Disclaimer: I do not own GG or any of its characters.
The week passed by quickly, and before they knew it, they were on the train to Providence. Blair nearly died when Dan had brought up the idea to take the train. But after mentioning that there was WiFi and zero chance of traffic, Blair was sold.
Sitting on the train, Dan texted Nate which car they were in. Minutes later, they heard, "Hey guys!" Blair looked up at him and rolled her eyes.
"You're seriously going to wear that?"
"You're just jealous Serena didn't send you one," he said, proudly clad in a Brown sweatshirt and baseball hat.
"I can assure you that is not the case," Blair grimaced, relaxing against her chair.
They had conveniently grabbed a set of quad seats, two opposite another pair, so Nate sat down across the small table from them. He pulled out his iPod, while Blair and Dan pulled out books. When they were an hour outside the city, Nate pulled the earphone buds out of his ears and placed his clasped hands on the table.
"So...?" he said.
Confused, Blair set her book down on the table, and noticed Dan had done the same.
"What?" Dan asked.
"So are we telling Serena you guys are going out, or are we keeping it a secret?"
Blair's jaw dropped. "You know?"
"I'm smarter than you think I am," he retorted with a grin.
"We're keeping it a secret," she snapped, picking up her book and ignoring the chuckles coming from the two men sitting with her. Focusing on her page once more, she allowed herself to take Dan's hand and set it in her lap. If their relationship was out in the open to him, she was going to take full advantage of it.
::
They were greeted by the same bouncing, gleaming, gorgeous Serena they were used to. When she saw her three friends step off the escalator from the track, she practically squealed. Bringing in Blair for a hug, she whispered, "I'm so glad you're here!"
Once they got their bearings, they made the short walk up the hill to main campus. Even for this late November day, it was a gorgeous day; it was chilly, but the cloudless baby blue sky and shining sun took the bite out of the air. The trees still held onto the last of their leaves, while the rest hovered the grass in colorful piles. Brown's autumn was picturesque. Blair suddenly felt guilty about not making the trip up here in the three years before.
"So what are the plans for the afternoon?" Blair asked, still taking in the scene of the quad around her.
"Well first I will show you my apartment so you can drop your bags." She began to lead them away from the quad and towards a building. "Then we can walk around before the game. Sound good?"
Blair sighed, but a genuine smile still graced her lips. "Ah, the game. I forgot about that part."
Serena threw her head back in a laugh. "B! It'll be fun! Your first football game!" Serena grabbed her hand and led her through the front door of her building, and after a quick elevator ride, they all piled into her apartment.
The apartment was tiny, but Serena and her roommate had obviously made use of every nook and cranny—it still seemed like there was a place for everything. The front door opened into a small hallway that brought them right into the kitchen; the open floor-plan showed them that there was a small family room. Two vintage, mismatched couches were adjacent in the corner, while a hutch housed the plasma tv. The walls were white—most likely due to building rules—but they were barely noticeable thanks to the frames of pictures and paintings that adorned the walls. Even from the kitchen, Blair could spot herself in a few photos; she had the same ones framed in her bedroom. The only other rooms were the bedrooms; Serena's was off the kitchen to their left, while her roommate's was to the right.
Looking around, Blair felt a pang of something she wasn't expecting—jealousy. She loved Columbia and New York, and didn't regret her college or living decision at all. But this was something she'd never be able to experience. The classic, quintessential college with rolling greens and football games, and small apartments and dorms that were the exact opposite of the Penthouse. Even here for the weekend, it seemed like a drastic culture shock, and Blair admired the effortless way Serena had handled it all. Blair didn't know if she'd be able to pull it off so naturally.
But if she had all this, she wouldn't have Dan.
"This place is great, Serena," Dan said, interrupting her thoughts.
"It really is S," Blair added in.
Serena smiled proudly. "Thanks! It's not New York...but it does feel like home."
After their bags were placed in her room, Blair unzipped hers and reached for a warmer sweater.
"Oh I almost forgot!" Serena's voice exclaimed, halting Blair's motion. "I have a present for you, B!"
Gasping in excitement, Blair sat on the bed and followed her friend's instructions to close her eyes.
"Okay...open!"
Blair bit her lip to stop herself from saying something she would regret. Instead, she shook her head and sighed in amusement. She should have seen this coming.
"Try it on! Let me see if it fits!"
Blair pulled the garment over her head and walked in front of the mirror. In big white letters the word Brown stared back at her.
"I knew you'd give in," Nate chuckled from the doorway. He turned into the kitchen and called, "Dan, look at what Blair's wearing!"
Continuing to take it all in stride, Blair placed her hands on her hips and sauntered over to the boys. Spinning slowly, she modeled the sweatshirt for them, rolling her eyes at the cat-calls she earned.
She really wanted to hate it, but it was honestly the most comfortable thing she'd ever worn.
After Serena put hers on and threw a sweatshirt at Dan too, the foursome made the trip back down the elevator. Blair thought they looked ridiculous—all four were in matching sweatshirts and jeans—but she soon realized Brown wasn't the place where people scrutinized others' clothing.
They followed the masses and made their way to the football field. In the parking lots outside, tailgates were everywhere; Serena spotted a few friends with a keg, and handed plastic cups of beer to everyone. Blair declined with a wave of her hand, but took a sip of Dan's when Serena wasn't watching.
After buying popcorn and a second round of beers, they crawled up the stadium sets and sat down. By the time Dan had explained the game of football to Blair, the first quarter was over. But now knowing the rules, Blair found herself completely immersed in the game. The sips of Dan's drink had loosened her up and just the fact that she was in the company of all her closest friends had her cheery and in good spirits.
The rest of the game passed by all too quickly. All four swapped places no less than ten times; once Blair got sick of Dan and Nate's commentary, she moved next to Serena for much-needed girl talk. Serena pointed out guys from her classes she saw in the stands, and Blair gave her approval (or disapproval) of them. Nate and Serena tried to start a wave, but failed miserably, Dan made Blair eat a hot dog, but failed miserably...and Brown won.
All a little buzzed, they stumbled back to Serena's apartment, ordered pizza, and put on a movie. They ended up ignoring the movie and chatted instead, until the day finally wore them out and they finally fell asleep.
::
The next morning, Blair awoke at the crack of dawn in great need of Advil and coffee.
Throwing on a clean pair of jeans and her comfy Brown sweatshirt, she tiptoed out of the room. After unsuccessfully finding both coffee and pain relievers, she rubbed her temples to ease the throbbing ache in her head.
"Hey, what are you doing up?" Blair looked up to see a sleepy-headed Serena wearing the exact same outfit she had on.
"I don't know actually," Blair said, quietly laughing as to not wake the guys. "But why do you not have coffee or anything to heal a headache?"
Serena scrunched her nose. "Sorry. But why don't we head out and get breakfast and Advil?"
"Okay," she agreed, looking forward to spending time with just her. "The guys can fend for themselves."
Serena linked arms with Blair as they walked down Thayer Street, finally deciding on a small café after they stopped at the pharmacy. The Advil paired with fresh fruit and coffee did just the trick to perk them both up. Both Dan and Nate had texted both girls asking where they were, and no less than ten minutes later they joined them.
"Morning girls. So nice of you to wake us up to have breakfast," Nate chided, walking up to the table.
"I'm not going to apologize for wanting one-on-one time with my best friend. Sorry!" Blair said sweetly, biting into a pastry.
Nate's smile dropped. "Is that a chocolate croissant?"
Blair took another bite and handed it to him, before finally looking over to Dan. "And you? Did you wake up on the same side of the bed as Nate?"
He shook his head. "No, but I could use some Advil."
"What the hell is wrong with you three?" Serena laughed. "You're acting as though you've never had a drink before—and you barely had three beers."
They all shrugged, not putting up a fight, and instead finished their breakfast quickly. Serena continued the role of tour guide for the day, as she showed them more of the campus and the city of Providence. Hours later, after showering and changing out of their sweatshirts and jeans into nicer clothes, they all walked to Thayer Street again to have dinner.
Hiding their relationship from Serena was proving to be more difficult than Blair had anticipated. If she hadn't been so paranoid about Serena finding out, she would have been slightly insulted. She thought Serena knew her enough by now to know that she was hiding something. But she didn't even care anymore. The truth was...she missed him. And yet she'd been in his presence the entire time they'd been at Brown.
Even now, as she stared across the table at Dan, the same thoughts invaded her mind again. How the hell was she supposed to get through the next twenty-four hours acting like nothing was going on between them? He'd seen her naked. She'd seen him naked. And they'd kissed and explored every inch of each other's bodies...
"Blair?" Dan's voice said, snapping her back to the table. His hand was on her shoulder and she flushed at how her body reacted to him. Heat spread through her veins, tingling her down from her back to her toes, and she had to reach to her water glass to cool herself down.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," she said taking a sip, hoping her voice didn't drip with guilt.
She felt him take her hand under the table and when she nonchalantly glanced over at him, she saw him wink.
It just continued to get worse—especiallynow. Last night, they had all been so tired; they'd fallen asleep in seconds. But tonight?
She was in the bed with a snoring Serena. Nate was on the couch. And Dan was on the floor.
Right next to her.
With no shirt on.
She sighed, completely restless and—quite honestly—a little sexually frustrated. She shifted in the bed and looked down at him.
"Dan," she whispered.
Silence.
She whispered again. "Dan!"
Silence.
Sighing, she peeled back the covers and quietly exited the room, closing the door behind her. She made her way into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and poured herself a glass of water. As she sipped it, Blair eyed the bowl of Hershey Kisses on the counter. Giving in, she took three. If she wasn't getting sex tonight, she was certainly going to indulge in something.
After eating the Kisses, she heard the door creak open. She quickly threw away the wrappers and looked up. Her heart resumed pounding again once she realized it was just Dan. Rolling her eyes, she whispered harshly, "Oh, so now you decide to wake up?"
He smirked and tiptoed over to her. "You obviously didn't realize that when you got out of bed, you stepped on my fingers." He held up the hand in question and she frowned.
"Sorry," she said with a sad pout, taking his hand and kissing every finger.
"What are you doing up?" he asked, smiling at her affection towards his injury.
She sighed. "I couldn't sleep."
"Why is that?" He picked her up and set her down on the center island. She locked her ankles around his back and curled her arms around his neck.
Bringing him closer to her, she whispered in his ear. "It was weird sleeping so close to you and not with you." She kissed his ear and gasped when she felt him do the same to her.
He cocked a brow. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
"So you decided to come out here and eat Hershey Kisses?"
She gasped. "I did not—"
He leaned in and kissed her, sucking on the lip with leftover chocolate on it. "Don't lie."
She blushed and gave him a wicked smile. "Well I had to satisfy myself somehow."
Groaning, he pulled her in for another searing kiss. She was delicious; she still tasted like chocolate and her curls were ruffled and messy. Not to mention, the thought of secretly ravishing her with Serena and Nate just through the wall was exhilarating.
Her pajama strap had fallen off her shoulder and looked too tempting to resist. Dropping his mouth to her skin, she arched against him and gasped at the sensation.
She moaned, "Oh my god—"
"OH MY GOD!"
Her voice was like a bucket of ice water. Startled, Blair and Dan jolted away from each other and whipped their heads in the direction of the voice.
A gaping Serena stood in the kitchen doorway, eyes wide with shock.
"What is this?" she cried, and through the silence they heard a groaning Nate.
"Keep it down!" the muffled voice called.
Serena rolled her eyes. "Shut up Natie!"
Dan looked slightly panicked. "Serena, we can explain—"
"How the hell is this happening?" She looked to Blair. "How much did you drink tonight?"
Blair scoffed. "I had one glass of wine! And this is not a drunken hook-up!"
Serena's eyes widened again, but her voice somehow remained at a normal pitch. "It's not?"
Sliding off the counter, Blair walked closer to her friend. "No, S." She looked over to Dan. "We've been quietly...seeing each other these past few weeks."
"Define 'weeks,'" Serena asked, pointedly referring to the beginning of October.
Dan chose this moment to jump in. "Way after I was seeing you. I wouldn't do that."
She let out a small sigh, relieved that that wasn't happening to her again—by her best friend, no less.
Uncomfortable silence ensued, until Serena looked confused. "Wait..." She turned to Blair. "I thought you said you didn't like him. If I remember correctly, you said he 'wasn't attractive.'"
Amused, Dan raised a brow and waited for Blair to explain.
Sputtering, Blair tried to backpedal. "I did not say that! I said I wasn't attracted to him."
Realizing that didn't sound any better, she tried again. "That was the day he moved in! I was still bitter about having a roommate."
Dropping the subject, Serena ran a hand through her hair. "So...this is more than just a hook-up?"
Blair smiled. "Yeah."
"So you two like each other?"
"Yeah," they both responded.
Serena rubbed her face with her hands and looked at Blair again. "Dan, could you..."
"Yeah. I'll uh...leave you two...yeah." Awkwardly, he left them alone.
"Is this serious, B?" Serena asked quietly.
Blair nodded and couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face. "I'm crazy about him."
"Do you love him?"
"Not yet," she admitted. "But I will soon."
"Isn't it a little irresponsible that you two are living together?" Serena asked, breaking the ice and lifting the tension.
"Ugh, you sound like Dan," Blair said, letting out a laugh. "But...we're trying to be adults about it."
"So...how did this all happen?"
And so Blair told her. She was honest about the flirty first days they had, that were quickly put to rest once Serena came into the picture. And about the banter that was always there, teasing and tempting them. She told her about Halloween and their first date, and how she couldn't believe that out of all the people in the world, she fell for her roommate.
By the time she was finished telling it all, Serena had given her blessing and Nate and Dan were asleep again. They were falling fast too; it was now close to four in the morning, and once the girls crawled into bed once more, they promptly fell back to sleep.
::
Thanks to their late night, and early wake-up the previous morning, all four friends slept in. Once everyone was up and starving, they all headed to brunch.
Blair looked visibly more relaxed now that her and Dan were out in the open. Sitting on the bench across from Serena and Nate, she leaned into his chest as they enjoyed the last of the coffee and smiled as he placed a kiss in her hair.
"What was all that commotion last night?" Nate asked, taking another bite of his pancakes.
"Much to my surprise, I found Blair and Dan attacking each other in the kitchen."
Blair gasped, hiding her embarrassment. "We were not attacking each other!"
"Yes you were."
She scoffed. "Whatever. At least you know now. And speaking of that...Nate, how long have you known?"
He shrugged. "A few weeks."
Before she could probe him further, Serena cut in.
"Oh Natie! I have a surprise for you!" Serena said beaming with excitement. He mimicked her expression.
"Really?"
"Yup." She turned to Dan and Blair. "Are you two okay for an hour?"
"Of course. Oh Dan!" Blair tugged Dan's sleeve. "We should go see the library!"
Dan tightened his hold around her. "Sounds like a plan. We'll catch up with you in an hour?"
And with that, they paid the billed and went their separate ways; Dan and Blair to the library, and Serena and Nate off to the athletic center. She had gotten special permission, thanks to a friend, to go watch the lacrosse team practice. Even though he played for Columbia, Nate was still excited to see another team practice and tour their facilities.
At the library, Blair and Dan took their time to meander throughout—looking at the rare collections the university housed, while slipping away behind bookcases to steal the kisses they were deprived of for forty-eight hours.
When the friends met up once again, they realized with a frown that their train departure was rapidly approaching. After eating a late lunch at Serena's apartment, they all made the walk down the hill to the train station, happy to only have a few weeks until they saw each other again.
Blair tightly hugged Serena for a long minute before pulling away. "I really hope you're okay with me and Dan."
Grinning widely, Serena shrugged. "Dan and I didn't make sense Blair. And besides..." she looked over to an unsuspecting Nate. "I think I have some unfinished business with someone else."
Blair bit her lower lip, trying to suppress a smile. "You have no idea how happy that makes me. It's about time you two are honest with yourselves and each other."
"Yeah, well...I needed to figure stuff out on my own first...without anyone from home's help. We have a semester left of school. Who knows what it'll bring." She hugged Blair again before doing the same to Nate and Dan.
"See you all in a month! Winter break can not come fast enough!" Serena called, waving as they boarded the train. With a smile, Blair agreed.
A/N: Apologies for the delayed update. This story requires a lot more time and energy to sit down and write (as opposed to oneshots), and with finals, I didn't have the time. But I'm back :) And with my winter break starting this week (a whole month!) my goal is to finish this by the time I go back to school.
As always, thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, alerted, & favorited.
Everyone should thank Sarabrown & Spiros for reminding me that I need to finish this story, while I thank them for being so wonderful. :)
I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter!