𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 ( 𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐩 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭 )

𝐈𝐈. 𝐃𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋

II. 𝐃𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋

ONCE LUNCH HAD WRAPPED, THE HOURS seemed to fly by, and before Yelena realized it, she was back home preparing for the evening. She had already put on her outfit and done her hair and makeup. Now, she perched on the edge of her bed, fastening the last of her black open-toe heels. Just as she secured the strap around her ankle, her phone buzzed from the side. She reached for it, her gaze fixed on the screen.

It was a notification from Instagram. She usually had her Instagram notifications offs because she got too many of them and they disturbed her a lot, but she had turned them back on today because she was tagged in photos from her friends. She assumed it was probably just another photo she was tagged in by Julien or Luna, but her assumption was wrong when she saw the person who tagged her.

(yelenawindsor): @gossipgirl tagged you in a post.

Yelena had to blink twice to make sure she was reading this right. She almost let out a laugh at it, that's how much it caught her off guard. 

gossipgirl: Hello, followers. Gossip Girl here. Your one and only source for the truth behind the scandouls lies of New York's elite. Been a minute. Did you miss me? I know I've missed you. Though you're probably gonna wish I stayed away when I'm done. Because I can see you. Not the you you've not-so carefully curated. The real you. The one hiding just outside the edge of the frame. Well, it's time to reframe that picture. You've gotten away with everything a little too long. Now that I'm back, I'm gonna feature your finstas, surface those subtweets, and crack your caches. You can't hide from me. Never could. And to prove it, there's a big secret, amongst the ruling class at Constance Billard. And as you soon would come to know, no good secret goes unpublished. Watch this space. Or don't. You'll hear about it soon enough either way. Til then, XOXO, Gossip Girl.

Yelena couldn't help but laugh a little as she wrapped up reading the lengthy caption. She was pretty certain that she and everyone else were aware that Gossip Girl had been out of the picture for more than eight years. If they didn't know that, they must have been living under a rock. She thought the post was a mix of funny, adorable, and just plain silly. It was amusing and ridiculous that someone actually created an account and thought people would take it seriously. It was a cute but naive effort; clearly, someone was trying to grab their moment in the spotlight. Too bad it wouldn't last long once everyone figured out it was just a fake.

But she wasn't about to waste her time on some nobody trying to make a name for themselves. Like she did in the first place to keep herself from seeing irrelevant posts like these, she turned off all her notifications and continued on getting ready, so she could leave. 

☆★☆

ONCE YELENA FELT SHE LOOKED GOOD ENOUGH TO LEAVE, SHE TOOK A LYFT TO DUMBO HALL. She was just arriving now as she stepped out of the car and walked into the building. Thankfully, Dumbo Hall was private, and there were no paparazzi outside. As much as she loved posing for a good picture, she didn't feel like it tonight. She planned on drinking and enjoying this night out with her friends. 

She greeted the usual people who saw her regularly  as she headed towards the elevators where she saw Julien waiting. 

"Jules!" Yelena called out once she got closer to her. 

"Yelena." Julien says. The two gave each other an air cheek kiss as the elevator doors opened and both girls stepped on. 

"Tell me you have seen that stupid post we were tagged in." Yelena says as the elevator began going up.

"Monet turned my notifications off, remember?" Julien reminds her.

"Well, we were all tagged in some stupid post by Gossip Girl. Can you believe it? Gossip Girl." Yelena says as the elevator doors opened and she and Julien were greeted by Luna and Monet as they did cheek air kisses gretting one another.