Disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl. If I did then Chuck and Blair would have a normal relationship. I also don't own the song I showed Her. That belongs to O-Town. It goes really great with this story and pairing. I highly recommend that you listen to it.
Chuck Bass couldn't believe his eyes. There standing in front of him looking happier than he had ever seen her was Blair Waldorf. She was dancing with some guy he had never met and laughing. God he missed her laugh. She never laughed that often so when she did it was rare and beautiful. He loved those moments when she laughed. She was smiling too. A true Blair smile, not the ones that she puts on to convince everybody she is happy. Those were rare as well but his heart soared when she flashed one of those beauties his way. She looked happy and carefree. He hadn't seen her look that way in a long time. As he watched the couple dance he couldn't help but hate himself a little. He could have been the one dancing with her tonight. He could have been the one to make her laugh and smile. He wanted so badly to be that guy holding her in his arms. But he couldn't be and that was all his fault. As he stood there and watched them dance it hit him how badly he messed up. He was so horrible to her. He was so angry at her.
"Blair how could you! I told you that I would take care of it but no you couldn't leave well enough alone! You just had to stick your nose where it didn't belong. I had something all planned out so that I could impress the board and finally take my place at the head of Bass Industries. I told you that I didn't need to throw them a party! Damn it Blair!"
"I'm sorry I didn't think that a party would hurt you! I thought that the board might think of it as a nice gesture! And how was I suppose to know that you had a plan? You didn't tell me you had a plan. You don't tell me anything anymore. You are always at work Chuck! How in the hell are we suppose to make this work when you don't even come home? Or talk to me? Tell me that Chuck how?"
"I'm sorry that I don't come home and report to my wife as much as you think I should! Tell me why you are always throwing some party or another Blair. What happened to the smart Blair Waldorf? When did she disappear and get replaced with a stepford wife? You know what maybe this isn't working. I need out of this. I can't do this anymore. I'm going to go stay at the Palace." Chuck walked out the door of the apartment he shared with Blair and never looked back. He never saw her standing there with tears rolling down her face.
Thinking back on that night he realized how stupid he had been. Yelling at her for trying to help him. He used wife as an insult and he knew how much that hurt her. After they got back together she told him that if he ever said that word with malice again she was done. He walked out on her and never looked back. When he walked out that door that night he felt like he had to prove to her that he could survive without her. She use to tell him all the time that he would be lost without her. She was right. But he didn't want her to be. He wanted her to know that he could survive on his own. He never talked to her again after that night. He had someone go by the apartment to get his stuff when he knew she wouldn't be home. And then he moved to Italy. Without telling her.
About four months after he moved he invited Eric to come stay with him. Chuck always had a soft spot for the kid. Eric jumped at the chance to go to Italy and they made plans for him to come out as soon as possible. What Chuck didn't realize was that his big sister would follow him. Serena mad nice with Chuck in front of Eric but as soon as they were alone she gave him a piece of her mind.
"You are such a jackass! All she was trying to do was help you impress the board. But you couldn't let her help you instead you had to get mad at her. What in the hell is that matter with you? And then just leaving her like that. Chuck I don't understand the way your mind works, and I don't know what Blair sees in you but it must be something special because I would have been done with your ass a long time ago! I have watched the two of you hurt each other over and over again. I am sick of it. I'm sick of you making promises to her that you don't keep. I'm sick of her thinking that you will change someday. You won't change and I can't watch her get hurt again. I refuse to watch you destroy her again. I hope you like it here because I would suggest that you stay here for a very long time. I will not let you hurt Blair again. And the only way to keep that from happening is to make sure the two of you are as far away from each other as possible. I don't want to ever see you with Blair again. Do you understand me?" Chuck said that he did. And he decided to obey Serena's wishes plus he had to prove to Blair that he could live without her.
He had never seen Serena so mad before that day and he was afraid of what might happen if he didn't do what she said. So he stayed in Italy. For Six long years he stayed in Italy and it drove him crazy. So when Nate called him to tell him that he was getting married he jumped at the chance to come home for awhile. Nate and Eric picked him up from the airport and told him that they were going to have guys night tonight if he wasn't to jet lagged. Over the course of the next four days Chuck spent a lot of time with Nate, Eric, and even Dan. The fifth day he was back in the states was the day of Nate's engagement party. Nate warned him about the boyfriend before they even left the hotel. Chuck tried to look like it didn't matter to him but he wasn't fooling Nate or himself. Nate told him that Blair was a mess for a long time and he had never seen her like that.
They were supposed to be having a nice quite dinner just the two of them but a knock on the door ruined their plans. The last thing Nate expected to find on his door step was a crying Blair Waldorf. As soon as she saw him she went to him and started crying into his chest.
"Make it stop Nate. Make it go away! Or better yet build a time machine and take me back to that moment when we broke up. Make it not happen. Because if we didn't break up that night then I would have never gone to Victrola and then never slept with Chuck. And if I had never slept with Chuck then I won't ever have to feel like this! Why does it hurt so much? Why is he such an asshole? Why couldn't he let me help him for once? Why Nate Why?" Nate didn't know what to tell her so he just held her as she cried. She cried herself to sleep that night. She looked so broken.
"That was about a year after you left. She got better with time Chuck. When she first met Jason she was still a mess, but he kept coming to see her until she agreed to go out with him. They were together for almost a year before she let herself be truly happy with him. And she is happy. He was so patient with her waiting for her to let herself let you go. She loves him Chuck. I know you love her but please I am begging you don't do anything stupid. If he wasn't Blair's boyfriend then I think you would really like him." Chuck promised his friend that he wouldn't do anything stupid. This is how he ended up watching the love of his life dancing with some other guy. He knew that he messed up. He messed up big time. He thought that they needed time apart. Time to grow up a little bit. Blair took that time to find a new guy. Someone that wasn't Chuck Bass. Someone who wouldn't hurt her all the time. Someone who wasn't too proud. He let his pride drive him away from her that night. He had too much pride to admit that she was right and he was wrong.
As the song comes to an end he watches as the couple joins in the conversation with their friends. They all looked so happy. Dan had his arms around a very pregnant Serena, while she laughed at something Eric said. Vanessa was talking to Nate's fiancé, Rebecca while Nate talked business with Eric's boyfriend Jake. He then turned his attention to Blair, she was talking to her best friend and Jason had his arms wrapped around her and was chatting with Dan. He sighed as he watched them. He thought about going over there but then decided against it. He didn't belong there. Not anymore. Not since he set out to prove Blair wrong. She was in love. Nate was right. It didn't matter how he felt anymore, she was happy. She had made him a part of her past and that meant he had no room in her future. He shouldn't be here. All of a sudden Nate looked up and locked eyes with him. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Nate nodded and Chuck slipped out of the party.
That night was the last time Chuck Bass ever spoke to Nate in person. When his childhood best friend got married he slipped in the back right before the ceremony and slipped out right after. He caught the next flight to Rome and settled down to run Bass Industries from there. Blair never knew he was there. He keeps up with everybody's life pretty well. Eric emails him with updates as does Nate. They tell each other all the time that they should get together, but they never do. Serena and Dan had twins three months after he returned to Italy. A boy and a girl. Eric Charles and Annabella Nicole. Eric and Jake moved in together and are considering adopting a baby. Nate emailed him just the other day telling him he was going to be a daddy. As for Blair. Jason proposed to her in Tiffany's on their third anniversary. The wedding is set to be at the Plaza in June. As for Chuck, well he never married and lives a quite life in a small city outside of Rome. Having to be content with the fact that because he had to prove something to Blair he lost the only chance he had at true happiness.