Gossip Girl: A Fanfic

Chapter 32

Liz Archibald's POV:
I just dumped Jake. I never wallowed over James, and I couldn't move on. I go home. I walk into the living room. Mom is sitting next to Nate on the couch.

"I broke up with Jake. I never wallowed over James, and now, even five months later, I still am not over him," I explain.

"Come here kid," Nate says.

I sit in between them. Mom hugs me. I start crying. Nate puts my head in his shoulder.

"If it makes you feel better, your mom and I were broken up for 13 years," he says.

"Not really," I reply.
•
Constance and St. Jude have started mixing boys and girls because they think we're not socialized enough because phones. Obviously, this could be disastrous, but I'm not arguing. I have to finish this semester before I can start homeschool, which sucks. I hate Constance.

Today I noticed a new boy at school. He's my grade, but he's in all my classes. He has brunette hair, he's tall and has glasses.

He's obviously smart. If he's in all my classes, he has to be. He is really good in P.E. too. He flirted with me a little. So far, he's been really nice.

In chemistry, he's my new Lab Partner.

"So, what's your name?" he asks.
"Technically, Elizabeth, but I go by Liz. And you?"

"Technically, Grayson, but I go by Gray. I honestly didn't expect a sixth grader to be in all high school classes," he says.

"Well, considering I'm in seventh grade, I would be, too. I'm just really small," I reply.

"I'm sorry. So, Isabella, how tall are you? I'm 5'9"," he says.

"It's Liz, and 4'11". So, how do you like the awful life of overrated prep school?" I ask.

"I wouldn't say it's awful and overrated, but it's pretty bad." Then he cuts to the chase, "So, what's your number?"

I write it down:
Liz: 770-576-4446

"Thanks," he says when I give it to him. Then he says, "You're lucky you have perfect vision." He's cleaning his glasses.

"I'm actually wearing contacts. My vision is 20/90," I say.

"I'm jealous," he says with a charming grin.

"They can actually be really annoying. I only have them because I play lacrosse and glasses and goggles don't really work together. Oh, by the way, sorry about my accent. I was raised in Britain," I say.

"Oh, a smart, British, lacrosse player. What else can you do?" Gray asks.

"I used to do gymnastics, so I can do some beginners skills and I'm really flexible. I write a lot. I do charity work for extra-curriculars so I can get into Yale," I say.

"Wow. Ivy League. I want to go to Harvard."

"I have a lot of free time. Almost everyone here hates me, so I don't have much of a social life," I explain.

"You have me," he says.

I smile and look at the ground shyly.

Part 2: Nate Archibald's POV
"Liz, what is up? You laugh and smile every time you look at your phone. Who are you texting?" I ask.

I take her phone.

"Who is Gray?" I follow up with.

"He's my only friend from school, not my boyfriend," she says, then mutters, "Yet, at least."

"So, when am I going to meet this Gray?" I ask.

"Well, we're studying for Chem. Lab tonight at six here," she says.

"Why? It's chemistry. It doesn't matter," I tell her.

"Because we have to pass a test to dissect the fetal pig. And it does matter to Gray. He wants to be a toxicologist," Liz remarks.

"Unless he's in all of your classes, he has no chance of being a toxicologist," I reply.

"He is. He's smarter than me. Instead of sports he does Mathletes and he has a flashcards fetish, but he's really good in P.E. He got a 124 on the Pacer," Liz says in a matter-of-factly tone.

"He sounds nice," I say.

Part 3: Jenny Archibald's POV
The doorbell just rang. Then Liz stampedes.

"I'll get it, I'll get it. Nobody else answer!" she screams.

Then she trips down the last three steps, and a triplet starts crying. She answers the door.

"I cannot believe you woke up Sophie. No more stampedes down the stairs," I command.

"So, you have a little sister," Gray says.

Then Liz corrects him: "Sophie, Annie, and Mary are triplets who are almost six months old. I also have a little sibling on the way."

"Hello, Gray. I'm Jenny. That's Nate. Dinner in 30. Now you two need to study. Go," I say.

After they leave, I tell Nate what I did.

"I put a baby monitor in the office to listen to them," I tell Nate.

"Then what are we waiting for?" he asks.

Part 4: Gray Lithe

"So what do we study first?" I ask.
"I guess the diagram, then the flashcards. By the way, we're having meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes for dinner," she answers.

"Sounds good. It will be nice to get away from fetal pigs for a while."

Then we study for a bit. Soon enough, we hear Nate call us down for dinner. Liz runs down really quickly while I take my time to walk down the unfamiliar staircase. It smells good.

"This is really good," I say as I swallow my first bite.

"Thanks," Jenny says. She seems really young to have a teenage daughter.

The table is very full. Nate and Jenny on each end of the table, the triplets' baby seats on one side, and Liz and I on the other side. The food is in the middle of the table.

"Wow, honey, you can eat," Nate says.

"If you don't recall, there is a living thing inside of me that needs nutrients, so I have to eat double," Jenny says.

"And I'm a growing 13 year old boy who needs to eat twice what Jenny eats because food is good," I say.

"Yes!" Jenny replies.

"And us two eat a normal amounts," Liz says, pointing to Nate.

"Who's feeding the triplets tonight? Rock Paper Scissors," Nate says.

I help Nate feed the babies after his loss, and Liz and Jenny do the dishes.
He talks to me.

"It's evident you like Liz. She's allowed to date, but don't break her heart. She's getting over tough times."

"Yeah. I wouldn't hurt her if I was being paid. She didn't tell me what happened, but you can tell she's getting over something."

"There are a few rules. She has to be home at seven on school nights and nine-thirty on weekends. You have to consult Jenny and I before PG-13 movies, and if you're in a bedroom the door has to be open," he says.

"That's fine."

"Good."