** Just because I'm a nice guy, I'm gonna throw in the second chapter for free. I mean it, though. Review. Feedback.**

02 No Wrath

Chuck Bass glared at Nate Archibald as he sat across the room with a boy Chuck had never seen before. He knew that Nate was hiding something and was using this boy as a shield. Chuck scoffed to himself.

If it wasn't one thing, it was another with Nate. There was always some obstacle between them. First, it was their parents. Nate's parents were not particularly fond of Chuck. In fact, no one was. But Chuck was a Bass and the Bass name demanded respect from everyone on the Upper East Side. When Nate's parents tried to stop Nate from talking to Chuck, he had a small conversation explaining the consequences of such a scenario. They let it drop and once again Chuck was welcome into their home.

Then it was Serena. Serena proved to be a very worthy adversary in the fight to claim Nate. Nate was smitten with her, everyone knew it. Even Blair knew it. She basically begged Chuck to help remove her from the picture, not that Chuck needed to be asked. Still, he made an arrangement with Blair and Serena eventually left for boarding school.

Any uneducated person would have assumed that Blair was Chuck's biggest rival over Nate. This simply wasn't true. Chuck and Blair were more alike than anyone realized. They schemed together to get Serena out of Nate's life. As a result, she was indebted to Chuck. They agreed to share Nate, 50/50. This was Chuck being generous.

For over a year, there were no issues with Nate. Suddenly, Nate was befriending anonymous losers and ignoring him? What the hell was Nate trying to prove? Would Chuck have to explain how the system worked? He sneered as Nate looked over at him and smiled vaguely. He leaned over to his classmate, Isabelle Coates.

"Who's the Dave Matthews wannabe Archibald is sitting with?" he asked in a drawling voice.

Isabelle looked up. She frowned.

"I don't know," she answered, "Maybe he's a transfer student?"

Chuck shook his head. No, this boy wasn't a transfer student.

Nate and his new friend were laughing quietly as they read the textbook and worked on some problems. Chuck needed to know this boy's name. He smiled to himself. He picked up a pen and flung it at the back of the boy's head. He cried out angrily. Their teacher, Ursula Perkins, turned and faced them.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Humphrey?" she snapped.

"Someone threw a pen at my head," he complained, rubbing the back of his head.

Nate looked at Chuck, then Mrs. Perkins.

"Ma'am? I think it was Chuck Bass," he spoke up.

Chuck's eyes could have burned a hole through steel. So, now Nate was turning his back on Chuck in favour of charity work? Who was this Humphrey and what was he doing with Chuck's best friend? Mrs. Perkins looked at Chuck.

"Is this true, Charles?" she asked impatiently.

Chuck looked up at her, his eyes betraying no fear and his expression enigmatic.

"No," he answered, his eyes not parting from hers.

She stirred and Chuck knew she understood. Through very reliable sources, Chuck had learned that her husband didn't die in a car accident like she said. He had a sex change and was living out his life as a lesbian in the Midwest. Chuck had mentioned this to her when he noticed that she failed a test he'd handed in. They now had an understanding.

"Whatever the case, I want no more interruptions. I mean it."

She turned and continued writing notes on the board. Nate stared at Chuck in awe. Chuck smiled proudly at him. Nate was finally beginning to catch on. No one messed with Chuck and got away with it. No one.

Better be careful, Nate, you could be next.