A/N: More Dan/Blair for you. I'm seriously falling for them, they'd be hilarious together. Feedback is always appreciated. And just out of curiosity, let me know what Taylor Swift song fits this story in your eyes. (:
There's (probably) a Taylor Swift song about this
--
Dan: So he just got up and left, abruptly?
Blair: Like a Bass out of hell.
- Dan and Blair in Pret-a-poor-J
--
She doesn't know when, how or why it got to this point, but somewhere between the drunken dorm parties, sitting during lectures and stealing glances and drunken oh-my-God-lets-never-speak-of-this-again kisses, Blair Waldorf has found herself in the position to call herself Dan Humphrey's friend.
This time around, it's all very natural. There's no forced mutual my-bestie-is-dating-you-so-I-have-to-be-civil, condescending attitude on her part. In fact, if she's actually honest with herself, which is in any case is unnerving, (Waldorfs deal with things by looking reality straight in the eye and denying it) it's only helped that there is a severe lack of Serena around New York. She's brought them together unintentionally this time and Blair isn't sure if it's some sign that she happens to be here when Serena van der Woodsen isn't.
But then Georgina will steal her food from the fridge (which Blair labels) or she'll score terribly on a test (the Constance Billiard version of Blair has vanished almost completely) and remembers there's no such force as destiny. She had worked for anything of any value in her life; her mothers love, to have Chuck Bass on her arm and to attend Yale.
She why was she single and at NYU?
Blair liked to be in the know. There are two types of people in the world; those who relish the unpredictable and love surprises. Then there are those who flourish in the consistency that flawlessness brings.
Guess which category Blair fell under.
Don't worry B, you'll find soon enough...or rather, the answer will find you.
Lately, it seems that lonely boy can't escape lonely girl.
For the best part of a decade, Dan Humphrey had a singular muse. Her name is Serena van der Woodsen and she was his first crush, love and heartbreak.
Dan has discovered, whatever he felt for Serena, if it was love or lust, it has faded. He didn't find himself wanting to make fists in blond strands he so once adored. He would always see her as his first love, but not the love of his life.
And it doesn't help that she has eloped with Carter Baizen touring the beautiful capitals of Europe and probably lying on white sands, joined to the hip with a handsome man who can quite literally, give her the world.
And he surprises himself one day, as he muses about it whilst Professor Hetherington is rambling on in the middle of his Shakespeare class, that maybe, that perfectly fine. If there's anything he and Serena needed, it was a period of time apart, perhaps be given the space to reflect on what they actually were without the haze of infatuation and nostalgia misting circumstance. There was a time when he was so desperately in love with her that he would have gone to any length to bridge their gaps, try to make their personalities mesh as much as possible, but the simple fact had dawned on him that some things just aren't meant to be.
Dan surprises himself even more to find that his greatest relief these days comes from knocking on the door of Blair's dorm, crashing down on the Italian leather couch (Blair insisted that yes, they were doing this whole College experience thing, but she wasn't doing it in the decor of the common) between her and Georgina and watching a classic film and talking far too much about Truman Capote until finally Georgina says, "Oh God, please not this crap again. We're going out to do something...fun yet constructive. Shall I call Bass?"
She always looks at Blair when she mentions Chuck, because the subject of him is utterly unavoidable. Sometimes, Blair responds with a typical Waldorf reply, insults his sense of fashion but today she just shakes her head.
"What happened between you two anyway?" For a question that carries a lot of weight, it's asked in his most casual tone.
"Chuck likes his freedom. He always has." She begins, timidly. She then smiles, "I like him. There was a time when I was in love with him. But I can't change him and I don't want to. It's not my job as a woman to make him a better man, you know? It's his job to be a better man for me."
She was known for knowing exactly want she wanted since she lay eyes on Nathaniel Archibald, but Dan discovers that since then, she's learning to live between what she needs and what she wants, which might be two very different things.
Humphrey, Waldorf, Sparks and Abrams make a surprisingly functional, fun foursome.
Blair still misses her non-judging breakfast club group, but the old nickname which was once so endearing sounds terribly out of place even in her head. She and Nate are surprisingly on good terms after he came home from Europe and she found him waiting the foyer of the Waldorf Brownstone, collapsed on her bed and they just lay there, reminiscing and finally letting go of whatever it was they had. What they were and the idea of what they could. The idea of what they were supposed to be.
Chuck slept with some model while he was supposed to be enjoying his first committed relationship with the first girl he had ever fallen for.
Turns out, even true love couldn't change Chuck Bass. Some people are destined not to have the fairytale, even if they want the fairytale.
Sometimes Blair or Vanessa take turns to call Nate, but he keeps being pulled back to his Upper East Side roots no matter how much he feels at ease with Vanessa and Dan. Blair will usually tell him to check up on Chuck to make sure he's not alone, because for the first time he truly had no one. No kindred spirit in the form of Serena to jest with. No girlfriend because love tore them apart. No Nate because well, love tore them apart too.
Blair knows she'll never be able to repair her relationship with Chuck. They'd always be constant in each others lives, but even if their emotions and personalities were finally in sync after all the heartbreak, their values would never be. She should have known – he cheated with her so it shouldn't surprise her all that much that eventually he'd cheat behind her.
She'll never repair her relationship with Chuck. But she knew there was some hope left for Nate and Chuck. After all, Serena might be in Dubai at this present moment, but she still misses her more than Chuck, Nate or anyone else for that matter.
And that makes the guilt more stinging when she wakes up to the fact that she genuinely likes Dan Humphrey and she is not developing a crush on him. And her friends might like to cross the bridge into Brooklyn, but she wouldn't dare.
(Maybe she's kind of curious.)
When she first unpacked at her dorm, she came across a package. It was an anomaly, when it came to presents, it didn't matter where it came from, Blair was all over it. With a smile of confusion on her face, she tore it apart.
It wasn't her favourite stockings.
Instead it was a dress for her Cabbage Patch doll.
She found it just after her breakup with Chuck and erupted into a giggle fit until Georgina found her on the floor and they both laughed together. It was the first time she had laughed in two weeks.
Scott van der Humphrey doesn't fit in the way he should.
After all, he's Vanessa's new boyfriend who's sweet, caring and not unlike Daniel himself.
And when the revelation is revealed, that Dan and Serena have a half brother and Lily and Rufus actually conceived a child, all hell breaks loose for a day before everything calms down. Dan has become resilient and accustomed to whatever scandal the Upper East Side residents throw at him next.
He might not be as resilient as he thinks he is for the revelation Blair Waldorf is considering to tell him, but keep your panties on. That's coming up later.
As for V, well that always was and would always be a ridiculous connection. Blair had issues with even acknowledging her presence as the best friend of her best friend's boyfriend but when they find themselves at hazy, sweaty dorm parties acting like they're best friends Blair doesn't mind her being there as the best friend of her best friend's ex-boyfriend.
Still, she can't bring herself to label Vanessa as a simple friend.
And then there's Georgina. Blair secretly loves that G has managed to squirm her way back into Blair's life because she makes being at a non-Ivy so interesting. She's surprised Sparks hasn't been booted from the institution, what with the secrets she knows about certain Professors, sleeping with certain Professors and gaining happiness from the misery of certain Professors. She injects some much needed debauchery and glamour into the Brooklyn dominated dorm and whilst Serena's gone, Blair's sure that Georgina will fill the role of best friend with style.
If there's anyone who should feel out of place here, Blair Waldorf knows it should he her. Vanessa was Humphreys BFF slash soul-mate slash whatever, even Georgina once made out with Humphrey, but Blair can't find whatever is required for her to crawl into her Upper East Side hole with the two boys she loves the most.
As Dan buys her a beer at the seedy bar where all the so-called good bands play and for the first time, she doesn't scrunch her nose in a superior manner, she realises that maybe there's room for Brooklyn in her heart, an addition forming a threesome of boys she loves the most. Not that she'll ever admit that, of course. She has too much pride for that.
Too much pride for the prospect of love.
But she's hidden before, so it's nothing new.
Except it is. It's so very new and delicate and the worst part is, she's sure Humphrey has no idea whatsoever and thinks they're becoming the best of friends.
He walks in on a Wednesday evening and finds her strewed over her expensive leather couch.
"Waldorf?"
"What the -"
"Hey I just...you weren't answering my calls and I...Blair are you okay?" He asks with the most concerned tone she's ever heard.
It makes her fall for him just a little but more.
"So you stormed into my quarters just to check up on me Humphrey?" She replies sternly, raising an eyebrow.
"Your quarters?" He repeats, letting out an exasperated laugh.
"Oh shut up. I was getting some valuable rest." She smirks.
"I thought you were reading my story." He questions, a tinge of hurt lining his tone.
"Well your work is enough to lull anyone to slumber." She reasons with a huge grin.
Dan looks genuinely taken apart by the remark as his eyes then linger on a yellow sweater and matching headband that would look ridiculous on anyone else. She feels as if their snarky banter has become too tense lately and tries to repair some of the damage, however small it may be.
"I mean come on Humphrey; rich society girl falls for poor boy? We both know you can be more original than that." She smiles at him in a way that lets him know that of course he has a way with words; it's just not about telling the same story that's been told time and time again.
Rich society girl's best friend who should have higher standards falls for poor boy, she fleetingly thinks.
"Yeah...you're right." He admits, nodding thoughtfully. "I just need to break a rut I'm in, I'm writing things that aren't coming to me." He runs a hand through that dark hair of his and his eyes become more intense when he looks into hers.
Maybe if D could embrace his new muse, he wouldn't be so troubled. Writers block can suddenly fade away with a girl like Blair Waldorf on your arm, surely. She's so beautiful and he loves that this Blair, whatever version, has matured in such a way that she isn't afraid of knowing she's vulnerable. He finds it lovely that she's still the resident ice maiden, but he feels privileged to know he's one of the few that know her well enough now that behind it all, she's just a girl.
Yet, she's not just a girl at the same time. This drives Dan to pieces, he wants inside her head so badly that he searches for a hidden meaning behind all her obvious comebacks.
Oh, those English literature students and their need to analyse everything.
"Why so intent on writing romance anyway Humphrey? It's not like anyone here is part of some epic love story exists."She dismisses as she prepares a mug of black coffee for him. "Look at us. You and Serena are now siblings, Chuck cheated on me, the only person he's supposedly ever been in love with and Vanessa and Nate are done. Where's the inspiration?"
You have no idea, B.
That Saturday, they stumble out drunkenly (read: they are tossed out after Vanessa and Georgina refuse to step away from the karaoke machine) in a blur of laughter.
Blair doesn't know how she got here, and she's afraid to ask herself why. Because the answer was right beside her as Vanessa drunkenly slurred the Kings of Leon song 'Use Somebody' and she has no intention of letting whatever it is inside of her exploding.
She had never experienced this ridiculous sort of infatuation before. With Nate, it was always pre-planned. They were practically engaged since the age of eleven and when his eyes wandered to her firecracker blond best friend, it was the beginning of the end. With Chuck, it was firstly an affair which developed into a tortured, masochistic relationship and her mentality towards him was that if it hurt that much, well then it had to be love.
This didn't hurt at all. Yes, to say the situation was awkward would be an understatement but being around Dan was charged in a fun, light way. It wasn't a forced script to follow like Nate was. It wasn't a psychological game with Chuck.
Their hands and arms bump and brush together and she swears that literally, there's a magnetism drawing them together instead of their differences tearing them apart.
"I miss Serena." She whines as they stroll back home. It's a crisp spring night and the starts pierce the sky and he knows that he'll end up writing something about a boy and a girl under a starry sky the next day but Blair will certainly not being giving that one a review.
"I wish I could say the same." He jabs and Blair's eye widen in mock shock.
"Oh she won't like to hear that." She says with a hint of malice.
"How could she? She's on the other side of the planet. I mean – I know you miss her, but she hasn't contacted me once since she left. And I think that's what's best for us, to be honest." He says as maturely as possible.
"Oh so you think you know me now Cabbage Patch?" He can hear the smile in that sentence
"I do, Waldorf. Never thought we'd get this far, but here we are." He smiled back.
When they reach her door, she lingers for minute. Her back is against the door and he has a hand against the wall just above and beside her head.
"This place reminds me of the first time we ever spoke. Hallways are totally our thing." She says sweetly, unaware that she's been flirting shamelessly with him for the whole night.
"Okay you really are drunk." He says with a huge grin.
It's the sexiest smile she's ever seen.
Vanessa and Georgina finally catch up with them and Georgina flicks back her brown hair and smiles that evil smile.
"She's totally crushed out on you, Humphrey." She murmurs in his ear.
"WHAT?" Vanessa shouts in her drunken stupor. "No way she's Blair Waldorf-
"Now now, V. Leave the lovebirds alone, only I am allowed to interrupt a moment." She winks before opening their door and Blair slaps her arm.
The door shuts again.
"Ignore them. You know how G is when she's drunk. Actually, she's worse sober but you know us by now." She laughs.
"Well behind every joke is a shred of truth. Besides, I thought I didn't know you." Dan says suggestively.
"Don't." She says seriously but it gives way to drunken giggles.
"Don't what?" He laughs.
"Us and this. We're not supposed to be friend but everything is all...blurry." She replies sadly.
They just stand there for a while, searching each others eyes for answers they've spent months concealing.
Their mouths finally meet and Blair smiles against the kiss. They stand there for the best part of an hour and they kiss until they're breathless and Dan's mouth is left pink lipstick.
"Do you want to come in?" She whispers as Dan strokes back her hair.
She pretends it never happened.
They go back to being friends the next morning, insisting that this can only be a bad thing.
Blair is the one to suggest that it was just drunken lust and it only went as far as making out anyway (she doesn't mention the cuddling in her bed and waking up to find she was being spooned).
He reluctantly agrees, because he was a fool to believe that Blair Waldorf, Ice Maiden, reigning Queen of the Upper East Side would want anything more than mere friendship with him. They were both destined for different paths.
And he'd be forever watching her reign from the sidelines because no matter who his acquaintances were, he'd never be one of them.
She makes him breakfast as somewhat of a consolation, because she could see the disappointment in his face. There was a time when he would have been disgusted by such an occurrence, but instead of amusement or disgust, both of them just feel sad.
"Daniel," she greets commandingly as she enters with a tray, "I um, never thought I'd say something along the lines of what I'm about to say ever in my existence, but I hope we can still be friends. I mean who else am I supposed to share my Cabbage Patch love with?" She smirks as he bites into the toast.
"I never thought I'd say what I'm about to say, but I want us to be friends too, Waldorf." He smiles, finishes his toast and insists she eats the breakfast, considering it's probably the first meal she's ever made herself and one singular tear falls down his cheek as he makes his way back to his own dorm.
He swears it's the last time the Upper East Side will make him feel this dismantled.
So he retreats back to what he knows that day; black coffee, a depressing novel about hell and love and heart-to-hearts with Vanessa.
"How did we get here?" She muses as she takes an aspirin in an attempt to cure the hangover, "I mean I was always supposed to go to NYU but you and Blair? I still can't get over that you both missed out on Yale. And moreover, that you MADE OUT with her last night! What the hell, Humphrey?" She giggles.
Dan rolls his eyes and suppresses a smile. He doesn't want it to be known as 'That night I made out with Blair Waldorf' but that's what it's doomed to be.
"Like I said," Vanessa begins again as Scott knocks on their door to pick her up, "how did we get here?"
Blair doesn't want this to be just a one night occurrence.
In a way, Blair had seen it as a method of getting the crush out of her system. She'd make out with him, they'd spend the night and they'd have their night of passion and that would be that.
Or not.
She's still staring at him in the middle of class, still reading all the books he recommends to her and still wants to kiss and cuddle him every day.
"I thought you and Humphrey were becoming a couple, B." Georgina states as they sip their coffee at their usual café.
"Don't be pompous," she says, a little bit too keen to convince.
"Whatever. For what it's worth, it doesn't seem like he has all those emotional mind games Bass is so fond of."
"Are you suggesting that of all people, Dan Humphrey could be good for me?" Blair asks playfully.
"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. All you need to do now is tell yourself. I have a date with Nate." She slips in oh-so casually, "We'll catch up tonight."
Blair just chuckles then finishes her coffee.
Dan texts her to meet him at the library and so she walks more briskly than she really should just to met him.
"You tell me to come to a library on a Saturday Humphrey? Have you lost all sense of –?
She only realises she's shouting midway through her ramble as everyone glares at her and he presses a finger to her lip.
He takes her hand. She wants to slap him, but it's all very romantic in the least romantic way possible.
"I was trying to be romantic," he whispers, "I guess this is what I get for trying to be romantic with Blair Waldorf."
"Are you high?" She questions.
He takes her to a concealed corner where no one else occupies. They're in the back of a library. It's ridiculous.
"I took you to a library because I don't have a black American express card," he begins, "and apart from a liking of Cabbage Patch kids, literature may be the only thing that ties us together. Something we connect on. I don't want us to be just friends, Blair. I think I'd just fall apart."
Blair doesn't know how to respond. She wants to be able to recall a quote from a novel he gave her to read but she can't recall a thing staring into his hazel eyes.
He removes sheets and notebooks and letters from his Gucci satchel bag Blair gave him for his nineteenth birthday and hands them to her.
Her name is all over them in his script, "Brown chestnut hair, impeccably dressed with a tongue that can tear you apart..." it's all very complimentary and it's got to the point where she can't hide anymore. Not with this one.
Musicians could write songs about you and sing them for the world to hear, but only writers of stories could give you a true insight and write it for the world to know.
"I should be scared." She admits. She is scared.
"I know I am." Dan responds awkwardly.
She moves in closer, their faces within inches.
"This is worth it. I can feel it." Se whispers, before capturing his lips.
They kiss in the back of a library. Typical.
"Gossip Girl is going to have the time of her life." Blair murmurs when they finally part.
"Only we are capable of such scandal." Dan states superiorly, taking her hand.
Blair then receives a text;
Are you two finally dating yet? I just know you would both make the ultimate odd couple ;) – G.
End.
A/N: Now I unreservedly beg for reviews LOL. (: