Starting Over: rewrite

Auctions and Movie Premieres

Did you like Serena and Carter together?

Serena's POV

"There's a reason we never went downtown." Blair comments. "It's awful." She complains. "The minute you cross 14th street, people forget there's a class system."

"B, you'll find your place. Just give it time." I encourage her.

"No, I found my place, and it's at the bottom. It's a point of pride now that I see who's on top. Anyway, it's all turned out for the best. If I hadn't been so distracted, I would've been able to force you to go to Brown."

"That's sweet, but no, you wouldn't have." I argue. "I am sorry, I pulled a disappearing act on you."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to make it up to me. In the handbag department at Bendel's." We laugh at the joke. "Now, normally, I'd be more worried about Brown, but you actually seem a lot better than you have in a while."

"I really am." I smile big at her.

"It was so much easier when it was just about where we sat on the Met steps."

"Yeah, but we've...we've been here, done this."

"But I was so good at it."

"Well..." I motion for Blair to stand up. "Then it's time for a new challenge for both of us."

"Oh, like you trying to get Ella to forgive you?" Blair asks.

"You know."

"Of course I know. Chuck doesn't hold anything back."

"So you're on her side?"

"There are no sides when we're all three best friends." Blair argues. "I do agree it was a horrible thing you did to Chuck and an even more horrible thing to hook up with Carter Baizen."

"You hooked up with him too." I remind her.

"And I should know how horrible it is. Ella was in a lot of pain this summer S. She doesn't like to tell people that but...seeing him with you everywhere she looked it made her feel less than."

"But she's in love with Nate. Why should it matter what Carter is doing?" I argue.

"Because Ella never stopped loving him." Blair shares with me.

"What?"

"Their relationship didn't end because they fell out of love with each other but because Carter stopped loving her."

"But she moved on with Nate." I remind her.

"You got jealous when Dan moved on despite you two being broken up. It hurts when someone you once loved moves on. I know from experience. I never wanted Chuck to move on with anyone, and...jealousy is a bitch."

"So Ella is jealous of me now?" I ask.

"Oh no, she's not jealous of you but jealous of the connection Carter seems to have with you." She explains.

"I'm not even dating Carter."

"Aren't you?" B questions me. "As sweet as my dad is, he still left our family for someone else. We've all moved on from it and have become a better family, but the pain of his absence is real. Bart never had any interest in Ella and Chuck their whole lives, and Carter is doing the same thing with Palmer."

"He just doesn't feel like he has the ability to be a father and...Nate is..."

"S, if you're not dating him, you sure are heavily defending him." Blair points out.