The Queen and her Dark Knight

by pLei4fun

What if C told B about S and N's night on top of the bar at the Shepherd's wedding after S left the UES for boarding school? What if this brought B and C closer much sooner than in the show? This is what would happen in my mind upon S's return. Eventual Chair, I just like to show them at their best :) COMPLETE SEQUEL TO COME IN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Wakey, wakey, Upper East Siders. Spring break is done, and I'm starved for the dish. Were you sunning in Capri or sinning in Croatia? Give me the deets. My sources say that our King and Queen were off in St. Tropez along with their BFF's, but guess who wasn't there? Lonely boy. Hmmm is our golden It girl already tiring of slumming it up in Brooklyn? Unfortunately we're not that lucky, thanks to a few photos, it appears D and S are still disgustingly happy despite the time apart. Sound off on if you think it's time for S to upgrade.

Blair smiled as she sat up in her bed with a sigh after Dorota woke her up and opened her curtains. Everything in Blair's life was moving along smoothly despite the scandal that broke the week before everyone left for their respective spring break trips. Blair shuddered to think how today would have gone if that Jenny Humphrey girl had been successful in her attempt to dethrone Blair. Blair knew she would have most likely followed through on leaving for France for the semester if things ended so horrifically.

Blair found herself smirking as she started preparing for today's events. She knew that her minions all went off to Aspen for the break, but Kati and Iz were sure to keep her posted on what was going on while their Queen was away in St. Tropez. Blair had no doubt where those two's loyalties lied and they had a knack for betting on the winner in this particular game, it's how they were able to stay in their respective positions for so long. And unlike most minions they were perfectly content with where they were in the hierarchy, they had no ambitions to move up the ladder, so therefore their trust and loyalty was essential for Blair; because of that spot Kati and Iz knew everything, every single piece of gossip that floated via Gossip Girl and some particularly juicy pieces that have yet to see the light of day. They were underestimated by many, but Blair knew their worth and utilized them as needed.

What made Blair smirk as she dressed for the day was that during her vacation with Chuck, Serena, and Nate, the foursome actually bonded and had some fun. It was as if the past year and a half didn't happen and everyone was at a good place with each other. With Lily's penthouse going through the final touch ups for the Bass/Van Der Woodsen family to move in, Chuck came up with the perfect idea of the group getting away for the week. They, of course, invited Eric to come along, but he decide to only go along for the first half of the week before returning earlier to set up his room.

The foursome had no qualms with having their surrogate little brother coming with them and Blair could tell that Eric was having fun bonding with his future step-brother during those few short days before he headed back to New York. It seemed that the two really hit it off, despite Serena's constant downer attitude towards Chuck; it seemed as if Serena refused to focus on the present when it came to Chuck Bass and chose to only focus on the past.

Blair found herself sighing as she shook her head to herself as she thought of her blonde best friend, she had to admit, if only to herself, that the blonde was kind of a wet blanket at the beginning of the trip with Eric there, not to mention that Serena was a little moody because Hum drum Humphrey wasn't able to come with, something about already promising he'd help his dad at the gallery during break, but the rest of the group made it a point to take her mind off of the Brooklynite and it took little time for the blonde to just enjoy herself.

Blair sighed softly to herself. Yes, it was the perfect vacation, and now it was over. But this did not deter her smile, because today was the beginning of the end of little Jenny Humphrey. Blair decided that she allowed Jenny to enjoy her new status as an A-lister for long enough and it was time to force the freshman to make her first move in the war that Blair had declared before break. During Blair's down time on the flight she worked out a strategy on making sure that the week apart didn't make Hazel and Penelope forget their punishments, especially Penelope. The girl was due to be put in her place anyway and after what Blair witnessed on the steps after she dished her punishments out with Penelope's glare at Jenny, P very much knew who to blame for her current social standing.

After securing her outfit and accessories, Blair grabbed her phone and bag and headed downstairs to have a light breakfast. For the day that she had planned, she knew that she was going to need her energy and her bitch face in place to properly reign over the masses accordingly. Besides, nothing built up Blair's appetite more than the sight of a takedown on the horizon.

xoxo

Meanwhile at the Van Der Woodsen's, now including Bass, household, Serena, Eric, and Chuck were also preparing for the school day. Chuck decided to start his day off right with his daily dose of getting under Serena's skin. The blonde was honestly too easy to wind up, and Chuck was more than enjoying himself with watching her reactions to his antics.

Today's antics, was something simple; Chuck took a seat in Serena's bathroom with the hot water running in the blonde's shower as he took in his herbal refreshment to wake himself up fully. As he sat there, enjoying the quiet for a while, he found himself reflecting over the past week since the told Blair how he felt. It turned out all his fears and misgivings about saying those three words were for nothing. When he finally said the words and she told him the meaning behind the cufflinks she gave him, which he made a point to always wear, it felt as if those butterflies that Chuck had felt for so long grew so big that the made him feel as if he could fly.

After all the drama with the pregnancy scare and the gossip girl bomb of his and Blair's personal life, Chuck came up with the great idea of the group having a vacation away together to unwind away from the peasants and prying eyes while Lily's penthouse was going through its final stages of remodeling to accommodate the Bass men. Chuck was more than a little surprised that he was included with the Van Der Woodsen kids to move in as well, and it caused him to warm up even more to the older Van Der Woodsen woman for including him in the family move.

Other than annoying Serena, Chuck found that his second favorite past time, after spending his days in bed with a certain Waldorf, was spending time bonding with his future step-brother, Eric. Instead of being annoyed that the freshman was always following him around and wanting to hang out, Chuck actually enjoyed taking on the role of elder brother. He finally had someone to pass on his vast knowledge and Eric was more than open to expanding his horizons despite Serena's mother hen act. Chuck swore that the blonde forgot who she used to be before she started dating that Brooklyn rat. Compared to her then, Chuck was a lot more stable and tamed and was more than able to hold his alcohol unlike some people.

Chuck turned his head towards the door at the sound of someone banging on the other side. "Speak of the devil," Chuck thought silently to himself as he took another drag of his joint. "Chuck, I'm serious! Are you done yet? This is my bathroom!" Serena yelled through the door.

Chuck smirked as he picked up one of Serena's lotions and taking a whiff of it before putting it back down as she continued on, "It's late and not to mention disgusting."

Choosing to remain silent, Chuck took out his cell phone and began to text Blair: Will be by with the limo in 30 minutes to pick you up. I love you. –C Seriously, it was like once he said the words the first time, he could not stop saying it over and over again.

"Chuck!" Serena screamed as she opened the door with a sigh after finding that it wasn't locked. The blonde looked around and spotted him sitting on the sink, "What are you doing?"

Chuck yelled out, "Alright ladies, my sister needs the shower, make some room!" Chuck smirked as Serena glanced over at the shower in horror. "I'm just messing with you." He teased as he removed his joint from his lips.

Serena quickly snatched it from his hand as she spoke in outrage, quickly stubbing out the joint, "I can't believe you lit up in my bathroom."

"Well, if I lit up in mine, then the folks would know it was me, sis," Chuck explained as if he were speaking to a three year old, it was times like these he worried about Serena's lack of common sense.

"Oh, okay. Let's get one thing straight: our parents may be insisting on blending our households, but I am not your sister. I do not share any of your D.N.A," Serena explained before adding on with a look of disgust, "Nor do I wish to."

Chuck smirked as he sat up with a sigh before whispering to her, "Than I suggest you get new hand towels."

Serena just stared at him for a moment before what he was insinuating finally sunk in. The blonde took a deep breath to calm herself, "Okay. It's imperative that I bathe."

Chuck shrugged and turned back to the sink to grab his joint, obviously not making a move to leave. Serena, obviously having lost the bit of calm she gathered, grabbed him by his lapels to pull him up as she yelled, "Can you just get out?!" Chuck smirked as he got situated back on the sink, refusing to move as he enjoyed the show. "You know what? Fine. Just forget it." As her last act of retribution Serena snatched the joint back out of his mouth and threw it in the sink before she left.

Chuck chuckled to himself as he picked it back up and finished what he was doing. The day has barely started and Chuck was already having so much fun. He heard his phone go off beside him and he picked it up with a smile, knowing who it was before he even saw the message: I'll see you then. I love you too –B

Ten minutes later, Chuck came down the stairs after Serena; the pair paused at finding Eric standing on the stairs by himself hesitantly. Chuck smirked as he stood beside his future step-brother as Serena asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm hiding from my valet," Eric answered promptly causing Chuck to laugh a bit, "He wanted to put my socks on for me this morning. Your servants are very attentive."

Chuck put his arm around Eric as the three teens continued the rest of the way down the stairs as Chuck suggested lightly, "You should meet Brigita- a new Latvian maid."

Serena turned towards them with a frown as she pulled Eric closer towards her as if to shield him, "No. No, no, no, no, he should not meet Brigita. He's 14. Avoid this person." Serena spoke to her brother as if she were his mother.

Chuck rolled his eyes as he continued to follow, "May I remind you, Serena, that you used to have a sense of humor?"

"No," Serena spoke firmly as they all arrived in the dining room.

"Morning, father," Chuck greeted respectfully.

"Morning, kids," Bart responded as the two Van Der Woodsen kids greeted the parental figures, it was very much like a sitcom, and Chuck found that he honestly didn't mind.

He turned towards his future step mother and revealed his manners that only came out when he was with Blair and took her hand gently as he took in her dark sunglasses, "And how is Lily Von Bulow today?" He teased as he kissed the back of her hand with a grin.

"Oh, I have a headache," Lily explained as Chuck took his seat on her other side across from his father, "I had a very frustrating conversation with the wedding planner this morning."

"Well, may I say aggravation becomes you?" Chuck smirked as he got settled in his seat.

He felt accomplished as Lily gave a light smile as she responded, "You may, but I won't believe it." Chuck smiled as a servant poured him a glass of orange juice as he picked up a crescent roll as Lily addressed the other two teens as she took off her sunglasses, "So…first day back at school, huh? Honey, you didn't, uh, want to shower?"

Chuck tried his best to refrain from laughing into his glass at Lily's question to Serena, but was unsuccessful. Serena sighed and set her plate down and headed to the front door, "I have to go meet Dan. Eric?"

The blonde looked back at her brother to see if he was coming, to which Chuck answered as he smiled at Eric, "You go ahead. We'll take the limo." He winked at his future brother playfully as Eric smiled back and shrugged at Serena as he stayed in his seat. Chuck watched as Serena rolled her eyes and left quickly with a crescent roll in her hand.

Chuck found himself smirking down at his plate, unaware of his father's watchful eyes, "As my best man," Bart started, causing Chuck to pause as he looked up, "I expect you to keep things smooth until the wedding."

This was the first time Chuck heard anything about this, "Best man?" Bart nodded as he set his paper aside, causing Chuck to do his best to hold back his smile as he nodded respectfully, "Uh, um, I'd be honored, sir." Getting swept up in this rare moment, Chuck raised his glass for a toast, "To family." The remaining members of the future Van Der Bass family raised and tapped their glasses together in agreement.

xoxo

Blair smiled at her doorman as he opened the door for her as she stepped out of her building only to smile again at Arthur as he opened the limo door for her as well with a light "Good morning, Ms. Waldorf." As she slid into the waiting car, Blair set her bag down beside her as she smiled at her boyfriend simply saying in greeting, "Bass."

Chuck smirked as he took in Blair's appearance, obviously liking what he was seeing and replied equally simply, "Waldorf."

Blair didn't waste any more time and leaned towards Chuck, taking his lips with hers briefly before deepening the kiss with a light moan, which he quickly responded in kind. The two were so wrapped up in each other for the moment that Blair didn't even realize someone else was in the car with him, and Chuck just plain forgot until the person in question cleared his throat, "You know, if I wanted to see two people in love making out, I would have walked with Serena to school today to go meet up with Dan…"

Blair quickly pulled away and looked towards the voice and had the grace to smile, embarrassed. "Well excuse me, blonde mini-Chuck," she teased as she looked her surrogate brother over. "Eric, you look great. I have to say that this new look suits you; well-done you two."

Eric shrugged as he became the one embarrassed at Blair's perusal, "Yeah?"

Blair nodded with a smile, "I whole-heartedly approve of this make better, but I don't know why I'm surprised, you were in the hands of the great Chuck Bass. He'd never steer you wrong."

Chuck smiled in pride as Eric frowned in confusion, "Make better?"

"Definitely a make better. A makeover implies that the entire canvas had to be thrown out and one had to start from scratch. With you, you just needed a little bit of extra attention and emphasis on certain attributes. Eric Van Der Woodsen, there is no one you could not have with what you have working with." Blair praised with a nod as she continued to smile, holding Chuck's hand in hers.

"You should take Blair's words to heart, she doesn't give compliments lightly. And you know she's never wrong," Chuck winked at his future step-brother as he teased his girlfriend a bit. Blair just rolled her eyes and elbowed him in his side a bit with a light shake of her head.

"So tell me, Eric…is there somebody that has caught your eye?" Blair asked, wanting to find out the source of the reason why Eric went through this change for the better.

Eric just shrugged off Blair's question, "Who could there possibly be; with everything going on at home and therapy, not to mention school, where would I have the time to meet anyone?"

Blair smirked, but chose not to comment that he didn't necessarily say no to her question, and that alone said that there was someone. She shared a look with Chuck and knew that he caught the underlying lack of an answer to the question too. Before the conversation could carry on though, the limo had stopped outside of their school and Eric quickly fled the scene with a wave goodbye.

Chuck chuckled as he helped Blair from the car, "I wonder who the lucky girl is…"

Blair shrugged lightly, "Whoever she is, she has no idea who she's up against."

Chuck turned towards Blair, "What are you thinking?"

"I say we let him handle this one on his own," Blair stated lightly, refraining from laughing at Chuck's look of shock at her decision to not meddle. "I'm serious. He has enough people coddling him and making decisions for him since the "thing". Let him have this one aspect of his life to himself, for now."

Chuck smirked and nodded in agreement before leaning towards Blair and kissing her lips again and again, "You're right as usual, Waldorf. Serena's been babying him enough. You should have seen her this morning. It was as if she was trying to protect him from the big, bad Chuck Bass." Chuck rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "As if she were the virgin Mary."

Blair just shook her head, choosing to not get in the middle of this "sibling bonding" just yet. "Don't let it get to you. I'm sure you're not doing much to dissuade her of the notion."

Chuck shrugged lightly as the two shared a smirk, "I'm Chuck Bass."

Which resulted in Blair laughing as she caressed his cheek lovingly, "Yes you are, and I'm Blair Waldorf, so tone it down a bit, okay?" She kissed his lips gently, "I'm off to meet the girls, see you later at lunch?"

Chuck nodded in agreement to the plan as well as to Blair's suggestion of Chuck toning down his torture of the blonde on the home front; he had to admit that he was getting a bit bored with it anyway. As he watched her walk away with a slight sway of her hips, Chuck sighed softly to himself before he went off to go meet Nate for their morning hang out before class.

xoxo

Blair smiled as she walked up to her group of minions in the courtyard, obviously having a great laugh over their trip memories, "Hello, ladies. Have a fun break?" She shared an air kiss with Kati and Iz in greeting as everyone said their respectful greetings.

"OMG, Blair, Aspen was so much fun, but it would have been better if you there," Hazel explained, obviously kissing up.

"I know," Blair replied lightly with a smile as she looked at Kati's wrist that was in a silk scarf sling, "Oh my gosh, Kati! You said you sprained it, not broke it."

Kati shrugged as she laughed, "At the time I thought I did too, but when I got back and it still hurt, I went and got it checked and it was a small fracture. Next year, we're doing spring break in Maldives. Skiing is too dangerous."

"You broke it in the spa," Iz exclaimed causing Blair and the rest to laugh. "So, Blair how was St. Tropez?"

Blair sighed lightly as she smiled, "Perfection. Everything was pure perfection. The only downside was that even though we flew on the Bass jet, I was still forced to succumb to jet lag. Otherwise I would have been able to make it for brunch with you guys yesterday."

"Well you were definitely missed," Penelope finally spoke as she finished up her yogurt.

"Well we can catch up tonight, and you guys can tell me all about Aspen. Jenny, what about you? Did you have fun?" Blair asked innocently as she acknowledged the blonde's presence.

Jenny nodded as she forced a smile, "Yeah it was great. Oh, here, Hazel," Jenny smiled as she took off a diamond bracelet off her wrist and handed it over to the smaller blonde, "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

Hazel looked at the object and back up at the freshman in confusion as she took it, "What's this?"

"The bracelet you lent me in Aspen?" Jenny explained as if it were obvious.

"Oh, yeah," Hazel nodded as she looked at it and slipped it on her wrist, "You know you could've just kept it, and I would've forgotten I had it." Hazel chuckled lightly as she shrugged.

"Girls how excited are we? Party tomorrow night for Jenny at Socialista,"Penelope spoke with a sigh as she threw away her yogurt container and worked on fixing her hair. Blair noted silently that it seemed that Penelope took advantage of Blair's absence and forgot her new place in the group's hierarchy as the rest of the girls jumped in on the excitement.

The other freshman, Elise spoke up as she stood next to Hazel, "I know!"

Blair watched as Jenny excitedly clap for the event as she laughed, "This is going to be my best birthday ever. I heard the mojitos are amazing."

"Wait till you get your mouth around a mini Cuban," Kati said with a straight face. As Jenny began to stumble over her words, Blair laughed with everyone else at Jenny's naiveté as Kati explained, "It's a sandwich."

"Wardrobe, ladies?" Blair asked with authority after observing the dynamic of the group after being away for a week.

"My Ferragamo clutch and whatever dress I buy today to go with it," Hazel said with a smile. Her smile grew at the sight of Blair's nod of approval at her choice.

"What about you, J?" Blair asked the freshman, wondering how she was going to pull off something worthy of the venue with her lack of funds.

"Oh, I've got some dresses on hold at Bendels," Jenny explained lightly as she looked around the courtyard. Blair honestly doubted it, but chose to stay quiet as she heard the bell call for the students to get to class.

"Alright, ladies. See you guys at the steps for lunch? We'll discuss where we're going tonight to catch up," Blair stated her command as if it was a request, but everyone knew better. Well almost everyone.

"As long as it's not Decibel's," Kati added with a shudder, Blair smirked as the other girls look on in confusion at Kati's reaction.

"Yeah, she made out with the bartender last time," Iz explained, "Now he thinks he loves her."

"Oh, I'm going to be late for lunch, I have to return these books to the library," Jenny explained, motioning to the books siting behind her on the table.

Blair felt her smirk grow at the unexpected opportunity presented to her as she offered, "Penelope will take them for you, won't you P.?"

Blair looked at Penelope as the junior had a look of outrage on her face at the suggestion of her being the errand runner in the group. She wisely didn't say anything after a moment after it finally was reminded to her that that was in fact her position, at least temporarily. "Yeah, sure," Penelope spoke reluctantly as she forced a smile at Jenny.

Jenny glanced at Penelope for a moment before she looked at Blair, "It's okay. I can do it."

Blair smirked as Kati and Iz stood beside her, backing her up with reminding Penelope of her current social position. "The question isn't if you can do it, Jenny," Iz began.

"It's if you should have to," Kati finished. Blair tilted her head to the side as the three girls looked at the freshman expectantly as the rest of the group stood by quietly.

"I'm going there anyway," Penelope added as she continued to smile and shrug lightly as if it wasn't a big deal.

After a moment of silence, Jenny responded as she looked at Penelope, "Okay."

Blair shared a smirk with Kati and Iz as Penelope offered forcefully, "Let me know if you need anything else."

"Come along ladies, let's get to class," Blair stated as she turned away and led the group away, leaving Penelope behind to get the books.

Iz looked over her shoulder and called out, "You coming?" Blair looked back, finding Jenny still standing there with Penelope before the blonde nodded and started coming towards them. But before the freshman could make it to the girl's side, Nate came up to her and asked if he and Jenny could speak alone for a moment.

Everyone, of course, looked to Blair. Loving the attention she nodded graciously and led the girls away, wanting them to speculate over why Nate Archibald was talking to Little Jenny Humphrey. It was all a part of Blair's plan. Nate insisted that Blair spare Jenny when the foursome began plotting to take the blonde down, but of course Blair refused to let the freshman off the hook. So instead she compromised. If Nate was so sure of Jenny's good girl act and her lack of ambition to rise among the ranks of the social order, he was free to be her voice of reason. To try and steer the young Brooklyn mouse away from testing the Queen B. Maybe Blair was growing soft…

Blair shook her head clear of such thoughts and dismissed the rest of the girls as she stood just out of sight to overhear the conversation under the guise of checking her phone.

"So, I may have told Blair you told me the truth about her and Chuck, and I'm sure she didn't react well to that," Nate spoke softly to Jenny, telling her the truth before issuing his warning, "But you don't know what you're dealing with here."

"I'm not scared of Blair, Nate," Jenny foolishly responded.

"No, I'm talking about-I'm talking about your new circle," Nate explained, "I mean, they've been friends with Blair forever, and look at what almost happened before break? What they're doing to her?" Blair watched as Nate motioned over to Penelope as the junior finally left the courtyard.

"I mean, you fall out of line, what do you think's going to happen to you?" Nate asked.

Jenny answered arrogantly, "Well, then I won't fall out of line."

"I'm not saying you're going to..," Nate just sighed, obviously realizing that his first attempt at saving the freshman from their world was lost as he gave one last attempt, "It's just…you're not like those girls, Jenny."

Blair could see the bristling from a mile away as Jenny began to speak, "That's weird, Nate, since they're my friends, you'd think we'd have some stuff in common."

Blair smirked as she watched the freshman try to defend her supposed new friendships. The girl honestly believed that just because she joined their ranks the way that she did that she had the other's respect and loyalty? Nate was right, one false move and Jenny would be thrown out at the drop of a dime, but the arrogant little freshman only saw the warning as a challenge to her capability to stick it out. Blair almost felt sorry for the girl…almost.

Nate sighed before saying simply, "Okay. Well, I'll give you this- she trained you well." With his last words, Nate left Jenny standing there alone. And Blair took that as her cue to head to class; thanks to Nate's unintended challenge she knew that Jenny would attempt her first attack on Blair as soon as possible. It was just up to Blair to give the freshman the opportunity to try it. After all, Blair wanted to see what the freshman can do on her own.

xoxo

Blair took her appropriate seat on the steps of the MET at lunch time with Kati, Iz, Hazel, Elise, and Jenny. Everyone was quiet as they started to eat their lunch as the minions tried, unsuccessfully, to steal glances between their Queen and Jenny, waiting for the elephant in the room to be addressed from this morning. But Blair chose to ignore the speculating gazes, already having a plan before she even arrived on how she wished to address the situation.

It wasn't until Penelope finally made her appearance at the steps and sat beside Elise that Blair decided that the time had come to cut off the small conversations and get to the nitty gritty. She smiled as addressed the freshman, "So, Jenny. You and Nate seemed to have gotten pretty close…since when does Nate Archibald have so much to say to little Jenny Humphrey?"

The girls quickly turned towards Jenny, wanting to know the same; Blair could almost hear the sighs of relief at her having asked the question. Jenny glanced around before addressing Blair a little hesitantly, "We're friendly. Why?"

Elise spoke up out of turn, "Penelope's only had a historic crush on him since the 20th century." Blair chuckled with Kati and Iz at the understatement. Penelope was completely transparent on her feelings for Blair's ex, it was comical.

"Since you and Nate are so tight," Hazel spoke casually as she looked at Jenny, "Maybe you can broker that."

"Yeah, maybe," Jenny said offhandedly before realizing what she was insinuating, "I mean if it's alright with you, Blair. I mean you and Nate was together for so long, I would understand if it made you uncomfortable. I mean you two were in love."

Blair smiled as she waved away the worry on Penelope and Jenny's face, not at all concerned about Jenny possibly being successful in her quest to get Penelope back on her side. Blair knew for a fact that Nate was in no way interested in Penelope, there was a better chance that he'd fall for Jenny first, "I assure you it's perfectly fine by me. Nate and I, we've found, are much better suited as friends. Besides I am more than happy with Chuck."

"Did I hear my name being mentioned?" Chuck took a seat beside Blair with a smirk.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," Blair teased as she turned towards Chuck, giving him a kiss in greeting, "Hello."

"Hi, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to steal you for lunch," Chuck whispered not so softly that it was easy for the minions to overhear.

Blair beamed, "I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind." Blair turned to the groups as laced her hand with her boyfriend's, "You wouldn't would you girls?" At the shaking of their heads, Blair and Chuck stood up to go off together, but before she could get too far, Blair turned back as if she'd forgotten something, "Oh, and be sure to figure out the plan for tonight so we can catch up. After lunch, Jenny, come update me?" Blair turned away with Chuck to go on the other side of the steps where Eric and Serena were waiting, not waiting for Jenny's response to Blair's order.

Blair sighed as she sat beside her best friend, Chuck taking a seat beside her with a bag in his hand that Blair hadn't noticed earlier. As Chuck began to distribute sushi for them all, Serena spoke, "So, how was the meeting?"

Blair smirked, "Going as can be expected. Thanks to Nate, he, unintentionally, issued little J a challenge on her ability to stick it out as an elite this morning while he was trying to warn her against going against me."

Serena frowned in confusion as she opened up her container of food, "But if she's a threat, why are you so comfortable with leaving her alone with the others?"

Blair sighed in at Serena's obvious lack of battle strategy in regards to war, and began to speak freely, knowing that Eric wasn't the type to gossip and could be trusted with what she was about to say, "S, with the plan of taking Jenny out for her birthday tomorrow night at Socialista in place, she's officially inscribed on the A-list. I made sure of that when I, temporary, placed her on the third step.

"She was challenged by Nate today after having already been declared war on by myself the last week before break. With my declaring of war, that was my first move; now it's on her to make her counter. My leaving her alone with the others, allows her the opportunity to set her battle plan in motion. As Queen I prefer that my opponent goes first so I can see what they can do." Blair shrugged lightly as she took a bite of her sushi delicately.

Serena sighed at how complicated it sounds before she responded, "Well, Jenny invited me earlier in between classes," Blair looked up at her best friend, not even aware that Chuck was looking at the blonde too over Blair's shoulder as if Serena were crazy, "BUT I said no out of deference to you," Serena quickly added by way of explanation. "I just thought I could have dinner with her and Dan and the whole family." Serena shrugged lightly.

Blair tilted her head, genuinely puzzled as she asked, "How do you manage to get out of everything unscathed?"

"Because I'm nice," Serena teased as she smiled at Blair lightly, "You should try it sometime." Blair looked at her best friend as if she didn't understand what in the world the blonde was talking about in regards to this whole "be nice" idea.

It was at this point that Chuck couldn't keep quiet anymore after he waved to Eric goodbye as his brother went to head early to his class. "Don't do it, Blair, it's a trap."

Blair laughed as she leaned against Chuck, waving after Eric as he headed off. "Chuck, shut up. Speaking of annoyances, did he tell you what that he was smoking up my bathroom this morning?"

Blair rolled her eyes as she answered, still smiling, "He mentioned it in passing."

"And did you see my brother? It's like Chuck's trying to torture me," Serena continued on complaining.

"I'm sitting right here you know, I can hear you princess," Chuck volleyed back causing Blair to sigh at the almost too real sibling fight.

"What happened to trying to persuade me to being nice, Serena?" Blair cut in with a smirk at her best friend, effectively cutting off the bickering.

"Right!" Serena quickly sat up straight, "Come on. Um, compliment me. Tell me my hair looks beautiful," Serena smiled with her eyes closed as she waited.

Blair frowned as she looked over her best friend and spoke truthfully, "But, your hair looks disgusting. Did you even shower?"

Chuck laughed once at the memory of Lily mentioning the same thing this morning at breakfast as he leaned towards his girlfriend and whispered not too quietly, "I have it on good authority that she didn't."

Blair wrinkle her nose in distaste as Serena glared at Chuck, "Again, Chuck, shut up!" Serena took a deep breath and looked at Blair, "B., I say this out of love, but your being a bitch is what got you in this situation in the first place, okay?"

Blair nodded, "Yes, and it also got me to cement my place as Queen. Unlike you Serena, I enjoy a war on my hands every once in a while."

"It keeps her instincts up to par and her resources readily available. Not to mention it also keeps the masses in check. Blair's Queen for a reason, peasants need to be reminded of that." Chuck chipped in, causing Blair to smile at him lovingly. Of course he would get it; he's the only one who ever did.

Serena rolled her eyes, "Or they could attempt to overthrow her; like they attempted to do last week. Don't you think, Blair, that maybe you should just remain nice and neutral until the dusts settles and things are back to normal first?"

Blair shook her head gently at this entire concept of being nice, but before she could even give Serena an answer on if Blair was going to follow through on her declaration of war, low and behold, Jenny walks up to the group with an obvious not quite mastered fake smile, "Um, Blair? The girls all decided that they all wanted to meet at Butter tonight at 7."

Before Blair could even respond, Serena jumped in, answering for her, "Sounds great!"

Blair shared a look with Chuck as Serena caused a spectacle in her excitement. It was obvious that neither of the brunettes saw this as a fact, but thanks to Serena, Blair had no choice but to accept the plan as is. "Yeah, great," Blair put on her Queen smile, "See you tonight then." Blair silently watched Jenny go off with the other minions, getting a very bad feeling in her stomach.

"Next time, why don't you let Blair respond to her invitations," Chuck spoke to Serena before looking at Blair, "And for the record I don't like this."

"I don't either," Blair returned as she looked to Serena, "But thanks to Serena's enthusiasm, I had no choice but to accept."

"Stop being so paranoid, you guys! She's giving you the perfect opportunity for niceness. Come on, Blair, Chuck has no idea what he's talking about." Serena pled her case.

Blair sighed and picked up her last bit of sushi before an idea came to her and smirked at Serena, "How about a compromise? If dinner tonight is on the up and up, and little Jenny doesn't try anything, then I'll call off the war before it even gets started. If not, game on."

"Great! Because I know for a fact that she's a nice girl and she made a mistake," Serena nodded firmly before raising her latte cup in a toast. "To the war being over!"

Blair and Chuck smirked at each other, both silently agreeing that Serena was naïve to think that Jenny wasn't up to something, but deciding to let her be as they rose their cups as well. By the end of the night, they'd know what the freshman's opening move was and then the real game would begin. The trio tapped their cups together as they took a sip happily before finishing up their lunches.

xoxo

After school was over, Chuck reluctantly dropped Blair off at home to prepare her strategy for tonight, while he had to go home to prepare for the food tasting for the wedding tonight that Lily set up. Unfortunately, he had no idea about it until he walked through the front door, otherwise he would have hidden out at Nate's or did some obscure work at Victrola instead. There were a number of things that secured that Chuck stayed and played happy family: 1. Lily was frazzled with all the planning and preparations, 2. His father was actually making the effort and was there as well, and 3. He found that he wanted to make an effort as well; especially after being named best man, just that very morning.

After he quickly changed into something suitable for the occasion, Chuck was stopped on his way towards the sitting room by Lily. "Charles, could you do me a favor and let Serena know that we're about to start?" He smiled and nodded at his future step mother and proceeded to head upstairs to do as he was told. As he passed a staff member, he informed them of the need of one more place setting, already figuring out the reason why Serena wasn't already down stairs and waiting. The only reason that the blonde would still be holed up in her room was if she were entertaining, and with Blair at home that left only one other person. And when Chuck arrived in the doorway of Serena's bedroom, he was not disappointed. There was the Brooklyn rat and Serena making out on her bed.

Chuck rolled his eyes as he knocked lightly on Serena's door, informing them of his presence. Following through on his promise to Blair he simply said, "Dan."

Humphrey looked up as Serena sighed dramatically, "Chuck," Dan began to get off of his girlfriend as he asked, "How are you?"

"Excellent. Enjoying having family around," Chuck responded as he leaned against the doorframe, with his hands in his pockets as he watched Serena glare at him with annoyance.

"Can you just get it over with, Chuck? Say whatever pervy thing you're gonna say and just leave?" Serena said bluntly.

Chuck smirked as he responded, "The wedding caterer is presenting a tasting to the family," He enjoyed the look of shock on both Humphrey and Serena's face as he continued on, "I was coming to call you to dinner."

"Okay, I'll take off then," Dan said as he made an attempt to get off the bed.

"No need," Chuck responded, "I already asked the staff to set a place for you." Chuck finished as he turned and left the couple without another word. He had to admit that being nice to Humphrey was worth the look of confusion on the Brooklyn rat's face, but he already knew he was going to reach his quota by the end of the tasting. After all, Blair asked him to lay off Serena; she didn't mention anything about the boyfriend.

As the second round of entrees was being served in the sitting room to the family, plus Dan, Chuck took his plate from the waitress as he spoke out loud his opinion, "I have to say I prefer the chestnut pappardelle."

Lily nodded in agreement, "Yes, the foie gras is a bit rich."

"You know, I'm- I'm, uh, slanting heavily towards the venison fellow," Dan put in.

"It's fallow," Serena whispered with an indulgent smile, causing Chuck to roll his eyes in disgust. Before he could say anything that would set him back in his quest to lay off, a staff member came in the room with a wrapped box and presented it to Serena.

"Oh, for me?" Serena smiled happily as she set her plate down to take the package.

Chuck, figuring that it was from Humphrey, was too busy tasting the current course to bother saying anything as Eric asked the obvious question, "Who's it from?"

"I don't know…" Serena responded with a sing song voice as she glanced over at Dan before looking at the message card, "But it says "Open immediately"," Serena looked at Dan with a smile in excitement, "Do I have to refrigerate it?"

"No, it's not from me," Dan carefully explained as he looked at the box in confusion, "So, I don't know."

Chuck looked over at Dan and then Serena, intrigued at what the gift could be and whom it could be from since it wasn't from Dan.

Lily interrupted as she watched Serena set the package down on the table as she prepared to open it, "OH, don't put your dirty package on the table."

Chuck smirked, unable to help himself, "If I had a dime for every time I heard that." Eric looked over at him and laughed with him briefly.

Bart quickly put a damper on the joke with an unamused tone, "That's enough, Chuck."

Chuck glanced at his father, but said nothing else as Serena opened her gift. "Porn and handcuffs? Really?" Serena said in disgust. Chuck looked over at the box as Lily and Dan looked on in shock. Chuck, of course, was amused at the gift and mentally thought to try and thank the sender for the entertainment.

Serena stood up in anger and threw the gift onto Chuck's lap as she accused, "This is low, Chuck, even for you."

"What?!" Chuck asked as he watched the blonde princess flee from the room as he put the box away from him, "I didn't send this."

Dan cleared his throat as he stood up, obviously realizing that it was time to go, "Excuse me."

Before he could move away, Lily quickly pointed to the box, "Uh, could you…"

Dan quickly caught on and reached for the box as he began to ramble, "Oh, yeah, my pleasure. Uh, it's not- that's not what I- I didn't mean that. It's, uh…it's trash. I'll throw it out." Mercifully, Dan finally just left already, causing Chuck to sigh into his glass of champagne before going back to his plate, unaware of the watchful eyes of Bart.

Xoxo

Spotted: Blair Waldorf, alone at Butter.

Blair sighed as she sat at the restaurant alone, looking immaculate as usual. The group had not shown up and even if they did, they would be about fifteen minutes late; Blair was not happy, nor was she surprised either. If this was what Jenny called a first move, the freshman obviously had a lot to learn in the art of war.

Blair looked up as the hostess approached her with a look of pity, "I'm sorry. But it- it looks like your friends aren't coming."

Blair took a deep breath to keep her cool and put a smile on her face, "Looks like you're right. Um, could you do me a favor, and, um, get a busboy to separate the tables? I'll be having someone join me for dessert, so you can keep the extra setting on my table. Until then, I'd like another Bellini and the seared squab, please?"

The hostess smiled and nodded respectfully with a look that passed her eyes as she walked away. Blair immediately identified the look as one of being impressed, which caused the brunette to smirk to herself as she took out her cell phone. The war was on and time was of the essence. As Blair began to dial the familiar number, she felt her smirk grow at the prospect of a take down.

She didn't have to wait long before the person on the other line answered, "Hello?"

"Kati, hi." Blair smiled into the phone lightly.

"Blair? Where are you?" Kati asked.

Blair purposely put on her confused tone, "I'm at Butter, where you're supposed to be."

"Butter? No, we decided on meeting at Hazel's place for cocktails and Hors d'oeuvres," Kati explained, her confusion even more evident.

"That's strange. Jenny told me that we were meeting at Butter. Oh well, I only came by here because I wanted to come in person to cancel. Chuck surprised me and wanted to take me out to dinner, but I insisted, since this whole night was my idea, that I should at the very least make an appearance before he and I continued on with his plans for the evening." Blair smiled lightly into the phone as the waitress came back with a fresh Bellini.

"…Jenny told you that?" Kati asked carefully.

"Yeah, weird right?" Blair responded lightly, "Anyway, we'll just have to catch up tomorrow at lunch."

"Of course, I'm so sorry about the miscommunication," Kati apologized, "You've been missed of course and we were starting to get worried."

"Don't worry about it, it's like you said, a miscommunication," Blair smirked, knowing that the seed had been planted, "See you guys tomorrow!" She hung up the phone without waiting for Kati to say her goodbyes and sighed softly to herself as she took a sip from her glass, not putting down her phone.

She sent out a text next to Chuck: We were right. Apparently, Jenny thought her first move was to give me the wrong information. Join me for dessert later?

Blair hit send before making her next call, "Information. What city and state, please?" the operator responded.

"Brooklyn. I think that's in New York," Blair responded with a smile. Oh yes, the war was on, Jenny may have won this very small battle, but it was Blair who would win this war. And when she decided that she was done, Jenny will be sufficiently socially destroyed.

One may be the loneliest number… but sometimes only the lonely can play. Wake up, little Jenny. The bitch is back.

xoxo

The next morning, Chuck found himself in his limo, not with his girlfriend, but with his future step brother and his father. Bart insisted on the boys riding in his car so he could drop them off at school on his way to his morning meeting. To say that Chuck and Eric were surprised at the offer was to put it lightly, but they went along with it.

It started off as a very quiet car ride. Bart was busy reading his paper to get up to date on his current events. Eric was looking out the window as the sites of the Upper East Side passed them by, and Chuck was musing over the events of last night. After Serena made her dramatic exit and Dan made his awkward one, Chuck spent the rest of the dinner spending time with his new brother until Blair texted him to meet for dessert after little Humphrey played her first card against Blair.

Chuck scoffed to himself silently as he reflected on when he arrived at Butter. Blair was all smiles and explained that she had already set in motion her countermove towards the freshman. He had to admit that nothing stirred up the brunette's take down juices than war. And he had to admit that the plan was honestly flawless and the only thing to make it better was if he were there to witness it firsthand.

After the couple finished dessert, Chuck took Blair home alone, unfortunately. She promised she'd make it up to him after the takedown at Jenny Humphrey's birthday party, but in order to set the plan in motion fully required Blair to have an early morning the next day. Chuck was just grateful that he could avoid his father for the evening, so he wasn't even that upset at being denied the chance to properly ravage his girlfriend.

Deciding that there had been enough silence in the car, Chuck decided to start the conversation on one of the most important events that led up to a wedding: The Bachelor Party. "I say we take the jet to Croatia where young Eric here can exploit the lesser age of consent," Chuck began with a smirk at his future stepbrother who turned from the window.

"I'm invited to the bachelor party?" Eric asked excitedly.

"Brother, please," Chuck responded as if it were obvious that Eric was going to come with them, "And then head west to Monte Carlo for some all-night cards at Metropole, then swing by Giza just to watch the sun come up over the pyramids," Chuck mused to himself with a smirk, liking the vision that he had painted. "What do you think, father?"

"I think we're here," Bart responded as he looked up from his paper, not showing any form of excitement at the trip idea. Chuck once again found himself wondering how he and Bart could be related.

As Eric began to gather his bag he smiled at his future stepfather, "I'll see you at home, Bart."

"Chuck will catch up in a minute," Bart responded with a nod, giving the young Van Der Woodsen a faint smile.

Eric and Chuck pause and look at Bart before Eric continued to slide out of the back of the limo, leaving Chuck to face his father alone. Chuck sighed as he leaned against the back of the seat as he prepared himself, having an idea of what his father wished to discuss.

"I wish to discuss that "present" that Serena received last night at the tasting," Bart explained as he looked away from his son.

"Father, I swear to you that I did not send that to her. I admit to my part in when you and Lily first broke up, but since you two have reunited, I have done nothing but be supportive. But I would like to think that you've noticed that since you showed your faith in me with Victrola that I have changed. I've been doing well with the business, with Blair, and even with school for the last few months with the exception of the swimming pool incident," Chuck pled his case, "Doesn't that at least count for something in my defense?"

Bart sighed and looked over at his son as he contemplated Chuck's words, "You're right, Charles. It should count for something. Besides, as someone who has cleaned up your messes before, that vulgar gift wasn't your usual M.O. at the very least you would have signed the card."

Chuck found himself in a state of shock at his father; he genuinely believed that Chuck was innocent. Chuck found himself smiling at the thought. Things were changing between the Bass men after all. "If it wasn't you, than do you have any idea who it was?" Bart asked as he put aside his paper beside him.

Chuck shrugged, "Before Serena began to play the violated virgin Mary act, she associated with some pretty scurvy characters, and for me to say that is speaking volumes. Maybe someone is coming out of the woodwork to play?"

Bart nodded in agreement as he pursed his lips in thought, not at all surprised by his son's words, "I'll look into it myself, but until then, attempt to keep a low profile so she doesn't accuse you again."

Chuck nodded back as he gathered his things, "Already ahead of you, but she seems to enjoy living in the past on certain aspects rather than living in the present." With is final words, Chuck got out of the car and headed inside, not bothering to look for Blair because he knew that she wouldn't be around. He was just grateful that with his father digging into the "gift" for Serena, it would show that Chuck had nothing to do with it once and for all.

xoxo

Today was the day that heads will roll, Blair decided as she arrived at her destination. By the end of the night, Jenny would be lost in social Siberia and Blair will have everything back to the way it was. She found herself once again regretting ever going along with her softer side brought out during Cotillion to even offer the freshman the chance at redemption. Although Blair had to admit it worked in her favor by the end of the night. She just didn't take into consideration how hungry the social climber was for what was rightfully Blair's.

As Blair headed inside, she took out her cell phone to call Serena to make sure that she wouldn't be caught before the game was too far gone to turn back. Unlike Jenny, Blair was far from an amateur and was quick to cover her tracks until the last possible second when it was a clear take down of her opponent. Blair smiled as she waited in the gallery for her morning meeting to arrive as Serena answered the phone with, "Hey, why aren't you at school?"

Blair shrugged as she took a glance around, surprisingly a little impressed with some of the works displayed, "I'm taking the morning off, volunteering to help those less fortunate than myself."

"Wow. You're in a good mood," Serena answered a bit smugly as she continued, "Butter with the girls must have gone well last night?"

Blair rolled her eyes and lied, "I didn't go, actually." At this point, Serena was more of a liability with her connections to Brooklyn than an asset; besides, Blair was above saying "I told you so", at least in this instance.

"Why not?" Serena asked with a sigh.

"I figure that I could hear about Aspen at lunch today instead, let Jenny enjoy her time at the top without me foreshadowing her for one day more," Blair explained as she paused in front of another painting. Blair decided to get to the real reason that she called her blonde friend, choosing to talk to Serena about the "gift" she received later. "Hey, Dan's not hanging out in Brooklyn again this morning. He's with you at school, right?"

Serena paused before answering, "Um, no, not yet, but he'll be here soon. Why?"

Blair glanced over her shoulder at the sound of footsteps and smiled into the phone as she responded quickly, "Just tell him I say hi." And hung up the phone as she turned around, seeing the man she came to see carrying a very large canvas into the gallery. "Hi. Jenny's dad? We met briefly at Thanksgiving."

After a moment, it seemed that the elder Humphrey made the connection, "Ah, yeah. Hi."

Blair continued smile as she began to set the plan in motion about having a surprise birthday party at the Humphrey loft with all of Jenny's "friends" tonight. It was surprisingly easy to persuade Mr. Humphrey to host it, obviously missing spending the time with his daughter.

"I'm really glad, because when I spoke to her, she mentioned the plans with the girls falling through," Blair found herself holding back a smirk at this information, it just kept getting better and better.

"Nope," Blair said with a smile and a shrug.

"Tell you the truth, I didn't really believe her." Mr. Humphrey confided in Blair.

Blair looked at him in confusion, "Why?"

"I thought she was just conflicted about choosing friends over family," Mr. Humphrey explained.

Blair nodded before she spoke, "Well, you know that's the biggest struggle with a girl her age."

Mr. Humphrey laughed a bit, "Memory doesn't serve…"

Blair continued on to explain, "Trying to reconcile who you're becoming with who you used to be," Blair shook her head gently, "She's been running herself ragged, Mr. Humphrey. Straddling two worlds?"

"Well, I know she was running herself ragged trying to get into one of those worlds- picking up dry cleaning, gowns for masked balls…" Mr. Humphrey hinted as he looked at her.

Blair broke eye contact and smiled half-heartedly as she spoke, "Well, it's no easier once you're in." When Blair looked back up at the elder Humphrey, she could tell that he saw the truth in her eyes before he looked down at his paperwork. "She needs some relief," Blair urged.

Obviously coming to a decision, Mr. Humphrey looked at Blair as he spoke, "Well, then that's what she'll get."

Blair beamed as she tilted her head to the side, "Whatever I can do to help."

xoxo

By the time that it was lunch time at school, Blair had returned back to where she belonged with a smile on her face. She deemed that her morning was very productive and to add to her happiness, Jenny was nowhere in sight as she took her seat amongst her minions. "Hello ladies."

"Blair! You were missed last night," Elise spoke.

"Yeah, I feel so bad about the miscommunication, I could hardly believe it," Hazel spoke with a look that stated that she didn't believe the story.

"I'm sorry I missed it," Blair said with a smile as she took a sip from her coffee cup.

"It's so weird because we were originally planning on going to Butter for dinner but Jenny was the one that changed the plans and suggested we go to Hazel's instead," Penelope tattled expertly causing Blair to look at the junior briefly, mentally rejoicing that the girl obviously learned her lesson about putting her neck out for the freshman.

Blair shrugged it off, "Maybe Jenny was overwhelmed with everything. Who knows? All that matters is that I'm here now, and I demand all the details of what I missed last night," Blair beamed at her minions as they began to relax, realizing that they weren't going to be punished for Jenny's mistake.

"Well, Hazel showed off the dress she was going to wear tonight for Jenny's birthday," Kati started off causing Blair to beam down at Hazel in faux excitement.

"Really? Do you have pictures?" she asked.

Hazel nodded as she took out her phone and found the one she wanted to show Blair. Blair purposely held onto Hazel's hand as she held up the phone, pulling the blonde junior up the stairs to sit beside her as she looked at the picture, nodding her approval, "Nanette Lepore, very nice. And it will go stunningly with your Ferragamo clutch, I can just see it."

The girls laughed together as they all agreed that the dress was even more gorgeous in person. Hazel, obviously enjoying being at the center of attention, not to mention sitting next to her Queen on the steps spoke volumes of the junior earning forgiveness for her attempt at dethroning Blair a couple of weeks back, spoke up, "Yeah it was a great night until after everyone left…"

Blair turned to look at Hazel in confusion, "What happened after everyone left?" She asked.

"Well my mother's Valentino dress was found stolen," Hazel explained. All the girls were equally shocked at the news as Hazel continued on, "It was just horrible, the police had to be called and everything, obviously. Thankfully, Penelope was staying the night so I didn't have to go through it alone."

Blair shook her head in disbelief as Isabel spoke up, "She must have been so angry."

"I would be livid," Blair spoke as she shook her head and patted Hazel's hand in compassion just as Jenny herself finally made her appearance.

"Hey, guys, I just got this incredible Dolce. You wanna see?" The freshman sat down with a smile as she showed off her purchase, but no one was really paying attention.

"It's unbelievable," Kati spoke with a shake of her head, "You can't turn your back in your own house."

"What are you guys' talking about?" Jenny asked as she got settled, setting her dress down carefully.

"My mother's Valentino was stolen," Hazel stated again. Any girl on the Upper East Side knew that a stolen Valentino was like suffering a death in the family in regards to fashion.

"Oh, my god," Jenny exclaimed.

"It was made especially for her," Haze went on in detail, "It was the same year he did, uh, Jackie O.'s lace wedding mini."

Blair took another sip from her cup as she just reflected as she vaguely listened to Jenny respond with fear in her tone, but Blair assumed it was just the thought of something being stolen in the house she was just in the previous night, "Well, did someone break in?"

"No," Penelope spoke, "And the maid swore to the police that she didn't take it, but she'll probably get fired."

Jenny frowned in confusion, "Wait, police for a dress?"

Blair rolled her eyes at how naïve Jenny was to even ask that question as Elise answered the freshman, "It's worth, like, $15,000."

"My mother told Imaculata if she returned it they could work something out," Hazel added, obviously not wanting to talk about the possible thief for much longer.

Blair scoffed softly, "Like she'll bring it back."

"Well, you never know. I mean, it could turn up," Jenny added, obviously taking the side of the thieving help.

"Right, 'cause really, where's she gonna wear it?" Kati added rhetorically.

Blair decided to give this whole being "nice" thing a try and allowed Hazel to continue to sit beside her for the rest of lunch as a way to give her condolences on Hazel's mother's dress. She honestly didn't know what she'd do if Dorota betrayed her in such a way, and Dorota was practically family.

Blair found it interesting though that Jenny was very quiet for the rest of lunch. Maybe it was because she was still going over what happened after the girls left Hazel's or maybe it's because none of the minions actually spoke to her. Either way, Blair enjoyed the quiet from that part of the group. It was like an unplanned preview of what the future held after Jenny Humphrey was gone from her life.

xoxo

Late that evening, the girls and Blair were all standing by the front door, just waiting for the guest of honor. It was easy to get the girls to change plans for the night with a text message from Jenny's dad about a surprise party. At first the girls were a bit weary since they were all so excited for the prospect of going to Socialista, but Blair said that the party sounded fun and that they could have the intimate gathering later on in the week if it wasn't up to par.

After confirming that she was going to meet them all there, Blair quickly changed into her outfit for her takedown and began to ran the last minute errands for this event. Everything had to be perfect and Blair Waldorf was not one to be messed with when it came to party planning; even a party this lame. She was going to go over the top on everything, and by the end of the evening the girls would see just how out of her depth Jenny Humphrey was. Not to mention just how much she did not fit in when it came to the girl's lifestyles.

Blair had to hold back her laugh at each of the girls' faces as they took in the loft in Brooklyn as they tried to keep their expressions excited as they greeted Jenny's father as was their breeding. Blair put on an obvious fake smile to the group, showing that she wasn't impressed with their new planned party either and she saw the girls were beginning to relax. Knowing that if their Queen wasn't happy, they didn't have to suck it up and stay for longer than what she deemed necessary. So they put on happy faces and the lame birthday hats and pretended that they were having a good time as they helped set up the party.

When they heard the sound of heals outside the loft, Mr. Humphrey quickly turned out the lights and helped Blair hold up the cake with Jenny's picture on it to present it. Blair couldn't stop herself from letting out a laugh as she once again looked down at it. Something about it just made Blair want to laugh at its absurdity that someone would actually want a cake like this for a party.

When the door opened and the lights came on, the group yelled out, "Surprise!" Kati blew her horn and they all stared at the freshman who had a look of pure fear on her face.

"Wow," Was all Jenny could say.

"Happy Birthday, Jenny," Mr. Humphrey said with a smile.

"Um, dad, I ca- I can't believe you did all this," Jenny spoke, clutching her jacket tightly as she took in everybody, "Hey guys."

When she locked eyes with Blair, it was like a light got switched on in the freshman's head and realized that Blair had a hand in this surprise. Blair smiled innocently as she continued to hold up the cake with Jenny's father, not saying a word as she just enjoyed her plan fall into place.

Jenny forced a laugh, "Um, this is so great that all of you are here. In my house." Blair glanced at the minions as she caught their polite smiles slipping a bit as Jenny tried to get away, "Uh, I should go change."

As the freshman fled the scene to go into her bedroom, Mr. Humphrey went after her after ensuring that Blair had a good handle of the cake. Blair smiled as she carefully set it down on top of the counter and turned towards her minions, doing her best to keep her happiness in check as she heard them whisper to each other.

"I don't think she was surprised," Iz said matter of factly.

"This party's kinda weird," Elise said.

Hazel spoke up as Blair joined them, "'Weird'? It's time for its induction to the birthday hall of lame."

Blair just let the girls talk as she looked around, silently giving them permission to speak freely, "So not what I thought of when the guy on the phone said "loft party." Iz spoke as she stood next to Blair, shaking her head.

"I can't believe we gave up our table for this," Penelope said in outrage, "mint mojitos at Socialista, mint milanos with Jenny's dad."

"He's kind of a hottie," Iz said with a smile causing Blair to laugh a bit.

"Yeah, a hottie dad," she spoke as she lightly nudged her favorite minion.

"How long do we have to stay?" Hazel asked Blair.

Blair sighed, "I'm thinking thirty minutes before we make our excuses. That is if you ladies can last that long," Blair said with a smirk as she motioned to the platter on the counter top as she chuckled a bit, "Rice Krispy treats?"

The girls shook their head at the offer, obviously all for the idea of getting out of this lame party as soon as possible. After about five minutes of waiting and still no sign of Jenny, Blair was growing bored and considered tonight to be a success, "You know what? I can't last that long, let's just get out of here. Elise could you get our wraps and coats please?" Blair asked politely.

The freshman quickly looked around the room, obviously all for not staying the required thirty minutes; when she came up empty, Blair motioned over to Jenny's room as an indicator that they may be in there as she led the group to the door as Elise knocked politely and opened the door. She gasped at obviously walking in on something as she immediately began to apologize, "Sorry. Sorry. We were just looking for our wraps."

Blair frowned at what the girl could have possibly seen as Hazel headed inside the room with Penelope, pausing at the sight before her. Blair came up with Kati and Iz and they too paused with the group as they waited for someone to say something as Jenny Humphrey stood there in a red dress crying as she clutched a coat to her chest.

"Oh my god. That's my mother's dress," Hazel spoke in outrage. Blair covered her mouth in shock as well as to hide her smile. This turned out better than she originally planned. It was one thing to show how out of their league the Humphrey girl was, but to show that the girl was also a thief as well was just too good for words.

"No, you guys," Jenny spoke as she continued to clutch the coat in her hands as she tried to talk her way out of this, "I got this at- at Resurrection. Remember, I was telling you about the really great dress I bought?"

Penelope wrapped her arm around Hazel in comfort as she continued with the accusations, "Her mother's one-of-a –kind Valentino that just happened to disappear from her closet?"

"She must've given it away and forgotten or something," Jenny spoke up as she tried to save her skin.

"Are you calling my daughter a thief?" Mr. Humphrey finally spoke up.

Before any of the girls could say anything more in front of the parental unit, Blair spoke up as she politely walked through the group, "Excuse me." She walked up to the blonde freshman with a smirk and politely snatched her coat from Jenny's arms, "this feels private, so I think it's best that we head out now."

After giving her one last look, Blair turned her back on her with a smile as she addressed the rest of the girls, "I have a table at Butter, just in case we all wanted to have an after party. Why don't we just go ahead and head on over now, girls?"

The group nodded in agreement as they walked passed Blair to get their wraps and followed their Queen out the door in unison without another word except a few glares and smirks at the fallen Jenny Humphrey.

Spotted- Jenny in a red dress with the red hands to match. Looks like utter disgrace is the name on the label.

xoxo

Chuck sighed as he began packing up the few things he had in his room at the Van Der Bass household. He had just come back from a summons from his father. Apparently Serena was accusing Chuck for the three cases of champagne that was delivered to her at school that morning. Chuck rolled his eyes to himself as he remembered the conversation he just had with his father.

Chuck walked into the study a bit apprehensively, not sure what was going on, and since this would be the second conversation he would have with his father in a matter of hours. And if you knew the Bass men well, you would know that they never spoke that often unless Chuck did something wrong and Bart wanted to scold him before he made the problem go away.

As Chuck shut the door behind him, he turned towards his father, choosing to stand instead of sitting down, "You summoned me father?"

Bart was sitting behind his desk, going through some papers in front of him. He glanced up at Chuck briefly before continuing on shifting through his paperwork as he spoke, "I had a conversation with Serena after school today. She accused you of sending the latest gift she had received, three cases of champagne delivered outside of school."

Chuck scoffed as he rolled his eyes, "Of course she did."

Bart looked at his son, "And I assume you're going to say you had nothing to do with it?"

"You would be correct. I may enjoy riling her up a bit, but father I swear to you, that I'm not doing this. Even if I were, I'm not one to not wave my digressions with pride."

Bart nodded softly, "Unfortunately, I attempted to trace the delivery to its source, but it was paid for in cash, so there's no way to clear your name. I assure you, I won't stop digging, but with all the fuss that Serena is stirring up over this, I think it's best that you move back into your suite temporarily."

Chuck paused and looked at his father, hurt evident on his face at being kicked out, "You don't believe me."

"I do, Charles, but I don't want this mess to cause conflict between Lily and me. She agrees that you wouldn't do what Serena's claiming, but I don't wish to put her in a position to choose sides," Bart stood up from his chair and walked around his desk to stand in front of Chuck, "Like I said, it's only temporary until I found out who is behind all of this."

Chuck sighed and nodded as he spoke softly, "You're right. It's probably for the best that I'm not around to point a finger at."

Bart patted Chuck's shoulder in comfort, "You're still my best man. I've thought about it and maybe after all this is over, maybe, before you start any summer plans you and Blair decide on or maybe towards the end of it, you, me and Eric could go on a small trip together. Sort of like a belated bonding of men party?"

Chuck looked up at his father in surprise. Even though he was being removed from the house, his father was making an effort to show that he did in fact believe Chuck's words of innocence. Chuck had to admit to himself then that he didn't really believe that Bart believed him until that moment. Normally if Bart felt he was lying he would have had him removed and would have not even have bothered to make an offer of a guys' trip. So much had changed between the two Bass men over the course of the past few months and Chuck found himself smiling as he nodded in agreement before he headed back to his room.

At the memory, Chuck, once again, smiled to himself; yes, things were changing between him and his father and it seemed that all the changes were for the better. He looked down at his watch to check the time and knew that Blair would still be working on her scheme against the blonde freshman, so he couldn't call to ask her to come over just yet. He sighed softly to himself as he picked up his bag and headed out before he was accused of something else to make the situation worse.

As he walked down the hall, he found himself confronted by the blonde bitch herself, Serena as she proceeded to yell, "What the hell is your problem?"

Chuck paused and glared at her, "Specify the context."

Serena began to dig into her bag until she found what she was looking for and slammed it against Chuck's chest, "You disgust me, Chuck. How dare you involve Eric in something like this?" Chuck said nothing as he looked at the item in question, seeing that it was a small baggie of cocaine as Serena continued on with her supposed outrage, "It's a wonder why Nate would want to be your friend, let alone Blair! Your own father expects the worst from you!"

Chuck tilted his head to the side as he looked at the blonde as he spoke softly, not one to show his hand, "Well, you saw to that."

"Listen, if we're going to exist under the same roof, I am laying down some house rules." Serena demanded.

Chuck interrupted before she could go on, "No need, Princess. Bart already kicked me out."

Serena stopped and Chuck reveled a bit at the look of guilt on her face as she asked softly, "What?"

"I'm moving back to my suite, temporarily. With all of your accusations, Bart thought it best that the family bonded without me for a while," Chuck explained with a sneer as he walked around the blonde. He didn't feel that she deserved to know the real truth of what happened when he spoke to his father earlier. If she was so hell bent on believing the worst of him, she would have just claimed he was lying anyway.

xoxo

Meanwhile at Butter, Blair was sitting amongst her minions as they laughed and speculated over what they went through that evening. The night was a success, and Jenny's name was slowly being erased from the list of the elite. Blair smirked to herself as she took a sip from her martini glass as she listened to the girls talk.

"I can't believe that she actually took it," Hazel spoke out loud as she sat on Blair's left.

"We should have known though," Penelope spoke up, sitting across from Hazel, "I mean it was bad enough that I had to pay for her brunch when we all got back from Aspen. She's obviously not worthy of our time or to be in our space."

Blair nodded softly, "I still can't believe that I agreed to go to a party in Brooklyn, and a lame one at that." She laughed with Kati and Iz as she continued speaking, "We should have all known better."

"I feel kind of bad for her though, you know?" Elise spoke up, "I mean it is her birthday and everything. Having to spend it alone with her dad of all people?"

"Well she brought it on herself," Penelope spoke before Blair could, obviously not wanting to give Jenny a chance to be welcomed back into the fold after making no effort to fix it. "She's proven herself to be a thief and a liar. I mean look at what she did to Blair last night?"

The group looked towards their Queen as Blair was just finishing up her drink. Before she could say anything, her phone started to ring. Blair smiled as she saw who it was and excused herself from the table quickly as she answered. "Hello, Bass. It went even better than I expected; it turned out that little J took something that wasn't hers and was caught red-handed. The girls are appropriately disgusted and after tonight, Jenny Humphrey will die a social death."

"I'm glad to hear that, Waldorf," Chuck answered.

Blair paused at his tone sounding a bit off as she leaned against the bar, "What's wrong? You don't sound nearly enthusiastic enough for the occasion."

Chuck sighed into the phone, "I'm sorry. It's Serena; she once again ran and told Bart that I "supposedly" sent her another gift of three cases of champagne to her at school."

Blair frowned into the phone, "Once again, if you did do that, you would be the first to admit it. What does she think your endgame is, to make her look insane?"

"Who knows? Anyway, Bart and I agreed that it would be best that I move back to my suite temporarily while he attempts to find out who is behind this," Chuck explained.

"I'm so sorry to hear that Chuck. I know how much you were enjoying living with the other Van Der Woodsens, but at least Bart didn't out right take Serena's words for truth. That's something right?" Blair spoke softly to her boyfriend, not liking the idea of him being alone.

"It is something; normally he would have just gotten rid of me completely instead of going through the guise of it only being temporary. After the first break up with Lily, he wants to be more careful so she doesn't take this as a sign and back out of the wedding." Chuck sighed into the phone. Blair could just imagine him rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"How about I come over and effectively take it out of your mind completely?" Blair offered with a smirk as she turned towards her table.

Chuck smirked into the phone briefly before responding, "Just come by after your victory celebration with the masses. I'll be fine for a few hours by myself."

"No. I'm coming over now. They can have my reservation and continue on without me. Besides I'd rather be with you to properly celebrate my victory." Blair sighed as she pictured the many fun things the two could do by way of distraction.

"If you insist; I'm not one to turn away a good time when it comes to you, Waldorf. I love you," Chuck said into the phone causing Blair to beam with pleasure. He was letting her take care of him and be there for him in a way that she had hoped that Nate would allow her to be and it was then that Blair knew that Chuck Bass was the one she'd been hoping for.

"I love you too, and I'll be there in about twenty minutes," Blair explained happily.

"I'm sending Arthur to pick you up as we speak," Chuck answered before disconnecting the call.

Blair hung up with a smile as she went back to her table, picking up her purse, "Sorry ladies, I'm needed elsewhere. Enjoy the table and the rest of your night."

Blair waved as the girls said their goodbyes as they watched their Queen dismiss them for the evening without any more of an explanation, knowing better than to ask her questions. As Blair slid into the backseat of Chuck's awaiting limo, she was unaware of the blonde freshman, whom she thought was dead and gone, showing up at Butter with a friend thirty minutes later. The only friend that she could have brought that could save her from being completely erased as an elitist, Nate Archibald. Unfortunately for Jenny, Blair was long gone by the time she had arrived, so she didn't have the pleasure of rubbing it in her face when the girls reluctantly welcomed her back into the fold.

xoxo

An hour later, Blair and Chuck were lounging together on the couch in Chuck's suite, fresh from a passionate rump in the shower with an Audrey movie playing in the background. Blair was wrapped up in a purple, silk robe that Chuck bought for her for times such as these, while Chuck was wearing his sleep purple, silk pants as he rested his head on Blair's lap in content. His mind a million miles away from the drama that was occurring with Serena and Bart and completely focused on the exquisite brunette before him that was gently combing her fingers through his hair as she fed him berries and drank champagne, relishing in her victory.

Unfortunately the couple's bubble was set to burst with a soft knock from the door. Chuck sighed as he sat up causing Blair to frown in her displeasure, "Don't answer it."

"It might be Eric," Chuck answered as he put on his robe. Blair nodded as she sat her glass down on the side table, knowing that it was a possibility. She knew how attached Chuck was to Eric since the engagement and would never want him to lose that connection because of anyone, least of all Serena.

Making sure that he was appropriately covered up, Chuck went to the door and looked through the peephole, scoffing at who was at his door at the irony as he opened it anyway. He leaned against the door as Serena spoke softly, fiddling with some paper in her hands, "Hey."

Blair frowned as she heard the voice of her best friend and stood up from the couch, "Serena?" The brunette crossed her arms over her chest, "Well I hope you're here to apologize for what you've done; if not, don't bother staying."

Chuck smirked at Blair's protective nature coming out to defend him as he continued to silently stare at Serena, "You're right Blair. I'm really sorry, Chuck. I know now that it wasn't you who sent me that stuff."

With her words, Serena handed the paper over to Chuck to see for himself. He silently took it and read the words written:

S-

Hope you like your presents!

Coming back to town.

G

Blair read over his shoulder what the note said and the couple looked up together at Serena with a look of worry. It was Chuck who spoke first, "Why don't I make you a drink?"

Serena nodded as she came inside as Blair walked over to the bar, "Make that two. Something tells me we're going need it," Blair spoke with a sigh as she took a seat as Chuck firmly shut the door behind the Serena as he continued to look down at the note in his hand.

Never thought I'd say this, but it turns out Chuck Bass is innocent. So who did send S. all those naughty gifts?

AN: And there's chapter 23! This story is slowly coming to an end with only a few chapters left! I can hardly believe it, but don't worry! I've decided to take a bit of a break to finish off my last semester of college and then I'll proceed to write a sequel for the second season! With all that's happened in this reality of season 1 you know there's going to be some major changes in the second season since we don't have the added angst of waiting for Chuck to say those three words, eight letters. But I have some major ideas and even though the focus may shift from B and C to S, I'll always come back to my first love of Chair.

What did you think of little J's birthday party and Blair's plan of war? What about Bart and Chuck's scenes? I'm personally glad that the two of them are making such great progress in this story! Georgina is coming to town and we all know Serena is one to hide from her problems instead of facing them.

I love you all with your reviews and support and I'm so happy with the response to the last chapter! See you all next Saturday! I'm doing my best to quickly write out the next chapter but I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me if I don't make deadline since I'm dealing with finals in a week's time! By the way for some reason winter has returned in the month of May and I hope that those who are actually having spring like weather are appreciating it! I for one hate the cold!

Happy Saturday!

-Plei4fun