Dan had originally been happy to get out of the city and into the Hamptons with Eric, even at the risk that Eric might try to interrogate him about Blair or Charlie, hell even Milo. All he found was that the extra time on his hands still left him with thoughts of the ninety pound doe-eyed girl, no matter the setting. He couldn't help but think back to everything she had said and be immensely disappointed. Admittedly, their first kiss was not the best, but the fact that it had only made her think of Chuck was an all-time low. And then? "Biggest mistake of my life" were the words she had used, before running off with the Prince of Monaco. To say that Dan Humphrey's already suffering ego was injured would be an understatement.

"Dan," Eric snapped, waving his hand in front of him, "Has your mind arrived in the Hamptons yet or did it take a flight to Monaco?"

They were currently walking on the beach, Eric wanting to both gain a tan and fulfill his promise of being a wing man. It had been a few weeks since summer had started and while Eric had managed to get plenty of dates to keep his mind off of Jonathan, Dan had been doing a whole lot of nothing.

"What? No. Who says I have to be thinking about Blair if I'm in deep thought? I have plenty of other things to think about." Dan shot back.

"Somehow I don't think you're that zoned out over classes in the fall." Eric retorted dryly.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Look, Blair's finally chosen someone who's not going to trade her for a hotel or sleep with their step-mother. I'm happy for her."

"So happy you can't even hit on bikini clad girls checking you out on the beach?" Eric asked, an eyebrow raised. "Just tell her how you feel."

Dan gave a dry, short laugh. "Are you kidding me? I'm not suicidal. I couldn't be farther from what Blair wants in a guy, which has been made as clear as Riedel glassware."

"From what I've seen it looks like Blair doesn't know what she wants now that Chuck is out of the picture. Getting engaged to someone after only being on ten or so dates with them is hasty and begging for disaster, even if they are royalty."

"You're probably right. But I'm the last person who could stop her if she's determined to be eternally unhappy with someone rich and influential."

"Dan, come on. Even if you were only friends with her you'd still owe it to her to try." Eric replied, and to that Dan had no argument.

Eric mentioned something about going back to the house, and before Dan started the walk with him, Eric admitted it was to get ready for a date. So Dan stayed on the beach, strolling, wondering how on earth he had gotten into this mess. Why hadn't he visited Jenny and his mother over the winter break? Or simply skipped seeing Nenette at the film forum? Anything but gotten himself into this emotional mess.

The worst thing was the feelings of utter inadequacy that came with having or in this case wanting a romantic relationship with an Upper East Sider. He hadn't felt this way since Serena. It wasn't that Dan wasn't confident in who he was- far from it. It was simply the fact that he wanted the approval of someone whose only compliments toward him lately were "At least he's not a child" and a reference to a Labrador. He had to be completely masochistic to even produce feelings for her.

-

"But Serena you don't understand. It wasn't like my regular dreams. There was no Sabrina or Paris When it Sizzles or Roman Holiday. It was just-,"

"A sex dream?" Serena laughed through the phone. "B those are normal."

Blair and Serena had made up since their fight before summer and Blair was glad to have someone to confess to. Being in a foreign country with no one she knew was getting very old very fast. Even her parents had gone back to their residence in France.

"Ugh, maybe for you, S, but I happen to stick to a more classy form of REM romance."

"So why are you so concerned? Doesn't it just mean Louis is doing something right?"

Blair bit her lip at that. "Well, that's another detail that concerns me. It wasn't Louis."

"Oh no. Don't tell me it was Chuck?" Serena groaned.

"What? No." Blair responded, briefly thinking about her and Chuck's last encounter and then putting it out of her mind, "That ship has sailed. And sunk. To the bottom of the sea to stay."

"Nate?"

"I refer to my previous statement. Believe me, I've gone down the sordid list. The person doesn't match anyone I've experienced. It was weird, S. He made me feel like- like he loved me so much he needed me to know, but it was nice. Not overdone."

"Aww, that's sweet B. Dan and I used to be like- sorry, tmi." She finished at Blair's exclaim of disgust.

And then Blair let the information process fully. Humphrey. Dan who she had kissed twice but not had sex with. Dan who she had fallen asleep with cuddled on a couch but not in a bed. Surely it wasn't him. And it wasn't as if every guy that met her didn't treat Serena like she was a goddess, Dan wasn't unique for it. It was obviously a weird coincidence. She even laughed at the thought.

"Still there, B?"

"Uh, of course. Sorry. Just thinking about wedding plans, that's all they want to talk about here." Blair exclaimed clumsily, her voice a tad bit rushed and higher pitched.

"Blair you're not even making sense, isn't it late there-," Serena started.

"Sorry! Royal wedding to plan! Bye!" And with that she hung up the phone.

She was pacing the bedroom now, completely disregarding the intricate and expensive decor that she had so loved on arrival. It couldn't be Dan Humphrey. There first kiss was ill timed and her surprise attack had obviously startled him as he had fumbled. Fumbled as though he might be nervous... but the second kiss, he had pulled her in for that one. He had been prepared and kissed well. He had surprised her, honestly, but she had been so caught up in the Louis/Chuck triangle that she hadn't given it much thought afterward. Even still, why would something as silly as two kisses mess with her subconscious? She was making a big deal out of nothing.

She glanced at the large clock that hung over the ornate dresser. It was eleven o clock here. Her panic was still installing adrenaline in her but maybe she could force herself to sleep. Yes, she thought, quickly changing into sleepwear, she would prove it wasn't Dan Humphrey.

-

It was Monday night and he hadn't heard from Blair all week. He knew she was busy planning her wedding but she had made time for their movie watching previous to this. As far as he knew he hadn't offended her in any serious way. He checked his laptop to see if she was on. When he saw she was available for video chat, he checked his shirt and smoothed his hair before sending an invitation. He half expected a rejection, but was surprised when it was accepted.

"Blair," he said.

"Humphrey? Why are you on Eric's chat?" She demanded, looking flustered.

Dan quickly glanced at the program to see that Eric had forgotten to log out after borrowing his laptop. Their friend list was similar enough that he hadn't noticed at first glance. "He forgot to log out- are you avoiding me?"

"I'm busy, Humphrey. I don't know if you've heard, but royal weddings are kind of a big deal." She snapped at him.

"And so you're spending time video chatting in what I assume is your bedroom?" He retorted, but there had been something different in her tone of voice. He looked closer at her in the display and was confused. If he didn't know better-

"Are you blushing?" He asked incredulously

"What? No! Your screen must be breaking." She retorted, but her voice had heightened ever so slightly.

Dan's eyes narrowed and tried to look around Blair. "Did I interrupt something? Is Louis there?"

"Don't be crass, Humphrey." She huffed. "Now if you want to talk to me at all you will drop this inane interrogation."

He watched her, taking her in for the first time since their goodbye. She seemed not to have gotten much sun, probably spending most days in the palace planning. Her hair was down and curled, and it looked nice on her. The flush that had appeared on her cheeks had not quite gone away, but her jaw was set as though she was intent on having it never be seen again. "Alright, alright. So how's the wedding planning going? Do you have all the palace workers at your beck and whim?"

"The ones that aren't planning my demise with Louis' sister, yes." Blair sighed.

"Wow, uh, why doesn't she want you getting married?" Dan asked, trying not to laugh. Blair somehow managed to find drama and competition everywhere she went.

Blair looked pensive for a moment. "I'm trying to narrow it down between the option that she likes Louis' previous fiance better or the other option that she's still upset I thought she was one of the palace maids."

Dan did laugh at that. "Well you might want to be careful. I don't think a fallout between you and the princess would go over well with anyone. And I imagine it would be a lot harder to sabotage with everyone watching your every move."

"Do you have no faith in me, Humphrey? Gossip Girl has trained me for this very moment." Blair replied, but with a smile played on her lips.

"Blair-," he asked, using her first name to mark the turn for serious, "are you really happy with Louis?"

She frowned at that, looking down at her hands, then up again. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"That's not what I asked." Dan replied, suddenly frowning also.

She sighed. "It's getting late. I should probably get some rest. Some of us actually benefit from beauty sleep."

Dan wanted to tell her that she was beautiful enough without it, but bit back the response. He doubted the compliment would be received well. Instead he said, "Just be careful."

"I've got the royal guard following me around, I think I'll be fine." She replied softly. "Goodnight, Humphrey."

"Goodnight, Waldorf." He replied, before signing off. He shut the computer down, put it to the side and then wondered what the hell he was going to do.