Disclaimer: Gossip Girl and all its glory does not belong to me.

A/N: Third story! Woohoo! This basically talks about how the four of our Upper East Siders started being friends. Hope you guys like it. :)

Summary: It always used to be the four of them. It started in kindergarten and it went on from there. Who would've thought that it would be Chuck Bass that would be missing who they were and sad at what they've become when everything about their friendship starts to go wrong?

HANGING ON

Chuck Bass didn't trust anybody. So when a little brunette with a big yellow ribbon tied around her hair that was perfectly in place went up to him while he was playing by himself in the sandbox of their kindergarten playground, followed by an equally small blond girl with long wavy hair and a reluctant looking boy, Chuck kept his guard up.

"What do you want?" He asked, getting straight to the point as he stood up.

"My name is Blair Cornelia Waldorf," the one with the yellow ribbon said with confidence, knowing at the young age of five that her name would make people know she was important. And it did, except maybe if the person she was talking to was a little boy who was just as wealthy as she was. "And you're playing with us."

Chuck's eyebrows rose up in surprise. Nobody in his life has told him to do things except for his parents. "Chuck Bass," he replied with the same amount of confidence, only it sounded more like arrogance. "And can't you see I'm busy?"

"Playing with yourself?" Blair asked, scoffing.

The blond little girl then stepped forward and gave him what would've been a toothy grin if her two front teeth weren't missing. "I'm Serena van der Woodsen," she introduced herself cheerfully. "Please play with us. We're playing house!"

Blair and Serena looked at him expectantly as he finally gave in. "Fine," he agreed.

The two girls squealed as the other boy smiled at him. "Nathaniel Archibald." He extended his hand just like the way his father does when he meets new people. Chuck shook it, giving Nathaniel a smile. "You can call me Nate." Chuck preferred Nathaniel better than Nate.

"I want to be the baby!" Serena exclaimed excitedly. She was so happy that she had three new friends and it was only the first day of school.

"Okay," Blair agreed, smiling. She turned to Chuck. "You're going to be Serena's big brother. Nate and I are going to be the mommy and daddy." She ordered as everyone nodded. "Let's play over there!" Blair pointed towards a large oak tree as she grabbed Nate's hand and dragged the boy over there as Serena, hopping joyfully, followed them from behind with Chuck.

"A bossy one, isn't she?" Chuck asked her as the two watched Nate and Blair.

Serena giggled. "She was a little scared when she arrived here this morning." She told him. "It's nice to see she's having fun and it was her idea to ask you to play with us! Now we're four!" She held up three tiny fingers.

Chuck snickered, knowing Serena was missing one finger to make four but didn't bother in correcting her. That was why they were in school anyway. To learn. He was also busy wondering why the fact that it was Blair's idea to ask him to play with them pleased him so much.

And the four gorgeous children played together the whole playtime, having a lot of fun and laughs.

The next day, the four of them built a sand castle in the sandbox and when it was time for nap time, the four of them kicked and jumped on it, laughing the entire time as the sand castle's walls broke down. Unconsciously, the walls around Chuck's heart were breaking down too.

The following days, it was still the four of them until they were dubbed 'The Indestructible Four.' When they started elementary, no one was surprised when they were still together.

Best friends. They fought a lot against and for each other. They forgave each other whenever one of them made mistakes. They stood together through thick and thin. They were each other's family since their real ones didn't feel like one at all. They promised each other this was going to be forever.

Chuck Bass smiled bitterly to himself as he sat alone in The Palace bar, a glass of his signature scotch in hand.

Forgive. Forgiving isn't Nate ignoring him for the past three weeks now after he found about him and Blair.

Never leaving each other. Well, Serena was definitely the master of that one when she left all of them for boarding school, not even giving a single call while she was away.

Never hurt each other. Blair crushed his heart without thinking twice about it when she dumped him and went straight back to Nate the same night on the debutant ball. And he finally wanted to behave for her.

Even though he was wallowing in self-pity right now, Chuck admits that he's done his fair share of breaking the promise they made when they were in third grade before they were all going their separate ways for summertime.

The kings and queens of the Upper East Side was what they were called. No matter who was given the same title, those people always somehow falter but the four of them still stood as royalty. yes, even after Blair's scandal, no one could deny that she was still queen. Well, except for a few who are delusional, namely Hazel and Jenny.

Chuck has a picture hidden at the back of his drawer of the four of them taken in sixth grade during Christmas break. Before Blair and Nate started dating. Before he and Nate had their first joint. Before Blair started her bulimia. before he lost his mother. Before he and Serena loved their alcohol.

He looked at that picture a lot recently. Blair and Serena were already drop dead gorgeous, even in their pre-teen selves. They were both wearing Santa hats and matching red dresses Eleanor Waldorf, Blair's mother, designed as he and Nate had their arms around the shoulders of the two girls, the four of them smiling happily. Their eyes were glowing with content as they posed for Kati Farkas' camera.

Chuck wanted to tear, crumple, burn, or do whatever to terminate that picture several times but the images of their pre-teen selves always stopped him. They looked so happy and Chuck would give anything and everything for them to be like that again although he wouldn't admit it to anyone aloud.

His heart was dark but it still had a little light of hope inside of it. They were going to get through this, all four of them. They were going to be the four musketeers (because everything had to be four when it came to them) once again. All for one and one for all.

Chuck smirked. They weren't called 'The Indestructible Four' for nothing.

END.

Hope you guys loved it! Review :)