Blair and Serena sat eating sushi at Sushi Sasabune on the Upper East Side.

Blair took a sip of sake. "So, to what do we owe your extended stay?"

Serena smiled. "It's almost fashion week, duh."

Blair smiled. "Let me guess you're going to be sitting front row?" She couldn't help sound a little bitter. She had only ever made it to the third row before.

Serena's smile widened. "Marc Jacobs has hand selected me to model! Can you believe it? Me? Doing Runway!"

Blair felt her heart stop. "I am SO proud of you!" She held up her glass. "Cheers."

Serena took a sip. "Oh and I get a plus 1. Do you know anybody who would do me the favor of sitting next to Anna Wintour while I strut the runway?" She giggled.

Blair had to actively stop herself from screaming. "You're the my favorite!"

They stumbled out of the cab and into Blair's penthouse an hour later. They both collapsed on Blair's bed.

"Jeez. This is like high school all over again! All we need is Chuck and Nate." Blair slurred her words slightly.

Serena frowned. "Nate. Oh God, Nate."

"Sorry."

"How is he? Do you see him?"

"I see him every now and then. He's so busy all the time. You wouldn't even recognize him."

"I miss him. Do you think I'll run into him? The things I wanna do to that boy..." Blair and Serena giggled.

"You are gross." She cuddled against Serena. "I'm glad your home." She closed her eyes.

Serena felt her eyelids get heavy. "Me too."

…

Serena and Blair went to the charity event together. Serena was breathtaking in long Yves Saint Laurent dress and Blair looked impeccable in Chanel.

Lily quickly spotted them and they made the usual rounds. Sip of champagne. Talk to someone you don't really know. They're boring. Politely excuse yourself. Talk to something else. Two sips. It went on forever.

Serena finally managed to get away from the crowd.

"I was hoping I'd get to see you."

She turned around to see Chuck standing there.

"Chuck!" She gave him a hug. "It's good to see you."

Chuck gave her his famous smirk. "You look well." She was just about to ask for Nate when Chuck laughed silently. "Excuse me. Blair's been shooting me looks for a while now and if I don't rescue her from Mr. Peterson she's going to kill me."

Nate was nowhere in sight. She was a little disappointed. She had barely seen him in 3 years. She couldn't remember the last time they had a conversation that was longer than 5 seconds. And their break-up didn't count. That was more of a fight than a conversation. She frowned as he remembered how bad their breakup was.

She slipped out early when she was sure nobody was watching and she waited outside for a car.

"Serena?" She could recognize that voice anywhere.

She turned around and saw Nate, looking as perfect as ever. She thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Suddenly she felt like she was in high school again, butterflies in her stomach and everything.

She smiled at him. Her smiled took his breath away. He hadn't realized how much he missed her until he pulled her in for a hug. "Hi Nate." She said against his ear, her hot breath still sent shivers up and down his spine.

"I heard you were back in town." He pulled away to get a better look at her. "You look amazing."

"Thanks." She smiled. "You look great Nate." He really did. But he looked extremely tired.

"Are you on your way out?"

She felt like she had to leave otherwise she would look silly. "Um, yeah. I'm tired."

"Okay. Well let's have drinks tomorrow. Call me. I really wanna catch up."

"Yeah of course. I'll see you tomorrow, Natie." She blushed when she realized what she called him.

He smiled. Nobody had called him that in years. "Oh. I have a new number, here." He handed her a business card.

She looked down on it. "Webb & Taylor? Is that your law firm?"

A good-looking girl interrupted from behind Nate. "The best in the city."

Serena smiled. "Wow! Look at you, Nate. Single-handedly saving the environment. I'm Serena, by the way."

The girl scoffed. "He's a corporate lawyer, not environmental." She grabbed Nate's arm and it was then that Serena noticed the 2-carat-white-14kgold-princess-cut-diamond ring on her left finger.

Nate didn't look like he was going to say anything so she spoke again. "I'm Madeline Sinclair. Nate's fiancee."

Nate suddenly found words. "Oh yeah. Sorry. Madeline this is Serena Van der Woodsen. She's in town for a couple weeks. But Serena's heading out so let's go back in. S, I'll see you tomorrow."

Serena was in shock. She quickly got in the car waiting for her. "Drive!"

…

Serena woke Blair up the next morning. "Nate is engaged?"

Blair gave her a half smile. "Right. I may have forgotten to mention that."

"You think!" She was still having trouble breathing.

Blair sat next to her. "Serena. In and Out. You're going to be fine. In and Out. Good."

"Anything else I should know about Nate?"

"We need some hard liquor. Pronto."

"It's 2 pm."

"Trust me you are going to need it."

After a couple of drinks Serena felt a lot calmer. "Ok so...What?"

Blair shrugged. "He's just such a Vanderbilt. His grandfather is grooming him all the way to the Senate. He has his whole life planned out for him, literally. The reason he proposed is to have a good image for when he runs for representative in a couple of years. As soon as he's 30 he's going to run for the Senate. Can you believe it? Nate in Congress. His pot-smoking days are behind him."

Serena was confused. "That is not Nate. That sounds like his worst nightmare."

Blair nodded. "Madeline is such a bitch too. I'm the bitch around here! She should know better. But anyway, they met in law school."

Serena felt sick. "I'm having dinner with Nate tonight. I've only been gone for like 3 years but he's changed so much. What do I even talk to him about?"

Blair put a hand over Serena's. "Oh, come on...this is still Nate we're talking about. You're gonna be just fine. But let's pick out your outfit. You have to look irresistible."

...