A/N: I haven't been rewatching the episodes for flashback options like I should have, so if anyone sees any that I might have missed, you can review it. This isn't as long as the other one, but it still has a more extensive plot than the Pilot chapter did. This is sort of a continuation from my pilot chapter when Chuck and Blair were at the bar. I noticed that Blair hadn't mentioned Chuck in her letter even though they were friends, so I decided that he should have some input anyway. Next is Bad News Blair and I think I have some good ideas from that one.

Disclaimer: I don't own GG or Blair would have kicked Nate out of her room when she had the chance.

The Letter

What's that?

A letter. I wrote it to you when you were away at boarding school. I never sent it.

Blair stormed up the marble staircase, ignoring her mother's barbed comments. She threw herself on her bed, willing the tears not to fall onto her pillow. Her shoulders shook as she took in the day. It was official. Her life was perfectly ruined.

"Miss Blair." Blair couldn't look up at her maid who was, right now, the only friend she had. She couldn't bear to see the concern in the Polish woman's eyes.

"You going to be alright?" she asked hopefully. Blair sniffed, trying to wipe away her tears.

"Is my mother gone?" Blair asked instead.

"Yes, Miss Blair," Dorota said awkwardly. Blair knew what that meant. Eleanor was on her way to the plastic surgeon. She had already lost 15 pounds and now she was getting an eye lift. She supposed that's what happened when your husband left you for another man. Blair wouldn't know. But in an ironic twist of fate, she seemed to be sharing a love life with the mother who currently despised looking at her.

Nate was nowhere to be found. She had no one. Serena was gone for good. She was totally and completely alone. And apparently she wanted to keep it that way.

"Dorota, I'd like to be alone," Blair said self pityingly.

"Yes, Miss Blair." Dorota nodded ad retreated quietly.

Having your mother completely detest you because you remind her too much of her estranged husband is bad. Being completely alone is worse. Well, not completely alone. She knew she had someone if she really wanted it.

Chuck hadn't said that he would be there for her or anything, but he had definitely tried to comfort her. She thought she had hit rock bottom in that bar. She realized that this was exponentially worse.

Blair wasn't one creatively purging her feelings, but these were desperate times. She couldn't rely on Chuck. As much as he seemed to understand her, she was desperately afraid. She was afraid of rejection and what happened in that bar was merely a figment of her imagination.

Finding herself at her purple stationary just seemed like a last resort. But there were some things that she just couldn't resort to. Not yet, anyway. She could feel old habits creeping up on her and she wouldn't let herself bend to them.

She took out a pen and started to write. The whole time she thought that Serena would be glad to hear from her best friend. Finally someone to talk to who wasn't the paid help.

But that was just a mirage. By the time she was done, she knew that she would never send it. she knew that Serena would never respond. She knew that she had no one. But maybe no one was a good thing. Maybe she could forge something out of that.

Blair left the letter on her vanity when she was finished writing. She couldn't look at it right now. It was just proof that everything wasn't perfect and that her life was falling apart. And she couldn't have that.

She stared at her orange phone that lay next to the letter, mocking her. It was if it was telling her exactly what she should do, what she had known she should have done all along. She was just too afraid to.

Blair gingerly took up the phone and eased it open. She couldn't believe she was doing this. She felt like she was going down the path to destruction. So why did it feel so right?

Blair slowly punched in the numbers she seemed to know my heart, but didn't feel as though she should. She waited at the other end, almost hoping that no one would pick up. It would be equally embarrassing and rejecting if they weren't alone on the other line.

"Hello?" drawled a dark voice. Blair didn't know why her heart fluttered in relief. But maybe that was a good sign.

"Imagine my surprise when the Queen B actually wants to go bar hopping," slurred Chuck Bass. "With me, no less."

It was true. So what if she called him? It wasn't her fault she was being totally and utterly neglected.

"Imagine my surprise when you actually accepted," Blair downed her drink. She hadn't really looked him fully in the eye the whole night. She still felt awkward though he didn't seem to mind that he was with her. But if she did look at him, she would see that his eyes were appraising her strangely. Almost in admiration. Good thing she wasn't looking at him.

"It was a slow night," Chuck merely shrugged. This time Blair had to look at him. she had to see if he was playing with her. He looked completely serious. She didn't understand that.

"What? No hoes lined down the block for the pleasure of Chuck Bass?" There was a possibility that she was slightly drunk. That always seemed to happen when she was in his presence.

"Nate's being rather…" Chuck paused. "Dull minded." Chuck never had problems forming sentences like his best friend did. He just liked seeing Blair squirm.

"Dull minded?" Blair repeated. "Is that the new slang for high or something?" Chuck laughed openly at this. It struck Blair as odd. She never saw him this open when they were in public or during the day. She only saw him like this when they seemed to be drinking partners.

"Your best friend is physically absent for 'boarding school,' or whatever they're calling the drug train these days," he mused. Blair wasn't a stranger to Chuck's theories that Serena wasn't really at boarding school. "Mine is mentally absent."

"So that's why you agreed to come tonight?" Blair asked. "I'm your default?"

"As much as I'm yours," he pointed out.

"True," she agreed. Again, she missed his eyes taking her in. They were only ever this open with each other.

"So," Chuck said, taking another swig. "What brings you out tonight?"

"What do you mean?" Blair asked, swiveling in her stool.

"You know what I mean," Chuck stated. "You only call me when something is really bothering you and you need to drink your troubles away. I don't mind. Self medication works wonders. I was just wondering what it was."

"Do you have to know everything?" Blair asked exasperatedly. She knew that if she told Chuck the truth, she would be in far too deep. It meant that they would actually be… friends. And she didn't know if she was ready for that yet.

"No," Chuck disagreed. "I do know everything." Blair had to laugh at this. Chuck had the most overpowering personality of someone she had ever met. He was completely unrepentant and arrogant. For some reason, she liked it.

"Then you'll know that I need several more drinks in me before I tell that story." Chuck smiled approvingly.

"You heard the lady," he nodded towards the bartender. The Palace was always compensating to Chuck Bass. It helped that his father owned the place, but he still was underage. So was Blair. But the bartender still served her up. Oh, being elite. It had so many possibilities.

"Nate really isn't talking to you?" Blair asked quietly. Chuck looked down at her. She was so lost. Nate was an idiot for making her this way. He knew she would do anything to make her relationship work with him.

If it were Chuck, he would use that to his advantage. He could get laid so easily if he were in that position. But he knew he would never do that to Blair. Blair was perfection in human form. He would never touch her. Well… not unless she asked him to.

To those doe eyes and commanding features, he was completely powerless and he knew it. In the future, that could pose somewhat of an inconvenience. For now, he would just drink up.

"Like I said," Chuck provided. "Nate is most of the time mentally incompetent. I would much rather carry a conversation with an equal." Blair didn't miss that hint.

"I'm sure you would much rather be getting laid, right now," Blair said skeptically.

"What makes you think that I don't merely enjoy your company?" Chuck asked.

"Because you're Chuck Bass," Blair laughed. Yes, she was definitely on her way to getting trashed. All with the help of Chuck Bass. Again.

"That may have some truth to it," Chuck admitted. "But you are Blair Waldorf. You're not like all the other disposable girls. You are an equal."

"I don't know if I should take that as a complement or not," Blair said thoughtfully. "Valued by Chuck Bass. Who knew the possibilities?"

"How about giving you a safe ride home?" he suggested. He didn't know what would have happened if she had come out here alone. He was glad he was just there so some creep wouldn't pick her up in her inebriated state.

"All right, Bass," she said warningly. "But if you try anything, I'm blowing my rape whistle." Chuck merely smiled amusedly at this and helped her from her chair, to the limo. But he was still going to find out what had happened. That, he was sure of.

Chuck had learned to ignore the death stares that Blair's polish maid always seemed to throw him. He had at first found her name from Blair in attempts to charm her into liking him. No. Dorota just thought he was a bad influence. He didn't know why he cared so much, but he and Blair had been spending more time together since her life spiraled out of control. Surprisingly, Blair was actually much better company than Nathaniel.

Chuck helped Blair into her room where he could hear distinct polish mutterings at him. Chuck never really cared what people thought of him, but it vexed him that the one time he had no unfavorable intentions towards a girl, he was thought the worst of. Irony, he supposed.

Chuck bit back an innuendo about Blair bringing him to her room as she collapsed onto the bed. He tried averting his eyes as her skirt rode slightly up her thighs where she fell.

He had to wonder why he cared so much about modesty. Because she's Nate's. Nate never showed her the affection of attention that she deserved. Again, Chuck didn't know why he cared so much. All that he knew was that she deserved better than that. At least when he was with a woman, he was attentive, no matter how short a time they were together.

"I always wondered when you'd give yourself to me, Waldorf." He abandoned his attempts at being modest. This was much more his style.

Blair didn't even bother opening her eyes when she spat out a retort. That woman had class, he had to admit.

"You'll keep wondering," she mumbled. He smirked. This ws the time he knew he should leave. He had gotten her home safely as he promised. He knew a good friend would leave. A good boyfriend's friend would leave. However, good was subjective. He liked the wild side.

Chuck had never been so innocently in some girl's room. Maybe that's why he ventured over to her vanity. He smirked, not even bothering to look back to see if Blair was watching him raid her personal belongings. He found when he looked at things that people owned, he got a sense of what they were really about. Apparently Blair was all about lip gloss, perfume, and jewelry.

But he knew her better. He knew the wild streak in her that no one ever saw. The streak that he could see and mirrored his own. And he just liked going through other people's things. He just had a natural born curiosity.

Chuck didn't see the stationary. It blended into the paint job. Maybe that's how it should have been. Maybe he shouldn't have been in here at all. Or maybe he was just in the right place at the right time.

Chuck closed the drawer and something fluttered to the ground. He hastily picked it up, not wanting to alert Blair to his actions. But Chuck being Chuck, he couldn't help but be invasive. He couldn't help but be curious. He couldn't help his need to know everything. So he did. He read it.

Dear Serena,

My world is falling apart and you're the only one who would understand.

My father left my mother for a 31-year-old model. A male model.

I feel like screaming because I don't have anyone to talk to.

You're gone, my dad's gone, Nate's acting weird.

Where are you? Why don't you call? Why did you leave without saying goodbye?

You're supposed to be my best friend. I miss you so much.

Love, Blair.

Yes, that was definitely invasive. Chuck gingerly lay the paper back where he found it. He stared at Blair's peaceful form on her bed. So that was it. Indeed, her life really had been falling apart but no one was there to see it. He wanted desperately to tell her everything that happened at the Shepard Wedding. It wasn't fair to her. Nate didn't deserve her. Especially when he didn't realize what he had.

Chuck knew this was the time to leave. But like last time, he just couldn't. He should have known that something was deeply troubling her if she would go to lengths just to talk to him. But maybe he was what she needed. Maybe he could fix her. He wasn't about to uncover the inner psyche of his that wanted her to be okay. It was just a reality that when Chuck Bass wanted something, he got it. And right now, he wanted her to be okay.

He eased himself over to her side of the room. He perched himself on the edge of her bed. He never thought he would be here. Short of a family member dying, he really couldn't see he and Blair comforting each other on the edge of her sacred bed. But she needed to be comforted, even if she didn't know why he was doing it.

Chuck lay carefully back on her pillow, never looking away from her.

"What are you doing, Chuck?" Blair asked drowsily. "We've been through this. You can't have me."

Chuck smiled at her back. She was so... Blair. She had to know the effect she had on other people. (Namely, him.) It took him awhile to realize this. He had gotten over it around 13, but he still couldn't decide why she was the only woman who had ever held any sort of appeal over him, even if it was just the appeal of manipulation.

Of course Blair would assume that he wanted her in that way. She was Blair Waldorf. Everyone wanted her. Everyone but the one person who mattered. Of course she would assume that was the only thing that he wanted from her. Maybe that was true. But he knew she could get something from him, too. Maybe they could actually be... friends.

They had been friends before, but a unique type of friends. They plotted, schemed, and talked about people. It was quite superficial. But maybe he could make heal her. He didn't find that the most likely of possibilities, but when you knew something, you just knew it.

"Maybe not today, Waldorf," Chuck said slyly. He could practically feel her eyes roll. "I just..."

Chuck couldn't spit out the words. They were too... intimate. It was sort of humiliating. But he knew he had to do it. Blair was his new best friend and she wasn't going to get it from anyone else.

"What?" she asked, turning to face him.

"You can talk to me," he offered lamely. Her perfect brows knit in the confusion that her muddled brain provided.

"I am talking to you."

Chuck sighed and leaned his head back farther. This was going to be more difficult than he had orginally anticipated.

"No. I meant..." He just had to say it. "You don't really have anyone else, Waldorf. I'm your only option." Blair made a noise of disgust in the back of her throat.

"Very sensitive, Bass," she tried to say as venomously as she could in her drunken stupor. But then there was silence. Normally she would have a few more biting remarks. Chuck knew that she was considering this. Even under the cold exteriors and indifferent looks, he was right. They sort of needed each other.

"My dad left us," she said finally, her voice broken. Chuck didn't say anything. He just listened. He learned more about Blair than he ever could have wished it. He learned more about Blair than anyone else did. It was then that he realized that he and the Ice Queen weren't different at all. And Blair learned that she understood him too.