Author's Note: Here is the next chapter. Leave me some feedback and let me know what you are thinking about the story so far! Thanks and enjoy!

Chapter 7

Jenny hadn't realized that seeing Matt again, albeit only for a short period of time, would make her miss Chicago and her friends there so much. However, she found that the process of making one of the most important decisions about her future to date was a good distraction.

She had spent the past week going back and forth between her two prospective design school programs. She had already sent her deposit to SAIC, figuring she would rather hold the spot and chance losing the money, but Parson's was also breathing down her neck for an answer and she still hadn't chosen between the two.

This is how Jenny's week had gone: the first day was spent listening to Celine Dion (which she hid from her father—he would not approve) and drowning her sorrows over Matt leaving in junk food. Day two she swore off men and the emotional turmoil they cause which pointed her towards New York. Day three she saw Nate and Serena together at a coffee shop in Manhattan which suddenly made Chicago look a lot better. Days four and five were spent with Eric and those conversations were too lengthy to even describe. Day six Jenny had a serious "Agnes" moment and decided she was over design altogether, which she thought could be celebrated by lighting some of her most recent sketches on fire in the kitchen garbage can. Dan had to wrestle the lighter away from her and then strongly advised her to "stop drinking the Kool-Aid." This brought her to today, day seven. She was at the loft with Dan, mainly because he didn't believe she was mentally capable of being alone.

"We could get Thai food?" Dan suggested. The two were discussing lunch choices. For some reason, neither of them had ever become inclined to go grocery shopping more than once a month.

"Nah. I still feel sick from all the garbage I ate earlier this week," Jenny replied, referring to her "mourning" period.

Dan's phone rang. He looked down at the screen before putting it on silent and shoving it in his pocket.

"Okay," he continued, ignoring the call. "How about that new vegan place on Fifth?"

"Maybe," Jenny said. "Who was that?" she asked, pointing to his pocket.

"No one," Dan said, getting up from his seat at the counter and walking into his room. "Maybe we should just skip dinner. It's already sorta late. We could just grab frozen yogurt?"

Jenny wasn't convinced by his nonchalant attitude. "Sure," she hollered. "Seriously, why won't you tell me who was on the phone?"

Silence.

"I know you can hear me Dan, your bedroom wall is a garage-door, remember?"

Dan reemerged. "It was no one, I told you." He walked around her to the living room but she followed him.

"How does 'no one' dial a phone?" Jenny asked sweetly.

Dan gave her an annoyed look. "It was Blair," he said shortly.

"Oh." Now Jenny felt bad. She knew Blair had been a sensitive subject lately.

"Look, Dan, if you're freezing her out because of me, it's okay. You can be friends with her. I'm over it, I promise," Jenny said, crossing her heart.

"It's not okay Jenny," Dan replied. "She was deliberately trying to hurt you."

"Yeah but what else is new?" Jenny said. "That's how Blair is, you know that."

Dan was silent for a moment. "Yeah but I just thought…I don't know. I thought maybe it was different this time."

"Why would it be different?"

"I just thought I had gotten through to her, that's all," Dan said.

"Well then, I guess it's good that you've cut your losses," Jenny said, trying to be positive. "And you can move on. Besides, you were just friends. It's not like you were dating and she broke your heart or something that would really do damage."

Dan sat still, avoiding Jenny's eyes.

"Wait." Jenny said slowly. "She broke your heart?" This could not be true.

"Okay, okay," Dan said defensively. "Heartbreak is a little extreme. I may have…possibly…I mean, it's a possibility…that at one time, I could have had more than friendly feelings for her."

"I can't believe you are in love with Blair Waldorf," Jenny said.

"Jenny..." Dan warned.

"Are you only going to give your babies first initials instead of full names?" Jenny joked.

"I'm leaving," Dan said, brushing past her.

"Wait," Jenny laughed, grabbing his arm. "I'm sorry but it is a little comical."

Dan wasn't laughing. "I mean serious. It's very serious," Jenny corrected, but couldn't stop grinning.

"Okay, I'm glad you find my life so humorous," Dan said.

"Oh I do, I really do," Jenny replied. "You better be nice to me or I might have to send out a Gossip Girl blast."

"Don't even joke," Dan said. "Besides," he added, "Nate already threatened me with that."

"You told Nate?" Jenny asked in an offended tone.

"Yeah last night." Dan said. "We had an early celebration since I can't make it tonight."

Jenny turned white.

"Celebration?" she asked.

"Yeah…" Dan said. "You know, The Captain gave Nate a seat on his company's board. It's like the biggest honor an Archibald can receive." Jenny just stared at him. "His parents are having a party to celebrate in their suite tonight, remember? You RSVP'd right?"

Jenny smacked her forehead. "I completely forgot that he called me! I've been so distracted the past week." She felt awful, and self-centered, and like a jerk.

"Man, at least I've been working. What's your excuse?"

"A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN!" Jenny shot back. She ran to her room and quickly changed, while Dan sat back down at the counter. He was amused that the spotlight had shifted from his bizarre romantic pursuits to Jenny's negligence.

"Okay," Jenny said hurrying back into the kitchen and grabbing her purse and keys. "I'll go over early and apologize for being MIA over the past week, maybe help set up?"

"If he lets you in." Dan said.

Jenny glared at him. "Have fun at the magazine," Jenny countered. "Tell Blair I said hi." She slammed the door before he could respond.

"Congratu—" Jenny stopped mid-sentence as she peered past Nate into his apartment. "—lations? This doesn't look very party ready." She said.

"That's because there isn't a party," Nate responded, walking back to where he had been sitting in the living room. "I told everyone on the guest list already."

Jenny glanced at the floor, and then followed him inside. "I know," she said. "I'm a terrible friend. I've been really wrapped up in my own stuff. I forgot to call you back. Dan just told me the good news." She smiled hesitantly. "It is good news right?"

"Of course it's good news," Nate replied coolly. "I'm the youngest person who's ever been offered a seat."

"Right," Jenny said, sitting beside him. "Then why aren't your friends here celebrating with you?"

"I don't know," Nate said. "None of the people who I really care to celebrate with could make it."

Jenny's cheeks became warm with shame. He had to be talking about more people than just her, right? She hadn't been a very good friend lately but it's not like her presence would have made or broken the party.

She leaned back in her seat, mimicking Nate's position, and let out a sigh.

"Buy you a pizza?" she asked.

Nate continued to look forward but smiled slightly. "Sure."

Two hours, seven slices, and one Marlon Brando movie later, Nate and Jenny were lazily sprawled across his giant living room. Nate was stretched out on the floor while Jenny was taking up the whole couch.

"That was definitely not the cinematic masterpiece you said it would be," Jenny said, yawning halfway through her sentence.

"Hey!" Nate said, playfully tossing a pillow at her. "Don't insult a classic okay? Besides you said this was my celebration and I could pick, so don't start complaining now."

Jenny smiled. "I wasn't complaining," she said sweetly. "I was sharing my opinion." With that, she lifted the pillow above her head and brought it down on Nate's face with a "thud."

"Oh, you are SO dead," Nate said standing up and grabbing Jenny by the waist. Jenny tried to squirm out of his reach but he was too strong. She gasped for air through her laughter as he mercilessly tickled her.

"Stop…Nate….please," Jenny laughed.

"Do you give up?" he asked.

"Yes, yes…I give up…just…stop."

Nate smiled mischievously. "Say Marlon Brando is the master."

Jenny held her breath and struggled harder.

"Never," she said.

"Say it."

"He's not."

"Say it."

Now Nate was almost fully on top of her. Jenny was stubborn, but she knew this was a battle she was not going to win.

"Okay…Marlon Brando is the master," Jenny mumbled.

Nate grinned and sat back. "I knew you really liked it."

Jenny propped herself up on her elbows and cocked an eyebrow. "You're so full of it," she said, but she was grinning widely.

Nate leaned forward and brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. Jenny was sure she looked like a mess after that whole tickling episode but with Nate she never felt like she had to worry about that.

Suddenly, she was very aware of just how close Nate's face was to hers. His eyes were bright and clear as they stared back at her. She would have sworn this was one of those moments when the stars aligned and the guy leaned in for the perfect kiss. That is, if he wasn't Nate and she wasn't Jenny and they didn't have the friendship they had.

The moment was interrupted when Nate realized what an awkward position they were still sitting in, Jenny laying back on the couch and Nate straddling her thighs. He shifted to the side and swung his leg over hers before helping her sit up.

"Sorry," he chuckled nervously.

Jenny smiled. The duo sat back against the couch. Jenny was still slightly winded but enjoyed the comfortable silence. Sometimes she wished it could be like this all the time, just the two of them, no pretense, no problems.

Without turning her head, Jenny asked, "So you're going to sit on the board then? It's official?"

"Yeah," Nate said. He sighed and Jenny wondered if he felt the same way about their little bubble.

"It's because you want to, right?" Jenny said. "Not because of your family?" Nate turned to look at her but Jenny continued to look forward. She was almost afraid to look at him, afraid to see anger on his face. She remembered the last time they talked about him and his family, their world, and she didn't want to revisit that.

"I know how you feel about my family Jenny." Nate said. He continued before she could protest. "My grandfather has a lot of faults but he's smart and good at what he does. It's a great opportunity."

Jenny was quiet.

"Sometimes," Nate continued, "you have to go with your head, even if you heart is somewhere else."

Jenny finally looked at him. Once again, she was transported back to that night so many years ago when she had seen the "real" Nate for the first time. They were so different now, both individually and together. A lot of things had changed for Jenny since her freshman year: her friends, her look, her school. One thing that never seemed to change was Nate. No matter what had happened between them, he was always there, just being Nate. Now, in this moment, with Nate's words resonating in her mind, she fully felt the weight of growing up. That things were going to be different, Nate with his new job and her with design school. Jenny knew when she left for Chicago last year that she was starting a new chapter of her life, and ending an old one. What she hadn't expected was to come back and regret that.

Nate smiled at her, like he had so many times before, and she smiled back. But inside, it all felt different.

Jenny shut the door as quietly as possible and crept into the loft. A light clicked on in the living room, making her jump.

"Dan!" she breathed. "You scared the crap out of me. Why were you sitting in the dark?" Dan was weird but sitting alone in the dark living room well past midnight took things to a new level.

"Just thinking," Dan said, rising from his seat and stretching. "How was the party?"

Jenny plopped her purse on the counter. "Didn't happen," she said. Dan gave her a quizzical look but she just waved her hand. "It's a long story," she said.

"Here," Dan said picking an envelope up off the counter and holding it out towards her. "It was outside earlier. It's from Parson's."

Jenny took the envelope and glanced down at it for a moment before setting it back down.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Dan asked.

"No," Jenny replied. "I don't need to."

Dan raised his eyebrows. "Sounds like you finally made a decision."

"Yeah," Jenny said. "I'm going back to Chicago."