A/N- My first fic, let me know what you think! =) Set after 'school lies', an idea I've had for a while about Lily and Rufus, Serena learning more about their past.

Disclaimer- Sadly, I don't own gossip girl.

~xxx~

The sound of the doorbell interrupted Serena's musings.

"In a minute!" she called, purse on shoulder. Dan was early. And besides, wasn't she meeting him in Brooklyn? Flipping open her phone to be sure, she read his text 'coffee shop, cu there' and smiled. It was just like him to come instead to the hotel. Opening the door with a flirty

"Since when do we serve coffee?" she came face to face with a decidedly…. not Dan.

After a moment of awkward silence, Serena said with a laugh "Erm, Sorry about that. We don't really serve coffee." Then "Can I help you with anything?"

The woman at the door was pretty, with dyed black hair, and large, dark eyes. In them, Serena could see that she was surprised to see a teenage girl at the door. Serena was as surprised to see her; though she had few qualms about people not from the upper east side (she was dating Dan after all), she seemed decidedly out of place. She was wearing dark jeans, and what looked to be a faded black concert t-shirt. Beautiful blue dangling earnings hung from her ears. An artist, maybe, or a filmmaker, she mused. Seeming to recover from her initial surprise, the woman cleared her throat and said, almost warily

"Yes actually. I'm looking for someone, a woman, maybe thirty five by now, I'm not sure, I never was too good with dates." She spoke with a slight accent, which Serena couldn't quite place. Suddenly unsure, she paused. "This is the right address…right?" Holding out her hand, the woman showed her the address written in black sharpie on the back. Serena nodded. The woman smiled, and said, "That's good."

She paused, and added, "The woman I'm looking for was named Lily. Maybe you know her."