Author's note: Hey, guys! I typed this up tonight, but I might not post the next one for a couple days, because I want to space out the ones I already have written. Then again, this story is practically writing itself, so maybe I won't need to. Reviews would be amazing, although, if I'm honest, it's the Casey/Cappie moment in Greek that reignited my muse. Love ya all.
[Ok, peeps, I'm sorry for my exaggeration last text. We all know these two aren't going to physically fight. I still can't wait to see Blair's face though – send me pics, please! You know you love me. XOXO, Gossip Girl. ]
On the way through the lobby, Nate's phone beeped at him twice in 30 seconds, interrupting him and Miranda's small talk. "Oh, sorry, let me turn my phone on silent or something…" She just shrugged, "It's not a big deal."
She glanced up just in time to see his eyes narrow in confusion at the screen. He flipped it closed somewhat angrily. "What? What is it, is something wrong?" He pursed his lips and paused before he replied, "Did you ask me here just to get at Blair?"
She looked confused for a second, and then nodded in understanding, "Right, Gigi… no, Nate, I didn't. I just…" She struggled for the right words.
"You just seemed like one of the few good guys around here, and I wanted to meet someone new." She smiled, trying to break the serious mood, "Besides, I wanted to give you a chance to explain the whole Blair debacle last year."
He laughed, "I thought you were friends with Gossip Girl, doesn't she know everything?" "Most of the time, but she never got the whole story. Besides, I want to hear it from you, not Gigi."
Nate smiled happily; it'd been a long time since someone had wanted to listen to him. Blair had always just wanted to talk about herself or her big plans, and Chuck didn't deal well with anything involving feelings or emotions. Serena had always had so much drama of her own, and he didn't really have anyone else he wanted to talk about his problems with.
Maybe he shouldn't have, considering who her best friends was, but he felt like he could trust Miranda and that she'd actually care.
"Let's go sit down," he said, and they happily walked into the room.
[ Thank you so much glittergirl27 for the perfect pic! Look at her face! Of course, we all know B composed herself the next second, but we can all see how she really feels about M walking in with her ex. It's ok, B, I'm sure you'll find a new guy soon. I'm actually hoping you do – boys always make things more interesting! You know you love me. XOXO, Gossip Girl.]
Blair did compose her face quickly, so quickly her minions didn't even notice. Of course, it was probably more because they were too busy sighing over the pictures of Penelope's baby nephew on her camera.
Blair had hoped they would completely miss Nate's entrance, but, unfortunately, Kati chose that moment to glance up. Her hands flew to her face, "Omigod, Blair!" Blair shot a withering look at Kati, who instantly shut up.
Blair made a snap decision to act like she didn't – and, really, she didn't care that much. She didn't have feelings for Nate anymore, they just had history, and no girl likes to see her ex with someone new.
"Why are you freaking out? What, do you have a thing for him?" Kati looked confused, "No…" "Then why does it matter that he's on a date with the new girl?"
Penelope was the first to notice the more important thing – "Blair, when did you give her one of your mom's originals? Is she one of us now or something?"
Blair snapped back immediately, "My mother is a world-renowned designer, she doesn't just make originals for me and my friends, Penelope." Penelope bit her lip and looked scared, not wanting to have Blair mad at her.
Blair knew she had to act unfazed if she actually wanted them to drop it, so she feigned interest in the latest picture on Penelope's camera and got the girls cooing over the cute baby grin.
Across the room, Miranda was giggling as Nate pulled out her chair for her. "You really are such a gentleman for a high school guy."
Nate sat down across from her, "Thanks. I guess my parents did that right at least." Miranda caught the bitterness in his voice, "Oh, yeah, how is that all going right now? I haven't heard anything in a while."
Nate debated whether he should talk about it, but the sincere concern and interest in Miranda's eyes convinced him she honestly wanted to know and wasn't just digging for info for Gossip Girl.
"Honestly? I feel like the only adult in my family. At least I convinced my mom to tell the police where my dad was. She wasn't going to originally. But then when they started freezing our accounts, she saw she had to… but that's just the wrong reason to tell! I mean, my dad needs helps! He needs to fix his mistakes, not just run away from them. He's not acting like an adult by running away, and my mom isn't either, by just living in this dream world…"
Nate trailed off, realizing how much of himself he'd shown to this girl he barely knew. "Sorry. You probably didn't want to know that much."
She shook her head, smiling, "No, it's fine. It sounds like you needed to get that off your chest."
He shook his hair out of his eyes, "Yea, I spent most of this summer by myself, sailing around, running, playing video games…" "Where were all your friends?"
"I dunno. It was just… complicated. I mean…" Nate tried to figure out how to explain, and was encouraged by Miranda's interested stare.
"Well, Blair and me weren't exactly on the best of terms, and, besides, she had plenty issues of her own to deal with. Chuck was more battered than he wanted to admit, so I didn't want to weigh him down more. Besides, he's Chuck Bass. He'd probably just tell me it was normal parent behavior in the UES…"
He trailed off, and Miranda gave him a confused look, "But what about Serena? And weren't you and Vanessa close?"
"Serena…," he gave a frustrated sigh, " I don't know about her. It's hard to be friends with her since…" Miranda nodded, "Yea, that makes sense, and you wouldn't want to worry about lines blurring when she'd just had a bad breakup."
"Yea, and Vanessa would never understand, she'd just say it was the price I had to pay for being born rich." Miranda scowled, "That's so ridiculous. I don't get what her problem is. I agree, we're lucky to have what we do, but why does that make us deserve the bad things that happen to us? That's like saying she deserves to be poor!"
Nate laughed, and Miranda giggle nervously with him, worried she'd offended him, "What? Too much?" "No, no, I was just thinking about how you and Vanessa would end up being best friends, once you stopped hating each other."
"What do you mean?" "Vanessa respects anyone who has strong, logical opinions. Once she saw you thought for yourself and cared about something besides money, clothes, and parties, she'd love you. And, when she likes you, Vanessa can be really fun to be around."
Miranda shrugged, "I don't think it matters, I'll only see her when she's at the Humphreys." "Oh, are you and Jenny friends already?" "Hmmm, kinda…"
Miranda glanced at her watch, "Shoot! Speaking of, I need to head over there, I'm so sorry, I wouldn't bail unless it was super important."
He stood up as she did, "No, it's totally fine, but why do you need to go over there so badly?" She bit her lip, deciding whether she could tell him, glancing over at Blair and her minions. "Oh, I get it, it's a secret and the walls have ears here. It's fine."
He smirked, "I assume I'll be able to read it on Gossip Girl later?" She giggled and nodded. "Ok, then I'll see you at school?" "Sure."
She grabbed her purse from beneath her seat and started walking towards the door, but turned around before she got there, "Uhm, Nate?"
He cocked his head to the side adorably, and she bit her lip and paused before saying, "I hope things work out for you." Before he could say thanks, she had turned around and walked out of the bar to her waiting limo.
[ Just a little longer, UES, before I can tell you the biggest news ever! I have no idea how I've been able to keep my mouth shut this long! You know you love me. XOXO, Gossip Girl. ]