A/N: Wow, thank you all so much for the reviews, faves, and follows! It really means alot and definitely helps with the inspiration. :) Anyway, I have some stuff for upcoming chapters written and I've got it all kind of mapped out so hopefully I'll be able to update regularly. I know basically where I want this to go and, as a Dair fan, I'm excited about it. lol I just want to get there! I'll definitely be tying in more canon material, or well, general canon events, I guess. They won't be canon by the time I'm done with them, though. And I'm glad we all seem to be on the same page about Blair's feelings. She was totally crushing!
Blair screams when she sees them. Her hands actually fly to her face in an effort to cover her eyes. It's too horrible to be real.
She had been waiting on that elevator ding all morning. Dan was coming over to pick her up for a day of exhibits, debate, and food. Or so he thought. Really he was coming over to get trapped in an elevator. After much threatening and, eventually, bribing Blair had the perfect stuck in an elevator scenario planned. Or so she thought. She thought it was unusual that Dan was an hour late and hadn't called but she could be patient. Blair could always wait for her rewards, so long as she knew they were coming. The blonde goddess intercepted this reward, however. She misses the days when a bribe actually meant something. In these modern times, bribes are too easily proffered and thus not given the proper care they require. Case in point...
Serena and Dan. Dan and Serena. Groping each other like a couple of horny middle schoolers in a dark theater. Except they're in Blair's elevator. In broad daylight. Have they no decency?! And what of shame?! Dan's supposed to be groping Blair inapproriately, not Serena! How dare they. It's ok, though. It's just another failed "Woo Dan Humphrey" scheme to add to the rapidly growing pile. She can bounce back from this too.
"Whoa, B. Are you ok?" Serena's the first to comment on her apparent mental break. Now Blair can't tear her eyes away from Serena's leg hiked up around Dan's waist and the kung fu grip she has on him. She can feel Dan following her eyes with his own. She briefly meets his. The flicker of confusion that runs across his features as he breaks away from Serena lets her know she's doing a terrible job of hiding her feelings. She's getting worse and worse with that these days.
"No, Serena, I am decidedly not ok. My breakfast is dangerously close to making a reappearance." She scrunches up her face in disgust. "The next time you and Humphrey regretfully choose to try to sail this ship of doom, again, please do it somewhere other than my elevator." She shakes her head as though she's trying to rid herself of the image. As if a mere shake of the head could help. Have they made any advances in brain bleaching? Oh, she has an audience. She clears her throat. "Now, Serena, if you don't mind, get out." Oops. That came out a little more forcefully than one might have liked. More sweetly, "I'll be accompanying you to your photoshoot today as Epperley is working it and is simply desperate for my expertise. I refuse to be late because of your regressive hormones. Oh, and, Humphrey, you're dismissed for the day. More important matters have come up. Something tells me you're familiar with that, though. Ta!" She flashes her best Queen B smirk as she yanks Serena out of the elevator and a puzzled Dan is sent back down to the lobby.
"B, I'm so excited you're coming today! It's going to be just like old times. I'm going to run upstairs and get my stuff." And now she's just going to walk away like she wasn't mauling Dan Humphrey. Blair's Dan Humphrey! Wellll. Ok, technically, he's more Serena's than Blair's but Blair has been working on that very issue. Regardless, he's not property and Serena has no more claim to him than any other person on the planet. There. Rationalization is such a useful psychological tool.
"Serena!" Blair calls after her and meets her on the staircase. "Do you really think you're going to just walk away after...that?" Oh, she hopes this is coming across as concerned and not as raging, jealous lunacy. It's a fine line.
"Oh, that? Blair, we just happened to get stuck in an elevator together and, I don't know... One thing led to another. I don't think it's such a big deal. We have a history that makes it kind of comfortable for us to slip into things like that. You know like you and Chuck." Blair's eyes nearly bug out of her head. Good grief. That's the last comparison she wants to hear. Serena shrugs as she continues up the stairs. "I don't know, though, maybe that history really just makes it more complicated when we're physical. I guess we'll see. Let me get my stuff together. I don't want to slow you down, remember?"
"I just hate to see you backsliding, S!" Blair anxiously calls after her.
"Ok, B. I hear ya." Blair heads back downstairs when she hears Serena's door close.
She can't. Serena cannot want Dan back. Blair cannot compete with Miss Sweetness and Light herself. She can't. Oh my God. Serena's legs are as long as Blair's entire body. She'll never win. And she doesn't want this for their friendship. Blair only makes it to the bottom step of the staircase. She has to sit down. If Serena wants Dan, Blair would have to let go. Their friendship couldn't survive another "The Boy is Mine" scenario. Not to mention, if Dan wants Serena then Blair wants that for him. If Serena is what would make Dan happy then Blair can't begrudge him that. No, she'd gladly step aside if it meant he'd be happy. Well, she wouldn't be glad so much as completely and utterly distraught, but the sentiment holds. This whole selfless thing is really ruining her life.
She doesn't really want to be selfless, though. She's worked so hard. She tried getting them locked in the office together. Only, unbeknownst to Blair, Dan ended up running out right before everyone left for the day to grab some important flash drive so she ended up getting locked in the office with the mouth breathing computer tech. Dan did wait for her to be let out, though. Well, he had to have the flash drive on a senior editor's desk by 6am or else. So there was that. But he definitely asked if she was alright. She pouted her way into getting him to blow off dinner with his father to take her for a drink after her trying ordeal with the aforementioned mouth breather. She thought that would be a good time to enact Scheme 2: the old two hot friends get tipsy and commiserate, only to end up having the best sex ever and wondering why they'd overlooked eachother for so long. Only Blair got hammered while Saint Dan, of course, remained relatively sober so he could keep an eye on her. Noble bastard. So she did the most lady like thing she could: threw up on his shoes. Shoes that she then didn't even apologize for ruining. No, she's pretty sure she told him that he should really be grateful to her for ridding him of the atrocious burden that he called footwear. See, if nothing else, these schemes are showing him that she can be a real sweetheart. She thought she could use her hangover to put Scheme 3 into motion: the mysterious suitor. She sent herself peonies, macaroons, and even jewelry. Her admirer is just so sorry she's not feeling well! Dan barely noticed. She literally had to bring it to his attention. Then he just rolled his eyes and absently said he didn't realize that she and Chuck were back together as he continued past her desk. The macaroons didn't survive the morning. The elevator was supposed to be Scheme 4. She was even going to blow off the photoshoot. It's not something she intended to make a habit but this was important. Dan is important. Serena ruined it, though. All Serena had to do was walk into an elevator and she ends up with her tongue down his throat. Meanwhile, Blair has tried, really tried and gotten nowhere.
Maybe she should give up. Except there's a reason she's worked so hard and there's a reason she keeps trying. She just knows that she and Dan could be special. She cares about him in a way she didn't know she was capable of. She wants the chance to show him who she really is. She's beginning to understand that there's more to her than a scheming, manipulative ice queen. She knows that all of this growth has at least a little bit to do with him. She wants to show him how good she could be for him. But there's Serena...Serena who is all apathy and indifference. If Blair had Dan in the position that Serena does she wouldn't be so flippant and careless. Quite the opposite. Then Serena never has appreciated her toys. Why should Dan have to settle for apathy when he could have commitment? That's it. She's not giving up. Not until Dan gets it. He deserves more than being strung along while Serena flits through life. Blair Waldorf is not a quitter.
"You ready?" Serena interrupts her thoughts. She's all smiles and rainbows. She can't even blame her. Blair'd be in a good mood too if she'd just had a hot elevator make out session with Dan. Oh, she still is not entirely used to those thoughts. "Blair?"
"Hmmm? Oh." Blair smiles at Serena as she gathers her purse and coat. "Yes, I'm ready. I am so ready."
As the two make their way through the lobby, Blair spots the incompetant door man she had bribed to turn off the electricity to the elevator. She snarls at him as she passes by. How very fortunate for him that she has much bigger plans to deal with. She would let him off with a punishment from the minions. Knowing those lackwits they'll probably take him out for ice cream and view the caloric intake as justice served. Oh well. No time for petty revenge schemes when Dan Humphrey awaits.
A/N 2: I apologize for the lack of Dair interaction here. There will be lots and lots and lots in Chapter 3, though!