Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl or any of its characters.
A/N: I wrote this one-shot in response to a challenge on the fanfic board at Fan Forum for the music video Stolen by Dashboard Confessional.
Thanks to Tatiana!
Stolen Moments in Secret Places
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Nate was walking on the rocks outside. The sun shone over his features so perfectly. He almost glowed.
Blair was watching wistfully as he held Serena's hand to help her up on the shiny black stone, so she wouldn't trip.
Blair was standing at the top of the beach, and they didn't seem to be missing her.
An empty feeling filled Blair's chest.
She hated feeling excluded, so she ran.
Chuck was walking along the rocks by himself, and he noticed as the little brunette scurried off.
She looked so unhappy that he had to follow her.
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She appraised her appearance in an old mirror framed in mahogany. Blair straightened the bow on her headband and smoothed her pretty navy dress.
She let her shoulders hang, tired of standing so rigidly only for Chuck Bass to appear in her line of vision. She immediately stood up straight.
I must have looked so gross.
Chuck was leaning up against the door frame, his eyes honing in on Blair, as if she was the only object in the room.
Ew! He was spying on me. He's so weird.
Blair pursed her lips as she yelled, "Go away, Chuck."
He unlatched himself from the wall and sauntered over to her. "Am I bothering you, Waldorf?" He smirked.
"I have a first name, you know," Blair gasped. "You should use it sometime."
"I like calling you by your last name." A genuine smile graced his features as he spoke.
"Ugh, if you really have to, Bass," she remarked.
Her use of his last name made him smile wider.
Blair stared at her reflection and moved a curl behind her ear, making sure she looked as perfect as possible. "I guess its okay."
"It's a nice day outside. Serena and Nate are playing on the beach. Why are you primping in here?" Chuck sneered.
He enjoyed teasing her, even then.
"I am not primping," Blair pouted. "And I don't want to play with them." She drifted off as her gaze lingered on the image of Nate tickling Serena. Serena fell to the ground, and the two blonds laughed and giggled till their faces were red. Nate still looked at Serena like she was a goddess despite her blush.
Chuck was staring at Blair again. He felt an urge to grab her hand at the sad look on her beautiful face.
She snapped back to reality and made up an excuse. "I would ruin my dress, anyway."
"Well, you can't have that," he drawled. He continued staring.
"You know, it's rude to stare. Not that you care about being rude or anything," she snipped.
"I stare at girls all the time."
"But when you look at me, it's so creepy! You get this look on your face, like you want to eat me or something."
"You looked very appetizing," he chuckled.
"I don't think Nate would like the way you were looking at me," she chided him.
"Maybe not," he said for her benefit. "You're not gonna tell him. Besides, that would be pretty difficult to do while you're all hauled up here in your little room."
"I suppose it's our room now, since you won't leave." She put on a tone of disgust. As if the idea of spending anymore time with him was the worst prospect in the world.
"Aww! How sweet. We have a room," Chuck said, his voice thick with sarcasm. "What should we do in our room?" He raised his eyebrows at her as he spoke.
"You know how to play cards?" She asked.
"Of course."
Blair went over to the cabinet and pulled out playing cards. Chuck went to grab them from her hands to deal, brushing his warm hand against hers as he did. The two resumed eye contact at the feeling.
"I'm dealing," she explained.
Chuck grudgingly nodded his head. For anyone else, Chuck would have gotten his way, but for Blair he made an exception.
Just this once, he thought.
The two played a competitive came of rummy. They read each other so well that the game seemed to go on forever, but it was peaceful for the two of them just to play together.
Blair felt challenged and oddly important. Chuck was always glancing at her, studying her face. She thought she should feel self-conscious under his scrutiny, but the look on his face just made her feel confident.
Chuck enjoyed the company of someone who could keep up with him. Nate was his best friend, but not the brightest bulb in the box. Every time he glanced at her, he wondered how someone so beautiful could look so breakable and yet have so much spunk. They bantered away.
Eventually time came for dinner, and Chuck's Nanny found the two in their room.
Blair and Chuck shared one last look before hurrying off to freshen up. Blair felt chills form on her arm.
It would be almost six years before she saw him look at her that way again.
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In a way she never really understood, she would be the only girl to touch his heart. She knew he respected her. She was his friend, she could trust him in a way no girl in the whole city ever dreamed of, but the idea that Chuck Bass could love her with an intensity she never imagined inspired many different emotions in her though the years.
At seventeen, she hated the idea. It wasn't supposed to be Chuck and Blair. Nate and Blair was all she allowed her thick skull to dream of. Nate would wear her heart on his sleeve, and they would have a happily ever after.
She eventually woke up from that fairytale
By summer, Blair wished Chuck did love her. He wouldn't have ditched her at a helipad if he had just cared, right?
They found themselves again at that same Hamptons house they had frequented when they were just eleven years old. Summer was coming to an end as senior year approached. Upon her return from France, Blair found herself once again in the company of Chuck.
Her ruby lips were slightly parted as she met his gaze once again. This time he was across the room, legs crossed, back against the bar with his hand on some blonde's waist. The blond was gabbing on, but Chuck wasn't even pretending to listen.
He only had eyes for Blair.
The burning in her stomach, caused by his gaze made her feel as if she might melt on the dance floor
So she ran away, and he followed after.
They were deep inside the house before he was close enough to carry a conversation with her.
He reached his hand out to grab hers. "Where could you be headed so fast?"
"Back off, Bass." She pulled away, but not before her palm grazed the top of his hand.
She ducked into an old room, and he entered right after her. She knew he was there, but wouldn't turn around. She just looked in the mirror.
My eye makeup is all wrong.
Her eyes were glassy, but she still saw Chuck come up behind her in the mirror.
She bit her lip, and he put his hand on her shoulder, gently urging her to turn around.
After thirty three seconds of pressure, she caved and turned to face him.
"Why won't you leave? You had no problem with that in May."
"You're crying." He wiped a tear drop from her pale face. The movement brought their faces closer.
"Go away, Chuck!" She looked him dead in the eye.
"Am I bothering you, Waldorf?" He smirked. His forehead touched hers as he spoke. His voice was just loud enough for her to hear.
He placed his mouth on hers, and she moved her lips with his. She felt like she was on fire now. If Chuck hadn't been holding her up, she would be a puddle on the floor.
Chuck moved his hands down her body and finally entwined her small hands in his larger ones.
"Stop staring at me from across the room," she demanded.
"I stare at you all the time," he leered.
Blair rolled her eyes, but he didn't let her go. He scooped her up into his arms and her head fell into the crook of his neck.
He just couldn't let her leave the room because Blair possessed Chuck's heart. She stole it from it at age eleven, and he would never allow her to give it back.