CHAPTER TWELVE
SCHOOL LIES
"you ain't scared to show
me your ugly"
˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

On the upper east side, it's easy to think
that the world is exactly as it appears--
refined, elegant, imposing.
But sometimes, all it takes is a little key
to open the door to the wild side.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

     Amelia Hopper was stood dressed in nothing but a matching bikini top and buttom that merely cover anything. Somehow she had allowed herself to be whisked away to the very much illegal party being thrown on school grounds after hours. Amelia had innocently enough been hanging out with Dan at the loft when Serena had called him and urged both of them to come to the school's indoor pool area. Naturally, Dan had been reluctantly. And as per usual, Amelia was heavily encouraging him to accept the invitation. I mean, how often did one get invited to this type of thing? For Dan and Amelia this was a rare occurrence. Well, it was starting to happen more and more lately, but Amelia blamed that on Dan dating an upper east sider.

Dan had smoothly lied to Rufus that the two were heading out for hot chocolate when he and Amelia left the loft. Fortunately, the Humphrey dad had accepted the excuse. Things were starting to calm down at the Humphrey loft now that Alison had officially retired back to Hudson; this time for good. Jenny and Dan had made it obvious that they were bummed out, but they were also relieved that it was all over with. The separation had been a long time coming. They were grateful they got to spend this Christmas with their mom, it was like the perfect ending before she escaped back to Hudson. And they could visit any time they wanted to. They were sure it was all going to be okay.

Much to Amelia's dismay, Vanessa had decided to tag along. Camera in hand and dressed in 'boho chic', Vanessa was getting on Amelia's every last nerve. The Hopper girl was uncertain if the Abrams girl did it intentionally or not, but it felt like every time Amelia opened her mouth she was interrupted by the Abrams. If it happened one more time, Amelia wasn't sure if she'd be able to restrain herself from drowning the girl and the camera in the pool. She did try her best to keep the peace. Mostly because Dan had begged her to leave it be. And as she was doing all of this for Dan, she wasn't about to kill Vanessa if it meant he'd get upset. Especially with everything Dan was currently dealing with.

Amelia had initially been skeptical at how well the Humphrey siblings were dealing with the separation. That's partly why Amelia was so determined to get Dan out of that damned loft and into the world. A party was the perfect escape to put his mind off of it all, Amelia had decided. As Dan's closest friend it was her job to get his mind off of things and to help in out in times of need. Fortunately for Dan, Amelia was good at her job. She had this ability where she always knew what he needed and when. He was lucky to have her.

To say that Amelia was mildly pissed off when Dan disappeared to somewhere with Serena the second they arrived would be the understatement of the century. For some reason unbeknownst to Amelia, the Humphrey siblings had this disgusting habit of leaving her high and dry at social event all the freaking time. It was making Amelia question if they were the right friends for her. But alas, Amelia retired her irritation when she saw the bright grin spread across Dan's face. She didn't mind suffering in silence if it meant Dan got a moment of happiness.

Amelia was currently taking residence on a chair placed up against a wall. She what been offered a drink, but had politely declined. Despite feeling a lot of things changing around her ( and about herself ), Amelia wasn't about to begin drinking just because of peer pressure. Her boundaries were to be upheld and respected.

It didn't stop people from trying, of course.

Her eyes scanned a room for a familiar face. She could see both Blair and Nate in the pool tangled up in each other. It was odd seeing them back together like that. Amelia had yet to talk to Nate. The last time she saw was at the debutant ball, and to put it kindly they had quite the argument at the time. Her deep annoyance had lifted a few days ago. Though she still disagreed that he had any say in her life, she couldn't bring herself to care. She had more than enough on her plate now that Christmas break was over with. Good grades and a spotless record was her current goal, oh— and getting her itch scratched.

That's what Blair had told her to do. The itch being her insane frustration, and the scratching being sex. It sounded so stupid to word it that way, but it did get the point across. Amelia had reflected deeply over her feelings over the course of a few days. To be honest she was starting to forget more and more about Devon. Maybe that meant she was ready for a new entanglement. And maybe, just maybe, Julian was the perfect guy to jump in bed with. He was good looking, charming and probably had plenty of experience. If anything was to go south, it wouldn't really matter too much. They didn't really have any mutual friends and up until recently they had never bumped into one another. If they broke it off, it wouldn't really matter.

The only thing making Amelia avoid the Murdoch was her deep rooted fear of putting her heart on the line. What if she wasn't capable of engaging intimately without her heart engaging too? Serena had tried encouraging her the best she could. The best to find out was to try. The brunette realized that there was no other way around it, but that didn't ease the anxiety. And what if Julian wasn't the best person to test these waters with? Amelia had tried pulling as much information about him from Serena and Blair as she possible could. Their opinions, as well as gossip girls very informative blasts, had her doubt grow. If she did happen to develop feelings for him, would he treat her good? Or would he just hump and dump, leaving her completely heartbroken and even more guarded?

All of the thoughts were giving the headache of the year. She was suppose to be enjoying herself at this stupid pool party, and instead she spent it worrying. What a very Dan thing of her to do.

Yet another thing Amelia wasn't sure how to feel about was her recent acquaintance with Blair Waldorf. Oddly enough the two somewhat hit it off. It wasn't like they could be considered friends, but they were friendly. The Hopper girl was still scared shitless of the Waldorf, and the Waldorf was still wary and judgy of the Hopper girl. But Amelia found the girl to be entertaining to be around, and even thought slightly twisted, she did have a few good advices up her sleeve. She was beginning to understand why Serena loved Blair so dearly. There was more to her than her bitchy exterior. Who would've thought?

"Hey, Bunny." His voice made her snap out of her train of thought. Their equally as dashing blue eyes connected. Nate was standing before her. Unable to control herself, her eyes slipped from his eyes and down his body. He was soaked, his body glistening. The golden boy was sporting nothing but a pair of swimming shorts. They hung low on his hips. Amelia bit down harshly on the inside of her cheek, averting her gaze the second she realized she was staring. God, I have get a grip, she thought as she felt her cheeks heat up.

"Nate." She replied awkwardly, clearing her throat. Fortunately for her, Nate was too preoccupied thinking of a good apology to notice her shameless staring. That, and he himself found himself staring. His eyes raked up and down her body. He didn't mind her usual crewneck and baggy jeans combo, but something about her sitting there so effortlessly in her bikini made him feel some type of way. He shook his head, clearing his throat himself, reminding himself of the reason he had approached her to begin with.

     Amelia had done a damn fine job avoiding Nate up until this point. It had proven to be easy seeing as Nate had been in Monaco for the break. Him and Chuck had left at the start of Christmas break. It had been quite the blessing knowing that she could trek safely with the Archibald out of town. But one did have to face the music at some point, and apparently that point was now.

"I think I owe you an apology." He started. Their eyes met once again. Amelia was clearly caught off guard by his words. "I was a complete jerk at cotillion. I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

The Hopper girl could tell his apology was sincere. She definitely appreciated the apology. "Yeah, it was a jerk move." She refrained from telling him 'it's okay'. Usually that was her go to response whenever someone did something to hurt her. But sometimes it wasn't okay, and that's okay. Sometimes she could forgive without saying it was okay. "I appreciate the apology."

The Archibald let out a breath of relief he almost hadn't realized he had been holding in. Over the course of the Christmas break he had been tormenting himself for the way he had reacted. Nate had tried wracking his brain in the search for a plausible explaination as to why he felt so overly protective of her, but he came up empty handed. So he had instead decided to leave it be, focusing on how to make it up to her instead.

Nate opened his mouth to continue the conversation, but a loud yell caught his attention. Amelia flew to her feet at the sight of the floating body in the pool and the red stained blood water floating around it. Nate sprung into action, quickly diving into the water in an attempt to rescue the poor boy. Everything happened quickly. Nate hauled the boy onto the edge of the pool, rushing to preform cpr.

This was certainly not what Amelia had in mind when she dragged Dan down her to get his mind off of things.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Amelia's attempt at getting Dan's mind off of his parents separation was to be considered a success.

Now that they all had been busted for attending the party at the school's very own pool illegally, there were much bigger fish to fry. You see, everyone were currently gathered in the assembly hall, facing the possibility of expulsion. Dan was sweating through his uniform, scared shitless. If he got expelled, everything he and his father had worked for would get flushed down the toilet. Same went for Amelia. Neither one of them could afford expulsion. This was quite literally their only shot at college. Fail this, and there would be no where else for them to go.

"Thanks to the cell phone that somebody left behind, we've got plenty of evidence of who was at the party." The stern voice carried across the assembly. " Lucky for you, andrew collins is going to be fine." Amelia let out a breath of relief. She had been worried sick that the boy was going to die. "Unlucky for you, we need to hold someone responsible. Ms. Queller?"

The woman in question stepped forward, speaking into the microphone. "Hello. I'm Ms. Queller, the new headmistress at constance. It's unfortunate that we meet under these circumstances, but I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you." Her eyes scanned the sea of students. Amelia could feel herself sweat under the cold gaze. "I've already talked to your parents. . . At least, those I could reach, and look forward to reading your personal essays— 10,000 words describing how you came to be on school property after hours, using alcohol and drugs, where a fellow student almost died. In other words, what the hell is wrong with you?" Amelia looked down in shame. She was genuinely ashamed she had even dragged Dan to go to this thing. Despite not having touched any alchohol or drugs, she might as well have. Why did she ever think going to an illegal party at the school's swimming pool was a good idea? She knew just how risky it would be. She didn't get a second shot at anything if she got expelled. How could she be so stupid.

"I'll also be conducting one-on-one interviews until I discover who broke into the pool and initiated the party. That person will be expelled." The Hopper girl could feel her stomach drop at the last part. "If that person is not identified, then you'll all face expulsion."

The assembly ended shortly after that. Amelia was nervously tugging on strands of her hair as she exited alongside Dan. She realized the new headmistress wanted to evoke fear to trick the one response to step forward. Amelia also realized that Ms. Queller had been successful in evoking fear in her. The brunette was a lousey liar, and she had the worst poker face ever. Fortunately she didn't know who did it, so it would be no way of dragging that out of her.

"So we all know how this works." Blair asked when a group of them gathered on the steps outside of the school. Amelia and Dan halted next to Serena. "Look, no one talks, no one gets into trouble." She explained.

"Who did break in, anyway?" Nate questioned, earning a few chuckles.

"I guess we don't he to worry about Nate cracking under pressure." Chuck joked.

"So are we all agreed?"

"Agreed."

Dan looked around in bewilderment. "Look, Blair, I-I know you have your sights set on Yale, but this skull and bones stuff is a bit much, don't you think?" Hit was very obvious the Humphrey was just as scared as Amelia was. She placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a comforting squeeze.

Blair shrugged, lMaybe, but it works. Every time."

"You know, when someone says "every time," it sounds like-like more than a few times." Dan stumbled over his words, wide eyes glancing around. How were they all so nonchalant?

"Everything's gonna be fine." Serena attempted to reassure.

Dan didn't accept her efforts. "Were you just in the same assembly as me?"

"Do you really think she's gonna expel two-thirds of the junior class?" Chuck questioned. Serena pulled Dan aside to talk to him while Amelia pondered over Chuck's words. He was right, there was no way they'd just expel that many students.

The girl walked away from the group of students still discussing the matter at hand. She figured Dan would catch up to her. While he was still talking to Serena, someone else did take the liberty of approaching her.

"Hey Bunny, wait up." Nate jogged after the girl, falling in pace with her. "You okay? You looked pretty spooked back there."

Amelia attempted to smile at him, but it was clear as day just how not okay she was with the entire ordeal. "I'm fine, really. I guess Ms. Queller just got to me or something."

Nate nodded in understanding. "Yeah, but I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. Like Chuck said, she's not going expell all of us."

"Yeah, yeah you're right." Amelia nodded. She tried her best to believe his words, to believe that she had nothing to worry about. But she couldn't help but realize that the two were in very different positions. Nate had a safety net, Amelia didn't.

"Ready to go?" Dan interrupted the conversation between the two. Amelia nodded.

"See you around, Nate." Amelia bid her goodbye. He nodded, watching her head towards the school's entrance along with Dan. He sighed deeply before returning to Chuck's side.

     Amelia couldn't help but spare a last look over her shoulder. Their eyes connected for a second, but Amelia quickly averted her gaze. Now that they'd finally made up for whatever happened at the debutante ball, things could go back to normal. . .

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

     "I reviewed your record. It's pristine."

     Amelia was currently sitting across from Headmistress Queller. The woman sat up straight with a stern look on her face. The Hopper girl squirmed uncomfortably underneath her harsh gaze, wanting nothing more than to melt into the floor. Amelia wasn't never good at dealing with lecturing. Her parents never really lectured or yelled at her for anything, and her grandparents were too old and tired to bother. She usually was way harsher on herself than anyone else could be.

     The new headmistress had kept her word about conducting interviews to find the culprit responsible. So far only Blair had been interview, Amelia was next in line. She was nervous. It wasn't like she had anything to hide; she had no idea who did it. Still, she was a nervous wreck. She was experiencing the same feeling as going through airport security knowing you're a law abiding citizen yet fearing you're carrying a pound of cocaine without even knowing it. Queller could sense her nerves, hell, anyone could. She was sweating through her uniform and fumbling with the hem of her skirt frantically in an attempt to keep her cool.

     "I would never have expected this from you." Ms. Queller spoke. Oh god, Amelia thought. The only worse than getting yelled at was disappointment. "You're not like your peers."

     "What do you mean by that?" Amelia dared ask as she finally met the woman's gaze.

     "You're by no means as privileged as them. You've got everything to loose. If you drop out, you don't have a safety net to catch you. In fact, this school is your only shot at a real future." The woman harshly said. "You may hang out with them, but you'll never be like them. The first chance they'll get, they will sell you out. So why are you protecting them?"

     The brunette found herself agreeing to what the woman was telling her. None of them would have her back if the tables were turned, so why would she protect them?

     "Look, I wish I could help, but I'm just as out of the loop as you are." Amelia replied as she tried her best to remain calm and collected. "I'm not exactly popular if that file hasn't told you so much by now." The girl pointed to the file sprawled across the desk, her name printed in bold. Amelia wasn't shocked the school kept tabs on the student. She had actually expected so much from such a prestigious school.

     Ms. Queller sighed deeply. "I hope for you're sake that you're right, because if not, I'd hate to see you throw away you're entire future over something as petty as this."

     With that, Amelia was excused from the office. The rest of the school day was to be considered uneventful, thankfully. That is until Amelia stood by her locker at the tail end of the day and a certain blonde someone approached her.

     "Did I hear right, or did you go to an illegal pool party at school property?" Julian was leaning against the locker next to hers when she noticed him. He was dressed in the uniform, his tie loosely hanging around his neck. The Murdoch boy was sporting his usual cocky smirk as he stared at the shorter girl.

     "Don't remind me." Amelia groaned loudly, slamming the door to her locker shut. Julian followed after her as she began walking down the hallway. "What are you doing in the girls hallway anyways?"

     "I had to check if little miss Brooklyn baby really has gone bad. You are all over gossip girl." Julian teased.

     Gossip Girl had found the pool party incident to be newsworthy, and she hadn't stopped posting about it since she got whiff of it. Apparently it was very amusing for the students of the school to read all about Amelia going from a boring nobody to a party going somebody. It was beyond her how Gossip Girl even knew she was at the party and why she found it so damn interesting to write about. Nobody gave a crap that Blair, Serena, Nate, San and Chuck were there too.

     "I haven't gone bad. Consider it a temporary lapse of sanity." Amelia stated.

Julian chuckled. "Lucky for you I like my women a little crazy."

The Hopper girl rolled her eyes. "Are you done bothering me?

"Almost." He quipped. "Study group at Waldorf's tonight. I'll see you there." With that, he spun around and left before she could protest.

A study group? This was sure to be interesting.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Spotted— lonely boy learning that when the punishment fits the crime,
there's no reason you can't serve your sentence in style.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

So it appears the so called 'study group' was just a cover up for party.

     To say that Amelia was suprised would be a lie. When she had told Dan about the study group she had been doubtful of the real intentions behind it. He, however, had been completely oblivious to the fact and instead choose to truly believe it was a study group. And of course he decided to let Vanessa tag along. Amelia didn't want to be all doom and gloom, but Vanessa's presences was making it hard for her to be her happy go lucky self. It felt like ever since the girl had come back into town she was forcing her way into Amelia and Dan's life. Where ever they went, Vanessa was sure to be nearby.

     Thanks to Vanessa and her damn camera, Dan was convinced the one responsible for breaking into the school's swimming pool was Chuck Bass himself. Dan was intent on getting a confession from the Bass, and he was damn well going to make sure he turned himself in so the rest for them didn't pay the price of his crimes. Amelia had tried talking him out of it. To her, approaching Chuck freaking Bass with threats wasn't the best way to go about it, but Dan wouldn't listen.

     "Yay! You're here." Serena squealed loudly as she skipped on over to her boyfriend. Amelia smiled gleefully in the presence of the blonde.

     "I thought we were gonna work on our papers." Dan immediately said, looking around the rather packed penthouse,

     "We are." Blair suddenly approached. "One night at bilboquet, Kati and Is made out with a guy in Cornell's ethics program. They're getting tips now."

     Amelia checked out of the conversation the second an arm flung over her shoulder, tugging her away from the others. She peered up at Julian who was grinning down at her. The brunette pretended to roll her eyes in annoyance as she shrugged his arm off of her, but in reality she had to bite back a smile from making its way onto her face. She wanted so badly to hate the jerk, but couldn't help but to find herself enjoying both his presence and every fleeting moment of physical contact they shared.

     "You said study group." Amelia stated with an arch brow.

     Julian shrugged. "I never said what we were studying. Ethics, anatomy. I've got a feeling you've got a lot to teach me."

     Amelia was almost gagged at his shameless flirting. She had to keep herself from screaming right then and there. I need to get ahold of myself, she thought. Before soon he'd realize just how attracted she really was to him, and it would be over her dead body that she'd very give him the satisfaction.

"You're nasty." The Hopper girl scoffed.

"I can show you nasty—"

"Okay!" Amelia loudly interjected. "Why are you even here, you weren't at the party. It's not like you have to write this stupid essay."

The boy shrugged. "I was bored."

"You should really get a hobby." Amelia stated, relieving a laugh from the blonde boy.

     "Hey, Bunny, we're leaving." Dan called with urgency as he passed by the girl. She looked up in confusion. She gathered her few books in her hands and scurried after him, relieved he had provided an escape from Julian. "Vanessa, let's get out of here." Vanessa was standing infront of Blair and Chuck, the latter harshly grabbing ahold of her upper arm as she went to leave.

     "If you think I'm gonna let you walk out fo here with that tape, you're crazy." The Bass growled.

     "Let go of me." Vanessa demanded, ripping her arm from his hand.

     Dan quickly stepped between the two. "Last time I checked, I still owe you a black eye. So unless this is you coming to claim it, stay away from her." With that, both Vanessa and Dan headed for the elevator, Amelia tightly in tow.

     Was it too much to ask for some peace to finish this stupid essay? Around here, apparently so.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Now that sex and lies have been caught on videotape, V's documentary
just became the most anticipated new release of the year.
Who knew B and Cwere such patrons of the arts

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

This just in Nate Archibald, dead man walking

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

A gasp went through the crowd of students gathered in the assembly as Nate Archibald exited the room. True to her word, Headmistress Queller had suspended him for pleading guilty for a crime he hadn't committed. Amelia couldn't help but wonder why he had admitted to breaking into the pool if he hadn't done it. Was he trying to protect someone? And if so, why and who?

The suspension of the Archibald had several students on edge, Amelia included. Queller had informed everyone that he was not only facing suspension, but it would also go on his transcript effective immediately. It made Amelia all the more worried for her own high school career. She didn't have any legacies at any college like Nate did.

The second everyone was dismissed, Amelia jumped to her feet. She made a beeline to the exit as she chased after the Archibald. Her curiosity was getting the best of her, and now that they had made up she wanted to make sure he was doing alright.

"Nate, wait up!" The Hopper girl exclaimed as she jogged after him. She was pretty much out of breath when she finally reached him, embarrassed over her horrible stamina. "Are you okay?"

Nate was almost caught off guard by the question. In all honesty, Nate wasn't too bummed out about the suspension. It wasn't like he wouldn't get into college. But he did appreciate her caring.

     "I'm fine." He replied dismissively. Despite normally enjoying her company, he was simply in no mood. So he dismissed her right then and there, trudging down the street leaving her behind.

In hindsight his entire plead of guilt was totally unnecessary as shortly after Serena burst into the Headmistress' office admitting to the crime. Fortunately for her, Bart Bass was very much in love with her mom, and had donated money to make sure the only consequences she would suffer would be community service. Serena had been in complete shock at the fact, but Dan had pretty much expected it. It was, after all, how things went around here.

Amelia found herself unable to focus on her school work when she sat in her apartment trying to cram for the upcoming test that week. Nate Archibald just couldn't leave her thoughts alone. She cursed herself, I'm becoming mushy or something, she thought humourlessly. No matter how she twisted or turned it, she couldn't help but worry how he was doing. He had been so stand-off ish that day after school, and he had never really been like that with her before. The brunette shook her head. It didn't matter. She had a test coming up, that mattered. Not some stupid rich boy dating a stupidly rich girl who could barely count as friends.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

One thing about being on the inside
once you get there, you don't always
get to choose where you stand. . . Or sit
Sometimes you need to step outside
clear your head and remind
yourself of who you are,
And where you want to be
And sometimes you have
to venture outside your world
in order to find yourself

As for me
I'm happy right where I am
I only wanna be with you
x.o.x.o Gossip girl.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

word count; 4893
a/n

when i finally published chapter eleven i got some love and i just couldn't help but to rush to write yet another chapter for you guys ! the feedback truly encourages me to keep updating ! it's greatly appreciated ! hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. i had a lot of fun writing it and i'm already working on the next chapter so pls stay tuned !!

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