Author's Note: I know, I know – I suck for taking ten years to get this next chapter out. I think I've re-written it about a dozen times and it never seems to come out as well as I want it to, but I figured I've made you guys wait way longer than I should have so I'm going to go ahead and post version 13 of chapter 3. I'm so sorry that this has taken as long as it has but I hope you enjoy it. I promise the wait between this and the next part won't be nearly as long, I've already started writing it. I apologize for any typos, I was in a hurry to get this uploaded. Reviews are always appreciated – they let me know how I'm doing! Happy reading!
Disclaimer: The only thing I own are my ideas, the characters and Gossip Girl are not mine.
--
February 14th rolls around and Blair finds herself on a blind date with someone Serena has set her up with. She had refused at first, but her best friend insisted that she at least try and humor her. Blair knows it's because Serena doesn't want her to be alone on a day like today.
So Blair primps herself like she always does making sure she is the picture of perfection. It's been a while since she's been on a date and as much as she hates to admit it, she's looking forward to it a little.
His name is Colin and he goes to some private all boys school that she can't remember. He starts talking about his love for all things sports and she immediately loses interest. Her fingers slowly circle the top of her glass and she nods at all the appropriate moments pretending to be interested while he relives the glory days of his last football season.
She eats quickly and lets him kiss her on the cheek after the meal is over, but claims that she has an extra early morning the next day and needs to go home. He's too oblivious to the fact that she's making this up, and she couldn't be more thankful for that.
--
Nate isn't celebrating this day. The only reason he did anything at all in the past was because he knew how much Blair loved it. He hates everything that this holiday stands for and refuses to even pretend to enjoy it with some girl he won't remember the next month.
Chuck is out with his flavor of the week, as are most of the people he would consider spending time with, so he sits at home and watches action movies that have little plot and a lot of explosives.
He pathetically checks his phone every ten minutes even though he knows there are no messages waiting for him.
At nine o'clock he caves.
--
She feels her phone vibrate on her way home and figures it's Serena seeing how things were going. Her eyebrows furrow slightly when she sees who it's from.
Happy Valentine's Day, B. Try not to eat all your Godiva's in one night.
She rolls her dark brown eyes and instructs her driver to change his course, a small smile playing across her face as she does.
--
He's so engrossed in his movie that he doesn't hear the click-clack of her heels as she makes her way through the hallway to his bedroom.
She doesn't bother knocking and she's met with the sight of him sprawled across his bed with a bowl of popcorn by his side and a beer in his hand.
"That's quite the date you've got there." She says dryly as she sets her bag down and kicks her shoes off.
He rolls his eyes and ignores her comment, "It's 9:30, shouldn't you be out getting dessert with Chris or whatever his name is."
Blair nudges the popcorn closer to him as she crawls on the bed and shoots him a glare, "It's Colin. And no, my exciting evening ended about a half an hour ago."
"What, did you run out of chocolate already?" He teases and she hits his arm.
"For your information, I didn't get any this year."
"No wonder you bailed, that guy's clearly never had a Valentine's date before. Maybe no date at all."
She begins to protest but he's halfway out of the room before she speaks her first word. He hears her follow him into one of the sitting room, and when he turns around she's standing with her hands on her hips with a quizzical look on her face.
"Here." He hands her a box of chocolates. "My dad had them sent to my mom, but she didn't want them and I know how much you like these, so…"
She eyes the chocolate skeptically before smiling.
"Thank you, that's really thoughtful."
He shrugs, that's an atypical description of him.
"Sure."
There's an awkward silence between them before he starts to walk back to his room, swinging his arm around her shoulders and dragging her with him.
"I give you chocolate; you give me the next four hours of your time in which we will continue to watch some of the greatest movies ever made."
She groans and prepares herself for a Diehard marathon.
--
She's leaving her last class of the day when she hears the news. Almost every phone in her vicinity makes some sort of new text tone and there are audible gasps all around. Blair practically drops her phone on the floor when she reads the text Gossip Girl has sent her.
The authorities had finally tracked down the Captain.
Serena exits from her science class wearing a similar expression to Blair's. They look at each other and Serena nods once and that's her cue to fly through the hallways and out the doors.
Not caring who she runs over in the process, Blair pushes her way through the large groups of people all talking about the same thing. The Archibalds.
She just about falls down the stairs as she hurries to the courtyard and spots the familiar head of sandy blonde hair who is moving just as quickly, if not quicker, off the grounds of the school.
Blair knows she can't catch him so she calls out for him and he turns around at the sound of her voice. His face is pain stricken and full of panic, she's not sure she's seen him display this mix of sentiments before.
--
Nate Archibald is used to being confused. He's used to not knowing what path he's supposed to follow or which decision is the best for him. But right now, as he stands in the middle of the courtyard, he's really not sure what he's supposed to do. His father is back? Why did he let himself get caught?
He can feel people's eyes on him; it almost feels like they're penetrating his skin. His mind is racing and he just feels like disappearing on the spot. A voice that he's known his entire life snaps him back to reality and he sees Blair racing towards him through the onlookers.
She stops a few inches away from him, reaching out for his hand at first but she pulls it back. Her eyes are full of questions he's not equipped to answer at the moment, he doesn't even know the answers himself. They're close, he can feel her breath on his face and she makes it so the rest of the world fades away, if only for that moment.
"Nate." She can barely whisper and he just shakes his head in response. His phone vibrates in his pocket and it snaps him back into reality again.
He grabs her small hand in both of his. "I think I need to go home."
Blair nods and pulls her hand out of his and steers him by his elbow to a line of waiting cabs. She tosses a glare at a sophomore who is trying to get into the one in front of them and the girl backs away.
She lightly pushes him in the taxi and shuts the door loudly, giving the drive enough money and then some to get him where he needs to go.
He looks out at her through the open window, expression unreadable, and she could always read him so well. That's what scares her. She quickly realizes that he's looking for something that will hold him together for the time being.
"You're going to be okay, you're all going to be okay." She says quietly as she leans into the cab. They both know it's a lie but it's easier to believe it than anything else.
Serena comes up behind her as the taxi cab speeds off and places an arm around her shoulder. They walk home without saying a word.
--
Blair sends him a text a few hours later, it's simple, and she doesn't want to seem overbearing; Let me know how you're doing when you have the time.
Her mother is asking her questions every ten minutes and finally she can't take it so she escapes and head's to Serena's.
The atmosphere there isn't any better. Bart's been on the phone for hours with various lawyers trying to find out anything he can. Lily's calling around to see if anyone's heard from Anne when Blair walks in and she points her upstairs to Erik's room.
Her best friend and ex-boyfriend are staring intently at the television while Erik is online reading something on the New York Time's website.
She sits down on Erik's bed and her phone goes off. They all turn to look at her and she shrugs, flipping open her phone.
"It's from him." She states simply, bracing herself for what could be in the message.
Three pairs of eyes stare at her impatiently and she reads the text aloud.
"He says 'Everything's hectic. Trial starts tomorrow.'"
The four of them stare absentmindedly at the news for the rest of the night until they decide they've had enough.
--
Nate is present at every trial, looking more and more somber as they progress, and hasn't been in school since that afternoon. Blair drops off his homework everyday after school with one of the maids but the only communication she has with him is through limited text messaging where he doesn't say much.
She calls him one night near the end of the third week since he's been gone and is surprised when he picks up.
"Hey." He sounds like he hasn't slept in days, but even beyond that, like a person who hasn't had a moment to breathe in months. The exhaustion is so apparent in his voice that it practically screams out at her.
"Hi." She says meekly. She's not even sure why she called. "How are you?" Blair realizes she sounds stupid asking it, but it's too late now.
"Oh, you know."
There's a long pause on her side of the line before he speaks again.
"I miss you. I didn't even think I had time to miss you with my whole world turning upside-down and everything, but hearing your voice reminds me that I do."
She chews on her lower lip unsure of what to say still. "I miss you too. You sound tired."
He sighs. "That's the funny thing. I'm fucking exhausted yet I haven't been able to sleep more than a few hours a night. I just lie in bed and think of all the ways my dad's screwed us over."
Blair can hear a couple of voices getting louder in the background and Nate mumble something she can't understand.
"Hey, B? I gotta go. Thanks for calling, it means a lot. I'll talk to you soon, I promise."
That's the last time she talks to him before his world really falls apart.
--
Howie Archibald's trial is expedited and it's over within a month. The news of his conviction interrupts the Law & Order episode she's watching in her room one night instead of pretending to be enjoying one of her mother's fashion parties.
Her phone rings and it's Serena. She answers it hastily.
"Yeah. I just saw, too."
She can hear hushed voices in the background and recognizes it as Chuck and his father.
"Chuck wants to go look for him, but I don't know. What do you think?"
She's already halfway out the door, her mother muttering about her black Armani dress being a waste, when she answers.
"We need to find him."
--
They split up after they drive by the courthouse and see that it's completely empty and he's nowhere in sight. Blair and Serena stay together, checking around Central Park and near his home while Chuck and Erik search random bars and anywhere Nate used to go to think things over.
It's Erik who calls them an hour later as it nears midnight, his voice weighty.
"He's at the MET, you guys should hurry."
When they arrive Blair bolts out of the car but stops in her tracks when she sees him sitting with Chuck on the steps where they've eaten lunch almost every day for the past four years.
There's a bottle of expensive whiskey wrapped in a paper bag in his hands that he's taking pulls from every couple of minutes. His tie is loosened, hair not nearly as smoothed over as it normally is, and he's staring blankly into the distance.
Erik approaches the two of them and speaks in hushed tones. "He's only said a few words since we got here."
Blair tosses Serena a look and they move closer until they're a step below his feet. Serena is the first to speak.
"Hi, Nate."
He doesn't look up, just takes another large sip of what's in his hands. Chuck looks at the two of them and shrugs, this isn't his area of expertise.
Nate sets down the bottle and puts his head in his hands, pulling on his hair. Blair lightly touches one of them as to not startle him. He moves his hand and takes hers in his; she gives it a light squeeze.
"Nate?"
He looks up at the sound of her voice and her heart breaks. His eyes are dead and he looks like he's about to crumble at any minute.
She sits down next to him, moving the bottle so it's behind her and searches his face for any sign of anything other than misery.
Her thumb moves in circles over the back of his hand trying to soothe him and the four of them sit in silence for a while before she looks at her best friend and Chuck and nods. Serena raises an eyebrow and considers debating for a second but then looks at the two of them and decides against it. She motions for Chuck to get up and he quickly follows her, emotional situations have never been his forte.
--
After they've left, Nate looks at her and let's out a deep sigh, she can smell the alcohol on his breath. His eyes are glassy and she can't tell if it's the whiskey or the tears he won't let brim over his eyes because he's an Archibald.
She hesitantly brushes some hair away from his eyes to look at him more clearly and in that moment she wants nothing more than to take him away from all of this.
"Do you want to walk around? Central Park is only a few blocks away." She suggests, hoping that getting him up and moving will shake him from this semi comatose state he seems to be in.
He nods and she stands up, smoothing her dress out as she does and holds out a hand for him. He grabs it without faltering, lacing her fingers with his.
They walk through Central Park for hours saying nothing at first, and then he starts to ask her random questions, some that she knows he already knows the answer to. All the questions he asks her keep her talking for minutes, and just when she thinks he's done, he asks more.
After he asks her to tell him her about that last summer she spent with her father, she turns him with her own questions written all over her face.
"What's with the 20 questions?" It comes out more curious than anything.
He stops and pulls her closer by her hand that's been linked with his ever since they left the MET.
"Because you're the only thing that's keeping me from completely losing it right now. I don't want to think about anything other than what you're telling me, so please, keep talking."
Blair stares at him for a minute and then pulls him into a tight hug, inhaling his signature scent of cologne mixed with pot and toothpaste. He hugs her back more fiercely, and she's afraid that if she let's go he'll fall apart. She thinks she feels his lips lightly touch the top of her head and she pulls back, intertwining her arm with his and firmly gripping his hand again as they continued to make their way back to the real world.
She launches into a story about Roman trying to teach her to cook something fancy and French and she gets a small laugh out of him by the end of the story.
The next morning they'll be a picture of the two of them on Gossip Girl with the caption, "N's kingdom may be falling apart, but he'll always have his Queen."
They'll look like the movie that Blair's always wanted to star in, but this isn't the kind of motion picture she had in mind.