Author's Note: To reduce confusion I would just like to say that Lily and Rufus are already engaged at this point rather than waiting until the end of the second season. Since Jenny wasn't there to tell on Chuck and Blair their relationship is still under wraps and Blair and Nate are still an 'item'. Blair is just as powerful as ever and still reigning undisputedly as Queen Bee, but not for long.

The Return of Little J

Her chest rose and fell; the smooth porcelain skin swelling against the black confines of her bodice with each deep intake of air. The tip of her rosy pink tongue flashed across the parched crimson flesh of her plump lower lip as she second guessed her decision once more to crash the annual masquerade held by the one and only Blair Waldorf. Eyes of blue and gray steel sparkled with determination as she strode towards the back entrance, her designer stilettos clicking against the worn pavement of the Upper East Side with each graceful step. She smiled seductively at the scrawny excuse for a guard that blocked her way. Jenny Humphrey was completely adamant about getting inside the building and she wasn't above making some poor little sap squirm a bit to do so. After all, she had to prove that 'Little J' wasn't quite so little anymore.

It had been well over a year since she'd ran away from her freshman year at Constance Billard and the people she both loved and hated. It had been on the rooftop of the very building she stood before that her life had taken that fateful turn. He'd been so charming and she'd never been more naïve or hungry for the popularity she so desperately wanted. Jenny resisted the urge to sigh in frustration or throw the nearest object out of anger at her former self. If her brother hadn't shown up to save the day and throw a well-placed punch at the arrogant face of Chuck Bass the young blond wasn't sure where she'd be at the moment. She did know that neither her virginity nor her pride would still be intact. Jenny Humphrey had never been so thankful for having an elder brother then on that single night.

Rather than facing the devil himself, Jenny had fled to her mother's humble abode only be relocated to the Upper West Side once the divorce papers finally went through and her mother found a new husband in billionaire Sebastien Fatale. Entering into a top notch private school as the step-daughter of a prominent record label owner certainly had its advantages, but she still didn't have the world at her feet. Little Jenny Humphrey had turned into Queen J at her new school with extremely hard work and determination, and it was all thanks to Chuck Bass. Truth be told it was ironic, but if it weren't for that mother chucker she never would have opened her eyes or stopped being the lap dog to the higher ups. She would have continued to blindly follow the Blair Waldorf's of the world in hopes of being thrown the proverbial bone.

Time however had changed, and not only with herself but with the whole of the Upper East Side as well. The name Humphrey was enough to gain the young woman a rather ample amount of recognition within the upper levels of the world these days. Not because of power or fear but the money that went with her father's hopefully soon marriage to one Lily Van der Woodsen. Jenny had made it her mission to step out of the shadows of her past life and though this new marriage would make it easy, the young girl was determined to make a mark on the world without the help of anyone else. Her life wasn't a dream and it certainly wasn't easy...her life was hard work and careful planning. Every move she made had a reason and every thought a meaning. Jenny had fought hard to make herself the woman that she was, and she continued to fight to keep herself on the ground. Together with Eric –who she'd kept in touch with since leaving- she would work to take the throne from Blair and make the high school years bearable once more. It was a game to her and like every game there was a very clear and precise set of rules.

1. Never trust – it only leads to destruction.
2. Never love – it only makes you weak.
3. Don't let the game play you because once fallen you can't get up.

Though Jenny didn't believe in love she had learned to use the illusion to her advantage. It sickened her, the way couples pretended to be so happy, and the way their eyes found one another across a crowded room. It reminded her of the way his eyes had found hers from across the dimly lit dance floor. Jenny eased her nausea and disgust by bringing the male population to its knees with her wit and sexuality without ever once having to jump anyone's bones. There was only one thing about Jenny Humphrey these days that could ever be described as pure and innocent and that was her virginity; a small white fleck on her otherwise dark presence that wasn't about to go away. If anything her precious little flower was far too delicious of a weapon to give up to just anyone. To Jenny, love was simply an overused word that described nothing more than a pure animalistic lust for another person and a weakness to boot. It was a weakness best left out of her busy and ever winding path of life. There simply wasn't a use for it, and the young woman didn't have time to cater to its ever demanding needs. She did however have time to use lust for her own personal gain.

"Excuse me Miss," the scrawny little man piped up as she stepped closer, "but the entrance to the masque is in the other direction."

Jenny eyed her target, her crimson lips curling into a pleasant smile as she stood before him. He looked to be about twenty-two or so –probably someone who needed a little extra cash for college.

"Well," Jenny's voice lowered in a sultry whisper, her slender fingers wrapping gently around his shoulder, "I'm trying to surprise a couple of friends and you know these masks…always able to tell who's behind them anyway. If you'd just let me through the back here it would be so much easier for me to go by unnoticed."

She knew that no one would recognize her. Jenny had grown to an impressive 5' 7" and despite the impulse to cut it short and choppy the young woman had let her newly dyed platinum blond locks grow well past her shoulders. If anything she'd grown into quite the picture of beauty and womanhood during her time away.

"I'm really not supposed to," he finally replied, his eyes raking over her slender form.

"Well rules are meant to be broken," Jenny answered easily, her fingers moving to caress his jawline, "you know I always was a sucker for the bad boy."

He gulped as the midnight black nail of her index finger trailed along the main artery of his neck, his eyes widening as he let out short rapid breaths of air.

"Just this once," he said raggedly, "meet me after its over?"

"You can count on it," Jenny replied, smiling victoriously as she moved past the door that he had so graciously opened for her before whispering, "sucker." Jenny Humphrey had no intention of coming back when there was so much waiting for every step forward.

"Enter stage left," she whispered upon entering the throng of people, "and don't fuck it up."

What's this, a party crasher on the Upper East Side? My, my, Queen B won't be so happy with this lady in black. Who are you mystery girl? I'll be sure to keep you posted.

XOXO

Gossip Girl