DISCLAIMER: Gossip Girl and its characters are the property of Cecily von Ziegesar and Warner Bros. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Written for lingeringday in the ggfic_exchange Valentine's Day Exchange. Also, I really, really wanted to make Chuck/Nate hook up, but alas, I kinda like the ending I have.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
I Romanticize Every Single Thing I Do
[Especially When It Comes To You]
By Sydney Redfield
SPOTTED: S and Lonely Boy having a not-so-happy looking discussion in the park. Could it be that Lonely Boy has finally decided the Upper East Side isn't for him after all?
Serena figured it wouldn't be long after Vanessa waltzed back into Dan's life that she'd waltz right in between the two of them. What she wasn't quite prepared for, though, was that it was going to happen a week before Valentine's Day.
Between stutters and rambling sentences, Serena figured out what Dan was trying to say. She smiled tight-lipped and hugged him briefly, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before putting on a fake smile. She left that park with a "Still friends, okay?" from Dan and a feeling like she'd never experienced.
For the first time in her life, Serena van der Woodsen had been dumped.
Serena's feet hurt. Her mind was in a thousand different places and she'd walked all the way back to The Palace without even realizing it. At least it was a good way to break in the new Manolo's her mother had insisted on buying her.
As she made her way down the hall, all she should think of was getting into a hot bath and calling Blair to talk about the park escapades. However, when she entered the suite, all of those plans were thrown out the window.
"Hey, sis," Chuck said with a grin that made Serena's skin crawl. His feet were propped up on the coffee table and he was relaxed into the chair as if he lived there, with a tumbler full of scotch dangling in his fingers.
"I am not your sister, Chuck," she said, rolling her eyes and making her way to the kitchen for a bottle of Pellegrino.
"Where's the love, Serena?" Chuck said, voice suddenly behind her and entirely too close for Serena's comfort. She pushed away from the counter in the middle of the kitchen, content to lock herself in her room until the boy left. "Come on, S," he said, the corners of his mouth quirking up. "I just stopped by to see how you were doing. Gossip Girl thinks you might not be doing that great." He held up his phone with pictures from the park displayed on the screen. "No longer slumming it?"
"You know what," she started, but stopped, not even wanting to give Chuck the time of day. She made her way toward the front door, not even caring about her feet now. "I'm going to Blair's."
"Oh. Give her a kiss for me," Chuck said with a wink.
Serena just flipped him off and shut the door behind her.
"Blair? Dorota let me in, so I..." Serena stopped when she walked in the room. Blair and Nate were tangled in each other, Nate's shirt half off. Or at least that's how they were until Blair saw the blonde.
"Serena!" Blair sat up in bed, effectively rolling Nate off of her.
"I'm sorry, I..." Serena didn't finish her sentence, just watched the brunette, taking in her dishelved appearance and flushed cheeks. She couldn't help the slight wave of jealousy that came over her and she scrunched her forehead up in confusion. That's new she thought, before brushing it off as jealousy that Blair actually reconciled with Nate and therefore would have someone for the most romantic day of the year.
"It's okay," Blair said, her eyes never leaving Serena's. "Nate was just leaving."
"I was?" Nate looked confused as he continued buttoning up his shirt.
"You were," Blair stated.
He looked confused but got dressed anyway and Serena waited until he had left to make her way over to the bed. She was kind of glad for the new aspect of their relationship since she'd convinced Blair to stay a month ago. Since then, Blair had been much more emotionally and physically available than she ever had, even before all the drama of Serena going off to boarding school.
"Chuck asked me to give you a kiss, but I'm sure Nate already took care of that," Serena said, laying down next to Blair.
Blair rolled her eyes. "Chuck Bass does not know when to quit. So what brings you here?"
"Dan dumped me."
"What? Please don't tell me it was for Docu-girl and her neon leggings."
Serena shrugged. She knew it was true, but it wasn't a big deal. Vanessa was gorgeous after all, Blair had said so herself.
"It's not a big deal."
"It's not a big deal!?" Blair's eyes went wide, staring at Serena incredulously. "Humphrey dumps you a week before Valentine's for Docu-girl from Williamsburg and you say it's not a big deal? Maybe his sanity shouldn't be the only one in question."
Serena smiled at Blair's reaction. "Really, Blair. I mean, yes, I'm alone again on Valentine's Day, but what's new?" Serena's tone undermined her previous statement and Blair picked up on it, but decided not to say anything.
"Well, look at it this way," she said with a smile. "At least you're not slumming it anymore."
Now it was Serena's turn to roll her eyes. "That's exactly what Chuck said."
"S, come on," Blair whined, trying to pull the girl out of bed.
"Ungh." Serena buried her head into the pillow in an attempt to drown Blair out. She absolutely did not want to leave the warmth of the bed and thought about spending the whole day there.
"Serena van der Woodsen, if you don't get out of this bed right now, you're going to have to deal with a very pissed off Blair for the rest of the day."
Serena couldn't help but laugh at Blair speaking in third person, picturing Blair standing there with her arms crossed, glaring at her. She rolled over to be greeted with that exact vision and laughed even harder. "I'm up. I'm up."
"So remind me again why I'm helping you get ready for your date instead of sleeping?" Serena said as Blair changed into another outfit.
"Because you love me," Blair stated matter-of-factly. "Because you're my bestie and that's what besties do. So how does this look."
Serena let her eyes roam over Blair's frame. "Fantastic. Gorgeous. Perfect, even," she said as she stepped behind the girl, resting her chin on the brunette's shoulders. "Just like the one before and the ten before that."
"Ugh, Serena!" Blair's voice was nearly a whine and she stomped her foot petulantly. "You are no help at all."
"Blair, it's perfect. You're perfect." She wrapped her arms around the girl and squeezed gently. "Whatever you wear, Nate's going to love because you're wearing it."
Blair smiled and relaxed into the blonde's arms, a realization dawning on her. "Thank you."
"Chuck, do you ever leave?" Serena asked when she stepped into her suite. She'd spent the past five hours helping Blair pick out an outfit, only to have the girl use the very first one she tried. They then did her makeup and finished a few other preparations before Serena headed home. Now all she wanted to do was crash into her own bed and eat ice cream while watching some sappy romantic comedies.
"I thought I'd check on you, see if you wanted to go out. Wouldn't want you locked in the house on the most romantic day of the year, sis," Chuck said, trademark Bass smile plastered on his face. "Also wouldn't want Humphrey to come out the best from the break-up."
"Between you and Blair, I don't know who is worse! This isn't a competition. There's no winning or losing! Don't you have to help Nate prepare for his date? Oh wait, that's right. He's not talking to you because you fucked his girlfriend behind his back!"
"Oh please! You fucked him behind his girlfriend's back so don't act all innocent. We're really not that different, you know."
"Chuck, please. Just leave." She stood there, staring at him as if she was daring him to say something. He stood there silent for a long while, finally shaking his head and leaving.
Serena reached the bottom of her ice cream bowl about the time that Mark brought his flashcards to Juliet, proclaiming his love for her. Tears welled up in her eyes, not only from the movie, but thinking about her life. This had always been her tradition with Blair. Back before drama and boys - well, not really boys because there was always Chuck and Nate - they spent their Valentine's Day together, curled in Blair's spacious bed with chocolate and sappy movies, followed by Blair's declaration that she wanted a love like that and Serena's declaration that love like that didn't really exist. She was 17 years old and it was feeling more and more like the truth.
She hit pause when she heard a knock on the door, racking her brain to figure out who it could be. Everyone she knew was with someone, even Eric who was seeing a movie with Jenny. She pulled her robe around her, tying it shut as she pulled the door open.
"Blair?" She questioned, stunned to see the brunette at her door. "Don't you..."
"I cancelled," Blair said nonchalantly, cutting Serena off.
"I...you...wha..." Serena stumbled over her words, unsure of what to even say. Or maybe ask. "Why? I just spent..."
"I know. You just spent all day helping me get ready for my date with Nate and now I'm not going. I had some place better to be." She paused and Serena still had not moved or spoken. "Serena, are we just going to stand here all night?"
Blair tapped her foot impatiently. The truth was, after spending all day with Serena, the thought of a Valentine's date with Nate wasn't nearly as exciting as it had been. And if she was honest with herself, it was always that way.
The sight of an impatient Blair seemed to set Serena into motion. "Yeah, of course, come in! I just...sorry. Shock I suppose," she said, stepping out of the way.
Blair laughed as she brushed past Serena. She, too, would have never imagined that she'd be blowing off her Valentine's Day with Nate to be with Serena, but then again, it made perfect sense. She had the blonde hair, the blue eyes, and the uneasiness with the life the Upper East Side provided. Serena was just a female Nate - a much blonder and prettier Nate - so of course she'd end up falling for her.
The End