It had been three weeks since the awkward party. Blair and Nate had kept up the image of the happy couple but she could feel his attention waning. With Nate's father returning from his brief stint in rehab, Nate's mother was demanding more and more attention on their family. When he could see her, he used her for a release; a way to get rid off all the feelings his mother and father made him feel. She'd let him get so far before she'd stop him.
No one could touch her the way Dan had. She had melted under Dan's sweet and slow kisses. Nate's were quick and sloppy, only wanting one thing. She felt loved and wanted with Dan: Nate's kisses made her feel easy and...there.
She was sitting alone one night, feeling empty after Nate had left. Blair scrolled through the numbers in her phone, finally landing on the one person she wanted to talk to: Dan. But she knew that she couldn't call him after everything they had been through. She sighed and scrolled to another familiar number - her one best friend at the moment. After three short rings, Jenny finally picked up.
"Hello?" she giggled into the phone.
"Hey, Little J," Blair said, raising an eyebrow in curiousity. "What's up?"
"Nothing much. Just talking with Chuck. Chuck, stop, I'm talking to Blair!" Jenny laughed.
"What's going on there?"
"Nothing, he's just tickling me, trying to get the phone from me," Jenny told her.
"Oh, hey, want to hang out later? Or are you going to be making out with Chuck all day?" Blair asked, knowing of the crush Jenny had on Chuck.
"I am not going to be making out with Chuck all day!" Jenny scoffed. Blair heard a faint not if I can help it, come from the background.
"Well, seems like someone has different plans," Blair told her, smiling. She truly felt happy for the two; someone should be happy, even if she wasn't. Well, at least Jenny deserved to be happy. She didn't tell anyone about them, after all and had become close to Blair in the meantime.
"Not really. Want to go shopping in an hour? Chuck might end up tagging along," Jenny warned.
"Of course! And tell Chuck that it's fine: the more the merrier!" Blair chirped happily.
"You know it, B! See you later; I have to work my moves here," Chuck's smooth voice came over the phone.
"Good luck, Chuck!" Blair laughed before hanging up. She sighed and decided to get ready for their afternoon out.
Blair was currently thinking that this was a bad idea. No, worse than bad. This is what hell is like, she thought to herself. She was currently walking about Manhattan with Jenny, Chuck, Dan, Serena, Eric and Nate. Jenny and Chuck were walking ahead of everybody else, flirting like crazy and trying to not give into their feelings first. Nate was chattering on about something with Serena while she held a firm grip on Dan, who looked bored out of his mind. Eric was the only one who looked to be having as much fun as she was.
"Why don't you just admit you still like him?" he asked her. Blair cocked an eyebrow and looked at Eric from the corner of her eye.
"What do you mean?" she asked, playing it cool.
"I know you still like Dan. Serena knows you still like Dan. Dan probably knows you still like Dan. I know Dan still likes you. Serena knows Dan-" the younger boy rambled.
She cut him off with her hand. "Where are you going with this, Eric?"
"Serena's my sister and all but I don't know why she's acting like this. Scratch that, you bruised her ego when you got together with Dan and she's trying to bruise yours."
"That makes no sense," Blair told him. "I don't even like Dan anymore."
"Right. And I don't secretly think that Chuck's a manwhore who doesn't deserve Jenny."
"Well, she's held his attention for three weeks. Which is more than anyone's held his attention. I think he might actually like her, Eric," Blair confided, trying to steer away from the conversation topic.
"Blair, you know I love you like a sister but please. Not even you can hide feelings like that," he scoffed. Blair sighed a little. Eric was much like Serena - in a good way. Although, with the way she was acting at the moment, everything he could've done would be better than Serena on a bad day.
"Eric, why is it that you and Jenny have to be the most insightful people in the group?" she chuckled, giving him a side hug.
He smiled at her. "Because our innocence hasn't tampered with our thinking," he told her, overly serious. They both shared a laugh, Nate, Serena, and Dan sneaking a glance at them.
"Hey, stop flirting with my girl," Nate teased. Blair's smile fell. She hated being thought of as a piece of property, even teasingly.
"I don't think she's anyone's 'girl,' Archibald," Dan told him frostily. Serena shot him a look and Nate was confused.
"What the hell, man," he told her, moving protectively to Blair's side. "Where do you fit in here?"
"I fit where you're standing," Dan mumbled. Unfortunately, Serena, Nate, and Eric heard it. Blair was just shocked that Dan had stood up to Nate.
"Dan," Serena warned between her teeth. "This is between Blair and Natie; don't worry about it," she told him.
"What do you mean, you fit where I'm standing? That makes no sense," Nate said, grabbing Blair's hand. Blair stared open mouthed at Dan.
"Now is when you chose to stand up for me?" she scoffed.
"What do you mean 'now?'" Dan asked, stepping away from Serena and closer to Blair. At this point, Jenny and Chuck had returned to reality and were walking back to the group.
"I mean, in the apartment, you walked out on me," Blair seethed, stepping closer to him as well.
"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Nate asked.
Blair and Dan ignored them. "You were talking about how because of Nate you'd 'never get your happy ending.' Remember that?" he quoted.
"Yeah, because I loved him, Dan! He was my first love - or at least, first illusion of love - how could I so easily forget him?!" she stage whispered, trying not to draw more attention to them than needed.
"How do you think it made me feel when he was the only thing you talked about, though? I mean, my girlfriend couldn't let go of her past that she constantly talked about letting go of and all of a sudden-"
"Girlfriend?!" Nate yelled, interrupting them. "Who wants to explain to me what is going on?" he demanded.
"Basically, your girlfriend and my boyfriend were seeing each other behind our backs," Serena told him, arms crossed and a smirk on her face.
"Except not!" Blair told her, hands on her hips in a defiant matter. She turned to Nate. "After you and S slept together, I went to Dan's place to thank him for that day during the photoshoot and we got to talking and...kissing and it progressed to more. But both of us were single at the time, thank you very much. Unlike when you two slept together...again," she threw in his face, turning back around to Dan.
"I tried to let go of him, Dan," she said solemnly. "But I couldn't. It was almost as if...he had a part of me he wouldn't give back."
"Blair, I know that. But it wasn't him who held it. You pinned it to him," he told her, looking at the ground. "I wish it could've worked between us," he whispered. "But if you can't let go, I can't either."
"And who says you two can't work it out?" Jenny said, stepping into their intimate circle. She not-so-subtly pushed Serena out of the way to get to them. "You two are so head over heels with each other that the blood rush to your heads has impaired you. Think about it: what's stopping you? I'm pretty sure they both deserve a slap in the face at this point," she mumbled.
Blair looked at Dan and then at Nate. "I...I need time," she whispered, a desperate tone to her voice as she grabbed Jenny's arm and dragged her away. "I just need time," she muttered again.
There's a showdown going on in Manhattan and it looks like a mighty fine power stuggle. Who's going to come out on top? And who is going to end up in the dumpster?
Only time will tell, darlings.
Until then, may the best man win. And you'll want to win this prize boys.
HOLY CRAP I CAN NOT BELIEVE I FORGOT ABOUT THIS STORY, I AM SO SORRY. ):