Second to last, it's prom, but there's still some things that Blair doesn't know and Dan's still not fighting – let's go!

"Oh, my God! You're winning in the poll now!" Jenny clapped her hands as she refreshed the Gossip Girl homepage for the fifth time that morning, but Dan just shrugged. "I don't know how you can be so calm! You basically told the whole world that you're in love with Blair!"

"That's not what it was about. It was just…closure."

"Closure? Sure." Jenny wasn't convinced. "On the morning of prom, you tell Blair you love her for closure."

"I haven't said anything to her and I'm not going to prom anyway." Dan replied as his phone began to ring.

"Wait, what?" Jenny asked, but Dan had already taken the call.

"Dan Humphrey!" The voice on the other end exclaimed and Dan was frozen for a moment. It was Noah Shapiro. "I didn't know you had the balls, kid. You're going to have to tell me how you did it, sometime. Did you hack into their computers?"

"Something like that." Dan said, not really sure what else to say to him.

"Well, I'm impressed." Shapiro said, sounding the drunk kind of jolly – the only kind he knew. Dan wondered if that was the only way he could make the call. "I'm willing to give you another chance, kid. You've clearly manned up a lot in the last few months, I think you're ready now."

"Wait a minute, you want me to come work with you again?" Dan couldn't believe it.

"Sure! You've got nothing else going on this summer, have you?"

"I don't know, I'd have to think about it."

"Okay, but don't take too long. The offer want stand forever." He replied in almost the same cheery tone – but there was a bit of a threat there too.

Dan hung up. He couldn't believe it. He still hated Shapiro – but Yale was gone and he needed a new dream, perhaps this was an opportunity presenting itself just when he needed it the most.

"Dan, who was that?" Jenny asked.

"I'll explain later, I've got to head to the gallery."

"Wait, you're working today?"

"Yeah."

"But it's prom!"

"And I told you, I'm not going." Dan was out the door before she could argue anymore.

He had barely settled down with his coffee and his book when Nate and Serena arrived with a conspiratorial look between them.

"Hi, Dan." Serena started. "We thought we'd stop by for a coffee."

"Really?" Dan raised an eyebrow as he headed towards the coffee machine. "You know, separately, you two were already bad liars, but together, you're even worse."

"I think what you did was so romantic!" Serena squealed.

"Here we go." Dan rolled his eyes.

"Very smooth." Nate added.

"Come on, you guys. It wasn't romantic. I just wanted to finish the story myself. I wanted closure. Nate, I explained all this to you last night."

"I know, but last night, I hadn't actually read the story."

"You didn't?" Dan asked, his eyes narrowing a little – then he realized he shouldn't be surprised. He probably still hadn't read the story and just heard the gist from Serena.

"So, are you nervous? Now that Blair has to make a choice?" Serena continued chattering away.

"Serena, I'm not being coy. It genuinely wasn't about her. I know that Gossip Girl's doing this whole 'prince or pauper' thing, but I know I'm already out. Blair hasn't got a choice to make."

"You might not think so, but Blair certainly does." Serena replied.

"Did she say something to you?"

"Why would you want to know if you've finally got your closure?" She countered.

"You're right, I don't want to know." Dan said as he handed Nate and Serena their coffees and sat at the table with them. "Now, can we talk about something else? Anything else?"

"Sure." Serena replied. "Are you excited for prom?"

"Uh…" Dan paused, "can we try another something else?"

"Why?" Nate asked.

"It's just…I'm not really feeling prom. I'm not gonna go."

"What? You have to! It's prom!" Serena exclaimed.

"And I know that means a lot to you, but I never really pictured myself going to prom anyway and…it's not really like I have a lot of people to say goodbye to. The only people I care about at that school are you two."

"And Blair." Serena added.

"Yeah, and Blair. But I'm sure she's had the perfect prom planned out since she was seven and I doubt that I'm a part of that."

"You want to know who was?" Nate asked. "Me. Plans change."

Dan still didn't think he would be in any of Blair's plans or ideal pictures for her perfect prom. She had told him herself that she couldn't picture what things would be like with him. Plus, he was sure that Chuck would have some big romantic gesture up his sleeve and Dan didn't really want to have to see that.

"Have you two decided on where you're travelling this summer yet? Why don't you tell me about that?" Dan asked, changing the subject. Nate and Serena shared a look, knowing exactly what he was doing, but they complied.

They stuck around for about an hour before Serena got some frantic texts from Blair and she was summoned to help her get ready. She kissed Nate goodbye, who then mentioned something about having to meet his mom for lunch, but he didn't leave immediately.

"So, I know you don't want to talk about Blair, but there's something I have to tell you." Nate finally built up the courage to say, after a long silence.

Dan wanted to tell him that whatever it was, it probably wasn't that important, that they didn't need to talk about it and anything about Blair was none of his business. But he knew that sharing information wasn't something that came naturally to Nate, so it had to be something that he really thought that Dan should know.

"Okay." Dan said nervously.

"I didn't get that last chapter in New York Magazine. It was Chuck." Nate said it quickly, like ripping off a band aid.

Dan took a moment to let that sink in. It still didn't make sense to him. There was no way, it had to be a trick or a game somehow.

"What? How?"

"Apparently he has some pretty…interesting videos of the editor's assistant. She was more than happy to accidently delete the original chapter and slip yours in in its place before it got sent for publishing. Come on, man, I never could have done that."

"But Chuck? You asked him for help?" Dan was angry, he had no proof yet, but was sure that Chuck doing this for him was all part of some bigger scheme.

"No one else could have done it and I saw how important it was to you. And he did it."

"Why? Why would he do this for me?"

"He didn't do it for you. He did it because I asked him to." Nate said with conviction. As if Chuck was actually a trustworthy guy.

"But it's Chuck."

"I know, and I'm not trying to…you have every right to hate him, okay? Especially after what happened at his place a few weeks ago. I'm not trying to change your opinion of him, but he does help out his friends when they need it."

"But he had to know it was really for me. Why would he go through with it?"

"I don't know, for sure. Maybe he felt guilty about what happened with the whole cater waiter thing. Maybe he doesn't really think you're a threat when it comes to Blair and knew it wouldn't make any difference." Nate talked too fast, trying to get Dan to relax as he felt the hostility still radiating off of him. "Or maybe he knows that Blair's conflicted, and he needs to know that you've given you're all before she can choose. I don't know and it's not my place to know. I just thought I should tell you."

"Maybe it's all part of a plan where it looks like I've done something really romantic for Blair, then he can reveal how it never would have happened without him and he'll come off looking like the selfless romantic hero." Dan added.

"Maybe." Nate agreed. "But I don't know….it just doesn't seem like he's up to something right now. I think he's just as tired of all of this as you and Blair are."

Dan scoffed. "I find that hard to believe."

"Again, I'm not trying to change your opinion of him, but…he does care about Blair. I talked to him after the dinner party and he was crushed when he realized that you and Blair have something. I don't think I've ever seen him so scared….you two actually have a lot in common right now."

The thought scared Dan. But he had to consider it. They both did really care about Blair and both were dealing with the thought of losing her to someone else. Sure, they had reacted to it in very different ways, but they were still in similar situations.

"I should take off." Nate stood up. "I hope that I will see you tonight."

Dan let him leave, he didn't have the heart to tell him again that he had no intention of going to prom. He didn't think too much more about what Nate had said – he knew that Nate really believed what he was saying, but Dan could not find any possible scenario that this wasn't all part of a game. But he wasn't playing anymore. He'd already got what he wanted – he got to finish his story. That was all that he needed. He'd already let Blair go.

When he got home, he jumped in the shower and was surprised to find Jenny and Vanessa arriving when he got out.

"Oh good, you've already showered." Jenny said as she moved towards him.

"Why?" Dan asked nervously.

"Because you're going to prom." Vanessa answered.

"We just picked up a tux for you." Jenny waved a garment bag in front of him.

"I wish I could find this sweet, but I'm past the point of trying to politely explain to you guys that I'm not going." Dan replied.

"And we're past the point of gentle pushing." Vanessa countered, a knock on the door quickly followed.

"Which is why we got reinforcements." Jenny added as she rushed to open the door. She opened it to reveal Nate and Serena, looking immaculately dressed.

"What are you guys doing here?" Dan asked, a little astounded.

"It's simple really. If you don't go to prom, we don't go to prom." Serena explained with an impish smile on her face. The two of them pranced inside the loft and settled down on the couch. "So, what are we watching?"

"You wouldn't really do that. You can't miss prom for me." Dan turned the TV off and placed himself in front of them.

"We're pretty sure, we won't have to." Nate replied calmly. "Now, do you want to draw this out or are you going to get dressed now before you make us late?"

A part of him was angry. But that part got smaller as he thought about the gesture they were making. Not just Nate and Serena, but Jenny and Vanessa, too. They all wanted him to be a part of this. He gave in, took the garment bag from Jenny and marched back to his room.

Serena explained on the way that she couldn't imagine a better way to arrive at her senior prom – coming from Brooklyn via cab, with Nate Archibald, the golden boy of the Upper East Side on one arm, and Dan Humphrey, the self-imposed Lonely Boy on the other. Dan was sure that a few days ago Nate had mentioned something about getting a carriage for her. He would have to make sure he really let him know how grateful he was for all this when Serena wasn't around.

She didn't dwell on it for too long, but Serena did touch on the Blair issue a little. Just to let Dan know that if he there was no one else at school that he wanted to spend any real time with that night, neither she or Nate would leave him alone. He was the third wheel they wouldn't want to be without. As condescending as it was, Dan knew it was genuine. That's part of why Serena and Nate seemed to work so well as a couple, they were both so laid back and seemed to have all the time in the world – that's why it didn't bother either of them at all to make sacrifices like this for the people they cared about when they had to. Still, he resolved that he would make it up to them someday.

Unbelievably, Dan did enjoy himself. He danced a little, and spent most of the evening just laughing and reminiscing with Serena and Nate – he never thought he'd get to a point where he'd find losing the Dartmouth rep to Nate at the Ivy League mixer funny, but they laughed about all of that. It felt like another life. He did talk to some of the guys he knew from the soccer team, and shared a strange moment with Nelly Yuki where it almost seemed as if she was trying to build up the courage to tell him that she loved him or something.

He was unsurprised to see that Blair and Chuck had come together. He was however surprised that they didn't seem like a couple blissfully happy to be reunited again. Serena had told him that they were there just as friends, and Dan couldn't quite believe it – but there was an awkward tension between them. He couldn't put his finger quite on what it was, but he chose not to dwell on it. He had caught Blair's eye when he first arrived, she had almost seemed relieved to see him. But the two made no effort to talk to each other.

Chuck did. While washing his hands in the restroom, Dan saw Chuck approach him in the mirror.

"Chuck Bass." He greeted. Well, it wasn't really a greeting, but Dan didn't want to seem intimidated. "I hope that you're not about to proposition me."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Humphrey, but even if I did swing that way, I'd still be way out of your league." Chuck responded. Almost cheerily. A whisper-y cheery way that didn't really suit Chuck Bass. But maybe that was just because Dan had never seen it before.

"Just admiring my personal hygiene then?" He turned around to face Chuck, no idea where this was going.

"It's over between me and Blair." Chuck said blankly. Dan suddenly felt like he couldn't stand, it had just come out of nowhere. "She chose herself."

"I'm sorry." Dan said. He wasn't, but he didn't know what else to say. "Why are you telling me?"

"Because you're in love with her." Chuck said with the same passive tone. "I knew it even before you wrote that last chapter on her."

"Yeah, speaking of," Dan started nervously, "why did you help me get that published anyway?"

"Nate told you?" Dan nodded. "I shouldn't be surprised. I didn't do it for you. Or even for Nate. I did it for Blair. I read it first. I've actually read all of your stories. That one you wrote about me and Blair…it got to me. Because it was all true. I started to think that maybe you are the better guy for her after all. I think that she's started to realize that too."

"I appreciate that, Chuck, but Blair and I aren't just suddenly going to be together, you know? A lot has happened…she's probably best off just choosing herself."

"For once, we actually seem to agree on something." Chuck replied. "You know, we're not suddenly going to be friends or anything. But you've been good to a lot of people that I care about. So, I just wanted it all out in the open. This thing, between you and me and Blair, it ends now."

"Good. I think it's been pretty hard on all of us-"

"I'm not in the mood for a heart to heart, Humphrey. I said what I wanted to say and…that's all there is to it." Chuck turned and breezed out the room.

For once, Dan didn't wonder if was all an act. He knew it was real this time. As of that night, things were really over between Chuck and Blair. It didn't fill him with the elation that everybody would expect, his first and foremost emotion was concern for her. He wondered if she was okay. His second thought was if maybe they could become friends again, because he'd clearly been wrong before and she did care about him more than he realized. He didn't have time to think about anything else when he heard Penelope getting ready to announce the prom king and queen and decided that he should get back out there.

No one was surprised to see Serena and Nate take the crowns. They were every bit the golden couple and no one could argue with that – but Dan knew that there was at least one girl there who had been harbouring a hope deep down inside that she would be crowned prom queen that night. As Nate led Serena out onto the dance floor and people cleared out of their path, Dan walked towards Blair until he was standing right behind her. She did look happy for them, but the disappointment was clear on her face too.

"You want to get out of here?" He leaned down and whispered to her.

She looked over her shoulder, surprised to see he had gotten so close to her, then nodded before leading him out of the room. They took her carriage – the carriage that Blair briefly explained Chuck had arranged for her, along with the dress, the shoes and the corsage in an attempt to live up to her perfect prom – and wound up at the met steps. It seemed fitting.

Blair found a bottle of champagne and some glasses stashed away in the carriage, so they took that with them as the marched up the steps. Dan spied Blair shivering, so he offered her jacket, and she accepted with a grimace on her face as she made a joke about Humphrey hand-me-downs. They fell into silence, just watching the world go by, but, as Dan began to get a little tipsy, his thoughts became verbal.

"You know, Blair, Serena may be the prom queen tonight, but you're the one who really ruled Constance." Dan told her as they watched over 5th Avenue. "I kind of wish I had a tiara to give you."

"I think we both know that I wouldn't wear anything that you could afford, Humphrey. Cubic zirconia does not touch this body." She replied before taking a triumphant sip of her champagne.

"You would almost be convincing if you weren't wearing my jacket." Dan said playfully.

Blair raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to poke her anymore and he knew not to. They fell into silence again, and Blair looked sad. He wondered if it was still about Serena winning prom queen. He thought back to all those months ago when he watched her on the steps watch Serena. That was the night everything had begun to change. But Blair was still jealous of her. Perhaps some things never would change.

Looking back on it all, for the first time Dan started to feel sad about high school ending. It had been far from easy, it was complicated, messy and painful. Especially the last few months. But the good times had been worth it all.

"You reminiscing?" Blair asked, cutting into his reverie.

"A little bit, yeah." Dan admitted. "Unbelievably, there are going to be some things about high school that I'm going to miss. I think it's safe to say that the nostalgia has officially begun."

"I know what you mean. Before today, it didn't really feel like it was all ending." Blair said wistfully and they fell quiet again.

Dan wrestled himself with what to say. He wanted to ask about Chuck. He wondered if he owed to her to talk about the chapter – he had, once again, probably thrown her life into chaos without giving any warning. Especially with the way that Gossip Girl had put her under the microscope since – there were probably pictures being taken of them right now that would soon be online. Maybe he should apologize, but she didn't seem angry. You wouldn't think anything had even happened.

Dan had been down this road with her before. She lives in denial. And despite what Chuck had told him, he still didn't entertain any serious notion that they could have another chance, so there was no point in fighting her to tell the truth again. Still, he felt like he owed her something more.

"Is it all hitting you today because of Chuck?" Blair looked at him confused. "He told me that things are over between the two of you."

"Yeah, they really are. Which is…very strange. Today, he gave me the perfect prom that I had always dreamed of – I even caught him rigging the prom queen election, but I couldn't let him do that to Serena. But when we were dancing together…I just realized that…it was perfect. Just for a different version of me. High school is ending and I think it's time to grow up. I can't fight with Serena anymore, I'm going to be at Yale next year, it will be hard enough to keep up with each other. I can't blackmail teachers or use Gossip Girl to orchestrate social smack downs, I don't want to be that person at Yale. And, I don't know…. I guess I just realized that Chuck really fits this one side of my personality – a side that no one else ever has - but that's the side that I think I'm starting to outgrow."

"When did you realize that?" Dan asked after another pause.

"When I read your final chapter this morning." She said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "I realized that Chuck and I have something, something that could be a great love. But that's not what I want. I want real love. Pure and simple love. What you wrote made me realize that I can't settle for anything less than that."

"I wasn't sure if you read it. You know I wasn't trying to make you-"

"It's okay, Humphrey."

"It won't happen again. The story's finished."

"I know." She almost seemed sad. She looked down at her feet and pulled his jacket around her tighter. "But I want you to know that it meant a lot me."

Dan didn't say anything. The story was finished. He did still have feelings for her and had finally accepted that she truly had feelings for him too – but it was way too late to try and salvage something now. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something, but he thought that maybe everything else was best left unsaid.

"You know, don't get the wrong idea when I say as I'm growing as a person." She finally broke the silence and gave him a mischievous smile. "I'm still Queen B and you are going to suffer another four years under my rule at Yale."

"Actually, I'm not going to be at Yale next year." He said it plainly. Hopefully now she would understand.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't afford it. I gave it my best shot, but it's just not going to happen." He explained with a shrug, he was surprised that it already hurt him less than it had a few days ago.

"So, just like that you're not going anymore?" She almost seemed angry. Clearly she had expected more fight from him.

"It didn't happen suddenly. The realization was gradual, then I got to a point where I couldn't ignore it anymore. If I thought there was a way…. but there's not."

"So we're not going to be at Yale together next year?"

Dan watched her face as it finally sunk in. She understood, but Dan had to cement it for her.

"No."