[gossip girl] Fic: arizona stars [dan/serena, erik/jenny]
so i was supposed to be doing my music homework or my NaNo. instead i did this.
title: arizona stars
author: electrumqueen
disclaimer: not mine. network's. and the author's.
characters/pairings: dan/serena, erik/jenny, serena
summary: but peter pan is miles away, and you never write me letters. futurefic.
Dan's in LA, writing for a new TV show that's been praised as 'edgy, funny, avant-garde'; won a ridiculous amount of awards and made him a ridiculous amount of money. He has a nice house, a pool apparently, and a golden retriever. A far cry from an apartment in Brooklyn with an open window so his exes could surprise him.
She reads about him in the papers sometimes, watches 'upper east side' religiously, DVR's it when she can't, grins at the girl who's supposed to be her. The girl who is by turns perfect and evil, but all the time beautiful, and she wonders how they ever lasted that long, if this is how he saw her.
She's an actress, now. She works in Vancouver, starring on a crappy science fiction show with a really hot cast. Her mother writes her letters, all the time, telling her to 'come home' and 'lose the adolescent rebellion' but she's happy, here, with the crappy set-food and the less-than-designer clothes and the completely exploitative scripts.
She wonders if he watches her show the same way she watches his.
Probably not; she's on his show, or a facsimile of her, and there's nothing to draw him to 'lights in the sky' but her, and there hasn't been anything between them for years. Still, it'd be nice if he did; something to link them but the stars and a blonde rich girl named Stephanie on his show.
--
Erik calls her at four in the morning, her time, to tell her he's getting married. It takes her three cups of coffee and a bar of dark chocolate before it registers anything beyond bland congratulations and she realizes, oh shit, Dan Humphrey's going to be at the wedding. At his sister's wedding.
It's probably a sign of how over their relationship is that she's more concerned about Blair Waldorf, who is after all a friend of the family, and who will likely rip her to shreds. While looking absolutely stunning in one of her mother's now-vintage gowns, and oh god, she's going to need to go shopping. for a dress. It's been a long time since she's done the whole designer thing, beyond snarking at shop windows and catalogues and making sure that what she wears will one day soon be the height of fashion, even if clothes cost less than a tenth of her paycheck.
She pulls aside Caitlin from work, who plays the sexy alien, and says, "My little brother's getting married next month. I need a dress. Want to come?" She's still incredibly fun to shop with, so of course Caitlin says yes.
They make plans for Saturday, and spend the entire day scouring the fashion district on foot (because seriously, no one has a car in Vancouver), and she finds this incredible designer tucked away in a corner where no one can see him, and this gorgeous blue dress that is so beautiful Caitlin refuses to let her leave the store without it. It doesn't even need to get fitted; it's like the thing was made for her.
She tries it on again when she gets home, looks at herself with her sixteen-year-old eyes and decides she needs to run more; the show keeps her in shape but she's going to need to be looking better than Blair--and she's falling back into old habits.
She shakes her head and calls her producers, tells them she's going to need five days off for her baby brother's wedding, if that's all right. It is, because that's when they're shooting the dashing hero's plotline, and she just needs to get rescued later. She celebrates with a glass of wine and a phone-call to Pete, who she's sort-of-but-not-really dating, to ask him if he wants to come.
He can't, he'll be working, but it was really just an excuse for phone-sex anyway. She eats some ice-cream, after, and arranges a date for sometime next week.
--
Erik greets her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek; he's taller than she is, including the heels, and she has to get on tip-toe to kiss him back. "Hey," she says, "Congrats!"
He laughs and mutters something about not being a stranger, lies and says he loves the show.
Jenny's there too, glowing slightly. Her hair's short, in a practical bob; she's a lawyer or something now.
"Oh, my god," she mutters in Erik's ear, "you got her pregnant."
He blushes and sends her off to "talk to mom, she's been missing you."
Lily van der Woodsen has indeed been missing her daughter; the instant Serena says, "Hi, mom," she's tossed to a group of eligible actors, producers, directors, all of whom are based out of LA.
She stifles the urge to tell them all she's really not on the market and plays nice, like she used to back when she was a teenage socialite. This part, she really hasn't missed, but she can see Blair across the room so she grins at all of them and says, "Nice to meet you."
She's explaining to Jason Brightman, the 'it' director, that she's actually in a relationship right now, and that she has a contract so she's going to be in Vancouver for at least the next two years, unless they get cancelled, when there's a hand on her shoulder and someone's saying, "I hope you don't mind if I borrow her," and she knows that voice.
She turns around, and Dan Humphrey is grinning at her, that same shy quirky smile she remembers so well. "Hey, Serena," he says, "I love the show."
"Hey, Dan," she says, running on autopilot. "Love yours too. That actress who plays Stephanie's got a bright future ahead of her." She takes the hand he offers; lets him thread their way through the crowd to a little alcove.
He's got the same eyes, the same honest sweet brown eyes that she missed. He says, "So, it's been a while."
"Yeah," she says, "I hear you have a dog."
"Her name's Cassie," he says, "she's great. You look incredible, Serena."
"You look good," she tells him, meaning it. He's learned to get a tailor, evidently; the suit hangs on him incredibly well, emphasizing all the right things.
"Better than your co-stars?" he asks, grinning.
She laughs, "Oh, yeah," and he's looking around, furtively. "If you want to ditch me, that's cool--"
He stares at her. "What? I was just making sure the coast was clear so I could--" and he's kissing her, soft and gentle, like she remembers, hands resting on her back, on her beautiful blue dress.
She thinks about Pete, for a second, and 'lights in the sky' and all the reasons she can't do this, and kisses Dan back.
summary from 'last straw' by jack's mannequin.
title: arizona stars
author: electrumqueen
disclaimer: not mine. network's. and the author's.
characters/pairings: dan/serena, erik/jenny, serena
summary: but peter pan is miles away, and you never write me letters. futurefic.
Dan's in LA, writing for a new TV show that's been praised as 'edgy, funny, avant-garde'; won a ridiculous amount of awards and made him a ridiculous amount of money. He has a nice house, a pool apparently, and a golden retriever. A far cry from an apartment in Brooklyn with an open window so his exes could surprise him.
She reads about him in the papers sometimes, watches 'upper east side' religiously, DVR's it when she can't, grins at the girl who's supposed to be her. The girl who is by turns perfect and evil, but all the time beautiful, and she wonders how they ever lasted that long, if this is how he saw her.
She's an actress, now. She works in Vancouver, starring on a crappy science fiction show with a really hot cast. Her mother writes her letters, all the time, telling her to 'come home' and 'lose the adolescent rebellion' but she's happy, here, with the crappy set-food and the less-than-designer clothes and the completely exploitative scripts.
She wonders if he watches her show the same way she watches his.
Probably not; she's on his show, or a facsimile of her, and there's nothing to draw him to 'lights in the sky' but her, and there hasn't been anything between them for years. Still, it'd be nice if he did; something to link them but the stars and a blonde rich girl named Stephanie on his show.
--
Erik calls her at four in the morning, her time, to tell her he's getting married. It takes her three cups of coffee and a bar of dark chocolate before it registers anything beyond bland congratulations and she realizes, oh shit, Dan Humphrey's going to be at the wedding. At his sister's wedding.
It's probably a sign of how over their relationship is that she's more concerned about Blair Waldorf, who is after all a friend of the family, and who will likely rip her to shreds. While looking absolutely stunning in one of her mother's now-vintage gowns, and oh god, she's going to need to go shopping. for a dress. It's been a long time since she's done the whole designer thing, beyond snarking at shop windows and catalogues and making sure that what she wears will one day soon be the height of fashion, even if clothes cost less than a tenth of her paycheck.
She pulls aside Caitlin from work, who plays the sexy alien, and says, "My little brother's getting married next month. I need a dress. Want to come?" She's still incredibly fun to shop with, so of course Caitlin says yes.
They make plans for Saturday, and spend the entire day scouring the fashion district on foot (because seriously, no one has a car in Vancouver), and she finds this incredible designer tucked away in a corner where no one can see him, and this gorgeous blue dress that is so beautiful Caitlin refuses to let her leave the store without it. It doesn't even need to get fitted; it's like the thing was made for her.
She tries it on again when she gets home, looks at herself with her sixteen-year-old eyes and decides she needs to run more; the show keeps her in shape but she's going to need to be looking better than Blair--and she's falling back into old habits.
She shakes her head and calls her producers, tells them she's going to need five days off for her baby brother's wedding, if that's all right. It is, because that's when they're shooting the dashing hero's plotline, and she just needs to get rescued later. She celebrates with a glass of wine and a phone-call to Pete, who she's sort-of-but-not-really dating, to ask him if he wants to come.
He can't, he'll be working, but it was really just an excuse for phone-sex anyway. She eats some ice-cream, after, and arranges a date for sometime next week.
--
Erik greets her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek; he's taller than she is, including the heels, and she has to get on tip-toe to kiss him back. "Hey," she says, "Congrats!"
He laughs and mutters something about not being a stranger, lies and says he loves the show.
Jenny's there too, glowing slightly. Her hair's short, in a practical bob; she's a lawyer or something now.
"Oh, my god," she mutters in Erik's ear, "you got her pregnant."
He blushes and sends her off to "talk to mom, she's been missing you."
Lily van der Woodsen has indeed been missing her daughter; the instant Serena says, "Hi, mom," she's tossed to a group of eligible actors, producers, directors, all of whom are based out of LA.
She stifles the urge to tell them all she's really not on the market and plays nice, like she used to back when she was a teenage socialite. This part, she really hasn't missed, but she can see Blair across the room so she grins at all of them and says, "Nice to meet you."
She's explaining to Jason Brightman, the 'it' director, that she's actually in a relationship right now, and that she has a contract so she's going to be in Vancouver for at least the next two years, unless they get cancelled, when there's a hand on her shoulder and someone's saying, "I hope you don't mind if I borrow her," and she knows that voice.
She turns around, and Dan Humphrey is grinning at her, that same shy quirky smile she remembers so well. "Hey, Serena," he says, "I love the show."
"Hey, Dan," she says, running on autopilot. "Love yours too. That actress who plays Stephanie's got a bright future ahead of her." She takes the hand he offers; lets him thread their way through the crowd to a little alcove.
He's got the same eyes, the same honest sweet brown eyes that she missed. He says, "So, it's been a while."
"Yeah," she says, "I hear you have a dog."
"Her name's Cassie," he says, "she's great. You look incredible, Serena."
"You look good," she tells him, meaning it. He's learned to get a tailor, evidently; the suit hangs on him incredibly well, emphasizing all the right things.
"Better than your co-stars?" he asks, grinning.
She laughs, "Oh, yeah," and he's looking around, furtively. "If you want to ditch me, that's cool--"
He stares at her. "What? I was just making sure the coast was clear so I could--" and he's kissing her, soft and gentle, like she remembers, hands resting on her back, on her beautiful blue dress.
She thinks about Pete, for a second, and 'lights in the sky' and all the reasons she can't do this, and kisses Dan back.
summary from 'last straw' by jack's mannequin.