Playing with Fire

Blair sighed and pursed her lips as she hung up her phone. Nate was avoiding her calls. This was the third time her call had gone to voicemail. Nate never let her calls go to voicemail, he knew how much it upset her. Something was up with him and she was going to figure out what it was. She hated secrets.

Her phone rang. She stared at the display and sighed as she answered it.

"What do you want, Chuck?" she asked impatiently.

"Now, now, kitten. No claws."

"I'm kind of busy, Chuck-"

"I just got off the phone with Mrs. Archibald. Guess who else is busy tonight?"

"Nate?"

"That's right. Guess with whom?"

"I don't know, Humphrey-"

"Exactly. I thought we had an understanding-"

"We do," she insisted him, "That's why I found out who his sister is and invited her to this play date: so we could dig up the dirt on him."

"Well, I hope you work fast," Chuck warned, "We're losing valuable time."

"I'm trying, Chuck, I really am."

There was a pause.

"The desperation in your voice," he muttered, "It's intoxicating-"

"You're sick!" she shot, "I have to go. I have a date with Jenny Humphrey."

She hung up the phone and threw it on the bed. She cast a glance at it. The tone in his voice when he said intoxicating... It brought back memories. For a moment, she was weak at the knees. She cleared her mind and focused. Tonight was not about Chuck; it was about Jenny.

She walked over to her closet and began looking through articles of clothing she thought Jenny might like. Normally, she wouldn't put so much effort into pleasing a freshman, but Jenny Humphrey was no ordinary freshman. Her brother was Dan Humphrey and Dan Humphrey was standing in the way of her and Nate. She had to get Dan out of the equation at all costs. She hoped for her sake that Jenny would be able to provide her with some valuable information tonight. She needed it. Chuck was serious about ruining her life if she failed to get the results he wanted. He had that video, after all... She couldn't let anyone know about it. Not after all the hard work she had put into becoming Queen. Tonight had to be perfect; it was her only chance.

The girls were laughing as they finished another martini. Jenny smiled politely as she sipped on her mineral water. Ugh, mineral water? Who drank that?

"I have to go to the bathroom," Jenny announced.

"Kati and Is will keep you company, won't you girls?"

"I don't need-"

"Jenny, when will you understand? We're friends, now. Friends hang out, right?"

Jenny didn't answer. Instead, she gave a look that told Blair she wanted to insist, but had given up. Already jenny was learning, just as Kati and Isabelle had so long ago.

"Girls?"

Kati and Is rose with Jenny as they headed to the bathroom. Blair watched and waited until they were gone. She pulled out her purse and began digging through it.

Jenny was proving to be more difficult than Blair had originally imagined. She wasn't as intimidated by Blair as the rest of the girls were. That was just because she didn't know who Blair was or what she was capable of doing. While Blair understood Jenny's ignorance, she by no means accepted it. She would make absolutely sure there was no confusion as to how the chain of command worked.

She finally found what she was looking for: a small, brown envelope with writing on it.

"To Blair. Have fun. Love, Georgina."

Blair rolled her eyes and scoffed. She was never friends with Georgina Sparks; that had always been Serena. Georgina thought she was like the others on the Upper East Side, but she wasn't. It didn't matter how rich and famous her parents were, she would always be a cheap, dime-store psychopath in the eyes of Blair and everyone who mattered. Still, Serena had been fascinated with her and insisted they let her hang out with them.

Georgina desperately wanted the approval of Blair, it was obvious. She kept offering Blair "pick-me-ups", which consisted of small, brown envelopes containing pills Blair thought might be ecstasy, but secretly feared would be much worse. As if Blair would ever accept drugs from a psycho bitch. Using them on Jenny Humphrey, though? There could be some benefits in doing that... For reasons unknown to Blair herself, she'd kept the packages Georgina had given her. She smiled ironically and silently thanked Georgina. Finally, one of her "pick-me-ups" was going to prove useful.

Blair was glad she was drunk otherwise she didn't know if she could do what she was doing right now. She was giggling hysterically as a naked Jenny lay on a bed curled up beside Chuck. He was also naked and looked somewhere between disgusted and amused. Jenny had vomit on herself and she was muttering about how embarrassed her brother would be. Chuck looked at Blair.

"You're filming this, right?" he asked sharply.

Blair held up her phone for him to see as she continued giggling softly. Somewhere, deep inside, Blair felt sorry for Jenny. It wasn't Jenny's fault Dan was her brother. It wasn't Jenny's fault that Dan was friends with Nate. Blair saw that Jenny was just a target to Chuck, like her, like everyone who knew him. And now he had something on Jenny, too.

"That's enough," Chuck decided, "I have to get some sleep before brunch."

Blair nodded and stopped filming. Chuck climbed off the bed and stared at Blair, not bothering to cover himself. She blushed and looked away.

"Admiring the sight, are we?" he asked huskily.

Blair cleared her throat. Chuck walked over and placed a hand on her face. He lifted it so their eyes met.

"Been dying to take another ride?"

She shuddered as he placed his hand on her inner thigh. She moaned softly. Chuck smiled wickedly.

"You know, you could have joined," he whispered.

This caught Blair's attention.

"What?" she demanded.

"Were you afraid things might get awkward between the three of us if we shared a night together?"

Blair scoffed.

"Kati and Is didn't seem to mind," he advised her.

She scowled at him.

"You didn't-"

"Of course I did, I'm Chuck Bass."

Blair was furious.

"Did you make a video of them, too?" she shot.

He grinned evilly.

"It is the signature trademark of everyone in our little group, isn't it?"

"Wait, does that mean Jenny-"

"Yes, it does."

"But she's a freshman!"

"So?"

"So, since when do freshman nobodies from Brooklyn get to be part of our circle of friends?"

"If you want out, I can arrange that," he warned her bitterly.

She shrank back. She couldn't risk Chuck leaking the tape that revealed that she had lost her virginity to him while she was dating Nate. It would ruin everything. What would the kids at school think? What would Nate think? What would her father think?

"Good," Chuck snapped, "Now, I think you better take little Jenny Humphrey home. Make sure she gets up with enough time to get ready for brunch."

"She's invited to brunch?" Blair echoed in disbelief.

"Well, it is my family's brunch and I am inviting her, so, yes, she's invited."

Chuck eyed her, daring her to challenge him. He grabbed his clothes and began dressing.

"Do you want me to tell her?" Blair asked simply.

Chuck looked at her.

"I'll leave that decision to you," he announced as he headed out, "Remember to lock up when you two finally leave."

"Where are you going?" she asked, "I thought you said you needed sleep!"

"I've changed my mind. It's still early. No reason I can't at least enjoy some of my night."

He left the room and Blair stared at Jenny. Her sympathy for Jenny was quickly becoming resent. As if it wasn't bad enough that Blair had to spend her night drinking with a freshman, now she had to babysit one, too? What made Jenny so special that Chuck wanted her to be a part of their group? As Blair was helping Jenny get dressed, she couldn't help but remember the times she'd helped Serena in the same situation. Serena always was a wild child.

An hour later, Blair had finally helped Jenny into the guest room in her penthouse apartment. She closed the door and walked down the hall, searching Jenny's phone for Dan's number. She called it.

"Jenny! Where the hell are you? It's three in the morning-"

"Relax, Humphrey. She's staying the night at my place," Blair advised him in a hushed tone.

"Blair?"

"That's right. You'll see her in the morning. Good night."

Blair hung up on Dan and turned the phone off. From what Jenny had told her, he wouldn't stop until he was able to talk to her himself. Blair pulled out her own phone and turned it off as well.

Jenny had really opened up that night. It turns out that her brother had been seeing a counsellor ever since their mom died four years ago. It really bothered Jenny, because she didn't want people to think he was crazy. She just insisted that he was sad because their mom had died and their dad had become a total basket case. She also went on about some fight they had before she left, not that Blair could be bothered to pay attention. She had all the ammo she needed. Nate's new best friend was crazy and she had the evidence to prove it.

She closed the door to her room and climbed into bed. She found herself if it was really worth it anymore? So, she could win Nate back. So, what? Did she really want him anymore?

He didn't pay as much attention to her as he had when they started dating. He was avoiding her now at all costs. Did she really want to be with someone like that?

Sure, Nate came from the right kind of family and was very hot, but should that be a reason to be with him anymore? It had always been Chuck who insisted she stay with him. He helped her see past Nate's flaws. She wondered why this was, since he took the first opportunity he got to sleep with her? What was Chuck's angle?

Blair remembered the night she lost her virginity to Chuck... It was amazing. And as much as she hated herself for thinking it, a part of her wanted Chuck for herself. She lusted for Chuck in a way she never lusted for Nate. Maybe her time with Nate was over... Maybe it was time to set her sights on something more interesting...

There would be time to figure things out later, but for now, she needed sleep. After all, Chucks' family was hosting a brunch in a few hours and everyone was going to be there...