Chapter Seven
"I would like to thank each and everyone of you here." Chuck Bass said with a distinct pride in his voice as he stood in the middle of the stage of his bar, Victrola. "I hope you all would enjoy your night."
"I'll keep the drinks flowing." He added, raising his cocktail glass to his audience of young adults just before leaving the stage.
"Chuck!" Serena exclaimed as she reached out to give her long time friend a congratulatory peck on the cheek. "This place is fantastic!"
"Well, of course, Serena, expect the best from Chuck Bass." Chuck said as he took a sip of his martini. "Well, Waldorf, how do you find my place?" He asked Blair giving her a teasing look.
"Exquisite, I guess, Bass." Blair said as she took a sip of her Appletini. She didn't even look nor smiled at him.
Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf have always been, rather, unfriendly to each other. They grew up with the same group of friends but have never actually gotten along.
"Where's Nate?" Blair asked Chuck, this time eyeing him sternly. "I haven't seen him ar--."
"Oh my." Chuck interrupted Blair, while looking at Jenny who was standing beside Blair. "Who may I ask is this fine young lady?" Chuck said as he raised his hands to shake Jenny's. "I'm Chuck Bass."
Before Chuck could finish talking, Blair walked out on them mumbling how pathetic Chuck is.
"I'm Jenny Humphrey." Jenny said as she shook Chuck's hand and let go of it easily. She knew how Chuck is and she didn't want to be one of Chuck's dolls.
"Humphrey?" Chuck whispered as he and Serena walked towards the bar, leaving Jenny all by herself in a room full of perfect strangers.
"Yes, Chuck." Serena said, rolling her eyes at Chuck. "She's Dan's little sister."
"You must really love their family." Chuck said as he walked away from Serena.
-JNB-
"Great." Jenny thought as she walked around Victrola. "I'm in Chuck Bass's new club with nobody I know."
Then suddenly she saw Nate, wearing a black pinstriped coat and tie, looking all classy and business like. She knew that Nate must not see her, especially when Blair is in the same room. So she quickly turned around and then she found herself ordering cocktails from the bar.
"One Margarita, please." She said loudly. She just blurted out whatever name of a drink she could think of.
"Coming up." The bleached-hair bartender told her.
Jenny kept on the look out if Nate was anywhere near her. She was grateful when she saw that he was talking with Chuck Bass on the other side of the room. She didn't even notice that her margarita was finished already.
"Another one of these, please." She told the bartender. "And keep it coming."
"Oh, this is going to be a long night." She thought as she ate a handful of nuts.
-JNB-
"Chuck." Nate called out as he saw his best friend. "This place is, well, awesome!"
"Nathaniel." Chuck said as he placed his arms around his old buddy's shoulders. "This is what I was born to do."
"To start a burlesque club?" Nate asked playfully. He understood what Chuck was saying, he just wanted to toy around with him.
"No, Idiot." Chuck said frowning. "To live up to my father's business career. To turn an old rusty pad into the hippest club around. Do you get what I'm saying here?"
"Well, great job." Nate said tapping Chuck's back twice. "I'm proud of you."
"Nate!" a voice called out.
Both of them turned around to see who yelled, and to Nate's surprise, it was Blair. He knew Blair would be here but he didn't prepare himself to talk to her. Last time he talked to her was last Saturday or six days back.
"Blair!" He said, making his voice sound happy. "I knew I'd see you here." Then he kissed Blair on the cheek.
"Don't think we're okay, Nate." Blair told him.
"Ok. I'm outta here." Chuck said because he knew that Blair would start whining after that. "Be strong, man."
Blair ignored Chuck's pettiness because he was focused on straightening things up with her boyfriend.
"Nate." Blair said touching Nate's face and leading it to look at her. "What's happening? You've ignored every call I made, you didn't even call back. You know, I should be the one doing that to you seeing that you're the one hugging some other girl."
"Blair, please stop." Nate said, exhaling heavily. "I'm- I'm tired." He said, stumbling on his words.
"Tired?" Blair said loudly. "If there is someone who should be tired in this relationship, it should be me, Nate, not you."
"Well, aren't you tired Blair?" Nate said calmly. "I mean, everytime we talk, we end up fighting. Aren't you tired of that, Blair?"
Blair was speechless; she didn't know what to say. Nate caught her off guard, she wasn't prepared for Nate to talk back.
"I don't want this anymore, Blair." Nate said. "I guess, we'll be better off if we break up."
Nate turned his back on Blair. He knew this wasn't the best plan, but he loved Blair, he didn't want to hurt her any longer.
As Nate turned around, heavy tears fell down from Blair's beautiful brown eyes. It didn't even matter to her that people were around her. Her instincts made her grab him by the arms and let him turn around. When he finally did, she burst out of questions.
"Don't you love me anymore, Nate?" Blair asked him helplessly. "You used to love me, Nate, remember?"
Blair always had a soft spot in Nate's heart. She was his first love. Seeing her cry always made him sad, but he knew that Blair will be a million times better off without him in her life. He knew that Blair is going to thank him for doing this someday.
"Blair, don't cry." Nate said as she hugged her for the last time. "You know that I'll always love you."
"But why are you doing this, Nate, why do you have to be so cruel?" Blair asked as she pulled away from their hug. She was too hurt to realize that that was going to be the last time they'll be doing it.
"Because I have to." Nate said, cupping Blair's small face in his rather, rough hands.
"Is this about that blonde you were with in the picture?" Blair asked him loudly. Nate kept mum. Blair knew the meaning of this, she knew that silence means yes.
"You'll thank me someday for doing this." Nate said.
"I won't." Blair said shaking her head. "I hate you, Nate." She screamed as she turned away and ran, following where her feet leaded her to go.
-JNB-
"Dan!" Serena called out as she saw her boyfriend enter the bar. "You're finally here!" She said as she kissed him.
"Sorry, I'm late, Serena." Dan apologized. "You look amazing."
"Well, I did this all for you." Serena said twirling around for Dan. She loved the way that Dan appreciated even the smallest things about Serena. Normally, most guys their age would only think of bed when they look at Serena.
As they walked around the bar, Serena's cellphone beeped.
"This place is great." Dan said, looking around the place and admiring what he sees.
"Dan, I have to go." Serena told her boyfriend, looking panicked. "Blair texted me and she said she wants me to go to the powder room. I'll meet you as soon as we're done." Serena kissed Dan on the cheek and took off.
-JNB-
Blair's crying can even be heard from the outside of Victrola's single usage mirror walled powder rooms. Serena knocked softly at the door.
"Blair." Serena said. "It's me, Serena." Serena heard a soft "It's open." from the other side of the door.
Then Serena saw her best friend sitting on the tiled floor with her mascara all over her face. She was crying.
"Blair." Serena said kneeling to hug her friend in need. "What happened, sweetie?"
"Nate broke up with me." Blair replied, crying even harder and looking so helpless. "It's over between us."
"Oh, Blair." was all Serena could say as she hugged her friend even tighter.
Only Blair's crying and sniffling could be heard in the powder room. Serena didn't even dare to say one word. She didn't want to take sides unless she knew the whole story. But even when they were both quiet, their hearts understood. Blair was heartbroken and Serena empathized with her.
-JNB-
After drinking four glasses of margaritas, Jenny decided to get out of that counter bar and go somewhere where there is fresh air. She was drunk.
She decided to go to the rooftop and decided to use the fire exit rather than the glamorous staircase heading the same location. She chose the rooftop because she figured that nobody would be there since the burlesque dancers were about to perform, so she was surprised to see that somebody was there, sitting on the edge. But it wasn't just somebody, it was Nate. She wanted to get out of there but it was too late, Nate already saw her.
"Jenny!" Nate called out. He felt a certain twinge in his chest. He wasn't sure if Jenny wanted to talk to him yet.
"Hey." Jenny called back. She really wanted to get out of there but her legs felt like pasta. Soft and weak. "I didn't expect to see you here." She still held the handle of the door.
"I just wanted to have some air." Nate said as he got off the ledge and sat on the bench in the middle on the lot. "Are you okay?" Nate asked her as he noticed that Jenny looked a bit pale.
"I drank four margaritas." Jenny explained, finally letting go of the handle and walking toward the bench and sitting next to Nate. "I didn't mean to."
"So, are you okay with the whole picture thing?" Nate said, although he didn't think that bringing up that topic was the smartest idea.
"I guess." Jenny replied as she let her hair down. "But Blair trusts me. I don't want to break that."
Jenny wasn't breathe-taking beautiful, but Nate saw beneath that, he saw how kind hearted and nice she was. Nate found that more appealing than a beautiful face.
As they sat there, they stayed quiet. Jenny unconsciously placed her head on Nate's shoulder and Nate placed his arms around her. He took in every moment of it.
They were too caught up with all the things that they were thinking that they didn't realize that somebody came up the rooftop and took a picture of them, capturing Jenny lying her head on Nate's shoulder. Other parts of the picture was the bench, the view ahead and some skin of Jenny's arm.
-JNB-
"Humphrey." Chuck smirked, as he yelled when he saw Dan wandering at his bar. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Well, I'm Serena's date." Dan clarified. "Great place you've got here." Dan said sincerely.
"Thanks. Enjoy your night." Chuck said raising his glass and backing off when he saw the sincerity he offered.
"Wait." Chuck said, turning around and walking towards Dan again. "Do you know where everybody is?"
"No idea." Dan said freely.
-JNB-
"Are you okay?" Nate asked Jenny who was still leaning against him.
"Uh-huh." Jenny replied softly. She didn't want to open her eyes. She was too confused.
She liked the feeling of resting her head on Nate's shoulder and having his arms around her, what she didn't understand was why she liked it. Was she falling for Nate? She was too drunk to know for sure.
"Do you want to dance?" Jenny asked Nate as she sat up straight. "I mean, I have this urge to dance all of a sudden."
Nate knew he wasn't the best dancer in the world, but he couldn't let his lady love down. Even if he makes a fool out of himself, he didn't care, he just wanted Jenny to be happy.
"Okay." Nate replied as he got up. In the back of his mind, he was thinking if he really wanted to do this.
"May I?" He said jokingly, as he held out his hand and pretended to curtsy before Jenny.
"Haha." Jenny laughed.
Nate looked so ridiculously sexy. So she took his hand and got up. She can't stand properly so she stood close to Nate and he supported her. They were close to hugging except that their hands was in a dance position. Jenny's head was on Nate's chest.
"I can hear your heart beating." Jenny said softly. The moment was so calm and peaceful to mess up.
"Do you know who is it beating for?" Nate said as he pulled her out but still held her, and looked at her in the eyes.
"Yes." Jenny said. "Blair." She said her friends name slowly. Thoughts of Blair entered her mind. She slowly backed away from Nate.
"I shouldn't be doing this." Jenny said as she ran heading for the door, but Nate got there first and blocked the door.
"Jenny." Nate said. "Blair and I broke up."
"Oh my God!" Jenny freaked out and she started pacing back and forth. "Is it because of the picture? Nate, why did you do that?"
"Jenny!" Nate said, loud enough for Jenny to stop on her tracks. "I did it because it is the right thing."
"But Blair loves you, Nate." Jenny argued. "And what do you do? You break her heart!"
"Listen to me." Nate said as he grabbed Jenny's hand. "I did this, not to break Blair's heart, but to save her from all the pain she's going to feel if this continued."
"I have to go, Nate. I have to be there for Blair." Jenny said as she headed for the main staircase, tying her hair up into a bun again. "What we did was a mistake."
As soon as Jenny's golden hair was out of sight. Nate felt weak again. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, so he ended up saying it loud enough to fill the rooftop, just to let it go out.
"I love you, Jenny, more than you'll ever know."
He turned around and turned the knob of the door, hoping to return to the party, but, to his horror, he found someone familiar standing on the other side of the door, listening to everything going on in there.
AN: Who is the person on the other side of the fire exit door? Did he hear everything Nate said? Find out in the next chapter. BTW, sorry if I can't properly elaborate what I had in mind in the rooftop scene but I hope you liked it.
I'll be posting it after I get about 5-8 reviews from this one. Keep on reviewing, guys!
thegetupkay: Thanks for the comment, my friend. Loved it!
talkingCinematic: Great thing you understood it. I thought I messed it up, French was never my cup of tea.
Jommy23: Great! I appreciate it, my friend!
ChelsieMarie: Girl, you didn't have to wait that long for the update. Did you like it?
Sarahcaleb01: Good suggestion! But I'm afraid, that may not happen here. Sorry. But I did appreciate it.
penguinsrpals: Here's what happened at the party? Liked it?
