Jenny Humphrey was sitting on the bed, watching her sister-in-law in admiration as the latter brushes her long wavy blonde hair in front of the enormous vanity mirror at the corner of the master's bedroom next to the dresser.
Serena turned to look at her. "Could you help me with…" She motioned for her to help her get dressed. "It's an intricate gown."
Jenny stood up immediately, walked towards her, tied the corset and then looked at the dress. It was even more complicated to wear with the straps and ties and everything. The crimson Giorgio Armani couture dress was traditionally romantic and feminine with beautiful lines, fan pleating, and subtle details. The skirt expanded on the volume in a more subtle, geometric way but the amount of time and patience that must be put into the venture of wearing it should be vast.
"Yes, I can see that but it still is a magnificent piece of art." The shorter blonde remarked as she had begun the seemingly endless task of looping, tying and knotting the back of Serena's ball gown. "I kind of find it weird that Dan has to pick you up. You preparing for the big romantic night like it were Prom. I mean… you two are practically married now."
Serena continued applying another coat of the Chanel lipstick that Blair gave her before she left and gleefully replied, "You know Dan. He is quite the romantic." She then placed the lipstick in her clutch, along with a Chanel compact and a small mirror.
Jenny gave her a sincere smile, told her that she was genuinely happy for the both of them and asked where his brother is at preparing.
"He's over at Nate and Blair's." She said, patiently waiting for Jenny to finish strapping her dress (she tried so hard to keep still while doing the final touches on her make-up). After a few more minutes, she was finally done and the doorbell rang just in time. She got her black Fendi clutch bag as Jenny opened the door. Instead of seeing Dan, a tall middle-aged Ukrainian man dressed in a black coat stood behind the door.
"Good evening Miss Jenny, Miss Serena. Mr. Humphrey has sent me to come pick you up. Please follow me," the chauffer politely said in greeting as Serena emerged from the master's bedroom into the foyer.
Serena mouthed an 'o' before telling him to wait for her outside. She headed to Paulo and Andy's room and kissed them goodbye before leaving.
"So, Jenny, thanks for your help and everything," she said appreciatively. "And don't forget what I told you before," she cast her sister-in-law a warning look before heading towards the door.
"Yes, yes. The kids will be in bed by 9." Jenny dutifully said as she waved her goodbye.
The moment Serena was gone; Jenny picked up the phone and called Nate on his cellphone. After three rings, he answered.
"Jenny? Hi. What's up? Dan told me that you're gonna stay there for the weekend so that means you're babysitting for them tonight. He just left a couple of minutes ago by the way. I assume the chauffer has already picked Serena up?" Nate coolly spoke while rummaging the fridge for something to eat.
She sat down on the sofa and replied, "Yes, yes. Out of curiosity, can you please tell me where my brother is taking Serena? He really didn't wanna spill the details about the whole thing, not even a hint. When I got back, they were just busy and mum and I really have no idea what's going on. I usually am at the bottom of things, you know." She rolled her eyes and chuckled at her last remark.
"Well, now that they're gone. I suppose I could uhm, tell you what Blair and I have planned out for Dan and Serena for tonight. At first, we were planning on throwing them a party… to celebrate their anniversary but then when Dan told us that they were going to Italy for like, a second honeymoon, we didn't really have the chance to get them anything on such short notice so when Blair got tickets for the New York City Ballet Gala, she decided to give it to them as a gift," he explained as he got day old lasagna from the ref and reheat it in the microwave oven.
"Blair isn't really… uhm, frugal on giving gifts. The tickets surely won't be enough. There must be something else…" she asked suggestively.
"That's all I'm telling you for now," Nate said in finality while waiting for the lasagna.
A moment of silence passed between them before Jenny spoke again. "Do you wanna come over? Catch up on each other's lives. Talk. Paulo and Andrea are in the living room, watching Shrek for the nth time so it's gonna be alright."
Nate pondered for a while. He didn't really have anything to do tonight. His work was done for Dan and Serena's romantic date. He did the things Blair had asked him to do, the final touches and everything. He even helped Dan with picking out his tux yesterday. He did not have any paper work for school. Blair wouldn't mind him hanging out with Jenny, would she? "Uhm, okay. I'll be there in twenty minutes. I'll bring over some lasagna."
He dialed Blair's number after hanging up on Jenny but after a few rings, it was replaced by her voicemail. Instead of leaving a message, he flipped his cellphone, packed the lasagna, got his wallet and keys, and locked the door behind him not minding to wash the bunch of dishes on the sink.
Jenny went to the guest room and got changed into a fuchsia dress. She knows Blair is in California, busy doing only God knows what and she wanted to look presentable since Nate was coming over the house to hang out. Everybody knows that she has always had a crush on Nate.
Twenty minutes later, Serena immediately knew where Dan was taking her when she saw the "George Balanchine Way" sign on W. 63rd St. and, 90 paces to the south, the "Jerome Robbins Place" sign on W. 62nd St. The New York State Theater occupies the south side of the main plaza (at Columbus Avenue & 63rd Street) that it shares with the Metropolitan Opera House and Avery Fisher Hall.
As she got out of the limo, her face lit up when she saw Dan marched towards her, carrying a single red rose. He was dressed in a black tux and his hair was pulled back. He looked elegant and lavishly handsome. She smiled at him wholeheartedly.
He made a gentlemanly bow in front of her, kissed her left hand and smiled. "My lady, you definitely look enchanting tonight. I feel as if I don't deserve to be standing next to you but here I am, the luckiest man in the whole world, in the company of an impeccable lady." When Serena remained speechless, he cupped her face in his hands and in a soft voice, he asked, "Honey? Are you alright?"
Looking at Dan, she smiled with her eyes and said, "I am more than alright. This is amazing! I don't know what to say. Thank you for this." When she was still in high school, it was Blair who was more inclined to music and dance but ever since she went to Brown, she has gotten to love the Performing Arts and she even took dance classes from jazz to ballroom to ballet. It was never too late to learn new things and in exploring this side of herself, she has cultivated her artistic self.
He kissed her passionately in response and smiled, "C'mon! The show's going to start in fifteen minutes." He escorted her to the lobby and then to the ascending stairs until they reached their seats. The entire place was majestic, the neutral colors of the theatre were chosen particularly so that the people in attendance would provide color and vibrancy to the house.
While waiting for the performance to start, Dan turned to Serena and complimented her again. He always tells her how beautiful/gorgeous/perfect she is and he will continue to do so even when her hair turns grey. But even if he doesn't, she knows that she will always be beautiful in his eyes.
"I love it (the dress). Everything, really. Thank you so much. You've been so wonderful to me," Serena replied, holding both his hands, looking intently at his brown eyes.
"As much as I would love to take the credit for everything, it was actually Blair and Nate who also helped me planned out our date tonight."
"And that includes having Nate dressed as a 19th century courtier?" She wrinkled her nose and he laughed.
"Yes, even that," he said.
The lights go dark, the curtain rises and the music begins. They held each other's hands in silence as they watch the show.
The first ballet performance was entitled "An American in Paris". It was all about a romantic encounter between a brash American painter and a lovely young Parisienne. The backdrops were inspired by Picasso and Braque that provide a "postcard" City of Lights, including stoned bridges and picturesque streets, the banks of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower.
Dan was glancing at Serena every now and then, intrigued at how she would change her expression from sadness to astonishment and then to wonder. That was one of the things he loves about Serena; how one dance can bring out so many emotions from her, how passionate, driven and inspired she can be. She was his heroine, his love, his everything.
Nate Archibald arrived at the Humphrey-Van Der Woodsen loft five minutes ago and he was already sitting on the sofa while Jenny was in the dining room setting the table. Paulo and Andy fell asleep in their room.
He called Blair again for the nth time and hung up once it switched into her voice mail.
Jenny asked him to take a sit in the dining room and asked when Blair is coming home.
"This Friday. She has a lot of things to do, apparently." He casually answered. "How's college life?"
Jenny's currently taking up Communication Arts in Brown and just like any other college student, she lives in a dorm with her roommate Jasmine, goes home once or twice a month, depending on her schedule, if she's busy or not. She poured him a glass of wine and said, "You know, it can be fun and exciting but tiring for the most part. You get to meet a lot of diverse people and that's the interesting part."
Nate only nodded in response. "Dating anyone?"
"Not really. That makes my life boring and monotonous. It is definitely not as action packed as yours."
Nate lets out a laugh and asked her what made her think that his life was "action packed". To him, it was anything but that.
"I saw you with Blair on the Tyra show. I'm really impressed at how well you both dealt with the rumors and everything."
"It's been hard at her most especially. Ever since she got back from the hospital, I noticed that something changed about her but of course, that's already expected and honestly, that worries me a lot. She's putting up this strong front and you know how Blair is. I've talked about this with Dan but he says that I just have to give her time. It alarms me though. We hardly talk to each other anymore. Like really talk." He lets out a sigh and waited for Jenny's response.
She placed her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "Getting herself preoccupied with work will help her take her mind off things, mainly with everything that has happened. When she gets back, you can talk to her about your worries. You two always work it out."
"You see, I never told Dan or Serena about this but no matter how busy Blair is, she always manages to find time to call me. The last time we talked on the phone, she has quickly dismissed me. She hasn't answered any of my calls since yesterday."
"Maybe she's really just busy or tired," Jenny suggested.
"Maybe," Nate resigned.
"Don't think too much about it." She sat in front of him and served him the lasagna. "Let's eat and talk about something else instead. Didn't you know that Chuck's currently dating Princess Alexis?"
Nate took a sip of the white wine Jenny has just poured for him. He tried not to think about Blair and focus his attention on having a conversation with Jenny. They found themselves laughing and conversing about their common friends and their lives in general throughout dinner.
After the show, Dan and Serena went to the French restaurant near the Theatre. They were seated at a private dining room that provided an elegant and romantic ambience; a quartet was playing "When I Fall in Love" for them.
"When I fall in love, it will be forever. La-la-la-la," Serena hummed to the tune of the song. "I know this song. This is one of my grandmother's favorites."
She later on concluded: "It's going to last forever, the love that we have for each other."
"I've always been so certain about us," Dan replied abruptly, proving her that he was sure, has always been sure.
"Really?" She asked. "I've always known you were quite the optimistic."
"Emotionally, it's easy to distinguish love. By act, it's a different matter. It's a lot of sacrifice, tears and work. Yes, its work. If you're not ready for that work, the whole thing just won't work." He paused and then caressed her hand, "And as you can see, here we are, celebrating our love, happy."
She smiled at him and squeezed his hand, "Our love is sufficient enough to keep us together and it's not only love as an emotion, right? We can see it, feel it, touch it…"
"What we have may not be an epic story. There was no blood shed, nor lives lost. What we have is beautiful in itself. It's two souls finding true love through each other."
"It doesn't need to be epic, to prove how great it is. It simply, just is."
They kissed ever so passionately. The candlelight dinner, the music playing in the background, the scent of romance in the air make everything perfect for the both of them.
"I love you, always and forever," Serena said.
Dinner went by smoothly. They got off the limo; Dan led her to the carriage that has been waiting for the both of them. Serena was amazed.
They strolled around Central Park underneath the stars, holding each other's hands, gazing into each other's eyes, warming up into each other's presence.
The night was perfect. Everything was perfect.
When suddenly…
Serena burped. A very unlady-like thing for her to do, especially amidst all this. She covered her face in embarrassment. "Oh my God! I totally ruined this moment."
Dan broke out in laughter and Serena, too.
"I have to admit I really enjoyed dinner," she confessed.
"That's a very obvious thing to say," Dan countered. "And you still giggle like a 4 year old. That's one thing I love about you."
"I love the way you mumble words when you're nervous."
Dan smiled and they remained that way (holding each other's hands, gazing into each other's eyes, saying sweet nothings to each other) until they went back to the Humphrey's old loft in Brooklyn (again, to Serena's surprise), reliving the first time they made love at Dan's old room. Cedric was hidden somewhere, of course and the football sheets were replaced by high thread Egyptian cotton sheets. Tea candles were everywhere, Dan lights them all one by one.
There was one problem, though. How to undress Serena's intricate gown.
A/N: I'm sorry I havent uploaded a new character for so long. I'm just having a really bad case of writer's block and I think it's evident in this chapter. I'm afraid that I am lacking the imagination and creativity to continue writing this story. I used to have a lot of ideas most especially with the whole Nate/Blair dilemma (with Carter in the picture).
I've always been fascinated by Carter and I wanted to experiment... YOu know, his involvement with Blair, why did it happen in the first place, will it materialize into something else, how it would affect Blair and Nate's relationship... I do think it's interesting.
On the other hand, there's Chuck and Alex. And I do not know whether or not they should be together in the end. (There are C/B fans out there who wants Chuck and Blair to end up together in this story.) I do think their relationship makes perfect sense. They heal each other's broken hearts and they just understand each other. Chuck lets Alex see a part of himself that nobody else sees and vice-versa.
I need motivation. I'm torned. I do not know what to do. I need opinions.