A/N: So, there was supposed to be a fairly hot (by my own judgment) C/B scene at the end of this chapter, but it just got to be super super long, so I decided to split it up. I think I'm going to make that scene its own chapter next, so then the next two chapters will be most C/B (the one after that will be a flashback to their engagement. I already have it basically written and I can't wait to post it!). But this chapter introduces probably my favorite Bass child and his love interest.

Also, as you will notice, I didn't ignore the season 3 finale in this story. I had the pairings mapped out way before the finale aired and as much as I just wanted to eliminate Jenny completely, she doesn't have the major of a role, so I just decided to leave it. The situation will be addressed more in the flashback chapter.

….

Thanksgiving the next day went well. It was a big family event, with Chuck and Blair and all of their children, Harold and Roman, Dorota and Vanya and their children, and Eric, Serena, and Celia. Apparently Blair's mother was in Paris working on her new line and was unable (unwilling?) to come back to New York for the holiday.

Chuck and Blair seemed to have gotten their interrogation of Lauren out of the way the day before, so while she still felt like she needed to be on her very best behavior in order to impress them, Lauren thought there was slightly less pressure on her than there had been the day before. Plus, there were so many people in the apartment that Lauren felt like she could just blend in to the crowd a little bit more than she had previously.

The next day they all had to go to the annual Vanderbilt start of the holiday's party. According to Celia and CJ, it was one of the most talked about and important events of the season and everyone who is anyone would be there.

But as soon as they woke up the day of the party, Celia and Lauren realized that they were alone in the penthouse. Serena was gone.

She had left a note for Celia, saying that while it had been nice to be home for the holiday and with family, it had all just gotten to be too much. According to her note she was heading to Santorini, which Celia said had been a special place for her parents.

Celia tried to seem unaffected by Serena's sudden departure, but Lauren could tell that she was a bit upset.

When Lauren asked her about it, Celia just shrugged, "At least she was here for the holiday," she said, "which is more than I was expecting. The last time I saw my mom was when she was here for my graduation, and she only stayed for a few hours, just enough time to see the ceremony and take a few pictures."

Lauren frowned, but she let the issue drop. She didn't want to make Celia any more upset. She couldn't imagine living a life like Celia had, never knowing where her mother was or when she would be back; to spend one day with her and see it as a significant amount of time.

When the girls and the Bass family arrived at the Vanderbilt party, the Basses were pulled into conversations with a variety of friends and acquaintances, leaving Celia and Lauren on their own.

Celia explained to Lauren that the Vanderbilts were a very prominent, old money family in New York and they had been throwing this party as a sort of kick-off to the holiday season for years. It used to be thrown by William Vanderbilt, but ever since he had passed away his grandson, Senator Trip Vanderbilt had taken over the hosting duties.

"Wait," Lauren cut in, "isn't that Will's dad?"

Celia looked confused for a moment before she understood, "Oh, yes, I forgot. Of course you know Trip's son Will. He goes to Yale too."

"And he's CJ's best friend." Lauren pointed out.

Celia nodded, "Yeah, those two have been inseparable since they were like five, so obviously CJ would have introduced you to him." Celia looked up and smiled, "Speak of the devil."

Lauren turned around and was instantly swallowed up into the giant arms of William Vanderbilt IV. She squealed as he picked her up and spun her around, causing a few people to turn and stare, but they quickly dismissed the rambunctious young people and returned to their conversation. "Well, well, well, I never imagined I would find little small town Lauren at one of my parent's fancy-shmancy parties. You must really love my scoundrel of a best friend." Will said once he had set Lauren back on her feet.

Lauren laughed, "Yeah, well I thought it was about time I saw what all the hype was about."

"Doesn't it just blow all those Yale parties right out of the water with all its fun and excitement?" Will asked with a roll of his eyes, "So where is that handsome boyfriend of yours anyway?"

Lauren looked around the room and spotted CJ talking in a small group with his father and a few older men who looked to be business associates, "There he is," she said, pointing her finger discreetly.

Will spotted his friend and then looked back at the two girls and smiled, "Okay, well it was nice to see you, ladies, but I have some things to discuss with Charles Junior, so if you will excuse me."

He sauntered away as both Lauren and Celia shook their heads and chuckled quietly.

All of a sudden, Celia urgently poked Lauren's shoulder, "Oh, oh, look over there," She whispered, directing Lauren's gaze over to two tall beautiful girls talking together across the room, "Do you see those two girls? That's Anne Archibald and Emily Vanderbilt."

Lauren looked at the girls. One was tall and thin, with long blonde hair, dancing blue eyes and an easy smile. The other was more serious, but just as beautiful. She had strawberry blonde hair and a confident air about her. "Yeah, I see them. Who are they?"

Celia smirked, "They are the girls that are going to tame the Bass twins."

Lauren looked back and forth between the blonde girl beside her and the two teenage girls across the room, "What!"

Celia laughed as she explained, "Anne and Emily are cousins, well, actually they are technically second cousins, but anyway, they are considered by many here in New York to be the 'next Blair and Serena,' whatever that means. But more importantly, they are the closest thing to female friends that the twins have, and I am completely convinced that they are the girls that will finally get Ed and Theo to settle down."

"Emily is the daughter of Trip and Maureen. She is all about appearances and living up to her Vanderbilt name and she is pretty much the closest thing to perfect you can find. She is the top of her class, the head of a million different committees, and the prime example of everything a senator could ever want in a daughter. She is aware of the attention she gets as Trip's daughter and she makes sure she doesn't do anything scandalous. She knows she is basically royalty in New York; the best of the best, and she'll make sure you don't forget it. She is the same age as the twins and she has two older brothers, one of them being your friend Will. She has dated and had boyfriends or whatever, but among her peers she is typically considered to be 'untouchable.'"

"Untouchable?" Lauren asked in confusion.

"Yup," Celia nodded, "You can't sleep with her. She's pure, a good girl, untouchable. She's too worried about her reputation to go around sleeping with a bunch of different guys. She's an ice queen, which is why Ed is so into her."

Lauren's brow rose in confusion, but Celia just continued, "And Anne is the daughter of Trip's cousin Nate Archibald and his wife Jenny. Nate is Chuck's best friend and Jenny is a fashion designer. Chuck and Blair don't really like her that much, and she seems to feel the same way about them. I don't know exactly what happened between the three of them; that is one story that no one would ever tell me, but things are always awkward when their families get together. Usually Nate just brings Anne and her sister over when Jenny is away on business."

Celia looked around and then leaned in closer to Lauren, "Personally, my theory is that Chuck slept with Jenny at some point after him and Blair had been together, like during one of their many break ups. After seeing how each of them reacts when they interact, that would be my guess. Blair is always blatantly condescending and spiteful, Jenny is usually bitter and uncomfortable, and Chuck is apathetic and treats Jenny like she is nothing, like the scum beneath his shoe."

"And Nate?"

"Nate is oblivious," Celia said with a dismissive wave of her hand, "Or he just tries to smooth over the tension. Anyway, Anne is a year older than Emily and the twins and sometimes for fun she models for Jenny's line. Emily could totally model too, but she doesn't think modeling is something someone of her standing should be doing." Celia rolled her eyes before she continued, "Anne is a lot like her dad and not at all like her mom. She is wild and carefree. She just wants to have a good time and have everyone get along. She's a free spirit and just kind of takes things as they come. She doesn't really care about money and social standing and living up to her Archibald name."

"And she is Theo's girl?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, well, I don't know, kind of. I mean, their relationship is weird. You see, unlike Ed and Emily, Anne and Theo have already hooked up, a couple times actually. She's the one he lost his virginity too."

"What? How do you know that?"

Celia shrugged, "The Bass brothers talk. From what I know, at Emily's fourteenth birthday party they were playing spin the bottle and Anne and Theo ended up kissing and then shortly after they disappeared together. I don't know if it was her first time. It might have been, but who knows? Anyway, like I said, their relationship is weird. They both obviously like each other and whenever they are together they have this undeniable chemistry, and they tend to end up hooking up when they get a little drunk at parties, but they aren't 'together' and they both go out and hook up with other people. I guess it's because neither of them are really into relationships." Celia shook her head, showing her befuddlement at the situation, "I don't know. I don't think I'll ever understand. But everyone knows they are meant to be. Whenever they get over their fear or whatever it is that is keeping them from committing, it is obvious they will be together."

Lauren still seemed confused, but she pushed forward, "But Emily and Ed are different?"

Celia laughed, "Oh yes. They are very different. Emily and Ed are so stubborn, she won't even admit that she has feelings for him and he has managed to convince himself that he only wants to sleep with her."

"Does she know that?"

"Of course," Celia said simply, "He is not exactly subtle with his seduction techniques. But she won't give in to him, she is tougher than that. She knows what sleeping with Ed Bass would do to her reputation, and that is something she definitely wants to avoid."

"So then how do you know they will end up together, if any sort of relationship is never going to happen?"

"Oh it will happen." Celia said confidently, "I told you, Emily is just being stubborn, because she knows what everyone will say and she doesn't want the scrutiny, so she has made even herself think that she is not into him and that he is disgusting. And Ed just loves a challenge. The more she resists, the more he wants her."

Lauren looked skeptical, so Celia explained, "You see, the twins, once you really get to know them, you realize that they are very similar but there are some subtle differences. You probably haven't noticed, but while both boys are always really put together, Theo spends just a tad bit longer on his appearance, you know, choosing and outfit and fixing his hair. I mean, Ed still looks great too, but he doesn't make such an effort, and I guess he doesn't really have to because he has a little more game than Theo. That boy is one smooth talker. He can get pretty much any girl into bed with him after just one short conversation."

"Except Emily," Lauren pointed out.

Celia nodded, "Well that's the thing, the differences in the twins are reflected in their choice of women. Theo always goes for the stunning, model-y types. He just wants girls that want to have a good time; girls like Anne, who don't get attached and know a hook-up is a hook-up and nothing more. But Ed, he loves a challenge. He can get girls so easily, that when one resists and he has to work for it, it is all the more fun to him. He just loves the chase. So if there are two girls for Ed and Theo to go after, Theo will take the one who is usually more scantily dressed and fun and Ed will go after the one who is more closed off and is playing hard to get."

Lauren didn't look convinced, "If Ed loves the chase so much, how do you know he won't be done with Emily once she gives in to him?"

"I don't," Celia shrugged, "But I'm pretty confident that he won't. Those two are a lot like his parents. Their interaction, their banter, it just reminds me of Chuck and Blair and it is what I imagine them being like when they were younger."

Lauren laughed and shook her head, "Okay, whatever you say, Celia."

….

A/N: Ugh, so after writing this, I totally fell in love with Will, even though his part was really tiny. Lol. But I think he would be really hard for me to write and I have no idea how to give him a bigger part in the story. Ugh, maybe I'll make him fall in love with Lexie in the future. Haha just kidding….kind of…

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