Chapter 2-
Title: They Don't Write Songs About The Ones That Come Easy.
Summary: Some say life is like a peach. You can dance around the middle as much as you want. Sooner or later you're gonna hit the hard bit. CB. NOW A CHAPTER STORY!
Pairing: Blair/Chuck
Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own Gossip Girl, all of its character except Jonathon Kane (big cookie to whoever can guess where Jonathon KANE came from). I also don't own the title, which is a VM quote, or the chapter titles, which are VM episode titles. How sad!
Rating: T, for an itty bit of language. A few words now actually. But it's the F word so uh-oh. Beep it out in your head if you under 15 :).
Authors Note: YAY! So, obviously I decided to continue with this :) I didn't really think I could write it the way I wrote the last chapter so it's written differently, but still with some of the recurring lines from before and switching POV. Here are answers to some query's that were asked, so everyone can know-
Chuck knowing about Blair's 'problem'- OK, to clear that up, in this story he doesn't necessarily 'know' about it, but when it first started all that time ago I get the feeling the two of them were close, so In this story he had a slight idea of what she was doing, but wasn't aware it had started again.
Chuck's scarf not matching his clothes- Ah! I'm really not sure where this came from. But I'm going to keep on that he doesn't match his scarves to his clothes to be consistent. Oops.
And if I don't update for a while I'm sorry, I just started year nine and my teachers seem to think giving us homework is fun.
Oh, and this chappy's dedicated to, ahem,
Emma, ChuckBassLOVA, lollirosee, JessieEvaS, Emmeline Baker, victoria, Reason-to-Live, Moliver 4ever, Dwindlingcandle, Crimson-Kiss17, karaleefan, Lexie, Blood Red Kiss of Death, Alana, brunette-baker, mystripedskirt, justlikebrooke, MegDallen, ClairBair, Trory12, Ollywood3, Maiqu, liddle.girl.lucy, gleechild, x Miks x, winniemazing, loredana and PennCrawford! Your reviews all helped me so much! Spesh gleechild and liddle.girl.lucy for their advice! Oh, and I reply to ALL of my reviews, so if I haven't yet, I will real soon. And gleechild, I read your great review and tried to take it all into account, I hope I live up to your expectations :D. I'll have to reply personally real soon.
Happy Reading
They Don't Write Songs About The Ones That Come Easy.
Chapter 2
NOT PICTURED
She's Blair Waldorf, and she's the perfect little hostess
"Good Evening, Mr Kane, how are you tonight?"
Blair had plastered on her people smile and reminded herself that she was flawless twenty minutes ago, before joining the receiving line behind her mother. Her smile is fake and she doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that she is so unbelievably flawed.
"Blair, my oh my, how you've grown! I do remember when you were just a young thing and you used to play with that dark-haired boy!" It was just like Jonathon Kane to remember her playing with Chuck, and not Nate and Serena. Just like him to refer to her as a thing.
She's Blair Waldorf, and she's not a thing, she's flawless.
And because she's flawless, she doesn't let her smile falter or her face fall. She acts like her life did not just fall down around her and like she didn't lose the two boys that were her constants. Make that one boy. Nate was never constant, unless you were referring to him constantly letting her down.
"I don't seem to remember that myself, Mr Kane. I'm quite sure I spent the majority of my childhood with Nathaniel Archibald and Serena van der Woodsen, my two closest friends. And surely you know I am never wrong."
She says it with a smile, because nearly half of it is no longer true, and if she isn't concentrating on smiling, she will surely cry. Jonathon just laughs. Typical.
"Why Blair, of course you are, but maybe your mind is playing tricks on you. I definitely remember a day, when you were barely five. You're 'closest friends' wanted to jump in puddles and play football. You, a Waldorf through and through, wouldn't think of getting you dress dirty, so you refused. Charles Bass told you he'd stay with you and swing if you wanted too, on the swings next to the ice-cream van. And, a Waldorf through and through, you would not stand for second best, so you told Nathaniel and Serena that football was unladylike, and swinging was better by far. So Serena and Nate left."
Jonathon pauses in his story Blair feels like her life is on pause too. She remembers that day as if it were yesterday, and not 12 years ago.
She's Blair Waldorf and she does not cry. We all know she lies though.
Jonathon smiles, ready to continue. Blair stands, stone-faced, bracing herself. A Waldorf through and through.
"You swang on those swings for a good half hour before you both became hungry. You only had to walk three feet to the ice-cream van but even that was hard for you, you weren't very good at walking while dizzy, Blair. Chuck noticed, and he held your hand to steady you. Sweetest thing I ever did see to this day, the Upper East Side princess-to-be and her knight in shining loafers, holding hands. You had a rainbow ice-cream with raspberry sauce, because you wanted to be different and he had chocolate with hot fudge sauce, because it had the most sugar on the menu. I'm not wrong Blair, it all happened"
Though the story is finished, Blair just wants to keep reliving that day over and over again. Back when a rainbow ice-cream and a dark-haired prince could fix everything.
He doesn't want to be here, in this elevator, in this building, in this city, country, universe. In this fucking life.
"Charles, smile, scowling is unattractive."
Another pearl of wisdom courtesy of Bart Bass. Chuck just scowls harder and concentrates on not spewing. He's getting a headache and it's probably because he's about to enter the apartment of the girl he is supposed to hate but sort of maybe doesn't and they're both going to have to keep up appearances and pretend nothing happened between them, at least while all eyes are on them. He tells himself it won't be hard, they were born to do it. He tells himself that telling her that he missed her was a spur of the moment thing. That he didn't mean it. That there aren't goddamn butterflies in his stomach.
The elevator doors open with a ding and before he can even think about drinking himself to death, they're walking into the Waldorf suite and joining the short receiving line. He can see Blair talking to one of his father's 'new money' friends. He looks vaguely familiar, but a name doesn't jump to mind.
"Bart darling, how lovely it is to see you!"
Eleanor's voice hasn't gotten any less screechy, nor has she become less of a perfect hostess. She kisses Bart and then Chuck on both cheeks and ushers them along to Blair. Chuck sees that Blair is standing staring, misty-eyed, at the place where the familiar man had stood.
"Lovely to see you Blair" Bart is just as original as the rest of the middle-aged UES in his greetings.
"You too, Mr Bass. I hope you're well." Blair's avoiding looking at him, he knows she is. He knows she's twisting her ruby ring around her finger because she's nervous.
"I am, but I'm afraid that Lily is not. Serena and Eric stayed home to tend to her."
Blair cringes almost invisibly and her smile drops just the tiniest bit.
"Oh, well tell her I hope she is back up soon. I'll have to call Serena later."
Bart moves on and he's suddenly face to face with the reason for his butterflies. He tells himself that the first real smile, even if it's tiny, that has been on her face in a long time is because of him.
"Chuck"
"Blair"
She leans forward and kisses his left cheek, then his right, lingering ever so slightly on the latter. He tells himself he's imagining it.
Twenty minutes later they're being called for dinner and it's all Chuck can do but grimace and enter the dining room. He is guided to his place and sits down, right across from Blair, who is between some random and Mr. No-name-new-money.
Shit.
"So, Mr. Kane, I can't help but wonder how you came to know of that day we were speaking of earlier."
A quick glance at Chuck shows that he is concentrating unwaveringly on his food. His food which has turned to un-nameable mush, from his nervous stabbing. Since when does Chuck Bass get nervous?
Mr Kane is smiling amusedly at her, and she can't help but feel she's seen that smile before, a very long time ago. But it's not possible, she only met him today.
"Well Blair, I was right there."
She frowns.
She's Blair Waldorf, she remembers everything. Mostly.
"I was the man in the ice-cream van Blair."
She loses her composure for a second and before she can stop herself her mouth drops open in surprise. He's lying, he has to be. He's a millionaire, for goodness sake!
"I'm sorry Mr. Kane, but how could you have been an ice-cream van man?"
It took her approximately three seconds to realize how prejudiced that sounded and approximately three more to look over at Chuck and see him lost in thought, presumably about their day on the swings. She felt her cheeks heat up and immediately looked down at her plate. Bad idea.
"Some people aren't now what they always seemed to be Blair. I only came into my money not to long ago. Before that I had to make a living, even if it was selling ice-cream. Remember that Blair, people change all the time."
Blair smiles up at him and tries to take in what he's said. She looks back down at her plate and realises for the first time that she has barely eaten anything. She isn't hungry anyway, but so tired.
"I believe you Mr. Kane, but I'm incredibly tired and I think I might retire to my bedroom." She smiles her perfect flawless smile and excuses herself from the table, her mother telling her that she's glad she skipped desert as she goes. She just brushes it off because she likes to believe she doesn't care what she thinks.
She's Blair Waldorf and once again, she lies.
He hears the whole conversation and is overwhelmed with nostalgia. He remembers that day. It was one of the best days of his childhood and yet he still can't find the strength to smile.
Blair gets up and leaves the table and for the first time he notices that her plate is barely touched. He swears he feels green. No more than a minute after her departure, he asks to leave as well and ignores Eleanor's disapproving comment and Bart's death glare.
He rushes up the stairs and hesitates outside Blair's door before pushing it open.
"Blair, are you in here?"
He looks around the empty room before seeing the bathroom door slightly ajar. He's almost too scared to walk over and look into what could be the rest of his life. But he's Chuck Bass and he tells himself fear has never stopped him before.
And there she is. Sitting against the wall opposite the toilet, arms wrapped around her knees, chin resting there too.
"Waldorf, what the hell are you doing in here?"
She looks up at him and stands quickly, almost falling over.
"Chuck, this is my bathroom, and I was just sit-"
"No Blair, I know what you've been doing and you need to stop, I don't see why the hell you do it, because lord knows you don't need to. You're fucking beautiful Blair, and you just. don't. see it! All you fucking see is Serena and how you are compare to her! So what if she's taller or blonder or more outgoing, she's not you Blair! And no matter how much they may want to be you, no-one ever will be! This stops now Blair, promise me, because if it doesn't, I will make you talk to someone about it."
His chest suddenly starts to constrict in realisation that he just told her exactly what he thought. And she's probably not going to like it. He looks at her and sees that she's looking at him in surprise. Her doe eyes widen as she accepts the full extent of his words.
"Since when do you have the right to talk to me like that! Since when do you even what you're talking about! I wasn't doing it then and I won't do it again. Really Chuck, I won't. If it's what you need me to say, then fine, whatever, I promise."
He trusts her, even though he knows she lies all the time, so he smiles and walks over to her. He grabs her hand and squeezes it before turning and walking back into the bedroom.
"Why?"
She's three feet behind him, question in her eyes.
"Why what Waldorf?"
He smirks a little, but on the inside he's burning.
"Why did you say those things to me, why Chuck?"
He knew they'd get around to this soon enough, but he hoped it would be at least far enough in the future that he could have come up with a good response. He knew what he thought but putting it in words was not that easy.
"Because Blair, you shouldn't be doing this. And that night at the bar, I said what I said because you killed me. You left me to last, again, I've always been your last resort. When you had me, you didn't want me and then when you lost me, you came running back."
He looks at her and sees a flicker of pain flash in her eyes, followed by a flicker of regret. Her mouth opens and closes a few times and her face softens before she finally speaks, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry. It's just, I've been in love with Nate forever and it was perfect and then there was Serena and the Captain and…and you. And suddenly it wasn't perfect anymore, it wasn't even OK and I thought, I thought that maybe I could fix it all and maybe make it perfect again. And you just didn't fit the perfect label, Chuck. And Nate did. Not anymore, obviously, neither of you give a damn whether I turn up to school. For all you care I'm out at some club 'riding' someone!"
He deserved all of that, especially the reference to his horse comment, but it still hurt.
"I care Blair, I do. You need to know that. When I said all that crap, I was drunk and yeah, at the time I probably meant it, you were a bitch to me."
"And you're heinous, but we deal. Don't we?"
He smirked at her choice of words and turned around to leave once again.
"Yeah, we deal.
Blair feels crazy, something she's never felt before. She turns around and looks at her room, her life and sighs. She feels strangely light now. Like a weight has been lifted of her chest.
She's Blair Waldorf, and she knows he cares.
She leaves her room and walks down the stairs, her head feeling like it could explode. She's…amazed. Amazed that he would even care enough to speak to her like that. Amazed that she is thinking that some of what he said is right. Amazed that when she walks into the deserted kitchen there's a bowl of rainbow ice-cream with raspberry sauce sitting on the counter. Amazed that even if just for tonight, she doesn't feel bad when she eats it with a cheesy grin on her face, because, even if just for tonight, a rainbow ice-cream and a dark haired prince have fixed everything.
He sees Blair eating the ice-cream, giant grin on her face, looking amazingly beautiful and he gets the urge to do something he doesn't done in a long time.
He smiles.
AN: Squee! Another chapter finished! I hope it's not OOC :D. Oh, btw, as if scowling would look bad on Chuck. Excuse me, nothing does. R&R guys :).
And finally, since one of my reviewers seems to love VM as much as I do, here's some quotes because,
A) Leighton (Blair) played Carrie bishop in VM,
B) Logan and Veronica kinda remind me of Chuck and Blair, and
C) Who doesn't love VM (rhetorical question people!)
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Veronica: Hey, Carrie, wait up!
Carrie Bishop[sarcastically Why? Did you want the chance to tell me how much you admired me for my brave stand?
Veronica: I want to give you a chance to recant before I prove you're lying.
Carrie Bishop: Why do you even care?
Veronica: There aren't many great teachers. Mr. Rooks is one of them.
Carrie Bishop: Yeah, if you can get past the part where he seduces his students.
Veronica: Hey, Carrie, this is me, Veronica. I know you.
Carrie Bishop: You're so naive.
Veronica: Yeah, that's me, naive.
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Logan[arguing with Veronica Well isn't it time that you found another bad guy? Look, I just don't... have time to be responsible for every little thing that goes wrong in your life!
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cos we all know LoVe should triumph in the end, but seriously, Chuck much?
You know you love me!
Hee :P.
PS. Happy Belated Valentines Day!