Starting Over: rewrite

Weddings and Bye-Bye Baizen

I always found it strange how many times Serena fell so in love with someone and quickly got over them.

Ella's POV

"The bloodsucker is back. I saw her coffin and telltale Louis Vuitton broom on the floor." Blair complains to us at lunch.

"Vampire's and brooms don't together." I remind her.

"Leave it to Georgina to start a mutant strain."

"You know my roommate, and I didn't see eye to eye at first." Bree chimes in. "So one night, I brought ice cream cone cupcakes from the treats truck, and we bonded. She taught me how to say hello in Swahili. Jambo." Bree waves to us.

"Aw, do you happen to know what the Swahili is for? Mind your own beeswax?" Blair snaps. "No reason, of course. It just might be useful someday on a safari."

"B." I caution her to go easy on Bree.

"So Bree, you went home last week" Chuck asks.

"Yeah, I tried to mend fences with my family ever since they found out I'm friends with Ella, who just happens to be dating a van der Bilt. It didn't work. We're Southern, so family loyalty's really big down there." Bree explains.

"Like slavery."

"Really?" I ask Blair, and she plays it off like it's no big deal.

"What? I'm joking. You know I'm joking, right Bree?" Bree just smiles.

"How did you meet my sister?" Chuck questions.

"On a flight back from London. Sweet Palmer was having a hard time, and Ella was stressed. We were seated in the same row, and we just bonded." Bree explains.

"Bree was sweet enough to try and calm Palmer down since nothing I did was working, and she got her to stop screaming. Which I was thankful for, and so was the whole plane." I add.

"So you didn't recognize who she was?" Blair quizzes Bree.

"Know..."

"She's the highest-paid model of our generation. Her face is all over billboards, magazines, ads, and you don't know who she is?" Blair continues to quiz Bree.

"Uh, I thought she looked familiar, but no, it didn't click until she told me why she was in London." Bree states.

"You sure about that?"

"B." I scold Blair.

"E, you have to be careful of the people you bring into your life. You never know when someone is trying to take advantage of you or is wanting to be your friend for real." Blair explains.

"I know it's a new friendship, but we just clicked, and it all makes sense for us to keep in contact."

"So you've met my niece?" Chuck asks.

"Yes. And she is precious. Ella has done such a wonderful job."

"No thanks to the deadbeat dad." Blair mutters.

"Don't even mention the rat Baizen." Chuck mutters.

"Carter Baizen, is he in town?" Bree asks. "I heard he was away on business."

"You know Carter?" I ask Bree.

"Uh yeah, our families used to vacation together on Sea Island." Bree tells me.

"I mean, that's a pretty big thing not to tell a friend." Blair jumps on Bree. "Any other secrets you're hiding?"

"Uh... it's not a secret. I have been trying to track him down."