This is my first fanfic. I was over Gossip Girl for a LONG time but Dair has me completely hooked.
"What are you doing here?" she asks as he carefully shuts the door behind him. "You shouldn't be here."
He finally looks at her and even though he told himself he could handle seeing her in her wedding dress, he was clearly wrong. He hans't prepared himself and when he sees her standing there, looking stunning, he loses the ability to form a coherent thought.
"Humphrey, you're staring," she says and he finally meets her eyes.
"Sorry," he stammers.
"What are you doing here?" she repeats. "How did you get in?"
"Dorota let me in."
"Remind me to-"
"She said you'd be glad to see me," he says quietly.
Her face softens slightly. Honestly, she has missed him.
"If you're here to try to talk me out of this, don't bother. Chuck's already tried. So has Ser-"
"Does he make you happy?" he asks. He doesn't want to hear about Chuck. He doesn't want to hear about Serena. He just wants to hear about her. "I just need to know that he makes you happy and he treats you well."
"Dan…" she starts, unsure of what to say. "Don't do this," she begs. "Please don't."
"Don't you think I at least deserve that much? After everything? I just want to know you're going to be happy."
He looks at her, begging her to give him something, but she can't. If she starts this conversation, she knows it won't end well.
Instead of answering she asks, "Why are you here?"
"Serena asked me to come talk to you," he answers.
While its partly true, he mostly says it because knows it will set her off.
"Of course. Serena," she says with fire in her eyes.
She can't hide the annoyance she feels. All her life she's watched as people do everything her blonde best friend asks.
"Blair-"
"Unbelievable. You disappear for weeks," she says. "You ignore my texts, my calls, my apologies," she continues, her voice raising with every word and eyes narrowing. "But the second Serena asks you to come talk to me, here you are? You are-"
"I told her no," he interrupts, silencing her.
"What?" she mutters confused.
"I told her that there wasn't anything I could say to you that would change your mind. I told her there wasn't anything I wanted to say to try to change your mind. I told her a Blair Waldorf-less New York City is the best thing I could ever imagine."
Her face falls for just a second before she tries to hide it with a glare. It doesn't work though. He saw. He always sees.
"And you decided to come tell me that?" she asks with narrowed eyes. "Well, you did. You can leave now."
He ignores her and continues.
"I told her all of that but I didn't mean any of it. Except for maybe there being nothing I can say to change your mind. There is so much I want to say to you. And I've essentially been living in a Blair Waldorf-less New York and it's absolutely awful. The thought of you going to Paris…" he trails off. "So I just… I need to know that he makes you happy because if he doesn't, I'm going to do whatever I can to get you to stay. If you really want to do this, then I'll support you. I'll convince Serena that its what you want."
"You and Serena will be just fine without me," she says sadly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you and Serena are meant to be together. She loves you and you love her. Its only a matter of time before the two of you realize that."
He sighs, frustrated that they're having this discussion again.
"Blair, listen to me when I say this," he says walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders.
As soon as their skin touches, her entire body tingles.
She looks away from him so he can't see what she's thinking. He carefully turns her head, forcing her to look at him.
"Are you listening?" he asks softly and she nods.
"I'm not in love with Serena. How can I love her when I know what its like to be in love with you?"
"You don't mean that," she says pulling out of his arms. "You're just in one of those phases where you try to make yourself believe you don't love her. You've been in love with her for years."
"I fell in love with Serena before I knew anything about her. I was a naive high school boy who saw a stunning blonde and became transfixed."
"I don't want to talk about this," she interrupts.
He sees her walls going up. She hates talking about how she feels. She hates hearing how he feels. He hates that she won't talk about how she feels.
"Too bad," he says calmly.
He's not going to let her hide from him anymore. He came here with something to say and he won't leave until he says it. He won't leave until she hears it.
"You're right. I loved her for a long time. That was before I knew her. When we got together, every time I learned something about her, it caused problems for us. Eventually it broke us up. But you? I got to know you first and I fell in love with you because of all the things I learned about you."
"Humphrey-"
He cuts her off with a kiss, which she eagerly returns. She couldn't care less that its minutes before her wedding to Prince Louis. Its been too long since his lips were on hers.
They're both breathless when he pulls away.
"I love you, Blair, and you deserve to be happy. You've managed to convince yourself that you don't, but you do. So please, just tell me. Does he make you happy? I just need an answer and then I'll leave. I'll go sit in there and watch you marry him and I'll be happy for you. Just say the words."
"Yes, he makes me happy," she finally says and she feels her heart break. She doesn't want to hurt him and if she's honest, she's probably in love with him too. But she's Blair Waldorf. She doesn't do honest - not when it comes to something like this.
Dan smiles sadly.
"You're going to make a wonderful Princess," he says. "I'm happy for you, Blair. I mean it."
He knows today is going to be the last day he sees her. She's going to leave for Paris in the morning and it will be the end of whatever it was they had. He turns to leave but she reaches out to stop him.
"I still want us to be friends," she admits, surprising them both.
He gives a small laugh at the irony in her words and she smiles until he speaks.
"We were never friends, Blair."
Her smile falls and it takes everything she has not to let the tears spill from her eyes.
He leans down and kisses her cheek before whispering, "You look beautiful, Blair."
This time as he turns to leave, she doesn't stop him.
He runs into Serena in the hallway and she smiles when she sees him.
"You came!" she says happily, pulling him in for a hug, still oblivious to the situation between her best friend and her first love.
"Yeah, I did," he says giving her a small smile.
"Did you manage to-"
"She's happy, Serena," he says cutting her off. "I know its scary thinking about your best friend moving across the world, but he makes her happy. That's all you can ask."
"So she's really going to do it?"
"I think so," he says. "Princess Blair Grimaldi."
"Now there's a terrifying thought," she says smiling.
"I should go find a seat."
"I think there's room up by our parents," she says trying to be helpful.
The idea of sitting anywhere but the last row makes his stomach turn.
"Thanks," he says. "I'll see you in there."
He makes his way in and finds a spot in the back, right on the aisle. Part of him is hoping that if he's the first one she sees when she walks in, she won't be able to do it. And if she does go through with it, at least he'll be the last one she sees on her way out.
A few minutes later, music fills the church and the doors open. Prince Louis walks in flanked by his parents, looking extremely happy. He too is oblivious to everything that's happened between Dan and Blair.
Dan watches as Blair's bridesmaids walk down the aisle. He has no idea who any of them are and suspects they're relatives of the Prince. His stomach is in knots by the time Serena enters. She smiles at him and as much as he wants to, he can't smile back.
The music changes and he stands with the rest of the guests. He takes a deep breath before turning back to where Blair will be in just a few seconds. Here goes nothing, he thinks.
"Ready to become a Princess?" Blair's father asks her with a smile.
"Absolutely," she says putting on a brave face.
The truth is, she's never been less sure. All her life she's dreamed of being swept off her feet by a prince and he does make her happy. She never imagined her heart would be stolen by a lonely boy from Brooklyn.
She was doing fine. She had managed to forget all about him. Or at least she managed to pretend. She had barely seen him in the last two months. But the two months before that? They were two of the best months she's had in her life. They were practically inseparable which was often a challenge as she refused to be seen with him. They always had to have some story about bumping into each other. Well, she had to. He wanted to tell everyone that they were together. She couldn't tell anyone and he couldn't keep being her secret. He disappeared from her life just as quickly as he entered it.
Then Louis showed up with her shoe and she figured why not? A month later they were engaged and now she's minutes away from marrying him. She cares about him, she really does. And she'll get to be a princess and no one will judge her for being with him. He's safe.
But she doesn't love him. Not really. And if she's honest with herself, she'd admit that someone else's face flashed in her mind when Louis proposed. That very same face just kissed her and told her he loved her. That very same face hasn't left her mind since he walked out of her dressing room.
"Let's go," her dad says.
Here goes nothing, she thinks.
The doors open and they begin to walk in. That face is the first thing she sees. His eyes lock on hers and she can't look away until they're past him. Taking a deep breath she looks up and smiles at Louis.
She doesn't even realize it but they've reached him and he's now by her side.
"Who gives this woman to this man?" the priest asks.
"Her Mother and I do," Harold says, before kissing her cheek and shaking Louis' hand.
Louis whispers something in her ear as they walk up the steps. She has no clue what he's said because all she can think about is the look on Dan's face
It takes everything in him not to leave. He doesn't want to watch her promise to love someone else for the rest of her life. He doesn't want to watch her become someone else's wife. But he stays because he's still hoping she won't do it. He's still hoping she's going to give them a chance.
As the ceremony begins, he looks around the church and is surprised he doesn't see more of Blair. Don't get him wrong, the church is beautiful and he's sure she had input, but he doesn't see her in the decor. He figures when you're marrying royalty, your vote probably doesn't count for much.
He sees Chuck sitting several rows ahead of him. For the first time in his life he and Chuck Bass have something in common. Nate, sitting to Chuck's left, keeps glancing over at his best friend, almost like he's waiting to stop him from doing something to ruin Blair's day.
He watches as Serena looks towards their parents and sees her frown when she realizes he's not beside them.
He manages to smile when he sees Vanya's arm wrapped around Dorota who is holding a sleeping Anastasia.
He looks anywhere he can to avoid looking at Blair. He hasn't been paying attention to anything the priest has said or where they're at in the ceremony so his head snaps up when he hears someone start to sing. He's surprised to see Blair and Louis seated, her eyes focused on him. He wonders how long she's been watching him.
The song ends and she tears her eyes away and stands up. Louis guides her to where they need to be and Dan's a little concerned with how zombie like Blair seems. It's almost like she's just now realizing what she's gotten herself in to.
The priest asks Louis if he promises to love and honor Blair and whatever else follows, Dan's not sure. He's too busy watching Blair, hoping she won't do it. Louis, of course, says, "I do."
The priest turns to Blair and asks her to promise the same things. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. His heart soars because he knows she's not going to do it. Hejust knows.
"I can't," she whispers eliciting gasps from the congregation. "Louis, I am so sorry," she apologizes.
He smiles sadly.
"Truth be told," he says, "I didn't think you'd make it this far."
She kisses his cheek and turns towards the exit. He finds himself on his feet and notices Chuck standing as well. It never occurred to him that maybe she was going to run to Chuck Bass. He's nervous for a second but then she runs past Chuck. He moves into the aisle and catches her in his arms. She leans up and kisses him and he's never experienced a better kiss.
It's not an "I love you, too," but he's okay with that. It's better, he thinks. He knows she doesn't talk about how she feels. Words are his thing. But she's kissing him in front of everyone that matters to her and that's worth more than anything she could have said.
He pulls away and laces his fingers through hers. She smiles and follows as he leads her out of the church. She rolls her eyes when she sees his old, run down car but truthfully, she's never been happier to see it.
She sighs as she shuts the door behind her, relieved to finally be home. She's been in LA for fashion week and all she wanted to do was hop on the first flight back home to New York, back home to him. She sets her bag down and wanders down the hall. She finds him in the study, typing feverishly away. He hasn't noticed her yet so she just leans against the door and watches him work.
Finally he looks up and a smile instantly graces his face because he's missed her, so much.
He gets up and quickly closes the distance between them and just before he kisses her he whispers, "Humphrey, you're staring."