Eric Is Back (A Gossip Girl Novel)

18. 2009

My heart stopped when I saw Dan at the school gates... just standing there with his hands in his pockets and a scowl on his face. He looked angry – when wasn't he angry these days?! Maybe my plan was working a little too well!

"You wanna hang out at my place tonight, Eric?" some guy in my class asked me – I didn't even know his name. I didn't know any of the names of the people who kept hanging around me. They all knew my name though... and all of the things I had been getting up to on Gossip Girl. "Maybe you can ask Chuck to come over, too? That would be so awesome! Maybe then we can all hang out and end up on Gossip Girl!"

My eyes flickered between my latest hanger-on and Dan, trying to make my mind up...

Just then, a hand waved over my face, forcing me to blink back to the present.

"Hello?! Anyone home?!"

"S-sorry," I mumbled. "I-I can't tonight. I gotta take of something."

Breaking away from my fan club, I stormed over to the school gates, huffing and puffing as I approached Dan. When I reached him, I snapped, "What are you doing here?!"

"Looking for you, obviously..."

"You shouldn't even be here! What if Mom or Rufus catch us?"

"I'm willing to take that risk..."

I huffed. "Yeah because you won't be the one who gets shipped off to boarding school again!"

"Eric, this needs to stop!" Dan snapped. "All of this stupid Chuck stuff!"

I rolled my eyes. "Dan, we've been already been through this... over and over again! I'm not leaving Chuck!"

"Then I'm gonna tell Lily!"

I snorted. "You're gonna tell on me?"

"Yes!"

"You're such a child..."

"I'm surprised they don't already know," he said. "I saw you on Page Three today."

I shrugged cockily. "I guess I'm rich and famous now."

"This is serious, Eric! Think about your future!"

I scoffed. "When did you get so level-headed?"

"Look, I know I messed things up when you went to boarding school... a-and I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."

"Why is everything all about you?! This is my life! This is how I want to live it! Just... leave me alone, will you?"

With that, I tried to whirl around and storm away. But before I could, Dan caught my arm and yanked me towards him.

"Is this about us?" he said. "A-are you trying to make me jealous or something?"

YES!

"No! Of course not! What happened between us... it's over! It's in the past!"

"I'll kiss you!"

My eyes popped out of my head. "W-what?"

"If it means making you stop all of this bullshit... If it means snapping you out of this stupid phase you're going through, then... then I'll kiss you!"

"Dan..."

"I'll do it! Right here! In front of everybody!"

Angrily, I pushed Dan's hand away. "And then what happens? Then everything goes back to normal? With you ignoring me for the next two years? With you pretending like nothing ever happened between us?"

Just then, there was a gasp behind me. When I turned around, someone was pulling their cellphone out of their pocket and squealing, "Oh my God! You're that guy on Gossip Girl! Can I get a picture with you?!"

"No!" I snapped, rolling my eyes.

When I turned back around, I expected to find Dan glaring back at me. But instead, he was storming away from the gates, angrily stomping along the side walk.

"Come on, Eric – don't be like tha–"

"WILL YOU JUST FUCK OFF?!"