The tall spires of the university met Chuck's gaze as he crossed the bridge over the river and walked towards the centre of town. He saw others like him, bags in hand or being pulled behind them all walking towards the colleges. He saw a couple ahead of him, talking animatedly. The girl was tall, with red hair, very pale skin and she held herself in a way that oozed confidence. The boy with her was taller, less noticeable and was carrying her bag over one jacketed shoulder. He saw them come to the junction and frowned as the girl stepped out into the road without looking for cars; the boy threw out a hand and stopped her. He drew up behind them and heard the boy exclaim "Jesus Rose, be more careful!" The girl turned her head towards him and Chuck caught a glimpse of a beautifully pink cheek and flashing blue eyes "Calm down Chris I'm not that blind."
The lights went red and they all crossed, the pair becoming lost in the crowds of prospective students that seemed to flood in from nowhere. Chuck meandered along the pavements, leisurely people watching, picking out the private school kids who looked like they were entitled to be there and noticing the few obvious comprehensive students that looked utterly bewildered. He smiled to himself, how would someone observing him interpret his stance, Blair would have had an answer for him. The thought of her subdued him slightly and he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled her number. The phone rang and went straight through to voicemail. He tried the Waldorf residence, privately praying that her parents would be away, the housekeeper picked up. "Waldorf residence?" Chuck smiled to himself "It's Chuck Bass, can I speak to Blair please?"
As he was speaking, he reached the intimidating gates of Christ Church and doing a double take as he saw the same redheaded girl standing in the porters' lodge, without the boy she had been with before. She was squinting at her mobile, holding it closer to her face than most people did. The housekeeper interrupted his watching "I think she is in the bath Mr Bass, would you still like me to get her?" Chuck tried to suppress the image that immediately flew into his head and answered "No, don't disturb her, just tell her I rang." He cut the connection and putting his phone away, joined the queue of people receiving their room allocations. The redheaded girl was in front of him and he listened to the answers she gave the student registering them:
"Name?"
"Rose Linden"
"Subject?"
"English"
"School?"
"The London Oratory."
She collected her key and turned, making eye contact for a second then walking past him. Chuck turned his head to look at her, but was called back by the impatient student:
"Name?"
"Chuck Bass"
"Subject?"
"English"
"School?"
"Westminster"
He received a key walked out of the porters lodge and across the world famous quad towards the students' rooms. He stopped in the middle of the quad and gazed at the building surrounding him, frost covered grass, icily blue sky making the spires stand out all the more. He knew he belonged here, but he knew that Blair did too and he felt a yearning for her that was so powerful his breath caught.
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Blair's lungs screamed out for oxygen, she felt her consciousness slipping away, hazy images flashed through her mind. The water around her was warm and she felt herself being lulled into a drowse, slowly everything began to become dimmer. A banging entered her peaceful daze and a voice crept into her gradually disappearing consciousness. Her head broke the surface of the water with a gasp and she lay in the water half-conscious. As the oxygen flooded into her lungs and her brain began to function again she realised the housekeeper was knocking on the door and calling her name. "Miss Blair, Mr Bass called, he wanted to speak to you, and I said you'd call him back..." she just managed to call out "Thank you!" and the woman went away.
She got out of the bath and wrapped herself in a towelling robe, still panting slightly, gazing at herself in the mirror over the sink. She leant on the edge of it and the pills caught her eye. She popped the cap and shook two into her hand, throwing her head back and swallowing them with a drink of water from the tap.
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Chuck's phone buzzed as he reached the other side of the quad and he pulled it out, feeling his whole body relax as he saw her name flash up. "I'm missing you already Waldorf," he said as he put the phone to his ear, walking to the door of the halls and stepping inside. Her voice came over the phone in a bright, surprisingly rapid tone "Sorry I was in the bath when you called, how are you?" Chuck walked down the corridor "Don't worry about it, I'm fine, I only wish I had been there with you..." he trailed off as he saw the redheaded girl standing by a door in the process of fitting the key in the lock. Blair's laughter sounded in his ear "Oh, you're much better off where you are. Listen, I'll call you later; you must not have even got to your room yet." The redheaded girl was having problems opening the heavy oak door and Chuck smiled as he moved towards her "I'm just at my door, but you were almost right. I'll speak to you soon and Blair?" but the connection had been cut at the other end.
He put the phone back in his pocket and looked at the redheaded girl "Allow me?" he turned the key in the lock and threw open the door for her. She turned to him and smiled "Thank you for that," and holding out her hand "I'm Rose," Chuck took it "Chuck Bass, did I hear correctly that you were an English applicant too?" She nodded and her tone was laughing as she said, "Yes you did, but I won't hold it against you." He smiled back at her, and could not avoid noticing the flickering of her grey-flecked blue eyes or the size of her pupils. She glanced down breaking eye contact, she knew that he had noticed and he tried to put her at ease "Well given that we'll be spending the next few days next door to each other, can I buy you a drink later?" She looked up and her eyes narrowed slightly as she considered, "Okay, I'll be at The Turf with some other people if you want to join us?" Chuck nodded and smirked "I'll see you at induction then, I suppose." She nodded and went into her room, closing the door on him.
That evening, after a day of lectures, tours and meetings with students, Chuck walked into the cosy pub on the corner of King's Street and saw her in conversation with the boy from the morning. He had been put in a group with her and had ascertained that she was highly intelligent, witty and that she had a large chip on her shoulder about the privately educated. Her discovery that he was a 'Westminster boy' as she had put it had led to many jibes in his direction. She seemed to think that attending a school that was effectively private, but with state funding, was more acceptable and he had pointed this out to her. She had laughed and said, "It's the principle Chuck."
He walked up to the pair now and the boy turned to him, green eyes assessing the threat, before holding out a hand "I'm Chris and I'm guessing you're the Westminster element she won't drop?" Chuck shook the hand and nodded "Guilty as charged I'm afraid, I'm Chuck Bass." Rose dismissed her companion and turned to him "So did you get in contact with your girlfriend?" Chuck looked at her non-plussed; she smiled "I heard you trying to get through to her at lunch time and in hall and during that student orientation talk." Chuck shook his head "No, I didn't manage" she raised an eyebrow at the expression on his face, "Someone in the doghouse?" He laughed and pointed to her drink "Same again and no, it's a long story." She smiled, "Well I've got all evening and I do like a good story." He bought them drinks and they sat down in a booth, "isn't your boyfriend going to get annoyed that you're leaving him?" he asked as they sat down. Her pale cheeks tinged pink "He's er, not my boyfriend." Chuck raised an eyebrow "Long story ginger?" she grimaced and nodded. "You first, you over privileged toffy-nosed boy."
He leant back against the leather of his seat and began to tell her, starting from the beginning of Sixth Form. As he spoke, the memories flooded back to him and she sat and listened, no judgement in her eyes, just intense interest:
"You have to first understand that when we met I was as bad as it got, I'd never had a girlfriend, I just slept with every and any girl that took my fancy. I started the Lower Sixth; thinking I would get my token A-Levels, continue my life style and doss of to St Andrew because my father knows the Dean. She got me here, she has basically inspired me to take an interest in my studies, she has helped me through all of it, but it did not start off so amicably.
Blair joined the school for Sixth Form and I remember walking into my first A-Level philosophy lesson and seeing her sitting next to a blonde girl and thinking 'right I'll have her by the weekend' and sitting down beside her. Then she opened her mouth and I realised it would be harder than that, she was formidable and I could tell she was not going to be another easy conquest, but somehow that made her all the more attractive. Over the first week, I began to speak to her, sat next to her in History and English. My God, she was clever and she knew how to have a good time, but she did not seem to want to let me in. Then that weekend I threw a party for the beginning of the year and I got, very, very high I don't remember much of that night, but I know I woke up the next morning, my hair smelling of vomit with her lying on the bed beside me. She was fully clothed and she left straight away with a smile and a 'see you on Monday Bass', but my best friend told me she had looked after me when I had overdone it.
We grew closer, she would come to my parties, I would get horrifically high and she would look after me, but she still refused my advances. So, I found myself doing more and more coke just to make her stay at night. The rumours started circulating and she kept away from me at school. Then after the first half term, she was cast as Juliet and I went to see her in her dressing room after the first performance. She had been avoiding me all week and seeing her on stage, she had been utterly breathtaking; I just had to see her. She was sitting in front of her mirror, her stage makeup was gone, but she still had the loose shift that she had worn in the final scene on. I remember her turning to me as I shut the door and just the look on her face told me I'd won (that was how it felt at the time) I remember turning the key in the lock as she stood and came towards me. That first time, in school, words cannot describe it, I do not think any other woman will compare to her. Of course, I had not realised then that it felt that good because I felt something more than physical attraction for her then, but I have now.
Anyway, after the first time I told myself I'd drop her, I'd had what I wanted, but I couldn't seem to drag myself away. We found ourselves, doing it everywhere and anywhere, taking insane risks, but keeping it secret. We never actually said we were going out, but that was how we both saw it. At the same time though, I was getting myself deeper and deeper into the narcotics and she looked after me, but in my few lucid moments, I saw what it took out of her. We came here in June, spent a weekend, and she was hooked, I on the other hand could not see the point at the time. Then in late July, I did too much one night and ended up in hospital and the next morning I found myself single. She said she could not take it anymore.
I cleaned up, I came back here once and I realised I wanted what she wanted too. So returning to Upper Sixth, I used her weakness when it came to me. She tutored me through the application and in the process we grew closer and eventually got back together. We have talked through last year, I think we are ok, but she did not get in and she has not told me yet. I've only found out from her best friend and as you would expect this weekend has proved particularly hard, so when she doesn't pick up on me I'm bound to worry."
Chuck looked up from the dregs in his glass as he finished and saw that a frown had appeared on the pretty face in front of him. "So you're the reason she didn't get in then?" she asked in a slightly admonishing tone "My God she must love you." Chuck looked at her confusedly "I'm sorry, what?" Rose put her glass down on the wood "of the two of you, the clean, head-girl, actress who has the obvious intelligence to be here isn't and you, the ex-druggie, womanizing, naturally brilliant, but lazy one is here. She must have given everything to you and your relationship for her not to be here right now. So yes, you're the reason she didn't get in and you're honestly surprised that she's not told you?" Chuck gulped at the hostility he felt in her words, "I-uh-I have to go." He got up from the table and walked out of the pub into the cold night, his mind swimming.
Back in the pub, Chris joined Rose, putting a new drink down in front of her. "So why did posh-boy leave so soon?" he asked in a laughing tone. She replied in a slightly cold voice "He's just realised that he's ruined the woman he loves' dream and that she loves him too much to use it against him."
Author's Note: Hello everyone! Sorry for leaving on such a knife edge last time, but I thought it was rather a fab way to end it. I've introduced a couple of OC's merely as literary tools this time round, they just helped me get Chuck to the point that I needed him to reach and I didn't think I could realistically get him to do that without a disinterested party joining the fray for a while...ANYWAY, tell me what you think, I'm loving the reviews!