CHAPTER FIVE
DARE DEVIL
"why'd you have to be so cute"
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With Blair's boyfriend Nate helping to close up the family yatch for the season, Blair is free to focu on the most important event of the fall: her annual sleepover, a tradition since the year 2000. Each one more decadent than the last. No expense, or reputation, is spared. With everything from trundle beds to truffles in place, all that's missing is the sleepover star and Waldorf BFF Serena Van Der Woodsen.

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"A sleepover, really?"

The judgement laced in Amelia's words were clear as she stared at Jenny in suprise. The Humphrey wouldn't stop going on and on about an annual sleep over hosted by none other than Blair Waldorf herself. Jenny, of course, wasn't invited. At least not yet. But that didn't stop the blonde from gushing over the event, talking nonstop about how lucky those invited were, and how she'd kill to attend one of the Waldorf sleepovers. Amelia couldn't but find the idea of an sleepover to be. . . slightly immature. She was all for pizza and board games at the Humphrey loft when she crashed there, but she had a feeling the Waldorf did sleepovers differently.

"Not a sleepover, the sleepover." Jenny corrected, pulling books from her locker. "It would be such a honor to even be considered for the guest list." The blonde gushed.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Really?" Maybe it was because of her pathetic habit of being a loner, but Amelia couldn't quite understand the appeal of simply being considered for the guest list. But then again, she didn't really understand the social hierarchy of Constance.

Before the oh so fascinating conversation could continue, Serena Van Der Woodsen approached the duo. "Hey! Just the little sister and best friend I was looking for." Serena greeted. "I need answeres, and I need them now. Your brother is being very mysterious about our date tonight."

Jenny smiled. "Well, he's a very mysterious guy, apparently."

Serena nodded. "Look, he won't even tell me where we're going. Can you guys just give me a hint, a tiny one even?" Serena plead, glancing between the two with hopeful eyes. "Are we going to some secret club to see the best unsigned band in Brooklyn? Or-or a guerilla art exhibit in dumbo? Or, hey, isn't the New Hork film festival still going on?" Serena desperately tried guessing, earning a chuckle from Amelia.

"You don't leave much room for suprise, do you?" Amelia laughed, earning a warm smile from the it girl.

"Well, I don't know how to dress for suprise." The blonde pointed out. "Not everything goes with it, you know."

"Fair point." The Hopper girl agreed. "I'd say jeans and a simple top would be the safest bet."

Jenny nodded in agreement. "The Humphrey men do causal Friday every day."

Suddenly the ringing of a phone interrupted the conversation. Serena pulled out her phone. "Oh, it's my brother. Hey!"

"Tell Eric I say hi!" Jenny beamed.

"Jenny says hi." Serena obliged, turning away to continue the phone call. While the it girl took her phone call, Amelia turned to Jenny.

     "Dans totally freaking out for this date, isn't he." She assumed, her suspicion confirmed by Jenny's nod.

     "Yeah, he's tying himself into knots trying to impress her." Jenny explained. Though it was true that she didn't know what exactly Dan had planned for their suprise date, Jenny was well aware of how much he was working to assure it went smoothly. He didn't want any interruptions or deal breakers. Dan wanted to make sure Serena knew he could be like all the other guys that had taken her out before, only better.

     "What was that I heard? Eric's coming home?" Blair Waldorf spoke, announcing her approach. Serena ended her phone call, shoving the cell into her bag. "Perfect timing." The Waldorf beamed.

     Serena wore a puzzled look. "How so?"

     "Well, it gives your mother and brother time to bond alone while you get drunk on schnapps and moon the NYU dorms from the limo." Blair explained in excitement.

     Still, the Van Der Woodsen wasn't catching on. "Blair?"

     The Waldorf deadpanned. "S, it's only the most important night of the fall."

     "The sleepover." Serena realized.

     "I prefer soirée." Blair corrected. " 'Sleepover' is so sophomore year."

     "Look, you know I can't go to that. I have that plan." After the total disaster of the photo shoot, Blair and Serena had made up with the help of Dan. Since then, Serena and Blair had talked about boundaries, especially when it came to the Humphrey teen. Serena didn't want be stuck trying to choose between her best friend and her boyfriend, and Blair agreed to not make it any harder.

     Blair rolled her eyes. "Serena, when there's a Waldorf soirée, there's nothing else on the social calendar." Amelia watched Blair expectingly waiting for Serena to give in and agree to the party, but Serena wasn't planning on doing that any time soon.

     "Blair, the plan is Dan. Remember, the guy you realized is an actually human being worthy of your time and attention." Serena said, glancing at Jenny and Amelia. "No offense."

     Jenny smiled. "None taken."

     "Look, I'm really sorry, but this date in unbreakable." Serena stated, shutting Blair down. "Maybe we can swing by later—"

     "I'm not a stop along the way, I'm a destination." Blair quickly retorted. "And if you refuse to attend, I'm going to have to find a replacement." Blair snapped her fingers at Kati and Is, instructing them to help her find a replacement worthy of attending the soirée. "Girls, the waiting list."

     "Uh, yeah well I should get going. Goodbye." Serena excused herself, smiling at Amelia and Jenny. "Oh, and thanks for the advice guys!"

     "No problem." Amelia smiled.

     "Good luck tonight!" Jenny called after Serena, the two watching her disappear into the sea of students. When they turned back, they found Blair staring at Jenny with a mischievous grin.

     "Little Jenny Humphrey. Why didn't I think of you before?" The Waldorf girl said, handing the several stacks of paper back to Is. Amelia's eyes widened at the lengthy waiting list, realizing just how serious Jenny had been about the exclusiveness to the event. "You have no plans, you're coming to the soirée."

     "Me? Really?" Jenny grinned widely, excitement bubbling in her chest.

     "Her? Really?" Kati and Is questioned in doubt.

     "The thing is, if you come, you'll have to be up for a little more than just anything." Blair spoke challenging.

     Jenny smirked. "I'm up for anything." She confirmed daringly.

     "My place. Seven o'clock sharp." Blair instructed, her eyes falling to the Hopper girl. "I'd invite you too, but one more Brooklyn baby would make it stuffy."

     Amelia rolled her eyes. "I think I'll be fine."

     "Very well. See you tonight them, J." Blair said, turning around to leave.

     As soon as the Waldorf was out of earshot and sight, Jenny began jumping up and down and cheering, wrapping Amelia into a hug. "Can you believe I actually got invited? This is so cool!" Jenny beamed.

     Amelia grinned, happy for her friend.

     "I need to get to class, but I'll see you later!" Amelia said, waving as she left the blonde to her excitement.

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School had cruised by painfully slow, but Amelia was happy to have spent the day getting caught up to speed. Lately she had been slacking of on her homework for several reasons that she didn't care to think about. Jenny had ran from school grounds the second school singaled the end of last period, leaving Amelia to get home by herself. Dan had also rushed home, eager to get ready for his date night with Blair. The thing about being alone was that the silence allowed for thoughts to creep into her mind, plaguing her brain.

It was funny how just yesterday Amelia had jumped at the opportunity to have a moment for herself, but today she was scared to be alone.

Amelia had refrained from answering Devon's calls still, simply shooting him a sarcastic text that they'd tak when he came back from his 'camping trip'. The Hopper girl wasn't sure when he'd be coming back, nor did she really care. They needed to talk for sure, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for that conversation just yet. She needed to comb through her thoughts before she dared even having the conversation they were bound to have.

The girl haven't informed anyone of her situation yet. And it had worked in her favor to keep things under wraps. If she told Jenny or Dan they would without doubt worry about her, and ask her a gazzilion times over if she was okay. Not that getting checked up on was a bad thing, but it would only remind her of stuff she wanted to be distracted from. Plus, when they acted like everything was normal, it worked as the perfect distraction and it truly made Amelia feel like she didn't have anything to worry about.

As Amelia jumped off the bus and headed in the direction of her apartment, a pair of fingers circled around her upper arm, yanking her into a nearby alley. The girl squealed loudly, ripping her arm away from the firm grip. "What the hell?!" Amelia yelled, turning to glare at the person behind her. Her face fell at the sight of him.

"I'm sorry, but I had to corner you. You haven't been answering my calls." Devon Sterling stood before his girlfriend, an apologetic look clouding his face.

     Amelia frowned deeply at the sight of the blonde, taking a step away. "You know, knocking on my door or calling my name down the street like a normal person was just fine too."

     "Would you have stopped?" Devon raised the question, earning silence from the girl. "Exactly. Look, Amelia, we need to talk."

     "What's there to talk about?" The brunette questioned, feigning ignorance.

     Devon rolled his eyes, not buying her act. "You know what."

     "Fine. Speak then." She huffed, leaning against the brick building behind her.

     "I'm so sorry about Mikaela. She's literally just a friend, I swear. We've been friends for a while, but she's not important enough to me that I've ever thought of mentioning her, or introducing you guys." He explained.

     Amelia snorted in disbelief. "Do you really expect me to buy all that stuff? You told me you were going camping with your family. Suddenly, 'Mikaela' who I've never met is answering the phone, telling me your in the shower. Since when did camping tents come with a shower section? And if she's just so irrelevant, why was she invited to your camping trip and not me."

     Devon pressed his lips into a thin line, just now realizing how badly he had messed up. He ran a hand through his disheveled blonde hair, staring at his girlfriend with hope. "Amelia please—"

"No. I'm not going to give into you just because you ask me nicely. Devon we've been together for seven months, almost eight. Did those mean nothing to you?" Heartbreak was clear in her voice. "I knew who you used to be before we got together, we've been friends forever. But you told me that you were putting those habits behind you when we made it official."

     Before the pair began dating, Devon had a reputation from jumping from girl to girl. Of course Amelia never minded that as his friend, but as his girlfriend? It just wasn't acceptable. Her biggest fear going into the relationship was that it would end up ruining their friendship if they ever broke up, and seemed to her that her nightmares were coming true.

     "Just give me a chance to explain, alright?" The blonde begged.

     Amelia crossed her arms over her chest, determination in her eyes. "What's there to explain? I don't want anymore lies. Can you look me in the eye and honestly tell me that you're not cheating on me?"

     Silence enfugled the tow as they stared into each other's eyes. While their eyes matched, they both held entirely different emotions. Amelia's blue eyes swam with heartbreak and sadness, a sense of betrayal and anger hiding behind them. Devon on the other hand was plagued with guilt and regret. A fleeting moment of pleasure wasn't worth throwing several months of a relationship and years of friendship away for. But he was realizing all of that too late.

     His lack of words confirmed Amelia's suspicion, and along with it, made her sure of her decision. "We're over Devon. Don't contact me again."

     With that, Amelia stalked down the street in the direction of her apartment, a sense of relief washing over her as a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

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     "Hey, Amelia could you meet me and Serena downtown at this club? Dad just called me frantically looking for Jenny and Eric. We're headed there now and I think we'll need all the back up we can get." Dan's voice spoke from over the phone, hopeful that the girl wasn't too busy.

     "Yeah, I just got off from work. Are you sure it's a club? Why would Jenny be there, isn't she suppose to be at that sleepover?" Amelia asked, exiting the building she worked in.

     "I'll explain everything later, okay? I'll text you the address, see you there." With another word, Dan hung up the phone, leaving Amelia confused and just a little irritated that her plans to head home and dive into her bed were interrupted.

As promised by Dan, Amelia's phone chimed with the text from Dan, an address to the location available. The girl quickly hailed a cab, climbing in as she instructed where to go.

     Amelia would take any excuse to get her mind off of Devon. Much to her pleasure, he hadn't texted nor called since their encounter. A part of her was so angry with him. Not only did he betray her, but he forced a conversation by cornering her in an alley when she had explicitly told him she wasn't ready to talk. The way he'd constantly cross boundaries and disrespect her really made her view him differently. He was no longer that charming dork she fell in love with, but rather an arrogant asshole who was so full of himself it made her want to puke.

     The Hopper her found herself feeling guilty for not being more torn up about the situation. They had know each other for such a long time, dated for almost eight months, and now it was decided that they were never going to see each other again. The girl should have been nestled in her bed like a depressed mess, crying her heart out for her first breakup. But she couldn't help but not feeling a thing. During and directly after their conversation she found herself carrying an overwhelming amount of anger at the boy, but now? It was as if he never exsisted.

     Amelia would always tell her friends and family that if a boy ever cheated on her, she wouldn't get that upset. Obviously if he was capable of doing something like that towards her, he wasn't worth her time or energy. And that was exactly what she was currently feeling. The only thing she was truly mad at was the fact that she had just wasted an entire summer and more on some stupid relationship that would end up in flames anyway. She could've spent the time with someone she cared about, or gathering extracurriculars, or at an internship that would look splendid on her college application. All that time wasted, and all of it for nothing.

     After what felt like five minutes but in reality was twenty, the taxi let Amelia off just outside of the blasting nightclub. Thanking the driver and handing him his money, Amelia climbed out of the taxi, makin a duly note to take the metro next time, as taking the taxi was way to expensive.

     She found herself feeling underdressed as staggering women stumbled out of the club, dressed in expensive short dresses tight enough that you could see their heartbeat, and painfully high heels. Fortunately for her, she spotted Serena and Dan rather quickly. She waved at the pair, rushing over.

     "You sure this is the place?" Amelia questioned, doubtful that little Jenny had snuck into the nightclub. Dan gave the girl a curt nod, the three swiftly breezing past the que and into the club.

     "Do you see Jenny or your brother?" Dan queried, his eyes scanning the nightclub. Amelia shook her head, desperately looking for the young blonde herself.

The Hopper girl felt a pointy elbow jab her in her rib, causing her to spin around. A blonde woman grabbed the girl, rage burning in her eyes. "Are you her? Are you Claire?" The woman barked, her nails digging into Amelia's arms.

"What? No!" The woman let go of her death grip in the brunette, stalking down the stairs as she disappeared into the sea of party goers. Amelia stared at Serena and Dan in bewilderment. "Did you guys just see that lady completely manhandle me or am I hallucinating."

"Come on." Serena disappeared down into the crowd, Dan and Amelia hot in her heels. The three quickly found the table not only Jenny and Eric were located at, but Blair and her clique as well.

Before any of them even had time to say anything the woman from before tailed after a man who happened to stumble on over.

"Hey! Where's my phone!" He yelled, grabbing Blair's upper arm.

"Get away from her." Serena barked, shoving the man away from the Waldorf.

"Your phone is at our table." Blair stated, voice covered in disgust. "If you weren't too drunk and drooling over every girl in this place, you would have noticed that."

Amelia's eyes went wide watching the scene infront of her unravel.

"I'm going to kill you." The blonde woman threatened, stepping towards Blair.

Blair simply rolled her eyes, unbothered. "Oh, you must be Amanda, right? Well, I would think twice before marrying him because he's a pig."

The woman lounged at Blair, Serena shoving her away. "Hey, hey! Back off of her!"

"I don't need you to defend me." Blair said in annoyance.

Suddenly Jenny stepped into the heated fight brewing. "It wasn't even her that called you. It was me." The Humphrey girl announced.

"So she's the one with the tongue?" Amanda said accusingly, a finger pointed at the blonde fourteen year old.

"Tongue?!" Dan repeated in confusion and disgust. Amelia's mouth fell open at the word. "What are you even doing here, your suppose to be at a sleepover."

"You made out with a girl from a sleepover?" The woman repeated, disgust and rage evident as she yelled.

"You made out with him?" Dan yelled at the same time as the guy yelled "Wait, I made out with her?"

"It was a dare." Jenny defended. Amelia could swear that by each new piece of information was presented to them, the Amanda woman came closer to combusting.

"A dare?" She scoffed. "What are you? Children?"

Dan chuckled darkly. "Yeah pretty much. She's fourteen."

Effective immediately both Amanda's and the guy's friend fell in shock.

"Fourteen?!" They yelled in unison.

The man held his hands up in defense. "Jesus. I swear I had no idea baby." He quickly tried defending his actions. "I mean, look at her! She's jailbait!"

"What was that?" Dan yelled. Jenny quickly interfered.

"Dan, stay out of it." She exclaimed. "You're just causing more problems than you're solving."

"No, the only problem here is that cocktail napkin you're wearing." Dan fired back, gesturing to the very revealing dress cladding the fourteen year old. Amelia punch Dan's shoulder, shooting him a disapproving look, letting her know that the comment was uncalled for.

"That's what I'm talking about." The man cheered, agreeing with Dan.

It only seemed to fuel the Humphrey boy further into anger. "You're not talking about anything." Dan yelled, grabbing the guy by the shirt.

"Dan, don't." Amelia grabbed his shoulders, harshly yanking him away from the man with the help of Serena. Fortunately, the security approached them all.

"Alright. All of you out before I call the cops." He instructed, hand gesturing towards the exit. The group of teens obliged, all heading out on the street.

Amelia sighed in relief that the strong scent of booze, perfume and sweat was swapped out with the outside air. But just as she exited, her eyes fell on a familiar head of blonde hair, her stomach dropping.

Merely a few feet away from her, Devon stood with a dark haired girl on his arm, closely pulling her to his body. Amelia could her stomach drop, bile rising up her throat. Despite having broken up, seeing with a girl the same day they ended it made her sick to her bones. It only furthermore confirmed that she had made the right decision. Fortune for Amelia, both Dan and Jenny was too much in a rush to exit to notice Amelia's ex boyfriend ( boyfriend for all they knew ) with his hands all over another woman.

Amelia tore her eyes away from the pair just in time to slip by the Sterling boy undetected.

"What were you thinking?" Serena exclaimed as soon as she stepped out next to Blair. The Waldorf girl crossed her arms over her chest in irritation.

"He was bored. He wanted to get out and have some fun." Blair defended her reasoning for jail breaking Eric out without warning from the Ostroff.

"So you took him to a bar?" It wasn't that Serena didn't want Eric out of that place so that he could get back to his life again, but after everything that had happened she was feeling scared and protective over him, now more then ever. She was scared that hanging out with the wrong crowd could harm him.

"He didn't do anything wrong." Blair groaned. "I thought you'd be happy."

"Well, I'm not, okay?" Serena barked. "I can't believe you did this." It wasn't just that she had broken Eric out without alerting anyone, it was the fact that her mother had to hassle Dan's father because she was worried sick about her son, and it was the fact that she had to interrupted the perfect date with Dan for some stupid scene she had caused at the nightclub because of a dare.

Eric stepped between the two girls. "I wasn't kidnapped, Serena. I left on my own free will." He defended the Waldorf girl. "Blair was trying to do me a favor."

"Told you."

"Well, it's not a favor, Eric. You're in a lot of trouble." Serena sighed.

Eric nodded. "Yeah I know. And you know what? It was all worth it. To be out after dark, and to talk to someone who isn't you or mom, even if it is Blair. No offense."

"None taken."

"Well, I'm sorry this was the only way." Serena apologized. "We'll work on mom. And since she know you're okay, I guess there's no reason to rush." The sister smiled, pulling her little brother into an embrace. He smiled back at her fondly.

"Thanks."

     "You're a good sister." Amelia complimented as Blair returned to her friends, Eric walking a couple of feet infront of them. Serena smiled at the brunette. "Eric's lucky to have you."

     "Thank you. You have no idea how good that is to hear." Serena thanked.

     Amelia skipped on over to the next set of siblings, these two having a much more heated argument.

     "What is wrong with you!" Dan questioned Jenny as Amelia halted at his side. "This is not who you are."

     Jenny scoffed. "Yeah, and who are you right now, dad?" Amelia's was shocked by the amount of venom laced in the Humphrey girl's voice. She had only seen this side of Jenny twice before, and it was truly nasty.

     Dan neverminded the snide comment. "We are not doing this right now. We can do it at home, let's go." He decided.

     The blonde stood her ground, arms crossed snarkily across her chest. "Except I'm not  going home, I'm going with my friends."

     As if in cue, Blair called for the girl. "Coming Jenny?"

     "Yeah one second." She replied. She turned back to her brother. "Look, I'm really sorry things got out of hand tonight—"

     "To say the least."

     "—I know who Blair and those girls are. But I also know who I am. And I'm not just going to forget that just cause I hang out with them." Jenny said, truly believing the words as she spoke them.

     "Come on, we're leaving!"

     "Coming!" Jenny called after the friend group. "Please just let me go. I mean, look, I'll be tucked into bed in half an hour anyways. I promise."

     Dan sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright. Go ahead." He allowed, watching his little sister beam with appreciation.

     "Thank you!" She squeal, chasing after Blair and the others down the street.

     "I so hope I'm not going to regret that." Dan sighed. Amelia patted his shoulder reassuringly.

     "Well, she's not really your responsibility. She's going to do what she wants regardless of what you or anyone else says, so you might as well be on her side when she does it." Amelia stated. "Now let's go, I'm ready to be tucked in myself." Dan had no idea just how ready she was to hit the hay.

     "Good plan."

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Spotted: big brother to the not-quite rescue.
Too bad no one told him that you can't save the damsel who loves her distress. Word is that Jenny Humphrey killed at Blair Waldorf's sleepover, it was a debut the likes of which haven't been seen since Blair herself. If Blair's gotta watch her back, Serena needs to keep an eye out for her heart we hear it might be stolen by Lonely boy.
Put out and A.P.B,

Gossip girl

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word count; 4440
a/n

i truly don't know how i've done it or where the inspiration is coming from, but the last five chapters i have literally updated once a day ? like, what happened to me posting one chapter and dipping for a year ? guess there's always room for improvement ! anywho, what do you guys think of the story till now ? really excited to keep writing and updating, i'm having so so much fun. and now that things at crumbling with amelia and dev, things are about to get heated between her and nate. . . so stay tuned !

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