Nate sighed loudly as he stood outside the gates of St. Jude's. He really wasn't in the mood for the fit Blair was going to through today. He hadn't seen her since the party and Chuck had pointed out that the lengths he was going through to avoid her were getting a little pathetic.
The two of them had left the party immediately after Tink and Ariel so he had no idea how Blair had handled what had happened. Then he and Chuck had spent all of Saturday and Sunday in Chuck's apartment brainstorming how to find their girls and yesterday he had skipped school. Even he had to admit it was past the point of pathetic.
Shaking his head, Nate gathered his resolve and moved forward to deal with his ex-girlfriend. He saw her immediately as he entered the courtyard.
'Laying in wait like a lion stalking its prey.' He thought uncharacteristically uncharitable.
Blair pulled her old tricks and turned her back on him, expecting him to immediately come over and apologize, begging forgiveness. Instead he smirked slightly to himself and turned the other way to go find Chuck.
"Nate!" Screeched across the courtyard, causing him to stop and sigh before slowly turning.
"Yes Blair?" he questioned, the exasperation clear in his voice.
Her eyes narrowed at his tone and she raised her chin a notch. "I believe you have an explanation to give me."
"I don't think it requires much of an explanation." He countered casually. "I didn't look for you at the party. It wasn't my crown on your head. It wasn't my name you saw."
"But how?" She demanded. "You were supposed to find me. That was the reason for the party."
"It was actually really easy. I figured out who you were and avoided you like the plague."
Gasps echoed around the courtyard and Blair flushed an unattractive puce. Not only did it seem like the golden couple was over but Nate wasn't acting like himself. His tone was cold and his words were almost cruel. Completely un-Nate-like. He actually sounded more like Chuck when he was forced to speak to Blair.
"Nate-" She began angrily but Nate cut her off.
"There's nothing to say Blair. We're through." He turned and, ignoring both Blair's shocked look and the frantic whispers alike, walked calmly and confidently towards the front doors of St. Jude's even more determined than before to find Chuck.
"I'm very disappointed in you Nathaniel." He heard from behind him and he suppressed a smile before turning around.
"And what have I done to earn your disappointment Charles?" He asked in a faux-serious voice.
"You couldn't have waited ten minutes for my arrival before you verbally eviscerated Constance Billard's very own Hydra?" Nate laughed at the likening of his ex-girlfriend to the mythical creature. And it was true, no matter how many times you metaphorically cut off her head she always seemed to come back.
"This is serious business Nathaniel. People had to step over her intestines to get to class. I heard it was a beautiful thing to witness."
Nate laughed. "Come on, Chuck. I have a plan for right before lunch."
Chuck grinned happily. He loved a good plan.
"Hello Red." Chuck drawled, arching an eyebrow at her as she walked out of the girl's locker room.
"That is unimaginative and beneath you Charles." she replied with disappointment in her voice before disregarding him and turning towards Nate expectantly.
"Hi. I'm Nate. And you are?" he asked casually, flashing a far too charming smile.
Nik couldn't help the answering smile that spread across her face. "I know." She saw him relax; sure he would get what he wanted before she continued. "And it's not that easy."
She was momentarily distracted by someone calling out to her.
"Let's go Nik! We're starving."
She quickly focused on Nate again, trying to hide the slight widening of her eyes, but both boys caught it. "She's waiting on you Nate. She's waiting on you to make a decision and show it."
With that Nik turned quickly and gave Chuck another brief peck on the cheek. "Keep searching Chuck." she whispered before turning to join the group of girls at the end of the hall.
Both boys watched, dumbfounded, as she walked away like she didn't have a care in the world.
"How do those two always seem to best us?" Nate asked with a petulant tone in his voice.
"They may usually win Nathaniel but not today. And we may not have won a huge battle today but we did win." Matching sly smiles lit up their faces. "That was something she did NOT want us to know. She slipped up today."
"Yes she did. And Miss Nik is going to regret not being able to control those pretty eyes of hers." Nate stated.
"That she is, Nathaniel. That she is." Chuck said, plans already forming in his head.
They slowly made their way to Chuck's waiting car, both their minds on the encounter with a mischievous redhead. They were done with school today. As they climbed in Nate asked the question that was bothering him. "What did Nik mean she's waiting for me? I made my decision Chuck. I made it days ago. Surely she knows by now."
Chuck sighed and avoided the question. "Lunch Nathaniel?"
That got him a look that said 'I know what you're doing', but he got an answer anyway. "Indian, I think."
Chuck nodded and pushed a button to lower the glass separating them and the driver. "Indian Alfonzo. Our usual, delivered in forty five minutes."
"Of course Mr. Charles." Alfonzo said with a fond smile.
"Thank you Alfonzo." Nate said.
"You're welcome Mr. Nathaniel." Alfonzo said with a fond, indulgent smile for both boys before he dialed the familiar number to place their order.
Both boys smiled as the partition rolled back up. Alfonzo had been driving Chuck around since either of them could remember. With one dead mother and three absentee parents, they had learned most of their important life lessons from Alfonzo.
"So tell me Nathaniel. How did you know how to find Red today?"
"You just need to accept my superior intelligence Chuck. I know things." Chuck arched and eyebrow at him. "Fine. I have English before lunch. It looks out over the soccer fields. Your Red has some very distinctive hair. I watched to make sure it was her but she always seemed to disappear before I could talk to her. It's like she has radar. Today I decided to be one step ahead of her."
Chuck smirked. "Not bad Nate. Not bad."
Nate turned back to Chuck with a determined look. "Be honest with me Chuck. What is happening? I made my decision a week ago, the first day I was back after the party."
Chuck sighed and settled back deeper into the seat. "Nobody believes it." Nate just stared at him, looking appalled. "I'm sorry Nate, but nobody believes it."
Nate's appalled look turned to shock as he registered Chuck's use of his nickname. "Why would no one believe that Blair and I are over? I publically broke up with her Chuck. Publically. In front of half the school."
"It's the she-devil." He said simply. "She's telling everyone who will listen, and even some that don't want to listen, that it was just a fight. That you two were having a bad day and that everything is back to normal."
"So my Tink thinks I'm still with her." He concluded sounding slightly deflated before a look of determination settled on his face. He really should have expected this; after all they had just recently called her a hydra.
Nate was quiet as they got closer to Chuck's. "So I need to make a grand gesture? To make her understand?"
Chuck thought it over before nodding. "Seems like the only way."
And they settled into silence before they got to Chuck's and spent another day plotting ways to reassure Nate's Tinker Bell of his intentions.
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN GOSSIP GIRL OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS, EXCEPT NIK.
