Brotherly Love
Dan paced the kitchen of his loft in Brooklyn, hoping Vanessa would answer the phone. She was still mad at him and made it clear after he tried to talk to her after lunch. She accused him of "trading up", whatever that meant. In the end, he gave up and came home. As much as he worried about the future of his friendship with Vanessa, he had a much more prominent problem forming.
He hung up as Jenny came out of her room, putting her coat on. She stopped halfway when she saw him.
"Going somewhere, Jenny?" he asked.
She looked up and her smile faded.
"I'm going to a friend's for a study group," she answered quickly.
"I thought you didn't have any friends at school," he commented.
She scowled at him.
"No, that's you," she retorted bitterly.
Dan sighed. He had clearly said something to upset Jenny.
"That's not what I meant-"
"What did you mean, then?"
"I just meant that I wasn't aware you had made any friends yet," he explained.
"Just because it took you two years to make one friend at your school, didn't mean it was going to take me that long too," she shot.
"Look, Jenny, I said I was sorry-"
"Actually, Dan, you didn't."
He stopped, looked at her, and nodded.
"Fine, I'm sorry."
She scoffed.
"Whatever," she muttered as she continued putting on her jacket.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I told you I'm going out."
"Yeah, but I said I was sorry."
"So?"
"So, now you don't have to go out. We can stay in and order Thai-"
"I don't have to do anything, Dan. I want to go out," she advised him coldly.
He looked at her. Since when did she want to go out?
"Oh, you do, huh? Why, so you can hang with your new friends, Blair and Chuck?"
Jenny looked away.
"That's what this is about, is it?"
"I just don't understand why you're hanging out with them-"
"You might be happy being nobody at our school, but it doesn't mean I want to be, too."
"Yeah, but Chuck and Blair-"
"Do you even know anything about them?"
"I know that your friend Chuck threw a pen at my head today during class."
"Oh, no! Not a pen! Grow up, Dan. You just don't like them because they're from the Upper East Side. You know, not everyone who lives there is as bad as you think."
"Are you really that naive?"
"Are you really that jealous?"
Dan glared at Jenny. This wasn't like them at all. Jenny loved Dan, she looked up to him. Since their mom died and their dad had his meltdown, it had been just the two of them. Dan couldn't figure out why Jenny was being so cold toward him.
"I don't want you going out with them," Dan told her simply.
"Well, it's just too bad that you don't make the rules, isn't it?" she spat angrily.
"Jenny, I mean it-"
"You're not dad, Dan, so stop trying to be!"
Dan and Jenny both cast an awkward glance at their father's room. Since the death of his wife, Rufus Humphrey had not been the same. He barely talked to anyone and when he came out of his room, it was usually to grab something small to eat or to urinate. He barely spoke to Dan and Jenny anymore. He didn't even seem to notice that they were still alive. All that mattered to him was that Allison wasn't.
Jenny's phone beeped. She looked at it.
"I have to go," she grumbled, "My ride is here."
"I meant it," Dan warned, "Don't you dare walk out that door or-"
"Or what, Dan? You'll ground me? I'd like to see you try!"
She turned, walked out, and slammed the door. Dan looked at it with regret. He should have done more to stop her. She needed stability right now, something that Dan was in no position to provide her. He looked at his father's door and cursed to himself. He'd yelled at Rufus before, but it didn't matter. As far as Dan was concerned, Rufus was gone. Dan suddenly felt very lonely. His phone rang and his heart leapt. He hoped it was his best friend finally forgiving him. He needed someone to talk to.
He frowned. The number on display wasn't one he recognized. He decided he was going to answer it anyway. Maybe Vanessa was calling from a different line.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Dan?"
"Oh, um... hi?"
"It's Nate. Nate Archibald."
"Oh, Nate!"
Dan had completely forgotten that he had given Nate his number in case he needed anymore help with his homework.
"Are you okay?" Nate asked, "You sound a little out of it."
"I'm fine," he assured Nate, "Why are you calling?"
"Oh, well, there's a game on tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to maybe come over and watch it? That is, if you don't already have plans."
Dan considered this. While he wasn't really into sports, he admitted that he had nothing better to do. He would probably finish his homework and spend the night calling Vanessa or waiting for Jenny to come home. He couldn't help be suspicious, though. Why had Nate sought him out? It wasn't as though they had any ties. His girlfriend was Blair Waldorf and his best friend was Chuck Bass. Nate was at the top of the social ladder and could be friends with anyone he wanted, so why did he want to be Dan's friend?
"Hello, Dan?"
"Hi. Um, yeah, sure that sounds like fun," Dan answered to his own surprise.
"Great. I'll text you the address."
"I'll see you soon."
Dan hung up. He wasn't sure why he agreed to go over. Maybe it was because he thought it might be nice to have a friend outside of Vanessa. Maybe he hoped that Jenny was right and that everyone from the Upper East Side wasn't like Chuck and Blair. Or maybe Dan just genuinely thought Nate would be a nice guy to get to know. Whatever the case, he grabbed his jacket, took a look around the loft, and headed out. Manhattan couldn't be that different from Brooklyn, could it?