Sorry it's a little later than planned, my cousin's wedding was last weekend which delayed me a bit then I got really sick. But here it is, the second to last chapter!

Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews: Lori2279, Stella296, CarolinaGirl21, Krazy4Spike, AquarianAir, LovelyLydia, SouthernBelle88, GGfanficfan09, LitPrincess2787, annablake, and bridj26. I really appreciate it guys.

As always, thanks to my beta, ggff-fan!

Chapter 21
Ex-Attraction?

Gossip Girl here and have I got a nasty little scoop for you. B was spotted leaving N's house and as you can see from the video they were quite a bit more than friendly with a goodbye hug and a nice long kiss. Sources say she was inside for quite a while. Hmm B, what are you doing spending so much time with your ex - I wonder how your current beau feels about this? Sorry to break the news C, it seems your new girlfriend is quite the little cheater, but you already knew that didn't you.

you know you love me

xoxo
Gossip Girl

Earlier that day

"Chuck we've been over this, you can't just tell me what to do. And more than that you can't just hire people to follow me around." Blair spoke, her voice hushed but firm.

Chuck took her elbows in his. "I'm sorry but I wasn't taking the chance that you'd get hurt."

Blair inhaled sharply. "I went out with my friends, I wasn't exactly in danger. It sounds more like you were worried that I'd do something you wouldn't approve of."

Chuck shook his head. "I trust you, Blair."

"That's not what it feels like." Blair spoke her voice not much more than a hiss.

Chuck's nostrils flared as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "I trust you, I just don't trust Madison or even Serena for that matter."

Blair narrowed her eyes, her tone skeptical. "Serena, really? You don't trust Serena."

Chuck shook his head slightly. "Not when it comes to looking out for you. If Madison tried to pull something what good would Serena be?"

"God Chuck, she's not Georgina. I trust her, I like her, she's my friend. You have to deal with that." Blair said shaking her head.

Chuck grasped her shoulders tightly. "This is me dealing with that. Did Andrew or Jason say anything to you? No. Did you even notice they were there until yesterday? No. You would never have known if that little incident hadn't occurred. So what's the problem?"

Blair clenched her teeth together. "The problem is that it's not normal. Do you know how paranoid that makes me to feel like you're always there, always watching? As for that little incident, they accosted a guy who offered to buy me a drink."

Chuck shrugged slightly. "That guy had no business talking to you. I'll put you on my Black Card account; all your drinks will be on me."

Blair shook her head. "This isn't normal, guys don't hire people to follow their girlfriends around and I don't care if you are Chuck Bass, it's still not okay."

Chuck's jaw locked at her insinuations but more so at the way she attacked him when he was just trying to protect her. "It shouldn't be an issue for me to know what you're doing , unless you aren't behaving . . ." Chuck said leadingly.

"Are you implying that I'm 'misbehaving'?" Blair asked, anger rushing through her.

Chuck shook his head. "No, only that if you aren't then this shouldn't be a big deal. It's just for your protection, that's all."

Blair shook her head furiously. "Chuck you can't take away my freedom because if you do, this relationship becomes nothing more than a prison."

Chuck sighed heavily, doing his best to stifle the fact that he disagreed. Compromise, with each as headstrong as the other, there had to be a compromise. "What if they don't tell me anything? What if they just stand by and take care of it if there's a problem?"

"You don't get it Chuck. I need my privacy. And who's to say that you just tell me that they aren't reporting my actions to you but check in on me anyway? How do I know that you aren't going to call every thirty minutes and ask them what I'm doing?" Blair snapped, finding she was becoming quite emotional.

Chuck threw his arms to the side doing his best to convey that he was listening to her. "Fine I'll put a stop to the hourly updates."

Blair groaned, she had thought she was exaggerating but apparently not.

"It's the other side of the coin Blair, you just have to trust that I'm not going to have them reporting to me and I'll trust that I don't have a reason to ask them to." Chuck said as though it were the most normal conversation in the world.

Blair shook her head. "You are not my father, you are my boyfriend, please just stop this. I'm not in danger, you don't have to look out for me."

Chuck shook his head as well. "You are in danger if you insist on hanging around dangerous people. If you are spending time with Madison then I'm going to have people keeping an eye on you."

Blair was barely holding herself together as she bit back a scream. "No Chuck, just no. It's an invasion of my privacy and it's wrong. I'm not a pretty little bird you can put in a cage, I'm not a possession, and if this continues I'm not even your girlfriend." She said as the first tear slipped out of her eyes.

Chuck couldn't control the anger he felt that she didn't understand that when it came to her wellbeing he was willing to risk a little bit of anger on her part. He refused to compromise any further; this wasn't something up for discussion. This situation had to be left alone at least for now until they both cooled down. "We'll talk about it tonight at dinner." He said before turning and stomping away.

Nate waited. He waited a full two weeks before doing anything. He waited for the honeymoon period to pass because he knew that eventually it would. You couldn't have a couple so stubborn as Chuck and Blair without a few arguments. Both Blair and Chuck were seriously flawed - Chuck more so than Blair but there was no denying that she wasn't perfect - he needed their flaws to be exposed to one another at least a little before he made his move.

He'd waited until he'd witnessed their first public fight, when Blair would be most vulnerable. It wasn't something major, just a slight altercation with hushed tones and pleading voices that ended with an angry Chuck stomping off and a sad Blair wiping away tears.

At first he wasn't sure that it was the break he was looking for but then he'd heard Serena and Blair talking at lunch. Chuck was struggling with some of the more delicate intricacies of a relationship; particularly a relationship with Blair. He didn't seem to get that he couldn't have security detail on her any time he couldn't be there. The thought caused Nate to laugh. Blair was one of the most fiercely independent women he knew and Chuck was trying to put her in a cage.

He waited until after school to do it, Chuck had already left and Blair was going home with Serena. Everything was set up, everything was ready. Smiling he withdrew his phone and dialed an all too familiar number.

Blair was waiting for Serena to finish making out with Dan when her phone rang. She expected it to be Chuck calling to apologize or maybe Madison wanting to hang out and was surprised to see Nate's number. So surprised that she answered without really thinking - after all this was the first time he'd called her since their break up so it must be important. "Hello?" She spoke, almost a question.

Nate smiled, step one was complete, she'd answered the phone. "Hey Blair."

Blair furrowed her brow, something was off in Nate's voice, something wasn't quite right. "What's going on?" She asked concerned.

Nate smiled sadly even though he knew that she couldn't actually see it. "It's just . . . I don't mean to bother you or anything . . . But I was wondering if we could maybe talk." He said, including just the right amount of self-depreciating pauses throughout his words.

Blair sighed slightly. "Nate, I'm not sure that's a good idea. Things are still so fresh."

Nate nodded, lowering his voice. "Yeah I know. I just really need someone right now. And I just remembered that time we promised that we'd be there for each other, be friends, no matter what. So I called you, I feel like you're the only one who'd understand."

Blair didn't know what to do. She knew from Serena that Nate was going through something that he wasn't talking to anyone about and if she could help maybe she owed him that much. After everything that they had meant to one another she couldn't let him circle the drain while she stood by and watched. "Okay, I'll come over." She spoke.

"Thank you." Nate responded, relief flooding his voice. "You don't know how much I appreciate it."

Blair sighed, Chuck probably wasn't going to like this but she knew she had to do something to help Nate, she knew she did. "I'll be there in twenty." She said before hanging up her phone noticing that her battery was low. Shit, she needed a phone that held a better charge.

Turning towards Serena and Dan who were still engaging in flirtatious banter ten feet away she called out. "Serena, I've got something I have to take care of, I'll catch up with you later." Serena nodded uninterestedly and Blair sighed, maybe Chuck had a bit of a point about Serena's usefulness. With that thought she turned and headed towards Nate's house.

Chuck was stepping out of his limo when he saw her not ten feet in front of him, walking in the opposite direction of the Palace. "Madison!" He called out, trying to wave her over.

Madison turned quickly at the sound of her name, surprised to see that it was Chuck calling and even more surprised by the jump she felt in her heart. Damn it she cursed herself, she wasn't supposed to feel that anymore, it wasn't right for her to want her friend's boyfriend like she wanted Chuck. She'd convinced herself that the desire had faded but apparently she wasn't quite there yet. "Hi Chuck." She spoke, almost stiffly.

Chuck stopped in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest. "You and Blair have been spending a lot of time together lately - what's your angle?" He asked.

Madison shrugged slightly before smiling curiously. "Contrary to what you seem to think with that little security detail of yours I don't have an angle. I just like being friends with Blair, I've never had friends before."

"You've never had friends because you are a crazy bitch and I don't want you around my girlfriend." Chuck snapped, still feeling the anger from his and Blair's earlier argument. And Madison had no business getting involved.

Madison almost laughed. "And you think that you know Blair well?" She asked with raised eyebrows. "If you actually knew her, you'd realize that trying to control her, trying to determine who she can and can't see, or forcing her to have a security detail that reports to you isn't the way to go. Blair's incredibly independent which means that none of this is going to fly with her and she's stubborn which means you're not going to be able to change her mind. If you push her on this, you'll lose her."

Chuck wanted to snap back, he wanted to retaliate and yell that she was wrong, that Blair wouldn't leave him over something so small but then he remembered Blair's earlier words. She would leave him over this because to her it wasn't small.

Madison could see that Chuck was thinking about what she was saying and knew there was more she could do to help. "Chuck I'm not going to hurt Blair, I'd actually say that I'm almost as protective of her as you are; God only knows what kind of mess Serena could get her into. When it comes to Blair, you don't have to worry about me being a problem."

Chuck narrowed his eyes but felt himself relaxing if somewhat reluctantly. He was still grumbling but he found himself uncrossing his arms and extending a hand. "I think we might just have an understanding Sinclair."

Madison smiled and took his hand in hers giving it one firm shake. "I think we might." As she let go of Chuck's hand and began to walk away she realized what Chuck had called her and flipped back around. "Chuck!" She called out as he had started towards the hotel.

Chuck turned and cocked his head slightly so she spoke. "You just called me Sinclair, why?"

Chuck smirked. "It's what Blair calls you."

Madison smiled in return, unable to hide the fact that she was happy. It was strange she'd always thought that it would be Chuck that would one day make her feel like that, she just didn't realize it would be because for the first time in her life she actually had friends. And regardless of how she might feel about Chuck she wasn't going to risk that friendship for him ever again.

It didn't actually take twenty minutes to walk to Nate's from school but Blair knew she wanted to walk slowly and collect herself as she went. This was a big deal whether she wanted it to be or not. This interaction with Nate could determine whether or not they were going to be able to be friends after this was over.

Inhaling deeply she knocked, anxious for what was about to occur. This time she wasn't surprised that it was Nate who answered the door, after all he was expecting her. "Hey." She spoke softly.

"You came." Nate replied, smiling brightly.

Blair nodded almost laughing as she followed him inside. "I said I would."

Nate couldn't stop smiling even though it was almost counterproductive to his plan. His plan didn't really involve happy smiles. "And Blair Waldorf always keeps her word."

Blair looked at Nate curiously. His behavior was off but she couldn't quite place the cause. Maybe it was part of everything else that was going on with him. "So you wanted to talk?" She asked, cutting to the chase.

Nate looked at her as he took a seat on the same couch where he and Serena had sat a few weeks before. As Blair joined him he decided that the only thing to do was to tell her the truth because that was where his strength lay. "There's stuff going on in my life right now and I've felt like I had no one to talk to. I didn't want to bother you but at the same time I'm getting to the point where I have to talk to someone and you're the only one."

Blair's eyebrows furrowed. She didn't know what was going on with him. What could he possibly be unable to tell Serena? Chuck she understood with everything that had happened surrounding her but she would have thought Serena would be the better choice over her all things considered.

Nate could practically see Blair's thoughts in her moment so he hedged his bets that he was right and brought it up before she did. "Normally I would have gone to you immediately but things aren't like they used to be with us. I can't exactly talk to Chuck either with how we left it and then Serena is all sunshine and rainbows and thinks that everything is always going to be okay; but sometimes it isn't true. That's why it has to be you." He spoke quietly.

Blair nodded, finally starting to understand. She still had everyone in her life, the only person she'd lost was Nate but Nate had lost everyone other than Serena and even she had to admit that Serena wasn't the best at dealing with problems (though it seemed that the rest of them were experts with dealing with hers). "I'm always here for you Nate, always. Tell me what's going on." She spoke placing a hand on his knee.

Nate put his hand over hers and smiled sadly. "You know about all of the stuff with my Dad." He stated to which Blair nodded. "Well it's worse than we thought. It looks like he's going to end up in jail, for a very long time."

Blair's eyes widened as her stomach clenched. Of course this would mess with Nate, it was his father. It was hard enough for her that her father was in France but prison was an entirely different story. "Oh Nate." She spoke, turning her hand over and squeezing his in her own.

Nate shook his head. "That's not even the end of it." Blair's eyes widened and he continued with the part he knew would hit her the hardest. "My grandfather is going to cut us off if Mom doesn't get a divorce and she's already working on filing."

Blair's breath caught in her throat. "Nate I am so sorry."

"I don't know what to do." He said as he looked at his hands, one of which was holding tightly to hers. "My dad did things he shouldn't have - he's guilty Blair. But this divorce is going to ruin him and honestly I don't know how to keep it from ruining me."

Squeezing his hand tightly Blair tried to think of how she could comfort him but she knew from experience that there was really not much she could say. "It won't ruin you. Sometimes it might feel like it will and sometimes you'll feel all alone. But you are not in this by yourself and it does get better. Trust me, at the point of my parents' divorce the only person I could talk to was Chuck and let's face it at that point he wasn't great with feelings."

Nate's head snapped up. "You could have talked to me!" He exclaimed strangely offended.

Blair practically scoffed. "Not to make light of this Nate but you had your head so far into Serena-ville at that point that I was barely a blip on your radar. And Serena herself had disappeared to Connecticut, leaving me with Chuck. So trust me I know how you feel."

"God Blair I'm so sorry." Nate said as he ran a hand through his hair. "I never realized what kind of pain you were in. I was basically the worst boyfriend ever wasn't I?"

Blair laughed slightly surprised at the turn that their conversation had taken. "You weren't always that bad. There was a time before Serena Fever consumed you that you were actually quite a good boyfriend. You were the perfect gentleman and so attentive until about six months before the Shepard Wedding."

Nate nodded, knowing exactly the time she was talking about. Blair had been away for the summer on a tour of Europe with her parents, Chuck was with his father on a business trip in Hong Kong, and Serena and Nate had been left to their own devices in the Hamptons. "I'm sorry. I really am." He said remembering what Blair had said about blaming herself about thinking she wasn't good enough. "None of it was your fault."

"It's in the past." She said with a slight shrug. "And what matters is that we're all okay." She saw a strange expression on Nate's face and moved closer, placing a hand on the side of his face. "I promise you Nate, you aren't in this alone and you are going to be okay. Nothing's ever going to be the same and it's going to be hard and ugly and some days you'll just want to scream but it's going to be okay. And one day, maybe sooner than you think you'll find the girl you are really meant to be with."

Nate felt a tightness in his throat that told him tears were just below the surface. At the same time he felt a twisting wrenching of his gut. Blair was here for him in a way no one had been able to be here for him and what was he doing? He was tricking her, manipulating her all over again. "You should go home." He said quietly.

Blair smiled briefly. "I don't mind staying."

Nate furrowed his brows and pursed his lips, letting go of her hand for the first time. "I mean it Blair you should go." He spoke as he stood; maybe if he got her out of there soon enough it wouldn't be too late. His plan wouldn't work if there was no picture and if Blair could get out of there before everything was in place then there wouldn't be a picture.

Blair stood, thrown by abrupt Nate's change in attitude. "What's going on?"

Nate took her hand and tugged it towards the stairs leading her down and into the main entry area, going so far as to open the door before he paid attention to her repeated questioning. "Just trust me Blair you have to get out of here."

She still didn't know what was going on but she did as Nate asked, stepping outside of his house. Turning and looking back at him she could see that he was nervous and was instantly concerned. "It's going to work out Nate. You are going to be okay."

Nate nodded, her words soothing him even as he tried to get her out of there before something happened. "Thank you Blair, for everything."

And that's when everything went down the drain as Blair reached up and pulled him into a hug; holding him for far too long for it to be just friends. Of course she was just comforting him but that's not what it would look like on film.

"Anytime Archibald." She said with a smile and one last hug, noticing the strange look on Nate's face and chalking it up to him trying to hide his emotions. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."

Nate nodded. "Yeah, see ya." He spoke softly, looking around to see if he'd failed or succeeded in ruining his own plan; when he saw her with the camera he blanked and immediately withdrew his phone.

Dialing her number he waited impatiently for her to answer as he watched Blair disappear down the street. He watched as his accomplice finally answered her phone. "Delete it." He snapped automatically.

She laughed. "You have to be kidding me, this is complete gold. I almost couldn't believe you managed to pull it off, though she wasn't there very long was she - I just managed to get here."

"I said delete it." Nate repeated, filling his voice with as much menace as he could muster, which was surprisingly quite a bit for someone who was supposed to be such a nice guy.

She scrunched up her nose. "I don't think so Nate. Just wait until you see the video it's from just the right angle, the second time she hugged you looks like she was kissing you, it's perfection."

Nate's fist clenched at his side. "I swear if you don't delete it I'll . . . I'll"

"You'll what Nate? You're not Chuck, you can't destroy me."

Nate practically growled into the phone. "For the last time, delete it."

He could see her smirk from where she stood leaning against someone else's stoop. He watched as she snapped her phone shut and shook her head mouthing 'No Way.' He wanted to stop her, wanted to run over there and smash her phone but there wasn't time, she'd already sent the video to Gossip Girl.

"Shit." Nate muttered under his breath. What the hell had he done and how the hell was he going to fix it? It wasn't ten seconds later that his phone beeped in streaming video.

Gossip Girl here and have I got a nasty little scoop for you. B was spotted leaving N's house and as you can see from the video they were quite a bit more than friendly with a goodbye hug and a nice long kiss. Sources say she was inside for quite a while. Hmm B what are you doing spending so much time with your ex - I wonder how your current beau feels about this? Sorry to break the news C, it seems your new girlfriend is quite the little cheater, but you already knew that didn't you.

you know you love me

xoxo
Gossip Girl

Chuck felt his entire body convulse as he watched the video. It felt as though someone had grabbed his heart and ripped it from his chest - not just someone, Blair. He reached for the bottle of scotch on the bar, glad to find it had been replenished after his bender two weeks before.

He knew that Nate wanted her, he'd heard it from Nate's own mouth. But he'd thought their relationship was secure, he thought they could withstand Nate's pathetic attempts at winning her back. Nate couldn't match their fire and passion, Blair had picked. She had left Nate and chosen him, this didn't make any sense. The fight this morning had been bad but it hadn't been bad enough to send her back to Nate so quickly.

Unless it had merely been a passing phase for Blair. She was the only girl he'd ever loved but she was never really going to choose him, it was always going to be Nate. It didn't matter that he knew her better, that he loved her better, that he wanted her more, he wasn't part of her perfect future, he wasn't part of the plan.

He was so stupid to think she'd actually given up on her fairytale with Nate, so stupid to think she'd really chosen him. He was nothing more than a blip on her radar, the story she'd one day tell about the big mistake she made almost giving up on her perfect life. He could hear her laughing now as he relayed the story of their relationship to her society girlfriends at her baby shower.

Chuck just couldn't believe that he had fallen for it again. Blair had just needed a few more weeks to get her rocks off before running back to perfect Nate. His entire body felt as though the weight of this realization was crashing down on him. She would never be his; she would never love him like he loved her.

Raging he slung his arm into the tumbler set sitting on the bar; laughing darkly as it seemed that in his time with Blair he'd broken more glass than he'd broken in the rest of his life combined. He'd become someone different for her; he'd allowed her to change him. He'd let her make him think of himself differently.

He'd never wanted anything like he'd wanted Blair. Never protected something or held it close. He'd never given up anything for anyone like he given up things for her. But no more. He was done, the charade was over and Chuck Bass was back.

Okay everyone, take a deep breath and remember there's one more chapter to go for things to get fixed. I'm not leaving Chuck and Blair like this I promise.

On that note Reviews are very much appreciated! If we get to 20 reviews before next Monday I'll post another chapter.

xoxo - kate