A/N: I'm trying to finish this quickly, because in April I'll be going to camp in China for two months, and it'll be almost impossible to update. And there's been something wrong with the log in thing lately. . .
Blair sighs in content.
"B, everything looks perfect," Serena exclaims in wonder. Blair smiles gratefully.
"I know."
"Oh. . .I can't believe it. Twenty one years. . ."
"We're older than we look," Blair says teasingly. "Where's Humphrey? Isn't he coming to help celebrate me and Nate?"
"He can't come. He's finishing this new novel about. . ." Serena wrinkled her nose. "I'm not really sure. Anywways, the kids are with yours."
Blair rolls her eyes. "The pains of marrying a writer."
"You married Nate!"
"So?"
"He broods a lot."
"At least he doesn't chatter endlessly."
" If you'd married Chuck, it would be dirty jokes all the time," Serena says lightly, with a laugh.
Blair's face darkened as Serena mentioned his name. The first thing she did when she got home that night was dump his scarf under her bed. Then she climbed on her bed and cried her eyes out before Nate got home and she pretended to be asleep underneath the pillows. She just couldn't forget the look in his eyes, the same one he'd given her after she'd thrown his flowers back in the elevator years ago. It was haunting her.
"B, what?"
"Nothing. It's just weird, what you said."
"I guess. We are dealing with Chuck Bass. "
Suddenly, she sees him, his arm around another woman. Probably some model, she thinks. He glances back for a second, meeting her eyes, and then looks back, disgusted. Her heart gives a pang as she tries to digest it all.
"What was that?" she hears Serena say.
"What was what?" she answers absent-mindedly. She'd been stupid to think Chuck actually loved her, for a second, because he's here now and he has a date.
"That look. You and Chuck."
"How should I know, S? I didn't see any look."
"You guys are fighting?" Blair should've known Serena would figure it all out. "After being friends for like two seconds?"
"S, it's complicated."
Serena drags Blair into the corner of the room, pulling at her elbow.
"What happened?" she whispers.
Blair tries to make her voice sound cold. "He told me he loved me."
"That's good!"
"No, it's not," she fumes, her voice shaky. "I can't. . .I can't go back to that anymore. I can't want to leave my family for him."
Serena's face twists in understanding, and even if she hates being pitied, for once, she ignores it. Blair blinks the tears away—she can't break down here—and straightens up. It's her anniversary, with the man she loves, and everyone expects a smile from her.
"Blair," Nate whispers, coming out of nowhere. He wounds his hand around hers and leads her to the center of the room.
"You look handsome, Archibald."
"You don't look so bad yourself."
She smiles, but over Nate's shoulder, he sees Chuck with his date. Her smiles turns even more smug, as Nate dips in to kiss her. When she opens her eyes, Chuck's gone.
"Do you want your present now?"
"Maybe later?"
"Okay. By the way, I happened to hear Audrey crying the other night."
Blair tries to look surprised. She remembers their talk yesterday; Audrey had assured her nothing happened. Apparently, they'd gotten into a fight when she told Daniel she wanted to wait.
He said he could just find any other person anyways.
"I think it has something to do with Daniel."
Nate frowns. "Bass, right? I knew he wasn't good for her. He's here, though, I saw him drinking at the bar. . ."
"Nate, today's special. You can punch him out tomorrow." Blair smiles up at him, feeling strangely empty.
"I guess you're right—"
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to give a toast."
Nate and Blair look around and discover Serena grinning and holding up her glass of wine.
"Nate and Blair Archibald have been my friends ever since we were born. Blair had already planned to marry him before she could even walk, and wrote 'Mrs. Archibald' when she learned to write everywhere she could. They married after college, and I had the privilege to be maid of honor to such a wonderful couple. Years later, they still stand as a symbol of love. To Nate and B—"
"Actually, I'd like to add something," Chuck interrupted. Blair recognized the troublemaking look on his face. "I'd like to say. . ."
He met her eyes with a smirk. She silently begged him not to ruin them, all of them and her families.
"I'd like to say that theirs really is what they call true love." Chuck raised his glass with a sad smile. "To the happy couple."
Everyone starts to clap warmly, and Nate motions for the musicians to play a slow tune. All Blair can think about is how relieved she is Chuck didn't be himself, for once.
"Shall we dance?" Nate asks.
"Well, since you asked. . .yes."
Nate places one hand on her lower back, the other holds hers tightly. She smiles and slides her left behind his neck, stroking it. Ignoring Chuck behind Nate, she leans in closer and tries block him out. Soon, they aren't the only couple dancing, and at the corner of her eye, she sees Audrey dancing with another guy, only her smile is tight, and the warmth doesn't quite reach her eyes.
"May I take over?" she hears Daniel ask the guy.
"Well, --"
"I assure you, it's only for awhile."
Daniel smirks when he becomes her partner, but she scowls and tilts her head away.
"Thought you could find some other slut, Bass."
"I lied."
"When this song is finished, I want you to let go."
"What if I don't?"
"Then I'll go."
He turns serious. "The other day was really it?"
"Yes."
"And you're sure?"
She hesitates. "I want to be."
He nods, and looks down. "I'll go."
"Good."
He kisses her cheek softly, and Blair can see her stiffen, steeling herself.
"Chuck, hey," Nate says against her. She wants to scream not now, but she bites her lip and delays greeting him. She can feel the burn of his eyes already.
"Nathaniel, my man. I'd introduce you to my date, but she's chatting with someone else. Congratulations, by the way."
Nate stops dancing, and she knows it's time to recognize his presence. Blair turns around with a ready, sweet smile, conscious of every muscle tightening up in her face.
"Thank you for the toast, Chuck."
"No problem. Your husband wouldn't mind if I steal you for a dance, right?"
They both turn to Nate, who laughs, as Blair sends him warning glances. "Only for awhile?"
"Of course."
It sends chills through her body when he touches her, when he holds her and his breath tickles her skin. She's visibly stiff too; somehow she can't help but think that everyone's eyes are watching them intently. Were they? She pulls as far out as she can without seeming like they're dancing two feet apart.
"Why are you really here?"
"To celebrate your wedding anniversary. I was best man, if you remember." His voice is smooth, as always, but there's a bitterness to it to remind her that he had fought for her, and that it was she who refused him.
When Nate had announced their wedding, she remembers, his face crumpled up as if someone had physically hit him. She hadn't expected it then; she'd assumed he would get over her soon, just like he always seemed to before. And when he'd excused himself from the party, she followed him with her eyes as he bought a drink and sat in the corner. During their wedding, she was half-hoping he would call in sick—certainly no one would blame him. But he didn't, and he stood behind Nate as they said their vows and made a polite toast later on at their recepction.
"We both know that's not real purpose. You wouldn't have needed a model by your side."
He smirks. But she thinks there's a hidden sadness in his expression.
"You know me well, Archibald."
"Can't you just leave me alone?" She hopes it sounded rude, impatient, and not weak.
"I love you."
"Chuck, please, not now—"
"Don't say that. I love you."
"I love Nate," she tells him, her firm voice wavering. "It doesn't matter if—if you love me, or not."
"You said it would've mattered before."
She decides to take a cue from Audrey. "When this song finishes, leave. Say you have an urgent meeting, or some other thing you have to attend to."
"Why should I?"
"I want you to. And then next time we see each other, ignore me. Shoot me insults if you feel the need to. That's better, I guess."
He looks wounded, finally resigned and tired.
"And tell Daniel to stop hounding my daughter. He treated her like shit last time."
Chuck just looks at him, half angry, and half sadly. It's his worst look, it's the one that can break her most.
"So we can't even be friends anymore?"
"No." She decides to make it even more clear. "I'm done, and you mean nothing to me."
"Fine," he spits out.
When the song ends, he makes a little mock bow and leaves. He doesn't wait for his date, who ends up heading home alone too, but nods at Nate and exits the door. Dorota watches him too, and sends Blair a curious look.
It feels like someone should just rip her heart out.
"Where's Chuck going?" Serena asks.
"Business," she replies shortly. "Have you seen Nate?"
"He's with Josiah."
Blair sees him fix Josiah's bow with a grin, as her son grumbles something. "This isn't as perfect as I wanted it to be," she admits, looking away.
"I know, B. It's okay."
"I don't feel like it is."
"Ms. Blair?" Dorota holds out a phone out for her with a shocked face. "It's for you."
Blair heads to the telephone, her heels clicking all the way."Hello?"
"B—Blair?"
She presses the phone closer to her ear. "Mrs. Archibald?"
"The Captain has—" There's some sobbing over the line, and Blair grows worried.
"What happened to the captain? Anne?"
"He's had a heart attack."
Blair waits in dread for the rest of the news; surely it was coming. Nate's smiling at her from across the room, and she feels horrible for him.
"He—He's passed away."
This chapter is definitely sad, don't you think? Next chapter is how people deal with it. By the way, I just want to clarify that this has nothing to do with Rufus and Lily; I didn't get my idea for this story from them.