chapter THIRTYSEVEN.

Dan and Serena lay together on his full-size bed, her head resting on his chest and his head resting on hers. He stroked her hair gently and she allowed her eyes to flutter shut. Ever since she'd arrived at the Humphrey loft she'd been trying to trick herself into thinking that nothing between Dan's dad and her mom had went on yesterday. She tried to block it out of her mind and pretend their love did not exist, but seeing her boyfriend just brought it all back. . .

She loved Dan - really, she did - but every time she looked at him now, she didn't see the same person. Of course his face wasn't hideously distorted all of a sudden and he hadn't dyed his hair; he still looked like the same Daniel Humphrey she knew and loved. . . But after eavesdropping on Rufus and Lily's 'private' conversation from the bathroom and after hearing them have sex right on the living room couch, Serena couldn't help feeling a little awkward and dirty whenever she was in her boyfriend's arms.

Dan could sense her unease by the heavy silence that drenched the room.

But as strange as it seemed, he didn't feel nearly as awkward or different as the young blonde.

Of course he wasn't some pervert who got off on thinking he and Serena were step-siblings, but he knew by now that they were far too deep in their relationship - too deep in love - to be letting some silly technicality come between them. He loved Serena and she loved him, and that was all that mattered. . . Now all he needed to do was prove that to his girlfriend.

He slid out from under her and then swung one leg around her waist so that they were locked together at the hips, him on top and her on the bottom. Then he bent his head down and began kissing her with as much passion he could muster. . . But to no avail. While he was kissing to save his life, Serena was hardly giving him anything.

He swallowed hard and then leaned back a bit so that he could lock eyes with her, one of his hands falling to her luxurious blonde hair and fingering several locks of it for a moment. "Serena, what's wrong?" he asked. Although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer, he was becoming genuinely concerned - not just for her, but for their relationship.

"You've barely said a word to me all day."

Serena sighed heavily and then ran a hand through her hair, feeling guilty and cruel and weak all at once. She didn't want to hurt Dan any more, but she also couldn't shake the feeling that what they were doing to eachother was wrong - what with their parents doing the exact same thing to eachother as well.

Serena wriggled out of his tender grip and sat up straight so that her shoulders were resting against the headboard of his bed. "I'm sorry, Dan. . . It's just. . . This thing with our parents, and. . ." She chewed on her lower lip, confusion and nervousness taking over all else.

Dan hung his head, sighed, and then lifted himself up, retreating back to his original spot on the bed. "It's weird," he ventured, running a hand through his dark brown hair.

Serena looked at him cautiously. "It's weird. . . and it's unsettling and it's different, all at once."

"Has 'weirdness' ever stopped us before, Serena?" He glanced out his bedroom window and then at Cedric, who was perched atop his end table, but for whatever reason he couldn't quite bring himself to look at his girlfriend.

"I mean yeah, it's a little weird and 'different' now that we've witnessed our parents re-living their horrific grunge-rock sex-love of the eighties--" Serena flashed him a warning glance as if to say You're not helping.

So he went on: "But. . . I'm different. You took a chance on me even though everyone in your life told you not to. . ." Then he finally looked at her and cracked one of his sarcastically-charming grins. "And look how well I turned out."

Serena couldn't resist giving him her own smile and then she threw a pillow at his head, giggling that four-year-old giggle of hers. "And you thought I was the conceited one."

If she were to make a list of the reasons why she loved Dan, him being able to make her smile even in her worst moment would be the list's number one, with a bullet.

She continued grinning for the duration of her time in the Humphrey loft, even as he threw the pillow back at her and even as she climbed on top of him and gave him the grandest, most tender kiss she could muster. . . And even as their clothes fell away and they slid under the sheets.

Dan was right. Love conquered all, and so what if their parents shared the same love for each other as Serena and Dan? If they were really in love, then they'd be able to put it aside and kiss without feeling awkward or guilty. . . And what a coincidence, because that's exactly what Serena was doing.


Someone get me a violin and start rolling the cameras! It's this kind of stuff that makes us girls weep and swoon whenever we watch those adorable 'chick flicks,' like Breakfast at Tiffany's. The title of this one should be something like Lonely Boy Wins the Girl, don't you think? Send me your suggestions and a script and we'll talk. Perhaps it'll be a new hit series, starring our very own D and S! You never know. . .

you know you love me.
xoxo; gossip girl