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[filmstarbeauty]

"There's nothing there," Blair said fingering the double strand of pearls around her neck. Hair slicked back into a low knot at the base of her neck, she touched the coffee table. Not much, but what could one expect from a man who lived alone? It didn't matter really, he could be such a dear when he wanted to be

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[filmstarbeauty]

When a girl is trying to decide if the past year and then some of her life had exactually happened or just been one very bad post-Thanksgiving nightmare there was really one method of coping. A very strong Bloody Mary and a nice review of the Post. Sitting in the living room, she scanned the various headlines having a serious sense of deja vu as she waited for people to show up.

Was this just her and S or had everyone else been drinking from the poorly filtered water?

[turnthebadinme]

Admittedly, Serena had taken her time over breakfast, enjoying the opportunity for a quiet morning with Beat at Sant Ambroeus. That it had made her Gossip Girl fodder had neither crossed her mind nor come to her attention yet. All lingering aside, it was good to be home -- and the Waldorf townhouse was as much that as anywhere else was. Stepping off the elevator with Beat in tow, she headed directly for the living room, seating herself beside Blair. "No one else here yet?"

She'd never doubted that B would remember if she did. It was the others she worried about.

[filmstarbeauty]

Munching lazily on a celery stalk, Blair had been in the midst of wondering if her mother had redecorated or not during her absence - an absurd thought since she hadn't really been gone, but still possible given her mother when Serena burst in. Not exactly on time, but clocks weren't exactly a big deal on the island.

If there had been an island at all. Seeing the boyfriend who was not Dan Humphrey lagging behind her, Blair gave Beat a casual wave as she nodded and swallowed. "No. You are the first. Naturally."

[turnthebadinme]

Serena sighed, slumping back into the corner of the seat, fidgety. "I just hope everyone else remembers," she said, shaking her head. "What if it's just the three of us? What if everyone thinks we're crazy?"

There was a comfort in knowing they weren't, but that didn't make her care any the less about what everyone else would say if she started talking about a magic island. They'd been through such a lot there, it would be upsetting at the least if no one else remembered.

[filmstarbeauty]

"Then we do what everyone else does," Blair said simply, clinking the ice against the edges of her glass.

Sure hallucinating an island was a fairly new thing as far as she had heard, but it wasn't totally unlike some of things that had been come up with.

"We tell people our tans are from a weekend in Cabo, stick to the ages on our driver's licenses and pretend it never happened."

[turnthebadinme]

"A weekend that took place between yesterday and today?" Serena protested, eyebrow raising, but the general idea of it was good. College was waiting, college and a whole world in which to travel, and if she was back for real, then she couldn't waste time mourning whatever she'd left behind. She'd missed this life a whole lot more than she was ready to say. "Then... I guess we're seventeen again. I really didn't think I'd be lying about being younger for at least another decade."

[filmstarbeauty]

"This is the Upper East Side," Blair said carefully as if Serena had misheard her. It was quite possible that she still had some risidual sand stuck in her ears.

"Nobody thinks to hard about anything unless they want to. Look at what happened to your brother."

[turnthebadinme]

That in itself was proof enough of what Blair was saying. Serena didn't want to look at what had happened. It wasn't the kind of thing she could think about long.

"Good point," she said, fixing on a smile. "I really should check on him. I heard him in his room this morning, but I was so... flustered by all this, I didn't bother looking in..." Mostly she'd been trying to hide Beat and see the city again.

[filmstarbeauty]

"Oh sweetie," Blair patted Serena's hand affectionately, rolling her eyes. This was just the sort of thing S would do. Laying the groundwork of doublechecking that Eric was both alright and in on the whole 'are we crazy or aren't we?' thing would have been the first thing Blair would have done.

No, second. The first thing she would have done would have been the same as what she did today: gargle with a very strong mouthwash. "He's resiliant, but yes, checking would be good."

[turnthebadinme]

"I guess I'll text him in a minute." It had been easy not to worry about Eric. She'd seen him just the day before, after all. Somehow it hadn't occurred to her that he might not be okay or that he wouldn't know about all that had happened. And if he didn't, dealing with it first thing hardly seemed like a good idea. Now Serena couldn't help feeling guilty for it. "It's nice to be back, though, with Dorota and everything. Is your mom around?"

[filmstarbeauty]

Waving a hand in the direction of the rest of the house, Blair had only a handful of guesses as to where her mother could be.

"I didn't see a note, but that doesn't mean she didn't forget to leave one telling me that she wasn't jetting off to Paris or some place. She could be at her studio or on Mars for all I care," she said with a shrill laugh. Except she did care. For all that she loathed to admit it, she really did miss her mother.

[turnthebadinme]

"I didn't see my mom this morning either," Serena said. It was an awkward stab at comfort, but it was an attempt all the same. "They're probably both off doing... whatever it is they do. But I'm sure they'll be back." There had been more than a few times when her mother had flown off without word, but it had been a long time since she'd just abandoned Serena and Eric like that. She didn't want to be here and not see her even once.

[filmstarbeauty]

There were several things that Blair could have said on the subject of Serena's mother but she decided to stay silent. It was for the best. She loved Mrs van der Woodsen, but their mothers weren't know for their maternal instincts

"They always do come back, don't they?"

[satdownandwrote]

I'm contemplating last night's Daily Show when it occurs to me to go talk to Blair. Well, I'm half-contemplating, since I can't seem to stop contemplating that picture of Serena and that guy. And if I say 'contemplating' one more time, I'm going to jump out of my own head.

Blair looks... happy, although most fascist dictators do. Maybe she's just crushed the souls of thousands of unarmed Lybians, or maybe she's glad to be home from an island in the middle of... somewhere... or nowhere...

Every time I consider Jenny and Vanessa's story, I respect myself a little less. And as I walk up to Blair, I realize that I have officially lost every ounce of dignity I once clung to.

"Hey, uh," I begin, shifting as I stop in front of Blair, "have you seen Serena?"

[filmstarbeauty]

The important thing to remember was that it was the day after Thanksgiving. This meant that despite the increased number of tourists in the city, there were things to do, facials to have, shoes to try on. Despite the collective memory set she shared with a few select others, there was nothing to say that she hadn't just spent her favourite holiday rehashing Lily van der Woodsen's wild groupie sexual history with Rufus Humphrey.

As soon as the other nonblonde Humphrey appeared in front of her, she felt distinctly nauseated. Looking up, she dropped her celery stalk back into her drink and shook her head. "No, haven't seen her. But she'll be here soon. Her and Beat are on their way or haven't you heard?" Desperate to avoid looking at him for as long as possible, she shifted in her seat.

"Where's Little J and Vanessa? She's not trying to sell Dorota on gluten-free because we're just not buying it."

[satdownandwrote]

"So you're on a first-name basis with this guy?" I demand, blanching. It's a bit of gall, even for a Waldorf. Even for this particular Waldorf. "And his name is 'Beat?'" That seems the bigger crime for a second, but just the span of that second.

"They were behind me. Look, Blair, if you know something, you need to tell me." I know trying to get a straight answer out of Blair that's not ripped from the Gossip Girl headlines is pretty useless, but maybe she's taken her rich-girl medication for once and is feeling generous.

I doubt it.