Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Gossip Girl.

Summery: Rich and beautiful, they live the lives of the city's most fabulous crowd. It's Sailor Moon, inspired by Gossip Girl. Rei is back from boarding school and Usagi and the others greet her back into the life of extravagance. And of course Mamoru is lurking around too. AU.

A/N: Who doesn't love a little scandal??

Chapter One: Rei

I sighed irritably into my drink.

Streams of people wormed their way around me as I shuffled uncomfortably between them. People I hadn't seen in two years kept grabbing me, kissing me on both cheeks, and commenting on how thin I looked, like my mother used to. It came off as a compliment, but I heard the judgments hidden in their voices. They were all wondering why I was back, and they were all hoping it was some sort of scandal. I was too tired to care what they thought, even though my whole damn life revolved around keeping appearances, as my father liked to say. It was easy for him—second nature to a man who breathed and lived for his job. I saw him across the room, shaking hands with some of the richest families in the country, smiling his confident and chilling grin that he saved just for events like these. The idea that this party was in honor of my homecoming was laughable. It was just another excuse for my father to gather around the wealthy and make the right friends for his upcoming election.

At some point in the night I was handed a vodka martini, which I chugged effortlessly, thoughtlessly. It tasted horrible, but it was immediately followed by another. I knew this wasn't the time or party to get drunk, but I came tonight with a purpose – to completely forget everything I could about this day, month, year.

As I wormed my way towards the wet bar in the lounge I found it harder and harder not to run into people I recognized. I was used to their shallow compliments and small talk, but tonight was different. Tonight I couldn't handle it. Taking another drink into my grasp I noticed Mr. Kaido, my father's main assistant leaning up against a wall casually smoking a cigarette. For a moment our eyes locked and then I quickly turned away, shoving past people, trying to find a place to get some peace and quiet.

I found myself alone in our elaborate townhouse kitchen. I could still hear the chatter of party guests and clinking of wine glasses together swirling in from the other rooms. Being reminded of the life I was returning to only made my stomach twist into a knot. I had left this place after my mother's death to escape all the lies and deceit that surrounded a wealthy life. I wasn't even looking forward to seeing my friends I had grown up with, gone to the same private schools with, and partied with until tenth grade. I knew they would all greet me warmly and expect me to reciprocate, like the years of disconnect between us meant nothing. They meant everything to me. I wasn't the same girl I was two years ago.

I leaned my head against the cold, hard steel of the refrigerator and felt the hum of its presence consume me. It filled my body, my mind, and before I knew what was happening, I was crying. The tears wouldn't stop coming, even after I realized I was crying at a dinner party in my honor, on a Friday night, no less. I let my drink slip from my hands and spill into the kitchen sink, leaving long trails of clear liquid along the counter until it reached the brim of the sink where it pooled up before swirling down into the stainless steel pit.

"Rei."

The sound of a human voice jolted me from my state. I swirled around to find myself almost nose to nose with Mr. Kaido. My hand rushed up to wipe the tears away from my eyes, but Mr. Kaido caught it in his. Then slowly, he took his thumb and ran it softly under each eyelid, until it must have looked that my eyes were brimming to the top with tears.

"What are you doing in the kitchen? Why are you crying? Are you okay? Are you drunk?"

The words came too fast for me to digest. I didn't want to answer all of those questions. They all had responses I couldn't handle. Not tonight.

"Excuse me, please," I said roughly, pushing past him and escaping his grasp by throwing myself back into the atmosphere of the party. It was sickening to flash fake smiles at all my father's peers and rich business partners, but it was better than being stuck alone with Mr. Kaido, explaining the reason for my emotional outburst.

Suddenly I saw her.

She was standing and being kissed on both cheeks by my father, eagerly accepting his warmth and hospitality with a beaming smile. It was Usagi, and god, she looked as beautiful as ever. Her hair was carelessly pulled back into a loose knot, still pale and blond and gorgeous. She was dressed nicely, in a cerulean dress that fell to her knees, but it was still casual and flirtatious enough not to come off as conceited. My father was looking border-line jovial and making idle talk with her about who knows what. Even he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. It was like everyone in the room was drawn to her presence in the same stomach-churning way it always had.

I drew closer and heard my father say to one of his colleagues, "This is Tsukino Usagi, she's Rei's very best friend."

Usagi noticed me and caught my eye. I immediately felt uncomfortable and began fussing with my stockings, inching them slowly up my thighs and smoothing out the fabric of my dress. But I knew it was only a temporary delay in the eventual greeting and reuniting of my old friends, old habits, old life.

She said my name once, then twice. I finally turned my gaze upward and she was instantly hugging me, kissing me on the cheek and saying, "I'm so glad to see you again. I haven't talked to you in forever. We have so much catching up to do."

I nodded grimly, curling the corners of my lips upward. It was almost a smile. She breezed past our two years of no communication like it was a normal occurrence, like the fact she was too busy to write or return my calls was a careless afterthought to be tossed aside. I felt the familiar pit in my stomach return, the one that always nestled inside of me when I was suppressing my true feelings. I wanted to yell at Usagi. I wanted to tell her she couldn't possibly think I would be her friend after everything, after the easy disregard my friends had when my mother died, or the way they immediately forgot I existed the second I went abroad. I wanted to tell her there was too much between us, too many things unsaid, to ever be friends again.

But instead I hastily grab a drink off a nearby tray and swallowed the remains of the drink in one go.

"It's good to be back," I lied, grabbing a hold of Usagi's arm and escorting her towards the dining room, which was now filling up with the many rich people who were exclusive enough to be invited.

I saw Usagi's eyes flicker, perhaps sensing my true feelings, but she let it go easily enough. By the time we situated ourselves next to one another and were poured our first round of red wine, she was already chatting happily about all the things I had missed out on at school and of course, the parties. I let her melodious voice fill in the blurriness of my mind, already tainted by the bitter taste of alcohol, only half listening.

My eyes drifted over towards Mr. Kaido's spot next to my father at the head of the table. He was looking at me intently, his eyes dark and smoldering. For a moment I held his gaze, unable to be the first to look away, but I was distracted when somebody suddenly grabbed my shoulder.

"Rei!" came the voice from my left.

I turned in time to see another dazzling blond hovering over me, her eyes bright and face flushed with the lightest of pink. She seemed out of breath and absolutely ecstatic to see me, but I knew better than to take all of her emotions at face-value.

She was a good actress.

"Minako," I said softly, rising from my chair to give her a gracious hug.

"I've missed you," she said into my hair, hugging me tightly.

I didn't return the comment, instead biting my lip to stop all the words from tumbling from my mouth. Accusations flooded my mind. If you missed me so much, then why didn't you try to keep in touch?

Minako sat down to my left and started talking too fast for me to process.

"I can't believe you are back. I had to drop everything I was doing to rush over here. I walked out of rehearsal, can you believe it? Well, it doesn't matter. You must forgive me for being such a bitch and not calling you as much as I should, you know how things go sometimes right? Oh God, I'm so glad you are back. Now we can be just as fabulous as we were before you left. Back to skipping Art class so we can go take crazy photos in the fountain, and drinking gin while we watch old movies in your four-poster bed in the penthouse, and of course, getting into all sorts of trouble…Who else would help me cheat on my Latin tests but you?" Minako sighed wistfully as Usagi jumped into the conversation, recalling more memories of our fun together in the first years of high school at the private all-girls school we attended.

My two closet friends continued but I was no longer listening. The life they were describing seemed so distantly far from me. While I could remember each memory just as vividly as Minako described them, I almost couldn't stand it.

Suddenly my father tapped his wine glass and called all the murmuring to stop around the dinner table. He had an authoritative way about him, and everybody was eager to be in his good graces. With enough power and money to sway thousands, he always was one to win over a crowd.

"We're all here to celebrate the return of my lovely daughter, Rei," My father began, sweeping a hand gracefully in my direction. "While she enjoyed her time in boarding school, she couldn't resist returning to the city. But who would be able to?" and he chuckled. The others in the room followed his lead and a small patter of laughter swept over the room. My father continued, smiling slightly. "So help me raise your glasses in welcoming Rei, my beautiful Rei, home."

I looked around the table and saw all the cleverly masked faces raise their glasses in my honor. I resisted the temptation to throw up all the vodka swirling in my stomach just long enough to watch all of them turn back to themselves again, all whispering and laughing together, like the socialites they were.

I quickly got up and pushed my chair away.

Usagi asked where I was going but by that time I was already halfway out of the room. As I hurried my way towards the bathroom I came to an abrupt halt when I ran into a man hanging outside of the dining room, a glass of scotch held in one hand.

"Well, look who it is," he said somberly, setting his ocean eyes on mine. "Shouldn't you be in there with the guests? They're here for you, after all."

I barked a laugh at him, commanding the squirming in my stomach to wait just a bit longer. "Why are you loafing around out here alone, Mamoru? I thought you thrived off of this social bullshit."

He looked at me, his expression hard to read.

The swinging dining room doors opened, breaking the growing silence between us. It was Usagi coming to look for me, and her knitted brows instantly unfolded at the sight of me.

"There you are!" she breathed, a genuine smile forming on her lips. "I was worried."

Usagi seemed to suddenly notice Mamrou, who was leaning up against the whiskey cabinet, casually dangling his drink like it was a nuisance to hold. I didn't know if he tried to look so cocky all the time or if it came naturally to him, but it was absolutely irresistible to most women who met him. His charms, however, didn't seem to work on Usagi, who was still naive enough to disregard him as another rich man our fathers worked with and nothing more. But I saw the looks he gave her. Her careless attitude towards him was something that made his eyes spark to life, almost as much as their heated arguments. There was no disregarding the way Usagi commanded attention effortlessly. I often times watched her enter a room wearing nothing but an old sweatshirt and still instantly becoming the center of consideration, radiant and beautiful no matter what she wore. This didn't get overlooked by the population of males in our circle of friends, nor by our father's overweight and overworked business partners. It was just one of the many reasons I loved and hated to be Usagi's best friend: Her affects on men were so obvious to everyone but her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked bluntly, tossing a stray lock of hair behind her shoulder. I hated that such a natural action could look so goddamn perfect when she did it.

"Perusing," Mamoru said oddly, a smirk forming on his sensual lips.

I couldn't stand watching this. Not now. Not ever. It had always infuriated me that Usagi could so easily toss away a man like Mamoru when I had secretly pined after him since the first day I saw him in a moss-green, cashmere, V-neck sweater that fit him in all the right ways. He was devastatingly handsome, and not to mention off-limits, and I knew our relationship would never amount to the passion that erupted in the frequent bickering between him and my best friend

The same sense of panic I had been suppressing all night started to rise up in me again, and I immediately swirled around and headed towards my original path. I needed to throw up, if nothing more than to calm the anxiety mixed with alcohol bubbling in my stomach.

I couldn't come back to this.

I fell to the cold tiled floor of our pristine bathroom, my face hovering inches from the toilet. My stomach was entirely twisted, but I couldn't bring myself to submit to the sickness churning inside of me. It was just another weakness I had run away from, and now look at me. I was more inept at handling the surfaces of my life than I had been after my mother's death. Two years ago, I held my head high and proud, too haughty to wallow in the delicious despair for longer than necessary. And now I was falling apart. Why? Why couldn't I reach in and find the strength in me that once existed?

I heard a soft knock on the door and saw Usagi come walking into the bathroom.

"Rei," she said quietly. "Are you okay?"

I snapped my head upwards to glare at her, a type of contempt I never realized I had bubbling up in my chest.

"I'll be fine," I said absently, standing up to look at my reflection in the mirror.

"Come on Rei," Usagi said, "It's still me. You can talk to me. We know everything about each other."

I used my pinky to wipe a stray smudge of mascara under my left eyelid. "We used to," I spat, finally speaking the words that had been waiting to leave my lips since the instant I saw Usagi walk into my house. "How long has it been since we've even talked? The summer after last, maybe?"

Usagi looked down at her heels, seemingly ashamed. "I know. I'm so sorry, Rei. I suck."

"Well things aren't the same," I snapped, feeling a sense of power fill my senses as I saw Usagi stand before me dejected. "Last year… Last year was… different." I think her and I both knew I really wanted to say last year was hard, but I couldn't. Hard was such a weak word, a word admitting that I wasn't okay on my own. But then why was I so reluctant to return to my friends and the life we used to lead together?

Usagi began to say something but I interrupted her, once again forcing the sickening feeling from overcoming my stomach. "I'll see you back in there," I said and left Usagi alone in the bathroom.

A/N:

Next chappie will be in Minako's POV, I think. Review and let me know what you think.