The Date
Summary: Blair blinked and took in a deep breath before answering. "I want a date." Jo snorted. "With your track record, that will be easy." "No." Blair shook her head. She started to wring the wash cloth in her hands and ignored the water that dripped to the floor. "With you."
Pairing: Blair/Jo
Setting: Early season 5; takes place in conjunction with the first two episodes.
Jo whistled as she walked down the hallway towards Blair's room. She nodded to a few of the other dorm residents before walking into Blair's room. "Hey Blair," she
"Hey, Jo" Blair called out. She was seated on her bed browsing through an art history text book. Many of the paragraphs where highlighted in neon pink and tiny scribbles were written in the margin. "How was class?"
"Cancelled!" Jo exclaimed happily. She tossed her bag onto the floor as her smile slowly slipped from her face. "Now I get the rest of the night to try and find a job. What fun," she said sarcastically.
"Sounds great," Blair mumbled.
"So, where do you want to go?" Jo questioned. She grabbed a hold of the back of a chair before moving it over to the side of Blair's bed. She turned it around and took a seat with the back pressed against her chest.
"For what?"
"For dinner," Jo answered slowly.
Blair lifted her head and looked over a Jo. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about? We always go to the cafeteria."
Jo sighed hard. "I'm talking about this bet I need to uphold my end on." She cleared her throat and rocked back in the chair. "Don't tell me you're already forgotten. You couldn't stop bragging that you won a bet against me at dinner last night."
Blair continued to look over at Jo before closing her textbook with a snap. "Normally the guy, or in your case," she trailed off when she noticed Jo glaring at her. "…already has plans," she finished.
"Or maybe I'm asking to make sure you don't complain all night at the place I'd like to go to," Jo shot back. "Now hurry up and get dressed so we can go." She got up and moved the chair back to its original spot. When she turned around she noticed Blair looking at her with a shocked expression. "What?"
"It takes me hours to get ready for a date," Blair said. She flipped her hair twice before lifting her nose a bit higher in the air. "Why do you think I'm almost late to class every day?"
"Well then change it to thirty minutes so we can go," Jo instructed.
"Do you always call the shots on your dates?" she questioned.
"Only when I'm dealing with idiots." Jo grabbed Blair's bath towel off of the back of the dorm door before tossing it over to her. "Hurry up!"
"So where are we going?" Blair asked as she lifted the motorcycle helmet off of her head. She slipped off the red bandanna that held back her blond hair before giving it to Jo who tied it to the handlebar.
"It's a surprise," Jo answered before helping Blair climb off the back of her bike. "Although what really was a surprise was that you actually got on the back of my motorcycle."
"I had new pants I wanted to show off." Blair did a quick spin. She was wearing dark wash jeans that were tucked into a pair of black leather boots. She was dressed in a white jacket over a light pink blouse.
"Come on." Jo grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. After a few seconds, she let go and directed Blair in front of her with a hand on the small of her back. "This is it!" she announced.
Blair titled her head and looked up at the neon flashing lights. "You brought me to a bar?" she questioned.
"It's not a bar, it's a dive," Jo corrected her and motioned for her to walk inside.
"What's the difference?" she mumbled. "How did you find out about this place? It looks easy to miss?"
"That's the point." Jo raised her voice over the loud music that was playing. "You have to be in the know. One of my past dates brought me here. I come just hang out. I thought it'd be good for tonight."
"But it's really," Blair looked around the room slowly. Many people were seated at the bar yelling at a few of the television screens. Many were lounging around in the booth seats and at tables enjoying their food. "….dusty and smokey," she coughed as two women walked past her with lit cigarettes n their hands.
"Two, please," Jo said to the hostess.
"Hey Polniaczek, short time no see," the hostess greeted her. "It's going to be a bit of a wait. Not too long though." She handed Jo a restaurant pager.
"That's fine." Jo nodded while slipping the pager into her back pocket. "Pool's open. Let's play." She turned towards Blair with a smile.
"Sure," she answered slowly. "Right after I wipe down the stick."
Jo blinked. "Just grab it, Blair."
"But other people have touched it."
Jo shook her head. She grabbed the stick Blair was reaching for, wrapped the bottom of her shirt around it, and started to buff the stick. "Here." She handed the stick back. "You can break."
Blair nodded once as Jo set up the balls in the triangle on the set mark before backing up. She placed her stick on the ground and leaned against it s she waited for Blair to take her shot. "Other end, Blair," she called out.
Blair smiled sheepishly as she flipped her stick around. The tip of her tongue stuck out from the corner of her mouth as she lined up her stick. After a moment of hesitation, she jerked forward and hit the cue ball.
Without blinking, Jo raised her hand and caught the cue ball before it hit her in the nose. She placed it back onto the table and rolled it over to Blair. "You've never played before have you?"
"Not much," Blair admitted. "My dad and uncle's have all tried to teach me. I'm horrible, and I always chipped my nails."
"Think of it as you play for fun." Jo watched as Blair lined the ball up. "Kind of like how you tease guys with dates," she added.
"Only the ones that don't interest me." Blair stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth again before striking the cue ball. She was able to knock three balls around on the felt.
"So what about me?" Jo questioned as she moved to line up with the cue ball. She struck it and pocketed the yellow one, orange five, and striped 10 balls. "I'm solids."
"Well I asked you didn't I?" Blair questioned.
Jo jerked forward and missed striking the cue ball by a couple of inches. She quickly straightened up and frowned. "Is that supposing to me something?"
"It can mean whatever you want it to mean." Blair shrugged. Jo shook her head before leaning down to line up her shot. She gave a small shout when she felt a hand on her back pocket. Jo struck the cue ball and flinched when it landed on the ground before turning around to see Blair standing close behind her.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Our table is ready," Blair held up the restaurant pager as a waitress walked by and said "Your table is ready."
"We haven't really started yet," Jo said before turning to retrieve the cue ball. "Give it to the next people in line. We can wait."
"But I'm hungry," Blair whined.
Jo huffed before turning around and scanning the room. Her eyes stopped on a college-aged man with a buzz cut. "Hey Michael, bring us some dessert? Chocolate Mousse and a Marshmallow Supreme," she called out.
"Dessert before dinner?" Blair wrinkled her nose.
"You said you were hungry, and chocolate mousse is your favorite." Jo pointed out.
"Yeah, from a restaurant."
"Just trust me." Jo reached out and placed the cue ball into Blair's open hand with a loud smack. "Now, it's your turn."
"Move along girlies, we want to play," a rough voice called out. Jo turned and eyed a biker couple walking up to them.
"Well, we were here first," Jo snapped.
"Yeah, and she almost caused utter destruction to your face," the guy with a snake tattoo on the side of his face pointed out.
"Which would be an improvement," Blair said.
"Back off, alright? We want to finish the game," Jo seethed.
"I don't care what you want," the girl took a step forward and pushed Jo on her shoulders. Jo glared and threw her pool stick onto the table.
"Here's your food," Michael called out as he brought a tray filled with their dessert orders. He paused when he noticed the group glaring at each other. Blair motioned for him to come to her side of the table before pulling their desserts off the tray. She then handed him twenty-five dollars.
"Jo, its fine," Blair insisted. She reached out and tugged on hr arm. "We can play another time."
"That's not the point," Jo said without turning to look at her.
"Why don't you listen to your girlfriend?" the guy with the snake tattoo suggested.
"She's not my girlfriend," Jo spat. "Or my friend. She's more like an annoying acquaintance," she finished.
"Jo," Blair hissed.
"Your table is up," a passing waitress pointed to the restaurant pager on the table.
"It's fine," Blair said, once again tugging on Jo's arm. "Let's just take the dessert and go."
"But-"
"I'd rather not have your face destroyed. Besides, there are three of them and one of you and it's not like I could help," she added.
Jo sent one more glare to the biker couple before turning and grabbing the dessert from Blair's hands. "Fine, let's go."
"So dives, pool, chocolate mousse, and an almost gang fight. You sure know how to have a good time," Blair chuckled.
"Only on special occasions," Jo laughed.
"Too bad it was cut short, but it works out. I have a study date tonight, anyway," she answered while happily scooping up the last of her dessert.
"So, tell me truth," Jo popped a marshmallow into her mouth before throwing away the plastic in a nearby trashcan. "Why did you want a date with me?"
"Shhhh," Blair hissed. Jo rolled her eyes and held her hand out. Blair passed along her empty ice cream cup so that it could be discarded.
"What I'm too poor to be dated?" she joked.
"Ummm," Blair bit her bottom lip.
"I was joking." Jo said slowly.
"It's not that."
Jo's eyebrows scrunched together as she waited for an answer. Blair took a deep breath before turning towards the brunette with a soft smile. "I…just wanted…to see how you were on a date," she finally answered.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, look at you." Blair nodded in Jo's direction. "Grease under your fingernails, jeans, a plaid shirt, and your mousy looking ponytail. You told me three years ago that you were able to get anyone's attention, so I wanted to test it out. "
Jo crossed her arms over her chest and glared. "I actually clean up very nicely. I just knew that going out with you I didn't have to worry about it." She cocked her head to the side and nailed Blair with a sneer. "You're not worth my time."
"Gee, thanks." Blair rolled her eyes. Jo paused. She could sense the slight hints of sadness in what she had just said. Before she could respond, Jo had looked out the hall window and noticed the lamps were starting to turn on.
Blair unlocked the dorm door and tossed the keys onto the dresser next to the door. She placed her purse onto her chair before taking a seat on her bed. "What time is it?" Jo demanded.
"You can't wait for this date to end?" Blair questioned as she started to pull off her shoes. "Your keys are on the dresser."
"No, I need to move my bike before I get ticketed," Jo said while looking out the window again.
Blair checked her watch with a sigh. "It's almost 10 pm Hurry up, the dorm monitor will be coming by soon."
"Leave the window open for me, then." Jo said before rushing away.
"Fine." Blair slipped off her shoes and placed them next to her bed. She examined her pedicure with disdain. Normally, the bright pink color would cheer her up, but this time it seemed dull underneath the dorm lights.
A sharp knock sounded on the door.
Blair huffed before shuffling over to the door. She pulled it open and raised an eyebrow when she saw Jo standing there with an arm behind her back. "What?" Blair asked.
"I forgot something," Jo answered.
Blair looked down at the dresser before rolling her eyes. "Your keys? Which I told you about?" she picked them up and dangled them in Jo's face before placing them into the front pocket of Jo's shirt.
"No." Jo shook her head. She moved her arm from behind her back and handed Blair a red rose bud. She then placed her left arm on the door frame before reaching out and cupping Blair's chin with her right hand. She titled the blonde's head up a tad before leaning down.
"Jo," Blair whispered. Jo paused. She bit her lip and looked into Blair's brown eyes. A look of confusion hid behind the tiny flecks of gold. Jo pressed her forehead to Blair's before giving her a light kiss.
Blair's eyebrows rose as Jo pulled away. She quickly reached up and touched her lips with her finger tips before
"Isn't that what you're supposed to do at the end of a date?
"You kiss on the first date?" Blair asked. "How uncouth."
"You wanted to know what a date with me is like. Now you know." Jo shrugged. "Remember, keep the window open. I may not be able to sneak back in through the front door." She pulled the motorcycle keys out of her pocket before heading back down the hallway.
Blair slowly closed the door and locked it. She sniffed at the rose bud before smiling brightly and placing it onto the dresser.