When You Met Me

Chapter 7

The City's Growing Cold

Dan's body quivered once he accepted Chuck's kiss. The feelings he thought he felt for Serena crumbled away. Chuck's broad chest pressed lightly up to his and Dan could feel the fabric of their shirts lightly brush against each other. The light reflected against them softly in the dimly lit closet.

"Wait." Dan stared into Chuck's eager eyes. There was a hint of suspicious swirling about in them.

Chuck stepped back, "Whatever it is, you better say it or I'm going to find someone else to get off on."

Dan looked down, "I'm not sure what this is…?"

"This?" Chuck laughed, "Is nothing. You mean nothing to me, you-you are an experiment."

"Thanks." Dan let out an exasperated sigh, "So, you're just going to keep using me until you find something else."

"Yes Daniel, I thought you knew how it worked. You really think relationships like this really work? Because they don't. These never work out. We'll never be riding off in the sunset or going across the border to Canada to get married. Alright?"

Dan opened his mouth, but silenced himself.

"What?" Chuck glared.

"I wasn't thinking that far ahead Chuck!" Dan clenched his fists, "I was thinking in the moment and now I don't know whether it was a mistake or…something else." He caught a certain glint in Chuck's eyes.

"Something else? What is that? Because it's been unmentioned this whole time."

"A feeling, I don't know, something that we can actually both be certain of, instead of it being these random hook-ups."

Chuck grabbed his arm and stared, "I'm not like that." He whispered, "I'm disconnected, aloof, distance, and with you I certainly don't want to be anything else. If my father finds out, I'm better off dead."

The silence between grew, "Why?"

"Why?" Chuck leaned in and his breath made Dan shiver as it lightly touched the bare skin on his neck,

"Because it's wrong."

Dan shook his head, "How is it wrong? What's wrong with it?"

"You know what's wrong with it. You were the one hesitating and bitching about how you want it to be kept secret. I promised remember?"

"You wouldn't tell anyway."

"That's right, I wouldn't, but it doesn't matter, what matters is that you made me promise in the first place. That by the very fact means you don't want me bragging to ever fucking person I encounter."

Dan stood there, unable to say anything back, he was exhausted by this. He didn't know if someone had purposely cursed him or a higher power was having a laugh screwing up his life, but as he reached for the doorknob again, and tried to forget about it, something else was at hand.

"I don't know why." Chuck admitted behind him, quietly.

Dan opened the door and left.

Blair grabbed Nate's arm, "Hey sweetie."

"Hi Blair."

Blair flashed one of her brightest smiles, "I've got a date planned."

"Oh, really?" He wrapped his arms around her and clenched his teeth. The feeling of her breasts against his chest made him loose control.

"It's a surprise though." She took her finger and trailed it down his button up.

Serena waved at Nate who immediately looked back at Blair, "A surprise?"

"Yes…" She smiled innocently, "Dinner and then…maybe we could try again."

"Really?" Nate smirked, "Thank you Blair." He kissed her forehead, "What time?"

"7 o'clock, tonight."

Nate let her go, but before she left she turned back around, "It's at Serena's, and Dan will be there too."

"What?"

"Just for dinner of course, and then we'll go back to my room. My mom is in France and I gave Dorota the day off."

Nate kissed her goodbye and caught Serena's eyes as he hugged Blair. She motioned him to follow.

"I'm sorry about the other day, you're obviously right with Blair and I'm right with Dan."

"Of course." Nate said, "It was just an-"

"Act of desperation?" Serena laughed.

"Yeah, Blair and I have been having some problems too…" Nate said.

They walked in silence for awhile.

"I'll see you tonight I guess." Serena waved goodbye and Nate watched her leave.

"Yeah, tonight."

Chuck knew that keeping delicious secrets wasn't really his forte. As soon as he could find someone he wanted to whisper all the deliciousness out of the secret. But common sense drew him back in and he sucked down all the remaining feelings. He had to; he was supposed to continue living, what he considered a normal life.

They both had their reasons for keeping this intimate secret between the two of them, but Chuck felt Dan's reason was quite unsettling. Chuck really never had a girlfriend, but keeping Serena just as a cover made him quite aware just how controversial this how Chuck and Dan fling was. There was no way that Serena could find out, but Dan could at least-

What am I doing? He thought as he took his shirt off hastily and threw it at his bed. Who cares what Humphrey thinks of me, who cares what he does, who he's with…

"Chuck!" Serena called him from the living room.

He checked his watch, it was nearly seven.

"What?" He yelled so loud, mostly out of frustration, that it hurt his throat.

There were a few moments of silence and he could hear talking. Then he could hear Dan talking.

"Fuck." He groaned and looked towards his bathroom door as if the bathroom could provide any escape.

No escape, he thought, no escape from this torturous, yet utterly satisfying thing, whatever you wanted to call it with…

"Chuck!" Serena's muffled voice interrupted his thoughts, again, "Dan, Nate and Blair are here, and you can come down if you want!"

"Shit, now they know I'm here."

"Chuck? Come out." Serena insisted.

Chuck glared at his closed door where he knew Serena was leaning against, "Alright, sis, I'll be right down."

Dan stared up the stairs until he saw Serena come hurrying down, "He'll be down." She sighed, "He's so..." She trailed off when she caught Dan's eyes.

"I made dinner, we I didn't actually make it but yeah it's right over here." She motioned towards the dining room, "Just settle in."

Dan sat down and swallowed all the vicious attempts his mind was making to remind him that Chuck was only a few feet away. He heard his footsteps first and then his voice.

"Well good evening lovers," Chuck drawled and made sure he leaned towards Dan when he said lovers.

Blair smirked at Dan as he shifted in his seat.

"Well hello Charles," Blair laid her hand on Nate's knee, "I'm sure glad you got some rest, it seems as though you've been quite…busy lately."

"Rest?" Chuck scoffed.

Blair looked at him sweetly, "Serena said you were taking a nap."

Serena shrugged when Chuck threw her an annoyed look, "I had to say something," She muttered.

Dan was staring at Chuck, who obviously felt it sense he was constantly avoiding his general direction.

Blair was watching Dan, "So Dan, how's um, life?"

It took Dan awhile to answer, "Good."

Chuck gritted his teeth, "You?" Chuck motioned towards Blair.

"Quite good." She chuckled, "The funniest thing happened the other day!"

Chuck glanced at Dan while Blair continued on with her meaningless stories about her latest shopping experience at Bergdorf's. Dan quickly glanced once but put his hand on Serena's.

Chuck bit into his steak and frowned.

A funny feeling drifted throughout him, especially near his chest. Serena smiled and Chuck continued to watch Dan as he put his arm around her. Nothing special, just typical things a boyfriend would do. That's what he kept telling himself. How cliché, how fake, how scripted.

It was…but.

Serena put her napkin on her plate and grabbed Dan's hand.

"Let's move into the living room."

Blair shook her head and looked over at Nate, "Sorry Serena, we have something planned tonight."

Chuck rolled his eyes and got up swiftly, "Goodnight, all." He said and walked past Dan, managing to only brush shoulder's with him.

"Goodnight Charles!" Blair called after him.

Dan felt tense around Blair, the way she looked so smug and how she carried the secret so loosely. It looked like it would fall off of her lips any second.

"Well have fun you two!" Blair said and dragged Nate behind her.

Chuck stood at the top of the stairs and could see Dan and Serena stand there waving after Blair. He held onto the banister and waited while his heart pounded.

Dan noticed nothing and kissed Serena softly, "I'm glad we did this."

Chuck watched impatiently.

Serena nodded her head, "I think we've figured things out, I mean we just get caught up in stupid fights, they aren't over anything real, and it's just…"

"Stop trying to explain." Dan shook his head, "its fine."

Serena was silent.

Chuck paced and tried to sleep, but he just tossed and turned. Was Dan still here, was he having sex with Serena? What was going on? He checked his watch. It was only ten.

Dan fidgeted with Serena's bra strap and let out a frustrated sigh, "Serena."

"I'll get it, its fine," She said softly, "I'm sorry."

Dan couldn't feel himself getting hard. A little, but barely and he didn't want Serena to know anything. He couldn't let her know. But it would show and it would be beyond his control.

Except…

He thought of Chuck, his small figure vulnerable, unforgiving and strong. A devilish glimmer in his eyes when he spoke and the softest glimmer when he…

"Dan?"

Dan was breathing harder, "Yeah?"

Serena kissed him and tucked her hair behind her ears, "Are we ready for this? Right now?"

Dan shook his head, "I don't know…"

Serena got up and grabbed her shirt, "We should end it here."

Dan got up, his penis softening.

Dan got up, exhausted from all the mental imagery he had desperately tried to conjure up in his head.

"I'll go." Dan smiled, "Stay here."

Serena watched him leave and bit her lip as she sat down at the edge of her bed.

"Daniel." Chuck was standing in the middle of the dark hallway so you could only see the strongest features on his face.

Dan stood there, his eyes wide and uncertain, "Hi." He could barely speak.

Chuck didn't move either, until a few moments passed and he opened his door and went in.

Dan felt his heart thumping in his chest again. He felt it grow louder as he was preparing himself to walk through the door.

"Dan?"

Serena's voice jolted him back to reality, "Sorry it's so dark." She turned on the hall light. A mirror was placed at the end so he could actually see himself, standing there about to enter Chuck's room. It was pathetic, quite pathetic.

"See you tomorrow." Dan whispered as he stole a quick kiss and hurried past her.

Chuck looked down the now dark hallway and took a deep breath, there was always tomorrow…

Dan kissed him hard. The tension last night was enough to make Dan suffocate him.

"You should've come in my room last night Humphrey."

Dan sucked in his breath, "Why's that?"

"Because maybe we would've been caught red-handed, and we could-"

Dan sat up in the hotel bed and shook his head, "Why do you keep bringing that up?"

Chuck propped himself up on his elbows, "Bringing what up?"

"Getting caught?"

Chuck sighed, "You know it's just how I talk."

Dan bit down on his lip, hard, "Yeah, but we can't get caught. I don't want to get caught with you Chuck. I know you don't either because of your father."

"I don't give a shit about my father!"

Dan closed his eyes tightly, "You will."

Chuck felt the honesty of that statement.

"You're right, I fucking will, but why can't I just talk dirty? Every girl I fucked liked it, why can't you just enjoy it? Why can't you just enjoy being with me?"

Dan pushed Chuck back down in an attempt to allow his mind to stop circling around annoying what ifs and just relax.

Chuck stared up at him, not breaking the kiss.

"Do you insist on torturing me Chuck?" Dan lay on top of him, heaving, "I don't want to think about it."

"You want to mindlessly get off on my sister?"

Dan rolled over, "I thought of you last night."

Chuck was surprised by his honesty, "While you banged her?"

"We didn't…bang."

"Ha, well you must've had to been turned on, right?"

Dan rolled over on his side and stared at the door, "No, I wasn't."

Chuck stared at Dan's naked back.

"I thought of you, you know, naked and…vulnerable."

"You think I'm vulnerable, Humphrey?" Chuck grabbed Dan's shoulder and rolled him over, "I'm not."

Dan stared up at him, "Yes you are."

Chuck pushed his lips against Dan's roughly and grabbed onto his ruffs of brown hair. Dan smirked and rolled over on top of him, "You're vulnerable," He chuckled, pinning Chuck's slim body onto the mattress.

Chuck squirmed and glared up at him, "Fuck you."

Dan leaned in and whispered, "It's a promise."

Author's Note: Didn't edit, just a quick update! Hope you like!! Thanks for the reviews!!! :D