Author's Note:
Hey guys. Yes, I know surprising that I'm back. Through gritted teeth and many days trying to comprehend the character of Blair, I slowly but surely made my way back to this story. I think the thing that lead me back was the fact that I have to write for other shows for an internship that I'm trying to get staffed as a tv writer, and even though I'm not in love with the characters, I have to write for them. I started to realize that even though I'm not in love with Blair at the moment or any moment, I do like the Blair in the stories I've created.
Now I'm still uber upset and appalled by the character of Blair on the show because I still believe that the finale totally wrecked her character for me, but I'm not as upset as I was, it's like eh...whatever now for me. Dan screwed up as well, but as a female, I would've wished for Blair to choose to be alone than do what she did. I talked with a friend and he only watched a music video of Chuck and Blair only to say the exact same thing that everyone says about Chuck and Blair's relationship as he viewed as an abusive relationship just in a matter of four minutes, which I found to be astonishing. Then I found the fact that Leighton Meester doesn't even seem like she liked what happened to her character and is trying to distance herself from Gossip Girl as much as possible when she does interviews comforting to me. Then I find it interesting that no one from the cast except Leighton has spoke about the finale, and even in the tone she uses to talk about the show, it seems she knows the show is pretty much garbage. Hell her song "Entitled", which is good by the way, seems to be the anti song to Chuck and Blair, basically about a love gone wrong and having the strength to believe you deserve more .So bits and pieces have brought me back to the story.
I truly appreciated and took to heart what some of you wrote in response to me not letting the show dictate what is written in our fan fiction world. Those comments/reviews really made me think and I just realized that I like the world I've created for the Gossip Girl characters. I like my Chuck and Blair, who I assure you will never hook up or get together in my story, but because the actual story doesn't put them in those situations.
Each relationship in the story I take pride in because they all have a beginning, middle, and end. Stuff doesn't come out of nowhere unlike some show on the CW where it makes no sense at all. I was actually watching Dawson's Creek season four, and I absolutely loved how they built up Joey/Pacey relationship and how they gradually showed Pacey's insecurities getting the best of him to where it ended his relationship with Joey. I liked it because it made sense, and I could understand that instead of one week they're all happy then the next she's in love with Dawson. It was a season long arc of showing how Pacey feels inferior to not just Dawson but to Joey, and ultimately he needed to find himself in order to be with Joey. Then of course in the end he realized that he never truly fell out of love with Joey, and he was successful in his own way and the rest is tv history . Did I like Pacey/Joey breaking up, no, but I respected it and saw the build up of it coming. But with Blair it's just one WTH moment after another where it doesn't do the character justice, but makes her look pathetic and stupid, which are words I never thought I'd use for Blair.
I really can't see myself watching S6 because I think other shows deserve much love than crap like Gossip Girl. I think shows like Gossip Girl make it bad for teen shows to get the respect they deserve such as The Vampire Diaries because they make a joke out of story telling, so they all get grouped together as bad. It's hard to root for Blair because I have no sympathy for her character, so I don't see myself feeling sorry for her when she encounters her troubles because it's a mess of her own making. It's just the logical things that the writers destroyed that leaves me wondering what the hell the audience is supposed to root for in S6. Blair has no friends, Blair lost the sympathy or understanding of her character, Blair has no leg to stand on if she's supposed to be upset with Dan or Serena, Blair and Chuck finding their way back to each other has been the damn storyline since S2, nothing really is left to say or tell in that relationship but yet we have another seasons worth of it. Sorry if I'm being bitter or ranting but I'm just in thought mode right now on what the hell are the writers going to do for ten episodes that would be considered new. That finale probably scared off fans because it was that bad, I knew it was going to be bad, but I didn't think it would be that bad, I was like damn this is really the worst finale in tv history. Blair in one episode became the worst female tv representation, so I'm just trying to understand til this day. Then on top of that, Josh Safran is going to write for Smash, and I actually like that show, so now I'm screwed in that area as well.
But to make a bitter rant short, I still like Dair. I still think they can be salvaged. I know some of you may be over them, which I don't blame you, but Dair is the only logical thing about the show for me. I'm a casual viewer of Gossip Girl, which means I walked away before and I only came back because of Dair. I'm a firm believer and have used the tactic of destroying characters to build them back up, but only in the logical sense not in the crappy ass Gossip Girl sense. If they don't end up together, I'll be fine because I've read pretty good fan fiction that makes watching Gossip Girl a waste of time when you could be reading what you want to actually read as storywise the story should've went towards Dair because they make more sense and have an untold story, then they mirror what Dan/Serena were supposed to be about in the beginning of two people defying two worlds to be together while enduring the stereotypes of their worlds. Dan and Blair, in my mind, have become the main characters of this series that you root for. I love Chuck as a character to write for, but on the show, his sole story arc has been about Blair for the past five years and it's getting redundant to see the same thing. To be honest, and I'm not just saying this, Chuck was better with Eva and Raina because he had a new avenue to go down as a character, another layer to show to the audience. The same goes for Blair, I liked her with Dan because I finally got to see insight into who Blair really was, the Blair I think should've been developed since season one. I'm a writer at heart, so we suffer the ultimate heartache of characters that suffer from lack of character growth or trying to understand where the writers may take things. So this has pretty much become my series of how I would've ran Gossip Girl in my world.
I hope you all enjoy the chapter, and I look forward to feedback.
Trinity: Family, Love, and Scandal
Chapter Three- Lost Boys
Hearing the sounds of the maid shuffling about in his room, Dan's eyes fluttered opened to see the maid open up his curtains along with placing fresh linen in his room. Rubbing his eyes to make sure this was all real, Dan sat up slowly in the bed only to be greeted by a smile from the maid. Finding it off that the maid would so casually do her daily routine with him present, Dan wasn't sure this was something he could get used to, especially since Dorota wasn't so big on cleaning while person was present. Letting out a yawn, Dan reached over to grab his phone only to realize that it was plugged up for him. Not remembering if he had put his phone on charge, Dan once again looked up at the maid to see her smiling as if she were giving silent thanks to him. Getting out of the bed, Dan quickly unplugged his phone from the charger and headed into the bathroom. As soon as he entered the bathroom, Dan was caught off guard to see his clothes all ready laid out for him so prim and properly. Feeling as if he was in some twilight series, Dan took a moment to take in the type of housekeeping that Chuck had grown up to, and could somehow come to the conclusion on why Chuck always figured the world had to cater to him. Dialing the familiar number, Dan put the phone up to his ear as he paced the bathroom floor.
"Good morning" Blair said more chipper than usual as she answered the phone
"Good..good morning. Why are you so chipper?" Dan asked
"Because it's a glorious morning, and the fact that my father is coming into town" Blair smiled "Dorota and I are preparing daddy's favorite dishes, everything must be to his liking" she told him
"Why is he coming in?" Dan asked a bit skeptical at the fact if whether Blair knew the family secret
"He said he wanted to spend some time with me. I guess he's proud that his baby girl is moving into the workforce, you know all that parenting stuff. How is life with Bart going?" Blair asked
"It's strange" Dan replied as he opened the door a smidge to peek out on the maid still cleaning "Everyone so robotic. They aim to please and clean all the time" he whispered
"I knew Dorota would benefit working a day over at the Bass townhouse. What's so strange about it? Are they trying to pass of Galmore's croissants as better than Rogers?" Blair asked
"I haven't really gotten around to the croissants, nor do I want to. I just have to survive this place" Dan muttered as he closed the door
"Maybe not for much longer" Blair smiled "I have some news for you" she told him
"Okay, what is it?" Dan asked "I could use something to distract me from the doom marriage my sister has entered into, do you think they…you know?" he then asked
"Humphrey, I don't care to discuss that measure of detail. I prefer to think the circle of life took a slow process with those two" Blair replied
"Circle of life? That doesn't even pertain to…" Dan began to question
"I have good news for you that will cheer you up" Blair quickly stated
"Do you have some form of a scheme to break up this marriage? I could enjoy that aspect, I prefer my girlfriend the schemer right now" Dan smiled with hope that she had formulated a scheme
"Humphrey, this has to pertain to you and me!" Blair snapped at him
"What about?" Dan asked
"Just show up for lunch today at noon or maybe when you come in for work….how exactly is that working these days? You and the working for my mom?" Blair asked a bit confused
"Noon sounds good" Dan quickly replied not wanting to get into a big discussion of why he didn't work for Eleanor anymore
"Okay, well until then…" Blair began to say
"Mr. Humphrey, do you want your pillow fluffed or swapped out!" The maid called out from the room as Blair overheard
"Really? That's an option" Dan whispered
"Opt for the swapped out, as a person that sleeps with you, you drool and need to formulate new puddles on new pillows" Blair replied with a bit of laughter
"Waldorf" Dan sighed
"Yeah, yeah. You know you like it" Blair teased "I love you" she added so casually
"Love you" Dan replied as he leaned up against the bathroom door
Slicing his waffle with his fork, Chuck quickly dabbed at the piece of food before he stuffed it into his mouth. Sitting at the small table in his apartment, Chuck couldn't help but laugh to himself as he saw Jenny standing with a hand on hip while trying to figure out the arrangement of the living room. Since they had spent the summer in London, Chuck and Jenny opted for the lay low type of honeymoon that had them on a strict budget for Christmas plans. Seeing the frustration build within her as she tried to figure out a suitable spot for the sofa, Chuck continued to laugh as he felt wherever she put it, it would only annoy her further with how it will end up dusty. Chuck never understood the concept of arranging, when everything was always set up for him but he began to realize that décor was big on Jenny's to do list as a newlywed.
"I think we need new furniture" Jenny griped
"Oh, and you just came to that conclusion?" Chuck asked as he continued to eat
"Yes, I mean these sofas clearly have no suitable placing then I can only imagine the girls that were on these sofas" Jenny said as she walked over towards where Chuck was sitting
"That's where your wrong. I didn't have girls here, I'd at least spring for a hotel if I had to satisfy that urge" Chuck replied
"That doesn't make me feel any better" Jenny replied finding his honesty was a bit much when he was clearly trying to tease her
"I never had sex on the sofa" Chuck told her
"Good to know, but I still think we should do something with them. Maybe we could do covers or something?…I want this place to feel home like" Jenny told him
"Home like, I like the sounds of that" Chuck smiled "Have you moved all your stuff out?" he then asked
"Most of it. My dad had an emotional breakdown with every box I took, but I have" Jenny replied as she took the fork from his hand to get a bite of the waffle "I'm good at this" she smiled as she took a bite
"Did he like the place?" Chuck asked as Jenny just gave him a look that he quickly picked up on "To the emotional breakdown then" he agreed with her earlier statement
"He hates the idea, but at least he's not an obstacle" Jenny sighed as Chuck slid the plate in front of her so that she could eat
"Have you picked up your schedule for school?" Chuck asked as he got up from the table to pour himself a glass of orange juice
"I'm picking it up today" Jenny told him "I hope I don't have Anderson again, she's a total bore" she sighed
"Anderson was persuasive, just mention your love for the safari, it'll carry you far" Chuck told him
"Safari?" Jenny questioned
"Don't ask, my investigator gave me that bit of info" Chuck replied
"What about you? Have you talked with Carter as of late, business at Victrola is doing so so with you having to carry the load" Jenny asked
"Carter is unreachable, and I think at this point…I like it that way" Chuck told her "I can make the day to day decisions without having to worry about Dominic and his goons coming in to observe" he said
"I can't believe Dom is that believe Dom is doing this to you guys" Jenny replied "There's nothing you can do? I mean this is Carter's deal, can't you arrange for Carter to get the brunt of the arrangement" she asked
"Doesn't work like that, we're business partners. Til death do us part status" Chuck said as he walked over to give her a quick kiss on the lips
"Well…I'm sorry" Jenny replied
"Don't be" Chuck told her "Do you want me to accompany you to school? Make a day of it as husband and wife" he asked
"Husband and wife" Jenny giggled to herself "That sounds beautiful, sounds very Shakespeare" she smiled
"Husband and wife" Chuck said to himself to see if he had the same effect with the labels "I wouldn't say Shakespeare, but I could get with the Midsummer Nights Dream effect" he said as he leaned down to kiss her once more
"You do you, and I'll do me" Jenny replied as she broke the kiss
"Sounds…good" Chuck smiled into yet another kiss with his newlywed wife.
Slamming the door behind him as he pulled up into the driveway, a disheveled Carter pushed past the two security guards that Dominic had at the front door. Doing their best to stop him in his stride, Carter found that the momentum was all on his side as he continued to walk down the hallway. Meeting another set of security at his office door, Carter found that pushing past these two would be a different story no matter how upset he was. Accepting that he would have to wait until Dominic got out of his meeting, Carter reluctantly took a seat in one of the chairs as he began to tend to the dry blood that was on his scraped up leg from the night before. Hearing a bit of humming come from the top of the staircase, Vanessa walked down the staircase surprised and annoyed to see Carter sitting outside of Dominic's door. Finding that she had to walk past him on her way to the kitchen, Vanessa sighed in frustration as she walked towards him. Slowly rising from his seat, Carter did all he could to groom himself so that he didn't look so badly.
"Working I see" Vanessa replied as she forced a smile
"I have to talk to your dad" Carter replied nervously "How are you?" he then asked immediately after
"Don't do that. Don't ask me about how I'm doing" Vanessa told him
"Okay, then how was your summer?" Carter asked
"Don't ask that either" Vanessa replied "I don't want to make small conversation with you because at the end of the day, you're just another person on my dad's payroll" she replied
"Ness…" Carter began to say before the slamming sound of the door caught their attention as Nikki walked in to see the two of them
"What the hell happened out there?" Nikki asked "Carmine told me there was a raid on the warehouse?" he asked
"Carmine? Wow, you really are in deep" Vanessa laughed to herself before she walked off in disgust
"Ness, family dinner tonight" Nikki called out as Vanessa waved him off to show that she heard him loud and clear "What happened?" he then asked once again as he turned his attention back to Carter
"I don't know. I was there for about thirty minutes before the cops came in with the dogs and stuff. It was like they knew we were there" Carter sighed
"Did you make it obvious?" Nikki asked
"Yes because I like to make it obvious to the world that I'm doing drug drop offs" Carter replied sarcastically as Dominic made his way out of his office to join the two
"My warehouses…" Dominic began to say angrily
"We know" Nikki replied trying to calm his father down "Carter said that the cops came thirty minutes later after it was set up" he sighed
"How? Carmine was suppose to secure this warehouse, I don't have time for my business to be fucked with!" Dominic asked
"The war has left us vulnerable, they're shooting up everything that moves now" Nikki sighed
"May I ask how I got moved to drug watcher? My specialty was computers and numbers not coke, I mean I like coke but coke as in cola" Carter asked
"This was intentional" Dominic concluded "He's coming after me like I'm some little bitch" he said hitting his fist against the wall before he got lost in deep contemplation "Less in case someone is trying to get back their freedom in stupid ways?" he began to question as he turned his attention towards Carter
"Excuse me, what?" Carter asked in disbelief "You've gotten a percentage of my business, I don't think I'd be willing to get any percentage of my life taken away either to that list" he said
"It's strange that with you as the lead man, my warehouse gets raided" Dominic said
"It's strange because I'm a Upper Eastside kid hanging with a bunch of mafia guys, that'll look strange in any neighborhood" Carter reasoned
"Pop, Carter had nothing to do with this" Nikki defended
"Yeah well, I don't care. I want this handled, and I want him to handle it for me" Dominic told him as he eyed Carter
"What are you thinking?" Nikki asked
"I'm thinking that Carmine needs to be reminded of his job importance" Dominic said as he kept his stare on Carter
"What are you saying?" Nikki asked "Take care of Carmine?" he questioned
"Yes, and I want Carter to handle it" Dominic said "Handle it by tonight, then get me another shipment going" he said as he slowly backed into his office once more for another meeting.
"What was that whole take care of thing going on?" Carter asked "Does he think I ratted the raid out?" he asked
"He thinks a lot of things, but this war has him a bit on edge" Nikki sighed
"But what does that mean for me, what do I have to take care of?" Carter asked
"How good are you with baseball bats?" Nikki asked as he looked at Carter.
Heading up the staircase, Dan sighed in relief that he was somewhere familiar as opposed to being waited on hand and foot by Bart's staff. Dan grew to like the Upper Eastside world, but Dan still felt overwhelmed with uneasiness as he wasn't one to rely on paid helpers to do things for him. Making his way towards her room, Dan couldn't help but overhear the laughter come from within as Blair spoke so lively to her father about her college experiences that she had in her time at Yale. For the most part, Dan could tell that Blair was like a little girl again with her father as all she wanted to do was tell him of things that were sure to make him proud. Hating to eavesdrop, Dan lightly knocked against the door before he slowly opened it to see the smiling faces to greet him.
"And there's the man I've been hearing so much about" Harold smiled happily as he got up to greet Dan with a firm handshake
"Hello Mr. Waldorf" Dan smiled
"Blair was just telling me about her summer, quite the adventures" Harold smiled
"Yeah, she's been busy with Yale and then New York" Dan said
"How have you been?" Harold asked
"Good sir. Focusing on my studies and that's it" Dan told her
"Well I hope that the move will do you both good. I'm happy for the both of you" Harold told him as Blair looked on at her father intently
"Daddy!" Blair replied
"Move? Has she told you about our plans to move in together?" Dan asked
"Yes, which will be a miracle to see how she plans to pack up all her things in such short notice" Harold laughed "I just hope you don't make Dorota do all the manual labor" he said
"Short notice wouldn't be the word, I still have a bit to pay on it but I assure you that I've established a relationship with the realtor. She hasn't called with any deadlines, so that's good news" Dan replied
"I'd hope not" Harold laughed "Being the owners of an all ready purchased town home, having the realtor call after the sale is disturbing" he said
"After the purchase?" Dan asked in a bit of confusion before Blair quickly got up from her seat
"And we'll meet you downstairs for lunch" Blair told her father as she ushered him out of the room
"Hurry down, you're mother has guests coming" Harold replied before he left the room
"Someone got the townhouse?…did they take the sign down?" Dan asked in a panic before he quickly pulled his cell phone out "I should call the realtor…" he began to reason
"Dan, there's no need to" Blair told him
"Yes there is, the house I'm planning to move in to so that I can escape the Bart over watch is officially off the market" Dan reasoned
"But it's in good hands" Blair smiled as Dan looked at her with a confused look "Very good hands" she said as she opened up her desk drawer to pull out a set of keys "I got the townhouse" she said as Dan stood shocked.
"You got it?" Dan asked
"I wanted to surprise you, but I just went ahead and got the townhouse" Blair told him
"Clearly, but why?" Dan asked her
"Because I wanted to cheer you up, and judging by the phone call this morning, you could use a new place to lay your head" Blair smiled as she was unsure of how Dan felt about this while she tried to read his eyes for some sort of a clue "Are you happy?" she asked
"I'm….I'm something" Dan said trying to find the right words "Did you not think I could afford it?" he then asked
"No, of course…" Blair began to say
"Then why?" Dan asked before a knock came to the door that interrupted them
"Ms. Blair, you must come down" Dorota knocked furiously as Blair hesitantly walked over to open the door wider
"We'll be down shortly" Blair told her
"You must come now. Your mother wants you to come down now" Dorota said before Blair looked over at Dan, hoping that they could table their discussion until later. Making their way out of the room, Dan followed behind Blair as they walked down the staircase and into the dining area to see the spread. As they entered the dining room, Dan couldn't help but feel uneasy with what he was sure to be an awkward lunch. Surprised to see T.W. standing off in the corner along with her father, Blair stopped short as she stood in confusion.
"T.W what are you doing here?" Blair asked as she looked over at her mother "Is this some interview or something going on?" she asked
"Do I ever do interviews at lunch?" Eleanor asked as she took her seat before she looked over to see Dan sitting across from her "Daniel" she greeted with a smile
"Ms. Waldorf" Dan greeted awkwardly as they all took their seats
"Where is Cyrus?" Blair asked as she took a sip of her water
"He had a meeting to tend to. He thought it'd be best for it to be a family event today" Eleanor smiled as Tyler and Dan shared an awkward glance at each other.
"Family event, and yet we have a reporter at the table. Aren't we skewing away from that definition" Blair laughed to herself "All we're missing is Roman, but daddy mentions he's off on tedious photo shoots. Should we be worried for fashion week?" she teased her father
"Roman? Who is he?" Tyler asked as he looked over at Harold
"…my boyfriend" Harold answered hesitantly unsure of what he would think as the mood seemed to shift.
"Okay, so let's lighten the mood a bit because I have news" Blair said after accessing the tension that was her parents, T.W., and Dan as they all sat around the table "Dan and I are moving in together" she then declared hoping that it would excite her parents.
"I really don't think now was the time to bring that up" Dan muttered to Blair as he put his napkin down on top of his plate
"I think now was the perfect time to reveal that news. Anything exciting would be better than this gloom fest that is surrounding this table" Blair reasoned "I mean what other news could top that?" she asked
"T.W. is your brother" Harold quickly replied causing Blair to sit stunned while the tension in the room slowly began to deflate. Looking at T.W., the reporter as she came to saw him as, Blair looked at him skeptically before looking back at her mother and father.
"Dorota, I need a drink, scotch or anything that will numb family drama!" Blair called out
"Blair" Eleanor sighed
"Nevermind, give me Jack Daniels, I need something to erase the visions of my parents having sex more than once" Blair quickly followed as she began to fan herself before then moving on to guzzle down her water out of her glass "How? I mean daddy are you straight now? How?" she asked nervously
"Clearly by age, I was straight once upon a time" Harold sighed
"Oh Harold, you've been as flamboyant as an Elton John concert" Eleanor replied
"Age? How old are you? Is this like some illegitimate child type of deal?" Blair asked "I'm not understanding this?" she asked
"Maybe you guys should talk amongst yourselves" Dan said as he attempted to get up but Blair had prevented him from doing so
"How old?" Blair asked sternly
"Twenty five" Tyler sighed
"As in six years older…oh, my God!" Blair processed the age "How do you hide a son out for six years?" she asked
"Look, it's really not that big of a deal" Tyler replied
"Spoken like the pop up son that you are" Blair replied
"Your mother and I were at the beginning of our careers, she found out she was pregnant. We both decided that we weren't ready to be parents with our lifestyles tearing up apart, but she wanted to carry the child to term. We ended up putting the baby up for adoption" Harold said as Tyler couldn't help but feel a pain in his heart to hear the brief mention that was his life to his birth parents being told so effortlessly
"We tried to keep in contact, but we lost contact after a while" Eleanor said
"We assumed that Tyler would go on to live his life, and we'd never see him….I hate to make it sound that way, but that's what it was" Harold said
"…how long did you know?" Blair asked after a moment of silence as she turned to look at Dan with knowing eyes
"This past summer" Dan muttered
"I guess everyone has been holding on to their secrets" Blair said as she threw down her napkin and pushed her chair back from the table.
"Where are you going?" Eleanor asked
"I'd tell, but then I'd like to have my own secret for once" Blair replied before she made her way out of the dining area. Massaging his head in frustration as this was exactly what he wanted to try to avoid, Tyler then put his napkin down on the table.
"And I think that's the part where I leave as well" Tyler sighed
"Why?" Eleanor asked as both Harold and her turned to look at their son with much concern that even Dan felt out of place.
"Because I didn't sign up for this. I don't even know why I came today…" Tyler began to say
"Because you should get to know your family. This is your family…" Harold began to say
"No, this isn't my family. I don't want this to be my family. My parents, my biological parents, gave me up for their careers!" Tyler reasoned "Why would I want to be a part of that….clearly this has done a number on Blair, so worry about her. Just leave me out of this" he said before he got up from his seat
"There's only so many times you can walk away" Eleanor said
"I'm sure there is, but then maybe I don't want to be a part of what I thought I was walking into" Tyler told her "Thank you for the invitation, but today was a mistake" he said before he shared an awkward glance with Dan once more. Finding that there was nothing left to say, Tyler headed out of the dining area as he got ready to leave.
"Do you have anything to say?" Eleanor asked as she leaned back in her chair to see Dan sitting vigil with his chin resting on his fist "I mean surely there's something you have to say?" she asked
"I don't, but I should go check on my girlfriend" Dan replied as he followed suit with everyone prior to him and got up from the table to leave.
Feeling the tension fill within the penthouse, Dan was somewhat glad to see that drama didn't exist in just his family. Though he hated seeing the Waldorf's in this state, Dan couldn't help but feel like this all could've been avoided if Eleanor and Harold would've been truthful about if from the beginning. Dan didn't dislike Eleanor or Harold because of it, but Dan couldn't help but sympathize with Tyler as he knew exactly what it felt like to have a parent that didn't want to assume their natural responsibilities they were supposed to take on. Walking towards Blair's room, Dan opened the door slowly to see that she was pacing the floor spouting out French phrases. Still amazed with all the knowledge she possessed, Dan couldn't help but take a moment to take in all the phrases she knew before he finally made his presence known to her. Closing the door behind him, Dan walked over to take a seat on the edge of the bed.
"Is there any more phrases you want to throw out?" Dan asked
"Don't do that, I'm pissed with you. Why didn't you tell me that I had a brother?" Blair exclaimed
"Because it wasn't my secret to tell. Your mother wanted to tell you on her own time, things just got sped up since you returned to New York for good" Dan replied
"Oh, so if I would've stayed back in New Haven then I wouldn't know about the latest member of the Waldorf's?" Blair asked
"Putting all jokes aside, probably not" Dan replied
"T.W. Adams is my brother. A journalist is a Waldorf" Blair said as she tried to process the thought to herself
"What's wrong with journalists?" Dan quickly asked
"Nothing, I just never thought him of all people. He's all initialized, fooling people as some yearbook person" Blair replied as she flopped down on the space beside him on the bed
"Tyler Waldorf. That'd be his name" Dan told her
"Sounds like a decent name…but we still know nothing about him besides the obvious tabloid fodder he produces" Blair said
"Again, another jab at the journalist. What's with that?" Dan asked
"I can't help it, it's me venting right now" Blair sighed "I just can't believe my parents did this. Had a kid and then acted like he never existed" she said
"I can't really speak for your mom, but when I found out, she genuinely seemed disheartened because of what she had done" Dan told her
"Okay, that's great that she feels that but what about Tyler? I mean what about our family?" Blair questioned
"I'm sure that once you talk to them it will all get figured out" Dan told her
"I'm not even sure I can talk to them about this now. I mean this is an actual human being they hid from me, there's nothing they can say in this moment that will make understand what they did as okay" Blair replied
"I know, but you still have to listen. Just talk to them and ask your questions" Dan told her as he rubbed her back
"You seem to be calm about this, especially for someone who quit because of this very fact" Blair noticed "Was this the straw that broke the camels back for you?" she asked
"For my own reasons, I couldn't work here. It had a little bit to do with finding out about Tyler, but I just couldn't ignore what I went through with my own mother" Dan sighed "But again, I don't want you basing your decision on all of this off of me" he told her
"Fine, I'll make my own conclusion but I can assure you I'll need a lot of explanations" Blair said
"When exactly were you going to tell me about the townhouse?…the whole you paying for it deal" Dan asked
"I was going to tell you today, I was hoping it would've been more civil setting but that wasn't the case" Blair said
"But why'd you do it? I mean I told you that I was saving to get the place. I had the money to get it on my own" Dan asked
"You were upset about what happened with Jenny, so I figured I'd give you something to be happy about and since you living with Bart is a not exactly idea" Blair replied as she couldn't help but feel like Dan was thinking otherwise "Are you mad?" she then asked
"No, no. I'm not mad, I'm just surprised" Dan said "I just…I'm in disbelief of it all" he told her
"Good disbelief or bad?" Blair asked as she awaited his response
"Good disbelief" Dan said as he forced a smile before he leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the lips.
Walking down the hallway, Jenny looked on at her schedule as she couldn't help but judge the classes she had received. Mixed with a few groans and excitement, Jenny found that the only problem she foresaw with her schedule was most likely going to be her English class as she hated the teacher. Feeling her cell phone begin to vibrate from a text, Jenny reached in her pocket to see that she had received a text from Chuck. Smiling from ear to ear as he wrote a simple message of how he couldn't wait to see her tonight, Jenny couldn't help but want to rush home to him. Turning the corner in a mad rush, Jenny bumped into another person. Quickly helping the guy pick up his papers off of the floor, Jenny began to realize that it was Eric that she had bumped into. Slowly rising to her feet, Jenny felt overwhelmed as this was the first time she had seen Eric since she had ran away with Chuck for the summer.
"Hey" Jenny said nervously as Eric shuffled his papers around in his folder
"Hey" Eric muttered as he focused on getting his papers in line
"How have you been?" Jenny asked realizing that was the dumbest of questions to ask "I meant, what did you do this summer?" she asked feeling like that wasn't any better
"It's okay. I'm not going to yell at you for the obvious tension between us" Eric replied
"That's good" Jenny replied "I mean I didn't expect you to be okay…or upset…" she tried to correct herself
"I'm not anything" Eric quickly stated "I was upset, I was mad even, but I'm over that" he told her
"…I'm sorry for how it happened. If there is something I could take back, I'd do it differently" Jenny told him after a few moments of silence came between them
"Sadly enough, that didn't help at all" Eric answered so coldly
"And I knew that somewhere along the lines I was going to put my foot in my mouth" Jenny uttered to herself before she looked on at the paper that he held in hands "Transfer?" she asked as Eric quickly tried to tuck the paper away
"It's nothing" Eric replied before Jenny quickly grabbed his folder for herself "Hey, give me that back" he demanded before Jenny turned her back towards him so that she could block him off
"No, what is it?" Jenny asked as she opened the folder to see what it was that she had seen before "Sara Lawrence, in Switzerland. You're transferring to a boarding school?" she asked in disbelief
"It's none of your business" Eric replied before he snatched the folder out of her hands
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Jenny asked in disbelief "I know you're mad, but you're still my best friend" she said as tear welled up in her eyes
"No! I'm the guy that keeps you together. I'm the guy that bends over backwards for you, and all you do is walk all over me like I'm nothing" Eric scolded her
"I never meant to hurt you, you have to believe that" Jenny cried
"And yet you did. What'd you think I'd feel when I learned that my girlfriend ran off with Chuck Bass, then decided to get married on top of that….how did you think I'd feel!" Eric asked
"I'm sorry" Jenny cried
"Sorry isn't enough anymore. I'm sick of hearing it because with you it means nothing" Eric told her "You shouldn't expect me to stay because that…that would make you more selfish than what you all ready are" he said before he walked off.
Coming down the staircase, Blair looked on to see that her father and mother were sitting off in the living room just acting as their usual selves. Seeing her parents act like this made her literally want to pull her hair out as she just couldn't believe that they were so normal with what they had done. Knowing that she couldn't avoid them forever, Blair reluctantly made her way inside of the living room to join them. For a few moments, they all sat in silence just doing their own thing while Blair just contemplated on how she should approach the looming conversation that had to happen between them all. Wanting to just escape the penthouse all together to be with Dan in their new place together, Blair made lists upon lists of thing she would rather be doing than having this awkward conversation with her parents.
"Are we just going to pretend like today didn't exist or are we going to talk about the fact that you guys kept something from me?" Blair asked after she tossed her magazine to the side while her parents exchanged looks with each other "I see that you clearly thought I would forget. I got news, I don't forget that I have a twenty five year old brother!" she stated
"What more do you want to know?" Eleanor asked
"Uh, what more?" Blair questioned "Why? How?" she asked
"We've discussed this" Eleanor sighed
"Yes, as I was meeting my brother" Blair replied "Do you honestly think we shouldn't discuss this?" she asked
"No, I don't think we should because at the end of the day it'll be the same effect. You look upset, you think I'm a horrible person….and I'm sorry if I don't feel like getting look number a thousand from someone on the matter today. So yeah, I'm not going to discuss anymore" Eleanor replied
"The looks your getting is disbelief because I for the life of me would never peg my parents as two parents that just abandon their kid so they can live the socialite life" Blair exclaimed
"It wasn't like that Care Blair" Harold sighed
"Then explain it to me. Explain why you give up a child, and keep the other?" Blair asked
"You wouldn't understand!" Eleanor yelled as Blair was caught off guard by her mother's aggression on the manner "You wouldn't understand. You say you will, but you wouldn't" she told her
"Does Cyrus know?" Blair asked after a few moments of silence
"Yes, he knows" Eleanor replied as the silence continued to grow. Looking over at her father sit so vigil, Blair wanted him to so desperately be the voice of reason that he always was so that some bit of this made sense to her.
"He's twenty five, which puts us at seven years apart. What happened in those seven years that made it worth it to give your child up?" Blair asked as she looked from Eleanor to Harold
"Life" Harold replied before Eleanor looked over at him
"Do you guys even know how awful you sound right now? I mean do you hear the shit you're…" Blair began to say
"Don't talk like that" Eleanor told her daughter
"No, you don't get to filter this conversation because we should've had it months on top of years ago" Blair said "Did you know about him?" she then asked
"Yes, I had…I had followed him somewhat" Harold replied as Eleanor once again kept her attention on Harold
"Then how? How do you do something like this?" Blair questioned as the silence set in yet again
"I can't. I can't do this" Eleanor replied as she quickly got up from her seat to gather her things
"Why not?" Blair said as she followed behind her mother
"Because I just can't" Eleanor cried before she hit the elevator button for the doors to open up "I know I sound like a horrible parent, and I've accepted that because it's basically true…but I can't" she sobbed as she became impatient with how long it took for the elevator doors to open up
"I need you to talk to me. I need to have a reason to believe that you're good in all of this" Blair told her as she grabbed her mother's hand
"You wouldn't understand" Eleanor said as she looked over at her daughter before the doors opened up "Trust me on this" she said as she wiped away a tear before she boarded the elevator.
Turning the key in the keyhole, Dan slowly opened up the door to let himself in to the townhouse. Making his way inside, Dan made sure to close the door softly behind him as he didn't want to disrupt any portion of the house. Walking inside, Dan took it all in as it was the first time he could actually say that this was an actual reality for him. Dropping his bag in the middle of the floor, which was the living room area of the house, Dan looked around at the potential that could be for the place. This moment should've felt like an accomplishment for him, it should've felt like one load off his shoulder in growing up to be the man that he wanted to be, but Dan couldn't manage to shrug off the monkey that was on his back that he couldn't ignore. Just as he was taking it in, Dan heard the door quickly open as Blair came storming inside looking angrier than ever.
"Hello" Dan said awkwardly as he looked over at Blair pace the floor in furious pace "Hey, honey. How was your day?" he then joked while Blair continued to pay no attention to what he was saying. Hearing her spout out French phrases as she continued to walk, Dan knew that she was highly upset for her to resort to her second language. Stepping in front of her, Dan braced the side of her shoulders. "Calm down and breath. What's wrong?" he then asked to her
"I did as you asked, and I absolutely hated it" Blair groaned in frustration
"What they say?" Dan asked
"Nothing on the track of remorse. Now I clearly understand why you quit. My parents, but most of all my mother is so infuriating. I mean nothing, no part of her understood what she had done to Tyler" Blair exclaimed
"Did she say that?" Dan asked
"Not in those words. She just kept saying that I wouldn't understand, which is true because I wouldn't put my kid up for adoption just for a career" Blair replied as she just took a deep breath before running her hands through her hair "I just wish I could understand that" she sighed
"And you will. It just takes time to understand" Dan told her as she broke free from his embrace to walk around "You just heard all of this today, it's going to take time but you have to keep talking to your parents and listening to them" he told her
"I'm not liking what I'm hearing" Blair quickly replied "I love my parents, but this…this changes everything in our family. I have a brother. A brother that I know nothing about, a brother that could very well be a true Waldorf at heart….but I know nothing about him" she explained
"Do you want to get to know him?" Dan asked
"I'd like to. I mean at the end of the day, I didn't make this decision in our family…I don't deserve his hatred if he has any, but I just want this family to be normal and not some soap opera where kids pop up from the woodwork. Now I begin to wonder if there's any other kids that my parents may have had. I wonder if my dad has adopted a child with Roman or is my mother thinking of having another child with Cyrus. Then there's my step brother, Aaron….this family is important to me, and I just can't wrap my head around the fact on how they could be so wreckless" Blair went on to say
"Just give it time" Dan told her as he walked up from behind her to hug her while giving her a kiss on the side of her head.
"What do you think of the place?" Blair asked as she finally realized that they were finally in their new place together
"Yeah, it's something" Dan replied trying to sound thrilled as possible for her. Turning to face him, Blair looked him dead in the eyes as she could tell that something was off with him
"Are you still upset about me buying the place?" Blair asked in a moment of seriousness
"It's taking a while to adjust to, but I get it. I get what you were doing" Dan told her as he mustered up a smile
"Are you sure? Because I don't want you to be upset. I just saw this as our opportunity to make this next step in our relationship. We've been through so much thus far, that the opportunity to move to that next level was something I had wanted for so long" Blair said
"Which is the very thing I want" Dan nodded as he intertwined his hand in hers "How are you going to do about school?…you really dropping out of Yale?" he asked
"I wouldn't say dropping out, dropping out. It's just taking an opportunity to work with one of my icons" Blair said "I'll be making a good income that way I can handle the home front until you figure things out" she smiled
"I can handle my part. I don't need you to pay for any portion of what's expected" Dan replied
"And I fully intend to hold you to that, but Dan, you're working at a taco restaurant, which I'm sure is minimum wage at best. I know you have school, and I want you focus on your studies" Blair told him as Dan just ran his hand through his hair as the pressures of living together were starting to pile on without them really living together.
"I have money Blair. It's not a lot, but I've saved up enough money for this month's rent and next month. I can't say that I'm making the money I'd make working for your mom, but I'm going to try and I don't want you feeling like you have to cover any part of my responsibilities" Dan told her
"Okay" Blair agreed as she didn't want to let her need to organize every aspect of their lives together in this moment "This is our home, and this is our new beginning" she smiled
"Our new beginning" Dan agreed
"I love you. I love you so much" Blair said as she wrapped him up into a hug as he burry his head in the crook of her neck. "This is going to be great" she told him
"I believe that….I love you too" Dan muttered as he did all he could to try to breath at this point.
Clenching on tight to his pillow, Chuck was lost in his slumber as he tried to rest up for yet another work day at a struggling Victrola. Rolling over onto his side, Chuck reached out beside him to feel her body next to him but found that no one was beside him. Chuck's eyes slowly flickered open before the light switch quickly turned on. Rolling back over on his back, Chuck could barely see that Jenny was pacing the floor as she was literally a nervous wreck. Sitting up in the bed, Chuck rubbed his eyes as he tried to wake himself up to see what had his wife so flustered. Noticing that Chuck was awake, Jenny felt even more guilt in this moment as the last thing she wanted to do was disturb him from his nights rest after all he has to deal with at the club.
"What are you doing up so early?" Chuck asked still half asleep
"I couldn't sleep" Jenny replied "I'm sorry" she then said
"Clearly you can't sleep. Does this have to do with Eric?" Chuck asked as a yawn escaped him
"No" Jenny replied as she didn't want Chuck to be hurt about her thinking about her ex boyfriend
"Jenny" Chuck said knowing that she was lying
"Okay, yes. I was thinking about Eric" Jenny replied "He's moving halfway across the world to Sarah Lawrence…Switzerland. He's going to Switzerland!" she exclaimed
"I'm aware. Never thought Lilly would take the boarding school route again, but nothing seems out of the norm now" Chuck said
"No, this wasn't a Lilly thing. Eric did this. He felt the need to move across the world just to avoid me" Jenny said
"Can you blame him?" Chuck asked
"I thought you were suppose to help me?" Jenny asked
"I am, I just…think about it from his perspective. You leave with me to another country, we get married, then we get married again legally. Think about it from his perspective, I wouldn't want to be in the same country with that going on if it were me" Chuck told her
"I know. I know that no matter how this plays out, I'll be in the wrong. I'm always going to feel the guilt of how I hurt him, but I want to make this right. I need to make this right with him" Jenny told him
"And you will, you just can't give up on him in that aspect" Chuck told her
"So if I have to leave to Switzerland to drug him to come back, that'd be perfectly fine?" Jenny asked with a bit of laughter
"I would have to set aside money to bail you out of jail, but you could make it work" Chuck smiled as Jenny crawled towards him on the bed before she flopped down beside him
"Thank you" Jenny said after she leaned over to give him a kiss
"For what?" Chuck asked "You're my wife, this is supposed to happen, we're supposed to be each other's sounding board" he told her
"For better or worse" Jenny smiled as she looked on at her wedding once more
"Have you talked with Dan?" Chuck asked after a moment of blissful silence
"Just the standard conversation of how are you and how is school. We haven't really talked, so it's like we're not talking still" Jenny said "I don't think he's ever going to come around on the idea of us" she said
"Again, time will have to be on our side" Chuck told her
"Is there any amount of time you could predict. I mean in this crystal globe of time, do you see maybe something by Thanksgiving or Christmas even?" Jenny asked as Chuck laughed at her desperation "I'm being serious" she laughed
"That's the funny part" Chuck told her as he got his laughter under control while Jenny took a moment to see what Chuck had morphed into when he was with her.
"I like that side of you. The laughing and the caring person you've become" Jenny said as she pressed her forehead up against his "You look sexy with it on" she teased
"I look better with you" Chuck replied as she tilted her head to lean in to kiss him. Getting into the kiss, Chuck was thrown off guard by Jenny suddenly breaking away from the kiss.
"I just got an idea" Jenny smiled excitedly as she hopped off the bed
"Can that wait til…oh, I don't know, until normal hours of the day?" Chuck asked as he looked over the clock to see that it was two in the morning
"We can't or else the idea will fade away" Jenny replied as she reached out to grab his hand
"We? When did a we come into this idea?" Chuck asked
"What happened to the whole better or for worse scenario?" Jenny asked
"It stopped at midnight, this was a courtesy advice" Chuck said flopping back in the bed as he gripped on to his pillow
"C'mon, let's redecorate the living room. I just got an idea that will make a huge difference" Jenny said as she literally dragged Chuck out of the bed.
After a painful night of sleeping on the floor in their new place, Blair found that she was eager to furnish their new house with furniture. In her mind, the bed had to be the top item that had to be bought today on her way into work. Though she was left with meaningless tasks at work, Blair would usually be upset with the very meaningless tasks that she was left up to do, but since she found the perfect bed for the townhouse, nothing else seemed to matter but her ailing back. Moments throughout the day, Blair found herself thinking about her family and all that was going on. For the longest, Blair had viewed her parents as the perfect model citizens of the Upper Eastside. Blair's father was the hot shot lawyer and her mother was the powerful woman that she strived to be. Nothing about what was happening now was her idea of what her parents were to her as she was growing. Knowing that she couldn't avoid her life forever, Blair took the dreaded path towards the penthouse. Getting off the elevator, Dorota quickly greeted her like she always had before she saw her father sitting off in the living room.
"Will you need anything?" Dorota asked as Blair looked over at her father working diligently
"No, I'm fine" Blair said as she smoothed her dress "I'm fine Dorota" she smiled to assure her before Dorota made her way back into the kitchen. Hesitantly walking towards her father, Blair felt as if she had to be gentle with approaching her father as if he was some delicate flower
"Care Bear" Harold beamed with happiness as he set his lap top to the side
"Daddy" Blair smiled weakly as she took a seat across from him, ignoring any attempt to give him the usual kiss on the cheek they usually gave each other
"How was your new place?" Harold asked as he tried to make conversation with her
"It was fine" Blair replied "Got a crick in my back due from sleeping on the floor, but nothing out of the norm" she said
"Sleeping on the floor, I remember those days of the brand new place" Harold laughed as he thought over the old days
"It's not that type of visit daddy" Blair replied as she just gave him a serious look "I need you to help me understand how you can do something like this? I need to know how the two people I come to admire can manage to do something so reprehensible?" she asked as Harold took a moment to take in what his daughter was asking
"It wasn't like we wanted it to happen the way it did" Harold said
"Yes, because putting your child up for adoption is always the idea situation. Sort of like a refund policy for all things in life" Blair replied sarcastically "What made me different? Why'd you keep me?" she asked
"Because we loved you…that didn't come out right" Harold quickly replied before realizing
"No, I think you meant it. I just worry how much your love is worth in the grand scheme of things because you knew he was out there. You knew that some day this might happen" Blair told him
"If Tyler was ever going to have a shot of being normal, he had to know what life was like outside of what we were building for ourselves. Then we weren't sure we were ready to be parents" Harold said
"And then I came along and you just decided to get it together? I hate to break it to you, but parenting wasn't a strong point of Harold and Eleanor even then" Blair replied
"Blair, look….it wasn't as easy as you may think. Nothing I will say will take back the harshness of what we did, but we were never malicious in doing so" Harold said
"You gave your child up for adoption!" Blair replied angrily as she was hoping that her father would get it
"I didn't give our child up!" Harold finally snapped which startled Blair by her father's tone "Was I ready to be a father, no, but I wanted to try. I wanted to try and make it work. We were in the beginning of our careers with student loans up to our necks, but I wanted to try" he reasoned as tears welled up in his eyes
"Oh, my God" Blair said as she brought her hand up to her mouth in surprise with what this all meant "Mom, she didn't…she didn't want the baby?" she asked in disbelief
"I must've read every parenting book out there, hoping that in a matter of a weekend I could grasp the idea of being a father. I imagined the birth, the late nights, everything…your mother tried but it was like the more success she gained, the more she realized that she wasn't ready" Harold said "She felt horrible for how she was feeling, but she wanted to carry to term and willing to try to be a mother because it's what I wanted…." he began to say
"And you felt guilty about her feeling guilty over what you wanted" Blair concluded "
"The last month of the pregnancy, we searched for the perfect couple and we settled on a couple from California. The birth was the most robotic thing I've ever been through as it was all standard procedure, give birth and give the kid away to his new family" Harold cried "So if you're repulsed then imagine how I feel. There hasn't been a day that went by that I didn't think about what I had done or was a part of. I hated what I had did, but I went along like I always did because I was afraid to shake the boat…I was afraid of everything that I truly wanted" he said
"Is that when you started to embrace the fact that you might be gay?" Blair asked
"I didn't embrace it, I was gay. The more I denied what I wanted, the more I resented your mother for it. Our marriage fell apart long before I embraced any aspect of who I was" Harold said "Nothing about what we did sat right with me, and I've always known from the moment that we gave up Tyler…that would be the beginning of the end of my marriage to your mother" he said as Blair got up from her seat to comfort her father
"It's okay" Blair said as she soothed her father unaware that her mother was within distance to notice the exchange between.
"Never knew you felt that way" Eleanor finally spoke before Harold and Blair looked over to see her standing at the bottom of the staircase. Quickly rising to his feet, Harold wiped away the tears that had rolled down his cheek.
"Eleanor…" Harold began to say as he attempted to walk towards her
"No, save it!" Eleanor replied through welled up tears in her eyes "You lied to me. All these years, you lied to me" she cried
"It wasn't my place" Harold reasoned
"You were the father! It was your place" Eleanor cried "You were my best friend, and you lied to me" she said
"I forced him to talk. Daddy wasn't going to say anything" Blair said as she stood in between her parents "He was just trying to make me understand" she said
"And all in all, I'm still the bad guy in this. I was the cold hearted bitch that couldn't dare put her life on hold for a child because money and power were more important. No I got the jest of the conversation from where I stood. Once again, I'm the villain in this family" Eleanor cried
"You both made this decision, no one is better than the other" Blair reasoned
"No, because in this scenario, the mother should've known best. I made a mistake, and it will possibly be the single biggest mistake that will book me into a guest suite in hell and reprehensible to my own daughter. So if you will excuse me, I have more sins to commit" Eleanor said as she walked over to grab her coat before she walked over to press the down button on the elevator
"Mother. Mother. Stop" Blair said as she tried to stop her mother from boarding the elevator but failed in doing so "Dammit!" she said hitting the wall in frustration
Sitting on the steps outside of Dominic's, Carter passed the time flinging rocks as he had gotten used to waiting for Dominic to come out. All summer long, Carter had gotten used to being at Dominic and Nikki's every beck and call as he had officially become their bitch. Griping at the mess he had created, Carter knew that there wasn't any room to just mope because if he was ever going to pay Dominic back then he had to get his mind right. Over the summer he had worked up the grand total of twenty thousand off of random bets with sports bookie that he had picked up over the months. Leaning up against the column post, Carter nearly drifted off to sleep only to realize that falling asleep on Dominic's door step was the last thing he wanted to do. Getting up from where he sat, Carter walked down towards the local liquor store to grab some candy as a means to wake him up. Noticing the dance class that he passed along the way, Carter couldn't help but notice Vanessa. For the longest, Carter just stood watching her until the class had finally dismissed. Immediately turning the corner with her friends in tow, Vanessa laughed and giggled with her friends until she finally noticed Carter.
"Hey" Carter said trying to conceal the smile that was coming to his face but Vanessa saw this as an unwelcome situation that she didn't want to be a part of. Trying to walk past him, Carter immediately ran in front of her. "Can we just talk. Two minutes?" he asked
"I don't have time for this" Vanessa muttered in response angrily
"The hell you do" One girl said as the girls laughed "Ness, talk to the boy. He's looking all sad and gloomy while you're all Grinching him. We'll catch up with you later" she said before the rest of the girls walked off
"You have two minutes" Vanessa told him
"Is this your dance studio?" Carter asked as he looked around nervously
"One minute and thirty seconds" Vanessa told him
"Look, I get that your mad but this was all before I even met you" Carter reasoned
"And the lies were all while I was with you. So what difference does it make?" Vanessa asked in a quick response
"By the time I met you, I was in too deep. I couldn't just say that I worked for your father because I wasn't exactly supposed to be seeing you" Carter said
"With good reason because Dom doesn't usually like me dating one of his guys, nor do I choose to" Vanessa told him
"And I fully support that, but I'm not some guy that works for Dominic" Carter told her
"Oh, and what makes you different? What makes you so special because you do exactly what I think guys for Dom do" Vanessa asked
"I made mistakes. I got in too deep and I made mistakes, mistakes that I can't take back" Carter said with pleading eyes as he wanted so desperately to tell Vanessa the truth but knew that involving her in his mess would only make things worse
"What? Tell me the mistake you made?" Vanessa asked
"I can't exactly get into the details, but I promise you…." Carter began to say
"Don't promise me anything. I don't want promises because they eventually turn into lies with you" Vanessa said "I should've trusted my judgment and never got involved with you because at the end of the day, you're exactly what I knew you'd be…too immature to be in a relationship" she told him
"Say whatever you want, but I know that what we had wasn't a mistake or immature by any means" Carter replied
"That's your opinion" Vanessa said before she walked away from him. Debating on whether or not he should chase after her, Carter found that unless he had the answers to her questions then it was best to save the fight for another day. Just as Carter motioned to leave and head back towards Dominic's, Carter couldn't help but notice Nikki getting out of a black Mercedes. Normally this would've been normal, but it was who Nikki was with that left Carter alarmed and aware.
"Nikki, what the hell" Carter uttered to himself as he came to realize that Nikki was the rat in the organization as he was spotted with the rival gang member.
Mixing the lasts of his drinks for the night, Dan grabbed the towel from his back pocket as he began to wipe the counters. Spotting the usual drunks that would drift off into their slumbers in the corners of the restaurant, all Dan could hope for was that the boss's wife wasn't off screwing anyone else that might lead to another late night brawl. Cleaning and pouring out the small amounts of alcohol that were in the bottles, Dan heard the door open by the sound of the bell jingling. Groaning to himself, Dan hated that it would be yet another drunk that he'd have to kick out by the end of the night. Turning back to look over at who it was, Dan was a bit surprised to see that it was Eleanor walking in looking completely disheveled as if she had one too many cosmos for her limit. Sighing to himself, Dan could only brace himself for what he was about to endure. Putting the towel on the counter as she took a seat, Dan stood behind his respective side of the bar as the bartender while she seemed to search for words to say.
"Cosmo please" Eleanor said as she put her purse on top of the bar
"I think you could do for water instead" Dan replied as he noticed her sloppy demeanor
"No, I can handle a cosmo. It's the easiest thing I can handle in my life at this moment" Eleanor replied "Make it a double and keep it coming" she requested
"I can't do that" Dan replied
"Sure you can" Eleanor quickly replied "You know I have the money for it" she laughed to herself in the saddest of tones
"You know why, and I hardly think alcohol will fix anything…it never does, so you shouldn't ask me to" Dan told her
"I have a son that hates my guts for good reason. A daughter that seems like I crashed down every perception she ever had of me that I could ever be good. Then there's you…you cut off all contact to where my only source of knowing how you are is through some stupid blog" Eleanor said
"Gossip Girl is pure fiction, some of it" Dan told her
"It's the only thing I have" Eleanor told him as tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at him "I have only myself to blame, but I just keep trying, I keep trying to dig out of this hole but I just keep drowning in this" she said
"I'm not sure what you expected. I mean you had to know this would come back, secrets always come back in some shape or form" Dan said
"And I'd always prepare myself for it, but I just never thought it'd come back at a time when things were starting to go right for this family" Eleanor said
"That doesn't make you sound sympathetic" Dan replied "Tyler may be a dent in this fantasy of perfection, but he's your son and you gave him up" he said
"I don't mean to make it sound like it, but it just comes out that way" Eleanor said
"Look, I don't really know what you want me to tell you. I can't solve this for you or give you advice because if I did. If I had to be honest in this, I side with Tyler because of anything, I know what it's like to be the unwanted son" Dan told her before Eleanor began to realize where Dan was coming from
"Dan, I never meant…" Eleanor began to reason as she could only silently curse herself for being so oblivious
"I know, you never meant to. Your actions have consequences, I know you may like to think that if you wish it away as hard as you can then it will disappear but it doesn't work like that" Dan said "You made this problem, now suck it up and deal with it…that's the best advice I can give you" he said
"I suppose" Eleanor said after a few moments of silence as she slowly rose from her seat "I'm sorry about this pathetic display" she replied hesitantly as she tried to maintain some sort of dignity
"Being there can take you a long way, so when you want to run, stay. It may make you the punching bag for a lot of harsh words, but it'll mean more if you stay" Dan told her as she smiled at his advice
"I know that I've lost your respect, but I really look forward to that day when I may earn it back" Eleanor smiled through the tears as she looked on at Dan
"It's not that simple, but…just stay around" Dan said before he broke eye contact with her and began to wipe the counters. Figuring that she had no right to ask for more of him, Eleanor knew that if Dan was going to come around then it had to be at his pace. Stumbling towards the door, Eleanor found that the idea of walking out to hail a taxi was going to be harder than she imagined. Hating that she was all ready embarrassing herself in front of Dan, Eleanor thought twice before she turned back to see Dan holding up a cordless phone in his hand. "Grab a seat. Henry will be here in fifteen minutes" he told her as it was a hard habit to break how well he knew her.
Letting out a yawn as he made his way up the four steps, Dan put his key inside the keyhole before letting himself in. It was late into the night as the weight of day finally began to set in as he made his way in to notice the minimal bit of furniture that was now in the living room. Taking a moment to access if this was all dream or if this was for real, Blair came out of the bedroom to greet her boyfriend on his entrance. Doing his best to play surprised, Dan leaned in to Blair to give her a quick kiss as she seemed eager to show him the bedroom. Leading him back towards the bedroom, the continual onslaught of Blair's presence in the house became even more present with the oversized bed that they now had in their room. Though it had been a full on array of furniture, it was enough furniture to make Dan realize that Blair had spent most of the day shopping.
"Do you like?" Blair asked as she looked over at his expressions
"I do. I just didn't think you'd have time to do all this shopping with what was going on with your parents" Dan said as he relieved himself of his jacket
"Yeah well, retail therapy served its purpose today with the day I had. Work was good even though I had to do mail room tasks, but that's only because Bex is out of the office today" Blair reasoned "Everything else was chaotic and eye opening" she sighed
"I know. Your mom came by the restaurant tonight. She was a bit buzzed" Dan told her as Blair sighed in frustration
"Great so now she's adding walking around drunk to her resume of things that could do her in by the press. This is just great" Blair groaned as she ran her hand through her hair "What'd she say?" she asked
"Just the usual of the state of things now. I called Henry though, and everyone else was too drunk to notice that Eleanor Waldorf was even there" Dan told her
"Thank you. I would've hated for some random to catch her in that state" Blair sighed "I talked with them and it only seemed to get worse" she said as she pulled back the covers on her side of the bed before getting in.
"How bad could it get?" Dan asked
"Try it being my mother that wasn't ready to be a mother. My dad was devastated, but he wanted to at least try to raise the baby. Mother only obliged because she didn't want to disappoint him, when it came to the birth daddy agreed to give the baby up for adoption but secretly wanted the child. Mother overheard daddy's confession and then it all went south after that, which I'm sure is why she ended up at Pepe's of all places" Blair sighed as Dan tried to listen to what she was saying but couldn't manage to shake the fact that she went out and actually bought a bed.
"At this point, I don't think any version is going to sound good. It is what it is, and it's something that is here now that you have to deal with" Dan told her
"I'm tired of dealing. Can't we just run away or something. We could go away to some foreign country or something…" Blair suggested as Dan hesitantly got in on his side of the bed
"Don't say foreign countries because then I think about Jenny and her joke of a marriage out of all this" Dan replied "Let's just say that we'd do better off by ourselves in some unknown place" he told her
"Okay, I think that could work" Blair smiled "Besides my mother, how was your day?" she asked "Note how we're acting very moved in together like right now" she quickly added
"Dually noted" Dan replied with a bit of laughter as he laid back in the bed while she cuddled up close to him as he went on to tell her about his day.
All I knowIs everything is not as it's sold
but the more I grow the less I know
And I have lived so many lives
Though I'm not old
And the more I see, the less I grow
The fewer the seeds the more I sow
Pouring himself a cup of coffee as he listened on to the business portion of the news, Chuck made mental notes to himself as all he could was keep up with the little tricks of the trade that his father had taught him. Making his coffee to his liking, Chuck took a sip hoping that it would taste like the usual gourmet coffee that he was used to growing up in the Plaza, but each day it didn't and each day he liked it that way because it was just another day of him adjusting to his new life. Coming out of the bedroom, getting ready for school, Jenny smiled happily at the new arrangement that the couple had come to in the living room. Finding the little things that she found to be a small victory in their adventures of being married, Chuck found that her successes were becoming his own at the end of the day. Walking over towards his lap top, Jenny took a seat at the desk before she opened up the window to the letter she had been writing for some time. Copying the letter into her e-mail screen, Jenny typed in the sender as "Eric van der Woodsen" before she put in the subject of the letter as "Until You Forgive Me" then sent the e-mail off. Though it would probably take thousands of letters for him to forgive her, Jenny was prepared to send him the same letter every day until he finally did come to that day until he forgave her.
Then I see you standing there
Wanting more from me
And all I can do is try
Then I see you standing there
Wanting more from me
And all I can do is try
"Time is money, money is time" Nikki said as he got in the car while Carter put on his seat belt. Moments passed where all Nikki got from Carter was nothing but silence, which left him a bit confused. "You okay?" he then asked
"Yeah, I'm good" Carter replied "Is everything okay?…anything you care to share?" he asked
"I see you have the usual sarcasm, so I take it we're good" Nikki laughed to himself "The usual drop. We're expecting a big total, so make sure we keep it discreet. We've scoped the area out so we shouldn't get any heat this time around" he informed Carter while all Carter could do was look on at Nikki skeptically.
"Just another day, that's all this is?" Carter asked
"Just another day" Nikki agreed before he started the engine.
I wish I hadn't seen all of the realness
And all the real people are really not real at all
The more I learn, the more I learn The more I cry, the more I cry
As I say goodbye to the way of life
I thought I had designed for me
Continuing on the same patterns as he did, when he once lived her, Harold got his cup of tea along with his three cookies from within the kitchen. Taking his usual seat by the window to look out at the park activities for the day while he could only wish that he'd set aside a moment of the day to enjoy the New York sun. After calling Roman earlier on in the day, Harold couldn't help but miss a piece of home in France, but his heart began to settle in to the home he had known most of his life. Surprised to feel her take a seat beside him, a slight smile broke on Harold's face as he could feel her coming around to him. Putting his hand on top of hers, Harold and Eleanor sat in silence for a moment as they just looked out the children running through the park in complete joy.
"I'm sorry" Eleanor cried as she turned to look at Harold before he just smiled at her
"It took two to make him, and it was two people that made that decision" Harold told her
"But I should've known you better, you were my best friend, I should've known better" Eleanor cried "It was us against the world" she said as Harold wiped away her tears
"And I shouldn't have expected you to read my mind" Harold replied as he continued to smile "We did this together, and I'm not one to back out on my partner and crime just yet" he said
"How do we get him back? How are we going to get our son to even like us?" Eleanor questioned
"By something I like to call teamwork" Harold said as he intertwined their fingers together "So what do you say? Are you all in with me? Are you up for the good fight?" he asked as all she could do was lean in towards him so that she was cuddled up close to him.
"I hate you, you know that right?" Eleanor muttered as she nestled up close to him while he rubbed her back
"I know" Harold laughed as if they were those teenagers all over again that relied on each other above everyone else.
Then I see you standing there
Wanting more from me
And all I can do is try
Then I see you standing there
I'm all I'll ever be
But all I can do is try
Try
Coming towards the door, Dan hesitated for a moment before he finally knocked. Engrossed in all his paperwork, Bart looked up from his stack of papers to a pleasant surprise at seeing Dan standing in the doorway. With his hands resting his pocket, Dan waited until he was invited in before he just assumed that he would be. Getting up from his seat, Bart motioned for Dan to enter into the office while he closed the door behind him.
"Dan, what brings you by?" Bart asked
"I don't know" Dan replied unsure of what he should say but in all honesty that was how he felt
"Okay, well how are classes?" Bart asked a bit confused
"Classes are going good. I can't really pile on with the load in regards to tuition, but they're going good" Dan told him as an awkward silence came between them
"Why are you here?" Bart asked in a tone that let Dan know that he knew something was up
"I moved in with Blair. We're now living together" Dan laughed weakly to himself
"So I take it you've officially removed yourself from the house?" Bart asked
"Yes" Dan replied "I just wanted to thank you for that, for letting me stay there those couple of nights" he told him
"You don't need to thank me. You're welcome in my home" Bart told him as he folded his arms as a few moments of silence came between them as they both struggled to find what they wanted to say "How is living with the girlfriend?" he asked
"It's interesting. It's a new experience" Dan nodded "She's great and wonderful. She's a powerful woman in the making….and I'm…I'm just trying to keep up at this point" he said letting a moment of vulnerability slip that he had no intention of showing. Looking up to see Bart's eyes looking back at him, Dan tried to cover up the emotions that he was beginning to show.
"How would you feel about working for me?" Bart asked
All of the moments that already passed
We'll try to go back and make them last
All of the things we want each other to be
We never will be
And that's wonderful, and that's life
And that's you, baby
This is me, baby
And we are, we are, we are, we are
Laying the ball into the basket, Tyler trotted back towards half court as Sean clapped with excitement for his friend as they were now up in a game of two on two. With a busy work load that he had endured from the week, Tyler was glad to enjoy a good pick up game with his best friend and a few friends as opposed to being stuck in front of a computer screen. Inbounding the ball, Sean took a few moments to do a bit of trash talking as Tyler hoped that he had enough spunk in him to last up until the twenty one points that they had to score but were five points away. Just as Tyler prepared to make his cut towards the ball, Tyler heard his cell phone going off. Groaning in unisons, every one on the court knew that when Tyler's phone went off that a sudden interruption would come.
"Sorry. Sorry" Tyler said as he jogged over towards his phone
"Hurry up, we have to keep up momentum" Sean called out towards his friend before Tyler answered the phone
"Hello" Tyler answered a bit out of breath
"We need to have your answer on Insider. We have unlimited amount of people willing to shell out big bucks on this book, and frankly it's getting a bit much to turn people down" Mr. Hannigan quickly stated
"Uh...I still need time" Tyler replied
"You don't have that much time Adams. I need your answer soon or else this story will get released" Mr. Hannigan said "This story will shred the Upper Eastside, and that will be media gold" he went on to say as all Tyler could do was groan in frustration with the ticking time bomb he had in his lap.
Free
In our love
We are free in our love
Music/Lyrics Used in this Chapter:
Nelly Furtado: Try