Chuck and Blair: From the Beginning Chapter 2: The Beginning, a gossip girl fanfic

Chapter 1 (Pilot)

Sitting on the couch surrounded by girls. It's how he'd always lived his life…

Chuck Bass sat on the couch dreading the very moment when someone would come along and deflate his incredible high. Life just couldn't get any better than this. Alcohol, sex, girls. What more could a man need?

Ah, we'll get to that, now won't we?

Chuck was about five foot six, and he was undeniably handsome. He was that kind of aftershave commercial handsome; the bad boy. He had deep brown, almost black eyes that scorched whenever he was up to trouble. Chuck was the kind of person who was rich in an arrogant way and loved to show it off. He wore all designer clothes, though the only monogrammed thing he wore was his signature scarf. His Italian shoes were always highly polished and his cuffs were always clean, only in the literal sense. Chuck's hair waved back effortlessly. In fact, it looked like he put absolutely no time into his hair, it just naturally looked that good. His voice was a deep, seductive sound that always lured the strongest girls into bed with him. It was no wonder that he'd slept with nearly all the girls in Manhattan. Chuck always enjoyed a good party. And Blair's parties were always the best. That would be disregarding his own of course.

Her parties were always uptight and formal, everyone there always eating hors-d'oeuvres and sipping cocktails daintily, afraid that their fellow Upper East Siders may think they were pigs or budding alcoholics. Ha. As if anyone in this room was possibly imperfect. At least on the outside, Chuck thought smugly. He knew the inner workings of his perfectly imperfect little circle. He knew a lot more than anyone knew and he wasn't going to let on anytime soon. He felt like he was saving all the information just for the right moment.

Or the right girl…

But despite the seemingly stiff surroundings, Chuck never failed to enjoy himself at Blair's parties. It was an indescribable feeling, walking through her door, riding up the elevator to her penthouse, and when he got to the very top, walking out and seeing that she was there, waiting just for him. Whether it was a make-up check, emotional support, or help with an outfit, Chuck never failed to help Blair. And the way her face lighted up, he felt like he was the only man on the planet. Every day he marveled at how he could have possibly deserved a friend like this. He was her opposite, rude in every manner and gesture. She was prim and proper, afraid to let loose. He remembered the day he had met her. It seemed like so long ago…

Blair tried again. She wasn't just going to give up! She was Blair Cornelia Waldorf and she could climb on the monkey bars just like that little boy who had so easily flown across the bars, his strong arms propelling him to the other side.

"Come on. Are you going to do it or not?" the boy asked, rubbing his green eyes tiredly, already growing bored with the little girl who was standing with her hands on the bars, very close to falling off the dock and climbing across the monkey bars.

Blair stared down at her poufy dress, wondering how she had gotten into this situation. That little boy had charmed her right off her feet, and then he had flown across the monkey bars. He had insisted she do the same, not stopping to ask is she really wanted to.

And this is the way he protects me, Blair thought menacingly. Her father had made a deal with this little boy to protect her while he went off to go get a hot pretzel from the vender across the road. Blair's father wasn't being completely obtuse by leaving her with strange people. He knew these people, all of them. They were like him: rich and lavish, trustable because they were all like him. Blair knew what she was doing. She stared grimly at the bar, willing it to help her across.

The little boy looked straight ahead, turning his head so that Blair's eyes met his. They were a gorgeous shade of green. They sparkled just right when the light hit. Finally, he uncrossed his arms and huffed out a little sigh, coming over to help Blair. But Blair had decided to attempt this herself. She jumped onto the first bar, swinging a little, but keeping a strong hold. After the next two bars went well, the green-eyed boy's attention was diverted by a small ethereally gorgeous little blond girl who was playing on the other side of the playground in the sand. She had just built up a sandcastle when a larger kid had come down the slide and destroyed her entire creation in one fell swoop. Of course this little girl had not seen the danger of building a sandcastle right at the end of the slide. So now, she was sobbing her beautiful little eyes out and looking around for her mother who was sitting on a bench and laughing and flirting with a handsome man.

The boy rushed over to the little blond girl, helping her out and hugging her so that her tears dried up. She hugged him back, crushing her body against his in the way only a little kid can do without being completely inappropriate.

"Oof!" Blair had been so busy trying to propel herself to the next bar, that her sweating hands had slid right off the bar and she landed right on her butt in the sand and dirt, ruining her expensive new frock. She started crying, but the boy didn't notice, and instead he started making a new sandcastle with the blond girl as she sniffed her tears away and smiled at him.

A hand reached out to her in her peripheral view. Blair decided to stop being a baby, but the tears continued to run down her face, dropping onto her already ruined dress and staining it. She looked up at the body that was attached to the hand. A little boy, only a little older than her, was holding his hand out for her. Blair looked right into his face, reading the emotions she saw so clearly there. For a fleeting moment she saw something that looked like he was awfully uncomfortable with tears, which quickly changed to a tenderness she had never seen before, then to arrogance so clear that it stood out in each of his features, defining him. It looked an awful lot like he was trying to cover something up from her. But she forgot about this as she took his hand. Almost as if someone had shocked her, she pulled away. Seriously. Was that a current that had just passed through his hand into hers? It felt as though she had be electrocuted. The shock sent a wave through her body and she stared up at the boy, wondering what was wrong with her and why she was feeling this way.

"Well. Are you going to take my hand or not? You look like a fool sitting there in the dust." The boy stared at her, anger biting through his calm façade. He acted as though he didn't care, as though he was angry and that she had interrupted his afternoon of important goings-on. Which of course she hadn't. She was the goings-on. He had been watching this beautiful little brunette girl from a shadow by the side of the gate for nearly an hour before he felt it was the right time to go help her. He had watched as her father had entrusted her to the other boy's care. He had watched as Blair—yes he even knew her name—had tried and failed to climb across the monkey bars. He had watched as her hands had slipped, her tiny frame crashing to the ground, her brunette curls bouncing from the impact, and he had watched as she started crying. He could've pushed the other boy away, helped her himself, maybe even introduced himself. But Chuck had always been the one in the shadow, delightedly letting everyone try and fail before he came to help. He knew he would always win in the end, but what was the problem with watching others fail where he would ultimately succeed? It just made the prize even sweeter. Chuck could not stand to see this sweet little girl cry. She was beautiful, her pale skin made even paler by her dark hair. Her chocolate brown eyes seemed to burn deep amber as she stared up into his face.

Blair looked up at him, took his hand again, ignoring the electricity that ran through her body as the boy adjusted his scarf. As soon as she got up, she tried to drop her hand, but the boy kept a strong grip on it, rubbing calming circles on the inside of her wrist. The boy was undoubtedly handsome, his hair smoothed back in a away that showed how little effort he put into looking this good. His clothes were all subtly rich and designer. He wore them with pride and confidence.

"And who are you?" Blair asked, not afraid of strangers, merely interested. She knew he was no stranger. He was one of them. If the arrogant manner didn't give it away, the designer clothes and ridiculous monogrammed scarf surely did. The scarf had a large CB imprinted on it in the right hand corner. Blair's mind started racing, thinking of all the possible names this boy could have.

"I'm Chuck Bass," the boy said. Blair looked into his fierce, dark eyes and saw a friend. She smiled. She had finally come up with a good name for him: her equal.

He was just right for her. But of course, his life had taken a drastic turn, where hers had stayed exactly on the straight, narrow path she built and upheld everyday. They were opposites. Day and night, love and hate: yet they were exactly the same. They both loved to plot and plan, making sure they could always get what they wanted. And what they wanted was everything. But Chuck's mother had died and he had become so removed from the world. Blair had seen his capability of love draining out of him as she had sat with him under his sink in his bathroom when they were both nine. Always there for each other, Blair had come over the second he had called, worried sick over her friend. Of course, he hadn't said anything when he had called, but she could hear the sobs he was trying to suppress on the other end of the line and she knew he needed her. Even if he was not ever going to admit it, Chuck needed Blair. No matter how arrogant he was, he was always that little boy inside.

At the age of nine, he was undeniably handsome. Blair sat next to Chuck under the sink in Chuck's bathroom, his head resting in her lap as he slept. She had come right over when he called, hearing the hysterical edge to the tears on the other end of the line. She had run right into his room, closing the door softly, before walking into his bathroom, where she had found him leaning against the wall under the sink and sobbing away. He wouldn't turn his face to her. He let her undress him in a trancelike mode, not noticing half of what she did as she brushed his teeth and got him into some pajamas. He refused to sleep on his bed, so she made a makeshift bed on the floor under the sink. She sat with his head in her lap, contemplating what all of this meant. What were those bruises, and why were they there? She wanted to know if Chuck was OK, but he wouldn't talk about it. She dozed off, her mind reeling from what she had seen and heard today. When she had woken in the morning, she was on the bed and Chuck was brushing his teeth. Chuck never mentioned the meeting again, but Blair had seen how vulnerable he was that night and she never forgot it. The story had even been in the newspaper. Billionaire's wife and heir's mother dies in plane crash, sources report.

Right then, sitting under Chuck's sink, staring at his face, pale and drawn from crying most of the night, Blair had vowed to see Chuck love someone again. Chuck had become one of the many projects she had taken on in her life. Of course, Chuck made her mission nearly impossible. Who would love Chuck Bass? He was rude, arrogant, and had an incredible amount of money: a recipe for disaster. Blair doubted that he even loved himself. She knew how strained his relationship with his father had become due to his mother's death. Whenever Blair came over she saw the look in Bart's eyes when he looked at Chuck: cold and dead. All Bart saw when he looked at Chuck was his late wife, making it nearly impossible for him to talk to Chuck, let alone look at him. And despite his money, he was never truly accepted into the world that Blair and her friends lived in. She knew his only true friends were she and Nate, and he knew it too, though that didn't stop him from hosting large parties and inviting nearly everyone he knew, despite the fact that they all despised him. Chuck had become indifferent to his loveless life, resorting to the pleasures that money could bring him. Sex, girls, alcohol, drugs. He lived the life, and he knew it.

Chuck looked up just in time to see his friend walking around the corner, holding hands with Blair, his green eyes sparkling. Nate trailed a little behind Blair as she pulled him through the crowded foyer to her room. Chuck knew what was happening. He always did. Even if Blair hadn't called him to her penthouse that morning for advice on lingerie, Chuck always knew what was going on.

They both stopped when Chuck spoke directly to Nate. "Any interest in some…fresh air?" he asked, knowing it was not fresh air he was asking about, but the chance to get high with his buddy.

Nate was hilarious when he was high, but Chuck always kept his calm. He knew that if he got high, he would do something stupid. In front of someone important. Not that many people were really important to him. He really just didn't want to look weak. That would be the end. Nate nodded no, and said, "Maybe when I get back?" "If he ever gets back," Blair said, with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she dragged him out, leaving Chuck seated on the couch, wondering if they would ever actually…do it. Because he knew they hadn't. And he knew Blair had wanted it so badly to be perfect. Why else would she actually invite the biggest womanizer she knew into her room to help her pick out lingerie? She was obviously desperate. Chuck laughed and sank back into the couch.

He suddenly felt extremely sick. He sat bolt upright, thoughts racing through his head. What if Blair and Nate became extremely dependant on each other and Blair didn't need him anymore? Chuck knew that eventually Nate would break Blair's heart. Not that he already hadn't, just that Chuck hadn't really told Blair yet. He had seen more than he should have at that wedding, watching Nate and Serena do it like animals. He hadn't told Blair because he had hoped Nate would be man enough to confess that he wasn't a virgin. Nate didn't even look that excited that he was going to be having sex with his girlfriend for the first time, although any other guy would be. Chuck knew Nate and Blair wouldn't last long; their relationship was one more of looks and convenience. More like "We've been friends since we were little and people expect us to be together, so what the hell? Let's be boyfriend and girlfriend. Don't worry it'll work out just fine." Chuck didn't want to be the one to break the news because he knew it would break Blair's heart, but he knew the time was going to come when Nate would ultimately betray her. Nate wanted to be happy and Chuck knew he couldn't be if he kept up this charade with Blair for much longer. Blair was just holding on too tightly, afraid to be alone. And this was all besides Serena. If Blair found out about Serena and Nate, their relationship would take a turn for the worse, leaving Blair broken hearted. But Serena was gone and Blair would never need to know.

Just then, the elevator dinged open, and out walked…Serena van der Woodsen. This took Chuck by surprise, which was a very hard thing to do. How had he not seen this coming, even without the insider information? Chuck felt his heart speed up into double-time as he saw her hug Mrs. Waldorf like she hadn't betrayed her daughter and her best friend less than a couple of months ago. He was extremely pissed that she could just waltz in here and steal Nate away from Blair again, breaking Blair's heart. Not his Blair. But somewhere deep inside, Chuck knew that this was what he had wanted all along. A reason for Blair to come to him in tears and a reason for him to comfort her. A reason for him to feel the way he did, although he would never admit it to anyone, especially her. Chuck wasn't one to wear his feelings for fear of denial. He had always known so clearly how he and Blair would always be friends and never anything more. He had never wanted more. Not until now.

Serena's arrival caused a big commotion. Nate appeared, looking frazzled, as he buttoned up his shirt. Blair trailed after him, looking disappointed and upset. Chuck saw her disappointment turn to anger the second she saw Serena. Chuck was the not-so-innocent bystander of a lot of scenes, and no one even noticed him sitting on the couch, watching this entire conversation play out like a drama.

Blair pushed Nate right down on the bed, kissing him aggressively. This was everything she had ever hoped and planned for. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time. She started unzipping her dress, feeling the blood rush to her face as Nate examined the immensely appealing silk and lace lingerie she was wearing underneath. Blair remembered what Chuck had said that morning when he had helped pick it out.

"So what do you think?" Blair said, twirling on the spot as Chuck walked into the room. His jaw literally dropped and she giggled. Blair knew that Chuck was not often emotional, but she could see the raw emotions play across his face. Surprise, desire, then pride. Chuck finally controlled his expression and stared at her so closely she felt as though he could see every part of her. Suddenly she felt extremely naked. Chuck tended to do that to her. He saw every part of who she was without even trying. It was just so embarrassing sometimes. Chuck closed to distance between them in two short strides, glancing at the bed, where five other lingerie sets awaited their try-ons. He laughed quietly and took her hand. "Blair. You look so beautiful right now, I'd take you for myself if not for Nate." His eyes displayed the sincerity of his words. "And by the way. You don't need to try any of the others. This one is just perfect." He leaned closer to her, the heat coming off his body in waves. "I can't believe you're mine." He placed a small kiss on her hand, then another on her cheek. "Don't worry. Everything will go just fine tonight. There's no need to worry." Of course Chuck knew she was worried. He always knew how she felt. He rubbed calming circles around her wrist, squeezed her hand once, then turned and left the room, leaving Blair blushing. She could still smell his familiar musky smell, which lingered everywhere he went. She rushed over to her closet, pulling a ratty t-shirt out that smelled liked him due to his frequent wearing of the object every time he had slept over when they were little. His scent seemed ingrained in the material. Blair ripped the lingerie off and pulled on the t-shirt, feeling it fit perfectly around her. She let his scent calm her.

Blair snapped back to reality. Why the hell was she thinking about Chuck Bass when she was about to have sex with her amazingly hot boyfriend Nate? She shook her head, leaning in for another kiss. Her body tingled anxiously in excitement. Just then she heard a flurry of sounds from the entrance hall and someone shouted "Serena! It's so good to see you." Both she and Nate froze. Nate pushed Blair off of him, already up and getting dressed, going to see Serena. Blair sat helpless on the bed, her hopes crushed by that damn Serena. Serena had left Blair for boarding school last year and hadn't looked back since. No postcards, no e-mails. She had disappeared, and at first Blair had been sad that she had lost her best friend. But then Blair had gotten popular. With Serena gone, everyone looked to Blair to tell them what to do. She had become the Queen B in under 2 months, and Serena was not welcome to just storm back into her fairytale life. Blair slipped her dress back on, feeling disappointed and angry at the same time. She rushed out to see Nate staring at Serena like a new man. His eyes glittered like the first time she'd met him and his eyes were only for Serena.

Blair looked at Serena once, noting that she hadn't changed much. Her hair was long and blonde, but now it had a sense of shagginess that hadn't been there before, almost as if boarding school didn't allow haircuts. Even without the haircut, the long, pale hair gave off a sheen that radiated luxury. Although Blair's hair looked pretty good right now, the brunette curls held back by a headband with one curl falling directly on her face, she never looked that good. To Blair's annoyance, she was still gorgeous, almost ethereally so; someone you saw in movies or on the pages of a fashion magazine. Her long legs were accentuated by the tights and heels she was wearing, making her even taller than she already was; almost half a foot taller than Blair who stood at a measly five foot three. Serena's skin glowed like she'd just come back from the tropics. Besides the tights and heels, she was wearing a dastardly ugly white button up shirt that was fraying at the sleeves and a worn leather jacket. On anyone else, this would have looked ridiculous, but Serena had the innate ability to look gorgeous no matter what she wore. And the thing that annoyed Blair most about her is that she looked this way-- without even trying. But the thing that interested Blair the most about Serena was her dark blue eyes that looked deeper than they had even been before. Serena looked instantly older and more experienced than the way she had left, and her eyes were deep with endless stories about Europe and whispered secrets between her and her roommates, never meant to be discussed again. She looked troubled, but also wiser.
"Serena!" Blair said with the fake enthusiasm she had mastered after all her years of boring parties her mother had thrown, including this one. There were always some boring business people there or a college advisor that Blair had to impress and suck up to in order to receive a recommendation for her school of choice: Yale. To Blair, there was no other college. It was either Yale or one of those "trade schools" which she consistently mentioned with a tone of disapproval and disgust. Serena's face lit up at the sight of her old friend and she rushed over to hug her, nearly throwing Blair off balance. Blair received her exuberant welcome with a stiff hug and a cold smile, praying to the gods that Serena was just visiting for the weekend and that she would never impose on Blair's title and popularity. With the grace and etiquette she had been practically born with, Blair smiled at Serena and said, "I have to go to the ladies' room. Will you please excuse me?"

Serena instantly let go of Blair, knowing where she was going and what she was going to do there. Serena hated to think that this was because of her. Blair stormed away, but Nate paid no attention to her, as he was so absorbed in Serena. However absorbed he was, he didn't notice the deepening of Serena's navy eyes as she registered where Blair was going. Blair fell right onto her bed, choking back the tears that were threatening to overflow. She knew she wasn't supposed to, but the stress and anger had gotten to her. She had run straight to the bathroom that was attached to her bedroom, throwing the toilet seat straight up. She hadn't eaten much today, and her stomach heaved with the exertion of emptying her stomach. She had cleaned up the traces of her indiscretion, spritzing some lavender spray in the bathroom, and had brushed her teeth thoroughly before turning the light off in the bathroom and falling straight onto her bed, extremely tired. She only worked this hard to cover up her indiscretion because her mother didn't know that she was breaking the rules. Also, nobody else knew except Serena, and Blair planned to keep it that way. Nate never had and never would notice. He was much too concerned with himself and Blair didn't want to let him know that she wasn't perfect. It was all about the looks with them. She knew it was a failed attempt, because Chuck always found out nearly everything, but she was truly trying to hide it from him more than anyone else. Chuck could never know about this, never see her this weak. She curled up in a ball, hugging her pillow. A shadow fell across her floor, covering her. Chuck had rushed right up the stairs to Blair's room when he had seen her storm off. She needed his help. And he was more than willing to give it to her. Blair's brow furrowed when she felt him staring at her form on the bed and she flipped over, her entire body spread out across her king-sized bed. "Why didn't you tell me she was coming back Chuck?" she said, her tone bitter, despite the reassurance his form gave her.

Chuck stepped into Blair's room, noticing that the bathroom door was slightly ajar, which was abnormal for Blair because she always kept things so neat. There was also an odor of newly sprayed odor enhancer that covered up a disgusting smell almost like rotten eggs. Chuck wondered what these things meant. He added them to his ever-growing list of observations about Blair. He knew she was hiding something from him, he just didn't know what it was. Yet, he thought to himself. How he could possibly not know by now was a huge surprise, seeing as Chuck was extremely nosy and knew everything about everyone he met. Chuck stared at her, trying to understand her question. Finally he sighed and told her the truth. "I didn't know," he said, his deep voice radiating disgust. Blair looked at Chuck, disbelief staining her features. The emotion was as potent as wine. She couldn't believe that. Chuck always knew everything before everyone else. "You can't honestly tell me that Chuck! You always know!"

"Honestly Blair," he said, sitting down on her bed next to her sprawled figure. "I really didn't know. I would never lie to you." Chuck lied down next to Blair, looking at the ceiling, wondering how he had not known this vital fact. He lay there for a while contemplating the odds of being uninformed or wrong. There were very slim. Finally he looked at her sideways. Blair looked into his face and saw the sincerity there. She couldn't stand it any longer. She sat up, the tears gathering up and spilling over onto her cheeks. Serena's return and her lapse in judgment seem to push to tears farther down her cheeks, making her sob. Chuck sat up and stared at her in horror. Not tears. Anything but tears. Chuck gathered Blair up into a hug, pressing her face into his shoulder partly to comfort her but mostly to hide her tears. He didn't know what these tears were for, but he had some idea. He couldn't stand the sight of tears. He hadn't truly cried since he was nine years old. The night that Blair had come over, apologizing profusely, worried sick over him and how his mother's death was affecting him. She thought it was about that. Such trivial things he hid from her, from everyone. He was afraid that if he told someone his story, they'd never be friends with him, never love him. He never mentioned this encounter with Blair, afraid that the small crack in his life might lengthen and he would fall apart. Blair could never see him weak like that again. He made a surprisingly strong front of indifference for everyone so they wouldn't see how badly he was hurting inside. He believed that despite his lack of emotion, he had to be strong for everyone else in his life. He always stood up for his friends, even when they didn't know it. Especially Blair. She needed him a lot more than he needed her and he was determined to be her strong hold forever. The salt water flowed from her eyes, staining his perfectly ironed shirt, but he couldn't have cared less about his clothes right now. He and Blair were definitely in for a long ride. And he sure as hell was going to make this up to her.