This is a continuation of the initial one-shot. It will focus on Blair attempting to rebuild her relationship with Serena, as well as Dan/Blair, Chuck/Blair, Serena/Dan and other pairings.

Each chapter will be set during an entire episode. There will be very little canon to the show's SL, as I want to make it more realistic. This chapter will continue on from the last chapter, and will be set during 5.16.

I own nothing.


CHAPTER 2

aka 5.16

Blair decided to stop mourning the absence of her friend, and to visit another friend instead. Because that's what he was, a friend.

Who she may possibly have feelings for.

She wasn't sure what was going on with her right now. She'd already been caught between two men during her engagement, and now that she no longer considered Louis a romantic prospect, despite their nuptials, she really thought her love life would become less complicated.

But the kiss she had shared with Dan had affected her; more than she'd like to admit. She wasn't expecting it, hadn't wanted anything but friendship with him, but he clearly wanted more.

She needed to talk to him before she had any chance of repairing her relationship with Serena.


"Serena, what are you doing here?"

Chuck Bass looked up at his adopted sister, surprised to see her in his apartment, suitcase in hand.

"My mom's not home and I need a place to crash."

Chuck sighed. "I'm assuming you left the Waldorf penthouse because you know about the kiss."

"I witnessed it."

Chuck winced. "Ouch." He walked over to his bar. "Take a seat. I'll get you a drink."

"I can't believe her! She knew how I felt about him, and yet she didn't think twice about kissing him back. I'm supposed to be her best friend!"

Chuck had listened to her vent for the past hour. Serena was now on her fourth drink, and was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. Around her second scotch, Chuck decided to drink with her, pouring double measures that would get him drunk in no time.

"Dan knew about your feelings, too, right?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah, I told him that I loved him at Blair's wedding. But he didn't care; he still doesn't care."

"This isn't entirely Blair's fault. He was the one that kissed her."

Her brow furrowed. "Why are you defending her? You've watched her marry Louis, and now she's turned her attention to Dan, and you're acting like you don't even care."

Chuck laughed, bitterly. "You don't have to remind me." He took a sip. "Blair is selfish by nature, and while she may not have intended to hurt us both, she has. I was once extremely selfish, too, even more so, but I've been working hard to change that. But because of my past, I understand Blair's need to go after what she wants. And what she wants is Dan. I just need to accept that."

"So you're okay with this? You're going to accept it, just like that."

"I'm going to try my best to do so."

Serena shook her head in disbelief. "You may be the best man I know, Chuck."

"A good man doesn't sleep with his enemy's book agent, in order to get dirt on him. So I wouldn't be too hasty in making statements that we can't retract."

"Oh, Chuck, you didn't."

He sighed. "Don't worry. I'm not going to start scheming any time soon. Humphrey is no concern of mine."


Dan was visibly shocked when he opened the door to his loft and found Blair Waldorf behind it.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you."

Blair hadn't spoken to him all week. No calls, no texts, nothing. He knew she had felt something that night, at the Empire. He had hoped that this would make her reconsider her marital status, but nothing was going to happen between them with the dowry still in place. Still, a call would have been nice.

"It's been a week, Blair. I've been going out of my mind."

"I'm sorry. Everything's gotten really messy, and fixing things with Serena has been my priority." She took a seat on the couch and her eyes fell to her lap. "She moved out."

His eyes snapped to her face. "What?"

"Only temporarily. But still. She's gone and she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you, Blair."

"Yes, she does! And she should. I knew how she felt about you, and I encouraged her to tell you. Witnessing our kiss must have felt like a slap in the face." He went to take her hand but Blair pulled it away. "I can't even imagine how I would feel if I found out that she had kissed Chuck."

She watched Dan stiffen out of the corner of her eye, and turned to face him. His entire demeanour had changed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just... I didn't know you still felt that way about him."

Blair frowned. "What are you talking about? You saw that video at my wedding."

"I know... I just thought, that maybe our kiss had made you realize."

She was still confused. "Realize what?"

"That he's not the right guy for you."

Blair stood up abruptly and slipped her arms through her coat.

"Where are you doing?"

"Leaving. I'm not listening to another person question my feelings for Chuck."

"What? Wait. No, don't leave." He grabbed her arm. "I'm sorry."

She relaxed her shoulders and sighed. "Fine. I accept your apology." She looked up at him, her face serious. "But I want you to know, that if you want to be apart of my life, you have to accept that Chuck was a part of it, too, a big part. And he always will be, in some capacity."

"Okay. Okay." He took her hands in his. "But I wanna ask one question. Is there any room in your life for me?"

Blair didn't know what to say. She had just discovered her feelings for him, and he was already pushing for something more.

"I- I don't know."

He rubbed his thumb along the top of her hand and cupped her face with the other. "Then maybe this will help you to decide."

As his lips brushed hers, all the feelings from that night came rushing back. She kissed him back, softly pressing her lips against his.

"Blair," he sighed into her mouth.

At the sound of her name, Blair froze, suddenly aware of what she was doing, and who she was doing it with.

She pushed against his chest as she pulled her mouth away from his.

"I can't do this... not right now."

He held her face in his hands, his eyes searching hers. "I want you, Blair. I want to be more than your friend."

Blair licked her lips and pulled his hands away from her face. "I have to go." She picked up her bag and walked to the door. As she reached for the handle, she stopped and turned to him. "I'm not saying not ever... just not right now."

Dan was okay with that. He could deal with that.


Serena and Chuck had eventually made their way downstairs, to the Empire bar, in search of tequila. Serena was sloppy and giggly, a drunken mess, and Chuck felt better than he had all week.

"You know, I never understood what Blair saw in you, but now I get it. You're fun, Chuck. Really fun. Everything's more exciting when you're around."

Chuck smirked. "Thank you for that back-handed compliment."

She nudged his shoulder with hers. "No problem."

They each took a shot of tequila before ordering two more.

"Do you remember Thanksgiving, back in junior year?"

"Of course I do. I'd unlocked Waldorf's chastity belt in the back of my limo only weeks before."

She slapped his arm, but couldn't stop the laughter that tumbled out of her mouth.

"Well, that morning, I went to see Blair, and I confronted her about the two of you, after I caught you together at her party. We got into this huge fight because I was mad at her for doing to Nate, what he had done to her, and she asked me, 'are you mad that you didn't get to him first?'" She smiled lazily. "And I wasn't mad, at all. But it did make me wonder why, in all the years that we had known each other, we never so much as kissed."

Chuck shrugged. "I guess we were never meant to be more."

She nodded. "Yeah, maybe." She turned to him and he turned, too, her face kind of blurry in his drunken haze. "You know, we could always try it now. Just so we know, for sure, that we weren't missing out on anything."

He licked his lips. "That's a good enough reason for me."

And there, at the bar of his hotel, Chuck Bass kissed Serena van der Woodsen, for the first and only time. It was nice, pleasant in a way that all good kisses are. But that was it. There were no fireworks, no tingles, no... butterflies.

The kiss ended almost as soon as it started, and had definitely sobered them both up. Serena refused to look at him when they broke apart, so he decided to break the tension.

"Well, it's good to know that I can now go to my grave, having kissed Serena van der Woodsen."

She laughed and they finally made eye contact. "I'm sorry, that was dumb."

"It's okay. Things are crazy right now. Why not make them crazier?" They smiled at each other. "Let's go back to my suite. You can have Nate's room; he's staying at Lola's place tonight."

They walked to the elevator, no trace of awkwardness between them, unaware of the Constance senior behind them, who was sending Gossip Girl her latest scoop: a Bass/van der Woodsen kiss.


Please remember that they are not brother and sister by blood.