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Tweak says, "how funny am i? HELLA FUNNY"

serena. dance til there's no one left to hound you (partygirlserena) wrote in gossipghoul,
@ 2012-08-09 08:09:00

Entry tags:

dan humphrey, serena van der woodsen

Thread: Dan and Serena
Who: Dan and Serena
What: Meeting up after a night gone horribly wrong
Where: The Palace
When: After Chuck points out that Dan's made it to The Palace: here

Serena knew her mom and brother were safe. Blair was safe. Nate was safe. Carter was safe. Even Chuck was safe (and, well, he had helped her out out there, so as much as she wasn't entirely thrilled with the sum total of the things she'd witnessed him doing, she couldn't stay too angry... that and, really, who was she to judge?) There were plenty of people packed into The Palace, the ones allowed in anyway, but Serena was now focused on one person.

What a mess. What an absolute mess. Granted, it wasn't like she'd blown off their date to wash her hair or something, but she still felt badly that things had gotten disrupted. Although the part of her that was concerned with a botched date was the part that was still in shock over what was happening. It was easier to worry about that sort of thing than to think about flesh-eating zombies roaming the streets of Manhattan.

When Chuck mentioned that Dan had made it to The Palace, Serena quickly excused herself. Hopefully in the wake of all this turmoil, Blair and Chuck could manage to not kill each other. Setting off through the crowd, Serena scanned the faces as they went by. Not Dan. Not Dan. Not Dan.

Dammit. It was going to be a nightmare trying to find him here. Although less of a nightmare than thinking he was wandering around Brooklyn. At least here was safe. She hoped.

Serena took out her phone, ready to text him again, when she glanced up for a moment and caught sight of Dan. Immediately, she raised her arms, phone still in hand, text message half written, and waved them to try to get his attention. "Dan!" See, she even knew his name.

And then she was pushing past people to get to him.

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thebrooklynite
2012-08-11 05:00 pm UTC (link)

Realizing how tightly he was clutching at her, Dan abruptly dropped his hands. He wasn't sure what he and Serena were yet, they'd gone on only a handful of dates, had certainly not had 'the talk.' But at that moment, Dan was acutely aware of just how happy he was to see her alive and well. His dark eyes drank her in, wanting nothing more than to reach out for her again.

He nodded belatedly, so distracted by his thoughts that he forgot to answer her question immediately. "Yeah, Jenny and I are okay. We made it to a few blocks away, but the streets are just crazy out there. There was no way we could get all the way to Brooklyn." He shook his head, remembering the chaos that had broken out among the panicked and angry New Yorkers trying to get downtown. The reports coming through the radio were of little help, jumbled accounts of attacks and deaths that did nothing but add to the pandemonium.

"I just... can't believe we're here. In the Palace, I mean. It all feels so surreal." He hated the idea of needing to depend on Chuck for charity, but after he realized their loft was out of the picture, he knew he wanted to be by Serena's side.

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partygirlserena
2012-08-13 02:37 pm UTC (link)

"I wouldn't want either of you trying to get to Brooklyn," Serena said with a shake of her head. She'd developed a bit of a soft spot for Jenny -- likely because she was Dan's sister and they had already had that run-in on the roof with Chuck and Jenny -- so she was happy to hear that Jenny had made it to the hotel safely as well. Another person to check off on her mental list.

And, of course, her senses were in overload trying to figure out why she felt so much better knowing that Dan was here. Not just that he was safely here (although that was obviously a huge part of it) but that he was here in general, when the outside world seemed to be falling down around their ears.

"I'm so sorry this night turned out... like this." Like some bad horror movie. "I guess I give bad date. But now that you're here, you can join the 'The World is Ending, Everybody Drink' party." Not really what they'd had planned but, you know, roll with the punches. "Can I get you anything? Food? Something to drink?" It wasn't like the hotel suite she lived in with her mom was well stocked, but she didn't think anyone was going to notice if she raided the kitchen or the bar.

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thebrooklynite
2012-08-14 09:58 pm UTC (link)

Despite everything, Dan was still struck by Serena's easy, infectious charm. He smiled at the joke, giving a rueful nod at how ill-fated their dates had been. Of course none of the previous miscommunication or mishaps could compare to the horrors that had unfolded at the dance. He was doing a good job at blocking out the images of violence and terror that had assaulted the students mere moments after he'd arrived, but Dan knew he would never be able to forget them entirely.

"I guess I'm already dressed for it," Dan said, trying to match her unspoken determination not to be weighed down by the frightening reality of it all. If Serena was game, he would be too. "This suit looked a lot better at the start of the evening, believe me."

He found his smile widening at her invitation, realizing that as perverse as it was, he was still excited to be on a date with Serena van der Woodsen, no matter the circumstances. "Food and a few drinks would be amazing," he said eagerly, brightening at the idea. "I didn't exactly get to enjoy cocktails or canape at the party."

He frowned briefly, wishing he hadn't mentioned the party again. He couldn't help but wonder if he was responsible for the attack in the first place. He'd run to warn everyone, but it seemed all he'd accomplished was leading the monsters there. He focused on Serena's face, trying to shove these thoughts firmly away once more.

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partygirlserena
2012-08-14 11:27 pm UTC (link)

Serena had to keep a smile on her face, and maintain her easy-going nature, or else she'd totally lose it. As it was, she was already wondering if it wouldn't be better to get completely hammered so that she didn't have to know that the world was falling apart. But that would be running away -- again -- wouldn't it? She'd already done that once and it hadn't really solved anything.

"Your suit looks great," Serena said in an attempt to reassure him, patting the front pocket on his jacket. Besides, even though she was typically more laid back in her own dress, her hair was disheveled even by her own standards. And she usually went for the messy look. Not to mention the tear in the skirt of her dress. Serena couldn't really be critical at this point.

"Well, then you'll really enjoy what the Palace has to offer. I bet there's some frozen appetizers we can throw in a microwave somewhere in their walk in freezer. And I make a mean margarita." Well, a really alcoholic margarita, but it was damn good. "If you like tequila. If not, nothing's ever been lost by experimenting with mixing new drinks."

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thebrooklynite
2012-08-17 02:32 am UTC (link)

Dan couldn't help it, his gaze followed her hand to where it briefly rested against his chest. It seemed incredible, that he would still be responding to her mere touch under the circumstances, but he found that it was an effort to look away. Only when she began to speak did he manage to drag his eyes back to her face.

The idea of enjoying the Palace or any of its luxuries seemed a remote one. He would forever associate the hotel with the insufferable, immoral Chuck Bass. It seemed almost an embodiment of the boy that he loathed. But he could at least try, Serena made it sound so appealing and he owed it to her to be a good sport.

"Well, it might fall a bit short on the glamorous date scale, but I think that plan sounds great," he answered truthfully, a small smile returning to his face. "You think we can just... sneak into the kitchen?"

It was clear that despite everything, Dan still didn't operate in the same world as Serena. Just being in this ostentatious hotel sat uncomfortably with him, the idea of waltzing into the kitchen felt even more foreign.

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