Ok this is just pure fun. I got bored, and starting writing what I wanted to happen. Obviously I am not a very good writer, but I am hoping you can overlook that and enjoy. Thank you! :D
For the second time in less than a year, Blair Cornelia Waldorf was running through John F. Kennedy airport be stared at by other travelers and airport employees. The same airport, the same terminal, the same players, but this time the roles were reversed. She heard the loud clock announcing the new hour. She was late, but she knew there was a chance she could still make it.
"It's a commercial flight. It's probably delayed, and full of sick elderly and screaming children who are slowing down the boarding. That's what happens when you don't charter a private plane," she told herself as she saw the sign for number 9 in the distance.
XoXoXoXoXoXo
A light tapping on her shoulder, woke Blair out her dream. It was one she had several times recently. Everything about it bothered her. It wasn't an Audrey dream, or even a Grace Kelly or Bette Davis dream, but that wasn't what bothered her the most. Over the last few months, she had had fewer and fewer movie-esque dreams. Why have nightmares based in fantasy, when she had been through so many in real life?
She had lost her unborn child in an car accident that was the result of horrible decision making, had her wedding interrupted twice, first by one Louis aunts loudly declaring that Serena looked like a prostitute and second by Chuck's loud overtures of fate and magnetism.
Then her reception had been a complete disaster. Within the first ten minutes, Penelope had a wardrobe malfunction while dancing with one of Louis' many cousins, Nate had gotten in a heated argument with his grandfather, and Beatrice had been caught snogging Father Cavalia in a broom closet. That should have been the last straw, but of course, she still hadn't been able to make herself leave. Then she had to go and dance with Dan. Of course it was Humphrey's fault, it was always his fault.
XoXoXo{FLASHBACK}oXoXoX
"So, you're really married now, huh?" Dan asked looking down at her with a soft smiley.
"Barely, and no thanks to anyone else," she answered, not returning the smile.
"Yeah, well." he said simply, she looked and saw a look of hurt in his dark eyes.
She immediately felt bad. He had been there for her so much in the last few weeks. He had helped her pick the dress, not like his small gasps and mumbled assurances of "You look beautiful," and "Louis will love it, I do" had actually provided much help. He had been there the night that her pain over the miscarriage had manifested in reckless behavior ending in her arrest, release, and inevitable emotional breakdown.
Finally, yesterday, when Julien, Louis' third cousin twice removed, had been shipped back home after Beatrice, whom Blair suspected was behind it, had discovered hundreds of pills and a large amount of top-shelf cocaine in his luggage, Blair had began to have a panic attack over the asymmetry of the bridal party, "The pictures are going to look ridiculous! Kate never had to deal with this! Why should I?" Dan stepped in, and offered to fill the vacant spot, so she have her fairytale just as she had imagined, though she was worried about what his hair was going to do to the final portraits, and she had told him so.
"Ok, I will grant that you have had your moments of usefulness," she saw a small look of pleasure replace the one of hurt.
"Anything for her royal highness. I would hate to lose my head." he said jovially.
She let out a soft laugh, and then just stared out over his shoulder watching everyone else. Nate had calmed down, Beatrice was talking with Georgina in the corner, Louis was at the bar, and Serena was sitting next to Chuck, both were watching the dancing pair. Blair didn't know why they were staring, but she noted that Serena still looked angry at her. For once, Blair didn't know she had done to upset her blonde bombshell of a best friend. Serena had be cold to her from the moment she had awoken this morning, and judging by the way Dan had gone out of his way to ignore Serena at the reception, Blair assumed he too had done something to incite the blonde's rage. She peripherally noticed that the music had changed, but they had yet to stop dancing. Dan's voice broke her out of her thoughts.
"Hmm, what?" she asked reverently.
"Having trouble hearing today, Waldorf?" he questioned.
"It's Grimaldi now," Blair ignored his slight grimace, "and besides, maybe if you had something that was worth saying, then I might listen."
"I just asked, are you happy?" he repeated.
"Oh." she paused for a moment before finishing "I am a princess now, right? What more is there?"
"That's not what I asked." he stared at her, waiting for answer.
"Well, what do you want to know then? It's my wedding day, and I am not in the mood to play mind games with you, Humphrey." Blair was starting to get annoyed.
"Does Louis make you happy?" Dan asked, sincerely.
"He's a good man." she replied simply.
"Blair." He continued staring at her.
"What? He makes me happy enough, and he's not Chuck, thank god. Besides, the last time I chose to not be with him, I ended up in a hospital with a concussion and a miscarriage." She snapped.
"I'm sorry, Blair." His face flushed in embarrassment.
"This was really the best decision I could have made. Louis is a good man, who loves me. He might have problems with my past, but he can appreciate most of me." she continued, wanting to move past those memories.
"You deserve to be with someone who appreciates you, all of you, Bass-infected past and all." he said softly.
"Too bad that sort of thing is limited to Jane Austen novels." she spoke wistfull.
"You never answered my question. Does he make you happy?" He prodded.
Before she could answer, or if she was honest, deflect, the music changed again, and she pulled away, and made her way over to the bar to order a martini. As she turned to return to take her place at the head of the table, she saw Georgina, Beatrice, Louis, and a young brunette that was unknown to her, involved in an intense debate. Blair made her way over to small group and held her hand out to the new face.
"Hi. I don't know you, what are you doing here?" Blair asked, fake smile plastered across her face, finger tracing the top of her glass.
"Excuse me? Who are you?" the uninvited woman questioned.
"I'm Blair Waldorf-Grimaldi, this is my wedding, who the hell are you?" Blair, feeling anger starting to fill her veins, spoke louder.
"I'm Celina, the love of Louis' life." the young woman replied haughtily.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you. What?" Blair asked good-naturedly, face all fake smiles and batting eyelashes again.
"I said I'm Ce-" that was all she was able to get out before Blair poured her martini down the front of the tart's dress and chaos broke out.
Louis began trying to explain to Blair that this was all just a misunderstanding, that he hadn't seen this girl in years. Beatrice showed Blair's pictures of the two of them together, talking outside of the embassy the previous night after he had dropped Blair off. Celina was in the middle of calling Blair a number of highly inappropriate names that even Chuck would embarrassed by. Georgina was just sitting back laughing, watching as more and more people began to join the fray.
After Louis story had changed a second time, and he had started a new round of apologies, Blair had enough. This was all too much. She gathered her train and flowers and headed outside, not that anyone noticed it amongst the ever-growing chaotic scene. An old conversation played over and over in her head: Say life is giving you signs, and you are ignoring them because you're afraid of they are signaling you to do. Well, she was tired of ignoring those signs. She wasn't happy, and outside of the occasional art discussion or movie viewing with Humphrey, she hadn't been in a long time. She was done with all the the condescension of Louis' family, the fake smiles for the photographers, but most of all, she was tired of lying to herself. Yes, she had wanted a fairytale, but how was she supposed to live happily ever after when she couldn't even find peace and joy on her wedding day.
She felt hopeless and then noticed the car that was waiting to take her and Louis from the St. Regis to the private jet that was to take them away, moving closer. The driver must have seen her and thought it was time to depart. The next part stayed a blur in her mind. One moment she was standing outside, and the next she throwing her bouquet to the ground and rushing across the street towards the decorated classic Rolls Royce. She jumped in the back and told the driver to take her to JFK. She had to get away. She couldn't be here anymore, this reception, Manhattan, New York, this new marriage, it was all to much and it was choking her. How could she have let herself get this far. She was married to man that she didn't love and she was so, so unhappy. The driver tried to argue that they should wait for His Highness, but once Blair broke out in tears, he shut up and start driving.
The next thing she remembered clearly was sitting on a dirty public bench, wedding dress pooling out around her, and someone sitting next to her and grabbing her hand.
"Are you ok?" A simple question from a very familiar voice.
"What does it look like to you, Humphrey? I am sitting in the middle of an airport terminal, surrounding by coughing children, wearing a hundred-thousand dollars worth of diamonds, but I can't even afford a business class flight on this bargain commercial airline.
"First of all, I wouldn't talk about how much that jewelry is worth so loudly. Secondly, a hundred-thousand dollars? Really? Lastly, maybe the next time you plan on running out of the country, you should remember to bring your purse and passport."
"Yes, my biggest mistake today was not hiding my passport in my bustier and cash in my garter. Not like there really is enough material on either to support the weight. Maybe if I had worn the leather-" she stopped mid-tangent when she noticed Dan shifting uncomfortably next to her. She looked over and noticed a slight pink flush running up his cheeks to his ears. "Why, Humphrey, are you blushing? Are so much of a self-loathing prude that me talking about my underwear upsets you?"
"Upset is not the word I would use. Anyway, back to the matter at hand." he coughed and looked desperate to change the subject.
"And what would that be?" she asked, watching the tourists form groups before breaking off and forming new ones.
"Why did you leave?" He was staring directly at her, she could feel him looking at her.
She turned to meet his gaze."You."
"Wh-what?" he stammered.
"You and your stupid questions about happiness. I would have been on my way to Dubai right now, sitting in a private jet, next to my husband, the Prince of Monaco, but you had to go and do that stupid thing you do, where you care about people and try to help them. Now I am sitting in the Jet Blue terminal talking to you about my problems, again."
"What were your plans?" he asked bemusedly.
"I don't know, I just knew that I had to get away from there. When that harlot showed up, laying claim to Louis, I just snapped. I didn't care whether he was telling the truth or not because in that moment, I realized that the fairytale was all a lie. Louis didn't make me happy and no title or beautiful coastal palace was going to be fill that void. I don't know," she shrugged, "I guess I just felt trapped and like I needed to break free."
"So you were just going to leave?" Dan asked.
"That was the plan, still is if you happened to bring your wallet with you." Blair responded with a shrug.
"You were just going to leave without saying goodbye to anyone?" He asked, an annoyed tone entering his voice.
"What would it matter? Chuck is still angry at me about the engagement in the first place, Nate is busy dealing with his family, and Serena is upset at me about something," she noticed he flinched at the last part, but decided to ignore it.
"What about your mom and Cyrus? Harold and Roman? How about Louis? Doesn't he at least deserve an explaination?" He continued to question.
"I was planning on calling my mother and Cyrus as soon as I landed, and they would have talked to Daddy and Roman. Not that it's any of your business, but I would have talked to Louis once I was settled in."
"You were going to break up with him over the phone? You do realize that divorces don't work like that right?" Dan asked, shaking his head.
She elbowed in him the side. "Oww, ok ok. Fine no more questions about Louis," he looked over at her smug smile and finished "at least for the next five minutes."
She let out small laugh before recovering. "So, as you can see, my leaving wasn't going to really affect anyone else."
"What about me?" His tone was softer, she didn't know if she had heard him correctly at first.
"What about you?" She replied carefully.
Dan kicked at the floor and looked out at the runways "You were just going to leave without telling me goodbye?" his voice barely audible.
The words hadn't affected her much, she had ten retorts already prepared, but the way he spoke broke her rhythm. It wasn't his normal, quick-witted voice, or even his annoying, judgemental voice. It was a voice she had only heard him use once or twice, and both of those times with Serena, when she was in the process of breaking his heart. It made her feel something strange, but she really didn't think about the implications of that. He must have noticed her uncomfortableness because quickly, he stood up and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small money clip and a cell phone.
"What are you doing Humphrey." she asked, surprised by the sudden movement.
"I want you to listen to something," and he handed her his cell phone.
She gingerly held it up to her ear, slightly afraid it might explode. When she realized what she was hearing, she immediately felt guilty and strangely, thankful. It was voicemail message after voicemail message from her friends , Chuck and Serena, Nate and Dorota, hell, even Eleanor had called. They were all reports from places that she had not been at.
"We all went looking for you. Everyone was so scared. Right now. There is a team of very well-dressed people out roaming the streets of New York in January, wanting nothing more than to find you, and make sure you are ok."
"I don't understand." she said, confused.
"They love you, and care about you, and were worried out of their minds when they looked over to where you had been standing only to discover you weren't there anymore." his eyes seemed to be saying a lot more than his words.
"I guess I was being a little rash, I should probably tell them first." she said reasoned.
"So you still plan on leaving?" Dan asked, nudging her heel with the toe of his once-perfectly polished dress shoes.
"I can't stay here, there is just too much." she said, feeling defeated.
"I didn't think of you as a quitter." he replied.
"I am not quitting. I merely retreating and gathering my thoughts. This is why you should always have a good exit strategy." Blair said knowingly, looking up at him.
He just looked at her for a moment before handing her his money clip, "Here."
"What's this for?" Blair took it, confused.
"It's for you, so you can buy a ticket to LA or Houston or Bali or wherever you were planning on going." Dan replied matter-of-factly.
"As if I would ever-" Blair started to argue.
He put a hand up to silence her. "First you have to answer a question, honestly. Can you do that?"
"I suppose I can humor since you are paying, but make it fast, I think I am starting to get a rash from this bench." she answered, checking her arms for any redness or bumps.
He laughed before grabbing her hand to pull her to her feet. She noticed that he didn't drop his hand when he started talking.
"Will this make you happy? Will leaving behind New York, Columbia, your friends, Dorota, all of this," he motioned towards the skyline with his free hand. "will that make you happy? Will running away instead of facing your problems, really make them go away?"
"That was more than one question," when he just continued to stare at her, she continued "but how do I deal with all of it? How do I face all of that again? I just don't think I can."
"You can do anything you want, besides, you won't be alone," he squeezed her hand, "I made you a promise, and I plan on keeping it."
"Like that will make a difference, but I suppose if you are offering, it might not be completely horrible to have you on my side." she said slowly, as though weighing the options carefully.
"So does that mean you are coming home, or will I be receiving a letter from New Zealand in the next two to three weeks?" Dan asked, a 1000-watt smile, brightening his face.
She picked up the train to her dress and hooked her arm around his. "How did you find me anyway?"
"You're Blair Waldorf, I thought of the most dramatic scenario possible. Then when I got here, I saw heard some security guys talking about the rude girl in the big dress."
"Good work there Dick Tracy," she said agreeably
"Was that a compliment?" he asked, amused.
"Don't get used to it. I hope you know you're paying for the taxi ride home." she looked over at him, eyebrow arched.
"Already ahead of you, sister." he replied.
As they walked out the door, she saw a man hold open the door of towncar and beckon her forward.
"How did you know I would I want to come home." she asked sincerely when she realized that he had paid someone to wait out here for them
"Just call it the Humphrey charm." he snarked before getting into the car next her.
XoXoXoXoXo
That was how her fairytale had ended. She returned home, apologized to everyone, and then went to talk to Louis. They split amicably, deciding that maybe everything had just happened to quickly. It had been easy to get the marriage annulled and for them to move back to their regular lives. She read two weeks later that he had been seen around Paris with a new mystery woman, Blair laughed when she recognized the brunette in the paparazzi pictures. It was Celina, the wedding crasher.
Things had moved on to their normally scheduled plan. Her mother and Cyrus and Harold and Roman had all gone back to France. Dorota had unpacked all the honeymoon luggage, and Nate had invited her to get stoned with him and play some Wii, something she politely declined. Somethings never changed of course. Within a week Chuck was knocking on her door again, and a month later Serena has danced into her room, announcing that she and Dan had gotten together. Blair had initially recoiled at the news. There was something mean in Serena's voice in the way she talked about it, that confused Blair. Blair spoke hesitantly asking if she was sure this was such a good decision, and once again, Serena response had a tone of bitterness and victory. At the time, she really hadn't known what to make of it.
Of course she had found out later.
