Title: If You See Something, Say Something
Rating: PG
Paring: Dan/Blair (with smatterings of other pairings along the way)
Summary: What if Blair had gone to France to live with her father after Chuck leaked their entanglement(s) to Gossip Girl. Blair is back for her senior year at Constance and she's changed, a lot.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, sad fact of life.
"You look like crap," Jenny commented to Dan as they sat on the bus, making their way to school. It was the last day before Christmas break and Jenny was excited for the break from homework, so she could concentrate all of her attention on her social life.
"Thanks," Dan said dryly. He'd spent Monday at home, claiming to be sick. And he was sick, at least a little heartsick.
He'd moped around the house in ratty pajama pants and a faded New York Giants t-shirt. He hadn't looked in the mirror, knowing he'd look pretty pathetic. Hell, he was pathetic, moping after one of the girls who had become one of his closest friends. A girl he knew was involved with Nate Archibald. He couldn't think of a single girl who didn't hold Archibald on some kind of pedestal. Even Serena had held Nate in pretty high regard.
But he was still moping over Blair. Maybe because he knew, knew deep inside that they could be really good together. They were interested in the same books and movies and they were open to learning about the other things each of them enjoyed. Blair would even, occasionally, let Dan introduce her to new music.
But Blair, apparently, didn't think of Dan as anything more than a friend. No. That was a lie. She couldn't have kissed him like she did and not think he could be more. It was Nate. It always came down to Nate.
Dan hated Nate.
That wasn't true either. It was nearly impossible to hate Nate. Even though he was pretty much guaranteed admission into Dan's dream school, even though he was dating, and probably neglecting Dan's perfect match, Nate was still a good guy. He didn't trample over other people to get what he wanted, like Chuck Bass did. He could be intelligent if he really put his mind to it. And he allowed people to have a second chance.
No, Dan couldn't hate Nate, no mattered how much he wished differently. By the time Rufus and Jenny had gotten home, Dan was pretty much resigned to being the best friend. He could deal.
But come Tuesday morning, he didn't feel up to seeing Blair yet. So he went a coffee shop after he got off the bus and was about five minutes late to class. He hurried between classes and headed to the library for lunch. He was out of the door quickly at the end of the day and on the bus on the way to Brooklyn before he got the text message from Blair.
ARE YOU OKAY?
Dan had studied the text message for the whole rest of the trip home, trying to come up with a suitable answer. He didn't want Blair to feel guilty. She had, for all intents and purposes, done the right thing. Dan didn't like infidelity any more than Blair did. But he wanted her to know that it was hard to not want more with her.
Girls should want guys to feel that way, shouldn't they? Girls should want as many guys as possible drooling over them. Except this was Blair. Since they had started hanging out, Blair had shied away from attention. She didn't dress to impress, she didn't go to the trendy restaurants. And she most certainly didn't flaunt her relationship with Nate. She didn't want to be the center of attention.
Instead she had become the center of Dan's world. He hated it, hated that he had let another Upper East sider become to important to him. And this way was worse. With Serena, he had loved holding her hand. He had loved the way she smiled when she saw him. He had loved how it felt to hold her. It had been about being in her atmosphere.
With Blair it was how she thought, the words she said, the time she gave. Dan could talk to Blair for hours and never get bored. When Dan and Blair did homework together, they were often studying for the same classes, something that rarely happened while he was dating Serena. When Blair had exciting news, it was Dan she told. And when he had exciting news, he told Blair. She was an intrinsic part of so many sides of his life. He didn't like the idea of going on without talking to her.
So, he had to let her know he wanted her in his life. But he couldn't make her uncomfortable.
I'M OKAY. SICK SOME. SEE YOU TOMORROW?
She had replied with a sad face and an affirmative response. He wondered if she had waited on their bench for him both days. He had a feeling she had. It made him feel a little guilty. But he was still hesitant when he got off the bus with Jenny.
There she was, her head buried in a book, her hair falling around her face.
"Hey," he said quietly, sitting next to her on the bench.
Blair's head popped up, a bright smile on her face. "Dan! Hi!"
He couldn't help but smile back at her. It was hard to be upset when someone was so excited to see him. "How have you been?"
"Alright," she said, shrugging a shoulder. "How have you been? Are you feeling better?"
"A little, I guess," he said. "The rain probably did me in."
Blair frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," he said, shaking his head.
"I have news," she said, reaching into her bag. She held out an envelope, smiling proudly at Dan. He knew from her smile exactly what was inside of the envelope.
"You got in," Dan said, finally returning her smile.
"I did!" she exclaimed. "Isn't it perfect?"
"I always knew you would get in," he replied. And there was no trace of malice in that certainty. He knew Blair, unlike many of the other students in their schools, worked hard to make herself the perfect candidate for Yale.
"You should be hearing from Dartmouth soon, they should have all sent out their early decisions this week," she said, sliding the envelope back into her bag.
Dan shook his head. "I didn't apply early decision."
"You didn't?" Blair asked, frowning in confusion. "Why not?"
"Because I didn't want to be committed to going there," Dan said, shrugging a shoulder. "What if I didn't get the scholarships I needed to pay for it?"
"Don't be silly," Blair said, shaking her head. "I would have helped you."
"Well, it's too late now," Dan said, shaking his head. "I applied to a bunch of schools, so we'll see when I hear."
"Where?" Blair asked.
"NYU, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, Penn State, Yale," Dan said, listing off some of the places he had applied.
"You applied to Yale?" Blair asked with an excited grin.
He couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah, I did."
"I think you should go," she said with a quick nod.
"You just want to cheat off my homework," Dan teased.
"Damn right," she said with a laugh.
"We'll see," Dan said. "Dartmouth is still my dream."
Blair nodded, understanding. She stood up and pulled her bag onto her shoulder. "I've got to get to class. See you at lunch?"
"Of course," Dan said. And then he watched her walk away.
Dan was walking toward the bench he always ate lunch with Blair at. But he couldn't just blow through the shoulder that landed in his chest. Dan looked in confusion at the person who had run into him.
From Nate's narrowed eyes, he could tell the bump had been intentional. She couldn't have told him. Could she have?
"Stay away from my girlfriend," Nate said, his voice low and angry. Dan looked past Nate to see Chuck leaning against the wrought iron fence, his smug smirk in place.
"Nate, man," Dan said, holding up his hands. "It won't happen again."
"You're right, it won't," Nate said. "I'll destroy you if it does."
"That's a little dramatic, don't you think?" Dan asked, trying not to laugh at Nate's threat. He knew he had been in the wrong, but really? Destroy?
"I've lost her once," Nate said, his voice low. "I'm not letting it happen again."
"You didn't lose anything," Dan said, shaking his head. "She chose you."
"And you're going to stay away from her, so she keeps doing just that," Nate said. "I mean it Humphrey."
"What's going on here?" Blair asked, walking up to Dan and Nate. She looked between the both of them, obviously expecting an explanation.
"We were just having a talk," Nate said, looking toward Blair and forcing a smile to his face. "Hey, baby."
Blair narrowed her eyes at Nate, shaking her head. "Don't bullshit me, Nate. What's going on?"
"Nate's just afraid that you might go Brooklyn and choose me over him," Dan said, keeping his eyes solely on Nate. "Not that I realized there was a choice you had to make."
"Neither did I," Blair said, looking toward Dan.
"You can't keep hanging around him, Blair," Nate said, glaring at Dan again. "He's going to keep manipulating and confusing you until you think you actually want to be with him."
"You're incredible," Dan said, rolling his eyes at Nate. "You abandoned her and now you think, because you've played nice for a couple months, that you can tell her how to live? Do you realize what pompous ass you are?"
"Dan," Blair said, sighing.
"Do you see this, Blair?" Nate asked, looking at her again. "He will try to poison you against me. You have to stay away from him."
Blair looked back at Nate, staring at him for a long moment. "Is that an ultimatum?"
Nate paused for a moment, knowing it was never a wise move to give someone an ultimatum. But he felt justified. Dan had kissed his girlfriend. "Yeah, I guess it is."
Dan rolled his eyes. He'd changed his mind, he could, without a doubt, hate Nate Archibald.
"Why are you so intimidated by our friendship, Nate?" Dan asked, taunting the other boy. He watched Nate's hands clench at his side. He smiled, glad to see he was getting to the other boy.
"Don't talk to me, Humphrey," Nate said, taking a step toward Dan.
"Or what?" Dan asked. "Don't tell me you actually know how to throw a punch, Archibald?"
Blair watched the show of machismo, shaking her head. She stepped between them, putting a hand on each of their chests. "I'll tell you what," Blair said, quietly. "You can have each other."
"Blair," Dan said, frowning. "What are you talking about?"
"I don't need this," Blair said, shaking her head. "I was better off alone."
Dan heard the catch of her voice, but he wasn't going to call her out on it. Not when that catch might be because she was walking away from Nate. "Don't say that," Dan finally said. He felt an ache already opening up in his chest.
"There's no other way," Blair said. "I'm not going to be in the middle of anymore wars."
"Blair, it's not a war," Nate said, making a move toward her. She took a huge step away from him.
"That's what it looks like," she said, shaking her head. "And I'm not going to be with anybody who doesn't trust me to be friends with anyone I want to be friends with."
"It's not you," Nate said, shaking his head. "I don't trust Dan."
"That's just stupid," Blair said. "And you know it's stupid. So, we're over Nate."
"I didn't do anything," Dan said, looking at Blair, not trying to keep up with Nate. Blair's eyes met his and she shook her head.
"Who were we fooling, Cabbage Patch?" she asked, smiling sadly at him.
And she turned and walked away.
"Just fucking great," Nate muttered.
"Thank a lot, Archibald," Dan said, before walking away.
