The Death of a Scarf
Idly relaxing on a bar stool, Nate Archibald gave a sigh of relief. He was done with classes for the week and his apartment that he shared with his best friend – Chuck Bass – was currently empty. Nate stretched out his arms, perching his feet up onto the counter top. He was grateful that Chuck was out with his girlfriend – Blair Waldorf – doing God only knows what, leaving him there alone with a fully stocked mini-bar of alcoholic beverages.
He needed some alone time, reflecting on the way his life was panning out. He finally landed Serena van der Woodsen; his friendships with Dan Humphrey and his roommate were going strong and his first year in college at Columbia would soon be over. Life was good.
Nate went over to the mini-bar and grabbed the bottle of Chuck's favourite scotch, downing it straight from the bottle. To being Nate Archibald, he thought to himself with a sloppy grin before moving back to his position on the bar stool.
As he stretched out his arms once more, his hand brushed against some smooth fabric. His eyes darted over to Chuck's signature scarf, which hung limply over the bar stool. Nate fisted the material, placing it on the counter. He smoothed out the creases and examined it.
He laughed as memories flooded back of Chuck wearing the scarf and all the trouble he used to get himself into – proudly, too – and then he fell in love with Blair Waldorf. Nate shook his head unconsciously, taking another swig of the scotch.
"Nate?" A sweet voice he'd recognize anywhere suddenly said, and he abruptly turned. The bottle of scotch slipped from his hands as his eyes met Serena's. His breath caught at the site of his new girlfriend, making him take awhile for his thoughts to register.
Serena moved quickly over to Nate's side, eyes wide as she scrutinized the new scene before her. Nate jolted off the bar stool, examining the mess he made, too. "Fuck!" He cursed, swiping the destroyed fabric from the counter.
When Nate had dropped the bottle of scotch it unsurprisingly smashed into pieces, the remaining liquid of scotch staining Chuck's signature scarf.
Nate cursed and cursed, running a hand through his hair. "Chuck is going to kill me..." Nate muttered, frowning at Serena. She frowned back, patting Nate on the shoulder before pecking his cheek.
"It's okay... we'll fix this," she tried to reassure him, brushing her lips against his cheek again. She pulled out her phone, pressing it to her ear. "Blair?" she spoke into the phone. Nate flailed his arms in front of her, shaking his head in disapproval.
"Don't Serena!" he whispered in her vacant ear, worry shaping his face.
"Can you come over to Chuck's?" Serena asked innocently, shaking her head back at Nate. But I'm with Chuck...Nate heard from the other line. "I know that, just come over here." Okay...? "Don't bring Chuck, I need...help." Serena scrambled for an excuse, shrugging at Nate as his face soon relaxed.
Fifteen minutes later Blair came through the elevator with her own worried expression. "S, are you okay?" She asked, hurrying over to Serena's side. Nate emerged from the bathroom, frowning at Blair.
"Ohmigod, you're pregnant aren't you!?" Blair accused with hands on her hips.
"No, no!" Serena rolled her eyes. She then stuffed Chuck's ruined scarf in Blair's face. Blair gasped.
"What the hell did you two do!? Chuck is going to kill you!"
Nate gave Serena the I-told-you-so look with sad eyes, nodding in agreement with Blair. "We could try washing it?" Serena suggested, seizing the scarf.
"Or we could just go hide?" said Nate, his voice thick with pessimism.
"Or we could just buy a new one? Do you think he'd notice, B?"
"What, if we hide?" Nate asked in a small voice. The two girls snickered at him.
"He is Chuck Bass, I'm sure he'd realize soon enough that something is wrong with his scarf..." Blair sighed, nibbling on her lip in thought.
Serena crossed her arms against her chest, rocking back on her heels as she watched Blair with intent eyes.
"Let's try washing it." Blair nodded at Serena, grasping onto the new couples hands, she led them to the Maid's Service Room a few floor levels down. "Nate, stay by the door and warn us if anyone comes, okay?"
Nate responded with a small nod, leaning against the door frame. Neither Blair nor Serena had ever done this before, so they stuffed the scarf insider the washer, fiddling with all the settings until they thought they had it. From the small transparent box in the middle of the washing machine, they watched the machine fill with water. When the timer went off, Serena seized the scarf and tossed it into the dryer, fiddling with those settings, too.
"I miss Dorota." Blair stated when the two girls removed the scarf from the dryer. Chuck would definitely notice the difference – the checker scarf was incredibly smaller now and the scotch stains still disgraced the material, but were only slightly faded now.
"We fucked up." Nate said simply, wearily sighing. They retreated back to the apartment slowly, sharing some more ideas so they wouldn't get murdered later. "Hey, at least he can't strangle us with the scarf now." Serena giggled at Nate, while Blair simply shook her head.
"I called a few stores, none of them have the same scarf or one similar," Blair reported, sinking into the comfort of the sofa. Serena drew the curtains closed and Nate lit the modern fireplace. They were so screwed. They all huddled around the fire, Blair cradling the ruined scarf in her arms.
Her phone buzzed and with wide eyes she read the new message.
If you are still at the apartment, I'll see you in a minute
- C
She shoved the phone in Serena's and then Nate's face. They tossed the scarf back and forth from one person to the other, panicking.
"You take it!" Serena ordered Blair, "he can't kill you when he loves you!"
"It was your fault in the first place Nate, you take it!" Toss. Toss. Toss.
The elevator door opened and Chuck Bass stepped out.
"What's this?" Chuck asked, cocking an eyebrow at the three of them, "you didn't want to invite me to the party, hey?" He chuckled, approaching them.
"Do something, Nate." Serena whispered to him through clenched teeth, trying to keep a straight face at Chuck.
So Nate did something. He threw the scarf.
The small thing landed straight in the fireplace. Chuck gasped. "What the fuck is that?"
Serena advanced quickly to the elevator door, tugging Nate along with her. "Bye!" She said quickly, before disappearing with Nate through the door.
"I... I'm going to go take a shower!" Blair stuttered, rushing into the bathroom.
Chuck gave her a confused look, moving slowly toward the fireplace. He squinted, his eyes trying to examine the object burning in the embers. His scarf. He clenched his jaw, spinning around.
"Fuck, BLAIR!" He seethed, stomping over to the bathroom door.
A/N: I have no idea what this was. Pretty shitty, yes. I was hyper... okay? :P Probably makes no sense or anything, but R&R just to make me happy :D