"B, you can't put off talking to Nate forever," Serena said, sipping on her strawberry cocktail.
Blair shrugged, thankful that she had decided on her oversized Dior sunglasses. They could disguise anything, like the hurt that was flashing in her eyes, or the dark circles that were the effect of her hangover. She had decided that she had to get out of that god forsaken house; it was home to too many problems that she didn't feel like dealing with at the moment.
"Blair, I'm serious," Serena whined, taking off her own Prada sunglasses to look at her friend. "If you put it off-"
"It will just get worse, yeah, yeah," Blair interjected, wishing that she was still drunk. She knew that Serena only meant well, but in the time that they had been tanning (thirty minutes, from what Blair's Fendi read) Serena had managed to bring up talking to Nate at least five times and it was starting to wear Blair out.
"S, I know what you're saying. Just not now," she reinforced, closing her eyes. The sun was unnaturally hot and bright, escaping through the dark lenses of her sunglasses easily.
"Whatever you say," Serena said, her toning hinting that it was not whatever Blair said. "But, really-"
"Serena!" Blair said, raising her voice slightly. "When did you become a broken record? I heard you the first thousand times you told me your idea, and I'm not deaf. I will do it later!"
Serena sighed, accepting Blair's words. "Do you want a drink?"
Blair shook her head no. "I'm fasting on the alcohol. We didn't get along so well last night…"
Serena giggled, remembering her friend's fall on the dance floor. "I don't know, B. Your face sure enjoyed the carpet…"
Blair laughed, smacking Serena playfully. "You're such a brat! If I had a dime for every time your face has collided with ground, I would be, well, rich."
Serena laughed. "Well, in reference to your bank account, I've had my fair share of tripping."
The girls were lost in a fit of giggles, and it all felt like the old times to Blair. The simple banter between the friends out in front of a pool, letting the sun beat down on them. Both of them slightly hung-over, enjoying the light breeze that the outside always seemed to have.
But, the old times were so much simpler. Chuck wasn't in the picture, except as Nate's friend with a tendency to be a whore, not as Blair's ex-lover. Or was it present lover? Either way, it did nothing for Blair's already pounding head that no amount of Advil could cure.
"Can I ask you something," Serena pondered, rolling onto her stomach to tan her back.
Blair followed the movement, turning her face toward Serena to continue the conversation. "Mmmhmm," she relied lazily, feeling uneasy at what Serena could possibly be wondering.
Serena twirled the umbrella that had come with her drink. "Do you really like Chuck?"
Blair would have normally recoiled, but she knew that Serena was asking the question as a third person, not as a judging best friend or sister, and to be truthful, Blair had been asking herself that question for months. "S, I don't know. Sometimes I think that I do. But other times, he's just such a jerk. Like when he left me in Europe, which sent me over the edge."
"And then there's Nate…" Serena added.
"Who only makes the situation even worse. He claims that we wants me, and he's been the perfect gentleman, but sometimes I just think that too much has happened for us to ever go back," Blair explained, exhaling deeply. "I don't know, sometimes I just feel like Daisy in the Great Gatsby."
Serena sat up, looking at her friend seriously. "Then who's Nate? Tom or Gatsby?"
Blair sat up, too, matching the tone of her friend. "I don't know. And it keeps me awake at night."
After their touching heart to heart, Serena was confident in what she had to do to help her best friend again. And as plans of Serena go, it included alcohol, and guys.
Blair had gone to her bedroom to take a nap after tanning, but since she had closed the door hours ago, Serena decided it was time to disturb her peace. She didn't bother knocking on the door, and when she entered the beautiful room, she saw her friend typing on her laptop, looking up when she noticed Serena.
"Hey," Blair said, shutting the top of it. "I was just writing an email to Eleanor, you know how she gets."
"It's cool," Serena replied, sitting on the end of the bed. "What are you doing tonight, other than wallowing in self misery?"
Blair shrugged, stretching her arms out. "I suppose you want me to do something with you?"
"Yeah! We're going to this club tonight, called Whitehouse," Serena explained, looking at her split ends.
"S, have you not noticed that I'm trashed from last night?" Blair asked, sitting up on the bed.
"I don't care, Blair. You need to just get out of this place and let loose," Serena shrugged. "You might want to start getting ready, I want to leave early around ten."
Before Blair could even respond, Serena hugged her tight and whispered in her ear. "You know I love you, B. And no guys tonight. Just you and me."
Blair nodded, thankful for her friend's enthusiasm in Blair's time of need. On the other hand, all Blair really wanted to do was sit in her giant bed and forget the world, watching Breakfast at Tiffany's and dreaming of simpler days.
But those days were gone, Blair decided. And so was the old Blair.
The clock on Blair's watch read 9:30, and almost on cue, her friend walked in her bedroom door, dressed to the nines. Serena's long blonde hair was stick-straight, making her skin look more tanned than anything. Her legs were on showcase with her Larok patchwork racer back dress, finally leading to a pair of black patent leather heels.
Blair looked just as gorgeous, her brown hair curled at the ends, letting it end gracefully at her shoulder blades. Her thin frame looked curvy in a close fitting Betsey Johnson dress in red, making Blair's perfect ruby lips pop. On her feet she sported the newest Dolce and Gabbana black pumps, completing the outfit perfectly.
"I think that we're going to have enough guys all over us to last a lifetime," Serena laughed, hugging her friend tightly. "We won't need the IDs. Let's go."
They both climbed into the waiting car, getting tipsy on the way to the nightclub. Before they had even arrived, they were both drowning cosmos and toasting to everything – from friendship, to money, to tanning.
The car stopped and the driver opened up the door to let the girls out. They thanked him and grasped each other's hands for support on the way to the door. There was a line trailing outside of the club, but they merely walked along it, catching everyone's attention on the way to the door. The stares from the boys made their girls glare at the two socialites, with both jealousy and hatred. The bouncer didn't even ask for their ids, as expected, and they walked straight into the nightclub, feeling the music immediately.
As if on autopilot, the two girls made their way to the bar, sitting on the barstools. They didn't even bother signaling the busy bartender, who ran to start chatting with the girls.
"What can I get for you?" he asked, trying to decide in his head which girl he liked better. On the right was a tall blonde that could easily fit on the pages of a magazine. On the left, there was a shorter brunette with the most perfect lips that he had ever seen. He could tell that they weren't of age to drink, but it wouldn't stop him. It wasn't every day that he saw girls like that.
"Tequila Sunrise," the blonde said, smiling at him. He blushed, even though he knew that she was just using him.
"And you?" he asked, looking at the brunette.
"Oh," she asked, as if surprised that he would ask for her order. "What do you recommend?"
He gave a cute lopsided grin, aware that she was flirting with him. "Well, for a beautiful girl like you, I would say you would like a Sex on the Beach."
She nodded, and he took off to make their drinks. Serena turned to her immediately and laughed. "Dang, what was that? A two hour rebound rate?"
Blair smiled. "Coming here was such a good idea. Hey, look. It's our song, let's dance!"
The beginning chords of Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back played through the huge speakers, vibrating the floor underneath the girls. Blair was feeling confident – perhaps overly confident, and climbed onto the bar, followed quickly by Serena.
The opening lyrics came in, and Blair started to shake her hips, elated at the reaction of the crowded nightclub. They were all following her and Serena's movements, entranced by their boldness. Five minutes later, the song was over, and Blair and Serena reluctantly climbed down from the bar and returned to the seats, breathing heavily.
The bartender returned, grinning at the girls. "I can honestly say that I've never seen anything like the two of you," he said, handing them their drinks.
Blair gulped down half of the drink eagerly, letting the vodka sting her throat. "Well, with the right motivation, I'll do anything."
The bartender was instantly interested, leaning forward slightly. "Nolan," he said, extending his hand to the brunette, who put her small hand into his gracefully.
"I'm Chloe," she lied, letting her smile cover it. "And this is my best friend and partner in crime, Audrey."
Serena kicked Blair's calf underneath the table before shaking hands with the bartender. "It's our pleasure, I'm sure," Serena said, laughing.
He really was cute, Blair decided, looking at him carefully. He stood tall – maybe six feet – with green eyes and brown hair that looked casually messy, his arms muscular from bartending. He was obviously out of Blair's league, but he would do fine as a distracter.
While she was staring at him, she didn't notice his friend come up behind them, staring into Nolan's eyes, waiting for an explanation as to why he hadn't introduced the girls to him.
"Er, girls, this is my friend Ethan," he said. The girls turned around, surprised at a new arrival. The friend was hot, Serena thought. He was as tall as Nolan, but with black hair and bright blue eyes.
"Chloe," Blair said, not offering her hand. She didn't want to come off as too friendly.
"Audrey," Serena said, smiling brightly at him. So much for no guys, Blair thought to herself.
"How about you and Ethan go and dance," Blair offered, watching Serena shoot her a look.
Before long, Serena was off dancing closely with Ethan, who couldn't look happier to be seen with the most beautiful girl in the club.
Blair turned back around and twirled her drink with her straw. So, she had been removed from the solace of her bedroom to sit alone at some loud nightclub.
Sighing, she rose from her stool, heading for the doors.
"Off so soon," Nolan asked, towel drying a glass behind the counter.
Blair turned around and shrugged, sitting back down. "So are you the type of bartender that listens to everybody's problems?"
He laughed, flashing bright white teeth. "I can be, if you want. I'm a really good listener."
She sighed again, deciding whether or not to tell him her problems. "It's a really, really stupid long story."
He looked down at his watch. "I've got two hours before shift is over, and I think your friend is a little busy. So, let's talk."
Blair looked up at him, biting her lip. "Well, it all started back in like, kindergarten. I started to date this guy named Nate, who I thought I was totally in love with. I had everything – popularity, money, love. But then, I found out that he slept with my best friend, Ser-, I mean Audrey. So, she and I got into a huge fight, and Nate and I broke up. And then we made up - me and Audrey, I mean. So I thought that Nate and I were over for good by that time, and I found that I really liked this guy named Chuck, who is a total Hugh Hefner of his time. He's known for getting girls drunk and taking them back to his daddy's building to have sex with them. But, that's not even the point. We had sex in the back of his limo, which was a huge mistake, let me tell you.
"Once I had had sex with him, Nate ran back to me. I was so confused. I had Chuck coming at me, and then Nate, and then Chuck told this huge gossip that I had sex with him, and Nate dumped me on my ass again. It was so humiliating, and I was suddenly dethroned from queen bee to absolutely nothing. The only person who wanted to be my friend was Aubrey. And then Chuck and I got back together, but then he backed out last minute and sent me on his private jet to Italy on my own. It was terrible. So I came to the Hamptons, and Nate wants me back, and now Chuck wants me back. And I just don't know."
She exhaled, taking a breath from her long speech. "I bored you, didn't I?"
Nolan smiled again, holding back laughter. "I'm sorry, but your life seems like a teenage television show."
Blair laughed, too. "You have no idea."
Nolan stopped laughing and looked thoughtful, refilling Blair's drink. "If you want my two cents," he said, looking at her. "I would go with what my heart told me that I wanted."
"That's what I've been trying to do, but it just gets me into a bigger issue than before. I mean, if you compare the guys, Nate wins hands down."
"But girls always want the bad boy," Nolan said, completing Blair's thought.
Blair laughed again. "I wouldn't say that Chuck is a bad boy, just a boy that's bad for every girl. He's insecure, rude, piggish, and indecisive, not to mention that he has the world's worst timing."
"So what's wrong with this Nate kid," the bartender asked, shaking a drink up.
"I don't know. He's perfect, I guess. He's thoughtful, and sweet, but it just makes no sense. I lived a perfect live with him for so long, and now it all just seems so bland. Chuck adds a mix of excitement in everything, but he could also back out and leave you alone at any time," Blair said, chewing on her straw.
"Seems to me like you've got a classic case of high school," the bartender said, serving the person next to her.
"Does it get any better?" Blair asked, reaching for her vibrating phone.
"Well," he pondered. "There's a big world out there, kid. Bigger than some dance, bigger than high school, and it won't matter if you were the queen bee or the school slut or the richest kid. Just find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it."
Blair felt herself blush, and then everything became clear. Like how a mirror fogs up from steam, but in the reverse order.
She knew what she had to do.
She put a twenty down on the bar, but Nolan pushed it away. "Your drinks are on the house. Just get home safe, alright?"
She nodded, and couldn't help but feel more compassion for a single person in her entire life. "Thanks a lot, Nolan. And by the way, my name's Blair."
"I know, I saw you at some gala a couple of months ago," he laughed. "I was bartending there."
"Well, the next time there's some event, I hope you're there."
He smiled politely. "I hope your life gets easier, these are supposed to be the best days of your life."
Blair nodded, putting the twenty she was holding in his hand. When he made a move to give it back, she shook her head. "It was the least I could do; you listened to my sob story."
He laughed, putting his number down on a napkin. "Let me know what you decide to do. Just remember, Blair, the same as your Vogue magazine, remember that no matter how close you follow the jumps: continued on page whatever. No matter how careful you are, there's going to be the sense you missed something, the collapsed feeling under your skin that you didn't experience it all. There's that fallen heart feeling that you rushed right through the moments where you should've been paying
attention. Well, get used to that feeling. That's how your whole life will feel some day. This is all practice. None of this matters. You're just warming up."
I used some quotations in this story from famous people :)
The first one about high school is from an anonymous source
but the last quote from the bartender is by Chuck Palahniuk.
Thanks for reading and remember to REVIEW.