Novels by Cecily von Ziegesar: Gossip Girl You Know You ... - Weebly

dancing at this crazy place in Brooklyn.”
Nate raised his eyebrows in surprise. But then again, nothing
Serena said should have surprised him anymore.
“So, you want to dance?” Serena asked. She put her arms around
Nate’s neck before he answered, and began to swing her hips from
side to side.
Nate glanced at Blair, who was watching them carefully, and
collected himself. “Look, Serena,” he said, taking a step back and
removing her arms. “I really can’t . . . you know . . . be friends . . .
not like the way we were before,” he began.
Serena gazed into his eyes searchingly, trying to read his true
thoughts. “What did I do?” she said. “Did I do something?”
“Blair is my girlfriend,” Nate continued. “I have to . . . I have to be
loyal to her. I can’t . . . I can’t really be . . .” He swallowed.
Serena crossed her arms over her chest. If only she could hate Nate
for being so cruel and so lame. If only he weren’t so good-looking.
And if only she didn’t love him.
“Well, I guess we should stop talking then,” she said. “Blair might
get mad.” She let her arms fall to her sides and turned abruptly
away.
As she crossed the room, Serena’s eyes met Blair’s. She stopped in
her tracks and reached into her bag, searching for the twenty-dollar
bill Blair had left on the table at the Tribeca Star. She wanted to give
it back. As if, somehow, it would prove she hadn’t done anything
wrong. That night, or ever. Her fingers found her cigarettes instead.
She pulled one out and stuck it between her lips. The music was
getting louder and around her, people were dancing. Serena could
feel Blair watching her, and her hands trembled as she fumbled
around in her bag for a light. As usual, she didn’t have one. She
shook her head in annoyance, and glanced up at Blair. And then,
instead of glaring at each other, the two girls smiled.
It was strange smile, and neither girl knew what the other meant by
it.
Was Blair smiling because she had won the boy in the end and
stamped all over Serena’s party shoes? Because—as usual—she
had gotten her way?
Was Serena smiling because she felt uncomfortable and nervous?
Or was she smiling because she hadn’t stooped to Blair’s petty level
of spreading nasty rumors and playing with Nate’s mind?
Or was it a sad smile because their friendship was over?
Maybe they were smiling because they both knew deep down that
no matter what happened next—no matter what boy they fell in or
out of love with, or what clothes they wore, or what their SAT scores
were, or which college they got into—they both would be all right.