So this is chapter two. After the review of laurenlarie (Thanks for that again) I decided that Nate deserves a multi-fic. So enjoy and review please!
When he got home, he saw light in the living room. 'That's strange. Mother is normally asleep at this time.' he thought as he opened the front door. When he heard laughter he recognized his mother wasn't alone. And the other voice was…a man. Okay, if he thought this day couldn't get any worse he was SO wrong. He had exactly two possibilities: got nearer and sneak how it was or make his present announced. Sneaking was all Blair and Chuck's thing. So he did option # 2.
"Mom! I'm home." He called innocently. The noises in the living room died immediately. It took a few seconds before he heard heels on the wood floor coming nearer.
"Honey, I thought you were out with your friends to celebrate your birthday?!" a surprised Anne greeted her son.
"Well, I was. But now I'm home. Who's in there?" he pointed at the living room. He always knew that his mother would move on. Since she had divorced Howard last year, just like grandfather suggested it, he knew his mother would find a new husband in time. Anne Archibald was a woman who need someone to lean on in life and since Nate was away to College most of the time it was supposed to happen.
"Uhm…." Anne hesitated. "…a friend of mine. You probably know him."
Nate furrowed and walked over to the door. 'No…hold on a second………NO!.....NO THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!' his mind yelled. On the couch in his mother's living room was no other than Jack Bass! OF ALL PEOPLE! Nate was shocked for a moment, he really way. But the very next he just shrugged it off.
Of course had his mother to pick the evil pig. There were thousands of decent, wealthy and nice men in Manhattan she could have dated. But no! Of course not one of them. Anne Archibald was a bad man magnet.
"Hey Dave!" Jack greeted him with a smirk. His mother walked by and over to Jack and gave him an apologetic smile.
"Those Basses are out to destroy my life…" Nate mumbled under his breath as he turned around and run upstairs. He slammed the door shut and dropped himself on the bed. He needed a plan. Now. He needed some distance between this crazy life he had right now and this city and himself.
'Well, grandfather refilled and doubled my trust. I still have the Ferrari he bought me in that summer with Bree. Bree…wonder what she does right now….NO! Focus, Nate. So you've the money, you've the car, you've the connection….of course! Tripp!' Nate took his phone out and dialed his cousins number.
"Hey Tripp, my man! How are you!" Nate greeted his cousins.
"Hey Nate! I'm as fine as a soon-to-be-divorced can be. Hold on a second, please….Christina? Marina? However, this call is important. Go and wait for me over there….I'm back. Sorry man, those European girls are killer!" Tripp explained happily. He was intoxicated, Nate could tell so much.
"Listen, man. We need to catch up. I need some distraction anyway. Where are you right now?" Nate asked.
"Uhm, St. Tropez …or Nizza…I'm not sure man. But I will be in Barcelona in two days. Let's meet there!" Tripp suggested.
"That will be fine. See you there." Nate returned.
"Nate wait! Happy Birthday, man. I'm sorry I haven't called but I didn't thought you wanted to talk to me." Tripp said with some guilty expression in his voice.
"Thanks. It's fine, man. You're forgiven and you know that." Nate ended the call with this and decided to turn off his phone before one of the deeply disturbed brunettes could call him.
When Nate and Tripp were little kids they were really close, just like brothers. But when Tripp's family moved to Washington, just like the most Vanderbilt's once in time, they lost the contact. Only on family things they saw each other. When Nate was in Middle School and Tripp in High School (Tripp's five years older than Nate btw) another factor pushed them father away from each other. The name of the factor was Blair Waldorf. Something was strange about her, Tripp kept telling Nate. Nowadays Nate knew why he said it. Tripp recognized Blair's façade long before himself. But that wasn't the reason for the big cut.
When Nate and Bree started dating, Nate knew it would piss his grandfather off. That was what he wanted in the first place. Later then, he got quite smitten with Bree. But Tripp and grandfather had other plans for them. It didn't take long before Bree Buckley were in the newspaper. Declared as the sloppy girl who threw herself at the Vanderbilt's. The Buckley's were humiliated more than anyone ever expected. Even grandfather and Tripp were quite impressed about the follows of their little media spectacle. Buckley lost his election and the respect of his followers. 'That's how it works in the South' Tripp had told him months later when the guilt overwhelmed him. Nate was out for revenge after the confession.
And yes! Nathaniel Archibald knows indeed how to plot. He was the best friend of Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf after all.
So Nate took his chance on a charity event in London around Christmas time that year and introduced Tripp's wife to Lord Marcus Beaton. Nate thought that Marcus owned him one and even more. Since Duke Beaton had kicked out his wife Catherine and divorced her, Marcus was thankful to found through Nate a little distraction. In Nate's opinion he and Tripp were even after this.
When he heard that Maurien had dumped Tripp for Marcus and got dumped by Marcus in return, he felt not a bit guilty but sad for his cousin. But Nate knew also that Maurien would never make Tripp happy. So Tripp should probably even be thankful to Nate. Though Nate decided that it was better not to mention this to Tripp.
He rose from his bed and started to pack his suitcases. When he finished packing he booked a flight in the internet and checked his accounts and mails one last time. He forgot that his instant messenger was an autostart program which need to be turned off if he didn't want to be online. But too late.
B-for-bitchy(1:03): Archibald, would you turn on your phone plz?
NateTheGreat(1:04): Nope. No reason.
Nate remembered the day, Blair had installed this program on his notebook just too well. They bought the same notebook on the same day. It was after one of Eleanor's heavy meltdowns. They, as in Blair, Nate and Chuck (Serena was MIA), came from school and were actually in a good mood. But as soon as they arrived Eleanor started to yell with Blair. Something about the nightly phone calls of her. She recognized to late that Blair wasn't alone. This was the day Nate and Chuck got a pretty good view on the real Eleanor Waldorf. They usually didn't use the internet to communicate so far. Their phones and cells did the job so far. But when this was a reason for Blair to get in trouble, they had to find another way. So Chuck called his limo, they went to the next computer shop and bought the best notebooks money could buy. Afterwards they went back to Blair's place and Nate made sure that her wireless internet worked. Then Blair installed those messenger program on their notebooks and when she went to the bathroom, Chuck changed her nickname from QueenBee to B-for-bitchy. They had laughed a lot about it and Blair didn't seemed to care. But her revenge were funny as well. C-for-caveman. These were back in the good days, when they all were friends. The "one for all and all for one" times. But these were over.
B-for-bitchy(1:04): You can't avoid our calls forever :-P
NateTheGreat(1:04): Try me.
With that, he closed his notebook, took a pencil and piece of paper and wrote a notice for his mom that he was going to visit Tripp and would try to make it back in time for the holidays. Which were several weeks ahead. So there was plenty of time to try a new lifestyle.
Suite 1812, Blair's POV.
"Now look what you've done, Chuck Bass!" she yelled at him and pointed at the screen in front of her. Chuck made a face, rose from the couch and got closer to see what she meant. He read the messages and sighed.
"Well, give him time to calm down. Everything is going to be fine, Blair." He said as he bent down to kiss her.
"Uh uh, Chuck! Sex as distraction isn't going to work tonight. You pissed our last friend. Ruined his birthday just because you were a jealous idiot. Why don't you trust me?" Blair asked angrily.
He kneed down beside her. "Look, Blair, I trust you. You know I do. But seeing you with Nate or close to Nate opens old wounds. I'm sorry but I can't do anything about that fact." He explained with a touch of hurt in his voice.
Blair knew that she and Nate was his biggest insecurity. She could have laughed in his face. She could have reacting angrily. But that would hurt him and that was something she was never really able to do. So she leaned forward and took his faces in her hands.
"Chuck Bass, I love you. Only you. There's no "Nate and me". There's only Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck. Okay?" she whispered. He nodded.
"So am I forgiven?"
"I'm not the one who has to forgive you Chuck."
"Well if that's true, make love to me, sweetheart." He smirked.
"Chuck Bass can talk cheesy. Who knew?" she mocked.
"Now you do."
tbc...