24 hours before.
The day before their wedding, Chuck had lost track and time.
It wasn't the first time he had been out and came back home late, but he had always been able to wake up the following morning as if he had been sleeping the right amount of hours. For some reason that day, he stayed in bed till someone woke him up around lunch time.
"Chuck" the voice called from afar, barely waking him. When she reached him, he passed a hand through his hair and looked at his step sister with confusion.
"Why here so early" he managed to ask.
Serena frowned and looked at him with disapproval. "Early? It's two o' clock, Chuck. You missed our family lunch" she reminded him.
Chuck put a hand on his face and rubbed his left eye. "That's true, I'm sorry. I overslept."
She nodded "I see it. You were too busy worrying about the kiss you gave that dancer last night that you fell asleep" she told him with a motherly accusing tone.
"How do you know?" he just asked, and it was enough.
"Dan told me. He saw you yesterday at your bachelor's party" she raised an eyebrow.
He removed the sheets from his legs and adjusted on the bed, trying to find a justification that didn't come. He knew he couldn't escape Serena's questioned looks, she would try anything to push him to tell Blair now, whatever it took. He knew that this was the right thing to do, but still he thought it may hurt less if he didn't.
He rolled his eyes, but didn't answer.
"So? You have to tell her. You need to tell her. You can't start your marriage with secrets" Serena said stepping closer to the bed. "You're going to come with me."
He raised his head "Where to? I've got stuff to do if you forgot I'm getting married tomorrow" he tried to explain without success. He poorly wanted to justify himself.
Serena rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip "There will be no wedding if you aren't honest with Blair. I don't know if you get me. Do you really want her to be kept in the dark? I don't count that as a betrayal after all... Not a real one because I guess it was innocent and it was your last day as a single man, but she needs to know, Chuck. She decided to trust you and now you need to show her there aren't secrets between the two of you."
"It needs to be secrets in a relationship, sis. That's the fun of it all."
"Not secrets like that. You're not at kindergarten anymore, when will you get it?" she asked with a mommy tone as Chuck looked away. "Take your responsibilities. I'll wait you downstairs" she added and walked away, closing the door behind her.
Chuck had to admit Serena was right. He wouldn't fully agree with her, but after all he thought deep down Blair needed to know about the kiss.
What could possibly happen? Probably she'll say that she doesn't want to marry him anymore.
He recalled Nate kissing Jenny at the Masquerade Ball of years before and she being mad at him for the entire night and the days after, only to find out Nate kissed another girl because he was in love with Serena and he wanted her to know. He had kept Blair in the dark about it, but he didn't love her, not like he on the other hand he did and still doing.
He had tried to be loyal through all those years they've been together, and his purpose was to be loyal till death would do them apart, but probably there wouldn't be any contract to sign that promise. Blair would leave him the day before their wedding and he would not see their son grow together because she would try to get a sole custody...
The thought of it made him cringe. He had made a misstep. He hadn't been loyal for once and he would pay for it.
He got off the bed and took a cold shower. If he wanted to charm Blair into forgiving him, he had to be a well-groomed future groom. He washed his hair carefully and dried them as fast as he could, he found a light pink shirt and a grey suit that he paired with a pink paisley tie. He finished with dark brown shoes and a little amount of gel on his thick hair.
He found Serena waiting for him on the edge of the beige couch of the foyer once he was done. His step-sister smiled widely at his sight and they both headed to the elevator to catch the limo that was going to pick them up out of the building.
Serena hadn't suggested it, but Chuck as a perfect gentleman as he was decided to buy Blair her favorite flowers. Of course it was peonies, in the brightest of pinks. He noticed they matched his shirt as the pair got into Blair's building, and the realization made him smile.
"Why are you smiling? Proud of yourself?" Serena had asked while they were in the elevator.
He smirked "Probably" he lied. Better made her believe that.
The resounding noise of the bell informed them they had arrived.
Serena was the first to go since they weren't sure Blair was around trying her wedding dress or anything else for the wedding. She had been clear to Chuck when she asked him not to inquire boutiques or her Mother about her wedding dress. She wanted it to be a surprise, and she didn't want Chuck to ruin it just hours before they would hopefully still tie the knot.
"Blair?" Serena asked with a loud voice.
They didn't hear anything at first until the sound of heels on the marble floor. "Serena? I thought you were going to arrive earlier. I need you to try your bridesmaid dress another time. We need to try it with your hair and make-up done."
Serena turned back to Chuck and aimed to move back behind the column so that he wouldn't see Blair if she arrived there before she could tell her he was there. "I have a guest, B" she popped before she could continue. She had guessed right about that since Blair was in her shiny white dress and was about to walk till her best friend, if she hadn't stopped her.
"Who is there? Chuck?" she guessed, not surprised at all.
"He's behind the column, behind me" Serena explained as Blair tried to hide behind a column herself "I'm sure he won't try to take a peak" she changed her tone and turned to check on him. He was still hid.
"Tell the Basshole to go" she warned her friend. "I've got no time to smooch."
Chuck rolled his eyes behind the column and tried to peep at her, but he gave up as soon as he realized it wouldn't benefit the conversation they would have sooner.
"He just wants to talk, B. Get off your dress for five minutes, come on. You have time."
"Time? What is time, Serena! We don't have any left. If Chuck wants to talk he'll send me a text. Go away!" she said with annoyance. "And would you please stop talking for him? I'm sure he knows how to motion words, how to apology for being here."
"I don't apologize being here" Chuck interjected. "We... Need to talk. Now."
"Looks serious" Blair grumbled and stomped her foot on the floor before heading back to the dining room where they were trying the dresses and make-up, and her Mother was working with wedding planners to make everything perfect.
After a couple of minutes Blair came back in the foyer. Chuck didn't need to be asked to step forward to be seen, so he did it by himself and Serena walked away towards the room Blair had just come from.
When he was left alone with her, he took a while to appreciate what Blair was wearing. He decided to long on her figure to look up to her fine white silk lingerie that was perfectly blatant under her white dressing gown. Her slip covered her belly delicately and made her look exceptionally sexy despite the size of her bump. Her bra was also evident under the slip, it was white lace with tiny bows at the bottom of the straps. But damn he couldn't see her panties.
"What do you want, Chuck?" she asked bitterly taking the flowers from his hands.
He woke up from his daydream of him removing those straps from her shoulders and undo her bra, wondering if she would wear that under her wedding dress - "Can we go to your room? I need to talk to you" he said, serious.
Blair frowned but he noticed she didn't seem upset by the request. He knew her and how much she was a drama queen, that she would probably plot in her mind about the matter of the conversation, and this almost calmness she was showing surprised him.
"Fine, but just for five minutes" she stated, then started to climb the stairs before him.
….
"What are you saying? I just want you to repeat it" she asked, still annoyed but not mad as he had expected. "You can't be serious" she shook her head in disapproval.
"Tomorrow we're going to get married and we need a pre-wedding dinner, Blair."
She made a face "Pre-wedding dinner? I still have stuff to do and I think so do you to lose our precious day before we get married to throw a nonsensical dinner with our friends."
He shook his head "Can't believe you're saying no to this, I've already prepared everything. I thought you liked traditions."
"Actually, I do! But this isn't a tradition. And I don't have time."
He rolled his eyes, trying to be convincing "You only get married once. I want to do this right."
"You only die once, Chuck. You can get married as many times as you want on the other hand" she shrugged her shoulders lightly walking towards the window. "I don't think is inevitable to dine with our friends tonight. This is my final decision."
She turned completely to the window and looked outside. The sun was burning the poor plants on her balcony and they were safely inside with the air conditioners on. Chuck sat on her bed with legs crossed. He tried to find the best excuse to let the time fly and he succeed, but now she didn't want to accept his innocent proposal. He surely was scared of her reaction to the kiss, so he tried to turn the conversation onto another subject that came up to his mind as they were climbing the stairs that led to her room.
It annoyed him that she looked so quiet and not nervous as he had expected her to be.
She knew he wasn't a coward anymore and was willing to marry her, but in that moment he was being one because he didn't have the guts to tell her the truth.
"Don't I get to express my wish?" he asked all of a sudden after a minute of deep thinking. The question made her turn. Her eyes were expressionless. She looked too serious or better indifferent at that point. "You have organized everything. I didn't get to choose the food, the flowers and other small details, but I gave you charte blanche and I don't regret it because I love your taste and I know you've done a good job to make everything perfect, but... I feel being kinda left out. As if I had things scheduled for me that I didn't plan. So I'm asking you, say yes to this. It won't last more than two hours."
He tried his best to gave her the best speech he could think of. He was escaping from the real truth and had invented this lie to change subject. She had to say yes, he would have another chance to be honest to her before their wedding like he knew had to. He knew she would be happier after a delicate dinner with fine Italian dishes.
Blair bit her lip and she thought about it for a second. She looked moved by his request, her expression changed and finally she motioned a quick yes and nodded her head. She added a smile to the mix, and he was happy that had agreed.
He stood up at that point and gave her a peck on the lips, then walked away.
Serena was impatiently waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "What have you done? Did you tell her?"
Chuck turned briefly before reaching the elevator "Is better if you go choosing a dress and call your boyfriend. Tonight you're all invited to my penthouse" he said, while Serena tried to run to him before elevator's doors would close.
"What?" she asked, but he just smiled and then disappeared into the elevator.
The blonde was left there confused and waited for Blair to climb down the stairs to ask her about Chuck. Once she did five minutes later, she was smiling as if she was proud of herself.
"Everything is alright with Chuck?"
Blair frowned and looked away as if she was lost in another dimension, thinking "Why it shouldn't, S. Everything is going as planned" she smiled viciously.
Serena still looked confused. "So you mean you forgave him?" she sighed "That's awesome, B. I'm glad you aren't compromising your wedding for -"
Blair interjected "For a stupid dinner before the day, I know. He insisted."
"A dinner? Is that what he told you?" she wondered, and her best friend nodded again, a bitchy smile on her face.
….
Chuck knew he had complicated things.
He knew he had to confess what he had done and be honest, but seriously, it was just an innocent kiss and he still believed that girl might have been his future wife undercover. There was something about her lips and the way that woman had grabbed his hair that reminded him of the tiny brunette, although he couldn't get close enough to touch her belly for evidence. If the girl was Blair, it was totally in her style.
Once he got back to their penthouse, he needed to organize the dinner he had just decided to threw at their place. He called his trustworthy cook from the Palace Hotel and asked for some waiters to serve them, usual stuff he was used to do for other events, thankfully. He took a shower while the staff arrived, and got ready for the night. He had obviously called Nate and Lily too, they would be the other guests besides Dan and Serena and Eleanor Waldorf and Cyrus Rose. He didn't have a big group of friends after all, that was the nice thing.
He went to check his phone hours after he got back there only to notice there had been several missed calls and texts. He knew they weren't from Blair, so he just ignored them.
When he got downstairs to prepare and welcome his guests, he found a surprise.
A tiny red paper had been left in what it had to be his favorite seat for the night. He inspected it when the last waiter went to the kitchen, and was left open-mouthed after he read it.
I don't mind you kissing me, but perhaps the press may find out Chuck Bass has been a bastard just right before his wedding, and so his girlfriend. ;)
He passed a hand through his hair. This woman was trying to threat him, he believed. He guessed she knew he was the bachelor that she had to dance for. She knew he was Chuck Bass, the most famous New York businessman. Everyone knew him.
He didn't think about this.
What if this woman would throw him in the dirt before he could actually tell Blair about the kiss? The thought of it made him cringe again, he would sweat cold if it wasn't for the air conditioners that were turned on in the house to keep his guests cool. Blair wouldn't be cool though if she found out about this from another person.
He went to the kitchen and cut the tiny paper in pieces. No one had to find it.
He smiled once he got back to the foyer. Nate and Jenny had just arrived and Serena was behind them, and she was weirdly alone. He smiled awkwardly at the couple and frowned at his step sister. He hoped she wouldn't be too obsessed about the whole situation, and didn't ask Blair about it or worse told her. Damn, he didn't think about many things.
"Hey, man. You look great!" Nate shook hands with Chuck.
Chuck smiled at his friend. It was true they had fun the night before but in his mind Nate there in New York still looked weird. He had been in other States for too long. "Uhm, thanks Nathaniel. So do you... And your girlfriend" he said turned to Jenny.
"Nice to see you again, Chuck" Jenny hugged him briefly before Serena interjected.
"Wow, my brother looks hot! I don't know for how long though."
Nate and Jenny looked confused at Serena so Chuck decided to walk towards the great window with his step sis to avoid any possible questions. "What do you think you are doing? They don't know. Nobody can know besides me and you."
Serena put a hand on her hip "And Blair. Remember that Blair should know, huh?"
He rolled his eyes in annoyance "They say you shouldn't put a finger between husband and wife" he said bitterly.
"If I don't push you to confess this to her, I'm not sure you'll ever become her husband."
He snorted and tried to keep himself calm. He hated when someone told him what to do, as good as it was. He knew he just needed a little push. Before he could answer her, a wave of brown curly hair walked in the room. Her dress grazed his pregnant figure and brightened up her hair. Or maybe it was the crystal chandelier on the ceiling that made her hair look so brilliant and her look like an angelic figure.
He reached her and without saying a word she kissed his lips briefly. "See. I came."
He smirked and shook hands with Cyrus Rose. "That's nice to see you again, Charles! I know you would have made it someday. I remember the day Blair told me she said I love you and you didn't answer" he motioned with his pasty voice. Blair glared at him.
"Why you just remember this, honey" Eleanor interjected "there are better things to remember, like when they told us they were going to have a baby" she smiled, then hugged and kissed Chuck's cheek "that is the most amazing thing in the world."
"Yeah and I found out after everyone" said another voice from the elevator. Chuck wasn't expecting him "I was so disappointed as a Father to be honest" Harold Waldorf walked towards them. "And I'm glad it's going to be with you, Charles" he smiled shaking hands with him.
Chuck looked pleasantly surprised. "What a surprise, Mr Waldorf. I was expecting to see you tomorrow. Blair didn't tell me anything about your arrival."
He giggled lightly "Because I wanted to make her a surprise by coming earlier" he explained "so I came earlier last week and... I hoped I would meet you before. I need to talk to you."
Blair frowned and looked confused at her Father "Daddy, why don't you all go and have a drink now? I'm sure you are excited to be here but we can talk about it later" she smiled awkwardly. Both her Mother and Cyrus walked away to the bar, while she noticed her Father going towards Nate. She and Chuck exchanged a glance. "Got something to tell me?"
Chuck swallowed but tried to keep his face calm and normal. "Nothing. I just missed you."
She grinned and put her hands on the nape of his neck, then got closer. "Are you sure you have nothing to say to me, to your soon-to-be wife? Secrets I don't know? Anything?"
His expression hardened for a second as he put his hands securely on her hips. He melted the second after and smirked. "Nope. Just that I wish we hadn't guests so that I could appreciate our baby alone..." he winked.
"You're so dirty, Bass" she freed herself and walked away leaving him dry mouthed.
….
"I've prepared something for tomorrow" Jenny informed everyone in her shiny black dress after the main course. "Remember the song I had to sing at your party few months ago?"
Chuck nodded. "Are you gonna perform for us?"
She shrugged "It's an addition to the wedding gift we bought you" she grinned and turned to Nate "I don't know if you called someone to perform, or..." she left the phrase vague.
"Actually, I have no idea. I let Blair do everything and I guess she did, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind if your band plays few songs, right Blair?"
Blair raised an eyebrow "Right, right. I don't mind your music, Little J. You aren't bad. You have my approval" she answered. She looked distracted.
"You're gonna like her music" Nate added.
Jenny blushed and punched Nate's arm jokingly "You're too kind, stop it" she pleaded.
"It's no secret I love your music" he said, then gave her a peck on the lips and they both laughed. It was nice for Chuck to see them finally happy.
Blair put her glass of wine on the table before asking "Secrets? Who said anything about secrets?" to everyone at the table as if she had been suddenly awakened from a long long sleep. Chuck started to get suspicious about her behavior then.
"Do you love secrets, Blair?" Jenny asked.
She shook her head in disapproval "What did I teach you, Jenny. That there shouldn't be secrets between friends and boyfriends. I hate lies and liars."
Chuck started upsetting at that, but he told himself he didn't have to worry, he could handle this, he could handle Blair Waldorf. He looked where Serena was sitting and noticed the way she was looking at him. She was concerned, her eyes were full of disappointment.
"I see Blair Waldorf hasn't changed" Nate commented, and she smirked.
The older people were far from the table to have a peak at the balcony, so she could be more herself than she ever was before. That was a blessing for her, somehow. "Old habits die hard" she said bitterly, Chuck could see her glancing at him with the corner of her eye. He feared she probably knew.
It took those few words to ruin everything.
After she spoke, a waiter brought her another tiny piece of paper. It was of the same red of the one he had received few hours before. He started to cringe as her smile changed into an angry expression. She looked really pissed off.
"What, Blair?" asked Serena. Her worries were about to become real, Chuck thought.
Her mouth fell and she struggled to read the paper, then handled it to Nate.
I couldn't wait more, Chuck Bass. I needed everyone to know. I know your friends and girlfriend are with you now, so that looked like the perfect occasion. I thought that I needed to threat you to have money, but then I realized the only thing I could punish you with was humiliation. Probably you have no idea who I am now, but my hands looked so familiar to you yesterday, when we kissed. I bet you wanted to take a ride on me again, like that first time... Gah. You took my virginity and then abandoned me. You didn't want to hang out anymore, you made me really sad. I liked you but you just wanted me for a night. You needed to pay. That is the reason why I let you kiss me at your bachelor party. I destroyed your chance at happiness like you destroyed mine. Have fun by yourself now, xoxo.
Chuck really did sweat cold this time.
A drop of sweat fall on the side of his face once Nate finished reading. Blair was looking at the paper in his hands, completely astonished. She didn't dare to lift her head until she stood up few minutes later and looked at Chuck.
Everyone was looking at them and wasn't sure of what would happen next, but they guessed it. Everyone knew now. He closed his eyes briefly and the next thing he saw was Blair shaking her head and whispering an "It's over", tears already damping her cheeks as she run away to the elevator. He wasn't sure it would be theirs ever again. He was fucked.
His instinct was to run to her and talk. He needed to explain.
Once he arrived to the ground floor, he run out of the building to catch her limo, but she was already gone. He called Arthur and decided to go into the New York traffic just to reach her house, the only place he thought she would go to.
He jumped into the elevator and pressed the button of the penthouse once there. A startled Dorota welcomed him inside the house, explaining that Miss Blair looked upset and that she didn't know why she was crying. He told her he would give further explanations later, and that he needed to fix the situation before.
He climbed the stairs and reached her room.
The lights were off and he could easily distinguish her silent cry from the noise of the vacuum cleaner Dorota was using when he got there.
He peeked inside and saw the light of the moon reflecting on her. She was lying on the bed, her body towards the windows of her room. The moans slightly stopped once he got in, she had acknowledged his presence and didn't want him to hear her crying.
"Go away" she murmured.
He didn't care for her request and just sat there next to her. He noticed her left hand was secured on her belly and the other was under her cheek. All the times her hormones made her cry -sometimes for the silliest of things, she had always adjusted herself that way.
There were times he still worked till ten or eleven at night and she was alone at their penthouse. He would come home and find her half asleep, spread on their wide bed with the TV on. He would get on the furniture to kiss her cheek, see the tracks tears made on her porcelain face, and wipe them away with kisses. She would wake and smile and confess him that she was watching one of her favorite DVD and that the ending scene touched her when he would ask why she was crying. It hurt him to see her cry. He just wanted her to be happy, but now he realized he was being the cause of her sadness.
"I need to explain" he said, his voice incredible low.
She moaned then asked with rage "There's no need to explain, I should have known, I should have known we wouldn't last. We wouldn't get married because you don't like to keep your tongue safely in your mouth."
He sighed and bit his lip "It was an accident. I couldn't see her face, I got carried away."
"If it took it one woman in disguise to betray me, I don't want to think of the future." She said with anger as her voice ended with a jolt.
Chuck covered his face with his hands and wiped away few sweat droplets from his forehead. He was in trouble. Bad trouble. He hated to say it, but he didn't know how to fix that situation. He got into a black tunnel with no exit, no lights. His body got the best of him an he hated it for that. Why couldn't he stop or better not try?
"I wonder why" Blair said in the darkness of the room after a while. "Didn't I give you what you needed? Didn't I love you? I thought you cared about us" she sobbed.
He hated being upset. "It was a mistake. I was drunk. Nate made us play 'I never' and I drank a lot I lost track and time. I was confused, dazed. It was only a kiss..." his voice cracked.
He heard a weird noise escaping her mouth "I can tell when you lie, Bass. Don't try to deceive me like that! Don't blame it on Nate most of all. It's all your fault you've kissed a girl who was whoring out just for you." She sounded so bitter.
Chuck was left wordless for a couple of minutes. "It was a mistake" he said, trying to justify himself. He was feeling miserable.
"I know you very well aware of the kiss" she answered, suddenly sitting down on the bed. She turned at him and despite the lights off he could still see her profile. "Because I was there" she added, leaving him astonished.
It took those simple words for him to realize his theory, maybe... "It was you" he said, his soul slowly started feeling better.
"Yes."
He grasped for air and his breath became irregular because his heart started beating fast. He didn't know what was happening, but he surely thought it was due to the recent good news.
It felt relieving.
"You were the dancer" he stated, still realizing. "You were the dancer and you, you made up all of this. The cards, those faces. They sobbing. It was all fake" he noticed, feeling somehow played. His breath changed again and he clenched his fist, the rage starting to grow.
She stood up to turn up the light. The only answer she gave him was a smile.
"What for?" he asked, probably knowing the answer. "I thought we went past trust issues a while go. Are you really that suspicious of me?"
She looked away when she spoke. "You weren't supposed to know. I didn't think you would kiss me. I just wanted to make you a surprise, neither Nate did know. I paid the girl he hired and asked her to go away, so she gave me the costume she would wear, and -"
"Reason why all the lights were off but your candle" he commented.
"I didn't want you to suspect it was me" she explained, getting closer "But then, you kissed me. I was glad to be fast enough to slap your hand away or you would've touched my belly."
"And I would've known it was you" he came to the same conclusion.
She sat beside him again. Her hands reached his and she smiled sheepishly "It was fun, actually. Nobody knew it was me but you. I knew you do, although you doubt it till five minutes ago. Was I good enough to hide it?"
He giggled "You fooled me well. I should pretend to be angry now and say I quit this wedding" he joked, his giggle sudden became a smirk.
She grinned and he could see the dimples forming on her cheeks. They were so cute, he thought. Sometimes he hated that he couldn't say no to her. She really had him fooled. She made her puppy eyes as to convince him to put that thought aside, but it wasn't needed. He knew he wouldn't let go, he knew what he wanted. She shouldn't be worried because for the first time he was sure of himself. Who cared she played a bit with his emotions that evening, he was indeed happy that he hadn't made a serious mistake the night before.
He put a hand on her back and pushed her closer enough to kiss her sweetly, but not for long. She was soon reminded of something and broke the contact with him.
"What?" he asked.
"The people at our house must wonder what happened" she explained.
He sighed. "That's true, but I don't bother to go back there unless you're going to come back with me" he started to say. He noticed she wanted to talk, but he shushed her. "I know what you're going to say. I promise I'll let you get back here with your parents as soon as we explain what happened tonight."
"That sounds like a great idea" she agreed, she gave him one long kiss before going out.
….
They saw Serena stopping and walking towards them once they got in the penthouse after a good hour spent at the Waldorfs. They were holding hands and smiling, that was the first thing Serena and the other people that were in the room noticed.
She sighed with relief "Thank Goddess, you two made up."
Nate and Jenny reached Serena soon "What happened, guys? You made us worried."
Chuck exchanged a glance with Blair and they both giggled. "I know, we owe you all an explanation" he started, as Lily and the other parents acknowledged they were back and got closer too.
"Is everything okay, Charles? Nobody knew where'd you go" Lily said.
"It is, really. It was just a misunderstanding... Between me and Blair" he started to say. "All because yesterday I couldn't keep the tongue in my mouth. It looked like it was a surprise after all... And we figured it out, so don't panic. There will still be a wedding tomorrow."
Serena smiled "That's awesome! I'm happy for you!"
"Glad I didn't fly to New York for nothing" added Harold, and everyone laughed.
…...
Hello everybody! I tried to post a chapter a week and looks like I succeed!lol. Hope everything is alright with you, next chapter you'll finally see Chuck and Blair tie the knot... Maybe.
See you next week :) xoxo