Author's Note: And here it is! The final chapter! I would like to say a BIG THANKYOU to anyone who has shown me any support for this story. I'm not sure how popular N/S is in the Gossip Girl universe, so I was a little apprehensive about writing this. So once again, thank you and I hope you enjoy the last installment of this story.

Chapter Four/Final Chapter

Four weeks later and the Nate/Serena dating charade had been executed flawlessly. It was finally the night of the Constance Billard Prom, and the fake couple had decided they would go together. Because, as Serena had pointed out, they had been friends for years and there was no one else she would rather go with.

Serena was at Blair's house and the two girls were getting ready. They were sipping champagne with their hair and makeup already flawlessly done. All that was left was to put on their dresses.

"So are you excited for the prom, B?" asked Serena.

"Of course I am. I practically organized this entire event," ranted Blair. "If I had let Hazel and Penelope do all the organizing, we probably would have ended up having it in someone's backyard. Those girls really need a lesson in organization. They wanted balloons. And streamers. It was like a 5 year old birthday party. Thankfully I was there to make it fabulous."

Serena hugged her best friend, suddenly overcome with a wave of emotion. "I love you, B."

Blair looked slightly taken aback at her best friend's unexpected declaration but hugged her back. "Love you too, S. What's gotten you so emotional?"

Serena pulled back to look at Blair's face. "It's PROM B. It's the crowning moment of our high school lives. After tonight we're no longer high school students." Serena paused, lost in thought. "We're going to remember this night forever."

She wasn't wrong.

The doorbell chimed and Serena and Blair heard Dorota call out to them. "Miss Blair! Miss Serena! Mr Chuck and Mr Nate are here!"

The two men walked into Blair's room, each stopping as soon as they saw their respective dates. They were speechless.

Chuck grinned as he took in the sight of his gorgeous girlfriend. She really was beautiful.

Meanwhile Nate stepped into the room and his eyes immediately fell upon Serena van der Woodsen.

There was only one word for her.

Perfection.

Serena wore a royal blue, empire waist, full length dress. It was tight fitting on top, until it suddenly cascaded out into several layers so that it swayed elegantly whenever she walked. She wore a stunning diamond necklace with blue sapphires and matching studded earrings. Her brilliantly blonde hair cascaded down her back in a flourish of curls, with one side pinned back elegantly with a diamond clasp.

She took his breath away.

Serena walked over to him, grinning. She spun on the spot, twirling her dress before coming to a stop so she was facing him. "You like it, lover?" she amiably joked.

"You look stunning," he breathed with no hint of humor in his voice.

Serena blushed, taken aback by the sudden intensity in his eyes. He's just a friend, he's just a friend, she chanted to herself.

"Well shall we get this show on the road?" Chuck asked, taking Blair's hand. "You look lovely, sis," he noted, before leading the way out the apartment.

As the four friends were piling into the limo, Blair squeezed Serena's hand and looked pointedly at Nate. She whispered into her ear. "Friend's can become lovers, you know." Serena quickly shook her head, unwillingly to even think about the possibility of being more than just friends with Nate.

"What are you two whispering about?" Chuck asked as he climbed in, sitting himself next to Blair.

"Oh, the usual girl stuff," chimed Serena. "Tampons, cramps, leg waxing."

"Forget I asked."

The prom was spectacular. Blair had decided on the theme, which, in true Blair Waldorf style, was Paris at night. Everywhere you looked there were old fashioned lamp posts, fairy lights and a beautiful purple and blue theme. As students entered they had to pass under a large Eiffel tower which was fantastically lit up. There was a big dance floor and the perfectly manufactured lighting ensured that everyone's skin glowed almost translucent so many students appeared as though they were an ethereal beauty.

"B, this is amazing!" squealed Serena upon entering the prom. "It's like I'm on another planet!"

"Or country," quipped Chuck, who was as equally as impressed as Serena but didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"I designed it, so of course it's amazing," laughed Blair, secretly pleased at her friend's reaction.

Serena grabbed Nate's hand and pulled him to the dance floor. "Let's dance!" she declared, caught up in the moment.

Nate tried to tug away. "No, Serena! No one else is dancing. We'll look like total idiots!"

"Since when do you care about what other people think?"

"Since always."

Serena continued to tug on his arm and slowly managed to pull him to the dance floor. "Well I don't care what other people think and this is the prom so I'm going to have fun and dance my night away!"

Serena stood so that they were facing each other. She began to dance, swaying her hips and moving in time to the upbeat music, laughing.

Nate couldn't help but smile at her. "You really don't care what other people think, do you?"

"Nope!"

Nate exhaled. "You really are a free spirit."

Throwing caution to the wind, Nate joined in with the dancing and lost himself in the music and Serena. He was having such a great time that when Serena finally decided she needed a break for some water, he hasn't even really realized that the dance floor was now packed.

Sitting down at their table, drinks in hand, Serena started chatting. "How fun was that? And wasn't it amazing how quickly everyone joined in once we started?"

Blair and Chuck sidled up to them and sat down. "You really know how to get the crowd going, S," said Blair, smiling. "If you started wearing your socks on your hands, I'm sure the next day the entire school would be doing the same thing."

Serena laughed but had to cut it short, hearing an announcement from the principal on the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the time has arrived to announce your prom king and queen."

Serena and Blair looked at each other. "I totally forgot about prom king and queen!" exclaimed Serena.

Blair smiled. "I didn't. And I have a hunch on who's going to win."

"Who?" asked Serena, genuinely interested.

Blair rolled her eyes. "You're SO blind sometimes, S."

Serena cocked her head to the side, confused. "Huh?"

"And the prom king is…," continued the principal. "Nate Archibald!"

Cheers erupted around the room as Nate remained in his chair, stunned.

"WHAT???" shrieked Serena, jumping up. "Nate!" She took his hand and yanked him up off the seat. "Congratulations!" she squealed, engulfing him in a bear hug.

He grinned sheepishly. "Thanks Serena." He kissed her on the cheek and made his way to the stage where he was presented with his crown.

"And the prom queen is….." said the principal, "Serena van der Woodsen!"

Before she could even react, Blair was engulfing her in a hug. "I love you, S! Remember this moment."

Serena, feeling slightly dazed, made her way to the stage where she graciously accepted her crown.

"Now it's time for the official King and Queen of the prom to have their first dance," announced the principal.

Nate grinned at Serena and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Serena couldn't help but grin at the chessy-ness of the situation. "You may."

Nate took his hand in hers and together they walked to the dance floor. Placing one hand on her shoulder and one on her waist, they began a slow dance across the floor.

As they were dancing, Serena started to giggle. Nate looked into her eyes. "What's so funny?" he grinned.

"Don't you think this whole thing is just so lame?" she said. "It's so far from reality…………….

Nate paused to consider her words before answering. "It's not that far from reality."

Serena looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Us. Dancing together like this. I'd like to think that it's pretty close to reality actually."

Serena's breath hitched in her throat as Nate stared into her eyes. What was he getting at? Serena felt confused and unwilling to consider the possibility of his words meaning what she thought they actually meant. She ignored the other couples joining them on the dance floor.

"Yes," continued Serena. "But our reality is a fake relationship so it's still pretty far fetched."

"So you still consider this relationship to be 100% fake then, do you?" asked Nate, continuing to stare into her eyes.

"No!" said Serena quickly, feeling slightly uncomfortable under the intensity of his gaze. "Our relationship could never be fake, Nate. Me and you have always been friends. I would hate to ever loose that."

"Well I hope you don't think this is fake."

Nate slowly leaned in, closed his eyes and kissed Serena. It was a soft, caring kiss and Serena felt so many emotions in that kiss that she wasn't sure what to do with them. It was brief and tender and when Nate pulled away Serena found herself struggling for words.

"Nate, I, er, I…"

"Ssssshhhh," he said softly, putting a finger on her lips. "Just let me say this."

He took a deep breath and gazed into her eyes again. "I know this started as just a joke. A stupid way of making us feel a little better each time we saw Dan or Vanessa. But it hasn't been that for me for a long time now. This fake relationship we have has been the best relationship I've ever been in. And as stupid as that is, it's true. Me and you Serena. It makes sense. We're destiny."

As Serena let those words absorb into her mind, she thought back to all they had done these past few weeks. Even though they had claimed it had all been for show, Serena hadn't had so much fun in years. She was always herself with Nate. She felt like he never judged her, that he accepted her fully for who she was. Just as she accepted him.

Without thinking, Serena decided to live for the moment. She leaned in for another kiss and this time it was different. It was still tender and caring, but there was a certain fire burning between them. This time, neither was afraid to show the other how they really felt. It was passionate and heated and when they finally broke apart, there was really only one word for it.

"Wow," breathed Nate and Serena at the same time. They both laughed at their identical reactions.

"Now let me say something Nate," responded Serena, grabbing his hand and pulling it up to place over her heart. "Do you feel this right now? It's my heart and it's beating ridiculously fast. And it's been doing that ever since we started the fake relationship. So if my heart's doing this in a fake relationship, I can't wait to see what's going to happen to me when we start a real relationship."

Nate leaned in to whisper in her ear. "So you're in?"

Serena nodded. "I'm in."

They grinned goofily at each other for a moment, before breaking into laughter. Serena spotted Blair walking over to them.

"Did what I think just happened, really happen?" asked Blair, putting an arm around Serena's shoulder.

Serena decided to play dumb. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Don't be stupid, S. Did you two finally admit your feelings for each other?"

They both grinned at her, feeling foolish that they couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces.

Blair squealed and engulfed both of them in a hug. "It's about time, you two! I'm so happy! And it also means I won!"

"Won what?" said Serena, feeling confused.

Blair blushed slightly but went on despite her embarrassment. "Chuck and I had a bet on when you two would hook up for real. I said by the end of prom, because no one can resist the perfect romantic climate I created in this room tonight. He said it wouldn't happen until college."

"So what did you win?" asked Nate curiously.

Blair blushed an even deeper red. "Errr… I get to do whatever I want to him, later on…" she trailed off.

Both Serena and Nate scrunched up their noses. "Ewwwww, B!" exclaimed Serena. "Please stop talking about your sex life with my brother!"

Chuck wandered over to the three of them and took Blair's hand. "Everyone ready to get out of here? We can go back to the apartment."

They all nodded and left the prom, each feeling perfectly content with their lives.

Lounging around in Chuck and Serena's apartment, still in their prom attire, the four friends were all feeling ridiculously happy.

"Can you believe we did it?" sighed Serena, feeling a wave of nostalgia. "We finished high school in one piece."

"It wasn't easy. I got dethroned for a while by a girl from Brooklyn," laughed Blair.

Chuck yawned and stood up, taking Blair's hand and pulling her up with him. "Well I'm spending the night in Blair's apartment. We should head off now before I get too tried. Something tells me I'll be needing all my strength tonight."

Blair pushed Chuck playfully. "You'll be needing plenty of endurance too," she said coyly. They hugged their friends' goodbye and left, leaving Nate and Serena alone in the apartment together.

Serena crawled over the couch and onto Nate's lap. He kissed her head and she laid back in his arms. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey to you," he whispered back.

She turned her body to face him and slowly leant in for a kiss. Their lips met and they leisurely moved together, reveling in the simplicity of the moment. They broke apart, still looking into each others eyes.

"I'm a little sad that high school's over," admitted Serena. "It was good while it lasted."

Nate took her face in his hands. "Yes, but I got something much greater in return."

"What?" asked Serena.

He breathed out slowly. "You."

They smiled at each other before learning in again for another kiss. And right there, in that moment, they both felt utterly content. They had finished high school and their whole future lay ahead of them. And that future held the most exciting thing either of them had ever experienced.

Each other.

The End

And it's done! I hope you enjoyed this! I really loved writing it. I would love to see more of the carefree, wild Serena on the show. Let's hope the writers agree!

Please leave comments, if you feel inclined to. I love feedback. xoxo