"Man, how come I always have to roll the joint?" Nate whined. "You smoke away all of my hard work."

"Because, Nathaniel… I'm Chuck Bass." Chuck replied with a condescending overtone. Then, he burst out laughing. "Nah man, you're just better at it, yours always smoke smoother."

The typical scene of any given day: Nate Archibald, grandson of William Vanderbilt, getting high with Chuck Bass, notorious bad boy of the Upper East Side and son of the late Bart Bass. Subsequently, this also made him the sole heir to Bass Industries and the youngest billionaire in New York. Chuck lived in the penthouse of his most prized hotel The Empire. At 17, he already had quite the reputation not only as the youngest billionaire, but as the most eligible bachelor in Manhattan. It was rare for Chuck to spend a night alone, but he was never seen with the same girl twice. It was well known around the island that Chuck Bass "doesn't do girlfriends".

Nate Archibald was known as the golden boy. Perpetually stoned, he was always smiling and always Chuck's right-hand man. As children, their nannies were friends, and these two quickly bloomed a lasting friendship. Nate never minded Chuck always calling the shots and getting the girls. Nate was more of a relationship kind of man, and his most current girlfriend was none other than the "it girl" of Manhattan, Serena van der Woodsen.

Serena had a lot of different reputations, none of which she hated. She loved the spotlight and the parties, and she loved Nate. She also loved the privileges that being Chuck Bass' stepsister gave her, too: exclusive access to parties, shopping events, the Bass Industries private jet… Serena also loved to vacation and loved to meet new people. She spent a few weeks over summer break in Paris, shopping for the latest couture and hitting the hottest parties. This is where she met Blair Waldorf. She almost spilled a drink on her one night in a club in Paris.

"Excusez-moi!" Serena blurted out in weak French.

The other girl giggled. She was fluent in French and could instantly pick out an American trying too hard. "It's okay, don't worry about it. No harm done."

"Oh, you speak English… rather well, actually…."

"I'm American, just visiting my father, he lives here." Blair explained.

"Fantastic! Someone who finally speaks fluent English! I'm tired of the broken English and my weak French. Oh! By the way –" she extended her hand. "—Serena van der Woodsen, nice to meet you!"

The other girl extended her hand as well. "Blair Waldorf, and likewise!"

"Waldorf… as in… Eleanor Waldorf Designs?"

"She's my mother. You sound like you're a fan of her work." Blair replied, surprised that this girl, a style icon in New York City, knew of her mother's line. Blair always thought it to be a little stuffy, but she never let her mother on to that.

"I am! I'm curious… how have we never met? Your mother lives in Manhattan, right down the street from my building. You live with her? I've never seen you at school, or at any parties."

Blair blushed. She knew exactly who Serena was. Everybody knew who Serena was, because everybody read Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl was the Perez Hilton of the Upper East Side over privileged teen scene. If a person wanted to know who did what or who wore it better, where the hottest parties were and who broke up with who, this was the place to go, and it was almost real-time results. Blair was of course a subscriber. She longed to be a part of that world. She belonged in that world. Her mother had other plans, though, and instead of going to Constance, Blair went to over achieving Chapin. Blair was the head of her class, but the other girls were so boring. They cared nothing about fashion or the social scene, and the most exciting news was whose score was better on the Latin exam.

"Oh, I go to Chapin. I was thinking of a transfer to Constance Billard though, it's closer to home and I hear they have an excellent Intro to Management course that counts as college credit." Blair of course knew that Serena went to Constance, but didn't want to lead on that she knew everything about this girl that she had just met.

"I go to Constance! Yeah, the Intro to Management class is great, I guess, I haven't taken it yet. I'll be a senior this year. The academics are decently easy, and we share a corridor with St. Judes, so lots of cute boys roam the hallways during lunch." Serena could have cared less about the academics of Constance, but she didn't want to come off as a floozy. She liked this girl. She wasn't judgmental, and didn't know who she was. She had a feeling they would become great friends over the rest of this vacation.

Look out, Upper East Siders. Seems like S found herself a new bestie in Paris, and they both hail from the same island. How is it we've never heard her name before? Oh well, it won't be long before she makes a name for herself running with this crowd. XOXO, Gossip Girl.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! This is my first attempt at a fanfic ever, so I would REALLY appreciate any tips or constructive criticism you have for me. I have roughly 5 chapters already written out for the story; I want to wait for a few reviews before going on though, so that I can edit and make sure that this story is as epic as I'm hoping it would be when I got the idea. It follows the GG storyline, although much of it is really intermixed. This takes place before the famous limo scene; Bart has already passed away. I'm not sure if I'll introduce Dan or Jenny into the storyline, right now it's C/B, N/S. Before getting a degree in computer networking, I really wanted to be an English major, so I'm hoping I can use that to my advantage to write something that follows the thoughts in my head. I don't think there will be too much angst in this fic either, I tend to lean towards happily-ever-after. Maybe another fic will have some angst if I get the motivation to do so. :)