A/N: Okay, so I was really planning on composição literária this out MUCH earlier, lol. But for some reason I felt the needed to write an outline for this story, so I actually finish it and don’t just keep coming up with mais ideas, for like…forever. XD lol. Besides, I’ve heard a lot of people write out outlines and it makes sense, but unfortunately…it took SO long to write an outline up through this current chapter, that I decided to just write it out, and I’ll finish the outline…hopefully tomorrow. Heh. So, with that said…I hope you enjoy this chapter. I own nothing, as usual…and please, PLEASE review! =) (I noticed today I have 100 reviews for 10 chapters! *squeals* how exciting! *gasp*)
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Ch.11—Awkward Tension
    Little Jenny Humphrey dragged her feet slowly along the sidewalk. She was deep in thought and hardly noticed when other students past her and commented on how she wasn’t supposed to be near school grounds, much less in a uniform. She was so lost in how terribly wrong the dia had gone though. It was incrível the plan she had actually put together. She didn’t know crushing on Nate Archibald would cause such desperation, and she shook her head at the memory earlier that morning.
    It had not been one of Jenny’s brightest ideas, yet here she stood, in front of her mirror, adjusting the school jumper she had pulled out of the ‘abandoned clothes’ section of her closet, ready to sneak out of the house…to go to school? It was beyond bizarre, but she was still fully willing to go through with it. She was sick of being alone. Dan had Serena, Nate had Vanessa…and she had the craziest sense that Chuck probably had Blair. She shuddered at the thought of the two scheming maniacs finally making it official, but in its own way it was sweet, so she accepted it. True Dan and Serena weren’t together anymore, and Vanessa and Nate weren’t really either, but…well, if she could help it. It would stay that way. True, she felt bad, about going behind Vanessa’s back and pursuing the handsome Archibald, but as long as they weren’t together, he was free game. Jenny didn’t want to think any farther than that, or she would’ve given up on it all together.
    In the school courtyard, she made herself scarce enough so that no one she really knew would recognize her, though if she focused on the sight in the corner of her eye, she would notice a camera phone snap.
    Dang it.
    Just then, she saw him, and running up to him grabbed his sleeve.
    “Nate!” she said.
    He spun around. “Jenny!” A smile spread across his face, and she smirked inwardly to herself. Then, he frowned slightly. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you” he lowered his voice to a whisper, “aren’t you supposed to be at Eleanor’s?”
    “Uh…” she stuttered, “Yeah. I just…I…I had to see you.”
    His brows furrowed.
    “Because…” she gulped. She really should have planned this out better. “You seemed pretty shook up this morning,” she answered, truthfully. It hadn’t been beyond her when he had quieted down as soon as Vanessa was gone at breakfast.
    He nodded, knowingly. “Well…I just,” he ran a hand through his hair. She loved when he did that. He was avoiding eye contact now and she knew it, but soon enough his orbs greeted hers again in way of explanation. “Have you seen Vanessa at all today?”
    She raised her eyebrows.
    “I mean, since the…incident,” he muttered, under his breath. But she understood him perfectly.
    “No, I…I haven’t.”
    He sighed, turning away. “I just…I don’t know why she’s been so…distant.”
    Now Jenny furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly becoming concerned with Vanessa. “Well, it’s not like she’s over you,” she began.
    He perked up at this.
    “I mean, she was crazy about you, Nate.”
    His eyes widened at this, like he was hearing it for the first time.
    “But…I think the reason for the distance is probably….”
    His gaze was so intense, and it killed her that it wasn’t really because of her, but because of what she was saying. She couldn’t help herself though. He deserved the truth.
    She sighed, fidgeting with her fingers. He still hadn’t become aware that she was wearing a uniform. But mais important things were happening.
    “Is probably what?” he asked, leaning closer to her. If only it had been for the reasons she wanted.
    She lookedup at him. “She thinks you’re mad at her…for everything that supposedly happened?” she questioned.
    Nate’s grew wider and she could see he was mentally slapping himself for not coming to the realization sooner.
    “I mean, she didn’t really fill me in on what all happened, but—”
    She was silenced por his nod. “No, don’t worry. You don’t have to. I know what she’s talking about.” He turned to leave, and then looked back momentarily at her. “Look, I have to go, but um…” he pursed his lips, “Thanks Jenny. I’m lucky to have you.”
    She forced a smile as his eyes twinkled and he walked away. Once gone, she scoffed at herself in disbelief. She just HAD to be moral and go be there for her friend. She sighed. It was the Humphrey curse. Even if bad intentions and cruelty were made to be a point, they would always crumble at the end. Because they just didn’t come off naturally.
    A few blocks. Just a few mais blocks, or maybe miles until Jenny was home. Though with the pace she was going, it probably take her another few hours before she finally made it up to the Loft. She had never wanted to hurt Vanessa. But she wanted Nate, she needed to believe that a guy could amor her. A guy that wasn’t her brother or her father. And a amor that wasn’t only brotherly, friendly, or protective. Eric had turned gay on her. Asher was already gay and was only using her for social appearances. And Nate was still crazy about Vanessa. She had no right to interrupt something as beautiful as those two. They always seemed to come back together. She had been an idiot to prove anything otherwise.
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    Nate was pacing back and forth at the stop sign just outside Vanessa’s o jantar, lanchonete (as he would call it in his mind). He didn’t know what to do, or where else to go. Vanessa hadn’t responded to ANY of his multiple texts or his draining phone calls, and he had just left an elongated phone message on the Humphrey início phone, saying he probably wouldn’t be início for dinner, because there was something he had to do. Somewhere he had to go. And yet he still had no idea what the end result of those two statements would be.
    Pacing so much just outside the o jantar, lanchonete must’ve driven that petite waitress insane, and he was glad of it. He was just a cute face to her, and that small spark of insanity, he hoped, would be enough to drive her crazy completely. He didn’t need her having a little crush on him, whenever he went to see Vanessa in the future. As, if that was even a possibility anymore.
    But the feelings he had for her weren’t the only worry on his mind. No one had seen her. Dan hadn’t. Jenny hadn’t. And he was pretty positive Blair and Chuck hadn’t seen her either, though it wasn’t like they would, since she doesn’t attend Constance Billiard…and it wasn’t like if she had, they would notice. Blair and Chuck tried their best not to notice Brooklyn dwellers, and if their makeout session hadn’t been obvious enough to passers por on the back mural of one of the school buildings…the posts all over gossip girl spoke of it fervently.
    He didn’t want to. He shouldn’t. He knew it was none of his business, and neither one of them probably wanted them around. But Blair had helped him before, and he knew deep down…she wouldn’t deny him again.
    Would she?
    He pushed the negative impulse out of his head and texted her.
    I need to talk to you. It’s important.
            -N
    He gulped, when he pressed SEND and slipped his phone back to its normal domain in his pocket. He wiped up the quickly forming sweat building on his forehead, and finally crossed the street. If he was planning to make it the Waldorf Penthouse, he’d better get started.
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    “Dad! Jenny?” he called into the empty space.
The Humphrey Loft was completely deserted when Dan walked in. It had taken him longer than expected, and he was all too eager to have that very important conversation with Jenny when she finally got home. Surely, she did not just take enjoyment out of wearing the schoool uniform to Eleanor’s and then just happen to stop por school along the way. It was way too bizarre, and he had a feeling that she would not be informing Rufus of her little adventure. He would have to pry it from her himself. But they were close, so he hoped it wouldn’t be mais difficult than usual. And he hoped beyond anything that she hadn’t slipped into that scheming mean-girl version of the Jenny he loved. Because then he would be held helpless again, and there was too much going on right now to deal with that.
    He saw the red light blinking on the answering machine out of the corner of his eye. He pressed the button and his eyes widened in wonder as he listened to Nate’s message about not being início for dinner. What in the world was going on? And where WAS everybody?
    Dan pulled out his own phone and tried calling Vanessa again.
    RING. RING. RING.    
    He took his phone away from his ear and looked at the início phone. That wasn’t where the noise was coming from. His eyebrows furrowed. He hung up on trying to calling Vanessa. The noise stopped. He called her again, and the same thing happened.
    RING. RING. RING.
    This time he followed the noise, and it led him straight to his bedroom, and lying just an inch beneath his bed, he found a phone…and it looked EXACTLY like Vanessa’s. Just to be sure though, he hung up again. The ringing stopped. He called it again, and sure enough, shining straight across Vanessa’s phone it read:
    DAN HUMPHREY CALLING.
    “This must’ve been the phone she was asking about before,” he grumbled to himself, slipping the phone in his pocket, along with his own. Lucky for him, these cheap pants had unusually large pockets. He nearly chuckled at himself at the thought. How could he be so lighthearted at such a confusing time as this?
    The thought was beyond him, but he knew he had waited long enough. He pulled a phone from his pocket, making sure it was his own….and however hesitantly it might’ve been, dialed Blair Waldorf’s phone number.
    Busy.
    He tried again.
    Answering machine.
    He sighed, and clicked the phone shut.
    “Hope she likes surprises,” he muttered, before grabbing his coat. He paused just before leaving, and quickly scribbled a short message on a piece of paper beside the answering machine, informing Rufus and Jenny that he would probably not be início for supper.
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    Kevin had taken the especially scenic route on his way back to the diner. He liked the area Vanessa lived around, and he could not part himself from it…at least not as quickly as his manager would’ve liked. He could imagine it now. The lecture about other customers being important too, about not getting attached to the first pretty girl that spoke to him, about how he should be grateful to be getting a job this good at only fourteen, how his pay would be taken away from this week for simply walking out of the building to escort a giggly seventeen ano old to her apartment several blocks away…of course he didn’t care what they thought, because he swore he’d never had this much fun in his life before. Not on such short notice. He had always been too shy to take that leap, to try like this with someone. But she was so easy to talk to. If this is what everyone else did on a daily basis….talking….well, maybe he could get used to it. Maybe he could even stand up to his boss.
    But then he would get fired. Sigh. And then all the trouble his brother had gone through to get him this job would’ve been for nothing.
    Tearing him out of his thoughts, he felt someone grab his arms fiercely and ram him against the side mural fo what appeared to be an abandoned building. He closed his eyes at the impact, but opened them once he realized who he was.
    Those fiery green eyes could not be mistaken.
    “Jason! Ugh! Get off of me!” he pushed away at his brother, who instantly released him. Kevin brushed down his coat, so he didn’t look so frazzled.
    The older boy smirked at him, pulling a new cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it. Kevin glared at him, disgusted and coughed a little as soon as the smoke hit his nostrils.
    “Nice to see you too,” Jason remarked, looking the younger version of himself up and down.
    “What do you want?” he glared.
    “What?!” he patted his brother on the back, and began walking with him. “Can’t a brother just be happy to see his younger self?”
    Kevin rolled his eyes. “I am NOT you,” he spat.
    “Whoa. Did somebody get up on the wrong side of the cama this morning? Or…was I interrupting your thoughts? Perhaps, on a certain curly haired Brooklyn girl seen giggling with you all the way back to her place?” he mused, knowingly.
    Kevin stopped walking, and turned to him with a look of both ‘how did you know’ and ‘how could you’.
    “What? You didn’t think I knew?” Jason barked.
    Kevin scoffed. “No, I knew you would be able to figure something like that out,” he began to walk again.
    Jason smirked. “I’m surprised man, she practically invited you in!”
    He shook his head.
    “She did, ya know,” Jason nudged his brother. “Why didn’t you take the bait?” he asked, excitedly.
    Kevin stopped again and glared at him. “Look, just stop. What is that you want?”
    Jason’s smirk widened into a full out grin. “Getting right to the point, are we? I like that about you Kev. You’re turning into a real business ma—”
    “Jason,” he warned.
    He cleared his throat. “Of course.” He pulled out a small wallet sized picture of a seventeen ano old boy, and placed it in Kevin’s hands. “His name is Chuck Bass.”
    Kevin looked at the picture and then back at his brother. “Okay? What’s it to me?”
    “He’s our latest research project,” he said, slyly.
    “No,” Kevin pushed the picture back at Jason. “I’m not doing this again. I did it once and that was it. It was YOUR idea to become a private investigator, and it was NOT mine to tag along. Never again, Jason,” he stalked away.
    “You might want to change your mind about that,” he sneered, and Kevin stopped in his tracks.
    “And why would I do that?” he asked, his back still facing him, but Jason came around so he had to look at him.
    “Because your little girlfriend…”
    Kevin averted his gaze.
    “Vanessa, is it?”
    He nodded subtely.
    “She’s recently entered the life of said Chuck Bass.”
    Kevin’s gaze returned to his brother, his eyes widening in horror. Of course he knew of this, at least a little bit, from Vanessa’s messy job of telling him how she ended up at the o jantar, lanchonete this morning. But for some reason it hadn’t registered to him when his brother shoved that little picture in his face.
    Jason took his brother’s silence as initiative to continue.
    “You know how it works.”
    Kevin cringed at the coarse words.
    “Everybody and anybody in the life of the current research project….gets researched as well. No exceptions.”
    Kevin’s eyes flashed to those in front of him. “No. Leave her out of this.”
    “Ah, so you DO have feelings for her,” Jason replied.
    Kevin huffed.
    “You’ve only known her a few hours, and ALREADY she’s getting to you.”
    He winced.
    “My advice?” he paused, until he had Kevin’s attention again. “YOU research her. You did pretty well last time. Boss was impressed.”
    He could hear Kevin’s slowed breathing, and knew he was getting to him. He smiled, and turned to walk behind him….when he heard the muffled ‘no’. He spun around.
    “What?” he asked, in shock.
    Kevin walked to him. “No,” he spat in his face.
    Jason only chuckled. “If you don’t research her, someone else WILL.”
    Kevin’s eyes cried in pain at this realization.
    Jason pulled out a large manila folder from his trenchcoat and placed it on Kevin’s chest until he grabbed for it hesitantly. His chest was rising faster in the moment. His fingers tightened around the threatening folder.
    “I won’t. do. It,” his teeth grinded, throwing the item back at his brother, never losing eye contact with the poor excuse for a brother he had.
    Jason sighed, growing tired of his brother’s resistance. But before he could say anything else, Kevin turned away and stormed his way back into the Diner.
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    The town car sat just behind the limo, just in front of the Waldorf penthouse. The older man smoked up his cigarette and hardly noticed as the smoke invaded his lungs and stung his eyes. The movements in the vehicle became less and less, and it was pretty obvious that the young couple had ended their little rendevzous to replace their nakedness with clothing. He smirked, shaking his head and touched a bit of his cigarette into the pull-out ash tray in the car.
    With his other hand, he took his phone out of his pocket and quickly texted Jensen the information. Only moments later, the slightly frazzled Chuck and Blair stepped out of the limo calmly. Blair was still straightening out the wrinkles in her school skirt, and Chuck was staring at her like a love-sick fool when she turned around to straighten out his hair and adjust his tie.
    His phone vibrated then, and he picked it up.
    “Jensen, my man, how’s it going,” he answered casually.
    He could hear the long sigh and his brow furrowed. “Not well, I’m guessing,” he pondered.
    Jensen just sighed again. “He won’t do it.”
    “Ack, dumb kid,” the older man muttered.
    “No. He’s NOT a dumb kid. He just needs a little more…persuasion,” he finished.
    The older man nodded absentmindedly. “Well, until that golden dia comes, I suggest you find yourself over here…and pronto.”
    He chuckled. “The two lovebirds call it quits?” he asked, humurously.
    “For the moment,” he smirked. “And it’s HORMONES, NOT love,” he barked.
    Jensen rolled his eyes. “Whatever, I’ll be over in a few.”
    The phone clicked shut.
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    For the segundo time that day, a Humphrey child came início to an empty house. Jenny called for her dad and her brother, but only echoes filled the dark space. She sighed, laying her overly sized bolsa on the cozinha table. Her dia had been SO long, and hardly worth it. She would have to come up with a better excuse than some sort of sickness or disease to win Eleanor over the seguinte day, and her father no doubt. Oh, how was she going to explain this to him? And Dan? And she was sure Nate would mention something of her appearance at jantar that night. Oh, she was royally screwed.
    She ran her hands across the counter, on way of passing it during her walk to her room. But she felt a slip of paper under her fingertips and stopped. It was a note from Dan. About not coming home? And then she saw the blinking out of the corner of her eye. One message. It had been listened to already, but Jenny had a gut feeling it needed to be listened to again.
    It was from Nate.
    He wouldn’t be início for ceia either.
    What the heck was going on?!
    She ran a hand through her massive blonde curls she had so delicately designed this morning. For reasons she no longer wanted to think about. She trudged to Dan’s room, certain she might find something in there to explain his departure, if not Nate’s as well. What she saw both surprised and shocked her.
    More questions.
    There would definitely be mais perguntas after this one.
    And they probably would not be answered.
    She leaned her head against the door way, and stared ahead.
    What in the world was Vanessa doing in Dan’s bed? Again.
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    Giggles. They had become very contagious around Blair Waldorf since the night before. She could hardly hold back the giggles and smiles that seemed to just pour out of her when she was around Chuck, or even thinking of him really….which was all the time.
    The moment they were inside her room, she smoothly shut the door behind them and attacked her lips with his hungry mouth.
    “Chuck…” she moaned.
    He didn’t stop but continued with his ravaging full lips across her face and down her neck, stopping to suckle on her skin every inch or so, the growling no longer hidden when she pressed herself against him and bit onto his right earlobe.
    “I thought we just,” she gasped, as he pulled her up por her legs, allowing them to embrulho, envoltório around his waist, “….did this,” she finished, moaning and throwing her head back in ecstasy.
    He smirked. “You can never get enough of me, Waldorf.”
    She returned his smirk, as she bit tenderly against his neck.
    “Or have you forgotten?” he whispered huskily.
    She giggled, taking full possession of his lips again, as they stumbled back onto her bed. He was on topo, início of her then and taking his sweet time beijar every inch of her face, as she wiggled beneath him.
    “No, I haven’t forgotten,” she pushed herself up against him again. He grunted.
    And then…
    KNOCK.
    Someone cleared their throat.
    Blair and Chuck both turned their heads instantly to see who was standing in the doorway. They expected Eleanor, or maybe Dorota. Cyrus perhaps?
    But no.
    It was none of them.
    “Nate?” they both asked in unison.
    He only pursed his lips and gave a slight nod.
    Blair pushed at Chuck’s Frozen - Uma Aventura Congelante body forcefully, and stood up, straightening out her skirt, trying to look presentable. She placed a strand of hair behind her nibbled ear, and nearly jumped when Chuck pulled part of her saia out from her underwear. Her eyes widened, and if Nate hadn’t had such an important message and point in being there, he would’ve laughed at the two. Because just then, Blair stepped hard on Chuck’s foot with her heels. And he winced, momentarily.
    Blair took a step forward, well-practiced fake smile in place. “What are you doing here, Nate?” she crossed her arms over her chest.
    He blinked a few times, bringing himself back to the current situation. “Well, I tried calling, but…”
    “I turned my phone off,” she said matter-of-factly, like it made no bit of difference.
    “Yeah, and I’d really like to discuss with—”
    “Miss Blair!” Dorota called out. The rest was mumbled.
    Blair silenced the blonde boy, holding up her hand for him to be quiet. She pushed past him, and listened again for dorota’s message.
    “Dorota, who?” she questioned, paranoid por the whole situation. But that’s when she saw him, slowly climbing up the staircase before her.
    She scoffed. “You have got to be kidding me,” she muttered, mostly to herself.
    “Mr. Dan!” Dorota called out. But Blair no longer needed to be told.
    She glared at him, and then turned to look behind her as both Chuck and Nate had walked out of her room to see who had joined them.
    “Humphrey?” Chuck asked in discuss.
    “Nate!” Dan called out seeing him. “And…and, chuck,” he stifled.
    Blair looked to all three of them, sufficiently weirded out.
    “Well, this isn’t awkward,” Dan muttered, scratching the back of his neck.
    Blair huffed in frustration and pushed past the two boys behind her to go back into her room. Chuck glared at Dan and then followed her. Nate tried to do the same, but Blair’s bedroom door was slammed in his face. He stepped back, in a bit of shock.
    Dan just stood there. On the staircase. On Blair Waldorf’s staircase.
    What the hell was he doing here?
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A/N: YAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!! LONG CHAPTER! WHOO-HOO!!! ;p And truly my natal present to you. I hope you enjoyed it. I won’t be updating for a bit now, but like I said…I hope you really loved it! Please, please review! natal Eve is tomorrow!!!!!! YAAAAAAAY!!! Go celebrate! =)