Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girls.
Author's Note: I'm not as finished as I thought I was with this story, its coming together as something a bit bigger than I planned. Hope you enjoy. Thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate them.
The murmurs started almost as soon as she rounded the corner eerily reminiscent of the last time she'd come to school dethroned.
She ignored the memories of that day, of who was with her that day, and tilted her chin up higher, smiling at a group of underclassman as she walked past them.
She'd called her stylist at 5:30 AM, requesting an emergency session. The woman had been aghast at what Blair had done to her gorgeous hair. Blair had sat in the chair and told her to fix it, told her to layer it, told her to ensure there wasn't one single curl.
Her hair fell to her chin in straight strands coming around to frame her face in a way that it hadn't done in years.
She spotted Serena and the others quickly; they stood in the same spot as always. She made her way over.
They stopped talking when she reached them. And she bestowed on them a bright smile, "Good Morning." She chirped.
"Blair! Your hair!" Hazel nearly yelled, eyes wide.
Penelope frowned, "What happened to it?"
"You cut it?" Iz remarked, "You didn't tell us you were going to cut it!"
Nelly Yuki tilted her head a little, "You look so different."
Serena remained silent, but Blair could feel her friends gaze studying her.
Blair shrugged, still smiling, "Don't you like it?"
They all studied her for a moment longer and then it was Serena that answered. "It looks good, B." She said softly; too softly… her voice hinting at an, I'm sorry that Blair wasn't going to heed.
Blair let her smile widen in Serena's direction. "Thank you!" She responded and shook her head a little, letting the hair fly away from her face a bit.
"You forgot a headband, though." Nelly Yuki stated, eyeing Blair's head quizzically.
Yes, she had.
"Huh," she said in soft surprise, reaching up and patting her hair, "You're right." She laughed lightly, "I don't think this outfit needs one though, does it?"
The shocked silence that ensued would have been laughable, if Blair didn't feel quite so serious inside. She always wore a headband, every outfit needed one. But Blair had given a lot of thought to this new game while in her stylist's chair. New game, new rules, new Serena…it could all only equal a new Blair.
"No, it doesn't." Serena answered voice still soft.
Blair shifted and looked her sister in the eyes. She kept her smile just as bright, but knew Serena could see the seriousness inside her, the stillness that was suddenly at the core of her being.
"I thought it was time for a change." B told S and watched something flicker in S's eyes.
It wasn't a declaration of war; that was the old game. She would play this new game slowly, quietly; because Serena was an unsure, easily mislead, conflicted girl and in the old game, B knew this and hid it, protected her, made sure no saw past the illusion—but now, well…
Serena was nodding at her, eyes asking what's going on, what are you up to? But Blair only turned her smile up a notch before shifting away from Serena and looking at the others. She let her gaze rest on Penelope a moment before gushing, "Oh Penelope I love your beads!" Because she actually did, "They look great with that blouse," she added, because they did.
… now B would do nothing.
She would stand back and watch S falter and stutter with the weight of the crown, with the weight of keeping up the illusion, with knowledge of having no safety net beneath her.
"Oh, uh, thanks…" Penelope replied, fingering the beads with a slightly confused look on her face.
Who knew being nice would cause such stupor among her former ladies-in-waiting? It was almost amusing. Almost.
"I have to meet Mr. Simmons before class," she continued smoothly, "I'll see you all later" she finished lightly, tossing one more wide smile at the entire group and then she slid away without a backwards glance.
She could feel them watching her, could feel S watching her; wondering what she was up to, what the scheme was; what direction her destruction was coming from.
B let the smile on her face fade when she was out of sight. There was nothing fun about this game, nothing to smile about.
To win this game, she was going to have to let her sister fall.
And despite everything, she didn't consider that something to smile about it.
TBC.