A/N: This is only my second FanFic and I'm not sure where I'm going with it yet, so review if you're intrigued!! I kind of have an idea where I want it to go so if you think it has potential, drop me a line. This chapter isn't the best but is necessary for the build up to the next bit (well, hopefully!!).

Blair lay on the bed with her knees tucked against her chest and her mascara stained tears ruining the pillows beneath her face. Her curls stuck to her face, the tears acting as glue, yet ironically being caused by the lack of glue in other areas of her life. She had told him again. Told him that she loved him. Yet once again, he had laughed in her face and humiliated her. It was as though she was just another of the dancers from Victrola. Something to look at, flirt with, take home for the night and forget about the next morning. She didn't know why she kept putting herself through the pain over and over again. The pain of being left unsatisfied and alone, with Dorota fussing around her trying to pretend she wasn't a broken mess on the bed.

Blair text Serena, hoping that she might be able to heal her soul: "Want to do some damage at UES's finest shops? Got Daddy's credit card. B xxx"

It had become almost a ritual for the two of them to raid the stores after boy trouble; as is the nature of the male species, they had wardrobes that were full to bursting. Most of the clothes Blair bought on such shopping trips remained hanging unworn with their labels pierced through various dresses and bags and trousers. She couldn't bare to wear them, knowing that each item of clothing represented yet another rejection from the infamous Chuck Bass. If he could just tell her that there would never be a chance for the two of them, she could move on, but he kept her hanging. Kept sleeping with her and then leaving before they had time to talk anything through.

"Sure --- Chuck again? Meet you out front in 10. S xxx" After receiving the reply, Blair quickly scrubbed her face so that there was no evidence of the heartbreak and dressed in her black high-waisters, with a red blouse and matching red shoes, hairband and bag. Even in the middle of a crisis, it was Blair's top priority to look a million dollars. After all, she just didn't know who she was likely to meet.

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Chuck paced up and down his expensive apartment on the UES, going over and over the scene with Blair before. He just couldn't do it. Three words. Eight syllables. Chuck Bass, the man who could do everything, was unable to utter them to the one woman he loved. Always had loved and always would love. As always, he thought he would find the answer at the bottom of the whisky glass. Knocking back glass over glass, Chuck was no nearer to finding a clue as to the way forward, so continued drinking. Just in case the answer hid in the next glass, or the one after that, or the one after that.

He had no idea what to do. When Blair had looked at him before she turned and walked away, her eyes were already brimming with tears and he could see that she was using all of her power to stop herself from shedding them in front of him. He knew full well that the minute she turned around, the tears would stream down her cheeks, and it was for that reason, he didn't follow her. Pull her to face him. Tell her he was completely smitten. Tell her he loved her. Prove to her he was the only one she would ever want or need.

He text Nate. Similarly to Blair, he was confiding in his closest friend that was often his enemy. They agreed to meet at the mall in 20 minutes to see if Nate could sort this business out. Give Chuck the answers he so desperately required.

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Blair and Serena walked down the street, deciding to settle in the upper class cafe in the middle of the local mall. A quiet enough spot where they could sit and enjoy a Frappucino each, while both discussing the men in their lives, that were as normal, their greatest concerns.

GG: So, B and S are comfy in a cafe, discussing the one and only Chuck Bass. Little do they know, that the great himself is on his way to the same cafe to do the exact same thing. Discuss the brown haired beauty keeping him up at night. Great minds do think alike. XOXO Gossip Girl.