Blair Waldorf was going to have sparks. And fireworks. And a goddamn bonfire with Nate Archibald if it killed her. It was time to bring out the big guns. Tossing her cardigan to the sofa and removing her hair tie to let her soft brown curls bounce freely down her shoulders to her chest, she felt ready. Nate Archibald here I come.

"Nate, honey" Blair put on her best sultry voice and ran her hand down his exposed arm "Will you come with me for a moment?"

"Yeah. Sure" His jovial tone almost put her off her game entirely but she was determined. Taking his hand she led him, with swaying hips, across the room.

"Where are we going, Blair?" What a surprise; he's confused

"You'll see" She turned her head to look at him, biting her lip with her best 'ravish me' eyes. But Nate was in the middle of waving to some lacrosse teammate. Typical

They reached Chuck's room. Blair hesitated. It would be a cheap shot but as memories of that's not the Blair I want came crashing unbidden to her mind; she pulled Nate inside with her.

His smell hit her almost immediately. The scent of expensive cologne, new clothes and that unidentifiable element which was so characteristically Chuck took over her senses. It emboldened her, reminding her of how she had relished the dirty encounters of the past. The thrill of the forbidden and the passion of sex. She turned to Nate, still staring at her confusedly, and saw how gorgeous he was. Soft hair falling across sea blue eyes, a chiselled jaw line and the stylish shirt which concealed that defined, flawless body.

She stepped closer to him and pushed his chest gently, guiding him towards Chuck's king-size bed. She bit her lip once more and stared up at him, seeing understanding dawn in his eyes and a vague, concealed lust darken them. Now they were in business.

She pushed his chest, not exactly gently, and he fell backwards heavily onto the dark sheets. As Blair knees touched the soft bed and began to crawl over him, she was instantly recalled back to previous times when she had done this very same thing. The very same scarf, that she had once pulled from around Chuck's shoulders and had draped seductively over her own body, was hanging upon the headboard in front of her. She recalled the look of absolute yearning that had filled her ex-lover's eyes and fancied that she saw the same thing in her ex-boyfriend's. She needed to be touched so badly.

Finally, Nate spoke. "Blair...what are you doing?"

"We are not leaving this room until we discover whether or not we have sparks"

"Oh" Nate carried on lying back and stared, confused, up at her. A frustration in her body began to develop. It resembled that same urgency for physical contact that had plagued her ever since Chuck had initiated her sexual awakening over a year ago. It was a feeling that she had loathed and yet been enraptured with. Tonight, it needed to be satiated.

"Well, don't just lie there. Do something" She couldn't keep the commanding note from her voice, though she knew Nate hated it.

"Like what, Blair? There's a party going on just behind these walls and we're in Chuck's room for God's sake"

This was going wrong. "Don't you find it exciting?"

Nate stared up at her. There had been something strange about Blair's expression. He had never before seen that wild look in her eyes and he was becoming more and more disturbingly aware of the possibility that it was being in Chuck's room which was causing her sudden and, to him, uncharacteristic, display of sexuality.

"Blair...what's going on?"

Nate was met with a cold stare and silence. Blair, who was still straddling him upon the bed, suddenly became sullen and dark. He tried to avoid looking at the tops of her black stockings which were revealed as her black dress had ridden up her thighs. Blair sure knew how to seduce a guy and despite his hesitations it took Nate a considerable amount of willpower to continue. "Don't you think we should work things out as friends first?"

Blair sighed, her posture sagging. Suddenly the presence of Chuck's possessions seemed to mock her. Why was she so incapable of making anything work out the way she wanted it to?

"I mean, maybe that's why we didn't work the first times...because we weren't friends."

Blair felt like crying.

Nate's stomach twisted at the sight of her downcast face which had been so full of life mere minutes ago. He propped himself up on his elbows so their faces were close together now so Blair could look at him closely. His eyes were unreadable. But not in a mysterious way. In a blank way. Doubt crept through her mind and her limbs felt awkward. Their surroundings suddenly seemed entirely wrong. She had to get out.

Her whirling thoughts meant that she barely heard it when the door was pushed open. She had just opened her mouth to communicate her regret and embarrassment to Nate just as he was moving closer to comfort her and just as....

"What the hell is this?"

The sudden exclamation made her jump and a creeping realisation struck her as an ache in the pit of the stomach. No...

Her head whipped round and she was met with the furious, blazing eyes of Chuck Bass.

"Uh..." She heard Nate stammer beneath her. Beneath her...Oh God! She had a sudden, unnerving feeling of looking down at herself from above; her dress had ridden up to the top of her thighs revealing her suspenders, her hair was wild and her legs were spread over Nate's horizontal body.

"Get out" Chuck's voice shook with suppressed anger. "Right now"

Blair didn't need telling twice. Dignity abandoned, she all but rolled off Nate. She even stumbled as her feet hit the floor. The sight of Chuck looking as angry as he did rendered her speechless and she hurried from the room, not daring to look back at him as she passed him in the doorway.

She bumped clumsily into Serena, who had been standing behind Chuck, as she made her hasty exit. Serena raised a disapproving eyebrow but all Blair could do was shake her head and run, ignoring Nate's call behind her.

He felt sick. This could not be happening. They were in his room. She was poised above him in the very position that she knew to be his favourite. Her gorgeous thighs were exposed but it was Nate that was below her. Nate whose fingers were touching her perfect waist. Nate who she was pressing herself onto. The scotch was burning his throat and an uncomfortable sliding feeling was occurring deep in his stomach. He was incensed.

Mine. Not his. Not his.

He willed himself not to scream at Nate to stop touching her, to stop looking at her. Instead he managed to choke out

"Get Out" The two of them stared at him, dumbly. Blair's lips parted in shock. He saw pain in her eyes but he couldn't think about that, he just had to make them get out of his sight. "Right now"

They scrambled pathetically off his bed. Nate shot him a guilty look and Chuck glared back. He didn't care that Nate was his best friend and that Blair deserved a well-balanced, popular, sports-captain like him and not the broken shell that Chuck Bass had become. They were gone within seconds. The sound of Blair's heels across the hard floor seemed to reverberate through his head, causing it to throb and he pressed his hand to his eyes with an unsteady hand.

"Chuck..." It was Serena. He looked up at her. His step-sister was actually looking concerned. And he felt a surge of further unwanted emotion. "I don't know what they were thinking...I didn't even know anything was going on between them. That was totally out of order"

"She can do whatever she wants" His response sounded ridiculous as it left his lips. His voice had shaken slightly and his eyes were stinging. He felt ashamed.

Suddenly, he felt arms around him. He stood in shock for a few moments before wrapping his arms around Serena in return. Any other time he would have made some kind of filthy comment but this moment felt different. He needed her support.

"Don't worry, Bro. It will work out"

Bro...Chuck felt his body tense with emotion. His eyes were hot and he pressed his face against her shoulder.

He knew she was shocked by the way she suddenly gripped him tighter. For fuck's sake, could this night get much more humiliating? Chuck would have laughed had he not felt so utterly wretched. So completely fucked up beyond belief.

He had to break away soon, of course. Chuck Bass was not a hugger.

They broke apart. He kept his head lowered and tried to look as though he had ceased caring. There was only such shame he could handle in one night.

"Uhm...goodnight then" Serena stated. The mood was suddenly awkward. Probably because the absurdity of the situation was steadily becoming apparent. Their normal selves would have pissed themselves at the thought of Chuck Bass and Serena Van der Woodsen having an emotional moment.

Chuck nodded gruffly before stepping backwards into his room and quickly shutting the door. Once he heard Serena close the door to her own room, he allowed himself to breathe. What the hell was happening to him?

He struggled to put his emotional walls back up again. He attempted to think Chuck Bass thoughts....summoning memories of lost weekends, bottles of scotch, Victrola, South American women, air hostesses from Tokyo....but he was unable to silence the single word that was circling around in his head.

Bro...