A/N: I am so sorry for another long update. School is extremely stressful and seeing as though I have those not-so-lovely courses this semester, that has had me busy. So I apologise to all those that have lost interest in the story because of my constant chapter updates after a month. But I would love to thank all of those that have stuck with the story. I dedicate this chapter to you and I hope you all enjoy it!

Blair walked out of her bathroom door. After a quick glance at the clock, she grabbed her clutch and sauntered down the stairs. She saw Dorota's gleaming eyes looking at her with awe. Her hands grasped together on top of her chest. Blair smiled and descended down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she did a small twirl in front of her plump maid.

"Do I look alright, Dorota?" she asked.

"Alright? Miss Blair, you look like a movie star!" Dorota said excitedly.

"Thank you, Dorota."

Dorota looked over at the clock before hurrying over towards one of the closets. She grabbed Blair's blue trench coat and helped her put it on. As Blair fastened the buttons, Dorota kept beaming at her.

"You look like Audrey Hepburn," she exclaimed.

Blair smiled. And looked over at the windows on their dining room doors, as to separate the room from the living room. She swore she saw Audrey herself for a moment. Stop it, she thought to herself. She turned back to Dorota.

"The limo is waiting for you, Miss Blair," Dorota told her.

"Thank you. I guess I'm off then. I'll probably be back by one," Blair said as she headed for the elevator doors.

She pressed the call button and waited silently. As the doors opened, she stepped inside.

"And don't worry, I'll tell you everything," she called out to Dorota as the doors closed in front of her.

Chuck grabbed his signature cologne and sprayed it on his wrists before applying it to the rest of his body. The sound of his phone ringing interrupted his preferred silence. It had been two hours since he and Jade had last spoken. Yes, they were both still in the same apartment but Chuck had locked himself in one of the spare bedrooms. Now Jade kept calling to see if he was ready. He sent her a measly text message informing her that he would be waiting for her in the limo in five minutes.

He shoved the phone into his pocket and checked his appearance once more. He fixed his tie. There wasn't really a reason for him to go. He wouldn't really talk to anyone. Sure a few words with Lily. A brief conversation with Eric, that is if he could make it tonight. He rarely ever spoke to Serena. There wasn't much to say. And nearly impossible to say more than a few words to Nate. I wonder if Blair is coming tonight….., his thoughts wandered.

"No," he said out loud.

He looked at himself in the mirror, almost frightened of himself.

"She's not yours. She's your friend. Nothing else, Bass. Nothing else."

He gulped. He knew that saying it out loud did little to ease the pain of not being her's. Her boyfriend. Her lover. Her special guy. He was just Chuck to her. He wish he could say she was just Blair to him, but she was much, much more. More than he could handle.

A knock was heard at the door. He turned around quickly.

"Can I please come in?" he heard Jade ask on the other side.

Chuck sighed. He couldn't stand her and her ways of trying to be this "perfect" person when in reality she wasn't. Well for him anyway. He didn't even remember why he had asked her to move in with him a month ago. There wasn't any love between them. He knew he would never feel that with anyone but Blair.

"Can I come in?" Jade repeated.

"I'm grabbing my coat and leaving. You can stay in the room if you want," he said as he grabbed his black trench and slipped it on.

"I'll just wait by the elevator then," he heard her say, followed by the faint sound of her Jimmy Choo's hitting the hard wood floor.

He took his phone out of his pocket. He looked through his contacts and found his step-mother's name. He clicked it and brought it up to his ear. He only had to bear the ringing tone once before he heard Lily's voice.

"Hello, Charles," she said on the other line.

"Good evening, Lily. I hope I'm not interrupting you from anything. Galas can be stressful," he told her.

"I have a feeling everything will go smoothly tonight."

"That's wonderful."

Silence was heard on both ends. Chuck felt his hand get a little sweaty.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" Lily asked.

"Yes. I was wondering if Blair would be attending tonight?"

"She RSVPed, so I am assuming she will be coming," Lily answered.

"That's wonderful," Chuck replied.

"You seem to like to say that a lot."

"I guess that scotch I had before getting ready must have been a bit strong," Chuck quickly said.

"I guess so," Lily said with a small laugh. "Well then I guess that will be all."

Chuck stood silently. Just ask her, he told himself. His hand clenched into a fist on his side and he took a deep breath.

"Just one more thing."

"Yes?" his step-mother asked.

"By chance, do you know where you seated Blair tonight?" he asked nervous on the inside, yet the calmness in his voice didn't let that on.

He heard Lily ask someone for the seating chart. The sound of her finger tracing on the chart, looking for the words Blair Waldorf.

"She is seated at the same table as us," Lily said.

Chuck felt a small smile appear on his face. A small fluttering feeling took place in his stomach. Their back.

"Thank you, Lily. I'll see you tonight."

"You're welcome, Chuck.," she said before hanging up.

He closed the phone and put it back in his pocket. He caught his reflection in the mirror. The smile still there.

"You've got to be out of your fucking mind," he said as he sauntered out.

He closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs. True to her word, Jade was standing at the elevator. She looked up when she saw him approach and opened her mouth to say something but Chuck pressed the call button and waited for the elevator to come to their floor. Sure enough, it was there in a matter of seconds. Jade stepped in first and Chuck pressed the button for the first floor. The doors closed, leaving him trapped in a moving, metal box.

"Chuck…" she started.

"Let's just get through this night," he said sternly.

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like what?"

"Like this! Why are you trying to shut me out? You can talk to me. I will listen to you," she said softly.

"Like you listened before?" he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" she asked.

He sighed and turned to face her. She stood quietly in her teal knee length dress holding her matching purse. Her make-up flawless and her hair done by a professional. She looked perfect. He sighed once more and turned back.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Tell me! Ugh, you never told me anything before but now that Blair is back I'm sure you'll never speak to me again," Jade said angrily.

"This has nothing to do with Blair."

"Wrong. It has everything to do with her. You have to admit that ever since she came back from Yale it's been a non-stop Blair-a-thon and frankly I'm sick of it."

"She's my friend. One of my oldest and dear to be exact. Now, you can either accept her and let her be or you can leave. It's your call," he said with a smirk on his face.

He watched her as she fiddled with her purse strap. He enjoyed this. She never loved him and he never loved her. She used him to get ahead and he used her to show the world he could commit. He heard her sigh of defeat. He looked over at her, his smirk firmly in place.

"I knew you wouldn't think of leaving me," he said slyly.

"That's because I love you," she said, walking closer to him.

The elevator doors opened and Chuck stepped out before Jade link her arm through his. Jade followed him all the way to the limo outside. The driver opened the door and Jade entered first. Chuck slid in after. He noticed Jade was already fixing up her glass of scotch.

"Could you get me one too?" he asked.

"No."

Chuck turned and looked out the window. The sun has just set and the night was creeping over Manhattan. Nights. Fascinating.

"Let's get some ground rules set for tonight," Jade said.

He almost let out a groan. They had already set an unofficial plan for every time they went out. Act cheerily. Interesting stories, usually ones that are made up on spot. Nothing too out of this world but enough for people to think that they were in "love".

"Don't do too much drinking tonight. Present the cheque towards the end of the evening. Eat only what Lily is eating. We can't look stupid, now can we," Jade said.

"In case you've forgotten, Lily is my step-mother. Correction, my adopted mother. I highly doubt she'll care if I order the veal," Chuck replied.

"This is a big event. It's the first of the year and we can't afford to mess up."

"You mean you can't afford to mess up," Chuck corrected her smugly.

"You know what I mean," Jade snapped.

She took a sip of her scotch. Chuck went back to looking out the window. He just hoped tonight would be another success. He rested his head on the back of his seat. His eyes closed and began to drift off. Off to a world where he and Blair were together. They were living in a penthouse overlooking the Hudson river. He would hold her every day. Close, so he wouldn't loose her again. She would look at him and smile. A smile just for him. And they would be happy. Utterly happy.

"Chuck!" Jade screeched as she slapped his arm, obviously trying to get him.

He opened his eyes immediately. They were at the Palace. Jade had already stepped out. Chuck fixed his shirt and got out also. Camera lights going off. Jade slipped her arm around Chuck and he did the same with her as they posed for the cameras. A few minutes of that and they were ready to go inside the hotel. Chuck grabbed Jade's hand and brought her over to the entrance.

The banquet hall was decorated to the highest of means. The band playing background music from the far end of the hall; a melodic song. The tables covered with salmon coloured with white china on top. Small place cards set right beside the plates. A bouquet of salmon hydrangea set at the center of each of the tables. It was just right.

"Oh, there's a waiter. Give him our coats," Jade said as she hurriedly shrugged off her coat and shoved it into Chuck's arms.

Chuck took off his own trench coat and asked the waiter to put them somewhere nicely. After the waiter had walked away with their coats, another walked by with a tray of champagne flutes. Chuck grabbed two and passed one to Jade.

"Thank you," she said as she accepted one from him.

He ignored her and took a sip out of his. Even if it wasn't his scotch, he would just have to bear with it.

"There's Serena. Let's go say hello to her. She is your sister after all," Jade said as she started towards Serena.

Chuck followed, grabbing another glass of champagne on the way. By the time he reached them, they were deep in conversation. Serena managed to smile at him.

"Hello Chuck. Long time, no see," she said.

"I guess work can take a toll. You would know after all, half the people that you used to be so close with have wondered where you've been," he said before taking a sip.

"Well I can't decide where a movie will be shot," Serena replied, crossing her arms.

"I wasn't blaming you. I mean what you do is so important. Making a shit load of money while prancing around little to nothing, reciting lines to James Franco. I must say I could do that."

"But you can't because you spend your days running a company that you have little to no idea what it does," Serena said.

"And you do?" Chuck said with a small laugh.

Before either one of them could say anything, he heard the voice of his dear younger brother. The calm one, like he called him.

"Chuck!" Eric said as he appeared beside his older brother, holding his own champagne.

Chuck smiled with gratitude when he saw him. After mumbling a quick excuse, he and Eric turned on their heels and walked in the opposite direction.

"I owe you a big thank you present," Chuck told him.

"I saw the look in Serena's eyes. She would have killed you eventually," Eric replied with a laugh.

Chuck joined him. It had been almost two months since he had last seen Eric. He had begun his interest in painting last year and hadn't been able to stop ever since. He was interning in Boston, so spending time with him wasn't always the easiest thing to do but it could be accomplished.

"I see your with Jade," Eric observed.

"Yeah," Chuck said, sighing in the process.

"Your not happy. At all," Eric said quietly.

"I thought you were a painter, not a therapist."

"But it's true, isn't it? Ever since Blair left for Yale, you've never been the same."

Chuck looked at the ground. He couldn't look at Eric, but he was sure Eric could see right through him. He looked back up and received a sympathetic look from him.

"Don't look at me like that," he told him.

"Like what?"

"Like you feel bad for me. I've told you before, me and Blair went out separate ways," Chuck said, half trying to convince himself.

"Well then, I guess you won't be staring at Blair all night," Eric replied.

"You're right," Chuck answered.

"Okay, bye."

"Bye? Where are you going?" Chuck asked.

"To welcome Blair," Eric said with a smirk as he walked off.

Blair stood in the center of the room. She smiled at all those that passed her by. She had already said her hello's to Lily and some other's that she knew. After carefully dodging questions on where Dan was, she had separated herself from the older crowd and now stood with her champagne in hand.

"Blair, you look amazing," she heard from behind her.

She smiled excitedly as she turned and saw Eric. She enveloped him into a hug, being cautious with her glass. They separated, both grinning from ear to ear.

"Eric, it is so great to see you," Blair said happily.

"Not as great as it is to see you. How was Yale?" he asked.

"Everything I thought it would be. How's Boston?"

"How did you know?"

"Your mother informed me," Blair replied.

"Boston is wonderful. I get to do what I love all day and Christopher is just an amazing teacher. His use of colour is extraordinary," Eric told her.

"I am so happy for you," Blair said as she gently squeezed his forearm. "To be able to do what you love all the time."

"You're not doing anything?" he asked.

"Just writing. Quite honestly, I have no clue what I want to do."

"The old Blair never would have said such a thing," Eric said with a laugh.

"The old Blair is still inside of me," Blair said with a smile.

They chatted for a few minutes. He spoke of his days at Boston and the paintings he's painted. Blair told him about her life at Yale but managed not to speak about Dan. The conversation was getting ready to die when Blair saw Serena approach them. Eric excused himself, leaving the girls. They hugged.

"You look amazing!" Serena said cheerily.

"You van der Woodsen's seem to love to say that tonight," Blair replied.

"Well it's true."

"Thank you," Blair said quietly.

"Is something the matter?" Serena asked, looking concerned.

"I'm fine, it's just….."

"Just what? Listen, let's go out onto the balcony," Serena suggested, already leading the way.

They made their way through the crowd of people, champagne in hand. They reached the doors for the balcony in a little time. Serena held the door open for Blair as they walked outside. The night sky creating an excellent backdrop for the city. Serena closed the door and stood beside Blair.

"Is it about Dan?" Serena asked, breaking the silence.

Blair didn't reply, but she didn't need to. If the watery eyes weren't already clue, Serena knew. She placed her glass down on an empty table and wrapped her arms around Blair. Blair felt the tears fall down from her eyes, no doubt ruining her make-up that she had worked hard on. But she didn't care, she couldn't hide it any longer.

"I'm sure he would be right here if he could," Serena told her.

"I know he has work to do, but it's just that it would be nice if for once he could just be there for me. It's like ever since we got back, it's been non-stop work for him while I waited for him," Blair replied.

"I'm sure he feels guilty."

"I don't think he does," Blair said as she sat down on an empty chair.

Serena quickly found another chair and dragged it over to Blair before sitting on it herself. She grabbed Blair's hands in her own and looked at her in the eyes.

"Why would you say that?"

"This morning, he found Chuck in my closet."

Serena's eyes grew wide. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing could come out. It felt as though her bran had paused. She saw more tears fall from Blair's and she quickly wiped them with her gloves.

"Thanks," Blair said softly.

"What was Chuck doing in your closet?" Serena asked, unable to believe that she had just asked that.

"There's not really a good reason. Lately, while Dan's been at work or just hanging out with others, I've been spending time with Chuck. Now before you say anything, me and Chuck aren't having a secret affair. We've just been hanging out. Like old friends," Blair told her.

"Yes, but it's Chuck. You guys were in love."

"Yes, we were but that was years ago. I love Dan now."

"So, you can honestly say that there isn't anything going on between you an Chuck?" Serena asked.

"Well….."

"Blair!"

"It's not like that, Serena. We just kissed," Blair said.

"You kissed? How is that nothing?" Serena asked.

"It was just in the moment. A few days ago, we were having lunch at Victrola and we just got so caught up. I made sure I stopped it before it went any further."

Serena looked at her. She believed her. She knew Blair wouldn't have the heart to cheat on the one she loved. She may be a bitch, but she wasn't heartless.

"Well I'm glad that you put a stop to it," Serena said, squeezing her hands.

"We're just friends. I don't know, it's a weird friendship. It's like I'm princess Ann and he's my Joe Bradley," Blair said with a smile.

Well, at least I hope we just stay like that, she thought.

"Care to explain?"

"Roman Holiday. A princess leaves for a day and has the time of her life with a complete stranger," Blair explained.

"I'll take your word for it," Serena laughed.

They were interrupted by the sound of a door opening. They both looked over and saw a waiter standing there.

"Dinner is being served, ladies," he said.

"Thank you," Serena replied and got up from the chair.

Blair got up also and quickly looked at herself in the reflection of the windows in the door. Her make-up hadn't been ruined. Dorota had been right in convincing her to go for the waterproof mascara. She looked over at Serena.

"Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

The two linked their arms and walked back inside. Dinner should be interesting.