"I know it," Blair answered finally, refusing to meet his expectant stare. There, that was ambivalent enough. It wasn't a lie. At the same time, it wasn't quite the whole truth either.

"I had a feeling you might say that," Chuck murmured.

Oh, God. He knew. Blair was starting to sweat. But then, how could he really know? He had a way of making people think he was more in control, more knowledgeable, than he really was. Three years of middle school and one year in high school with him had taught her that. She set her mouth in a hard line and turned sharply to face him, rallying her infamous mean streak.

"And just why would you of all people be interested in spending your Friday in a cyber café in the Warehouse district?" she snapped. "Did your hooker cancel?"

"Ouch," Chuck returned, his smile revealing that he was more entertained than offended. "Actually, Bart wants to invest in a coffee shop and left it up to me to choose which one," he explained. "From a short list," he added, almost sheepishly.

"Well, how very generous of him," Blair sneered mockingly. Bart Bass, Chuck's enormously wealthy father, was trying to work his delinquent fifteen-year-old son into the family business already. Who knew, maybe Chuck would end up working in his father's company, and they'd discuss business at the dinner table over filet mignon and champagne. How precious.

"Anyway," Chuck continued with a dramatic sigh, ignoring Blair's remark. "I gave my driver the night off; thought I'd take the train." He eyed Blair devilishly. "I happen to have on good authority that you take this train I need five days a week."

"Stalking is illegal in all fifty states," Blair informed him, squirming in her seat as she leaned forward, hoping to see her train coming down the track. No such luck. Did he really intend on getting on the train with her? The very thought threatened to drive her into a panic attack. Stay calm, she told herself. Maybe he'll get bored and go away.

"Please, Princess. I have better things to do than stalk you," he sneered.

"Which is clearly evidenced by you actually stalking me," Blair retorted, hoping she appeared as bored as she was trying to be. In reality, her mind was at war with her pulse. "You know, you could salvage your reputation."

"How's that?" he asked, not seeing where she was going.

"You can leave. Then you wouldn't be a stalker; you'd just still be a womanizer," she answered, leveling Chuck with a superior look. "I bet if you call now, you could still fit into your hooker's schedule." Blair, satisfied that she'd put him in his place, watched the empty train tracks with a smug expression clearly written on her face. She was so pleased with herself, she almost didn't care that the train was finally pulling into the station. Almost.

"Well, it's been great, Chuck," Blair told him happily, getting up and smiling sweetly at him. She adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder, and looked off into space for a moment. "Actually, on second thought, it's been awful," she corrected, removing all joy from her expression. "I'm leaving now. You should really go make that phone call." With that, she spun on her heel and took off for the train, boarding, swiping her pass, and taking a seat, satisfied that everything was right with the world. She'd won their verbal battle, and she was safely on the train, all by herself. Best of all, she felt satisfied that Chuck did not actually know her secret. Even if he had a hunch, the fact that she was now alone served to prove to her that he was just as clueless about Blair's real life as the rest of their prep school was. If he'd known her secret, nothing on earth could have kept him from getting on that train. Blair set her purse on her lap and pulled out her iPod, settling in for her fifteen-minute ride to the Warehouse district. She was staring peacefully out the window at the grey cement walls of the station, watching the bricks begin to pass by slowly and then blur as the train picked up speed, when suddenly something else caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.

"Is this seat taken, Princess?"