She never really expected anything.

(Really.)

He was just a good friend.

(It’s not like he ditched his girlfriend, his grandfather, for you.)

She is good.  She is happy.  They are friends.

(We never change, do we?)

She feels better now.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to be;

(They are friends.)

this one-sided, blind-siding, infatuation ( Read more... )

He thinks he might throw up if he doesn’t stop picturing it.

(“It’s Jenny, she ran off with Damien, the guy’s a drug dealer.”)

So he runs.

And he plays sports, likes to think he’s athletic, but God why didn’t he grab a cab instead of running a trillion blocks?

(because he can’t think when she’s on his mind)

He may be stupid but he ( Read more... )

And argue Nate does.

(“You can’t be with someone who’s dealing drugs!”)

And Jenny has to fight for air because this, this was all too familiar and this was all too unfair-

(and she still can’t lie to him)

-and he, he would stand up after he’d said his piece and he’d have Serena and she’d have…

(all I wanted was you)

This is stupid.

( ( Read more... )

It takes time.  Enough time that Chuck starts to worry out loud about the possibility of Nathaniel as an old spinster with 27 cats.

(And Nate has to try not to vomit because Jenny’s voice teased the same words a lifetime ago around a coffee table in a homey loft in Brooklyn.  And he can still hear it.)

But eventually, the fascination fades.

( Read more... )

It took time.  Enough time that seedy clubs and sailboats became just her Friday night.

(Thursday night, Wednesday afternoon, Monday morning)

But eventually, Chuck asked why.

(“Why are you doing this, Jenny?”)

He didn’t specify;

(Why Damien?  Why drugs?)

he didn’t have to.

He should have seen this coming.

(“I saw that look in your ( Read more... )

He wants to blame it all away.  Excuses, excuses.  Wants them to count.

(Where were my senses?  I left them all behind.)

But he is not blind.  He knew her once.

(and he can tell how much she hates this)

He can see her smiles don’t reach her eyes, her eyes never meet his, and she flinches

-for a split second-

every time Damien touches her. ( Read more... )

She wasn’t blind.  (Unfortunately.)

She saw the looks, the touches (the Gossip Girl blasts) that whispered

(screamed)

Nate and Serena were well on their way to becoming a bona-fide couple.

(Is it over yet?)

Eye contact was no longer an option; he didn’t deserve even that much.

(Can I open my eyes?)

She wasn’t deaf.  (Not for lack of trying. ( Read more... )

The public sees this:

Nathaniel Archibald

Upper East Side society darling

--fresh off his latest requisite familial indiscretion-

(because to call it a scandal would be tasteless)

walks the halls calmly.

With appropriate smiles at young debutante girls,

the perfunctory trading of vaguely salacious comments with society’s women,

and respectful handshakes ( Read more... )

Title: Pretty Young Things
Author: etgoddess
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing(s): Nate/Jenny
Rating: R
Summary: Love is a temporary madness.  It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides.  And when it subsides you have to make a decision; your heart says stay and battle the pain, but your mind says leave for all this is not needed.
Author's Note:  This ( Read more... )