Her night with Chuck had gone much better than expected. Where Blair thought she would come away from that experience lost, dazed and in some sort of drug haze, she'd actually come away with a whole new perspective on the inner workings of Chuck Bass. She'd seen a side of the reckless heir she'd never seen before: the loving brother. First off, when had Serena and Chuck become so close? Second, what motivated him to suddenly begin treating the only family he had like family? She hadn't learned the answers to those questions, but she'd learned that Serena was selling her penthouse. It was a rash decision and the blonde sent Chuck a text to ask if he knew anyone in the market since she wanted to get rid of it quickly. This could only mean that she planned on leaving after their fight. Blair loved that penthouse; she especially loved what she'd planned on doing with (and in) that penthouse. Blair also loved Serena. Blair knew she needed to act quickly on Operation: Pre-Wedding because if she didn't, Serena would disappear into the night again and maybe never come back.
Step one: have Chuck kidnap Serena. It had been over twenty-four hours since the big restaurant incident and there had been radio silence from Serena. She hadn't responded to texts, phone calls, hadn't posted a single word to any of her social media, did not answer the door when Blair visited and turned away the courier Blair sent with a letter. The brunette even went so far as visiting Lily to see if she would help facilitate some sort of communication. That ended with a door slammed in her face, which was altogether rude and overly dramatic. She knew Lily wasn't her biggest fan, and would rather see her daughter end up with just about anyone else, but Serena wasn't totally innocent in this whole thing and quite frankly, Serena could do a lot worse—and has done a lot worse. She needed Chuck to swerve back to his shady ways and get Serena into a situation she couldn't escape from. These were desperate times.
Step two: apologize big time. Serena was insecure. Blair was insecure too, but it didn't show as much on Serena, especially to the outside world. Serena refused to wear her feelings on her sleeve, whereas Blair flaunted all of hers like fashion accessories. Serena would need not just an apology, but a guarantee that if they were to be together, Blair would be able to forgive her past and the brunette herself would be able to move past her need for revenge. She'd need a guarantee that she'd be loved unconditionally. The blonde seemed to have it in her mind that she wasn't worthy of that type of love but in actuality she'd had it in Blair. Despite Blair's recent behavior to the contrary, she'd always loved Serena, despite her faults, despite the way she'd hurt Blair and despite the way she'd tried to push people away in the past. Blair thought she was ready now to embrace that all-encompassing love and let Serena know it wouldn't end anytime soon.
Step three: be honest. Blair revealed a small amount to Serena about how she was hurt when Serena left that night all those years ago, but she didn't really go too deep into her feelings. She'd felt angry, abandoned, blamed herself. She only stopped blaming herself when she decided to simply not think about the blonde and ignore all memories of their past together. But the years of second-guessing and self-blame caused a type of damage that could not be easily mended. Sometimes, Blair couldn't even believe there was more space in her psyche for additional insecurities but somehow, Serena van der Woodsen managed to wriggle in there and plant the seeds for a whole new garden of doubt. She needed to tell Serena all of this because, despite wanting to be with the love of her life, that garden of doubt was overgrown and it was on Serena to tend to it and clean it up.
Step four: subtle seduction. Their relationship was always a very physical one, even when they were just friends. They were never too far apart to not be able to touch in some way. Serena was a sucker for Blair's comfort seeking. She liked to feel needed and so Blair always found a way to indicate to Serena that she was in need of a hug or a hand-hold or some sort of affection and Serena was always happy to oblige. If she could manage to get back to the basics of their relationship, then she had a chance of making this operation work. She couldn't come on too strong because it was seem too much like a manipulation (ignoring that fact that it kind of was). She couldn't come on too fast because it was scare Serena off. It had to be natural, organic. That was the tricky part because Blair was used to manufacturing moments in times where she needed a certain result, but this was way too important to screw up. She didn't want to just "get the girl." She wanted to show the girl that they were right together and they should try one more time. She just wanted to highlight what she thought was the single greatest aspect of their relationship—their eternal bond. No matter how far they apart they drift, when they come back together, it's like they were never separated. Blair hoped Serena understood that too.
Step five: close the deal. If she could get them to reconnect in some physical way, that would be Blair's opportunity to lay her cards on the table. The ultimate goal was to leave in Serena's embrace and never leave. She knew now what she wanted. All games had been forfeited, she no longer needed to avenge her broken heart, she didn't even want any of the achievements in life she'd always dreamt for herself, she just wanted to live happily ever after with her best friend and love.
As Blair wrote down the last step of her plan, she pondered whether she should include an emergency step six (an exit plan) in case steps one through five failed. Her phone indicated an incoming text and she capped her pen and closed her journal. The text message was from Chuck, confirming their plans for tomorrow evening. She replied back with a simple thumbs-up emoji and dropped the phone back to the coffee table. Leaning back into the plush cushions of her sofa, Blair listened to the silence of her house; she was so familiar with the sensation, being alone for most of her adolescent and adult years. Her parents were almost never home. When she got too old for a baby sitter, Dorota began leaving the house earlier, enjoying the shorter shifts which allowed her to go home and spend time with her own family. Blair understood but she'd been lonely, even if being a teenager alone in a house with no parental supervision seemed like a dream come true. She'd always call Serena and the blonde would come over with snacks or invite her over to the penthouse and they'd watch movies and talk all night.
Thinking about all the loneliness settled into the walls of this place, Blair imagined Serena's newly decorated apartment (or how it would look once she's done with it). It seemed the perfect place for them to start their new lives together. Serena seemingly picked out their dream home and Blair wondered if it was purely coincidental or if the move had some thought behind it. With a sigh, she got up off the sofa and went upstairs. Tomorrow would be a big day, a long day, and it would end in either heartbreak or joy. The nervous anticipation had worn Blair out and she was tired. She hoped tomorrow would bring new beginnings. No, she demanded tomorrow would bring new beginnings, happy ones, because she was Blair Waldorf and tomorrow was her bitch.
