Somebody Out There (1/1)
Title: Somebody Out There
Author: isisizabel
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Nate/Jenny; Chuck/Jenny (friendship)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,073
Author's Note: Episode tag for 3.15 (The 16-Year-Old Virgin). Inspired by the song "Somebody Out There" by The Calling (I think it summed up Jenny's situation perfectly this past episode.
Somebody Out There
By: IsisIzabel
“I knew you were just a kid,” Damien said, his tone laced with mocking regret. A smirk twisted his lips up a second before he allowed the door to close behind him.
No, no, no, no. This wasn’t happening.
Sitting back on the bed, Jenny felt the humiliation start to burn in her chest and work its way up until hot tears pricked the backs of her eyes like needles. She sucked in a sharp breath, gasping, as her trembling hands twisted in the sheets. She willed herself to stay calm, fighting to maintain the desperate control she had carefully constructed upon being named the Queen of the Upper East Side. She needed that thick skin more than ever now.
How could he just leave me?
Jenny flinched at the pitiful little voice in her mind, mentally ordering it to be silent. She lifted her hands to her hair, smoothing it down. She glanced around at the bed, at the slight indent left from Damien’s body beside her.
Oh, God.
She was off the bed in a flash and running to the bathroom before she could think. She barely made it to the toilet before emptying the meager contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl. She reached out, slapping a hand against the roll of toilet paper and tore off a few squares. She wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet before standing back up.
Jenny paused in front of the mirror. She looked at the navy blue slip she had found that darkened her eyes. At the time, she thought it made her look older, more mysterious. Now she felt every bit the teenager playing dress up.
Staggering back into the bedroom, she saw her cell phone beside her purse on the dresser near the door. She walked across the plush carpet and turned it back on. She waited as it loaded. It suddenly lit up, announcing she had twenty unread text messages and half as many voicemails. She set the phone back on the dresser beside her purse. Her purse which contained a grand total of two dollars and thirty-eight cents. She wouldn’t be taking a cab home.
Who the hell could she call?
Her dad would be absolutely no help right now. The last thing she needed was another condescending lecture.
Lily would no doubt bring her dad along, trying desperately to earn more brownie points in her own favor.
Dan was so obsessed with his own post-high school, collegiate world that they barely spoke.
Serena had been supportive of her and Damien earlier, but the idea of calling her stepsister with her tail tucked between her legs in defeat was humiliating. And Serena would probably bring Nate along.
Nate.
Jenny’s heart slammed painfully into her chest.
He had been right. He had tried to warn her about Damien, and she had blown him off. Not only that, but he’d probably gotten hurt when Damien decked him on their way out of the party. He’d gotten hurt trying to help her.
Sighing in defeat, Jenny picked the phone back up. She knew who to call.
***
Nate arrived back at the Palace as the party was breaking up. Serena had called a few minutes earlier to tell them everyone was going back to the Brooklyn apartment to wait for Jenny. Nate had promised he would meet them there, but he had one more lead to try.
He spotted the doorman that had been on duty all night and hurried over. Predictably, the doorman greeted him with a nod and opened the door.
“Hey, man,” Nate started, “I’m looking for a girl, about sixteen. Long blonde hair, blue eyes, black dress … She left about an hour ago with a guy about my height, my age.”
The doorman tilted his head. “There’s been a lot of women coming and going all night.”
Nate rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and bit back a curse. A sudden though struck him and he pulled his cell phone out, going through the pictures. He found the one he wanted almost immediately, grateful he had never actually had enough willpower to delete the photo.
He paused for a second to study it. Agnes had taken it the year before at the rogue fashion show. She had grabbed his phone from his hand and demanded they pose for a picture. He could still remember how soft her cheek felt pressed to his, how her body trembled beneath the arm her wrapped around her waist.
Nate handed the phone to the doorman. “Her.”
Recognition lit the man’s eyes. “I remember her. She was with an older gentleman.”
“Her father,” Nate added. “They arrived together. I need to know if you called them a cab when she left.”
The doorman gave him a curious look. “She never left.”
Nate frowned. “She left about an hour ago-”
“Not the front door,” the doorman refuted firmly.
“You’re certain?”
The doorman smiled slightly. “She thanked me for holding the door for her when they arrived. She was the only one to do that all night. I would not forget her.”
Nate nodded slowly, sighing. It had been worth a shot. There were other exits to the building they could have used. The thanked the doorman and went inside to see Chuck hurrying through the lobby. He was about to call out to his friend when Chuck beat him to it.
“Nate, you’re here.” Chuck seemed uncharacteristically relieved. “I need to take care of something important. Can you do me a favor?”
Nate winced, starting to shake his head. “I can’t. Chuck-”
“Please. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to, but …” Chuck sighed, rubbing his jaw. “This night had been one disaster after the next. I just need you to go get Jenny for me.”
Nate’s eyes widened. “Jenny? Wait-you talked to Jenny?”
Chuck nodded, not really paying attention. “She called me about five minutes ago, asked if I could give her a ride back to Brooklyn, but I have to-”
“Where is she?” Nate cut in, his voice edging on panic. “Is she OK?”
Chuck gave him a strange look. “She sounded a little shaken up, but all right.”
“She took off with Damien-”
“Damien?” Chuck interrupted, his gaze darkening. “The Ambassador’s son?”
“You know him?”
Chuck snorted, disgusted. “Jenny offered to show him around town for me when he came to town a few months ago. I showed up while he was in the middle of having her help him with a drug deal. I thought I talked her into staying away from him.”
“You knew Damien was a drug dealer and that he had Jenny helping him deal and you didn’t tell me?” Nate demanded.
Chuck tilted his head to one side, his gaze indiscernible. “Nate, why would I tell you what Jenny was doing? I thought you two were barely friends.”
Nate swallowed hard. “I’m just worried about her. She took off with him over an hour ago and she isn’t answering anyone’s calls.”
“Room eight-twenty-one,” Chuck said softly. “She never left the building.”
Nate didn’t bother thanking Chuck as he headed for the elevators.
***
Jenny was sitting on the floor waiting. She had left the room as soon as she could get back into her dress. She couldn’t sit in the room with the unmade bed taunting her and the bathroom that smelled faintly of vomit. It was suffocating in there.
She heard footsteps coming down the hall and sighed. “Thanks, Chu-“ The name died on her lips as she looked up and saw Nate coming to a stop in front of her.
“Chuck told me you were here,” he said by way of explanation.
She gave a short nod, but kept her mouth shut.
“Are you OK?” he asked gently, his eyes moving over her to assess for damage.
Jenny’s back stiffened and she steeled herself for a witty barb that would silence him, but it never came. Sagging she shrugged and made no move to get up. She didn’t have the energy to pretend anymore, and she had a feeling it wouldn’t matter. Nate always seemed to have a knack at seeing through her bullshit.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them, staring across the hall. “I’m OK.”
Nate leaned braced his back against the wall, sliding down to sit behind her. “I’ve been looking for you the last hour.”
A thin smile haunted her pale lips. Any trace of her lipstick had been kissed away. “I’ve been here the whole time.”
He nodded slowly, uncertain about how to continue. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, so much he needed to know, but he couldn’t figure out how to put it into words.
“I didn’t …” She started softly, her voice faltering. “I mean, we didn’t …”
He felt relief flood him like a tidal wave. Thank God. “Where’s Damien?” he finally asked, choosing not to acknowledge her confession.
“Gone,” she replied stiffly. “He left. I said I wasn’t ready and he left.”
“He left you?” Nate said, incredulous.
She balled her hands into tiny fists. “Say it. You earned it.”
He frowned, confused. “What are you-”
She cut her gaze to him and he was stunned at the bitter defeat in her eyes. “I told you so. I know you want to say it, and if anyone has any right to rub it in-“
His eyes widened considerably. “Jenny, I wasn’t going to say that. I wouldn’t say that.”
“Why not? I deserve it.”
He shifted, moving closer until his shoulder brushed hers. “No you don’t, Jenny. You don’t deserve any of this. You just trusted the wrong guy.”
“Which might not be such a big deal if everyone else wasn’t telling me he was the wrong guy. And they were all right. God, I’m such an idiot.”
“No you’re not,” he said firmly, covering her hand with his. “Damien’s an idiot for not realizing how amazing you are.”
A smile ghosted across her face. “Thanks, Nate.”
“I mean it, Jenny, you deserve a lot better than that,” he pressed, smoothing a thumb across the back of her hand.
She sighed quietly and leaned on his side, letting her head drop to his shoulder. He felt him shift under her, moving his arm to hold her.
“I still feel stupid,” she muttered. “My dad is going to be so angry. And Dan. I’m surprised they’re not here with half of the New York police department.”
Nate chuckled softly, tightening his hold for a fraction of a second. “They’re waiting for you at home with Lily, Serena, and Vanessa.”
She pulled back. “Why aren’t you with them? Why are you here?”
He blinked once, trying to keep his expression neutral. “I had to find you.”
She frowned, her blue eyes narrowing. “But why? Why did you come after me when everyone else didn’t? I mean, you’re not my father or my-” She stopped abruptly, rethinking her choice of words.
“You are not my father and you are not my brother, so why do you care so much?”
The words she had spoken nearly a year earlier came back suddenly, and one glance at him showed he still remembered standing on the sidewalk, too.
He smiled sadly at her. “Because,” he answered simply, his gaze honest and sincere.
She couldn’t help the small smile that started as that one word penetrated her. “This is like, the fifth time you’ve saved me.”
“Fourth,” he amended with an easy grin, “but who’s counting?”
She couldn’t help but laugh, relaxing a bit more. It was always so simple with Nate. She didn’t have to try with him. Not like with Damien, who never seemed to accept her unless she was in the middle of a drug deal or on the verge of giving up her virginity to.
“Are you ready to go home?” he asked softly, his blue eyes searching her face.
Jenny snuggled a bit closer into him, absorbing the warmth he offered. “I just need another minute,” she replied. She rested her head against his broad chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heart under her ear. It was soothing, calming.