Chapter 18
Hey, Upper East Siders, it's that time of year again, when the mere act of descending a staircase means you're a woman. That's right- Debutante season. And from what we hear, there's been some changes in the lineup.
Blair smiled in excitement as she and Serena walked down the street to their dance rehearsals for Cotillion. Blair had been waiting for this day for as long as she could remember. This was her making her official society debut! Granted she'd already made her mark on society at a very young age, but now it was going to be official. Along with many of her dreams of the future this day also included Nate by her side, but Blair had no trouble imagining this particular moment with Chuck and she had to admit that the image was even better. Things have been going strong between her and Bass; even though they weren't going to Cotillion together, he seemed just as invested in making her dream of being Queen of the ball a reality.
He even encouraged and introduced her to Prince Theodore, her date. Blair was a bit surprised that he was comfortable with her going with someone else, but he explained that after the ball was over she was all his and he had a surprised planned where they could dance the night away. Blair knew she'd be a hit with the Prince by her side, but she knew the only way that Cotillion could be as special as she had always dreamed it to be was if her escort was Chuck instead.
Sure they told her mother at Thanksgiving and appeared to have gained her blessing, which was a good sign for how the rest of society would react, but Blair wasn't sure if Chuck was ready to step out of the shadows and into the light with her and she didn't want to pressure him about it. She spent enough time doing that with Nate throughout their relationship and look where that got her.
Blair was so wrapped up in her musings that she didn't realize that she was drawing attention to herself, "Okay, that was the third sigh over the course of three blocks, what is going on in that head of yours Blair?" Serena teased beside her.
Blair smiled at her best friend, "I'm just glad that this day is almost here. You know how much I've looked forward to this and I have to admit, I'm actually glad I'm going with Prince Theodore instead of Nate." Yes, Blair still hadn't broken the news to Serena that she was even seeing someone else, let along Chuck Bass, and she admitted to herself that she felt a tad bit guilty over it. But the memory of Serena's reaction Thanksgiving morning was enough to keep Blair silent. She reasoned that she'd tell her when her and Chuck were closer to coming out.
"The further we get from the breakup, the more self-involved I see he was. Always so brooding, so tortured. Ugh. A girl wants Romeo, not Hamlet," Blair explained, not breaking her stride.
"Romeo died," Serena said with a look of confusion.
"Yeah, but he died for something exciting," the two laughed as Blair continued on, "and I want my Debutante Ball to be something to die for. All I get with Nate is some rosé in the back of a town car, but with the Prince, I get a security detail and a high-speed chase to the Pierre after it's over." Blair smiled at her dramatics. Sure all that sounded exciting and she knew she'd be the envy of everyone at the Ball, but at this point in Blair's life, for probably the first time, she wanted her reality instead of fantasy.
"Ooh! I can see you on the cover of "Hello!" already," Serena exclaimed as she hugged Blair's side, getting swept up in the fantasy.
Blair decided that this would be the perfect opening to share her news with Serena, "Yeah, well, try "The New York Times," She smiled as she looked at Serena, "They've chosen me for "A night out with," and I'm going to give them the most perfect night out of the year."
Serena was appropriately excited at the news, "I can't wait to read it myself on Monday, granted I know I'll get the full details of your night when we meet up for dinner that night."
Blair still couldn't believe that Serena was actually going through with this whole refusal of a Debutante Ball. I mean, sure, it was one thing to be rebellious and claim to not conform to society, but it was another thing entirely to not follow through with it. "Is your mom mad that you're not being presented?" Blair asked offhandedly as she saw in the distance the building that they were heading to.
"Well, she doesn't really have a leg to stand on since I found out she used to be my boyfriend's father's biggest fan," Serena shuddered as Blair nodded still a bit impressed with the older Van Der Woodsen's history as Serena continued on dramatically, "Ew! It sounds so gross when you say it out loud."
"Silly me. Here I actually thought you wanted to go," Blair said lightly as they arrived at the door.
"Uh, I'm here with you, aren't I?" Serena said with a smile as she pulled Blair back to her side.
Blair rolled her eyes and laughed, "Yeah, only 'cause your grandmother's meeting you here."
"Blah, blah, blah, blah," Serena waved her hand in the air as the two laughed together and headed inside through the front entrance.
xoxo
Meanwhile, down the street at the same time, Chuck and Nate were walking from school, also on their way to dance rehearsals for Cotillion. Chuck really couldn't care less since he wasn't going with the one he wanted to go with, Blair Waldorf. Sure he put on a convincing show of encouraging her to go with the prince, but that was because he didn't see the royal as competition and knew that Blair would be thinking of him the entire night anyway. The only thing stopping him from asking to be her escort himself was that he wasn't sure if Blair was at the point where she was ready to tell everyone. Sure she told Eleanor, but telling one's parent was similar to telling a stranger off the street on the Upper East Side. The older Waldorf was supportive of them and, according to Blair, wasn't that surprised about the change in relationship between them.
Don't get Chuck wrong he was grateful that Blair felt comfortable to telling anyone, even if it was her mother, and it was because of this, Chuck didn't want to push her. Call him a coward, but he still feared that she would wise up and realize that she wanted someone else instead, someone like the guy walking beside him.
"Hey, so, uh, has Blair mentioned who's escorting her?" Nate asked Chuck, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Not knowing where this question was leading, Chuck decided to tread carefully, "Why? Are you having remorse sex fantasies about your ex?"
"What? No," Nate stated with a laugh as they crossed the street to the next block.
Chuck just looked at Nate and saw what he'd been dreading; Nate was finally noticing what he had in Blair Waldorf and was beginning the process of sniffing around to get back with her. "Don't eff with an effer, I know that look." This is just what he needed, formal prince charming finally making an effort to win his queen, and Blair had always been a romantic.
"No, man, it's just that every time I see her lately, something's different. You know, she's lighter. She's happier," Nate explained with a sigh, "She's just- less- less Blair."
Chuck smirked at Nate's words because he knew she had been all these things because of him. Chuck had to admit that it was easy for him to ease into the boyfriend role with Blair. He didn't kid himself thinking that it was realistic since they were in the dark about their relationship, but if this was even a taste of what was expected of him, he felt he could handle it. "She does have a certain glow about her, doesn't she?" Chuck mused to himself.
"You know with my dad in rehab, it's like the pressure is finally off me. You know, I can see Blair clearly, and it's…," Nate sighed to himself before he continued, "I don't know, man. I think I might miss her."
Chuck knew he needed to shut this down and quick, because he did not need this to add on to his life. Blair Waldorf was his. And it's Nate's own fault for not realizing what he had when he had it. Chuck even tried to tell him how lucky he was, but Nate was too swept up in the storm that was Serena Van Der Woodsen to listen. He scoffed at Nate as they arrived at their destination, "You don't miss her, man." Chuck headed inside through the back entrance of the building, effectively ending the conversation.
xoxo
As Blair got into position in front of Prince Theodore to practice the opening dance all the debutantes were performing after the big announcement, she glanced to her left briefly at Chuck with a secretive smile, which he returned with no one the wiser. As lead deb, Blair was of course expected to lead the others in starting the sequence first. As she waited for it to be her turn again, Blair glanced around at the others, smiling at the sight of all the girls wearing similar types of dance outfits, while the guys were still in their school uniforms.
Even outside of school, it was obvious who ruled the Upper East Side youth and it was Blair Waldorf, and she relished every second of it. Even debs from other schools outside of Constance followed after her in style and dress! Being able to influence so many, so easily is what Blair Waldorf thrived on, but no one could say that she didn't work hard for this position.
Blair shook her head, clearing her head, as she took her turn for a turn around with Prince Theodore, putting on a happy smile only to be handed over to Nate for the next sequence. The differences between Blair's facial expressions were as obvious as night and day. She went from smiling happily in the arms of the prince, to a look of indifference while in the arms of her ex. If anyone even considered that the two were getting back together in time for the ball that alone proved that it was not in the cards.
Chuck smirked as he passed by Blair, feeling a bit more secure that he didn't have anything to worry about. Blair was giving off the vibes that she was far from interested in getting back with Nate and hopefully he'll hear the message loud and clear. As Chuck danced with his partner half-heartedly, he couldn't help but imagine that she was someone else instead. Today he was going to ask her. He'd been thinking about it for a while since he first introduced Blair to the prince, but after his talk with Nathaniel on the way here, he figured what did he have to lose? Worst case scenario she'd say that she wasn't ready to go public, but at least it would open the door for them to start talking about when it was going to happen.
He'd been listening to her plan meticulously over this event about how her mother had her dress custom made for it and she wouldn't even let him see it. Unbeknownst to her though, Eleanor had already sent Chuck a picture of the fabric, assuming that he would be Blair's escort. Through all her musings, Chuck had to admit that he envisioned himself by her side as she was crowned the belle of the ball and secured her spot as ruling the Upper East Side and he also had to admit that he saw him ruling right along beside her. Besides, every queen needed her king, and no one was more of a match for Blair Waldorf than Chuck Bass.
As the song ended for rehearsals, Chuck gave the signal over to Blair to confirm that they were still meeting up afterwards at her place as usual. With all the things needing done for Cotillion, they had to work even harder to be able to spend any alone time together, so the couple usually met after dance rehearsals and enjoyed each other for a couple of hours before Blair had to rush off and do something else as required in her duties as lead deb.
Blair smiled over at her boyfriend as she acknowledged the signal. He made rehearsals go by extremely slow because all Blair Waldorf wanted to do was dance in his arms and hide away in a dark corner with him. Unfortunately he wasn't her escort so it would be far from appropriate. She mentally sighed, if only he'd ask her! It wasn't too late for her to cancel on the prince and make a few alterations to her plan. She originally started planning for this a few weeks ago with Chuck in mind anyway.
After the instructor declared the rehearsal over, Blair looked around for Serena, finding her with the Humphreys. Blair settled for giving her a wave from a distance before heading out to go home. Just because she went Brooklyn for a couple of hours didn't mean that she didn't still hold a grudge against Jenny Humphrey. The last thing Blair did was waste her time on people and that's what she did with the freshman. Call her petty for choosing to not associate with the young blonde, but think about it.
If it was Jenny's first offense, Blair would have been more than fine with letting it pass, but it was Jenny's third strike in a matter of a few days! She disobeyed Blair and secretly came to Blair's masquerade ball, showing a lack of complete disrespect, broke that bracelet that Blair ended up having to pay to get it fixed because it was under her name, and then she chose to be the messenger of bad news. Blair guessed she could have told everyone at school what she knew, but instead she did the honorable thing and told Blair herself.
Blair paused as she walked, taking in her thought process. When she thought about it, Jenny actually did her a favor. If she didn't know about what Nate had done at her ball, she'd most likely still be with him. God knew he wasn't going to tell her himself anytime soon. And she wouldn't have embraced her feelings for Chuck and wouldn't be as happy as she was now… Blair smiled to herself as she continued on with her walk making a decision. She'd begrudgingly give Jenny an opportunity to be publicly forgiven. It wasn't as if she was going to actively look for the opportunity, but if it presented itself she'd take it.
Blair smiled at her doorman as he held the door open for her and headed inside her building, hoping that Chuck was already upstairs instead of being detained by Nate. When the elevator let her out at her apartment, Blair didn't even have to ask Dorota if she had a visitor because Dorota was already smirking at her secretively and motioning up to her bedroom. Yes, Dorota was made aware of hers and Chuck's budding relationship and at first the polish maid was suspicious of him, but she eventually came around after stalking him on Gossip Girl and witnessed the introduction of him to Eleanor. Blair realized after Chuck left that night that the real clincher for Dorota's approval was that her charge was happy. After that, Dorota was more than able to cut the strings and let the couple have their time alone.
Blair beamed when she walked into her bedroom to find her boyfriend sitting on her bed, waiting for her. She smirked at him as she kicked off her shoes and pushed them to the side of the room, watching him as he stood up and slowly walked towards her, "Hello, Bass."
"Waldorf," he replied as he gripped her hips and jerked her up against him the way she like it. Blair bit her bottom lip playfully as she slowly slid her hands up his chest and wrapped them around his neck, sliding her hands up into his hair the way she knew he liked it.
Chuck groaned as he leaned towards her, kissing her lips slowly, "Do you have any idea how hard it's been for me to watch you these last few days, dressed like this," he kissed her again before continuing, "And unable to do anything about it?"
Blair tilted her head to the side and kissed his lips, making a point of moving her hips so her pelvis brushed against his, feeling his hardness. She couldn't stop the throaty laugh as he hissed in response, whispering against his lips, "I think I have an idea of how hard it is for you. Why do you think I purposely come back here to change before class?"
Almost as if he could stand her teasing no longer, Chuck took Blair's lips with his own hungrily as he began to back up towards the bed, her moans of pleasure his only encouragement as he sat down. With skill and ease, Blair followed after him, straddling his lap on her bed, having no desire to break their kiss anytime soon. Blair let out a squeal and laughed as Chuck flipped her over onto the bed, effectively positioning himself in between her legs as he began kissing down her jawline and down to her delectable neck, just underneath her ear where, he learned very early on, drove her wild. This time was no different as she pulled him even closer against her as he ran his hand up and down her thigh after hitching her leg over his hip.
Blair turned her head and took Chuck's lips back with hers as she began working on getting rid of his tie and at least a few other items of clothing. Chuck Bass had a gift of getting Blair from zero to sixty in less than five seconds and she loved every second of it. It was because of his effect on her and her obvious effect on him that seemed to have Blair in a constant state full of confidence. It was similar to when she was on stage at Victrola those short month ago, with Chuck she felt beautiful, powerful, and sexy all at once and, despite his former reputation, he made her feel that she was the only one he could see or want.
"You looked pretty hot on Princess Theodore's arm today," Chuck whispered against her lips, smirking as she ran her hand down his face.
"Oh is that what I am to you? Just an accessory?" Blair teased back with a smile.
Chuck grinned as he replied, "Next to him, yes," he rolled over, taking her with him, as Blair found herself straddling him again. He smiled up at her as she easily gained her balance, placing her hands on his chest as he continued, "On me you'd be so much more."
Blair tucked her hair behind her ear as she shifted her body against him purposely with an innocent smile at the sound of his groan, "Yes, well, I can't be on you, remember? Because you're not ready to tell Nate yet, therefore not ready to tell anyone yet." Blair leaned over him and kissed him hungrily before sitting back up.
Chuck, who was having none of that, followed after her, going back to her sensitive spot on her neck as she continued talking, "But you'd have to learn how to behave yourself first." Blair let out a laugh as he nibbled along her neck.
The sound of her laughter, Chuck smiled, "Behave myself?" He asked, only pausing briefly in his ministrations to ask before moving along to the rest of her delectable neck.
"Yes, behave yourself," Blair smiled as she tilted her head back, exposing more of herself for him, "This right now, is far from appropriate behavior."
"And yet you love every second of it, admit it, Waldof," Chuck smirked as he nipped playfully at her chin as he ran his hands over her delicious curves.
Before Blair could respond she heard the chiming of the bell of her elevator, gripping Chuck's hair she glanced towards her door, figuring that Dorota would get rid of whoever it was and was about to go back to kissing her boyfriend when said Polish maid called up, "Miss Blair, Mr. Nate for you."
That sentence cause Blair to look back towards the door in confusion as Chuck fell back onto the bed with an irritated sigh. Blair looked down at her boyfriend as he laid there in resignation and sighed herself. This could not be good.
xoxo
After assuring Chuck that she'd be right back and that he was not allowed to move from his spot on the bed, Blair slipped on her ballet flats and headed downstairs, wanting to just hear what Nate had to say and get rid of him. She knew that out of everyone on the Upper East Side, Chuck was a bit insecure when it came to her ex-boyfriend. She assumed it, according to their talk at her birthday party, stemmed from when she spent the year telling Chuck why she couldn't break up with Nate after she found out he cheated on her with her best friend. Looking back on it, she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she did break up with him then. Would she have ended up with Chuck like she did this time? Or would Blair and Chuck even have had the opportunity to get to know each other and become as close as they were before they even became a couple? Blair would never know, all she knew was that she was happy and she didn't regret her decision that night.
Blair sighed as she reached the bottom of her staircase and asked bluntly, "What are you doing here, Nate?"
"Well, I, um…Look, you know, after rehearsal, I just, uh, I couldn't stop thinking about you," Nate admitted as he stood there in Blair's foyer with his arms crossed. Blair pressed her lips together and felt her stomach drop at this development in her love life. Of course he would pull this.
"I mean," Nate continued on, "The ball's something we've talked about doing together since we were, like, ten years old, and I've given you every reason to hate me."
"True," Blair stated as she shifted her weight, crossing her arms, choosing to just let this conversation happen to its full completion so she could just get this over with and nip it in the bud, "Keep going."
"And the Prince- He's, uh, you know, he's a great dancer and all," Nate stated with a scoff before he continued on with a charming smile, "But is there any chance you'd go with me instead, for old times' sake?"
"Nate, after what you pulled on my birthday among other things, the only thing we should be doing together is moving on," Blair said firmly without any sign of hesitation.
"Yeah, I know," Nate nodded softly before chuckling to himself as he looked down at his crossed arms, "Look, I haven't worn this sweater in, like, forever, and I, uh, I just pulled it out today, and I found this." He then proceeded to reveal to Blair the heart pin with a flower engraving found inside of the sleeve.
Blair sucked in a breath as she realized what it was. She didn't even recognize the sweater she gave him. She felt nostalgic as she mused out loud, "It's my pin. I sewed it there so you'd always have my heart on your sleeve."
Nate chuckled with a soft, "I know." Blair smiled at the memory before another one came to her, several in fact. They were all similar in context; it was of Blair constantly asking Nate to wear the sweater for her on several of their important dates and him always forgetting. After a while, Blair assumed he just lost it and stopped asking.
Blair took a deep breath as she looked up the stairs, seeing a shadow lurking and immediately knew it was Chuck. Not at all surprised, she looked back at Nate, the nostalgic feeling disappearing as quickly as it came. Both of the memories effectively reminding her of her reasons why she broke up with him and why she couldn't go back to a relationship that she constantly gave while feeling so insecure and unsure of them, while he continued to take, giving little in return.
Nate frowned as if he came to a realization, "Yeah, I figured you might need it back or something, if…"
Blair nodded with a forced smile, "Thank you, um, I just need the pin, you can keep the sweater." Blair shrugged it off as lifted her hand up, waiting for him to give her property back. Nate looked disappointed as he broke the thread, holding the pin in place and placed it in Blair's open hand. As Blair felt the weight of the pin in her hand, she came across a gift idea for Chuck for Christmas and put the thought away for later.
"Honestly, Nate, I understand that we have had some great times. I thought you the love of my life, but that time has passed and I'd really like for us to be friends," Blair said carefully, hoping to get through to him.
At the sight of his nodding in understanding, Blair got another brilliant idea to make sure that Nate knew she meant her words, "Besides, I'm seeing someone."
Nate frowned in confusion, "You mean the prince?"
Blair shook her head as she clarified, "No, actually, it's someone else. We're still in the beginning stages of our relationship, and because it's still so new, we aren't ready to tell everyone yet. But if I were to go with anyone other than the prince, it would be him."
"What, so, he won't take you to Cotillion himself? Is he ashamed of you or something? Wanting to keep this "relationship" a secret?" Nate asked boldly.
Blair felt her irritation sprout up, "No, he's not ashamed of me or us, we decided together that we wanted to just enjoy getting to know each other without the scrutiny of our peers." Blair explained pointedly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things that I need to get done. You know your way out." Blair turned and jogged back up the stairs from whence she came without a look back, vaguely hearing the bell of the elevator go off as Nate left her apartment.
xoxo
How dare he insinuate such a thing! Blair was fuming at how Nate was trying to manipulate her emotions, first with the pin and then attempting to play on her insecurities of not being good enough. Blair let out a forceful sigh as she walked right pass her boyfriend, who was still standing in the hallway, not stopping until she reached her waste basket in her bedroom and threw the heart pin that was still in her hand inside of it. Feeling as if a huge weight has been lifted, Blair turned towards Chuck as he slowly walked into the room, staring at her.
"I thought I told you not to move from that spot, Bass," Blair pointed towards the bed feeling a smile creep onto her face.
"Were you serious, downstairs?" Chuck asked her, not beating around the bush.
"Yes I was," Blair stated firmly, "But which part are you referring to?"
Chuck smirked at her as he slowly walked towards her, "The part that if you were going to go with anyone other than the prince it would be your new guy…"
Blair felt her smile grow at his words and answered his question with a question, "What do you think?"
Chuck grinned as he wrapped his arms around Blair's waist and pulled her close, "I think that, if that's how you feel, Waldorf, I'd love to be your escort to Cotillion on Sunday."
"Depends, are you asking me because Nate asked me first?" Blair asked him hesitantly.
"No."
"Are you asking me because Nate's words about us made you feel guilty?" Blair asked.
"No, in fact, I was already going to ask you before Nathaniel arrived. I've been thinking about it for a while now," Chuck explained, not removing his gaze from hers.
Blair leaned up and kissed his lips softly before whispering, "Then I would love for you to be my escort to Cotillion."
Chuck grins as he rests his forehead against Blair's and runs his nose along hers gently with a sigh. Blair held onto him tightly before asking another question, "You know what this means, right? This will be us telling everyone that we're together, are you sure you're ready for that?"
Chuck opened his eyes and answered her question with a question of his own, "Are you?"
Blair nodded softly, "More than, but I'm asking you. I don't want what I had with Nate where I pushed him to do things he wasn't ready for. I want us to be different, better even."
Chuck lifted his head and took a deep breath, "I'm ready, and I'll tell Nate before the ball."
Blair beamed happily before taking his lips with hers, which he happily returned as Blair whispered to him, "You know…since we're coming out of the proverbial darkness, we won't get to sneak around nearly as much as we do now…"
Chuck smirked as he lifted his head, "You know what? You're right. We better take advantage of this now while we still can, Waldorf," with those words he lifted her up into his arms.
Blair instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips as he carried her over to the bed, laughing softly, "I couldn't have said it better myself, Bass."
xoxo
It was two days before Cotillion and Blair was stressed out to the max with all of the things she needed done to prepare for the event. Fortunately for Chuck, Blair still made it a priority to spend some time with him each day. Everything was set for Chuck to be Blair's escort; the prince was very understanding and didn't put up even a small amount of a fight about being dropped a week before the event. Chuck considered the royal even more of an imbecile than he originally thought. But his idiocy was Chuck's gain and he didn't need to worry about that small stone in his path.
With the ball only a couple of days away, he still needed to find a way to break the news to Nathaniel about him and Blair. No matter how many opportunities he has had alone with his best friend the words refused to come to him. He guessed that no matter what happened, Nate would still be angry with him and it would cause a rift in their friendship, but Chuck wasn't ready to go through that just yet. The rest of society finding out about his relationship he was all for, but telling his best friend, was considerably harder for Chuck.
He could tell how nervous Blair got closer to the big day with Nate still none the wiser about the couple. She still continued to give Chuck a chance to back out if he wasn't ready, but the thing was that Chuck was more than ready to go public. But for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to tell Nate. It kind of felt like a betrayal of their friendship for having the nerve to pursue and date Nate's ex, even though this wasn't some flight of fancy. He was truly serious about his relationship with Blair.
As Chuck looked across the room in his suite he smiled at the woman in question as she looked him over. "Very nice, Bass, but I can't say that I'm surprised," Blair smirked as the tailor packed up his stuff to leave and Blair walked over to him. Leave it to Chuck Bass to be able to get a highly acclaimed tailor to make a house call during one of his busiest times of the year.
Chuck smiled and pulled Blair towards him with a lingering kiss, but she wouldn't let him take it much further before she stepped back,"I'm sorry, I can't. I'm due to meet with Nate for his own fitting. He wanted to apologize for the other day and take me to lunch today after his fitting, and instead of him going out of his way to pick me up, I said that I'd meet him at the shop and we'd go from there."
Chuck frowned, feeling a bit put out that Nate was taking her away from him much too soon then he'd like. Blair saw the frown and took his hand in hers gently, "Hey. Didn't you mention that you were meeting him later on today anyway? You can tell him about us and after that we don't have to worry about his advances anymore."
Chuck nodded softly, knowing that she was right, but still having no idea how he was going to do this. Under normal circumstances Chuck would have asked Blair for her advice, but he didn't want to come off as anything less than what she needed. Let alone that he wanted her to think him weak because he needed his girlfriend to help him break the news to his best friend. Chuck took this as an opportunity to show that he was worthy of being her partner and to stand by her side all the way, including at the ball on Sunday.
"I'll tell him today so there's plenty of time for him to cool off before the ball," Chuck explained.
Blair smiled at the plan, "Good. I don't want a scene made at my Cotillion, it's our big day and all eyes should be on us and thoughts should be about how radiant and fabulously perfect we look together. Nothing more."
Chuck grinned and kissed her again, this time Blair didn't pull away until after twenty minutes of heavily kissing and touching that Chuck started to take things a bit further in regards to clothes. When Blair checked her watch for the time she gasped and quickly gathered her things to leave, hating that she was now running late, but also loving the reason why. With a quick kiss goodbye, Blair was out the door, haling a cab to get to where Nate was supposed to get his tailoring done.
While sitting in the cab as Blair had it race to her destination Blair's phone ranged. "Hello?" She answered politely. It turned out it was her mother; Eleanor was on her way to the airport as she spoke and explained quickly that she needed Blair to be the hostess for tea in honor of Serena's grandmother. Realizing that she would have to cancel her lunch plans with Nate, Blair agreed without a fight. Frankly, Blair wasn't looking forward to having lunch with her ex any more than Chuck was. She was too worried that someone would see them and draw the wrong conclusion.
As Blair climbed out of the car and headed inside the store she sent a text to Chuck: I'm sure you won't be too heartbroken that I'm going to have to cancel on Nate for lunch. Mother is jetting off to Paris and needs me to host a tea and luncheon for Serena's grandmother this afternoon.
After hitting send, Blair smiled to herself before rounding the corner and walked quickly through an open door, where she saw Nate getting fitted. "Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry," Blair apologized as she finally arrived, "My cappuccino was decaf, and I couldn't find my phone. It took forever to get a cab."
Blair figured that was an adequate excuse for why she was late to Nate. But if it were anyone else like Chuck, Serena, or Eleanor, Blair would have had to come up with a more elaborate story. With Nate, less was always best.
"But you live up the street," Nate pointed out with a smile as Blair hopped up onto the window seat, setting her purse down.
"I wasn't home," Blair explained as her phone went off. Blair quickly opened it and checked the message, smiling after realizing that it was from Chuck: I'm not going to lie, I'm ecstatic. Are you with him right now?
As Blair sent a response she vaguely heard Nate tell her about his date for the ball, and how his mother roped him into taking a family friend and insisted on them going to dessert after. Fortunately for Blair she heard him when he mentioned that maybe Blair and Prince Theodore could join them after the ball for dessert and that Nate was thinking of going to the Modern since Nate knew it was her favorite. Blair honestly didn't understand what Nate was thinking, and before she could even think of a response she was wrapped back up into her text conversation with Chuck about something that was particularly dirty that he planned to perform after the ball.
Nate's loud, "Blair," brought Blair back to the matter at hand, giving Nate her full attention after checking the time on her phone.
Realizing that she really needed to head home to help Dorota prepare for the guests, Blair decided to just be honest as she slid off of the window seat, "Oh, um, I don't think that's a good idea. Besides I'm not going to Cotillion with Prince Theodore, I'm going with the new guy I was telling you about the other day. We've agreed that it's time that we tell everyone." Blair's phone once again goes off, causing Blair to accidentally drop it onto the ground as she took in Nate's shocked face at the new development of Blair's love life.
"Oh, well I'm glad that's worked out for you…," Nate said softly as he walked over towards her to pick up her phone, "Who's texting you so much?" Nate asked Blair, obviously still in shock as he hands it back to her as it goes off again.
Blair quickly took the phone and went with the obvious choice, lying, "Serena. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to, uh, cancel our lunch plans. Uh, I gotta go back to my house. My mom was supposed to throw this tea for Serena's grandmother, and she had to jet to Paris at the last minute, so it's all on me."
Blair sighed with a smile as she made her way past Nate to leave after his nod of understanding. "Okay, hey, uh, I'll stop by and help you out," Nate offered as he turned Blair back to him.
Blair smiled at the fact that he offered, a first in their entire time together that he took an interest in something like this, "It's all right. I got it. Thanks." With a light pat on his chest, Blair turned and headed out the door that she walked through not ten minutes earlier.
As she reached the door, she heard Nate chuckle as he asked, "Who are you, and what did you do with Blair Waldorf?"
Blair turned with a smirk, choosing to not answer that question as she looked him over and took a deep breath before stating, "Not bad, Archibald. I almost forgot how handsome you are." With one more look at his face Blair turned and made her way out without another word, not even interested in looking back to see the look on his face.
Spotted: Nate Archibald learning you don't know a good thing till it's gone and found someone else
xoxo
A few hours later, the tea at Blair's apartment was in full swing. Cece was in her element as she caught up with the other prominent members of society. While Blair was in her own, mingling with her peers about the upcoming ball and how everything was going by way of preparations. Never one to show the world her problems, Blair chose to just sit back and offer her opinion and suggestions to the other girls on their own.
Imagine Blair's surprise when none other than Carter Baizen walked into Blair's home only to be greeted warmly by Cece. Blair remembered what Carter did to both Nate and Chuck and under normal circumstances wouldn't have even let him in her building, let alone in her home, but since it turned out he was actually invited by the guest of honor, Blair had to take on a new tactic. She watched him carefully from across the room, hoping that he wasn't here to stir up trouble again. Reflecting on what Chuck told her, Carter looked much more cleaned up then he did when he was last in the Upper East Side. "Looks like someone was brought back into the fold," Blair thought silently as Carter put on the persona that was expected in his breeding and upbringing.
Blair was distracted by her watching by a Junior asking for her help on how she should wear her hair for her debut, to which Blair quickly gave the girl a tip. Blair realized as the girl walked away with a large smile and a thanks that she had a soft spot when it came Cotillion time. Under normal circumstances she would have berated the girl for even coming up to her without permission, but since this event was such a big deal to all of the junior class, not to mention that everything was going well in Blair's personal life, she felt that she could afford to be a bit indulgent to the masses.
After shrugging off her contemplations she looked towards the entry way at the sound of the elevator bell going off and spied Serena and Humphrey talking with Cece and Carter. Knowing that the last thing Serena needed was her boyfriend to look bad in front of her grandmother, Blair made her way over. She hid the look of disgust at what Humphrey was wearing; it was like he had no fashion tastes at all! Blair forced a polite smile as she made her presence known, "There you are. Are you ready for tea?"
Blair smiled as Serena sent her a look of thanks for the rescue as everyone took their seats in the sitting room, keeping it formal and yet casual at the same time. Blair took a seat beside Carter on the chaise lounge along with Kati and Iz beside her. Carter sat on a regular chair across from Cece; beside him was Lily, followed by Serena and Humphrey as Dorota stood by to make sure everything ran smoothly while the rest of the party mingled with each other standing or finding a seat in the dining room.
Cece got one of the maids to refill her drink as everyone got settled and immediately sang her praises, "Carter, it's such a pleasure to have you back with us. True gentlemen are a rare breed."
Blair rolled her eyes to herself at that comment as she lifted her cup asking, "So it is true that you're back?"
Carter didn't get to answer as Humphrey asked his own question, "Back? Um, where were you?"
Blair took a sip of her tea as Kati answered, "Oh, where wasn't he? He disowned his parents and took off around the world."
"Everyone was talking about it," Iz added excitedly, "Gossip Girl even had a dedicated Carter Baizen map on "spotted."
Dan obviously didn't see the appeal Carter had on the girls in their school and patronized Iz about the map as he picked up his own cup. Blair swore that for a smart guy, Humphrey could be really dense when it came to important matters.
"In all honesty, I did go a little out of bounds," Carter explained as he sat his cup down with the saucer with a light laugh with Cece across from him, "I'm just grateful my parents are giving me a second chance."
"Carter saw the error of his wayward ways, and he rose like a phoenix from the ashes, Serena," Cece romanticized with a smile.
Blair shared a smile with her minions as Serena nodded placating Cece, "Yes, I see that, Grandma."
"I mean, they weren't all errors, but…" Carter started and finished with a light wink at Serena. It was obvious to the teens in the room that Carter had his sights on the blonde and Humphrey was just sitting back looking bewildered as to what was going on like some lost child before taking Serena's hand in his.
"Well, your mother did tell me that you got into a bit of a- ahem- a scrape in Dubai," Lily mentioned carefully as she took a bite of her slice of cake.
"Oh, I love Dubai. Did you stay at the Burj Al Arab?" Blair asked politely with a smile, keeping her cards close to her chest as she casually gathered information.
"No, I stayed on Palm Island," Carter said lightly.
"I think Dubai is overrated," Serena spoke as she ate a scone. Blair could see that Cece was enjoying the conversation that was occurring between her granddaughter and Carter and wouldn't be surprised if she tried to push the two together no matter the fact that Serena had a boyfriend already.
"You know what isn't though?" Carter asked as he sat forward, resting his forearms on his knees, "The, uh, Prince's crown Bombardier. And I also went pheasant hunting with the Sheikh while I was there."
Blair listened to the conversation going on around her politely, not missing when Humphrey got up to go the bathroom after being extremely quiet during the conversation. Blair figured with his background and lack of funds he couldn't contribute much. Feeling a twinge of pity for the Brooklynite, Blair stood as the group dispersed and motioned Serena to the side to talk. "So, how's Cece liking, Dan?"
Serena smiled happily, "She seems to like him, although I think she's a bit sad that he won't be able to be my escort on Sunday." Blair found that very hard to believe, but tactfully chose to keep her mouth shut on the matter.
"He seemed a bit quiet during tea, why don't you go find him? He seemed as if he had something on his mind," Blair encouraged. Serena beamed and went off in search of him. Blair release a sigh before spotting Carter again as he took off his jacket and set it down before crossing the room to speak with someone else. Blair casually went over to the couch and picked up the jacket and handed it off to Dorota to be stored, knowing guys the way Blair did, she knew Carter would forget about it and have to return for it. Which was exactly what she wanted; it was time for her and Carter to have a little chat in private.
xoxo
While the tea party continued on at Blair's place, Chuck was having a very hard conversation with Nate at the Palace. Nate had just arrived to hang out for a bit and relax, but it looked like that was off the table and turned to what was normally Chuck's favorite subject, Blair Waldorf. Nate quickly explained to Chuck what had been going on since a few days ago after their talk on their way to dance rehearsals. Chuck made a point to keep his face blank as Nate went on about Blair's new boyfriend.
"I just don't get it. I wore her favorite sweater on me with her heart pin on the sleeve, I even suggested that we go as just friends and she then mentions that she has a new guy out of nowhere. I thought I had a chance to persuade her to forget about him if he wasn't even taking her to the ball, but it turns out that he is."
Chuck had never been happier that he took the initiative to ask for Blair to allow him to be her escort, because God only knew what Nate would have done if he thought that this supposed "new guy" wasn't taking her instead of the prince. He sighed as he leaned against the doorway, "Like the book says, she's just not that into you."
Nate turned to him, looking almost desperate "I have to find out who this guy is. It's killing me. You guys are still pretty close, aren't you?"
The fact that he asked, showed that Chuck and Blair were doing a good job at keeping their relationship a secret; then again, Nate wasn't the most observant one of the bunch. Chuck knew that this was his opportunity to tell Nate about his and Blair's relationship but for some reason all Chuck could say was, "Yeah."
"Could you find out who she's seeing?" Nate asked as he rested his hand on Chuck's shoulder.
The hand felt like a large weight on Chuck as he continued to fail in finding the words he needed to say, "Me?"
"Yes. Come on, man. Who better?" Nate said, purposely stroking Chuck's ego.
Figuring that the time had passed and he'll just play this out to see where it goes, Chuck turned towards Nate with a raised finger, "Who better, indeed." Blair was going to kill him when she finds out that Chuck couldn't go through with it.
A/N: So what do you think B's plan is going to be involving Carter? How's she going to take it when C breaks the news that he didn't tell N? What did you think of my slight citrus?! As you all know this is my first fanfiction ever, so I'm a bit intimidated by lemons by way of writing them. I took the well-remembered make out scene from this episode as an opportunity to dip my toe into the lemon pool to see how it goes. So feedback is highly needed to know if I have what it takes to cannon ball into the pool of lemony goodness! I divided this episode into two chapters because this alone was about 15 pages at about 8k words and that was just about halfway through and I felt myself losing momentum. Personally I love how I've developed this powerful Blair Waldorf who sees through Nate's manipulations and is following through on her resolution to herself. I always felt that B was her strongest when she was with C because she didn't have to put on a mask with him. Next chapter is everyone's debut including our beloved Chair's…or is it? ;) Love you all and I'll see you next Saturday! Or I'm open to being persuaded to post part 2 later on this week. I mean it's only fair right? I make you wait for the good part of the episode so I should have no choice but to at least post the follow up earlier than normal…what do you guys think? *smirks*
I love you!
-Plei4fun