Chapter 7

Ashley walked into her bedroom and fell back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. The day had been long and extremely eventful. She hadn't had such a good day since she moved to New York, which she found to be incredibly sad.

"Is it true?!" Kyla's voice made Ashley sit up quickly.

"What?"

"Are you friends with Serena van der Woodsen?" her sister asked excitedly, gripping her laptop in her hands.

Gossip Girl really does know all, Ashley thought. The whole Gossip Girl phenomenon was an incredibly vital part of Upper East Side living that Ashley had only appeared in a few times. But now that she was hanging out with Serena, she knew she'd most likely be making more appearances.

"Yes," Ashley said slowly, her tone was that of utter boredom. "Why are you so giddy? You've never met her. She left before we even got here, Ky," she said, rolling her eyes.

Kyla came over and sat on Ashley's bed, turning the screen towards Ashley. The first thing the older brunette saw was the heading "The Other van der Woodsen…"

She skimmed the paragraph quickly, then reread it at a slower pace. Why would Blair go to see Spencer? The blonde had said earlier that Blair had stopped talking to her after what happened between them after Serena left. And now Serena was back. Ashley figured Blair was asking Spencer to not tell Serena.

"Are you dating a van der Woodsen?" Kyla continued to question her and Ashley shook her head. Technically, she had yet to call Spencer, and she felt like she should wait at least a few hours before calling her. And also, Ashley didn't date. She'd never been on an actual date before and she had no idea what she was supposed to do for this date. It was obvious that Spencer didn't care about money, so something extravagant probably wouldn't impress her. And the older girl seemed to dislike the party scene, which was Ashley's usual home advantage. The girls she'd picked up and took to insane parties were just for fun, and honestly, it was easy to get laid if you introduced them to the rich and famous.

But Ashley knew that Spencer wasn't one of those girls. She was level-headed and sweet and Ashley definitely had a genuine crush on her. Who knows, maybe next week she would be dating a van der Woodsen. The thought caused a smile to appear on her face.

"Oh my God! You are, aren't you?" Kyla interrupted her thoughts once again, causing Ashley's smile to fade.

She threw a pillow at her sister's head. "Get out."

Kyla smiled widely, "Oh, I cant wait to tell Jenny. She's going to flip!"

"You," Ashley began, firmly, "are not going to tell anyone. Especially that Humphrey girl. She's like Blair Waldorf's protégé…"

"She won't tell anyone," the younger brunette said, though even she didn't believe that. Jenny was her best friend, but the girl was dead set on being popular.

Ashley raised an eyebrow at her sister, as if to say, 'Do you really believe that?'

"Fine, okay? I wont tell anyone. I guess we'll just have to wait till Gossip Girl finds out." Kyla made her way out of the room quickly as another pillow sailed her way.

"There's nothing to find out!" she yelled at Kyla's retreating back, then laid back down on her bed and sighed. She glanced back over at the laptop still on her bed, reaching into her pocket to pull out Spencer's card. She had yet to examine it, and was surprised to read that Spencer's last name was actually Carlin, not van der Woodsen. Obviously she had taken her father's last name.

She read the name and number over and over, wondering if she should call or if it was too soon. She had just gotten back from Spencer's and what if Blair was still there?

She exhaled, frustrated. She was Ashley Davies, she didn't act this way, like an inexperienced nervous wreck. She was always in control of her emotions, and she was going to call Spencer right now. Who cares if it's a little soon?

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Spencer sat on her couch, reading Gossip Girl's latest update, which her friend Vanessa, told her she was in. She thought it odd that her artsy, 'War and Peace' loving friend would waste her time reading Gossip Girl. Truthfully, Spencer had been constantly checking the website when it first came out during her junior year at Constance Billiard. But after senior year, she realized it was very odd how this elusive Gossip Girl knew everything about everyone, and decided that she didn't need or want to know any of it.

But now, she was once again a subject for Gossip Girl to discuss, since Serena was back and everyone was dying to know everything.

She read the latest post and groaned. Apparently, Gossip Girl had managed to spot both Ashley and Blair outside of her building. She hoped that if Serena read this, she wouldn't jump to the wrong conclusion… or the right one.

Her phone began to ring and she was grateful for the distraction.

"Hello?" she answered, since the number on her screen was unfamiliar.

"Hey Spencer, its me, Ashley…" the brunette said into the phone. Her voice was soft and Spencer could sense the edge of nervousness in it. She found it adorable.

Spencer laughed, "You don't waste time, do you?"

"Well, wasting time isn't an option when you're as popular as me," Ashley explained sarcastically, "I have to make plans early in the week, you know, 'cause everybody's trying to get on my schedule."

"I guess I should feel honored then," the blonde replied, keeping up the banter.

"You should," Ashley said, matter-of-factly, causing Spencer to laugh again. Ashley was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Spencer. She wondered why the hell she'd been so nervous to call. "Anyway, I was wondering if you were free on Friday night?" Ashley asked, knowing it was a cheesy line.

"Hmm, I don't know, I have to check my schedule…" Spencer began, though Ashley could hear her smile through the phone. "Yea, Friday is good."

"Great," Ashley said, relieved and smiling widely. "So, do you mind if Serena knows?"

Spencer laughed, "No, its fine. Besides, if she's read the Gossip Girl post then she probably already knows.."

"Ah, yea… You saw that?"

"I was reading it when you called, actually." Spencer glanced over at the lap top screen again and hit refresh, wanting to see if there was another update.

And indeed, there was.

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hey people!

Everyone is buzzing about S….

including me, of course. From what I've been hearing from all of you, things are bound to get heated between our favorite best friends S and B, especially since S was spotted outside of B's building having what seemed to be a possible 'lover's quarrel' with N. She's only been back for a day and already S is making waves… But we all adore her the same.

You know you love me,

GG