The few weeks that followed the Hansen Ball were some of the strangest of Blair's life. She got up, went to class, did some work, maybe went shopping, saw Serena, dodged another one of Gossip Girl's bullets, and met up with Nate for coffee. She didn't see or mention Dan once. She pretended like nothing had ever happened.
That didn't mean she didn't think about him once. Or twice. Or every day.
Whenever a topic involving Dan came up in conversation, Blair would pretend not to hear or hastily change the subject. She didn't know how long her plausible deniability would last. She couldn't keep him off her mind.
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The next time she saw Dan it was a cold November evening. The windows were frosted. New Yorkers were power walking through the cold, bitter wind trying to get to their destinations. Snow had fallen and promptly turned to slush. Dan arrived at her penthouse around 7 p.m., armed with a black case and a bright red nose.
"What are you doing here?" She meant to sound nonplussed, but it came out more like a squeak. She cringed, hoping he didn't notice.
Dan grinned, then it quickly turned to a frown as he tried to explain why he was here. He couldn't hold back any longer - he just had to see her. "I brought you some movies. I thought we could watch one together." Blair's face was confused, and Dan was nervous whether she would reject him.
Then, thankfully, she smiled. "Okay, Humphrey. I'll make popcorn. But don't think you're having any of it."
"Well you can't have this bottle of Rosé that I brought, then."
She poked her head out from behind the kitchen door. "I don't think so - Rosé's my favourite."
"That's just too bad, Waldorf."
Blair marched out from the kitchen to where he was standing and tried to grab the bottle from him. He held it high, way out of her reach. They were both laughing. Suddenly, Dan started tickling her.
"Ah! Oh my gosh Dan! STOP! STOP! Ahhh!" She made the loudest scream she could muster and ran over to the sofa, where she jumped and lay on it, face down. Promptly, Dan followed, turning her over and tickling her. She stood up on the sofa and pulled him down underneath her. She sat on his hands and cheered triumphantly. Dan threw his head back in laughter, hitting it on the arm of the couch, which caused them both to laugh even harder. When they had finished laughing, Blair leant down and snuggled into Dan's chest. "Shit, the popcorn!"
She sprang up and ran to the kitchen. Dan laughed and turned onto his side. He pulled the DVD out and put it in the laptop. Blair came back in with a huge bowl of popcorn and sat down beside him. She lay down and put her head on Dan's shoulder, and he put his arm around her. "What are we watching?" she asked him.
"I heard you liked Audrey Hepburn. So I thought we'd watch one of her culturally inspiring movies. Twilight," Dan said solemnly.
"What?" Blair spluttered.
Dan burst out laughing. "Just kidding. It's Breakfast at Tiffany's."
Blair laughed in spite of herself and placed her head back on Dan's shoulder.
Soon they were halfway through the movie and Dan discovered that Blair was asleep on his shoulder. He smiled and kissed the top of her head gingerly, settling into his own sleep.
It was sometime through the night that Blair woke up and sleepily craned her neck to face Dan, who was fast asleep with his mouth half open. She smiled and went back to sleep.
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Dan was woken by a stream of sunlight hitting his face directly. He took a deep breath and tried to move, wondering where he was. He stopped moving when he realised he was in Blair's penthouse. His eyes widening, he tried to remember how he got there. Then he remembered they were just watching a movie, nothing else.
Dan couldn't help but feel disappointed. And he didn't know why.
Blair chose that moment to descend down the stairs, wearing only a robe. "Oh. Are you still here, Humphrey?"
Dan sat up sleepily. "Nope, no, I'm going. I'm going now."
"Well, you can stay for breakfast if you want. You don't have to do the walk of shame quite yet."
Dan smiled. "Sure, I'd like that."
He followed her through to the kitchen. "You're lucky Dorota's away for the weekend, otherwise she'd be all over you." She looked horrified when Dan started laughing. "No, not like that. Ugh, you're such a boy."
When he had finished laughing, Dan started looking in her fridge. "Have you got any waffles?"
"What? Waffles? Don't be silly Humphrey, this isn't Brooklyn."
"Oh, my, god. No, this isn't happening. We're having waffles. I know this great place around the corner from here..."
Blair gave him a shove. "I'm not going to some run-down Brooklyn-esque place that does waffles. No thank you."
He grabbed her around the waist and led her to the foyer. "Go upstairs and change. You won't regret it, I promise."
She gave him her best death glare. "It better be good. I only take gourmet waffles."
The waffle place was the fanciest breakfast place Blair had ever been to. "Wow Humphrey, I'm actually impressed. Who knew you could do classy?"
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Waldorf."
They took a table in the corner of the restaurant. The waiter handed them their menus, and they sat down.
"So, Humphrey. What have you got planned for today?"
Dan lay his menu down and looked at her. "I was supposed to meet my Dad for a coffee, but he bailed last minute. So I'm all yours."
Blair smiled. They ordered their food and settled into an awkward silence.
"So, are we gonna keep doing this?" Dan said awkwardly, gesturing to the two of them.
Blair frowned. "What? This is just a one time thing. We're not friends."
"Absolutely not."
"And what happened at the Hansen Ball, that was... nice, but it never happened."
Dan grinned. "It was pretty good."
Blair had to fight a smile. "Maybe so, Humphrey, but it doesn't make it right. We hate each other."
Dan sighed. "I don't hate you."
Blair's face softened, but then hardened again. "Well, that's too bad because I hate everything about you, Brooklyn."
Dan laughed.
They continued their banter until they were interrupted with a familiar voice. "Blair? Dan?"
They looked up simultaneously to find Serena standing there, with her mouth open. "What... what's going on here?"
Blair pushed her chair back. "Nothing, I... I don't even know what I'm doing here."
Dan mimicked her, and muttered under his breath, "No, of course not."
"What, Dan?"
"Nothing."
Serena looked confused. "Are you guys... friends?"
They both frowned and started laughing at the same time. "Hahaha! No, what? No. No, never." They exchanged a knowing glance and then looked away quickly.
"How long has this been going on?"
"How long has what being going on?" Serena pointed at Dan. "How long have you been having an affair with him?"
Dan threw his hands up. "Woah, okay. We're not having an affair. Definitely."
Blair nodded. "Yeah, exactly. It was only one time, anyway."
Serena gasped. "So you guys did kiss?" She looked at Dan with a hurt look on her face. "Do I mean that little to you, Dan?"
"Serena–"
It was too late, she had already stormed off. Dan stood up, helpless.
"Great." Blair was about to make a cutting remark when she saw Dan's expression. He was crestfallen. "Dan..."
"What are we doing, Blair?" "Dan, wait, I'm sorry."
"No, it's my fault." He put his hand on the back of his neck awkwardly. "It shouldn't be like this, I never should have kissed you, it was wrong. I'm sorry."
"No, I kissed you, Dan. Because... because I think I kind of like you," Blair said quietly, looking at her shoes.
"You like me?"
She nodded shyly.
"Sorry, I have to go."
Dan walked out quickly. Blair was left standing there with her mouth open. Did Dan Humphrey just reject her?
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Nate Archibald was sitting in his apartment at the Empire. He had never been one to drink during the day, but what Dan Humphrey had just told him shocked him so much, he had to pour a scotch.
"Pour one for me too."
Nate sat down across from Dan, handing him a scotch. Dan sighed. "I just can't help it. She has this allure... like potato chips. You have to come back for more."
"You're seriously comparing Blair to potato chips?"
Dan snorted. "You're right." Then he groaned and lay back, putting his hands over his face. "I think I might like her, man. But I like Serena too."
Nate drank, thinking. "Serena's great, but she's treated you really badly. She kind of takes you for granted, man. Honestly... I think you'd be better off without her."
Dan sat up. "But Blair..."
Nate shrugged, holding up his hands. "Blair's no saint either, that's for sure. Does she even like you?"
Dan gave him a look, then slowly said, "She... she told me."
Nate looked shocked. "She told you? What did she say?"
"She said, I think I might like you."
Nate leaned in closer. "And what did you say?"
Dan avoided his gaze. "I... kinda said I needed to go. And left her there."
Nate punched him in the arm, hard.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"Dude! What the hell? You don't do that, man."
"I know, it was bad. But I don't know what to do right now."
"Do you like her, or not?"
Dan thought for a moment. "I think I do. She's... beautiful. Crazy, annoying, exasperating, outspoken, and... I can't stop thinking about her."
Nate grinned triumphantly. "Now go and tell her that."
Dan gave him a serious look. "You can't tell anyone about this. Promise?"
"Yeah, promise. Now go!"
Dan smiled, grabbed his coat, and left.
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Blair lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn't know what to feel. She thought she liked Dan. He was giving all the signs that he liked her back, coming over with movies, everything. He even had sex with her.
She rolled over onto her front, and was interrupted by a knock.
"Come in," she said irritably.
Dan opened the door quietly. He had an unsure look on his face, as if he was doing something naughty and didn't want to get caught.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to give you an answer."
"What?"
He sat down on her bed. "I like you too, Blair. I like you a lot. I guess I'd been denying it, because of Serena, and... I don't know. I just... I..." he was interrupted by her lips crushing his.
He pulled away and rested his forehead on hers. "The best kiss I've ever had was with you."
She smiled, and Dan gasped and pulled away. "I forgot, I brought you something." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a long, black box.
"This might seem a bit tacky, but it looked better on you than it ever would Serena."
She opened the box, inside was the necklace he bought for Serena.
"Dan..."
"The moment I realised how beautiful you were was when you were wearing that. And I think that's when I realised that you weren't as bad as I thought you were."
She laughed, her eyes filling up. She knew how much this necklace meant to Dan.
He put the necklace on gently, his heart jumping when he saw it on her. "Wow."
She smiled, a genuine, happy smile. "They say opposites attract."
"Yes, they do. So very much." She laughed and they kissed again, a gentle kiss that soon turned deep. Dan pulled away, with a whimper from Blair.
He took her hands in his. "Let's try this out."
Blair held out her hand, and Dan shook it. Then they kissed, laying down for a long night with not much sleeping involved.
