A/N: Here's chapter seven of Everything We Had. There are two more to come after this and they are already written and ready to go. So look out for those after this. Uh, about this…the likelihood of such an article…I don't know if it is realistic or not, but hey, this is fiction yes? And it works for the chapter. :D Enjoy! R&R. Thanks! –Mac

Disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl.

Chapter Seven

Thought We Left This Behind Us

Blair was drawn from her room at the sound of a knock on her door. She glanced at the clock on her wall. It was far too early for her to be receiving any visitors. However, she moved across the room to answer. She pulled the door open quickly. Standing in her doorway was one of the doormen employed at the building. She was about to berate him for disturbing her at such an hour, when he held out the small parcel her had been carrying.

"A Miss van der Woodsen requested that this be delivered to you personally. It was brought over by a messenger not five minutes ago," he explained.

Blair took it from him, a small frown on her face. She couldn't imagine what it was. She handed him a small tip and sent him on his way. She began to open the packaging as she kicked the door closed behind her. She brought it over to her couch and sat down. She pulled out its contents—which turned out to be a tabloid magazine. Blair's frown deepened as she plucked a yellow post-it note off the cover. "Don't read until you call me! –S" was scribbled on it in Serena's rushed handwriting. Blair was confused, but she hoped the phone call would clear everything up.

"Hello?" Serena's voice came over the line after only a couple rings.

"What is the meaning of this, Serena?" Blair questioned.

"Turn to 'Spottings,'" Serena answered simply.

"Okay," Blair said as she began to flip through the magazine, "Not that I understand at all what you're getting at."

"You'll see," Serena responded cryptically, "It's the second column, the last section."

Blair's eyes scanned down the page until they reached the portion Serena had indicated, "Oh my God!"

"I know," Serena replied.

"How did…who? Oh my God!" Blair stammered.

"Eric pointed it out to me this morning when I had breakfast with my mom and him. Her and Bart head out for the first leg of their trip tomorrow. So…" Serena explained.

"Your mother's travel plans are beside the point," Blair cut her off, "Who could have tripped them off?"

"It could be anyone," Serena answered, "It's anonymous, just like Gossip Girl was. Not much of a coincidence that Gossip Girl was mentioned, I would guess. Someone we went to school with must have seen you."

"But the title?" Blair shook her head, "'Waldorf Double Dips in Society Bachelor Pool?' That's so…so…I just can't believe this. Nate is bound to see this eventually. What is he going to think?"

"I don't know," Serena responded. "Have you read the whole thing yet?"

"No," Blair replied, "I don't need to."

"You should," Serena corrected.

"Ugh, fine," Blair conceded and began to read the article out loud. "'Fashion designer and socialite extraordinaire Blair Waldorf was spotted at the Palace Hotel bar. She was out to drinks with one Charles Bass, who recently inherited the controlling interests in Bass Industries following his father's retirement. After officially beginning a relationship with her old flame Nathaniel Archibald, another Upper East Side societal gem, Miss Waldorf appears to be falling into old habits. It seems that trouble may be brewing once again within the love triangle to end all love triangles.'" Blair scoffed, "This stuff is such garbage."

"Keep reading," Serena prompted.

Blair sighed, but began reading again, "'The affairs of the trio were first reported years ago on a formerly popular and now defunct gossip blog, aptly named Gossip Girl. The series of Gossip Girl blasts culminated in an accusation that the young Miss Waldorf had intimate relations with both Mr. Archibald and Mr. Bass within a week and was possibly with child, to put it kindly. Rumors are rumors. But are these ones true? Let's hope for Blair Waldorf's sake, these rumors are just an echo of the past."

"Are they even allowed to print that?" Serena piped up as Blair's voice faded out. "I mean you were all in high school when that happened."

"It doesn't matter if they're allowed to. They already have," Blair replied, "Nate's going to read this and it's going to bring up all the bad memories we've been trying to keep buried. Go ahead and say it Serena, you know you want to."

"Say what?" Serena asked.

"'I told you so,'" Blair answered. "That's what you've been waiting for right? The reason you sent me this."

"It never occurred to me to say 'I told you so,'" Serena said and Blair was surprised at the sincerity. "I sent that to you because I was concerned. I wasn't sure you would see it before Nate or even Chuck."

"I appreciate the heads up," Blair responded. "I'm going to need the chance to prepare…"

"No problem B," Serena replied, "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah," Blair agreed, though she wasn't sure what Serena had said registered in her mind.

Blair's thoughts were already traveling in a different direction all together. She was trying to imagine just what Nate's reaction was going to be like—which wasn't the greatest mental picture. She was not happy with the trouble in this relationship that seemed to be getting increasingly worse with each day it moved forward.

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Blair was still trying to figure out how to broach the topic with Nate the next time she spoke to him when she was roused from her thoughts by another knock at her door. She stood up from her seat on the couch, where she had been staring down at the cover of the tabloid. It had been mocking her and her inability to just be honest and tell Nate before he saw it himself. She was glad for whatever distraction that was bout to present itself. She pulled open her door and immediately took back that last thought. Standing in her doorway was exactly what she had wanted to avoid.

Without so much as a hello, Nate walked past her into the apartment. Blair followed after, closing the door behind him. Nate had come to stand by her couch and when she reached him, he tossed down the copy of the tabloid he had been carrying. It was open to the page with the article, and landed nearly right on top of hers. The picture accompanying the article stared up at her disapprovingly. Blair swallowed hard as Nate turned to her.

"So, I take it you've seen it too?" Nate replied. Blair closed her eyes and nodded. When she didn't respond further, he continued, "My new doorman was all too happy to point it out to me. He was even kind enough to lend me his copy, since he had already read it through twice."

"Nate, it's not what you—" Blair began, inching closer to where he stood.

"Not what I think?" Nate finished for her, cutting her off. "You don't know what I think."

"There's nothing going on between Chuck and me," Blair said firmly, feeling the need to defend herself.

"I know that," Nate agreed. "Besides, if there was something going on, you wouldn't be meeting him at a bar, you'd be in the back of his limo."

Blair winced, "That was uncalled for."

"Look, I'm sorry Blair," Nate shook his head. "I didn't come here to accuse you of anything. I don't think you did anything wrong. I'm just a little frustrated because I thought we had left all this high school gossip and drama behind us."

"I know," Blair nodded, "And it should be, but I can't control what tabloids print. I went out to drinks with a friend. It was blown way out of proportion."

"Right," Nate said. "You should know…I said it was fine for you to hang out with Chuck and it is. I mean, I might be agreeing to work with him, I can't exactly force you to stay away from him. And I never would. But, you should know, I'm not completely comfortable with you being alone with him."

"Nate, nothing's going to happen," Blair frowned.

Nate turned to look her in the eyes, "I trust you, Blair. But Chuck's unpredictable. I don't trust that he wouldn't try to make a move just to spite me."

"He's different, Nate," Blair responded, "I don't think he's capable of doing something like that unprovoked."

"Well you would know better than me," Nate shrugged, "But you can understand my hesitation at trusting him."

Blair nodded, "I do. I understand. But nothing's going to happen."

Blair closed the distance between her and Nate. She drew herself up so she could kiss him gently, in a reassuring manner. After a moment, Nate's arms went around her waist, pulling her flush against him. He deepened the kiss, his tongue slipping between her parted lips to explore her mouth. It took Blair a moment to realize that he was slowly guiding them toward the couch. It didn't register on her consciousness until he had pulled them down onto it—landing with her half sprawled across his lap. One of his hands began to inch up her thigh. Suddenly, her mind woke up, sending erratic, incomprehensible thoughts at rapid-fire pace. She pulled away from Nate abruptly. She put some space between them on the couch, shaking her head.

"I can't," she murmured. "I'm just not ready for that step yet."

Nate drew in a long, deep breath, "Okay. That's cool. How about…we get lunch?"

"Yeah, that would be nice. Let me grab my jacket and purse," Blair stood up. "I'll be right back."

Blair hurried into her bedroom—the one room in her apartment she hadn't allowed Nate in. As it seemed, the one room she was never going to let him see the inside of. While she could understand why she had stopped him the first time, why she had freaked out this time she couldn't fathom. She quickly gathered her things, before she could think too far into her hesitation. She rejoined Nate as he headed toward her door. As they were waking out into the hall, he suddenly pulled her against his side, leaning down to press a light kiss to her forehead. He started toward the elevator and Blair frowned behind his back. How had they gone from intense make-out session to kiss on the forehead in less than five minutes?

The problem was escalating much quicker than she would have liked. There were some things she wished had been left in the past—this problem of lack of spark and passion, the lack of fireworks, with Nate was one of them. She hated to admit it but, the sparks and fireworks, that had been with Chuck. And she wasn't sure anything with Nate would compare—

Blair mentally kicked herself. She was not allowed to think like that. She was with Nate. She was chasing the happily ever after she had given up on long ago—her hope rekindled that it was possible. This problem would resolve itself in time. Everything would work out.

There was nothing between her and Chuck anymore. And Blair had always been good with a lie.