Stayed up all night to write this one, hope it delivers :P R&R! Enjoy! :)

The Other Side

Nate stared at his phone. She hung up on him, that's understandable, it's very Blairish after all, she was always that impatient. But then again, she was on her way to the loft to see Dan, which caused his heart to break to tiny little pieces, something that only Blair could cause. Looking back, when he learned about Dan and Serena's reunion 'accident' night, he wasn't even mad like he is now.

"Fuck, fuck", he hissed while remembering their prom night. He thought he'd make her happy by letting her go, but back then he didn't understand that whoever wrote that stupid cliché "if you love someone, set him free", was terribly wrong. And that idiot who decided that 'first love never dies' was also super wrong, because hey, looks like it did. Nate didn't know who to blame. She took his advice after all and went after Dan for some talking, but all Nate could think about is the possibility of them kissing right now in Dan's bedroom or going even further than that. He felt nausea creeping up his throat, but then he remembered the soft feeling of her lips on his earlier today. He was afraid his heart would burst out of his chest any moment. Blair was always the smartest one, the sharpest one in the group, but still, she didn't notice a thing. The way he cupped her face, nuzzled her hair and held her waist whenever they kissed was more than obvious to him. Maybe she was thinking about Dan, or how to get him to sleep with Epperly by the end of the week. Just then, when he thought his day couldn't get worse (which is more than ironic, since it started off as the best day he had in years), he received a text message from Blair, saying 'Thank you for your awesome advice. Looks like I have a date over coffee tomorrow", with a winking smiley closing it. Nate couldn't think, his rage overcame his common sense when he dialed Serena's number.

"Nate", Serena said while giggling and asking Ben to stop whatever he was doing.

"Hi. Can you meet me for coffee tomorrow?" he asked forwardly.

"Coffee? That sounds… Great?" she asked with confusion, which was totally understandable since they haven't spoken for a while because all of her and Dan's involvement.

"Just a friendly coffee meeting to catch up, I swear", he replied, hoping she bought it. Besides, why wouldn't she? Its not like Nate have any ulterior motives, right?

"Sure, can I bring Ben with me?" she asked while giggling again, probably smacking Ben to make him stop.

"No. Nothing personal, I just need… You know", he sighed.

"But I was hoping you guys will finally meet… But alright, I guess", she started giggling again, and Nate hung up on her. He was going to play dirty and pull a Chuck Bass out of his sleeve for the first time in his life. He might not get the girl of his dreams anytime soon, but his best friend won't either. He wasn't worried about Blair and Serena's relationship though, they're stronger than this, always were. This whole now-I'm-a-badass idea caused a smirk to spread on his face. He was just praying to god not to fail.

The next day, Nate guessed the time correctly when he checked Gossip Girl, tracking Blair and Dan easily at a coffee shop downtown afternoon. He called Serena, and they were sitting in the coffee shop in no time. He made sure to sit with his back to the entrance to have Serena face it instead. Their conversation was bland, mainly due the Ben subject, and it took no time for them to fall into an awkward silence. When he took a sip out of his drink, he heard the coffee shop's door opening quietly, and he glanced at Serena, who was now very much aware of that door and the new comers. "So…" he managed to say quickly in order to draw her attention back to him. It wasn't time yet. He failed though, when he noticed confusion spread all over Serena's face.

"What is it?" he asked like the naïve cute guy that he is.

"Please, turn around and tell me if I'm hallucinating. I think I just saw Dan and Blair walking in and holding hands", she whispered, her eyes wide. A brief smile of triumph spead over his mouth before he played along and gave her his no-way look. Serena got up automatically and paced over to their table. Nate followed her carefully. He wasn't planning that move, because unlike Blair, Serena was the thinking one, she never acted straight away, something he never liked about her. Blair however, did whatever she wanted without considering anyone who might be involved, a quality which often hurt people, but she didn't give a damn, she'd do anything and stand for herself and her principles, and he couldn't envy her more. Dan and Blair were sitting in a cozy corner across each other and talked enthusiastically, replacing their banter with shy smiles. Serena paced quietly behind them, and observed the couple for a minute before interrupting their conversation.

"May I join you guys?" she asked, not revealing any emotion in her voice.

Serena's voice caused Blair to jump in her place, and send a shiver down Dan's spine. None of them could elicit another word. Nate observed from the corner, utterly amused. His plan seemed to work just fine.

"Serena… Of course", Blair was the first one to break the ice when she gestured to the sit next to Dan, and while she did, she also noticed Nate standing on the side. Dan followed her gaze and noticed Nate as well.

"Hey man, didn't see you. Join us", Dan said with annoyance. This situation couldn't get more uncomfortable for any of those four. Nate took his place beside Blair, where he could feel the change in her breath rhythm. She was obviously nervous.

"Please tell me you're not dating her again", she whispered to him while Serena was looking at Dan.

"Why, are you jealous? Besides, she's dating Ben", Nate whispered back and squeezed her thigh, causing her to roll her eyes and smack his hand away.

Serena eyed every one of them for a minute before talking.

"Care to explain?" she said with a bitter voice. None of them answered her question, so she carried on. "I'm not even talking about the fact that I'm obviously interrupting what it looks like a date." She glared at Dan, who was probably wishing he had the abiltyto be invisible right now. Blair's face expression was beyond terrified. Nate rested his hand over Blair's, hoping to make her feel better and maybe to get her start talking in order to move along with his plan. It didn't work, because the next one to talk was actually Dan.

"We started hanging out a couple of months ago, and I-I don't really know what are we, but we're, I think, um…" he mumbled.

"Friends", Blair finished his sentence, sending him a death glare, signaling him to shut up. But the damage was already done,

"Fine. Not telling me you guys are suddenly friends out of the blue? I can accept that. But dating? That's a whole different story", Serena replied coldly. Right when everything fell into place, Nate realized the whole point he was actually missing. Blair was dating her best friend's ex. Serena actually did the same last year. Serena has no rights to be mad at them. And that's when he stepped into the conversation, in a desperate attempt to save the mess he created.

"Look, I know this must be awkward, but Serena, you've moved on. Shouldn't Dan do the same? Even if it's with Blair. They kind of match if you ask me", he said while feeling Blair's hand squeezing his in gratitude. It was more than painful for him to say those words. He wondered if he meant any of them at all.

"You knew about this?" she asked him, her tone rising. Nate just nodded and waited for her wrath to burst on him. Instead, Serena just sighed.

"I'm not mad about you guys dating. I'm mad because you didn't bother to tell me that you're even friends. Eventually, I want you two to be happy", she sent a weak smile towards them, a gesture that caught Blair off guard.

"You don't know how much it means to me", Dan sent her a wide smile.

"It's still awkward though, I don't want any of you guys mentioning this for a month, or at least until I'm getting used to the idea. This is all just too…"

"Weird?" Nate chuckled and smiled at Blair, who didn't think it was funny at all. She just elbowed his ribs like she always did when she didn't approve of his actions. He managed to smile through the pain, not just the physical one, but mainly the emotional one. Something about the way Dan looked at Blair made him realize Dan was pretty much telling the truth when he said he has feelings for her. But yet, Blair didn't return the same look to Dan, at all. Nate couldn't figure it out, but it didn't look like a like a loving look to him. Maybe it was just the naive Nate in him, trying to convince himself it wasn't possible for Blair to return the feelings to Dan. Her hand was still on his, squeezing it just as tightly as before, spreading warmth through his body. All he was aware of was that he's in love with her, and he was running out air whenever she looked at him, beautiful and breathtaking that she is. He also knew that he was running out of tools and time to make her his, but he was definitely more than willing to try anything. Eventually, she might reject him because she doesn't feel the same, but she also might take him back against all odds. He was going to fight for her.