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Chapter 3

Lies

"I'd lie for you and that's the truth.

Do anything you asked me to

I'd sell my soul for you

I'd do it all for you

If you just believe in me

And you'll never see a day, I'll ever break your heart

You'll see the sky fall down before it ever get's that far

I'll show you heaven every second that you're in my arms

Baby I'm crazy, but I'm crazy 'bout you."

Lyrics: Meatloaf

"I'd lie for you"

An addiction is described as being dependent on something...but how can this be a true depiction of an addict if in reality we are all reliant on something or other to make us feel that much needed relief from reality; whether it's a favourite movie, money, attention, fame, lust...love. We all do desperate things to obtain what we desire and thus in reality we are all addicts and junkies in some way or other.

We are all reliant on something or- in the case of Blair Cornelia Waldorf- on someone. She always thought she knew who that someone was, but as of late that surety has crumbled- not that she'd ever admit to this. What she would acknowledge to herself, is something she realised about ten seconds after the blast came in proclaiming Chuck's speedy departure all those years ago:

He was her quick fix, her addiction, her aficionado.

Strange how this was the one memory flashing thru her mind's eye the moment his lips touched her skin as he pressed a characteristic kiss on the back of her hand. It felt astonishingly habitual...casual as he simply walked towards her, took her hand and kissed it.

A shadow of his infamous smirk was dancing around the corners of his mouth when he lifted his head, his thumb skimmed over her engagement ring as he slid his hand from hers. He hadn't forgotten what it felt like to be with her, and he knew she hadn't forgotten either. The message in his almond shaped eyes were clear as he held her gaze a few brief seconds before stepping back and sitting down across from her, his attention returning to his best friend , whom had returned to his seat after the flamboyant greeting earlier.

Nate's smile hadn't even dimmed a single watt during Chuck and Blair's exchange. He didn't think anything of the way his best friend greeted his fiancé. Chuck was just being Chuck. Nothing could damper his joy over Chuck's return to the Upper East Side, and thus to their life's. He really needed him, he needed someone to talk to...to give him advice. Chuck had always been able to give him sound advice and he saw no reason why this would have changed.

"So what brings you back to our humble adobe, Bass?" Blair asked while folding her napkin in her lap, appearing uninterested in his answer. A slight furrow appear on Nate's brow at Blair's question, realising for the first time that he hadn't wondered what cause Chuck to retune, so Nate leaned back folding his arms across his chest , awaiting Chuck's reply.

"Well..." Chuck lifted his finger, beckoning a nearby waiter, before finishing his sentence "... it seems my father has plans for me."

Nate cringed a bit at the sound of utter distain in his friend's voice and comprehension dawned on him. Bart summoned Chuck home. It made sense, of course. Even after all Chuck's work around the world, Bart still saw his son as a spoiled child wasting his money on whores, drugs and alcohol. Even if the last one was still slightly true, Nate knew better than anyone how much Chuck had accomplished...and he wasn't revering to the community service.

The waiter finally reached them, and Chuck threw an inquisitive arch towards his companions. Nate declined another drink by shaking his head. "Blair?" She lifted her glass indicating she was still good. Chuck surged and pointed to his empty glass "Another, please." The waiter nodded and scrambled away after a quick "Yes, Sir".

It was quiet around the table for a while, all their thoughts on the possible reasons behind Bart's sudden change of heart. Even if Chuck never explained why he took off, the word around the UES was that Bart got tired of his son's disobedience and had thus decided to send him away. Just as Nate was about to ask it this was indeed the truth, his phone beeped, breaking the silence.

He pulled it from his pocket staring at the text he had just received, warmth crawling up his chest as he read the small black words.

Nathaniel sighed dramatically, placing his phone back in his coat pocket. He cleared his throat and pushed up out of his chair.

"It seems I've been summoned myself." A look of regret crossed his handsome face as he reached out towards Chuck, whom looked a bit surprised at Nate's sudden hurry to get away, but shook the hand stretched out towards him non- the- less. A pout shaped around Blair's red lips as Nate pressed a kiss against her cheek.

"Who could possibly be more important than your fiancé ?" Blair asked with genuine interest, a hint of worry barley concealed beneath her words - She really didn't want to be alone with Chuck- but Nate was oblivious to her distress, as usual. He just grinned at her, tucking a hair behind her ear and thus successfully avoiding looking her in the eye.

A fact Chuck noticed immediately.

"My grandfather wants to discuss Trip's new campaign plan and I'd rather not keep him waiting."

Nate laughed a bit too loudly to be truthful. He realised this and leaned in once again placing an awkward kiss against Blair's cheek to cover his mistake. "I'm sorry, Baby. I'll make it up to you later." Blair smiled sweetly, the disapproval clearly written in her russet eyes, but she kept her expression lovingly. Chuck simply sat back, observing the exchange with a silent curiosity. Nate was a horrible liar. Blair chose to ignore the before mentioned fact even if it was as obvious as day.

"We should celebrate you homecoming with a decent party, Man. Tonight?" Chuck shook his head in a slight tormented gesture and a martyred smirk on his lips as he glanced up at Nate.

"I'll regrettably have to decline, Nathaniel. Lily seems to think I should be welcomed back with a torturous dinner with my family." A sympathetic chuckle escaped from Nate's throat.

"We could grab a drink afterward?" He asked and Chuck nodded.

"Sure. Suite 1812?"

"Just like old times." Nate smiled widely, a nostalgic light burning in his eyes.

He glanced at Blair one more time, touching her hand lightly, but definitely avoiding looking directly at her, before disappearing into the crowd of tables. Chuck followed the retreating form with suspicion and scepticism in his eyes.

It appears he's not the only one keeping secrets. He grinned into his refilled glass as he slowly drank a bit of the amber liquid.

"How do you dothat?" Blair asked suddenly, catching him a bit off guard and causing him to nearly choke on the liquid in his mouth.

"What?" He asked after quickly swallowing down the burning liquor, his head tilting a little to the side slightly startled. The gesture softened her heart. This is the part of Chuck Bass she had once been very fond of.

"Drink glass after glass of that horrible toxin without getting even a little bit tipsy?" She indicated towards the tumbler in his hand with a swoop of hers.

While he's been pondering Nate's hasty exit, she had apparently been studying him. Chuck couldn't help but be amused at her actions. She truly was a very unique woman. Not for the first time since he first saw her again, he noticed how rare a beauty she possessed. She still wore her hair in those enticing auburn ringlets he so very much enjoyed pulling his fingers thru. She'd replaced her signature headband with a delicate headdress consisting of a string of glittering diamonds. Her lips were painted a ruby red, enunciating just how full and kissable they were.

He placed the half empty drink back on the table, pulling his thoughts away from these traitorous grounds, focusing instead on the swirling ice.

He smiled softly before answering her question "Years and years of practice my dearest Blair." A teasing air appears in his ochre eyes as he notices the blissful light in hers.

Blair smiled sweetly, until it hit her whom she was joking with. Her expression became stern and she sat up a bit straighter, squaring her shoulders. Charles merely observed her behaviour with the in-control confidence he was known for, recognizing her stance. She was about to get serious...or run away. A silent sigh slipped from between his lips.

"Chuck, about our ..."

"I have no intention of sharing our little secret." He interjected before she could finish her sentence, his voice level ...honest.

This was unexpected, usually he would make her life a living hell. She kept her face strait and indifferent. Her eyes searched his for any signs of betrayal... she found none.

"Of course not. You wouldn't want to lose your best friend." A superior tone slipped into the words.

Chuck shook his head in disbelieve, a slightly humorous grin on his lips. She was still using the same old coping meganism's she had been prone to as a teenager. If this was the game she wanted to play, he had no objections.

"No, Waldorf. I surely wouldn't want to lose my best friend, but on top of that, it happened years ago, even if it was very enjoyable, it's in the past. I've changed. I've grown up...unlike you apparently." He saw the moment his insult hit home, knocking her breath away. Her pupils dilated briefly, the colours seem to disappear from her once flush cheeks.

All she was capable of was gaping at him in utter astonishment. Twice in one day this man had left her in complete bewildered. Chuck sighed again, reaching across the mahogany table, taking her hand in his. She attempted to pull away but he just increased his hold on her dainty fingers.

"Look, I didn't mean to offend you, Blair, but six years is a long time. A very long time when all you've known has gone to hell. I've been thru some seriously... revolutionizing experiences." He kept his intense dark gaze focused on hers, willing her to understand. Conveying a message she was unable to grasp.

"Do you understand what I'm attempting to say?"

She nodded although she was as confused as ever by his sudden solemn behaviour. This man was so very unlike the Chuck Bass she'd grown up with. Chuck's eyes skimmed over her feature sensing her uncertainty. He rubbed over his eyes in a tired movement before once again bringing her hand up, pressing his lips lightly against her palm.

"It's alright, Waldorf." He said softly, dropping her hand and getting up.

Blair opened her mouth to say something, to make him stay, the warm imprint his lips left behind on her skin burning, but the words refused to come out. He straightened his spine; power and importance seem to radiate from him as he smiled gallantly. The seriousness disappeared into thin air.

"Enjoy your lunch, Waldorf. We'll speak soon." He promised playfully with a wink, turned and walked away.

Blair sat back in her seat, exhausted by the suspenseful morning and utterly astonished by a boy she'd once known everything about. Her eyes landed on the ice chilled glass of scotch Chuck had left behind, she hesitated briefly , glancing around the crowded room before reaching over and knocking the drink down in one swing. It burned all the way down, matching the effects of Chuck's strange behaviour.

Nate sighed of relieved as he stepped through the lavishly decorated door of the Palace Hotel and into the courtyard. He could still feel Chuck's questioning gaze burning into his back. For a concise moment he had forgotten whom he was dealing with. Taking a moment to calm his erratically beating heart, he breathed in deeply; inhaling the smells and sounds of the city he so loved, before walking towards the street crawling with movement, and haling a cab.

The driver smiled into the rear-view mirror, treating Nate to a toothy grin as he climbed into the yellow automobile.

"Where to?" Nate gave the man an address in Brooklyn and leaned back, resting his head against the worn leather as the cabbie pulled into traffic. The movement of the car helped to further relax him, pushing his thoughts towards the text he'd received earlier.

"It's a courter after one, I'm all alone, and I need you now." XoXo

The words were lyrics from a Lady Antebellum song- corny, yes- but they were also a code. It was of the utmost importance that these meetings be kept a secret. Not that putting the time in a text was very subtle.

The car lurked to a stop as they reached their destination.

"Here we are, Mate."

Nate smiled at the man's obvious Australian accent, wondering in the back of his mind why the man would possible need to be a cab-driver in New York. He fished some cash out of his pocket, handing it to the Australian Batman character. His sneer really did resemble the Joker's, just in a less evil way. With these strange thoughts cursing thru his mind, Nate vacated the cab and absentmindedly closed the door. His gaze taking in the rundown appearance of The Antebellum.

The building use to be quite magnificent, in fact, it still was, unfortunately it was situated in the wrong part of town.

Nate sighed, pushing his hands into his pockets, guilt- as always before these meetings- crawling up his spine with every step he took, and yet he still kept on going. He walked thru the beautifully carved oak doors, past the lavish bar and up the grand staircase twisting around the bar, towards the private rooms he knew resided just above this one. His hand hesitated a brief moment before purposefully turning the knob. The door slid open without any protest.

She was already there. He could detect the light sent of her perfume hanging in the air. Jasmine and vanilla. Nate quietly pushed the door closed behind him, loosening his tie as his feet lead him across the plush carpet, towards the bed placed in the middle of the room. He sat down, pulling his fingers thru his already unruly hair. He was just about to bend down to undo his shoes, when the bathroom door opened and a cloud of steam escaped into the bedroom.

Nate held his breath in anticipation, all doubts clearing from his mind as she stepped through the spray of fog, wrapped in a dangerously small towel. His eyes devoured her scantily clad body from the top of her long wet golden tresses, down across her angelic face , slightly pausing as their gazes met and she step toward him, her hips swaying as she moved.

"I thought you said we were done?" His voice sounded hoarse to himself.

She halted in front of him, standing between his legs, as she leaned down pressing a soft kiss on his lips.

"I thought you said you couldn't do this anymore." He closed his eyes in sheer need as her fingers fluttered across his suite clad shoulders. He swallowed, desperately trying to keep a level head, but that became impossible as she pushed his jacket from his shoulders. She held up a finger to silence him.

"Not now."Her plush lips folded around his ear as she whispered the throaty words, gentle nibbling on the lobe. She looked up at him for a brief second, a pleading with her indigo eyes.

"I need this, Nate." The desperation and sadness was clearly audible in her soft, gentle voice as she breathed the words against his mouth.

Nate finally caved, his hands moving up her back as he pulled her closer. "Serena." Her name escaped from his lips in moan of surrender. She pushed him back, her hands folding around his neck and their lips meeting in a desperate haste.

A/N: Sorry for the late update but I was experiencing some technical difficulties! Don't forget to review and tell me what you think. I adore all reviews.

Thanks to all who reviewed, followed and favoured this story! Every time I get a notification on this story it makes me want to write more

Lots of Love.

EB xoxo