"Eric!" a voice, presumably that of his mother's called from downstairs. "Someone's here to see you," she added enticing him to force himself out of solitary confinement he called the four walls of his room. After Eric's sister, Serena van der Woodsen left town, the best way one could decribe his mood was irritated. Irritated with what, you ask? Well some would press- ume Nate Archibald, his sister's former boyfriend, who literally drove her to tears before she boarded a plane to Belguim. He surely might of been the cause why she decided that it was best for her to leave so suddenly. But it might of been Georgina Sparks, a friend and foe of the van der Woodsen family as she had been proven to interfere with Serena's change in attitude. No one knew for sure who Eric's anger was aimed at but it was soon going to be revealed in the events to come. Crawling out of his own bed, Eric managed to make it towards the staircases leading downstairs. He saw his friend Jolene Marciano making small talk with his mother, Lily van der Woodsen. From past experiences, Eric learned that he had to get downstairs promptly before his mother and good friend begin to tear into each other. "Jolene," he said upon arriving. "What are you doing here?" The two women gazed at him as he walked down the stairs rubbing the short blonde mop that sprouted directly from the middle of his head. "Jolene is here to pick you up for ice cream," said Lily before Jolene could speak up for herself. "She thought it would be a good idea seeing as Serena just left and I told her you seemed to be taking it hard. You haven't left the room all morning, Eric. I suggest you spend some quality time with a close friend of yours, even though she might of been a bad influence in the past," Lily says whilst eyeing Jolene, "I believe we all deserve second chances to improve our images. Why don't you two have a good time?" Certainly, Eric's jaw had dropped that instant. He never expected his mother and Jo to be on such good terms but I suppose he jumped to unneeded conclusions knowing his family was more understanding, especially during a crisis like this. He nodded his head and went upstairs to get dressed for the evening. Moments later, Eric and Jolene were spotted walking the streets of Manhattan gingerly with sweet dairy treats in their hand. Eric got himself a chocolate cone with sprinkles and his favorite chocolate chip ice cream scoop whilst Jolene got a gold medal ribbon in a cup. It was this time that Jolene decided to ask him about problems occuring at home. "So, are you aware of why Serena bailed?" she asked heartlessly, but Eric never took it seriously. It was just her straightforwardness that made her sound bitchy and she meant no harm. "I.. I don't know," said Eric with much confusion. He really was unclear as to why S left and she never exactly gave him a straight response. All he got out of the talk they had was that it was Nate or some Antonio guy that provoked her but it could have been Georgina back to old tricks again. Eric recalled the last time his sister left town and Georgina's image appeared in the shimmered memory he had of the past year. "Do you think she'll be back?" asked Jolene who was simply full of questions. "Summer," Eric said immediately. "What about you? What's going on with yourself and Jenny?" "Contrary to popular belief, she's a pretty nice girl." Rolling his eyes, Eric smiled before nudging Jolene with his elbow. "Took you that long to figure it out?" he asks sarcastically as she laughs with him. "I know you've got a big crush on her still," said Jolene, it was hard to tell but she almost sounded jealous. "Maybe our triangle will be complete once she becomes my best friend," Jolene teased. Eric was starting to feel like old times again but then they came across this alley and he immediately excused himself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whilst he was missing, Jolene had a small confrontation with Georgina Sparks, who quickly left before Eric could return to join the menage a trois. But what was unknown to the vampire like vixen was that Eric was standing at the corner and listening to her conversation. His hate for this woman only grew stronger as she now not only was a menance to his siter but also trying to black mail his friend into doing something bad. "You don't have to do that, Jolene," he said almost making her jump out of her skin. "Do not meet that girl tonight. She's trouble, my sister would have told you." "I know she is," assured Jolene. "but I'm not afraid of her," she added. "Good because you're not going to see her tonight. I'm going to stay with you this en tire time." "Eric!" Jolene yelled. "I can take care of myself." "I'm just trying to protect you," he argued but she wasn't having it. Jolene quickly left the area whislt Eric tried to follow her. He wasn't going to let another one of the women in his life fall victim to Georgina Sparks.