So, like everyone else, I'm pretty fed up with the direction the writers have decided to take Blair and Chuck in on the show. This fic is an attempt for me to vent my rage… and give them some happiness after a spot of angst.
Chapter 1
Blair Waldorf Bass drowned another shot of vodka before allowing her eyes to flicker upwards toward the man sitting next to her. She felt her brow begin to pucker as she struggled to remember his name and forced herself to stop, hearing her mother's voice in her head lecturing her about the dangers of wrinkles before wondering if she was insane, fighting the sudden and disturbing urge to laugh hysterically. Only an insane person would be worried about something so stupid and unavoidable as wrinkles as her world was falling apart- as she was sitting here helping it to fall apart-
"So, Greg," she said, head spinning slightly as she arched one eyebrow in just such a way that she knew it wouldn't matter if she'd gotten his name right or not- knew all that would matter to him was whether she was going to actually deliver on the unspoken invitation she was issuing, "What brings you here- alone?"
But to her surprise he didn't make an effort to draw closer, just cast a pointed look at her left hand and said, arching an eyebrow himself, "I'm not sure I'm the one who should be answering that question."
Blair's brow furrowed slightly as she tried to puzzle out what he meant before glancing down at her hand and seeing the almost too-large ring that glittered even in the shady light of the bar. "Oh, this old thing?" she asked dully before throwing back another shot, not taking time to analyze where the drink had come from as the ring sparkled again, almost as though mocking her. "Cartier, 5 carats," she said dully, matter-of factly, feeling like she had years ago in AP European History when she would list the names of battles by year. "It was designed especially for me." As the silence dragged on she rolled her eyes. "Let me guess," she said indulgently, the slightest hint of sarcasm lacing her voice, "You're the noble type."
He looked at her in something resembling surprise for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing, throwing some bills carelessly onto the bar. "Well, I can't say I've ever been accused of that before. What do you say we go somewhere more private? And- for the record? It's John, not Greg."
She blinked, just once, before shrugging. "At least I got the G right," she said flippantly, head spinning slightly as she slid off the bar stool, barely resisting the urge to pull downward on the bottom of her dress, trying not to think about the fact that she hadn't worn anything quite so short since college- trying not to think about why she was, now.
As though reading her mind, John questioned casually, "So, are you still in school?"
Despite herself Blair laughed again, just a little too hard, and wondered fleetingly if she'd had too much to drink after all. "I don't know," she said after a minute, regaining her composure. "Do I look like I'm still in school?"
He shrugged. "You look like you could be."
"I'm thirty," Blair said abruptly, shocking herself more than him- she'd started lying about her age years earlier, and the vast majority of her newer acquaintances believed her to be 27. "So no. I'm not in school."
"What do you do?" he inquired, opening the door for her, and Blair shivered as she stepped into the cool October air before starting to laugh again.
"I work for Bass Hotels. Maybe you've heard of it."
x o x o
"For the last time, Serena, I don't CARE where she is," Chuck Bass snapped, throwing back what had to be his tenth shot of scotch since Blair had glided out of the apartment 2 hours ago. "She made it clear-"
"Oh she made it clear?" Serena demanded incredulously, not bothering to hide the disbelief in her voice. "Well I'm SO GLAD we've got that cleared up," she near shouted, changing tactics, venomous sarcasm clear in her tone. "It's great to know that after 7 years of marriage, if someone should happen to MAKE IT CLEAR, I can just disown them. Thanks for this fun life lesson, Chuck. I just don't know what I'd do without you."
There was silence for a long moment, and Chuck poured himself another shot, gulping it before hissing, "I haven't disowned Blair. I just don't care to go running after her right now."
"Oh, and what's your brilliant plan, Chuck? Drink a few more shots of brandy, pass out, maybe find some hookers on the way?"
"Look, Serena," he snapped murderously, "Maybe it's escaped your attention, but Blair and I have been having issues for a while now. This is-" and to his own surprise his breath caught before he managed to finish "probably for the best."
There was another, longer pause before Serena said softly, her voice suddenly much gentler, "No. It hasn't escaped my attention. But a lot of things have escaped yours."
"What is THAT supposed to mean," he near-slurred, and she sighed before replying softly,
"It means you and Blair still have at least one thing in common." There was the barest sliver of a pause before Serena said softly. "When B called me an hour ago she was headed to some club in Brooklyn called Drive."
Despite himself Chuck started to laugh. "If you think for one minute that I'm going to Brooklyn-"
But Serena had already hung up the phone.
x o x o
Chuck squinted slightly as his limo slowed down in front of a seedy looking bar. "Not it," he said dismissively, fighting the urge to swig straight from the bottle and wondering, not for the first time, what was wrong with him- he hadn't had this much to drink since college- "Blair wouldn't be caught dead in a place like-"
But the words died on his tongue as his wife, looking all of 18 years old, sauntered out of the pub, swinging her hips in a way he hadn't seen her do in years . He opened the door of the limo, intending to cross the street to her, but at that moment a man emerged behind Blair, looking about 18 himself. She shivered, and Chuck moved to get out of the car again, but at that instant the boy said something and Blair went pale for a fraction of a second before starting to laugh like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard and giving a brief answer that Chuck couldn't hear. He realized with horror that he couldn't remember the last time he had heard her laugh like she meant it, and as if in slow motion he watched the man stepped forward, cupping Blair's cheek in his hand with so much skill that Chuck doubted his initial assessment of his age.
Jealousy roared inside of him and he stepped out of the car just as Blair tilted her head upward and her lips met the boy's.
x o x o
I think… I'm going to be alternating chapters of the present with chapters of flashbacks, or possibly doing two chapters of the present with one chapter of flashbacks. Expect more tomorrow. I need to vent my Blair/Chuck angst somewhere haha. Please review if you can.
