A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry for the late update but RL kept me 's why this chapter only has about 2,000. The next one will be longer again, I promise!
This chapter contains a bit drama (okay, a lot of) but the next one will be happy and funny again. I guess, most of the C/B fans won't like this one as well but I promise they will have their happily ever after. But as I want this story to be a long one (~ 40 to 50 chapters) they can't have it yet. PLEASE R&R!!!
"Georgina? No way. Sis, you should visit the oculist sometimes," Chuck said, amused.
"Yeah, what on Earth would she be doing here?" Eric asked.
"You guys, I've already said I was mistaken, so just let it go," Serena seethed.
"You better be, S. The last thing I need right now is Whoregina," Blair sighed.
"YOU need? Really, Blair, it's so good to have you with us. Always so polite, so friendly, and so worried for your friends. It's so good that you are not a bit of an egoist," Nate said sarcastically. But as soon as he spilled it, he knew that it was a mistake.
"Nate!" Serena whispered, alarmed. Blair turned around slowly. Chuck stayed numb and just glared at Nate in the driving mirror.
"Nathaniel Archibald. Don't you ever say anything like that to me again in your life, am I understood? At least I don't sell my friends out for the first best occasion," Blair snapped.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Nate spat back.
"Think about it. About a certain heirloom you'd give me to buy my family."
"That was not just to save my family. You know that it wasn't."
"So, what? You would have proposed because you wanted to marry me so badly?"
"No, I wouldn't have proposed! Eight years, Blair. Eight fucking years of my life I wasted to be the perfect boyfriend, and all I wanted in return was this favor but I should have known better. You're right," Nate sighed angrily.
The discussion got harsher. It was obvious that Blair, as well as Nate, had so much hidden emotions that needed to be set free and no one dared to interrupt that.
"Perfect boyfriend? PERFECT BOYFRIEND? Where have you been when I needed you the most? When my father left? When my best friend left because of you? Yeah, right. You were busy getting high. The height of imprudence was the "I don't love you" thing and confessing your feelings to Serena. So please, don't play the betrayed friend." Blair's voice rose by the second.
"And you, please don't play the angel. You fucked my best friend!"
"SO DID YOU, Nate!"
"Yeah, I did. And I'm glad I did, because after all these years of boredom I needed some relief."
"RELIEF? You created your fucking perfect mess for us. Forgive me that I didn't want to live like that. Well, at least you have recognized somewhere on the road that you didn't fit in it yourself. At least I tried to make my family and my friends happy!" Blair lost it. Tears were running down her cheeks.
"Yeah, by terrorizing other people in school, making yourself sick, and throwing your virginity away with Chuck. Great job, girl. And still, everyone chose Serena over you. And don't play the rebellious girl right now; if you could, you would run back in my arms as soon as possible. Congrats," Nate spat out angrily.
Chuck slammed on the brakes. He faced Blair. And Blair looked at him in shock. He just needed to take a look in her eyes to know it was true. He had wondered why she acted like she did sometimes, but he refused all these years to think she would ever hurt herself. His beautiful Blair – the subject of many dreams in the last years. Blair started sobbing heavy now. Chuck stared at her as he began to speak.
"Nathaniel – don't you dare to speak to her ever again. As soon as we arrive in Cuba, we're done," he said firmly before he pulled Blair in for a kiss. "And you stop thinking about it, baby. You're perfect, okay?" Blair nodded and her sobbing started to fade.
"Okay, now that everyone had the chance to overreact once, we all should just calm down." Eric started, trying to quiet the seething minds.
"I didn't have mine! I can't believe you blame me for this, Blair!" Serena said angrily.
"Oh, please. Do you know how it feels? How it feels to always look like Darth Vader next to Sunshine Barbie?" Blair responded.
"How is this my fault? Deal with your insecurities, and stop blaming me!"
"If you have nothing to do with it, why do you always take everything away from me? My mom, okay not really a loss. The girls at school, yeah. But that wasn't enough. You had to fuck Nate also! I guess you couldn't take it that I'd had sex with someone you hadn't yet! But, luckily, my new boyfriend is your sibling-in-law. Incest would be cruel, even for you, Chasey!"
Suddenly the car got silent. That wasn't what Blair had expected. Obviously, everyone knew something she didn't. As usual. She looked at Chuck in shock. The tears started again, streaming down her cheeks. There were no words left she could say. It was just too much.
The car was completely still when there was a knocking on the window.
"Blair…" Chuck whispered. Blair just shook her head hysterically.
"Chuck, open the window. Your friend looks very impatient," Eric mentioned and pointed at the window. Chuck did as told.
"Charlee, my friend, what's going on, eh? Don't you want to go to airport anymore?" the creepy old guy asked with his Spanish accent.
"Of course, Javier. Just a minute please!" Chuck said, and the man nodded before he returned to his car.
Chuck eyed Blair one last time intensely, but she just stared out the window. The three people in the back seat didn't say anything, nor dared to move. The secrets those friends try to hide from each other always came out when the moment was the really worst for confessions. And somehow they always ended up the same:
- Blair upset
- Nate conscious of guilty
- Serena confused, angry and guilty at the same time
- Chuck mad
Blair recalled the discussion with Serena at Thanksgiving this year. Serena confronted her with the fact that she knew about Blair and Chuck. Both girls traded many insults, but when Blair attacked her with the fact that there had to be at least one guy that hadn't slept with Serena, she hadn't reacted. She just changed the topic without answering.
"I'm a fool," Blair whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Blair…." Chuck said more like a begging than anything else but Blair cut him off.
Blair let herself sink in the seat. There were no muscles in her body left that wanted to stay strong. She leaned her head against the window and watched the streets flying by. She couldn't think of anything she wanted to say. Chuck had been her rock in all these last years; even in times she wouldn't admit it, she was glad to have him around. They were always honest with each other. Chuck told her often about his conquests, especially if the conquests were girls she knew. She should have known. Serena was the UES slut herself, and Chuck was the UES womanizer. Of course they had sex before, and everybody knew it, even little Eric. Just like everybody knew about Nate and Serena at the wedding – except her. As they drove out of the city, further in the country, she could see Nate's reflection in her window. He looked confused, angry, hurt, and upset, all rolled into one. He noticed that she stared at him. He returned her glare and looked more vulnerable than ever.
"You know, I really did love you," Blair said to reflection-Nate.
"So did I," Nate answered. Chuck jerked a bit and Blair chuckled.
"No, it's true, you know. The summer with you on the boat was the very best I ever had. And back then, I really did love you, Blair," Nate confessed and Serena shook her head slightly. So much about the new beginning.
It was summer 2005. Blair and Nate were greenlings and Nate's grandfather insisted to give him a gift for starting high school. So he brought Nate to New England and took him to a sail, but Nate refused to go without Blair, so Mr. Vanderbilt asked her to join them. After hundreds of promises from Blair, Nate and Mr. Vanderbilt that nothing would happen on the trip between Blair and Nate, Eleanor and Harold finally agreed. There were three weeks on the ocean, and Nate and Blair had the best time ever. They enjoyed the time together, away from the city, away from the world they knew. It was just them and it felt good. The water, the sun, the sea air… Everything was perfect.
"Mine, too, Nate. But that's in the past. We moved on a lot. We made failures that changed everything and those failures can't be forgotten. So, let's hold those memories of us and try to focus on the future," Blair said, and Chuck felt relief. She didn't want him back, she didn't want Nate. That didn't mean that she wanted him, either, but it was a start. Serena didn't know what to think. She missed Dan but she wanted Nate. Nate, on the other hand, wanted her but also seemed to have feelings for Blair, somewhere deep inside.
"Suggestion, everyone: Let's save the drama for the time after this drama we're in, huh?" Eric asked sternly.
"Great idea, little brother," Chuck replied. He needed time to plan how to fix this. He wanted her. He wanted to be with Blair, no matter what. After all those years of womanizing he found what he was always looking for, and he wouldn't let it go.
If the teens hadn't have been so occupied with their fights, probably one of them would have recognized the cab that followed them…
Bart sat in his office, a glass of scotch in his hand. He hadn't had any hard alcohol in years, but today was the right time. So when he got home, he walked in Chuck's room and took his bottle before he backed out to his office.
Just great. I can't handle being a father for my son. My son that I know. The son who was carried by the woman he truly loved.
The night Anne broke up with him, he met Misty, and from the very first moment, he knew she was the one. She was the most beautiful, sophisticated, funniest and cleverest woman he ever met and he fell for her, hard. Within a year, they were married and the very next she was dead, and he was left behind with a son that looked exactly like his mother. Bart always thought that this fate was his punishment for betraying Misty with Anne once. It was a dark night. Anne stood in front of the office when he got out. She was crying because Howard was a walking disappointment and before he knew what happened, it just happened…. But obviously that was just part of the punishment. Now, eighteen years later, he learned that another consequence for his weakness was somewhere out there with his son.
He tried to summarize what he knew about Nate. Well, he was blond and tall. Blue eyes. Sports guy. But what else? The poor boy was in for the shock of his life, Bart thought bitterly. Bart rose from his place behind the desk. He needed to talk to Lily.
A/N: I hope you guys liked that one. Please review and let me know if you liked it!!!! And please be honest, I can handle criticism! And I love to hear suggestions how to continue.
Thanks for reading :o)