A/N – I was very nervous about writing Dan and Blair. They're kind of hard to write but I gave it my best shot. Loosely based on 'Back to December' by Taylor Swift this chapter follows the storyline of the show, looking at a missing moment from Blair's summer in Monaco.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Gossip Girl or its characters.

"So, that means you won't be back for another week?" Blair whined into the phone.

"I am so sorry, Blair. President Sarkozy is a busy man and I need to meet with him before I return to Monaco," Louis replied. Knowing his fiancée was tiring of the same people and places, he suggested she ring a friend or do some shopping.

"I think I already bought all the stock in every store in Monaco," she paused and sighed, "but I guess I could call a friend. I wonder what Serena is doing."

"Perfect. Now, I must go, my darling. I'm about to step into a meeting."

"Ok. I'll see you soon. I lo-." The phone clicked off before Blair could finish her sentence.

Summer in Monaco with Louis was not what she expected. She envisioned dinners in tiny little restaurants after closing time, sneaking away to a country cottage (which was the size of a palace) for a weekend or even just 48 uninterrupted hours without Louis being called away to a meeting with some foreign royal or diplomat. She was bored. She glanced down at her canary yellow diamond engagement ring and started to hyperventilate. If she couldn't survive four weeks, how would she survive a lifetime?

She quickly turned back to the bed and searched the puffy duvet cover for the phone she had just tossed onto it. Flipping it open, she scrolled her contacts until she found the number she was looking for.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, Serena felt her phone vibrating in her bag. She quickly rifled through her messy bag and found the phone. Without even glancing at it, she clicked it off and continued with her new job. She could return the call later.

"Hi, you've rung Serena Van Der-." Blair hung up and threw the phone back on her bed. She shuffled over the computer, trying to find something, anything, to distract her from this huge life-changing thought that had entered her mind.

Emails. I'll check my emails. That doesn't require much deep and meaningful thought, she decided.

She read through two emails from her mother, one from her step-father and another drunk-induced email from Nate. Vogue subscription, Columbia University, Netflix, W Magazine. Netflix? She scrolled back up the page and clicked on the email:

Dear Miss Waldorf,

It has come to our attention that the playlist Dan and Blair's Summer Movies was created more than four weeks ago and has not been viewed. This is a courtesy message reminding you that this playlist is available for you to view at any time, simply by following the link and clicking "Watch Instantly."

Yours sincerely,

Netflix Administration Team.

She had thought about Dan every day for the last month. She was wondering what he was doing with his summer, why he hadn't emailed or messaged about movies or art or anything. Wasn't he supposed to be her friend? Or at least an acquaintance she occasionally watched movies with…and kissed?

The kiss. She lied to everyone, including herself, when she said that it meant nothing. It wasn't like kissing her brother, or Serena's brother. It was…different. Maybe it was his Brooklyn roots or the fact that he wasn't like anyone she had ever known but it was a good kiss. And she had been thinking about it for months.

For her, the pink party was a test; another chance to make sense of the things she had felt after the first kiss. It was a chance to see whether she would feel the same things again. And, of course, she did, but somehow she was still surprised; still shaken by the fact that she had begun to understand the "Humphrey Appeal."

But Dan wouldn't feel the same things. Why would he? He had been with Serena, the queen bee, the favourite fantasy of every man. Guys didn't trade down from Serena, they traded up. Nate was a prime example of this. So no, Dan was not feeling the same about the kiss but he was still a Netflix friend. Blair clicked the forward button and wrote a quick email to Dan:

Humphrey,

Don't think I've forgotten our little deal this summer.

Watching Rosemary's Baby just isn't the same without you complaining about your dreadfully bad luck.

Blair.

Blair let the cursor hover over Send for a moment before clicking the button.

She shut the lid of her laptop and walked into her closet, distracting herself again. Clothing could endlessly distract her. She closed her eyes and ran her fingers across the dresses she would never wear again; a lady of society never repeated an outfit in public. Her hand stopped on a soft material she didn't recognise. Without opening her eyes, she rubbed the skirt of the dress between her fingers and breathed in its smell. As she opened her eyes to see her pink party dress, her phone rang, not giving her time to contemplate the meaning of stopping at this particular outfit.

She walked back over to her bed and picked up her cell phone from the mattress.

Humphrey

The name screamed at her from the screen. She took a deep breath before clicking the green Accept button.

"So you still remember my number, huh, Humphrey? I thought you might be working through our summer movie playlist alone," Blair answered with mocking tone in her voice.

"I thought I'd let you get used to royal life before I gave you my across-the-bridge views on The Landlord," Dan replied, happy to hear Blair's voice for the first time in four weeks.

"You would choose that movie to begin with, since it is set in your native land of Brooklyn."

"Would you rather begin with Tiffany's or Roman Holiday?"

"I've had enough of royalty to almost never watch Holiday again."

"After only one month, the Prince's charm is wearing off, is it?"

"We…I di…I just-."

"It's a joke, Waldorf. How is the Prince's Palace? And the Prince, of course?"

"It's…" Blair contemplated telling Dan the truth, about everything she was thinking earlier that day, about the way she'd been feeling for the last month, "great. Louis is very busy, but we see each other as often as we can. His mother is here too but I don't see her very much, either. Which I guess is a good thing because I don't think she likes me very much." Blair laughed nervously and heard silence from the other end of the line.

Even though he was across an ocean, Blair knew what he wasn't saying when he sighed and said in a questioning tone, "Blair?"

"Ok, ok. It's not great, it's not even good. I've probably seen Louis for two hours the entire time we've been here and don't even get me started on our sex life."

Dan cringed on the other end of the line, "Don't worry, I won't. What's going on with Louis?"

"It's just…not what I expected. I mean, I knew he wasn't going to be with me every minute we were here but I at least expected to eat more than one meal with him. I'm bored and I don't think I want to…be bored anymore." She couldn't bring herself to say the words, she could barely think them: I don't think I want to get married anymore.

"So you're rethinking…boredom? That's a pretty big decision."

Of course Dan understood what she was saying, why wouldn't he? He was a writer so he understood metaphors. "I…I don't know what I'm thinking. I'm just trying to work out what I'm feeling and what will happen to me and Louis if I decide to…if I come home."

"Well, maybe a female perspective would help. Have you spoken to Serena?"

"She's too busy in L.A. to accept a call from her best friend. I got her voicemail. And I can't speak to anyone else about this. Well, except you…I guess."

Dan laughed awkwardly into the phone, "Yeah, you'd think I was your therapist or something, the way you've been talking to me."

"Well…thank you. I really needed to talk to…a friend. Even one that refuses to watch movies with me."

"The phone works both ways, Waldorf. You could have just as easily called me, especially since you claim to have been bored for the last four weeks."

"Well, I guess we better get a start of this list then. We do have four weeks to catch up on. Shall we start with your favourite, The Landlord?"

"So, because I'm from Brooklyn, The Landlord must be my favourite movie? Actually, I guess that makes sense. I mean, Tiffany's is your favourite movie."

"Humphrey! The location of Tiffany's has nothing to do with it being my favourite. It is an inspiring story about-."

"Ok, ok. Let's just start the movie. You could probably talk about Hepburn movies for hours."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Blair couldn't believe how quickly the past two hours went as the credits were rolling. She wasn't bored at all throughout the entire 113 minute movie.

"Beau is definitely the more talented Bridges brother. Jeff may be more famous but at least Beau doesn't sell out and only make blockbusters," Dan said, giving his reflections on the movie's cast.

"I'd have to agree with you on that, Humphrey. Beau is more talented. However, we could compare their work more closely. I'll add The Fabulous Baker Boys to the playlist even though I'm appalled by Michelle Pfeiffer's pedestrian acting ability."

"Just added it. I guess we'll continue with that tomorrow then. Same time?"

"Sure. And, Humphrey? Thank you for the movie…and the talk."

"No problem. You can always call me to watch a movie…or for whatever else you need."

"Well, it's The Fabulous Baker Boys tomorrow, and then we'll continue with the rest of the list after that."

"Sounds good. Hopefully the summer improves for you."

"It already has. Thanks, Humphrey. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. Bye, then."

"Goodbye."

Blair hung up and said to no one what she had wanted to say to Dan: "I miss you."

Across the Atlantic, a certain Lonely Boy was thinking exactly the same thing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Netflix, Rosemary's Baby, The Landlord, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday or The Fabulous Baker Boys.

I used Google, Wikipedia and IMDb to find facts about Monaco and the movies I mentioned.

Thanks to my sister Cookie141 for being my beta and helping me make this story perfect for all you guys out there!