Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Gossip Girl and I am by no means affiliated with it or its characters. The only connection I have to it is my insane obsession. I also own nothing related to Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Author's Note: All right, so this is the new story I've decided to work on while my laptop gets worked on. I hope you guys like it.
Summary: Preceding his father's death, Chuck Bass finds life hard to handle, but after an accident, he finds it impossibly difficult to continue living and loving life as he used to. Yet when his past comes back to haunt him, he rediscovers the person he once was. Eventually, Chuck is forced to remain the boy he always was or become the man he was always destined to be.
And Without Further Ado…
Accidentally In Love
"The most wonderful of all things in life is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life."
- Sir Hugh Walpole
It was nearly impossible for him to grasp the concept that his father was gone. Bart Bass was a man that nobody believed could be beaten, the Devil incarnate. But yet, all it took was a simple accident, and the man who once stood skyscraper's tall was knocked down. Chuck didn't want to grasp that concept; he couldn't.
Returning from Bangkok had been a mistake; letting his Uncle bring him back from his blissfully ignorant haven was incredibly stupid of him. But here he was, back in the city he once claimed to be the best city in the world, yet, all it was now was a horrible reminder of what had once been. Still, he could picture that he wasn't there if he closed his eyes and let the cool air hit his cheeks as he stood on the edge of the rooftop.
There was the faint sound of a door opening followed by a loud call of his name, causing him to turn his head and look at his Uncle Jack being reprimanded by the one and only Blair Waldorf.
"Chuck. Come away from there. Let's go down and join the party," his Uncle coaxed, trying to seem as if his nephew standing on the ledge of a building wasn't that big of a deal.
Chuck's face was blank as he answered, swinging the bottle of alcohol in his hand, "I was at the party. I'm not really that into it."
Jackseemed almost irritated by his statement, as if he really just wanted to return to the party and pretend that he had never come up here;"Chuck, your father wouldn't have wanted this."
He laughed at that statement. Like Jack actually cared enough about him or his father to actually know what Bart would have wanted for his own son.
"Dear old Dad? Unfortunately all I know is what he didn't want. Which is me. I'm Chuck Bass!"
He paused and looked down at the ground in the alleyway that seemed so far away, "no one cares."
" I do. Don't you understand? I'll always be here. I don't want you going anywhere. I couldn't bear it. So whatever you want to do to yourself, please don't do it to me. Please," the brunette pleaded with him, fear heavy in her eyes.
Chuck stared at her for a few moments, "I'm sorry," he whispered.
Blair reached her hand out to him with a nod. The bottle of alcohol fell out of his hand and shattered in the alleyway below as Chuck reached for her hand; he loved this girl, there was no doubt about it. But as his hand grasped hers and he started to get down, he wobbled slightly and he felt her grip tighter. Slowly he made it down the ledge and Chuck stared deep into Blair's eyes, ready to open his mouth and tell her the realization he had come to when suddenly he was holding tightly onto her wrists as she dangled against the side of the building. It amazed him how quickly tears could spring to a girl's eyes, but there they were, streaming down Blair's face as she begged him not to let her fall.
"Chuck, please," she pleaded, her nails digging into his skin, "just pull me up and I promise we will have more sex than you could even dream of. Just don't let me fall."
As much as he tried to contain it, a small chuckle fell from his lips at her remark and slowly he started to pull her up.
"CHUCK!"
Turning his head at the distant voice, he felt his grip loosen slightly and the next thing he knew Blair had slipped out of his hands. His eyes widened as he watched, almost as if in slow motion, the brunette fall, calling his name, with an almost sickening crack against the pavement below. It took a few moments, but his reaction came.
"BLAIR," he called out as he started to climb back up onto the ledge ready to go after her.
But the next thing he knew, there was a strong pair of arms around his waist pulling him away.
"You can't help her now Chuck, there's nothing you can do," Jack called out over Chuck's persistent callings for Blair.
He was kicking and tugging at his Uncle, crying for him to let him go, tracks of tears on his face. But it was hopeless…for both Chuck and Blair.
Dark brown eyes stared stony faced out the rain covered window in the limo. He was half aware of the continuous sniffling of the blond beside him. He felt a slight jerk signaling that they were at the church, but he remained in the leather seat. A hand touched his arm and he looked over, his blood shot eyes meeting Serena's own. She didn't have to speak; he knew he had to follow her out of the limo. And he did.
Chuck climbed the never ending steps into the very same church that held his own father's funeral not three months ago. He took the long walk down the aisle into the front pew, sinking into a seat in between Serena and Nate staring at the closed casket looming in front of him. He could sense Eric, Jenny, and Dan's presence behind him. From what he had seen, the entire senior class at Constance Billiard and St. Jude's had shown up. Even Lord Marcus had the nerve to show up with his mother. But Chuck didn't have the effort to confront him.
He was too tired from the past month of searching for her body. Chuck himself had spent nearly two days with the police going over what had happened on the roof, and trying to explain that he didn't know what happened to the brunette's body; the last thing he could remember was seeing it hit the pavement. After that he called the cops, and waited at the front of Victrola keeping everyone from going in the alleyway, only to find that when he showed the police where she had fallen there was nothing. So, after realizing that he did in fact know nothing, sent out a search, but they doubted that she had survived the fall so they had suggested they hold a funeral for her anyway. And the date of the funeral had actually come.
The church, filled with whispers, fell silent as a sobbing Eleanor came in, supported by Cyrus and Serena's ex boyfriend Aaron. Harold followed behind her, holding on tightly to his boyfriend Roman. He seemed pale and ready to loose it at any moment. Chuck's eyes quickly found the floor so he wouldn't have to see Blair's parents as the service started.
The words fell upon deaf ears, and all he could hope was that this would end soon, but he came slamming back into reality when a slender hand grabbed onto his tightly. Serena wasn't look at him, but he could feel her shaking with sobs and he tried to muster a light squeeze to reassure her, but found that he could find no reassurance.
Chuck followed them to the spot that had been picked out for her grave and he stood, with no umbrella feeling the drops hit his head as another sermon was said. Then people lined up to place roses on top of her white casket and then head off to the gathering at the Waldorf's penthouse after. He made sure he was the last in the line, and instead of placing a rose on the casket, he placed a bouquet of hydrangeas and then stood there. He wasn't sure how long he stood there staring at what he knew was an empty casket, but by the time he realized that he hadn't moved, the sun had already disappeared and he had promised Nate and Serena an appearance at the gathering afterwards, so he headed over to the Waldorf penthouse.
It seemed to him that the crowd had thinned down to close friends and family. He saw Eleanor and Harold in the parlor, entertaining their guests, trying to keep their minds from the though of what had just happened. Lily stood with Rufus and Cyrus, looking rather uncomfortable standing beside the tiny smiling man. Eric and Jenny stood with Dan near the stair case. Dan was the first to see him and he nudged Eric who looked over. Seeing his step brother look at him with sympathetic eyes twisted Chuck's insides.
"Serena and Nate are upstairs, they're waiting for you," he said quietly, and Chuck slowly nodded and climbed the staircase slowly. The door was cracked open and he could hear two soft voices coming from inside.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to shop for a headband without thinking of her," Serena said.
"Blair was the queen of that accessory," Nate said, and a small smile could be heard in his voice.
"It just doesn't seem right that she isn't here," the blond choked, tears springing to her eyes, and Nate immediately jumped into action, pulling her into a hug and stroking her hair softly.
Chuck chose that moment to enter, and he watched as his two best friends quickly pulled away, Serena wiping at her eyes.
"How poetic," Chuck said, speaking for the first time that day, "you two rekindling your love now that the real road block is truly out of the way."
"Hey," Nate said, "there's no reason to be mean Chuck. You aren't the only one hurting."
"Sorry," he said placidly, "I'm just a little on edge."
Serena came over and placed a hand comfortingly on his back, "it's understandable."
She swallowed when he didn't answer and went over to the desk where a DVD box sat, "I asked Eleanor earlier. We're allowed to stay over the night. I figured we could watch Breakfast at Tiffany's."
With a nod from both of the guys, jackets and shoes were pulled off as the movie was put in and the three of them piled onto the bed. Chuck sucking in a breath as the strong scent of Blair washed over him. For the second time that day, he felt Serena take his hand, but he turned his eyes to the opening credits of the movie. They watched and one by one they drifted off into a restless sleep, the only one to make it through the whole movie was Chuck.
Paul: I love you.
Holly: So what.
Paul: So what? So plenty! I love you, you belong to me!
Holly: No. People don't belong to people.
Paul: Of course they do!
Holly: I'll never let ANYBODY put me in a cage.
Paul: I don't want to put you in a cage, I want to love you!
Paul: You know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-you-are? You're chicken, you've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, "Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness." You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing," and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it's not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.
It may have been the lack of sleep, but for a moment Chuck felt that he was having a conversation with Blair. But she was Paul and he was Holly…and she was dead right. Before he could figure out what was happening he had drifted off to sleep.
In his dream he was with Blair, alone, riding down Fifth Avenue in his limo. He felt the same weariness that he did in real life, but it felt a little lighter because he was staring at a living, breathing Blair. Her hand reached over and stroked his forehead gently, "do you have mean reds Chuck?"
He stared at her for a few moments, "the mean reds," he asked confused.
She huffed slightly irritated, "did you ever actually pay attention to Holly Golightly? And not her body," she added quickly.
He smirked for a moment but shook his head, "just explain to me what the mean reds are so I don't have to watch that infernal movie again."
"The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of," Blair quoted, and then paused, "you have the mean reds don't you Chuck?"
There was a sudden shaken and he woke with a start to see Serena and Nate looking at him concerned.
"Are you okay," they asked in unison.
"You were shaking in your sleep," Serena said, worry written all over her face.
He rubbed his eyes and nodded slowly, "yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing that either of you should be bothered by."
Chuck looked over at the TV and registered that it was the DVD movie and that they had in fact watched Breakfast at Tiffany's. He looked back at them and sighed, "you know what, I think I'm going to go."
He got off of the bed, desperate to get away from everything that reminded him of Blair, but a hand quickly stopped him and he looked back to see Serena holding onto him.
"Don't go," she whispered, and he was forced to look down.
He needed out of here; Chuck wanted away, he wanted to forget the pain.
"Yeah man," Nate said, "we need to stick together. All of us. Friends."
Chuck bit his tongue for a moment; he needed to say something hurtful, something that they would let him go for saying.
"Friends," he said coldly, "friends?"
His gaze quickly turned to one that was seething towards them, "we aren't friends."
Chuck moved quickly to grab his shoes and coat as he moved towards the door, feeling their stunned eyes on him. As he wrenched the door open he looked back at them, "face it. Without Blair…we aren't friends."
With those words he was gone and out of the now empty penthouse and onto the sunrise lit damp streets of New York. A cold chill took over him the moment he stepped out the door and he looked up towards the windows of the Waldorf penthouse.
"Yes Blair," he murmured, "I do have the mean reds."
Author's Notes:
1) Depressing first chapter, I know. But bear with me…they will get better. Maybe not right away, but there is hope trust me.
2) The quotes used are obviously from Breakfast at Tiffany's and if you haven't seen that movie I recommend it because it is amazing.
3) Upcoming: Things move farther into the future, you'll get to find out what happened to Chuck and Serena and Nate. Plus, all the blanks from the night on the roof will be filled in: how exactly did Blair fall over the edge and what happened to her body?