Chapter 2: The Games We Play
Gossip Girl here, and I know you've all been dying for the latest word on New York's finest. Yet all of the greats have needed their fair share of rest and relaxation. I mean, where would we be if Manolo Blahnik became too stressed to create the most wonderful brand of shoe in the world, and then decided to slap together some kind of sick, tacky…I can't even finish it.
Anywho, as some of you may know, G is back and ready to pick up where she left off: Ruining S's Life. Seems that someone got a little bored whoring around Sweden or wherever the hell she was before, and has decided to grace us with her agreeable presence once again. I think she's afraid that we've forgotten her. I'm not sure if we need reminding…
Till a bigger bomb drops from her arrival…which shouldn't be long…you know you love me XOXO Gossip Girl.
Blair Waldorf stared at the newest update for several long minutes. That nasty little initial kept floating in her vision, almost mockingly. Georgina? Georgina Sparks? Back? A flare of jealousy surged through her as she thought back to a year ago.
Georgina and Serena. Serena and Georgina. The two most party-crashing, smile-flashing, alcohol-consuming It Girls that had ever traveled New York. Their names were as interchangeable and famous as Blair and Nate's had been when they were a couple…except S and G were probably more infamous, which made Blair angry.
Serena had come back to such amounts of slander and social neglect from Blair and her old cronies that no one ever thought she'd be on top again. But on top she was. Making a full one-eighty, Serena clawed her way back without the use of dirty tactics and vicious lies. She had even earned herself an amazingly sweet boyfriend, and, although she would never admit it, Blair was kind of jealous of Serena for that. Not that she liked Dan in that way, it was just that she wished she had someone as worshipful as he was to Serena. Blair had thought Nate was that person…but evidently not. And Chuck…he had started out that way, but it ended when Blair shunned him to the side. But he had deserved it.
Blair shook her head to rid it of all things…past…save for G. If a little initial could cause such hatred in Blair, she almost felt sorry for the real girl if they ever crossed paths.
She reached for her phone and dialed Serena's number. It was a Monday morning after all, and Serena had yet explained herself for missing the SATs. Her no-show made Blair suspect that Georgina had already found the poor girl and was having her desired effect.
The phone rang seven times before an overwhelmed sounding voice answered, "Hello?"
"S, it's me," Blair chirped, faking cheerfulness.
"Oh, hey Blair," Serena puffed, "What's up?"
"Are you running?" Blair asked, appalled at the gasps being admitted by her friend.
"What? No, I'm-," Blair held the phone away from her ear as Serena cursed at someone on the other end.
"S? Is that Chuck? Tell him to go screw himself (though I'm sure he's found away already) this is important!" Blair's eyes narrowed coldly as Serena continued yelling at the unknown source.
"No, just some loser…can't you give Chuck a break?" Serena snapped defensively, returning to the phone.
"WHAT?" Blair yelled, shocked and disgusted that her best friend was sticking up for the bastard.
"Look, can we just talk on the way to school? I'm almost to your place."
"Fine, but why the hell are you defend-," Blair stared, eyes wide and mouth open, at her phone.
"Oh, you do not hang up on Blair Waldorf."
Ten minutes later, Serena was banging her way into Blair's apartment. Blair glanced up briefly from her magazine, otherwise ignoring the frustrated girl.
"Okay, ready to go?" Serena asked.
"I guess so," Blair responded lightly, grabbing up her things and heading for the door, purposefully shouldering Serena out of the way.
Serena followed Blair's movements with confusion. "B?"
"Hmm?" Blair strategically replied.
"Why are you being bitchy?"
Blair whipped around. "Excuse me?" She pouted innocently.
"You heard me."
"Let's just go, ok?" Blair nearly smirked…Serena was going to break any minute now.
"BLAIR!"
"Don't like the vacuity, do you?" Blair spat, reveling in her use of an SAT word she had come across.
"What? What does that even mean?"
"Exactly! You weren't present at the test Saturday, so you wouldn't know!"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"
"No," Blair smiled sweetly and began walking towards the main doors they had reached finally.
"Okay! I'll talk!"
"Good," Blair linked her arm through Serena's and turned her full attention to her, "Start at why you missed one of the most important tests ever."
"I missed the test because Georgina drugged me." Might as well just get it out there.
Blair stopped dead. "What?"
Serena shivered at the icy hiss that had escaped her friend's lips. She sounded just as Chuck had while threatening the man who had assaulted Serena.
"I went out with her to a small bar. I only had a diet coke! I got up to call Dan, and she must have slipped me something because everything in between is total static." Serena really did not want to go over all of the details.
"But you're okay?"
"Yes," Serena hesitated, "Chuck helped me."
Blair flinched at the sound of the name, "Is that why you defended him so faithfully?" she asked, calmly, relaxing now. She breathed deep and continued walking. At this pace, they would miss A.P Calculus, but who really cared? S needed her. And she was inwardly grateful towards Chuck, though he was still, in her book, the biggest piece of filth that had ever been conceived. Oh whenever she found that bitch Georgina…
"Yeah," Serena murmured.
"Wait, what do you mean by in-between?" Blair looked at her.
"Can we please talk about this later, B?" Serena was still shaky over the incident, and just wanted to be as composed as possible when she finally decided to come out with it.
"Fine," the brunette huffed, "dinner. My place. Six o'clock."
"Deal," Serena laughed.
They continued walking, finally making it to the steps of Constance Billiard. They were an hour late.
"By the way," Blair snickered, Serena looked at her, "vacuity means something inane, senseless, or stupid".
Lunchtime in the courtyard of Constance Billiard was such an exhausting, and often enraging, event that Serena and Blair commonly took their break on the stairs of the Met. No one who wasn't invited at least a day before hand dared to even use the crosswalk connecting the two sidewalks because they never wanted to face the potential humiliation that could, and most likely would, befall them if they intruded on Blair Waldorf's free time.
This order of events never changed, and so there was always a slight uproar whenever Blair was feeling generous enough to allow a lower classman clearance to join her and Serena. Kati and Is also kept them company, that was, until they found out about Blair's break up with Nate, and the reason why. After her downfall, many people had worked up the nerve to take the twenty some steps to the Met and flaunt their success in front of Blair, who hardly paid them any mind.
Today was different, however.
When Blair and Serena arrived to the step that had become their third home (second being each other's apartments), they were surprised to find it barren of Constance uniform clad students. Only tourists flocked the stairs as usual, but even they had the common sense to stay away from the few feet of the third and fourth stairs. Blair cocked an eyebrow at lack of ogling teenagers, and sat down cautiously, assuming something was amiss. Serena, having so much on her mind as it was, plopped down in her designated spot, without a second's thought.
"So, how do you think you did on that sorry excuse of a pop quiz?" Blair inquired carefully, still full to bursting with curiosity over Serena's weekend adventures. She knew Serena wouldn't talk until dinner, so she wasn't even going to ask.
"Hmm?" Serena was too busy glancing this way and that. Blair sighed, under the impression that her blonde companion was watching out for Georgina.
Blair was only half right. Serena was petrified at the prospect of meeting Georgie, afraid of what Blair would do, and afraid of what Georgie would say. But she wasn't just looking for G. She hadn't seen Chuck all day, nor had she heard from him. She wasn't worried per se, she just found it odd that he hadn't requested a payment yet…whatever it may be; she tried not to wonder too much.
"Honestly, though," Blair had continued to ramble through Serena's jumbled thoughts, "I wonder why no one's around bothering us?"
"Because I told them not to," a drawling voice answered.
Blair jumped up immediately and shuffled a few steps upward behind Serena, glaring coldly at the voice's owner.
"Hey Chuck," Serena greeted as he sat down next to her. She knew the affect he had on Blair, and would never forgive him for hurting her, but she couldn't help but feel relieved now that he had shown himself. It felt as though the weight of Georgina had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Serena," he returned, "Blair," he smirked openly, causing the girl above to squirm. He prided himself on the fact that he still had that affect on her.
"Bass," she sniffed disdainfully, turning her attention to a flock of pigeons.
"So," he said, "how are you today?"
Serena took a drink of her water. "Better," she replied, nodding. Chuck nodded curtly, not failing to notice that Blair was watching the exchange with obvious interest.
"Glad to hear it," he decided now would be a good time to get a rise out of Blair and so he continued in a suggestive voice, "I've figured out a repayment you can give me."
"Okay, Bass, let's get one thing straight." Blair had stood and marched down to meet him; in turn he had stood as well.
"And what might that be," he asked, stepping closer.
Not anticipating this, Blair halted and backpedaled quickly, nearly stumbling over her bags.
Regaining her stance, Blair glared at him again. "Don't you dare even say things like that to her, when she's so obviously upset! You're only making her life worse." At this statement, Chuck closed the bit of space between them, his face three inches from hers. Blair froze.
"For your information," he stated softly but not without menace, "I probably saved her life." Blair's gaze left his face for a moment to look questioningly at Serena, who shuffled her feet nervously.
"So before you begin making false accusations, I suggest you learn the facts." Instead of backing away, Chuck stared at her.
"I-I-I j-just think that, S-S-Serena needs some down time," Blair faltered under his gaze. She fidgeted nervously, and her eyes, disobeying a direct order from her brain, flickered to his mouth more than once. Chuck noticed this and smirked once again. Toying with her, he leaned forward a tad more, invoking her eyes to close slowly, before he turned away.
Blair tensed and felt her face burn with embarrassment.
Serena had been about to get on Chuck's case for teasing Blair before she decided against it. She really did not want to get on his bad side now that she was on good terms with him.
"He is…ridiculous," Blair stammered. Serena rolled her eyes. Everyone but Blair could see that she still hurt over the loss of Chuck.
"Well, come on then, classes are starting again," she grabbed the confused girl's hand and led her across the street. She couldn't help notice that Blair glanced back at the Met more than once.