This is my first Fanfic piece, so keep that in mind, please. Be kind to me. :) I actually am happy with how my story is playing out so far. I've enjoyed writing it, and I can't wait to continue writing multiple chapters. I love to read and write, and in case you can't tell by my story, I do LOVE some Gossip Girl too! I love reading other people's "Chair" stories, and my husband, knowing my dorky obsession with Chuck...and Blair ;), encouraged me to write my own.

Chapter 1

It wasn't as hard as she thought to get over Chuck and the unforgivable actions that took place two months ago. Sure, she still had the occasional nightmare where she would wake up in a cold sweat, realizing "Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck" would never be again. In a panic, she'd grasp for air and at times even wish that he would be laying beside her, proof that the nightmare was just that...a nightmare. However, the remaining sleepless hours during those nights, she'd reflect on how miserable and torture-filled their relationship was...maybe not in the beginning but at least in the end. Those thoughts always pushed aside any weak hope of reconciliation, but would she ever truly be able to give her whole heart to another? No, Chuck was gone, and with him, he took bits and pieces of her that she'd never get back. Oh, the loss of one's first love...She knew she'd never truly be the same again. "But I'm going to be strong," she almost giggled out loud at the thought of high school graduation when she said these same words to Serena amidst all the caps and gowns at Constance. You see, no matter what Chuck ever did to her, she always tried her best to be strong. After all the pain he'd caused, it only seemed natural for her not to have to TRY to be as strong anymore. She was being strong for her...and with little effort one should add. Yes, Blair could be Blair without that Chuck Bassterd.

Paris was better than any random hook up or scheme of revenge, and being with her bestest, Serena, made her feel sixteen again. Who was she kidding? Even at the age of sixteen, Blair Waldorf never let herself act out as a typical adolescence was always expected to. However, with both beauties on relationship hiatus, that meant retail therapy by day and club scene by night. Never had she ever felt more alive and sexy. As the summer days passed by, she couldn't make herself hate Chuck anymore. If it weren't for their relationship and the magnetic force between them, that in the beginning kept their relationship light, playful ,and sexy...and in the end, inconceivably drove them apart with a permanent wedge, she would have never truly found herself. In Paris, Blair learned to love herself..the good, the bad, and the ugly. She grew to love her independence and relished in the fact that for once, she didn't need a guy to feel whole. She was enough. As Blair pondered on how much she had changed, she admitted to herself, "Maybe all of those early morning yoga sessions weren't such a bad idea after all. I'll have to thank S again for forcing me out of bed this summer...even if it was way earlier than expected for summer break. But dream journals? Please. Even I'm not that desperate." She smiled at her best friend's attempts at serenity.

As Blair circulated around Dior, her own heaven on earth, searching for the perfect pair of shoes, she couldn't help but to consider how much her best friend had grown over the summer too. "B, let's go! If we spend the entire afternoon in Dior, then how are we ever going to make it back to the hotel in time to get pretty before meeting up with Adrian and Tristan?" Serena whined. Okay, so having two French guys woo the girls by night did help Blair's heart mend quicker. It's not like either of the respected parties, Blair and Serena nor their French cuisines expected anything past the summer. Other than a few drunken kisses late night at the pub, the four had become great friends. If Blair were to admit, which of course, she never would...It was almost strange how the four of them felt so comfortable and at-ease with each other. If she had to compare the newly-found French friends with two New York guys from their past, it'd be Nate and Chuck all the way. Of course, that's why she'd never let herself admit this comparison.

"Fine, it's not like I don't have these same shoes in navy already." Blair frowned, trying to forget about the recent mental comparison. "And, it's not like we can't just swing back by tomorrow, right S?" she said in her most taunting, Blair Waldorf voice. As Blair took off the black and white, platform Oxford's she had tried on, Serena sighed, gazing out of the front window display and out into the pebbled streets filled with busy, fast-paced pedestrians. She loved how busy the city and its inhabitants seemed, but at the same time they were always friendly and upbeat too. If only New Yorkers seemed this way. Currently, she just hoped more than anything that her own inner circle of Upper East Side friends would return in the fall on "friendly, upbeat" terms. Everyone had left for the summer in such turmoil, she almost dreaded going back home. As she pondered these worrying thoughts, suddenly, her heart skipped a beat, and she could barely let out a single breath. Surely, her baby-blues were deceiving her. Nobody wears bow ties anymore! They were so last season, after all. Only one guy could pull that off...Chuck! But, he couldn't be in Paris! Could he?

"B, you are not going to believe this! Come quick!" Serena shouted, motioning with uncoordinated, enthusiasm for Blair to put a pep in her step. "What?" Blair replied uninterested as she walked casually to the window display. "Don't tell me. You saw Harrison Ford go into that dreary, old coffee shop again? Honestly Serena, I didn't come here to celebrity stalk. Besides, what movie has he even been in lately?" she questioned with obvious distaste.

Serena shook her head but said nothing. She just pointed her long, slender finger to the nearest bistro across the street. To Blair it seemed like everything stalled into slow motion in that instant. From Serena's raising of her bony finger, to her own brunette curls falling from her shoulders at the turn of her head, to the young man in a bow-tie who happened to return her gaze instantaneously. "Oh my effing gosh!" Blair gasped. She couldn't shake the feeling she developed at the pit of her stomach, and although, part of her knew that words were escaping her best friend's mouth, the bigger part of her couldn't even wrap her mind around the inaudible phrases her best friend spoke in this moment. It wasn't until he started across the busy street towards Dior that she realized there was no escaping this. Not only was this out of character for Chuck to come all the way to Paris after such devastation and heartache that only Blair Waldorf could effectively inflict on someone, but that smile on his face...It was almost as if his smile showed genuine sincerity. Had he forgotten about Jenny? Had he forgotten that Blair shunned him from her life once and for all? Was he even still shunned? Blair's mind was in a complete frenzy, so she just stood there, mouth agape as Chuck walked directly up to them with that damn sincere smile again...What happened to the ever-so-superior smirk?

"Uh, B. Say something." Serena's voice echoed as if it was in a deep, dark tunnel far from Dior, far from Paris, and far from this dreaded reunion. Blair hadn't yet thought about how to react when she first saw Chuck again for the first time. Her current, carefree mind was entranced with her love for Paris, designer shoes, and Pomegranate martinis...something Tristan had introduced her to. It was nice to have a taste for something other than Dom Perignon. After all, she was developing all kinds of new tastes post-Chuck Bass.

No matter the case, it was too late to plan her reaction to seeing Chuck, and everyone knows how the old Blair Waldorf loved a well-thought out plan. Of course, that Blair seemed to be long gone though. "Blair!" Chuck beamed as he took her in his arms. She breathed him in out of habit, hesitantly allowing the embrace. She recognized that although his natural musk still seemed to leave her a little weak at the knees, another scent was lacking. Scotch. Why didn't he wreak of Scotch? (his remedy for any problem or success in life)

"It's so great to see you, Blair...A summer abroad with my sister really looks good on you," he winked as he took his sister in his embrace, as well. Serena giggled at her brother's teasing banter, and Blair couldn't help herself. A nervous smile broke out across her own face. They do say smiles are contagious, right?