A/N First story here guys so any advice and/or reviews would be great. I know this chapter is a little short but I felt like I needed to get the introductory stuff out of the way first so later chapters should hopefully be a bit longer. Let me know what you think
Chapter 1: Breakfast
It all started out like a pretty normal day for Dan Humphrey. He got up in the Brooklyn loft that he now had to himself and quickly got ready, throwing on his standard plaid shirt and jeans. As was tradition on Sundays, he headed over to meet Rufus and Lily for a Van der Humphrey breakfast that undoubtedly would consist mainly of waffles. He hadn`t really wanted to go; the dynamic between Serena and him was still a bit awkward following their break up but Rufus had made him promise to at least make an effort to patch things up between them and move on as friends/family or whatever they were now. He was at least looking forward to seeing Eric. He had been travelling on Cece`s dime for the last few months and Dan had missed his step brother who so often acted as his trusted confidante.
He took a deep breath and composed himself before leaving the elevator, trying to plaster a smile on his face to hide the nerves underneath.
"Dan!" Rufus called out, "So glad you could make it"
Dan sat down his nerves calmed by the fact Serena had not yet arrived, instead he was greeted by smiling faces all round with everyone looking genuinely glad to see him.
"So Daniel, how is your writing going?" Lily inquired and just like that the ice was broken and conversation began to flow with Dan launching into the retelling of his new idea for a novel that he hopes to get published. All was going fine until they were interrupted by the tell-tale sound of the elevator arriving and at once Dan turned towards it.
Striding out of it, confident as ever was Serena with a surprise in tow, Blair Waldorf. Blair was quite possibly the only person he wanted to see less than he did Serena. She embodied everything he hated about the Upper East Side and had always made clear her disapproval of Serena dating a commoner like him from Brooklyn. No doubt she was relieved they had broken up and was now here to make Dan`s life a living hell in return for breaking her best friend`s heart. They both strode in like they owned the place, neither of them casting as much as glance in Dan`s direction.
Serena spoke to Lily saying "Mom, I hope it is alright I brought Blair along."
"Of course it is, she knows she is always welcome," Lily replied "Blair, how are you dear?"
"Very well thank you Lily" said Blair graceful as ever.
They both sat down to join in with the breakfast although the atmosphere was markedly different now with tension hanging in the air. Any forced attempts to make conversation were short lived with the uncomfortable silence returning shortly after.
Dan soon made a move as to leave making an effort to say bye to Serena as he did so but received no response for his troubles. Oh well, he had tried his best and so gave up for now swiftly leaving, vowing to give it another try on another day. Blair however got up and followed him, getting into the elevator with him in silence.
"Humphrey" she spoke commandingly in that infuriating tone of hers "why are you such an idiot?"
"What do you mean now Waldorf?" Dan replied already tired of her jibes.
"Serena is clearly out of your league and yet you let her go again! And somehow you broke her heart in the process although why she cares is beyond me."
"The spark just wasn`t there anymore and I`m sure when she takes the time to reflect on it she will come to the same conclusion. We seemed perfect together but I realised that if we had to try so hard to make our relationship work then maybe it's because it isn`t meant to be."
Having reached the ground floor, Dan strode confidently out, pleased he had been able to convey his feelings to someone even if it was only Blair Waldorf. She remained standing in the lobby for a while longer after he had left reflecting on what he had said with a thoughtful expression.