super rich kids

Lisbeth could tell Nate wasn't having a good time, this wasn't his scene. Especially because most of the people at this party were judging Nate, something she understood. She had spent most of the past year thinking about how many ways she had been wronged by her father and the Archibalds. Even with all that built-up anger, she still found herself feeling bad for Nate, some part of her still cared about him.

"I think Mrs Fitzherbert must still have nightmares about some of those cocktail parties," Nate chuckled. Talking about the past - their past - was sure to be painful but it was all he could think about around her. For all the bad, they had a lifetime of memories together. Happy memories. Serena, Blair and Chuck had always been Nate's nearest and dearest, but Lisbeth made him who he was today as much as they did. Their childhoods, their families, had been intertwined. He hated that they hurt her so badly.

if the ground could open up and swallow her whole right now, that would be great thanks. she remembered it was his birthday and he had to deal with all of this.

"thanks, lena," he laughed. it wasn't exactly the perfect reunion, right? or the perfect birthday (at least, no yet - he was looking forward to getting out of here with serena). nate just had to roll with the punches, it was something he was used to by now. "it beats 'under the sea' at least. unless everyone was secretly hoping to see chuck show up dressed as a sexy mermaid." nate smiled when she asked about serena, a decidedly safer topic than anything else. "serena's doing great, you should definitely catch up with her before we go. that's, ah, great news. it'll be nice to have you back longer."

"i hate to break it to you, but you're off limits. no one would dare cross queen serena"

it took nate a minute before he got it and let out a laugh. "thanks, man. i wouldn't cross queen serena either."

"nathaniel-" she shot back with a face that could only be described as mean girl irritated. the nate archibald fall from grace had been one that pen had gladly watched, popcorn in hand. other than money she didn't deem anything about him to be special. "i know it is, i've got an in tact reputation. you on the other hand? not so much."

even when nate-and-blair were together, he doubted that penelope had ever really liked him. tolerated, sure. but not liked. it was the same for bella but she always let her face do the talking. "i guess we're nothing without our in tact reputations. were you, uh, looking for blair or serena, or something?"

"Vanessa is certainly a choice..." Blair muttered the words to herself as she read the blast about Chuck and Vanessa for the fourth time. His actions had no affect on her; absolutely none. Chuck could do whatever and whoever he liked, but why did her friends keep insisting on slumming it with the Brooklynites?

Gossip Girl had been relentless tonight. Nate should have known that his days were numbered and when was a more perfect time to drop his big secret than tonight? His birthday (his stupid birthday). All Nate had wanted was to protect Blair and Serena's friendship from his drunken mistakes. The Fairchild Ball had been the worst night of his life. His dad was gone, his life was over. His dad- his parents- had wanted him to use Blair that night to try and save their reputation. His grandmother's ring on her finger, just like it had always been planned out to be. Nate had loved Blair his whole life. He'd loved Serena his whole life too, it just took him a long time to figure it all out. Everything had been perfect, Nate hadn't wanted to ruin it. Blair and Serena needed each other, and he didn't want to get in the way. It was a mistake to keep this secret, though. He knew that now.

"look who it is, the birthday bitch. are you still making people's lives hell by association? of course you are, you're an archibald"

"penelope-," nate sighed, pressing his lips together into a very awkward smile. it was no secret that penelope shafai had never really liked nate but without his last name clout, it was worse than ever. "thank you for that. it's, uh, nice to see you too."

she had been dreading seeing him again. she knew she should have reached out, kept in touch, done something. but the archibald name was radioactive and if she wanted to save any career she had, elena had to distance herself. this wasn't about turning her back on family, this was self preservation.

this was awkward. where were the shitty when you needed them, right? nate could get them past this, though. it's not like they had to dissect their entire fucked up archibald family tree at this party.

@archibaldgoldenboy

Nate was trying not to bring down the vibe... it wasn't really working. He appreciated that Juliette had put a lot of work into this party, he just didn't wanna be here. Jesse might have been the main man tonight, but there were still whispers following Nate around like a shadow. The last person he expected to see here was Lisbeth. He couldn't help perking up when she appeared though. They were still at some party, but at least she was talking to him.

Dan understood how out of place Nate felt with the rest of his friends after everything with his dad. Dan had never even tried to fit in. More than happy to be an outsider among people who couldn't understand his life, even if they had ever wanted to. "Well, next time your whole life gets destroyed, you will at least know how to handle it better." He smiled sympathetically. "Have you tried talking to her now? Not at one of these parties, just you two. You are a great friend, Nate. I am sure she knows it too."

"It's the little things, huh?" Nate breathed a laugh at that, but he wasn't wrong. In an ideal world, his whole world wouldn't be destroyed again. At least, not by his dad. Nate had long since learned to manage his expectations, though. "I-... I guess not. I've tried to call her a few times but she doesn't pick up. Totally understandable, obviously. Maybe you're right. I could try and meet up with her, see if she shows. Or I could try, I don't know, knocking or something. I bet I'm the last person any of her family want to see, though. Thanks for saying that, man. You know I really appreciate you."

"Honestly, you move into a man's family home and suddenly you're his keeper." Alex threw back what remained of her wine then scooted over to give Nate a side hug. "Happy birthday." He couldn't have looked any less like he was celebrating, but considering how close his birthday was to hers, it was impossible for her to forget. "Is this birthday party all you could've ever dreamed of?"

"I wonder if that's how people thought of me when I lived with Dan and Jenny...," he mused, half-smiling at the memory. When Alex moved over to wrap her arm around him, he let out a little laugh. "Thank you, Alex. I appreciate that and, uh, happy almost birthday to you. If you want Juliette to unintentionally throw you a party, I can put in a good word too." Nate laughed again, surprised by it as he usually was these days. "Yeah, it's like my own personal Pinterest board come true."