Dan Humphrey looked himself in the mirror, appropriately fixing up his suit. Cotillion was going to be his first formal event on the Upper East Side. So far, he'd only managed to get a glimpse of the darkness that was Manhattan. Cheating boyfriends wasn't that far out of the norm, surely it wasn't that bad. He knew nothing of the extent of betrayal that ran through the elite. He didn't know that most of his classmates suffered depression and drank as a result of it or that their parents were under investigation for embezzlement and fraud. In his naïve eyes, they lived a fantasy life and he was privileged to be part of it. It hardly mattered, however, because his real connection to Blair Waldorf meant more than the superficial world she belonged to.

He arrived at the Palace hotel where Serena and her family were currently staying while their own penthouse was being renovated. He knew his way around, having been there for Chuck's small shindig after the Kiss On The Lips party. The usual greetings happened; Dan saw Serena in her dress, complimented her and told her how happy he was to escort her. It was friendly and hardly bordered on flirtatious. That itself struck Serena as odd, seeing as how there'd always been an air of sexual tension between them, or so she thought.

Blair's own introductory with Nate was as polite. Part of her regretted agreeing to let him still escort her, knowing in her heart she'd rather it be Dan. She knew her mother would have a conniption if she found out her daughter was being escorted by someone who's last name garnished no press. Instead Blair was forced into making social niceties with the boy who broke her heart. For someone with so much power and strength, in that moment she felt weaker than ever. She was being subjected to what society expected of her, not living in a manner that she wanted.

Dan and Serena entered arm in arm, with her hand friendly grasping onto him as she smiled over at him. It only built back up the rumours that they were seeing each other. A photo of the two was quickly snapped by an onlooker and, low and behold, posted on the notorious gossip website. Like everyone else in the room, Blair got hold of it. She was fuming; why hadn't Dan said anything to her?

The debutantes were all lining up on the staircase and their escorts remained parallel. There were a few faces Dan recognized, like the clique that hung off Blair and Serena's every word and Chuck Bass with Agnes Andrews. The one that stood out most was Blair, who hadn't so much as looked at him as he stepped into her sights. To his credit, she hadn't looked at Nate or Serena either. Had he really made her that jealous or was something else going on?

Their names were read out and the dancing ensued. It seemed unlikely that anything could wrong. There were so many high-class families there to impress and names to uphold. It was done in the name of charity, after all. Blair's arms hung around Nate's neck and every so often she'd glance over to look at Dan and Serena after hearing her nauseatingly charming laugh. Serena didn't deserve to be happy and she certainly didn't deserve to have Dan. Seeing Dan with Serena had pushed Blair to realize the extent of her feelings for him. It wasn't a crush or a temporary thing that was going to pass.

"I need to go to the bathroom, so if you'll excuse me."

Like her attitude had been all night, Blair was cold and abrasive. She walked away from Nate, leaving him in a scoff. Dan immediately noticed and saw this as the perfect opportunity to get Blair alone, quickly following after her. Blair walked up the large staircase and walked into the darkness. The upstairs foyer had very little lighting and led way to various small rooms where the debuts prepared themselves. It was sheltered from everyone who was far too busy discussing how much they earned while drowning out each other's voices with another glass of champagne.

"Blair," Dan called out in a hushed shout, trying to get her attention, "hey."

"What are you doing here with her?" Blair harshly questioned as she turned around to face Dan. "Why didn't you tell me that you were escorting her?"

"I… I didn't think you'd care? She's my friend, she's your friend too."

Blair said nothing in response, wrapping her arms tighter around her chest. She turned away, walking over to sit on the long stretched lounge.

At that moment, Dan put everything together. The way Nate and Serena had been all over each other at the Kiss On The Lips party, he should have known. It was Serena that Nate had cheated on her with.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dan asked, softening his voice as he took a step toward her. His hand rested on hers, and she looked up at him. Nervously, she bit her lip before proceeding to try explaining herself.

"I didn't want to tell anyone. I didn't want to say out loud that my best friend slept with my boyfriend. The reality was too much to handle. Seeing her with you… it just made me realize that it wasn't about Nate or her being in love with him."

Blair let the words go unspoken. Dan knew where her heart was and where it had been since the moment they met. He clutched onto her hand and took a seat beside her, placing a small kiss on her bare shoulder.

"All I have been able to think about all night is you. How incredible you are. You're magnificent, Blair. You're intelligent, beautiful, and consume me to a point that it scares me sometimes. I fell for you, not her or anyone else. Since the moment I met you, no one has shined as bright in my eyes. You had this thing about you and I couldn't get enough of it… I couldn't get enough of you. The night I kissed you and you kissed me, I knew what I felt was real. Quite possibly the most real thing I have felt in my entire life. It snuck up on me and now I have no idea how I'd be without you."

Blair could not contain herself. Hearing those words come out of Dan's mouth almost brought her to tears. She'd never thought of herself as someone that could truly be adored in such a way. For so long, she had believed Nate only stayed with her out of habit, as did her friends. Dan, a complete outsider, had developed feelings for her, without her even needing to hide certain elements of herself that others found to be loathsome.

She stood up from where she was sitting and pulled down up with her. Gazing into his eyes, Blair lifted herself up and kissed him. She pulled him by the collar of his shirt and roughened the kiss, nibbling on his lips. He responded positively by pushing her back and into the nearest wall, pining her against it. He lifted her up by her legs, grinding against her and slipping his tongue past her lips. Both their eyes shut, completely absorbing the moment of being in each other's grips. It had been so long since they'd been able to touch each other that their exchanged kisses were even more desperate.

Neither concentrating on the possibility that someone could potentially walk up the stairs and catch them in an intense session of touching each other's tonsils. Chuck Bass happened to see them, much like how he had intruded their moment in the stairwell. He stood for a moment, examining how passionate they were with each other. Scoffing under his breath, it was Chuck's kneejerk reaction to take out his cell phone and snap a shot with his night-mode on. There was no telling what Chuck would do with the photo or when he'd target Blair and Dan, all that was for sure was that neither were safe.

MUCH TO COME. Much, much, much, much. I missed writing as Chuck. Obviously as a Dair shipper I am not a huge Chuck fan, to say the least, but I loved s1 Chuck so I am keen to introduce more of him and have him play a key part as the antagonist. So far I have been concentrated on building up Dan and Blair's feelings for each other. Chuck is going to be a catalyst in that. Nate and Serena are NOT going to be happy when they find out. Sure, it is very hypocritical but humans tend to be. Also, would you guys mind if I wrote a chapter that was as DB centric? I just want to be able to give more dimensions to all of the story. Anyway, give me all your thoughts, I love reading them. :-)