Chapter I
Opening her eyes, Blair stared at the plain ceiling blankly from her bed. How had things gone so wrong in her life? Ever since she had first laid eyes on her boyfriend Nate Archibald, she had envisioned them as the perfect couple that everyone envied, but the reality was far from it. It wasn't until her best friend Serena van der Woodsen had disappeared for six months and returned just a few weeks ago that everything had become clear to Blair: Nate had slept with her best friend. And to make things worse, he acted in a way that made it seem as if he were in love with Serena. Blair had been unable to look at either of them for some time, but she quickly forgave Nate, much to his and everyone's surprise. Serena was a separate issue, but it hadn't gone unnoticed to Blair that Serena had undergone a transformation the months she had disappeared. She was genuinely sorry for what she had done and this was a very different person from the care-free party girl she use to be.
Blair and Nate had agreed to start with a clean slate, but things quickly reverted back to the previously regular schedule. Blair would sit in the sidelines while Nate completely disregarded her and her feelings. She would hear about important things in his life from everyone around her, but never from Nate himself. Sighing aloud, Blair ran a hand through her hair. She was tired of feeling neglected and unwanted. She was tired of always coming last on Nate's list. With things between her and Serena rocky, the only other person she had to turn to these days was Nate's best friend Chuck.
Chuck Bass was something else. He was the notorious Park Avenue bad boy and a womanizer to the very core. He slept with one girl after another and basically drank his way through life. But he was the one person in Blair's life who always spoke the truth no matter how bitter and ugly it was and Blair had always respected him for that. Knowing Chuck for most of her life, they had always bickered and squabbled through every conversation and it helped Blair keep her head on her shoulders when things got really bad at times. But why was she thinking about Chuck all of a sudden? Shaking her head, Blair sat up in her bed and looked around her room. Everything was perfectly arranged and not a single thing was out of place. Her room resembled her life: Everything was perfect. But was it?
Looking over at a picture of her and Nate on her bed stand, Blair noticed for the first time how neither of them were smiling. They were holding hands, but there seemed to be a distance between them and she realized that everything in her life wasn't perfect. She knew what she had to do, but a part of her was afraid of being alone. After all, she had been with Nate for so many years and the sudden idea of being by herself was scary. Shaking such thoughts away, she rose out of bed confidently and walked towards her closet. Grabbing a knee-high red skirt and a black top, she stared at the chosen clothes and smiled. She was Blair Waldorf: everything in her life was perfect.