AN: Since the last chapter was just a short bonus, filler chapter you get a nice, longer double chapter this time! =D
Thanks to everyone for their comments on the previous chapter - I was a bit hesitant to post it when I wrote it awhile back due to the smuttiness in it, but I'm glad you guys seemed to enjoy it! Warning - there is a little bit of naughtiness in this chapter, but not quite to the degree of what was in the bonus chapter (or what's coming up in a future bonus chapter!).
This chapter jumps ahead to the Gabriel/Poppy drama, starting with Serena returning from her impromptu trip to Spain, so timeline-wise, it takes place several weeks after the previous chapter, we'll say in the first part of May.
"Well, well, well... the prodigal daughter returns," Chuck stated as he sauntered into his stepsister's room. "How was Spain?"
"Amazing – perfect actually," Serena quickly replied, not wanting to give too much away.
"I'm sure – you and Poppy dancing on tabletops in Barcelona, sunbathing nude on the coast..." he teased.
"More like me and Poppy and her boyfriend Gabriel on the coast... I just read and ate and, you know, swam..." she rambled.
"So there was nude sunbathing?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow. He had merely been joking like usual when he suggested it.
"Hey is my mom around?" Serena asked, avoiding his question.
"I haven't seen her yet this morning..." Chuck informed her as he made his way back out to the hall. "By the way... Blair and I saw Poppy at the Rose Bar last week... it's funny how she can be there, yet still be in Spain with you..."
"S! You're back from Spain!" Blair squealed as she answered her phone.
"Yeah, I just landed a little bit ago... hey are you home?"
"Not at the moment, but unfortunately I will be later... my mother and Cyrus are hosting Passover tonight – I thought firstborns were supposed to be spared!" Blair complained, annoyed that her mother was forcing her to attend the dinner tonight. "Hey Chuck's coming... you should come too!"
"Um... yeah, maybe..." Serena answered. "Hey look B, I need to run some errands – we'll talk more later, okay?"
"Okay, S... maybe I'll see you later!" Blair told her as she hung up her phone while approaching the steps of a church.
Not wanting to interrupt, she quietly took a seat in the back few rows as she watched the wedding rehearsal proceed. She smiled as she watched Nate standing up next to his cousin Tripp. She was glad that he was able to reconcile with his mother's side of the family, after all he had gone through the previous year.
"Hello, Blair," William Van der Bilt said to her as he took a seat next to her. "Glad you could make it."
"Well when you called and said it was important sir, of course I couldn't say no – is everything alright?" she inquired.
"In a way, my dear," he stated. "I know you two haven't been together for sometime now, however I also know my grandson still values your friendship – has he mentioned anything to you about his plans for next fall?"
"Um... not really, why?"
"Did he mention he recently got accepted into Columbia?"
"No! But that's great! No offense sir, but I know it's been important to him to make it on his own, without the family ties..."
"Yes, while that is noble of him... I need him to go to Yale, where he is also assured a place as a Legacy," the elder Van der Bilt informed her.
"But sir..."
"Look, Blair... he still values your opinion and well, truth be told, Maureen is down a bridesmaid – the spot is yours, but only if you can persuade Nathaniel that Yale is the right choice for him..."
Blair thought about it for a moment... a spot in a high profile society wedding, all for trying to get Nate to reconsider Yale...
"Alright, I'll try," she agreed.
"Don't try – do," he told her. "And you have by the end of tonight – your dress fitting is in a half hour."
Blair was quite giddy as she got up to be on her way that she barely heard Nate calling after her.
"Blair? What are you doing here?" he asked her as he finally caught up to her outside.
"Your grandfather called me a little bit ago – seems Maureen was down a bridesmaid and they needed a quick replacement," she beamed.
"Oh wow – that's great!" Nate told her, excited that a friendly face would be enduring this event with him.
"Speaking of great things... your grandfather also told me you got into Columbia – how exciting is that?!"
"It is! And I'm pleased to have done it all on my own too!" Nate bragged.
"Well good for you, but what about Yale? Compared to Columbia, it's a million times better," Blair reminded him.
"Yeah but I don't want to have to owe my family anything..." Nate replied.
Blair realized this was going to be harder than she had thought.
"Hey, look, there's an early rehearsal dinner in a little bit, since you're part of the wedding party, I can assume you'll be there?" he inquired.
"Yeah, I guess so... but only for a little bit – I promised my mother I'd attend the Seder her and Cyrus are hosting tonight," Blair told him as she rolled her eyes. "But for now, I need to get to a dress fitting - I'll see you later, Archibald?"
"Definitely – it'll be nice to have an ally in my corner," he smiled at her.
The dinner couldn't have been of a disaster though as Nate publicly embarrassed his grandfather in front of their entire family.
"You have exactly five minutes to fix this, Miss Waldorf, or you're out of the wedding," William Van der Bilt warned her.
"Did you really have his father arrested?!" Blair gasped after Nate had revealed that little piece of information.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand – it was for the well-being of him and my daughter," he hissed at her.
"Blair..." Nate said as he approached her.
"Nate, look... this was a mistake, I need to get going anyhow – my mother and Cyrus are expecting me," she quickly informed him. "Regardless of what your family says to you – just know, that I'm proud that you stood up to them." she told him as she gave him a hug goodbye. She couldn't believe what William Van der Bilt had done – clearly the man was ruthless.
"I can certainly look into the legalities of it, but... I think you should tell your mother," Cyrus urged Serena as they stepped out of his office.
"We're not really in a good place right now..." Serena sadly informed him. "I don't exactly think I could go up to her and say 'sorry – I sorta got married in Spain, but it's okay! Cyrus is helping me get a quickie annulment'."
"She's your mother..."
"Cyrus!" Eleanor called out from elsewhere in the penthouse.
"Excuse me for a moment," Cyrus apologized as he went to go find his wife.
"I'm sorry, you what?!" Dan asked in confusement as he walked out from around the corner just as the elevator dinged.
"S! You came!" Blair squealed as her and Chuck walked in. "And so did Dan... who invited you?" she snapped at him.
"B... Dan... there's something I need to confess... Blair, can we move this conversation upstairs please? I'd rather not have your mom overhearing for fear that she'd tell my mom..."
"Uh okay, sure, S..." Blair hesitantly replied. She looked over at Chuck, wondering if he had any ideas what Serena was about to tell them. He merely shrugged in response.
"Okay, so two days into the trip Poppy and Gabriel get into this huge fight and then she just leaves, abandoning me with Gabriel and so I stayed around to keep him company," Serena began to explain as she stood in the middle of Blair's bedroom, with Dan standing in front of her. Blair sat next to Chuck as he lounged against the headboard of her bed.
"Well you did a bang up, job," Dan sharply responded.
"Dan please – Gabriel and Poppy were over and it's not like either one of us planned this... this thing between us just happened and we couldn't stop it," Serena continued.
"This thing is a marriage – what were you thinking!?" Dan exclaimed as Blair and Chuck both stared at Serena, wide-eyed.
"I don't know – I wasn't!" Serena fought back. "But I don't even know if I am married – that's what Cyrus is trying to figure out for me!" she declared as she sat down on the edge of the bed, pushing Chuck's feet over.
"How does one not know if one is married or not?" Chuck questioned.
"Well... there was a dinner and then we had some alcohol, and then there was dancing and more alcohol... then we took off our clothes and went swimming in the ocean-"
"Let's skip over that part please," Dan interrupted her.
"Or not..." Chuck sat up, as his interest was piqued. Blair smacked him the arm.
"Chuck, behave," she quipped at him.
"Yeah, so... um, the next thing I know Gabriel is just screaming 'I love you, I love you!' and he's banging on this church door trying to wake up a priest and..."
"Okay so there was a priest... did you say 'I do'?" Dan asked.
"Well... I said 'si'..." Serena hesitated. "I don't know – it was all in Spanish... it was crazy!"
"You're smiling!" Dan pointed out.
"What?"
"Oh my god, S – you are!" Blair chimed in.
"You ran off to Spain with a guy you barely know, you got married and you're – a little bit – you're smiling!" Dan went off on her.
"No I woke up the next morning and thought 'what have I done?! This is crazy!' and I got on the next flight out and here I am talking to Cyrus!" Serena explained.
"You're a wife," Dan stated. "You're... you're a wife."
"No I'm not... maybe I am... wait are you jealous?!"
"Serena, we were together for a year and we didn't make it to Junior Prom – you were with this guy for less than a month and you get married, so yeah... I guess you could say it is a little bit insulting," Dan told her. Chuck couldn't help but snicker at Humphrey's misfortune.
"Look, I have to get back to work," Dan suddenly said.
"Wait, are you serving the Seder tonight?" Serena asked out loud what they were all thinking.
"No..." Dan was a little too quick to reply. "Sort of... I mean... yes..."
Chuck started laughing while Blair couldn't help her laughter either. Serena just stared at him in disbelief.
"Yes, you're the wife of the land of gentry and I'm a cater waiter at a Seder," Dan huffed as he began to leave and get back to work.
Chuck nearly doubled over in laughter at that remark. "Oh that's good, Humphrey – that's very good! Do I need to remind you how I like my scotch?"
"Oh my god, Dan's a cater waiter! And here I thought he just had horrible fashion luck to be dressed like the help tonight!" Blair exclaimed as Dan continued his walk of shame out of the room.
"Dan, wait!" Serena called after him as she got up to follow but not before turning back towards Blair and Chuck. "You two are just mean!"
"Sorry S, but you gotta admit – it is pretty funny! Of all the catering jobs in town... he's working my family's Seder!" Blair laughed. Serena merely rolled her eyes as she walked out of the room.
"Passover is a holiday that celebrates the Jewish people's flight from slavery to to freedom," Cyrus explained as the Seder dinner had begun.
"You need to come to the foyer," Blair heard Dan whisper to Serena soon after he entered the dining room.
"Dan, I know you're upset, but now is not a good time," Serena whispered back. "Cyrus is about to pray."
"You really need to go out there," Dan told her. "Right now."
"Excuse me," Serena said after a moment of thinking it over as she excused herself.
"What's going on?" Blair leaned over and whispered to Chuck as she played with her hand in his on the table.
"Your guess is as good as mine, I have no idea," he whispered back as they both looked around to see if either of them could catch a glimpse of anything from out in the foyer.
"Then we eat, say the blessing, sing a few songs and then we're done," Cyrus informed them all as Gabriel enter the room, followed by Serena. Blair and Chuck exchanged looks as they each raised an eyebrow while looking at Serena, silently questioning as to what was going on. Serena nearly shook her head in frustration.
"So, as soon as everyone has some wine we will begin," Cyrus continued.
"Wait," Eleanor interrupted as she noticed Rufus and Lily already sipping from their wine glasses. "We haven't started."
"Oh... I'm sorry," Lily apologized as she turned to address their newest table guest. "Are you the Gabriel who went to Spain with Poppy and my daughter?"
"Yes," Gabriel was eager to respond. "In fact-"
"Cyrus, this wine is delicious," Serena cut him off before he could say anymore.
"Oh, why thank you dear, however we're not supposed to drink it until the blessing but... I guess we can make an exception this time," Cyrus told her.
"Rufus, do you represent any artists that are worth my attention?" one of the guests inquired from across the table.
"All of my artists are worth attention... otherwise I wouldn't represent them," Rufus shot back much to Lily's dismay.
"Why is he serving the wine?" Gabriel asked Serena from across the table as he noticed Dan topping off everyone's glasses. "Isn't he supposed to be your-"
"He's just being helpful, that's all," Serena quipped. "Dan, baby... come sit down, right next to me please," Serena told him as she practically pulled him down into the seat.
"Oh, well..." Dan tried to protest.
"That's where we just moved Elijah," Cyrus stated. "But nevermind..."
"Eleanor, you don't mind if he joins us, do you?" Serena requested.
"At this point, why not – it's not like we're eating anytime soon..." Eleanor quipped.
"Humphrey... I could use some more wine," Chuck smirked from across the table as he held his wine glass towards Dan.
"Charles!" Lily gasped. "Don't be rude!"
"It's quite alright, Lily... I don't mind," Dan said as he started to stand.
"No, Dan... it can wait," Serena stated as she held his hand, placing it firmly on the table in front of everyone. Blair rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Oh no," Lily exclaimed. "You two aren't..."
"Now we'll go ahead and say the prayer for the first cup... which I'll say in English since as I look around this table I see that most of our guests are not speakers of Hebrew," Cyrus said as he tried to carry on with the Seder.
Lily leaned over and whispered something to Rufus which brought his attention to Dan and Serena.
"Oh no," he stated. "You have got to be kidding me..."
The Seder rituals seemed to drag on forever Blair thought as she began drawing circles with her finger in the tablecloth.
"You owe me tonight," Chuck said as he leaned over and whispered in her ear.
He too had grown bored as his hand carefully made its way under the table and began sliding up Blair's knee, under her dress working upwards towards her thigh. He felt her clench her thighs together when he started to get a little too close to the area he was aiming for. She quickly took her other hand and tried to swat his away, but with little luck. Chuck merely smirked as he tried to hold back his laughter at her squirming. He was thoroughly enjoying this little game they were now playing.
"And that was the washing of the hands, also know as title eighty-eight of the New York City health code," Cyrus joked. "And next we have the dipping of the vegetables!" he announced.
"You mean we finally get to eat something?" Eleanor asked impatiently.
"Oh yes – parsley!" Cyrus eagerly exclaimed.
"Thank God!" Blair cried out in relief, knowing that the act of eating would force Chuck to remove his hand from where he was currently torturing her under the table.
"Thank God, indeed, Blair!" Cyrus nodded in agreement, completely clueless as to her current predicament.
"So are you two really together again?" Rufus leaned over and asked Serena and Dan.
Serena nodded her head yes in confirmation as she smiled. Blair nearly choked on her water.
"So if Corrine would get everyone the salt water for dipping..." Cyrus continued.
"Wait, I'm sorry – why doesn't anyone seem to know the two of you are back together?" Gabriel questioned. "And what kind of daughter doesn't-"
"Shhhh..." Serena whispered. "There's praying about to happen..."
"I'm so sorry, Cyrus," Lily spoke up.
"It's fine," Cyrus muttered in annoyance.
Blair also groaned in annoyance as Chuck continued to cause her to squirm. She just wanted the meal to finally start already so he would stop.
"When did this happen?" Lily demanded to know. "You two just broke up two months ago..."
"I thought you said you two broke up just before Spain," Gabriel chimed in.
"It's a bit complicated," Dan replied.
"Eleanor's friends are talking during the Seder..." Cyrus's mother spoke up.
"They're both of our friends, mother!" Cyrus bit back, much to Eleanor's delight.
"Thank you," Eleanor said to him.
"I'm sorry, but I just don't believe he's your boyfriend," Gabriel continued. "First of all, he's dressed like a waiter-"
"I think it's kind of a classic look," Rufus jumped in to his son's defense.
"Well he is my boyfriend," Serena remarked. "And we are very happy together..."
"Serena..." her mother began. "I am so sorry, Cyrus," she apologized to him again before turning back to Serena. "What is going on?"
After a long awkward pause, Dan finally stood up. "I'm a cater waiter," he announced.
"And not a very good one," Eleanor stated.
"Wait, what?" Rufus questioned.
"I didn't want you to know so we were pretending that we were back together... she's just trying to be a good friend," Dan explained. "I'm sorry Mr. Rose, Ms. Waldorf... I'm very sorry."
"Apology accepted," Cyrus beamed. "Now, take your parsley... wait, where's Corrine with the salt water?"
"Hold on, I'm sorry, Cyrus," Rufus said. "Is this you trying to help with college?"
"I know you didn't want me to dad, but I couldn't just sit back and do nothing..." Dan confessed. "And by the way, Serena and I may not be together, but I do care about her very much... now, who needs some more wine?"
"No!" Blair cried out, before quickly adding a 'thanks' onto the end of her exclamation as she blushed with embarrassment while Serena gaped at the couple from across the table, having it just dawn on her what had been going on between them under the table. Chuck merely snickered to himself as he noticed.
"Serena, may I have a word with you?" Lily asked as she stood to excuse herself from the table. Serena got up to follow. Gabriel soon excused himself as well.
Blair sighed in frustration as Cyrus continued on with the Seder rituals. Chuck merely grinned at her continued efforts to fight off his touch without making too noticeable a scene.
"Excuse me," Blair said as she quickly pushed her chair back and ran off upstairs to her room. Chuck had gotten her too hot and bothered, there was no way she was going to be able to make it any longer at the table.
She had no sooner laid down on her bed and began letting her fingers find their way when there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Who is it?" she managed to breathe out.
"Just me," she heard Chuck reply. She let out a sigh before responding.
"I'll just be a minute," she panted as she closed her eyes.
Curious, Chuck quietly turned the doorknob and opened it to see a sight he found quite exhilarating.
"Blair..." he grinned as he tried not to seem too in awe of seeing her pleasuring herself.
"Chuck!" she screamed as she scrambled to straighten herself out. "I told you I'd be just a minute!"
"Well I came to see if maybe you needed a hand with... whatever it was you ran up here for, but clearly you don't," he smirked at her.
She rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Unless... you'd like some help," he grinned as he closed the door behind him and slowly made his way over to her on the bed, loosening his tie as he went.
"I suppose maybe I could..." she smirked back at him as she pulled him down towards her on the bed, her mouth hungrily covering his.
"So, S... tell me – how's the foreigner?" Blair inquired as she followed Serena around the Van der Bass penthouse the following Sunday afternoon. Chuck was out with Nate for the afternoon for some male bonding so she figured she'd hang out with Serena until he got back.
"Blair, Gabriel's from North Carolina... that's in the United States," Serena told her.
"Not by choice – let me remind you of a little thing called The Civil War," Blair reminded her. Serena giggled in response, Blair did have a point.
"Everything with Gabriel is perfect now– no strings, no demands... except that he is so focused on building his new company that he can never commit to anything – dinner reservations, movies... sometimes he'll get a text for a meeting and then Poof! He's gone," Serena lamented.
"Well if it's casual like you say – no strings – then what do you expect? It's not like you're going to marry the guy..."
Serena shot Blair a look.
"Oh, wait... you already did..." Blair sighed as she remembered what Serena had told them Friday evening.
"But hey – I talked some more with Cyrus and he assured me that legally, it didn't count, so I'm in the clear," Serena was quick to confess.
"Okay but let me get this straight – he goads you into the making the ultimate commitment and then he can't even stick it out through dinner? I can understand him being so absorbed into a new career opportunity – Chuck was like that at first when he finally decided he wanted to take on BI like his father left him to, but even still... S, Gabriel is disappearing on you for a reason and we need to get to the bottom of it."
"No... we don't," Serena firmly told her.
"Oh, c'mon S!" Blair nearly begged. "Let's follow him tonight! We can dress up – use code names! Dorota is a great help with surveillance equipment. Doesn't that sound at all fun?"
"No, B – not even a smidgen," Serena admitted. "Is that what you and Chuck do for fun?"
"Sometimes," Blair shrugged. Their occasional stakeouts as part of a scheme did always get them excited. "Okay so... what exactly are you guys doing tonight?"
"No, Blair – don't get any ideas!" Serena smiled as she flicked her BFF on the nose.
"Fine, S... I'm sure Chuck and I will find something to do..." she sighed as she sat down on the couch and began flipping through the latest issue of W that Lily had lying around.
"Nathaniel..." Chuck greeted him as he approached his best friend at their usual court for shooting hoops. While Chuck wasn't the greatest at it, he knew Nate enjoyed it and it was one of their usual pastimes. "What's wrong?" he asked as he noticed his best friend seemed a bit on edge. He knew something was wrong when Nate had called him up this morning, asking if they could hang out just the two of them.
"So last week, Grandfather insists that my cousin Tripp have me as his Best Man at his wedding this weekend, right? So I obliged – Tripp and I used to be close as kids, you remember – and then Tripp takes me out for lunch the day before the wedding and informs me that it was Grandfather who called the Feds on my dad! Can you believe that?!" Nate began to explain.
"Wow..." Chuck didn't know what more to say. He had to admit, it was pretty screwed up.
"So I go to give a toast at the rehearsal dinner, saying how Grandfather cares oh so much about family but then revealing what he did to mine..."
"Really, Archibald? Wow... that's pretty gutsy for you," Chuck interrupted.
"Yeah, so then Grandfather confronts me about it afterwards and decides that since we're being oh so honest with each other he'd clue me in on something else... Did Blair happen to tell you what she did?" Nate demanded know.
Chuck rubbed his temples and drew in a deep breath before answering. "No... and do I even want to know?" he reluctantly questioned.
"She sold me out to Grandfather! Just to be a bridesmaid!" Nate exclaimed. "She doesn't even know Maureen that well!"
Chuck couldn't help but laugh at Nate's revelation. "She did what?!" he laughed.
"It's not funny! Apparently Grandfather told her she could be in the wedding if she convinced me to go to Yale instead of Columbia in the fall!" Nate continued.
Typical Blair, Chuck laughed to himself. He wasn't surprised in the least.
"It was a pretty high-profile wedding from what I saw in the paper this morning," Chuck pointed out.
"Yeah, but she didn't try too hard to convince me," Nate added. "I still can't believe her though... and here I thought she had changed... but apparently Blair's still her old self..." he stated as he passed the ball to Chuck.
Chuck paused with the ball in his hands as he stopped for a moment to think about what Nate just said.
"Why would you want her to be anything other than who she is?" Chuck questioned, curiously. He wasn't sure why Nate seemed so surprised by her behavior. "Backstabbing and manipulating to get what she wants is how she's always been... how many times have we witnessed her and Serena backstab each other over something petty? It's her nature – it's who she is," Chuck told him as he went to make a shot.
"Yeah but that's her and Serena... not me... or you..." Nate solemnly stated.
"It's because I'm who she wants," Chuck reminded him. "Besides, I'm not entirely exempt from her manipulative games... remember the Hamptons at the end of last summer? She was quite cruel then just to get back at me for Tuscany... and then her latest attempt to make me jealous, using Carter..." Nate nodded as he recalled the incidents. "Blair loves to scheme and manipulate... it's one of the things I love about her."
"You two are so much alike in some aspects it's scary..." Nate said as he went for a lay-up, making his basket. "But I don't get it... you've changed..."
"Hardly," Chuck replied. "I may have traded in the playboy act for a monogamous relationship with a beautiful sex vixen-"
"Blair?! No way!" Nate exclaimed as he suddenly stopped in his tracks, almost tripping.
Chuck merely smirked. "Hey, your loss is my gain – she tried to give it to you... but anyways, other than that, I'm still the same ol' Chuck Bass you've always known."
"Except you've grown a heart too..." Nate added.
"Nah, even though I never would have admitted it before we actually got involved – and even then I didn't know it right away – truth is, I've always loved Blair and have had a weak spot for her ever since we first met back in kindergarten."
Really?" Nate questioned in disbelief.
Chuck nodded as he took his shot. "But for the longest time she thought she wanted you..."
"But hey man, everything worked out in the end," Nate was quick to point out. "However... I'm still a little hurt by her actions this weekend... I thought we had made some progress as far as just being friends goes."
"Nathaniel, you just have to accept Blair for Blair and don't take it personally – she's never going to change. Like I said, it's in her nature and I love her for it," Chuck told him once again as he went for another shot.
"Yeah... I guess you're right," Nate sighed.
Has the bf bailed yet?
Blair had texted Serena. She was a little sad, but not surprised when she got an almost immediate response back.
Stop spying on me!
Just then a familiar limo pulled up next to her on the sidewalk.
"Finally!" she huffed as Chuck got out of the car.
"Blair..." he greeted her as he slid an arm around her waist and kissed the side of her forehead. "I see you're wearing your beret – who we spying on tonight?"
"Serena's shady Southerner," she quickly informed him. "And from the sounds of it, he's apparently bailing on her once again."
"Can't say he does much for me either, but why the intrigue?" he asked as he pulled her close from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder as they watched the doorway to the apartment complex for Gabriel to make his exit.
"I'm worried about her – she said Gabriel just disappears, all Poof!" she filled him in. "Well... we're going to find out where he's poofing too."
Just then their mark appeared. "Shhhhh!" Blair hissed as she threw them both behind the back of the limo, so they could watch without being completely spotted.
"I must say... it's been awhile since we've played detective," Chuck smirked at her as they watched Gabriel approach a car just up ahead.
"Don't get too excited, Bass," she grinned as she playfully smacked him in the shoulder. "We're on a mission right now... and if we succeed... well, I can think of a few ways to reward ourselves later tonight."
"Sounds good to me," he grinned back at her.
"Oh my god! Chuck – look!" Blair exclaimed as they witnessed a girl jump out of the vehicle into Gabriel's waiting arms. "Poppy Lifton?!" she said as she quickly took a photo on her phone. "We have to tell S..."
"Let's follow them first... see what they're up to," Chuck insisted. Blair knew he had a point as she nodded in agreement. "Come on, get in," he told her as he held the door to the limo open for her. She quickly got in and slid over as he climbed in behind her. "Arthur – please follow that cab Serena's beau just got into with Poppy Lifton," Chuck ordered.
"S! You have got to dump him! Chuck and I caught him red handed with Poppy last night!" Blair told Serena over the phone the next morning. "They went to the same hotel and well, they were together for at least a good while!"
"Well, B – obviously I'm not thrilled but I'm going to get to the bottom of this on my own! Why don't you two focus on your own relationship for once and stay out of mine!" Serena declared.
"And what do you mean by that?!"
"Blair... it was Sunday night and you two were out spying on my boyfriend! Why can't you guys just go to the movies or something like a normal couple?!"
"Because hello! Chuck and I aren't some boring, old 'normal' couple, S! And what does it matter what we do for fun so long as we're both happy?"
"Whatever B... uh, hey... Gabriel's here – I gotta go," Serena told her as she promptly hung up.
"Okay so... lemme get this straight – Gabriel is still popping Poppy and you're okay with that?" Blair questioned later that afternoon as she tried to process what Serena had just told her.
"For the hundredth time – he's not still sleeping with her!" Serena protested as she went to change out of her outfit and into another. "And while it's not ideal... he is going to break up with her this week... and just in time for prom!"
"And what proof did he offer for that?" Blair wondered skeptically.
"He doesn't need proof, B, because I trust him – we have this amazing connection! Did you know that he said that he fell in love with me the first time he saw me?" Serena gushed.
"Oh? Well that is interesting considering the first time he saw you he was on vacation with his girlfriend!" Blair was quick to point out.
"Actually... the first time he saw me was a year ago when I was out with Georgina – he busted me on my fake southern accent," she laughed.
"And what night was that?" Blair asked curiously. "And don't tell me it was that night – that night that you blacked out and don't remember anything... he fell in love with you while you were roofied – how romantic, S!"
"No, no, no – it wasn't like that... he said that I was completely lucid – it must have been before Georgina drugged me, but I just don't happen to remember it."
"Believe me S, I had to learn the hard way – trust is the most important thing in a relationship!"
"And we have that!"
"The way I trust Chuck and he trusts me? Even though his old reputation supersedes him and girls still throw themselves at him all for a chance at a one night stand with the infamous playboy he once was... I don't worry about it because I know he'll always be true to me," Blair smiled as she recalled several times Chuck had assured her over the past year or so that she had nothing to worry about.
"What are you saying, Blair? That Gabriel's not in love with me?"
"No... I'm just saying that he's not going to break up with Poppy! And why would he? As Chuck would say, he's having her cake and eating yours too!"
"Okay, one – Chuck is rubbing off waaaay too much on you for you to make a comment like that and second – you're really saying that my boyfriend can't stay faithful to me for a few more days?!"
"No S... look, I love you but I just don't want to see you get hurt, okay?" Blair confessed. "Now go put that other dress back on – it looked beautiful on you!"
"Ugh, so I thought that if we proved that North Caro-liar was cheating on her with Poppy then that would be it, but she fell for his stupid business meeting excuse! Monkey business is more like it if you ask me..." Blair whined to Chuck as she paced back and forth in front of him in his room.
"Heh, Serena and Poppy both fighting over the same banana... I'd love to see that!" Chuck laughed as Blair had perfectly set that one up for him without even realizing it.
"Chuck, I'm serious!" she frowned at him.
"As am I," he smirked at her.
"I'm really worried about her," she said as she sat down next to him on the edge of the bed. "You know how she is – she gets in way over her head! We need to expose this two-timer for exactly what he is – what do you think? Another undercover mission?"
"Do you happen to have Poppy's phone number?" Chuck inquired as a plan came to him.
"No... but I could easily get it," Blair bounced to her feet as she quickly began sending Dorota a text.
"While I appreciate you playing the peacemaker, Chuck, I really don't think Serena will want to see me..." Poppy told him as she met him outside the apartment complex later than night.
"Oh trust me – this will be exciting for everyone," he smirked as he opened the door for her. The socialite had no clue just what she was about to walk into.
"Gabriel... you and I just haven't had a chance to bond yet," Blair told him quite perkily as she approached him and Serena once Lily's co-op meeting had concluded. "Come – we'll walk! I'll give you a tour!"
"Blair!" Serena called after her as Blair began to pull Gabriel away by the arm. "A tour, really? Of my house?!"
"You do realize I've been here before, right?" Gabriel spoke up.
"First, let's start with Serena's room!" Blair announced, completely ignoring both their protests. "This is Serena's dresser, where she keeps all of her pajamas and other things..." Blair showed him once they entered Serena's room. "Although maybe you've already been in there...?"
"Blair, what are you doing?" Serena giggled at her BFF who was being completely ridiculous at the moment.
Just then Chuck walked in with Poppy right behind him.
"Poppy?" Gabriel gasped as he saw her.
"Gabriel?" Poppy greeted him, completely confused. "Oh... nice – I knew it!" she sadly said as she realized what was going on.
Chuck walked across the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, motioning for Blair to come join him.
"Poppy I know – we need to talk..." Serena started.
"What do you want to talk about, Serena? The fact that you stole my boyfriend!" Poppy quipped.
"I didn't steal him – you left," Serena reminded her.
"You know what, don't – because the truth is, it's not even you that I'm mad at... it's him," Poppy informed her. "You are a lying, cheating ass!" she yelled at Gabriel as she began to hit him over and over with her purse. "I am going to kill you!"
"No one's killing anyone," Chuck told her as he got up to pull her off him.
"What an idiot I am, using my connections for your company?!" Poppy called Gabriel out.
"It is not like that – you know it's not!" Gabriel protested.
"Then leave with me! Right now!" Poppy demanded. "And if you don't I will call every investor and tell them to take their money back!"
Gabriel paused and looked at Serena before speaking. "Poppy... you and I are done. Things haven't been good between us for awhile now and I'm sorry, but Serena didn't steal me – she swept me away." Blair rolled her eyes, she still didn't trust him. "You tell your investors whatever you want – I'm done."
"Fine," Poppy said as she pushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face. "I'll tell them the truth – that you're ruined. Goodbye Gabriel," she said as she turned to leave, but not before stopping and turning to Chuck. "And you... what an ass!"
"You mean Bass," he smirked as he watched her leave.
"Gabriel, I..." Serena softly spoke as she approached him.
"I... I'm sorry – I just need a minute to clear my head," Gabriel told her as he headed outside.
"Well I guess he really likes you!" Blair spoke up, trying to keep things positive. "At least now we know!"
"I'll deal with you two later," Serena told Chuck and Blair as she went to go catch Gabriel before he left.
"Oops..." Blair remarked to herself out loud once Serena had left. Chuck could only chuckle at their mistake.
Chuck carefully watched Gabriel mingle around the penthouse as Serena followed him around like an eager little puppy. Once she had left to go elsewhere, Chuck moved in for the kill.
"Gabriel," he greeted him once again as he approached. "Martini's are great, aren't they?" he tried to make small talk before getting to his point. "Look so, I hear you first met my stepsister while she was on one of her infamous outings with Georgina – you know... I've always been curious as to what happened – must be quite the tale!"
Gabriel grinned as he proceeded to Chuck the story. Or rather, a story.
"Hey beautiful, whatcha thinking?" Chuck whispered in Blair's ear as he approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her as she was looking at one of Lily's art pieces that hung in the hallway.
"I really don't understand some of her tastes in art," Blair confessed as she tried to make sense of what it was she was looking at. "How'd your talk with Gabriel go?" she asked.
"He says he met Serena the night before the SATs," he informed her. "He says they were at Butter..."
"No... that's impossible," Blair said as she turned around in his arms to face him.
"I know – we probably should go tell Serena..." Chuck suggested as he gazed into her big brown eyes.
"Come on," she sighed as she took him by the hand and led the way over to Serena.
"Oh Serena..." Blair sung as she quickly approached her, pulling Chuck along behind her. "We need to talk to you..." she continued as she reached for Serena with her free hand and proceeded to pull her along too.
"Blair, where are we going? Another tour?" Serena joked. "I guess I'll be back in a moment, Gabriel!" Serena called out behind her. She turned to look at Chuck being dragged along next to her with a questioning look. He merely just shrugged. "Blair... where are you dragging us?"
But she soon got her answer as Blair pulled them into her own bedroom and quickly closed the door.
"Chuck, go ahead," Blair instructed.
"He's lying to you," Chuck confessed.
"Seriously you two, enough!"
"He told Chuck he met you at Butter but I know for a fact that Butter was closed that night because I used their bartender for the Nelly Yuki SAT Sabotage party!"
"Not that I really need to explain this to either of you two, but I was with Georgina that night and she knows the manager so it was probably a private party... or he just misremembered!"
"Well Chuck also saw him making secretive phone calls!" Blair blurted out before Serena could leave.
"Oh wow, ladies and gentlemen of the jury – the smoking gun, a secretive phone call!" Serena screamed in frustration. "Look Blair, I try to support you in all your crazy choices – case in point," she stated, motioning to Chuck, "Why can't you show me the same respect?! Gabriel is a good guy! He's trustworthy – even my mom trusts him otherwise she wouldn't have invested in his project just now! Will you two just quit meddling in my relationship for your own sick, twisted entertainment already?! Please?!" Serena snapped at them before turning to leave. "Butter? Really?"
"It does sound kind of stupid when you say it out loud..." Blair admitted after Serena had left.
"You know there's only one person who knows what really happened that night that Gabriel supposedly met Serena..." Chuck reminded her.
"Sparks..." Blair said out loud as she came to the same conclusion that Chuck had.
"Go get your coat – I'll tell Arthur to meet us out front," he told her as he got up from where he had been sitting on the bed.
AN: And coming up is the return of Georgina!
I'll admit, I typed up this whole arc as one big piece. Finished, it's about 37 pages in Word. Not wanting to drag it out like they did over 3 episodes on the show, I decided to break it into 2 chapters of somewhat equal length. Since the conclusion to this arc is already typed, I'll try to have the edits done and the chapter posted this weekend.
I will admit, it is pretty fun rewriting and reworking parts of canon to make it work since CB are together in this universe as opposed to the Nair reunion that was happening on the show during this time.
Also wanted to add, in the episode, one of the cutest CB moments in the whole episode was after the first time they confronted Serena in her room at the co-op meeting with Gabriel and Poppy, when Blair goes "oops" and Chuck laughs at their mistake. I definitely suggest rewatching that scene as it's so quick that you might not have caught it while casually viewing.