A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for all the favorites and reviews. It looks like I'll be carrying on with this story. I may have changed certain details about both Dan and Blair's parents divorces but well, it is a different prologue so I hope it doesn't throw anyone off too much. I do hope you enjoy and if you do, please let me know...And even if you don't, let me know too! I'm always up to hear any constructive criticism, especially if it'll help me better my writing. Another thing: Dan and Blair are both 16 in this story and even though I am a teenager myself (18), I think it's best if I don't go into detail if there are any explicit scenes that come up. I don't know, but it's kinda sick to me that some writers write sex scenes of young kids and the writers themselves are like in their twenties or thirties so yeah, I'll be steering away from that in this story. But that's about it, Enjoy!
Perfect Strangers
Today's the perfect day for a yearner such as myself. When I woke up this morning clouds were blanketing over a slippery city and my windows were all misted and frosty. A crying sky is just the thing I needed for this longing feeling within my chest. Don't be mistaken, I'm not heartbroken. I'm just wishing I had something concrete to hold onto about last night, like a kiss, or a number or even a goodbye. But there's none of those. There's only the vivid picture of events unfolded, words unspoken and lips untouched.
Maybe I'm reading into this wrongly. Wondering too much over the could've -been's instead of the what-had's. And the what-had-happened was beautiful. From reciprocal staring, to effortless dancing, to secret revealings, to wit-full flirting. Those particulates attribute to the makeup of a night some only dream of having. But the problem is I'm not dreaming of the night. I'm dreaming of her.
The 16 years of my life preceding last night were what I'd like to imagine as perfectly normal. But now my hands feel vacant, my neck feels colder, my smile feels fewer and I, on a whole, feel lesser. How does life become so suddenly empty? Before, I never needed anyone's fingers to be intertwined in mine. Or for anyone's arms to be draped around my neck. I'd have the cheek to even think my smiles were more wholesome before. And I surely never felt as though I was ever incomplete. But now? Oh, now is a funny story. Feels a bit like Capitalism to me. Almost as though life is selling me something I've been fine without but they're marketing it in such a way that makes me think I now need it. Oh, come on! I don't need it. What is it even? All it is, is a girl with an exceptionally long name, as myself, who has these deep brown eyes, as myself, who loves to joke around, as myself. But other than the bare and obvious fact that I've just realized that I do in fact need it because it has all these amazing things in common with me... I stand firm. I don't need it!
"What don't you need?" My dad asks and I nearly fly up into the ceiling. I didn't realize I was talking out loud.
"Gosh, Dad, ever heard of knocking before?"
"Gosh, Dan, ever heard of coming when I call?"
"What?" I furrow my eyebrows.
"I called you from the kitchen for the past five minutes telling you to come get your waffles. But it's okay, I see you're in the middle of an important conversation." My dad laughs and closes the door.
This is bad. Really bad. How can I start talking to myself? OUT LOUD. And on top of it be so consumed by my thoughts that I can't even hear when my Dad calls me for waffles? What did my mind not get about stranger danger last night? Why is my mind persisting on loving thy stranger? I need to find a way to get yesternight's debacle far, far away from my thoughts as soon as possible. It was just one night. How difficult could it be to forget one night?
I hop out of bed with a renewed sense of purpose. Operation 'forget the debacle' is underway. Walking into the kitchen I can already tell my dad and Jen were talking about me, or more truthfully, making fun of me, as both of them are trying, and failing terribly, to conceal their laughter.
"You guys look like you're going to poop in your pants. So let it go." I say with an embarrassed sigh as I mount onto a kitchen stool.
Without any sort of euphemism attached, my dad and Jen literally burst into laughter. I just stab my fork into a waffle and start eating it. I'm not sure I'll be hearing the end of this any time soon.
"Maybe he was talking to Cedrick, dad." Jenny says in the middle of her giggles.
"You know what, I think you might be onto something Jen." My dad says.
"Okay, okay. I was speaking to myself. So what? Einstein spoke himself." I say almost proudly.
The laughs finally die down and my dad says again, "I'm meeting an old friend at this café in Manhattan tonight. Will you guys be okay alone?"
Me and Jenny both look at each other. A friend? It doesn't take a genie to tell you that my parents are nearing a divorce but with no actual closure from neither my dad nor my mom, it kinda feels like Jen and I are just waiting for the penny to drop. But it's not like either of them have any decency to be subtle about it. We haven't seen my mom all summer and now my dad's already going on dates. By the look on Jenny's face I already know this isn't going to go down well.
"Who's the friend?" Jenny asks.
"Oh, just an old friend from my in-the-band days." My dad replies.
"So a groupie basically?" Jenny remarks.
"Hey! Watch your words Jen. She's an old friend okay. Nothing more, nothing less."
Jenny just rolls her eyes and I ask, "How long will you be gone?"
"Till late probably." My dad answers.
"Okay."
Breakfast ends in awkward silence after that and we all just make our ways to our own rooms. I'm not sure what reaction my dad expected from Jenny and sometimes I wish I had the guts to let my mouth run like she does. I also wish my dad could for once in his life just stop being so honest. He could've literally just said he's going out tonight or something that'll at least make us less suspicious about his whereabouts. Hell, he didn't even deny that he's meeting with a woman tonight. It seems like these teenage problems are just piling up for me right now and with the school year beginning on Monday it doesn't look like I'll be catching a break. That reminds me, I really need to catch up with my reading in that case. 9th grade I couldn't find a single minute to read because of the stupendously heavy workload I had so who knows if reading will even be an option in the 10th grade. And with all these catering jobs I've done over the summer, I haven't even gotten the chance to open a book, let alone read one. But now's my chance.
I scan my bookshelf for all the books I haven't read yet. Mmm, Wuthering-heights? - read it. The Unbearable Lightness of Being? - read it. To Kill a Mockingbird? - read it. The Great Gatsby? - I haven't read it, but for obvious reasons I'm hesitant to even touch it. I look at the book like it's cursed. I'm afraid if I do read this, I'll fall into an all-consuming thought process in which I perpetuate memories in my mind of a night I'm unwilling to mention. But now that I recall the unmentioned night, did that girl really just spoil this entire book for me? "Jay Gatsby found out how grotesque a rose was during his dying breath." She certainly did!
Upset by the spoiler, I grab the book and skip to the last few pages in order to see the ending. The last chapter is all so confusing and I'm not sure who all these characters are even so I page back a few pages and just before the end of chapter 8, the words that affirm what I so hoped not to be true was laid out in Black White for me and the rest of the world to see, "He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass."
Well that's disappointing. I fall back against my bed and look at the ceiling. But then I realize I don't actually have anything better to do so I pick the book back up and read it. From the start this time. Completely oblivious to how the hours are running past me I end up reading the entire book and as I'm in the process of grasping everything I've just read, my dad steps into my room to let me know he's leaving. Is it evening already? I get up shortly afterwards to take a shower. Once I'm out of the shower and fully clothed, I step into the kitchen to make me something to eat but then Jenny comes storming out her room, through the passageway and out the front door before I can even stop her. I really need to work on my reaction time.
A few seconds after, I chase after her, but not before grabbing a coat and locking the loft behind me. I run down to the street and she's getting into a cab. Somehow I make it to the vehicle before it can drive off and I swing the door open. Protective brother mode has officially kicked in.
"What the fuck!" The cab driver yells.
"Jenny! What the hell are you doing?!" I shout too.
"Drive!" Jenny screams.
"Sir! Do. Not. Drive." My face straightens as I look at the cab driver.
I must not look very intimidating though because the guy actually starts driving. I jump into the back seat and close the door just in time but what comes next is an array of shouting coming from both the driver and Jenny that I can't really make out.
"SHUT UP!" I use every part of my throat to get those two words out. It works.
"Look, Sir, I know you're just doing your job but you've just helped a 14 year old girl runaway from home." I say again.
The driver's eyes widen but before he can say anything Jenny interjects, "I'm not running away from home you dweeb."
"Then what the hell are you doing?" My eyebrows furrow.
"I'm going to see who dad's on a date with." Jen replies.
"Oh. Well that's a whole lot worse than running away from home. Sir, could you please turn around and take us back."
"No! Don't listen to him Mr.Cab driver. I'm the one paying for this trip."
"The girl does have a point." The driver looks at me in his rear view mirror.
I'm about to protest but Jenny interrupts me again, "Dan, please, just let me do this. You of all people should understand. Neither dad or mom has said anything and I just need to see it for myself."
There's hurt in her voice and that's what does it for me. We end up going to Manhattan and exiting the cab only to meet a problem we haven't thought about yet. Which Café is my dad at? Considering I go to St.Judes, we decide to scout the Upper East Side first. It feels like days as we peep through a multitude of café windows but finally, after the 7th damn café, we spot my dad. He's sitting right at the back of this coffee shop with his body facing towards the window we're looking through, but opposite him sits a woman. Her back's facing us though so we can't see her face, but she's got this short blonde hair. Short blonde hair that my mother does not have. I look at Jenny and her entire face falls. I bring her into my chest and a flood of tears runs into my coat.
After a few minutes I grab her hand. In an attempt to calm her down we walk a few blocks back to one of the other cafés we passed earlier and go inside. The rain starts pouring down again as we sit at the window seats of the café that looks out at the wet streets. We both order hot chocolates but we hardly speak. I think Jenny's just trying to wrap her head around the reality of it all so I don't bother to make pointless conversation either. Soon our hot chocolates are brought to us. As I sip on mine and gaze out at the raindrops splitting against the tarmac, my eyes avert to a long black limousine pulling to the side of the curb. For a moment I'm confused but then I realize these sort of vehicles are a normality here in the Upper East Side. I look away again and refocus on the raindrops. There's something about the way they fall against the hard concrete surface and split into a million other droplets. It looks almost like stars glimmering in the night sky.
"Is that Blair Waldorf?" Jenny gasps.
My eyes immediately dart up and oh my god. It is her! My mouth literally falls open. So much for 'forgetting the debacle'. It was just a few hours ago when I was almost certain I would never see this girl again, but here she is, standing right outside. And she looks so cute in her coat and beanie. Beside her there's another person though. It's a woman, and by the heavy resemblance, I'm sure it's her mother. For a minute they both look up at the building above this café and then look at each other with sort of anxious eyes. And by the way they walk into the building it's like they're about to take a huge plunge. They probably walk into the buildings reception and that's when I lose sight of her. My mind comes back to my whereabouts again and I realize another thing. How the hell does Jenny know who she is?
"How do you know her?" I ask curiously.
"How do you not? She's literally the Queen B of Constance Billard..." Well that's news to me. All this time we've been at the same school and I haven't seen her once yet, "...some say that last year she exiled one of her minions from New York because they bought the same handbag as her. I'm not sure how true that is, but I wouldn't put it past her." Jenny replies.
I let out a disbelieving laugh, "She has minions?"
"Uh-yeah. What part of Queen B did you not understand?" Jenny says it like I'm an idiot.
"Well I'm sorry if I don't care too much for High School politics."
"You should know her dimwit. She literally goes to your school."
"She goes to Constance Billard...for girls. And I go to St.Judes...for boys..." I justify more to myself than Jenny really, "...dimwit. And also, aren't you starting at Constance on Monday?"
"Yes!" Jenny says excitedly.
"Oh God. Please don't tell me you're planning on becoming one of her minions."
"That's exactly what I'm planning." Jenny smirks.
"Yeah and before long you're going to be the next person she exiles from New York." I shake my head.
Jenny's about to reply when my phone starts ringing. Shit! It's my dad. I step out the noisy café and into the buildings reception area to take the call.
"Hey, Dad." I say in the most 'keep-cool' voice I possibly can.
"Hey, son. I'm just calling to let you know that I might be home a little later than expected but make sure Jenny gets to bed early tonight okay. Her first day's on Monday and she has to start getting into a routine." My dad replies.
"Okay, dad."
"Thanks Dan, see you."
"Bye, dad." I reply and shut the phone.
It's kinda difficult to see your dad sitting with another woman that's not your mom, but it's even more difficult to hear him tell you that he's going to spend the night with her. I dig my hands into my pockets and look at the ceiling above. I can't possibly tell Jenny what he just told me. She'll put two and two together as fast as I did and it'll probably break her.
"Daniel Randolph Jonah Humphrey? No. It can't be?" A voice says sarcastically and I know exactly who it is.
I drop my head to look at her and that's it. I'm done for. She's donning this stupid little smile with her hand on her hip, her hair is falling flatly against her shoulders this time and oh, that cute little beanie. My lips can't help but corner up as she makes her way closer to me.
"Oh, but it is. The one and only." I reply with faux smugness.
She's a rulers length away from me now as she looks up into my eyes, "Is it true?"
"Is what true?" My eyebrows furrow.
"That you've crossed the seven seas, climbed the highest mountains and defeated the strongest armies, all just to find me?"
I can't help but chuckle, "Not exactly, but I did cross a river, climb a curb and died in battle against my 14 year old sister...so I guess it's sort of the same thing?"
She laughs a laugh that I wish I could hear for forever and a day.
"Oh, well however it's come, I'm glad you found me." She then says.
"Technically, you're the one who's found me."
"Ahh, so you weren't lying when you affirmed that us seeing more of each other would entail more of you correcting me."
"Honesty is indeed my blessing and my curse."
"So what does bring you here actually?"
"It's a long story." I let out an unintentional sigh.
"Can't be as bad as mine." She remarks and my eyes widen.
"And what's yours?"
"Well that's no fair now is it Humphrey. You've got to tell me and then I'll tell you."
"Humphrey? Really? Out of all 4 of my names, you decide to use that one?" I chuckle.
"Yes. And just because you've expressed your immediate dislike for it, I think I'll keep using it from now onwards."
"Okay fine. Then Waldorf it is."
"And unlike you, I actually like my surname." She sticks her tongue out at me and I can feel the flutters in my chest going crazy.
"There's no winning with you is there?"
"Nope, not at all." She says and then moves past me and walks towards the café. She then turns back around and looks at me, "Come on, are we going to sit down at this café and vent our problems to one another or not?"
I don't think anyone has ever made me laugh this much in my life. Being around her just makes everything feel so...easy. I walk towards her and she's holding the door open for me.
"You're a true gentleman." I quip.
"Shut up!" She rolls her eyes.
As we step inside I turn around to face her again, "My sister's here too but I don't think she'll mind sitting alone."
"What? No. We can all sit together." She replies and I swear my heart melts.
"Okay, but just a warning, she's kind of a fan."
"And you're not?" Her eyebrow arches and she walks past me.
I just shake my head in laughter as I follow her through the café and towards Jenny. She's the one to turn around in the middle of our walk this time and she asks, "What's your sister's name?"
"Jenny. Jenny Humphrey." I reply and she turns on her heels again.
We get to Jenny and she immediately makes her presence known.
"Hi, I'm Blair Waldorf." She holds out her hand.
My sister looks like she's just seen one of her favorite rock band members and I can see she's trying her best not to screech.
"I know." She replies with a huge smile as she shakes Blair's hand.
"And you're Jenny Humphrey right?"
I'm not sure if I've ever seen someone's mouth open as wide as Jenny's just did and I can't help but laugh. She's worse than me!
"How did you know?" Jenny asks.
"Your brother here told me." Her eyes point to me.
"You know him?" Jenny's mouth falls agape again.
"Him? Unfortunately Jenny, I do." She sighs jokingly.
"Okay, okay. Can we sit now?" I finally say.
Blair takes my stool and sits between Jenny and I. She then orders a hot chocolate for herself and wow, she looks way more captivating under the dimmed lights of a cosy café than the grand chandeliers of a ballroom party. She speaks to Jenny for a few minutes as Jenny tells her all about her starting at Constance on Monday. She then assures Jenny that she'll make sure nothing happens to her and my heart warms up entirely. Jen then snaps a selfie of the two of them and as she busy's herself on her phone, probably trying to post the picture, Blair turns to me.
"Hey." She whispers cutely.
"Do I finally get a chance to speak to you now?" I chuckle.
"Yes, but it's gotta be quick. I've got more important things to attend to behind me..." She smiles warmly, "...so go on. Tell me."
My eyes face down at the table and I let out a breath first before I say, "Well you see, the whole summer my mom's been in Hudson and my dad's been here with us. And Jenny and I, we've been suspicious of the whole situation but then tonight my dad went out and Jenny tracked him down, with my help of course, and we found him at a café a few blocks away sitting with another woman. So yeah, I guess that just gave us the closure for something that has been so obvious for so long already. Jenny was really upset though and I couldn't take her home until she felt better so we came here just to get a hot chocolate before we face reality again."
"I'm sorry." She says with so much sincerity. As if she understands exactly what I'm feeling.
"You don't have to be. It's not your fault."
"You're a really good brother."
"I try to be..." I look up at her and our eyes dance for a second, "...it's your turn to tell."
"Oh yes..." She straightens herself, "...so it turns out last nights ballroom party was the last one that house will ever host."
"What? Why?"
"You see Humphrey, where your parents are obvious, my parents are not-so-obvious. For the past 3 months they've been planning their divorce, and last nights party was basically a farewell to our home. A going away party of some sort. The house was sold a week ago, this morning my dad left to France to be with the man he really loves and tonight my mom and I are moving into the penthouse of this building. And the messed up part is that I only found out all of this when my parents came into the library last night while we were in there. They came in to tell me."
I'm not quite sure what to say to her. I mean, I understand exactly what she's going through but at the same time, I can't relate at all. So instead of faking understanding, I step off the stool and wrap my arms around her as warmly and as tightly as I can. She digs her face into my neck and she drapes her arms around my waist. I look over at Jenny and she looks confused but she doesn't say anything. I can feel one or two tear drops escaping Blair's eyes and into my neck but that's all she lets out and she comes out of the embrace. She wipes her eyes tidily and sets her posture straight again, but all it tells me is that she feels vulnerable and she's putting some walls up. Walls that I'm too scared to break right now.
"Are you okay?" I ask softly.
"Yes." She replies unconvincingly.
I look down at my phone to check the time. 10:45pm.
"Shit, I completely lost track of the time." I say as I get up hurriedly.
Blair's eyebrows furrow as she looks up at me, "You have to go?" There's a hint of worry in her eyes and it's breaking my heart.
"Yeah, my dad's gonna be home soon and he's gonna blow a gasket if we're not there when he gets back. I'm so sorry."
"No, it's okay." She looks down and my heart sinks.
"Uhh...come on Jen, let's go." Jenny gets up, greets Blair and walks towards the door.
I stay behind for a sec, "Will you be okay alone here?" I ask Blair.
"I live in the building Humphrey. Don't worry about me." She rolls her eyes and it relieves me a little that her sassy side has made a reappearance.
"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you around then."
She looks up at me immediately but doesn't say anything for a moment, but then she says nervously, "Uhm...maybe...maybe I should give you my number so you can let me know when you get home? For safety measures of course."
"Yeah..." I chuckle, "...for 'safety measures'." I take out my phone and hand it to her.
She punches the number in quickly and hands the phone back to me. She then hops off of her stool and with her tippy toes she rises to drape her arms warmly around my neck to pull me into an embrace. It's turning into the best feeling I've ever felt in my entire life. Her arms around my neck. We hug each other tightly almost like we're the only things keeping each other together. The blissful moment ends and I head out the café. My heart is absolutely thudding and Jenny just keeps laughing because she knows I'm a goner. We climb into a cab and I'm so anxious to get home just to call her. The drive feels like it goes on for forever but we do finally get home and I race upstairs, into the loft and onto my bed. I dial her number and it hardly gets a chance to ring and she's already answered it.
"Hey." She says and I can hear her smiling.
"Hey." Now I'm smiling.
"You're safe?"
"I'm safe, thanks."
"Your dad home?"
"Not yet."
"Okay, good."
"You okay?" I ask.
"Humphrey..." I can just picture her eyes rolling, "...you've got to stop worrying about me."
"That's like asking me to stop blinking - it's impossible."
She chuckles and I love it, "Well I'm gonna head to bed now. Hopefully it won't take news of our parents divorcing to get us to see each other again."
I'm the one chuckling now, "You love being corrected don't you?"
"I guess it's just a quirk of yours that I'll have to bear for the greater good." She sighs jokingly.
"The greater good? And what might that be?"
"Goodnight now Daniel Randolph Jonah Humphrey." She says quickly and laughs.
"Goodnight Blair Cornelia Paige Waldorf." I say with an idiotic smile beaming from my face and then I shut the phone.
Tonight I go sleep and it's a complete antonym to that of what I slept like last night. There's a warm feeling that's enraptured my heart and I can't seem to wipe this stupid smile off of my face. I'm sure it follows me all the way into my dreams. There's a sense of comfort surrounding this stranger now. And I guess it comes from the fact that she's no longer a stranger anymore. But then again, it never felt like she ever was...