Second Best
For once, she doesn't want to be second best.
Disclaimer- Own nothing, as usual.
A/N- Yeah. Not anywhere near my best. Random thoughts that keep popping into my head, I suppose.
Ever since they were little kids, Serena van der Woodsen has always been picked first for everything- school plays, dances, even sports, when she wasn't all that great. Blair Waldorf was always second choice.
When they were little, Blair didn't mind it so much. She was shy in the spotlight, whereas Serena always seemed to unravel in it. Besides, Blair had Nate Archibald- the boy who was always picked first for everything. Sometimes, it amazed Blair at how someone who was as first-string as Nate had ever gone out with someone as second-best as her.
Blair is smarter, classier and she has always been gorgeous and beautiful. She is elegant. Serena is not. It's Serena's flaws that cause her to shine, like the way her blonde hair never stays in one place and how her smile is crooked. Serena is California- carefree, inhibited, and always bright. Blair is New York- graceful, intelligent and sometimes gloomy, but always real. Blair wants to be inhibited, but her best friend has taken that position for years.
When they enter high school, Blair sinks in Serena's shadow. "Serena is so beautiful", Blair's mother would rave. Blair has never felt so low. She hears about Serena from her mother, from Kati and Isabel, and now Nate talks about her too. "Serena, Serena, Serena." It is only until Serena leaves for boarding school that Blair is finally allowed to shine.
For once, she is always the center of attention. Suddenly, everyone compliments her pearly white teeth and perfect brown hair. "Blair, I love you." Nate has only said "I love you" to one person before, and that was Serena. Blair has never quite found that out.
"I love you too", Blair had smiled, tears staining her hazel eyes as she kissed Nate with all her might and attempted to let him have her heart; fully, entirely.
Months later, Serena returns. Blair is put in the back again to be second best until the day Serena sets off for another fabulous mystery. It is then when Blair realizes that no matter how far her best friend goes, Serena's name will continue to come out of Nate's mouth when they are in Blair's bed.
It is only when Nate finally drops the bomb about him and Serena that Blair finally notices the sly, arrogant brunette in the background. For once, she doesn't mind being second best. And he never did.