Love Is A Losing Game
Chapter 7
"Have you seen Vanessa?" Chuck inquired as he wandered over to join a group of his peers, conversing in the middle of the ballroom. His gaze and question were directed solely to Nate, choosing to ignore the rest of the young socialites surrounding him, including the triumphant face of one Blair Waldorf. Unfortunately for him, before his best friend could form any sort of a response, she decided to but in and offer up one of her own.
"Did you happen to lose your date, Chuck?" She was intelligent enough to make her voice sound sugary sweet, inoffensive to all that didn't know her well enough. What gave her away though, at least in his eyes, was the smirk that her red-stained lips had formed while she ridiculed him from behind her innocent question.
"If I had brought her here, I certainly wouldn't have let her out of my sight. I imagine that she feels quite lonely without you by her side and uncomfortable, seeing as she hasn't ever attended a party like this." Blair continued on, her voice embracing a chastising and slightly mocking tone.
He couldn't help but feel slightly impressed at her dramatic display and allowed himself to silently praise her for her efforts. However, he had other matters to attend to so he allowed himself to study her expression for only a second before addressing Nate.
"Nathaniel, I believe I heard that the Captain is presently looking for you." Chuck said, looking at Blair out of the corner of his eye as he took a sip of his champagne.
A look of pure exasperation settled itself over Nate's face and he heaved a sigh before nodding and reluctantly making his way into the crowd. With Nate out of the way, the opportunity to question Blair in private presented itself. Chuck quickly excused himself and roughly taking a hold of her upper arm, steered them out of the ballroom and into the deserted hallway, ignoring her cries of protest. After ensuring that they were indeed alone, he none to gently slammed her into one of the closet doors.
"What exactly did you do Blair?" His haze had darkened to a near black, sparks of anger dancing in his eyes. A look of fear flashed across Blair's face, but within a moment she had pulled herself together and yanked her arm out of Chuck's vice-like grip.
"Let go of me, Bass." She shot back, pure venom lacing her words. "I didn't do anything."
"I know you so much better than you think, Waldorf. Now tell me what the hell you did to Vanessa or God help me I'll…" Chuck's rant would have gone uninterrupted had it not been for the unexpected and thoroughly annoying presence of Dan Humphrey.
"What about Vanessa?" Dan had somehow managed to put himself in-between Chuck and Blair, with his arms folded and his face already holding an expression of suspicion and anger. "Where is she? What'd you do Bass?" he inquired roughly, going so far as to shove Chuck into the opposite wall. Serena watched the confrontation in silence, moving only to usher Blair out of the corner.
Chuck shot Dan a dark look before turning his back on him and grabbing a hold of Blair once more.
"Blair, tell me where she is or I'll let everyone know your dirty little secret." Chuck threatened, his voice coming out in a low hiss. "I might even mention it to Nate."
"Mention what to me?" Nate appeared at Chuck's side, an air of puzzlement enveloping him as his gaze landed on a distraught Blair, her eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears.
"What the hell is going on, Chuck?" Nate asked as he pulled Blair into his arms and began to mutter comforting words into her ear, hoping to calm his near hysterical girlfriend.
"I suggest that you ask Blair about Vanessa's whereabouts since she seems to know everything about everybody these days." Chuck hissed, his glare making Blair squirm. She then tore away from Nate's arms and proceeded to straighten out her mussed attire.
"She wanted some fresh air." Blair replied, her voice an even tone. "I don't owe anyone an explanation for that." With that said, she turned on her heel and stormed away with Serena trailing after her.
"What the hell does that mean?" Dan asked impatiently as he struggled to keep his hands from wrapping themselves around Chuck's neck.
"Fuck." Chuck mumbled, Blair's cryptic explanation becoming all too clear to him. He made a mad dash for the elevator with Dan and Nathaniel on his heels. Pushing the button for the top floor, Chuck tapped his foot with irritation as he watched Dan study him.
"Nothing better have happened to her or I'll-"
"You'll what?" Chuck spat out. He had quite a lot more to say to Dan Humphrey but the door flew open before he had the chance. The trio ran quickly to the very end of the hallway and proceeded to open the door to the roof. The cold night air whipped at their faces but that did nothing to deter Chuck as he ran towards a huddling figure, seated on the corner of the roof. Vanessa Abrams was rocking herself back and forth, her arms the only thing to offer her heat. On her face were tear marks but her crying had ceased.
Chuck made his way over to her, removing his jacket in the process and draping it across her petite and shivering figure. He pulled her into his warm embrace and only hugged her tighter as she began to convulse. Observing the intimate moment, Dan decided to intervene, offering to drive her home.
"Actually that's unnecessary, Humphrey seeing as I will be escorting Vanessa home." Chuck replied as he helped Vanessa stand and supported her frame as the walked back into the hotel, leaving a silent Nate and an enraged Dan behind in the cold. In the elevator, Vanessa broke away from his embrace, anger clearly displayed on her face.
"Vanessa, I can't tell you how sorry I am," His voice was uncharacteristically apologetic as he attempted to explain the night's events. "Save it." She snapped, "Whatever the hell you have going on with Blair, I don't want to be a part of it. What I want is for that psychotic bitch to stay as far away from me as possible."
Her fiery words made him smile and he couldn't help but try to apologize once more. "I never thought that she would lash out at you like that," He explained, "otherwise I wouldn't have brought you in the first place."
"Why did you bring me then, Chuck? Did you do it just to make Blair jealous? Well congratulations, mission accomplished! Now we can stop pretending like you care about me at all!"
In response to his surprising reaction to her admission, Chuck Bass found himself wrapping his arms around her slight frame, drawing her as close to him as physically possible and crashing his lips into hers'. To his great shock, she neither pulled away from their embrace nor slapped him for his abrupt actions. In fact, she did quite the opposite, lacing her fingers in his hair and returning his kiss with equal fervor. Just then, the elevator doors eased open to reveal a shocked Blair Waldorf, accompanied by Katie and Iz, who somehow managed to pull out their cell phones just as the pair broke apart. Blair's expression changed from shock, to anger and finally to one of hurt.
Putting herself together, she adopted a mask of indifference and after casting the couple a look of utter disgust, turned and began power walking towards the ballroom. Kate and Iz, on the other hand, decided to snap a couple of photos on their way out, opportunists that they are.
With a frustrated sigh and a roll of his eyes, Chuck slipped his hand into Vanessa's and lead her out of the hotel doors. His black stretch limo awaited them at the curb, and being the gentleman that he was, he opened her door and with a sincere smile bid her goodnight. After giving the driver directions to her house, he turned to walk back inside, looking less than forward to seeing the people inside.
His mind ran through a million different ways that he could act when Blair would come find him and demand justification for the compromising situation that she had found him in. He wasn't sure what the hell had just happened but he had to be prepared for the confrontation that was sure to come his way. She would come find him. He knew she would because that was exactly what he would do if he was in her place. They were two sides of the same coin, Blair Waldorf and him. And sometimes, that scared him.
"Blair, where have you been?"
She twisted to see Nate making his way over to her and turning away for an instant, she downed her martini and forced a smile onto her face before facing him once more.
"Oh, I just went for a little walk to clear my head." She replied as she set down her drink on the counter and motioned to the bartender to keep the drinks coming.
"Like Vanessa went for some air?" Nate questioned, searching her face for some sort of explanation.
"I just don't like her, alright?" She replied, bites into her olive aggressively. "I'm entitled to my opinion!" Her words were accompanied by yet another swig of her drink.
"Blair," Nate pleaded, his hands placing themselves over hers' "I know you don't like most of the girls Chuck sees, but don't you think Vanessa's different? She seems nice enough and what you did was uncalled for! It was inappropriate for you to do that. Chuck's my best friend, after all and I want to see him with a respectable girl for once."
"Oh God," Blair huffed out, swiveling in her seat to put her hands on Nate's knee, "Is that what you think this is all about? You should know that I don't give a damn about whom Chuck decides to bed. I only did what I did for Serena's sake." Her words sounded sincere enough but she was lying through her teeth, all the same.
"For Serena?"
"Well of course, Vanessa and Humphrey have a romantic history together. Serena's been very worried about Vanessa and her involvement in Dan's life so I decided to interfere. I only did it for my best friend." It was funny how the more she lied, the easier it became.
"I'm glad you and Serena are looking out for each other again, but regardless, it was wrong of you. What if that stuff got onto Gossip Girl, I'd hate for there to be more rumors about you."
"Noted." She smiled sweetly, giving Nate a quick peck on the lips before resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry that what I did upset you."
"I know you are. Well, I'm going to head home now, do you need a ride?"
"No thank you, I'm going to see how Serena's doing after all of tonight's dramatics. I'll call you tomorrow, though."
Nate nodded before waving goodbye and heading for the exit. She waited as the doors slammed shut behind him before whipping out her cell phone. Dialing a number she knows by heart, she waits patiently for him to pick up. He answers on the third ring and before he can get a word in edge wise, she interferes.
"Chuck. I'm coming up." She abruptly hangs up, without even waiting for a response. Blair finishes off her forth martini before stumbling towards the elevator. She can't help but wonder if he knew that she'd call. She wonders if he knows her that well or if she's just that predictable.
Author's Note: First and foremost, a big thanks to my wonderful new editor Megan (Crimson-Kiss17) for doing an amazing job with this chapter. Notice the much better use of words and grammar? All her. I just supply the plot and dialogue. ; Secondly, thank you so much for all your reviews. They always put a smile to my face and encourage me to keep writing. Hope you enjoyed this update and I will try to update daily from now on.
