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Chapter 19.

The party was a success. Besides the minor setback, - that being Nathaniel Archibald arriving late because he claims to have lost track of time due to too much work - the party was a full swing. Guests were enjoying themselves, people seems to be having a great time. And plus, Chuck and Serena managed not to get one Blair Waldorf pissed. All in all, if Serena does say so herself, it was one hell of a party.

"Serena!"

The blonde in question turns and sees none other than her best friend walking towards her.

"Were you able to get the champagne?"

"Uhh.. Yeah."

"Great!" Blair exclaims with glee before moving closer to Serena, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Oh, and honey, why is Carter Baizen here?"

"Oh, I invited him."

"You what?" Blair all but screeches. "Serena, have you forgotten what Carter Baizen did to Nate? To you?"

"Well, I've forgiven him." When she sees Blair roll her eyes, she groans. "Blair, can't we just forget that?"

"Forget that? Serena, there is no forgetting and forgiving when it comes to Carter Baizen."

"Well, you're gonna have to. Even for just the night."

"And why is that?"

"Because..." She pauses and hesitates when Blair practically burns a hole in her face. "He's my date tonight."

"He's what?"

"Yeah, so if you'll excuse me... I'd go back there and keep my date company"

Serena walks away from Blair before the brunette could say anything else. She looks back though, and sees Blair stalking up to Chuck before pulling him towards the side. Blair looks frustrated and Chuck doesn't look any better. He's rolling her eyes at her, brushing her off. Serena can tell just by looking at them that they're talking about her and Carter being each other's dates or even simply just why the hell did Chuck allow Carter Baizen to be invited to this party.

"Serena."

With one last sigh, she turns to Carter, flashing him a weak smile. Carter simply smirks back, letting his hand graze down her arm. She shrugs him off because she's feeling a bit uncomfortable with the gesture. He seems completely oblivious though - whether intentional or not, she's not sure and honestly, she doesn't really care much. He offers to go get her a drink to which she immediately agrees to, because she's really starting to get somewhat thirsty.

...

It was three hours into the party that Serena finally found Nate - or rather, Nate found her. She's checking the food, seeing if there's still enough when Nate walks up to her. She jumps a bit when he called out her name causing Nate to chuckle which Serena responded by hitting his arm.

"Ow!" Nate exclaims, rubbing his arm. "You know it is my birthday. You could try and maybe stop hitting me for once."

"Sorry! Happy Birthday Nate!" She throws her arms around him, Nate's arms circling around her waist.

"Thank you!" Nate states when they pulled away. "Not just for the greeting, but for planning this party as well."

"Yeah, well... It was a group effort."

"Do you wanna dance?" Nate asks, gesturing to the dance floor where people were dancing, Blair&Chuck and Jenny&Eric to name a few.

"Sure."

He leads her towards the dance floor, and once settled, he puts his hands on her waist while hers are intertwined behind his neck. They kept swaying, dancing and making small talk for a while. Nate was telling Serena how stressful work at the Spectator was and Serena just laughs, throwing in her comments occasionally. They stayed like that until something - or someone - catches Nate's eye.

"Hey S?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you really ask Carter as your date tonight?"

"Yes. Why? Is there something wrong with that?" There's an edge in her voice, coming off as defensive or something. Why couldn't her friends just let her take whoever she wants as her date? It is her life.

"No, nothing. I just thought Dan -"

"This has nothing to do with Dan." Okay, so maybe she said that a little to fast and a little to defensively.

"Okay. I didn't say it was."

"You were about to." She takes her hands off from their place on Nate's neck, opting to cross her arms and raise her eyebrow at Nate.

"Okay, no need to be angry S." Nate puts his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm the blonde down. "It just seemed pretty obvious to me that you both still have feelings for each other."

"Wait, weren't you the one who told me to back off Dan?"

"Because he has a girlfriend!"

"I know that!" She turns to leave but spins around to face him once more. "And I didn't ask Carter here because I still like him. I have no intention of dating Carter again, you know? I just asked him to be my date because it looks like he doesn't have anything to do or any friends in the city to talk to at all, so I asked him."

"Hey where are you going?"

"I need some fresh air." She answers, her back on Nate, already headed towards the balcony.

...

"Hey."

She looks up from her seat and sees Dan towering over her. She smiles a bit before scooting over to make space for Dan to sit on.

"I've been looking for you." Dan states, once seated beside the blonde.

"You were?"

"Yeah, but I saw you were too busy inside. With Blair, Nate... Carter."

"Okay, what is up with all of you? Why do you guys hate Carter so much?" She asks him, irritated. Okay, so maybe she was out of line going off on Dan like that but she's just so sick of everybody judging her just because she invited Carter to Nate's party.

"Nothing. I was just saying -"

"How stupid I am to invite Carter here? Is that it, huh?"

"No. It's just that -"

"That Carter shouldn't be here?"

"Serena." Dan's firm voice stopped her from saying anything else. She looks angry now that Dan feels silly that he actually feels a little terrified for his life. "I was just saying that because you were too busy, I didn't have the chance to talk to you earlier."

"Oh." Okay, she feels a little stupid right now. And embarrassed, definitely embarrassed. "Sorry for -"

"It's okay. I take it you got a lot of criticism from Blair and Chuck already."

"Yeah, and Nate. And I really wish you won't do the same."

"Okay." He looks at her and smiles. She smiles back at him. "I won't."

They stayed silent, just sitting next to each other for quite a while. It wasn't awkward, although it probably should be, seeing as they haven't really talked about the kiss. But it wasn't and both were thankful for that. It seems as though neither one of them wants to address the issue right now, and that's perfectly fine for them.

"Hey, uhh... Do you want a drink? I can go get you some." Dan asks, scratches the back of his neck although she doesn't get why he's so nervous.

"Sure." She smiles softly at him as he rises from his seat and went inside to get them drinks.

"Serena, there you are. I've been looking all over for you." Carter exclaims as he plops down the seat beside her once Dan was inside and out of sight. This time, she feels a little uncomfortable. Why is it that she feels so comfortable with Dan but not with Carter - the one she's actually asked to come to this party with her?

"You found me." She laughs weakly. She feels Carter moving closer to her and it's awkward to say the least. It feels as if he's intruding her personal space.

"Serena."

"Carter..." She stands up to place some distance between the two of them. "Are you drunk?"

Carter doesn't supply her with an answer but instead, he stands up as well, eliminating the space Serena created between them. She's cornered at the railings, Carter's hands are placed on both sides, trapping her in the middle. He presses himself closer to Serena and she squirms from her place, wanting to get out of there. But Carter has other plans.

"Carter, stop."

He grabs her waist, pulling her impossibly closer to him. His hands travel a little bit lower and he grabs her butt, and she wanted nothing more than to scream but she's frozen in place. His mouth ghosts over hers but before he could actually kiss her, a familiar voice interrupts them. And she's never been more thankful.

"Serena, I got you -" Dan stops in his tracks when he saw the scene in front of him. Carter pulls away a little bit - about merely an inch - but still has Serena trapped. "What, uhh... What is going on here?"

"None of your business, man. So leave." Carter snarls at him but he ignores him. Dan looks at Serena and all he can see is fear in her eyes.

"Serena?"

"I said it's none of your fucking business, Humphrey!" Carter practically screams at him, stepping away from Serena so he could move closer to him. "Leave."

"I don't think so."

"Who do you fucking think you are?"

"Who do I think I am?" Dan snorts, an idea popping into his head. "I'm his boyfriend, that's who I fucking think I am. So you better step away, Baizen."

Serena froze, literally. She simply stood there, staring at Dan, eyes wide open. What?

"Boyfriend?" Carter laughs, maniacally. "I didn't know you were back together."

"That's because we just did... Like fifteen minutes ago." He pulls Serena away from Carter and closer to him, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"What?" Serena began to shake her head. What the hell?

"Oh, yeah?" Carter seemed unconvinced. "Prove it."

Before Serena has the time to even react, Dan presses his lips against hers. He tightens his grasp on Serena's waist as he feels her arms circling around his neck. He dares to open one eye to see Carter seething with anger. They pulled away after some time, but their foreheads remained pressed together. After a while, Dan pulls away from Serena and turns to face Carter.

"I think you need to leave, Carter."

He looks like he wanted to punch Dan and Dan wouldn't be surprised if he did. Honestly, he's more surprised that he didn't. Because instead of doing so, he simply pushed past them, making sure to bump into Dan and let his fingers slide across Serena's arm. He turns back to see Dan's reaction and smirked when he sees Dan's fist clenched, as if he's gonna throw a punch at him. Then with one last look at Serena, he leaves.

When the two of them were absolutely sure that Carter was nowhere to be found, Serena turns to Dan.

"What the hell was that about?" Serena screeches.

"What the hell was what about? Serena, I was trying to save you."

"Why did you kiss me?" Serena's voice drops to a low whisper, almost inaudible he's not quite sure how he hears it with all the music in the background.

"I'd do it again if you don't stop me." Serena simply stares at him for a moment. He's never been this forward before. What the hell?

"What, Dan -"

She did not even have the time to finish because Dan pulls her closer once more and hungrily pressed his mouth against hers. They stumble backwards until Serena's back hits the wall and that was when she finally allowed her hands to tangle in his hair, tugging at it while he let his roam on her back. She parted her lips ever so slightly and he took that as an opportunity to deepen the kiss more, pushing his tongue inside her mouth. She lets out a soft moan when he nibbles on her lower lip, and he placed his hands on her waist, tightens his hold on her waist, pressing himself closer to her.

And if it wasn't for the lack of air and Blair's yelling, they probably would not have pulled away.

Once they pulled away, Dan takes a few steps backwards, creating space between them. He's staring at her like she's the most precious thing in his life. And she doesn't realize and maybe, neither does he - at least, not yet, - that she is, in fact, the most precious thing in his life.

"Dan..." But then he shakes his head, muttering an apology before going inside, leaving Serena standing out there, confused and a little light-headed.

...

She's been searching for him for quite a while now when Blair suddenly pulled her towards where Nate and Chuck and Jenny and Eric and Vanessa and almost everyone else invited in this party because it's time for Nate to make his birthday wish and blow the candles. But the only thing she notices is that Dan isn't there to see it.

They sang Happy Birthday and clapped when Nate finally blew the candles. He even smeared some of the icing on Blair's face causing the brunette to squeal before hitting him repeatedly on his shoulders and arms. That started a small cake war - okay, maybe it's not so small - and when they finished, she's got icing on her face and her arms and even some on her shirt.

And once the commotion completely died down and almost everyone is either talking amongst themselves or in the bathroom, cleaning up, she realizes that not once had she saw Dan in all that's happened. So, she goes searching for him after fixing herself up.

She bumps into Jenny and Eric first, who were laughing at each other for having too many icing on their faces.

"Hey, guys. Have you seen Dan?" They looked at each other before turning to her.

"Nope."

"Last time I saw my brother was when he came to get some drinks... about an hour ago."

She thanks them before stepping out of their way to look for Dan. Where was he? He couldn't possibly have left already, right? Although the thought has been playing on her mind for quite a while now, she's still hoping that he's still here.

"Chuck!"

"What can I do for you, sis?"

"Have you seen Dan?"

"You know I try to ignore him or pretend he doesn't exist but I honestly haven't seen him."

"Great! Well, just tell me if you saw him, okay?"

She doesn't even wait for an answer before going back to searching for Dan. She sees Nate next, who's talking to Blair.

"Do you guys know where Dan is?" She asks, hoping, praying that they know where Dan Humphrey is.

"No. Sorry, S." Nate supplies immediately. Serena turns to Blair who's got one eyebrow raised, aimed at her.

"Why are you looking for him, S?"

"Nothing. I just - I needed to talk to him about something."

"Talk about what?" Blair inquires, but there's something in her voice other than just plain curiosity and she doesn't have the time to deal with that right now.

"I'll explain later, okay? Right now, I just need to find him."

"Well, I haven't seen him."

"Great! You're a big help. Thanks B." She rolls her eyes at the brunette so Blair did the same but they're smiling at each other so it was understood that they weren't really annoyed with one another. Serena nudges her best friend slightly before leaving her two friends to talk.

She searched every corner of the suite and she's just about ready to give up when Vanessa walks up to her.

"Hey, I heard you were looking for Dan."

"Yeah. Please tell me you've seen him." Okay, so she sounds a little desperate. Well, that's because she is.

"As a matter of fact, yeah, I just saw him."

"Really? Where?"

"Umm... He's headed to the elevator last I saw him which is about five minutes ago so I'm not -"

"Great. Thanks Vanessa!" She cuts her off, already speed walking towards the elevator before she could even finish thanking Vanessa. She would've run but she's wearing heels and it more likely that she would trip if she did.

...

"Dan!"

He turns around and sees Serena coming towards him. He was halfway out when she calls out his name and although he could have just ignored her and just walk away, he doesn't. Instead, he stops and waits for her to stop in front of him.

"What was that all about?"

Minutes passed and he doesn't give her an answer, just simply stares at her, mouth agape. She's waiting for an explanation and she deserves one, he knows that. But how do you explain something even you don't really understand?

"Well..."

How do you explain why you just kissed your ex-wife? Carter was being a jerk, that was given and by the looks of it, the guy was going to take advantage of her. Okay, maybe he should've just told him off and if he relents, he should've just thrown a punch or two at him. But instead, he told him - and her - that they got back together and as an act to prove it to Carter, he had kissed her. Stupid, stupid Dan! And he kissed her again after that. And he feels guilty that it wasn't until he left her standing that he suddenly remembered that he still has a girlfriend, Georgina.

"Dan?"

"I... umm"

"Serena?"

The blonde turns away from him and sees Blair, Chuck and Nate walking towards her. But it seems as though Dan saw this as a chance to leave, to escape because when she looks back to face him, he was nowhere to be found.

"S, all the guests are starting to leave, so we came down to get you." Blair says as the elevator dinged once again and little by little, all of Nate's guests were starting to pile up in the lobby. Eric caught Serena's gaze and he mouthed something about leaving with Jenny.

"Okay." Chuck clapped his hands together before placing a hand on Blair's back. "We're going to set everything up, get the champagne and the glasses. You two catch up, alright?"

When he got two simultaneous nods from Nate and Serena, he led Blair back towards the elevator, leaving the two.

"Hey, you alright?" She seems distracted, eyes fixed at the entrance and doesn't give him a proper answer - or any answer - so he tries again. "Serena?"

"Yeah? Oh, I'm fine."

"Did you get the chance to talk to Dan?" This time she looks at him, confused.

"What?"

"You were looking for him earlier and I assumed since you were down here for a pretty long time, that you found Dan?"

"Yeah, I found him." She whispers, barely audible, sadness laced with her voice.

"And?"

"Nate..." She stops because she feels that if she continues, she would cry and she really, really doesn't want that to happen. So instead of answering, she moves to hug the birthday boy and sighs when he felt his arms wrap around her body.

"Hey, hey. It's gonna be okay." He grabs her shoulders and pulled her body away from him so he could look her in the eyes. "I'm sure whatever it is, you'll get through it. You are Serena van der Woodsen, right?"

"You wanna talk about it?" Nate asks and she shakes her head. And instead of insisting she tell him, he just wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in a side leads both of them to the elevator but before the could enter the lift, Serena took one last glance at the door, hoping - although unlikely - that Dan would be there.

He wasn't.

.to be continued.

A/N: Okay, so I was so overwhelmed when I checked the reviews and saw that I got a total of 93 reviews for this story already. And to know that the last chapter got 12 reviews. So, as a thank you gift, I wanted to post this chapter as soon as possible. So, tada!

Seriously, guys, you don't know how happy I was to see all those reviews. It made my day!

Oh, and to address some of your reviews:

I am not entirely sure if there will be an M - rated chapter in this story - probably not. The main reason is because I seriously don't know how to write something M - rated. I am pretty sure I would suck at it.

And I would really like to write a PB fic someday but for now, I'll just be focusing on this one. :) Besides, I don't have any ideas for a PB fic yet.

Once again, a million thanks to all the reviews! Haha. And so sorry if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes. Hey, I try my best! :)

Like I always say, I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter! And please review, they're very much appreciated and loved! Seriously, I'll say it again, they make my day! I'll try to update again soon! Thanks! xx