Title: Tell Him
Author: Beth
Rating: T
Pairing: Chuck & Blair
Warnings: Angst
Chapter/One-shot: One-shot
Spoilers: Through episode 209.
Summary: Spending the evening chasing Emma with Chuck and Blair showed just how much the two cared for each other. What happens when Serena tries to give them a little nudge toward each other? NO SPOILERS; CB, Serena's POV, one-shot, cut-scene for 209.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl's Chuck Bass or Blair Waldorf. If I did, they'd go to the movies, hold hands, and plot social destruction. Together.
Tell Him
(Original Publish Date: 11-30-08)
The night had been an eventful one.
Once again Serena’s good intentions, this time it was the ones meant to be helping her best friend get into her dream school, had endangered the very thing they’d meant to salvage. It had been her idea to have Blair ‘baby-sit’ the Dean’s niece Emma; she couldn’t have known that the girl had a twisted agenda, keeping Blair, Serena and Chuck chasing after her all night.
It was just a relief for all concerned that the situation was remedied; apparently Blair got through to her somehow.
After the crazy night they’d had, Serena had suggested that Blair spend the night with her at the Bass apartment. The girls had laughed about Emma’s antics, the foolish competition she had with her best friend, and how much of a hypocrite Emma’s mother was. It was when Serena had made a playful joke about how attentive Chuck had been throughout the night’s adventure that Blair started to clam up, claiming to be tired.
Blair had never told Serena what happened between her and Chuck the night Blair was finally going to tell him how she felt. They must have left things in a good place since there was only one instance during the night where the two former lovers had even come close to fighting, but Serena didn’t really want to pry; her best friend still seemed really upset.
Handing Blair a nightgown to change into, Serena left her to get a few bottles of water from the kitchen, trying to plot a way to get her friend to open up about Chuck as she walked. She had to confess to being worried about them both; if tonight was any indication the two of them were still head-over-heels for each other.
Deciding to just bring up the subject with Blair and not take no for an answer, she made her way back to her room. She noticed the bedroom door was open a few inches, so she peered inside the door, stopping a gasp from escaping her mouth.
The scene before her was breathtaking.
Both Blair and Chuck were sitting on the end of Serena’s bed, bodies angled toward each other, Blair’s left hand in Chuck’s right while his other hand traced patterns on the arm of the hand he was holding. They were talking softly, seriously and even though she knew she was intruding on a very private moment, Serena couldn’t make herself look away.
This was the Chuck Bass that her best friend had fallen in love with, the one that Blair had mentioned a few times before; gentle, devoted, and completely captivated by her brunette counterpart. His eyes didn’t leave Blair’s as they spoke intensely, the hand that was stroking her arm moving at some points to brush hair away from her friend’s face, to trace her jaw.
There was even one point where a few tears escaped Blair’s eyes and he leaned forward to kiss the spot on her cheek where the moisture had traced a trail.
The picture was romantically bittersweet and Serena’s heart broke for both of them; they were so obviously in love without any clue about how to go on knowing that.
She’d been standing there for fifteen minutes or so when her step-brother kissed her best friend once, reverently, sadly on the mouth before standing, backing away and only releasing Blair’s hand when they could no longer reach each other.
Serena backed away from the door and hid around the corner just fast enough to avoid discovery, but not fast enough to miss the droplet that drifted down Chuck’s cheek as he escaped into his room.
Taking a few moments to breathe deeply Serena re-oriented herself; the intimacy she’d just witnessed was crushing her chest under its weight, the pain making her even more resolved to talk to her best friend.
Once she felt composed enough, Serena pushed open her bedroom door to find Blair hadn’t left the spot where she had been; she’d just lain back on the bed. Closing the door, Serena placed the bottles of water on the floor next to the bed before approaching the brunette. Blair’s eyes were closed, her cheeks soaked with tears as Serena laid down next to her, pulling her friend into her arms. The sobs that came after Blair’s head hit Serena’s shoulder wrenched at the blonde’s heart.
Doing the best she could to calm Blair, Serena sat them both up and just held her, whispering softly and stroking her friend’s hair until the cries softened. When she handed Blair the bottle of water to soothe her throat, she suggested gently, “Tell me what happened, sweetie.”
Sniffling softly, Blair diverted her eyes to the floor, “I really don’t feel like talking, S.”
“But you obviously need to,” Serena chided, threading a few of the brunette locks behind Blair’s ear.
All Blair did was shake her head as the tears started to fall again.
Serena sighed, “Why don’t you start by telling me how you and Chuck left things the other night?” Sorrowful brown eyes snapped to hers in shock as she continued, “You mentioned he showed up at your place, but not what happened.”
“How did you know…”
Flushing slightly at being caught, Serena said simply, “I stood outside the door while you two were talking.”
If she’d expected Blair to be cross about her spying, Serena was surprised when her friend only whimpered, “Nothing happened that night… and nothing’s going to happen.”
Serena furrowed her brow in confusion; “Why? You obviously love each other…” They were so broken without each other; why torture themselves?
The brunette scoffed sarcastically, “Because it’ll only be a matter of time before we mess things up…”
Her friend could be such a drama queen sometimes; “Blair…”
“If that happened, I’d lose him completely,” a few tears spilled from Blair’s eyes and over her cheeks, “No matter how much it hurts, anything’s better than that.”
Suddenly it was very easy to empathize with Blair’s fears; Serena had been going through losing Dan completely, the fear of not having at least a friendship with him was one she knew very well. She didn’t wish that pain on Blair and Chuck, but there was something about the two of them that was so much deeper than what she’d had with Dan…
And it was obvious that Blair should hold onto that with all she had, not push it far away for the sake of keeping Chuck’s friendship.
Soothingly Serena asked, “Were you talking about the same nothing just now?”
Her emotional friend only nodded.
“So you’ve agreed to stay apart, yet you keep getting together to talk about staying apart?”
The brunette sighed, “Sounds silly when you say it like that, but, yes. I guess.”
Serena raised her eyebrows in disbelief, “Huh.”
“It’s for the best, S,” Blair sighed woefully.
“I doubt that,” she rubbed her friend’s arm soothingly, “If this is what you want, why are you so miserable?”
Blair released an exasperated sigh, “I told you…”
“That doesn’t mean it makes sense, B.”
The brown eyes flashed as Blair spat, “Since when are you the expert? You’ve only been in one relationship and it failed.”
Telling herself not to take it personally, Serena answered, “While I don’t doubt that Dan loved me, he never looked at me the way I just saw Chuck looking at you.”
Her friend was suddenly cautious, asking quietly, “How was he looking at me?”
“Like he’d do anything to keep from hurting you, even if it meant hurting himself,” Serena replied, taking her friend’s hand, “He’s so in love with you, B…”
Blair ripped her hand from Serena’s, quickly retorting, “You think I’m enjoying this?! It was him, pointing out how we could never be a normal couple that brought us here.”
Laughing loudly, Serena scoffed, “I don’t know where he got that; I spent the whole evening with the both of you and the only people who don’t know you’re a couple are you two.”
“Stop it,” Blair commanded, her face expressionless.
“I’m serious,” the blonde insisted, “You should have seen yourself freaking out, how jealous you were about Emma hitting on him. And then, when he explained what happened, you were so relieved. Relieved; the way you would have been if he was your boyfriend.”
“Like I said,” Blair responded, her voice barely audible, “It was Chuck who decided that I wasn’t worth taking the risk with. You should be lecturing him.”
If Chuck still resembled the guy who’d hit on her when she’d come back from boarding school, Serena would have put a hit out on him for making Blair feel insecure. Then again, if he was that same guy, Blair wouldn’t have fallen for him in the first place.
He’d changed almost completely, grown a heart that loved her best friend, and that’s why Serena was going to knock some sense into the both of them.
“No, you should be,” Serena grabbed her friend’s shoulders with both hands, “He’s just scared; a relationship virgin. Let him know that you’re willing to take a chance on him.”
“But…” the brunette trailed off nervously, “What if he’s right and we do self destruct?” The scratch in her voice was barely noticeable, but her fear of losing him was loud and clear.
“If that does happen, which I doubt it will,” Serena stated, “Then at least you’ve done everything you can instead of being a scaredy-cat, avoiding the way you feel about each other. It won’t make the feelings go away if you ignore them. It only makes the pain worse…” Serena took a deep breath, “Trust me.”
Blair tilted her head to the side slightly, begrudgingly admitting, “You and Dan did a fine job of messing things up, so I guess you’re speaking from experience.”
Her patience wearing thin, Serena squeezed her friend’s shoulders a little tighter. She asked through gritted teeth, “You’re hurting, right?”
The defeated brunette reached out and picked at a spot on Serena’s shirt that was still damp with her earlier tears. “I think you know the answer,” she admitted.
“Why does it hurt, B?”
“Because…” Blair sighed desolately, “I… I love him, S.”
Silently thanking God that Blair had finally said the words aloud, Serena pulled her friend into her arms for a hug. “Go tell him that,” she said over Blair’s shoulder, “And keep telling him that until he returns it. That’s the only way either of you will find any peace.”
“While I do adore a challenge,” Blair spoke as withdrew from the embrace to look Serena in the eye doubtfully, “I don’t recommend you holding your breath.”
The blonde smiled encouragingly, “It’ll be easier than you think, B.”
“I’m glad you’re so certain,” Blair replied, her trepidation was showing through the otherwise brave front she'd quickly constructed.
Grabbing Blair’s hands Serena stood and pulled Blair to her feet, “You can get through to him… You’ve always been able to.” Then she grinned widely, “Now, go get your man!”
Blair rolled her eyes dramatically, “My own personal cheerleader; how quaint.” At Serena’s un-amused glower, Blair relented, “Okay, I’m going.”
After Blair closed the door, Serena bolted over to it and waited. The sound of Blair knocking on Chuck’s door could be heard, as well as the door closing after he invited her in softly.
Now it was up to them.
All that Serena could do was wait, so she grabbed a magazine and lounged on her bed, determined to concentrate on reading…
And on not gluing her ear to Chuck’s door.
The next thing that she knew, she was laying haphazardly across the bed with the issue of Cosmopolitan stuck to the side of her face. After checking her phone, she realized that it’d been two hours since she’d sent Blair to face the gallows and her friend hadn’t returned.
She felt terrible for abandoning her vigil.
Jumping quickly from the bed, she rushed out her door and stood as close as she dared to Chuck’s, leaning her ear against the wood hoping to hear voices. The silence that greeted her wasn’t comforting.
Slowly, she turned the knob and nudged the door open slightly, being careful not to make a sound.
The sight of Blair, fast asleep and obviously nude under the covers, and Chuck staring down at her adoringly, watching her sleep, made Serena’s heart want to burst in happiness.
Closing the door just as silently as she opened it, she padded back to her bedroom and tucked herself into bed. Tomorrow she’d drag all the details out of Blair, but for tonight she’d just be satisfied in knowing her friend and her step-brother were no longer hurting.
She knew that Blair had it in her to be brave; if Chuck Bass could fall in love, could become almost human in the span of a year, then surely Blair Waldorf could be brave enough to love him back.
All they needed was a little push in the right direction.
You can't let the chance to love him pass you by…
Tell him; love will be the gift you give yourself.