Desire Defying Destiny (7/?)
Title: Desire Defying Destiny (7/?)
Author: Bex81385
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 3279
Spoilers: Everything up to 1x13 “A Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate”
Summary: Chuck and Blair must deal with the ramifications of their actions in “A Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate”.
AN: Sorry it took so long... me and my beta both decided to take vacations... Busy Summers...
Chapter Seven: "And Being An Attempted Rapist Is Any Better?"
Neither Serena nor Blair could remember a time in which they’d actually eaten lunch in the school’s cafeteria. In fact, there wasn’t a single time in Serena’s recollection where she and Blair had ever set foot in the building. The coveted steps in front of the Met had always belonged to Blair. She watched Blair shudder slightly as they sat down, lunch in hand, at an unoccupied table.
Despite Blair’s obvious discomfort for the cafeteria, the smile on her face never wavered. Serena had been apprehensive of the smile before, especially since Blair was coming from Jenny’s direction, but now she was concerned. She watched cautiously as Blair poked at her salad, still smiling. Serena would be kidding herself if she didn’t admit that Blair’s smile was actually starting to creep her out.
She’d spent the last three weeks watching Blair do nothing but sulk, and now on a day where she’d practically been assaulted by her ex, she was grinning like an idiot. Despite her desire to see Blair happy, Serena couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness that washed over her while Blair’s smile continued to appear unfaltering. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore; she had to know what happened. "What’s with the smile?" she practically demanded.
Blair shook her head slightly as Serena’s voice broke through her thoughts. She let the smile fall from her face quickly, no longer comfortable under Serena’s scrutiny. "Nothing," she replied easily, while averting eye contact with Serena.
Serena groaned inwardly. Sulky Blair is back, and it’s my fault she thought to herself. "It’s not nothing, Blair. It’s definitely something. This morning you were scowling in the hallways and now, you’re all smiles..." Serena said. Blair responded with a blank look on her face and before Serena could say anything else, her cell phone chirped alerting her of a text message.
She pulled her phone out and looked down at the message, her eyes widening as they took in the picture of Blair and Chuck in an embrace. One look at the picture and Serena knew it was from earlier. Blair’s outfit was the same, and Chuck’s scarf no longer looked familiar. There was a smile on Blair’s face that mirrored the one she’d carelessly rid her of only moments ago, and for the first time in a long time Blair just looked happy. "Is this because of Chuck?" she asked shocked. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen this coming. Of course this was about Chuck.
Blair froze for a moment. A deer in the headlights look passed over her face before she sighed in annoyance. "Why would you assume that? Can’t I just be sick of feeling sorry for myself?" she asked icily. The nervous look on her face negated her calm words and she knew it.
Serena chuckled. "If it were anyone other than you then yes, that would be a possibility, but since you’re Blair Waldorf, no," she said honestly. "And I’d assume Chuck had something to do with the reoccurring smile on your face, because according to Gossip Girl, the two of you were hugging..."
"She doesn’t know what she’s talking about," Blair snapped coolly before taking another bite of her salad.
Serena scoffed. "She has a picture, B."
Blair nearly choked on her salad before dropping her fork. She snatched the phone away from Serena and looked at the picture wordlessly. She shouldn’t be surprised; she should have known this moment would end up on Gossip Girl. "Of course she does, because no one in the Upper East Side can just mind their own business," she snarled angrily before throwing the phone back to Serena.
Serena looked down at the picture again, and instantly felt bad for ever opening her mouth. Blair had been happy and she’d ruined it for her. "Blair..." she said apologetically.
Blair shook her head quickly. "Seriously Serena, it was nothing, ok. It was just a hug."
Serena wanted to laugh, but suppressed it. It was obvious from the picture that a hug between Chuck and Blair was never just a hug. Instead she settled for staring at Blair in disbelief. "How can you say it was nothing, B? The two of you haven’t spoken in three weeks."
"I know that."
"Just yesterday you were complaining because he wouldn’t even stay in the same room as you."
"I know..." Blair insisted.
"Now, you’re having heart to hearts in front of the Met, and he’s punching out Nate..."
"Nate deserved that. The jerk had it coming," Blair said defensively, a deep scowl now present on her face
"That’s another thing! What in the hell happened with Nate?" Serena demanded. She hadn’t forgotten that they were supposed to have that conversation.
Blair frowned. "It’s all Jenny’s fault. She picked a fight with me."
"She picked a fight with you?" Serena asked sarcastically.
Blair shrugged nonchalantly. "Ok fine, we mutually picked a fight with each other. She called me a whore."
Serena sighed sadly. She used to think Jenny held so much promise; that she was different from the rest of the social climbing leaches who tended to stick to their group, but now she wasn’t so sure.
"Then she brought up my pregnancy scare..." Blair said furiously stabbing at her salad.
"She what?" Serena snapped angrily. She knew Jenny had been scrounging the bottom of the barrel to insult Blair but she hadn’t expected Jenny to bring up the pregnancy scare.
Blair nodded. "That little brat actually had the nerve to ask me if I’d have actually known if the baby was Nate’s or Chuck’s."
Serena repressed the Well, would you?, that immediately came to mind. "Then what happened?" she said instead.
"I might have defended Chuck and then Nate showed up and got in the middle of it..."
Serena held up a hand to stop her.”Wait..."
"What?"
"You might have defended Chuck?" Serena said curiously.
Blair mentally cursed at herself for mentioning that. If she kept bringing up Chuck, Serena would never let it go. She looked down at her salad guiltily for a moment before realizing she had nothing to feel guilty about. Jenny had been horrible, and even though Serena had no real love for Chuck, Blair knew she would have defended Chuck, too, if she’d heard the way Jenny spoke about him. Serena was loyal to their group, and their group included Chuck. "She called him a date rapist."
Serena sighed. "Can you blame her?" she asked before she lost her nerve.
Blair’s head shot up immediately, her eyes locking on Serena’s coldly. Apparently she’d been wrong about Serena’s loyalty. "Excuse me?"
The cold look in Blair’s eyes made Serena shiver slightly. Note to self: insulting Chuck in front of Blair, not smart. "I just... I mean, he did try to rape her..." Not to mention he tried to force himself on me as well, she thought.
"But he didn’t do it, so therefore he isn’t a rapist." Blair pointed out.
"And being an attempted rapist is any better?" Serena scoffed.
Blair shot Serena an angry glare. "Why are we having this conversation again?"
Serena sighed. She knew this line of conversation wasn’t going to get them anywhere and would only lead to another public screaming match between Blair and herself. She’d already learned over the weekend that Blair would defend Chuck no matter what. "Fine... so Nate got involved?" she prompted in an attempt to change the subject.
Blair smiled lightly, pleased that Serena had changed the subject back to Nate. "Right, and we argued. I called him a hypocrite..."
"Which he is..." Serena pointed out dutifully.
"Thank you!" Blair exclaimed, "He’s such a hypocrite. I mean we weren’t even dating when I was with Chuck," she said defensively.
"Right." Serena said thankful that Blair hadn’t mentioned her previous liaison with Nate as a reference, even though she knew it was implied.
One look at Serena and Blair knew she had understood the unspoken statement. "So I called him a hypocrite, and he called me a whore. So, naturally, I slapped him."
Serena laughed. "Naturally." She couldn’t fault Blair for slapping Nate, considering she knew she’d have done the same.
"Then for some insane reason Nate decided to grab my arm."
Serena’s eyes widened in surprise, even though she’d already known that. The entire school was talking about Nate grabbing Blair, but for some reason, hearing Blair talk about it, it felt different. It seemed more scandalous, and even more out of line. She’d assumed that the incident had been over exaggerated but now as she looked over at Blair’s arm, noting the dark bruise that had already formed she realized it hadn’t been. "Does it hurt?"
Blair shook her head. "Not so much right now."
"So then what happened?" Serena asked curiously.
"So, Chuck walks up and Nate’s all ‘Look Blair, it’s your boyfriend’. Then he literally throws me at Chuck, who grabs me so I don’t fall. Nate then snaps at Chuck, telling him that he can keep me, because Nate’s done with me."
Serena sighed again. She knew that despite the anger, there was a thick undercurrent of sadness coursing through Blair, at the loss of Nate. "Nate is such a drama queen."
Blair nodded. "Anyway, I’m not really clear on what happened after Nate left and Chuck followed. Nate must have said something to really piss him off because the next thing I know, Chuck is punching Nate, and Nate’s on the ground with Jenny scrambling around him."
Serena leaned her head into her hands and gently massaged her temples in a relaxing manner. "This is just such a mess. Everything would be fine if Nate had just never found out it was Chuck."
"Everything would have been fine if you’d just kept your mouth shut to begin with." Blair said bitterly. "I mean, I appreciate the whole devoted to me thing you’re doing here, but if you had never went to Chuck in the first place..."
Clearly Blair had moved past blaming herself for this whole thing.”So you’re saying this is my fault?"
Blair nodded. "Yes," she said shortly, even though she wasn’t sure she meant it.
"I thought you were pregnant and you weren’t dealing," Serena said defensively.
"That’s all well and good but you still set this whole thing in motion," she snapped. She looked at Serena’s hurt expression and sighed. She knew they were both feeling the same level of frustration. From the beginning it had been the four of them against the world and now it felt like they were all split apart. It didn’t seem right that their entire world could be wrecked by one reckless night in the back of a limo. But it wasn’t just one night, Blair thought to herself, I let myself care about him, I let myself fall for Chuck. "I mean, it’s not all your fault. I had a big hand in this. I should have never got involved with Chuck." she admitted sadly.
Serena shook her head. "Blair..."
"I started this thing with Chuck, without any concern for what it would do to our group if Nate found out."
Serena looked at her morosely. "B, you were following your heart."
Blair rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Please S, I was not following my heart."
Serena picked her phone up again and reopened her last text message. She moved her chair closer to Blair and handed her the phone. She pointed at the picture, more specifically at Blair. "You see that girl?"
Blair gave Serena a scowl. "Of course I see me." she said sarcastically.
"That is the happiest I’ve seen you since before the debutante ball."
Blair rolled her eyes again. "Oh, don’t be so dramatic, it is not."
Serena nodded emphatically. "Yes, it is. Even when you’d gotten back together with Nate afterwards, your eyes never held the same shine. I ignored it, because eww, it’s Chuck, but it’s true. You love Nate, but I don’t think it’s in the same way you used to."
Blair shook her head. "You don’t know what you’re talking about. You can’t possibly be insinuating that Chuck made me happier than Nate. I’ve never loved anyone the way I loved Nate."
Serena took a deep breath. "At the risk of making you even more angry, B, you haven’t looked at Nate the same way since you found out about me and him."
Blair looked at Serena for a long moment before dropping Serena’s phone back onto the table and standing up.
"Where are you going?" Serena asked quickly.
"Away from you," she snapped before turning and walking towards the cafeteria exit. She wasn’t ready to face the truth in Serena’s words. She wasn’t ready to admit that Serena was right.
"Blair, stop walking away from this!" Serena yelled after her. When Blair didn’t stop at all, and still continued to leave the cafeteria, Serena sighed and dropped her head onto the table in defeat.
xxxxxx
After the scene with Blair, Chuck decided he’d had enough of school, and went home for the day. Despite leaving school, he found it impossible to get away from thoughts of Blair and Nate. Then he’d gotten the text from Gossip Girl, alerting the entire Upper East Side to his private moment with Blair.
He wasn’t sure what pissed him off more, the fact that his privacy had been invaded once again by gossip mongers, or that Gossip Girl had insinuated he’d have a reason to be embarrassed to be seen with Blair. Considering he knew out the two of them, he was definitely the more embarrassing one; the very idea that he’d be ashamed to be seen with her was ludicrous. He rolled his eyes and threw his phone onto his dresser.
Now in the quiet of his room, he could allow himself to really think about the moment he’d shared with Blair. He tried not to let the fact that she had initiated the whole thing trick him into believing that anything had changed. She was still beyond angry at him for opening his mouth to Gossip Girl. She was still furious at him for costing her all her friends, and for destroying her relationship with Nate. When she’d approached him, she’d simply been grateful and Chuck knew that.
Still, he had a hard time rationalizing the way she was looking at him, and even more so, the hug she’d pulled him into.
When he heard a door shut within the suite, he sat up and moved to leave the room. He was surprised when he entered the main sitting room and found Serena. "Shouldn’t you be at school?"
Serena smiled lightly. "Shouldn’t you?"
"Touche," he said smiling at her as well, before plopping down onto the couch. "So, why are you home?"
Serena reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Once again she entered her inbox and opened the picture from Gossip Girl. "This." she said before handing it to Chuck.
Chuck looked at the picture again and sighed. "So, you’ve come home to yell at me or something, because she initiated it and..."
"I’m not here to yell at you, stupid." she interrupted, "I’m here to tell you, that if you want her back, you need to do something about it."
Chuck gaped at her. "What?" He hadn’t expected that.
Serena sighed before dropping onto the couch next to him. "Look, it’s obvious you care about her, and it’s obvious she cares about you. She’s going to be all "Blair" and be stubborn about it, but the fact remains that the two of you look happier than I’ve ever seen either of you in that picture."
"She was just grateful..." Chuck said anxiously. Serena was making it extremely hard to not think about the idea of him and Blair.
Serena rolled her eyes. "Blair doesn’t do grateful and you know it," she said before taking her phone back and standing up. "Just think about it, and then do something about it. I’m tired of seeing her mope around."
"And you think I’m the solution?" Chuck asked somewhat shocked.
Serena fixed him with a glare. "Yeah, I really do." she admitted before leaving the suite once more.
Chuck stared blankly at the door. Serena had given him the green light to pursue Blair once more. Chuck sighed and went back in his room to grab his phone. He needed to get out of the suite before he did something stupid like take Serena’s idea seriously.
xxxxxx
By the end of the day Dan had learned more than he ever needed to know about organic chemistry, that Serena had left school early to talk to Chuck, and that Nate was seriously angry about Blair and Chuck hugging at lunch. It was obvious to Dan that Nate was not pleased by the idea of Blair and Chuck solving their problems with one another. Despite the fact that Nate had claimed to be done with Blair, Dan didn’t really think he would be going away that easily.
That realization alone made Dan more than apprehensive about Nate and Jenny’s newfound friendship. He hated being right, and he knew that Nate was going to inevitably crush Jenny. He wished that Jenny would believe him when he said it. After hearing the entire story from Serena about what happened earlier in the morning, and hearing Nate call Blair a bitch yet again, Dan was more than ready to confront Nate and Jenny. Jenny for her harsh treatment of Blair, and Nate because he put his hands on her. He wasn’t Blair Waldorf’s biggest fan, but Nate had no right to manhandle her.
"Nate!" Dan called out after the final bell rang, "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Nate paused and turned. Looking at Dan, he could tell he wasn’t happy and Nate considered just walking away, but he knew Dan would just follow him. "What do you need?"
Dan was shocked Nate had agreed in the first place so it took him a moment to remember what it was he was going to say. "What’s going on with you and my sister?"
Nate sighed. "Nothing. We’re friends."
"You’re using her to make Blair jealous."
Nate rolled his eyes. "I don’t need Jenny to make Blair jealous. I broke up with Blair, not the other way around. The mere fact that Blair still wants me back makes using anyone, let alone Jenny, to make Blair jealous unnecessary.
Dan nodded. "Are you sure she still wants you? I mean, after you assaulted her?"
"I grabbed her arm," he said defensively. "That whole thing has been blown out of proportion."
"Maybe so, but still according to that picture on Gossip Girl, she’s only interested in getting Chuck back," he snapped.
Nate’s gaze turned icy and he glared at Dan angrily. "Like I told Blair, I’m done with her. What she does with Chuck is her own business."
Dan nodded and took a step closer to Nate, fixing him with an intimidating stare. "You’re absolutely right, so keep your hands off of her." He said with a menacing tone before turning to leave. He stopped before he got to the door and threw in one last threat. "And stay away from sister."
xxxxxx
Spotted: Our very own Not So Lonely Boy threatening N away from B and Little J. Watch out N, Brooklyn probably picked up some moves on the streets. Then again, maybe it’s D who should be watching his back. We hear Little J is quite vicious, just ask B. You know you love me. XOXO. Gossip Girl
Author: Bex81385
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 3279
Spoilers: Everything up to 1x13 “A Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate”
Summary: Chuck and Blair must deal with the ramifications of their actions in “A Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate”.
AN: Sorry it took so long... me and my beta both decided to take vacations... Busy Summers...
Chapter Seven: "And Being An Attempted Rapist Is Any Better?"
Neither Serena nor Blair could remember a time in which they’d actually eaten lunch in the school’s cafeteria. In fact, there wasn’t a single time in Serena’s recollection where she and Blair had ever set foot in the building. The coveted steps in front of the Met had always belonged to Blair. She watched Blair shudder slightly as they sat down, lunch in hand, at an unoccupied table.
Despite Blair’s obvious discomfort for the cafeteria, the smile on her face never wavered. Serena had been apprehensive of the smile before, especially since Blair was coming from Jenny’s direction, but now she was concerned. She watched cautiously as Blair poked at her salad, still smiling. Serena would be kidding herself if she didn’t admit that Blair’s smile was actually starting to creep her out.
She’d spent the last three weeks watching Blair do nothing but sulk, and now on a day where she’d practically been assaulted by her ex, she was grinning like an idiot. Despite her desire to see Blair happy, Serena couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness that washed over her while Blair’s smile continued to appear unfaltering. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore; she had to know what happened. "What’s with the smile?" she practically demanded.
Blair shook her head slightly as Serena’s voice broke through her thoughts. She let the smile fall from her face quickly, no longer comfortable under Serena’s scrutiny. "Nothing," she replied easily, while averting eye contact with Serena.
Serena groaned inwardly. Sulky Blair is back, and it’s my fault she thought to herself. "It’s not nothing, Blair. It’s definitely something. This morning you were scowling in the hallways and now, you’re all smiles..." Serena said. Blair responded with a blank look on her face and before Serena could say anything else, her cell phone chirped alerting her of a text message.
She pulled her phone out and looked down at the message, her eyes widening as they took in the picture of Blair and Chuck in an embrace. One look at the picture and Serena knew it was from earlier. Blair’s outfit was the same, and Chuck’s scarf no longer looked familiar. There was a smile on Blair’s face that mirrored the one she’d carelessly rid her of only moments ago, and for the first time in a long time Blair just looked happy. "Is this because of Chuck?" she asked shocked. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen this coming. Of course this was about Chuck.
Blair froze for a moment. A deer in the headlights look passed over her face before she sighed in annoyance. "Why would you assume that? Can’t I just be sick of feeling sorry for myself?" she asked icily. The nervous look on her face negated her calm words and she knew it.
Serena chuckled. "If it were anyone other than you then yes, that would be a possibility, but since you’re Blair Waldorf, no," she said honestly. "And I’d assume Chuck had something to do with the reoccurring smile on your face, because according to Gossip Girl, the two of you were hugging..."
"She doesn’t know what she’s talking about," Blair snapped coolly before taking another bite of her salad.
Serena scoffed. "She has a picture, B."
Blair nearly choked on her salad before dropping her fork. She snatched the phone away from Serena and looked at the picture wordlessly. She shouldn’t be surprised; she should have known this moment would end up on Gossip Girl. "Of course she does, because no one in the Upper East Side can just mind their own business," she snarled angrily before throwing the phone back to Serena.
Serena looked down at the picture again, and instantly felt bad for ever opening her mouth. Blair had been happy and she’d ruined it for her. "Blair..." she said apologetically.
Blair shook her head quickly. "Seriously Serena, it was nothing, ok. It was just a hug."
Serena wanted to laugh, but suppressed it. It was obvious from the picture that a hug between Chuck and Blair was never just a hug. Instead she settled for staring at Blair in disbelief. "How can you say it was nothing, B? The two of you haven’t spoken in three weeks."
"I know that."
"Just yesterday you were complaining because he wouldn’t even stay in the same room as you."
"I know..." Blair insisted.
"Now, you’re having heart to hearts in front of the Met, and he’s punching out Nate..."
"Nate deserved that. The jerk had it coming," Blair said defensively, a deep scowl now present on her face
"That’s another thing! What in the hell happened with Nate?" Serena demanded. She hadn’t forgotten that they were supposed to have that conversation.
Blair frowned. "It’s all Jenny’s fault. She picked a fight with me."
"She picked a fight with you?" Serena asked sarcastically.
Blair shrugged nonchalantly. "Ok fine, we mutually picked a fight with each other. She called me a whore."
Serena sighed sadly. She used to think Jenny held so much promise; that she was different from the rest of the social climbing leaches who tended to stick to their group, but now she wasn’t so sure.
"Then she brought up my pregnancy scare..." Blair said furiously stabbing at her salad.
"She what?" Serena snapped angrily. She knew Jenny had been scrounging the bottom of the barrel to insult Blair but she hadn’t expected Jenny to bring up the pregnancy scare.
Blair nodded. "That little brat actually had the nerve to ask me if I’d have actually known if the baby was Nate’s or Chuck’s."
Serena repressed the Well, would you?, that immediately came to mind. "Then what happened?" she said instead.
"I might have defended Chuck and then Nate showed up and got in the middle of it..."
Serena held up a hand to stop her.”Wait..."
"What?"
"You might have defended Chuck?" Serena said curiously.
Blair mentally cursed at herself for mentioning that. If she kept bringing up Chuck, Serena would never let it go. She looked down at her salad guiltily for a moment before realizing she had nothing to feel guilty about. Jenny had been horrible, and even though Serena had no real love for Chuck, Blair knew she would have defended Chuck, too, if she’d heard the way Jenny spoke about him. Serena was loyal to their group, and their group included Chuck. "She called him a date rapist."
Serena sighed. "Can you blame her?" she asked before she lost her nerve.
Blair’s head shot up immediately, her eyes locking on Serena’s coldly. Apparently she’d been wrong about Serena’s loyalty. "Excuse me?"
The cold look in Blair’s eyes made Serena shiver slightly. Note to self: insulting Chuck in front of Blair, not smart. "I just... I mean, he did try to rape her..." Not to mention he tried to force himself on me as well, she thought.
"But he didn’t do it, so therefore he isn’t a rapist." Blair pointed out.
"And being an attempted rapist is any better?" Serena scoffed.
Blair shot Serena an angry glare. "Why are we having this conversation again?"
Serena sighed. She knew this line of conversation wasn’t going to get them anywhere and would only lead to another public screaming match between Blair and herself. She’d already learned over the weekend that Blair would defend Chuck no matter what. "Fine... so Nate got involved?" she prompted in an attempt to change the subject.
Blair smiled lightly, pleased that Serena had changed the subject back to Nate. "Right, and we argued. I called him a hypocrite..."
"Which he is..." Serena pointed out dutifully.
"Thank you!" Blair exclaimed, "He’s such a hypocrite. I mean we weren’t even dating when I was with Chuck," she said defensively.
"Right." Serena said thankful that Blair hadn’t mentioned her previous liaison with Nate as a reference, even though she knew it was implied.
One look at Serena and Blair knew she had understood the unspoken statement. "So I called him a hypocrite, and he called me a whore. So, naturally, I slapped him."
Serena laughed. "Naturally." She couldn’t fault Blair for slapping Nate, considering she knew she’d have done the same.
"Then for some insane reason Nate decided to grab my arm."
Serena’s eyes widened in surprise, even though she’d already known that. The entire school was talking about Nate grabbing Blair, but for some reason, hearing Blair talk about it, it felt different. It seemed more scandalous, and even more out of line. She’d assumed that the incident had been over exaggerated but now as she looked over at Blair’s arm, noting the dark bruise that had already formed she realized it hadn’t been. "Does it hurt?"
Blair shook her head. "Not so much right now."
"So then what happened?" Serena asked curiously.
"So, Chuck walks up and Nate’s all ‘Look Blair, it’s your boyfriend’. Then he literally throws me at Chuck, who grabs me so I don’t fall. Nate then snaps at Chuck, telling him that he can keep me, because Nate’s done with me."
Serena sighed again. She knew that despite the anger, there was a thick undercurrent of sadness coursing through Blair, at the loss of Nate. "Nate is such a drama queen."
Blair nodded. "Anyway, I’m not really clear on what happened after Nate left and Chuck followed. Nate must have said something to really piss him off because the next thing I know, Chuck is punching Nate, and Nate’s on the ground with Jenny scrambling around him."
Serena leaned her head into her hands and gently massaged her temples in a relaxing manner. "This is just such a mess. Everything would be fine if Nate had just never found out it was Chuck."
"Everything would have been fine if you’d just kept your mouth shut to begin with." Blair said bitterly. "I mean, I appreciate the whole devoted to me thing you’re doing here, but if you had never went to Chuck in the first place..."
Clearly Blair had moved past blaming herself for this whole thing.”So you’re saying this is my fault?"
Blair nodded. "Yes," she said shortly, even though she wasn’t sure she meant it.
"I thought you were pregnant and you weren’t dealing," Serena said defensively.
"That’s all well and good but you still set this whole thing in motion," she snapped. She looked at Serena’s hurt expression and sighed. She knew they were both feeling the same level of frustration. From the beginning it had been the four of them against the world and now it felt like they were all split apart. It didn’t seem right that their entire world could be wrecked by one reckless night in the back of a limo. But it wasn’t just one night, Blair thought to herself, I let myself care about him, I let myself fall for Chuck. "I mean, it’s not all your fault. I had a big hand in this. I should have never got involved with Chuck." she admitted sadly.
Serena shook her head. "Blair..."
"I started this thing with Chuck, without any concern for what it would do to our group if Nate found out."
Serena looked at her morosely. "B, you were following your heart."
Blair rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Please S, I was not following my heart."
Serena picked her phone up again and reopened her last text message. She moved her chair closer to Blair and handed her the phone. She pointed at the picture, more specifically at Blair. "You see that girl?"
Blair gave Serena a scowl. "Of course I see me." she said sarcastically.
"That is the happiest I’ve seen you since before the debutante ball."
Blair rolled her eyes again. "Oh, don’t be so dramatic, it is not."
Serena nodded emphatically. "Yes, it is. Even when you’d gotten back together with Nate afterwards, your eyes never held the same shine. I ignored it, because eww, it’s Chuck, but it’s true. You love Nate, but I don’t think it’s in the same way you used to."
Blair shook her head. "You don’t know what you’re talking about. You can’t possibly be insinuating that Chuck made me happier than Nate. I’ve never loved anyone the way I loved Nate."
Serena took a deep breath. "At the risk of making you even more angry, B, you haven’t looked at Nate the same way since you found out about me and him."
Blair looked at Serena for a long moment before dropping Serena’s phone back onto the table and standing up.
"Where are you going?" Serena asked quickly.
"Away from you," she snapped before turning and walking towards the cafeteria exit. She wasn’t ready to face the truth in Serena’s words. She wasn’t ready to admit that Serena was right.
"Blair, stop walking away from this!" Serena yelled after her. When Blair didn’t stop at all, and still continued to leave the cafeteria, Serena sighed and dropped her head onto the table in defeat.
xxxxxx
After the scene with Blair, Chuck decided he’d had enough of school, and went home for the day. Despite leaving school, he found it impossible to get away from thoughts of Blair and Nate. Then he’d gotten the text from Gossip Girl, alerting the entire Upper East Side to his private moment with Blair.
He wasn’t sure what pissed him off more, the fact that his privacy had been invaded once again by gossip mongers, or that Gossip Girl had insinuated he’d have a reason to be embarrassed to be seen with Blair. Considering he knew out the two of them, he was definitely the more embarrassing one; the very idea that he’d be ashamed to be seen with her was ludicrous. He rolled his eyes and threw his phone onto his dresser.
Now in the quiet of his room, he could allow himself to really think about the moment he’d shared with Blair. He tried not to let the fact that she had initiated the whole thing trick him into believing that anything had changed. She was still beyond angry at him for opening his mouth to Gossip Girl. She was still furious at him for costing her all her friends, and for destroying her relationship with Nate. When she’d approached him, she’d simply been grateful and Chuck knew that.
Still, he had a hard time rationalizing the way she was looking at him, and even more so, the hug she’d pulled him into.
When he heard a door shut within the suite, he sat up and moved to leave the room. He was surprised when he entered the main sitting room and found Serena. "Shouldn’t you be at school?"
Serena smiled lightly. "Shouldn’t you?"
"Touche," he said smiling at her as well, before plopping down onto the couch. "So, why are you home?"
Serena reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Once again she entered her inbox and opened the picture from Gossip Girl. "This." she said before handing it to Chuck.
Chuck looked at the picture again and sighed. "So, you’ve come home to yell at me or something, because she initiated it and..."
"I’m not here to yell at you, stupid." she interrupted, "I’m here to tell you, that if you want her back, you need to do something about it."
Chuck gaped at her. "What?" He hadn’t expected that.
Serena sighed before dropping onto the couch next to him. "Look, it’s obvious you care about her, and it’s obvious she cares about you. She’s going to be all "Blair" and be stubborn about it, but the fact remains that the two of you look happier than I’ve ever seen either of you in that picture."
"She was just grateful..." Chuck said anxiously. Serena was making it extremely hard to not think about the idea of him and Blair.
Serena rolled her eyes. "Blair doesn’t do grateful and you know it," she said before taking her phone back and standing up. "Just think about it, and then do something about it. I’m tired of seeing her mope around."
"And you think I’m the solution?" Chuck asked somewhat shocked.
Serena fixed him with a glare. "Yeah, I really do." she admitted before leaving the suite once more.
Chuck stared blankly at the door. Serena had given him the green light to pursue Blair once more. Chuck sighed and went back in his room to grab his phone. He needed to get out of the suite before he did something stupid like take Serena’s idea seriously.
xxxxxx
By the end of the day Dan had learned more than he ever needed to know about organic chemistry, that Serena had left school early to talk to Chuck, and that Nate was seriously angry about Blair and Chuck hugging at lunch. It was obvious to Dan that Nate was not pleased by the idea of Blair and Chuck solving their problems with one another. Despite the fact that Nate had claimed to be done with Blair, Dan didn’t really think he would be going away that easily.
That realization alone made Dan more than apprehensive about Nate and Jenny’s newfound friendship. He hated being right, and he knew that Nate was going to inevitably crush Jenny. He wished that Jenny would believe him when he said it. After hearing the entire story from Serena about what happened earlier in the morning, and hearing Nate call Blair a bitch yet again, Dan was more than ready to confront Nate and Jenny. Jenny for her harsh treatment of Blair, and Nate because he put his hands on her. He wasn’t Blair Waldorf’s biggest fan, but Nate had no right to manhandle her.
"Nate!" Dan called out after the final bell rang, "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Nate paused and turned. Looking at Dan, he could tell he wasn’t happy and Nate considered just walking away, but he knew Dan would just follow him. "What do you need?"
Dan was shocked Nate had agreed in the first place so it took him a moment to remember what it was he was going to say. "What’s going on with you and my sister?"
Nate sighed. "Nothing. We’re friends."
"You’re using her to make Blair jealous."
Nate rolled his eyes. "I don’t need Jenny to make Blair jealous. I broke up with Blair, not the other way around. The mere fact that Blair still wants me back makes using anyone, let alone Jenny, to make Blair jealous unnecessary.
Dan nodded. "Are you sure she still wants you? I mean, after you assaulted her?"
"I grabbed her arm," he said defensively. "That whole thing has been blown out of proportion."
"Maybe so, but still according to that picture on Gossip Girl, she’s only interested in getting Chuck back," he snapped.
Nate’s gaze turned icy and he glared at Dan angrily. "Like I told Blair, I’m done with her. What she does with Chuck is her own business."
Dan nodded and took a step closer to Nate, fixing him with an intimidating stare. "You’re absolutely right, so keep your hands off of her." He said with a menacing tone before turning to leave. He stopped before he got to the door and threw in one last threat. "And stay away from sister."
xxxxxx
Spotted: Our very own Not So Lonely Boy threatening N away from B and Little J. Watch out N, Brooklyn probably picked up some moves on the streets. Then again, maybe it’s D who should be watching his back. We hear Little J is quite vicious, just ask B. You know you love me. XOXO. Gossip Girl