The rest of the week flew by rather quickly, and Blair found herself no more accustomed to Harbor than she was on her first day. Her only highlight of the day, sadly, were classes with Seth Cohen, Newport's very own Lonely Boy. She could just imagine the names Gossip Girl would give him on the Upper East Side – Emo Boy, Neurotic Boy, Comic Book Geek Boy – whatever. Just so not the type of boy she would be caught dead hanging around with. The problem was, she didn't really have much choice. Every time she approached other people at the school, they scattered like she was carrying the plague. Today was just the same; Blair had been hanging around the cafeteria with a lunch tray, pretending to be lost, and hoping that someone would invite her to sit with them. Cafeteria tables, Blair thought. So much beneath me. She sighed wistfully as she recalled the times she'd spent having lunch with the girls on the MET steps, looking as pristine as ever. She was just about to toss away her entire meal in exchange for a froyo when she heard a familiar, shrill voice calling out to her.

"Hey, Blair! Waldorf, is that you?" Seth Cohen called out behind her. Blair had to admit that Seth was the only "friend" that she had made so far in Harbor, but was still not ready to commit social suicide by being seen with him in public. She quickened her pace and ditched her lunch tray, than brushed her hands off cleanly. With a smirk of self-satisfaction, she proceeded to continue walking to find a lunch spot where she could start recruiting her new minions. She was confident that today would be the day. Then came another familiar voice behind her.

"Ew, Cohen. Are you friends with that headband freak?" Blair whipped around sharply to see the gossipy brunette that she had met earlier in the week, eyeing her with a disgusted look on her face. She quickly scanned the area and realized that Seth was sitting with the brunette and the awkward pretty blonde, as well as another cute, dirty blonde street smart type. Not bad, Blair thought to herself. A little short, but definitely easy on the eyes. She quickly regained her stature and smiled deliberately at Seth, waiting to be invited. As if on cue, Seth gestured dramatically to an empty seat beside him, and gave Blair a comical wink. Blair rolled her eyes but smiled sweetly at him, nonetheless, carefully speculating the bench to see whether there were any leftover crumbs that would ruin her original one-piece by Waldorf Designs; there were, and she meticulously retrieved a silk handkerchief from her purse to brush it off quickly as if it contained a deadly virus. She then sat down carefully, taking care not to break eye contact with the petite brunette, who was now gawking at her.

"Don't mind if I do," Blair replied without so much as glancing over at Seth. "Blair. Blair Waldorf. And you are?" She aimed the question at the brunette, but did not bother to offer her hand. Blair was getting close to desperate for friends at the new school, but not desperate enough to not hold a grudge on anyone who dared to speak badly of her. Especially when the person in question sported tube tops and capris pants as part of their daily attire.

"She's uh – " Seth cut in nervously. "Summer. Summer Roberts. Remember I told you about her? She's best friends with Marissa. This is Marissa, meet Marissa Cooper, whose mom is now married to my, well grandfather, and yes, it's a long story. And oh, of course you haven't met Ryan. Ryan Atwood. But technically he's a Cohen, since my family adopted him not too long ago, so actually, he's really my brother. I actually think we're starting to look a little alike too, if you look at him from a certain angle – " Seth rambled on, standing up and gesturing to each of the people who were sitting at the table who now each had blank expressions on their faces. It seems as if they've grown accustomed to Seth's characteristic spasms. Finally, it was Summer who interrupted.

"Cohen, are you high? Just stop talking, okay?" Summer breathed an exasperated sigh and shot Seth a death glare, which prompted Seth to sit down again, slowly. Marissa glanced sideways, gave Blair a semi-friendly smile, while Ryan gave a half-wave. Blair shifted in her seat uncomfortably, suddenly at a loss of what to do next. The confidence she felt a moment ago seemed to have disappeared, along with her appetite.

"So, you're the new girl, right? Seth's told me a bit about you," Ryan offered as a way to break the awkward silence.

"Uh, yeah Blair. Tell them about yourself. About how you're from Manhattan, and the Upper East Side, no less. And about just how excited you are to be here in Newport. I hope you could catch that sarcasm by the way, since – let's be honest. Who on earth would prefer this place over the Big Apple? Do people still call it the Big Apple?" Seth spoke at approximately 80 words per minute as Summer tapped her fingers on the table impatiently.

"Well, I guess you just told us about her for her so thanks for that, Cohen," Summer pointed out. Seth saluted and gave a stupid smile, seemingly unaffected by Summer's cutting tone. "So tell us, Blair. What brings you to Orange County? Had enough of Broadway and all that jazz and decided to hit the waves a little bit?"

"Oh, I'm more of an off-Broadway type of girl, and God no, I don't do surfing. God knows what kind of people have been in those waters, and what it would do to my hair," Blair's hand rose to touch her headband slightly, out of habit, while Seth nodded approvingly. "But yes, in a way, I've had enough to my life in Manhattan, and wanted to try 'keeping it real' here in Orange County, you know what I mean?" Blair laughed nervously and tried her best to seem at ease without going into too many details. After all, she didn't think that hooking up with both your sweetheart and his best friend would make a good debut story at Abercrombie land. To her dismay, Summer merely responded by examining her own nails, looking bored, while Marissa seemed as if she was trying to hide a giggle.

"Hey, Summer. I think we'd better get going. We have that…thing we've got to get to," Marissa declared suddenly, rising from her seat. She gave Ryan a soft peck, and dragged her friend away. Summer followed after her, looking slightly disoriented, and Marissa gave Blair the same awkward half-smile as a good-bye. So golden girl and wife-beater blonde are an item, Blair made a mental note of her observations. She continued to sit at a painfully upright position, waiting for someone, anyone, to speak.

"So…that was a little awkward," Ryan finally said after what seemed like an eternity of silence. "Don't worry about the girls. They're…they're girls," he offered, for lack of a better word.

"Yes, and don't mind Ryan, either. He's not really good with words," Seth piped in, half-muttering. "But Waldorf, I must say, you really need to work on your social skills. And that's coming from me, so you know that's bad."

"My social skills?" Blair snapped in a voice that sounded higher and squeakier than usual. "What's wrong with my social skills?"

"Well, for one," Ryan chimed in, a little unwillingly, "no one wears headbands in this, er – decade." Blair shoots an accusing glare at Seth, who pretends to look elsewhere. "And, I mean, while you look like you practically walked out of a fashion magazine –"

"Thank you," Blair replied curtly.

"Oh, you didn't let me finish. You also look like you're trying way too hard," Ryan continued ruthlessly as Seth waved his arms as if asking to be saved from a burning building in hopes of stopping him. He gestured to a group of girls nearby. "Look at everyone here. I mean everyone's in tank tops and jeans, and you - well, you just don't fit in." Seth deflates like a balloon after Ryan's explanation.

"This happens to be an Eleanor Waldorf original," Blair managed to reply in a small voice.

"Which I think looks really nice, Ryan," Seth answered emphatically, shooting razor-sharp death glares at Ryan. "Look, Blair. I think what Ryan's trying to say, is that, maybe – just maybe – you can work in something a little more low-key, a little more, you know, casual into your wardrobe, and take it from there." Seth waited uneasily for Blair's reaction, holding his breath.

Blair was at a loss for words. Blair Waldorf, who had once been quite literally, the fashion police at Constance Billard, was now being schooled by two boys dressed in what looked like hand-me-downs on what not to wear. This was really a nightmare. But she also had to admit that she looked ridiculously different from everyone else at Harbor, and that she was getting nowhere closer to social domination. She nods, defeated.

"Look, do you have anything to do after school?" Seth asked. Blair shook her head dejectedly. Seth and Ryan shared a look. "Well, how about we take you shopping? I don't know much about clothes, but I guess I could – " Seth holds out his arm like a coat hanger, "lighten your load a little? What do you say?" Blair looks helplessly, unsure of how to respond.

"Well, sorry but count me out. Shopping's not really my thing. Plus, I promised I'd study with Marissa after school today," Ryan replied as he got up from his seat. "You two have fun though. Don't worry, Blair. Seth has excellent taste," he said with a tight smile and he prepared to walk away. "See you around!"

"So, I guess it's just you and me, then. Are you up for it? Could go to the mall? Maybe also give you a brief tour of the oh-so-exciting Newport Beach while we're at it? That was a bit of the Seth Cohen sarcasm, just in case you didn't notice," Seth stammered, suddenly not so confident anymore without Ryan's presence.

"Yes, I think I can recognize it by now, thanks," Blair replied as she rolled her eyes yet again. But before she could continue with another snide remark, she realized that this emo, geeky, and neurotic curly-haired disaster was pretty much the only hope she had of a somewhat normal life after her debacle with Chuck Bass. She swallowed the lump that had gathered in her throat, and genuinely smiled at him and said,

"Take me there."