Title: Pretend the World is Ending
Author: hauntedd
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Gossip Girl is so not mine, otherwise it'd be the Blair and Bass show
Spoilers: Through The Serena Also Rises
Summary: Unlike before, Blair knows who she is, too. She is a queen and she will take back the throne.
Blair's eyes are wide as Serena ties the scarf around her neck, uncertain, at first, what is going on. However, once it lies there for a moment, Blair realizes that it feels heavier, like a noose that tightens as her best friend adjusts it. And with a pointed glare
She's been here before – sophomore year when she was content to bide her time – comforted by the momentary glow of an errant spotlight whenever it accidentally came her way.
But she's older, wiser and it's just different. She's seen that it's far better to be the one ruling than to be behind the scenes, manipulating to achieve desired outcomes. The glow of the spotlight shines brightly and despite her stumbles, Blair claims these subjects as her own.
So she loosens the scarf from her neck and contemplates how best to shove the offending silk up Serena's ass. Blair Waldorf will not go down without a fight and most certainly will not abdicate the throne she's earned. She was never the fairest, but she is the smartest and this is the Upper East Side not a Disney movie. Even if it were, all the blonde princesses are defeated quickly and Blair Waldorf is content to be the villain of the piece.
After all, the odds are in her favor. S has neither a prince charming nor a pauper from Brooklyn to rescue her anymore.
She frowns as she walks away, her mind going faster than her heels allow as she runs through the many options that she has at her disposal. This is personal, now, and she will take back what has been usurped swiftly and ensure that S knows exactly who is in charge. Blair refuses to be swayed by apologies and the nagging desire for the way things were. They'll never be that way again and she spent junior year deluding herself.
Serena's actions always did speak louder than her words.
However, she doesn't discount her ace in the hole all together – that is until Chuck tells her that he knows how this happened and the best Blair can give him is a confused look of disgust.
Once a Bass-tard always a Bass-tard.
Blair Waldorf doesn't need anyone. It's a fact that would be tragic if it weren't an advantage. But she's been counted out before and despite promises from iher/i on a helipad a lifetime ago, she crawled her way to the top alone.
If she weren't accustomed to disappointment she'd be furious over this latest coup d'état. But S has only ever been concerned with herself and B had proclaimed the truth from rooftops for anyone, even Brooklyn, to hear long ago.
Serena takes everything, it's who she is.
But unlike before, Blair knows who she is, too. She is a queen and she will take back the throne.
--
Blair cringes when Chuck comes to visit, the battle cry falling from his lips before she can even get a word in. This is going to be a solo victory as the joy of ripping out the knife that Serena stuck in her back won't be quite the same with Chuck by her side. Plus, her mother just had to remind her of their tradition and she's not exactly as venomous the morning after.
However, she does have favors to bestow and loyalty to reclaim. Being Eleanor Waldorf's daughter does have some benefits.
It works, for a moment, and then Hazel just had to open Women's Wear Daily. Her swift plan for victory is dashed and Blair curses herself as she storms off with a parting shot at Serena. She should have known better.
Never ever underestimate your opponent.
Blair spends the rest of the day plotting and studying how quickly most girls fall out of the public eye. She needs the reassurance that the spectacular falls of Lindsay Lohan and William Hung bring. But it's the comfort of knowing that her seating chart is still gold that matters.
She will get her throne back. It's the only constant in her world other than Serena being the consummate Brutus.
However when she comes home to look at the chart after airing her frustrations to Dorota, she notices that someone has twisted the knife some more. Serena is now in the front row and she is still in the shadows.
So when she finds out just who did this she can't help but contain the rage that rushes through her veins. Blair's hungry for a fight and Jenny will be good practice for the main event.
--
Serena calls her five times. Blair knows better than to pick up the phone. But somehow when Dorota comes upstairs to tell her that Miss Serena is here she can't stop her feet from moving forward out of her bedroom, where there may or may not be a Serena van der Woodsen voodoo doll, and down the stairs.
Blair orders herself to be calm, but seeing her here, wondering why she hasn't answered the phone is just too much. How can Serena not know how much this hurts her?
Except, she does know. Serena is this self-absorbed and her tepid justifications for Blair's subjects' actions do nothing to quell the ire that grows with every word out of her former best friend's mouth.
She means what she says, but Blair wishes that she could be more cutting in her delivery. She's just so angry with Serena and Jenny and her mother that her wit has fallen victim to fury.
It's not until Serena offers an invitation, which was clearly meant as an insult, that Blair truly has had it. She knows that Serena thinks she should be grateful for the opportunity, and two years ago she might have been.
But she's seventeen not fifteen and Blair's eyes are open far wider than she'd like. Serena's neither a friend nor a sister and she hasn't been either ever since she opened her legs and let Nate inside.
--
She figures the fashion show is as good of a time as any to launch her first all out attack. Jenny is here and so is Serena and Blair has always been a fan of efficiency. So she tells the models that they were overbooked and leads them to the door. It's quick and easy and certain to both embarrass her mother, Jenny and Serena – three women who have wronged her.
After all, you can't be an it girl if you don't know what shows at Fashion Week to attend, now can you?
But Jenny quickly meets her challenge and ruins the plan and Blair's house of cards begin to grow less sturdy with every round. It isn't until she sends Serena down the runway in a green dress that is most certainly not her mothers that Blair is assured that they won't all fall out from under her.
But it's Jenny's confession and Laurel's fawning that causes the final card to slip and Blair realizes that the foundation isn't exactly as secure as she was lead to believe. So she does the unthinkable and saves Jenny from her mother's wrath and raises a glass in praise.
After all, when dealing with Cinderella as she rises from the ashes of a past she, herself, burnt down, Blair now knows that she needs all the allies she can get.
Even Jenny Humphrey.