Hey! This took me forever to finish, thanks to school and all its glory, but I hope you enjoy it! On a general note, this chapter makes a lot of references to episode 4x16, so if you don't know who Bryn Harold is—she's the one who Blair tries to network with during Eric's birthday party.
Dressed in long, sweeping Marchesa gown, Blair gracefully made her way out of her limo and found herself staring apprehensively at the famous granite steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Despite the fact that this was the first time since high school that she's stepped foot in what used to be her throne, it struck Blair how utterly indifferent she felt. After all, this was where she spent every lunch break in, sitting on these very steps, sipping iced Americanos from Dean & Deluca with Serena, and scheming with the rest of her friends.
But now, as she slowly and calculatedly climbed every step, it merely felt like any other Thursday night in New York, like in any other venue for some obscure yet undoubtedly elaborate event—the very event she was assigned to plan just a few weeks ago. Her insides nervously fluttered, as she surveyed her surroundings, checking if everything was in order, from the white lily arrangements adorning the lobby to the hors d'oeuvres and flutes of champagne being passed around. She tried to suppress a nervous cough when she suddenly found herself face to face with her supervisor.
"Blair!" Epperley beckoned, dressed in the same red, empire-cut Valentino dress Blair helped pick out for her earlier that morning.
Forcing a tight smile in response, Blair strode towards her, already anticipating a reproachful lecture. "What do you think?" She asked, unconsciously biting her lip.
"It's fabulous!" Epperley beamed, as she pulled Blair in for a kiss on each cheek. "The guests I highlighted on the list are here, the seared tuna is scrumptious, and this place is absolutely gorgeous!"
Blair's face immediately brightened as she took in Epperley's words. She couldn't help but feel a swell of pride. "Thank you," she gushed, her cheeks flushing a deep shade of pink.
Epperley simply gave her a small wink of appreciation before disappearing into the crowd.
Unable to contain her excitement, Blair quickly pulled out her Blackberry from her metallic Ferragamo clutch and sent Dan a text.
Humphrey! Get ur ass here! W party's going gr8!
When she felt her phone vibrate on her hand, she already knew it would be a message from Dan.
Congrats! I'll be late tho. Don't wait up. On gift bag duty.
Blair's face immediately fell. She hadn't been able to spend more than ten minutes with Dan all week due to a stressful combination of work and school. While he had a whole slew of papers and assignments to complete, Blair, on the other hand, was bombarded with a W event to plan on the last minute. What made things worse was the fact that she felt more alone than ever before. With Serena still avoiding her at all costs, probably seeking refuge at Hamilton House or maybe even at the van der Woodsen penthouse, Blair realized that she had literally no one to turn to.
Fervently shaking away her thoughts, she grumpily stuffed her cell phone back into her clutch, making no effort to send Dan a reply.
"So Brooklyn couldn't make it, huh?" Chuck's voice uttered from behind. Blair instantly froze on her spot, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.
With a smug look on his face, he walked in front of her and hungrily took in her stunned expression. Blair couldn't help but notice that he was dressed in one of those pretentious double-breasted blazers with a gold-chained poshfit hanging across his jacket and a silk, cerise pocket square neatly folded in his breast pocket—clearly an ensemble only a Bass could pull. However, the fire in his eyes and his arrogance were what made her so weak all of a sudden. Blair immediately felt herself recoil at the thought of him succeeding, so she mustered the strength to narrow her eyes at him.
"Go away, Bass. I'm working," She snarled.
"Pent up tension, icy tone," Chuck listed, as his eyes blatantly gave her a once-over, "Seems your new flame doesn't know how to properly ruffle your feathers—"
"Are you about done?" Blair exclaimed.
"Are you?" He spat out, suddenly losing all of his nerve. Blair flinched but held herself in place.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked coldly, her chin rising ever so slightly. Chuck did his best not to smirk. He knew he was winning, just from the way she struggled to compose herself in front of him.
"Whatever's going on with you and Humphrey—you can drop the act. Rebounds were never your strong suit."
Blair rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Dan is not my rebound—nor of any importance to you for that matter. So if you would excuse me, I actually have a job to do." She shoved him away to give her some space, but his hand had shortly caught her elbow, sending bolts of electricity down her spine.
"If you think Bryn Harold's going to help you further your career, you're wrong. She already picked Raina…just like I did," Chuck breathed out harshly against her ear. Despite the frantic drumming in her chest, Blair managed to turn her face to look at him once more.
"The blast was true…you're dating her," Blair whispered disbelievingly.
The sadness in her eyes almost made him lose it right then and there, but Chuck willed himself to keep up his stony demeanor.
"Yes, I am dating Raina," Chuck lied, as he gazed at the crowd for his date. He was the one behind the whole Gossip Girl blast last week, the one who made public his awful but necessary string of dates with the Thorpe heiress. After all, this was his signature form of retaliation. Knowing full well what Blair's reaction would be, Chuck called Raina and brought her out to places all over the city; it didn't take long before Gossip Girl picked up on what he was doing. Raina was not only the new face of Girls Inc., the very organization Blair had been striving to get into all year; she was also physically everything Blair was not. She was tall, curvy and alluring in the conventional sense that Chuck knew could very well play on Blair's insecurities, having lived under the shadow of her best friend all her life.
Unsurprisingly, Raina didn't need too much convincing before she readily accepted. Even though Chuck knew he was practically playing with fire by dating the daughter of the man who was trying to undermine his company, he couldn't care less at that moment. The only thing that had been on his mind for the past two weeks was the possibility of watching Blair get what she deserved.
"Not to dampen your plans or anything, but Bryn's not interested in doing your front of book idea," He added tersely, hoping his words stung her just as much as they did him.
"H-How do you know?" Blair managed, as she tried not to flinch at the way Chuck's grip on her elbow burned her skin. She should have expected that he would have hardened up immediately after what happened two weeks ago at the W Office, but this—this was different. He was just cruel now.
"I'm Chuck Bass. I know everything."
With that, he brusquely let go of her arm and made his way towards the crowd, desperately anticipating the same surge of victory that coursed through his veins whenever he knew he'd won. Only this time, he felt nothing, just dread and an overwhelming feeling of guilt.
Silently panicking, he quickly looked back, hoping to find her once again, but to his horror Blair had already left. His heart was pounding, as his eyes fervently searched the crowd for the brunette. He'd done it this time, he realized in agony. He crossed a line and she was sure to never forgive him again.
Chuck's thoughts were momentarily interrupted when he heard someone clear her throat from behind. Slowly, he swirled around to find Blair in all her composed glory.
"You may be Chuck Bass, but I'm Blair Waldorf and nothing is outside my reach. Good-bye, Chuck," Blair said as nonchalantly as she could, before stomping away to relish in private the way Chuck's mouth gaped after her.
"With my W Blog, I'm imprinting proper etiquette and fashion sense, as well as my philanthropic mandate on a whole new generation—much like you did!" Blair said enthusiastically.
"Claire, was it?" Bryn Harold asked with a disinterested tone in her voice.
Blair bit her tongue. "Blair. My name is Blair Waldorf."
"Well, Blair, I'm terribly sorry, but my schedule is simply all booked," Bryn said, sighing dramatically.
"Oh…" Blair's voice trailed off, as she felt a crushing wave of disappointment wash over her. Chuck was right, she thought dejectedly.
"By the way, have you seen Chuck Bass? I heard he's dating Raina Thorpe and I have so much to discuss with her!" Bryn asked in excitement.
"No…I haven't seen either of them," Blair replied through gritted teeth.
"Shame, well, nice speaking to you, anyway, Claire." Bryn Harold was already inching away from Blair, when Chuck swooped in from nowhere and practically held her in place.
"Bryn! How's the opera business?" Chuck blurted out, ignoring Blair's gaping mouth. He had been watching Blair's ill-fated attempt at networking for the last couple of minutes, partly out of curiosity but mostly because he felt bad for what he said to her earlier that evening. Thus, the moment he noticed Bryn's bored expression, he knew it was his cue to take over.
Bryn Harold's face immediately brightened when the young Bass tycoon placed a peck on her cheek. "Chuck Bass! Just the man I've been looking for. Do you mind fetching your wonderful date so we can—"
"Well, you're staring at her," Chuck said nonchalantly, as he gestured towards Blair. He was now holding unto the remnants of his improvisational skills, forcing a placid smile on his face.
"You two are dating?" Bryn asked, as both she and Blair stared back at him in disbelief.
"Bass, what are you—"
"Adrienne!" Chuck called excitedly, the moment he recognized the familiar face from the distance. He was just this lucky.
"Chuck Bass! How've you been?" Adrienne Gold greeted, automatically extending his hand in greeting. "Blair Waldorf? Is that you? Well, it was about time, sweetheart!" He beamed cheerfully, as he recognized the pretty brunette in front of him.
"I have to thank you again for doing that article on me. It was absolutely tasteful. Well done," He said, as he planted a kiss on her cheek.
Blair's mind was still reeling from the whole spectacle that just transpired in front of her that Chuck had to put his hand on the small of her back to steady her.
"You're…Adrienne Gold. Adrienne Gold of Bergdorf Goodman. You…know her?" Bryn Harold asked in disbelief, her jaw shamelessly hanging open.
"'Know?' You mean worship. This young lady got me a good start to the company," Adrienne said matter-of-factly. "But anyway, I should go. The wife's probably already looking for me. Bass, always a pleasure. And Waldorf, I better see you and your mother at the charity gala next week." He flashed Blair and Chuck a toothy grin, before sauntering off into the crowd.
Bryn was still gaping, when Chuck finally cleared his throat to catch her attention.
"So, Bryn, Blair here was just telling me about how she wanted to interview you for a front of book idea for W Magazine."
Blair looked back at Chuck incredulously, wondering how it was he knew her so well, but he was still staring at Bryn expectantly. She nevertheless took the tightening of his grip on her waist as reassurance.
"Yes!" Bryn exclaimed as her eyes widened in glee. "And I was just telling her what a wonderful idea that was. When can we start?"
Blair shot her a pointed look. "But you just said your schedule was all booked."
Bryn simply let out a flustered laugh, as she instinctively pulled Blair in for a hug. "Oh, I'm positive I can squeeze W into my schedule! We need the PR anyway. Just call my assistant and we'll do lunch, K? Toodles!" She said before flashing each of them a blinding smile and drifting towards the crowd.
The moment Bryn disappeared, Chuck forced himself to let go of Blair's waist even when it felt so natural to be this close to her. Blair noticed the sudden shift in mood as well, as she moved away to give them more space.
She bit her lip and focused her gaze on the floor. "Chuck…thanks."
Chuck looked up at her, ignoring the lump in his throat.
"This doesn't mean we're even though," Blair quickly corrected herself, glaring at him under her eyelashes.
Chuck's face broke out into a genuine smile, as he nervously played with his tie. "Of course not. Where would the challenge be in that?"
They both exchanged smirks, letting the lightness of their conversation linger as long as possible.
However, their moment shortly reached its conclusion, when Raina Thorpe suddenly appeared and pulled Chuck towards her to give him a deep kiss.
"Hey," Raina breathed out, the moment they pulled apart. Overcome with guilt, Chuck's first instinct was to look back at Blair, but the second he did, he instantly regretted it.
She looked as if the wind got knocked out of her. And even though that was the exact reaction he had been pining for this whole time, Chuck felt sick to his stomach, wondering if it was embarrassment or guilt or a combination of the two creeping under his skin.
"Oh! Forgive my manners!" Raina exclaimed, when her gaze fell on Blair. "I'm Raina Thorpe," She said chirpily, clearly oblivious to the growing tension in the air.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Blair," Blair croaked out weakly, forcing herself to keep her gaze away from Chuck. "Anyway, I should go," She said aloud to no one in particular.
Chuck's face tensed. "Blair, you don't—"
"No…I do. Um, enjoy the party," She said, forcing herself once more to give the couple a weak smile before walking towards the crowd. Chuck was just about to follow her, when he felt a tug on his sleeve.
"So your place or mine?" Raina asked suggestively, as her hands wandered down below his belt.