You weren’t supposed to fall for her. Everyone knew Serena van der Woodsen was untouchable — the golden girl of Manhattan, the one who could walk into any room and own it just by breathing. She was the kind of person people orbited, never reached.

And she belonged to someone else.

To Nate Archibald — handsome, kind, and effortlessly perfect. The two of them looked like they’d stepped out of a magazine cover — the couple that made gossip columnists swoon and everyone else feel like extras in their story.

You told yourself you were just friends. You had to.

Until one night changed everything.

It was late, and rain slicked the streets outside the Humphrey loft. Serena had come over to escape a party she didn’t want to be at. Nate was across town, attending a charity dinner.

You made tea, she curled up on the couch, hair still damp from the storm.

“I feel like I don’t even recognize myself anymore,” she said quietly, staring at her reflection in the window. “Everyone sees who they want to see. Nate, Blair, my mom… even me.”

You sat beside her. “And what do you see?”

She looked at you then — really looked. “You. You don’t treat me like I’m made of gold.”

The silence stretched, heavy and electric. The city lights flickered through the glass. Then her hand brushed yours.

“Serena…”

She shook her head, a whisper in her voice. “Don’t.”