The idea of a window in the air comes from His Dark Materials, but in the books it has to be cut with the Subtle Knife, and it leads to another world, not the future. So, a touch convoluted.
But enjoy.
Over His Left Shoulder
'There's a window in the air…'
Children sometimes say they can see windows in the air that show them things – things that have not yet happened. When some see these things, they hope they will never happen. Others wish for them, hope for them, pray for them; others wait for them their whole lives.
Blair Waldorf was eight, and she was losing the adorability that had thus far won her through. Her face had begun to harden into elegant, clear lines – but children cannot see beauty because they do not know what it looks like. Blair was convinced that she was becoming hideous, and that the graceful planes of her new face spelled nothing but doom.
She was talking to Chuck Bass when it happened. A newly lost tooth caused a slight whistling to accompany each word, and Nate was tactful enough to ignore that. Chuck, however, was not.
"And what will happen when you marry poor, put upon Nathaniel?"
"Wedded b'iss, Chuck."
"Bliss, Waldorf. There's an 'l' in there you should be aware of."
"And you shouldn't be mean."
He ducked his head, a little ashamed, and that was when she saw it – a window in the air, hovering just above his left shoulder. As the picture clarified, Blair stood transfixed. It was a scene to rival any picture with Audrey and Grace; it was a scene to rival anything in fiction. The couple were elegant, well dressed, glowing with contentment as they strode down the street arm-in-arm. Blair smiled with approval as the woman glared at a girl in very tight blue jeans, and the man said something and laughed.
And then something horrible happened.
As Blair looked, admiring the pretty blue colour of the woman's dress, the woman said something and the man turned his head and kissed her – full on the mouth, in the middle of a street! – but that, of course, wasn't the worst of it. No, that factor lay in the faces of the polished, movie-perfect couple. The woman had those clear lines, those dark eyes, that deep brown hair, but the man…the man was missing that sandy brown hair and those deep blue eyes she adored. Even as her mouth dropped open, even as a sleek black car pulled up to the imaginary kerb, their voices came to her, as if on the wind –
"…be late, let me go!"
"I'm sure your professors will understand…"
"Chuck, I'm serious!"
Blair breathed a sigh of relief as Ch – that person – let go of her older self, but jumped in alarm as the girl in the pretty blue dress laughed – a high, carefree sound – and kissed him again, reaching up one hand to tangle into that mess of dark hair…
"What? What is it, Blair? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
Blair jumped back to reality, her gaze snapping straight to Chuck's eyes. There they were, dark hazel, catlike – and suddenly she saw that his features too were beginning to clarify, rivalling hers for angularity and purpose, the plump cherubic beauty of Nate and Serena a long ago dream. The eyes were worried, she saw – and there was something horrible dancing just behind the pupil, something which looked almost like –
She turned and ran. She ran. She ran far away, and she kept running throughout all the years, even when it was unladylike to run. She ran from the memory, from the window in the air; she ran until the one thing she needed to hold her up caught her arm and held on, and wouldn't let her go.
~#~
"…the whole 'leggings are not pants either' thing?"
Chuck Bass smirked down at his girlfriend, noting with admiration how ire had brought a pretty flush to her cheeks. "I don't know, Waldorf. You, in a pair of those jeans…the limo…various spray-on flavours…"
She swatted at him. "I hate you!"
He laughed, ducking his head to kiss her in the most criminal way he could imagine – by stealing. Her face was instantly surprised, but the flint in her dark eyes sparked, and they were still kissing in a most improper way – mouths working, hands seeking, hearts thumping – when the limo came round the corner.
Predictably, nobody moved.
"I'm going to be late."
"So be late."
"I'll be late, let me go!"
"I'm sure your professors will understand…"
"Chuck, I'm serious!"
Reluctantly he let her go, and she smirked with triumph before launching herself back into his arms.
"I thought you were going to be late…"
"So let them wait."
Fin.