Chapter 11 of This is Life
"Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life."— Leo Buscaglia
Author: Lily
Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl or any characters. Gossip Girl belongs to Cecily Ziegesar, Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage and the CW.
Summary: Post 1.10 — Takes place after Chuck sees Nate and Blair kissing. What would have happened, if Blair hadn't slept with Nate and Chuck would have apologized to her?
Rating: T / PG-15
Pairing: Chuck/Blair
A/N — A special thanks to Anki for her BETA. *hugs*
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"Change your thoughts and you change your world."
Norman Vincent Peale
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Blair unlocked the door to Chuck's suite and opened it slowly.
Not a single light was turned on and the whole suite was dark. The door shut behind her and she set the bag she had with her and Chuck's stuff aside.
"Chuck?" she asked quietly.
He was lying in his bed, eyes opened and staring at the ceiling, still dressed in his school uniform. He hadn't noticed her coming in, nor had he heard her speaking.
"Chuck."
Blair walked to the bed slowly, and sitting down beside him, she started to take off her clothes until she was in her negligee and crawled up to him.
Chuck finally shook out of his reverie and looked up at her. When he met her gaze, he smiled a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. She returned it hesitantly.
"How are you?" Blair asked him worriedly.
He didn't answer at first; he just tucked her closer to him and put his arm around her.
"Okay," he finally answered, his voice raspy from excessive shouting.
She laid her head on his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart.
"I'm sorry," she whispered after a moment, feelings of guilt overcoming her, "about Nate…"
"Don't be," he replied immediately. "I knew from the beginning what I was risking, that this could happen."
She looked up at him and their eyes met again.
"It's not your fault," he said, emphatic, seeing her doubting expression.
"Okay," she answered, but still not really believing his words.
He kissed the tip of her nose softly and she smiled, moving closer into his arms. Just the scent of him made her feel snug. It reminded her of her infancy, when all she had needed for comfort was to be in her father's arms.
Chuck was snoring faintly beside her and she lay there in the darkness, unable to fall asleep.
"I…I…" Sighing, Blair closed her eyes, ashamed of herself.
Blair Waldorf, he's asleep. Asleep for God's sake!
--
Good morning, Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl here, and today I'm serving an extraordinary dainty delicacy for breakfast.
Spotted: UES' new favourite couple arriving at school, hand in hand. What? You didn't know B and C aren't just friends with benefits anymore but a real couple? I apologize deeply for withholding such gossip, but sometimes the element of surprise makes it so much juicier.
So here's to officially crowning C and B as the new King and Queen of the Upper East Side. After all, a dark knight looks so much better next to our crazy bitch than boring Nate.
What do you say N? Hot or not?
I'd say we have a new Lonely Boy.
Until next time. You Know You Love Me.
Gossip Girl.
--
Blair tried her best to ignore the looks that were thrown at her and Chuck and gripped his hand tighter. Feeling him squeezing her hand back, she turned to smile at him, when she noticed the reason.
Nate was making his way across the courtyard, his cell clenched in his hand, the knuckles almost white, and his annihilating gaze on Chuck.
It left a chill in the pit of her stomach and she gripped Chuck's hand even tighter. Nate's gaze met Blair's for a moment and she could see the hurt in his eyes. Then, he turned around and walked away.
--
"Serena!" Blair hasted after her friend.
Serena stopped, turning around as Blair took her arm, leading her into an empty corridor.
"Blair! I'm so sorry about the blast… How are Chuck and Nate?"
"They're worse than we ever were," Blair answered truthfully, "but I actually wanted to ask you something. Did you tell Dan about me and Chuck?"
Serena stopped talking and her expression turned guilty. Blair saw through her best friend with ease.
"You did," Blair said slowly, gaping at her.
She couldn't believe it. Up until now, she had believed in Serena; thought that it could have been anyone, one of the thousands of prying gossip spies, but it had been her best friend. The realisation made her feel numb inside from disappointment and hurt.
Serena tried to soothe her. "Blair, I asked him for advice on how to tell Nate about you two…"
"You told Dan… and he told his social-climbing sister, who…"
"He would have never-"
"But Jenny would have!" Blair exclaimed.
"I can't believe you're blaming Jenny for this." Serena was looking at her disapprovingly.
"Jenny must have overheard what you two were discussing somehow and then sent that tip to Gossip Girl, hoping to dethrone me in the process to become the next queen. And at first, she went to smarm Nate, playing the innocent girl who just wants the best for him."
"You can't just offhandedly accuse Jenny, Blair, she would never do something like this to you!"
"I know it was her. I just know it. She would do anything as long as there was something in it for her."
"She's not you, Blair!" Serena exclaimed, leaving Blair staring at her best friend, aghast.
"I've got to meet Dan." Serena walked away, shaking her head.
--
"Jenny!"
Jenny stopped on her way to the steps and smiled precariously at Blair.
"Blair, how can I help you?" Jenny asked hesitantly, her voice shaking. Blair couldn't know that she had sent the blast to Gossip Girl, could she? It could have been anyone.
Blair smiled back at her sweetly.
"Why so shy now, Little J? Do you think I don't know that you were the one who sent that blast to Gossip Girl and told Nate about me and Chuck beforehand to gain his trust?"
Oh, shit.
Did Jenny really think that she wouldn't have figured everything out? Even if she hadn't talked to Serena earlier, she would have found out eventually. No one had known about her relationship with Chuck except for Serena and she knew how much Serena trusted Dan. There weren't that many possibilities left.
Jenny gulped and attempted to retort with something clever, but found herself speechless.
"What? You're not even going to defend yourself?" Blair asked her derisively. "I'm just giving you fair warning to be careful from now on because I got the feeling you need to be taught your place," Blair said, almost a little deploringly. "You have no idea what you've done."
"Blair, I'm sorry-" Jenny tried to explain.
"I thought you were cleverer and knew not to mess with me."
And with that, Blair walked away, leaving Jenny standing alone on the street. Jenny watched the other girls coming out of the school. They followed Blair hastily, not even sparing a glance at her.
She looked after them stonily.
She wasn't going to go down without a fight.
--
Blair sighed.
The other girls were unnaturally quiet today. Looking around, she saw Serena and Dan sitting together at one table laughing.
Dan noticed her staring at them and nudged Serena lightly, who turned around. Blair looked away.
Serena didn't know that Blair had been right. Yet.
"Blair, look who is coming," Kati suddenly whispered excitedly. Looking in the direction Kati was pointing, she saw Nate making his way towards them.
Not again.
"Excuse me." Blair got up hastily and rushed away.
Once she was out of the schoolyard, she let out a breath and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes for a moment only to be startled when she opened them again.
"Are you running out on me?" Nate's voice sounded next to her.
Since when had he become so insistent?
"You're not serious about this, are you?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he held up his cell and showed her the latest Gossip Girl blast.
A picture of her and Chuck. New King and Queen of the UES, she read.
"It wasn't me who wrote that. It was Gossip Girl," Blair replied innocently, feigning ignorance.
"Are you two together now?" Nate asked, scowling.
"Yes, we are."
"You can't seriously think I'm going to believe that you really like him Blair. I know you're just with him to make me jealous because you wanted revenge on me for sleeping with Serena. Now we're even, right?"
"Honestly, I don't care if you believe me or not Nate. I don't think I need to explain my relationship with Chuck to anyone else either, least of all you." Blair rolled her eyes. "And I wouldn't be so sure that you're even worthy of revenge. My feelings for Chuck don't concern anyone but me and him, so if you came to talk to me about this nonsense, you can just go," Blair said flippantly.
"Do you really think Chuck cares about you? His life consists of drugs, boozing, and womanizing. You should know," Nate pressed further.
"How can you say this? He is your best friend!" Blair retorted, enraged.
"Exactly!" Nate raised his voice. "He was my best friend. I know how he is. Women are just toys to him. He plays with them until he gets bored and then throws them away. I've seen enough women crawling out of his bed over the years to know. Eventually, you're just going to do the same-"
"That's not true," Blair said quietly, tears brimming in her eyes. How could he…?
"…and if you think he'll ever love you, you're wrong. He doesn't love anyone except himself."
Blair flashed her eyes at him, still holding her tears back.
He had gone too far, he realised.
"Bl-"
"Don't - ever talk to me again," Blair said with venom in her voice and if looks could kill, Nate was sure he would've already been buried six feet underground.
She walked back to the school, wiping her tears away furiously. Nate was just saying all those things about Chuck to win her back, she knew. But still…
If you think he'll ever love you, you're wrong.
--
"Hey, gorgeous." Chuck came up behind Blair and wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her stomach and kissing her cheek softly.
"Chuck. What are you doing here?" Blair smiled and turned into his arms, sliding her hands down his chest.
He leaned forward and kissed her. "Just checking on you," She grinned against his lips. "I'm on my way to Bart's office."
"Oh!" Blair replied excitedly. "Is he going to talk to you about…"
"…the business deal, yes," Chuck finished, pressing his mouth to hers again. "See you at dinner?"
Blair nodded. "Good luck with Bart."
"Bye." Chuck gave her a quick kiss and smirked at her before walking to the doors.
Blair smiled after him and let out a happy sigh. Then, she turned back to her locker and noticed a little note pinned there. She took it with a frown.
Blair,
I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have said all those things to you. I'm not in the position to judge you two and if you are happy together, then I guess I should be happy too.
You were right. Chuck is my best friend. Can you help me win him back? Seven at my place?
Nate
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To be continued
A/N: I have to apologize for the delay, (again;) but I've been on a little vacation and writer's block wasn't really helping. I want to thank everyone who left a review for the last chapter and I'm going to reply right now :) Oh, and I also want to extra thank Mel for her BETA on this chapter. Without your help this chapter wouldn't have turned out like this, I am sure. *hugglesquishiesyoutigthly*
So, what do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter :)