VANDERBILT;

Victoria sighs as she falls onto the couch, she adjusts the throw pillows around her as she replies “Tell me about it. This weekend has been woefully uneventful.” A devilish grin taints her pretty face. “We should do something tonight to spice things up – like spike the punch with LSD.”

She threw her head back, a throaty laugh escaping the blonde in a single beat. “It’s like you read my mind,” she joked. They could certainly use a little excitement before they head back to the city, and Emma had always believed that she had to make her own future. “LSD can get a bit messy, though,” she pointed out. “But we can still make a splash.”

       Kati laughed, smiling at Emma before she shook her head. “Darling, you and I, are not the boring ones,” she commented, pulling her phone out to show Emma the blast she did not think would ever come. “We made headlines.”

Emma glanced down at the blast Kati was referring to. Quite honestly it just proved her point. That was the most UNEVENTFUL gossip girl post she had ever read. Still, Emma couldn’t help but smile when she saw her name on the screen. “Well, we can be grateful for that,” she smirked. “Sounds like we’re the new dynamic duo -- I hate to prove gossip girl right, but we might as well take advantage of our moment in the sun.”

“And how did that work for us last time, Em?” A challenging smirk spread across pink lips as her mind drifted back to their last trip to The Hamptons. “You and I, horribly hungover standing outside Tenal waiting for it to open because you dragged us to a party the night we landed, and we had no clothes. As hilarious as that was, I’d rather not repeat it.”

Emma gasped, a pout following soon - after. “That’s hardly fair,” she argued. The Tenal story was one of her favorites, and it hurt Emma that Rosalie was using it against her. “We were children at the time. We would be more responsible this time around. Look at me, a day and a half in and no repeats. Not yet at least”

      Kati beamed at the idea of shutting down the uninvited locals. It was an unwritten rule you don’t go to a party if you weren’t invited directly from the host. People came to the Hamptons to getaway from the city and r e l a x. The last thing they wanted was to worry about having to stress about the unwanted. “I think that is a splendid idea,” Kati replied, raising her glass towards Emma.

Emma grinned, her first real smile since the return of gossip girl ( again ). Tilting her head, she took a final sip from her glass, her eyes on Kati the entire time. “Is there any more?” she asked, gesturing to the bottle. “Or do we get to deal with the unwanted?”

       “That’s because this is where we keep the stuff not meant for the parties,” Kati replied with a cheeky smile on her face. The fact that so many people were worried about Gossip Girl’s return almost made her laugh. She had already made one grand return and it flopped. She was no longer concerned about the blogger. “I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about this time. She never focuses on someone very long - unless your last name is van der Woodsen.”

       She should have known that asking an invasive question would only turn back around at her. If she attempted to avoid the question, it would only draw more attention to her. Besides, Emma had been kind enough to let her in. It was only fair for Kati to do the same. At least that’s what she thought. “I need a break from all the fascinating locals someone thought it would be okay to bring,” she lied, keeping her smile in place.

“See?” Emma laughed lowly, raising her head to wink in the brunette’s direction. Kati’s words gave her more comfort than she cared to admit -- but also disappointment. “And to think you questioned my motives.”

       Following Emma’s eyes to the champagne, Kati smiled and nodded, taking one of the goblets from the blonde’s hand. “It is quite the success so far,” she commented, raising the glass slightly. After taking a sip from the glass, she tilted her head to the side a bit before asking the question burning on her lips.

        “So what pushed you in here all by yourself?”

And there it was. “I could ask you the exact same thing,” Emma commented with a knowing smile, but she was never one for deflection. At least not with something so unimportant such as why she’d escaped to the kitchen. “If you must know, the return of gossip girl again has put me on edge. I may have been the last thing on the website, but I certainly don’t want to be the first. Besides,” she tipped her glass. “You and I both know this is where you keep the good stuff.”

       Kati had sent out a mass invite to the party, and like true Elite fashion, the only people she got a verbal RSVP from where the ones she asked directly. To be honest, she was surprised anyone showed up at all, but that never stopped her from at least trying to throw a party. “Well, I”m glad you came either way,” she replied, smiling at the blonde.

       “I hope you’re not sick tonight,” Kati said, her eyes narrowing slightly before she laughed off the remark. The last thing she wanted for was for her vacation to be done before it even started because of a stupid flu.

“Definitely not,” Emma promised, jokingly placing her right hand over her heart. She pretended to shudder -- “Never again.” Mistakes had been made, and for once Emma felt that she’d lived and learned.

Spotting some champagne on the counter, Emma reached for the crystalline goblets. “I say we drink to your party,” she said with a small smile. “It’s been a great success so far.”