01X02,

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I bet you're wondering what Gossip Girl is doing up so early? The truth is: I never went to bed. Why waste precious time dreaming, when waking life is so much better? Is there really anything better than a lazy Sunday? Reading the paper in bed, sipping coffee, scrambling an egg or two? Yeah, right. We Upper East Siders don't do lazy. Breakfast is brunch, and it comes with champagne, a dress code, and a hundred of our closest friends. And enemies. Chuck and Ellie's dad, Bart Bass, is hosting the annual brunch for his foundation. Everyone is invited. Well, not everyone.

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thefirstSunday of every month more than she hated peanut butter. Her father - the elusive Bartholomew Bass - had made it a priority to hold a brunch for the family's closest friends and family, but in reality, he used said brunch to build a name for his children in their world, as well as make his own connections. Ellie was tired of the monotonous routine that Bart had often pulled her into as a whim to gather more clients for himself by making Ellie believe that by falling into his trap, all she was doing was being a good daughter. It was an ugly truth, but all Bart wanted from Ellie was to 'befriend' the sons and nephews of prominent business clients.

And speaking of high - profile events in the Upper East Side, the Kiss On The Lips was a complete disaster. It might have been a success in the terms of being one of the most talked about events that weekend, but it had also brought nothing but chaos in the lives of those who attended. The friendship between Serena Van Der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf had suffered yet another blows. Chuck Bass had set his sights on Jenny Humphrey, and ended up with a black eye from her brother Dan, but the most scandalous of it all had been when Nate Archibald walked in on Ellie locking lips with her teacher.

Ellie pretended as if what happened was a result of the drugs that Nate had done, while Isaac cowered away into the first cab that he saw. She ignored Nate's constant text messages and calls, and even took the Liberty of switching her off phone off while she tried her best to focus on getting back into Blair's good books. Blair's anger was understandable. She had thrown a fit when she learned that Ellie knew about Serena and Nate, and chose not to tell her anything. She had also banished Ellie from the Waldorf Penthouse the night before, but had resulted in preferring the silent treatment as she had already lost more than enough people.

The girls were seated in Blair's living room served with a variety of baked treats for breakfast, and on courtesy of Blair, an iced cold pot of silent treatment for Ellie. "Okay, B. I thought that we were done with the silent treatment?" Unsurprisingly enough, they were indeed not done with the silent test enemy and they wouldn't have been for a while, at least not until Ellie made a good point on why she should have been forgiven. She disappointingly sighed and reached forward for a croissant, until Blair smacked her hand away. At least that was an improvement, they had even made eye contact. Blair pursed her lips, "No food for the traitors."

"At least you're talking to me," Ellie spoke too soon as the minute she had done so, Blair went back to frustratingly flipping through the pages in her magazine. Fed up with everything that had happened around her, Ellie snatched the magazine and gave her a look, "Blair. For the thousandth time, I am sorry. I apologised when I got here, I apologised when we watched 13 Going 30. And when it was over. I also apologised before we went to bed."

Blair's expression softened, "You still lied to me."

"I know but I was caught between a rock and a hard place. I love you and I know how much it hurt when your mom and dad divorced, I didn't want you to feel any pain again." Ellie admitted. She knew how to take accountability, but at the same time, she wanted Blair to realize that she was not the villain in whatever happened. She was just a girl who was caught up in between three of the people who she cared for the most in the world. She reached forward, her hands moving past the cart of food that Dorota brought for the girls and extended her hand to place above Blair's. She gave it a slight squeeze, "I'm sorry, Blair. I'm truly am."

Blair's entire reputation of becoming 'Queen B' was built on the foundation of status, and the fear of what she would do if anyone crossed her. She wanted to get back at Ellie and make her realize how much she had actually hurt her - if she dug hard enough, she would have found an embarrassing picture of the Bass at cheer camp a couple of years ago - but she couldn't. Above everything else, the only person that Blair had in her life who would love her unconditionally was Ellie. Her expression softened and she released a deep breath that she hadn't realised that she had been holding, "You're too nice for your own good, E. I forgive you, but only because I already lost one best friend last night, I can't lose another."

"I promise that you won't lose me. We're soul sisters."

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well in Ellie's life again after the heart - to - heart she shared with Blair that morning, not counting the fact that Nate still knew about Isaac, but she was content with the outcome. At least Blair was no longer mad at her. Kati and Isabel joined the duo and went on with breakfast, gossiping about the night's events and laughter echoed through the penthouse. The only thing that made Ellie uncomfortable was when Kati opened up Isaac's page on Facebook and gushed over how swoon-worthy he actually was, if they looked past his boring monologue at the beginning of each class. Blair looked away from the assortment of dresses that her mother had left for the Bass Brunch and turned to her friends with a scowl on her face, "Serena had better just stay away," she muttered, her words directed at Ellie as she sat down. She reached for some fruits and gave her housekeeper a grateful smile, "Thank you, Dorota."

"Yeah, thanks."

"We love sleeping at Blair's."

Ellie refused to judge people too soon, but Isabel and Kati had been in her life since forever, so it was normal of her to form an opinion on them. Whenever they opened their mouths, all Ellie heard was a repetition of what Blair says but in their own words. Or they sucked up to Blair with empty compliments. Sure, the Waldorf Penthouse was decorated by fine interior designers who had picked out the best load of furniture and catalogs, but the minions had been to Blair's home more than enough to not be bedazzled by all of the works. She subtly rolled her eyes, "I wonder why."

"I don't even want to see her at school, and she better not show up at brunch," Blair deadpanned, shifting her attention to Ellie. "Can't you get your dad to ban her from coming? Tell him that she has a contagious disease called the 'lying, backstabbing whore'."

Blair's words were certainly colourful enough to add a bit of amusement to Ellie's face. The Bass took a sip of her orange juice and shrugged her shoulders, "Can't. Unfortunately, the only voice that Bart listens to is his own. Besides, I doubt she'd come."

Kati narrowed her eyes at Blair, "You're really mad at Serena."

Isabel nodded. Her brown orbs widened in terror, "I hope you never get that mad at us."

Blair shook her head, "Well, you would never do what Serena did."

Kati and Isabel shared a confused look with each other. Neither Blair or Ellie let them in on Serena's most recent escapade that caused her to lose her friendship, and place within their clique. All they had heard the previous night was hushed whispers between Blair and Ellie, most of which had been Blair badmouthing the blonde, but neither Kati or Isabel wanted to go against the Waldorf.

"No, never." Kati agreed.

Isabel nodded, "Of course not."

Blair stood up from her seat with a smile on her face. If she had pretended long enough that Serena was the only one to blame, she would accept it. She wanted to turn her childhood dream of Nate being her Prince Charming and them living in a gorgeous townhouse with their two children and a golden retriever a reality, all that she needed to do was pretend. "I wonder if Nate remembered brunch. It would be so wrong of me to show up without my boyfriend whom I love and who loves me."

She held her phone in her hand, brown eyes following every name listed in her contact list before she found her boyfriends. Nate knew that Blair and Ellie were together, and if Blair called him, he would want to talk to Ellie and the last thing that Ellie wanted was to talk to Nate. She wanted to avoid him as much as possible, or at least until brunch started. She pushed herself up from her seat and sighed, "And that's my cue.I'll see you guys at brunch. Look pretty."

"I always do."

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taxi cab came to a stop in front of the Palace Hotel. Ellie reached in her purse to pay the driver, before she got out and immediately regretted it. Nate, Chuck and some guy dressed in brown jacket and worn out jeans attracted attention to the scene that they made in front of the hotel. "Trash? Look man, I live in Brooklyn. Alright. Not the Ozarks. No offense to the Ozarks. But don't you think we're taking this class warfare thing way too far?"

As if there was anything wrong with Brooklyn when it had some of the best apartments and houses located within its neighbourhoods. Ellie walked towards them to prevent a fight from breaking out - although Nate had done a good job already by holding Chuck back - and narrowed her eyes between the three boys, "What's with the scene in front of my hotel?" silence. "Chuck? Do you really want to be pictured on TMZ looking like that?"

Chuck's black eye was unmissable, and if Ellie was right, it had something to do with his actions toward Jenny Humphrey at the Kiss On The Lips. Truthfully speaking, if whoever did not hit Chuck for what he did, she would done so herself. Nate nodded in agreement and placed his hand on Chuck's chest, slightly pushing him away from Dan. "Ellie's right. Let's just go."

Chuck broke free out of Nate's grasp, stepping up to him with a finger accusingly pointed, "You told me to suck it up for Serena's reputation. If anyone has a reason to kick his ass, it's you."

Nate shook his head, "It's not warfare. Not here."

He made an attempt to pull the Bass away from Dan, but Chuck turned away. He glared at Dan once more, proving that if looks could kill, the Humphrey would have been more than six feet under. "It's not over," he warned, pushing Nate away from him as he walked back into the hotel.

"Hey, anytime man. That one black eye looks a little lonely," Dan called out, embarrassing himself a bit as an elderly coupled looked at the boy in confusion.

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indeed outdone himself with the brunch. Even Chuck seemed to let go off the scowl on his face and enjoy the time with his friends. The group of them sat at a table on their own, giggling and laughing like the teenagers that they were without a cloud of darkness above their head. But that was not going to last for too long because peacefulness was not a constant thing in the Upper East Side.

Ellie played with her orange juice while she tuned out the conversation between Kati, Isabel and Blair. She felt Nate's eyes quite literally burning into her soul, and she tried the hardest to avoid him. He would ask too many questions. He would try to make her see sense without realising how genuinely happy she was with Isaac. He had even tried his hardest to earn Ellie's attention, but whenever their eyes would meet, she would look away and pretend as if he was just a mosquito.

From the corner of the eye, Ellie noticed two figures at the entrance of the dining hall. Serena and Dan Humphrey - the guy with the hideous sense of fashion, and Chuck's newest enemy. Ellie shut her eyes in annoyance and pressed the bridge of her nose with her fingers, "There goes my hope for a peaceful Sunday." She muttered, while the others followed her gaze.

Blair dryly smiled, "You have got to be kidding me,"

"This should be fun," Chuck piped in

Looks like Chuck and Blair showed up with quite an appetite. For destruction, that is.

It was easy to ignore the presence of Manhattans most unusual pairing, but neither Chuck nor Blair could do so. They were fuelled with vengeance towards their respective rival, while Nate could barely keep his eyes off of Serena. The atmosphere between Ellie and her friends had quickly turned sour, and she decided to excuse herself from the awkwardness under the pretence of getting more fruit. She walked to the food table and grabbed a plate, but before she could even grab anything, her father gently grabbed her arm to earn her attention. "Can you tell me why your brother has a black eye?" Bart's voice sent chills down Ellie's spine. He released his grip on her arm and raised his eyebrows expectantly with his arms crossed against his chest.

"He walked into a door."

It was the oldest lie in the book, and Bart had undoubtedly seen through it, but Ellie did not want her brother to face the wrath of their father. The older Bass shook his head and scoffed,

"I'm not buying that nonsense. As the only sensible one from the two of you, I expected you to at least keep an eye on Chuck." He lectured. Ellie felt her heart sink. More than anything, she wanted for Bart to see her as his daughter and not as a babysitter for Chuck, or a bargaining chip in his business deals. She was one of the rare people in the world who had loved Bart Bass unconditionally despite knowing what an awful human being he was. Ellie shrugged her shoulders, "I'm his sister, Dad, not his babysitter."

Bart nodded, "Fine. Can you at least put in the effort to make a good impression?" He sucked in a deep breath and subtly gestures to the amount of well known faces situated in the dining room, "The entire reason why I plan these things are for you and Chuck to make connections. It's about your future, Elizabeth."

"I know. I spoke to Rachel Caswell from Caswell and Associates. She was very impressed by my pitch and even offered me a summer internship but-"

"Leave the business to the professionals. Bass Industries are in the process of closing in a deal with the Shepherds. I invited them, but Tom is a bit skeptical. They have a son, Logan. He must be here somewhere."

Why did Ellie even bother to make an impression on Bart? He would never see her as an independent woman who might turn out to be an even better businessperson than he ever was. Bart's stamp of approval mattered to her, and Ellie had to earn it in any way possible. She forced a smile, "Okay. I'm on it." She replied. Bart's plan was easy. All Ellie had to do was date the son of any prospective businessman, or woman, long enough for Bart to seal the deal. He had used Ellie as his pawn even since she turned fourteen.

Bart smirked, or at least did something that could have considered a smirk, and placed a kiss on her forehead. "That's my girl."

Ellie watched her father walk away from her, before her eyes wandered across the room for any sign of the Shepherd's, but what she did not expect was for Nate to show up at her side and offer her a glass of champagne. She gave him a grateful smile and drowned the entire drink. Nate chuckled, "That looked fun."

She nodded. "Extremely. My dad wants me to find a husband."

Huh? Nate wondered. His eyebrows creased in confusion, but then again, nothing surprised him about the Bass' anymore. He sighed and nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, "Your dad sucks." He commented. Ellie nodded without hesitation, "Tell me something I don't know."

They faded into a comfortable silence as they stood together. Nate knew that he had to address the elephant in the room in some way, but he wanted to do so in a way where he would make Ellie feel comfortable enough to disclose everything to him. He wanted him to trust him unconditionally. He licked his bottom lip and moved closer to her, "El? Are we not going to talk about what I saw last night?"

Ellie jabbed a manicured nail at him, "You saw nothing," she stated, moving her hand away. She nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders, "You were drunk, and maybe a little high on something. You were hallucinating."

Nate rolled his eyes. He would have found her evasive ways hilarious if it had been in any other situation but the more Ellie avoided the topic, the more he wanted to pry. "El, I saw you kissing a teacher. That wasn't me hallucinating."

Ellie pursed her lips, "It's complicated, Nate."

Nate dryly chuckled, "Complicated is my middle name."

Ellie sighed. There was no doubt in her mind that she could trust the Archibald. They knew each other ever since they were children, and he was Saint Nate – he never did anything wrong. But the thought of Nate judging her like how she had done him when he told her about Serena made Ellie's heart ache. She could not stand the thought of him seeing her as a bad human being.

"We met on the flight from London. He did not I was his student and I didn't know that he was my teacher. It – it wasn't planned, Nate. I swear." She explained the origins of her forbidden love story to the Archibald. She sighed, "Look, you can't tell anyone about Isaac and I."

Nate scoffed, the idea of Ellie referring to their teacher by his first name becoming more ridiculous to him. He narrowed his eyes at the brunette, "Ellie, he is our teacher. It's wrong." He stated in a matter-of-fact way.

Despite feeling like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, Ellie hated the way Nate had looked at her. He was silently judging, and the visible disappointment in his eyes made Ellie aware that the image of perfection that Nate had of her was broken.

"And Serena was your girlfriends best friend when you slept with her,"

Ellie immediately regretted what she said to Nate when she saw the look on his face. She did not want to hurt him, but her biggest flaw was hiding from her mistakes by shifting the blame onto other people.

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that the parties in the Upper East Side had a curse put on them: it was supposed to end in tears, drama and controllable heartache. Serena's arrival at Eleanor's party, and the events that transpired at the Kiss On The Lips caused Ellie to jump to that conclusion.