She collapsed into the fine silk bedspread, sighing with exhaustion and a hint of annoyance. After spending a restless nine hours on a flight trying to ignore the constant chatter of her blonde companion Blair was exhausted. Now, after finally locating the Hotel Bertolini amongst the horribly repetitive, winding streets of Florence one would assume she would receive her well-earned slumber, but to no avail.
"Serena", she interrupted her best friend, "Can you just be quiet? We'll sort everything out a dinner tonight."
"It's not every day you're in Florence, B. We asked for a room with a view of the Arno, it isn't fair that we don't get one."
At this Blair rolled her eyes. She couldn't care less about having a view and wasn't planning on spending much time in the hotel anyway. Though she'd been to France many times, Italy was one of the places her travels had never taken her; therefore she wanted to see as much as possible during her time there. Daydreams of looking over the Arno and examining the fine art in Santa Croce filled her mind instantly. She would be like princess Ann in Roman Holiday, only she'd be in Florence and she wouldn't cut all of her hair off. As much as she loves Audrey's pixie cut, it's not something she could pull off. Freedom and Italy and epic romance bubbled in her brain, the hint of a smile tracing her lips. Oh, the things Italy does to a girl.
"Blair! Have you been listening to me at all?"
"What?"
"Chuck! Hey! This is Dan Humphrey, he's a writer." The handsome young man gestured to a scruffy brown-eyed Brooklynite with an unruly shock of brown hair on his head. Chuck scowled at the sight of him.
"Nathaniel, I'm Chuck Bass. I came to Florence to look for investment opportunities, not associate with ill-bred tourists."
Chuck Bass, the boy billionaire. Chuck Bass, the boy who was orphaned at age 18. He told people he was in Florence looking to expand his Dear Deceased Daddy's investments abroad, but really all he needed was an escape. The anniversary of his father's death was fast approaching and he decided he needed to be out of New York for a while, no doubt with his best friend Nate by his side. So far he hadn't been impressed with Hotel Bertolini, the decor was dated and the maids mediocre, though the impressive view of the Arno from his suite was certainly promising. If Humphrey was anything to go by the guests this place attracted weren't ideal, but that was nothing he couldn't fix.
"Now, since I'm here, I think it's time we go to dinner." He then directed his gaze to Dan, "I guess we'll see you around."
"Actually I was just on my way to eat now." Dan smiled, and Nate returned the sentiment. Chuck wasn't so generous.
The dining area at Hotel Bertolini was certainly impressive, a large archway leading to a grand room with high ceilings and numerous large tables scattered across the floor. They were seated at a table with two young women on their first trip to Italy too: one tall, blonde, and leggy; the other shorter and more petite, with large chocolate-brown eyes and soft chestnut ringlets framing her face. Chuck felt a fluttering in his stomach. He must have gotten food poisoning from the plane.
"Hi!", the blonde one piped cheerfully, "I'm Serena, and this is Blair" she said, gesturing to the brunette beside her who offered a forced smile.
"Nate Archibald" replied Nate, blue eyes sparkling and lips pulled up into a warm smile. "And this is Dan Humphrey, did you know he's a writer? He just had a piece published in the New Yorker"
"Oh my god, I read that just the other day. It was amazing!"
"Thank you" Dan stuttered, blushing at the praise he was receiving.
Chuck took no interest in Serena though, instead focussing his attention on the delicate girl beside her. From her facial expression he could tell she was enjoying this just about as much as he was, glaring at her flirtatious friend. The fluttering returned and he realised how beautiful she was, despite the scowl on her face. He'd never felt anything like that towards a woman before, usually he wouldn't spare them a second glance - they were simply there to fill his sexual desires. She tucked some hair behind her ear and turned around, eyes meeting his. In an instant he squashed any emotions he had, killed the butterflies. He wasn't that kind of person. Instead, he held her gaze and smirked.
"And you are?" she asked, intrigued by the dark mystery man in front of her.
"I'm Chuck Bass."
Dinner was a continuous flow of conversation, the small group falling into a comfortable pattern as if they had been friends for years. Neither Chuck nor Blair talked very much, both uninterested in the trivial discussions of their counterparts. Nate took the opportunity to comment on the absolutely splendid view from his room, nudging Chuck for reassurance.
"You're so lucky! Blair and I asked for our room to have a view but it doesn't."
"Well you can have ours then! We really don't need our view, and I'm sure you'll appreciate it more than us." Nate offered kindly, ever the gentleman.
"Oh we couldn't do that to you, really, it's fine"
"No, it really doesn't matter. We don't care about having a view, you do. Right, Chuck?"
"I for one quite enjoy the view" Chuck could feel Blair's eyes on him as he spoke.
"Nate", Blair called, "I think that's a great idea. I was so disappointed when we didn't get a view"
"But you-" she silenced Serena but digging her heel into her foot. An angelic smile was plastered on Blair's face and she looked over at Chuck, as if challenging him. He had to say, he was impressed.
"You know what, maybe I spoke too soon. You ladies deserve the view much more than we do" He winked and Blair could feel her heart beating loud in her chest.
"Great! That's settled then."
Congratulations if you made it this far. I know this is short, but I promise to you the following chapters will be longer. I just needed to set the scene before diving into the story. I was studying the novel 'A Room With A View' by E. M. Forster (I suggest you read it straight away) in English when this idea just sprung into my mind and has refused to leave since. This story is going to be loosely based off that novel, the general storyline will be that of the novel but I plan to change things up a bit to make it more true to the characters. That being said, this is my first time writing a Chuck and Blair story and I desperately hope I do them justice. I also haven't written any fanfiction in a long time, so excuse me if I'm a little rusty. Generally I have a rule where I won't post a story until I have at least three chapters written but I just couldn't wait to post this (#YOLO?). School is horribly busy for me right now so I plan to upload the first chapter in a week's time, fingers crossed that happens.
Please review!
- Sofia