Title: It's Hard to Live in the City
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Characters: Blair/Chuck, Blair/Nate, Serena/Nate
Summary: Pre-TV Series. Serena, Blair, Nate and Chuck – life as they knew it before Serena left for boarding school.

"I'm a Waldorf," Blair Waldorf reminded her best friend, wrinkling her nose at the shoes Serena van der Woodsen handed to her.

Serena rolled her eyes. "And I'm a van der Woodsen, but you don't see me giving up something this beautiful just because it's on sale," she smiled, hugging the tacky gold heels to her chest.

"Whatever, sales der Woodsen," Blair smirked sweetly in reply, continuing to browse through Barneys.

Serena's phone buzzed and she quickly flipped it open, reading the text message while Blair headed into the dressing room. Starbucks at 2? –Nate

Grinning slightly, Serena glanced at the time: 1:45. Five minutes later, Blair exited the dressing room, putting away the expensive emerald dress in disgust. "I'm so done here," she declared, beginning to walk out of the store.

Serena followed her friend quickly. "Hey, B, you want to go to Starbucks? I could sooo use a vanilla latte right about now," she suggested.

Blair sighed in exasperation. "Sure, why not?" She trudged toward the nearby Starbucks. Serena walked alongside her, biting her chipped nails as they entered the store, isolating them from everything except the rich aroma of coffee.

As Blair was about to order, Nate Archibald bounded in, a grin abroad his face as he spotted Serena sitting down at a table. "Hey," he smiled, out of breath from his jog. Serena returned the smile awkwardly. "So, I wanted to ask you something," he started until Blair walked up to them, surprise evident in her eyes.

"Hi Nate!" she grinned, hugging him before placing a lingering kiss on his cheek. He blushed instantly. "What are you doing here?"

"Umm…" he sent a questioning look to Serena.

Serena interrupted, "Nate told me he wanted to meet up with us but to keep it a secret from you. He wanted to surprise you."

Blair raised her eyebrows, sitting down next to Serena, her hand intertwined with Nate's. She squinted her eyes at the figure outside the store, who was eyeing the group. "Serena, there's some homeless guy looking at you," she said, detangling herself from Nate and facing her friend. She didn't notice the wave of jealousy passing through her blue eyes.

Serena shook her head confusedly, dismissing the subject. Putting on a big smile, she glanced at Nate and Blair's hands. "Wow. Were you guys ever going to tell me?" she joked, but her voice cracked slightly and only Nate noticed.

Nate stared down at their hands and instantly pulled away. "It's nothing," he decided, but Blair rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, Serena and I were shopping around and-," Blair began, but Serena stepped in, taking something out of the bag she had purchased from Barneys.

"I bought this for you. You said you lost your old cologne, and I thought you'd like this one," she smiled, dazzling him as he took it from her.

Examining it, he smiled. "Wow, thanks Serena," he placed a kiss on her cheek.

Blair looked on with steely eyes before turning to Serena. "When did you buy that? I didn't even see you get it," she scoffed.

Serena shrugged. "I bought it while you were trying on something," she said. Sensing her friend's apprehension, Serena looked at Nate again. "But it was really Blair's idea. She wanted to get you it but she had been saving up for this gorgeous dress instead, so I helped her out."

Nate looked pleased, but something was off. Blair smiled, hugging him as well, before murmuring a "thank you" to her best friend. Desperate to take the conversation off the cologne she obviously hadn't given a thought to, Blair looked out the window again. "That homeless guy is staring at you again."

This time, both pairs of eyes turned towards the glass pane. Nate wrinkled his eyes. "Blair, that guy's not homeless. It's Chuck," he laughed.

Serena burst out laughing as she looked and saw Chuck Bass crossing the street. Blair giggled too. "Oops. I didn't recognize him without the scarf," she said defensively before going outside to greet him.

As soon as she was out of hearing range, Nate faced Serena. "Why do you always do that?" he asked her. When she stared at him blankly, he continued, "Why do you always let Blair take credit for the things you do?"

Serena smiled softly at his antics. "Because she loves you. And because I'm her best friend. That's what best friends do. We make sacrifices."

Nate shook his head. "I never see her do that for you," was all he said before Chuck Bass entered the shop.

His best friend's eyes were slightly happier than usual and Blair's cheeks were flushed more than ever, and Nate should've put two and two together right then and there, but he didn't.

A year later, Blair and Nate are dating. Chuck wears his scarf every day, making sure everyone can see the brand name so no one mistakes him for a homeless person. And Serena's gone. It's only the beginning of the end.

Blair is the only one who does not know why Serena has left for boarding school. But it's only a matter of time. Blair's not stupid. Unlike Nate, she puts two and two together and oh God, he still wears that cologne. Every once in awhile, he asks Blair to go buy a new bottle for him, but oh God, she can't bear to. She has Chuck pick it up instead and when she gives it to Nate, he's all smiles, and she can't help but wonder why.

Chuck wants to tell her, he does. He wants to tell her how he caught Nate and Serena fucking on a bar during the Shepard wedding, but he doesn't have the heart.

Months later, Serena returns from boarding school. Blair can't stand the fact that she thinks that now that she's back, everything will return to normal. Nate has stopped wearing that cologne, and Chuck knows it's because now Nate can have the real thing. And more than anything, Blair misses her best friend.

But when Blair sees Serena in those hideous gold heels, Blair spits out, "Not even a homeless person would stare at you now." And she walks away.

Is this sacrifice?