His phone rang again a few minutes after Alex hung up. It was already ten minutes past midnight.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of having my favorite sister call?" Chuck pleasantly answered the phone with a hint of sarcasm after seeing Serena's name in the caller ID. "And just so you know, it's past midnight in England."
"I feel as if it's my duty as your concerned sister to check if you are not getting yourself into any trouble." Serena said with a smug tone, rolling her eyes on the other line.
"How touching… but I feel as if I don't deserve your sudden interest in me and my affairs," he replied, adding a sigh for dramatic effect.
She ignored his remark and told him, "I just wanted to know how you are, okay? So quit bickering."
"Well, in that case, sis, I thank you for your utmost concern and if I must let you know, I'm great. Everything's just great. Work's been keeping me preoccupied. What about you and Humpty Dumpy?"
"Will you ever stop calling my husband names?" It was more of a command, the way she said it.
"So… What about you and Daniel? How was your romantic getaway in Italy?" He unwillingly obliged to her demand. Sometimes, he just can't help being an ass to Serena. It's one of his guilty pleasures. Ever since Bart and Lily got married and they were forced to live together, exchange pleasantries and deal with each other in a more than civil way, they learned how to co-exist, not necessarily like each other. They have been doing that previously, anyway. But when Serena saw a different side of Chuck to Blair, she realized that there was more to him than the UES resident badass playboy role he willingly portrays. Chuck has always looked out after Serena, just for instance during the time he had asked his father to take care of her mess back in junior year, when the blonde had been the one who was responsible for breaking in the school grounds after hours and starting the pool party (where a fellow student had also gotten in an accident.) Serena, too, has always looked out after Chuck. They're just not upfront about it and sometimes, bickering is just a way of showing their affections for each other (in a brother-sister way, of course).
"You and I both know that you don't want to hear about the details of my happily married life."
"That may be true but still."
"We're happy and content with family life and everything's been great. We couldn't ask for more."
"Good for you." He was really happy for her. Dan was a great guy, even if he spent his formative years in Brooklyn.
"When do you plan on coming home?"
"It may take me a while. Why? For all I know, you're not so enthusiastic when I'm there."
"You might be right but I have to admit, it's getting dull around here without you." She went on saying, "Your nephew and niece are very fond of you. They miss their generous uncle."
"Me too but uhm, I'm probably going to stay here longer than expected. I like it here. The people here don't give a damn about who I am and what I do. Back home, everything I do hit the newsstands. Not entirely everything, but you know what I mean."
"Yeah but you're on the clear now."
"Still, I feel more at ease in here and I feel as if this is the perfect place where I could start over a new life."
"Whatever you say, bro. I just hope you're happy."
"I didn't know you could be supportive."
Serena kept silent and waited for him to say something else. She could tell something's up.
"So… how is everything in there?"
"If you're asking about Blair, she's great. She handled the rumors pretty well and she just guested on the Tyra show, actually, with Nate. Just like you, she's keeping herself busy with work. As a matter of fact, she just flew to LA to shoot an infomercial for a campaign on HIV/AIDS awareness. It's a project where a lot of celebrities have also signed up for."
He said, impressed at her good will, "Good for her. Working for a cause."
"What have you been working on?" She feigned interest.
"Getting more and more business deals. You know, boring business stuff. Not as exciting and as fun as what you guys do for a living." He referred to Serena being an eventologist, Blair being a model, Dan being a writer. They love their jobs and they get to do a lot of interesting things while he, well, he doesn't hate making more money than any of them but it's tedious work… too predictable and… where's the fun in that?
"You can always take a break. It's not like you're gonna lose money if you do."
"Technically, I can do that but I hate going back to a lot more work." He paused and inquired in a curious tone, "How did Nate handle everything? Based from our last conversation, he's taking it better than I thought. What do you think?"
"He reacted like any guy who's in the situation would."
"How's that? What do you mean?"
"You know Nate… He's still pretty much easily ticked/angered by you. He'd been furious at first but they talked about it. They're over the whole thing."
"Are they happy?"
"It's been hard, mostly for Blair of course but Nate's been understanding and helped her through it. They're happy together and they can withstand any problems they encounter along their way. Wait… why are you even asking?"
He wanted to tell her about Blair's letter but decided not to, not wanting to complicate things after hearing that their relationship is going strong. So instead, he told Serena that he just wanted to know if everything's fine between them since he barely have the chance to talk to them anymore.
"Is that the reason why you don't want to go home? Are you avoiding them?"
"No, no, it's not that. This business trip has been planned from the start and I'm just… doing my job." And yes, I don't want to cause them more problems than I already have, he thought. In an effort to convince his stepsister that he's over Blair, he informed her, "I met someone."
Serena asked, her curiosity rising with a tone of skepticism. "You met someone?" Chuck can imagine her looking unconvinced with her eyebrow raised higher than the other.
"Yeah, she's really great. You'd love her. Her name's Alexis Figueroa."
"Wait… Did I hear that right? Alexis Figueroa? As in the estranged daughter of Prince Alberto of Spain?" Serena shrieked in utter disbelief.
Trust her to overreact in any given situation when he should be the one who ought to be surprised. "Yeah… wait! What did you just say?"
She tried to calm herself in order to enlighten him, "I met her when I went to boarding school and she was an exchange student. She was really nice actually, without the air of superiority and superciliousness that royals always held."
It was time for him to compose himself at this shocking revelation. He tried to get the right words out of his tongue but mumbled instead, "That's impossible… she's not…"
"I doubt that there's another Alexis Figueroa but uhm, does she have a long and black shiny hair, porcelain skin, emerald eyes, red lips, rosy cheeks, about 5'7 or 5'8… Looks prettier without make-up on and uhm… …"
"She has auburn hair now but yeah, that sounds like her." He was still trying to process this information and queried, "What do you exactly mean by 'estranged'?"
"She turned her back from royalty and chose to live a simpler/ordinary life as a commoner instead. But she didn't rebel, ran away or anything like that. In exchange of her crown, her parents have given her the freedom to do whatever she wants for as long as she wants just as long as she didn't do anything that will bring shame to her family. She's still allowed to go back but not as the crowned princess anymore. Her eldest brother's wife has already taken the place." After her long explanation, Serena asked, "One could still tell she has noble blood just by her regal looks, good graces and this certain elegance and refinement she carries around her. And yet, you didn't have any idea who she is?"
"I wouldn't be surprised the way I had been if I have known!" He yelled in a duh-like fashion. He felt dense and clueless.
"She didn't tell you?"
"As it turns out, she doesn't really tell me a lot of things."
"Wait… isn't she still dating that Turkish heir of some big business tycoon? Chase something..."
Chase doesn't sound Turkish to me, he thought. "No, not anymore. They broke up two months ago…." He wasn't really in the mood to gossip and fill her with the details of Alex's dysfunctional and destructive relationship with her ex. "How come you know a lot of things about her more than I do?"
"Don't you read the papers? The Internet? CNN?"
"Wow. That really caught me by surprise. You reading the papers, watching the news, I mean. Dan's really rubbing off on you."
"I'm not an idiot. Between you and me, I'm far more aware of what's going on in the world."
"Seriously, though… I thought she looks like a princess but I never really considered that she truly is… one."
"How did you meet her anyway?" Serena was really surprised and happy to hear about Chuck's blossoming romance with a Spanish princess. She was eager to know all the details about how they started out.
Chuck rolled his eyes at her sudden interest in his love life but even he couldn't help but rejoice in actuality. He knows how bright her eyes must look like right now, with hearts on it. "On the plane, helped her with the luggage, talked with her during the entire flight while drinking champagne and eating chocolate truffles."
"How romantic."
"Is there a hint of sarcasm in there?"
"Of course not. You coming to her aid like a knight in shining armor… I can't help to tell everyone how our dearest Chuck has softened up… How a beautiful princess has broken down the wall he built as great as the Wall of China to protect his heart…" Serena was making fun of him and giggling on the other line.
"Now that's enough! Don't you dare tell anyone or I swear I'll show the world what you really look like when you wake up in the morning! It surely isn't a pleasant sight. I'm surprised how well Humphrey can manage to deal with that."
"You kept all those pictures all these years! Well then, if it's war you're waging on, I am not backing out. You're on, Bass. I might still have the morning-after-a-wild-night-hangover pictures around here, after all. Plus a couple of other things the public may find… amusing."
"That's an empty threat, Serena. I've gotten those pictures a long time ago and besides, you're an amateur at this."
"Whatever… wait, she's the 'I think I just found my soulmate' girl, isn't she? Blair showed me the picture after she went to see you at the airport and I never really had the chance to express how mad I am at you for not telling. I thought you weren't leaving anymore!" She went on with her rambling (oh Serena!) "That's why I thought the girl looked familiar!" She wasn't able to take a good look of the girl in the photo because her face was on the side view, kissing Chuck on the side of his lips.
"What did Blair say?" He asked, curious to know what Blair's reaction is.
"She was just laughing at how quick you have been to jump at the first girl you meet and she felt sorry for the 'girl'." She stopped giggling and then asked, "Were you expecting Blair to get jealous or something?"
He denied her allegation and trying to change the topic, he said, "Alex and I… We have this thing tomorrow. I'm bringing her as my date to a business dinner with some Japanese entrepreneurs… How am I supposed to act around her now?"
"What's making you… nervous?" The Chuck Bass she knew would never get intimidated by that fact.
"Well, for one, she basically lied to me about who she really is."
"Maybe she thought that you already knew and it doesn't matter to her. Or… Maybe she didn't tell you because it's not really a big deal to her and she didn't want to be treated differently. What's the next problem?" But before she let him replied, she added, "And since when did something like that has ever stopped you from pursuing a girl?"
"She's a princess. I've never dated a real princess before. Hell, I don't date real princesses!"
"You make it sound like such a terrible thing. So what if she is? What's the big problem there? Are you intimidated by her now? Does it change anything?"
"Woah, slow down there, Van Der Wood-, Humphrey! I just couldn't believe it… I never would've guessed that myself. The whole thing just took me by surprise. I'm just overwhelmed and… I dunno…"
"What are you so upset about? Wait… do you really… like her?"
'Define like' as a response was getting old. "Yes. I do like-her like-her a lot, okay?" He paced back and forth in his room, his heart beating faster at the confrontation. "And I'm not upset… I'm just… really… wow!"
"I know, I know. I haven't seen you together but she seems good for you. You should bring her with you when you get back! Blair would definitely be happy for you and Nate would finally realize that you're over Blair… Isn't it great?" She squealed in excitement.
"Serena! Listen, as much as I'd like to admit that I see a potential relationship between Alex and me… I still have to think things over."
"But Chuck—"
"I have to go back to sleep. I don't wanna be late for my meeting in the morning. I'll call you later, okay?"
Chuck doesn't really keep his promises so Serena said, "I'll call you and good luck with that, I guess."
"Tell Blair and Humphrey I said hi and kiss the kids for me."
"Of course." Chuck had already hung up and Dan came up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Who was that? Took you so long… " Her husband asked, taking the phone away from her hand and putting it aside.
"Charles," she tells him and informs him excitedly how their conversation went.
Chuck, on the other hand; Blair's letter and Alex's real identity were just a lot to take in one night. He wondered if he would be getting any sleep at all.