Gossip Girl: Lies and deceit, the new generation

Chapter 10 : snow and scandal

"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness."- John Steinbeck

Ava's pov :

Ava Cheong was someone who often found herself judged prematurely, purely because of the stoic expression often found on her rose tinted complexion.
The only person she felt understood her was her best friend, Violet Waldorf Bass. The pair had met at the age of 10 years old at the opening of the second location of her parents' contribution to the family business, Cheong jewellry and co. The party had been mostly comprised of adults who most likely had never had to deal with a child in their lives.

-What's your name? I'm Ava.

She had held out her stubby prepubescent hand, a hopeful glint in her dark eyes.
Violet had looked at her, seemingly unsure of her intentions. But she must have seen something in her, because she held out her soft palm, her dark hair clouding her doll like features.
Ever since that day the two had been as thick as thieves. There was a rumour being passed around in middle school that they were lesbians, but they brushed them off, Ava laughing and Violet slightly perturbed by the idea.

For the longest time, Ava had thought that being repulsed by the idea of kissing a boy was normal. Due to her popularity, she had dated many a boy in elementary and middle school, but only because dating guys was thought to be the cool thing to do.
She never really questioned all this, until freshman year, when she decided that it probably wasn't very straight to lay awake at night wondering what it would be like to make out with Melody Richards.

The day her parents had found out she was a lesbian had been an eventful one to say the least.

Her father had ignored her for 2 months, and her mother had begun to only communicate with her in the form of cut fruit placed in front of her bedroom door. This lasted some time, before her older sister Katie had talked some sense into her traditional parents, and finally there had been some form of peace established in their household.

* * *

With December arrived the snow, which Ava could have sworn coated the entire city like a blanket.

-Are you staying in town for Christmas?

She rubbed her hands together, the crimson wool of her fingerless mittens creating a barrier between her flesh and the bitter cold that stiffened the air. The school steps were dotted with students, the more pretentious ones shivering because they refused to ruin their carefully customized uniforms, which was ironic if anything, seeing as letting snow melt onto designer clothing was a terrible endeavour.

Ava was no stranger to style however, and knew how to dress no matter the temperature.

She was clad in her uniform along with a deep red lined trenchcoat that she had decorated with silver and gold charms so as to give it a more chic appearance. Atop her glossy blue - black hair lay a beret of the same colour. To complete the look, a pair of scarlet platform boots and fluffy white leg - warmers, a garment she had taken a liking to because of her several years of ballet.

Violet's pov

Violet had no interest in festive garb, as she was wearing her uniform and a coat similar to Ava's, except it was the black one she wore nearly all year round, although she was wearing grey earmuffs and gloves, because even though she didn't want to wear seasonal colours, she didn't enjoy frostbite.

-Yes, Grandfather and his husband are coming over, as well as Eleanor.

Eleanor had refused to be given any kind of name that called her a grandmother, as she said that it made her feel old.

Ava's pov

She nodded absent mindedly, her mind elsewhere. Scarlett was absent again, and this disturbed her usually rock solid attention span, mainly because of the fleeting glances they gave each other now and then. That and what they had done the previous summer. She was thankful her cheeks were already flushed due to the cold.

Despite all this, she neglected to tell her best friend anything, mainly because of her crippling guilt in relation to the whole affair. She had seen the way Violet looked at the blonde girl, and she wasn't one to betray friends like that. And to make matters worse, Scarlett hadn't even talked to her about it since the incident.

Students squealed as they skated to and fro across the glossy ice that covered the school's new ice rink. Even Ava had to admit that this was a bit excessive of the headmistress for agreeing to such an expense. Nonetheless, she still loved to skate, as it brought back memories of her childhood, skating at Rockerfeller center with her family during the holiday season. The red platform shoes had been replaced with a pair of white ice skates with red ribbons for laces.

It wasn't obligatory to bring your own skates, but she had received these on her 16th birthday, and ever since then they had become her pride and joy. Suddenly she heard a scream. She deftly spun around and skated towards the noise.

It was Scarlett, splayed across the eyes, her legs clamped together in pain. She winced.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, just peachy." she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She helped her up.

"Do you need me to take you to the school nurse or something?"

Scarlett nodded, her forehead scrunched up.

"Here, I have some water."

She passed her her water bottle, and quickly realised that she probably couldn't drink by herself.

She cupped her jaw, gently tipping the water bottle towards her lips. She sipped, slowly but steadily. All of a sudden Ava realised what she was doing, and quickly backed away.

"So, I should go get the teacher now. To ask about taking you to the sick room?"

Her cheeks felt flushed, and she knew that whatever that was, it could never happen again. Not if she valued Violet as a friend. It was bad enough that she had betrayed her, but to do it so overtly a second time, even if it was an accident, felt cruel.

This just in : Ava Cheong spotted seen cozying up to non other than Scarlett Van der Woodsen Humphrey. Has she forgotten the rules of friendship? Everyone knows that nothing comes between friends, especially if that involves a forbidden romance with the unofficial queen of the upper east side.