A/N - Hi all, once again I just wanted to say thank you all the review, favourites and alerts. I hope you guys like where I've decided to take the story. I'm actually pretty excited by it. As always, I don't own Dan, Blair or anything else associated with Gossip Girl. Please review. Take care!
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"Blair, is this really necessary?" Dan tugged at the collar of his shirt as Blair fluttered around him, pulling at the jacket he was wearing. "I mean, I have a perfectly good suit and it doesn't cost…" Dan glances at the tag. "Jesus Christ, Blair, this suit costs $1,800."
"It's Armani." Blair shrugs a little as she signals for a salesperson. "You have to pay for quality, Humphrey."
"Blair, I'm not letting you buy me a $1,800 suit." Dan shakes his head and starts taking off the jacket but Blair stops him, pulling the jacket back up over his shoulders. "Blair…"
"Dan, this is our first public appearance since Gossip Girl outed us. Everyone who is anyone is going to be there and I will not have you showing up in that tired suit that you seem to always be wearing." Blair nods her head with a smile as though the conversation is over and turns to the salesman, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. "This is almost perfect. I think if we just shorten the sleeves a tiny bit and we should be good."
"Blair, I said no." Dan watches in shocked disbelief as the tailor seems to completely disregard that he is speaking as he begins to pin the sleeves on the jacket.
"Yes, I know. But you'll thank me when we get there and you don't stand out like a sore thumb." Blair leans forward to peck his lips quickly and Dan frowns again.
"Blair, I'm really not comfortable with this." Dan shakes his head as the tailor finishes pinning and scurries away when Blair sends him a look.
"Why? You accepted the sweater?" Blair crosses her arms as she looks at him and Dan can't help but sigh. He really didn't want to be having this conversation with Blair in the middle of a shop.
"That was different." Dan glances around. "That sweater wasn't $1,800." He pauses when Blair looks away. "Blair, tell me that sweater wasn't $1,800!"
"Of course not." Blair scoffs, rolling her eyes and Dan feels his temper start to flare slightly. He might love this girl but there were times when he wanted to throttle her. "What's the big deal, Humphrey? I mean, you let Lily buy you things, why can't I?"
"Because…" Dan lowers his voice, glancing around uncomfortably. "I'm not sleeping with Lily."
"Thank god for that." Blair chuckles a little and Dan gives her a dirty look that could rival one of Blair's. She frowns for a second and steps forward to look up at him. "Dan, if it really bothers you that much, we don't have to get the suit. I just wanted everyone to see how dashing you are when you're not dressed like a hippy."
"A hippy, Blair?" Dan just stares at her, struggling not to smile but failing. "Fine, we can get the suit." He leans forward to brush his lips over hers and then turns to look in the mirror. "I mean, if you think I look dashing…" He glances over at Blair, who smiles up at him practically giddy. He doesn't even know why he bothered trying to argue with her. He should have learned by now that when Blair wanted something enough, she was going to get it.
"Good." Blair grins happily. "I knew you would see it my way!" She kisses him again before pulling away and looking up at him with a twinkle in her eye. "OK, I'm going to pay for the suit. You hurry up and change and then we can talk about what we're going to do about that hair."
Blair kisses him once more and all Dan can do is stare at her as she practically skips away.
"Hair? Wait a second, Blair, you never said anything about hair!"
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"Wow!" Dan's eyes widen when Blair emerges from her room and practically floats down the stairs later that evening. "You look… well, let's say that the last thing I want to do right now is go to some silly charity event." His hand reaches up to cup her cheek as he leans in to kiss her. "I'd much rather take you back upstairs…" He trails off as his lips find hers again and Blair finds herself melting in his arms.
"Well, we could probably be a few minutes late tonight." Pulling away, Blair gave him a sly smile as she took his hand, practically dragging him upstairs. They barely made it to the landing when Dan wrapped his arms around her waist and his lips attacked her neck and for a brief second she wonders how it's possible for him (for anyone really) to make her feel like this.
"For the love of god, do the two of you ever stop." They both freeze at the sound of Serena's voice and look to find her standing outside her bedroom door, arms crossed, watching them. "There's no time for that. We're supposed to meet my mom and Rufus in like 20 minutes."
"Oh, that's plenty of time, S!" Blair grabs Dan's hand pulling him toward her room but Dan resists.
"Well, thank you for that, Blair." Dan rolls his eyes before shaking his head and smiling down at her. "But Serena's right. We do need to go."
"This was your idea, Humphrey!" Blair stamps her foot with a glare. "You started this and now you're not going to follow through."
"I'll make it up to you when we get home, I promise." Dan murmurs, dipping her head to kiss her again and Blair sighs as she sinks into him.
"Ewe! I so don't need to see this." Serena pushes passed them and heads downstairs.
"S, wait! We're sorry." Blair calls after her, glancing up at Dan, who's smiling like a kid in a candy store.
"I'm not sorry." Dan shrugs, still grinning and Blair slaps his arm before taking off after Serena and Dan just smirks as he follows them.
"I am not riding in a limo with the two of you if you don't quit it." Serena shakes her head as the elevator takes them to the ground floor.
"We'll be good, I promise." Blair smiles up at her friend and the blonde just looks at her.
"Just keeps your hands to yourselves, OK." Serena tells them both seriously. Dan and Blair both nod silently as the doors open and they step out into the lobby. "I do love the haircut though, Dan. It looks great."
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"I told you that you needed a haircut." Blair whispers as they walk into the ballroom and Dan just looks at her. "What? Even Serena said so."
"Yes, fine, I needed a haircut; the suit was a good call; Blair Waldorf is all knowing, all wonderful." Dan says sarcastically and Blair slaps his arm. "I'm going to get us something to drink. I'll be back."
Dan drops a kiss on her temple before weaving his way through the crowd toward the bar and Blair can't stop herself from smiling as she watches him go.
"Hey, S, is Ben coming tonight? Is he meeting you here?" Blair looks up at her blonde best friend and she finally pulls her gaze from Dan.
"Um, no." Serena shakes her head quickly, looking away. Blair frowns, taking Serena's arm firmly and leading her away from the crowd.
"Serena, what's going on?" Blair asks, genuinely concerned and that concern only grows when she sees tears fill Serena's eyes. "S, what happened?"
"Ben broke up with me this afternoon." Serena takes a breath and slowly lets it out. Blair is stunned for a second before she steps closer, hugging her friend tightly.
"S, I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?"
"You and Dan are so happy right now and I just didn't want to burst your bubble." Serena shrugs a little and Blair's expression softens as she links her arm through Serena's.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." Serena shook her head quickly. "Not yet."
"Well, do you want me to go old school on his Connecticut ass?" Blair asks, completely serious and Serena laughs a little. "Don't laugh, S. We can ask Dan to help. You'd be surprised at how helpful Humphrey can be during a scheme. We can totally make Ben pay."
"I appreciate the gesture, B, but that won't be necessary." Serena chuckles again, shaking her head and Blair shrugged.
"OK, but if you change your mind." Blair offers one last time before turning to Dan, who was approaching with champagne. She takes a glass from him, sipping it with a smile when Dan's arm slips around her waist.
"You really do look beautiful." His voice is deep and husky in her ear and she feels her body tingle as his breath dances on her skin. Of course those feelings quickly evaporate when Serena excuses herself and practically bolts.
She can see the question starting to form in Dan's eyes but before he has a chance to say anything, Penelope appears in front of them.
"OMG! So, it's actually true?" The dark haired girl gives Dan a once over with disdain and Dan just rolls his eyes. "I didn't really believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. Dan Humphrey? Quite the drop from Chuck Bass."
"Excuse me?" Blair feels the blood rush to her face in anger.
"Blair…" Dan takes her hand, shaking his head and for the first time during the course of their relationship, his touch doesn't soothe her. Instead, his strong hand holding hers only seems to fuel her desire to tell Penelope exactly where she can go and how to get there.
"No." Blair shakes her head, turning back to her minion. "Listen closely, Penelope, because I am not going to say this twice. If I ever hear you say one disparaging thing about Dan again, you will regret it." Penelope opened her mouth to speak, which only seemed to infuriate Blair more and she was about to really let Penelope have it when Dan looped his arm around her waist and spun her toward the dance floor. "Dan, what…" Blair looked around a little wildly and Dan just smiled, pulling her close.
"You know, you're awfully sexy when you're protective like that." Dan dips his head to kiss her shoulder.
"Well, I'm certainly not going to allow some lowly minion to think she's entitled to have a say in my love life." Blair grumbles, glaring in Penelope's direction. "I mean, who does she think she is? I made her! I…"
"Blair, can we please stop talking about Penelope?" Looks down at her with a small smile and Blair opens her mouth to tell him that it was necessary to keep people like Penelope in check but the look on his face promptly shuts her up. "Um, Blair, you should probably prepare yourself…" Dan murmurs and Blair looks up at him, confused. "Chuck just got here." Dan feels Blair stiffen in his arms and he gives her a reassuring smile before leaning forward to press his mouth to hers in a soft kiss. "It'll be OK. It's a big party, we can just avoid him…"
"Well, hopefully at the very least he's sober." Blair takes a breath but pauses at the look on Dan's face as he stares at the door in complete shock and Blair frowns, slowly turning in the direction Dan is staring. Her jaw drops in the most unladylike way when she sees Vanessa at Chuck's side. Chuck lays a hand on her back and guides her toward the bar and all Blair can do is stare.
"What the…" Blair turns back to Dan to see that he is wearing a similar expression.
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Blair can't resist rolling her eyes when the door to the ladies' room opens and Vanessa steps inside.
"You know, this is a whole new level of desperation, Vanessa, even for you." Blair eyes her with contempt as she retrieves lip gloss from her purse and applies it carefully. "Did you really think that showing up here with Chuck was going to get you back in Dan's good graces? I guess all those years of wearing hemp clothing has given you a permanent buzz." Blair gives her a sickly sweet smile as she turns to leave.
"Gee, Blair, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were jealous." Vanessa turns, leaning against the vanity.
"Please." Blair lets out a short laugh. "I'm not jealous, Vanessa. I have nothing to be jealous about. I have Dan, who loves me. And you have my slightly unstable, borderline alcoholic ex who, incidentally, also loves me. Out of the two of us, I don't think it's me who is jealous."
Blair leaves Vanessa staring after her as she leaves the powder room, heading back into the party and her eyes scan the room for Dan. She stops when she sees him swaying with Serena in the middle of the dance floor, the two of them talking quietly to each other.
Blair tries to stop the swirl of insecurity that twists in her stomach but fails epically when Serena says something to Dan, who nods and the two of them disappear outside onto the veranda.
"Well, it looks like maybe Dan doesn't love you as much as you seem to think." Vanessa appears at her side and Blair just looks at her. "You should really get used to this, Blair. Get used to him ditching you so he can race off and save Serena because that's what he does." Vanessa eyes her with a smug smile.
"You don't know what you're talking about." Blair shakes her head in disgust, attempting (and probably failing) to not let the girl next to her see just how much her words were affecting her. She turns away, striding purposefully across the room toward the door her boyfriend and best friend had just disappeared through. She pauses for a second when she reaches the door and is about to push it open when she glances through the window, freezing at the sight of Dan and Serena sitting closely on a bench. Bile rises in her throat when Serena reaches for Dan's hand and smiles softly at him before moving closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. Blair suddenly feels lightheaded. This could not be happening. Not again. She wanted to look away, push the door open and scream, do something, anything but her body feels like it's weighs a ton and all she can do is stare.
She needed to get out of there. She had to get out of there now. Willing herself not to cry, Blair spun on her heel and made her way toward the exit as fast as she could. It wasn't until the cool night air hit her did she really start to allow herself to even contemplate what she had just witnessed.
The memory of Serena reaching for Dan flooded through her mind and her stomach turned. She knew that smile. That was the Serena Van der Woodson 'You're My Hero' smile. Blair could recognize it anywhere. That was the smile Serena always gave right before she mesmerized some guy and he fell hopelessly in love with her.
"Blair…" Chuck's voice brings her back to reality and by now she's so emotionally exhausted that all she can do is turn her head slightly to look at him.
"Come to gloat, Bass?" There are no emotions behind her words and Chuck frowns at her.
"Why would I be here to gloat?" Chuck watches her carefully and Blair scoffs, turning away and searching for her car. "Blair, what happened?"
Blair pauses at the (genuine?) concern in Chuck's voice. She glances over his shoulder to see Dan and Serena coming toward the door, both of them looking around and Blair suddenly feels like she's going to burst into tears.
"Where the hell is my car?" Blair looks around, slightly frantic and Chuck reaches out to touch her arm.
"Blair, breathe." Chuck's voice is strangely calming but the sight of Dan and Serena getting closer and closer makes her heart pound in her chest in a way that is anything but enjoyable.
"I need to get out of here… now!" Blair spins around again, desperately searching for her car when Chuck rests his hand on the small of her back.
"My limo is right here." Chuck says quietly and Blair meets his gaze for a brief second before glancing at the limo parked by the curb. She looks at Chuck again, her emotions waging a war inside of her. Finally, she looks toward the door again, her eyes landing on Dan and Serena once more and Blair quickly nods at Chuck.
"Fine. Just get me out of here, Chuck." Blair practically pleads as she spins around and rushes toward the waiting limo. She doesn't see Chuck throw a satisfied smile toward the door as he follows after her.
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"Thank you for listening to me, Dan." Serena smiles a little as they sit down.
"Of course." Dan nods. "I'm really sorry about you and Ben. I know how much you liked him."
"I just don't understand it. I thought that we were fine and then out of no where he just ended it." Serena shakes her head and the two of them are quiet for a moment. "I'm really glad that you're here, Dan." Serena reaches for his hand, a soft smile adorning her face but Dan stiffens when she slides closer and rests her head on his shoulder.
"Serena…" Dan stands up quickly. "Look, I'm more than happy to be here for you, but it's only as your friend. I love Blair. You and I…"
"Oh my god!" Serena gasps, realization splashing across her face and she jumps to her feet. "Dan, I'm so sorry. I wasn't even thinking. I just got caught up because of our history and it's always been so easy to be around you. But of course we're just friends. I would never do that to Blair again."
"OK, good." Dan breathes a slight sigh of relief, thankful that hadn't gotten more awkward and beyond grateful that Blair hadn't appeared at the wrong time because he knows that she would have assumed the worst. "We should find Blair. She's probably wondering where we are."
Dan sends a Serena a small smile before turning to head inside but Serena grabs his arm and he reluctantly turns to look at her.
"I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I didn't mean to. You know that I think you and Blair are great together." Serena looks at him seriously and Dan is quiet for a second before he nods.
"Yeah, of course." He says finally. "Let's just forget the whole thing."
"OK, good." Serena says, relief evident in her face. "Let's go find Blair."
The two of them head inside and Dan looks around the room for his petite girlfriend, frowning when he doesn't see her. He and Serena run into Eric, who tells them that he saw Blair heading toward the exit not too long ago. He thanks Serena's brother and takes off toward the door.
"Do you see her?" Serena asks, looking around and Dan shakes his head. Did she leave? Why would she leave without coming to find him? He frowns before pulling out his phone to see if he missed a call. Nothing.
"Dan, is that Blair?" Serena points through the glass door and Dan turns. "Is that Chuck!"
Serena's eyes are bulging from her head and Dan just stares in confusion and disbelief for a moment before bolting toward the door. He gets outside just in time to see Blair climb into a limo with Chuck close behind her.
Dan just stares, completely frozen as the limo pulls away form the curb before he turns to Serena, who looks just as dumbfounded as he is. What the hell was going on?
"I told you." Dan looks over his shoulder and sees Vanessa watching the two of them, looking way too pleased with herself.
"What did you do?" Dan stalks toward her and Vanessa at least has enough sense to look alarmed. "What the hell did you do, Vanessa? What did you say to her?"
"I didn't say a thing to her." Vanessa shrugs. "Blair is just showing her true colors, Dan. It's about time you realized that this is who Blair Waldorf really is. This is who she has always been."
"Why are you even here, Vanessa?" Serena cuts in. "You had to have known that you weren't wanted here. And to show up with Chuck? What exactly did you think you were going to accomplish?"
"Absolutely nothing." Vanessa just shakes her head with a smile and Dan has to restrain himself from shaking her. "Chuck needed a date and I wanted to be here when you finally saw that Blair hasn't changed."
"If I found out that you had anything to do with this, Vanessa, I swear to God, you will regret the day that you ever came back to Manhattan." Dan growls at her, pushing past her as he storms toward their limo. Serena looks at Vanessa for a second before shaking her head and following after Dan.