Serena felt very small in the interrogation room. She hadn't even been questioned yet. She was still covered in blood and dirt and hadn't been allowed to change her clothes because they were afraid that she'd be destroying evidence. She got up and walked over to the one-way glass. She only saw her reflection but she was sure they were watching her, even if she could only see herself. "I want my phone call."
A few minutes later an officer arrived and walked her to the phone. She quickly dialed Nate's number and felt her heart drop when he answered lazily. "Hello?"
She tried to steady her voice but it was shaky. "Nate, I need you…"
Nate tried to keep his voice calm while she told him where she was. "We'll be right there."
She walked back to the room to find a detective she didn't recognize waiting for her. She noticed how handsome he was and he looked at her sternly. "I'm Detective Given. Sit."
She sat and looked down at her hands. She wanted to wash them so badly.
He pulled out an evidence bag that had a gold watch in it. "This was in the box you were trying to bury. Along with blood. A lot of blood, that is now mostly on you."
Serena felt her heart drop. It was Georgina's watch. Personalized and all, and she was wearing it the night she disappeared.
"What was it that made you snap, Serena? Did she steal your dress? Did she go after the same boy? What was it that made you kill Georgina Sparks?"
Serena looked at him. "I didn't kill anyone. She was my friend!"
He pulled out a small recording device and pressed play. Serena recognized her friend's voices:
"We know nothing."
"What if they ask about…"
"Don't. We don't owe that bitch anything."
"You're right."
"Nothing."
"I'm giving you a chance to come clean. We could get your friends in here." He leaned over. "Mommy and Daddy won't be able to buy your way out of this one."
Serena looked him in the eye. She refused to be intimidated. "Don't be so sure about that."
He shot her a dirty look. "Tell me what I want to know."
She crossed her arms. "You have an inferiority complex and it all stems from having been born into a lower-middle class family. You're probably still paying off student loans from college. And your suit looks cheap."
He gave her a smirk. "Well done. Why were you at the park that night?"
Serena looked away in defiance. "I want my lawyer."
He gave her a smirk. "That's the first honest thing I've heard you say."
…
Serena watched as Chuck's guys checked everywhere in her room. So far they'd found 4 cameras and 7 microphones. Blair held her hand.
Nate looked at Serena. "They did this to all of our homes. They're not singling you out."
"Really, Nate? Because I'm the only one that got covered in blood and then arrested."
Nate frowned. "I know…I was just trying to make you feel better."
She gave him a small smile. "Sorry. This whole thing just puts me on edge. I just feel so violated."
Blair nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. I should get going."
Chuck walked over to them. "We got them all. I'm gonna get going. Try to get some sleep."
Nate turned to leave and Serena caught him by the hand. "Can you just stay until I fall asleep?"
Nate nodded; Serena had a rough week. He tucked her in and sat next to her.
Serena sat up and looked at him. "I'm so scared…all the time."
"You can't let them have this much control over you. Okay? It'll drive you crazy."
Serena leaned over and kissed his cheek softly. She let her lips linger near his. Nate stood perfectly still, he was afraid to move even a centimeter. Serena pressed her lips against his softly and Nate sat like a statue.
Serena pulled away to see his face.
Nate looked at her. "You're breaking my heart." He kissed her forehead and got up. "Night, S."
Serena felt the tears stinging in her eyes but she waited until the door closed to let them run down her face.
…
Serena could tell that Detective Given hated her guts, especially after he had to release her because he couldn't charge her with anything. Mainly, because the blood on her turned out to belong to a chicken but also because she had the one of the most expensive lawyers in Manhattan. Her mother had gone to great lengths to make sure all the stories stayed out of the press. Even Gossip Girl hadn't caught wind of anything, Serena was impressed. Despite everything, he agreed to take her statement in the van der Woodsen household.
He sat on the couch across from Serena and opened up his notebook.
Serena looked at her lawyer and mom. "Can I speak to him by myself?"
Lily hesitated but nodded. "We'll be right in the next room."
Serena looked at him. "I know you don't believe me."
He sighed. "What I do or don't believe does not matter."
She looked at him. "You don't like me because I live on Fifth Avenue. You don't approve of our lifestyle because you think we cruise through life with no consequences. Correct?"
He thought about it for a while. "Correct. But this isn't about my personal feelings. I just want to find out what happened that night."
She cleared her throat. "It was late, almost 3 am. We were so tired but we'd been up watching movies. Georgina never really hung out with us, but I convinced my friends to let her join us." She waited until he finished scribbling in his notebook.
She realized she was talking fast but she just had to get it out. "She didn't have any friends. People were scared of her."
He stopped writing for a second. "Why"
"She knew…" Serena jumped when she heard her phone chime and looked at it to read: No one likes a snitch, S! Play nice, xoxo.
She leaned over the way he did in the interrogation room. But they were in her territory now. She lowered his voice. "Listen to me very carefully." She waited for him to lean in too. "You're going to get us killed too."
He gave her a confused look but his voice was a whisper too. "What? Who?"
She shook her head and pressed her lips against his ear. "They're watching us."
…
Nate finally understood the message he'd been getting. He hoped Serena wouldn't be too upset with him. He walked to Mr. Varley's class during free period and knocked on the door.
The English teacher motioned him to come in. "Hey Nate, what's up?"
Nate looked down; he was so ashamed of himself. "I…I" He cleared his throat. "I know about you and Serena. And if you don't stop seeing her then I'm going straight to the headmaster."
Pete walked over to him. "Are you threatening me?"
He looked away. "You heard what I said." He turned and walked out of the room as soon as he possibly could. When he was down the hall he heard his phone chime: Well done, N! xoxo.
…
Serena burst into Nate's room and tore his earphones out of his ears.
Nate jumped up. "Serena, what the hell…"
"How could you do this?"
"I…"
"You blackmailed him into dumping me! I knew you didn't approve but I never knew you would sink this low!"
Nate wanted so badly to tell her the truth but he couldn't seem to get a word in. "I'm sorry. I just…"
"You had no right!"
He reached for her hand and she recoiled at his touch. "Serena…"
"Don't!"
Nate grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving. "I had to do it!" He pulled out the text on his phone and held it out to Serena. "I didn't have a choice."
Serena suddenly felt stupid, of course Nate only did it to protect her. She looked at him.
Nate looked down. "I'm sorry."
All the anger left her body. "Maybe it was for the best." She wanted him to smile. "I can't even imagine how awkward your gonna feel in his class tomorrow. At least there's only a month left of school."
Nate smiled. "Oh God…I'm dreading it. I felt so bad when I was telling him to back off. I couldn't even look at him."
Serena wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay. I was avoiding him anyway. You were right before, it was stupid of me to do that. I should've listened to you."
Nate couldn't hold back anymore, Serena was only a couple of inches away from him. He leaned over and pressed his lips against hers. She immediately responded and kissed him back passionately. Nate wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to the couch. He sat and pulled her onto his lap. Serena pulled away from his lips and kissed his neck until she felt his body tense up. She pulled away to look at his face. It was hard to read his expression but she knew him well enough to know that he was regretting kissing her in the first place.
Nate sat still until Serena slid off his lap. He looked down. "I shouldn't have done that."
"Do you even know what you want? This whiplash is so…"
"I know what I want. But I also know it's not what you want."
She gave him a confused look. "Natie…"
Nate swallowed hard. "I love you."
Serena tried to hide the shock on her face. Hearing him say it out loud broke her heart. She thought of all the times she jokingly flirted with him and how cruel it was. "I…I wish you didn't."
Nate let out a loud sigh. "I wish I didn't either."
…