Sorry for the delay guys. School and work, you know the deal. Anyway, thanks so much to all of you that have read and reviewed the last chapter: Zoe, Egyptian-Fire, o9, 3venst4r, suspensegirl, midnight blue08, pisaniel, Ashlyn13, Kimberly Ramone, dancing-supastar, WolfGirl1618, 000kayko000, Blood Red Kiss of Death, Jenny345, Kensley-Jackson, Lauren1102. Once again, i will take into account any suggestions you guys throw at me. But i am going to try to stick to the Victrola hook up of Chuck and Blair, and you'll see why by how this chapter progresses. I'll change it around a bit of course, considering it is an AU fic. Anyway, thanks so much for all the support i've been getting. Hope you all continue to read, enjoy and review. REVIEWS=LOVE. Happy Readings!! xoxo
Chuck walked slowly in the direction of his friend who stood dumbstruck in the same spot Blair had left him. If the look on dear Nathaniel's face was anything to go by, the conversation with his sister had not gone over well. Chuck cringed a bit at the word sister. Sure he enjoyed hackling Blair about it, but it was quite disturbing to address her as such. He made a mental note to himself to address her as step-sister from now on. It left a cleaner taste in his mouth after all the recent thoughts that had been streaming through his head. Thoughts of the enticing Miss Waldorf squirming and writhing beneath him in her bedroom that was now only three feet away from his own. Yes, the past few nights had been testing indeed.
Chuck snapped out of his reverie and cursed himself for letting his thoughts stray to unchartered waters. Blair was his best friend's girlfriend. Period. End of story.
Though that only adds to the danger and intrigue of taking what is off limits...
Chuck reached Nate's side with a villainous smirk on his face. Thankfully for him, Nate was too lost in his own confusion at Blair's reaction to even notice Chuck was by his side, much less catch the gleam in his eye as Chuck stared at Blair walking away with Serena.
"So...why so perplexed, Nathaniel?" Chuck asked casually as his eyes continued to ravage Blair who was slowly disappearing in the distance.
"Did you see that?" Nate asked confused as he turned around to face his friend.
Chuck turned quickly and stared at Nate with an innocent look on his face. "Did I see what?"
"Blair. The way she reacted. The way she just walked away..." Nate trailed off, unable to find an explanation as to why Blair had blown him off so easily.
"What did you tell her?" Chuck asked, already imagining what kind of stupidity Nate must've said in order to warrant such a reaction from Blair.
Nate looked down at his feet as he shuffled uncomfortably. "Well I kinda broke up with her," Nate said softly as he cast a sideways glance at Chuck and then turned his eyes back down to the ground.
Chuck's mouth hung open as he heard the words he never believed he would've heard in the span of his lifetime. Nate broke up with Blair. Broken up. They were broken up! "Come again?" Chuck asked, trying to assure himself that he had heard him correctly.
"Don't acted so shocked, Chuck. You, more than anyone, know how I've been feeling."
"Yeah. Trapped. Horny. Need for excitement."
"Lower your voice," Nate hissed at him as he spotted some of the girls already looking in their direction.
"But why the hell would you break up with her?" Chuck asked, still not understanding.
"Would you rather me have stayed with her, lied to her, cheat on her?" Nate murmured softly.
"I rather nothing. What the two of you do is entirely up to you. I'm just trying to understand why you would break up with a Waldorf, knowing how pushy the Captain and your mother have been about your relationship," Chuck said as he itched to take out a joint and light up.
"Well... I've kinda found someone else. And I can't do that to Blair," Nate finished quietly.
Someone else? Now this can get interesting...
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xoxo
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Blair slammed the door to the Bass-Waldorf residence and began to trudge upstairs to her bedroom. This certainly qualified as the worst day of her life, and the worst part about it was that she had to come home and ready herself for a dinner with Bart and his business associates. She knew if she didn't make an appearance at dinner, her mother would make her life a living hell for the next couple of weeks. Possibly months.
As she went inside her bedroom she found Dorota picking out some clothes for her and placing them along the bed in order to gauge Blair's approval.
"Oh, Miss Blair. How was school?" Dorota asked quietly as she continued to organize a variety of outfits.
"Horrible. I hate my life!" Blair exclaimed dramatically as she threw the pillows off of her bed and flung herself on the small, empty section.
Dorota shook her head at the sight of Blair and began to walk over to her. "Miss Blair, your mama called. You must have dinner tonight with her and Mr. Bart."
"Yes. I know that Dorota," Blair huffed into her bedsheets, too annoyed and upset to lift her head. All she wanted to do was be alone and cry.
"Dorota, may you excuse us?"
The ickingly familiar voice caused Blair's blood to boil in anger as she sat up in her bed quickly, and much to her chagrin met eyes with Chuck. Chuck stared at her and hid a smile that threatened to form on his lips at the sight of her rumpled hair and messed up lip gloss.
"Chuck. You are honestly the last person on the face of this Earth that I want to see right now. Get out." She spoke quietly, but her conviction was unwavering. Dorota looked between them nervously before making her way out of the room.
"Truce OK? And I heard about you and Nathaniel. I've come with a peace offering," Chuck drawled casually as he strolled over to her bed and took a seat by the foot of the bed.
"Peace offering? You're easily defeated, Bass," Blair huffed out sarcastically as she adjusted her skirt to cover up her thighs.
"Well I have an idea and I think you are the perfect person to help me. And you know what they say... you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." His eyes lit up with a devilish gleam and Blair rolled her eyes at the sight of his excitement.
"You and I won't be scratching anything for each other," Blair glowered venomously.
"Sure," Chuck said dismissively, too wrapped up in his idea to concern himself with Blair's pettiness. "I have a proposition for my father. A business deal. And I need you on my team if I'm going to convince him to invest in it," Chuck said simply, not delving into details until he had gotten her to agree.
"A business deal? When did you become a tycoon?" Blair teased, momentarily losing herself in the comfort she found whenever Chuck was around, even if it was to fight and annoy each other.
Chuck squinted at her and folded his arms across his chest. "Do you want to know what Nate told me after you two broke up or what?"
Blair sat up straighter in bed as she eyed him carefully and gulped down the nervous knot in her throat. "He said something to you?" Blair asked softly, angering herself at the stupid question she had just posed. Of course Nate had said something to Chuck. It seemed as if Chuck knew more about Nate than Blair herself did.
"Of course," Chuck said matter-of-factly as he grinned. "Seems your dear Nathaniel has a hankering for a taste of something new."
Blair looked on in confusion, not quite understanding what Chuck was aiming at. "Meaning?"
Chuck sighed in frustration as he stood from the seat and went to stand before her. Extending his hand towards her he waited until she succumbed, gave him her hand and allowed him to raise her off the bed. "Seems Nathaniel picked up the scent of another female. At apparently it was strong enough that he decided to let you go," Chuck said as he picked up one of the dresses Dorota had left on the bed and placed it over Blair's body to test it. "This is the one you'll wear tonight."
"First off, I'm not wearing what you tell me to wear. Second, are you sure about Nate?" Blair asked, the pain and heartache she had felt earlier slowly giving way to anger and resentment.
"Of course. Would I lie?" Chuck asked as he placed his palm over his heart and put of the phoniest look of innocence Blair had ever seen.
"Psh," Blair scoffed, very unladylike. "You're capable of so much worse."
"And so much better," Chuck murmured softly as he stroke Blair's cheek gently with his index finger. "I can show you how good I can be."
Blair pushed away from him then and began pacing her room like a caged animal. "Back to Nate."
"What's new?" Chuck said dryly.
"Who is this other woman?" Blair asked, ignoring Chuck's insolent remark.
"I don't know. He wouldn't say. But I can help you find out," Chuck continued as he walked over with the dress Blair had placed back on the bed.
"Really? How?" Blair asked as she turned to face him once more.
Chuck aligned the dress against her body once again. "First, you wear this. Then, help me get my father to agree to invest in Victrola. After that, I'll make sure to get it out of Nate one way or another."
Blair eyed him suspiciously as she took the dress Chuck had placed under her chin and sat down on the bed. "Victrola...?"
Chuck smiled brightly as he signaled for her to hold on a moment and walked across to his room. Returning quickly with a folder in hand, he handed it over to Blair and allowed her to look it over.
"You want your dad to invest in a strip joint? How midtown," Blair stated as she continued to flip through the pages of pictures and proposal work that Chuck had organized in his folder.
Chuck hurried and went to sit next to Blair on the bed. Looking over her shoulder at the pictures in her hands, he spoke softly against her ear. "A burlesque club. A respectable place where people can be transported to another time. Where they can feel free to let loose. No judgment. Pure escape. What happens at Victrola stays at Victrola..." he finished as he finally looked up and turned his eyes on her profile. He watched as she continued to study the pictures.
"Well...it does have franchise potential," Blair said casually as she looked up and found Chuck staring at her intently. Trying to ease the tension she sensed in the way he was staring at her, she lightened her tone as she spoke, "Chuck Bass, I do believe all your years of underage boozing and womanizing have finally paid off."
Chuck smiled as Blair broke the trance he had suddenly been sucked in to. Gulping hard he stood from the bed and took the folder from her small hands. "So? Deal?"
Blair stood and shook his hand. "I'll help you as much as I can. Then you find out who that bitch Nate's been seeing is," Blair stated simply, no trace of humor yet no anger in her voice.
"Seek and destroy?" Chuck asked as he began to let go of Blair's hand and started to walk out of the room.
"Is there any other way?" Blair retorted.
