i want it all - gg

𝙤𝙝 𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙖

Hadley could feel eyes burning through the back of her head as she made her way down the lunch line in the Constance cafeteria. She added a late dollop of bleu cheese dressing to her romaine lettuce as she pretended not to hear the whispers from her classmates. Making her way to the tills, Hadley snatched the last low fat lemon yoghurt and placed it on her tray.

"I heard Scarlett was like, sharing a room with them, and that's why she's so pissed," she heard Cosette Mullen whisper.

"No way, so she was there when they...?" Claudia Abbot said in a hushed reply.

Hadley rolled her eyes and sat down alone, staring ahead as she dipped her lettuce into the dressing drearily.

Oh, tragic!

She was just thinking about how angry she was with Scarlett, who she was sure sent the tip about her to Gossip Girl, when Delilah sat down across from her with a big smile on her face.

Hadley took a violent bite of her lettuce. She was not in the mood for this.

"So, I just had Latin," Delilah gushed, as if Hadley gave a flying fuck. "And oh my god, my mom texted half way through, and first of all I was so worried that Ms Roland was gonna take my phone off me, cos you know, she's strict like that, she totally didn't notice and so I checked my phone in secret."

Hadley zoned out, listening to the crunch her lettuce made when she chewed and trying to drown out Delilah's yapping.

"And my mom had texted, of all people," the girl wittered on. "And I was about to text back like 'mom, what are you doing texting me while I'm in class!' and then I read her text and she told me she and my dad are getting married!"

The crunching stopped, and Hadley snapped out of her daze.

"Come again?" She coughed.

"My mom and dad are getting married!" Delilah trilled. "And guess what, me and you are gonna be bridesmaids!"

"Jack and Georgina are getting married?" Hadley said. "But they already got married."

"Yeah, but they divorced and now they're back in love," Delilah said as if that was totally normal, taking a large bite of her burger.

As if her life wasn't tragic enough, now Hadley had to be a bridesmaid in what was sure to be the tackiest, most frivolous and embarrassing middle aged crisis wedding of the century.

Hadley suddenly felt sick, and set down her piece of lettuce. Everything was such a disaster.

xoxo

Scarlett Van der Woodsen didn't know what to feel. The boy she'd lusted after since she was about thirteen years old and her best friend had fucked, and neither of them even had the decency to tell her about it. At least now everything made sense. It explained why Nate had run off so suddenly, and why Hadley had become some distant and frosty. It was the guilt, the confusion.

Scarlett was angry at both of them, but at the same time relieved. Now she could well and truly give up on Gabriel, and maybe she and Hadley could repair their friendship. If this was the big thing that had been weighing Hadley down, everything could be the same again.

That sounds a little too good to be true, don't you think, S?

It was lunch, and usually Hadley would be found eating a lemon yoghurt or sushi on the steps of the Met with her gaggle of friends, but today she was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she'd gone back to her house? Or sometimes she got lunch at the restaurant at her dad's hotel, but only when he was away and she really missed him (not that she'd admit that to anyone).

Scarlett headed towards Hadley's building, and smiled at the doorman. It had been so long since she'd been here, but he seemed to remember her.

"Camille please, just let me talk to you!" Henry Bass' voice filled her ears as Scarlett stepped out of the elevator. "Fuck!"

"Alright soldier?" Scarlett asked as she stepped into the living room. Henry was lying on the couch with a cushion over his face. His phone, he'd thrown onto the rug. He jumped at the sound of her voice, and sprang up, tossing the cushion away.

"Scarlett!" He half-yelled in shock. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and his cheeks shiny. He'd been crying. Suddenly Scarlett felt like an idiot for not at least calling before turning up unannounced.

"Hey, sorry if this is a bad time," she said, stepping back.

Henry stood up quickly. "No, no it's fine," he told her. It was always nice to see Scarlett, even if it really was a bad time. Camille had hung up on him, again, and all he had wanted to do was to sit in his room and think about how much of an asshole he was, but now all he wanted to do was to talk to Scarlett.

Precisely the reason why you are an asshole, Henry. An asshole we love, of course.

Scarlett smiled a shy but pretty smile. She wasn't wearing any makeup apart from a lazy bit of mascara, and her hair hung down in messy waves over her Constance uniform. Henry smiled, it was like his fairy godmother had arrived to rid him of his problems wit Camille, except Scarlett was more angel-like.

"Is Hadley in?" She asked, tucking a wave of sandy blonde hair behind her ear.

Henry blinked, trying not to get too distracted by how lovely she was. "Er - no, she's not," he told her. "Do you want me to tell her you stopped by?"

Stopped by? Henry wanted to slap himself. That made it seem like he was trying to get her to leave.

I don't know about you, but I want to know who's stolen Henry's self-assured, sexy soul and replaced it with a quivering, nervous, insecure one.

"Yeah," Scarlett grinned, picking up her red blue suede Barney's hobo bag and heading back towards the elevator.

"How are you, then?" Henry asked after her.

She turned back and nodded with another smile. "Good," She said. "Everything okay your end?" She asked, even though it didn't seem like it was considering the phonecall she'd overheard.

Henry nodded with a smile. "See you around."

"See ya," Scarlett waved as the elevator doors closed in front of her. She felt a little tickle in her stomach.

Gabriel who?

xoxo

Hadley stormed past the doorman in her building, swinging her red leather Prada bucket bag over her shoulder aggressively. After talking to her cousin at lunch, Hadley had promptly decided life was no longer worth living, called a town car and was planning on heading up to her room and watching How to Steal a Million while stuffing her face with Godiva truffles.

The elevator doors opened, and just as Hadley was about to step in she was suddenly met face to face with Scarlett Van der Woodsen. As if her day couldn't get any worse, the girl that she was furious with and trying to avoid at all costs was in her building.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, crossing her arms indignantly.

"Looking for you, actually," Scarlett responded, but there was no spite in her voice. "I was wondering if we could talk."

"Right, well I can't," Hadley said.

Scarlett's face hardened. "Why are you being such a bitch, Hadley?"

"Why am I being such a bitch?" Hadley almost screeched. "You're the one eavesdropping on me and sending my private life into Gossip Girl because you're in love with Gabriel." Hadley marched into the elevator.

"I'm not in love with Gabriel!" Scarlett shot back.

Well, not anymore.

"And I didn't send anything to Gossip Girl!" But the doors of the elevator were already closing, and Hadley's glare disappeared with them.

Scarlett rushed out of the building, a hot, angry tear running down her lovely face.