Serena woke up the next morning and she saw Nate awake next to her. "Morning. Are you watching me sleep? Creep." She teased.
He smiled. "I missed waking up to you."
She buried her face in her pillow. "You can't just say things like that. Okay?"
He nodded. "I know. Sorry." He changed the subject. "Could you hand me my watch? It's in the drawer next to you."
Serena opened the drawer and grabbed his watch. She was about to close it when a small red box caught her attention. She picked up the box and turned to him. It was his great-grandmothers engagement ring. "Hey, why didn't you give Madeline your grandmother's ring? It's been in the family for generations. Anne must've had a stroke."
He looked sad suddenly. "I just couldn't bring myself to." He took the box and took the ring out. It was so beautiful. It was supposed to be for you. "My mom understood."
"Are you in love with her?"
"With my mom? That's gross." He joked.
"You know what I mean."
He got up and started getting ready for work. "Marrying her is a good decision." He went to the other room to change into a suit.
"You didn't answer my question." She said to him when he came back.
"It's not black and white. It's complicated."
"Does she love you?"
He stood in front of the mirror and put his tie around his neck. "It's a little early for an interrogation. I'd at least like a cup of coffee first."
She went over to help him. "I'm not interrogating you, Nate." She made sure his tie was perfectly straight. "I'm just concerned. You're gonna be with her, forever."
He felt defensive. "Yeah I'm aware. I told you I wouldn't wait for you." He meant to say that last part as a joke but he just sounded bitter.
She turned away. She remembered perfectly. "You said a lot of things," she snapped back rudely. She opened her mouth to go on but closed it.
He needed closure. He still didn't fully understand what went wrong years ago. "What is that supposed to mean? If you have something to say then say it."
He was asking for a fight and she didn't plan on backing down. "Just because you get to put on a suit to go to work everyday doesn't mean you're any more grown up that I am. So why don't you get off your high horse?"
He scoffed. "Oh I'm on a high horse? You're the one who comes waltzing back into my life and decides to criticize everything I've done."
"I wasn't criticizing. This isn't what you wanted with your life."
"You mean it isn't what you wanted for my life?" He paced back and forth. "You've always liked people best when you have them wrapped around your finger. I'm no exception. I guess some people never change."
She grabbed her bag and headed for the door. She didn't understand how she was the bad guy. "You broke my heart! Not the other way around. I'm sorry I didn't stick around for you to watch me try to pick up the pieces."
…
She went to brunch the next day with her parents. All the usual suspects were there. She felt like she was back in high school.
"Serena! Hi." It was Anne Archibald. She gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Hi Anne." Serena always liked Nate's mother.
"It's good to see you darling." After a few seconds of small talk she politely excused herself.
Nate looked as handsome as ever. He handed Serena a glass of champagne. "Clearly we have some unresolved issues. How is it that every time I see you it's like I'm back in high school?"
She took a big sip. "We sure do fight like we did when we were 15."
He smiled. "I mostly did that for the make up sex."
She smiled. "The sex wasn't good when we were 15. You would barely last 10 seconds." She laughed at her own joke.
He pretended to be offended. "Well played, van der Woodsen. Well played." He laughed. "Maybe we should talk about it. I mean we never got closure. We need that if we ever expect to be friends."
Serena nodded. "You're right. But not today." She changed the subject. "Where's your other half? Wow, speak of the devil."
Madeline suddenly came out of nowhere. "Hello Serena. Hey Nate." She gave him a kiss on the lips.
Serena winced. "Hey." She gulped down the rest of her champagne. Seeing Nate with someone else caused her physical pain. "Enjoy your brunch. Excuse me." She quickly walked away.
…
Serena felt like she was going to crack under all the pressure she was in. In a few hours she had to be at the fashion show to make her debut as a runway model. She needed to get her mind off things.
She hopped out of the cab and went into the tall building. He had a secretary and everything. "Hi. Is Nate Archibald in?"
The secretary didn't look up from her desk. "Do you have an appointment?"
"Uh…no. But I'm an old friend –"
"I'm sorry. Mr. Archibald is extremely busy. Please make an appointment and return another day as he has a great deal of meetings set up today already."
She frowned. She wanted her visit to be a surprise. She texted Nate: I didn't realize you were so busy. Apparently I'm not cool enough to make it past the lobby
Nate walked out of his office not even a minute later. "Serena! Hey." He gave her a big hug and then turned to his assistant. "Serena doesn't need an appointment. Ever."
He led her to his office. It was gorgeous and roomy and had a magnificent view of the city.
She looked around. "I'm so proud of you, Natie."
He leaned against his desk and shrugged. "So what brings you here?"
She sat in his chair and bounced up and down like a 5 year old. "I don't know. I'm just so nervous about today. I wanted to get my mind off it. And I know you're busy but you're just the first person who popped in my head."
"I can take a couple of hours off. We can go have some coffee. Walk around the park. Like we used to."
"That would be great. Are you sure you can just leave?"
He nodded. "Let's go." He grabbed his jacket and held the door open for her. "Lisa, clear the next 3 hours. I'm going out." It felt good to do something spontaneous again.
…
It was all a blur. Serena couldn't recount her experience if she tried. It was a rush, like the ones she imagined people got before going skydiving or bungee jumping. She had her hair and make up done. They put the dress on her, lined her up and she just walked straight ahead. She remembered all the flashes going off but she didn't have time to process what was happening. In an instant she was backstage again and her heart was still racing and she wanted to jump around in joy.
She went to the after party but didn't stay long at all. All she wanted to do was call Nate and tell him all about it.
She called his cell phone. She was still practically bouncing around her room.
"Hello?" He sounded stressed.
"Hey Nate! It was amazing. I can't even explain it. It was such a big rush. And Marc Jacobs smiled and actually hugged me afterwards! I can't even handle it. I am just so happy." She was rambling.
"That's amazing Serena. I knew you'd be amazing. I wish I could talk some more but I'm still in my office."
"It's 2 am. How come?"
"Yeah I know. I just want to finish going over this file before the weekend starts. I'm pretty much done. I'll call you tomorrow, yeah?"
"Okay. Night Nate."
"Oh and Serena, you looked amazing up there."
She smiled. "You saw me?"
"Of course. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Night."
She hung up. She didn't think she could've gotten any happier. She was wrong.