w　his　Adam？s　apple。

Ew？a　hickey！

？It？s　the　one　with　the　graffiti　all　over　the　door。　I？ll　be　downstairs　in　five　minutes；？　Blair

instructed　Chuck　before　hanging　up。　She　put　her　hands　on　her　hips；　trying　to　think　of　a　nice　way　to

tell　Vanessa　that　she　was　out　of　there。　It　was　amusing　being　friends　with　the　shaven…headed　girl

everyone　in　her　class　thought　was　so　weird；　and　Blair　genuinely　liked　Vanessa　for　her　no…bullshit

approach　to　everything　and　her　dark；　sarcastic　sense　of　humor。　But　as　graduation　approached；

Vanessa　had　grown　slightly　manic？asking　Blair　to　paint　her　toenails　on　an　almost　nightly　basis　and

even　getting　Blair　to　try　that　stupid　brush…on　hair…highlighting　kit　with　her。　Thank　God　it　had　only

been　temporary。　Vanessa　seemed　to　crave　pany；　so　if　two…timing　Blair？s　stepbrother；　Aaron；

with　this　straggly　Dan　guy　made　her　happy；　Blair　honestly　didn？t　care。　She　personally　was

through　with　men。　In　just　a　few　short　minutes；　Vanessa　would　have　the　apartment　all　to　herself

again？she　could　go　ahead　and　have　a　full…fledged　orgy　if　she　wanted　to。

？Someone？s　ing　to　pick　me　up；？　she　said　in　lieu　of　an　explanation。

Vanessa　had　just　been　caught　cheating　on　Blair？s　stepbrother；　Aaron；　with　Dan；　who　was

supposed　to　be　history。　Most　people　would　have　acted　at　least　slightly　sheepish　in　such　a　situation。

Not　Vanessa。　She　blinked　her　big　brown　eyes　accusingly　at　Blair。　？You？re　leaving？　How　e？

Are　you　pissed　at　me？？　She　cocked　her　shaved　head　and　corrected　herself。　？I　mean；　more　than

usual？？

To　call　Blair　and　Vanessa　the　Odd　Couple　was　an　under…statement。　Blair　had　been　raised　by　a

team　of　nannies　and　had　attended　preschool　at　Park　Avenue　Pre