les sprung onto the screen。 Nothing helpful。 Nothing that told her whether or not she should go。 She heard the key scrape in the lock。 Rufus was spending time with his anarchist friends； and Jenny was probably with Nate； so it had to be Dan ing home。 Vanessa was surprised by how eager she felt to see him。 She slid off the bed and headed toward the living room to investigate。
“Hey；” Dan said as he unwrapped a Burberry scarf from his neck and flung it on the couch。 Serena had given him the scarf as a Thanksgiving present。
Usually； the fact that he and Serena had grown up in such different worlds didn’t matter to him。 But there were times—like when he received a Thanksgiving present that cost more than a month of working at the circulation desk in Butler Library； or when she invited him to stay at her parents’ sprawling Connecticut house—that it became apparent how fundamentally different their backgrounds were。
Dan had been thinking about this more than ever recently。 He hadn’t seen Serena since before Christmas； four days ago。 He’d called her tonight to invite her to a movie； but she was meeting Blair。 Dan had gone to Film Forum alone； and surprised himself by buying a ticket to the new Hollis Lyons film。
He’d thought about Vanessa the whole time； which made sense； since it was her ex’s movie。 But it was more than that。 He was thinking about Vanessa and her film grant； and how excited she was for her future。 Serena wasn’t like that。 Serena was smart； but she was never especially ambitious。
Vanessa sauntered into the kitchen。 “Hey；” she said casually。 She didn’t want Dan to think she’d specifically e out of her bedroom to see him。 She opened the refrigerator and made an elaborate show of pawing through its contents。
“I don’t think