Empire State of Mind

"London, Vienna, Missy, Lorna, Kiki, and Amberly: you guys are going to get the invites. Tell them to hurry up and get it done by a weeks' time no matter what. You'll also need to go talk to Driscrolli's and ask them about the Alumni brunch. Don't forget that plates cost thirty dollars, and we need the hall in two weeks, on the 24th." Vienna and London grinned at each other, glad they could put their flirting skills to the test. "And, don't forget to talk to Headmaster Hathaway if we can have a masquerade ball here, on the 23rd."

I turned and faced Rose. Her group consisted of Astrid, Tiffany, Portia, and Constance. "Politicians. Be nice, don't be stupid. Tell them we're giving some of the money to cancer research and we need Billings back, the usual. Noelle's dad has already talked to them, and he's going to be at the meeting."

I clasped my hands together. "That's it guys. I guess if you need anything, just call either me or Noelle." I glanced over at Noelle and she nodded. "Have fun?" A few people chuckled. "We'll meet up at Becco, around one. If you can't make it, just call."

Having finally addressed what everyone should do, I glanced around at everybody and saw how glamorous we looked. We were all going to New York and get whatever we needed done; London's group was coming later. Noelle and I were supposed to talk to the Palace, Radio Shack, Samar Spa, and pretty much all the designer stores. Kiran was going to meet us, so she could convince the designers to help with the fundraiser.

Today was Saturday, and it had only been a week since I was at school. So far, I had managed to keep track of everything that happened since:

1) Billings is gone.

2) Josh is still with Ivy.

3) I am an emotional train wreck.

4) Upton still talks to me.

5) I'm suddenly thrust into a crazy ass love triangle/rectangle.

6) Josh doesn't like Sawyer.

7) I am Noelle's personal slave for the fundraiser.

8) I am having continuous nightmares.

9) Let's not forget getting four to five hours of sleep a day!

So yeah, that was what I had down so far. Nice, isn't it?

The nightmares were the same over and over again. I would see Arianna, Sabine, or Mrs. Ryan faces in my dreams, taunting me and finishing their deed. And I would always wake up right when I felt like I was losing, panting for air and sweating. Sometimes, a faint cry would escape my mouth.

"Reed! Come on! We don't have all day you know." Noelle was tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. Everyone had already headed out, and Noelle and I were the only ones in the lobby.

I snapped out my thoughts. "Yeah, I'm coming." I grabbed my purse and buttoned my coat, feeling the cold air whip past me as I stepped outside at eight-thirty in the morning. I really hated mornings.

Today was going to be crazy. We had so much work to do, and Noelle wasn't giving me a break. Several times I would think if Noelle was making me work so hard on purpose. Or maybe that was how she was.

"Reed!" I instantly turned my head around, looking to see who is was. I groaned. It was Josh.

I looked back and saw Noelle and the rest of the girls going inside the limos. Noelle looked up and glanced at the situation laid out in front of me. She gave a disapproving look; regardless, she sat down in the limo waiting for me.

"Reed." Josh had finally caught up with me his blonde, curly hair bouncing in the wind. I swallowed. The way he left things earlier this week was not ok. He acted so rude in front of Sawyer, and then he seemed apologetic? Maybe I wasn't the only on with mixed emotions.

"Hey Josh," I said quietly. I didn't really want to talk to him. First, I was mad that he treated Sawyer horribly even though he said he was happy for me. And then, he was acting as if he still owned me, but at the same time he could do Ivy if he ever got bored.

My eyes and brain registered what was in front of me. He looked happier, in a way. I could tell he wore some nicer clothes today, rather than the disgusting sweatshirt he kept on wearing.

He paused, noticing my stiff and vulnerable expression. Josh ran his hand through his hair, contemplating what to say next. His eyes drifted over to the limos, and for a split second, I thought I saw a flicker of disgust. Josh's eyes stiffened.

"Hey, I just wanted to say…sorry." Robotic, was all I could think. His speech was well-thought out. Idiot couldn't even come up with a real, emotional response.

"It was very…impolite of me to act the way I did with Sawyer. I know he's your boyfriend and all (even though I don't know the guy on the cell phone), and it was wrong of me to act that way. Again I'm-"

"Josh! No! You got the wrong impression. Sawyer and I aren't dating. We're just…really good friends." Ohmigod, I couldn't believe he thought that! Did everyone else think that? But…we had barely hung out this week. Someone was spreading not so nice rumors.

Josh's whole demeanor changed. He seemed…relieved?

"Oh, ok. Sorry about that. It's just I thought…you know, hanging out, I…"

"You know" what? What did he think? Was he going to act like a jackass to any guy he thought I was dating? Did that make it ok? And what about Upton, "the guy on the phone." What was he going to say about that?

I was mad. Pissed off. He was with Ivy, Goddammit. He chose her. He chose her instead of me. He was not my dad, my brother, let alone my boyfriend. He didn't own me. Josh was not my bodyguard. He was…nothing. He was an echo of my past life with him

"But even if he was, you still would be ok right? You won't be all mad about it, and you won't bother me?" I paused. "You won't do things in front of me?"

Josh reddened from shame of the things he had done. "Yeah. Most definitely. I respect you, Reed. And for a second, I forgot what respect was."

Honk! Honk!

Crap, I forgot that I was even going to New York in the first place. Josh smiled at me; a true, honest smile.

"Have fun," he said softly. I nodded, and he turned around to go back and left. He left me standing in the cold like so many times before. Except this time, we thought it was for the better.

***

"No, you don't understand. We need it on the 26th, the 27th, and the 28th. I don't care what Gwen Stefani is doing on Friday, and I don't care about the wedding that's on Sunday. You give me that date now," Noelle threatened.

We got to New York at around ten. We were only in the Palace for thirty minutes and Noelle was already threatening the party planner from the Palace. She was shy, timid, sweet girl and I felt sorry for her; dealing with Noelle's wrath was not the best thing to encounter.

"Ok, I know how this is important for you. But it's the freaking Palace! People make reservations a year beforehand! You should've thought about it before you came here and started being mean to me!" argued the girl, Marissa.

Noelle's face hardened, and she gave Marissa a death glare. "You know what? My dad is freaking Mr. Lange, and you do not want to mess with him. Ever." She smirked after she noticed a slight scared look cover her eyes. "Now give me the date."

Marissa sighed. "It's Gwen Stefani! It's the Van der Walls wedding! I can't do it! Do you know how much they're paying? A lot. And Gwen Stefani? No way in hell am I going to cancel after she gave me tickets to her concert. No way."

I gave a sideways glance at Noelle. I could see the gears running in her head. Noelle then put on her most charming face, although her eyes were saying a different story.

"When's your birthday, Marissa? Or do you plan to have an awesome party sometime soon?" Did she somehow find Marissa's weakness in less than two seconds? Amazing.

Marissa looked bewildered. "Wha-"

"Because I know someone who personally knows her, and I'm sure she won't mind performing at one of your parties. It would make you, like, totally cool. She is a very kind person after all." Noelle smiled again. This girl was a pure genius.

I could see the girl's mind becoming very confused. She obviously wanted Gwen to perform at a party of hers. However, by doing what Noelle asked, she could get fired.

"Fine. I'll cancel the parties. But you owe me," Marissa added. Noelle just nodded, and she proceeded to the paper work. It was hard for me not to laugh, knowing all too well Noelle probably didn't mean that.

Twenty minutes later, we were outside of the Palace, drinking in the victory. I turned to Noelle and asked "So, do you really plan to give her the best party ever?" A guy just bumped into me, obviously not paying any attention to his surroundings.

We had secured the three dates, and we managed to convince the Palace manager to give us some of the money if anybody that was part of the fundraiser was staying there. A couple days ago, I thought this was impossible. Now, I guess it wasn't.

"Maybe," Noelle said. The driver opened the door for us and we went inside. "She did do a very kind deed for us, don't you think?" I chuckled, and we headed out into the street.

I peered outside and looked at the glamorous shops and people. I was already feeling exhausted and kind of hungry. "Where are we going now?" I straightened my dress pants and a Nanette Lepore blouse borrowed from Constance.

She checked the time on her phone. "Radio Shack. Personally, I don't like that place, but it'll do. Actually, my cousin owns the east coast branch, so it'll be ok. But we still need to talk to him; his wife is a bitch. She hates me for some reason," Noelle stated matter-of-factly.

I honestly wondered why.

Another thirty minutes went by in heavy traffic, and I couldn't help but wonder if this was all worth it. The board members didn't agree to the fact that after receiving the money, we could build back in the same place. This was one messy battle.

Not only that, I knew something sinister was going on. Why did they even decide to close Billings down in the first place? How did they even come to this decision, after years and years of Billings's girls coming in and out of Easton and succeeding?

"Hello Reed. Earth to Reed." Noelle waved her hand in front of my face.

I blushed. "Oh, sorry." Noelle was staring at me intently. "I'm just tired."

Noelle's brow furrowed, and she gave me an intense look. I couple of uncomfortable minutes of silence passed by, and I started to sweat from nervousness. "Reed, Pemberly's walls aren't the best, you know. Probably made out of wood…not too thick," she said.

Oh no. Did she hear me screaming at night? Did she even know I was having bad dreams? I didn't think I was screaming so much in the first place…

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I huffed. This was stupid. I was not becoming Bella from Twilight, who was loser-ish enough to have nightmares about her boyfriend leaving. I was strong. It was all ok.

She looked at me for another second. "All right," was all she said. I sighed in relief, glad she wasn't going to continue. If it was Constance, on the other hand, it was a whole new matter. Noelle gave me one last boring look, opened the door and left, not waiting for me this time.

This was so gay.

I opened the door to the store by myself, only to be greeted with rows and rows of electronics. This Radio Shack was three times bigger than my hometown mall. I was surprised that this store had thrived despite the recent economic downturn. But then again, it was sitting in the middle of New York, and apparently owned by Noelle's cousin.

A few aimless shoppers were there, and I scanned my eyes to find Noelle; I couldn't find her. Was she mad because I denied having bad dreams? That was not fair.

I heard a loud laugh and saw Noelle with a very handsome man. He had soft, brown/blonde hair, and you tell he worked out. His smiled was worth to kill for; damn the East Coast for all their good looking people. I walked over there, intent on making my trip in New York worthwhile.

As I approached, Noelle's cousin saw me coming over here and I couldn't sworn he gave an approved look. Ew; wasn't he married?

"Ah, Reed. This is Nate, my cousin." She smiled at me favorably; wasn't she just mad at me a second ago? "He'll be the one furnishing us all the electronics for the fundraiser, and his staffers will be helping out the website. Apparently, his VP went to Easton and she's a Billings Alumni! I never knew," Noelle gushed out. Fake enthusiasm, maybe?

Nate's striking blue eyes peered into mine, and smiled. "We would do anything for…Billings," he said. He swallowed, drinking in my outfit and hopefully not what he thought was underneath those clothes.

Noelle's jaw clenched. "Of course you'd do anything for Billings, Nate. It's the right thing to do." She turned to me. "Isn't that right, Reed?" I nodded dumbly, glad that she managed to bring her cousin back to reality. Now I really wondered what the real reason why his wife was mean to girls.

Nate cleared his throat. "Well ladies, what kind of electronics do you want? The best, I'm assuming." His eyes flickered over to me. I made a point by looking away, suddenly interested in the flat screens.

Noelle laughed out real loud, and gave him a wicked smile. "Well, yes, but we want what's not yet in stores. Could you do that?"

He smiled and said, "Of course. You don't need to worry about anything. It'll all be covered. And, my vice president will be in charge of the website, if you don't mind. She's very enthusiastic about the fundraiser. I can give you her card." Nate took out a tiny white slip and handed it to Noelle. "Use it well?" The cousins laughed; this was getting awkward.

"Nate, I didn't see you at Thanksgiving! Where were you? It sure was quiet," said Noelle. Her cousin's eyes were glued to me. God, what was his problem?

Just then, my cell phone went off. I was beginning to think cell phones were my only distraction. I looked at the caller I.D. and found it was Kiran who was calling me. Interesting.

"Hey, Kiran! What's up?" I backed away from the Lange family, and went over to the CD's laid out in front of me.

"Hey, Reed, I have a tiny favor to ask you. Can you by chance leave that dreaded store owned by Noelle's cousin and meet Taylor and I outside? Taylor can't stop bugging me," she said. I couldn't believe they were outside, waiting for us! And Taylor was here also?! This was great.

"Yeah sure, but Noelle's talking to her cousin. What do you want me to do?"

She made a sound which sounded like "ew" mixed in with a "gross." "Get her out of that store now! He's a total douche, and I see him checking you out." Instantly, I turned my head out to the windows to see if I could see them. I couldn't.

"Yeah, ok one minute." I shut the phone and went back over to Noelle. She and Nate were again laughing at something, and his damn beautiful eyes went over to me. What the fuck was his problem?

I tapped my finger on Noelle's shoulder. "Uh, Noelle? Kiran and Taylor are outside, waiting for us. I think we're done now, right?" I snuck a peek at Nate, and he was staring at me intently. "Now, please?"

She obviously noticed the silent plea, and nodded. Noelle turned to Nate, and flashed him a brilliant smile. "I'll see you around, Nate," she said while putting emphasis on I'll. Thank God she understood what was going on. But then again, this is Noelle Lange we're talking about.

He nodded. "Of course. Thank you for coming, ladies. It's always a pleasure," Nate added while looking at me with great enjoyment.

"Oh, tell Marianne I said hi! I miss her terribly." Nate turned beet red, and I couldn't help but grin a little. "As you should to," muttered Noelle under her breath.

I smiled a fake smile at Nate. "Yeah, thanks for helping us." I tugged on Noelle's Dolce&Gabbana black coat to get her going.

"Yes, thank you," said Noelle. I started to walk in a very fast pace, very eager to leave that store.

Noelle caught up with me and said "In a hurry?" She smiled at me smugly.

I scoffed. "What is up with your cousin? Isn't he married? I'm never going to meet him again!" I violently opened the door, all pissed off. She laughed, and proceeded to follow me.

I heard a loud squeal and turned to see Taylor running at me and grabbing me in a tight hug.

"Reed! I've missed you already!" She hugged me tighter, and I laughed. It had only been a week since I had seen her, and I already missed her.

"Yeah me too! What are you doing in New York?" Taylor released me and said:

"Well, all three of you were going to be here and I thought, 'Hey, why don't we hang out?'" She fixed her jacket. "You know, shop. Do fun stuff. For old times' sake," she added. Taylor was still tan from her recent vacation.

I smiled. As I thought about it, this was going to be one of the rare moments the four of us were going do something- without the drama, of course.

"Ooh, shopping! I love shopping! Don't you love shopping, Reed?" Kiran came over and gave me a delicate, graceful hug. She smelled of really good perfume.

I chuckled and said "Uh, I guess so."

Kiran tisked me and looked at my outfit. "Not bad, but we still need to work on your overall wardrobe. Now, who wants to go to Saks?" She clapped her hands like a happy, young child and a smile lit up her face.

"Wait, what about the designers and the spa place we had to talk to?" I looked over to Noelle, and she really wasn't paying any attention.

"Kiran and I already did that. Don't worry, Reed. We only need to focus on how much money we're going to spend right now." Taylor grabbed my arm and dragged me inside the limo, Kiran and Noelle in tow.

After the driver shut the door, Noelle went over to the corner of the car and produced a champagne bottle. "Ah, now this is what I'm talking about." Kiran took out four glasses and the two girls popped the bottle. Kiran let out a tiny scream, and the foam spilled out on the sides.

"Here, here," welcomed Taylor. Kiran was pouring the champagne in all of the glasses. She handed Taylor and me a glass. I looked at it warily.

"Um," I fiddled with my glass, "it's not even noon yet."

All the girls laughed. "Yes it is, my dear. Now drink up." To prove her point, Kiran took out her cell phone and showed me the time. It was only 12:03.

I shrugged and took a sip. "Now, the real question: how long are we going to shop?" mentioned Noelle. She leaned back in her seat, and the car lurched forward.

I shook my head. "What about the other girls? Weren't we going to meet them at Becco at one?" What was up with Noelle not caring? This was so unlike her.

"Uh, no. Not today, Reed. I'm beginning to see wrinkles and circles under your eyes, probably a result of you worry too much!" Kiran took a sip out of her glass.

"They can wait." Noelle shifted in her seat and tipped her glass to all four of us. "To…the four of us. And to Billings," Noelle toasted. The mood suddenly became somber, and all us nodded in agreement, and taking another sip.

Suddenly, my phone went off. It was Upton.

I was about to answer when I saw a pair of smooth, tan hands take my phone and throw it across the limo. It was Kiran, and she smirked at me.

"Kiran! What is your problem? I actually wanted to talk to him!" I got up a little, only to be pushed back into my seat.

Taylor laughed at my reaction. "I'm beginning to like my new, toned arms…" She smiled at me.

"Reed, it's Upton! Whatever happened to your 'seize the day' ideal you had in St. Barth's? And he's so clingy." I started to protest when she cut me off. "Nuh uh. You are going to have an all girls day, without any boys. Especially Upton," finalized Kiran.

"For once, I actually agree with Kiran," stated Noelle. Noelle looked at me and smiled slightly. "Relax, ok?"

You know what? She-they were right. I was with my three best friends, and Taylor and Kiran came all the way from wherever to see Noelle and I. So yes, I was going to relax.

I finally leaned back in my chair, and Taylor gave me an approving look. "You know, it is kind of hard to let go of someone as hot as Upton," she said. We all looked at her, wondering where she thought of that; this usually wasn't the kind of thing Taylor said. "What?" she asked innocently.

We all burst into a fit of laughter, and I instantly felt like I was back at Billings, where I didn't have to worry about anything and all we did was get drunk in the middle of the night. I didn't realize how much I missed those days.

And now, I was going to do whatever it took to get them back.


thanks for the reviews guys! you'll never believe the goofy grin i always get when i see your reviews :)

ok so i know this chaper sucks, but i still want you feedback! and, do you guys have any ideas for any drama? i have a few planned out, but i think i might need more...

reviews please! always appreciated. and happy thanksgiving!