A/N: Hey everyone! Here's Chapter 3! I'm so sorry it's taken me two weeks. I feel incredibly guilty. When I posted the first two chapters I was on spring break so I had a lot of time on my hands. Now I'm back at school and my grades need to come first. I would love to be able to read and write Chuck and Blair fanfictions all day but I don't particularly want to be living with my parents when I'm 30. I'll try to put up a new chapter every week, but I'm not making any promises. However, I do intend to finish this story, no matter how long it takes me.

I saw The Pretty Reckless last week! They were amazing! For those of you who don't know, Taylor Momsen (aka Jenny Humphrey) is the lead singer! Her voice is amazing! I don't understand how such a deep and gravelly voice can come from such a small person. Their album Light Me Up is now on iTunes so everyone should go check it out. Now, I know that there are A LOT of people out there who hate Jenny. However, I'm not one of them. I'll admit, I was extremely angry with her towards the end of Season 3 when she basically ruined every relationship on the show (Chuck and Blair, Serena and Nate, Dan and Vanessa, she even tried to mess up Lily and Rufus), but I was most angry about Chuck and Blair. He was gonna propose! Gah! But I've forgiven Jenny and I don't blame her anymore. As Chuck says in 4x06, "It was no one's fault. It was fate, tragedy." They were both sad and lonely and there was scotch involved. Not a good mix. Plus, if Chuck and Blair hadn't broken up we never would have gotten the amazing piano scene from 4x07. I have faith in Chuck and Blair; not even the Humphreys can keep them apart. I don't know if Jenny will ever make an appearance in this story. As of right now, I just don't have a storyline for her character, but I'm not against putting her in if one comes up.

Thanks so much to tiff xoxo, QueenBee10, TriGemini, LY, ilovecujo1993, Emma, Rose, and Sophie for your reviews! You guys are awesome! Reviews really are motivating and inspiring so please take a minute out of your busy lives to tell me what you think.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl. If I did, there wouldn't be any frustratingly long hiatuses.

You turned away

when I looked you in the eye

And hesitated when

I asked if you were alright

...

Seems like you're fighting

For your life, but why, oh why?

...

Wide awake in the middle

of your nightmare

You saw it comin',

but it hit you out of nowhere

...

And there's always scars

When you fall back far...

Get Back Up - Toby Mac

For the first time in weeks, Serena was actually looking forward to something. She hadn't had much to be excited about since her mother had turned herself in, but she was actually happy to be attending the benefit tonight. She was on her way to the penthouse; she and Blair had made plans to get ready together, just like in high school. Serena was determined to find out what was going on with Blair. She could tell that something wasn't quite right. More and more frequently, she would find Blair staring off into space, lost in her thoughts. Blair didn't daydream. She schemed, she made plans, she developed strategies, but she didn't daydream.

When Serena got to the penthouse, she barged into Blair's room without knocking. To her surprise, Blair was already dressed. Even her hair and makeup was done.

"Blair, why are you already dressed? We were gonna get ready together," Serena whined.

Blair turned and Serena noticed an odd look flash quickly across Blair's perfect features. It was a mixture of guilt and embarrassment and Serena didn't quite understand it.

"Oh S, I'm so sorry. I must have forgotten," Blair apologized.

"Serena gave her a suspicious look. Blair never forgot things, unless it was on purpose. But she shrugged it off. Blair would tell her what was going on when she was ready to.

"That's okay, B. You can just help me. You look beautiful!" And she did. Blair looked like her usual gorgeous self. She was wearing a very simple, albeit very expensive, burgundy-colored gown. It was floor-length with long sleeves and the neckline came up to her collarbone. The material clung to Blair's body like a second skin, making the dress sexy in spite of the very small amount of skin it showed off.

Blair just gave Serena an odd smile. "Come on S, let's get you ready."

Soon, the girls were laughing and gossiping and Serena had forgotten all about her worries over Blair's strange behavior.

Chuck arrived at the benefit an hour late and already slightly tipsy, as usual. No one even looked up when he came in. He went straight to the bar and ordered a scotch. Before he could even take a drink, Serena had sidled up next to him.

"She's here," Serena said.

"I know," Chuck snapped. How could Serena think that he didn't know that? He could feel her presence as soon as he walked through the door. He had been fighting the pull to go over to her since he had gotten there. She was like gravity, pulling him in.

"Have you talked to her?" Serena asked.

"No, and I don't intend to."

"Chuck, why not?"

"Because," he whispered, "it hurts too much." He looked over to Serena, who was looking back at him with a sad, sympathetic expression on her face. Chuck finished off his scotch and walked away in search of someone to talk to that wouldn't look at him like that.

No sooner had he gotten away from Serena's sad blue eyes, than he ran into another person he didn't want to talk to, Dan Humphrey.

"Hey, Chuck, do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?" Dan asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do mind," Chuck snapped and began to walk away. He was stopped by Dan's hand on his arm. Chuck shot Dan a menacing glare, but he didn't seem to get the message.

"Wait, Chuck, I just want to apologize for what happened that night with Blair. We didn't have sex and I didn't realize anyone thought we had," Dan explained.

"What…couldn't get it up, Humphrey?" Chuck sneered.

"No…uh…that's never been a problem. We kissed and I realized I was still in love with Serena and Blair realized she was still in love with you."

"Well, she sure has a funny way of showing it," Chuck said sarcastically.

"Chuck, she was hurt from what happened with Raina. You were too concerned about Bass Industries to pay any attention to her. Then Louis came. And he paid attention to her and gave her gifts and took her out. He's Nate all over again. He's just a part of the fairytale she thinks she wants. I mean, he's a prince. How could she say no? But we all know you two are meant to be. So fight for her. If you really love her, fight for her." Dan finished his speech and walked away, probably in search of Serena.

Chuck decided he needed some air and headed out to the balcony. Despite the days getting warmer, the night air was cold and the balcony was deserted except for one person. As soon as he stepped through the door, she turned around, as if she could sense him there. As Chuck looked at Blair, he felt a heavy ache in his chest and a sudden, but powerful urge to touch her.

"Blair…" he breathed softly. He began to move towards her before he was even aware he was doing it. She didn't say anything until he was close enough to touch her.

"Chuck, what are you doing here?" she asked in a hard voice.

"I needed some air," he answered. Blair didn't reply immediately and Chuck took the opportunity to study her. She looked stunning and Chuck's heart was beating hard inside his chest. But as he looked closer, he realized that something was wrong. Blair's dress, which was in a deep shade of red that was the exact color of his bowtie, clung to her curves invitingly. It didn't show as much skin as Chuck would've liked, but it looked sexy nonetheless. However, Chuck couldn't help but to notice that Blair looked much too thin. She had definitely lost weight since the last time he had seen her. Chuck dragged his eyes up to her face and was immediately alarmed by what he saw. Beneath her carefully applied makeup, Chuck could see dark purple circles under her eyes. Her deep brown eyes, which he had seen sparkle and shine so beautifully, now looked dull, flat, and lifeless. Her posture was all wrong as well. Blair normally stood straight and tall and confident. She was sure of herself and her position as queen. But now, her shoulders were slumped and she seemed to be curled in on herself.

"Blair," he said softly, "what's wrong?" He reached out to touch her and she flinched away from him with fear and panic in her eyes. Chuck dropped his hand quickly, alarmed.

"Blair?" As he said her name, she seemed to recover. She straightened up and an impassive mask came over her face.

"I'm fine," she said in a tone that left no room for argument. Chuck was about to question her further because clearly she was not fine, when another voice called out Blair's name.

Chuck watched in surprise and alarm as Blair changed right before his eyes. Her whole body stiffened and then shrunk away from the direction of the voice. All the color drained from her cheeks and her eyes widened in panic. Bair stepped back from Chuck, putting more space between them. As the man who called out Blair's name walked over to them, she pasted a smile on her face that Chuck instantly recognized as fake.

"Blair! There you are! I've been looking for you," the man said in an annoyed voice. He glanced at Chuck and then turned back to Blair. "And who is he?" he asked in a distinctly French accent. Chuck realized that this must be Louis. He had never seen him up close before. Louis was attractive enough but he had an arrogant expression on his face. Chuck decided that he needed to put Louis in his place.

Chuck gave Louis his most condescending look and with as much disdain as he could muster, said, "I'm Chuck Bass."

Chuck watched Louis' face for the look of scared recognition and awe that graced the faces of so many people when they realized who he was. Out of the corner of his eye, Chuck noticed Blair's lips turn up in a small smirk. It quickly vanished when Louis turned back to Blair with an angry scowl.

"We're leaving," Louis announced with a growl. He grabbed Blair's arm roughly and began dragging her back towards the door and away from Chuck. Chuck looked at Blair in shock. The Blair he knew would never take this crap from anyone, even a prince. But here she was, following behind Louis obediently. Chuck didn't know what was going on, but he didn't like it.

"Blair, I-" he began but Blair interrupted him.

"Chuck, I'm fine." She shot him a look, clearly pleading with him to let it go. So he did. He watched as Blair followed Louis back to the party, his hand still wrapped tightly around her wrist. Watching Blair walk away with another man was torture. He hadn't even gotten a chance to talk to her. But now that he had seen her again, Chuck knew that he could no longer fool himself. He was still in love with Blair. And there was definitely something wrong. She was completely different. He decided that he would go first thing in the morning to see her and he wouldn't leave until she talked to him.

Louis was snoring in Blair's ear. Chuck never snored. Louis' arm was uncomfortably tight around her waist, making it difficult to breathe. Chuck never held her too tight. She had always wanted to be as close to him as possible. She pressed her face into pillows that didn't smell like Chuck to stifle her sobs.

Blair's whole body ached. Louis had been particularly rough that night. She didn't need to look in a mirror to know that the bruises were already forming. She could feel them surfacing on her skin. She thought back to the nightmare that had occurred when they got back from the benefit.

As soon as they were through the door of Louis' hotel room, he pushed Blair roughly. She stumbled on her high heels and long dress and fell to the floor. As Louis stalked over to her, she scrambled backwards until her back hit the wall and she could go no further. She looked up into dark eyes filled with anger. Louis pulled his leg back and kicked her hard in the thigh. She yelped and curled into a ball.

"What do you think you were doing? Talking to Chuck? Were you making plans to betray me again? Answer me!" Louis yelled.

"No, Louis. We weren't even talking. And I've never cheated on you. I would never do that. I love you," Blair cried, uncurling herself.

"You…lying…cheating…slut!" Louis punctuated each word with a swift and painful kick to the stomach. Blair curled up again in an attempt to protect herself. When he finally stopped, she sat up and looked at him pleadingly.

"Louis, please stop, you're hurting me." Blair's words only seemed to make him angrier. He grabbed her by the upper arms and dragged her to her feet. He hauled her to the bedroom and threw her roughly onto the bed.

"If you really love me, you'll show me," Louis said menacingly. With that he began taking off his pants. Blair looked at him in horror. Louis didn't say anything more; he just pulled Blair off the bed and onto her knees in front of him. Blair's eyes filled with tears when she realized what she was about to do. She was completely and utterly humiliated but she didn't dare to refuse. She had only ever done this for one person. It was another first that Chuck held the rights to. But she had wanted to do it for him. She had loved him.

Louis grabbed the back of Blair's head and pushed her towards him. She started to take him in her mouth slowly, but Louis used his hold on her head for leverage and thrust all the way in, hitting the back of her throat. She gagged, but Louis took no notice. He just pulled out and thrust back in. Blair's tears mixed with the taste of Louis' skin, reminding her again of the humiliation she was enduring. Louis thrust into her mouth on last time and came with a grunt. Blair forced herself to swallow all of the salty liquid filling her mouth. Louis let go of her head and Blair crumpled to the ground. Louis looked down at her in disgust and left the room. A minute later, Blair heard the sounds of the TV.

Now, she was trying to fall asleep next to Louis. He had demanded that she stay the night, even though he made it clear that she was inconveniencing him. Blair closed her eyes, but instead of darkness, she saw Chuck's face.

When she had seen him at the benefit she had panicked, afraid that Louis would see them, but even more afraid that Chuck would see her. He knew her better than anyone and she couldn't hide things from him like she could Serena or Nate. She was engaged to Louis but she could still feel the electricity that pulsed between them when he stepped onto the balcony. And he had looked at her in that way no one else ever did, especially Louis. She fell asleep with her heart aching even more than her battered body.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! Please review! I wish for reviews almost as much as I wish I had Taylor's legs!