Title: La Vie En Rose
Pairing: Blair/Carter, Blair/Chuck
Disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl…sigh
A/N: Yay! Third chapter! I'm sorry for the lack of updates so to make up for that, I made this chapter longer. Hopefully you guys are enjoying Blair/Carter. As for Cross My Heart, all I can say is that I'm going to try my best to get a new chapter up next week. Thanks to everyone who reviewed or alerted, I know I say it a lot, but I seriously mean it when I say that everything you guys do means a lot to me! Thanks to Nat too!
Blair isn't surprised when Serena calls the next morning, demanding to know every detail of what had happened. Purposely, Blair pauses, pretending that she hasn't that faintest clue as to what Serena's blabbering about, but it doesn't take much coaxing for her to break down excitedly and start squealing.
She abandons the packing she's meant to be doing for her trip to Paris tomorrow and flops onto her bed, dangling her feet off the edge as she begins to recount her late night escapade with her new favourite French boys. Serena laughs along with Blair, but something in her voice alerts Blair to the fact that something's wrong.
"So," Blair pauses, trying to get her wording right, so she that doesn't seem like a needy ex-girlfriend of Chuck Bass, "how did Chuck take it?" (sadly, it doesn't work). She waits for an answer, but Serena seems to ignore the question and instead starts a conversation about Chanel.
"Serena, answer me," Blair says sternly. The hesitation from Serena confirms Blair's suspicions that she had indeed heard the question, but it also gives Blair a uncomforting feeling. "Serena?"
"Blair, I'm so sorry," Serena begins and Blair almost wishes she hadn't asked. "Last night, well, after Chuck found out about you and the French boys, he, um…well, let's say he had his own late night escapade."
Blair's mouth drops and for the second time in the past week, she feels her heart crumble and shatter. She knows that she shouldn't be feeling this way, she knows who Chuck Bass is and what he does, but she can't help the fact that she's aching. Her sadness passes and is quickly replaced with anger. How dare he move on that quickly? Sure, she may have insinuated that she and Louis had shared something, but she never would've actually done anything. Despite people's perceptions, Blair Waldorf was not a slut. She was merely a girl who wore her heart on her sleeve and always ended up getting hurt.
Blair laughs away her aggravation at Chuck and proceeds with telling Serena about her upcoming trip to Paris. She has a feeling that Serena knows she's pretending, but she doesn't care. The last things Blair wants right now is to hear Serena's words of wisdom and after five minutes, she gives the excuse that her father is calling her to eat. When Blair hangs up, she stares at her phone in disbelief and annoyance. It honestly angers her what Chuck's done and even though, she had subtly done the same thing, it doesn't stop her from feeling cheated.
Deciding once and for all that she doesn't need Chuck Bass, Blair makes a promise to herself. She'll make the best out of these holidays. She'll party, she'll shop, she'll get a manicure. She'll do anything and everything to rid Chuck Bass from her mind. The first thing she does is open up her wallet and removes a picture of her and Chuck hugging on a park bench in Central Park. At first, she regrets what she's about to do (after all, they do look rather cute in the picture), but then she realises that it's thoughts like these that keep getting her heart broken. She walks over to her fireplace and pauses briefly, taking a moment of silence, before letting the picture slip from her fingers, burning into little fragments of ash and memories.
They're over, Chuck and her. She just has to accept it.
When she arrives in Paris with her father and Roman the first thing that Blair Waldorf does is go to the Louis Vuitton store and buys herself a new purse and sunglasses that aren't available in New York. She uses them straight out of the shop and even though people point and stare at her like she's a young Catherine Denevue, she doesn't feel special.
Roman notices her new accessories and tells her she looks beautiful, but all she can respond with is a mere 'thank you' and a polite smile. She knows that he knows that something's wrong, but he's still afraid to say the wrong things to her, in fear that she'll try to sabotage his relationship with her father again.
For her first two days in Paris, she goes to her favourite usual places: the Louvre, Moulin Rogue, every fashion show that's taking place and soon enough, she begins to find herself uninterested. She begins to realise that bored doesn't even start to describe what she's feeling and even though she loves the bright lights of Paris, she wants more.
The next day, she decides to walk. Yes, Blair Waldorf can walk and when she tells her father at breakfast, he gives her a weird look, but nonetheless, says that a walk in Paris can change her life. He asks her if she wants some company, but she tells him that she's fine and it's alright if he goes to his business meetings like he originally planned to. Harold suggests that Roman accompany Blair, but Blair laughs it off, joking light-heartedly that Roman and walking go together like Eleanor Waldorf and discount stores.
She leaves their hotel in a flowy, floral sundress that shows off her radiant skin and slips a bright pink headband into her perfectly wavy tresses. The sun shines gloriously and the light breeze blows passes Blair softly. Today she's feeling on top of the world and when people notice her, she lifts her head up high and acts like the prima donna that she is. French whispers fly past her and Blair takes into stride her increasing confidence levels as a cute French boy passes her on his bike, sending her a quick smile.
When she reaches her thirty-minute mark, she finds herself in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral, imperial in all its majesty. It towers over her like the Empire State Building, only much more regal and definitely not a sight for sore eyes. Though she's seen it many times, she finds herself overwhelmed and has to sit down on a park bench as the intensity of the building overwhelms her. She imagines being trapped in the cathedral like Quasimodo and instantly she feels sorry for the Hunchback who had to endure a life inside the constrictive walls.
The booming sound of the bell resonates throughout the city, signifying noon and Blair, like the birds around her, jumps startled. She laughs it off wearily but looks around her stealthily, making sure that no one noticed her apprehension. When the coast seems clear, she stands up from her seat and slips her sunglasses back over her eyes, preparing to make her next mark, when suddenly she feels as though a pair of eyes are watching her. She looks around and notices a flash somewhere in the distance, but can't make out where it's coming from. Maybe it was just her imagination, but as she walks away from Notre Dame, she keeps her eyes focused at all times on her surroundings. She soon regrets doing this as she startles herself by immediately bumping clumsily into a stranger.
"I'm beginning to think that you're falling head over heels for me," says the stranger and his recognizable voice shakes Blair out of her daze and she finds herself face to face with Carter Baizen again.
"I'm beginning to think that you're stalking me," she replies, happy to see a familiar face in a crowd of forgettable faces.
"Well, you can never keep me away from a beautiful woman," Carter says and Blair can't resist the urge to blush uncontrollably. He smiles at her not so usual expression and when she regains her composure, she says curiously, "I never knew you were going to be Paris."
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Blair Waldorf," he tells her with a suggestive, mysterious tone to his voice, concealed with a small smirk. "So, where's Mr Bass?"
Instantly, he can tell that it's a sore subject for her as her face tightens and she folds her hands over her chest. That's all he needs to see from her and despite the fact that he desperately wants to sing, 'I told you so', he changes the topic and asks her inquisitively, "So, how long you staying in Paris?"
Her mood lightens immediately and she replies, "Till Saturday. Then I'm going to the Hamptons to visit Serena." At the mention of Serena's name, she notices Carter cringe slightly, but ignores it as he jokes, "You're leaving the City of Lights to go to the playground for spoilt brats?"
"For your information, one, you were, and I'm not sure if you still are, a spoilt brat. Two, the City of lumière is losing its spark."
"One, I'm still a brat, not necessarily that spoilt anymore and two, well that all depends. Where have been so far?" Carter asks, moving out of an old French man's way. The man shouts out 'Merci' even though he's only a metre away and Blair proceeds with telling Carter about visiting the Louvre, the fashion shows and the Moulin rogue.
"Well, no wonder you're already bored. All you've visited is tourist France," he responds, shaking his head. "I would've expected more from you, Blair," he jokes, but still has a look of confusion on her face.
"Wait, what are you talking, Carter?" she scowls, furrowing her eyebrows.
"I mean, Miss Waldorf, that you're visiting the places in Paris that are especially marked for tourists. Sure, the Louvre's exciting, but come on, after the fiftieth trip there, you begin to realise the Mona Lisa's a medieval drag queen."
Blair stifles her laughter, but can't remove the smirk from her face as she rolls her eyes in her common Blair Waldorf way. "Oh and the Venus de Milo is ancient porn?"
"Now you're catching my drift," he replies, and there's a sparkle in his eyes that reminds her dangerously of a certain Bass. "You need to visit the real Paris, Blair."
"And what exactly is the real Paris?"
"Well, it depends," he says slowly, taking a step closer to Blair. "What are you doing tomorrow?"
This time it's Blair who takes a step back, mildly surprised by Carter's inquiry. Did Carter Baizen just ask her out? No, it couldn't be. She shakes her head, realising that he had simply asked her what her plans for tomorrow were, but from the look on his face, it had been the insinuation that she was afraid of.
"Are you asking me out Carter Baizen?" she says, raising an eyebrow in an amused, but anxious tone and when he doesn't say a word, but merely smiles, she knows she's right.
She reminds herself that it's far too soon…but then again, Carter is a friend (or at least something resembling that) and that it's perfectly fine for friends to hang out together.
"Listen Blair, I didn't mean to scare you."
"I'm not scared," she says firmly, but he dismisses her tough exterior and proceeds with, "Think about it this way. When Chuck hears about you gallivanting across Paris with me, he's sure to blow the stick from his ass."
Her lips curl into a grin and she's immediately attracted to the idea, wanting desperately to get Chuck back. She moves closer towards him, taking her sunglasses off her eyes and batting her luscious lashes at Carter.
"So, tomorrow?"