.

Chapter 11: Bizarre Love Triangle

Every time I think of you
I feel shot right through with a bolt of blue
It's no problem of mine
But it's a problem I find
Living a life that I can't leave behind

-New Order

Autumn was always spectacular in NYC- the sun shone, the air was crisp with just a hint of chill, and the changing leaves turned Central Park into a breathtaking collage of color. But this year, summer simply refused to die. Even though it was early September, the city was besieged by an unexpected heat wave. The scorching temperatures, sweltering humidity, and heat radiating off every concrete surface were enough to drive most savvy New Yorkers out to their summer homes, or into the air-conditioned safety of their apartments.

Of course, this wasn't an option for anyone unfortunate enough to live in a vintage loft apartment in Brooklyn, with limited insulation and an overly-frugal father.

Jenny pushed a blonde strand of hair off of her damp forehead, glaring out the window at the relentless sun before returning to her sewing. How was she supposed to work like this? she fumed silently. She felt like a factory worker in a sweatshop. She had to dry her hands off every five minutes so she wouldn't leave fingerprints on the blue silk- even wholesale, it had cost over twenty dollars a yard.

Snipping off some dangling threads, she slide the half-finished garment onto its dress form and compared it to the teal blue Valentino adorning the adjacent form, tags still attached. They were almost indistinguishable, she thought, eyes darting back and forth between the two dresses. Just a few more tweaks to the shoulder straps, and she would have her perfect designer gown for the Snowflake ball.

She just had to get the original back to Bendel's, before it showed up on her father's Visa bill and gave him an aneurysm.

Hearing the jingle of her cell phone, she sighed in annoyance, grabbing the pins out of her mouth before answering.

"Hello?" she said distractedly, tucking a fold of fabric with her other hand and pinning it in place.

"Hey Jen," Eric's voice rang out across the line. "What's, uh… what's up?"

"Not much, just doing some… shopping," she replied, stepping back to analyze her handiwork. "You?"

"Well, I'm, uh… kind of freaking out a little…" He faltered over the words, and Jenny's ears perked up. Eric was usually pretty even-keeled, so anything that had him in a tizzy was bound to be interesting.

"Why, what's going on?" She kept her voice nonchalant, to avoid betraying too much eagerness.

"Well, I was hoping you could tell me, actually..." He paused for a second. "Umm, do you know what's going on with Dan and Serena?"

Jenny furrowed her brow in confusion.

Gossip Girl had sent out a picture of Serena, teary-eyed and clearly upset, leaving her dinner with Dan the night before. Jenny's first reaction had been an exasperated huff, as she wondered to herself why her brother couldn't seem to stop fucking things up.

"No, I haven't talked to him today," she replied. "But he was in a terrible mood last night, and I figured they'd broken up when I saw that blast."

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of…" Eric sighed. "I was hoping maybe I was just… overreacting."

Ooh, this sounds like dirt on Serena, Jenny thought, grinning.

"Overreacting to what?" she asked, keeping her tone unconcerned.

"Last night, I saw… I saw Chuck come out of Serena's room in the middle of the night. And he was… putting his clothes back on. And… grinning, like he just…" Eric trailed off, unwilling to finish the sentence.

Jenny's eyes widened.

"Serena… and Chuck?" she sputtered.

"Well, I mean, I didn't actually see anything happen, so maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions…" Eric quickly backtracked.

"Right, I'm sure Chuck Bass spends a lot of time half-dressed in girls' rooms and not having sex with them," Jenny scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Eric exhaled unhappily. "Okay, can you not mock the fact that my… siblings might be…"

"Banging each other?" Jenny supplied helpfully.

"Please don't say that," he groaned.

"Aww, are you feeling left out of the family bonding?" she teased, and heard a gagging noise.

"Seriously, Jen, I'm going to throw up in my own mouth," Eric responded, sounding appalled. "I just have to… pretend I didn't see anything, and hope it never happens again."

"I'd recommend knocking before you go into her room from now on, just in case," she giggled, eliciting another groan from the other end of the line.

"You know, joking about it doesn't actually make it funny," he replied dryly. "Just forget I said anything, alright?"

Jenny agreed, and the two chatted awhile longer before saying their goodbyes. Turning on her fan, she relaxed on the bed for a moment while contemplating this unexpected turn of events.

She was surprised, but it was hardly uncharacteristic behavior from Chuck. And based on rumors she'd heard about Serena's pre-Dan days, well… it really wasn't hard to believe at all. Assuming a calculating expression, she pondered how to use this information to her advantage.

Despite having the misfortune of being from Brooklyn, Jenny Humphrey had schemed her way up the ranks of the Constance social order. By threatening to release a gossip bomb about the school's queen dallying with its most infamous womanizer, she had earned herself the title of Snowflake Ball committee co-chair, an unheard-of honor for a sophomore.

And up until this point, keeping Blair and Chuck's affair to herself had been the best strategic move. She was savvy enough to understand that dethroning Blair would result in Serena regaining the title, not her.

But now, with this new piece of gossip, she had sufficient ammunition to take down both girls. Becoming another notch on Chuck Bass' bedpost was embarrassing in and of itself- the boy was probably riddled with herpes, she thought disgustedly- but sexing up your own stepbrother was just social suicide.

The Snowflake ball, she decided, would be the perfect occasion to drop both bombs at once. As committee co-chair, it would be natural for her to take charge after Blair and Serena's humiliation- thus becoming the new Queen of Constance Billard.

With her endgame finally in sight, Jenny traced one hand down the silky blue folds of her gown, smiling triumphantly to herself.

When he turned the page and realized he couldn't remember anything on the previous one, Dan finally gave up trying to read. He tossed his book onto the bed with a sigh, swiping in annoyance at the sweat collecting on his forehead.

Picking up his phone from the nightstand, he scrolled down the list of contacts until he reached Serena's name. His thumb hovered over it for a moment before he exhaled in frustration and set the phone back on the table.

He'd told Serena that they just needed a little time apart, time to work on themselves and their friendship. He'd explained that it was the only way to build a stronger foundation for their relationship and move past the trust issues that kept tripping them up.

He'd been certain it was the right decision.

But that certainly didn't make it any easier to see Serena looking so heartbroken. She hadn't even stayed to finish dinner-she'd just bolted as soon as soon as they'd finished their conversation. The fact that he hadn't actually heard her thoughts on this plan had already been weighing heavily on his mind. And then he'd seen that picture of her on Gossip Girl, looking on the verge of tears…

He was so tempted to just forget about all of this and go after her. Tell her he'd made a mistake.

Maybe I should just call her, he thought. Maybe we don't need to be apart to figure things out…

Feeling conflicted, and unable to tolerate the oppressive heat of his bedroom any longer, Dan headed for the kitchen.

"Hey Jen," he murmured absentmindedly, walking past his blonde sister sitting at the kitchen table. He could feel her eyes on him as he rooted around in the freezer. "What's up?"

"Not much," she replied carefully, watching him select an orange popsicle and take a seat across the table. "What's up with you?"

Dan sighed, propping his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand.

"Oh, just… second-guessing my decisions, thinking in circles, torturing myself with doubt… you know, the usual," he responded wryly.

"Serena?" Jenny guessed, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

Noticing that his sister's expression was borderline sympathetic, Dan wondered if he'd been too hard on her recently. Maybe she hadn't actually become a soulless Blair Waldorf clone, maybe she'd just… had PMS. For the past four months.

"Yeah, I've just been thinking that I might've been a little… hasty last night," he confessed.

"Hasty?" Jenny echoed, eying him skeptically.

"Yeah, I told her that we needed some time apart. But maybe I… overreacted a little, you know?" he continued, munching on his frozen treat. "I was just upset about what happened at Butter, and I didn't even give her a chance to… apologize, or explain."

"Well, of course you were upset, it sounds like she was practically making out with that guy." Jenny shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what there is to explain. She can't expect you to just put up with her ho-ing around with random dudes."

Dan paused mid-chomp, frowning at his sister in confusion. "Two weeks ago, you were telling me I was an idiot for breaking up with her in the first place."

"Well, that was before," she replied noncommittally.

"And last week, all you were concerned about was how my relationship with Serena affected your social life," he persisted, eying her with curiosity.

Jenny shrugged again, appearing suddenly fascinated by her own fingernails. "Maybe I've decided my brother's happiness and well being are more important," she suggested evasively.

Pondering the unlikelihood of that scenario, Dan regarded her skeptically.

"What's really going on here, Jen?" he asked, a hint of suspicion coloring his voice. She avoided his gaze, but he stared her down until she had no choice but to meet it.

"Nothing," Jenny finally snapped. "Maybe I'm just tired of listening to you constantly whine about your relationship melodrama. Or maybe, the fact that you guys can't stop breaking up for like five minutes is some sort of sign from God that you should let it stick this time."

Dan frowned, bristling slightly at her outburst.

"I know we've had some problems recently," he admitted. "But… we still love each other, and we're both miserable when we're apart, so… we just need to talk things out, that's all." He stood, pushing back his stool. "Thanks for the pep talk, though," he added wryly.

"Look, Dan, I just…" she paused, a conflicted expression on her face. "I don't think you should go running back to Serena, okay? I just- I think it's a really bad idea," she finished earnestly.

"Then tell me why," Dan responded, exasperation creeping into his voice. He was really starting to lose patience with his sister's mood swings.

Jenny said nothing, biting her lip and staring down at the table. Sighing in frustration, Dan shoved his stool back under the counter and walked away, heading back towards his bedroom.

"Serena slept with someone else," Jenny blurted out behind him.

The words took a second to sink in, but once they did, he stopped in his tracks. "What?" he asked in disbelief, hoping he'd misheard her.

"I just… don't want you to embarrass yourself running after her when she's already having sex with some other guy," Jenny let out in a rush. "Probably the first guy she saw after your dinner last night," she added, a note of censure in her voice.

Dan was already shaking his head before she'd even finished talking.

"You're wrong," he stated with conviction. "Serena wouldn't do that. I'm sure it's just a stupid rumor."

"It's not a rumor, Dan," she argued. "Eric saw them. He wouldn't lie about this."

Feeling like he'd just had the wind knocked out of him, Dan slumped back onto one of the kitchen stools and stared vacantly into space, trying to arrange his fragmented thoughts into some semblance of order. She'd been upset when she left dinner. Maybe she'd stopped off at a bar on the way home, had a few drinks, some guy had taken advantage of her… or maybe she'd called Quinn, asked him to come over…

He rubbed his hand across his face, trying to stop his mind from going any further in that direction.

"Come on, Dan, why you so surprised?" Jenny shook her head. "You know what she's like. What did you expect to happen when you guys broke up?"

"We didn't break up," he replied faintly.

"You didn't…" she trailed off, staring back at him. "Wait, what?"

"I said, we didn't break up," Dan repeated with emphasis.

"But then…" Jenny paused, furrowing her brow. "Uh, why have you been moping around, wallowing in self-pity and weeping over your sad emo kid playlist?"

Sympathy really wasn't one of his sister's finer qualities, he thought to himself.

"We're just taking a break, that's all," he replied.

A beat of silence followed.

"And how is that different from a breakup, exactly?" Jenny asked skeptically.

"Well, we're not, like… done for good. We're just taking some time apart to… work on our issues and, you know… figure things out."

This whole explanation had sounded a lot more reasonable and coherent inside his head, he realized. But his reason and coherence had taken a leave of absence… around the same time he found out his girlfriend was having sex with another guy.

"Yeah, that sounds like a breakup to me," Jenny observed, pursing her lips.

Dan sighed in frustration. "Well, it's not. It's just… taking a break."

"Yeah, I don't think that's a thing, Dan," she replied dryly. He glared at her, and she rolled her eyes. "Did Serena agree to this arrangement?" she went on.

"Well, I guess… I mean, she didn't really say much," Dan admitted, staring down at the table. "She just said okay, if that's what I wanted it was fine with her, and she left pretty soon afterwards."

"But she definitely understood that you weren't actually breaking up with her?" Jenny pressed.

"Of course she did," Dan replied immediately. "I mean… well, yeah, I think so," he finished, a note of uncertainty creeping into his voice.

"Oh my God, Dan, you're an idiot," Jenny groaned, facepalming herself.

Ignoring the niggling suspicion that she could be right, Dan felt himself grow increasingly defensive. "I'm sorry, and exactly how many relationships have you had in your life? Remind me again why I should be taking romantic advice from you?" he asked snidely.

"Well, given that you just accidentally broke up with your girlfriend, you clearly need all the advice you can get," she replied, shaking her head in amused disbelief.

"I didn't…" he exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "Did I?"

"Yup." Jenny nodded, her mouth twisting into a wry grin. "Which apparently pushed her straight into the arms of her creepy pervert stepbrother. Well done, Dan-"

She stopped speaking abruptly, eyes widening.

"What?" he said, incredulous. "Jenny… what the hell are you talking about?"

Jenny shifted uncomfortably under his stare. "It was Chuck," she admitted quietly, refusing to look him in the eyes.

Dan let out a humorless laugh. "You cannot be serious," he scoffed. "Serena can't stand Chuck!"

"Well, maybe she doesn't have to… stand a guy, to have sex with him?" Jenny offered.

"No. That's just not possible," Dan insisted. "There must be some mistake..."

"There's no mistake, Dan. Eric seemed pretty traumatized by the whole thing, actually…" Jenny trailed off, eyeing him condolingly.

Ten seconds ago, Dan could've sworn there was no way for this situation to get any worse. But not only had Serena slept with another guy a few hours after they'd "broken up", she'd picked the one guy he probably loathed more than anybody else on the planet.

He couldn't even decide whether to be hurt or angry- although he was most definitely starting to feel nauseous, thanks to the graphic mental pictures his imagination was providing.

"Ugh, of all the guys she could've…" Dan groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"Look, just… please don't tell anyone about this, okay?" Jenny implored him. "Serena would… never forgive me."

Shit, she thought, if Dan blabbed this all over the place, her whole plan would fall apart. She gave him her best innocent-little-sister look, trying to look as regretful as possible.

Nodding distractedly, Dan ran a hand through his hair, struggling to wrap his mind around this new information. Why would Serena sleep with Chuck? Revenge? Boredom? Or… maybe it was just something she used to do all the time, back in the day, back when she slept with… well, pretty much anyone, so… no big deal, right?

Maybe he'd been fooling himself all along, thinking she'd changed.

All of the dirty comments, the lecherous looks, everything he'd dismissed as Chuck just being a pervert and an asshole, he was now starting to view in a totally different light.

"I just… I can't believe this," he sighed, a sense of resignation beginning to set in.

"Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news." Jenny remarked glibly.

Groaning incredulously, Dan slumped forward, burying his face in his hands.

I feel fine and I feel good
I'm feeling like I never should
Whenever I get this way
I just don't know what to say
Why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday

Blair strode towards school Monday morning with her head held high, the heels of her Mary Janes clacking smartly against the pavement. She felt imbued with a renewed sense of confidence and purpose. After the emotional shitstorm that had been her Friday night, she'd decided that she needed a weekend by herself to relax- and possibly make some minor adjustments to her life plan. Thankfully, a spa retreat to the Adirondacks had proved the perfect solution, allowing her to escape the pressures of her exhausting social calendar, her current romantic… situation, as well as the misery of a NYC heat wave. Being surrounded by hordes of grumpy tourists, perspiring in their cutoff jean shorts and tacky athletic jerseys, was not Blair Waldorf's idea of a pleasant weekend.

So after several massages, a facial, and a seaweed mud wrap that had given her skin that perfect dewy glow, she'd finally felt clearheaded enough to formulate a plan of attack. The question of her relationship with Nate had been… well, shelved, for the time being, because she didn't want to do anything hasty, and such an important decision required careful consideration.

But the other two items on her agenda could be addressed immediately. A ceasefire with Serena was her top priority. Based on that weepy Gossip Girl picture, she assumed that Serena's on-again/off-again romance with Humphrey was now off again, so she was probably inconsolable. And being the forgiving person that she was, Blair was willing to let bygones be bygones and provide her best friend with a shoulder to cry on.

Item number two on her list was to resolve the Chuck situation, preferably by reinstituting their friendship truce. She did regret some of her more… derogatory comments from the other night. She simply needed to figure out some way to indicate this to him- without resorting to an actual apology.

Once those two problems were taken care of, and her life was firmly back on track, she could begin to address the biggest question pertaining to her future- namely, whether she was willing to give up the possibility of becoming Mrs. Nate Archibald.

Nodding resolutely to herself, she stepped into the school courtyard with confidence, bestowing smiles on a few worthy classmates along the way.

Halfway towards her group of minions, she happened to notice Dan Humphrey- an unusual enough occurrence, but made even more so because he was actually talking to a girl.

More than talking, in fact, Blair realized- that was flirting. Awkward, nerdy, sweaty-palmed flirting. And it had to be intentional, because Dan certainly didn't possess the natural charisma to do it by accident. Who the hell does he think he is? she thought, her eyes narrowing in indignation. Was he was going to rub Serena's face in the fact that he was moving on at the first available opportunity? Did he really think he could get away with that?

Well, not on her watch.

Blair marched towards the pair, curls bouncing off her petite shoulders.

"Humphrey, a word?" she requested coolly, not sparing a glance for his companion. She phrased it as a request, but the sharply manicured nails digging into his forearm clearly indicated otherwise.

Dan stumbled slightly as she dragged him behind her strode across the courtyard. Finally letting go, she turned to face him, staring him down with a mixture of anger and exasperation.

"What the hell, Blair?" he grumbled, rubbing his arm with a pained expression.

"Look, Dan," she replied tersely. "I don't pretend to understand what Serena sees in you. And I can't, for the life of me, understand why she continues going back for second and third helpings of whatever it is you're dishing out."

Dan looked mildly offended at that, and opened his mouth to respond before she cut him off.

"Don't look so surprised, this can't possibly be news to you," she continued, eying him with derision. "Point being, she is my best friend, and if you think I'm just going to let you flirt with another girl right in front of her, you are sorely mistaken."

"I wasn't-" he began to protest, but she waved his words aside as if they were of no consequence.

"Don't act disingenuous, Humphrey, I'm better at it than you are," Blair folded her arms across her chest. "You're moving on and trying to rub her face in it, and there's simply no way I'm going to allow that to happen."

"I'm moving on?" Dan echoed incredulously. "Are you serious?"

Blair paused momentarily, but chose to ignore his outburst.

"Well, for whatever reason, Serena has remained completely loyal to you for over a year now," she sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "So until I can manage to break her of that… regretful habit, consider school property off-limits for your sad attempts at womanizing. Are we clear?"

Confident her point had been made, she nodded with self-satisfaction and turned to leave.

"What, so Serena can have sex with Chuck, but I'm not allowed to even talk to another girl?" Dan retorted in frustration.

Blair took several additional steps before his words sunk in. She stopped in her tracks, and then turned back to face him.

"What?" she asked incredulously, before quickly regaining her wits. "I don't know what you're talking about, Humphrey. Serena's never… slept with Chuck."

Dan snorted, a hint of cynical amusement in his expression.

"I guess your best friend doesn't tell you everything," he responded sardonically. "I can certainly understand why she might be embarrassed. It's not exactly something to brag about- you know that better than anyone."

Blair swallowed, trying to control the churning sensation in her stomach.

"You're wrong," she stated with conviction. "He- she wouldn't do that." Even to her own ears, it sounded like she was mostly trying to convince herself.

"Well, according to Eric that's how they spent their Friday night," Dan replied, bitterness dripping from his voice. "I guess the adjacent bedrooms were just too convenient to resist."

Friday night. After she'd told Chuck, in no uncertain terms, to leave her alone. And he'd done exactly that, leaving with anger and hurt written all over his face. She'd spent her dinner with Nate mulling over the situation, feeling guilty about what she'd said- but not what she'd done. And while she was lying in bed that night, unable to sleep, she'd finally allowed her imagination to roam into previously forbidden territory- thinking, reminiscing, fantasizing… about him.

While he'd been having sex with her best friend.

The pain that shot through Blair's chest was so intense, she felt as though someone had stabbed her in the heart. Inhaling sharply, she crossed her arms and hugged her sides with her hands, trying desperately to hold herself together.

But when she looked up and saw confusion and concern in Dan's expression, she forced her features into something resembling indifference. She couldn't let anyone see her rattled, least of all Dan Humphrey.

"Well, they are the most notorious bed-hoppers on the Upper East Side," she said, managing a disinterested shrug. "It's a wonder it didn't happen years ago."

Her tone was remarkably calm despite her roiling insides.

Dan frowned, and appeared on the verge of responding when his attention was caught by something over her shoulder. Tracking his gaze, she saw a limo pulling up outside the school gates, and her heart caught in her throat.

"Did you… forget to wear deodorant?" Chuck asked dryly, watching Serena on the seat next to him, as she carefully sniffed the inside lining of her school blazer.

She rolled her eyes at him. "No, I just forgot to have my uniform dry-cleaned."

He shot her a puzzled expression.

"After…Friday night," she clarified.

Chuck smirked in understanding, straightening his own tie and jacket. "Well, I'm sure the overpowering smell of Clinique Happy will distract anyone close enough to notice."

Serena smacked him on the arm, glaring in mock affront as he chuckled and leaned back against the leather seat.

He noticed that Eric was staring at them from the other side of the limo, a slightly horrified expression on his face.

"Something the matter?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope, everything's… fine," Eric replied in a strained voice, turning his gaze towards the window as they pulled to a stop in front of school.

Momentarily distracted from his stepbrother's odd behavior, Chuck took a moment to assess his appearance in the fold-down mirror. He made sure a few locks of hair were artfully tousled across his forehead before following his siblings out into the courtyard.

Spotting something stuck to the back of Serena's plaid skirt, he instinctively leaned forward and pinched it off.

"Chuck!" she yelped, spinning around and swatting his hand away.

"Simmer down, Chiquita, you had a sticker on your ass." He grinned, holding up the offending fruit label as evidence.

"Oh… well, thanks…" Serena said abashedly.

"Been rolling around on the breakfast buffet again?" Chuck asked wryly, and she giggled in response as they continued side-by-side towards the front steps.

Feeling a heated glare burning its way through his skin, he looked up to see two sets of brown eyes fixed on him, both brimming with indignation and disgust.

Dan was outright glowering, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to punch Chuck in the face- repeatedly. Well, this was hardly unusual- in fact, it was the expression Chuck most frequently noticed him wearing- but Blair's visible anger caught him off guard.

What the fuck, he thought. Hadn't she gotten her point across with her unholy bitchery on Friday night? Apparently she figured she'd hammer it home by treating him like something she scraped off the bottom of her Manolos.

Fuck that.

Refusing to cower, Chuck assumed an expression of callous indifference, his lips curving into a remorseless smirk.

With the odd realization that he might have an ally in his stepsister, he shot a sideways glance at Serena. She came to a halt beside him, staring back at the pair in surprise and bewilderment. Her brow furrowed as she watched Dan turn on his heel and stride away in an angry huff.

After giving Serena one last accusatory glare, Blair stalked off in the opposite direction.

"What the hell was that?" Serena said, puzzled and dismayed.

Chuck clenched his jaw, tamping down the wounded feeling welling up inside of him. So this is the way she wants to play it? he thought. Well, fine by me.

Staring down at the fingers twined together in her lap, Blair reminded herself, once again, why she had absolutely no reason to be upset. Unfortunately, after a morning of trying- and failing- to will away her inner turmoil, spending her lunch period sitting in a bathroom stall hadn't helped matters. The logical side of her brain was plainly unequipped to fight this battle.

She'd thought there was no way she could face Serena until she managed to pull herself together, and a quiet hour alone had seemed like the perfect solution. Instead, she'd spent it vacillating between irrational anger and equally irrational despondency, while her imagination tortured her with mental images of Chuck and Serena… doing that, together. Fortunately she hadn't eaten anything all day, because the very thought was making her stomach turn over.

She heard the bathroom door open and a group of girls enter, laughing and chattering amongst themselves as they crowded around the mirror. Breathing as quietly as possible, she tucked her feet back, not wanting them to recognize her shoes under the stall.

"I can't believe Dan broke up with Serena again," she overheard one of the girls whisper conspiratorially.

"What is the matter with him? It's not like he's ever going to be able to do any better." another girl snickered.

"I know, right? She could have any guy she wants," the first commented wistfully.

Blair's mouth twisted into a humorless smile. Oh, they don't know the half of it, she thought to herself.

"Did you see her with Chuck Bass this morning?" someone asked in an undertone.

"Oh, he totally wants to hit that."

"Maybe he already has. Maybe they're like… siblings with benefits," another suggested, eliciting a series of "eww"s from the rest of the group.

"Come on, Serena would never go for him. She's obviously more into… nerdy Brooklynites."

"I don't know, Chuck can be awfully persistent when he wants something," one girl commented. "Isn't that right, Sophie?"

Sophie's embarrassed mumbling was drowned out by a chorus of giggles, the sound reverberating around the bathroom as the door swung shut behind them.

Blair felt her heart drop into her feet at their suggestive comments. She stared down at her shoes, her vision blurring as a single tear escaped her eye and splattered onto the tile floor below.

Had Chuck done this for revenge, after how she'd treated him? Maybe. But maybe it had nothing to do with that… maybe he was just horny, and hadn't even spared her a thought.

Or maybe he just wanted Serena. Just like everyone else did.

With an awful tightening sensation in her chest, Blair realized that she wasn't sure which possibility hurt more.

Some foolish, sentimental part of her brain had been convinced that she was more than just another girl to Chuck, that his pursuit of her was different from his usual behavior. That maybe she even… meant something to him. But she'd obviously been deluding herself. She'd seen what she wanted to see instead of what was actually there.

And Serena, as usual, had been the one to demonstrate exactly how replaceable she was.

"Blair?"

She continued walking through the courtyard, pretending to be engrossed in her phone.

Serena, unfortunately, didn't take the hint. She just quickened her pace to catch up.

"Blair!" she entreated, grabbing her friend's wrist to force her to stop.

"Yes?" Blair responded coolly, fixing the blonde with a withering stare.

"Look, I'm sorry if I overreacted the other night, but don't you think you're being just a little bit unreasonable?" Serena said quietly, frustration evident in her voice.

Faced once again with her friend's effortless beauty, perfect figure, and excessive sex appeal, Blair felt the anger start to rise up inside her again.

"Unreasonable?" she repeated bitingly. "I'm being unreasonable?"

"I just don't understand why you're so upset with me," Serena protested in a low voice, glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

"You already had Nate. My own mother likes you better than me. Wasn't that enough?" Blair snapped. "You couldn't leave me with anyone?"

Serena flinched in surprise. "You know that's not true-" she began.

"You just couldn't stand the fact that for once, someone wanted me and not you," she interrupted, fighting to control her wavering voice.

Her friend stared back at her in confusion. "Blair, what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Serena," she retorted, trying to conceal the hurt in her voice. "You saw what happened on Thursday night. You knew exactly what you were doing."

"Blair, I have no idea what I did, but… whatever it is, I'm sorry…" she pleaded.

Seeing the bewilderment on her friend's face, Blair felt her anger start to evaporate. Serena couldn't even help it, she realized. Everyone just wanted her, loved her, preferred her, and she didn't even have to try.

"Just… leave me alone, okay?" she finished dejectedly. Shoulders slumping, she turned and strode towards the exit.

There's no sense in telling me
The wisdom of the fool won't set you free
But that's the way that it goes
And it's what nobody knows
Well every day my confusion grows

Several hours later, Blair sat on the chaise lounge in her bedroom, staring blankly out the window. She was ostensibly studying, although her calculus textbook lay unopened beside her. Dorota had refrained from bothering her since she'd come up with a tray of "snacks" and practically gotten her head bitten off.

Cookies, she thought disgustedly. If she wanted to consume a week's worth of saturated fat in one sitting, she'd just get a jar of mayonnaise and a spoon and go to town.

Taking another glance at the picturesque scene outside, rays of sun still peaking above the stately buildings and beginning to streak the sky with shades of pink and purple, Blair decided that an overcast day would really suit her mood better. Rain was a much better backdrop for moping, and this bright, happy sunset was just pissing her off.

Casting one last resentful look out the window, she curled her stocking-clad feet up underneath her and opened her textbook. She'd only made it halfway down the page when she heard Dorota's voice call from downstairs.

"Miss Blair, Mister Nate for you!"

Furrowing her brow in surprise, she reached for the cell phone on her bedside table, realizing that it was still on silent. She'd missed three of Nate's calls. Well, that explained the unexpected visit, she thought.

"Come in," she called out, in response to the rapping on her door.

"Hey Blair," Nate closed the door behind him softly and turned to look at her, a faint air of concern coloring his typically relaxed features.

"Hey," she replied impassively. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing, I just… hadn't really heard from you this weekend, and then didn't see you at school today." He paused, looking at her. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay?"

Blair forced a blasé smile. "Of course everything's okay, why wouldn't it be?" she lied easily. "I was just at the spa this weekend, and then crazy busy all day today."

Nate nodded. "I asked Serena if she'd seen you, and she said you two had gotten into a fight," he continued cautiously. "But it didn't seem like she knew what it was about."

He studied her in silence, as if waiting for an explanation. She didn't oblige, focusing instead on removing an imaginary fleck of lint from her skirt.

"You guys have been getting along so well over the last year. I'd just hate to see that change," he prodded her further.

Blair shrugged disinterestedly. "Serena doesn't always take it well when I question her terrible life choices," she replied, unable to keep a hint of spite out of her voice.

"Well… everyone makes mistakes," he offered. "I'm sure whatever she did wasn't that bad."

Blair's nostrils flared as she regarded her boyfriend, feeling her chest clench in annoyance. God knew she wasn't in the mood to hear someone defend Serena at the moment, least of all him.

"Well, if sleeping with Chuck doesn't count as a terrible life choice, I don't know what does," she responded sharply. "It's practically an STD waiting to happen."

Nate's face froze in surprise. "Wait- what?" he stammered.

"Yeah, it only took him a few hours after Dan broke up with her," Blair continued, her tone laced with acid. "You should probably give him a slap on the back or a high-five or something, whatever guys do to congratulate each other on getting laid."

Unfortunately, sullying Serena's reputation with Nate didn't make her feel any better- his crestfallen expression was just twisting the knife in deeper. After a full day of getting her self-esteem pummeled, leave it to her boyfriend to deliver the knockout blow.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Does that upset you for some reason?" she asked caustically, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well, it's just that… Chuck wouldn't… " he trailed off, a look of sad uncertainty on his face.

"What, sleep with someone you obviously have feelings for?" Blair snapped.

"No, it's not… that, I just…" he hedged.

"Goddammit, Nate, will you stop being so fucking transparent?" she shouted, and he recoiled in shock.

Her angry words echoed around the room as the two stared at each other, Nate rendered momentarily speechless by her uncharacteristic outburst.

"Blair…. no, listen," he begged as she turned away from him. "It's not that. It's just … you saw the blast. You know how upset she was on Friday night. And I can't believe Chuck would take advantage of her like that."

Blair narrowed her eyes at him skeptically.

"Well, I mean, I know he would with other girls," he admitted. "I just always thought he was different with you and Serena, you know? You're supposed to be his friends."

She nodded reluctantly, avoiding his eyes.

"I guess I just thought he had… more respect for you guys, that's all," he concluded sadly.

Blair sighed, her heart growing heavy as she considered her boyfriend's words. He really had no idea what kind of person his best friend was. Well, she wasn't going to be the one to disillusion him- time would take care of that on its own.

But she was going to give said best friend a piece of her mind, she decided.

"Well, Serena's a big girl, I'm sure she can take care of herself," she responded calmly, glancing at her watch. "Listen, I have a lot of studying to do, do you mind if we just catch up tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm supposed to get home for dinner anyway…" Nate paused, looking like he was torn between wanting to salvage the conversation and wanting to escape from it. "Um, are we…. are we okay here?"

"Of course, sweetie," Blair replied, smiling tightly. "I just really need to get some work done tonight, that's all."

Looking relieved, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips before departing. She watched him leave and checked her watch again, deciding to give him ten minutes to clear the premises before she called the car around.

If Chuck thought she'd been bitchy on Friday night, he had no idea what he was in for.

I'm not sure what this could mean
I don't think you're what you seem
I do admit to myself
That if I hurt someone else
Then I'll never see just what we're meant to be

Tying the ascot around his neck with practiced movements, he tucked it carefully into his shirt collar before taking one last appraising look in the mirror. The paisley design contrasted nicely with the pinstripes on his shirt, and the pale lilac shade was the perfect foil for his charcoal slacks and vest. But it was still missing something, he decided. He perused his collection of pocket squares, holding several up against himself to check the color palate before making his selection.

He'd just finished carefully arranging the purple square into his vest pocket, when a series of sharp knocks sounded against his bedroom door.

"Come in," he called out, finger-combing his hair behind his ears. His hands froze momentarily when he saw the image of an irate Blair Waldorf reflected behind him.

"Blair," he greeted her coolly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh, I doubt you'll be getting much pleasure out of this conversation," she responded sharply, pulling the door closed behind her with excessive force.

He turned and watched as she strode towards him, fuming with indignation and clearly spoiling for a fight. She dropped her purse on his bedside table, presumably so she would have both hands free to pummel him.

"You do seem to be missing your trademark sunny disposition," he remarked mockingly. From the flash of ire in her eyes, he could tell that mocking was not the best tactic to take here, but he'd had just about enough of her crap at this point.

"Perhaps something about your presence just has that effect on me," she retorted, hands on her hips.

He gave an exaggerated sigh, raking his eyes over her tense figure. "Well, don't keep me in suspense," he said. "What do you have your panties in a twist about today?"

He turned back towards the mirror, adjusting his collar with affected disinterest. "Make it quick, though, I'm on my way out," he added.

Chuck could practically feel her seething in response, waves of anger radiating off of her tiny frame. Unfortunately, he found her temper kind of a turn on. Definitely have to get that under control, he thought to himself.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I delaying your evening of drinking and whoring around?" she snapped.

"As a matter of fact, you are," he replied, unperturbed.

"Were your weekend exploits not sufficiently satisfying?" she asked icily.

Well, since the sum total of his exploits had been two minutes of making out with Blair, followed by a thorough tongue lashing- and not the kind he liked- and a weekend of being too hung up on the whole situation to even relieve himself the old-fashioned way… no, he would not describe them as satisfying.

"Well, you know me, I'm always up for another round," he responded smarmily, giving her a once-over. "Unless you wanted to… resume where we left off the other night?"

Exhaling sharply, her hands balled into fists at her sides, Blair gave him a look that could have cut glass.

"You are disgusting," she bit out. "Is this your MO? Waiting for girls to break up with their boyfriends, and then swooping in and taking advantage while they're sad and vulnerable?"

"Is that the story you're going with now? That I took advantage of you when I stole your precious virginity?" Chuck let out a humorless laugh. "That's funny, because I distinctly recall you kissing me, climbing on top of me, ripping the buttons off my shirt-"

"I'm not… talking about that," she interrupted, looking flustered for a second.

"Then what?" he asked belligerently, feeling his indifferent façade beginning to slip. "What exactly have I done that's so terrible, you felt your little tirade on Friday needed an encore performance? Because hearing you tell me I'm a piece of shit is starting to get really old, Waldorf."

"Then maybe you should stop acting like one," Blair snapped, her voice rising with every word. "Do you really need to have sex with every girl you trip over?"

"I'm sorry, I don't recall hiring you to be my morality coach," he replied heatedly. "Remind me again why my sex life is any of your business?"

"Because Serena is my best friend!" she shouted back.

Her words echoed around the room. They stared at each other in tense silence for a moment, Blair's chest heaving up and down in indignation.

"… What?" he finally replied, confusion tempering the anger in his expression.

"Don't 'what' me, you know exactly what I'm talking about," she shot back.

Racking his brain for a moment, he ran down a mental list of all the immoral, perverted, and otherwise objectionable things he'd done recently that had anything to do with Serena, and came up with nothing.

He shook his head, raising his eyebrows questioningly at her.

"Eric saw you two on Friday night," she said accusingly, looking irritated that she even needed to explain it to him.

"… Getting high?" he asked, confused. "That's what you're upset about? You're dating Nate, for Christ's sake."

"No... " Her voice faltered almost imperceptibly as she stubbornly refused to meet his eyes. "Having sex."

Chuck furrowed his brow in disbelief.

"Serena and I had sex?" he snorted. "That's news to me."

"There's no point in lying about it, Chuck," she replied, her tone growing less angry and more forlorn.

"Look, Blair," he sighed. "I've certainly done my fair share of sleeping around, but I'm pretty sure I would remember banging my stepsister."

She looked away, folding her arms across her chest and appearing unconvinced… and obviously distressed.

Well, this is an interesting development, he thought. One he definitely intended to revisit once he finished clearing his name.

"You want to see what Serena and I were doing on Friday night?" He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and began scrolling through his photos.

"I'm not interested in watching your sex tape, Chuck," she replied sharply, refusing to acknowledge the phone he held out towards her.

Undeterred, he continued to display the photo on the screen.

"That is Serena passed out after a rabid case of the munchies," he explained sardonically. "Which, as far as I know, is the only physical passion she experienced that evening."

Blair finally gave in and glanced at the snapshot. An uncontrolled snort of laughter escaped her mouth before she quickly covered it with her hand.

Replacing the phone in his pocket, Chuck regarded her closely. "I didn't touch her, Blair."

She was rendered momentarily speechless as a wave of relief washed over her face.

"Oh," she finally replied, a blush working its way across her cheeks.

"So…" he paused, studying her intently. "Are you going to apologize for yelling at me?"

Blair was trying to look contrite, he thought, but she couldn't hide the flash of mutiny in her eyes.

"Well, I'm… sorry," she conceded, sounding so much like a stubborn child that the corner of his mouth quirked up in amusement.

"Apology accepted," he responded dryly. "Now are you going to explain why, exactly, the idea of me sleeping with Serena got you so worked up?"

Her eyes widened in surprise and she hesitated, obviously unprepared for the question.

"Well, I was just… angry that you would've taken advantage of her when she was so upset about Dan," she improvised quickly.

"Mmm hmm." Chuck nodded, continuing to scrutinize her. "Now are you going to tell me the real reason?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied hastily, sounding defensive…. and unconvincing, he decided.

"Waldorf," he began, grinning impudently, "do you… like me?"

She flushed pink with embarrassment.

"Don't be ridiculous, Chuck," she scoffed.

Her haughty tone was belied by the increasing redness of her cheeks, and the fact that her eyes kept darting towards the door as if seeking an escape route.

"I think you do," he declared, unable to hide a triumphant smirk at the thought. "I think you can't stand the idea with me with anyone else, least of all Serena, because you want me for yourself."

Blair narrowed her eyes at him, clearly not appreciating his cockiness.

"Well, while I admit that my body may have some… vestigial attraction for you," she allowed. "My brain knows better."

"Does it now?" he responded with amusement. He definitely liked where this was going.

"So really, I don't care who or what you have sex with," she continued, not meeting his eyes. "I was just upset by the idea of you… taking advantage of my best friend while she was in an emotionally vulnerable state, that's all."

"I see," he nodded, pursing his lips in mock seriousness. "So, hypothetically speaking, you won't mind if I have sex with Serena once she's emotionally stable again? Because she is… right across the hall. I mean, you can't beat that for convenience."

Blair opened her mouth and then closed it again, swallowing visibly.

"Or…." he continued, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth, "You could just admit that you don't want me to do that."

"Fine," she exhaled in frustration. "I don't want you to do that."

"Because you like me," he added helpfully.

"Well, you don't have to be so smug about it," she retorted, glaring at him in annoyance.

His satisfied grin only seemed to rile her further, and she crossed her arms with an angry huff. It was almost worth provoking her, he thought, because she looked so ridiculously sexy right now- cheeks flushed, eyes flashing furiously, breasts… heaving… which she'd definitely just caught him looking at, he realized with an unapologetic smirk.

"Ugh, you are heinous," she groaned, covering her face with her hands. "What is the matter with me?"

Grinning at her melodramatic antics, he took a seat on his bed and waited for her to look at him. When she finally did, the air between them crackled with almost palpable tension.

They were both acutely aware of how much had changed between them.

"So the question remains," Chuck continued, a faint smirk still lingering on his face. "What are we going to do about this?"

"Do?" Blair echoed, as if appalled by the very word. "There's nothing to do." She shook her head briskly. "We forget this conversation ever took place and wait for the problem to go away."

"If that's been your approach for the last year, I would categorize it as… unsuccessful," he responded wryly.

"Well then, do you have a better suggestion?" she shot back.

"I have many better suggestions. They all involve both of us wearing a lot less clothes," he commented, his voice laden with innuendo.

"Has it completely escaped your mind that I have a boyfriend?" she asked incredulously. "Remember Nate? You know, your best friend?"

Admittedly, he did tend to forget about Nate when Blair was in the vicinity- especially when the two of them were alone in a room with a bed. In fact, if she took just one step forward, he'd be able to reach out and grab her hips, pulling her on top of him and sliding his hands underneath that little plaid skirt…

Trying to corral his wayward thoughts, he focused on the conversation at hand.

"You're not happy with Nate," he replied succinctly, raising his eyebrows at her when she appeared about to protest.

He almost felt guilty about forcing the issue when he saw the flash of sad resignation on her face- but it was gone in an instant, replaced with amused skepticism.

"So you want me to break up with him, and what… date you?" she asked in disbelief, as if the very idea were preposterous. "Be your girlfriend?"

The mockery with which she said those words couldn't disguise the expectant, maybe even hopeful, look in her eyes.

Stunned into silence, Chuck recognized belatedly that he probably should've anticipated this question. But was that really what he wanted? A girlfriend? It certainly didn't sound like him. Monogamy, quite frankly, had never been on the agenda. And hand-holding, awkward small talk, and sexless cuddling weren't high on his list of priorities either.

He hadn't given much thought to his intentions, aside from intending to have sex with Blair, and lots of it. In fact, he'd focused so much on "getting" her that he hadn't really considered what that actually entailed. Was he just supposed to take over Nate's role in her life? Was he even capable of that?

Unfortunately, this was not the moment to get lost in contemplation. He realized too late that his silence- along with the confusion and uneasiness written all over his face- had already answered the question for him.

The brief glimpse of vulnerability he'd seen in her eyes vanished, and Blair regarded him with that same look of disappointment he'd been receiving his entire life… although he couldn't remember it ever stinging this much.

"Exactly," she stated, sounding resigned. "Not really your scene, is it?"

Picking her purse up off his bedside table, she walked towards the door, pausing in the doorway to glance over her shoulder.

"I'll see you at school," she said dispassionately, only the barest hint of hurt visible in her eyes.

Not trusting himself to form any sort of coherent response, Chuck nodded and watched her go, his gaze lingering after her.

Shit, he thought, running his hands through his hair. What the hell just happened?

Every time I see you falling
I get down on my knees and pray
I'm waiting for that final moment
You'll say the words that I can't say

A/N: Thanks, as usual, to my partner-in-crime Terrabeth (since "beta" is simply not an adequate description).

Many apologies for the delay in updating! My only excuse is a massive case of writer's block- which, thankfully, seems to have resolved itself. I do always appreciate your reviews though, and find them extremely motivating.

No, that's not blackmail, it's bribery. There's a difference :)