They had arrived in New York, and Katrina was walking around the airport thinking about how much she would miss her grandmother and her cousin. She would, especially, miss her grandmother. That woman had more love and faith and strength than anyone she had ever known, and spending time with her has made her stronger. She would need her strength because she was about be back in the vicious circle of false friends. She wondered how her grandmother would have handled the situation she was in. Then, she laughed to herself at the thought of her handling her situation the way Latoya would handle it.

"What's so funny, Katrina?" Nate asked smiling that adorable smile she loved so much.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about Latoya and Grandma Lucille. I was just thinking about how they would've handled this. It's hard to leave them after spending most of my summer with them." she said staring straight ahead daydreaming about her Southern summer.

"Yeah, they are amazing. You're really going to miss them, aren't you?" he said and she nodded. Nate knew that she had grown close to her grandmother and cousin, and he hated to tear her away from them, but he knew that she and her mother's family come from different worlds.

"I am, but I think I will see my grandmother everyday when I'm with my mother. I never really realized that they were alike until I spent the summer with her."

"Well, that's a good thing. Because that means that you're going to be just as amazing as your mother and your grandmother."

"Aww…you're getting cheesy again…" she said as she kissed him and when she pulled back, she saw him look behind her with a anxious look on his face. She turned around and saw Chuck Bass standing by his limo smirking as he saw them. She was filled with rage as she glared at him and he just stood there smirking that stupid smirk.

"It looks like he's our ride…" Nate said gravely as he knew that she was not happy.

"Oh, hell no!" she said as they walked towards his limo dragging their bags behind them. Katrina was more than pissed and she swore she would kill Nate if he had anything to do with this. He knew how much she hated Chuck, and he would be the last person she would ever want to see after leaving her little piece of heaven in Georgia.

"Hello, Nathaniel. Katrina. I thought I would greet you two by offering to pick you up as way of making peace and putting that whole thing behind us." he said with a faker than fake pleasant smile that just made Katrina want to vomit.

"Fuck you." Katrina said as she crossed her arms over her chest and she saw Chuck's smile fade into a mixture between a sneer and an amused smirk.

"Excuse me…" Nate said as he pulled her aside and motioned for the driver to put their bags into the trunk. "Katrina…you're going to have to be nicer than this if we're in on this. At least be civil…for me." he said putting on an adorable puppy dog face.

"Okay, fine. You're lucky you're so damn cute." she said as they walked back to Chuck and he was smirking. Nate really didn't know that Chuck was going to be there, but he was sort of glad that he was there. In the excitement of leaving, he had forgotten to tell his driver to be at the airport to pick him up. He was going to take Katrina home, so she didn't call anyone for her.

"Ladies first…" Chuck said as he gestured toward the limo and Katrina glared at him before she climbed in. She could smell his cologne as she passed by him and she almost gagged. Nate climbed in, then Chuck. He closed the door and told the driver to go. "There's some scotch and champagne if you want to help yourself to some."

"No, thank you." Katrina said acidly. "I don't drink anymore."

"Oh, come on. One little drink. I can assure you that I won't take advantage of you."

"Knock it off, Chuck." Nate said as he glared at him. He swore he'd break his face if he didn't leave his girlfriend alone.

"No, Nate…" Katrina said. "We need to address that night. Get it out of the way and be professional about this since we're going to be working to together."

"Yes…let's address that night. I told you I didn't rape you."

"I know that, now. But with your record, it wouldn't be a surprise if you did."

"Well, thank you. I didn't know you cared." he said and Nate rolled his eyes.

"I didn't mean it as a compliment, asshole. If you think I'm going to be nice to you because you didn't actually rape me, you're wrong. I'm still pissed at you for all the rumors you and your bitch of a girlfriend spread and ruined my life, and I'm going to get you for that."

"I'll be looking forward to it." Chuck said as he raised his glass up to her then he down his scotch. "So, how's this little…love affair coming along?" he said gesturing toward them.

"Let's just stick to business." Katrina said in a cold, unflinching tone.

"Okay. To bring you up to speed. Shane is in rehab, Kirk is ever so faithful to Jason, and I scared the living shit out of the golden boy's father by sending him a little note saying that I know what he did. I'm pretty sure that Jason is also scared."

"Shane is in rehab…I guess Jason found out that Shane leaked the original video and Jason made good on his threat and exposed Shane's drug problem."

"Yes, poor guy…" Nate said and Katrina's hard demeanor almost melted at Nate's compassion. She knew that he actually kind of liked Shane. He did help him find her before he went to rehab and she knew that she couldn't be too angry with him since he didn't even want to participate in Jason's plan in the first place.

"Yes, very unfortunate, but back to business." she said knowing she sounded cold but she looked over at Nate hoping that he would know that she was just acting tough in front of Chuck. She really hated to know that people would use Shane being in rehab against him, but she was happy for him. She knew what it was like to get over her drinking problem and partying ways.

"So," Chuck said. "Are you sure you won't have at least one drink to celebrate your return to New York?" he said smirking. He knew that she was lying about not drinking anymore.

"Chuck, I told you that I don't drink anymore. If you insist on being a jerk, you can look forward to that payback a lot sooner."

"Okay. I'm sorry. I might have misjudged you. Nate, perhaps you would like a drink?"

"No, thank you." Nate said knowing that he was tempted, but he didn't want to drink in front of Katrina knowing that she was battling her drinking problem.

"It's okay, Nate…" she said in a small voice. "You can have a drink if you want. In fact, I think I'll just have a glass of champagne." she said and Nate gave her a worried look. "It's alright. I think I can control myself. I think that night has radically transformed me, and I, now, know a lot about discipline. Wouldn't you say so, Mr. Bass?"

"I believe it has, Ms. Sinclair." he said as he handed her a glass of champagne and handed one to Nate. He poured himself a glass and raised it up. "To destroying Jason Cromwell."

"Here, here…" Katrina and Nate said before they drank from their glasses. Nate eyed Katrina cautiously because he had promised her grandmother that he wouldn't let her lose control again.. She didn't tell him, but she never stopped drinking…she just never did it as much as she used to. She only hoped that being back would not force her to be like her old self.