AN: Thanks again to the people who took the time to review, alert and favorite. I can't believe people have already put my story up as a fave, and it's only in chapter 4. Crazy. Okay, if you think things were getting intense in the UES last chapter, you ain't seen nothing yet.


To: All

From: gossipgirlxoxo

Subject: When it all goes wrong!

Gossip Girl here,

Why do people enter into these awful, contrived, massacres of the soul we call relationships?

I'll be never be any the wiser. There's a reason I only commentate on these things.

All the more time to spend with my readers.

xoxo


A week had passed since Dan and Blair had shared that one kiss. Everyday since then had been like one continuous blur of sleep, meals and various degree's of intimacy. This varied from Blair lying on top of Dan while they both watched 'When Harry Met Sally', to exploring how many new sex positions they could create by combining two already existing ones.

Dan couldn't work it out. Sex had been such an important element of his relationship with Serena, with the buildup to it, and a huge payoff. With Blair, it was like several amazing lines in an already epic poem.

Dan opened his eyes, and immediately closed them again, as the sun blared at him through the window across the room. He turned over in bed quickly.

"Ouch. Humphrey, you have the dexterity of a sloth. Will you ever learn?"

"Good morning to you, too. Sorry. I'm still not used to waking up next to someone yet. It's only been a week." Dan said, resting his arms behind his head, and stretching his legs out fully.

"Yes, well, I can't stay here overnight anymore if you're going to continue rearranging my face every time you wake up. I shouldn't be here anyway, Darota isn't known for keeping a secret well, and if my mother notices I haven't slept in my own bed for days, she will have obvious questions to ask. Questions I cannot give an honest answer to yet without gagging slightly." Blair finished, letting out an annoyed moan, as she rose out of bed and walked over to the bedroom door.

"Is that dirty talk, because it's awful." Dan said, eying her up and down.

"Not funny..." Blair answered, failing to fight back a smile.

Blair found it harder and harder these days to find any flaws with Dan Humphrey. Certain things that would have annoyed her eight days ago, she now found amusing or cute. She also found it increasingly difficult to insult him; like every time she did, she felt a pang of guilt and the need to apologise. It was like everything that had been unusual and strange before, was now usual and normal. Everything had changed with that kiss.

"Get up then. I need waffles." She said, signaling for him to exit the room before her.

"Fine, okay. I'm getting up. You know, you might find one day that you're hands are capable of operating a waffle iron. You don't need me to do it." Dan hinted, putting his clothes on, and leaving the room, with Blair hot on his trail.

"My hands weren't made for manual labour, Humphrey." She answered, sitting down on one of the stools that surrounded the island in the kitchen, while Dan pressed the waffle iron down, and sat across from her.

"Have I ever told you that you look beautiful, even in the morning, and in one of my stylish robes?" Dan said, leaning over the island and kissing her softly.

"You have. I'm flattered you think so, even in this robe, which I think even a blind person could sense is clearly a throwback to a time when fashion did not exist." Blair said, as the first waffle appeared in front of her.

"Only you could rate how fashionable a robe is that has only been outside this building once, Blair, and that was when my mom bought it." Dan said, starting to make his breakfast.

"I thought that was one of my many qualities, Dan, that I'm an 'evil dictator of taste', as you so eloquently put it." Blair said, already half way through her food.

"I may be starting to regret saying that about you. It's given you an excuse for your insanity."

Blair was about to whip back with another comment, but she quickly turned around towards her cell phone, which had signalled a message had come through. A rush of horrible thoughts suddenly cascaded into her head; that Serena had found out, that Chuck had found out.

"Oh, thank the lord. It's the prince." She said, picking her cell up and bringing it over to the island.

"Are you still insisting we go through with this plan you suggested?" Dan questioned, now also eating.

"Well it's already started phase two, Dan. I've pretended that I'm single for the entire week, seeing Louie twice now. The expected gossip girl messages have gone out. Everyone thinks I'm dating him now."

"Yes, which allows us to carry on secretly being together with no interruptions," Dan nodded, slightly annoyed, "I still don't think it's a good idea. What happens when he finds out about all this? He will eventually, Blair, and it will be all the worse when it comes out we've been hiding all this time." He finished, looking at her quizzically.

"You worry too much, Dan. Let me deal with all that, and you just continue sitting there, looking all innocent. I know we have to eventually come clean. We do agree that this isn't the time to out ourselves, with Lily's trial still going on, yes?" She said, going back into his bedroom to find her clothes, after clearing her dish.

"Yes...but..."

"No buts. Look, I feel how powerful this is too, you know I do." She said, sitting back down, and staring into his eyes, "Anyway, gossip girl has enough to write about lately, with Bass Industries getting chopped up, and Serena being the way she is." Blair said, walking around so she was behind him, and placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Fine. But you are buying me lunch at the café today, and no low fat salads either."

"Sounds acceptable, Humphrey. Counting the minutes." She said, kissing him again quickly, before quietly closing the door of the loft behind her. This had become part of a daily routine they had come to master. Blair would leave early in the morning, to check in with Darota, and make sure her mother didn't suspect anything. They didn't have to worry about Serena anymore though, as she had moved out to look after Eric, since his dad and Lily had temporarily picked up a rented townhouse for the constant sitdowns with lawyers.

This would eventually lead to them sharing lunch at the Brooklyn café that Dan had persuaded Blair was safe to eat together in, before both of them would go to classes at college, or Blair would go meet the prince to keep up the cover story.

Dan was getting more and more uncomfortable about the whole situation. When Blair wasn't with him to occupy his thoughts, the feeling of dread about the whole thing would creep up on him. This had to come out sooner or later, and he shuddered at the thought of the repercussions. He knew that the longer they held off on it, the bigger the snowball it would create at the end.

He finished his waffle and turned on the radio. He sighed a long, loud sigh as 'Shiver' by Coldplay started to drown out the sounds of the cars rushing by outside, as he walked over to his bed, and laid backwards, shutting his eyes.


Chuck squirmed with disgust, as he listened to his lawyer talk about the many difficulties and complications that had stopped him from accomplishing what he had hoped for in the last few days meetings.

His lawyer was a friend of the family, who used to defend his father, but the man was starting to screw up Chucks future, and that was unforgivable.

"Look, James. Is there anything we can do at this point to stop my uncle? Or are we just wasting our time here?" Chuck said, staring out at the city from the window of the room.

"I've tried all I can, Charles. The board hold the power here. We can't do anything, according to the law. We're going to have to think of solutions that are not necessarily lawful."

Chuck turned around and looked at James, interested, "Naturally. What about if I spoke to Bradley in private? I could reason with him."

"Not possible. Jack has already bought additional shares from other members. He just needs another 3% and he's the new majority shareholder. Even if we could persuade Bradley to sell you his shares, it still puts us below the line to challenge for majority." James said, scratching his head.

"I don't believe this... arrange a meeting with Bradley Kidd. If I can persuade him to side with me, maybe he can pull the rest of the board with him." Chuck said, nodding to James, who left the room quickly, briefcase in hand.

Chuck sat down slowly on the nearest chair. He felt like the walls were closing in around him. He had given up trying to call Blair lately, she had started a new relationship with a prince, and wasn't returning his calls. He had gotten to speak to her only once, and that had been a rushed call about Serena not wanting the groups help with her mom. Blair had also told him not to worry about her, and that she would be there for him if he needed her.

He dialed her number, and it rang a few times, before being picked up.

"Hello, Chuck." Blair said, sounding out of breath.

"Blair, you sound rushed."

"I'm just on my way back from Columbia. What is it?"

"Nothing important, I'm just calling to see if we could meet soon." He asked, standing up again.

"Chuck, I'm really busy right now. I know I said I'd be there if you needed me, but I'm going to lunch with a friend and then I'll be out with the prince all afternoon."

"Fine. By the way, how is that going? Bored of him yet?" Chuck asked, smirking.

"No, the prince and I are still new, and are enjoying eachothers company immensely, actually." She answered, sounding the way Blair always did when she was trying to feign happiness. Chuck knew he could read her like a book.

"Of course. You keep telling yourself that." He said, smiling to himself.

"Are we going to do this again? This record seems to have been playing far too long." Blair snapped back, "I have to go now. Always a pleasure, Charles."

Chuck hung up the cell, and frowned to himself. It wasn't the way he had envisaged the call to have gone. He always enjoyed the games him and Blair would play, but she seemed to have changed recently. He was beginning to give up hope that they had a certain future together. He picked up his cell phone again, and dialed a different number.

"Nathaniel. Raina is jetting off to Chicago tonight, yes?" He asked, nodding to his secretary, before entering the elevator on his way out of the building.

"Yes...any particular reason for the interest?" Nate said.

"Wondered if you cared for a few drinks tonight, a throwback to days gone by."

"I could use a night to let loose a little. I'm following Raina to Chicago tomorrow though."

"Just a night of reflection, then. I just need to forget about Jack and the board for an evening." He said, getting in his car, and heading towards the Empire.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds good, man." Nate said, before saying his goodbyes. He was already on the way to the airport, accompanying Raina.

Chuck watched the cars go by on the other side of the road. He tried to banish all thoughts of Blair out of his mind, for now. He would pick his opportunities carefully with her. Her feelings hadn't been the same since the disaster last year with the hotel and Jack. Despite lingering doubts in his head, he still maintained that whatever happened, they were meant to be. However, he knew he had to wait things out. At least for a while.


Midday had arrived, and Dan was arriving back in Brooklyn, after finishing his classes at NYU for the day. He spotted the café that he had picked out even before him and Blair gotten together for them to meet. It was perfect because it was in Brooklyn, which meant minimal chances of a gossip girl cohort spotting them. They would at first pretend to run into eachother and have coffee there before heading to watch a movie, but now it was where they would meet for lunch after morning classes. Blair would always try to arrive early though, to double check the area for anything suspicious. Today was no different.

"Here characteristically early again, Waldorf?" Dan said, hearing the clicking noise the café door would make as it closed behind him.

"You know I have to go over the place with a fine toothcomb before being seen here in the open, Humphrey. You never know what new technology gossip girl uses nowadays. There could be hidden cameras." Blair said, widening her eyes, completely serious.

"Yes...so what top CIA secrets are we unveiling today..." Dan replied, sceptically. Blair would never cease to amaze him with her paranoia about gossip girl. It sometimes got to be too much. The reason he had picked this specific place was because it could be their safe haven from the rest of the world. Somewhere they could act like a couple openly and not have to worry too much about being caught.

"Be serious, Dan. I know we are relatively safe here, but it doesn't hurt to be careful." She said, before putting her hand on the spare chair between them, so they could hold hands without being too conspicuous. She immediately felt more relaxed, gently messaging his hand in hers.

"True. Oh, by the way. I got a movie for us to watch tonight." He said, reaching into his bag, and pulling out 'Summertime' and showing Blair, who raised an eyebrow.

"A little bittersweet for you, Humphrey. You might not like how it ends for Renato." She said, smiling at him.

"I'll survive." He replied, quickly checking around them, before leaning forward to kiss her.


Vanessa knocked slowly on the loft door. She had heaved her bookbag up to the doors, filled with books and journals that might help both her and Dan with their literary paper she knew he hadn't started yet. It was a stab in the dark, even for her, but it was worth a try, and she had spent a long time picking them all out in the student library.

She waited for a few seconds, and knocked again. No answer.

"Dan? I'm using my key...hope that's okay..." She almost shouted in the direction of the door, before sliding her key into the lock and opening the doors. Her and Dan weren't exactly on good terms right now, but he was certainly not one to refuse a treasure chest of books. She hoped to apologise partly with the gesture, and partly with an actual verbal apology, which she knew he would be receptive too, if it came from the heart.

She walked into the loft and surveyed the area. She was hoping he had been reading in his room and hadn't heard her knocking, but his jacket wasn't on the hooks by the door and his bedroom door was wide open.

"Okay, I'll bite." Vanessa said to herself, and sat down on the couch for a moment, after barely managing to lift the bookbag up onto the island. She debated silently in her head, whether to stay and wait, or come back later. She checked the time on her cell. It was just past noon.

She quickly rose from the seat, as a lightbulb flicked on in her brain.

It didn't take long to walk down the block for a few minutes, as she spotted the little coffee house that her and Dan would always go to when they wanted to study. They knew it was always quiet during the day and was only a stones throw from their favorite book store. It was worth a shot.

She reached the corner on the street across from the window, and squinted through the sunlight to check if she could see him.

"What...th..." She uttered slowly. The rest of her words didn't materialise, as her stomach did a quadruple flip, then seemed to knot itself around her throat. This wasn't possible. She had to look away for a second, and do a double take, just to make sure she was seeing the two people she thought she was. She dipped her head slightly to escape the sunlight that was peeping over the tops of the buildings, so she could see properly.

She studied them for a few seconds, before her chin dropped in amazement, as Dan leaned in and kissed Blair. They then both moved their chairs closer to one-another, and Blair leaned against him while they ate.

Her surprise rapidly evolved into something more akin to hurt and anger. She pulled out her cell phone, and started recording, as Blair pulled turned to face him and pulled him slowly into a soft, more passionate kiss. She also caught a sight of them with fingers linked underneath the table. They clearly weren't as smart or covert as they thought. Blair had let her guard down, and forgotten to be diligent. They were also sat at a table that was aligned with the window. How stupid were they?

She captured all the Dan and Blair fluff that she could handle, while getting more and more furious every second it was taking place. This was beyond sacrilege on Dan's part, and as far as she was concerned he was about to get what he deserved. She saved the video, and then sent it to gossip girl. She then dialed a number.

"Mom? I just wanted to call you and ask you if I can come home for a while." She asked, the fury turning into sadness the moment she heard her mom's voice.

"Of course, honey. What's wrong? I can hear you sobbing." Her mom said calmly, as Vanessa hailed down a cab and beat a hasty retreat out of Brooklyn, back to the NYU dorms.

"I just think...there's nothing left for me here anymore, mom. I think I want to transfer schools." Vanessa said. It had been something she had thought about after the whole Juliet scandal, but now she was sure it was the right thing to do. She had never been more hurt, or angry, or embarrassed in her entire life. She gathered herself together. She would not cry over this.

"Okay, well, just come home, Vanessa. I don't feel that we should talk about this over the phone."

"Yeah, mom. I'll book a flight when I get back to the dorms. I'm done with this place, and these people." She said, hanging up her cell and striding purposefully to her dorm building.


The sun set over New York, and there was no scandal or big events to speak of, other than the latest pictures of Blair and the prince at the Matthew Marks Gallery in the afternoon. Chuck closed down the window of the gossip girl page, and cursed himself for being curious. He wasn't a frequent visitor to the page, and now vowed he would never go there again.

He quickly did a standard check of his evening suit, before stepping into the elevator, and heading down to the bar of the The Empire, to meet Nate. He had told the entire bar staff to take the night off except one lucky girl, who was particularly good looking, and was ecstatic to be chosen out of all the staff to serve drinks to him.

He sat down solemnly. He had lost all hope that this would be a night of happy and hopeful drinking at the moment he had spotted the gossip girl pictures. All the feelings of impending doom came back to him, as he thought about the next few days. For once in his life, he had no idea what to do. Jack had since bought enough shares to become the majority holder, and was going to call a press conference the following day to announce his takeover of Bass Industries. His lawyer had been powerless to help him, and he had failed at trying to win over Bradley Kidd. Bradley hadn't even had the courtesy to call him back about the offer to meet.

Without his control over the company, Chuck had only one last thing to strive for, and that was Blair. He had thought about her all day, and silently formulated a plan he thought would work.

Tonight, however, was probably going to turn out as a night of toasting the death of Chuck Bass as a businessman, and then tomorrow he would concentrate on Blair.

"Hey, man." Nate said, placing his hand on Chucks shoulder for a second, before sitting down next to him at the bar. He smiled slightly at the brunette girl who sat in the corner, looking like she had no idea what she was doing there. Chuck looked up for a moment.

"Jen. Get Nathaniel and I two shots of vodka." Chuck started, feigning a smile at him, as the girl quickly shot up from her seat and started pouring the shots. Chuck grabbed hold of her arm. "Just leave the bottle." He said, quietly.

"You okay, Chuck? I heard about the company. Is there really nothing you can do?" Nate said, as they both quickly threw back their shots.

"Not a damn thing. You know Nate, all I wanted, all my life, was to make my father proud. To make him feel like I was worthy of his legacy. Some legacy it turned out to be." Chuck blurted out. Nate studied him for a moment. Chuck had definitely been drinking well before he had got here.

"It's still a good legacy, Chuck. Who cares what percentage of it you own? He left it to you. He deemed you worthy. Don't let anyone tell you anything different." Nate said, as Jen pulled out a bottle of scotch at Chucks request, and scurried off out of sight.

"Thats not true, Nate. Anyway, it's the property of Jack Bass now. I'm not the son that I should be. If I was, I wouldn't have let this happen."

"There was nothing you could do. This is just the result of a long chain of events. You're still a large shareholder in the company. You can win back the board in time." Nate said, reassuringly, as Chuck poured them both an overly generous amount of scotch, spilling a little at the end.

"Chuck, you're just extremely drunk. Anyway, look at this place. It's still yours. You're father left it to you in his will. There's nothing Jack can do about that."

"Yeah, and I can live here all my life. A hand me down prison, that may or may not have been torn down by Russell Thorpe two weeks ago in revenge for his wife! Fantastic!" Chuck shouted.

"Hold on...what?" Nate questioned, putting his drink down for a moment.

"Nothing. I didn't mean anything."

"Chuck, don't lie to me. I'm probably your only real friend."

Chuck let out a long sigh, as he finished off his glass of scotch.

"Look. I didn't want to tell you this. Ever. It's dangerous, you know?" Chuck murmured drunkenly.

Nate grabbed hold of him, and pulled him upright, so he could hear what was being said.

"The night Raina confronted Russell after she witnessed him blackmail Lily, after you all had gone, Russell told me why he wanted to destroy the company so much. Apparently, there was a fire at a Bass Industries building, and originally my father told me about a security guard getting killed in it. But..." Chuck trailed off into thought, but Nate wouldn't relent.

"Chuck! What else?"

"But, according to Russell, the security guard had been killed trying to save a woman from dying. That woman was Russell's wife. Raina's mother." Chuck finished, putting both his arms on the surface of the bar, and resting his head on them, silently.

Nate was in a state of complete and utter shock. If this was true, the whole takeover made complete sense. He and the captain had wondered why Russell Thorpe would want to destroy such a large and potentially profitable company. This was the reason.

"I assume Raina doesn't know about this?" Nate uttered, eyes widened.

"No..." Chuck whispered quietly, with his head still firmly laid on his arms.

*Beep*

Nate instinctively reached for his cell phone. A message had arrived for gossip girl, with a video attached.

'Gossip Girl here,

O.M.G, there are very few moments in life when even I am speechless. This is one of them.

See video.

xoxo'


Serena closed the messages section of her cell, and dialed her fathers number.

"Dad, I think I'm ready to admit you were right. I need to get the hell out of this place."

"Alright, Serena. I'll book a flight immediately. Do you want to fly tomorrow morning or..."

"Tonight, I just need to leave. I can't do this, dad. It's too much..." Serena said, starting to cry. She quickly threw a large portion of her wardrobe in a suitcase, and zipped it up. She stayed on the phone as she exited the apartment, as William informed her of the details of the flight.

As soon as Serena had seen the video, she had broke down. She had been finding it hard to handle looking after Eric and still attending classes at college. It had been stressful and she wasn't equipped to manage time even when she had plenty of it. The sight of Dan and Blair kissing and cuddling eachother had finally sent her over the edge. Her brain had shut down completely, and all she wanted to do was escape, before she did something she knew she would regret.

All the hope that Serena had for her and Dan had come crumbling down upon her in one agonizing moment. She had hoped so much that what Dan has said was right, and that they would eventually be reunited again, sometime. That was the string that had held her together since breaking up with Ben. Now the string was snapped, and in her mind, Serena had nothing left to strive for.

"I'll see you soon, Serena." William said, and she hung up the phone. She quickly dialed Dan's number. No answer. She quickly took a long intake of breath.

"Dan, how could you do this? It's Blair. She's my best friend! I never want to see you or Blair ever again! Don't look for me." She ended the message, and got out of the cab at the airport. She erased all the messages and contact numbers, and threw it into the nearest trashcan.


Eric opened his eyes to the sun glimpsing over the horizon. He got dressed groggily, and went to get some breakfast. He put some bread into the toaster, and sat down, fruit juice in hand.

"Serena? Breakfast will be ready soon." He shouted. He knew Serena had classes early today, and would be awake already.

There was no answer. He slowly rose onto his feet, and knocked on her bedroom door. Again, nothing.

"I'm coming in." He said, opening the door cautiously. The room was empty.

"Serena? Where?" He whispered to himself, checking for any sign or note to tell him where his sister might be.

He checked his cell phone.


AN: So yeah. Review please!