Wake Up Call

Nate was annoyed. His mother had just woken him for the brunch the Basses were holding at their hotel, The Palace. Normally, Nate loved brunch, but today he was less than eager. Blair and Chuck were going to be there and this time there would be no escaping them. They weren't his only concern, though.

His parents had been separated for nearly two years now, but they both insisted on not getting a divorce to maintain public image. On the surface, the Archibalds appeared to be a happy family, but at their core, they were deeply disturbed. Howard, Nate's father, had a slew of mistresses who were barely older than Nate. His mother, Francine, spent a lot of her time visiting her elitist family, the van der Bilts. They despised Howard, but accepted Francine's desire to maintain her public face. Family affairs were often uncomfortable for Nate.

He looked at the clock. It wasn't particularly early, but it was still early enough that calling Dan would probably be rude. He and Dan had fun watching the game until Chuck came over early in the night. Even though Nate told his mom not to let Chuck in, she had. Chuck sat around and made snide comments at Dan while they tried to enjoy themselves. Nate had told Chuck to leave, but Chuck wouldn't. He insisted that they could all have a fun time together. Finally, at one point, Chuck got a message and decided it was time for him to leave. By that point, the night had already been a waste and Dan left shortly after.

Nate was hoping to call Dan and apologize. Dan seemed like a pretty cool guy and Nate hoped they could be friends. After all, Dan was the only person who actually listened when Nate talked about sports. Dan admitted that he didn't follow basketball very closely, so Nate offered to educate him on the game. Dan listened and soon he was able to understand the game better. When he tried to talk about sports to Blair and Chuck, they usually shut him out.

His mother opened the door and gave him a stern look.

"You aren't ready yet? Hurry! We can't be late!" she scolded.

"Mom, I don't want to go-"

"Nonsense!" she cut him off, "Chuck is your best friend. I don't see why you wouldn't want to go to his family's brunch."

"Chuck is not-"

"Look, Nate, I don't know what kind of fight you two are having, but avoiding brunch won't help any of us. You two are best friends. Work it out."

She turned and left the room. Nate scoffed to himself. He resented her for scolding him on how to handle his personal relationships when her marriage had fallen apart so elegantly. Besides, she didn't know Chuck like he did. Chuck was cruel and heartless. Dan told Nate that Chuck and Blair were taking Jenny out to dinner. Dan had voiced his fear that they were using her or trying to play a trick on her. Nate knew Dan was probably right, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want Dan thinking he was like them. When Chuck had stopped by, Nate confronted him on this. Chuck avoided the subject by feigning ignorance.

Nate climbed out of bed and began getting ready. Although he didn't care for Chuck, the Basses knew how to throw a good brunch. At least he wouldn't leave on an empty stomach. He suddenly found himself wishing Serena was still in town. Serena knew how to keep Blair and Chuck at bay. If she was here, he might not feel like he was swimming into shark infested water.

His phone rang. It was Dan. He answered it.

"Hey, Dan, I was going to call you later. What's up?"

"Can you give me Blair Waldorf's number?" Dan demanded hastily.

Nate was taken back. Why did Dan want Blair's number?

"Are you looking for someone to go to the salon with?" he asked wryly, "Because if you wanted me to go, you could have just asked-"

"I mean it, Nate! What is Blair's number?"

"Is everything okay?"

"No, I need to find Jenny now!"

"Jenny? Dan, what's going on?"

"She stayed at Blair's last night. I don't know what happened but I'm worried."

Nate sighed and rubbed his eyes. This couldn't be good. In fact, it could be very bad if Chuck and Blair were involved.

"Dan, let me see if I can get a hold of Blair for you-"

"Nate! Give me Blair's number!"

"Dan, please just trust me."

Nate felt guilty as he hung up on Dan, but he knew that Dan wasn't going to be able to get anything out of Blair. He called her and his call went to voicemail. He sighed. She was punishing him and avoiding his call, just as he had avoided hers. He tried again and the same thing happened. He called Chuck.

"Nathaniel," Chuck greeted loftily, "If you're calling to make up, you're a day late-"

"What did you and Blair do to Dan's sister?"

"We didn't do anything," Chuck announced, "Blair and the girls took her for dinner-"

"No, don't play innocent," Nate barked, "I know you had something to do with this-"

"So what if I did, Nate? What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to-"

"Unless you want everyone to know that your parents have been separated for two years, you aren't going to do anything!" Chuck threatened.

Nate stopped. In all the years he'd known Chuck, Chuck had never threatened him. Was this how things were going to be from now on? He was going to be under Chuck's control or else?

"You wouldn't-"

"I don't want to," Chuck confessed, "Just come to brunch and we can talk about it there, okay?"

Nate sighed.

"Fine."

"Good. Oh, and Nathaniel? Do wear something nice."