He pretends to listen to Blair as she delegates and organises, but there is a part of him that doesn't trust her judgement. He sneaks a look around her living room. She managed to gather everyone; Nate, Chuck, Dorota, Lily. Everyone that mattered, anyway. Serena would have appreciated it; that they still cared. Of course they did.

He is sent to Lily's penthouse on the Upper East Side, to check her old bedroom for 'clues' as to where she went before summer started. He remembers that day; 17th of May; he wishes he remembered it for different purposes.

I never have to see you again. He wishes he could go back and strangle himself as the words come out.

The apartment feels strange. Empty and suppressive; it reeks of Bart Bass' presence, although he is gone on a business trip to Malaysia. That man seemed as if he was omnipresent, and Dan ponders over the fact that maybe that's what power really is. The ability to have your presence felt even when you're not there. And Bart was a truly powerful man. Dan walks around the hallway. It doesn't feel like a place he belonged to anymore, and he realises it hasn't felt that way since we keep pretending like we can overcome anything.

He honestly thought they could.

Once the door to her bedroom is opened, there's a sense of the strongest nostalgia enveloping him.

Have you always looked this good? You look so good to me.

The memory puts a smile on his lips, a smile soon wiped at the realisation that it was entirely his fault things weren't the same at that moment. He had his chance, repeatedly, and the domineering part of him encouraged him to ignore all his opportunities. Maybe that was the naive part, the one thinking that when it came to Serena, he would always have another chance. How stupid. How naive. How he hated that part of him.

I don't mean to take you for granted. Neither did he.

He can't stay in that room for long. He skims over surfaces, looking for anything, and exits her bedroom. He looks around the living room, opening the drawers of Lily's desk. What good would that do?

He finds a piece of paper with a phone number. Underneath, A10 is written. There is something about the ink on the paper that draws him to it. He contemplates over losing his sanity as he pulls out his mobile and dials the number.

'Good afternoon, you have reached the reception of Hotel Bel Air, Los Angeles. Angelica speaking. How may I help you?'

A hotel. 'Room A10, please,' he blurts out, hoping the receptionist didn't hear the uncertainty in his voice.

'I'm sorry, but I have specific instructions to restrict communication to that room.'

He feels his eyebrows knit. 'Specific instructions from who?'

'Lilian van der Woodsen.' Dan sighs and rubs his temples.

'I'm her stepson. I'm sure she didn't interdict communication with family members.' He thought on his feet, and he was never good at that. He was prepared to give up, when the voice on the other line replies, 'I'm sure I can make an exception this time.'

He smiles gently. 'Thank you.' Triumph washes through his veins. His curiosity is too much. He needs to know who Lily is hiding in Los Angeles.

The line rings once. 'Hey, mom, what's going on?'

Shock stills him. He would always know that voice. Hers.

-xoxo-

'Mom, is everything okay?' she asks, her tone worried.

For a moment, he doesn't know what to say. His heart urges him to apologize, beg for forgiveness, but he's not sure he has a right to ask it. His words left little room for forgiveness.

He clears his throat. 'Serena...' he starts, and he hears her gasp softly. 'Why... what...' he stops, and closes his eyes, collapsing on the sofa.

'I should've known it wasn't my mom when the phone rang during broad daylight. I'm going to need to have a word with reception. Security and bribery is not what it used to be...' she utters, her words reminding him a bit of the way he used to ramble sometimes.

'Serena, everyone here is so worried about you. We're all looking for you... Blair is...going crazy.' His words are soft, and calming, and he allows himself to feel the slightest bit of relief when he can hear her breathe at the other end. Her mom is a better actress than he thought; he remembered her concerned face as Blair asked her to file a missing person's report at the police department. He can almost guarantee that's not going to happen.

'You can't tell anyone where I am, Dan. No one can know I'm here, okay?' Her voice shakes a bit at the end, and his heart skips a beat. He worries.

'Why? Are you in danger?' His voice rises at the end, and he tries to calm down, not wanting to scare her. He doesn't really want to consider that possibility.

'No, I'm not. I'm just... taking a break from my old life.' She sighs.

He doesn't believe a single word. He knows there's something more. He sits at the desk behind him and turns on the laptop.

There's a silence on her side of the line, and he smiles a little as he gets his words out.

'It's good to hear from you. You have no idea how worried I was when Blair said you were missing.'

She lets out a laugh. He can sense the sadness behind it. 'Really? You clearly stated otherwise the last time I saw you.'

He doesn't know where to start.

She starts for him. 'It doesn't matter, Dan, okay? It's better this way. I need to go now, and please don't contact me again.'

She sniffs gently in her receiver, and Dan's eyes close tightly until they're sore. 'I...can't apologize enough...'

'Goodbye, Dan.' The line goes dead.

He forcefully places his phone on the table, and turns back to the laptop.

It doesn't take long before he jumps in the first cab he can find outside her building.

'JFK Airport,' he instructs. 'As fast as you can, please, I have a flight out in half an hour.'

A/N: I don't know... I hope you guys like this chapter. The next one will be...interesting (I hope :P). PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks for reading :)