Somehow Blair had come to be seated between Chuck and Nate again. After talking to little Jenny Humphrey, she had decided to wear a white eyelet dress and she had painted her lips bright red. She sipped at her champagne, laughing at Chuck's jokes and touching Nate's hand every once in a while to let him know she was still thinking of him. Everything seemed to be the way it always had been. Blair loved the way things had been. Just the four of them. But now, a conspicuous spot was left at the table. The filler girl smiled her pearly smile, but a piece of Blair knew that she was no replacement for the fourth member of the Non-Judging Breakfast Club.

There was a slight bit of noise and Blair froze. Chuck suddenly looked up, causing Blair to look up too. They seemed connected, their minds thinking alike. The cause and the effect. They knew each other too well. Nate looked up as well, but not for the same reason.

Dan and Serena were standing in the entrance hall together, looking extremely uncomfortable about being at the brunch. Both Blair and Chuck's eyes grew darker and their expressions set into those of killers. Nate's eyes sparkled, but Blair wasn't looking at him for once. She was looking at Chuck, who pursed his lips before speaking. Blair loved the way he did that, like he was from some other century.

"This should be fun," Chuck said, sitting back in his chair and surveying the scene.

That's an understatement.

Blair looked over to the doorway and away from Chuck. Her eyes narrowed.

"You've got to be kidding," she said as she laughed the smallest and evilest of laughs. Her ruby lips may as well have been covered in blood.

Serena and Dan picked up a ton of food on their plates. "Well. I can't say much for his childbearing skills, but Bart Bass knows brunch," Dan said. Serena giggled. She loved Dan's wit, his quirky charm, how he was so out of her world. So out of her league. So different from herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nate. He gestured with his head towards the entrance hall. She thought for a second, and then spoke to Dan.

"I have to go to the ladies' room. I'll be right back. Will you be OK by yourself for a little bit?" she said. He nodded, willing to agree to anything she said, and she floated away.

"Charles." Chuck heard his father call his name and he walked over.

"Father," he acknowledged him, wondering what was important enough for his father to bestow him with the honor of a talk.

"Are you OK? That looks like one hell of a black eye." Chuck looked at his father, confused. Until he continued with the end of his thought. "Are you in some kind of trouble?" Bart Bass asked his son. Chuck's face fell and he sighed, then looked up and pursed his lips once again before speaking.

"Only of my own making," Chuck said, looking at his father who sighed and started lecturing about how he was trying to make Chuck contacts in the business world so that he'd be ready when he inherited his company.

"Do me a favor Chuck," his father said, looking annoyed when Chuck barely listened to him. "Lose the scotch. It's barely new."

Chuck stared at his father, who walked away, then he looked at the floor. The pain mostly slid off Chuck's back, but somewhere deep down it was stored in a bank of hurtful comments from his father. Another chance to make his father proud, another chance blown. Another disappointment from Bass Jr. Chuck took another swig of scotch, ignoring his father and everyone else in the hall. To hell he was going to give up his one safety net. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nate signal to Serena and her following him into the shadows. He sipped the scotch and sauntered after them, his confident stride never breaking as he went to spy on his two friends.

"You told Blair. What were you thinking?" Serena asked as soon as she got into the entrance hall.

An old lady walked by, staring at both of them like they were insane before walking away. This was obviously not the place or time for this.

Nate stared at her then said, "We can't talk here. Meet me in Chuck's suite in ten minutes." He handed her the key. "I'll be waiting."

Then he walked back into the brunch, melting into the crowd. Serena sighed and walked away as well. She never seemed to be able to get away. Trouble just followed her everywhere.

--

Chuck watched as Serena strode away, looking exasperated. She was holding a key. His eyes narrowed. He had given that key to Nate when they were little. It was the only other key to that suite. Nate had just given it to Serena and agreed to meet in the suite in 10 minutes. Whatever they were doing, Chuck didn't think it was good. This needed to be dealt with. But secretly, in a way only Chuck Bass could.

Looks like a certain devil is up to his deeds. Wonder who will be the collateral damage this time.

Chuck walked up behind Blair. She turned around, sensing him there. They seemed to be two of a kind, interconnected. Chuck smiled a genuine smile at Blair for the first time in years.

Blair froze, wondering why he was so happy. He had only truly smiled twice. Once, when Blair had told him she loved him when they were 5. The other time was when they were twelve. Blair had walked in on him crying and had stayed the night to comfort him. Blair's mother had come to his apartment early the next morning while he was asleep and had insisted that she come home right away and go to school. She was a young lady and staying the night at a young boy's house, especially if that young boy was Chuck Bass, was highly inappropriate and out of character for her. Blair and her mother had fought it out, not knowing that Chuck could hear them. Blair had returned to his room and he had pretended to be asleep. When he woke up, she was gone, and he panicked, calling out her name. She had come running in her pajamas, her toothbrush sticking out of her mouth and her hair in a neat ponytail. Apparently, Blair had had her maid Dorota run her over pajamas, a toothbrush, and her school uniform earlier that day. Chuck had been relieved, not wanting to be alone. He had asked her whether she was going to stay.

"I'm not going to leave you, Chuck," Blair had said soothingly. Chuck smiled a dazzling smile that would be engraved on Blair's memory forever. Blair had patted his head, finished brushing her teeth, and crawled into his bed, snuggling up next to him. She had stayed for two weeks.

Now, Blair stared at him. He was obviously happy about something. She could sense an air of excitement about him.

"You worried about Nate?" he asked her. Blair looked at Chuck. "Just a shot in the dark," he said, although he always knew how she felt. She nodded slowly like she was thinking what he could be up to.

"I think you know what you need to do to get Nate's attention," he said, handing her a key to his suite.

"What's this?" she asked.

"The key to my suite, Nate's heart and your future happiness," Chuck said, smiling. She took the key. He couldn't wait to see the drama that went down when Blair found Serena already there, waiting for Nate. That's what this was about. Blair's future happiness did not include Nate and Chuck knew it. He was just speeding things up. "I'm honored to be playing even a small role in your deflowering," he said, smugly.

Well, Chuck. We all know you always play a bigger role in other people's lives than anyone else knows.

"You're disgusting," Blair said, blinking innocently. She already knew this of course, being his friend for this long.

"Yes, I am. So why be shy? You should grab Nate and finish this. Report back with details."

Chuck watched her as she smiled at him then walked away. He looked on as she grabbed Nate and pushed him up against the wall, no doubt seducing him that very second. Chuck watched Blair pull Nate to the elevator and closed his eyes, smiling. He could almost feel the ripping of buttons, the soft silk of her porcelain skin on his…. But this wasn't his dream to live quite yet. Chuck turned away and shook his head. He couldn't have her. She was off-limits. But, no matter how hard he tried, Chuck couldn't physically or mentally ignore the huge hard-on he had right now.

Blair pushed Nate through seven rooms and into Chuck's bedroom before she noticed any reluctance in his kisses. He had noticed this was Chuck's suite.

"Nate," a voice came from inside the room and Blair whirled around. Serena was seated on the bed, staring at Nate and Blair who had nearly half their clothes off.

"What is she doing here?" Blair asked, pulling her dress back up and crossing her arms. "I was waiting for Nate," Serena said.

"Just to talk," Nate defended himself.

"You said you'd never speak to her again!" Blair screamed.

"Why would you say that Nate?" Serena asked, obviously hurt.

"Because you can't be trusted," Blair shot back.

"This is not Serena's fault," Nate said. "I asked her to come."

"Oh, so you do want to speak with her," Blair accused.

Nate looked guilty. "Yes. To explain…why I'm not talking to her," he said lamely.

Blair looked from one to the other and then she said, "Well let me leave you two so you can have that fascinating conversation."

"Oh no. I'll go," Serena said, already getting her stuff to leave. "I'll let you guys get back to your…quickie." This was a low blow, even for Serena. She knew Blair was a virgin.

"It was not a quickie. Sex is meaningful to some of us, or wouldn't you know that," Bair screamed. "I bet your friend Dan would just love to hear about how classy you really are."

"No—Dan?" Serena said, but Blair was already running out of the suite and taking the elevator down. She went looking for Dan in the dining room, finding him standing awkwardly between two tables. Serena and Nate ran after her, arguing the whole way down the stairs.

Dan was standing alone eating some fruit when Blair Waldorf came running into the room, searching for someone. Her eyes landed on him and she walked over quickly, sticking her hand out. He shook it, feeling confused. She couldn't possibly have been looking for him…?

"Hi, I'm Blair Waldorf. I'm Serena's friend," Blair said. Ha. Friend? More like enemy, Blair thought.

"Oh yeah. Do you happen to know where she is?" Dan asked. He had been waiting around, eating for nearly twenty minutes. How long did it really take for a girl to go to the bathroom?

"As a matter of fact, I do," Blair said, taking obvious relish in her revenge on Serena. Serena and Nate caught up to Blair, just in time for Dan to ask Serena himself where she had been.

"She was waiting in a hotel room," Blair said, before Serena could say anything. "For my boyfriend." She pursed her lips.

"To talk," Serena said, as she tried to catch her breath.

"About why we weren't talking," Nate added.

"That doesn't sound any smarter the second time," Blair said, crossing her arms.

"Why weren't you talking?" Dan asked, the naïve one in the group. Everyone looked at each other, but no one said anything. "Does this have anything to do with why you were waiting for Serena this morning?" he asked Nate.

"You were what?" Blair screamed.

Chuck Bass strode up to the small circle of people, smirking. "And here I thought you were waiting for me."

"Oh. Exactly what this situation needs," Dan sighed. "Chuck Bass. Now what is going on?" Dan was starting to feel like he was missing something.

"We were just getting to that," Blair said.

"Blair, please. Don't," Serena said. Her eyes pleaded with Blair, but Blair just smirked and asked, "Oh, do you want to tell him yourself?"

There was silence, then Chuck said, "I'll tell him."

Nate and Blair turned to him. "You know?" they asked in unison.

"I know everything," he said gravely.

"And apparently I know nothing," Dan said, exasperated, just wanting the story already.

Serena looked down, and started explaining herself to Dan, but Chuck cut in. "Serena. Stop trying to pretend you're a good girl. So you slept with your best friend's boyfriend. I kind of admire you for it." There was a long silence as Dan and Serena looked at the floor. Dan looked up. "Is that true?" he asked, looking at Serena.

"Well. Yeah. Then she ran away. And lied about it," Blair said. "I just thought you should know before you start falling for your perfect girl in her perfect world and then you get left all alone."

"His sister can keep him company," Chuck said smirking. "Oh. That's right. I believe she and I have some unfinished business"

"You stay away from her," Dan warned, pushing Chuck, who knocked into the cocktail waitress, who fell over. Cameras started clicking and Dan started feeling the heat creep up his neck.

"Everyone can stop looking now. He's a jerk," Dan said, pointing to Chuck. He sighed. "But it's my fault and I'm leaving."

"I'll come with you," Serena offered, her eyes glassy.

"Actually I'd prefer it if you didn't," Dan said harshly, walking away.

Nate turned to Blair. "I hope you're happy," he said.

She glared at him. "Not even close," she bit back, walking away angrily, leaving Nate and Serena to stare at each other. Nate looked down at the floor, then followed Blair, leaving Serena with Chuck. She looked heart-broken.

"Looks like it's just you and me," Chuck said, taking advantage of the situation. "Rumor has it my suite upstairs is free," he joked, lightening the mood. Serena looked at him disgustedly, rolled her eyes, then stormed away.

Some might call this a fustercluck. But on the Upper East Side, we call it Sunday afternoon.

"WHAT A CLUSTERFUCK!" Blair screamed as she threw her clothes around her room. There was a knock on the door and Blair screamed and hid under her covers, but not before chucking a spare shoe at the doorway.

"Hey Blair… Are you—OW! SHIT, BLAIR WHAT THE F-" Chuck yelled as he opened the door and the shoe hit him in the head. He stopped himself short and picked up a pillow, throwing it at her. She ducked and laughed, before chucking another shoe at him. But he was ready for her this time and he avoided the shoe, which clattered against her wooden floor as it missed Chuck. He picked up a large pillow and tackled Blair with it.

Blair hadn't been expecting this and was unprepared. His weight fell on top of her and she fell back on her pillow laughing. Suddenly his weight shifted and they both fell off the bed on top of each other, leaving the pillow on the bed behind them. Blair stopped laughing and looked up at Chuck who was lying on top of her. He cracked a smirk and she started laughing hysterically, her body moving under his in a purely immoral way. He rolled off her and she extended a hand out for him to help her up. He looked at her, then knelt and picked her up wedding-style.

"What the hell, Chuck?" she giggled, kicking her legs and swatting at his chest in a useless attempt to get out of his strong hold on her. He placed her on the bed and then sat down next to her.

"Finally!" Blair yelled, then she slapped him across the face.

"Ow!" Chuck said. "What was that for?"

Blair shrugged and giggled. "Because you're Chuck Bass and I'm Blair Waldorf and you should not be touching me like that!"

"Wait till you see how I could touch you," Chuck breathed at her, his eyes smoldering.

"Ew! Stop it Chuck," Blair said as she pushed him away. Chuck smirked at her. Blair's smile faded. They sat for a while, Blair on the bed with her knees to her chin and Chuck sitting on the edge of the bed, looking quietly at her.

Finally Blair broke the silence. "So you," she gulped and stopped. "You saw it…all." Her voice cracked on the last word and she looked down. She hated being this vulnerable.

Chuck sighed and looked at her, his eyes dark with secrets. "Yes I saw it all," he whispered.

"And you didn't tell me," Blair whispered.

"It wasn't my place," Chuck whispered back.

Blair gasped and broke down. The tears came, but she tried to restrain them. Her back heaved with the weight it was trying to suppress. She felt the bed move under her and suddenly Chuck was hugging her. There was nothing like hugging Chuck. She turned and buried her head in his chest. Chuck absorbed Blair's sobs into his strong back and sat there letting her cry on him. Finally, she let up a little and her breathing slowed. But she didn't let go and neither did he. Chuck didn't know why he didn't let go of her, but he felt that she wanted this. She wanted to stay there in his arms and not have to face the world. Blair closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Everything was calm, serene when she was in his arms like this. It wasn't a romantic hug. It was a friendship hug. A strong bond that both of them felt even when they weren't together. The bond only grew when the two puzzle pieces were fused together into an earth-shattering embrace. Blair felt guilty, but she knew that Nate could never hug her like this. They had never been this intimate with each other. Of course, Blair had almost had sex with him multiple times, but this was a completely different type of intimacy. This was the intimacy that Blair craved.

Nate and Blair lay on Blair's bed, the silence bouncing off the walls. They were still wearing their party attire. Blair had cleaned up all of the clothes she had thrown around her room, but she had been unable to get Chuck's smell off of her. She hoped Nate didn't notice, not like she actually cared what he did or did not think right now. Blair had her back to Nate and was staring off into nothingness. Nate shook his head, lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling. Finally he spoke.

"Blair. Either you forgive me and move on,"—this sounded like a horrible option to Blair—"or we end it." That also sounded like a horrible option to her. Nate put his hand on her shoulder and she made a choice. She knew they were over, but Nate seemed to be willing to change. She could only hold on for a little longer, but she was willing to take all she could get. Blair took his hand, gripping it tightly, hoping that this showed she wanted to stay with him. She wanted them to be just like their hands, practically inseparable, but they had broken a long time ago, maybe even before she had found out about him and Serena. But she needed to keep up her reputation. She squeezed his hand, cursing herself for being so selfish. The end titles to her film rolled, but she had walked out in the middle.