I'm back! Thank you all so much for all your amazing reviews! Wow, I'm amazed by how many people actually reading my story event though it has been so long since I began. I am so, so grateful and I hope you will like this chapter! It is a lot different (Serenas POV) and I know I've left a cliffhanger with Blair and Nate but I promise you; the next chapter will start where the last one ended!

Please tell me what you think!

-Charlie xoxo

Serena's POV

I did not know what to do.

In one day, I had lost two of the three people I cared most about. Dan and Blair.

I knew Dan was going to leave. Not by choice but because of the war. It had broken my heart, especially when Dan had chosen to leave before I could do anything to stop him. I knew days, months; maybe years were going to come without seeing his face but I was prepared for that. Or at least as prepared as one could ever be.

Blair was another story, though. I loved her like a sister. I had fallen asleep with my arms around her, holding her tight while we both lay in her bed, crying out until our hearts ached too much. When I woke up she was gone.

Without any clue of where she had gone, her parents and I had decided to go look for her. No one in the town had seen her, nor had they heard her say anything about leaving. It did not surprise me, though. Blair had never felt any sort of bond to any of those people. She was kind of a loner with only love enough for very few people. She loved a lot, though.

Weeks had gone by without any words from her. I had never felt as alone as then. I had my brother Eric, of course, but it was not the same. He knew how depressed I felt and he did everything he could to be in my company most of the time. After a month, though, he grew tired of my moping and decided to go on a short trip with his good friend, Jonathan.

I did not blame him.

I was not very fun to be around, nothing glowing about me and nothing to give him back some of the energy he had spent on me. Of course I felt bad about it but there was really nothing I could do to cheer up.

After another week I decided I could not stay for any longer; I had to do something. I asked, almost begged, my brother to escort me to London and stay with me for a little while. He loved me very much and he accompanied me.

We stayed at a small bar, not very far from King's Cross Station. The train ride had been painful, reminding me of the time I spent in Gateshead last summer. Dan had wanted to visit his old home and I had decided to come with him. His mother was not very fond of it, the idea of us spending time alone worried her to no end, but in the end her father and my mother had convinced her to get away for a short while. We travelled with train, so the fresh air coming in from the windows and the woody smell of the cabins reminded me too strongly of a dear memory in one of the train beds ...

There were a lot of older men in the bar. It smelled a lot like booze, something I had tried a few times when my mother had decided to spend a week or so in Paris with a new lover of hers.

"Eric" I said. "I think we should probably spent the night here. It is cold and dark outside. I do not think it will be a good idea to walk around the city at night." He had simply nodded and made his way to the bar.

"Hello, my lady and young man. How may I help you?"

He smiled at me, a smirk which should obviously be charming but made me feel sick on, his face. He was good looking, for sure, but the thought of any other man than Dan disgusted me.

"We are looking for a room to sleep in. Is it possible to stay here?"

"Of course, Ms.?" He smiled at me and then looked towards Eric, probably seeing the similarities in our faces.

"Van der Woodsen. Serena Van der Woodsen. And this is my brother, Eric."

He nodded, turned around and gathered a key from a box on the table behind him.

"Here you go, Ms. And Mr. Van der Woodsen; would you like anything to drink? Perhaps a glass of my finest single malt?"

Eric shook his head, obviously scared of the mention of the illegal booze. He had never been very fond of alcohol, especially since a rather ugly episode with one of mother's earlier acquaintances, a danish man named Claus.

My brother took the key and we started walking towards the staircase. As we approached, an older man coughed lightly and called out to me.

"Oi, miss. Wha' ye age?" he asked, looking at me with a dark liquor in his hand.

"I am sorry but I do not think I understand why you are interested in knowing my name, Sir." I answered politely, a bit uncomfortable with his sudden approach.

"The'were a young lady like ye'self here the othe' day. A beautiful dark haired lady weh' big brown eyes. Were just won'ring why so'man young gals are walk'en 'round London these days!"

My mind stopped for a moment. I had needed to concentrate on understanding the words the man was saying do to his accent and obvious intoxication but a sudden image of Blair crossed my mind. No, that was impossible. The chances of her being this exact place was simply too small to ever happen. Though, a young lady walking around the streets of London by herself was also very unlikely.

"Do you know the name of this young girl, Sir?"

"Em' 'fraid not, miss. But em' sure the bartender kno's! He talk'd weh' 'er for a long time when she were 'ere!"

"Thank you very much, Sir. Enjoy your evening."

He took of his hat and bowed slightly for me, making me giggle lightly. I placed a hand on Eric's shoulder and quickly made my way back to the bartender.

"Excuse me. The gentleman in the booth over there told me a young lady about my age was here sometime ago. A beautiful brunette with brown eyes. I am looking for a dear friend and I could not help but think of her. Do you happen to know the young gal's name?"

He looked at me strangely but recognition suddenly went across his eyes. He shook his head but just as I was about to turn around and go upstairs with Eric, his voice stopped me from moving.

"Blair Waldorf. That was the young gal's name. I remember it very clearly, as do I remember her face."

I was shocked to the bone. She had been here! All this time we had been looking for her and she had been in London. I started to panic. Where was she now?

"Did she say anything?" I asked, my voice shaking from the press of tears. My throat had become very dry, the thoughts of what could have happened to her filled my head and strong pictures of her made their way through the wall I tried to build.

"Well, she had a couple of drinks. She told me some nothings but it all changed when she saw my letter from the government hanging out of my pocket. She was suddenly very interested, telling me something about a friend or a brother who wanted to join the army but was not of age. We made a deal; I gave her the letter and she kept silent. Please, do not judge me, Ms Van der Woodsen."

He looked at my gaze, judgement and shock clearly noticeable. Why would she want such a letter? She did not have any friends that I knew of.

I felt horrible for having such a thought but unfortunately it was the truth. Blair was very secretfull and did not open up to people very easily, making her quite an outsider in our hometown. Too bad all the others had no idea what they were missing.

"Come on, Serena! You know everybody loves you! Did you really not see the way they were all looking at you? I am surprised if they even noticed me beside you."

I rolled my eyes at her. I had seen the men staring at me but I found it quite embarrassing. They only wanted me for my looks; they could care less about me as a person.

That was probably why I loved Dan so much. He could see through the golden hair and blue eyes; he saw me. The real me. And so did Blair. Unfortunately, she had a habit of always commenting on the men we walked by on our way to the tailor.

"Blair, you know that is not true. You are a lot prettier than I am. You just have to believe in yourself."

She looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling obvious uncomfortable. I did not want this again. We always had the same fight about whether or not some males had been looking at me with hungry eyes or not. I always felt bad whenever she pointed it out, mostly because of Dan. I did not want him or his little sister to think that I ever looked back at them. Which I did not.

We walked in silence all the way to the tailor. I picked up my dress, took Blair my the hand and dragged her out of the boutique.

"Do you ever think anyone is ever going to love me like Dan loves you?" she asked me out of the blue. I looked at her and could see the sadness in the deep brown eyes. The same shade as Dan's.

"I do not think so, my darling Blair. I know you will. But I think it will find you when you expect it the most; good things have the habit of doing so."

"Like you and Dan?" she pointed out. I nodded.

"Exactly like Dan and I. And you know what? I think the love you are going to find might be even more unique and special."

Her eyes went wide, staring at me with disbelief. "What do you mean, Serena? Why would you think that?"

I smiled at her, memorising how beautiful the girl I had come to love like a sister looked in that exact moment.

"Because, Blair; special things comes to special people. Which you, my best friend, are with no doubt. You are one of a kind, Blair. Do not ever forget that! Dan and I love you and we always will."

"You gave her your letter, you said? And she said it was for a friend?" Suddenly, I had no doubt of where my best friend was. A whole different kind of panic went through me. I knew where she was but I had no idea what was going to happen to her.

"Yes, why? Do you know where she is now? She was gone when I came up to her room the next morning. She had left money for the room in an envelope on the bed. I never saw her again."

"I know exactly where she is. Thank you for your time."

I smiled and hurried up the stairs with Eric right behind me.'

TBC