Thirty minutes had passed; pleasantries had been exchanged, and no one wanted to be the first to address the elephant in the room. Rufus had taken to checking up on the guests making sure everyone had refreshments; it didn't seem to matter that there were cater waiters hired for such a purpose. Meanwhile, Lily was absorbed in a discussion with both of her children; although, Eric seemed to be only present in body.

Blair caught sight of a certain other Humphrey alone across the room, and it didn't take long before she came up behind him.

"I hope you're prepared. That stunt you pulled earlier won't go unpunished." She took a new glass from the table.

Dan turned. "Keep drinking, incapacitated you'll be even less of a threat."

"Excuse me, but I hold my drink very well."

"Hmm, I recall a certain karaoke session that disputes that."

"What I remember is how weak your solo attempts at schemes are. Face it Humphrey, you haven't graduated. Not by a long-shot. You need me."

"Okay for that I do."

She narrowed her eyes, "And keeping you in line! Still haven't kicked that moral superiority habit from poking its ugly head often enough."

"My superiority, really Blair?" He shook his head and fought the grin, which resulted in a paltry smirk.

She overlooked his interruption, quite literally: "And, I steered you from another fashion faux pas today. Who said I wasn't charitable?" Upon opening her eyes she zeroed in on the current state of his tie, and within moments was readjusting it. She scoffed, "Told you I should've just done it myself in the first place."

-―-―――

The room stilled; Chuck Bass was always one for a dramatic entrance, and turning up "fashionably" late to his previous step-mother's proposed lunch was just another venue to do so.

-―-―――

Dan approached the lone van der Woodsen. "Hey."

Eric faced his step-brother, "Dan, hey. How are you?"

"Me? How are you doing with all of this?"

Eric looked away, "Just taking it a day at a time…"

"I'm sure it'll all work out."

Eric flashed a smile, "Yeah, been hearing that a lot. What was this I heard about a carpool?"

"Just my dad's lame attempt at a joke. There was no carpool." Dan smirked at the word of the day and unconsciously looked for Blair.

"What is it? Who did you come with?"

"Blair."

Eric played along, "Yeah right, Blair."

Dan loosened his collar, and his eyes darted over the crowd before looking back at Eric.

"You're serious."

"Yeah, but it's no big deal. We just happened to be at the same place that was it."

"And what place in the world would you and Blair possibly be at together? The W internship is over." Eric still expected Dan to toss in a 'just kidding!' at any moment, and so peered up at him with a smug look.

"Well you know, Brooklyn."

"Blair was in Brooklyn?"

"Yeah, it's not like it was for the first time. You should know that."

"It's Blair, and Brooklyn."

"People change?" Dan shrugged.

"What was she doing in Brooklyn?" Eric couldn't hide his curiosity now.

"The usual, harassing me."

"Hold on, so Blair turns up in Brooklyn just to harass you? And that's common?"

"Well, no not when you… No."

Dan ran a hand through his hair. "There was that whole Juliet thing, and then she got tired of the line-ups at the theater, so sometimes there was the Loft instead. And… how did this become a topic of discussion?"

Eric quirked his brows, fumbling with the pieces of a puzzle he doubted he'd ever be able to solve… Well, maybe another go. "Was Blair at the Loft today?"

Dan opened his mouth, but pursed his lips instead; words failed him.

-―-―――

"Was that Humphrey I saw you ingratiating yourself with?" Chuck swallowed most of the contents of his glass.

"Nice to see you too, Chuck. Now what are you talking about?"

"If I didn't know any better, it'd almost bring to mind that kiss you mentioned last night."

Blair crossed her arms, "I was under the impression we'd be talking about you. Isn't that what you said? You had something to tell me…"

"Well if not Brooklyn's-Best. Is your latest beau present?" Chuck made a show of glancing around the room.

"I mean it, Chuck. What happened to my lending you my ear? I thought it was important… I wouldn't have…"

"I changed my mind."

"Fine then, I'll see how Serena is doing."