A/N: I seem to have scared away most of my reviewers. I'm so sorry if my comment about trying to remain spoiler free meant people didn't want to review. I also apologise if the last chapter was really bad and you didn't want to hurt my feelings by telling me. Hopefully this one is a bit better. Having said that I've now watched the finale and I'm not sure anybody will be interested in my fluffy little story after all that drama. Anyway I'll stop with the chat now. Back to the story.
The semester has come to an end and Dan is finding it hard to believe that he can now count Blair Waldorf as one of his best friends. They've spent a huge amount of time together. He admits that this is at least partially because Blair's options are currently a little limited. She's still barely speaking to Serena, the least said about Chuck the better, and although she's made a few friends in college they're far from close. He also knows however that she does genuinely enjoy spending time with him. Her smiles when they're together are evidence of that. The feeling is mutual. He could never have guessed that they would have so much in common.
Despite all of this he knows that she misses Serena. She never says as much but the expression on her face whenever the blond comes up in conversation says it all. Unfortunately her current lack of a close girlfriend has also led to the situation he now finds himself in. Fairly recently Dan would have bet a fairly large amount against him ever helping Blair Waldorf choose an outfit for a date but now here he is. He's been sitting on Blair's bed for near on two hours while she models outfit after outfit for him. He's been holding out for an outfit she looks terrible in but this has yet to happen. He is far from keen on the guy she's going out with tonight, despite having only met him once, and feels that sending Blair out in a hideous outfit will at least go slightly towards judging whether he is only after one thing. He's a friend of Nate's from Columbia. Nate has assured him that he's a good guy and that there's no way he would set Blair up with a jerk but Dan wants to be sure. He doesn't want Blair to be hurt again. Unfortunately his plan has been foiled by the fact that Blair would look good in a sack so there is no way she is going to look anything but gorgeous when she goes out with this guy.
She appears again, this time wearing the greatest outfit yet, and he feels his heart-rate speed up slightly. The figure-hugging deep red dress looks amazing on her but it's far too short. There is no way she is going anywhere with Dave from Columbia wearing that. "Sorry I'm not sure about that one either Blair, we'll just need to keep looking."
She frowns at herself in the mirror and he feels terrible when she answers, "You're right, it makes me look fat. I'm sure I can find something better but I'm going to be late soon."
She is looking at herself in the mirror with such disappointment and he kicks himself before getting up and hugging her from behind. "I'm sorry Blair, you look absolutely amazing. Ignore me; I'm just getting bad-tempered from all the girliness. This one's definitely a keeper. You'll blow him away."
Her face lights up and she turns round and kisses him lightly on the cheek. "Every girl should have a guy like you around to boost her ego once in a while. You're sure this is the one? You aren't just saying that so I'll stop making you look at outfits."
"Blair this is the one. If he doesn't like it then he isn't a guy. While we're talking about this are you sure you want to go out with this Dave tonight? What do you really know about him?"
"Relax Dan, I need to try this sometime and Nate swears he's a great guy. If it doesn't work out then it doesn't matter. I'm not exactly looking for the next great love of my life right now anyway."
"Fine but be careful OK. Nate's a great friend but I'm not that convinced he's a great judge of character. He is best friends with Chuck after all."
"You just need to stop worrying and go and have a good time with Nate. Do some manly things and get over all the 'girliness' I've forced on you. We're still on for tomorrow though right?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Her Dad is flying in tonight and he's actually kind of honoured that she's so desperate for him to meet him. Eleanor and Cyrus are out of the country and she's been so excited for the last week because he's coming to visit her alone. Despite the fact she's finally made her peace with his partner she's still looking forward to getting her father all to herself, so it means a lot that she wants to give up some of that father-daughter time.
"Good, I've told him so much about you and everything you've done for me and he really wants to meet you. Now go meet Nate. I'm setting you free. I'm sure the last thing you want to do is sit here while I do my hair and make-up." She gives him a quick shove towards the door.
He laughs, "I get the message. My usefulness here is over. I'll see you tomorrow. Take care."
One quick subway ride later and he arrives at the bar where he arranged to meet Nate. He sees him sitting at a table with a beer ready for him.
"So Blair finally let you off the leash then? Is that you finished being her personal fashion advisor?"
"Hey if you'd done a better job at talking your girlfriend into making up with her then I wouldn't have had to go through that. Do you have any idea of the torture of watching her try on countless fantastic outfits only so she can go out with Dave?" He hears the disgust with which he says the other guy's name and regrets it immediately when Nate raises his eyebrows.
"What's your problem with Dave? You barely even know the guy but you've been down on him ever since I mentioned setting him up with Blair. He's perfect for her."
"I just want to make sure he's on the level. How much to you really know about him? You only met him a few months ago."
"You're sure that's it Dan? It's not got anything to do with your own feelings for Blair? You have been spending a lot of time together after all."
"Come on Nate. Blair and I are friends. I'm looking out for her. That's what friends do."
"Dan, Blair and Serena were friends for years and I can't imagine Serena getting so wound up about Blair going on one simple date. You're jealous. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. Blair Waldorf and Dan Humphrey, who could have predicted that?"
"You're full of it Nate. I'll be back in a minute. Why don't you take that time and think about how ridiculous that last statement sounds."
Dan excuses himself and heads to the bathroom but it's really only an excuse to get away from Nate so he can mull over what he just said. He certainly isn't going to admit it to Nate but he thinks his friend might be right. He is jealous of Dave. It's only natural though. He and Blair have been spending so much time together and he's gotten used to having her all to himself. If she likes this Dave everything will change but it doesn't mean he wants to date her himself. It just means he doesn't want Dave to either. God, even to him that sounds pathetic. What right does he have to dictate who Blair Waldorf goes out with? By the time he gets back to Nate he's worked it all out in his head. He can admit that he's jealous but it's because he doesn't want to lose Blair's friendship. Anything else is just ludicrous. He explains all this to Nate who is less than convinced.
"Whatever you say, if you claim you don't want Blair for yourself I'll go along with that for now but it doesn't mean I believe you. Come on let's go find you someone to take your mind off it."
A couple of hours later and he's in a club trying to talk to some girl over the music. This is far from his scene and he can't believe he let Nate talk him into it. It was really only to get him to shut-up about Blair. The girl he's talking to is curvy and blond and, he has to admit, attractive in a conventional way but they seem to have nothing to say to each other. It's almost a relief when he notices his phone is ringing. A glance at the caller ID tells him it's Blair.
"Bored with Dave already?" he quips.
He regrets his flippant tone when she answers, "Dan where are you? I need you. It's my Dad." She sounds panicked and almost short of breath
"Calm down, where are you?"
Before she has even finished giving him the address, he's found Nate and the two of them are heading for the door.