Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Gossip Girl.
The confrontation with Jack was still a dizzying blur in her mind as Blair hurriedly took the stairs to her room. Though she had received no new messages on her phone, Blair was still terrified she'd return to find Chuck gone. Thus, she breathed a sigh of relief as she entered and took in the scene before her. Serena, Dan, and Nate stood in a cluster, all staring down at a piece of paper and murmuring excitedly; while Chuck was sprawled on her bed, fast asleep. They were so absorbed in discussing the last wishes of Bart Bass that they hardly noticed Blair slip in the door. She was incredibly grateful for this, as she needed to regroup after her ordeal. "Hey guys," She muttered, quickly grabbing a different outfit from her closet and retreating to the bathroom.
Carefully unbuttoning her jacket, Blair inspected the damage. She had certainly broken Jack's nose, or at least caused some serious harm. Some of his blood had splattered onto her pearly white blouse, leaving ugly crimson stains. Gross, though Blair angrily, it isn't enough that he tries to violate me, but he also has to ruin my clothes? She quickly removed the blouse, stuffing it into a drawer with a expression of disgust. Looking in the mirror she grimaced, horrified to see her disheveled appearance. Though her contact with Jack Bass had been mercifully brief, he had left his mark on her as well. She could see painful purple bruises beginning to puff up on her breasts, thighs, and stomach. The worst were her wrists, which were beginning to swell. That bastard. He was a dangerous man, for both her and for Chuck. He had to be taken down.
"B? Are you okay?" Serena was knocking on the door, sounding worried.
"I'm fine," Blair lied, still studying the bruises in the mirror. "I just need to change out of these uncomfortable clothes."
"Okay, hurry up though," Serena sounded unconvinced. "Nate was just filling us in on the will reading. I can't believe it…"
'I know," Blair replied, quickly undressing and pulling on a turtleneck and dark gray pair of slacks. The look wasn't particularly stylish, but functional, and did manage to cover up all the bruises. "Jack was so certain Bass Industries was going to be left to him. It wiped the smug smile right off his face." As a finishing touch, she carefully applied another layer of powder under her eyes, where the makeup had been smeared by her tears. Satisfied, she inhaled steadily and opened the door.
Serena, Nate, and Dan, who had apparently all been clustered outside of the bathroom with their ears to the door, jumped back, trying to look innocent.
Blair rolled her eyes. "I'm fine! It's Chuck we need to be worried about." She added in a hushed voice, glancing over at his sleeping form lying unceremoniously across her bed.
"Did you confront Jack?" Nate asked anxiously.
"I guess you could say that," Blair grumbled bitterly. She could still feel his repulsive hands roaming over her body. The whole incident made her feel used and dirty, like she wanted to take a long, hot shower and try to scrub it away.
"What happened?" Serena pressed, still staring worriedly at her best friend.
Blair sighed, glancing again at Chuck to make sure he was still snoring soundly. She didn't want to give them the gruesome details about what had transpired with Jack, it would only take everyone's focus away from the will. Not to mention she didn't think she could handle any more of Serena's concerned reproaches. Instead, they all needed to concentrate on how to thwart Jack's attempts to take over Bass Industries. "Jack…threatened me." She told them uncertainly. "He made it very clear that he is going to do everything in his power to undermine Bart's wishes, which means that he is going to try and convince Chuck to pass on the title of CEO. When I insisted he was wrong, he threatened to ruin me."
Serena gasped, "He did?"
"Yes," Blair nodded, "He actually got quite nasty."
Her three companions stood for a moment, quietly digesting the new information. Nate finally broke the silence, scowling. "I knew that guy was bad news."
Dan shrugged. "Well, it seems pretty obvious what he is trying to do. You said even Chuck was suspicious of him. So it shouldn't be hard to warn Chuck about his intentions."
Blair fixed him with a condescending stare. "Obviously, you don't know Chuck. In spite of his desperation to push everyone away, he is actually very impressionable. In some strange way, Chuck sort of admires his uncle. Not to mention that Jack is the only family Chuck has left."
"But…it is Chuck's decision." Serena added hesitantly. "If he doesn't want to be CEO, that's his choice."
"Yes," Blair said deliberately, "But he isn't going to be clear-headed enough to make a choice with Uncle Jack buzzing around. Chuck lacks confidence, and that scumbag knows completely how to exploit it. Don't you see that that slime ball is willing to stoop to any means to get what he wants?"
"So, what are we going to do?" asked Nate, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"Talk to him." Blair insisted adamantly, "Before dear Uncle Jack can manipulate his opinions."
"What, now?" Dan questioned, watching Chuck's body convulse with a particularly loud snore. "The guy is practically dead."
"Well," chirped Blair, "there's no time like the present." Before anyone could stop her, she marched firmly to the bed, and gave Chuck a solid slap on the cheek. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty, WAKE UP!" She commanded, slapping him again.
Dan and Nate exchanged furtive glances, and Serena clapped one hand to her forehead. "Uh, B, maybe we should talk about this more…?"
Blair was leaning over him now, one knee on the bed and her face inches from his. "CHUCK BASS, IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE A PENNY OF YOUR BILLION DOLLARS YOU HAD BETTER WAKE UP, NOW!"
Dan, Serena, and Nate all winced as she punctuated the sentence with another resounding smack. However, her unorthodox methods did the trick, and Chuck's eyes fluttered open. Blair sat back, satisfied, as Chuck glanced around in confusion. He first fixed his blurred vision on Blair, rubbing his eyes. "Did you come back for more?" He smirked groggily.
"Oh, well good to know the real Chuck does still exist. For a minute I worried his charming personality had been lost." Dan mumbled to Serena. It was unclear whether Chuck understood his words, but hearing Dan's voice he sat upright in surprise. His gaze passed to the concerned faces of Dan, Serena, and Nate, before finally returning to Blair. "Whatthehell?" He mumbled, blinking furiously.
"Chuck," Blair addressed him slowly, as though talking to a very small child, "These are your friends. We are here to help you."
Chuck looked around the room again and groaned. "Not you three again… and now, Humphrey?"
Dan gave his best nerdy wave, and Chuck collapsed back on the bed. "This has to be some kind of nightmare."
"I couldn't agree more," Dan added sarcastically, "The only thing missing is my English lit teacher dressed in drag.
Blair ignored him, and leaning over Chuck, said sweetly, "Actually, this is more like one of those serendipitous dreams where you find out you can fly, or, inherit a billion dollars…"
"Congratulations, you are a boy billionaire." Serena affirmed.
"What?" Chuck shook his head, desperately trying to make sense of his surroundings.
"Your father's will reading you idiot!" Blair snapped, quickly loosing her patience. "You're rich. Congratulations."
"Or maybe we should say rich-er." Dan muttered.
"Oh, SHIT!" Chuck jolted upright again, nearly knocking Blair of the bed. Panicking, he simultaneously tried to re-button his shirt and look for a clock.
Blair rolled her eyes. "Does someone else want to explain this to him? Obviously, he's not getting it."
"Um, Chuck?" Nate stepped in, grasping his best friend by the shoulders in order to calm him. "The will reading is over. But don't worry. Blair and I went for you, and everything is okay. Your father left all his personal funds to you."
Chuck nodded silently, slowly registering what he was saying.
"And there's something else," said Blair, waving the envelope ceremoniously, "Though maybe you should have some coffee first."
"I can handle it," Chuck rasped, pulling the envelope from her grasp. He opened it and read it slowly, all four watching him in trepidation.
His reactions were controlled, though they all noticed his eyes widen visibly as he read the paragraph which designated his fathers wishes. He read it over twice before slowly raising his eyes and staring only at Blair. "This can't be right…"
"It is right." She assured him warmly. "You're father left Bass Industries to you."
Chuck shook his head. "No, it doesn't make sense. I was an embarrassment to him…"
"No you weren't." Blair stated emphatically. He trusted you…and only you….with his legacy."
"Yeah Chuck, your father believed you could do it." Nate added encouragingly.
"But I can't," Chuck growled. "I wouldn't even know how."
"You can learn," Blair insisted. "Your father understood you have what it takes."
"We know you can do this Chuck," Nate said, Dan and Serena nodding in support.
Before the conversation could continue, there was a commotion outside, and Jack Bass suddenly appeared with Darota trailing at his heels. "I'm sorry Miss Blair," Darota wailed in anguish, "I tried to stop him! He would not listen."
Blair notices with satisfaction that his nose was covered with a white tape, and there were dark purple bruises forming under both eyes.
Jack was still panting from exertion, and glared at Darota. "I told this…lovely assistant of yours there must be some mistake. I can't imagine why nobody would be happy to see me when I come bearing such good news." He turned to Chuck and fixed him with a broad grin. "Congratulations, Chuck, you're in charge of everything." He threw his arms open to punctuate the sentence, continuing, "Now, how about a real celebration? The party's on me!"
Blair gave him an icy scowl, while the others simply looked stunned by his appearance.
"Oh come on," Jack continued, his voice still forced to sound cheerful, "You can bring your little friends of you want."
Chuck shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry; I think I just need a moment to think this over."
Jack tried to hide his frustration, and clapped his nephew on the shoulder. "Of course, it's a lot to wrap your head around. Why don't we put the celebration on hold and go back to the hotel so you can think in peace." He glared at Blair for emphasis. "It is a school night after all; we don't want to wear out our welcome."
"Actually, Chuck, maybe you should stay here for awhile," Blair objected quickly. "I'm sure your Uncle has a lot of work to do. He is, after all, running the corporation in the interim. We sure wouldn't want to take up to much of his valuable time.
The tension in the room seemed obvious to all but Chuck, who was either still to drunk or overwhelmed to catch the furious glances passing between Blair and Jack. "Thanks Blair," said Chuck, rising slowly from the bed, "but I really should go with my uncle. We have a lot to discuss."
Blair watched helplessly as Jack assisted his nephew to put on his jacket and led him to the door. He turned to sneer at Blair one last time. "Thanks for your help. We'll be in touch."
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It was past ten o'clock when Nate, Dan, and Serena said their goodbyes. Dan had a curfew, and Blair knew that if she had company too late on a school night, Darota was sure to blab to Eleanor. Blair had left at least ten messages on Chuck's cell phone, begging him to call her back. The others had done their best to assure her that in spite of his often questionable actions, that Chuck was capable of making good decisions.
"I know he's vulnerable B," Serena had said comfortingly as she hugged Blair goodnight, "but he won't let Jack take over his life in one night. We'll talk to him at school tomorrow and everything will be fine."
This still didn't keep Blair from worrying that with each passing second Jack was poisoning Chuck against her. She tried to sleep, and when that failed she attempted to work on a homework assignment, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't think of anything besides Chuck and the day's events. Reluctantly, she put her textbook away and reached for her cell. She hated to look so desperate, but she couldn't help feeling a sense of urgency regarding Bart's will.
Just as she touched it, the phone vibrated loudly, making her heart jump. She opened it eagerly, but her hopes were quickly dashed as she read Gossip Girl's latest headline.
"Its not everyday you see a real life example of the saying 'to live like a billionaire', but in case you're wondering what it's really like to roll in all that cash, check out these photos of our newly anointed boy billionaire, Chuck Bass. Word on the street is that he inherited his dearly departed daddy's deep pockets and he's celebrating his new found fortune with an impromptu bash at Victrola. Money is no object, and neither is schoolwork or a curfew for that matter. I guess for some people money really does grow on trees. XOXO"
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Needless to say, Blair hadn't slept very much. Instead, after purging, she had spent most of her evening rehearsing the conversation she was going to have with Chuck the following day at school. However, despite searching for him all afternoon, he never appeared. He didn't show up for the rest of the week, in fact, he seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. The only person who did manage to find him with any regularity was Gossip Girl, who followed his progress to a series of dive bars and strip clubs where he appeared to be continuing his celebration with Uncle Jack and a harem of heavily made-up women in tow.
An emergency meeting of the "non-judging breakfast club" had been called, and they had decided it would be best to ambush Chuck at the hotel on Saturday afternoon, when Jack would likely be out running errands.
"There's no point in trying to reason with him when he's drunk and surrounded by a posse of gawking hookers and that horrible Uncle Jack." Blair had reasoned, speaking from her own experiences. However, when Friday night rolled around and Gossip Girl posted news of another raucous party at Victrola, Blair had reconsidered.
And so, she met with Serena, Nate, and Dan once again outside the club. Like a general barking orders to the troops, she briefed her forces on a plan of attack. "Serena, you're on skank patrol. Please, keep all scantily-clad hookers away from Chuck. Resort to physical violence if necessary. I need to talk to him alone." Serena rolled her eyes. "Nate and Dan, you two need to distract Uncle Jack."
Dan looked at her disbelievingly. "How are we supposed to do that?"
Blair groaned indignantly. "Honestly, how are you supposed to be a writer if you have NO imagination? You have to learn how to address your audience. Just talk to him about something he knows, like herpes medication or crack cocaine."
"But I don't know about any of that stuff!" Dan protested, alarmed.
"Then maybe you should just strip naked on the stage and dance for him. That would probably do the trick." Blair snapped.
Dan's jaw dropped, but Nate intervened quickly. "Don't worry, we'll think of something."
They entered the packed club, dodging groups of tipsy, giggling girls. Chuck and Jack were holding court at their usual spot on the couch, surrounded as always by a gaggle of women. From a distance, Blair watched in horror as Chuck caressed a leggy brunette. Realizing the others were looking to her for a signal, she quickly snapped back to reality, forcing herself to concentrate on the task at hand. Only then did she notice Jack leaning down to do a line of what appeared to be cocaine from the table. Reacting instinctively she stepped forward for a closer look, armed with her camera phone.
The others caught up with her a moment later. "What happened?" Serena asked, glancing worriedly between her best friend and the couch. "Change of plans?"
Blair smiled, feeling her confidence returning. "No, I just needed some extra ammunition. Let's go."
Jack noticed them approaching and leered at Blair over his drink. "I don't remember inviting you," he spat, emboldened by the alcohol.
"Actually, I'm here to see Chuck." Blair stated boldly, refusing to back down.
Jack chuckled, reaching over and pulling his nephew away from the brunette. "Hey Charles, look who it is."
Chuck looked up, and his face instantly clouded with anger. Blair felt a sharp pain in the pit of her stomach; Jack had done everything she had feared. "We need to talk…alone." she said shakily, suddenly aware of everyone's eyes on her. She felt incredibly vulnerable, her self-assurance slipping by the second.
"I have nothing to say to you Blair." His voice was controlled, and he refused to look her in the eye.
"Come on Chuck," Jack drawled, taking a long sloppy drink of whiskey straight from the bottle. "Why don't you two have a talk? Maybe then she'll leave us alone."
A couple of the girls sitting nearby tittered, and Blair felt her cheeks burn.
"Fine," Chuck muttered, rising to his feet. "Let's get it over with".
Chuck led them to a quiet corner in the back, before turning angrily to face Blair. "What do you want this time?" He asked, his voice sounding tired and frustrated.
"I want to talk to you about why you are doing this," she replied indignantly, gesturing back toward the stage, "The girls, the drinking, the drugs…every time it's the same thing. We just keep going in circles."
"We aren't going anywhere, Blair," Chuck retorted violently. "When are you going to understand that? I'm just trying to live my life. And it's none of your damn business."
"I'm just trying to help," Blair whispered, feeling tears well up in her eyes against her will.
"Yeah," Chuck snorted bitterly, "You're just trying to help yourself."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me." His voice was dangerously low, his eyes shooting sparks. "Jack was right about you."
"Jack? Are you serious? You are going to believe that man's lies?" Blair cried. Her fury at Jack was beginning to reach a boiling point.
"Jack warned me about getting involved with someone with such an obvious agenda: someone who is just dying to play the wife, someone who so clearly is just hoping for a payoff. All you ever do is try to control me, Blair."
She looked at him, speechless for a moment, beginning feeling lightheaded again. "I don't believe this," she said weakly. "You actually think that by trying to be there for you, I am just hoping to worm my way into your life so I can benefit from Bass Industries?"
Chuck didn't say anything; he simply stared rigidly at the floor.
"I can't believe that after everything we have been through together, that this is really what you see me as: a manipulative, money-grubbing opportunist. I can't fathom that you are so readily convinced that my motives are so dishonorable." Her voice broke, and she too looked down at the ground, trying to draw strength from the sight of her favorite pair of Manolos. "All I wanted was what was best for you."
Chuck shook his head. "Jack said you made a pass at him."
"What?" Blair looked up sharply. "What are you talking about?"
"He said at my father's will reading you insisted that I run Bass Industries. He said you told the judge that I wanted live with Lily. He said that when he questioned this, you threatened him. And he told me that afterwards you tried to seduce him when he wouldn't agree with you."
"None of what Jack lied about surprises me," said Blair softly, wrapping her arms around herself. "The only thing that surprises me is that you believed him."
They stood in silence for a moment. The room felt uncomfortably stuffy, and Blair resisted a strong urge to simply run away and disappear into the night. But she couldn't leave it like this. She was simply too angry and too hurt. "You know Chuck," she said, collecting herself. "I have put up with this crap again and again. And NOT, as Uncle Jack would have you believe, because I am scheming after your fortune. It's because I love you." She said it as matter-of-factly as possible, and though Chuck noticeably flinched, she continued. "I forgave you after you told Gossip Girl about our love life, and basically called me a whore. I still couldn't get over you when you stood me up in Tuscany. I've tried to be here for you, even after you've rejected me and pushed me away again and again and again."
She paused for a moment to compose herself, wiping the tears away angrily. "I guess it's no wonder why you think I'm only after your money. No sane person would be willing to go through this for any other reason. I'm done, Chuck. I'm not going to do this anymore."
He stood stiffly, still refusing to meet her eyes.
"And just for the record," she sniffed, pulling up the sleeve of her jacket to show him the bruises, fading slightly but no less ugly. "It was Jack who made a pass at me; he tried to attack me after the will reading. I won't be called a liar."
"Blair…" He was gazing at her wrists in horror, but she quickly covered them again.
Without another word she turned to move past him, her eyes still glistening.
"Blair, wait!" He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, causing her to wince in pain.
"Stay away from me Chuck!" She cried, wrenching free of his grasp and running.
He tried to follow her, but she disappeared into the crowd. His head was spinning violently and he still reeled from their conversation. He staggered through the club, pushing through the crowd in search of Blair. What had he done? In all the confusion his diluted mind zeroed in on one person…Jack.
He was still sitting on the couch, roughly kissing a tall blonde. Chuck felt his blood boil. He reached the table in two strides, upending it and sending its contents flying onto the floor. Bottles and glasses shattered on the ground, spraying whiskey and shards of glass onto a startled Jack and his companions. Chuck grabbed Jack by the collar and pulled him upright, only to lay him flat again with a tremendous punch to the jaw. He was only vaguely aware of the girls shrieking and the sound of more breaking glass as he launched himself at his uncle, ready for a fight to the death.
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Hey all, I know this chapter was a bit depressing. But I promise- this is the low point for Chuck and things will start improving, so stick with me!
I'm not going to respond to everyone's reviews personally tonight, I'm just too tired and lazy …I'll do it next time. Regardless, I so appreciate everyone's responses, it really inspires me to keep this story going. Thanks for reading!