"Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite." "Sounds like you like him." "Sorry about Nate." "If it's consolation, I don't think he ever liked me." "I haven't heard from him." "Friendship is more important than some guy." "He has a PI on retainer." "Bart's people are topnotch and very discreet." "You hire someone to look into my past?" "Do you have a Lily Bass dossier?" "Aaron asked me out, but I said no, because I wasn't sure how you'd feel." " I like Aaron." "Have my blessing." " What are you doing?" "Couldn't think of anywhere that felt more like home." " What about Bart?" " Not coming." "I haven't heard from Jenny in weeks, so can we get together?" "I guess that'd be okay." "As of right now, this moment, I am officially a one-woman man." "Where has she been?" "And who am I?" "That's one secret I'll never tell." "You know you love me. x O x O Gossip Girl." "Winter in New York." "A Gossip Girl checklist to surviving the cold:" "Cashmere stole for ice-skating at Wollman Rink Jacques Torres hot chocolate for window-shopping the holiday displays and the perfect date to the Senior Snowflake Charity Ball." "B, I have other things to do today." "Serena, this is the holiday event for high-school seniors." "The crème de la crème will be there." "Pictures dominate society pages through New Year." "I need a ringer." "All of these guys asked you?" "Of course." "You think Angelina Jolie considers a project without an offer?" " I'm a pay-or-play dater." " Just out of curiosity who's in the lead to play "Guy With No Future"?" "You think I'm not looking long-term?" "Call it a hunch." " Keith Nelson." " Are you kidding?" "Ever seen him without gum?" "Oral fixation would drive you insane." " Andy Clark." " Outscored your verbal on the SATs." "I like an intelligent man." "He can whisper mellifluous nothings in my ear." "You think you like intelligent men." "The moment he gave you a history of "mellifluous," you'd rip out his tongue." "Okay." "Hey, Dan." "Can I ask you a question?" "Hey, I'll call you later." "So who's next?" "Dan." "Hey." " Hey." "What's up?" " Look." " Wow." "Letters to a Young Poet, first edition." "And the original Herter Norton translation to boot." "All thanks to you." "I found it at the rare-book store you told me about." " I'm giving it to Aaron for Hanukkah." " That's very nice." "Means he accepted your invitation to the ball." "Unfortunately, he will be unable to attend." "Apparently high-society formals don't go with the whole Brooklyn artist thing." "Well, it's an acquired taste, to be sure." " Um..." "You still going?" " Absolutely." "Something I love about the Snowflake Ball." "It reminds me of Anna Karenina, only by Anna Wintour." " I'll just be flying solo." " My preferred method of travel." "That's good." "We can hang out, then." "Dan Humphrey, the scourge of high society, is going to the ball?" "I know." "I'm still reeling." "I just realized that the best memories of my past two years have been at those events, so I figured, why fight it?" "Well, look who's embracing change." "I'm assuming that Aaron'll be okay with two dateless friends hanging out." "Yeah." "He'd better be." "He's friends with his ex Lexi." "She's coming to town for the holidays." "I'm going to the gallery to see his installation." "Wanna come?" "I just have to stop and change first." "Yeah." "Yeah, sure." "I got your message." "What's the emergency?" "Do you consider Muddy Waters blues or classic rock?" "I'm reorganizing my dad's record collection by genre." " Why?" " I already bound all of Dan's stories and cleaned the loft twice." " Did you put Red Bull in your cereal?" " No, I just need to keep busy." "Otherwise I'm gonna think about my future." "Gonna be a hole through my wall." "Stop putting pressure on yourself." "You're back home and you're still a great designer." " The future will work itself out." " That's not all I'm thinking about." "What?" "Okay, look, I don't wanna be awkward but the thing I can't figure out is what happened with Nate." "Is that totally pathetic?" "Sitting around thinking about how some guy blew you off?" "No, but in my experience it doesn't really help either." "I'd move on." "Yeah." "Sorry, I told Rufus I'd be at the gallery all day." " So I'll see you later?" " Yeah." "I'll be here." "Literally." "Probably in the same spot." " Oh, hello, weird documentary girl." " Bye, sad Blair wannabe." " Penelope." "What are you doing here?" " Snowflake Ball." "I wanna commission a dress." "Your fashion show was impressive." "Thanks, but the Snowflake Ball's tomorrow." " And I kind of hate you, so..." " I know." "But this is about fashion, not friendship, J." "Hazel and Is keep biting my style, and I need something custom." " I'm very expensive." " I hope so." "I think we'd better have a second snowflake machine." "I mean, it is called the Snowflake Ball." "We can't have drizzle." " Hey." " Hey." "I thought the decorating committee agreed on poinsettias." " They did." "I didn't." "Casablanca lilies." " Sneaky." "Hey, thanks for offering to help out." "It's really been fun." "When you just happened to mention my background in sound systems and lack of volunteer hours at the last PTA meeting I caught your signal." " Ha-ha." "Sorry." "I had to get out of the house, and I didn't wanna be here alone." "You and Bart still haven't talked." "No." "It's my fault." "Since Thanksgiving I pretty much hung up the marital "do not disturb" sign." "You're gonna have to talk to him sooner or later." "Isn't that what New Year's resolutions are for?" "Have you decided if you're going to make it to the dance?" "Witness the fruit of your labors?" " Jury's still out." " All right." "If you do, save me a dance." "I'll talk to you later." "We need to talk." "Fine." "LEXl:" "Aw." "They're adorable." "You know, I feel inspired to shop at the Gap or validate my self-image with overpriced cosmetics." "You sure this one didn't just come with the frame?" "Women have been the focal point for artists throughout history." "Exactly." "Yeah, way to swing at a 2000-year-old pitch." "And with Blondie the Bombshell, no less." " Serena." "Dan." "Hey." "This is Lexi." " The ex." "I was wondering when I'd finally meet you." "I probably should have asked sooner but would you come with me to the Snowflake Ball?" "Oh, I would love to, but I don't think it's a very good idea right now." "You mean you haven't told Jenny about us?" "I know you guys are close and I'm the last person who'd wanna come between friends, but Jenny doesn't care." " She pretty much blew me off." " But what if she didn't?" "I mean, what if you found out that she still liked you?" "I mean, Vanessa, I'm really happy right now." "Let's just go with this." "Please." "Okay?" "Okay." "But we're in Gossip Girl country, so rein in your horses." " You're probably right." "Okay." " Ha-ha-ha." "So tell me, whatever happened between you and Nate?" " I'm sorry?" " Please." "Your kiss was all over Gossip Girl, and he was living here, wasn't he?" "Uh, heh..." "Yeah, for a little bit." "Why do you care?" "Now that Archibald is on the rebound, I was thinking of asking Nate to the ball." "So, what's the story?" "Nothing." "Nothing even happened between us, so..." "I wouldn't beat yourself up about it." "I mean it was doomed from the start." "He's Upper East Side and you're, well, here." "You gotta be kidding me." "Sorry, ladies." "For those of you hoping to find Nate Archibald under your tree looks like he's already picked up his mistletoe mate." "I don't appreciate your showing up unannounced at a school function." "I'm sorry, but you haven't left me many options." "We do need to talk." "Fine." "Talk." "It's been a long time since I've been a husband, Lily." "I just want you to know that I fired Andrew Tyler that investigator who gathered those files." "No more snooping, no more trying to control you and the kids." "It's done and I'm sorry for everything." "Thank you, but I don't think that that's enough." "Well, then tell me what is, and I'll do it." "I can change, Lily." "You know I can." "If you'll let me." "I should be back from my trip in time to go to the ball." "If you think about what I've said and are willing to give me a chance I'd be honored to accompany you." "I have to go." "There's a few more things I have to do inside." "I know Lexi can be a bit much." "Ugh." "Blair Waldorf is my best friend." "I can handle "much. " That felt personal." "She doesn't mean anything." "Thinks she's protecting me." "Oh, great." "Well, how long is the enforcer gonna be with us?" "She's staying with her folks through the holidays." "So is that Christmas Eve, or are we talking New Year's Eve?" "Or maybe Boxing Day?" " You have any kopi luwak back there?" " Kopi what-wak?" "It's a coffee made from berries that have been passed by the Asian palm civet." "It's a cat." "I had it in Indonesia." "It's delicious." "Our cat lives in Florida." "My sister has allergies." " That's a shame." " Yeah." "We do, however, have this bag here of nondescript beans whose berries have been passed through a corporate infrastructure." "You're funny." "Heh." "Come on." "It would mean a lot to me if you gave her a chance." "Please?" "Okay, fine." "But as long as we're swapping favors here it would make me feel much better about you spending time with her if you, I don't know, escorted me to my senior winter dance?" "Fine." "Got yourself a deal." "So." "New plan for tonight." "Dan here has agreed to give me a walking tour of Brooklyn and it might be fun for the four of us to hang out." "Get to know each other." "I mean, unless the two of you guys wanna hang out alone." "No, no." "Sounds great, Lexi." "Anyone home?" "I have a gift certificate to Grimaldi's and I'm thinking double pepperoni." "Everything okay?" "How could you?" "Really, Vanessa?" "Lying and seeing Nate behind my back?" "I'm so sorry." "I've been meaning to tell you." "Just wasn't sure how." "You knew why Nate wasn't calling and it was because he was with you." "I understand that you're upset but if I remember correctly, you kissed Nate first." "I felt so horrible about it that I ran after you and you were gone." "What happened to not letting a guy get between us?" " Are you that desperate?" " You that jealous?" " Oh, my God." " Sorry you found out this way." "I am." "But since you have Nate asked me to the ball and I think I'm gonna go." "What do you want, Bass?" "It occurred to me while I was having my shiatsu that I should choose your date." " You." "Why?" " Why not?" "And it'll let me prove I know you better than anyone else." " Fine." "Then I choose yours." " I bring a date for you." "You bring one for me." "See who was paying attention to the other's desires." "There has to be something to keep you honest and make things interesting." "Name the stakes." "If you actually like your date, I get your limo." " For a month." " Fine." "And if you like yours, I get Dorota." " What?" "Dorota?" " Yes, Miss Blair?" "Fine." "By the way, I take my breakfast in bed." "What are you staring at?" "Go polish something." "I write on these benches all the time." "Actually, Norman Mailer used to live in that townhouse there." "You can't imagine how many times I thought about knocking on his door." " Why didn't you?" " Common courtesy?" " Okay." "It's a door, but whatever." " No." "She's right." "I don't know why I'm always worried about what people might think of me." "It certainly hasn't paid off." "Wow." "Here I thought the Y-chromosome was incapable of change." "Look at you two branching out." "Aaron decided he would escort me to the Snowflake Ball tomorrow." "Sorry." "Pause?" " Snowflake Ball?" " Yeah." "It's this school charity dance that Serena and I have." "And you're going as well?" " Yeah." "LEXl:" "And what?" "I'm here to test the Mailer anecdote for your actual date tomorrow night?" " At the ball?" " No." "I don't have a date, actually." "Oh, oh." "Oh." "Ha-ha." "Uh..." "You know what?" "I just had the craziest idea." "Why don't the four of us go together?" " That is if you would be my date." "LEXl:" "That depends." " That little speech you just gave?" " He doesn't live there anymore." " Not really the point, is it?" " The man's dead." "LEXl:" "Come now." "Ring doorbell." "You okay with her coming tomorrow?" "Yeah." "It's a little When Harry Met Crazy, but as long as Dan's fine with it." "I'm guessing Dan will end up being more than fine with it." "Meaning?" "Lexi likes to sleep with guys on the first date." "She claims it's a political statement against male-dominated sexual hypocrisy." "Or something." "Can't she just vote?" "In her defense, she dates very few guys but once there's one in her sights, that's pretty much it." " You still okay?" " Yeah." " Whatever." " Yeah, whatever." " Taking off?" " Morning meeting in Miami." " I should be back tomorrow." " Sure that's wise?" "The marriage thermostat is headed south of late." "And whose fault is that?" "Thanksgiving was a disaster because of those files." "You think I don't know who had the combination to that safe?" "Every time I think we're making progress, you show your true colors." "Hey." "Your housekeeper let me in." " Good, then she can let you out." " What?" "And tell your friend Vanessa it's not wise to fish in our pond." "Well, she's not my friend." "Really?" "Because we were just trying to think of a way to send her a little message." "Feast your eyes, ladies." "Well?" "What do you think?" "I think you shouldn't stand in front of a light in that dress." "Oh, my God." "It's see-through." " One way to be the center of attention." "At least you don't have to worry about going home alone." " What do you think Vanessa's wearing?" " She's going?" "Yeah." "With Nate." "Jenny, Isabel's dress looks a little like one of yours, don't you think?" "No, not at all." "I know of a little something called lining." "Well, what if you didn't?" "Snowflake or Snowfake?" "Either way, it's gonna be a ball." "Chuck is in for the shock of his life." "I have depths he'll never plumb but I know every inch of his wafer-thin soul." "What do you think?" "You're right." "Louboutin peep-toes." "Always." "Just so you know, seeing someone with your ex even if you're ready, not easy." "I assume you're talking about your lame outer-boroughs double date last night." " What happened?" " Nothing." "It was great." "Right up until Dan asked Lexi to go with him to the Snowflake Ball." "So they're going to the dance?" "And I found out she tends to extend herself to guys on a first date." " So?" " So?" "We're friends." "Shouldn't I give him a heads up or something?" "Absolutely." "Guys hate to be caught off-guard with sex on the first date." "You're right." "You're right." "I should just not think about it." "Exactly." "Like I'm sure Dan doesn't think about you and Aaron all horizontal and sweaty." "Wait, you have slept together, haven't you?" "Why not?" "He's hot." "You like him." "How often you find that in the same guy?" "Which is why I haven't rushed into anything." "You wanna wait, fine, but in the meantime Dan is going to be taking a ride on the Lexicoaster." "Think about it." "Jenny." " What are you doing here?" " I'm still mad at you." "You're gonna kill me and put me in the garment bag?" "I couldn't sleep last night." "I was up half the night making this before I realized who it was for." " You made that for me?" " Yeah." "I mean, I said some pretty awful things because I was hurt." "So I guess just consider this a peace offering." "You'll look great." " I don't know what to say." " Just say you'll try it on." "Okay." "I thought I made it clear that we need to find Chuck the perfect date." "Kristin Curran is the loosest girl in our class." "Don't you know Chuck doesn't like his fruit pre-picked?" "She has long hair." "In Poland, long hair..." "And Elizabeth Phillips is somewhere between Mormon and moron." " How'd you come up with these?" " Facebook." "Joined groups." "This has to be Chuck's dream girl." "Intelligent but not a bookworm, strong-willed but still feminine." "An equal." "And he likes brunettes with deep brown eyes." " But Miss Blair, that's you..." " No." "That girl is out there and you better hope for your sake I find her." "Please." "I don't want to shine Mr. Chuck's shoes for month." "His shoes if you're lucky." " What?" " Nothing." "Now get back to work." "Tick-tock." "Tick-tock." "Hello?" " You know, rent a tux in Brooklyn they throw in the shoes?" "No, I didn't know that." "What's going on?" "Well, this is stupid, but I wanted to make sure this was all okay with you." "You know, you, me, Lexi, Aaron." "Of course." "Why wouldn't it be?" "I don't know." "Dramatic precedent?" "Well, I think we've outgrown that." "Good." "Good." "Me too." "I have to say, I'm really looking forward to this tonight." "Okay, great." " I'll just talk to you later, then." " Yeah, I'll see you." "Oh..." "So?" "I so appreciate you coming tonight." "I know." "You've thanked me." "I know." "I know, but I wanna thank you properly." " Later tonight." " Really?" " There." " It's beautiful." " Jenny, about the whole..." " Handbag." "Here." "I'm gonna get going." "Wait." "I have to tell you something." "When I flipped out yesterday and asked if you were jealous it's because I always have been, of you and Dan." "To me, you guys had it all." "And it doesn't excuse what I'm about to tell you, but..." "Um..." "It's cool." "You don't have to tell me." "I don't..." "I don't wanna know." "It's fine." "Have fun tonight, though, okay?" "Bye." "Hey." "I'm glad you called." "There's something I have to talk to you about." "No." "I'd rather do it tonight, in person, actually." "Hello, Mrs. Landingham." "Could you tell Bart that I'm waiting for him to go to the Snowflake Ball?" "Wha...?" "A meeting?" "Well, who's it with?" "Andrew Tyler?" "Let me call you back." "Hi, it's me." "Could you inform Mr. Bass that my plans have changed?" "I won't be waiting, and he shouldn't come to the ball." "We all set?" "Jenny called after she delivered the dress." " Brooklyn Betty walks in, cue the song." " Hazel's new boyfriend hits her with the spotlight." " I hate you all." "And we expose her in nothing but her cheap glass slippers." "Nate." "Save me a dance?" "Oh, yeah, sure." "Are you Chuck Bass?" "Are you Blair's girl?" "Not bad." "You know, the roof has a spectacular view of the city." "Oh." "Excuse me, he's taken, shoo." "You look lovely." "Not as lovely as I'll look in my limo." " So where's my Prince Un-Charming?" " Sandbox rules." "Show you mine if you show me yours." "Fine, here she comes." "Justine, this is Chuck Bass." "Very nice to meet you." "You can't be serious." "I need to talk to you." "Excuse us." " Looks like tonight's the night." " What are you talking about?" "Aaron likes to play things close to the vest." "It took arm-twisting but I found out Serena gave him the green light for tonight." "Oh." "You mean, they haven't had sex?" "You're not as quick as you pretend to be." " Do you care?" " I don't." "I don't." "Okay." "We both know that I'm your one and only and a knockoff seemed like the best option." "My thinking exactly." "Fine." "If beta Bass is like the original I have no doubt that sooner or later he'll disappoint me." "I'm curious if the new Blair has all the features I so enjoyed on the old model." " So the bet is still on?" " Unless you're prepared to concede." "To you?" "Never." "It was nice to meet you." "Okay." "Hi, Rufus." "Wow." "Where's Bart?" "I'm leaving him." "I'm doing it for me, I don't expect anything." "Except maybe a dance." "Uh..." "So you seem like you're having a good time." " So do you guys." " Mm." " What?" " Uh..." "Lexi told me about your and Aaron's plans tonight, that's all." "Oh." "I am gonna miss her when she's gone." "I only mention it because we're friends now so if there's anything you wanna talk about..." "Well, what's there to talk about?" "We've been dating, gotten to know each other." " It's not like we're rushing into anything." " Right." "And that's important." "Well, it is to some people." "I know Lexi has a more "come hither" attitude about sex." "Right." "Wait." "What?" "Well, she's planning on seducing you tonight." "Seducing me?" "Wow." "What does "wow" mean?" "Well, I always assumed that I would, you know, again sooner or later." ""Assumed" is a strong word." ""Hoped" is more accurate." "What?" "Mm." "Nothing, I just..." "You and Lexi together..." "I just thought sex was meaningful to you, that's all." "It is." "Especially when I haven't had it in a long time." "Right." "Okay, then." "Have fun." "Serena." "I was kidding." "There you are." "I'm parched." "Drinks?" "Ha-ha." "Sure." "Jenny?" " What are you doing here?" " Hi." "Uh..." "It doesn't matter." "I'm ending things with Nate." " What?" " I never meant to hurt you." "Please believe that." "Where is she?" "How long does that subway thing take?" " Maybe she's not coming." " Or Little J had second thoughts." "Vanessa." "Finally." "Showtime." "Hey." " Wow, you look gorgeous." " Thank you." "I need to tell you something and I need for you not to say anything." "Okay." "I've never felt this way about anyone before." "Never." "And it made me do something that I can't believe I did." "Jenny never got your letter." "That's why you never heard from her again." "I took it before she saw it." "And I'm sorry." "Vanessa." "Hey, you see that?" "No way." "You see that?" "Look at that." "Nice dress." "You can see everything." "Poor Vanessa." "Even Cinderella was given the courtesy of a stealth getaway." "Then again, what's a trio of ugly stepsisters..." "Vanessa, here." "Take this." "Vanessa, wait." "Please." "Looks like it might turn out to be an unhappily ever after for everyone." "Jenny." "Did you do that to Vanessa?" "Yeah." " You don't understand." "She completely..." " She what?" "She lied?" "She went behind your back?" "So what?" "For that she deserved to be publicly humiliated?" "She's your friend, Jenny." "You know, there's no reason for me to tell you this now but I wrote you after the fashion show, telling you I had feelings for you." " I never got that." " No, I know." "Vanessa stole it." "But she felt so bad about it, she came and told me the truth." "Okay, look, I know what you must think of me right now but if I had gotten that..." " I'm glad you didn't." "Honestly, you're not who I thought you were." " Where are they?" " Relax." "They'll be here somewhere." "This is the worst out-of-body experience ever." "Hey." "Explain this." "After you and Chuck walked off, Justine and I got to talking." "He took me up to the roof and we looked over the city." " Of course he did." " We just knew we were meant for each other." " But she's me." "Only less." " I gave her that headband." " We're as surprised as you are." "Everyone, even our doppelgangers, can work it out, but we can't?" "I hate that I have to hurt him." "I know it sounds strange, but I suddenly feel horrible about what I have to do." "I'd be worried about you if you didn't." "And the kids." " Eric has become so accustomed to him..." " Eric wants you to be happy." "I never thought my life would turn out like this." "I've always tried to do the right thing." "That's all you can do." "Just smile and fake it." "Tell me something, Rufus." " What?" " Something you shouldn't." "I never wanted to weigh in about your relationship." "I was afraid of what I might say." "Which was?" "I let you go on your wedding day because I was afraid I couldn't give you what you needed." "I wasn't sure what I needed." "And I have regretted it every day since." "As much as I appreciate company I thought I made myself clear:" "Your services are no longer required." "Trust me." "You gave me a final assignment and you do wanna know what I found out." "This isn't a good time, Chuck." "She's here." " What are you talking about?" "Lily's at the ball with Rufus Humphrey." "And from what I'm seeing, you should get down here now." "What do you have?" "Charles." "You've been good for him." "Good for us." "I always liked you, regardless of how I acted." "He's on his way here." "You owe him a conversation." "Vanessa." "Wait." "You stole my letter." "I know." "Is there anything else you wanna tell me?" "Pretty sure that was it." "You said you never felt this way about anyone before." "Is that true?" "Does it matter?" "Listen." "After all we've been through when you walked away tonight, all I could think was:" ""She's the one I wanna be with. "" "So, yeah, it matters." "Yes, it's easy for you to say because you didn't just pull a Janet Jackson at the Snowflake Ball." " You wanna grab a drink?" " Yes, I would." "Somewhere dark with no backlighting." "Well, maybe a little backlighting." " Let's go." " Okay." "We saw you try and save her." " Should have known you didn't have it." " You never did." "I don't know what's more pathetic, that I wanted to be you, or I was scared." "Either way that leaves you with pathetic." "You and your friend." "Oh..." "Oh, Vanessa's 10 times the person you will ever be." " That is why you hate her." " Easy to talk big when you're in Brooklyn." "Well, maybe we should change that." "I'll see you guys around." " Dance with me." " What's the point, Chuck?" "We're never gonna be them." "We said so, remember?" "It's not for us." "Maybe." "But I wouldn't change us." "Not if it meant losing what we have." "And what do we have, Chuck?" "You tell me." "Tonight." "So shut up and dance with me." "Hello?" "Yes." "This is Lily Bass." "Think maybe we should we wait for Aaron and Serena?" "I thought it might be fun for the two of us to hang out." "Alone." "Right." "Right, alone." "You know what?" "We came with them." "I wouldn't wanna be rude." "I don't know, are you hungry?" "Because I know a great place." " Dan." "Hey." " Hey, guys, what's up?" "Do you mind if I talk to Dan for a second?" "No." "No, I don't." "I'm gonna..." "I'll grab us a cab." "I'll get one for us too." "Mm." "I just want to apologize for how I acted earlier." " I had no right." " No." "No apology necessary." "Good." "Because I didn't want you to go tonight and do whatever it is you're gonna do without me just clearing the air first." "Well, consider it cleared." "And I didn't mean to pry earlier." "No, I know." "Well, good, we can both go with clean air." "Yeah." "Yeah, I guess so." "Hey, it was meaningful with you." "It was the greatest night of my life." "Mine too." "Why does this feel like we're cutting some mythological tie?" "I don't know, but it does." " Are we...?" " Serena." " Where's Charles?" " I don't know." "I need to find him." "Mom, what's wrong?" "Bart's been in an accident."