Author's Note: I've been super productive today and the first few chapters have been really easy to write. You probably shouldn't get used to it :) Enjoy and review!

Chapter 3

"You're being ridiculous."

"What does Cedric have to do with anything?"

"Okay, I think that's a little excessive."

Jenny looked up from where she was sitting at the kitchen table as bits and pieces of Dan's telephone conversation drifted in from where he was in his bedroom. She had no idea who he was talking to but she had only heard him sound so exasperated a few times in his entire life.

"Okay, okay, fine. I'll be there in ten minutes. Bye." Dan hung up his phone and walked into the kitchen.

"Who was that?" Jenny asked, looking up from her magazine.

"That was, uh, Blair." Dan said quickly.

Jenny raised her eyebrows, "Blair?"

"Yeah," he replied. "It's a long story. I have to go meet her at the magazine. I'll be back."

"Okay…" Jenny said hesitantly, but Dan was already out the door.

Jenny finished reading the magazine and stood up from the table. She was going to meet Eric for coffee. He was going crazy being home with Lily all day and needed a distraction. While she was looking for her keys the doorbell rang.

Jenny opened the door and was surprised to see Nate.

"Nate, hey."

"Hey Jenny." Nate gave her a small smile.

"Um, Dan isn't here," Jenny said.

"Oh really," Nate said surprised, looking at his watch. "I thought we had plans at one."

"Well, something came up…I think. It was sort of last minute, he probably just forgot."

"Yeah…" Nate glanced around the loft.

"Is everything okay Nate?" Jenny asked. He was acting a little distracted.

"Yeah, sorry. What are you up to right now?" Nate asked, shifting his attention.

"I'm actually on my way out," Jenny said hesitantly. "I could, um, stay a couple minutes."

"No, no, it's fine. I'll see you later Jenny," Nate said leaving.

"See you," Jenny said watching him leave. She was confused, but she had been feeling that way a lot since being back in the Upper East Side. She tried to shake it off, found her keys, and headed out to meet Eric.

"All I'm saying is that New York is like the design capital of the country. What does Chicago have, some giant mirrored ball thing?"

Jenny laughed at her best friend. Conversations like this had been a constant occurrence pretty much since she stepped into the penthouse. Eric was determined—scratch that—obsessed with convincing Jenny not to go back to Chicago after break. It would be more endearing if his argument wasn't so absurd.

"It's called Cloud Gate, or 'the Bean' Eric," Jenny replied. "And who says New York is the design capital of the country?"

"People…everyone," Eric retorted weakly. "Don't act like you've never heard it."

Jenny shook her head. "You're right Eric, I'm never going back to Chicago. Why would I?"

"Really?" Eric asked, surprised.

"No." Jenny said getting up from their table. "Now stop it."

Eric groaned. He had another hour of arguing in him but he promised Rufus he would be back to help him fix Lily's armoire. Lily had wanted to hire someone to fix it but Rufus didn't think she should spend money on something the 'men of the house' could do. And hence Eric got roped in too.

"Fine. You win, for now," Eric said defiantly before smiling and kissing Jenny on the cheek. "I'll see you later…if your dad doesn't kill me with a nail gun."

Jenny laughed out loud at the picture—of her dad and the nail gun, not Eric dying.

"Call me later," she said.

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

Jenny shoved her sunglasses onto her face as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. She didn't have any plans for the rest of the day so she thought a walk around the city sounded like a good idea, especially on such a nice day.

She had made it about two blocks when she realized she was nearing Chuck's hotel. She thought it better not to chance anyone seeing her even remotely close to anything related to Chuck so she cut down a side street about a block before the hotel, planning on by-passing the area altogether. She had only been a few feet when she recognized Mr. Archibald standing on the sidewalk ahead of her. He was stationary with his hands in his pockets, surveying the area. Maybe he was waiting for Nate? That didn't make much sense considering they were so close to the hotel where Nate lived and his father had been staying since being released from jail.

Jenny had met the senior Archibald a few times, usually just in passing. He seemed nice enough, always polite and friendly, but from what she had heard from Dan that was often a façade. Nate had been having a hard time with his father lately, especially with Mr. Archibald not taking his probation as seriously as he should.

Before she could get any more lost in her thoughts, a car pulled up to the curb where Mr. Archibald was standing and stopped. The driver rolled down the window and Mr. Archibald leaned over to peer in. The two spoke for a moment before Mr. Archibald extended his hand into the car and pulled it back out holding a small box which he quickly put in a bag he was carrying. And just like that, the car was gone and he continued walking as if the exchange had never happened.

Jenny put her head down and kept walking as he passed her, probably on his way back to the hotel. This is none of your business Jenny, she told herself. Just keep walking, forget it, it probably wasn't even what it looked like. She repeated these things over and over but they weren't sticking. She hated this city, hated how it made people act. What was he thinking? He was on probation for crying out loud! Was he thinking about his family? About Nate? Suddenly, Jenny flashed back to the conversation she and Nate had late one night before they even really knew each other. When he had told her about the pressure his dad was putting on him to keep up his relationship with Blair for the good of the family, even though that wasn't what Nate had wanted. She remembered the sad look in his eyes when he told her and something snapped inside of her. Jenny spun around and headed in the exact direction she was trying to avoid.

"Can I help you miss?" the concierge asked.

"Um yes. I was hoping you could tell me what room Howard Archibald is staying in?" Jenny asked. She was quickly losing her nerve but tried to push through it.

"I'm sorry, that kind of information is confidential. Is Mr. Archibald expecting you?"

Before Jenny knew what she was doing, she lied…big. "Yes, I'm Russell Thorpe's assistant and I'm just here to go over a few details of Mr. Thorpe's itinerary with Mr. Archibald." Then Jenny gave her biggest 'Don't I look like I could assist someone' smile.

"Let me confirm with Mr. Archibald," the concierge said before walking away to make a call.

Jenny let out a puff of air. "This is a bad idea," she mumbled to herself.

"He wasn't expecting you but Mr. Archibald said you could come up. He is in penthouse eleven," the concierge smiled.

"Thank you," Jenny said walking to the elevator. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts to notice the young girl snapping a photo of her with her cell phone.

She wasn't quite sure what she was going to say when she reached the eleventh floor. The elevator opened and she stepped out to face the front door. Taking a deep breath, she rang the bell.

Mr. Archibald opened the door, "Hello, can I help you?"

"Hi Mr. Archibald, my name is Jenny Humphrey, I'm a friend of Nate's."

"Of course, I remember you Jenny. Unfortunately, Nate isn't here and I'm actually expecting someone so I'll tell him you stopped by," he said beginning to shut the door.

"Actually," Jenny said, "I'm the person you were expecting."

"I'm afraid I'm not following," Mr. Archibald replied.

"I saw what you did on the street a few minutes ago," Jenny said, the softness gone from her voice. "How could you do that to your son?"

The older man blanched. "Jenny, why don't you come in so we can talk about this?" he asked gesturing inside the penthouse.

Jenny hesitated, she hadn't planned on coming in. "That isn't necessary," she said, "What I have to say is brief. After everything you have put your family through in the last two years how can you risk everything again. Nate deserves so much better than that." Jenny's face was flushed now, her previous feelings returning.

Mr. Archibald put his hands up defensively, "Jenny, I'm not sure what you think you saw—"

"What I did see," Jenny insisted.

He sighed. "I suppose I should be glad Nate has such a good friend. But Jenny, what you saw has nothing to do with Nate, or you for that matter, and I think you should just forget about it."

Jenny glared at him. Now she was really annoyed. "With all due respect Mr. Archibald, exchanging items on the side of the street with a car with tinted windows is not something people do when they have nothing to hide. It's definitely not what people on probation do. Nate has given you a second chance and you're throwing it away. I think you should tell him what happened today or I can tell him…and the police for that matter." Jenny said. With that she smiled and got back on the elevator, leaving Mr. Archibald standing in the hall, stunned.

Jenny has just finished cleaning up the mess from dinner and was seriously considering going to bed at seven o'clock when someone started knocking on the door. She was once again surprised to see Nate on the other side.

"Okay, you need to buy Dan a planner because he's in his room getting ready for his date with Serena," Jenny joked. Nate didn't smile.

"I'm not here to see Dan, Jenny," Nate said, his face hard. "I want you to explain this." He held up his phone and Jenny looked at it. It was a blast from Gossip Girl that read: 'It seems that our Little J. is graduating to the major leagues. She was spotted having an afternoon delight with one Mr. Howard Archibald. Looks like when the son is away the father will play.' Sure enough there was a picture of her in the lobby of Chuck's hotel.

Jenny was dumbfounded, Nate couldn't possibly believe that post. "Nate I can explain this," she began.

"Really? It must be an interesting story because I asked my dad if anyone stopped by today and he said he had been there all day without any visitors," Nate said. "I thought you were done with the games Jenny."

"Games?" Jenny asked. He did believe it. After everything that had happened, after all the apologies, Nate was standing in her living room accusing her of reverting back to her old ways when she hadn't even done anything! When all she had been doing was helping him.

If it had been anyone else, Jenny would have given them a piece of her mind. But suddenly she felt so defeated. She had fought so hard for Nate that day. Everything she had done had been for him, remembering the boy she had been so taken with that night on the steps. But just like everyone else, he believed the worst about her. She wasn't quite sure why it hurt so much more coming from him.

Jenny's eyes filled with tears but she refused to let them fall. "You know what Nate? Believe whatever you want," Jenny said, her voice cracking. She pushed past him, out of the apartment, so he wouldn't see her cry.

Nate just stood there. He wasn't sure what had just happened but he suddenly felt like maybe he had been a little rash with his reaction.

"Hey Nate, what's up?" Dan asked emerging from his room. "Where's Jenny?"

Once Jenny was outside she realized she had left without a coat and it was pretty chilly outside. There was no way she was facing the humiliation that was waiting for her back upstairs though, so she just started walking.

She made it about two blocks when she heard someone calling her name.

"Jenny! Jenny wait!" Nate shouted jogging up behind her. Jenny wiped at her face furiously to erase the tear stains that had formed there but she kept walking.

"Jenny, stop okay, I'm sorry," Nate said finally catching up with her and grabbing her shoulder.

Jenny turned towards him but wouldn't meet his eyes.

"How did you walk so far in less than two minutes," Nate asked, short of breath. Jenny didn't respond. Nate sighed and became serious, "Dan explained everything. I'm really sorry Jenny."

"It's fine Nate," Jenny said, trying to brush it off. "I'll see you later." She pushed past him, back in the direction they had come from, but Nate raced to cut her off.

"No it isn't. We can't just say 'see you later' this time Jen. You have to let me explain."

Jenny sighed. She was so tired.

Nate swallowed, looking at the ground. He was thinking about how to best phrase what he wanted to say. When he looked back up at Jenny she finally met his eyes.

"You've been so different the last few weeks. Happier, more…you. It's like I have my friend back," Nate began. "So when I got that blast and my dad lied about it, I felt like that was all slipping away. And I got angry, really angry. I jumped to the worst conclusion because, I guess that's what I've been afraid of since you got back. That I would lose my friend again."

Jenny's face softened. Nate continued, "I should have trusted you and I'm sorry."

"It's okay Nate," Jenny replied.

"No it's not. But thanks for saying that," Nate said smiling. Jenny smiled back, remembering their conversation a few weeks ago.

"I'm really glad you're back Jenny. I missed you and I should've told you that the first night I saw you."

On the surface he meant he had missed her since she left for Chicago, but Jenny knew that deep down he had been missing her for much longer.

"I missed you too Nate," she echoed.

They stood there for a minute just looking at each other before Nate spoke up.

"We should probably get back to the loft," he said. "Dan was pretty confused when I left."

Jenny chuckled, "It runs in the family."