** Oh my God, guys, thank you so much for the positive feedback! I will definitely update the story as much as possible and since my break starts in about a week I'm hoping on getting lots of updates in! Please feel free to leave any feedback you want and if you want to see something in this fan-fiction just let me know. I tend to get swept away in my writing so if anyone wants to see something happen just let me know and I'll try to work it in. As long as it's not a specific ship request or something, that is.

Also, I only wish that the writers would get Serena and Nate back together and use the accident to do so. If they could only see what we, the fans see which is that they are perfect for each other….

** Disclaimer: Still don't own any of this. I'm just the vessel through which the beautiful love of Nate and Serena is expressed. Just checking but would anyone happen to have the rights and want to give them to me? No? I just thought I'd ask

~Looks Like I've Made a Mess Again; Heartbreak Everywhere I Step~

The limo ride back to the Humphrey residence was quiet and brief. Serena had calmed down enough that she only sniffled occasionally and Nate was too focused on trying to determine what had upset her to say anything.

"Did Dan say something to you?"

Serena shook her head, "I'm just upset about Chuck and Blair, that's it. Dan was just trying to figure out if there was something else that was wrong."

Nate wanted to push the issue but decided against it. Even though he knew that it wasn't just the accident that was bothering Serena he wasn't about to get the wrath that Dan had gotten. Serena obviously didn't want to talk about what was bothering her. If they were together Nate would push the issue regardless but with everything that had happened between Serena and her father and, more importantly, Nate's involvement in it, he had learned to not push Serena to open up.

Serena didn't know what to say or do. She wanted to tell Nate that she was sorry for everything she had done to him over the past year but she knew that sorry would never be enough. Chuck and Blair's accident had made Serena realize that life was too short to fly around aimlessly and hurt people without care. She never meant to hurt anyone but, somehow, Serena always did hurt people; it was her M.O.

When the limo arrived at Serena's building, Nate and Serena both were lost in thought. They stumbled out of the cab and stepped into the elevator. Both remained silent for as long as possible but the unsaid thoughts that hung in the air prevented that from being too long.

"OK, I didn't wanna ask because I figured it would just upset you but what's really bothering you, Serena? And don't tell me that it's just the accident because I know you and it's not just that."

Serena inhaled sharply. She really couldn't hide things from Nate, even if she wanted to.

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go upstairs and hang out, like old times. I need a drink."

Nate had to stop himself from rolling his eyes but thought better of picking this fight right now. It was just like Serena to change the subject and act as though nothing had happened. But he also knew better than to start something he didn't want to finish because he hated fighting with Serena. So, instead, Nate just nodded and when they stepped off the elevator he got busy making drinks.

Serena slipped her shoes off and slid onto the floor. She wiggled her toes a little to bring the blood back to them; she had been wearing those heels for far too long. Most of all Serena tried to stop thinking about why Nate had backed off so quickly, it wasn't like him. Or at least, it hadn't been before. She shrugged off the thought and instead took the drink that Nate handed to her.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Nate asked as he slid down next to Serena.

Just as Serena was about to respond she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Serena set down her glass and stood up just in time to see Ivy or, as Serena knew her, Charlie Rhodes, walking down the stairs. Serena walked over to her cousin and threw her arms around her.

"Charlie, what are you doing here?" Serena asked as she pulled back. Seeing tears in her cousin's eyes Serena frowned.

"Aww Charlie! It's going to be OK, Blair will be fine. But I swear if I could find out who sent that Gossip Girl blast…."

"It was me!" Charlie blurted out. "I sent it to draw attention away from myself."

Serena was aghast, "Why would you do that?"

"Because it's all true! Everything Max said about me is true. How I'm not really your cousin; I'm just a white trash girl who wanted to be an actress her whole life. And your aunt gave me the chance to do that by pretending to be your cousin, Charlie. I didn't mean to hurt anyone but you guys cared about me so much and I just couldn't let go. I never had people who loved me like that."

Serena was shaking with anger by the time Charlie or Ivy, whoever she was, was through.

"Get out." She said. Her voice was dangerously low and had a more than just a thinly veiled threat.

"Serena, I'm…"

"Get out!" Serena screamed. Nate couldn't help but jump a little when Serena yelled; he wasn't used to hearing Serena sound so upset. As Ivy walked past Nate she looked to him for comfort but he just scoffed and looked away.

"Just go, Ivy," Nate said with as much venom as he could muster.

And so Ivy ran; tears were streaming down her cheeks as she took one last look at her former family before stepping into the elevator. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone with the blast and she wished that she could take it all back. She would give anything to be a Rhodes again and be a part of their family. But Nate and Serena had both turned their backs on her, just as Rufus had in the hospital when she told him. She would just barely be able to make it out of the state before all of Manhattan knew what she had done. Ivy knew that there was no way that she could ever step foot on the Upper East Side again.

Serena sank to the floor as the tears spilled over once more. It was all too much before the duplicity and now, she just couldn't take it. She felt Nate's arms wrapped protectively around her and she buried her face in his chest as her body was wracked with sobs.

"God, Serena, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that she was lying this whole time and wasn't your real cousin…."

Nate didn't know what to do. He could handle convincing Serena that Chuck and Blair would survive even if he was unsure of it himself but this was unfamiliar territory. How could you comfort someone who had just found out that her cousin wasn't actually her cousin at all? How could you make someone feel better after being betrayed like that? Nate wished, more than anything, that Blair was awake and here. She would know exactly what to do and so would Chuck. The two of them would devise some sort of scheme to destroy Ivy forever and make her just a link on Gossip Girl. But Nate had never been the scheming type so he just held Serena as she cried.

Serena was so grateful that Nate was here to take care of her. She needed someone because it was obvious that she was falling apart. Her best friend was unconscious and the closest thing she had had to family turned out to be nothing more than a liar and a con-artist. The only person Serena had now was Nate, but at least she had him.

When the tears finally stopped flowing Serena looked up at Nate.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess."

"It's OK, Serena. You're allowed to be after all that's happened to you today."

Nate wasn't used to seeing this side of Serena. It wasn't often that Serena was this open and vulnerable with him; usually Serena would run straight to Blair if something like this happened. Then again Blair wasn't here, so Nate supposed that he was probably the next best thing.

"Thank you for taking care of me but I'm going to go change, I bet I look horrible."

Nate looked at Serena's tear stained cheeks. The mascara lines and the puffy eyes wouldn't look good on anyone else but Nate still thought that she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

"You look perfect, S," Nate said.

"Thanks, Natie."

Nate smiled as Serena got up to shower. It had been a long time since she had called him by his old childhood nickname and it warmed his heart to hear her say it. That was before the wedding when everything changed and before all of the things left unsaid had started to pile up. Back when everything was innocent and there were just Nate and Serena.

"C'mon, Natie, don't be such a baby," A ten year old Serena exclaimed. Her long blonde hair was plaited into two pigtails and she was wearing a pair of white overalls. She was standing on top of the monkey bars at the park and taunting Nate.

"Serena, get down! You could fall," Nate said. His blue eyes were filled with fear as he watched Serena walk across the monkey bars on her tiptoes.

"Come and get me!"

Nate crossed his arms, "Please Serena, come back down here and we can do something else. Anything you want I promise."

"Promise?" Serena asked and folded her arms in front of her.

Nate nodded.

Even back then Nate would have done anything to keep Serena safe and close to him. And as she was upstairs showering Nate couldn't help but feel as though not much had changed since that day: the two of them were still close and he was still trying to keep her from getting hurt. More importantly he was still willing to do anything to make her smile.

Serena changed into a gray t-shirt dress and slipped on a pair of tights. She even double-checked to make sure that all of the make-up had washed off though she wasn't sure why. It was just Nate; he had seen her when she was drugged up and hung-over so she wasn't sure why her looks made such a difference now. She looked exhausted but her face was clear of any products so Serena threw her hair into a bun and walked down the stairs.

"Are you feeling better?"

Serena nodded, "I just can't believe that Max was right. I feel so horrible after what I said to him and he didn't deserve any of it."

"Even if he was telling the truth he was still trying to get money from your family. He wasn't a good guy regardless of the fact that he knew the real story behind Charlie…I mean Ivy."

Serena still looked downcast and Nate was determined to cheer her up.

"C'mon remember when we used to stay up all night watching movies?"

Serena gave Nate a small smile and it was enough to keep him going.

"What do you say we make it a movie marathon? We can just watch movies until your mom calls with news."

Serena nodded, "OK but you have to pick! I always ended up picking when we were younger and then you would complain that the movie was too girly."

"Well it's not as if watching Breakfast at Tiffany's or Sabrina for the thousandth time is the best way for a twelve year old boy to spend his time."

"Hey, those were Blair's picks!"

Nate laughed, "Fine but this time we're watching action movies."

Serena smiled, "OK but nothing with…you know…"

Nate nodded. Nothing with car accidents was definitely a term that he could agree to. So the two settled on watching Inception because that was a movie that could be seen multiple times and still leave you confused. A movie that made them focus on something besides their injured friends was just what Nate and Serena needed.

** I had to get rid of Ivy, she's such a bitch. That being said I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to PM ideas for other plot twists and basically just let me know if you think I'm doing alright. You're all so perfect and made me squeal as I read your reviews so thank you, thank you, thank you. Without readers this fanfic wouldn't be nearly as fun to write. The title of the chapter is from Kelly Clarkson's song "How I Feel" in case anyone cares.