A/N: Yay reviews! I love reviews! They're like crack to me, so thank you for indulging my bad habits. Hope you keep 'em coming. Someone mentioned in the reviews that it was disappointing that Blair wasn't higher on the social ladder, so I thought I'd just address that quickly: In my opinion Blair suffered a major blow to her self-esteem after the whole Nate and Chuck debacle. Then she moves to a different country to start over. Being the new girl isn't easy (speaking from experience here), so I don't think she'd automatically start out on top at her new school. However, you can't keep a Waldorf down for long and she'll be back in full Blair-mode soon. I hope you'll all accept that explanation. Have a nice weekend.
Friends without benefits
The morning after their dinner, Blair wakes up feeling better than she has in months and before she leaves for school, she decides to wear a headband. She hasn't worn one of them since coming to France. Madeline gives her a strange look when they sit down in class for history but doesn't' say anything and Blair just smiles. She feels better already. It doesn't matter she doesn't have a date for Valentines Day, who cares about that anyway. Harold and Roman are taking her out to dinner and it'll probably be some placer better than any place these stupid French boys could ever afford. It's the new and improved Blair, she tells herself as she starts taking notes.
"So Blair" how is school" Harold asks as they sit down for dinner at one of Blair's favorite restaurants in Paris.
"Good" Blair tells him with a smile. "We have a test in history on Friday I'm sure I'll ace."
"Good girl" Harold says proudly. "Did you have a nice time with your friend yesterday?"
"Yes, very" Blair says honestly.
"That's nice. Was it Madeline?"
"No, not Madeline" Blair answers non-committedly, stabbing her salad with a little more force than required.
"Oh, Louise?"
"No" she says with a shrug.
"Blair" her father says seriously. "Who did you see yesterday? Was it a boy?" He's using his lawyer voice, which is impossible to lie to.
"It was Carter" she tells him, looking at the salad. It doesn't look too appetizing anymore.
"Carter Baizen?" She nods. "I didn't know you two were so close."
"Well, we're not" Blair says slowly. "He just called and asked if I wanted to go do something together." She deliberately omits the fact that she had lunch with him not too long ago as well.
"Oh like a date" Roman says with a smile, clearly not grasping the seriousness of the situation.
"No!" Blair lowers her voice a little when a couple nearby turns to stare at her. "It was just… casual…" She shrugs a little. "He has a girlfriend."
"And what exactly is Carter doing these days?"
"He goes to school in Paris" Blair says.
"Really?" Harold looks pleasantly surprised for a moment. "His parents must be very happy about that."
Blair looks at her polished nails. She's not really comfortable with the topic; there's just something about Carter that makes her feel weird. Essentially, he's not a very nice person, he's done bad things, vile things to people she loves (even if those said people are right now not on speaking terms with her), but somehow he makes her smile and feel a little bit better about herself. It's a weird thing, she decides, and stores it for further exploration some time later when she's not sitting in the middle of an expensive restaurant with her father and his boyfriend. Subtly she changes the topic to American politics, which has always been the best way to distract her father.
Blair texts Carter on her way home. Just a simple "hey, what are you doing" text and immediately regrets it. If he doesn't answer she isn't sure what to do. He does, however, and it only takes him a few minutes.
"Stuck with Simon and Marcel, studying for a test. They're not as pretty as you to look at."
She drops her phone, making Roman turn around in his seat to look at her. "Blair, are you alright?"
"Yes, of course" she smiles and gingerly picks up the phone, re-reading the text. Generally, Blair doesn't like cheaters. Nate cheated on her with Serena and even though she's forgiven them both a long time ago, the thought about their betrayal still burns. She isn't sure how she's supposed to feel about Carter having a girlfriend. He never talks about her, which makes it too easy for Blair to forget about her. Or maybe he's just trying to be friendly and she's reading too much into it?
"I wear Chanel Allure. Now they can smell like me" she texts back, feeling a little girlish. She's not sure what they're doing really qualifies at flirting, but it feels like more than just friendly texting.
"Marcel said no, Simon said he'd prefer something from Ralph Lauren. Not sure what that means" he texts her back, making her smile a little.
"Guess you're stuck with them" she writes.
"Come visit in the weekend and make me feel better."
Blair contemplates for a moment. It would be easy to just forget about everything and go see him, but then that burning feeling returns and even Blair Waldorf can't make someone else (at least not someone who's never done anything to deserve it) feel that way. "What about Brigitte" she texts him, not sure what answer she would like most.
"Forget about her" Carter writes her and Blair makes up her mind in an instant. "See you on Saturday. Good luck with the test."
She has a strange feeling she's floating on a pink cloud the next few days. She's stopped speaking English in school, which is slowly but surely forcing the other girls to speak French to her as well. She's also noted a few hairbands in the sea of people milling about the halls of her school. That makes her smile as well.
Now that they're not complete obsessed about Valentine's Day, Madeline, Louisa and Julianne are firing questions at her left and right about Carter. She doesn't tell them much; just that he's an old friend from New York and that he took her out for dinner. They don't need to know anymore for now. She hasn't told Serena anything yet; mostly because it's a little bit weird that she and Serena seem to share all the men in their lives and also because she doesn't really need a lecture about how Carter is a bad guy and she should stay away.
Saturday she shows up on his doorstep at precisely eleven o'clock, unannounced. She twitches nervously when she knocks on the door, straightening the dress a little at the hem. She puts on her best smile as the door opens and a somewhat disshelved and sleepy-looking Carter appears. "Morning beautiful" he mutters, opening the door all the way and lets her in.
"It's eleven" she tells him with disdain.
"Like I said, morning…"
"Some habits die hard, I guess" she mutters, looking around at his apartment. It's an open floor concept and rather small compared to what she's used to, and sparsely furnished. It is however a lot more tidy than she imagined (not that she's spent anytime imagining his apartment, that is). Nate was a complete slacker when it came to cleaning up and more often that not he would simply just pick something up from the floor and put it on. Chuck always had maids in and out his room so it was only naturel that it looked clean. Carter's apartment looks lived in, but neat somehow. There's a cup of coffee standing on the kitchen counter and a few books are lying on the dining table along with a laptop and some papers.
"Like what you see" Carter asks behind her. He picks up the cup of coffee and leans against the counter.
"It just isn't what I expected" she tells him honestly.
"It was this or the crackhouse down the street. My dad didn't feel like supporting my less then humble lifestyle, apparently."
"No, it's nice" Blair says quickly. "Cozy."
"Claustrophobic" he counters with a smile. "Can I get you anything."
"No thanks." She suddenly feels both awkward and self-conscious standing in the middle of his apartment.
"Alright. I'm actually heading out to meet some friends."
"Oh…" Blair forces herself to smile at him. "Well, don't let me stop you, I was thinking about doing some shopping and maybe go see…"
"Don't be difficult Blair, you're coming" he tells her with a laugh. "It'll be fun."
"I'm not so sure about that…"
"Of course it will." He's still smiling. "And I can prove that I do actually know how to behave like a human being and make friends."
In the end, Blair relents. Carter has changed into a pair of jogging pants or something akin to that, and a green polo, making Blair somewhat worried about who these friends are and what they're planning on doing. When he picks up an extra pair of shoes from his closet, she's sure she should have just insisted on going shopping.
"Come on beautiful, the park's just around the corner." He grabs her hand and drags her down the steps and out onto the streets of Paris.
Carter wasn't lying, the park literally is just around the corner and it would seem that his friends are already there, waiting for him.
"You're late" one of them says.
"You're early" Carter counters in smooth French.
"Who's the girl" another asks, looking at Blair.
"This is Blair" Carter tells him. "A friend from New York." He lets go of her hand. "Where's Simon?"
"More late than you" one of them says.
"Blair, this is Marcel" Carter introduces her to a black guy who looks about seven feet tall. He gives a big smile. "And Henri, Ilan and Nic." She smiles a little at the three other guys. Someone clears their throat behind them and Carter smiles. "And the lovely Elise" he says, kissing the beautiful blond girl on the cheek.
"Thank god you've brought a girl" she says, smiling at Blair. "I was afraid I would be stuck here all by my self, watching you." She holds out a hand to Blair. "I'm Elise, Marcel's girlfriend."
"Blair" she says, shaking the hand. "A friend of Carter's."
"Yes I heard. From New York, yes? Would you prefer to speak English?"
"Blair probably speaks better French then all of you" Carter says, sitting down next to Nic. Blair gives him a questioning look as he starts to take off his shoes.
"We're playing soccer" he tells her with a smile.
"Yes and it's so boring to watch" Elise says with a displeased look. "I only come because Marcel promised to take me out to dinner later."
"Finally, Simon honors us with his presence" Marcel yells at the last of their gathering joins them. Simon is the same height as Carter, with blond hair and striking blue eyes.
"You're all early" he calls in a somewhat choppy French.
"Come, let the boys play" Elise says, taking Blair's hand and leading her to a bench. "They're no fun when they're like this."
Blair sits down on the bench with the blond girl because she's not sure what other choices she has. "How long have you known Carter?"
Elise smiles. "Some time. Marcel started to drag him around too everything and we became friends. He's very funny, I think. How do you know him?"
"We go back" Blair says, looking at Carter as he gets up with the others and the game starts. It's weird seeing him like this, when she's so used to him in a suit, back in New York, scheming and doing things she wouldn't even say out loud when she's alone.
"Do you live here in Paris?"
"No I live with my father outside the city."
"Ah. I didn't think I'd seen you around either. You should come to dinner with us afterwards."
"I don't know what Carter's plans are."
"For a beautiful girl like you, I'm sure he will change them in a heartbeat" Elise says with a brilliant smile, reminding Blair of Serena.
Their attention is turned to the game, when one of the boys yells out something. Simon and Carter are both lying in the grass. "Idiot" Simon yells. "Du konnte nicht sehen wohin ich ging?"
"Es ist nicht meine Schuld, dass du auf deine eigenen Beine gestolpert" Carter defends himself. Blair has no idea what they're saying but they both sound angry.
"Carter, du bist ein verdammter Idiot! Du hast Glück du bist so schön." Simon laughs and they both get up from the grass.
"What just happened" Blair asks.
"They probably ran into each other" Elise says. "It happens more often than it should." When Blair still looks confused, she smiles. "Simon is German, when he gets angry he yells and shouts in German like a little girl. Carter likes to indulge him because he's German too."
"Carter's not German" Blair scoffs. "He's like third generation New Yorker."
Elise shrugs. "Then he speaks it very well."
The two girls sit and talk about fashion and movies while the guys play soccer. Blair finds she actually quite likes Elise. She's an anthropology major and loves fashion and unlike Serena, she has a very clear life plan. Blair finds that strangely refreshing. They talk about how she and Marcel met and where all the good shopping places in Paris are and she asks a lot of questions about New York and how Blair knows Carter (Blair finds Elise's big smile a bit suspicious, but doesn't say anything). Before Blair even realizes it, the game is over and Carter is standing in front of her, smiling and sweating.
"You look gross" she tells him, but it's hard not to smile back.
"And you look beautiful as always. Why don't we head back so I can get a shower and then go out for dinner?"
"I invited Blair to come with Marcel and me" Elise says. "You're welcome too, of course."
"Wow thanks Elise, you're too kind" Carter says sarcastically.
"I know" she sing-songs in her charming French. "But you are right, Blair is so much more beautiful than you, maybe I will just take her and you and Marcel can go shower."
"Nice try, but Blair promised me the day" Carter counters. "Figure something out with Marcel and we'll go out some other time."
"Hm, if it must be that way." Elise smiles at Blair. "It was so nice to meet you. I will see you soon." At this she gives Carter a significant look before she turns to kiss Blair on the cheek and runs off to find Marcel.
"So, what do you think?"
"I think you're in serious need of that shower!"
He laughs. "No, about Elise?"
"She's nice. How did you learn to speak German?"
"Ah, you heard that?"
"I think the whole park heard that."
"Simon's sore loser." He makes a face. "My granddad is from Germany. He fled during the war and came to New York. So the whole family speaks German because the old man pretty much refuses to speak English with us."
"How many languages do you speak, exactly?"
"Just these three. I can get by on Spanish, but I wouldn't recommend going there on holiday with me. What?"
Blair shakes herself out of her reverie. "It's just so weird, seeing you like this?"
"What, sweaty?"
"No, good! You used to be so…"
"Deplorable?"
"Well, yes" she says honestly, because there's really no other way to describe Carter's past actions. "And now you're just so changed."
"I am studying to become a lawyer, so there's still a little Carter left in here somewhere."
"My dad's a lawyer" Blair scolds.
"I know…"
"But I'm serious. You speak German, go to school, play soccer…. It's weird… Do you tutor disabled kids in your spare time?"
"No, but I'm a part of an intercity mentor program for troubled youths."
Blair stops dead in her tracks to look at him. "Really?"
"No" he laughs at her facial expression. "Of course not. No program would even want me to do something like that, I'd just teach them where to get the really good stuff and how to refill their dads' liqueur cabinets." He puts a sweaty arm around her. "Don't worry, Waldorf, I can still be bad when I want to."
Roman picks her up later that evening. Carter and Blair never made it out to dinner, instead opting to stay at the small apartment and watching a movie (of Blair's choice). Carter offers some leftover quiche and then proceeds to mock her choice of movie for the rest of the time.
"Did you have a nice time" Roman asks, as she slips into the black Mercedes.
"Yes very" Blair says with a smile.
"Ah you like this boy" Roman notes with a smile.
Blair shrugs a little. "We're friends."
"Maybe more" Roman hints, his smile getting bigger.
"I don't know. I'm not sure he's interested."'
"In a beautiful girl like you? Blair, he would be a fool otherwise."
Blair smiles a little. "Thank you, Roman."
"Actually… My god friend Justice needs a beautiful girl like you."
"Excuse me?"
"He's a designer and there's a show next weekend."
"I don't think that's such a good idea" Blair tells him, feeling her mood change rapidly.
"Of course it is. His line is for girls like you, you would be perfect. And Harold says you've modeled for your mother."
Blair doesn't have the courage to tell him just what a disaster her brief modeling-career actually was, so she just smiles a little.
"Oh he will love you" Roman assures and Blair can feel her smile stretch almost painfully. Maybe if she's lucky she'll develop the bird flu before next Friday?