A/N: Reviews are loved. The murder should occur in the next chapter. Please ask if you find the misunderstandings behind the feud confusing. The puzzle shouldn't be that hard to piece together. Thank you for taking the time to read this!
Cold Feet, Lost Heat
Dan walked into the coffee shop, the scent of fresh pastries momentarily numbing his mind. He quickly scanned the premises for Vanessa. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her waving at him. He breathed a sigh of relief. She had a wide smile stretched upon her face. This had to be a good sign. He headed in her direction and positioned himself beside her on the couch, careful to leave some personal space between them. Vanessa immediately offered him a steaming hot cup of coffee.
"A peace offering, Humphrey. We can't stay mad at each other for too long," she proclaimed.
Dan observed her genuine smile and became overwhelmed with guilt. Taking the hot beverage gingerly from her hands, he set it down on the table before them.
"Vanessa, I should be the one apologizing for my behavior this morning. It was..."
"No. I completely overreacted, Dan," she interrupted. "I don't know what came over me. I know you only said it in the heat of the moment."
"True, but that doesn't make it ok," he insisted.
Vanessa offered him a tiny smile. Dan looked straight into her eyes and she knew he meant business.
"So, I'm sorry and for the record, you are my best friend. You know me better than anyone...even better than Blair."
She tried to hide it, but her face lit up at this. Dan let out a soft chuckle in response to her reaction.
"Just don't tell Blair I said that, of course. I'd like to live to see the next sunrise."
Vanessa laughed. "Then, I guess I'll let her know after tomorrow's sunrise."
Dan gave her a weak smile. He was glad that Vanessa was talking to him again, but he was still thinking about his dilemma with Serena and Blair.
"Did you have an argument with Blair?" Vanessa offered.
Dan gave her an incredulous look.
"Wow. You really do know me well."
Vanessa nodded. "I bet it involved Serena."
He hesitated before explaining the situation.
"Blair asked me if I would still be with her if..."
"...Rufus and Lily hadn't gotten married?" Vanessa asked, finishing off his thoughts knowingly.
Dan could only give her a grim nod.
"Well, Dan, you knew you would have to face this question sooner or later. Honestly, do you still love Serena?"
"Yes," he answered without hesitation.
"And do you love Blair?" Vanessa urged.
Dan paused for a moment longer before answering, "Yes."
Vanessa picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip.
"I think you have your answer Dan. You didn't even hesitate when I asked you about Serena," she said, stating the obvious.
Dan put his head in his hands and closed his eyes. Why was he so torn between them? Serena. Blair. Blair. Serena. He lifted his head from his hands and slowly opened his eyes to face reality again.
"I love Serena and Blair. I know I was with Blair out of comfort to begin with, but it became so much more than that."
Vanessa nodded sympathetically.
"Well, you better figure this one out. It's unfair to both of them."
Vanessa continued to stare at the misery on his face as he contemplated between the two. She remembered that day clearly. It was as if it had happened yesterday.
"Dan, you said this was an emergency?" she asked, walking into his room and settling herself on his bed.
Dan was fumbling with his tie in the mirror, but glanced back for a brief moment to acknowledge her presence.
"Serena and I have been hanging by a thread..." he trailed off, his face etched with defeat.
Vanessa did not respond and merely waited for him to continue.
"I mean, how are you supposed to deal with a one-week wedding notice?"
For some reason, Vanessa thought that Dan and Serena were planning to get married in a week. Her eyes grew wide in terror, although she tried her best to hide it.
"You're getting married in one week?"
Dan turned around. He looked completely dumbfounded.
"What are you talking about? The wedding is for my dad and Lily?"
Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly recovered from her blunder.
"I was just playing with you. So, when was this announced?"
Dan shrugged.
"Serena and I received the news from Gossip Girl actually. She's been on a roll today with the rumor mill. In fact, this morning Blair was rejected by Chuck Bass."
Vanessa snorted and managed to force out in between giggles, "Someone actually had the nerve to reject the ice queen?"
"Ice queen is a bit harsh. I prefer the term misunderstood. I know she has a vulnerable side beneath that cool exterior," Dan replied.
"Dan Humphrey! Are you falling for Blair Waldorf?" she asked, humor laced in her voice.
Dan was about to deny her ridiculous accusation when he heard someone shuffling at the door. Apparently, Vanessa heard it too because she pulled herself up from the bed and abruptly swung the door open, hoping to catch the perpetrator by surprise. The only problem was that no one was standing in their presence.
"We were probably hearing things. Anyway, I am not falling for Blair Waldorf. I am simply offering some insight into her character," he said, interrupting the silence.
Dan undid his tie again, reaching down to try one with a more neutral tone.
"What do you think about this one?" Dan asked, modeling the tie for his best friend.
There was no mistake. She had seen a wisp of blond hair turning the sharp corner at the end of the hallway. Of course, it could have been a figment of her imagination.
"Yeah, that one looks great," she replied, her mind coming back to reality.
Satisfied with her response, Dan turned to leave.
"Thanks. Serena and I are eating out tonight. There is no way we're having dinner with the entire family-to-be. Who knew blending households before the marriage could be this awkward? Anyway, I think I want to end things on a good note with Serena tonight before everything gets too unbearable, you know?"
Vanessa could only nod numbly in his direction. It had to be her imagination.
The memory began to fade as she opened her eyes. She knew this was all a misunderstanding, but it was out of her hands now. It had been way too long. Meddling was not an option now. She glanced briefly over at Dan who was seemingly deep in thought. She wondered what he was thinking about.
He remembered that dinner date. He would never forget it. The breakup had been hard, but the reason behind it had made it even harder. He had never expected Serena to have moved on so quickly. His world had come crashing down that night.
Serena had managed to arrive at the restaurant only moments before him. Dan Humphrey! Are you falling for Blair Waldorf? She had been replaying those words over and over again in her head. It was all she had overheard from their conversation, but it had been more than enough. Truthfully, she had been planning to end her relationship with Dan as well, but this was...
"Serena! I hope you haven't waited too long," Dan said, a little too cheerfully.
"Oh no, I just arrived," she replied, pressing her lips together in slight irritation.
"Uh, should we order?"
Serena shook her head.
"Dan, I think we should just talk...about...us," she managed to choke out.
Dan let out a deep breath that he didn't even know he had been holding. He needed to end their relationship now. After all, it was only a matter of time. He took her hands in his.
"Ok. I've given it a lot of thought and I..."
"I want to break up with you," Serena stated, their voices overlapping one another.
Dan looked slightly shocked. He would have thought that she had wanted to stay together.
"Don't look so shocked Dan. I mean, our parents are getting married. Things are bound to be awkward and besides, people move on, right?" she finished, unable to mask the sarcasm in her voice.
"Move on?" Dan asked, genuinely confused.
Then it hit him. Serena wasn't breaking up with him because of the inevitable awkwardness. She had moved on!
"Yeah, that's how things usually work out," he drug out bitterly.
Serena took a deep breath and composed herself, her tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. So, he was really falling for Blair. Confronting him would probably make her seem needy and desperate. She was better than that. She thought it was best to leave.
"I'm glad we had this talk Dan. Now that we've cleared the air, we can live peacefully under the same roof."
She got up and headed towards the door. A single tear fell, but she wiped it away before anyone could see her cry.
Dan continued to sit there dumbfounded. How could Serena have moved on this quickly? Who was this guy? He should chase after her and demand an explanation, but that would probably make him seem needy and desperate. He was better than that. He should probably just leave it at this. He signaled to one of the waiters in defeat.
"Can I have the menu?"
Why not? He was hungry and he definitely wasn't in the mood to go home. He would have to call Blair later. She would know what was going on.
Serena walked out of the lecture hall, followed by her loyal minions. She was still thinking about Blair. She really didn't want things to be this way. She couldn't even remember why they were this way. That was a lie. She remembered every detail of the events of that day. Dan had moved on to her best friend. The breakup had been the easy part. Facing her best friend after the breakup had been a nightmare. She had been so blinded by her anger, that she had assumed the worst, even though Blair had insisted that she was innocent. She should have put a stop to this a long time ago, but it was too late now. She had overthrown Blair out of spite and from there, things had spiraled out of control.
Blair composed herself and walked into her room. There was no need to get worked up about this. She was sure Serena had a good explanation for overthrowing her. She had hidden from the world for a week, but seeing Serena again caused something inside of her to snap.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" she seethed, trying to control her anger. "What did I do to you that you had to dethrone me like that?"
Serena merely scoffed. "Don't be so shocked, B. You can drop the innocent act now."
Blair closed her eyes. "Whatever it is, I am innocent, S."
Hearing her denial out loud, Serena snapped as well. "Oh yeah? Dan and I broke up because he's in love with you!"
Blair stepped back in shock. "How is that my fault, S? We're like sisters! How could you let some guy come between us like that?"
Serena could only answer her in a soft whisper, "He isn't just some guy. Penelope saw the two of you hanging out the other day. Don't deny it, B."
Blair laughed menacingly. "We were hanging out to comfort one another. We both felt so betrayed. Now, you need to drop the innocent act. Sleeping with my boyfriend because Dan is in love with me? Really classy, S. Don't even try to blame your breakup on Dan. He told me you had moved on. Neither of us would have guessed it would be Robert."
Her words rang in Serena's ear. She had never told Dan she was moving on. What was going on? She was so confused. Why was she being so irrational? There had to be a misunderstanding somewhere down the line, but images of Dan and Blair together raced through her mind unwilling to leave her in peace.
"Get out Blair! You and Dan have a nice life!" she screamed.
She pushed Blair out of her room and slammed the door before Blair could get in another word.
Blair stood still on the other side of the door. What was going on? What were they even arguing about anymore? It was simple. Dan had fallen for her and this was Serena's revenge. Why was Serena so angry? It was Dan and her who should be broken and hurt right now.
Serena frowned at the memory. She had figured out the truth behind all of this a while ago, but she had created so much damage that she had no idea how to fix things. She had wanted to make amends after her argument with Blair that day only to find that she had officially started dating Dan. So, she made sure that she was officially dating Robert. It was all a mess, but she was tired of this. It was time to end this. She flipped open her cell phone, a determined look upon her face.
We need to talk, B. I'm sorry for everything. Call me.
- S
"I cannot believe she pushed us down like that. What a low blow," Penelope said, tearing Serena away from her text message.
"Yeah, what a low blow," Hazel repeated.
Penelope ignored Hazel and continued. "She's asking for it. What's the plan, S?"
"Yeah, what's the plan, S?" Hazel echoed Penelope again, earning a death glare from her fellow minion.
"God, Hazel, you are so annoying!"
Getting annoyed with both of them, Serena began to lash out at them.
"Will you two shut up and give me some peace? There is no plan. We leave Blair alone from now on."
Penelope and Hazel kept quiet, although a million questions were running through what little brains they had. Serena rubbed her temples. She had a horrible headache.
"Serena? Some boy over there asked me to give you this," said a voice that was oddly familiar.
Serena looked up to find Jenny standing before her, holding a white envelope. Serena sighed, took the envelope from her hands, and proceeded to tear the envelope open. Patience was definitely not a virtue. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor. She picked it up off the ground and began to read it. Penelope and Hazel peered over her shoulder with interest. They were bursting at the seams with curiosity. First, Serena was over destroying Blair and now she was receiving a mysterious letter?
"I'm sorry. Was this letter addressed to either of you?"
Penelope and Hazel turned to look at one another. Getting the message, they both took a few steps back. An awkward silence fell into place as Serena read the letter. After what seemed to be an eternity, Serena carefully folded the letter and put it in her purse.
"May I be excused now?"
Serena looked up to find Jenny still standing there.
"Yes, of course. Wait, Jenny, what are you even doing here?"
"Oh! I just dropped by to thank Blair. She convinced Eleanor to give me that internship position. I can't seem to find her anywhere though, so I'll just thank her at dinner tonight," she answered in an overly cheerful voice.
Serena nodded. It was probably best to avoid dinner with Blair until everything was worked out between them.
"I won't be coming home for dinner tonight. We're having a sleepover at Penelope's house."
Jenny nodded and walked away before Serena could stop her again.
Penelope smirked. "Why is Blair always coming over for dinner anyway, S? Has the soup kitchen shut down or something?"
"Shut it, P."
She dismissed the rest of her minions, only signaling for Penelope and Hazel to stay behind.
"I can't make it to the sleepover tonight."
"Why? Where are you going tonight then?" Penelope asked.
"I have someone...I mean, something I need to take care of. You can host the party on my behalf. Hazel, what Penelope says, goes."
Hearing Serena give her absolute authority, all suspicion escaped from Penelope's mind.
"It will be the party of the year, S."
"Good and if anyone asks, I'm in your bedroom resting because I have the flu. No one is allowed to be anywhere near that room, got it?"
"But if you're not there...why are we telling people that you are...if you're like not?" Hazel asked, clearly not understanding the conversation.
Penelope sighed, grabbing Hazel's arm and heading towards their next class.
"God, Hazel. She wants us to be her cover. How did you even get into Yale?"
Serena smiled at the two as they walked away. They did bring some humor into her life. Her plan for tonight was absolutely flawless. No one ever blackmailed Serena van der Woodsen.
