Behold: The Earliest Known Recording of Gossip Girl's Serena van der Woodsen

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Ten years after we spotted Serena van der Voodsen enjoying the view at Grand Central Station in Gossip Girl's first episode, someone dug out Blake Lively's audition tape from the depths of YouTube. In the fuzzy clip, a twenty-year-old Lively reads a scene opposite partial best friend Blair Waldorf (although certainly not Leighton Meester). She had recently played Bridget Vreeland in the 2005 film adaptation of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and would soon appear in the sequel as well. Casting director David Rapaport recently told Buzzfeed that Lively caught his eye in the 2006 movie Accepted, and she became "literally the only person I could think of for Serena," adding, "I was terrified we wouldn't get her."

In this particular snippet, the scandalous Upper East Sider apologizes to an unhappy Blair for skipping town for a wild time at boarding school while Waldorf was dealing with family drama. Stick around until the end for a very convincing, "I love you, B," and if that isn't enough, watch the British Ed Westwick nail Chuck Bass right from the start.