Sunset Boulevard (35 page)

Myla hugged her bad-day sweater around her, collecting as much warmth as she could from

the soft gray cashmere. But her whole body still felt cold. If Daisy could forgive Ash his nasty

comments, Ash and Daisy must have something meaningful. "What if they're in love?" Myla

said aloud, unable to stop herself from saying what she was thinking.

Fortune rolled her eyes. "Who cares, My? You guys have been broken up for weeks. Maybe

now you'll finally start dating again. Single Myla is getting old, don't you think?"

Myla wanted to shove her plate away and storm off--but she couldn't. Without Ash, she
needed

her friends. A tinkling, familiar laugh wove around the now-faster rainfall. Myla cast a glance

in the direction of the sound to see Jojo sitting with Miles Abelson and Jacob PG. For a

second, their eyes met, but Jojo quickly looked away.

She
would listen.
She
knew how to make Myla feel better. She'd probably see right through

Myla, but in a good way. In the way she needed desperately to be seen right now. As a

terrified, heartbroken, and lonely girl who never wanted anyone to see her terrified,

heartbroken, or alone. She'd driven away Jojo the same way she had Ash. She was an expert at

hurting people more than they could hurt her. She'd just never realized how badly she could

hurt herself.

"Myla... hey, wake up," Talia snapped her fingers in front of Myla's face. "Did you hear me?

We're going to hit Bebe and Bloomie's after school, to get new outfits for the Kress this

weekend. Remember what you always say, 'The only things you need in this world are

fabulous clothes and a place to be seen in them.'"

The words hit Myla like a blunt object as she realized that she'd asked for this, just like she'd

asked for every nightmare of the last few weeks. Her friends were well trained. Being around

her long enough had taught them to act like and treat her like the girl she thought she should be:

cool, calm, purposeful, and never willing to let her guard down. They'd soaked up all her

maxims, and Myla-isms. Probably too well. Jojo had been the only one smart enough to get

out.

As a clap of thunder cracked her heart into even smaller pieces, Myla wished the rain would

fall hard enough to wash away all the parts of her she didn't like. Because Jojo had been right.

It wasn't them. It was her.

Blair Waldorf, Serena van der Woodsen, Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey, and Vanessa

Abrams went off to live their lives. Now, they're coming home for the holidays. A lot can

change in a few months... but some things never do.

Turn the page for a sneak peek of

I will always love you

a new gossip girl hardcover featuring the original cast

Hey people!

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

For years, New York City--the center of the universe, the place where anything can happen-was our home. But we've moved beyond our uniform-required, single sex schools and into

bastions of higher education around the country. Yes, it finally happened: we went to college.

For the past few months, we've been surrounded by people who don't know who we've

hooked up with, who don't remember the time we wet our pants on the playground in

kindergarten. We've learned new things and made new friends and maybe even met the loves

our lives. We've changed.

Or at least,
some
of us have. Others are just as fabulous as always. Take
B,
heading to

Vermont to spend a perfect holiday with her perfect Yale boyfriend and his perfect family. That

girl always had her eye on the prize.... And speaking of prizes, what's rumored SAG nominee

S
doing these days? Formerly worshipped by her Constance Billard classmates, she's now

followed by paparazzi and a posse of fellow movie starlets. No matter where she is or what she

does,
S
will
always
be the center of attention.

Then there are the people who've tried their hardest to change:
N
is on a sailing trip around the

world. But as we all know from reading Kant in our freshman seminars, no man is an island.

He'll be back. Then there's
D,
scratching out poetry in his Moleskine notebook in the Pacific

Northwest. It may look like a total lifestyle change, but he still insists on Folgers instead of

French press in the coffee capital of the US. He also spends every waking moment attempting

to Skype his shaven-headed, ultra independent filmmaker girlfriend,
V,
who's at NYU and

seems to almost... have
hair.
And friends. Lastly there's
C,
last seen with a pack of flannelwearing, very rugged boys. Is he into a new type, or has he gone through yet another

reinvention? That man puts Madonna to shame.

Everyone's back in town for the holidays, and this winter break is guaranteed to be filled with

makeups, breakups, and shakeups. Lucky for you, I'm going to report
everything
worth

reporting. Let the reunion begin.

sightings:

B
on a train from New Haven to Montpelier, VT, looking very out of place in a sea of flannel...

S
with three identical girls, on the red carpet for a premiere....
V
and some friends from NYU,

including her very young, very cute teaching assistant, at a film-screening party in Bushwick.

Is someone trying to get extra credit?...
D
and his little sister,
J,
splitting a plate of chocolatechip pancakes at one of those curiously packed diners on upper Broadway....
C
and a group of

cowboy-boot clad guys ordering sodas at the lounge at the
Tribeca Star
. Ride 'em, cowboy!

Break the rules

Remember, you don't technically live under your parents' roof anymore. You've already

indulged them in holiday merry-making: Scrabble with the siblings, kissing Grandma, and

decorating cookies that nobody's going to eat. Which means now is the time to use all your

pent-up energy to party. Remember, you can always reform after January 1st--that's what

resolutions are for. So go out, have fun, and most of all, show your former besties and former

flames just how much
better
you've become.

Besides, now that you know I'm watching, aren't you just dying to put on a show? Thought so.

You know you love me, gossip girl

All B wants for Christmas

"You awake, Scout?"

Blair Waldorf awoke from a nap to the sight of her boyfriend, Pete Carlson, gazing down at

her. Pete smiled his adorable, lopsided smile. His eyes were a yellowish brown and reminded

Blair of her cat, Kitty Minky.

She threw the plaid Black Watch duvet to the foot of the couch and discreetly checked for drool

with her index finger. She
loved
being woken up by Pete, especially when he called her by an

adorable nickname. Currently, it was Scout because she'd directed him and his three older

brothers to the best Douglas fir Christmas tree, deep in the woods of the Carlsons' expansive

Woodstock, Vermont, estate.

"Of course I am," Blair lied, sitting up and yawning. Why sleep when her waking life was so

much
better
?

"Good." Pete settled next to her on the couch, pushing Blair's long bangs tenderly off her

small, foxlike face. Her hair was a little shaggier then she'd like, but she simply didn't trust any

of the hair salons in New Haven. Besides, what were unkempt bangs when she was with a guy

who loved her?

"Have any dreams? You were making these little growls in your sleep. It was cute." Pete pulled

the blanket off the floor and draped it over their legs.

"Oh." Blair frowned. She was
growling
?

In truth, she'd been having a lot of weird dreams lately. Last night, she'd woken up and thought

she was at a sleepover at her old best friend Serena van der Woodsen's house, only to find

herself all alone in the guest bedroom of the Carlsons'.

Maybe it was just homesickness. After all, she hadn't seen Serena since August, she didn't

have a home in New York anymore, and no one in her family was even in the United States

this week. Her father, Harold, was celebrating Christmas in France with his boyfriend and their

adopted twins. Her stepbrother Aaron was spending the break on a kibbutz in Israel. Her

mother, stepfather, brother Tyler, and baby sister Yale had moved to LA back in August, to a

gigantic, tacky Pacific Palisades mansion that they were making even bigger and more tacky.

While the renovations were taking place, they were spending the holidays in the South Pacific,

visiting the islands that Eleanor Rose, in a fit of pregnancy-induced mania last spring, had

bought for each member of the family. Blair had been somewhat tempted to tag along, if only to

see her baby sister, the least fucked-up member of her tragically absurd family.

Not to mention pay a visit to Blair Island.

But once she'd been invited to spend Christmas with the Carlsons, she felt it was her duty as a

girlfriend to go.

"I was just dreaming about you. Us. I'm just so happy." Blair sighed contentedly as she gazed

into the orange fire roaring in the wood-burning stove across the room. Outside, a thin blanket

of snow covered the ground.

"Me too." Pete ruffled her hair and pulled her face into his for a kiss.

"You taste nice," Blair breathed, letting her body relax into Pete's muscular arms.

It was funny how things worked out. When she arrived at Yale, Blair discovered that her