chapter TWENTYFOUR.

Pouring rain fell as Jenny walked through the courtyard, out the gate, and onto the sidewalk, the water completely deflating her hair. Her blonde locks hung low, covering her crystal blue eyes, and the small gash Blair had made on her lip still bled, just a little. The expensive pair of shoes that Kati had purchased for her were soaked through and Blair's old Burberry coat that she'd been wearing clung to her skin uncomfortably.

But still, Jenny couldn't help feeling a little bad for what she'd done to Blair - she hadn't realized the full effect that her actions had caused for the brunette until now. . . Until Blair'd decided to fight back and ruin Jenny's life in return. But no matter what, she could never forgive Blair for what she did: frame Jenny, wreck her newfound relationship with Leo Dunne, and then actually come to physical blows in the courtyard. Jenny didn't care if she'd initiated the fight; Blair really didn't have a good enough reason to continue in it.

Jenny ran a hand through her sopping wet hair as she continued walking down the street in a defeated pace, her heels making soft clicks against the pavement that could barely be heard beneath the sound of rain spattering against the ground. The sun had already begun to set.

And before she knew it, Jenny found herself standing in front of the towering Archibald home. For whatever reason, her feet had taken her there without her knowledge.

But she decided to take the oppurtunity anyway.

Pushing past the short, beautifully-crafted gate, Jenny walked over to the gigantic French doors that were the enterance of the home and stood before them. Of course she didn't know Nate nearly as well as she knew Serena so instead of barging right in, she pressed the buzz button on the nearby intercom. She tapped her heels softly against the cobblestone step she was standing on, trying to stay patient as Nate or one of the other Archibalds were no doubt stumbling over to the console inside the house, trying to buzz her in as soon as possible.

"Who is it?" came Nate's voice over the intercom, sounding a little scratchy.

Jenny leaned over and pressed the button again so that she could reply. "It's Jenny. Hi, Nate."

She waited for the soft buzz to ring through her ears which would give her access to the home, but instead Nate came down a few seconds later and opened the front door, looking flushed. Jenny smiled shyly and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Hey Jennifer. What are you doing here?" He flashed her a soft, cautious grin and shut the door behind him.

Inside the house, he'd been smoking from both a bong and a ziploc bag full of weed, so he knew for a fact that if he let Jenny inside she'd smell the stuff right away.

So he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, his head dizzy in its current state, and led her around the large townhouse and over the lush backyard. The greenery of the yard was kept shaved and defined by professionals hired by Nate's mother, of course - no way would the woman be caught dead wearing gardening gloves and kneeling down in grass.

"So, uhm.. What's up?"

One of the things Jenny liked most about Nate was his laid-back personality. Little did she know it, however, most of the laid-back traits had only been adapted from smoking so much weed. And another thing she liked about him was the fact that he never looked down on her because she was two years younger; he never called her 'Little J' and after she'd noticed his lack of calling her that, she'd actually requested that he call her 'Jennifer'. It made her feel so much more mature and sophisticated that way.

"Nothing much. . . I just thought I'd stop by. I was in the neighborhood." The rain dropped down to just a slight, nearly unnoticable drizzle.

Even in his stoned daze, he knew she was lying. They'd had enough in-depth conversations for Nate to recognize her 'bluffing face'. He ran a hand through his wavy, golden brown locks, and took a seat on one of the comfortable, refurbished benches that sat in their backyard. "Oh come on. You can't lie to me!" He chuckled a little and then looked her in the eyes as she took a seat beside him. "C'mon, spill. Tell me what's wrong."

Jenny giggled but as the most recent events that had taken place at the school were set on replay in her mind, her smile slowly faded. She sighed heavily and locked eyes with Nate. "Well, if you must know. . . Blair just finished ripping my head off in the courtyard. Like, literally." The rainwater had washed away the blood on her lower lip, which is why Nate hadn't spotted the injury before.

"Blair did what?"

Jenny just nodded. "I'm being totally serious." She lifted her arm and pulled the sleeves of her Burberry coat up to reveal the bruises that had already begun to form. "She convinced this guy at St. Jude's to call our relationship off and when I confronted her about it she totally freaked and, like, attacked me. . . I swear, you really shouldn't fell too bad about your break up with Blair. It's probably for the best."

Her crystal blue eyes drank in the breathtaking scenery of the Archibald's backyard as Nate nodded for a moment, taking it all in. She slid out of her ballet flats and let her feet fall onto the grass, loving the feel as it tickled her toes. Not very many people had yards around these parts, so whenever Jenny saw one she felt sort of like a five year old girl at her first carnival: ecstatic.

There was a gargantuan marble Venus De Milo fountain statue that sat directly in the middle of the garden, the goddess' eyes closed and her body bare. Water spilled down her body and swished around in the small gray pool that was structured at its feet. Jenny thought their house was so beautiful in its entirity that the Archibalds could probably charge people for tours in their residence or something. . . It may as well have been a museum, what with the antique paintings that hung from the walls on the inside and the inspiring statue that stood on the outside.

"Yeah well, to be honest Blair's not really the one pushing my buttons anymore," Nate said, trying to shove his current craving for even more weed out of his mind. Jenny flashed him a quizzical glance and he went on: "Chuck confronted me in the courtyard, too. He tried to apologize for what he did to me and, like, expected me to just hug him right there and forgive and forget or something." He scoffed. "None of them seem to get it, do they?"

Jenny shook her head and kicked at the ground, bored and frustrated with life itself. "Sometimes I just wish it could be like it was when we were toddlers." She didn't bother reminding herself that since she and Nate were from different worlds, their experiences as young children were probably vastly different. "You know, back when everyone was pretty much friendly 24/7 and when we shared our cookies and our toys with the other kids in the playground. . . And whenever we got mad, all we needed to hear was 'sorry' and all was forgiven."

She sighed again and they both sat there in verbal silence for a moment, listening to the fountain gurgle and drip and watching the sun go down. . . And then suddenly, Jenny bolted out of her seat on the bench and ran over to the fountain, shedding her coat and her stockings and her headband, giggling as the cold water caressed her body, making her forget all of her problems for but a moment.

Nate laughed and watched as Jenny tore off everything but her skirt and top (and of course her underwear). She really looked good in the waning sunlight, her skin glistening in the water. And then, before he could think of anything else to do, he tore off everything but his boxers and joined her in the fountain, splashing her playfully and laughing hysterically as he did so.

Before they realized what they were doing, Jenny was collapsing against Nate's chest and into his arms, both of them drenched terribly. And then all of a sudden they were kissing. . . And before they knew it, the rest of their clothes were shed off their skin and dropped into the water below until they stood there, both bare and wet. Nate scooped her up into his arms and carried her back to the front door, opening it and locking it behind them as he brought her upstairs. . .


A word to the wise, you two: If you're planning on almost having sex in a fountain, refrain from doing so in public. You never know who could be watching (and/or snapping revealing photographs). . . It's just as well, though, because I always knew Little J had it in her to get back at B this good. But my question is, how will B react when she finds out?

you know you love me.
xoxo; gossip girl