves. she heard a knock on the door and grabbed her black chanel handbag and opened the door.
"hey you look amazing" rufus said and wrapped one of his arms around her waist and kissed the corner of her mouth
"thank you" lily said blushing
"you ready to go?" rufus asked as he interlocked their fingers
"yeah let's go" lily said and walked out and closed the door behind her. they walked hand-in-hand but let go of each other as soon as they were out of the palace hotel knowing they were now in gossip girl country and didn't want to spark any rumors. rufus hailed them both a taxi to fifth avenue and they held hands and looked out the window during their cab ride.
as the cab came to a halt rufus got out first and held the door open for lily and offered her his hand, lily giggled and accepted his hand, and got out of the taxi. she waited for rufus as he paid the taxi fare. when he was done, they both headed into barneys.
"I just want to get a few things then we can get lunch" lily said as she looked at some of the dresses
"take your time" rufus said and kissed her hand
lily smiled softly at him and blushed a little then went back to picking out dresses, sweaters, and cardigans asking rufus's opinion on them. after a little over thirty minutes lily was done and they walked towards a little italian bistro on fifth avenue. rufus was holding some of lily's shopping bags and they both were talking and laughing the whole way to the restaurant. they picked a table at the far corner of the restaurant and gave their drink and food order
"so where are we staying in vermont?" lily asked
"it's a cute little bed and breakfast" rufus replied, lily nodded her head and took a sip of her water
"so what are you going to tell your kids and….bart?" rufus asked cringing a little as he said his name
"I'll just tell them I'm going for a spa trip and I promise I'll figure things out with bart after we get back I just wanna enjoy my time with you first" lily said and took rufus's hand and squeezed it gently
"alright" rufus said and squeezed her hand back
"what did you tell your kids?" lily asked him and let go of his hand
"oh I just told them I'm going to new jersey to meet an old friend" rufus said and chuckled
"new jersey?" lily asked in amusement
"I just said the first thing that came to my mind, I bumped into dan earlier and told him" rufus said
"I still have to tell mine I hope serena doesn't ask too many questions" lily said a little nervously
"It's gonna be okay lil" rufus said and smiled softly at her
"I know" lily said and kissed the back of his hand
they both had a pleasant conversation about the kids, lily's work, and rufus's gallery and tried to avoid the whole bart topic. deep down they both knew what they were doing was wrong, lily was still with bart, and rufus's divorce from alison was still in the process. but it felt so right being with each other again.
after their lunch, they both kissed each other's cheeks and went their separate ways because lily had a meeting to get to.
~come home~
lily had just reached her hotel room at five-o-clock and had to meet rufus in an hour, she quickly dropped off her handbag at the counter and went into serena's room to tell her
"hey honey I'm going for a little spa trip for the weekend if that's okay?" lily asked serena
"yeah sure but didn't you just get back from your vacation with bart?" serena asked
"yeah but I just need a weekend to myself you know" lily said nervously
"oh okay I'll tell eric when I see him, have a good trip" serena said and smiled at her mother
"thank you darling I'll see you later" lily said and went into her room to get changed
she changed into a pair of blue skinny jeans and put on a red sweater and frantically started putting her new purchases in her suitcase. by five-forty-five she was ready and grabbed her suitcase and handbag, said goodbye to serena and took a taxi to meet rufus.
when she got out of the taxi rufus was already there with a car and helped lily load her suitcase into the backseat and they both sat in the front of the car.
"you ready?" rufus asked and kissed the back of her hand
"yeah" lily said and meshed their lips together in a sweet kiss
thanks for reading! I'll upload the next chapter as soon as I can, leave a review on your way out! xoxo lexi