WARNINGS: MENTION OF MENTAL HEALTH, SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND PAEDOPHILIA

"IT wasn't me who told GG before you fucking asked," Ginny blurted the moment they reached their courtyard table.

"I know it wasn't you, the centre is out in the open anyone was bound to see me. I think my mom was hoping for that. Probably to humble me. #weakwinnie was trending all last week and I can't deal with it." she hadn't taken off her shades since they stepped foot onto campus.

Usually, the stares didn't bother her, she preferred being desired and hated for it, over this. She felt weak under their eyes and what better way to avoid it all by concealing hers.

Ginny flipped off or cursed out anyone who whispered anything as they walked past but it didn't help much so she suggested,

"You could always let me send that picture of you and your scissor sister."

Winnie was quick to shoot that down, "No, she's already blowing up my –" she sighed when she saw the girl in question near, "fuck."

Monet set her bag on the table and begrudgingly greeted the blonde, "Wellington."

"De Haan," Ginny then looked between them seemingly amused by the sheer awkwardness of it all.

Winnie was silent and didn't look up, like a wounded animal in the jungle. It was an image that she should capture, but she risked being shot or worse, blocked.

Monet cleared her throat as she briskly sat down close to her potential partner.

"Are you planning on ignoring me or are we going to speak like we're together? Like I thought we were?" she huffed when she was met with silence, "I have a meeting in 20 so can you just talk to me."

Winnie exhaled sharply and shot the blonde a look, "Fine, Gin –"

"Don't worry, I'm off, got more interesting people to meet," Ginny quipped standing from the table and waving them off.

"Cute," Monet and Winnie chorused, watching as the blonde strutted further out of sight.

Winnie rolled her shoulders back as she stared out across the courtyard, avoiding Monet's penetrating gaze, "Are you sure you want to be seen with me? You might catch a physiological disease, best to bring out a mask, it's airborne."

"Oh stop it, I've been seeing therapists since I was 5," Monet informed softly.

"Yes, but therapy isn't for me," Winnie's response earned her a scoff.

"It's for everyone, you have to give it a go, it's a necessity."

Winnie shot her an annoyed glance, "I'm missing tennis for it."

"Oh," that puts a few things into perspective for the De Haan teen.

She knew how much pent-up emotion flooded Winnie and why sport was a great release and without that, god knows what could happen. It wouldn't be a pretty sight.

"Yes oh, it's a punishment Mon," Winnie finally turned to face her.

"You could've said. I wasn't blowing up your phone to worry you," Monet discreetly grabbed her hand under the table, squeezing it a few times, "I was checking in. I know you're pissed."

"More than that."

"But so am I, why didn't you say?" Monet was getting tired of the secrets they didn't share.

"So you can break from this?" Winnie gestured between them, sounding almost nervous and stared at her imploringly as she took off her sunglasses.

Monet's eyes softened before she spoke tenderly, "If mental health scared me, I would've divorced my parents the moment I got my first iPhone."

"But you seem worried," the Dubois heiress rushed out. Every time her phone rang throughout the weekend it only made her feel anxious and she sure as hell wasn't going to call Dr Anchor about it. "Is this because of the therapy thing? Tell me the truth."

"oh, so you want to be truthful?" Monet joked but relented when she was met with a deadpan expression, "Got it no time for jokes. Mental health has been in since Lindsay went to rehab. I don't care."

"I do," Winnie stressed as her available hand fidgeted with her skirt.

"It's good for your brand and your mind," Monet saw the headlines over the last couple of days, both positive and negative, but all publicity was good publicity.

She knew Calvin Klein still wanted her girl a representative and sure it might've not been for what they originally thought but it was good.

"Great." Winnie mustered up a smile, which faded when she saw Luna, Audrey and Julian standing across the courtyard, the latter with two coffees in her hand and an expectant expression coating her face. "Looks like the woke parade has arrived, why are they looking over here, don't they hate you?"

Monet subtly shuffled away, "You'd like that don't you?"

Winnie missed her touch, but knew it was necessary, "Use those nails if they try and attack," she advised as Monet stood up, bag in hand.

"It'll be civil."

"It better not me," she saw Monet stifle a laugh but she wasn't joking, "I'm serious, don't go back because they're waving the white flag."

"Okay," Monet shrugged her off.

"Monet," Winnie whisper-yelled, eying Julian in disdain, thinking about the deadly bomb that would have her family destroyed for years.

Monet shot her a small smile before leaving, "Bye, honey."

"Fuck for sake."

━

The last place Winnie wanted to be was in selective physics and sat anywhere near Max who had been giving her sympathetic looks for the last 20 minutes, which made her want to violently stub the ends of her stilettos into his eyes.

But she went for the calmer action and took out her phone to distract her from doing so.

But her irritation level skyrocketed after seeing the text Ginny just sent her.

From: Gin
looks like your girl has
been accepted back into
her tedious squad. max just
told me and before you ask, I
blocked him on everything.
he cornered me in person. so
now can we release the picture?

She shakily slid her phone into her pocket and took a deep breath, before shooting her hand into the air, aware that if she kept walking out of class her parents would be called and she didn't need their terrifying presence on her back.

"Winifred," the teacher sighed when he saw her hand.

A few students turned to glance at her before returning to their work.

"I'm dying from my crippling cramps. I have to go to the bathroom," she breathed out and the teacher had no choice but to grant her wish.

She was out of the classroom in seconds, weaving through the crowds of students on their free periods without giving them a chance to move aside for her.

"What the absolute fuck?" She muttered as she roughly pushed open the girls' bathroom and checked the stalls before she pressed Ginny's number. "Are you sure he was sure?"

The blonde hummed, "Call your exclusive hook-up and find out, I have a suggestive biology right now. But check your snap, I sent you something, one of my sophomore minions sent me this. It was taken after you concluded your conversation with her, right?"

"Fuck," Winnie's jaw clenched so hard she was convinced her teeth would snap.

Checking Snapchat, she tapped on Ginny's name and saw the picture of Julian and Monet smiling with Luna and Audrey on either side of them.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

Ginny winced from the other side, "But once you get verbal confirmation..."

"You send that shit quicker than bots."

"Look forward to it. But girl, for your sake I hope I'm wrong."

"So do I."

━

"My Grandmother died? That's the excuse you used to get me out of classics? Everyone's already freaked because of Mr. Predator," Monet clasped her hands together when she joined Winnie in the girl's bathroom.

The Dubois had been pacing for what felt like half an hour when in actuality her dread gripped her tightly and time seemed like it moved very slowly.

"Suitable excuse, your grandmother might be alive but something has died, it's rotting, decaying," She expressed, emotions bursting from her eyes as she gesticulated.

Monet was taken aback by her actions but knew where this was going, she expected it.

"Explain."

Winnie stopped her pace and face her, lips curling in disbelief, "You and Calloway, are you planning on braiding her hair by the fire whilst listening to Victoria fucking Monet?"

"How did you find out?" Monet sighed, eyes darting over the outrage on Winnie's face.

"Is that what you want to ask me? Seriously, Monet, one coffee is all it takes for you and her to get back together."

"Me and her aren't together, we are friends... friendly again yes."

Winnie took several strides to come and stand before Monet, eyes narrowing like a bull to a red piece of fabric.

"How do you think that looks to me? Well other than you turning back into her mammy, you do it the moment you find out I'm getting therapy. I'm already being called weak on every platform I'm on, now you want to jump ship?" Words spat out of Winnie's mouth.

They were coated in hurt, an emotion she hated being familiar with.

Monet could see it, feel it but she couldn't help to say, "You think this has anything to do with you?"

"It has everything to do with me," Winnie seethed, "I thought you weren't going to do this, we had plans." Her eyes went wide as she spoke, "But you threw them out the window like I'm Jennifer Aniston and she's Angelina."

"And what are you to, Miss Airhead? You think she wouldn't drop you? By the flick of a switch?"

"I call the shots. I'm not being pulled around by twists," Winnie spitefully quipped, to which Monet's lips curved up.

"Awww but you love it when I pull on your tracks."

"Easy. That banter isn't for us anymore," Winnie's chest was getting tight and she hated it.

She hated every second of it. Everything felt like it was out of control because it was, not even a tennis racket would give her that power and it's not like she even had that anymore.

"You know my loyalties to Julian," Monet replied fairly.

Winnie scoffed, "And I'm out of this conversation."

Monet held up her hand, "Halt."

Winnie begrudgingly stayed still, "I only stopped because I wanted to. But what is it? How many ways can you disappoint me?" Monet's face dropped, and for a split second, Winnie felt bad. "I'm tired of playing tug of war with little miss 'I wanna be better' Either you pick the winning side or fuck off."

Bitterness clung to Monet's tone like a vice, "The winning side has me on it."

"We'll see, but soon the side you're on will get further tainted," a twisted smile took off the frown on Winnie's face.

"And what do you mean by that?"

Monet was left in a state of agitation and guilt when Winnie swung open.

"Bye honey," Winnie mockingly waved her fingers as she pulled out her phone to text Ginny.

Winnie

Send it now!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
(@gossipgirl tweeted and tagged @slitherWin and @monetdehaan)

And here I thought I'd seen it all. Miss De Haan, I thought you and JC had made up or was that all just a ruse to swap spit with Miss Dubois? Rumour has it they've been playing Romeo and Juliet since COVID came on the scene. What will Monet's friends think when she's keeping their enemy between the sheets? Swapping secrets? Sleepovers? Why not tie the knot and let them become the next royals of the Upper East Side, they've got the influence, and the money, but do they have allies? I doubt Monet has any after this. 
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Are you fucking kidding me, Monet?" Julian expressed, looking extremely hurt.

Monet made a face at her outrage and took her phone to see, "What now?" and that's when she scowled hard at the screen, "Holy fuck."

Luna glanced over their shoulders, "Wait you didn't know?"

Julian's eyes widened in betrayal.

"See what happens when you forgive too easily?" Audrey remarked coming over to the group, with a hesitant Aki in tow.

"Is this why you were sat with her this morning? You said you were getting dirt," Julian pressed a pissed-off Monet.

Luna blinked slowly, "And you believed that?"

"Now that's what Winnie meant when she said she only dated people who looked like her," Max chuckled to himself, uncaring of the glares he received. "Makes sense, and I'm not mad about it, seriously you should try and cash this in as much as... and she's off."

They all watch Monet leave like a woman on a mission.

"I thought this was obvious J," Luna mused as Julian stormed off in the opposite direction. "They're already a hashtag," she spotted ship names flooding her screen.

"Wininet, Monifred, Monnie," Max listed, to the girl whilst Audrey left to pick up the pieces.

Obie strolled over, startled by the update as much as Aki.

"Not bad, they could do better, make them sound less childish," Luna remarked.

"So you're okay with them, with this?" Obie was confused by their complacency.

Max snorted, "Didn't peg you as a homophobe Obs."

"Yeah, it's very unbecoming of you," Luna taunted.

Aki rolled his eyes and swung an arm over Obie's shoulder, "Let's go man."

On the other side of the school, Ginny nudged Winnie with the fattest grin on her face, "Heads up."

Winnie raised her brow when Monet appeared in front of them with a harsh glare directed at her.

Students poured into the hallway to see.

"Leave us," The De Haan said to Ginny, who huffed out a chuckle.

Winnie pouted, shaking her head, "She's staying."

"I'm not I have theatrical chemistry, something that seems to be lacking here," Ginny gestured between the two of them, as she laughed. "But don't yell Monet, Caesar is trained to attack anything that poses a threat. I doubt Winnie could stomach kissing a not-so-pretty face."

"I'll see you later, I just have to deal with my own heiress," Winnie stated as the blonde cheekily waved them goodbye.

"Deal with me? I'm not a dog," Monet snapped, getting in her face, "Are you serious? Why did you do this?"

"It was about time don't you think, I wanted us to go public for months but you were too scared to," Winnie replied, feigning sadness and playing with one of Monet's braids.

Monet swatted her hand away, ignoring the fake shock plastered on her face, "So you outed our entire relationship because I'm friends with Julian? Are you that fucked up?"

It was Winnie's face that dropped this time, causing a revelation to cast over Monet.

She went to correct herself but Winnie didn't allow that to happen, "Don't call me that,"

Monet spared the crowd of people a look, before saying quietly, "That's not what I meant."

"Sure."

"Don't try and twist this. You hurt me," Monet threw up her hands in frustration.

All she wanted was time to sort things out, to get back on track but now that would be on halt because of her.

"And you hurt my interests, so I hurt yours. Come on Mon, you know how I am," so stop expecting me to change.

Monet stiffly nodded, "I do, I just didn't that —"

"I would be this way to you? I was scorned. You betrayed me." A veil of horror laced Winnie's tone.

Monet gawked, "You're being melodramatic."

"You're gaslighting me," Winnie exclaimed, aware of the cameras circulating them.

"You hate that term."

"Because it's overused. People tend to throw it around whenever they sneeze but no, you're dismissing my interests. I don't respond well to that. You know that more than anyone so why play me? For Calloway? What has she done for you to be her little bitch?"

Gasps erupted through the hallway but neither of them paid attention, too trapped in the horror that was their relationship to care anymore.

"Insults? When you want answers?"

"Yes! Because it's the only thing you're responding to." Winnie fiercely retorted, "Minutes have barely passed since that picture was posted and brands have been reaching out to me, about us calling us the supreme sapphics of the eastern seaboard. A power couple that could trample over the likes of Harry and Megan but it's a problem right?"

Monet averted her gaze as she scrambled a response, "It's appealing, but it's not how this was supposed to be done."

"No, you wanted this to remain a secret right? Trapped in the closet," Winnie's words hit like bullets.

"No."

"For a person who preaches about their future, you're interfering with ours. We could be it, but you don't see yourself on top," Winnie's eyes doubled in size as she realised.

But Monet shook her head, "That's not true."

Julian was just more marketable and nicer, she had traction. Monet spent years building her up with Luna to style her every look. Sure she'd thought about being on top and with Julian it was her way to have a slice of the life she envisioned. Away from her parents and with a partner who loved her for her, but she wasn't going to throw away all her hard work for nothing.

"Well, I'll tell you what is. I tell you my goals. I dare to speak about my thoughts, and my emotions and you, go running back to the herd. And I want to know why," Winnie demanded the truth.

Monet couldn't help but feel like prey under her gaze, like an object, not a person. She felt like she had to run to catch up to Winnie's every need. But how was she supposed to do that without being bitten? Scorched from the earth?

So was she running scared or self-preserving?

The crowd turned to Monet in anticipation, dozens of cameras on the girl waiting to hear her response like her words were gospel.

"My self-interests." Was all Monet could say rendering everyone in a state of shock.

But they wanted more, they needed more, just like Winnie who felt like she was stranded on a boat with no oars.

Her phone rang and she used it as an excuse to part the crowd so she could be left alone and so she did, not bothering to look back at Monet whose words cut her like a thousand swords.

"Fuck," she cursed and picked up without seeing who was calling.

She heard a familiar disapproving tone, "I've been away for less than a week and you're already attracting the tabloids. I thought you said you'd keep your private life private?"

Winnie ran a hand over her head, "Everyone knows I'm a Lesbian mother!" she yelled through the phone.

She glared at the people who turned to her as she paced through the corridors to find an empty classroom.

Winnie rarely used the term lesbian to describe herself to her parents because she never officially came out, she didn't believe they deserved to know her as a person. They found out about her sexuality when they caught her with one of the maid's daughters when she was 12. That maid was then fired but that didn't stop Winnie, but she was scared every day until she was 13 to look her parents in the eye. And after that, she kept her hookups discreet, well until now.

"And as much as you want to pray it away it won't work," she gritted, pushing open the door to an empty classroom.

"I don't want to pray it away."

"Sure, and before you say that the shareholders or even Dad has an issue with this –"

"No, your dad is fine."

Her face threatened to light up, "Really?"

"A gay daughter? It'll do wonders with the liberals for his campaign."

"Of course," She drawled, ignoring the blistering pain stabbing at her chest.

She wanted to feel nothing but how could she with all the emotional turmoil in the air?

"But a few shareholders have threatened to pull out," her mother informed/

"Then do something. This isn't up to me. If they're threatened by a teenager they haven't got the balls to be in business with you in the first place. And if they say anything about this, blackmail them. You've done enough already."

She heard laughter in the background, it wasn't mocking which shocked her.

"Goodbye Winifred, come home after school and don't interact with that Calloway girl."

━

Winnie was scrolling through memes that spread like wildfire while sitting on the tennis court.

She hadn't practised since she started therapy and everything fucking sucked, but it was only a school place that felt remotely okay.

She kept scrolling, liking and even retweeting some of them that were solely about her and Monet when Zoya landed in front of her with a basket of cupcakes.

A dry laugh escaped the heiress when she glanced up to see the freshman's apprehensive expression.

"You mad that I was right? That your performative prince wasn't as noble as he was made out to me?" Winnie mocked and placed her phone on her lap.

"You warned me and you were right," Zoya admitted, despite herself.

She gulped harshly wanting to swallow the bile creeping up her throat. Julian and Obie's betrayal felt catastrophic and to have it be exposed when they were all celebrating Thanksgiving made her feel even worse. Since she moved to the Upper West Side, she felt small. Julian's friends made her feel small, just like the school she was studying in and just like every person she met ever since.

She wanted something of her own away from the mess but sometimes she just wished she could go back to Buffalo.

Winnie's unwavering gaze intensified, "No apology?"

Zoya lifted the basket, "Just red velvet cupcakes, your favourite, I saw you post them on your Snapchat."

Winnie eyed them, "These are from Brooklyn cupcakes."

"But they're rated 5 stars by TripAdvisor, I checked and they taste just as good as the Cake Man Raven," Zoya lowered them next to her and carefully sat down.

"Are you buttering me up? For what more info on your deceitful sister?"

Zoya shook her head and carefully looked around. The pair naturally drew people in and although the attention was nice, sometimes she wanted a bit of privacy.

Winnie awaited a response, rolling her eyes at Zoya's scepticism.

"No. not that, just so in the future, if you need anything, nothing immoral or fatal you can ask me," the freshmen offered quietly, drawing a grin and cackle from the heiress.

Zoya wished nothing more than to retract her statement, but to hell with that.

"Is that so? Why?"

Zoya sucked in a deep breath, "You proved to me that although your methods are –"

"-- Royally fucked, I think you said –"

"They're not always misleading and from you, I know what to expect."

"And you don't want me to change?" Winnie asked with narrowed eyes as she picked up one cupcake.

"You're incapable of that," Zoya blurted out, "but I do think therapy is necessary for everyone," that earned a groan, to which she went on, "You're not fucked in the head," she paused, catching a wary expression on her face, "besides it's easier to predict things with you."

"Unlike with Julian right?" One timid nod from Zoya made Winnie more than content.

"And for what it's worth, you and Monet make sense. I don't think she even likes my sister that much."

Winnie didn't have anything to say in response which Zoya wasn't expecting.

But she did hope she had an ally in the Dubois Heiress.

After a moment, Winnie then moved the basket over, "Take a cupcake for your travels, trust me, today will be a bigger mess than you expect."

And with that, she took a bite into her own.

"Why is that?" Zoya asked, cautious but did it regardless.

"Nothing to do with me of course," Winnie slyly smirked, "But you should stay away from your sister. Before she ruins your image."

Before Zoya could ask, their phones went off.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

(@gossipgirl tweeted)

Good morning, followers. Trigger warning. This post will not be pretty. While I usually like to have fun, this is no time for frivolity. : And while this is as of yet unsubstantiated, I cannot turn a blind eye to this blind item. It appears a certain father to one of Constance's most influential students is being accused of something very serious. We've always known this dad as dry, but he might have some bottles hidden in his closet. One of them allegedly used to ease a woman into a level of consent she had no intention of providing. Being that I'm breaking this news, I can't share anything further so as to not risk my credibility. All I know is there's a woman out there whose story should be heard. If she chooses to talk, we all must listen.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ginny dragged Winnie to a celebratory lunch at Felice 83. Initially, Winnie didn't want to go because she wasn't a fan of the food but gave in to Ginny's fake tears.

The restaurant wasn't packed, it never was during the day but there were a only few faces. the duo sat off to the side but decided not to post anything until the time was right.

"I cannot believe this is happening," The Wellington heiress gawked at the headlines on her phone.

Winnie took a sip of her water and shrugged, "I can."

"Because you knew," the blonde accused.

"And you weren't supposed to say anything until the time was right," Winnie pointed out, drawing a pout from her friend.

"Sorry, WhoLian posted one too many positive and inspiring quotes on her story. Plus I heard her in intensive social studies chatting shit about my favourite lesbian lovers.''

"I'll let your actions go, for now, but you're on thin ice," Winnie teased, even though there was an inkling her parents would be more than mad.

"Aren't I always?" Ginny smiled, "But what's going on with you and your bloodthirsty bitch? I knew there would be trouble but not on this level, she's overeating."

Winnie sighed, "And now she's over at Calloway's trying to wave the white flag."

"She told you that?"

Winnie tiredly nodded, "Yes."

"You're still talking i guess that's good. But her running back with her tail between her legs is pathetic, that has to be said."

"I've told her that," Winnie said.

Ginny tapped her chin mischievously, "Maybe I could get in touch with her estranged brother..."

Winnie playfully rolled her eyes, "Don't, no one knows where he is, even when we started our sleepovers I was curious and no one could find any info."

The blonde then scrolled through Twitter, "You've been trending for more than an hour."

"When it lasts a week then I'll be satisfied," Winnie replied as the waiter laid out their desserts.

Torta al Cioccolato for Winnie and Torta di Mele for Ginny.

They took a few pictures of them after the waiter left.

"Safe to say you won't be if your spat lasts longer than a few hours." Ginny remarked, "All these comments about you and De Haan having a reality show. Fuck you two, I wanted one first."

"We can still have one, imagine the scripted drama with the love interest," Winnie paused, taking a bite of the blonde's food and she did the same with her. "You just need to find one."

"Max face-timed me last night," Ginny blurted out and Winnie almost choked on her food.

"You'd said he was blocked," Winnie accused wiping her mouth.

The blonde meekly spoke, "Not on Skype."

They stared at each other before bursting out laughing.

"Okay 2012, what the fuck were you doing on Skype? Flashing your tits as the screen glitches?" Winnie jested, trying to speak through the laughter.

The situation sounded utterly ridiculous.

"No. He was spilling the tea... and I might've flashed a nip, but that's it," Ginny tried to explain.

"And what did he say?"

"That Obie is pining after WhoLian even after the spending night in her garden whilst Buffalo's most valuable player was weaving through the city in her Doc Martins."

Winnie surprisingly felt bad for Zoya.

Even after the gossip girl blast went out, she saw the way the Lott girl's demeanour deflated and she knew Zoya wanted to be there for her sister but couldn't.

Winnie cleared her throat, "You did not need to flash him to get that gossip. I could've told you that. If you still like him just say. But you've got to move on, crawl out of the ruins of that relationship."

"I could say the same to you."

Winnie was stumped on a rebuttal and judging from the look in her friend's eyes, it was nothing but the truth.

Ginny's timer went off, making her motion for Winnie to pick up her phone.

"Time to release our statements," the blonde murmured and they both started typing away

They decided to release statements on where they stood with victims of sexual assault and harassment and those who endorse the issue, even mentioning that they donated to funds such as Rain, Joyful Heart and the survivor's trust. The paragraphs were lengthy and didn't take long to write.

After they put their phones down they returned to their desserts, even admiring the building whilst Caesar walked in and sat a few tables back and ordered his own.

"Isn't that Billy van der bilt?"

Winnie followed Ginny's gaze to see the blonde-haired boy whose locks were as out of control as his scruffy uniform.

William or Billy Van der Bilt III was a cheeky Junior who was popular for his smile and well-connected family. His smile was endearing and he fortunately rarely dated anyone in their school and tended to hook up with Constance St Jude's rivals just for kicks. He was the poster boy for Perfect, captain of the lacrosse team and was bound to get into Yale just like his family wanted.

The kid was reading a book in the corner of the room, with an empty plate next to him.

Winnie grumbled, "The loner yes."

"Isn't his dad like a million years old?" Ginny went on to question.

"William Van der Bilt pulled a De Niro and spat out his secret love child 17 years ago," Winnie informed, pushing around the rest of her dessert as her friend gawked at the boy who was now thanking the staff for his meal, "He comes to all the luncheons."

"I bet he's forced to like all of us," Ginny murmured, surprised she never said more than several words to him. "Invite him over."

Winnie groaned, "I see him all the time... and you're waving him over. I hate you."

"It'll distract you from your distrustful situationship," Ginny whispered, as she motioned him to come over with an overly exaggerated smile which he found charming, "he's the lacrosse captain. I wanna see if his stick can fit in my goal," she rushed out before looking up at the blonde teen who stood to the side of their table, "William hi."

"It's Billy," he softly corrected, tucking his book into his backpack.

"We'd thought we would invite you over you looked lonely."

Winnie argued, "She did. I didn't."

Billy turned his attention to her.

His wide smile made her want to throw up.

"Winifred," he greeted, even nodding towards her bodyguard in respect.

The boy enjoyed Winnie's permanent state of irritation.

"William III," she flashed him a fake smile before taking another bite of Torta al Cioccolato.

The Wellington blonde, rested her face in her palm as she battered her lashed, "I'm Ginny."

"I know, we've known each other since 8th-grade dramatic chemistry."

Ginny made a face, "I never went to 8th-grade dramatic chemistry."

"Exactly." Billy chuckled, "Why did you wave me over, to talk about the reality show Winnie and De Haan will star in?"

Winnie scoffed, "Fuck off."

"No, I'm intrigued." He grabbed a chair from the parallel table and sat down between them, much to the Dubois' heiress displeasure.

Ginny grinned, "So am I."

"Will you be starring in it?" Billy flirted, casting a cheeky smile at the blonde, "It would be much more entertaining to watch if you were."

A blush kissed her cheeks as she leaned closer, "Oh really."

Winnie wanted to be anywhere else, "great I have front-row tickets to Hitler's wet dream."

━

"Your romance with the De Haan girl is fine," Winnie was already bored by her dad's lecture.

"You dont have a say in that," she replied, rapidly blinking at him as her mother sauntered into her room, wine in hand.

Margaux sent her a pointed look, "Winifred, listen."

"I know you were eavesdropping on my conversation last week and that's why this common blog discovered all about Davis," Luc added, though annoyed he wasn't mad.

After the school day concluded, Lauren Thompson came forward, before Gossip Girl could out her. Winnie knew that she was the victim her father was talking about and he even gave her lawyers to gain her favour so now she would have a better advantage to take her accusations public. Lauren alleged publicly, that in October of 2011, while working with a sober Calloway, he got her drunk in order to coerce her into sеxual relations she would not have otherwise consented to.

"If you were not careful, this spectacle could've turned out worse for us," Luc went on and Winnie shuffled back at his unwavering gaze.

He was mimicking her mother and it made her uncomfortable, even more so now.

"You and Ginervra realising those statements added to our cause," Margaux marvelled, "impeccable timing."

Was that pride in their tone? Winnie wasn't sure and didn't want to accept it for fear it was a big hoax.

"You were spotted with William's boy," Luc noted, he received a text from William himself about the ordeal.

Winnie's face scrunched up, "Bumped into." she corrected, "I don't hang out with men."

"Clearly," Luc deadpanned, much to her dismay.

Abaddon woke from his nap and rushed over to the foot of the bed where her parents stood, Luc lifted him, forcing Winnie to accept him.

"What your father means it's a great thing," Margaux stepped in, "Invite him over for dinner one day."

Winnie wanted to do anything but that.

Luc went on, "Until then, there will be a press conference being held as I run for Mayor —"

"Don't you have to comply with complex laws to be mayor? We're billionaires, that's not seen as moral," Winnie's argument wasn't received well in the slightest.

Their harsh gazes pinned her to her bed before they exchanged a look she knew all too well.

So she pulled Abaddon closer and everted her eyes to his fur.

Margaux tutted, "We've complied with the laws of the state. We're law-abiding US citizens Winifred. Don't believe everything you read."

Winnie tensed at the phrasing and stiffly nodded, "Right," she cleared her throat,  "so does that mean you'll be stalking me on gossipgirl?"

"No," Luc answered just as his wife said,  "yes."

"Great."

━

As the afternoon bled into evening, Winnie was getting reading to go live when she got a surprising visit from the girl she thought to be hers, but judging from Monet's stoic expression the conversation wouldn't go as planned.

They went from a calm and reassuring interaction to an explosive one that had gone viral.

They exploded like fire and anyone close could burn along with them, and Monet questioned if she even wanted that.

"Did you know about Julian's dad? The shit he did? I want honesty," she demanded, dressed to the nines and no doubt ready to go out on the town, contrasting Winnie's loungewear.

The Dubois heiress scoffed as she stood from her desk, "And what makes you think I should give it to you? You said it yourself your loyalties lie with Julian."

"And she needs me right now," Monet snapped back earning a loud scoff.

"She needs your PR, not you, not how I need you and you can't understand it," Winnie shook her head but kept a distance fighting her body's urges.

Monet bit on her cheek and folded her arms, scanning the room for any cameras just in case Ginny was hiding filming for leverage but they were alone.

Abaddon was on a walk with the rest of the dogs being escorted by the maids, Margaux and Luc had left for the press conference, which meant they were free of judgment but still tied down by prior commitments and differentiating goals.

"Have you ever thought about why I'm friends with her?" Monet suddenly asked, to which she received a bored answer.

"To use her?"

"No. because she cares about her friends," Monet sighed at the snicker she heard.

"Bullshit. You said when you sold her out, she didn't think about her actions hurting other people, people like you," Winnie jabbed a finger in her direction as she strode across the room to stand in front of her.

"And what have you done that is the opposite? You exposed us to get back at me," Monet huffed, flinging her arms out.

"Well, have you thought how this entire ordeal will make me feel? Ginny said you'd do this and I didn't think you would."

Monet's eyes softened before she shook her head, "And yet she still took a picture of us at Hulaween. On your orders right? I know your watermark."

"You jumped ship Mon, what's there to explain? I did what I had to do to protect me, my self-interest because..." Winnie breathed out, heart hammering in her chest, "You'll always have one foot in their domain."

"Then compromise," Monet's voice quieted.

Winnie ran her hand down her face, "You mean change."

"I'm not trying to change you," Monet exclaimed, watching her spiral and back away.

Winnie groaned, "It feels like you are," vulnerability clung to her tone, which made Monet want to embrace her, "But you know me, Monet, you've always known me but you're surprised about what I do, how I operate."

Monet let out a frustrated sigh, "And you kept fucking with me to get back at Julian right? So you have one over her, I am your pawn."

Winnie's face hardened, "You're not my pawn."

"But you make me feel insufficient!"

"So do you!"

Their voices boomed off the walls, rendering them a panting mess.

Winnie recognised the look in Monet's glossy eyes, so she turned away, unable to handle the feelings coursing over her face.

Dread crept up the Dubois heiress' spine.

Monet wanted nothing more than to reach out to her but she couldn't, she wouldn't, not when the clock was ticking, and time was running out. They were grasping at straws, repeating the same things over and over and over again and not meeting a resolution.

Months had passed since their first get-together started and it took them so long to realise they were stuck on a loop.

And so Monet killed the silence, "I think we need a break," her heart clenched at the gasp she heard spilling from Winnie's sweet lips, "Win..."

"Fine," Winnie rolled her shoulders back and turned around. Her nods grew faster as she looked at Monet, "Fine."

Winnie's hands kept shaking, face roared with rage yet hurt swam in her pools of brown.

Monet stepped forward and pressed a kiss to each of her fingers, bringing their rapid motion to a halt.

She wanted to soothe the pain she created, but Winnie wanted it all to explode.

Monet's lips met Winnie's cheek before she swivelled on her heel, sniffling and wiping her nose.

Winnie's feet were pinned to the ground as she watched her walk away, but she couldn't let her go before saying one last thing, "Before you leave," Monet glanced back, "I knew about Creepy Calloway and no I wouldn't have said even if we were in a good place," Monet nodded, knowing her all too well, "I will always hate Julian and she will always hate me. Maybe if there was a ceasefire, just maybe but no, not any time soon, so go back to her, comfort her, but know, she will never deserve you."

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(@gossipgirl tweeted)

Daddy Dubois making moves in the world of politics, he's playing in the shark tank whilst his daughter is having trouble with snakes, but which packs the most vicious bite? It seems to me that families share more than just blood, traits are also part of their characters. JC was spotted with her father's victim encouraging her to keep quiet and not speak her truth. So it's clear that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Ah, followers it's been a day and I can't think what might happen tomorrow. You all better sleep with one eye open because how can you trust your friends, and your lovers if you can't even trust your own parents? Xoxo gossip girl.

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a/n:

alex petyfer as 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗶𝘃

that manip wasn't my best but my girls are fighting and. their biggest relationship problems were really exposed in this chapter. monet believes that winnie wants to strip her of her 'friends' and winnie thinks that she's not good enough for monet. it's funny that now they've been outed brands were quick to view them as a power couple.

in season one monet wanted julian to be at the centre of the whole ordeal she pushed herself aside and that's why winnie believes in the relationship more than monet in terms of publicity and publicly. hell, even max and luna can see it working if they just let shit go but ambition and backstabbing are in their natures so it's kinda hard to. besides there is so much more that'll be unveiled next chapter.

julian's dad being a predator shocked me when i first saw but then i was curious to see how the writers handled the situation considering they flopped with rafa and i still think it could've been written better.

also, zoya forgave julian way too quickly, so i'm changing that.