Chapter X
I'm an Only Child, At Least I Will be When I'm through with You
Nate woke up bleary eyed to the lone sound of his alarm, blaring out through his mobile. His house was empty, save for him. His mother was staying at their Hampton estate, too ashamed to come back to the city. He checked his phone, groaning as he saw it was five. He used to wake up this early to go for his morning run with his father, he'd been skipping it lately, too bitter to continue the tradition. But he knew he had to stay in shape for lacrosse, and after his fight with Chuck he could use a morning run to clear his head.
Dragging himself out of the mattress he had been sleeping on Nate went to turn on the light. His room was bare, all the rooms were ever since they'd come to repossess the house goods in order to flush out his father. When he'd visited his mother she had persisted that she come live with him, but he'd brushed it aside. He was angry at her for not standing up to his father, he was angry at himself for giving him up, and he was angry at the feds for punishing him and his Mom. He couldn't stand the thought of living in awkward silence with her, not talking about their problems, isolated from the people who actually cared about him, which right then ironically had been narrowed down to Vanessa.
Nate frowned as he flicked the switch and the light didn't come on. Shrugging, and trying to reason it away as a bad connection, he went to the shower. He tried turning on the taps but they made a weird grating noise and nothing came out. Feeling annoyed now Nate grabbed his mobile from his bag, dialling the number for the power company. An operator picked up about twenty minutes later.
"Uh hey," he said, his voice hoarse. "There appears to have been a blackout in my area, I was just wondering what time the power will be back up?"
"Your address?" the woman on the other end asked boredly.
Nate recited it, brushing his hand through his hair.
"No, there's no blackout in that area sir. You're power has been cut."
"What?" Nate asked, disbelieving.
"Your power has been cut, the bill hasn't been paid in months."
"There has to be some kind of mistake..." Nate stuttered, disbelieving.
"It says it right here on the computer. Perhaps you should contact the person who the bills are being sent to, a Mrs Anne Archibald."
"Yeah, I will, she's my Mom," Nate replied, hardly knowing what he was saying.
"All right then, have a good day," before he could reflect on the stupidity of that sentiment she hung up the phone.
Quickly he scrolled through his contacts, hitting the button to call his Mom.
"Nate, sweetheart how are you?" Anne asked in her quiet voice, sounding anxious.
"I'm now without furniture and power," Nate snapped, annoyed. "When were you going to tell me that you couldn't pay the bills Mom?"
"Oh Nate, I was hoping something would come up...I was hoping...but you can come stay with me here, for now. You have to..."
"No, I think I'd rather stay at Chuck's, he already offered," Nate said sharply, the lie rolling off his tongue.
"But Nate..." Anne sounded rather hurt.
"I have school Mom, okay," Nate said, trying to make his voice softer. "I'll visit again during the break, but I have to go now, Chuck's picking me up."
"I love you," Anne said, rather pitifully. Nate almost felt annoyed that despite everything she still made him feel guilty.
"Love you too Mom," he murmured and ended the call. Closing his eyes he buried his head in his hands. He really wish Chuck was picking him up in his plush limo, taking him to familiar 1812, like a second childhood home. But he remembered Chuck's words the other day and he quickly dispelled the thought, stiffening his chin.
Quickly moving away from the wall he was leaning against he went to grab a change of clothes and his bag. He could use the showers at school in the gym, some guys went early for a run on the oval, he would just pretend to join them. He would manage somehow, by himself.
Serena groaned, rolling over to turn off her trilling phone. She got up, rubbing her eyes and headed for her bathroom. She was surprised to find it empty, she was sure, with the look on Chuck's face last night, that she would find some sort of retaliation by way of him sitting on her bathroom sink table. Instead she thankfully had her bathroom to herself. Getting dressed in her interpretation of the Constance uniform, that was with an added black vest and more fashionably positioned tie, along with some Jimmy Choo shoes, she headed downstairs, feeling particularly bright and triumphant.
"Hey Eric, Mom," Serena greeted at the table, hesitating only momentarily at the door to see Chuck also unusually seated at the table. Chuck spared her a glance, giving her a mischievous smirk, Eric avoided her eyes, looking tense.
Serena frowned at this, but her attention was soon occupied by Lilly who was looking up at her with thin lips, a magazine in her hand.
"When were you planning on telling me about this Serena?" Lilly queried, her voice carefully cool.
"About what?" Serena asked, furrowing her brow in confusion. She picked up a croissant laying at the table, leaning against the wall and starting to pull it apart.
"This," Lilly held up the magazine, and Serena saw with shock a picture of her and Poppy Lipton in a nightclub dancing wildly, drinks in hand. The picture was dated last Sunday night. She thought she'd dodged a bullet when Bart hadn't spoken further about her playing hooky on Monday, but she should have known these things couldn't stay buried, especially with Chuck unjustly on a revenge campaign.
"I rang your school and found out that apparently I had rung them on Monday to say you were sick, the same Monday I was visiting your grandmother," Lilly said, he tone not boding well for Serena.
"I can explain..." Serena said, shrinking slightly at Lilly's disbelief.
"I should hope so, Serena," Lilly exclaimed. "This is exactly the sort of behaviour I came to expect of you before, but I thought we were past this."
"I may have had a rough night with Poppy, but I did all my work...and I felt really bad about it after," Serena quickly ammended.
"Oh, you felt bad about it?Well then that makes it okay," Lilly said sarcastically.
"This is Chuck's fault," Serena glared at Chuck who's smirk said he was enjoying this far too much.
"Really, did Charles pour alcohol down your throat then thrust you amidst a dancing crowd of twenty one year olds at a popular club?" Lilly asked sarcastically with raised eyebrows.
"No, but...look he's trying to make me look bad Mom, it's his idea of a weird twisted game of what he believes to be vengeance," Serena tried to explain, knowing it sounded stupid as it came out, twisting her hands unconsciously.
"I think you're doing a wonderful job of making yourself look bad Serena, without bringing poor Charles into this," Lilly glanced at Chuck who was now trying to keep up an air of innocence.
"Poor Charles?" Serena almost choked on the words.
"Well it's you in these picture is it not?" Lilly queried.
"I made one mistake okay, you don't need to crucify me," she became defensive now, glaring at Lilly.
"Honestly Serena, your in senior year, what are you going to do when you get a job? Having a rough night out is not an excuse to take a day off work."
"Well this isn't work, this is school," Serena snapped. "And I think after all the work I've done I deserved one day to slack off."
"As opposed to the years you've been slacking off?" Lilly queried, not relinquishing an inch.
"That is so unfair," Serena cried out, Chuck coughed slightly into his napkin, disguising a snicker as Eric sunk further into his seat. Serena looked up from the noise, glaring at him, as did Lilly, though less hostile.
"Are you okay Charles?" Lilly queried, suddenly coming to herself and realising that Chuck and Eric were still in the room.
"Fine," he drawled, smirking he looked at Serena. "Please don't let me interrupt."
"Actually I think we need to get to class," Eric said quickly, trying to intervene while he had the chance, picking up his bag and rising.
"You're right," Serena said quickly, jumping at the opportunity to escape she shoved the uneaten croissant back on the table, she'd get something to eat on her way to school.
"I suppose you should," Lilly checked her own watch. Chuck also picked up his satchel, looking slightly disappointed the show would not be going on further. "Serena, we'll talk further about this after school," Lilly called after her blonde daughter, who was already walking out of the door fast. Eric quickly followed her, after giving Lilly a quick peck on the cheek, Chuck gave her a lazy nod of his head, and strolled behind the younger boy.
Serena's getaway had been stalled at the elevator, as she waited for it to open. Chuck caught up, going to put his arm around her, which she quickly dodged.
"Trouble with the rents, please share your pain," Chuck drawled, not rebuffed by her avoidance.
"You are such a jerk," Serena snapped, infuriated she could barely express herself. "I cannot believe you did that."
"What, sent a picture into a magazine, then left the magazine open on the table?" Chuck asked mockingly. "I was a concerned citizen, wouldn't want my sis relapsing."
"We are not related," Serena yelled, annoyed. "And you had no right to involve Mom in this."
"Now we're even," Chuck leered in her ear.
Eric stood silently, watching them both.
"Uh...the elevator is here," he pointed out before Serena could retort. Serena quickly stepped in, pulling Eric in with her. As Chuck moved to follow, Serena pushed him away and pressed the close button.
"Get your own elevator," she snapped, Chuck let the doors close on him, chuckling. He knew he had won the match point anyway, Serena wasn't going to get out of this one easily.
"Oh my gosh B, I'm so glad you're here I have to vent," Serena cried out, walking up the steps of Constance where Blair and her minions were sitting, she set herself down on the step just below Blair. "You will not believe what Chuck just did..."
"Just a second S," Blair said, holding up her hand she looked at Penelope, Is and Nelly Yuki with raised eyebrows. "Can't you see, this is obviously a best friend emergency. Shoo," she said, as they took a second too long to understand her meaning. Penelope gave her a dirty look, obviously interested in what Serena was about to say, but obediently she got up with the others and they left Serena and Blair to it.
"Now feel free to vent," Blair said, turning to her best friend.
"He somehow got my picture in a magazine, one from Sunday night..." Serena began, Blair's eyebrows rose, making her pause.
"Oh, you mean the Sunday night you went out with Poppy Lipton and got wasted?" she queried stiffly.
"C'mon B, I know you don't like Poppy," Serena said defensively.
"She's fake," Blair accused.
"That's not the point," Serena said, quickly brushing aside her friends peculiarities. "The point is not only did Chuck somehow manage to get an unflattering picture of us in a magazine, he then practically handed that magazine to my Mom."
"So what are you planning to get him back with?" Blair asked, as Serena waited for a reply with raised eyebrows. Blair resisted the urge to smile, she still had written nothing for her essay, not even a plan. Obviously she had some sort of writers block, and she would not feel very triumphant if Chuck somehow miraculously even managed to scrape a B, and all she got was a B +, or shudder to think of it, a C. This was the perfect opportunity to ensure Chuck lost their little wager and she won, in every possible way. Once she had Chuck safely out of the way, she wouldn't keep on worrying about what he was writing, and could concentrate on her own work.
"Well...I was thinking perhaps digging up some things on the Lost Weekend, perhaps sending something to Gossip Girl, or better yet to Bart..." Serena said hopefully.
"Please Serena," Blair scoffed at her naive scheming friend. "The Lost Weekend is called such because everyone wants it to stay lost, including me! Besides Gossip Girl already predicted you two were going to have a sibling war, she's going to take everything you say with a grain of salt. After her reputation went down with Jenny and my slinging match, she's careful with vendetta's, bordering on the prudent. And we all know Bart already fights with Chuck, with or without your help, so that's not really fitting revenge is it?"
"What were you thinking then?" Serena asked, giving up and relinquishing the reigns to her more duplicitous best friend.
Blair smiled primly, straightening her white headband, which sat like a halo on her dark brown hair. She gave a dark red smile, her brown eyes twinkling as she looked down at Serena.
"I may have a little plan..." she said sweetly. "But we some helpers, ones that aren't going to squeal."
Serena frowned, and then she remembered a group of three very annoying little girls at the beginning of this summer. Sometimes she saw them hanging around Starbucks, she'd spotted them there this morning actually, like a mini version of Blair's clique.
"I think I can manage that," she said.
Dan was sitting at one of the tables in the quad, trying to eat his tuna sandwich. The problem was that every time he was about to take a bite a group of girls would pass his table and give him a disdainful look.
"Hey, what is you problem?" Dan asked, annoyed as the third group of girls walked past giggling and staring at his sandwich.
"It's Gossip Girl," Nate said. He had been standing nearby, and had noticed Dan's predicament. He came to stand beside the table. "She has this whole new section she started up today, about who could guess what you'd bring to lunch. "
"You know I really miss the days when Gossip Girl had never heard the name of Dan Humphrey," Dan sighed, looking at his sandwich despondently. "I guess my Dad is going to have to start getting inventive. And it is sad that I just admitted my Dad still packs my lunch." He shook his head in defeat.
"That's okay man," Nate said, laughing. "Most people on the Upper East Side have maids who make them everything."
"True," Dan conceded, "In all the time I've been dating Serena I don't think I've ever seen Chuck even make toast, let alone his own sandwich."
At the mention of his friends name Nate's smile faded slightly, realising his mistake too late Dan looked awkward, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I uh, heard about your little argument in the quad yesterday..." he said.
"Yeah," Nate said stiffly, not really wanting to talk about it.
"So, you are without a guy friend, and I...well I've never had one. So in fear of sounding like I'm hitting on you and scaring you off, which I'm not by the way, not that you're not attractiv..." he trailee off as Nate looked at him, perplexed. "Do you want to eat lunch together?" Dan finally decided to come out and ask, before he could dig himself a bigger hole, though he was pretty sure he had already scared off the blonde.
Nate blinked, suprised by the proposition by Dan who was looking apprehensive.
"Sure," he finally said, shrugging and giving a lazy grin he slid down into the bench opposite Dan. "Why not?"
Awww how touching, N and D sharing lunch together. Is this the start of a new bromance? Spare a poor thought for C however, spotted drinking on the school wall alone, left out in the cold. I repeat, awwww. xoxo GG.
Chuck made his way quickly down the stairs, glad to be in the dim light of the afternoon. He had spent his lunch sitting on the outside wall of St Judes and Constance, he'd tried messaging Nate, but he'd got no reply. He decided to let it go, after all he and Nate had argued before and made up, albeit it had taken the Captain fleeing the country illegally to bring them together again.
Occupied with these thoughts Chuck almost missed the pink pamphlets which were being handed around students converging outside the school. Chuck grabbed one absentmindedly which someone shoved into his hand without looking. He glanced down at it, assuming it was some lame school production, and then paused as he was met with his a large picture of himself. He frowned, he remembered when it had been taken, at the Hamptons this summer by Eric who had been playing around with a new camera he'd just bought. He was on the beach in his striped bathers, laying on his deck chair, glancing at the camera with a small smile. Above it in large capital black letters were the words :
HAVE AN STD? DON'T WORRY,
Underneath the picture in similar font it expanded.
I HAVE PLENTY, AND I DON'T!
"Oh, my, gosh," he heard Penelope's delighted voice crow as she read the pink pamphlet, other students were also laughing. Some noticed Chuck and pointed, some guys making stupid jokes and guffawing. "How embarrassing."
Chuck felt the paper crumble in his hand as his fingers balled up into a fist.
"Who was handing these around?" he snarled, glaring at a sophomore nearby. The guy's grin immediately faded at Chuck's murderous look.
"Uh...some girls, a blonde and two brunettes, they looked about eleven," he stammered as Chuck grabbed his jacket aggressively.
Chuck let him go roughly, having his answer. He stalked to where the boy had been pointing, to the centre of the converged crowd. People quickly moved out of his way, boys and girls alike whispering and laughing.
In the middle were a group of three girls with a pile of pamphlets, two of them were handing them out while the blonde girl held them. They immediately stopped as they saw Chuck towering above them, he could almost hear them gulp.
Before he could open his mouth however he heard a smug voice.
"You're going to bully little girls now, really Chuck?" Serena asked, strutting up from wherever she had been standing, with one of the pink pamphlets in her hand and a triumphant smile.
"You did this?" Chuck sneered, derisive. This was not the type of complicated scheme he expected from the simpler blonde.
"Now we're even," she said low enough only for him to hear, and flicking her long blonde hair she turned on her heels and strutted away without another glance back.
Chuck watched her go, stunned.
"Oh my gosh, that was epic," one of the girls said suddenly, squealing and forgetting herself in the excitement.
Chuck turned his dark viscous gaze on her and she immediately shut up.
"Give me those," he growled, grabbing at the pink pamphlets in the blondes hands. "And get out of here...Actually wait," he said, a thought occurring to him as the girls turned to leave immediately. "Meet me out front here tomorrow morning, I'll make it worth your while..."
He made sure to say this low enough only for the girls to hear. The blonde one smiled, and nodded, understanding. The other students watched him with wide eyes, ears straining, laughing, but he ignored them. Taking out his phone to call Arthur he headed down the street, formulating his own retaliation plans as he walked.
Another STD claim against Chuck, this time not one, but the whole lot of them. This seems a little too good, even for Serena, but we'll give her the credit it for it now. I'd tread lightly if I were you though S, remember C knows where you live. xoxo GG
"Humphrey, you took long enough," Blair snapped, she was sitting in one of the closed study rooms in the library, which was shared between Constance and St Judes, and had been waiting for fifteen minutes. "I don't want to have to stay here longer then I have to."
"Sorry...I got a bit distracted on my way..." he held up a pink pamphlet, like he wasn't entirely sure how it had come to be in his hands. "Did you know these are all over the school?"
Blair tried to hide a self satisfied smile, and failed, it wasn't like it was important to keep it from Humphrey anyway.
"I knew it," Dan said, "I mean, I heard a rumour that Serena was behind it, but I knew this was a bit too duplicitous for her..."
"Thank you," Blair said simply, smiling sweetly.
Dan looked at her, but didn't comment, choosing to shake his head instead. He looked down at the picture of Chuck.
"Well...I gotta say it is kind of funny...if the image of Chuck in his bathers wasn't so creepy," he said, giving a half smile. "What did he do exactly?"
"You'd have to ask Serena," Blair said coolly, not meeting his smile. "I knew you were desperate for friends, but are you seriously going to try and drag this out for some social interaction that is not your sister or Dad?"
"You know...Actually don't worry about it," Dan said, giving Blair up for lost. He dropped his bag on the ground and sat in the chair opposite her. "So you come up with any ideas?" he queried.
"I was thinking that as we were working on this as partners perhaps you could try and actually do some work too?" Blair said, raising her eyebrows derisively.
"Sure you did..." Dan muttered. "Well I was thinking..."
"We could film a documentary?" Blair finished for him.
"Uh, yeah..." Dan said, slightly annoyed at her superior tone, like he was so predictable.
"The only problem with that is if we shoot us looking glamorous while drinking underage, I think it will defeat the whole purpose of alcohol and drug awareness week," she explained over patiently. "Plus, I'm sure Mistress Queller would not approve."
"I wasn't suggesting a real documentary," Dan snapped. "I was thinking we could do a mockumentary. You know, make up a small screen play, do a few scenes showing the adverse affects of alcohol. Vomiting, poisoning...stupid decisions..."
"I get it," Blair sighed, rolling her eyes. "I suppose that could work, if I get to be the director."
"Co-director," Dan stipulated.
"You can have full creative writing rights," Blair said, countering his demand.
"I already did," Dan said. "I wrote a mock script."
"So did I," Blair said.
"Wait...so you wanted to do a mockumentary in the first place?"
"It's the most entertaining way to do this stupid project," Blair shrugged, as if it was of no importance.
"Then what was that little speech where you wilfully misinterpreted me?" Dan queried, confused.
"You're from Brooklyn, I can't agree with you, keep up Humphrey," Blair dictated matter of factly, snapping her fingers by way of illustration. "Now let's see your script."
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," it slipped from Dan's mouth automatically, then he blushed as he realised what he just said. "I didn't mean it that way," he quickly amended.
"Please, you don't even have the ability to be sleazy properly," Blair huffed. "Besides if I took it any other way I might be sick all over those twenty dollar shoes of yours. Although on the positive side, at least you'll have to throw them away, that would be a service to the country."
"Very funny," Dan said unamused, he reached in his bag, pulling out his familiar notebook. Opening it to the appropriate page he shoved it at Blair. She opened her more expensive satchel, pulling out perfectly typed sheets of paper she handed them over.
A book slipped out of her satchel onto the floor as she did so. Dan automatically lent down, picking it up.
"Wait, you're reading The Age of Innocence?" he queried, picking up the book and glancing at the cover.
"It's our next school play," she sniffed, grabbing the book from his grubby paws with manicured fingernails.
"Oh, that explains it," he said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped, her eyes flashing at his tone. "You know we're not all Serena's, some of us do enjoy reading."
"Name one book you've read that has not been on our reading list," he challenged.
"Not that I need to prove anything to you, but the last one was A Tale of Two Cities," she said primly.
"I didn't think Dickens would be your cup of tea, with all his social commentary..." Dan said sarcastically, his mouth quirking into an amused smile.
"I like social commentary," she said defensively, "After all, how can a Queen rule properly if she doesn't understand the plight of the common masses. Let me guess, the last book you read was the Great Gatsby?"
"No, actually I hated that novel," he said, making a face, feeling animated on the subject matter despite the fact he was talking with Blair Waldorf. "I personally don't think it was one of Fitzgerald's best, and it's been done to death, analysis after analysis." He didn't mention that Gatsby for some reason reminded him of Chuck, and Blair of Daisy. Of course that was before he knew who they were and despised them on principle, instead of due to concrete proof that they were pure evil, or on the road to pure evil anyway.
"Really..." she said, her mouth turning down into a small frown. "I didn't like it either."
"Wow, we actually agree on something," Dan said, putting into words what both their stunned faces conveyed.
"Don't get used to it," Blair said, quickly dropping his gaze, and hiding a smile which persisted despite herself. She hadn't had a stimulating conversation with someone about books in a while. Serena rarely read, and certainly not at the extent to which Blair devoured books. The only thing Nate read was sports plays, or books he was forced to read for school. Chuck read occasionally and sporadically, sometimes he'd stay up all night to read something, but that was only when it caught his fancy. That reminded her that the last time she'd had a discussion about a book it had been about A Tale of Two Cities, and it had been with Chuck. She almost wanted to ask about Dan's further opinions on Gatsby, and some other novels like War and Peace, and True Crime, but she refrained, reminding herself that he was a Humphrey, and she was a Waldorf, and there was no way, in any circumstance, she'd ever wilfully talk to him.
"I have to go now," she said quickly. "I'll read the script and email you my ideas."
"Uh...okay..." Dan said, taken off gaurd by her sudden turn of topic. "I guess I'll do the same then..."
"Good," Blair said, closing her satchel and rising. "Hopefully I will not see you around."
"Same here," he replied automatically as she left the room. He glanced down at the short script, marvelling at the fact they actually had agreed about something, and then he began to read.
Chuck hadn't come home to the suite the other night, and Serena had felt a moment of triumph tempered with an uneasy feeling that perhaps he had retreated too soon. Her fears were realised as she walked to school in the morning. At first her phone buzzed, it was an unregistered number but she picked it up anyway.
"Hello?"
"Is this Ivannah?" a guys voice could be heard through it, there were giggles in the background.
Serena started slightly at the sound of the familiar name, but she tried to keep her composure, reasoning it may just be a wrong number.
"No, sorry there's no Ivannah here," she said quickly and hung up, feeling slightly disconcerted.
As soon as she did hang up however, her phone buzzed again. Frowning Serena saw it was an unknown number and ignored it. A few seconds later, it buzzed again. Feeling apprehensive, she looked up and saw the gates of Saint Judes and Constance ahead, there was a crowd of students in the front of the school, all holding purple papers.
"Oh no," she said, "No, no, no," she practically ran, glad she wore her flat boots today.
She grabbed a paper from a laughing freshman boy, ignoring his protests she gripped it between white fingers, looking down.
"IVANNAH VANTS SOME FUN"
Was the caption in bold black letters. Underneath was a blown up picture of her from junior year, when she'd been wild and out of control. She was standing on a bar in six inch heels, her hands up above her head with a bottle in hand, her hair dishelved. Underneath the photo in smaller, but no less noticeable writing, were the words:
IF YOU VANT SOME FUN TOO CALL:
"I am going to kill him," she screamed, staring at her mobile number printed for everyone to see. She waded through the crowd, who were all staring at her laughing. It wasn't hard to find Chuck, he was standing on the top of the steps, watching the scene with a smirk on his face. She made her way towards him, and he made no move to retreat, his smirk growing wider.
"Seriously, you gave out my number you creep," she yelled, storming up to him.
"Now we're even," he drawled, a mischevious smirk playing on his lips.
She pulled back her hand, prepared to slap him as hard as she could.
"Serena van der Woodsen, tell me you were not about to do what I think you were," Mistress Quellers voice sounded, outrage at the obvious violence which was about to take place by a young lady on the steps of her school. She stalked up to Chuck and Serena, and Serena's heart sank as she saw she did not only have a purple flyer in her hand, but also a pink one. "I want to see the both of you in my office immediately," she snapped, with thin lips. "The rest of you can get to class," she shouted, giving the other laughing students a death glare which sent them scuttling away.
Serena's palm itched as Chuck grinned now, looking at her, but she refrained herself from slapping that smug look off his face. She thought she was already in enough trouble as it was.
Handing out S's number to the whole student body, cruel but effective C. So far no casualties of war but these two reputations, but they were almost non existent anyway, am I right? xoxo GG.
"I know your responsible for these slanders. Spreading malicious and false rumours are against Constance and St Judes code of conduct," Mistress Queller said severely. She sat behind her hard oaken desk, looking over at Chuck and Serena, who were seated on the other side. Serena was leaning as far away from Chuck as she could. She glanced at him, to see if he would relent, but he didn't. Even in the midst of war, the old code of silence remained.
"I believe they were distributed outside of school grounds," he pointed out, "And from what I heard, not by students of this school."
"Don't think that means I can't punish the perpetrators Mr Bass," she said, her nostrils flaring at his challenging look.
"Oh, I'm sure you can," he said, fiddling with the button on his blazer like it was no concern to him. "I'm all for punishing the perpetrator's, whoever they may be."
"You're already walking on a thin line," Queller stated, looking at him with sharp eyes. "Do you think your father would be pleased to hear of your suspension?"
"Suspension?" Serena exploded, feeling panicked.
"Suspension on what grounds exactly?" Chuck tempered, giving Serena an annoyed look. "As far as I see it, you can't prove I or Serena are responsible for these. After all, they are libel against our names, at least the one about me is..." he shot Serena a mischievous smirk as she glared at him.
"I have it from a student source..." Queller began.
"Gossip Girl?" Chuck interrupted, raising his eyebrows. "I didn't know this school took slanderous school rumours as evidence? Last time I checked hearsay was not permitted in any court of law."
"This isn't a court of law," Queller snapped.
"But it is a school that supposedly believes in justice, and has a code of conduct against 'malicous and false rumours'. I doubt it would look very good for this school if the very source you used to try and prove our questionable guilt, is the same source you've been standing against," Chuck pointed out, trying to look innocent as he picked off imaginary dust from the cuffs of his blazer.
Queller looked incensed at him, annoyed he had managed to pick apart her whole case against Serena and Chuck in a matter of minutes. There was a pause as Serena looked at her with worried blue eyes, and Chuck pretended to examine his watch.
"Until more light can be shed on this issue, I will reserve judgment," she finally conceded, her voice cold. Serena let out a sigh of relief, Chuck just maintained his air of supreme confidence. "But if you so much as step a toe out of line, either of you...," with this she turned her piercing eyes on Serena, letting the threat hang. "I will still be informing your parents of course."
"Of course," Chuck drawled, highly amused by the whole thing. Serena nodded silently, though she didn't know if she'd rather just have some sort of punishment which didn't involve telling Lilly, who would no doubt know this was the handywork of her daughter and step son.
"You may go now," Mistress Queller said flatly, still glaring at Chuck who flashed his canines at her, and stood up, strolling out the door. Serena quickly followed behind, feeling despondent and angry at his swagger.
"I think that went well," he drawled, once they were outside the office, he glanced at Serena, smirking. "Now that we've matched blow for blow, I'm willing to call a truce if you are sis?"
"For the last time, I am not your sis!" Serena snapped, putting as much anger into the words as she could. She ignored outstretched hand and stormed away, determined she would never speak to him again if she could help it.
A/N: I thought I'd give you two chapters, because I'm feeling good lol, and to celebrate POTC = ). All I ask is for 2 reviews in return = P (come on you know you want to = P)
Inspiration picture: Google "chuck bass beach+season 2" it's the one of him in his bathers sitting on the chair by himself. Lol gotta love the Bass bathers haha.
Inpirational song: What the Hell Avril Lavigne haha.
In future I will try not to make my A/N so long, sorry about the last chapter = S.
Again thanks to all those who reviewed, now hit the REVIEW button again, pretty please. = )
mlharper: I just read your review = ). Haha poor Chuck, he gets embarassed again here, though he got his own back = ). I loved Chuck/Dan interaction too, which is why in the chapter after this one there's a lot of it P. There isn't much in these chapters, but Chuck and Blair shall be playing some more games in a few chaps. And I love Wuthering Heights too! I know the more I think about it the more I see how alike Chuck/Blair love is to the novel, except hopefully they can find their happy end. Thank you for reviewing = ).