CHAPTER SIXTEEN
PARTY STOPPER
"you and i shouldn't feel
like a crime"
˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Spotted: Jenny Humphrey wading in the Met fountain, fishing for change. . . Blair Waldorf, seen dallying with an off-duty doorman at the Blarney Stone on a Monday night.
It looks like the battle Between the Queen B and Little J has moved from the streets to the blogs. Who's sending this debasing dish? I have a feeling. . .

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Sally and Johnny ( short for Johannes ) Hopper were what one may or may not consider to be hipsters. As previously mentioned, Amelia herself didn't considered them to be hippies, but she did acknowledge that they were unconventional.

     When Sally's mother lectured on and on about children wearing their 'gender assigned colors' ( whatever that was suppose to mean ), Sally insisted upon dressing Amelia in blues and greens from the minute she was born. The woman didn't mind people mistaking the newborn for a boy, it didn't matter. Amelia's grandmother on her mother side was a terribly conventional and conservative woman. She would absolutely lose it whenever Amelia was dressed too boyish in her opinion, and if it was up to her, she would burn every pair of denim jeans her daughter and granddaughter owned.

     Sally's mother, Agnes, lived in a small home with her two cats in Hudson. Amelia rarely ever saw her, but she'd sometimes tag along with Dan and Jenny when they went to visit their newly moved mother so that she could see the elderly lady. Agnes really hated the way Sally dressed, walked and talked. Sally loved when Agnes got angry and disappointed. When Sally became a vegan and tried convincing her daughter to become one aswell, Agnes completely lost it. Amelia could remember the argument vividly. The woman was screeching about nutrients and such, while Sally masked her shit eating grin with her hand.

     Johnny Hopper had grown up all proper and poised, but the minute he met Sally everything he knew slipped away. Suddenly attending prestigious schools and getting high earning jobs didn't matter anymore. The only thing he cared about was her. There had been a huge fall out between his parents and himself when he decided to throw away everything they had worked for just to chase after some 'hobo chick'. But the second Amelia was brought into the world, everything got patched over. There was still tension, sure, but Amelia's parents never stayed in one place long enough for the tension to blossom into something else.

     After moving, her parents had made two very short visits. Amelia wasn't shocked that they were standing on her doorstep unannounced. This was the norm for them. But she was shocked when she learnt that they wanted to stay a few days. Her apartment, though cute, was not nearly big enough for three people.

Hell, it was barely big enough for one!

There was a fine line between checking up on someone and invading their privacy, at least for Amelia's parents. The two of them, especially the mother, had the horrible habit of completely obliterating any sliver of privacy their daughter had when they decided to pop in. Why was it that when Sally asked Amelia if she had any boys in her life that she simply wouldn't let it go? Amelia had told her time and again that she was focusing on school ( this wasn't a complete lie, she was trying to stay focused in spite of certain boys' effort of stealing her attention away ).

Sally had been incredibly disappointed in her daughter for not calling and telling her about what had happened between her and Devon. The woman had to hear about the break up from Devon's mom. She was hurt that her own daughter didn't see fit to call and tell her about it. Amelia had rolled her eyes when she got the lecture, never minding to answer. Her mother never asked how she was doing the very few times they talked over the phone, why would she bother with her entire life story? Still, there was no detering the Hopper parents when they put their mind to something.

Amelia's mom had been nagging all night and morning on her about her love life. For a 'hipster' of a woman, she sure did care a lot about finding a man. Sally had been that way Amelia's entire life. It took years for her to stop bugging her about having to date Dan. If the mother had it her way, Dan and Amelia would be end game. But she was willing to settle for Devon too. Now that he was out of the picture, Sally had mentioned the whole Dan thing once more. Amelia quickly shut it down the best way she knew how to; she laughed her mother right up in the face. No more questions were asked about Dan.

That didn't mean the woman completely relented though.

But Amelia had inherited her mother's stubbornness. The likelihood of either one breaking was small, but Amelia was willing to stand her ground till they left town. Which was probably in the very near future, considering their track record.

Dan and Amelia had hung out for the first time since she lost her cool with him, and since Gossip Girl had decided to plaster Amelia's face all over the site, she found herself having to explain to Dan why she was all cozied up with Nate Archibald. He hadn't really expressed too much opinion about the matter, which was odd considering the boy was very judgemental. Dan was worried the Archibald would wound up hurting his friend, but with her assurance that they weren't anything serious, he let it go.

Besides, between his issues with Serena and his new friend Sarah, Dan didn't have time to pester Amelia about her relationship choices. Not that he had any room to do so anyway, dating a party girl himself.

Sarah was some girl he had met the previous day walking in the park. According to him, the girl in question had approached him because she lost her dog. Amelia didn't really pay much attention when he explained the situation. Dan obviously had a track record of befriending girls ( Amelia and Vanessa was proof of this ). The Humhprey boy had insisted on introducing Sarah to Amelia, which was why she currently headed over to this small coffee shop Vanessa worked at. Amelia was beyond grateful when Dan demanded her presence. She jumped at the opportunity to get away from her parents. She needed the breather.

     Besides, she was only making a quick trip to the coffee shop before school, so it wouldn't be a long stay. Amelia wasn't sure why she had even agreed considering how much she hated walking. Now she had to walk to the coffee shop only to walk back to her apartment and then to school. It was a complete detour, but Dan had insisted. Amelia had considered bringing her bag with her, but the mere thought of carrying the heavy books as she trudged down the street made her want to cry.

     The bell chimed happily as Amelia entered the small coffee shop. It was placed approximately between Amelia's apartment and the Humphrey loft. Fortunately that meant the walk wasn't too long. New York was beginning to grow warmer by each passing day, but the spring was still too cold for Amelia's taste. She really needed to go thrifting soon. Her current jacket looked all ratchet and she desperately craved a new one. Well, new to her at least.

     Dan was sitting at a table placed in the far corner. Amelia's eyes found him quickly. Next to him, a pretty brunette sat. She was grinning widely as she laughed about a joke he had cracked. Amelia arched her brow as she watched the two. Something felt off. The Hopper girl shrugged off the odd feeling. Instead she approached with a warm smile.

     "Bunny, hi! You're here." Dan greeted the blue eyed girl with a smile. "I made Vanessa make you a hot chocolate." He pushed the drink in question in Amelia's direction.

     "Thank you, it's freezing outside." Amelia complained as she shrugged her jacket off. She hung it carelessly over her chair, taking a seat at the table.

     "It's not." Dan rolled his eyes. "You're the only one wearing a jacket." He pointed out.

     Amelia scoffed. "Not my fault the rest of you are cold blooded."

     "This is Sarah." Dan changed the subject. The girl smiled brightly towards Amelia. Almost a little too nicely. "Sarah, this is Amelia."

     "Amelia." The girl introduced herself with an extended hand. "Everyone calls me bunny, it just hasn't occurred for me to mind yet."

"I'm Sarah!" The girl beamed as she shook Amelia's hand. "So nice to meet you."

Amelia was almost taken about at her overwhelmingly upbeat demeanour. Vanessa approached the table dressed in her uniform, distracting Amelia from her train of thoughts.

"You can read about it all day long, but you have to walk the city to know it." Vanessa laughed, snatching a tourist brochure out of Sarah's hands.

"Okay, but look, anything is better than getting lost on the train every day." The girl defended.

"Subway." The Abrams corrected. "Click those heels all you want, you're not in Portland anymore."

"Seriously, you and Dan are so sweet to adopt me." Sarah thanked. "You too Amelia. I'd be a mess without you guys. Well, more of a mess than I already am." The girl laughed.

"I was a complete mess my first time alone in the city too. Don't worry, it gets better." Amelia reassured.

Vanessa switched her attention over to the only boy amongst the three girls. "Red-eye to go?

"Yes, please. Thank you." Dan nodded. "Hey, Sarah. Sorry for talking your ear off the other night."

Vanessa chuckled. "He tends to ramble, as you'll get to know."

"After a while it gets easier to just tune him out. Trust me, it's a skill worth having." Amelia joked. Dan shot her a playful shove.

"Well, I'm a good listener, as he'll get to know." Sarah's eyes lingered for a second too long on the boy before she continued speaking. "Are there any new developments?"

"Uh, no. No, more of the same. Jenny and her boyfriend are still inseparable, and she's even more insufferable." Dan explained. Amelia hadn't really spoken to Jenny since giving her the cold shoulder after the whole Nate thing. She was meaning to apologize.

Vanessa rolled her eyes at Dan. "Give her a break. Asher's her first love."

"It's infatuation. It's not love." Dan corrected.

"Yeah, but to a fifteen-year-old girl, I mean, there really isn't a difference." Sarah added.

"And how long did it take you, Dan?" Amelia queried, eyes screwed onto the boy.

Dan scratched the back of his neck before answering. "Um, that's a little different, Bunny. It took me—

Vanessa interjected. "Uh, one glance at a ninth grade birthday party?" She laughed.

"Yes, but two years to obsess over it." Dan played along.

"So things are better with. . ." Sarah paused to think. "Serena?"

Dan nodded. "Serena. Yeah. Yeah, good memory. Right. Things are finally back to normal."

"Good. Well, I mean. . . You know, it's tough making friends in a new city. It'd be really nice to meet her." Sarah suggested.

Dan smiled happily. "Yeah, Serena would love you. She loves everybody. Not that she would only like you because she doesn't discriminate. Eh, erm. See what she meant about that rambling thing? How's tonight?" Dan rambled on. Sarah laughed at him.

"Tonight would be perfect." Sarah accepted.

Dan switched his attention over to Amelia. "I expect your coming too, yes?" He said with a hopeful tone.

"Sure, at this point I'm taking any excuse to get away from my parents." Amelia agreed. "Which reminds me, I have to get back home before my mom starts turning my entire apartment into a hipster hive. See you guys tonight!"

With that, the Hopper girl went on her merry way back to her apartment with her hot chocolate in hand.

✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

The only thing more shocking than the truth. . . are the lies people tell to cover it up.
This just in: Asher Hornsby spotted locking lips before class. . But not with his girlfriend. Looks like gentlemen don't prefer blondes, Little J. They prefer other gentlemen. Is this just another round of blanks fired between B and Little J? I'm tired of being the bearer of bad grudges. This is the last item that goes to press without proof.

✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

     Amelia was wandering mindlessly down the hallways of the private school when her phone vibrated with the Gossip Girl blast.

     The words flashing across the screen made her eyes go wide in shock. Amelia had yet to even meet this Asher boy Jenny was seeing and there was already rumours going around about their relationship. The brunette frowned deeply at the screen, wondering how Jenny must have been feeling reading the blast. Gossip Girl was brutal, that was for sure.

     Possibly outing someone like that? Not cool.

     The Hopper girl's eyes fell on the blonde Humphrey in question standing further down the hall. With a limited amount of people scattered in the hallways, Amelia decided to approached Jenny.

     "Hey Jen." Jenny snapped her head towards the shorter girl. Her eyes were cold and hard, and it almost stunned Amelia just how hostile the blonde was looking. "I saw the blast, are you okay?"

     "Since when do you read gossip girl?" Jenny snapped in annoyance as she slammed her locker shut.

     Amelia shrugged her shoulders. "Since you forced me to? Are you okay?"

     "What, you care all of a sudden? You haven't exactly been around lately, why are you suddenly all up in my business?" Jenny spoke with an accusing tone. "For all I know, you sent this lie in!"

     The girl almost snorted in disbelief. "Me? Why on earth would I do that?"

     "I don't know. With the way you've been all close with Blair, who knows." The blonde snapped.

     "Pump the hate brakes, Jen. I'm sorry I've been cold, but I didn't do this I swear." Amelia defended.

     Jenny sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I'm just stressed out."

     "I get that. I'm here if you want to talk or if you need anything, alright?" Amelia assures. Jenny nodded, smiling half heartedly at her friend.

     "Yeah, thanks. By the way, I'm having a party tonight, at Asher's. You wanna come?" Jenny had contemplated whether or not she should invite the girl in fear of affecting her social ranking, but now that she had been plastered all over gossip girl with Nate, she was more than welcome.

Amelia scratched the back of her neck in uncertainty. "I kinda have this thing tonight, but I'll see what I can do."

Jenny nodded in understanding. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to deal with this." She waved her phone in the air for emphasis before disappearing out of sight. Amelia smiled to herself, happy to have cleared the air with the Humphrey girl finally.

Being in a fight with either of the Humphrey always royally sucked. Whenever Amelia or one of the siblings fought or argued over something— which by the way was a rare occurrence— she would steer clear of the loft. Steering clear of the loft sadly meant steering clear of both Rufus and his heavenly waffles. Amelia was just a girl, how could anyone expect that kind of will power of her? Usually, all her issues and the siblings' issues would be solved over a fresh batch of waffles.

"Feel like I haven't seen you at all lately, peach." His voice caught her attention. Julian was standing almost in front of her with his usual cocky smirk. Amelia smiled at his presence out of instinct.

"Jules, nice to see you too." Amelia replied as she began walking to her next class. He followed in tow.

"Jules?" Julian questioned the nickname.

"If you want to call me by a ridiculous nickname, I insist upon doing the same." She quipped back.

The Murdoch boy chuckled. "Fair point. I guess I'll have to settle for Bunny then." Amelia gave him a look of annoyance. "What? I thought all of your friends called you that."

"Yeah, emphasis on my friends. Besides, I don't like the way you say it." Amelia stated.

"The way I say it? What way would that be?" Julian wondered.

Amelia pointed a finger at his chest as they came to a halt. "You know exactly what way I'm talking about, Jules."

"I have no idea." He held his hands up in surrender. "But I do know that I love the way you say—"

"I don't want to hear whatever nasty thing you're about to say." Amelia interrupted. "You're a jerk sometimes, do you know that?"

"God I love it when you talk dirty to me."

"I hate you." Amelia rolled her eyes.

"You love me." He shamelessly flirted. Amelia couldn't help but to laugh. Every interaction with Julian left her surprised one way or another.

"Why do I even entertain you?" Amelia wondered out loud.

"Because you love me." He shrugged. "Speaking of entertainment. I have a few ideas as to have you can entertain me."

Amelia held her hand up to stop him. "You were cute at first, now you're crossing over to creep territory. Stay in your lane, Murdoch."

"I will as long as you stand in it with me." Julian quipped.

"You just never get enough, do you?" Amelia groaned.

"Of you? Never." He chuckled. The two quickly arrived at their next class.

"Make sure you sit behind me." Amelia instructed as they entered the classroom.

"Why? You want to keep me close?" He grinned as he followed behind her.

Amelia plopped down in her seat.

"No, it's so you get used to the back of my head. You'll be seeing a lot of it when I'm walking away from you."

✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

     The few parties Amelia had attended in her life included; the kiss on the lips party Jenny dragged her to, the masquerade ball that Jenny dragged her to, and finally the illegal pool party that Amelia shockingly enough dragged Dan to. Notice the pattern? All of Amelia's acts of 'rebellion' included a Humphrey. This time did too. Jenny had practically begged Amelia on the phone to attend her first ever party. Jenny was nervous, understandably so. She had never thrown a party, let alone a lavish and expensive one like this one. Here she was, hosting a party alongside her loaded boyfriend. Funny how times change, huh?

     Amelia felt awkward standing at the party. As mentioned, Asher was the co-host. It was being held at his ridiculously expensive penthouse on the upper west side. Everyone was there; Penelope, Nelly Yuki, Eric. So many people, yet no one to talk to. Amelia was beginning to regret cancelling on Dan and Sarah for this party.

     Jenny, as per usual, was nowhere to be seen. Amelia wondered why the girl persisted on her attendance so damn hard when she so obviously had no intention of keeping her company. This was just like all of the other times Amelia let Jenny convinced her of going to some stupid thing she didn't want to go to. Amelia swore to herself, this was the last time she gave into Jenny's request.

Once the Hopper girl grew tired of waiting for Jenny to appear, she decided to take matter into her own hands. She began wandering around the penthouse in a desperate attempt to locate the girl. Unfortunately for her, she didn't located the blonde. Instead, she located another blonde, this one taller and a slight bit more arrogant. Julian was stunned when Amelia burst through the bedroom door. She blinked in suprise when her eyes fell on the boy seated on the edge of the bed. He was by himself in the room, a glass of champagne in his right hand.

"Jules." Amelia greeted. "Fancy seeing you here."

"I could say the same, Bunny. You're at a upper west side party?" Julian patted the spot next to him on the bed. She hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not to continue her quest for the blonde Humphrey. But his inviting blue eyes lured her in, so she opted to accept the invitation.

Amelia waddled over before plopping down in the seat next to the Murdoch boy. "My friend is the host." She explained.

"Your friends with Asher?" Julian said in suprise.

"No, his girlfriend. Jenny." She corrected.

"Ah, the same girl who left you stranded at the masquerade ball?" He recalled. Amelia nodded. "Hell of a friend you got. She keeps ditching you."

Amelia shrugged. "Yeah, well I guess she's got a lot going on." Her eyes found his. "What are you doing in here by yourself anyway?"

"I don't know." Julian sighed deeply. "I guess I'm just not in the party mood."

"Not in the party mood, but you're at a party?" She questioned.

The boy shrugged. "Can't really go home. Or, I can, but I'm not exactly tempted to." He admitted.

"Can I ask why?" Amelia queried. She was curious to the answer, but afraid to cross any boundaries. She didn't want him to feel pressured to tell her all about his private life. It wasn't any of her business.

     Julian sighed deeply before opening his mouth. "My parents used to fight a lot. There was never a moment where they were in the same room without fighting. But now, it's just quiet. My mom is always out with her socialites, and my dad's always off on some business trip." He opened up. "I don't know, things somehow felt more normal when they were fighting. At least that way they were speaking together, you know? I know they're only together now because of me and my younger brother. They don't want to divorce because of how it'll look, and because they think it's better for us. It's not."

     Amelia remained silent as he ranted on about his feelings. She nodded and hummed every now and then to let him know that she was listening. "You'd prefer they divorce?" Amelia asked.

     "I don't know. I don't know, just anything other than this silence, you know? It's killing me." He admitted.

     "Have you tried talking to your parents about? Or your brother?" She suggested.

     Julian shook his head. "My brother's too young to understand, and everytime I bring it up my dad gets all defensive and my mom starts crying." He explained. "Thank you for listening. I probably sound like an idiot."

     Amelia shook her head. "I don't think this makes you an idiot, it makes you human. In fact, I used to think you were an idiot. Now I can confidently say your tolerable."

     The blonde chuckled, shoving Amelia's shoulder playfully. Amelia chuckled along. When he fell silent, her eyes found his. Julian was already staring back at her. She couldn't help but to drown in his eyes. There was something so charming about him. And just like that, all of the tension and frustration came flooding back. Amelia could feel herself grow nervous with his eyes locked on her. He enjoyed watching her squirm under his gaze. With one simple word her cheeks would be covered in red.

Before Amelia had a chance to react, his lips captured hers. He pressed his lips against hers, catching her by suprise. A few seconds past before he pulled away. She stared at him wide eyed, her skin suddenly igniting on fire. Her fingertip graced her lip as she stared at him.

"I-I should go." She stuttered.

"Wait, Amelia I'm sorry—"

"It's fine I just- I have to find Jenny." With that, she stumbled out of the room. Her feet carried her quickly down the hallway and as she rounded a corner, she slammed into something hard.

Nate's hands shot out to catch her before she fell flat on her ass. "Woah, you in a hurry?" He chuckled, grinning down at him. Amelia could feel guilt overwhelm her the second her eyes found his. Shit shit shit. After the way she had acted with the whole gossip girl blast about him, this was literally the worse thing she could have done.

"Jenny!" Relief washed over the Hopper girl when her eyes fell on the blonde. She pulled herself away from Nate and hurried over to the Humphrey girl. "I've been looking for you."

Jenny opened her mouth to reply, but a girl approaching halted her. "You guys, Blair is here." She informed hastily.

"What is she doing here? She wasn't invited." Jenny scoffed. Jenny approached Blair who was standing a few feet away with Blair, Asher and Eric. "What is she doing here?"

Eric stepped forward. "Are you gonna tell her, or am I?" He stared directly at Jenny's boyfriend. Amelia watched intruiged.

Asher folded his arms over his chest. "There's nothing to tell."

Eric scoffed."Gossip Girl was right. Asher was kissing someone this morning. Me." Amelia's eyes widened in suprise.

"He's totally lying. Tell him, Jenny. I was with you all morning." Asher quickly stated.

Jenny nodded. "Yeah. Asher's right. I was with him. Eric's lying."

"Why would I stand here in front of everyone we know, and tell them if it wasn't true?" Eric said, disbelief evident in his voice. "I'm gay." He announced, pointing to Asher. "And so are you."

A gasp went through the crowd at Eric's words. "Get this f— out of here!" Asher exclaimed.

"Hey, you can't talk to him like that." Amelia spoke up the second she heard the slur. She didn't know Eric personally, but she was not about to let a comment like that slide.

Eric shook his head in disappointment as he began leaving. "Go ahead and do it." Blair nodded at the Van Der Woodsen boy, quickly whipping her phone out. She tapped away quickly, pressing send before handing the phone to Asher.

"What did you just do?!" He panicked, grabbing the phone from her hands.

Blair smiled at him. "You'll see. . ."

And like fire in dry grass, every phone at the party plinged loudly as the Gossip Girl blast got sent out. Blair smirked proudly. "Looks like someone needs a semester in France."

Penelope crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at Jenny, "Get your things, girls. We're leaving."

"Guys, we can still have fun. Don't leave." She begged in desperation.

"It's kind of hard to party after the gay bomb drops." One of the girls, Hazel, stated.

P"I'm gonna do something out of character, and give you the benefit of the doubt. Tell us Gossip Girl is wrong." Penelope said.

Hazel nodded, "Did you or did you not sleep with Asher?"

Jenny shifted on her feet. "I. . . may have exaggerated a little bit."

"Dating a gay guy is an honest mistake, but lying to your girlfriends about sеx is unforgivable." Penelope said.

Another of the girls, Is, joined the conversation. "To think, I almost asked you to wear a matching dress tonight."

"You're branded now with the L word. Liar."

With that, the girls all abounded Jenny. Amelia lingered by her side as the party emptied out. "Jenny. . ." She began, disappointment evident as she spoke.

"What, Amelia? Are you going to give me a lecture too? Save it." She barked. "You act so sweet and innocent like you're so above all of this, but your just as bad as Dan."

Amelia frowned deeply at her words. "I can be horrible if that's what you want me to be, but be careful Jen. The things your doing right now are going to stay with you for a long time. It's time you decide what kind of a person you want to be."

The brunette pulled her jacket on, exiting the penthouse, and for the first time that day, she was looking forward to coming home to her parents. As she exited the penthouse, she passed by both Nate and later Julian who were both leaving too. She avoided the both of them, realizing that she needed time to think.

     Who would've thought the Brooklyn Baby would end up pulling not one but two upper east side boys, both whom were way out of her league. Now she was faced with a desicion.

     Which one would it be? The golden boy, or the playboy?

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Weekend update: A same-sex kiss hasn't caused this much controversy since Britney and Madonna. Looks like Little J didn't spread her legs after all. She spread lies instead. Asher is gay, and I have the correspondence to prove it.
Don't look so sad, Little J. The sun'll come out tomorrow. Even though your boyfriend did today. Ah, yes, The truth always comes out. It's one of the fundamental rules of time. And when it comes out, it can set you free. . . Or end everything you fought so hard for.
Another way the truth comes out: When you don't even mean it to. Or when, without saying a word, it's still loud and clear. But the worst thing the truth can do is, when you finally tell it, it doesn't set you free, but locks you away forever.

Now, you know you love me. . .
x.o.x.o, Gossip Girl

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

word count; 5004
a/n

here u guys go with chapter sixteen. only two more chapters left till season two !! so excited to see this book continue to blossom. truly makes me so happy when u guys interact with the book and leave ur opinions ! also, here you guys finally go getting a longer chapter ! the last few have been a little short, i apologize, but with only chapter seventeen and eighteen to go, expect longer chapters !!! hope you guys enjoyed  the whole nate-amelia-julian thing ! stay tuned for more, not long till chapter seventeen is done and ready for u guys ! in the meantime, be safe !

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