01X01,

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Hey Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl here, and I have the biggest news ever. One of my many sources, Melanie91, sends us this: Spotted at Grand Central, bags in hand: Serena Van Der Woodsen. Was it only a year ago our 'It Girl' disappeared for quote 'boarding school'? And just as suddenly, she's back. Don't believe me? See for yourselves. Lucky for us, Melanie91 sent proof. Thanks for the photo, Mel!

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ELIZABETH HAD SEEN IT ALL.

Glamorous parties planned by New Yorks finest elite, classical music choreographed by a man pushing forties and a receding hairline, and food that looked too aesthetically pleasing to be eaten. And yet, Elizabeth was taken aback by how far Eleanor Waldorf went with the preparations for that evening. There was something about a 'Waldorf Party' that gave the press a field day. Celebrities. Socialites. Even descendants of French aristocrats had been invited to what Eleanor would like to call a 'soirée'.

Elizabeth had learned early on in her life that the only thing that mattered about a person was their last name, and a place like the Upper East Side, names mattered the most. Van Der Bilt, Bass, Archibald, Waldorf, and the Van Der Woodsen's were some of the families that yielded the highest point on the hierarchy of wealth and status, as they were the ones normally featured on the front pages of gossip magazines, while their children were featured on the teenaged-counterpart of magazines and newspapers, a gossip site named 'Gossip Girl', whose identity had yet to be revealed.

The blog had been dedicated to the destruction of nepotism babies social lives, and had found an easy target on the students of Constance Billiard and St. Judes School for Boys, as said schools were two of the most prestigious private high schools in the neighbourhood. Gossip Girl had been tame with their posting because nothing remotely interesting ever happened apart from the time Katie Parker from ninth grade had her period and her friends had sent a picture of her in her Hello Kitty underwear to the site something that Elizabeth had not taken lightly. She was normally not a cruel person that was Blair's forte but she was also not someone who would watch another person get bullied. It was her kindness and compassion, something that was rare with the girls at Constance, that earned her the nickname 'Princess E' from Gossip Girl.

She held onto a glass of non-alcoholic champagne while her head bobbed to every sentence that the woman in front of her spoke. Ellie barely recognised the lady, but according to Eleanor who introduced them, she was the wife of one of the professors at Yale University. "Yale is a lovely school," the lady grinned, dark red lipstick stuck onto her front teeth. The more she spoke, the more Ellie contemplated on telling her that she had an outfit malfunction, but she seemed snobbish enough to flex her superiority at every chance she got, "Take it from me, Darling. You can never go wrong with an Ivy League. Look at me. My husband is an alumni from Yale, and now he's one of the Dean's best professors. Not to mention, the pay is quite good."

Trophy wife. That was the exact vibe that Ellie got from the woman - a socialite who made a name for herself by spending her husbands money on lavish parties filled with affluent families. Ellie forced a tight - lipped smile, although if anyone walked past them, they would have never doubted her true intentions. "My father is an alumni as well, and he hopes for my brother and I to follow in his footsteps," Ellie allowed for her brown eyes to subtly travel around the room in search for an escape plan and she found it in none other than Chuck. "Would you excuse me for a moment?"

Ellie had never been more grateful for her brother and his disgusting manners in that moment than she had been in her entire life. Chuck had propped himself on the linen couch that the Waldorfs had imported from Europe, which had been ironically positioned closest to the open bar. Chuck had Kati Farkas and Isabel Coates on either side of him, and judging from the mischievous glint in his eyes that glimmered as each moment past, Kati and Isabel would be the next victims in his 'little black book' of meaningless hookups. "Chuck," Ellie sounded too much like their father when she addressed her twin, her arms crossed against her chest and eyes boring daggers at her supposed friends.

"How many times have I told you that my friends," Ellie leaned down and roughly removed Chuck's arm from around Kati's waist, "-are off limits?"

"Thousands. Millions," Chuck mimicked. His eyes were bloodshot and he reeked of marijuana and alcohol. "I thought you'd give up by now, knowing that I don't care about what you say."

Ellie bit the insides of her cheeks, her jaw slightly clenched and nostrils flared. She was envious of Chuck, and his nonchalant lease on life. He was able to do the things that Ellie would be scrutinised for if the roles was reversed but then again, there was more of an expectation from her than there was for Chuck. Bart had sculpted Ellie into the female version of himself: smart, daring, and ambitious. He expected more from Ellie because she had always been the one to make him proud.

Ellie turned her attention to Kati and Isabel. "Imagine what Blair would say if she found out you two are fraternising with my brother."

"You're not gonna tell her, are you?"

Ellie was not cruel. She had never used peoples' secrets against them, but Blair was her best friend and there was a spoken rule between their clique to never fall into Chuck Bass' evil clutches. All Chuck would do was worm his way into their hearts, and their beds, and disregard them as if they were objects in the end. Chuck snickered. "She wouldn't. My sister is just another one of Blair's followers, the lesser Blair."

The Bass Twins had a complicated relationship. Everyone who had known the infamous duo, were witnesses to how sour their relationship could get but how far they would go to protect each other. Chuck infuriated Ellie to the point where she often booked herself a weekend vacation to Mexico in order to get away him, and vice versa. Despite the taunts and insults, and the dozens of au pairs that they had when they were younger, Chuck and Ellie only had each other left in their lives, because Bart wasn't even a good father.

Ellie released a deep breath that she did not realize that she had been holding in and rolled her eyes, a sarcastic smile forming over her thin lips. "At least I have direction. Look at you, Chuck, you're a stoner with no future."

Before Chuck could respond with an insult of his own, Blair had walked towards the group with a determined look on her face. She placed her hand around Ellie's wrist and tugged, "E. Can I borrow you for a sec?" She asked. She did not wait for Ellie to give her an answer and had instead yanked Ellie to one of the guest bedrooms downstairs. She shut the door once they were inside and leaned against it, "I think tonight's the night."

Ellie's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "The night for - "

The look on Blair's face - the one where her eyebrows moved and her cheeks turned a shade of crimson - was enough for Ellie to put the prices together: it was the night where Blair Waldorf planned to lose her virginity to lifelong boyfriend, Nate Archibald. Nate and Blair were like one of those Disney couples perfectly established by the Walt Disney production team, but there were holes in their relationship that outside world failed to notice. Nate's heart was not in the relationship as it was a year ago, and Blair carried the majority of their relationship on her shoulders while she battled against the shadow of Serena Van Der Woodsen. Even though Nate would have never admitted it to anyone apart from Ellie, his heart had solely belonged to Serena after he lost his virginity to her the night of the Shepherd Wedding.

"That," Ellie's voice trailed off in horror at thought of Blair possibly getting hurt in the process, "Are you sure?"

Blair sat down next to her on the edge of the bed, and took Ellie's hand in hers whilst she gave the Bass a reassuring smile. "Positive. I can't wait for the right moment to come, when I could be waiting forever. I'm going to take the bull by the horns and make our first time unforgettable," she gushed. She started a monologue on what she had planned to do but halfway through her speech, Ellie had zoned off. She thought to six months ago, on one of the stormiest nights in the Upper East Side when Nate had showed up at the Bass Twins' apartment suite at The Palace Hotel and made a dire confession to her. Nate had betrayed Blair in the worst way possible by sleeping with Serena. The Waldorf would be able to forgive their blonde best friend for abandoning the two of them in the time where they had needed her the most, but she would never forgive that sort of betrayal. The only reason why Ellie agreed to be quiet was because Blair had already been through enough with Serena's departure and her parents divorce, that the last thing Ellie wanted was to burden her with the heartbreak.

"You don't seem happy for me," Blair frowned when she trailed off, her hazel-coloured eyes taking in the pale expression on her best friends face. She furrowed her eyebrows, "I just told you something huge, and as my best friend, you're not happy."

"Flashbacks to Carter," Ellie lied. She looked away from Blair and licked her bottom lip, "You never really forget the first person that you sleep with."

Even though Ellie had lied, her words had been true. She had lost her virginity to Carter Baizen - someone in her books was way worse than her own brother - when she was fifteen. He was her first love, her first everything, and she liked to think that she was his as well. It was a cliché story of the bad boy who wanted to be good for one girl, and despite the change in his behaviour when they were together, Carter had proved that a leopard could never change its spots. Blair sighed and took Ellie's hand in her own, and gave it a slight squeeze as she smiled, "Unless you're Chuck." she remarked.

The girls burst into a fit of laughter, but both had been uneasy. Their life in the Upper East Side, the bubble that they built around their little clique, had been too easy to form. Even when Serena left, and Blair and Ellie only had each other to depend on in their time of need, had things never been that easy for them. Blair stood and walked to the mirror at the vanity table, scrunching her perfect curls and adding another coat of clear gloss to her cherry lips, while Ellie had remained on the bed with her cell phone tightly in her hand. She lounged back with her head in the clouds, mind trailing to far off places before the phones chimed in unison. Ellie sat up with a horrified look on her face, "Please tell me that it's not Gossip Girl," she muttered.

Judging from the look on Blair's face, it was. The girls opened the text message to see words that earned different reactions from the both of them: 'Serena is back' the text read, and below it was the website link to Gossip Girls blog if they needed evidence. "She better not think that things will go back to normal now that she's back," Blair spat.

She turned off her phone and placed it in one of the drawers as she put her best poker face on. She just as surprised as the rest of Manhattan at the revelation that a former best friend was back in the city, but she pretended that it did not have an effect on her. The truth was that Serena's disappearance stung harder than the time Ellie found out that Bart never bought any of her Christmas presents for her, and that it was all Chuck. Serena was the wild child, the one who had brought both Ellie and Blair out of their passionless routine of living life and made even the smallest things seem exciting. The three had been best friends ever since they were young girls, and when one would disappear for a short stint of time, the other two would feel soulless. Imagine how Ellie and Blair felt when they realised that the last time they had seen Serena was on the night of the Shepherd wedding.

Without another a word being said, Ellie and Blair left the guest bedroom in search of different things at the party. They stopped in their position when Eleanor and Jessie Chu of Teen Vogue were in front of them, "I have to design a dress for this woman," they were very much in their own conversation, but every part of it was halted the moment Eleanor had seen how her dress had looked on Blair's body. "Blair, if you're gonna to wear one of my designs tell me about it so we can at least get it properly fitted. Like Elizabeth has, darling, you look divine."

Eleanor was not a bad person, but her choices as a mother was questionable. With her views as one of the most important designers in the fashion industry, she wanted Blair to follow in her footsteps and hopefully take on the catwalk one day. Blair forced a smile, "Thanks, mom. Keep that in mind. Great party."

When Eleanor and Jamie were out of earshot, Blair linked her arm through Ellie's and scoffed, "There's nothing better than criticism from your own mother," she mused, tone half playful and the other half complete with resentment. That was nothing new from Eleanor, but hearing it repeatedly on a continuous basis was sure to cause self-esteem issues for her daughter. Ellie gave Blair a sympathetic smile as they continued walking through the foyer, "She loves you, B. It's just the divorce that's making her act out."

"Sure."

Blair released her grip from Ellie's arm the moment that she had noticed Nate with his father, The Captain, and a Dartmouth alumni, and sauntered toward them. Ellie glanced in her direction and her heart sank at the thought of how Blair's heart would break once she found out the truth. She would be devastated and on a quest for blood, and rightfully so. The Bass turned around and walked back to where her brother was with Kati and Isabel, the two girls shifting further away from Chuck when they noticed her presence. Ellie leaned against the wall but her attention was still on Blair and Nate.

"Jealousy may be a bitch, but staring is creepier." Chuck spoke, a smirk plastered on his face.

Ellie rolled her eyes, "I think all that marijuana you take fried your braincells."

She had expected another taunt from Chuck in his attempt to rattle her, but all he did was snicker and take a sip of his scotch. She watched him, again growing envious of how easy Chuck had lived his life without commitments, and wondered how different hers would have been if she was like him. When Blair and Nate arrived, his cheeks were flustered while Blair's hands tugged at the sleeves of his black jacket, Chuck lifted two fingers up to his lips, "Nathaniel. Any interest in some fresh air?"

Nate motioned to Blair, "When I get back?"

He briefly met Ellie's gaze, his expression softened when he realised how hard it was for him to get back in her good books. He always hated when they fought. From their entire group of friends, Nate and Ellie were the ones with the longest friendship. They met on the first day of kindergarten and became friends after Ellie tripped and hurt her knee during play time and Nate had kissed it to make it better. Ellie had, in turn, gave Nate the blue ribbon she had tied around her brown ponytail as a token of everlasting friendship between the both of them, and ever since, they were inseparable.

"If he gets back," Blair boasted, pulling Nate into the guest bedroom with her while Ellie watched them disappear. Even if Blair found out the truth, she would have to live with the lie that Nate, Serena and Ellie had been keeping from her for over a year. She felt like a hypocrite for knowing the truth, and even worse for keeping it from Blair, but the last thing she wanted was to see her hurt.

Ellie was normally not a drinker, but after knowing what Blair had planned, she reached for a glass of Scotch in Chuck's hand and took a massive gulp out of it, ignoring the fiery warmth that sunk down her throat. When their phones chimed, as well as those of every other teenager in the Upper East Side who had known who Gossip was, Ellie's nerves grew even more. She did not bother to check her phone, because she already knew what the blast was about.

Kati pulled her phone out of her bag, "My God," she gaped, her eyes widening when she saw the image of Serena's arrival at Grand Central, - you won't believe what's on Gossip Girl."

"-someone saw Serena getting off a train at Grand Central," Isabel finished, the surprised expression on her face matching the one on Kati's. Chuck took another glass of alcohol from the waiter, dipped his finger inside and hummed, "Good, things were getting a little dull around here."

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likedto think that she was a patient person, although everyone who had surrounded her in life would beg to differ. While the party had carried on, the music heading into the genre that made Ellie want to rip her ears off, she walked down the hallway with a non-alcoholic drink in her hand - which was alcoholic, courtesy of Dorota - and felt her patience wear thin. The blast on Serena had went out almost half an hour ago, and there had been no sight of the infamous blonde despite her mother, Lily, happily chatting away to a wife of an investment banker.

There was no point in finding Chuck - he would make it his life's mission to irk Ellie to the point where she would want to pull her brown hair off of her head - and Blair and Nate were still 'busy' in the guest bedroom. Ellie found a place to herself in the corner of the living room near the fireplace, one hand wrapped around her glass of champagne while the other held her phone. She noticed some of the middle - aged men, the ones dressed in fancy suits and receding hairlines, look her up and down and she cringed, they were the one who worked with her father and some had even watched her grow up. Disgusting.

"Elizabeth," Eleanor's voice looked from a distance.

Ellie turned around and her eyebrows knitted in curiosity at her voice being called. When Eleanor stood in front of her, she smiled and wrapped her arms around Ellie's shoulders in a protective manner as she had done ever since Ellie was a young girl, "Have you seen Blair? I've been searching her but I can't seem to find her anywhere. Serena's here and-"

"-Serena? She's here?"

Ellie hoped that she heard wrong, she hoped that she heard a name that rhymed with 'Serena' and not the name of the Van Der Woodsen. She knew that Serena's arrival to the Waldorf Penthouse was imminent, but she hoped that there would be at least another day of calm.

Eleanor nodded. "She's talking to her mother. You should go see her. I remember how close you girls were,"

Ellie forced a smile, "Sure."