Fic: "Nothing In This World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl" (2/2)
Title: "Nothing In This World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl" (2/2)
Author: meanmrcatsup
Pairing: Blake Lively/Leighton Meester
Fandom: Gossip Girl RPF
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 10,405
Summary: An appearance on Martha Stewart leads to unexpected revelations.
Notes: Big thanks to yesssirrr for beta-ing AGES ago. Never written any fanfic before-and yes, 10,000 words. Don't worry I'm rolling my eyes too.
~~~
"...and then she just stood there. Like a dead fish, pursing her lips-Grgagh," Leighton blathers, almost literally throwing up her hands in frustration.
Putting on a fresh coat of black nail polish on her toenails, Taylor rolls her eyes and sighs, implying with her demeanor, Who's supposed to be the teenager here? Leighton's been prattling on for like 20 whole minutes now. "Uh huh," Taylor mumbles, unimpressed by the barrage of high school drama.
"Are you even listening to me?" Leighton knows that Taylor is barely serviceable as a confidante, but she's likely to have steam billowing out of her ears soon if she doesn't vent to someone.
"Hmm? Yeah, yeah. Blake, sushi. You, pent-up horniness," Taylor answers without looking up from her toes.
Leighton scoffs, almost Blair-esque in tone. "How did any of that sound like I was just horny?"
"Meh, food play and sexual tension. It's open to interpretation."
"I didn't even start the food fight!"
Wincing at Leighton's escalating volume, Taylor holds up her hands, and quickly replies, "Ok, whatever. But it's not like you're getting any."
"True," Leighton grudgingly admits.
"Besides, I don't see what the big deal is. It's just a little kiss, it's not like you felt her up or anything. You two kissed, once. Whoopee. Moving on, what do you think of nose rings?"
"I guess, but what if she hates me? What if it's all weird?"
"God, you're both actors, right? I think you'll be fine. Besides she's not even that hot." Taylor says, as she finally puts her nail polish down and looks Leighton in the eye.
"Say what now?"
"I'm way hotter and less freakishly tall. For instance." Taylor coyly asserts, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
"Ew. You're practically my daughter or something."
"Not unless you were popping out babies at 7. I just figured if you were all juiced up over blondes..."
"Gah, why do I even talk to you?"
Taylor smiles, taking pride in Leighton's frustration. Her smile drops as a distinctly perturbed Penn approaches them.
Leighton whirls around to see Penn strutting through the Humphrey Loft as if he owns the place. "Shit," she mumbles, turning back to face Taylor.
"Ahem." Penn clears his throat, announcing his presence, rather than greeting either girl with a warm salutation.
Leighton knew she would see Penn at some point during the day. It's pretty much a guaranteed hazard of making a move on your costar, who also happens to be dating one of your other costars. Regardless, Leighton will put on a good show. It was nothing. There's nothing for Penn to be upset about. He doesn't even need to know about it as long as that British twit hasn't squawked.
So Leighton faces Penn and greets him as she normally would, "Can I help you with something, Badgley?"
"Taylor, give us a few minutes. Leighton and I have something to discuss." Penn's eyes remain in contact with Leighton's despite addressing his on-screen sister. He's typically as intimidating as a five-year-old, but he's certainly putting forth his best effort to appear as though he has a backbone today.
"Hmm, I'm thinking no. We’ve been through this before-on-screen little sister does not equal actual little sister." Taylor rejoins.
"Taylor, go away."
"Forget it, I'm doing stuff here. Can't you see I'm busy?" Taylor gestures, waving her hands at her nail polish and miscellaneous items strewn about the Humphrey couch.
Penn grunts at Taylor, "Seriously?"
Taylor smiles and throws her arm around Leighton's shoulders, replying, "Besides, Leighton wants me to stay, right baby?" She squeezes Leighton's shoulder and kisses her on the cheek.
Leighton just rolls her eyes at the teenager and chalks it up to raging hormones. She knows Taylor's probably her best defense against Penn, not that she couldn't take care of the situation herself. She still appreciates the support.
Penn looks displeased at the prospect of having an audience for this particular discussion, but he continues as if Taylor didn't exist, "Fine, whatever. Look, Leighton, we both know why I'm here."
"Given your disposition, I can take a wild guess." Leighton won't give him the satisfaction of making things any easier. If he wants to mark his territory, let him work for it.
"I don't know if you think you're playing some sort of game or something. For Blake's sake, I really hope you're not that much of a bitch, but it wouldn't surprise me. Now Blake's too polite to be this blunt, so I just want to make a few things absolutely clear. A) She's with me, going on two years. B) She doesn't like you, so you're wasting your time. C) Keep your eyes off my girl. Understood?"
Leighton's unmoved by his display of so-called bravado, "Uh huh. Thanks Badgley. Anything else?"
Leighton’s nonchalance disarms Penn, who apparently thought there would be more of a fight. "So, we're clear? Blake doesn't want anything to do with you."
A flicker of doubt crosses Leighton's mind. She assumed Penn had been talking to Ed, but she knows what people say about those who assume. So she double-checks, "She told you this herself?"
"That's right," he states, perhaps with a bit too much conviction.
Leighton scrutinizes him before her game face falters for a millisecond, as she seemingly receives confirmation of what she feared. She had run out on Blake without giving the girl a chance to tell her what she was thinking. Now she knows.
Penn's message extinguishes the last spark of optimism Leighton holds within her. Nevertheless, she quickly recovers her game face, not wanting to let Penn think that he's beaten her. She shrugs her shoulders, and mugs, "Very good, sir. Your fair maiden's honour shall remain intact."
Disarmed by Leighton's irrepressible sarcasm, Penn glowers at her for a final moment and then stalks away.
After he's slammed the fake door of the Humphrey loft, Taylor turns to Leighton, "Wait, so Blake's a virgin?"
~~~
Blake heads to the office of GG Executive Producer Stephanie Savage feeling very much like a golden retriever who just maybe had a little accident, which totally wasn't her fault because, well, because she just couldn't hold it anymore. And what else was she supposed to do?
She knocks softly and peeks her blonde mane through the door, overhearing Leighton making small talk about future plot lines. She suggests, "...and then they make a run for Canada. It's one of those alternative reality episodes. Gossip Girl meets Bonnie and Clyde."
Stephanie looks like she’s actively holding back from rolling her eyes, likely because she's Canadian, "Bonnie and Clyde? Hmm. Well, I'll bring it up in the writer's room, but that AU stuff is pretty hard to pull off without putting someone in a coma or dream sequence, both of which are pretty tired. But we'll keep it in mind…Oh, Blake, come on in."
The hangdog expression on Blake’s face is somewhat more prominent than Leighton's complementary countenance. Blake is understandably nervous given that she was the one who started the actual throwing of food, and also she’s really has never been in trouble with her boss before now.
Until today, she's been the model employee, even accepting the suggestion that she and Penn start a real-life relationship for the sake of good publicity for the show. So she doesn't know what to expect. She doesn't really believe that they would kill off Serena but she can't be sure.
She notices Leighton staring at her with a blank, despondent look in her eyes. Their eye contact is both instantaneous and brief and is followed by nervous chewing of lips and straightening of perfectly straight clothes by both parties.
Stephanie clears her throat, getting the girls’ attention, "Okay." Her hands are clasped in front of her as she begins to read the girls the riot act, "Now,I want to reassure you, I'm not angry. I'm not going to throw either of you down an elevator shaft-obviously, your jobs are safe. But what happened this morning at Martha was unacceptable, and it sure as hell will not happen again. You're not children. I'm not your mom, but I am your boss and your friend.”
Blake never wants to hear this much disappointment in her boss’s voice again.
“Whatever this beef is between you, you need to deal with it. I can't force you to be friends, but civility on and off set isn't an unreasonable demand. In the future, remember that when you're out in public, you represent the show, not just yourselves.
“Yes, we're trying to spin some good buzz out of this; however, some people, no matter what, are going to think of you as immature spoiled brats. The only thing you can do to change that perception is to not let it happen again. You need to be completely professional and demonstrate that what happened on Martha was uncharacteristic.
“Now, do you have anything to say for yourselves?"
"She started it," each girl blurts out, pointing a finger in the other's direction.
Stephanie sighs and rubs her eyes in defeat, "Look, that really doesn't matter. You both were completely out of control. You both contributed to what happened. So just forget about who started what. We need to decide what we're going to do about all this."
"I could wash your car?" Blake naively offers.
"I'm talking about PR, not personal favours, Blake."
"Oh." Blake mutters self-consciously. Her cheeks redden as she catches Leighton smirking at her out of the corner of her eye.
"As I see it, we have three options. First, and obviously the least likely choice, we go with the truth. You two just had a bad day, and we privately apologize to all parties involved. Second option, we lie. We'll talk to Martha's people first to see if we can get them cooperate, which I'm guessing they won't. Regardless, we claim it was a publicity stunt. Viral marketing gone awry."
Leighton cuts in eagerly, "Well, that sounds plausible."
"Oh, I'm sure that’s appealing to you. And both of your representatives have been begging me to issue a press release to that effect. But that's a lot of flak for the show to take, and probably a lot of shit that's going to land on my head. In case you forgot, Martha Stewart's pretty goddamn powerful and she's pretty goddamn pissed at both of you.
So the final option-the option we’ll be pursuing-is the Michael Richards route. I guess option is the wrong word. Nevertheless, I’ve pulled some strings; you’re both appearing on Letterman tomorrow to have a little discussion-in other words, to appear regretful and endure a public shaming. That’ll give you both a chance to clear the air and assure people that this was a one-time mistake.”
Blake glances at Leighton before answering, "We can assure you, it won't happen again."
Leighton, with a far less compliant tone, says "Not a chance." Blake's eyebrow rises, wondering what Leighton’s trying to insinuate.
Stephanie ignores the hostility, taking the girls' promises at face value, "You two obviously have some issues with each other, which I can't fix. But I expect you to take care of it-before Letterman tomorrow. I'm not expecting you to be best friends, but, please, just try to make my job a little easier. Don't make me regret sticking my neck out for you. Fake it if you have to. Okay? Now get out of here."
"You won't regret it. Thanks, Stephanie." Blake, anxious to leave, drags Leighton by the arm and waves at her boss.
On the other side of the door, she exhales, "Phew, thank god. That went much better than I expected." She offers Leighton a half-smile, but Leighton is already walking down the hallway, away from Blake.
"Leighton, hold on, where are you going?" Blake takes two long strides, quickly catching up to Leighton before she can flee.
"Home, Lively. What do you expect?" Leighton curtly utters.
Blake, still overjoyed by their nominal punishment, is suddenly nervous that Leighton's going to explode again. That's the last thing she wants and she really doesn't want to break her promise to Stephanie less than thirty seconds after making it. The brunette stormed away from Blake's last attempt to start a dialogue. So with a fair amount of trepidation, she looks down at her shoes asks, "I thought we could talk? Before Letterman."
Blake hopes Leighton's not immune to the slight pout forming on her lips,but in these circumstances Leighton seems strong enough to ignore it, "Talk? Your boyfriend Penn already told me everything you needed to tell me. So don't worry precious, I'm going to stay away from you. I don’t need any more of your head games. Like I said earlier, we're both going to pretend this whole fucking day never happened and fake it like Stephanie wants."
"What do you mean Penn already told you? I haven't talked to Penn." Blake's being honest and is genuinely surprised when Penn's name enters the discussion. Blake doesn't want to pretend this day never happened, that's for sure. Otherwise, they'll end up in the exact same situation a few months down the road-not the kissing part, no, that's not going to happen again-but the gigantic blow up will inevitably recur.
"You're full of shit, Lively. He told me-from you-that you are absolutely not interested in me. Now, I already knew that, but thanks for letting Penn hammer that one in. Wasn't embarrassing at all." Leighton's voice seethes with anger, but Blake can see vulnerability and pain rippling across her brow. She feels awful, but she's still confused by Penn's unexpected involvement.
"That's impossible. I haven't seen Penn all day."
~~~
Leighton knows Blake is telling her the truth, she can hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes. Really, Blake's acting is rarely good enough to pull the wool over Leighton's eyes.
It's one of the things that drives Leighton crazy about Blake's behavior. She always knows when the girl is faking it. And until today, Blake was always faking it when it came to Leighton. It's always Blake, the polite co-worker; never Blake the friend.
"So, I'm a liar." Leighton's voice is laced with disappointment and defiance, yet Blake somehow hears an admission of guilt and jumps on it.
"Look, Leighton, I know you like me, but trying to turn me against Penn isn't going to help. I've known him forever; he's earned a little trust."
Leighton knows Penn is the liar. She realizes now that Ed was the rat who told Penn. She feels better that Blake didn't actually send Penn to ward her off, but she can't help feeling like she's just spinning her wheels, never gaining any traction with Blake.
Maybe it's because Leighton's not in a relationship with him, but she can see Penn more clearly than Blake. Before she can think strategically, she rants, "Penn's a possessive, self-serving jackass who only cares how this all affects himself. Why do you think he came after me this afternoon? Maybe you didn't send him after me, but he definitely told me that you did. Why would he do that? Because if this little clusterfuck had turned out how I wanted he'd be the guy who drove Blake Lively gay and his fragile masculine image couldn't handle that."
"Penn wouldn't do that."
That's it. Leighton's done. She's walking away from Blake again, and this time she knows that nothing can pull her back into orbit around Planet Lively.
Blake looks down slightly and asks herself, "Would he?"
~~~
Blake pounds her fist against Leighton's door. It's 3AM.
Blake looks slightly disheveled, dark stains marring her cheeks where she hastily rubbed away her running mascara. She has no idea how she managed to convince Leighton's doorman to let her up here.
Leighton answers the door, leaving the chain-lock engaged, undoubtedly annoyed at being woken and having to see Blake again. "What?"
Blake is attempting to make eye contact with Leighton, but can't manage to get the girl to look at her. She softly whispers, "Could I come in for a sec?"
"No."
"We're going to have this conversation through the door?"
"I don't recall agreeing to a conversation."
"Look, I came to apologize, and I wanted to-" Blake hesitates as a neighbour's door opens distracting her, "-you're going to make me do this in the hallway?"
"Uh-huh."
"Really?"
"Fine. Get in here," Leighton resigns herself to get this over with and removes the chain-lock from Blake's way.
Despite being roused from much needed sleep, Blake's amazed that Leighton somehow manages to look every bit as adorable as she does with the help of a full makeup and hair crew on set. She leads Blake into her living room, wearing an oversized hoodie and boxer shorts, with her hair braided behind her and her glasses magnifying her dark brown eyes.
Leighton perches on the edge of her couch, tucking her legs into her sweater, making herself appear even smaller than she usually does. Blake doesn't stop checking her out until she finally realizes her lack of furtiveness and sits down anxiously perhaps a little too close to Leighton.
"I like this couch, is it new?" The words shoot out of Blake's mouth without any reason behind them; there was nothing particularly remarkable about the couch.
"Year and a half old."
"I guess I've only been here a couple times." Leighton had had many of her cast mates over to her apartment since they started filming, but after Penn and Blake got together, they had separated into their own little clique. So Blake never came when Leighton invited the cast over, and eventually Leighton stopped inviting her.
"Blake, let's get to the point, 'kay?"
"First, I have to apologize, because I accused you of lying and trying to turn me against Penn, which wasn't the case at all."
"Fine, great. Apology accepted. That couldn't have waited until tomorrow at work?"
"No, listen, I talked to Penn, well, I argued with Penn, really. He was really pissed that you kissed me. Plus, he pretty much admitted that he threatened you, thanks to Ed. Which I also need to apologize for, because I don't know what I was thinking talking to Ed of all people about what happened-but I just had to talk to someone. Anyway, the point is that I broke up with Penn."
"That's all terrific, because you can obviously do much better than Penn, but why are you telling me all this? 'Member how we're not best buds? How you tried to dowse me in cake ingredients?"
"For one thing, after I broke up with him, he kind of kicked me out of our apartment. He said since I broke up with him, I should be the one who has to find a new place.”
“So you came here because-what-this whole thing is somehow my fault?”
“No, not at all... It's just...I don’t really have any place else to go...and I guess I was just wondering if maybe..." Blake's lips suddenly are drier than an Arizona summer.
"Spit it out, Lively."
"...if you would kiss me again." Blake squeezes her eyes partially shut, bracing for anger, failure, or maybe hugs? But nothing comes.
"Oh... " Leighton's voice sounds more than a little stunned. “What like now?”
Blake knows she’s being bold visiting Leighton in the middle of the night, asking her to kiss her, but she knew she couldn’t put it off. "No, I mean, it could be now. But no, just in the future at some point. You know, if the right moment came along-"
Blake's back abruptly hits the couch, her eyes facing the ceiling until Leighton completes the tackle, crawling up Blake's body to stare down at her. Blake can feel every inch of Leighton's body pressing down into hers. Despite herself, Blake's mouth opens to start rambling again, when Leighton brings a finger to the taller girl's lips, "Your wish is my command, Ms. Lively."
Leighton's lips descend onto Blake's, crushing and aggressive, yet still softer and more caring than Blake's ever experienced, besides this morning's close contact. Leighton eases her lips away from Blake's and gasps, "Did that meet your requirements, master?"
"Does this mean if I rub you the right way, you'll grant my every wish?"
"You're supposed to rub the bottle first, but if that's what kids are calling it these days, I won't object."
Blake blushes, and realizes this is going to be far from the last time she kisses Leighton, confessing, "I just had to be sure."
"Sure of what?" Leighton grins and tucks a loose hair behind Blake's ear. Leighton's lips having performed their siren song, Blake knows there's no possible escape, even if she wanted it.
"Well, this morning. I just couldn't believe...it could feel that way."
Leighton smirks, "I can make you feel even better." Blake's eyes widen and she bites her bottom lip with excitement. Adopting a more imperious tone, Leighton states, "But that'll have to wait until you've finished groveling-I'm still finding egg shells in my hair."
Blake's fingers jab Leighton's side causing her to giggle and smile at Blake, who shakes her head and beams at the other girl's overwhelming cuteness.
Leighton’s glee fades into a more nervous expression, “I don’t know what this is for you-if you’re just experimenting or something… I can’t allow myself make out with you just because it feels good. This isn’t an experiment for me…I’ve liked you for a long time, even if I haven't always shown it. So if this is some post-Penn rebound that’ll run its course in a week, I’m not sure I can cope with the aftermath.”
Blake exhales, “Look, this is new for me. This entire day is a bit of a blur. But there are two things that stand out in my head with absolute clarity: first, your lips; and second, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. I’m not talking about lust. I didn’t care about food fight, I only cared about us-our friendship, our relationship-us. Even after the last few months, I knew I couldn’t give up on us. And I guess the kiss just forced me to re-examine why it was so important to me.”
Leighton looks at Blake with adoration and responds by pecking Blake's lips and snuggling into her shoulder.
Something suddenly dawns on Blake that she likely should have thought before, “Wait a minute. What about Sebastian?”
“Who? Oh, him. Right, he’s a beard. I kind of thought Penn was one too, until you said you were moving in with him. Then I might have freaked out just a bit.”
Leighton suddenly feels compelled to own up to her past behaviour and start things out on the right foot with Blake, "Look I’ve tormented you for months now-I'm surprised you're even talking to me. I hurt your feelings-and I knew I was hurting your feelings- I just couldn’t stop myself. I never wanted to…I was just…a big fat coward.” Leighton pauses, her eyes welling up slightly, “I am really sorry, for how I've treated you; for everything that's happened. You know that, right?"
"Me too. I have a feeling things will run a tad smoother from now on. At least Stephanie can rest easy for a while."
“Yeah, Letterman should be a piece of cake.”
~~~
The next night, Stephanie Savage sits down to watch her troublesome stars’ Letterman appearance, hoping for the best, but not necessarily expecting it.
“You might know our next guests from the hit show Gossip Girl, or from their appearance on Martha Stewart’s show yesterday, which we just happen to have a clip of. Take a look.
A brief montage ends with a shot of the lemon meringue cake hitting Martha Stewart’s face.
“Phew. Please welcome, Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.”
The girls walk in, holding hands to Paul Schaeffer playing “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen.
Dave doesn't waste any time getting into the matter, “So ladies why don’t you tell us what happened?”
Blake starts into a well-rehearsed yet natural sounding apology, “Well it’s hard to put into words exactly. But, most importantly, we want to apologize to Martha Stewart and any of her staff and audience that we’ve offended.”
“And we wanted to apologize to the fans who we may have disappointed. We’re here to promise that it’ll have,” Leighton breaks in.
Stephanie sighs in relief. That 20-second tidbit should cool the heat that she’s been feeling from her bosses.
“Why?” Dave asks. Neither girl answers immediately, so he continues, “What’s changed? How do I know you’re not planning on ambushing me with an apple fritter?”
Leighton grins and pauses for the spasm of laughter to abate, “Let’s just say we’ve kissed and made up.” Dave laughs, but Blake becomes visibly nervous.
After collecting herself, Blake continues, “Right, what Leighton means is that we know we have some personal issues to work through. But we’re confident that we’ll be able to do so in an entirely successful but private fashion.”
Dave is accepting, but prods the girls to elaborate, “Right, but how does one do that? Things looked pretty heated in that clip. What are you going to couples therapy?”
Leighton laughs, “Heh, no, we’re just spending more quality time together. For instance, tonight, Blake’s buying me dinner, and then we’re going to see Finian’s Rainbow.”
“That sounds like a date. Doesn’t that sound like a date, Paul?” Dave asks his band- leader.
“It sure does, Dave.”
The girls are stunned, with Blake looking especially wide-eyed.
“I only mention it because some people are suggesting that the Martha thing was some kind of lover’s spat. Is there any truth to that?”
The girls’ answer instantly, simultaneously, and oppositely, “Yes.” “No.”
“Oh boy.” Dave quips, adjusting his glasses.
Blake and Leighton look at each other and then back at Dave until Leighton finally requests, “Could we go to commercial?”
Stephanie drops her TV remote, "Those fucking cunts."
Author: meanmrcatsup
Pairing: Blake Lively/Leighton Meester
Fandom: Gossip Girl RPF
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 10,405
Summary: An appearance on Martha Stewart leads to unexpected revelations.
Notes: Big thanks to yesssirrr for beta-ing AGES ago. Never written any fanfic before-and yes, 10,000 words. Don't worry I'm rolling my eyes too.
~~~
"...and then she just stood there. Like a dead fish, pursing her lips-Grgagh," Leighton blathers, almost literally throwing up her hands in frustration.
Putting on a fresh coat of black nail polish on her toenails, Taylor rolls her eyes and sighs, implying with her demeanor, Who's supposed to be the teenager here? Leighton's been prattling on for like 20 whole minutes now. "Uh huh," Taylor mumbles, unimpressed by the barrage of high school drama.
"Are you even listening to me?" Leighton knows that Taylor is barely serviceable as a confidante, but she's likely to have steam billowing out of her ears soon if she doesn't vent to someone.
"Hmm? Yeah, yeah. Blake, sushi. You, pent-up horniness," Taylor answers without looking up from her toes.
Leighton scoffs, almost Blair-esque in tone. "How did any of that sound like I was just horny?"
"Meh, food play and sexual tension. It's open to interpretation."
"I didn't even start the food fight!"
Wincing at Leighton's escalating volume, Taylor holds up her hands, and quickly replies, "Ok, whatever. But it's not like you're getting any."
"True," Leighton grudgingly admits.
"Besides, I don't see what the big deal is. It's just a little kiss, it's not like you felt her up or anything. You two kissed, once. Whoopee. Moving on, what do you think of nose rings?"
"I guess, but what if she hates me? What if it's all weird?"
"God, you're both actors, right? I think you'll be fine. Besides she's not even that hot." Taylor says, as she finally puts her nail polish down and looks Leighton in the eye.
"Say what now?"
"I'm way hotter and less freakishly tall. For instance." Taylor coyly asserts, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
"Ew. You're practically my daughter or something."
"Not unless you were popping out babies at 7. I just figured if you were all juiced up over blondes..."
"Gah, why do I even talk to you?"
Taylor smiles, taking pride in Leighton's frustration. Her smile drops as a distinctly perturbed Penn approaches them.
Leighton whirls around to see Penn strutting through the Humphrey Loft as if he owns the place. "Shit," she mumbles, turning back to face Taylor.
"Ahem." Penn clears his throat, announcing his presence, rather than greeting either girl with a warm salutation.
Leighton knew she would see Penn at some point during the day. It's pretty much a guaranteed hazard of making a move on your costar, who also happens to be dating one of your other costars. Regardless, Leighton will put on a good show. It was nothing. There's nothing for Penn to be upset about. He doesn't even need to know about it as long as that British twit hasn't squawked.
So Leighton faces Penn and greets him as she normally would, "Can I help you with something, Badgley?"
"Taylor, give us a few minutes. Leighton and I have something to discuss." Penn's eyes remain in contact with Leighton's despite addressing his on-screen sister. He's typically as intimidating as a five-year-old, but he's certainly putting forth his best effort to appear as though he has a backbone today.
"Hmm, I'm thinking no. We’ve been through this before-on-screen little sister does not equal actual little sister." Taylor rejoins.
"Taylor, go away."
"Forget it, I'm doing stuff here. Can't you see I'm busy?" Taylor gestures, waving her hands at her nail polish and miscellaneous items strewn about the Humphrey couch.
Penn grunts at Taylor, "Seriously?"
Taylor smiles and throws her arm around Leighton's shoulders, replying, "Besides, Leighton wants me to stay, right baby?" She squeezes Leighton's shoulder and kisses her on the cheek.
Leighton just rolls her eyes at the teenager and chalks it up to raging hormones. She knows Taylor's probably her best defense against Penn, not that she couldn't take care of the situation herself. She still appreciates the support.
Penn looks displeased at the prospect of having an audience for this particular discussion, but he continues as if Taylor didn't exist, "Fine, whatever. Look, Leighton, we both know why I'm here."
"Given your disposition, I can take a wild guess." Leighton won't give him the satisfaction of making things any easier. If he wants to mark his territory, let him work for it.
"I don't know if you think you're playing some sort of game or something. For Blake's sake, I really hope you're not that much of a bitch, but it wouldn't surprise me. Now Blake's too polite to be this blunt, so I just want to make a few things absolutely clear. A) She's with me, going on two years. B) She doesn't like you, so you're wasting your time. C) Keep your eyes off my girl. Understood?"
Leighton's unmoved by his display of so-called bravado, "Uh huh. Thanks Badgley. Anything else?"
Leighton’s nonchalance disarms Penn, who apparently thought there would be more of a fight. "So, we're clear? Blake doesn't want anything to do with you."
A flicker of doubt crosses Leighton's mind. She assumed Penn had been talking to Ed, but she knows what people say about those who assume. So she double-checks, "She told you this herself?"
"That's right," he states, perhaps with a bit too much conviction.
Leighton scrutinizes him before her game face falters for a millisecond, as she seemingly receives confirmation of what she feared. She had run out on Blake without giving the girl a chance to tell her what she was thinking. Now she knows.
Penn's message extinguishes the last spark of optimism Leighton holds within her. Nevertheless, she quickly recovers her game face, not wanting to let Penn think that he's beaten her. She shrugs her shoulders, and mugs, "Very good, sir. Your fair maiden's honour shall remain intact."
Disarmed by Leighton's irrepressible sarcasm, Penn glowers at her for a final moment and then stalks away.
After he's slammed the fake door of the Humphrey loft, Taylor turns to Leighton, "Wait, so Blake's a virgin?"
~~~
Blake heads to the office of GG Executive Producer Stephanie Savage feeling very much like a golden retriever who just maybe had a little accident, which totally wasn't her fault because, well, because she just couldn't hold it anymore. And what else was she supposed to do?
She knocks softly and peeks her blonde mane through the door, overhearing Leighton making small talk about future plot lines. She suggests, "...and then they make a run for Canada. It's one of those alternative reality episodes. Gossip Girl meets Bonnie and Clyde."
Stephanie looks like she’s actively holding back from rolling her eyes, likely because she's Canadian, "Bonnie and Clyde? Hmm. Well, I'll bring it up in the writer's room, but that AU stuff is pretty hard to pull off without putting someone in a coma or dream sequence, both of which are pretty tired. But we'll keep it in mind…Oh, Blake, come on in."
The hangdog expression on Blake’s face is somewhat more prominent than Leighton's complementary countenance. Blake is understandably nervous given that she was the one who started the actual throwing of food, and also she’s really has never been in trouble with her boss before now.
Until today, she's been the model employee, even accepting the suggestion that she and Penn start a real-life relationship for the sake of good publicity for the show. So she doesn't know what to expect. She doesn't really believe that they would kill off Serena but she can't be sure.
She notices Leighton staring at her with a blank, despondent look in her eyes. Their eye contact is both instantaneous and brief and is followed by nervous chewing of lips and straightening of perfectly straight clothes by both parties.
Stephanie clears her throat, getting the girls’ attention, "Okay." Her hands are clasped in front of her as she begins to read the girls the riot act, "Now,I want to reassure you, I'm not angry. I'm not going to throw either of you down an elevator shaft-obviously, your jobs are safe. But what happened this morning at Martha was unacceptable, and it sure as hell will not happen again. You're not children. I'm not your mom, but I am your boss and your friend.”
Blake never wants to hear this much disappointment in her boss’s voice again.
“Whatever this beef is between you, you need to deal with it. I can't force you to be friends, but civility on and off set isn't an unreasonable demand. In the future, remember that when you're out in public, you represent the show, not just yourselves.
“Yes, we're trying to spin some good buzz out of this; however, some people, no matter what, are going to think of you as immature spoiled brats. The only thing you can do to change that perception is to not let it happen again. You need to be completely professional and demonstrate that what happened on Martha was uncharacteristic.
“Now, do you have anything to say for yourselves?"
"She started it," each girl blurts out, pointing a finger in the other's direction.
Stephanie sighs and rubs her eyes in defeat, "Look, that really doesn't matter. You both were completely out of control. You both contributed to what happened. So just forget about who started what. We need to decide what we're going to do about all this."
"I could wash your car?" Blake naively offers.
"I'm talking about PR, not personal favours, Blake."
"Oh." Blake mutters self-consciously. Her cheeks redden as she catches Leighton smirking at her out of the corner of her eye.
"As I see it, we have three options. First, and obviously the least likely choice, we go with the truth. You two just had a bad day, and we privately apologize to all parties involved. Second option, we lie. We'll talk to Martha's people first to see if we can get them cooperate, which I'm guessing they won't. Regardless, we claim it was a publicity stunt. Viral marketing gone awry."
Leighton cuts in eagerly, "Well, that sounds plausible."
"Oh, I'm sure that’s appealing to you. And both of your representatives have been begging me to issue a press release to that effect. But that's a lot of flak for the show to take, and probably a lot of shit that's going to land on my head. In case you forgot, Martha Stewart's pretty goddamn powerful and she's pretty goddamn pissed at both of you.
So the final option-the option we’ll be pursuing-is the Michael Richards route. I guess option is the wrong word. Nevertheless, I’ve pulled some strings; you’re both appearing on Letterman tomorrow to have a little discussion-in other words, to appear regretful and endure a public shaming. That’ll give you both a chance to clear the air and assure people that this was a one-time mistake.”
Blake glances at Leighton before answering, "We can assure you, it won't happen again."
Leighton, with a far less compliant tone, says "Not a chance." Blake's eyebrow rises, wondering what Leighton’s trying to insinuate.
Stephanie ignores the hostility, taking the girls' promises at face value, "You two obviously have some issues with each other, which I can't fix. But I expect you to take care of it-before Letterman tomorrow. I'm not expecting you to be best friends, but, please, just try to make my job a little easier. Don't make me regret sticking my neck out for you. Fake it if you have to. Okay? Now get out of here."
"You won't regret it. Thanks, Stephanie." Blake, anxious to leave, drags Leighton by the arm and waves at her boss.
On the other side of the door, she exhales, "Phew, thank god. That went much better than I expected." She offers Leighton a half-smile, but Leighton is already walking down the hallway, away from Blake.
"Leighton, hold on, where are you going?" Blake takes two long strides, quickly catching up to Leighton before she can flee.
"Home, Lively. What do you expect?" Leighton curtly utters.
Blake, still overjoyed by their nominal punishment, is suddenly nervous that Leighton's going to explode again. That's the last thing she wants and she really doesn't want to break her promise to Stephanie less than thirty seconds after making it. The brunette stormed away from Blake's last attempt to start a dialogue. So with a fair amount of trepidation, she looks down at her shoes asks, "I thought we could talk? Before Letterman."
Blake hopes Leighton's not immune to the slight pout forming on her lips,but in these circumstances Leighton seems strong enough to ignore it, "Talk? Your boyfriend Penn already told me everything you needed to tell me. So don't worry precious, I'm going to stay away from you. I don’t need any more of your head games. Like I said earlier, we're both going to pretend this whole fucking day never happened and fake it like Stephanie wants."
"What do you mean Penn already told you? I haven't talked to Penn." Blake's being honest and is genuinely surprised when Penn's name enters the discussion. Blake doesn't want to pretend this day never happened, that's for sure. Otherwise, they'll end up in the exact same situation a few months down the road-not the kissing part, no, that's not going to happen again-but the gigantic blow up will inevitably recur.
"You're full of shit, Lively. He told me-from you-that you are absolutely not interested in me. Now, I already knew that, but thanks for letting Penn hammer that one in. Wasn't embarrassing at all." Leighton's voice seethes with anger, but Blake can see vulnerability and pain rippling across her brow. She feels awful, but she's still confused by Penn's unexpected involvement.
"That's impossible. I haven't seen Penn all day."
~~~
Leighton knows Blake is telling her the truth, she can hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes. Really, Blake's acting is rarely good enough to pull the wool over Leighton's eyes.
It's one of the things that drives Leighton crazy about Blake's behavior. She always knows when the girl is faking it. And until today, Blake was always faking it when it came to Leighton. It's always Blake, the polite co-worker; never Blake the friend.
"So, I'm a liar." Leighton's voice is laced with disappointment and defiance, yet Blake somehow hears an admission of guilt and jumps on it.
"Look, Leighton, I know you like me, but trying to turn me against Penn isn't going to help. I've known him forever; he's earned a little trust."
Leighton knows Penn is the liar. She realizes now that Ed was the rat who told Penn. She feels better that Blake didn't actually send Penn to ward her off, but she can't help feeling like she's just spinning her wheels, never gaining any traction with Blake.
Maybe it's because Leighton's not in a relationship with him, but she can see Penn more clearly than Blake. Before she can think strategically, she rants, "Penn's a possessive, self-serving jackass who only cares how this all affects himself. Why do you think he came after me this afternoon? Maybe you didn't send him after me, but he definitely told me that you did. Why would he do that? Because if this little clusterfuck had turned out how I wanted he'd be the guy who drove Blake Lively gay and his fragile masculine image couldn't handle that."
"Penn wouldn't do that."
That's it. Leighton's done. She's walking away from Blake again, and this time she knows that nothing can pull her back into orbit around Planet Lively.
Blake looks down slightly and asks herself, "Would he?"
~~~
Blake pounds her fist against Leighton's door. It's 3AM.
Blake looks slightly disheveled, dark stains marring her cheeks where she hastily rubbed away her running mascara. She has no idea how she managed to convince Leighton's doorman to let her up here.
Leighton answers the door, leaving the chain-lock engaged, undoubtedly annoyed at being woken and having to see Blake again. "What?"
Blake is attempting to make eye contact with Leighton, but can't manage to get the girl to look at her. She softly whispers, "Could I come in for a sec?"
"No."
"We're going to have this conversation through the door?"
"I don't recall agreeing to a conversation."
"Look, I came to apologize, and I wanted to-" Blake hesitates as a neighbour's door opens distracting her, "-you're going to make me do this in the hallway?"
"Uh-huh."
"Really?"
"Fine. Get in here," Leighton resigns herself to get this over with and removes the chain-lock from Blake's way.
Despite being roused from much needed sleep, Blake's amazed that Leighton somehow manages to look every bit as adorable as she does with the help of a full makeup and hair crew on set. She leads Blake into her living room, wearing an oversized hoodie and boxer shorts, with her hair braided behind her and her glasses magnifying her dark brown eyes.
Leighton perches on the edge of her couch, tucking her legs into her sweater, making herself appear even smaller than she usually does. Blake doesn't stop checking her out until she finally realizes her lack of furtiveness and sits down anxiously perhaps a little too close to Leighton.
"I like this couch, is it new?" The words shoot out of Blake's mouth without any reason behind them; there was nothing particularly remarkable about the couch.
"Year and a half old."
"I guess I've only been here a couple times." Leighton had had many of her cast mates over to her apartment since they started filming, but after Penn and Blake got together, they had separated into their own little clique. So Blake never came when Leighton invited the cast over, and eventually Leighton stopped inviting her.
"Blake, let's get to the point, 'kay?"
"First, I have to apologize, because I accused you of lying and trying to turn me against Penn, which wasn't the case at all."
"Fine, great. Apology accepted. That couldn't have waited until tomorrow at work?"
"No, listen, I talked to Penn, well, I argued with Penn, really. He was really pissed that you kissed me. Plus, he pretty much admitted that he threatened you, thanks to Ed. Which I also need to apologize for, because I don't know what I was thinking talking to Ed of all people about what happened-but I just had to talk to someone. Anyway, the point is that I broke up with Penn."
"That's all terrific, because you can obviously do much better than Penn, but why are you telling me all this? 'Member how we're not best buds? How you tried to dowse me in cake ingredients?"
"For one thing, after I broke up with him, he kind of kicked me out of our apartment. He said since I broke up with him, I should be the one who has to find a new place.”
“So you came here because-what-this whole thing is somehow my fault?”
“No, not at all... It's just...I don’t really have any place else to go...and I guess I was just wondering if maybe..." Blake's lips suddenly are drier than an Arizona summer.
"Spit it out, Lively."
"...if you would kiss me again." Blake squeezes her eyes partially shut, bracing for anger, failure, or maybe hugs? But nothing comes.
"Oh... " Leighton's voice sounds more than a little stunned. “What like now?”
Blake knows she’s being bold visiting Leighton in the middle of the night, asking her to kiss her, but she knew she couldn’t put it off. "No, I mean, it could be now. But no, just in the future at some point. You know, if the right moment came along-"
Blake's back abruptly hits the couch, her eyes facing the ceiling until Leighton completes the tackle, crawling up Blake's body to stare down at her. Blake can feel every inch of Leighton's body pressing down into hers. Despite herself, Blake's mouth opens to start rambling again, when Leighton brings a finger to the taller girl's lips, "Your wish is my command, Ms. Lively."
Leighton's lips descend onto Blake's, crushing and aggressive, yet still softer and more caring than Blake's ever experienced, besides this morning's close contact. Leighton eases her lips away from Blake's and gasps, "Did that meet your requirements, master?"
"Does this mean if I rub you the right way, you'll grant my every wish?"
"You're supposed to rub the bottle first, but if that's what kids are calling it these days, I won't object."
Blake blushes, and realizes this is going to be far from the last time she kisses Leighton, confessing, "I just had to be sure."
"Sure of what?" Leighton grins and tucks a loose hair behind Blake's ear. Leighton's lips having performed their siren song, Blake knows there's no possible escape, even if she wanted it.
"Well, this morning. I just couldn't believe...it could feel that way."
Leighton smirks, "I can make you feel even better." Blake's eyes widen and she bites her bottom lip with excitement. Adopting a more imperious tone, Leighton states, "But that'll have to wait until you've finished groveling-I'm still finding egg shells in my hair."
Blake's fingers jab Leighton's side causing her to giggle and smile at Blake, who shakes her head and beams at the other girl's overwhelming cuteness.
Leighton’s glee fades into a more nervous expression, “I don’t know what this is for you-if you’re just experimenting or something… I can’t allow myself make out with you just because it feels good. This isn’t an experiment for me…I’ve liked you for a long time, even if I haven't always shown it. So if this is some post-Penn rebound that’ll run its course in a week, I’m not sure I can cope with the aftermath.”
Blake exhales, “Look, this is new for me. This entire day is a bit of a blur. But there are two things that stand out in my head with absolute clarity: first, your lips; and second, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. I’m not talking about lust. I didn’t care about food fight, I only cared about us-our friendship, our relationship-us. Even after the last few months, I knew I couldn’t give up on us. And I guess the kiss just forced me to re-examine why it was so important to me.”
Leighton looks at Blake with adoration and responds by pecking Blake's lips and snuggling into her shoulder.
Something suddenly dawns on Blake that she likely should have thought before, “Wait a minute. What about Sebastian?”
“Who? Oh, him. Right, he’s a beard. I kind of thought Penn was one too, until you said you were moving in with him. Then I might have freaked out just a bit.”
Leighton suddenly feels compelled to own up to her past behaviour and start things out on the right foot with Blake, "Look I’ve tormented you for months now-I'm surprised you're even talking to me. I hurt your feelings-and I knew I was hurting your feelings- I just couldn’t stop myself. I never wanted to…I was just…a big fat coward.” Leighton pauses, her eyes welling up slightly, “I am really sorry, for how I've treated you; for everything that's happened. You know that, right?"
"Me too. I have a feeling things will run a tad smoother from now on. At least Stephanie can rest easy for a while."
“Yeah, Letterman should be a piece of cake.”
~~~
The next night, Stephanie Savage sits down to watch her troublesome stars’ Letterman appearance, hoping for the best, but not necessarily expecting it.
“You might know our next guests from the hit show Gossip Girl, or from their appearance on Martha Stewart’s show yesterday, which we just happen to have a clip of. Take a look.
A brief montage ends with a shot of the lemon meringue cake hitting Martha Stewart’s face.
“Phew. Please welcome, Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.”
The girls walk in, holding hands to Paul Schaeffer playing “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen.
Dave doesn't waste any time getting into the matter, “So ladies why don’t you tell us what happened?”
Blake starts into a well-rehearsed yet natural sounding apology, “Well it’s hard to put into words exactly. But, most importantly, we want to apologize to Martha Stewart and any of her staff and audience that we’ve offended.”
“And we wanted to apologize to the fans who we may have disappointed. We’re here to promise that it’ll have,” Leighton breaks in.
Stephanie sighs in relief. That 20-second tidbit should cool the heat that she’s been feeling from her bosses.
“Why?” Dave asks. Neither girl answers immediately, so he continues, “What’s changed? How do I know you’re not planning on ambushing me with an apple fritter?”
Leighton grins and pauses for the spasm of laughter to abate, “Let’s just say we’ve kissed and made up.” Dave laughs, but Blake becomes visibly nervous.
After collecting herself, Blake continues, “Right, what Leighton means is that we know we have some personal issues to work through. But we’re confident that we’ll be able to do so in an entirely successful but private fashion.”
Dave is accepting, but prods the girls to elaborate, “Right, but how does one do that? Things looked pretty heated in that clip. What are you going to couples therapy?”
Leighton laughs, “Heh, no, we’re just spending more quality time together. For instance, tonight, Blake’s buying me dinner, and then we’re going to see Finian’s Rainbow.”
“That sounds like a date. Doesn’t that sound like a date, Paul?” Dave asks his band- leader.
“It sure does, Dave.”
The girls are stunned, with Blake looking especially wide-eyed.
“I only mention it because some people are suggesting that the Martha thing was some kind of lover’s spat. Is there any truth to that?”
The girls’ answer instantly, simultaneously, and oppositely, “Yes.” “No.”
“Oh boy.” Dave quips, adjusting his glasses.
Blake and Leighton look at each other and then back at Dave until Leighton finally requests, “Could we go to commercial?”
Stephanie drops her TV remote, "Those fucking cunts."