A/N: I'm back! And I'm also promising more frequent updates! I've been really busy at work lately, since I've been putting on a drama, and we've had performances every week. I'm releasing this as part one of the a two-part chapter, just because I've enjoyed writing this arch so much that I didn't want to cut it short! Taylor is becoming one of my favourite characters! Hope you guys will like this one as well :) Some foreshadowing going on too...*wink wink*
Look forward to Part 2 by this weekend! Thanks for all the reviews! Love knowing that the story has been missed :)
"And we're happy to announce that the president of the Harbor School student council is Taylor Townsend! Congratulations, Taylor!"
The students in the coffee shop exploded into loud cheers as soon as the announcement was made through the PA system. Seth and Ryan exchanged looks and tried to edge their way out of the crowd. Behind them, an elated Taylor could be seen, waving elegantly as if she were the Queen of England herself. She blew kisses into the crowd, and posed for pictures with eager students on their camera phones.
"And what do you know? Looks like we have you and Blair to thank for making this happen," Ryan pointed out flatly. They both looked over simultaneously to catch Taylor referring to herself in third person while going over her plans for the year. The boys made a face, just as Blair and Summer approached them.
"Guess she's enjoying her new spotlight," Summer remarked under her breath.
Blair rolled her eyes. "How exceptionally boring. Let's face it, nothing she's going to do is ever going to interfere with how I currently run the school anyway, so what does it really matter who's president?" she said lightly. Her friends shrugged and nodded at the truth of the statement. Blair turned to Seth and leaned into him, dropping her voice to just above a whisper. "So, are we going back to my place after school? Remember we said that there was this thing we were going to do?"
Seth swallowed hard as Blair curled a strand of his hair around her finger, waiting for his reply. Ryan and Summer looked increasingly uncomfortable and tried to look the other way while the couple canoodled at their side. Seth appeared slightly frazzled himself, and gingerly removed himself from Blair's grasp. "Maybe we can talk about this later, Blair. Say, when we're alone?" he said emphatically, looking pointedly at Ryan and Summer.
Blair pouted slightly, then regained her composure, turning to face Ryan. "Well, you take good care of him for me then. I'll see you later," she said, pointing at Seth. "Come on, Sum. Let's go. I have to talk to you about Katie Arden's new hair. It looks atrocious!" She paused, reached up to give Seth a peck on the cheek, staring into his eyes and lingering there for just a moment longer than appropriate, then walked away with Summer at her side.
Ryan smirked at Seth. "So you two haven't had sex yet," he said immediately.
Seth let out a dramatic reaction and waved his hand dismissively. "Whaaat? No, what do you mean, Ryan? Hey – I'm personally offended that you would say that. Blair and I – we -" Seth stopped and looked at Ryan's expressionless face, then gave up. "Okay, fine. So maybe we haven't exactly hit home run yet. But I'm slowly making my way there. Sex happens to be a very big deal to me, you know. I wouldn't want to rush into anything, you know. Not without letting the lady know that I'm into her heart and mind more than her body," Seth finished as sincerely as possible, taking his time to form his sentences.
Ryan nodded in agreement. "So you're scared, because you're a virgin and I'm guessing she's not," he said plainly, swinging his backpack over his shoulder in preparation to end the discussion. Ryan knew that was the only way he could get Seth to confess.
Seth took the bait and turned sharply to face Ryan. "God, are you like, a mind-reader or something? I thought punching people were your specialty, not ESP," Seth exclaimed, his hands on top of his head. Ryan shot him a glare, and turned as if to walk away from him. "Okay, okay fine. I'll be honest. Blair's been kind of giving me pressure lately to, you know, do the deed, seal the deal…whatever it is they call it these days. We haven't really talked about her…experience, but I'm guessing it goes beyond taking a bath with plastic horses so yes, I'm a little afraid of my lack of expertise in that area, and of scaring her away."
Ryan observed Seth, who looked thoroughly traumatized and fearful, and was about to give him some advice when he saw Taylor Townsend making her way towards them. "Let's pick this up another time, okay?" he muttered under his breath as he and Seth both plastered a smile on their faces as Taylor approached them. "Taylor! What a pleasant surprise!"
"Nice to see you too, Ryan," Taylor nodded at him and said slowly. Ryan guessed that she had probably spent hours perfectly that particular tone that showed a mix of both importance and concern – with a dash of condescension. Luckily, she wasn't interested in saying much else to Ryan, and immediately turned her attention to Seth. To Ryan's surprise, her tone changed a hundred and eighty degrees as she spoke to him – she sounded much sweeter – even shy. Ryan froze as he observed what was happening in front of his eyes.
"Hello, Seth. I just wanted to say thank you, you know, for everything you've done. I know I said some mean things the last time we spoke, but I'm glad you seemed to have given it some thought. I really do have you to thank for making all of this happen," she gestured at the posters and the balloons that she had ordered for herself in celebration of her own success. She looked down at her feet timidly, biting her lip nervously.
"Hey, congrats on the win, Taylor. Despite what I said last week, I think you'll do a great job. You're the perfect combination of ruthless and power-hungry, and I mean that completely as a compliment. Good for you," he patted her gently on her shoulder, hoping that his kind words would remove himself and Blair off her radar permanently. He hadn't noticed that Taylor's face immediately lit up with hope, and that she giggled at the praise.
"You think so, Seth?" she squealed. "Well it couldn't have happened if it weren't for you. I know it was you who made Blair stop whatever she was that she had planned." Seth opened his mouth in protest, but Taylor cut him off before he could finish. "But let's not talk about her. Let's talk about us for a moment," she continued, taking a step closer towards him. "I noticed that you had many ideas about what we could do with – um, the lesser people at Harbor, to make them feel more accepted here. I didn't tell you because you were working with you-know-who at the time, but I honestly thought that they were actually really, really great. And since it's up to the president to assemble her own cabinet…I was wondering whether you wanted to be my vice president. Shake things up a bit together. So, what do you say?" Taylor batted her eyelashes heavily at him and looked at him expectantly.
Seth was taken back by her flood of compliments, and ran his hand through his hair bashfully. "Gee, Taylor. You really think my ideas were good?" He wasn't used to receiving compliments, and the remark boosted his ego considerably. He was lost in thought when Taylor prodded him again, asking for his response.
"So, Seth? Does that mean you'll say yes? That you'll be my best man?" she asked eagerly.
Ryan cleared his throat. There was something about the way Taylor looked at Seth and her choice of words that made him feel very, very uncomfortable. He tried to get Seth's attention, but he seemed to be too absorbed in his own ego to take any notice. Panicking, Ryan suddenly coughed out one word – "Blair!" under his breath, hoping that would help snap Seth back to reality. Both Seth and Taylor spun around immediately, looking scared and startled at the same time.
"Where?" Taylor demanded, her entire body stiffening up as if she had become the prey of a dangerous mountain lion. Seth also shrunk back a little and looked around him.
Ryan took a deep breath. "What I meant was – don't you think you should ask Blair first, before making such a big decision? I mean, I know you guys had a lot of things planned for the rest of the year," he said to Seth meaningfully.
Seth's face fell a little as he contemplated Ryan's advice. He knew that it would piss Blair off royally if he agreed to work with Taylor. But at the same time, he was genuinely flattered that someone had actually appreciated his input. Taylor's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"The last time I checked, I thought Blair was your girlfriend, not your mother. Since when do you have to consult with your girlfriend before deciding to be a leader at the school? You'd be doing a good thing, Seth," Taylor pressed on. Boy, she really did have what it takes to be president – she sure knew how to be convincing when she put her mind to it. Ryan grabbed Seth's arm to get him to consider carefully before his answer.
Seth looked over at Ryan, fully acknowledging his warning, but turned to face Taylor. "Okay. I'll do it. I'll work with you on the one condition that you take my ideas into consideration, and you leave taking Blair down out of your agenda." Ryan put his palm to his forehead in exasperation, while Taylor clapped gleefully at his reply.
"Pshh…take Blair down? I have more important things to focus on right now. As in, how to make Harbor a safe and inclusive learning environment – for everybody," she said innocently. "So, I'll see you at 4 o'clock sharp in the café for our first meeting?"
"Yup. I'll be there." He saluted to her as Taylor turned her back from him, giving him one last coy smile before disappearing back into the crowd. Seth turned back to Ryan.
"Blair's gonna kill you."
"Uh-huh. But then at least by that time I won't be a weak virgin with no manhood of his own." Ryan looked at Seth in surprise. "Look, Ryan. I know you're worried that Blair will go all psycho-bitch on me, but I think this will be really good for our relationship in the long run. My girlfriend's like, the head of the school mafia. And me – I'm like Pee-wee Herman who hasn't even reached puberty. How will I ever get the courage to romance her in bed when I can't even stand up to her in real life?"
"I have no idea what that reference even means, but I sort of see what you're getting at," Ryan said reluctantly. "Just don't say I didn't warn you."
The moment Seth feared the most came much sooner that he'd had expected. He was just stepping out of his English class when he saw Blair, arms crossed and looking much angrier than he had envisioned her when he had mentally prepared himself for the confrontation. She yanked him violently to the side and practically threw him against the lockers as she proceeded to grab him by the hair. The last time she had treated him with such ferocity she had been straddling him in his bed, trying to get him to take his pants off. But of course, this time was about a hundred times scarier, and Seth felt a flash of fear for his own life.
"SETH COHEN! You'd better have a good explanation for this! What's this I hear about you being the vice president of Student Council? And with TAYLOR TOWNSEND?" She pressed her weight against him, making his head slam against the locker.
"Blair, just let me explain –"
"Explain what?! Explain how you fully backstabbed your own girlfriend and betrayed my trust for you by joining the ranks of the girl who called me a spoiled rich bitch?" She let go of him and exclaimed, "I can't believe you!"
"Hey – keep your voice down, will you?" Seth placed both hands on Blair's shoulder to try to calm her down, but Blair flung his hand away. "Look, Blair. I understand why you're upset. But it's not what you think. I just wanted to show you that I'm capable of something – that I'm not just your loser boyfriend who tags along and carries your purse for you," Seth stopped, watching for Blair's reaction. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course," he added quickly.
"You could have at least asked me first, you know. I thought we talked about everything together," Blair said, her voice full of hurt. Seth stared guiltily at his feet. The price of manhood was not cheap at all. Just when he thought that he would be able to resolve this himself, he spotted Taylor making her way towards them. His heart literally stopped beating.
"Hi there, partner!" she practically cooed at Seth. She turned her attention to Blair just as enthusiastically, but her voice turned cool. "Hello, Blair. I see Seth's already filled you in with our new alliance. Exciting, isn't it?"
Blair seethed with anger, but spoke in a calm and composed manner. "How interesting that for how much you hate me, you decided to ask my boyfriend, of all people, to be your vice president. Guess that was the best you could come up with to get back at me."
"It never ceases to surprise me, Blair, just how little you think of your own boyfriend. Surely you think he deserves some credit for his ideas, right? What makes you think I asked him because of you? I asked him, because of him," Taylor asserted, then peaked at Seth tentatively to check for his reaction. Seth shifted uncomfortably on his feet, but felt secretly pleased at Taylor's clarification.
Blair bit her lip. This was going to be a lot more difficult than she had anticipated. She watched as Taylor made her way to Seth and touched him gently on his arm. "But I'm so glad I ran into you, Seth," Taylor said to him sweetly, nudging Blair out of the way as she wedged between the two of them. "There are just so many things to settle at the moment and I definitely need your quick thinking to help me work things through. In fact, there's something I wanted to go over with you before today's meeting after school." She turned to face Blair again. "You don't mind, do you?"
Blair waited for Seth to reject her, but saw that he had fallen silent, and had kept his head down to avoid her stare. "I thought we were meeting up after school!" she protested.
Taylor spoke up just as Seth was going to explain. "Come on, Blair. Seth is a grown man with priorities. He has the entire student body to take care of now. Surely whatever you guys had planned after school can wait. You should be proud of his success. I know I would be, if I were her girlfriend," she giggled flirtatiously as Blair gasped in horror. Blair was seeking for an opportunity to get Seth alone so she could talk some sense into him, but Taylor had already dragged him off in the other direction. Blair fumed as Seth walked off, looking helplessly in Blair's direction, mouthing the words 'sorry' all along the way.
Blair was just plotting an elaborate homicide for Taylor Townsend when Summer and Marissa showed up and interrupted her thoughts.
"Uh-oh. I know that look. Who's pissed off Blair Waldorf this time?" Summer asked. Blair gave her a look, and Summer got the message immediately. "Right. Who else? What did the scrawny loser do this time?"
"Haven't you heard? Taylor asked Seth to be her vice president. She must have done it just to piss Blair off," Marissa explained matter-of-factly.
"Am I really that easy to figure out?" Blair demanded. "But you're only half right. That scheming weasel had her paws all over him today. She was practically slobbering on him. I think she asked him because she has this sick idea in her head that she would be able to steal him from me. Literally."
Marissa coughed back her laugh. "Taylor likes Seth Cohen? I'll never understand what all the girls see in him." She paused to glance at Blair and Summer, who were both looking at her with narrowed eyes. "Sorry!"
Blair cleared her throat. "Anyway, I'm not just going to sit there and let her try and do whatever it is she's doing to get between me and Seth. Granted, she'll never succeed, but still – I have to put her in her place to teach her a lesson. No one messes with Blair Waldorf and expects to get away scot-free."
"I don't know, Blair. You may have found your match in Taylor Townsend." The three of them watched as Taylor and Seth showed up at the end of the hall again, Seth looking flustered while Taylor chattered away at him. "It looks like she may have found a way to Cohen's heart, after all. Right now, she's working up his self-confidence. You can't just march up there and expose her. At least, not without making Seth change his mind about how he sees her first."
"We'll see about that. When it comes down to me against Taylor, Seth will choose me. I'm sure of it. I just have to figure out how to free him from her claws without hurting his feelings," Blair responded, watching the two of them like a hawk. She gritted her teeth as she saw Taylor tiptoeing to remove something from Seth's eyelashes.
The next day, Blair arrived at school bright and early, waiting by Taylor's usual spot as the parking lot. She wanted to make sure she could get her alone, without Seth around. He had called her last night after the meeting to try to explain to her, but Blair didn't want to have the conversation with him until she could prove to him what a slimy boyfriend-stealer Taylor Townsend really was. Luckily, she had her minions do her homework for her, and was prepared for today's confrontation.
"Hello, Taylor," Blair said coolly as Taylor walked out of her car.
Taylor took a step backwards as soon as she saw Blair, for fear that she may try to attack her or slash her tires or something of that sort. She stuck her nose up in the air and struggled to remain composed. "What do you want, Blair? Problems with Seth, already?"
Blair laughed. "Really? You think a loser like you could get in between me and Seth? Please," she snorted, rolling her eyes.
"You didn't look so confident yesterday, when you were spying on the two of us in the halls," Taylor retorted, suddenly full of sureness. "Didn't think I'd noticed, did you?"
Blair didn't miss a beat. "And I'll bet you didn't notice when your cell phone went missing in the middle of your meeting after school, either," Blair replied, retrieving her own cell phone out of her Hermès bag and scrolling through it purposefully. "Didn't think anyone would see this, did you?" She stopped and flipped her phone around to reveal a picture to Taylor, which sent her lunging forward to try to snatch the phone from Blair's grasp. Blair held the phone back just in time, making Taylor lose her balance.
"How did you get that?" Taylor demanded. "That's for my personal use! It's clearly a violation of my privacy! I could have you expelled for that, you know!"
"Ew! Your personal use? What on earth could you possibly be using a photoshopped picture of you and my boyfriend together for?" Blair shook her head in disgust. "Nevermind, don't answer that. Look, I'm letting you down easy for Seth's sake. Just tell him that the post has already been filled and that there was a mix-up, and I'll make sure no one ever sees this, okay? You know the drill." Blair dropped her phone back into her purse and gave Taylor a fake smile. She turned around to walk away from Taylor, satisfied that her job was finished.
"You think you're doing this for Seth's sake?" Taylor asked quietly. "Everything you just did was for no one but yourself. You think you can just use threats and manipulation and hurt whoever you have to to get your way all the time, but that's not how the world works."
Blair spun around to face her. "Big words for someone who just photoshopped herself into someone's boyfriend's picture and manipulated her way into said boy's life by making him vice president just so you could get close to him."
"You know Blair, it may surprise you, but I actually have a real appreciation for Seth. Sure, I made him my vice president because I may have developed a teensy weensy little crush on him, but the fact is – I do value what he brings to the table. Are you sure you can say the same for yourself? All you do is drag him around the school like a dog on a leash. I've never even once seen you respect his opinions, or value him as a human being. I may have photoshopped him into my life, but at least I treat him as an equal. Maybe you can reflect on that before you judge me." Taylor paused as Blair glanced at the floor, a little uneasily. "But sure, you've won. And I hope you're happy. Seth's lost his chance to be a part of something big this year, all because you were too insecure to let him explore his own potential without living under your shadow."
Blair tried to come up with a clever remark, but seemed to have temporarily lost her ability to speak. It was Taylor who finally turned around and walked away from her, leaving Blair alone in the parking lot as Taylor's words resonated within her.