CHAPTER SEVEN
EX'S AND OH'S
"i'd rather you
leave me lonely"
˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

     The Humphrey loft was particularly heated the Monday after the masquerade ball. Not only had Jenny managed to lose a real diamond braclet that she had lent, but she had been kissed by Nate freaking Archibald. Of course, he hadn't intended to kiss the girl, he had mistaken her for Serena, which really only complicated the situation further. Nate had kissed Dan's sister with the intention of kissing Dan's girlfriend who happened to be his girlfriend's best friend. Things couldn't get messier then that, right? God how badly Jenny wanted to skip school. Facing Blair after sharing a secret kiss with her boyfriend when she wasn't even suppose to be there? Not to mention the missing bracelet. If Blair ever found out she was sure to shun the girl and ruin her socially till the end of time. It was quite the predicament she was caught in.

Amelia had been just as shocked by the kiss, if not more. The last thing she had expected when rounding that corner was to find Jenny locking lips with Nathaniel Archibald. For some reason it really suprised her that the golden boy would cheat on Blair. Judging Nate from the limited interactions they had shared, she though he was a decent guy. But cheating and with the best friend? Amelia just couldn't forget it. Both Jenny and Amelia was torn over what to do. On one side the girls wanted to come clean to the Waldor girl. Jenny was confiding in Amelia to figure out what to do exactly. Amelia was encouraging Jenny to tell Blair. Though it may backfire, she believed it was the right thing to do. After all, the Hopper girl certainly was more of a girls girl.

Jenny was still not convinced what to do. She didn't know enough about the situation, or their relationship. It wasn't her place to tell, it was Nate's. And it invovled more people as well. Fortunately for her, she had time to decided what to do. She would just have to avoid the Waldorf throughout the day while deciding.

"No, you guys don't understand!" Jenny exclaimed, rummaging through her room looking for the bracelet. "The store lent it to me for the ball, and I don't find it, Blair's gonna kill me!" Jenny continued vigorously searching. "It's under her name, and she doesn't even know I went."

Vanessa and Amelia stood side by side, sharing a look over the panicked blonde. The duo understood Jenny's panick to a certain extent, but as they never divulged into the scandalously world of the wealthy elite, they would never understand completely. It was probably the only thing Vanessa and Amelia had in common.

     "Dad, have you seen the bracelet?" Jenny questioned, interrupting his phone call. "You know, round, silverish, sparkly?"

     Rufus pulled the phone from his ear. "Yeah, I think I saw it next to that ambiguous vague thing by that nondescripting place." He sarcastically replied to his daughter, receiving a groan in response.

     "He doesn't know." Jenny deadpanned. "Wait, who are you talking to?" She suspiciously asked.

     "Your mother."

     The mention of her mom sparked hope in her. "Tell her I say hi." Jenny smiled, hopeful that phone calls would soon turn into physical conversations. Their mom had originally promised to return from Hudson after summer, but summer had blown by long ago, and there was still no Alison Humphrey in sight. Dan remained pessimistic about the situation, convinced that their mom was never returning. Jenny on the other hand held out hope for her return. She dearly missed her mom, and as a fourteen year old struggling at school and with friends, she needed a maternal figure in her life.

"I'm sure if you tell this Blair girl the truth that she'll—"

"I'm going to stop you right there." Amelia cut of Vanessa mid sentence. "Telling Blair the truth will, without doubt, end in nothing short of disastrous. Blair believes I'm torturing the messenger, she bites the hand of the one who feeds her. That girl doesn't give a shit if you're doing the right thing or not."

The Hopper girl obviously couldn't hold it against Vanessa that she didn't understand the ways of the upper east siders. She had been gone for over a year after all. But the girl acted like she was somewhat all-knowing about every aspect of life. It was obvious that she didn't know any aspect of the wealthy elite of the city, and she had absolutely no idea what it was like for Amelia, Jenny and Dan to attend the prissy private school, interacting with the upper east siders on a daily basis.

"We should get to school, we're going to be late." Jenny said, gathering her books in her bag. Amelia nodded, following after the blonde out the door, waving goodbye to Rufus and Vanessa.

     The previous night had not only involved secret kisses and lost bracelets, but Jenny had finally managed to act out her vengeance towards Chuck Bass. When she had disappeared, it had been to strike her revenge by luring the Bass onto the rooftop, tricking him into leaving every article of clothing behind— including his pants with his phone in the pocket— and finally she shut the door, locking him up in the cold night all by his lonesome. Jenny Humphrey had managed to strip the Bass without him enjoying it, which was quite the accomplishment.

     Upon hearing Jenny's reasoning for her disappearing act, Amelia had forgiven her for once again leaving her behind. But she made it very clear that if she was ever to attend one of those stupid parties again, it would only be on the condition that the only one allowed to do any ditching was Amelia herself. Jenny had agreed to the terms.

     The trip to school went by quickly as the two girls chatted amongst themselves, the main topic being the Nate and Blair situation. Jenny was still not sure what to do, and it didn't look like she was about to figure it out anytime soon. Especially since Nate Archibald was about the decision even harder for her. . .

     The Archibald scanned the girls' hallway with his eyes, looking for the Humphrey and the Hopper. He found the duo conversing by the courtyard, and he made sure that Blair was nowhere to be seen as he approached.

"Jenny, Amelia." Nate halted infront of the girls.

Jenny offered the boy a puzzled look. "Nate? Uh, what are you doing in the girls' hall?" Amelia peered up at the boy in curiosity, silently wondering why he had approached them. Luckily for her, he was about to reveal it.

"I was actually looking for you." He replied, eyes slipping to Amelia. "Both of you." He cleared his throat before continuing. "You know, I really didn't mean anything I said about having feelings for Serena. . ."

"Sure you didn't." Amelia replied, sarcasm evident. Nate chewed in his bottom lip, realizing that convincing the two of them would prove more challenging than he thought.

"Maybe you didn't." Jenny began. "I just— I mean, I didn't even care. But some people might." And by some people she mentioned Blair. And Dan. And Serena.

"Yeah I know." Nate sighed.

"Yeah, including my brother." Jenny added. Nate pulled a box of chocolates from behind his back, holding it for the two girls to see. "You brought me chocolates?"

"It's for you both. Look, I know you care about being friends with Blair, and your
brother— he's with serena,and I'm with Blair, and I just really need
you guys to help me out here."

Amelia and Jenny shared a look of uncertainty. "Sure. . ." Jenny trailed off at the end.

"You promise?"

"Promise what?" Blair Waldorf questioned, plopping down into the seat next to Jenny.

Nate quickly handed his girlfriend the chocolates, thinking of a lie to tell. "Uh, promise to help me come up with a more creative apology than these. I'm sorry for taking you for granted lately, okay?"

Blair smiled sweetly at her boyfriend, accepting the gift. "That is so sweet! I prefer the gold collection, but thank you."

Amelia rolled her eyes, finding his lame attempt to sway her and Jenny into silence irritating. And she made that annoyance clear when she pushed herself from the bench, excusing herself. Nate quickly excused himself from his girlfriend and Jenny, subtly following after the Hopper girl down the hallway.

"Hey! Hey Hopper wait up!" He called after the girl, jogging up to her. "Why are you so angry?" Nate questioned in confusion.

Amelia couldn't help but roll her eyes yet again at the boy. "You're expecting me not to find that entire ordeal completely infuriating? Nate, you bought a box of chocolates to shut us up, and then gave it to the girlfriend you want to keep secrets for to keep her from revealing it all. Don't you see the irony of it all?"

Nate turn his head away in shame. "I just thought—"

"You thought wrong." Amelia interjected. "I might not be Blair's biggest fan, but I've been in her shoes, and trust me, it's not fun. Since I happen to enjoy your company, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and let you tell her yourself. She deserve to hear it from you. If you don't, don't expect me to lie to her on your expense." Amelia harshly informed, leaving Nate behind to deal with the news by himself.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Spotted: S and not so lonely boy clearly past courtship in the courtyard.
Jenny Humphrey's rise to the penthouse has been short and sweet, but if she crossed Blair Waldorf, it's straight back down to the basement. Looks like this little lamb needs to stay silent or else. . .

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

     The rest of the school day had gone by smoothly, and fortunately Amelia had managed to avoid both Blair and Nate the entire rest of the night. The Hopper girl was beginning to regret treating the golden boy that harshly, but she quickly reminded herself that what he had done was much more than her offering him an ultimatum. Now, the ball was in his court, and it was up to him to decided how the game would end.

After riding on the bus home with Jenny and Dan, she had parted ways with them at her apartment complex. She quickly got her key out to unlock the entrance door, swiftly escaping into the ratty looking entrance. Amelia had no shame admitting that she lived in one of more seedy looking apartment buildings in the city, but it wasn't completely slaughtering her bank accounts, and her neighbors were nice. They always greeted her in the hallways and never made noise.

The girl rushed up the straits to the second floor, her apartment being the first door as she exited the staircase. Much to her suprise, Devon stood on her doormat, leaning against the door to her apartment.

Amelia let out a sigh of exasperation, loud enough to catch his attention. "Finally, I've been waiting forever."

"How did you even get in?" Amelia questioned, brushing past him to unlock her door. She figured she might as well hand him the box of his stuff she had prepared. The Sterling boy followed her into the apartment. "Whatever, I don't even want to know. Here's your stuff, you can leave now." She shoved the box into his arms, attempting to throw the door shut in his face. Unfortunately for her, he was quicker, throwing his foot in the way.

"Firstly, ouch. Secondly, are you being for real? You're going to actually break up with me?" Amelia stared at her ex in disbelief.

"Are you actually joking? You cheated." Amelia exclaimed. "Didn't me dumping you and completely ghosting you get the message through your thick skull?"

The blonde shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "I don't know, I figured you needed time to cool off or something. And I got you something." Devon waved a book in her face, handing her the present.

"Devon, really? A book?" Amelia scoffed in disbelief. "Your skull is thicker then this book if you think I'm going to forgive you after what you did over a mere present? I don't even like this book series. God, how does even a single thought manage to penetrate you dumb head."

     Devon shrugged. "It's never failed to make you happy before."

     "This time is different. A stupid present isn't going to make all forgiven. Get that through your head. I'm never ever getting back together with you!" Amelia yelled, get frustration growing by the minute.

     "What? Just because of the thing with Mikaela? You didn't even hear me out on that! It was nothing, it meant nothing." Devon attempted to convince the girl. She simply rolled her eyes.

     "That's exactly it, Devon. You were willing to do all of this for someone who doesn't even mean anything to you. You did all of this for nothing. And don't act like you weren't all over some girl the same day we broke up. And don't even try denying it cause I saw you." Amelia fired. He opened his mouth, but the brunette was quick to silence him. "Whatever you're about to say, save it. You'll only dig your own grave even deeper than you already have. Now I suggest you get the hell out of here or else I swear I will literally scream."

     Devon nodded curtly, stalking away with his box filled with his things. Amelia threw the door shut, making sure to lock it before retreating to her bed. She could already feel the headache creeping on.

      The Hopper girl could only hope Devon would accept her no for an answer and back off once and for all, but knowing the stubborn Sterling, it wasn't very likely. . .

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Looks like the pot calling the kettle
black has young bass boiling over, and if we know Chuck, he's
not one to let things lie. Someone pour that man a drink.

Looks like cold hard cash can get you the cold hard truth. Didn't anyone tell you, N? Be careful what you fish for. . .

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Spotted: Bass drunk off his ass at the palace bar, drinking away his woes and investment capital.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

"I think I'm going to be sick."

The rest of Amelia's day after Devon had left couldn't be explained das anything but uneventful. Dan and Jenny had both been busy doing their own thing, and Vanessa was obviously not her first choice of companion. Usually she'd spend the evening with her now ex, but that was also obviously not happening anytime soon. Nate and her wasn't exactly close enough to be calling each other to hang out, she didn't even have his number. The girl hadn't gotten any further shifts at her job either considering as she was just an extra hired as a call in. Amelia, like the try hard she was, had also finished all of her schoolwork, which is why she ended up spending the remaining hours of the day giving into temptation and shamefully reading the book Devon had gotten her. Of course it didn't mean anything, she was simply bored out of existence.

After falling asleep with the lights on and the book still in her lap, she had a great nights of sleep. Right now she was staring at her best friend with a mixture of disbelief and disgust. After following Vanessa's lead into the Humphrey loft ( they had bumped into one another by the entrance by unfortunate chance ), they had walked in on Dan watching porn. Considering Amelia basically viewed the teen boy as her brother, uncovering him watching porn made her nauseous.

Dan shamefully hid the dvd away from the intruding girls, annoyed by their unannounced entrance. "See—" Dan began demonstrating a knock while speaking. "—you curl your fingers into a fist, and with simple thrust of force, you knock on the door.

"Hey,I didn't use the fire escape. Baby steps." Vanessa retorted before reeling back to the topic at hand. "And what are you doing watching porn?"

"It's not porn. It's art cinema."

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Dan, don't even. We've already busted you."

Vanessa nod. "Oh, and from what I saw earlier, you don't need to be doing research." Amelia arched a brow in curiosity at the comment.

"What happened earlier today?" Amelia queried.

Dan shook his head dismissively. "I can't talk about this with you. Either of you."

Vanessa disrespected his wished by continued to pursue the topic. "I'm curious, though, about the change in your attitude, because may I remind you, that
in your pale, romantic, tortured days, you'd vex on,and I quote, that 'sex is meaningful, like art, and you don't rush art'." Vanessa quoted younger Dan,

"That was in, uh, 25. I was more idealistic then." Dan jokingly replied. "I was much younger, and there wasn't an actual girl who wanted to have sex with me." Dan admitted.

"You're. . . going to lose your virginity."

"Can you—"

Vanessa laughed. "—my friend Dan—"

"Please don't turn my sex life into a country song?" Dan plead.

"It's okay. I'm sure serena knows what to do, what with her vast experiences
with boarding school professors, pamplonian bullfighters, best friends' boyfriends—"

"Careful V, your jealousy is showing by the slut shaming of Serena." Amelia interjected, annoyed by Vanessa's attempt to make a joke on behalf of Serena. Thus far, Serena had only ever been nice to the Hopper girl, and though they weren't exactly close, she wasn't about to sit around and let the Abrams girl bash the blonde simply because she lacked the ability to get over Dan.

"That's enough now. You can go. Please." Dan instructed the both of them, not in the mood to listen to them fight.

Vanessa brushed of Amelia's comment, deciding to offer some real piece of advice to Dan. "But if it were me with you. . . I'd want you to hide cedric, maybe get some candles and replace the football sheets."

The way Vanessa worded herself didn't sit right with Amelia, but nontheless she agreed. "Going to have to side with Vanessa on this one. Having a creep doll stare you down while getting at it is the recipe for the Sahara desert." Amelia agreed, speaking from experience. Horrible, embarrassing, traumatizing experience.

"Erm, thanks for the advice, I' think I'll take it from here."

Later tha evening Amelia found herself side by side with Vanessa once again, only this time at Rufus' art gallery. They had both received a message from Jenny to meet them there. Apparently she had taken Amelia's advice and told Blair, and well, as predicted, it didn't go down well with the brunette.

"Well, you look pretty good for a dead messenger." Vanessa attempted to comfort the blonde as she approached them. The compliment fell on deaf ears.

"I thought I was doing the right thing." Jenny spoke in de east ion. All she had oh so desperately worked for this fall fell through her hands like grains of sand simply because she decided to be honest with someone she though was her friend. How pathetically depressing.

"You did." Amelia assured. "We both know that lie would've eaten away at you until you gave in anyway. Now Blair knows the truth, and she and Nate can talk about it. Honest communication is what every good relationship is based on, at least, that's what I hear."

"I just— I think how I'd feel, you know, if I loved someone, and they betrayed me. How would you ever get things back to the way they were?" Jenny somberly spoke. Something told her two friends the blonde wasn't speaking of the it couple anymore. . .

"Wait, are we still talking about Blair and Nate here?" Vanessa queried I'm uncertainty.

"Yeah, of course. What else can we be talking about?" Jenny replied.

Vanessa shrugged. "I don't know. Your parents? Look, maybe you don't go
back, maybe you go forward. Get two people in a room willing to be balls-out honest? It might get ugly, but eventually, the dust has to settle, and then you can see if there's hope." Vanessa said, meaning well with the advice. Little did she know just how serious the Humphrey would be taking that advice. . .

The conversation eventually carried on to a new topic, flowing comfortably between the three. Amelia felt her phone buzz in her pocket, peering curiously down at the notification.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Spotted on 5th avenue: a father and son showdown. Too bad not all the
witnesses can be bought off.

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

Amelia frowned deeply at the gossip girl blast, a picture of Nate Archibald plaster underneath the text, his father being forced into the back of a police car merely a few feet away from him. He had scarcely mentioned things about his current family situation when he had been eating Greek takeout at her apartment, but it was obvious that he wasn't ready to talk about it to her, so she hadn't made any attempt to pry. Apparently it was much more serious than she had originally believed it to be.

Amelia shook the boy out of her mind, reminding herself that him and his troubles weren't any of her concern. He probably had his own personal support group built of his family members and friends, and Amelia wasn't a part of that.

After that Amelia had excused herself to head home. Her mind was way too preoccupied by the blast to carry on conversing with Jenny and Vanessa as normal, and she had reached her preferred 'Vanessa interaction meter' for the day ( though her actual preferred amount of interaction with the Abrams remained at exactly zero ). The walk home from the gallery was fortunately short, only about ten minutes or so, and Amelia was happy to spend time unwinding from the past few days by spending some well deserved alone time clearing her head walking.

While Amelia huffed her jacket close to her body as she headed home down the dark streets of New York City, Blair was across the city in a much different sitatuion, making what would end up being the worst yet best choice of her life, and as for Nate? Well he was about to come face with the mistake he had made when he had his father arrested. You see, he hadn't known about the case being built against the Captain for fraud and embezzlement, he had simply tried reaching the man a lesson and hopefully get him into rehab for his drug problem.

And while those to remained in the city to make their mistakes, Jenny Humphrey jumped on the train to Hudson, on her way to not only suprise her mother with a visit, but to heroically convince her to come back to the family in the city. Little did she know how much of a mess that would cause, and how many secrets and lies would be uncovered in the process of mending the broken family, which was already too broken for repair.

Guess this night was a night of bad choices and mistakes, but then again, wasn't that just every other night at the upper east side?

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

As you might have guessed, upper east siders, prohibition never stood a
chance against exhibition. It's human nature to be free. And no matter how long you try to be good, you can't keep a bad girl down. And a mystery girl can't remain a mystery forever. . .

˚✧₊⁎*⁎⁺˳✧༚

word count; 4034
a/n

time really flies, we're dangerously close to entering august. this summer has really flown by and to be honest i'm not ready for it to end ! another thing i'm very exited for is for you guys to see what i have planned for this book and more specifically nate and amelia ! hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please feel free to let me know what you guys know ! i honestly do love the feedback, and it only inspires and motivates me to write even more for y'all ! stay tuned

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