As afternoon became evening, dress fitting at the Waldorf's commenced. From bright shades of blue to subtle greens, the dressmaker had every color and every style money could buy. Ladies Eleanor and Blair Waldorf were in the master bedroom, trying on an array of clothing for Blair's birthday that was soon approaching.

"Mother, this hemline is not to my liking. Must my dress sweep the floor? Surely it would get dirty," Blair stated. She turned around, looking at the dress the dressmaker had used for the example at what the finished dresses would look like. She fingered a shorter dress, to Eleanor's horror.

"Blair dear, you will wear what is appropriate for a lady your age. I will not make an exception for you. And besides, this fabric is elegant and sophisticated," Eleanor pointed out, motioning to the dressmaker that she would take that fabric to make into a dress. He took the material from Eleanor's hands, separating it from the others.

"Very well mother, but I will choose the fabric for the next dress. Ralph- do you have any red velvet?" she asked, perking up as he handing her several samples of the rich fabric. Eleanor groaned quietly, giving up. If her daughter wanted this kind of attention, she would certainly get it. After all, it's not as if she had ugly children!

Blair touched the velvet, feeling pleased. She knew Chuck would love the way the dress clung to her curves. As she and her mother bid farewell to the dressmaker with promises of several new dresses within the week, she left the room, stepping to the parlor for some tea.

Meanwhile, Lord Charles was riding on his estate with his best friend, also known as Lord Nathaniel. He whistled in time with the horse's hoof beats, annoying Nate greatly.

"So I talked to Serena yesterday…" Nate started, glancing over at Chuck, who was expressionless.

"And? Did you two turn the conversation into something a little more interesting?" Chuck smirked, avoiding the topic. Nate rolled his eyes, sighing.

"She didn't know about Blair and I. What are you playing at, Chuck? I don't understand why you're doing this to her," he said.

Chuck stared at Nate and gulped, "Some things aren't worth understanding, Nathaniel. It's nothing." Nate shook his head in displeasure, and spurred his horse forward into a canter toward the trails.

"Hey, where are you going?" Chuck shouted as his friend left him. His brow folded as he looked on in confusion.

"Home," Nate replied in the distance.

Chuck wordlessly turned his horse around and walked to the barn. He wasn't looking for anyone's approval- especially Nate. Except maybe one person. But that was different; Blair was Blair. There was something different about her- something he had never felt with any other girl he had been with, and he knew she could seem fragile as Nate said, but there was a fire he had unleashed that night, and that side of her he was eager to see again.

Blair reached for the teapot, smiling at her guests. The Calloways had stopped in unexpectedly, to Blair's frustration. She had just wanted quiet teatime by her lonesome, to try to gather her thoughts, however always adaptable; she kept the perfect façade, masking what was really streaming through her mind.

And inside, she was screaming. Nothing was going her way, and nothing made her more upset than that. She still hadn't made up her mind on Chuck, and her mind was going in all kinds of directions. Blair Waldorf liked order, organization. And her life currently was anything but.

Talking to the Calloways was unusually tiring, and Blair suddenly wanted to see Chuck. Part of her wanted to tell him everything, tell him all about her sorrows, but another part, the more realistic, knew she didn't know what he would do with that information. He was unpredictable. And that was everything Blair was against; but his sinister looks and sultry smirk drew her towards him, like a magnet.

Blair couldn't help but want him.

But Nate… Nate was so great at being her prince charming. He was sweet, handsome. Maybe he hadn't meant it. Maybe she had been rash to say relations between them had been strained for quite a while. At the ball the other night, Blair had noticed the way his eyes gleamed in the light, and she felt some sort of connection between them as she had blushed when she almost tripped over him. Finally deciding to take charge of her thoughts, Blair excused herself to the ladies' room and reached the study to find parchment and ink. In her careful cursive handwriting, she wrote:

Nathaniel,

I do hope we can meet over tea tomorrow at brunch before my birthday night. I must discuss with you some concerns I have for our future, or whatever is left of it. If you wish to appear, please send a reply before tomorrow. You know I do not like to be kept waiting.

Sincerely, Blair

With a flourish, Blair signed her name. She had wrote three letters before the finished product, one reason being that she had written 'Love, Blair' automatically as her signature, but knew it would be inappropriate, and tossed the parchment away. Calling one of her servants, she told him to carry the letter to Lord Archibald immediately. He scurried away, and she silently walked over to the grand windows, and watched as the servant found a ready horse, mounted, and was off. She turned her back on the window, and leaned on it with a sigh, head tilting back.

She had no idea what lay ahead for them, but she at least wanted to try to make things up. Chuck had to be forgotten if she wanted to progress into a lady she knew she could be, and what better way than to redeem her man? Plan in place, Blair straightened herself and strode proudly into the dining hall, where the Calloways and her mother sat.

Author's Note: Hey there, sorry this update has taken so long and still isn't that lengthy. I tried to be as descriptive as possible but eventually enough was enough. Also, there wasn't much to this chapter, and no CB interaction- sorry about that. I promise much CB interaction for the next chapter, which will be, as you may have guessed, Blair's birthday. I will stop following the TV show here, and go my own way from now on. It's been nice following the episodes 107 and some of 108 but it was also restricting as well. Anyways, enjoy this chapter and please review!

On to the topic of reviewing. For the prologue, I received 16 reviews. Second chapter, 8 reviews. Weird huh? It kind of dissapointed me, especially because so many people are story alerting this story, but not reviewing. I'm glad people are enjoying it (I think), but why not review? A simple "Good work." would suffice. To all my wonderful reviewers, CBBW3words8letters, TriGemini, cj-the-greatest, vampirebooklover09, abelard, D, QueenBee10, and Guardian Izz. It means so much to me, and thank you a hundred times over!