[ GOSSIP GIRL ]
Hello, followers. Gossip Girl here. Your one and only source for the truth behind the scandalous lies of New York's elite. Been a minute. Did you miss me? I know I've missed you.

Though you're probably going to wish I'd stayed away when I'm done. Because I can see you. Not the you you've oh-so-carefully curated. The real you. The one hiding just outside the edge of frame. Well, it's time to reframe that picture. You've gotten away with everything a little too long. Now that I'm back, I'm gonna feature your finstas, surface those subtweets, and crack your caches. You can't hide from me. Never could. And to prove it, there's a few big secrets amongst the ruling class at Constance Billard. And as you will soon come to know, no good secret goes unpublished.
Till then,
XOXO, Gossip Girl.

CHAPTER ONE
[ 1 ]
song: super rich kids by frank ocean

The many students of Constance Billard St. Jude's all awoke to the same chime from their phones. Seven AM. Monday morning. August sixteenth.

The message received by each Upper East Sider held a threat, someone under the alias of Gossip Girl was announcing their return. It was a notification sent out all at once, its purpose to drive a wedge through relationships. Seduce the air with paranoia. She wanted to leak things, expose things.

Any average teenage girl would be mortified. But Madeline Van der Bilt just turned over in her plush duvet, and set her phone to do not disturb.

But it wasn't long after that that her own alarm disrupted that extra ten minutes of sleep, and she was forced to get out of bed.

She could smell food in the kitchen. Her parents, and whatever assistants and managers they had around today, had already been long awake before Madeline came downstairs.

Someone swept by her with a vase of fresh blue hydrangeas, and set them on a wooden table by the front door. Just as Madeline opened her mouth to ask who they were from, her mother came in through the dining room and asked first.

"Patrick Bradford, ma'am." The assistant responded.

Madeline's mother, Alycia, let out a scoff as she continued her quick waltz to the kitchen. "Toss them. He thinks flowers are enough to distract us from what he's spreading to the press? Please." She glances at her daughter. "You look nice."

Madeline followed her into the kitchen, putting a pearl drop earring in her ear as she walked. "I have school."

Alycia squeezed her eyes shut, and placed a palm to her forehead. "I completely forgot."

"I didn't." Madeline's father, congressman Joseph Van der Bilt, spoke as he gestured for the photographer in the kitchen to greet Madeline.

The girl shook his hand, not at all surprised by the array of publicity that took place in the kitchen of their Manhattan brownstone. "This gets more and more elaborate every year." She comments.

Her father adjusts his suit, as Alycia fixes the red striped ribbon around Madeline's neck. "Did you use that retinol cream I gave you?" She asked.

Madeline shook her head, and let out a small, embarrassed laugh. "I don't have enough wrinkles for that yet."

Alycia tilted her daughter's face to the side and examines her skin. "Never too late to start."

As her mother walked away and greeted the photographer, explaining to him in detail the kind of photo they were looking for this year, Madeline couldn't help but shuffle into the bathroom and look for whatever imperfections her mother had found.

She was shocked she didn't receive a comment on her hair. Usually, when Madeline wore her curly hair down, she was told it looked 'messy' or that it looked like she'd 'just rolled out of bed'. But she brushed it off as a generational gap. If it were up to her parents, Madeline would wear a matching tweed dress suit every day, hair in a tight, slicked back updo, and be told that that was 'in style'.

She was ushered out the door, posed to stand in front of her mother and father. An American flag pin was stuck to her uniform collar, and she was told to smile. A first day of school picture, one taken every year since she was little.

"Miss Van der Bilt could you lift your chin for me please? Perfect—" the photographer spoke as he snapped the pictures. "And go ahead and straighten your back, perfect."

"I'm meeting Daphne before school, I have to go." Madeline finally spoke aloud, releasing the photographer from his hunched over position, and her parents from their perfectly posed stances.

"Did you get a good one?" An assistant, Christine, asked the photographer, to which he nodded.

The assistant removed the pin from Madeline's collar, speaking her thoughts aloud. "We'll have these up on social by the end of the day. Margie," she spoke to another assistant now, "Remind Hannah we're not tagging anyone in posts anymore."

The 'anyone' in question was Madeline. In Christine's words, Madeline's Instagram didn't 'fit the image' they were trying to curate for her father's ongoing campaign.

But the woman gave Madeline a quick kiss on the cheek before she ushered her on her way.

Daphne could spend hours sitting at a table at Cafe d'Alsace, reading her favorite book, being supplied with 'on the house' iced lattes, eating flaky chocolate croissants and flirting with cute waiters.

But nothing brought her more satisfaction than hearing whispers pass her by, people stopping in the window to point at her and wave, and the frantic chatter that erupted in the restaurant when the waitstaff argued about who got to bring her to her table.

After a summer away in Madrid, Daphne still had Manhattan.

A knock on the window and the blonde lifted her head up from the book in her hands. A smile overtook her prior focused expression, as she saw her best friend waving frantically on the other side of the glass.

Daphne about burst from her chair, squealing excitedly as she gestured for Madeline to hurry inside. A kiss on both cheeks, and a tight, long hug. "My love, my Madeline." Daphne swooned dramatically. "I've missed your scent."

Madeline laughed and pulled away, giving the girl a disgusted look. "Is that how you talked to your friends in Madrid?" She asked, as she took the empty seat across from Daphne.

She shrugged cheekily. "It's how they talked to me."

Madeline laughed again. "God, I missed you so much." She anxiously tapped the table. "So, tell me everything. Details, all of them. And I'll need to come over and get a haul. And maybe a written list of all the guys you hooked up with, names and pictures. I am living vicariously through you."

Daphne Daurella-Heinrich. Socialite. Heir of the heir to the German fortune. Technically a countess. Daughter of an esteemed art collector mother, and a Swiss-industrialist father. Madeline's best friend, and the smartest person she knew.

"Hey, I asked you to come with. Actually, I begged." Daphne leaned forward on her elbow.

"I know." Madeline whined. "But I needed to train. And I'm an ambassador this year, so—"

"I thought you had a contract with Dior?" Daphne asked, concernedly.

"Student ambassador." Madeline corrected.

"Oh." Daphne seemed disappointed. "And that means...?"

"I'm paired up with a scholarship student. We're supposed to show them the ropes, get them involved." Madeline says. "Basically, keep them from dropping out because apparently that keeps happening."

"Oh, god, really?" Daphne squirmed. "It's survival of the fittest. And I like to take full responsibility for the drop-out rate, so you doing this feels totally anti-me."

Madeline shakes her head. "Play nice. The girl I'm mentoring seems totally chill."

"You've talked to her?" Daphne asks, taking a sip from her latte. "Did you check for diseases after?"

"No, just got her Instagram and contact info." Madeline says, she inhales sharply and looks around the cafe, eyes landing directly on the phone camera that was tilted in their direction. "Subtle." She mutters.

Daphne whips her head around at the man Madeline was referring to. She snaps her fingers twice, loudly. "Hey." She says, speaking sternly. "If you want a picture, get up and ask."

The man cowered in fear, waving apologetically as Madeline sends him a sympathetic, pursed lip smile.

Daphne turned back around to face her. "Are we walking?"

"Around the corner?" Madeline raised her eyebrows, expecting that to be obvious given their proximity to the school.

Daphne shrugged innocently. "I'm wearing my Manolos."

Madeline and Daphne seemed to be the last to join the group, all crowded around the stone lunch tables outside Constance Billard. Although, they didn't appear to be too late, as most of their friends were still in the midst of embracing each other in hugs and asking about their summers.

"Oh, here they come. Let's all appreciate our last ten seconds of peace." Anthony announces loudly as the two make their way up the stairs.

"You say that like you aren't about to force us to listen to whatever pots and pans banging together 'song' you've made the second we sit down." Daphne says, approaching him and greeting him with a kiss on the cheek, to which he pulls into a tight, eager full-hug. Daphne squirms out of it with a laugh.

Anthony Banks II, son of Anthony Banks I, a rapper turned producer better known as Flux. He's been riding the coattails of his father's success since he could talk, yet somehow continuously missing the mark on his own productions.

"Hi, pretty." Sabrina approaches Madeline, waving eagerly as she hands her a pink paper bag.

"What's this?" Madeline asks, accepting the bag and a hug at the same time. "Missed you."

Sabrina Du Hamel. Daughter of iconic nineties model Cassandra Wertheimer and actor Michael Du Hamel. Deemed too short to follow her mother's footsteps down the catwalk, went the influencer route instead.

"PR stuff that I didn't want. Makeup, hair stuff, jewelry. And vitamins that are supposed to improve your libido but I think they make you fat instead." Sabrina shrugs. "Missed you too! Did you cut your hair?"

"He still won't answer." Owen speaks up, returning to the group after stepping away and making a call. "Hi guys." He greets the newcomers. "How was Madrid?"

"Good." Daphne says with a smile. "Who won't answer?"

"Sebastian." Sabrina says.

Owen scratches his forehead. "I haven't heard from him all summer and just thought he was going off the grid. You think he knows it's the first day back?"

Owen Kim. An anxiety-ridden, pure hearted son of tech billionaire, Kim Donghyun, the CEO of AureumTech. The same company Owen plans to take over someday. Just as soon as he proves that he's capable.

"He's probably just still asleep." Anthony shrugs it off.

Daphne turns to Madeline, watching her, examining her expression. She speaks to her, quietly. "Have you heard from him?" Daphne asks.

Madeline shakes her head no, trying not to let the uneasy pit in her stomach distract her from the fact that she was furious with Sebastian.

Daphne changed the subject. "Well," she starts, with a huff. "I think—"

"Smileee." Sabrina interrupts happily, as she holds her phone up and takes a picture of Daphne and Madeline standing beside each other.

Madeline smiles for the photo, while Daphne looks at the girl with a hint of disgust. She continues on, "I think this year—"

"Who's that?" Anthony interrupts this time.

"Jesus christ— who?!" Daphne snaps, turning to look in the same direction everyone else was.

And past them walks a tall, pretty girl, with long black hair, and a piercing in her nose, and delicate tattoos all up her hands and arms. She wore her uniform to perfection, a telltale sign of a freshman or new student. But with her Constance Billard navy and green plaid skirt, she wore black, chunky boots, silver charms dangling from every inch.

"Yikes." Sabrina muttered, holding her phone back up curiously to grab a picture.

"I give it ten minutes before she's turned away at a door." Daphne says.

"Did no one tell her there's a dress code?" Owen speaks up.

Madeline inhales sharply, already anticipating the tension. "Yeah, yeah that was supposed to be my job." She winces. "Shit. I'll catch you guys at lunch."

Daphne latches onto Madeline's arm, eyebrows upturned in worry as she begs the girl to retreat.

Madeline frowns sympathetically. "I know. But it looks good on my resume."

Sammy approaches the large stone doors to her new school, the walls adorned with carved writing that deemed it ConstantBillard St. Jude's School for Girls and Boys. She kept her head low, but eyed her surroundings over the top of her black tinted sunglasses.

She didn't have many expectations. All she was given was an acceptance letter into the Art's Scholarship Program, a uniform, and a date and time to show up for. Besides that, all of her ideas of what she was walking into was brought on by her own research.

She felt a hand on her arm just as she was about to enter the front doors, and turned to see a girl speaking to her. Sammy couldn't understand her until she lifted a headphone off her ear. "Sorry, what?" Sammy spoke.

The girl waved it off. "Sammy?"

She nodded in response, then glanced over at the group of students that were watching the interaction like hawks.

"I'm Madeline Van der Bilt. Your student ambassador. I assume you and Headmistress Burton have spoken about the program but—"

Sammy shook her head. "No, but I know who you are."

Madeline nodded, trying to get a read on to what that response meant. "Right, well— I can take you to her office and get you settled in."

"Are you filming me?" Sammy shouted across the courtyard to the group of students huddled around the table.

Sabrina jumped, almost dropping her phone. Anthony snorted. Madeline whipped her head around and sent a wide-eyed, angry glare at the girl. "For your story." Sabrina muttered with a shrug.

As Madeline turned back, Sammy had already returned to walking up the stairs and inside. She latched onto her arm, "Sammy—"

She turns around, shaking her head. "I don't need you to show me where an office is. I'm sure I can figure it out myself."

Madeline was taken aback, clearly stated in her expression. All she was doing was trying to be nice, helping a girl out who was in clear need of some.

She could've pressed more, she could've insisted, but Sammy's attitude didn't sit well with her. And Madeline's instinct to put someone in their place kicked back in. "I hope those piercings are removable. There's metal detectors in each doorway and I'd hate to have you embarrass yourself on your first day."

Sammy kept eye contact with Madeline for a moment, before glancing up at the group again, and then back to her. She scoffed, "Thanks for the tip." She spoke, before waltzing herself into the school, setting off a blaring alarm in the process.

At some point, Daphne had joined Madeline at her side. "It's hard to be America's Sweetheart, isn't it?" She comments, the two of them watching as security guards stop Sammy from going any further.

Madeline squeezes her eyes and shakes her head embarrassedly. "Oh god, I'm such a bitch."

Daphne shrugs. "At least you tried."

—

For lunch, Constance Billard's ruling class gathered at the steps of the Met. A tradition passed down by alumni who'd longtime graduated, yet their legacy still lingered in the pristine halls of the school. But some may say 'haunts'.

Anthony peeled Madeline's orange for her, she was never a fan of the smell. "Are we going to Bemelmans tonight?" He asks the group as he hands it over to her.

Madeline accepts it. "On a monday?"

"That's never stopped us before." Daphne says, leaning her elbows against one of the steps and tilting her face up toward the sun.

"I thought you were all coming to my Dad's thing tonight?" Owen says, disappointedly. "The launch party for the Samsung collab?"

"Oh, right." Madeline nods.

Daphne leans up and looks at Owen, she opens her mouth to speak, but stops when she notices something else. Tipping her sunglasses off the bridge of her nose, she speaks. "I found Sebastian."

Everyone followed her gaze towards the bottom of the step, where the curly-headed brunette stumbled out of a shiny black car.

Madeline tensed, not knowing which Sebastian they'd be getting today. She hadn't spoken to him all summer, not since the break-up. But apparently she wasn't the only one.

He dusted off his pants, scanned the steps for a moment, and waved up at his friends.

Sabrina got to her feet eagerly, while the rest of the group watched with hesitance.

He met her halfway up the stairs, placing a lazy arm around her shoulders after the hug they exchanged. He looked up at the rest of them. "Only one hug?" He announces loudly. "I was gone for three months and I only get one hug?"

With this, Owen and Anthony were the next to stand, making their way over to Sebastian and greeting him. Daphne leaned forward to Madeline and whispered. "We can leave." She suggests.

Madeline kept her eyes on Sebastian, then shook her head. "He looks like a mess."

"He is a mess." Daphne responds.

After the crowd dispersed around him, he looks over to Madeline and Daphne. For a moment, his arrogant facade crumbled and you could see just a hint of guilt in his eyes.

"I see I'm still on your bad side." He says. "Do I have to sit a few steps down?"

"How about a few blocks down?" Daphne retorts sarcastically, pushing her sunglasses back up, and leaning back into her spot.

Sebastian looks at Madeline. "And you? What do you think I should do?"

She clenches her jaw, her expression unreadable for a moment. "Shower."

Anthony laughs, patting Sebastian on the back aggressively. "Shit." He laughs. "Are you coming tonight?"

They begin to return to their spots on the steps. "To what?" Sebastian asks, purposefully sitting beside Madeline.

"The AureumTech thing." Owen says. "I texted you."

"Oh right, I haven't had my phone on." Sebastian says, he looks over to the small box that Madeline had sat beside her. The only thing in it was the half-eaten orange and a few grapes. "Cutting back?"

She shifted uncomfortably, but ignored his comment. "We'll be there, Owen."

Sabrina had been on her phone since she sat back down, when all of a sudden she let out a loud laugh, and shoved her phone into Sebastian's face. "That was fast." She says.

He takes it from her and examines it. An Instagram post by someone calling themselves Gossip Girl, had posted a picture. A photo from just seconds ago of him stumbling out of the car.

[ GOSSIP GIRL ]
SPOTTED:
SEBASTIAN'S SCANDALOUS RETURN!
Looks like our favorite heartthrob, Sebastian Vicuña, has returned to the Upper East Side, but not without causing quite the stir! Gossip Girl caught him stumbling out of a car, looking disheveled and a little worse for wear. Could it be that Sebastian's summer escapades in Chile have caught up with him?

Rumors are swirling about Sebastian's mysterious summer south of the equator. Some say he's tangled up in legal trouble, while others whisper about a scandalous affair, both believable outcomes for a Vicuña.

Oh, Sebastian, what have you been up to? Looks like the gossip mill is already churning full throttle as we eagerly await the juicy details of your summer escapades.

XOXO,
Gossip Girl

Sebastian looks up from Sabrina's phone. "What is this?" He asks, concernedly.

Madeline takes it from him and gets a good look herself. Immediately passing it back to Daphne as she begins to scan the steps for whoever could've taken the picture.

Sabrina shrugs. "Gossip Girl."

"Block her." Daphne says nonchalantly. "That's like the fifth account that's come up trying to spread shit about us."

"And it's all been lies." Madeline huffs, then glances at Sebastian, who didn't seem as comforted by their comments. "Right?"

He looks up quickly, then nods. "Right."

"This one seems different." Sabrina shrugs. "They already have a ton of followers."

"Yeah? So does Diet Prada and they're about as relevant as you." Daphne responds.

Madeline chokes out a laugh, covering her mouth in surprise. "Jesus."

"Sorry." Daphne shrugs. "You know I love you."

Sabrina pouts. "Fine. Blocking."

"Me too." Madeline says as she gets out her phone, and then everyone did. All hitting the 'block' button at once.

—

Paparazzi flooded the streets to try and capture just a single picture of New York's finest. Celebrities, politicians, businessmen, everyone was showing up for the Samsung by AureumTech launch party. If only for the open bar.

Madeline, Daphne and Sabrina all showed up together. Arriving in the same limousine, wearing their respected brands. Madeline in Dior, Daphne in Versace and Sabrina in Miu Miu.

They posed for a few pictures on the black carpet they called it, and went inside to meet everyone else. Owen seemed frantic, he was all over the place. Sebastian fixed his cufflinks while his makeup artist powdered his face.

She stood backstage with him, sipping on a martini. "Are you giving a speech or something?" She asks, noticing his shaky hands.

Owen looks at her, then back to the mirror before shaking his head. "No. But if it goes wrong it's on me."

"It is?"

"No." Owen says. "But it'll feel like it."

She nodded like she understood.

Sebastian looked up, his eyes trailing around the many people that passed them by. He smiled smoothly when he met eyes with a girl about their age, who wore a headset and carried a clipboard in her hand.

"Subtle." Madeline spoke.

Sebastian shrugged it off and turned to Owen. "Will your sister be here?"

He scoffed. "No. She has a show in Brooklyn tonight. Actually—" he paused. "Do you guys want to come with after? She really wants me to go but I don't like going by myself."

"I think one Kim family event a day is enough for me." Sebastian says.

Owen frowns, then looks to Madeline, seeking her response. "In Brooklyn?" She says, hesitating.

"Yes, in Brooklyn." He responds. "It's not the Ozarks."

She laughed. "I might be a little overdressed for a concert like that."

"Maddy don't act like you don't love having all eyes on you." Sebastian comments.

She looks at him pointedly. "That's not true, Sebastian. You might have been too drunk our whole relationship to notice, but I actually go out of my way to avoid that."

He laughs. "I might've been sneaking one too many drinks, but you were sneaking one too many bumps."

She stiffens, and catches Owen's subtle glance. Something that read as 'he did not just say that.'

"Owen, your parents are ready upstage." A different girl in a headset comes to grab him.

He adjusted his suit jacket, then nods. "Right."

"You're gonna be great, just stand up there and look pretty for three minutes." Madeline says, as she stands up from her chair and sends him off with a pat on the back.

Sebastian watches him follow the girl through the maze that became the backstage, before turning to Madeline. "I've got some on me now." He whispers.

Madeline smiles in disbelief. "You are an idiot."

He smiled back. "What? Not your thing anymore?"

She grabbed her clutch and started to move, pushing past him and to the door that'd lead her to her seats. "No. It's not. And you aren't either." She stops, then turns to face him. "Do us all a favor and keep your bullshit to yourself. We're sick of it."

Sebastian was taken aback, watching with heated eyes as Madeline continued on. In an attempt of getting the last word in, Sebastian yelled after her. "That's rich coming from you!"

a/n
hope u enjoyed the first chapter !
drew (or dillon) will be in the next chapter i promise 🤞 just had to do some backstory here before we got into the main plot.
love u all sm thank u for being here :')
❤️ jane