A/N: I wanted to touch upon the past of various characters in this chapter without taking too much away from the present. Reviews are highly appreciated! Honesty really is the best policy. I can take criticism. I would also love to know whether you think this story is moving too slow or too fast.
I Broke It All In Two
After his encounter with Blair that morning, Chuck was anything but tired. He took a quick shower and proceeded to pour himself a scotch. He had never cared much for Blair Waldorf and her seemingly perfect world and neither had Nate. While Blair and her minions were busy plotting against their latest victims and attending various social functions, they had both been too preoccupied with piecing their broken lives together.
He took a deep breath, staring at the now empty glass before him. In a way, they were still broken. Nate was still desperately trying to determine the identity of his biological father and he still refused to let go of the past. The accident had happened many years ago, but he could remember every detail like it was yesterday. The lingering smell of blood. The constant looks of sympathy he received even months after the accident. It would follow him for the rest of his life.
Suddenly, he heard the shrill sound of the door bell. Chuck let out a heavy sigh. It had better not be Claire Waters. He was not in the mood. He swung the front door open abruptly only to find his best friend standing before him.
"Nathaniel, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he drawled.
Nate grinned and walked past him.
"I came to offer you my sincerest congratulations and my sincerest condolences," he replied in a cheerful voice.
Chuck raised an eyebrow in his direction. What was he babbling about?
Nate answered his unspoken question. "The congratulations are for putting another criminal behind bars. The condolences are for your encounter with Claire this morning."
An involuntary shudder escaped from his body upon hearing her name. His gesture did not go unnoticed as Nate desperately tried to suppress a laugh.
"My sentiments exactly, but I also heard that a beautiful woman came to your rescue."
Chuck remained non-responsive for a moment before he said, "Blair. Blair Waldorf."
Nate could only stare at his best friend in disbelief.
"The Blair Waldorf?"
He smiled and shook his head.
"That was a good one. You almost had me going there. Yeah, like Blair Waldorf would have walked up to Chuck Bass and..."
He trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished. Chuck took another swig of his scotch. Nate paused, choosing his words carefully before continuing.
"You're not laughing. Are you serious? She used to be a total bitch in high school!" he exclaimed, still recovering from his initial shock.
"Wouldn't even give us the time of day," Chuck added.
Nate shrugged.
"There was that one time she paid attention to you. Anyway, people can change. I think we all mature. So, did you go with the piss-her-off mode or the lead-her-on mode?"
Chuck grinned, giving Nate his signature smirk.
"I pissed her off, of course. You know how I am with women."
Nate grinned, glad that the mood of the conversation had taken a lighter route.
"You mean avoiding all serious relationships like the plague?"
His face grew serious before continuing.
"Look, Chuck, I say this because I care. That accident was eons ago! You need to move on. Just because she was unfaithful doesn't mean all the women in the world are! When are you ever going to let this go and let someone in for once?"
"When you give up on finding out who your biological father is," Chuck snapped in response.
Nate frowned and Chuck knew he had gone too far.
He was quick to apologize. "Sorry. I..."
Nate cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Ah, forget about it. Listen, I'm here for you and Eric. If the two of you decide to..."
"Thanks. I'll let you know," Chuck interrupted, offering him a sincere smile.
Nate nodded in response and taking his cue, left Chuck to his thoughts. He wanted to forget the incident, but the memory ran too deep. He had been forced to grow up; to fend for himself at an incredibly young age. His mother had left him with nothing but irreparable pain and inerasable scars. He didn't trust women. He never would.
Her cell phone rang. Again.
"I said ten minutes, Humphrey. Not ten seconds."
Her statement was met by the shrill sound of her mother's voice.
"Blair! Do you always answer your phone like that?" Eleanor asked.
Trying to defend herself, Blair protested, "I thought you were Dan!"
She could almost see her mother pacing back and forth, an irritated look upon her face.
"It doesn't matter. I called to tell you that the internship position is still open and..."
Blair scoffed. "I'm not interested."
"And I have no interest in giving you that position either even if you wanted it. I wanted to ask you if you would like me to give the position to Jenny Humphrey," she replied.
Blair held her tongue momentarily before answering, "Hire Jenny."
"Done. I also want you to be the face of my new clothing line."
"You want me to be your model?" Blair asked in disbelief.
"Yes, we'll go over the details tonight at the Humphreys."
With that, her mother left her to her shock. She beamed. This day seemed to be turning itself around after all. She had never been perfect enough for her mother!
Nate walked straight into his office and headed towards his filing cabinet. He carefully removed the only maroon file and opened it, leafing gingerly through its contents. He found the photo of his biological father and held it in his hands, memorizing every feature of his face before setting it down again. He had finally learned the truth about a week ago, but he hadn't had the heart to tell Chuck or his mother. Chuck was still broken and his mother was perfectly content with her second husband, Howard. He knew better than to dig up old wounds. His mother had always tried so hard to shelter him from the truth, but he knew the truth now. After all these years, he had finally been able to track him down. His father had been right under his nose all this time and he had been completely oblivious! Nate let out a sigh. What was he going to do now?
Blair stepped out of the limo and made her way through the doors of the gallery. This was definitely turning out to be an amazing day. She was finally good enough for her own mother! Dan had certainly done wonders with the place. It almost looked decent. She had suggested that the walls be painted mauve, but he had insisted that green would better accentuate her step-brother's photographs. He was right. She hated when he was right.
At that moment, she spotted Dan in the corner unpacking some boxes. She made her way towards him only to be interrupted by her cell phone. Again. Was everyone trying to get in touch with her today? She flipped open her cell phone, revealing a new text message from none other than Slutrena herself.
Nice essay, B. Hope you remembered to save a copy on your computer.
- S
Blair screamed out in frustration, causing Dan to look in her direction.
"I have had it up to here with Serena!"
She put her hand above her head to illustrate her point. Dan continued to stare at her unable to react.
Blair pursed her lips. "Well? Aren't you going to say something?"
Dan recovered from his stationary state.
"It's good to see you too. Uh, well, what did she do this time? She never does anything too drastic, Blair," he finished, returning to his task of unpacking those boxes.
"And how drastic would you say is stealing my essay to jeopardize my future and then rubbing it in my face?"
Dan paused and turned to face Blair.
"She wouldn't do that."
"Don't defend her!" Blair shouted angrily
"I'm not! I mean I am, but I'm not!"
Dan stopped himself from rambling.
"Look, I just...don't think Serena would stoop that low."
Blair scoffed. "Oh! Well, as long as you don't think she would stoop that low."
She needed some air. She started to walk away, but Dan grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
He said in a soft whisper, "Blair, can we not argue about this? If you say she stole it from you, I believe you, ok?"
Blair couldn't help but break into a smile.
"Thanks. I'm sorry I snapped at you. This day has just been a bit of...a roller coaster."
Dan shrugged, resuming to the task before him.
"Not a problem. What else are boyfriends good for? So, did my dad give you an extension on that essay? I can talk to him for you."
"He gave me the extension. Even if he hadn't, I would never have allowed you to ask him of anything for me," she stated.
Dan chuckled. Blair Waldorf was always too proud. It was one of the many reasons why he had fallen for her. Taking the opportunity, he decided to quote Pride and Prejudice.
"Are you too proud, Miss Waldorf? And would you consider pride a fault or a virtue?"
Blair laughed. "That I couldn't say."
Dan leaned in to kiss Blair only to be interrupted by a unified rumbling of their stomachs. Blair laughed again as Dan took a step back. He ran his hand awkwardly through his hair.
"Well, there goes that moment...and lunch would be...?"
Before Blair could answer his question, Dorota waltzed into the gallery.
"Your lunches, Miss Blair."
Blair gave her her sweetest smile.
"Thank you, Dorota. You have impeccable timing."
Dan took a bite into his sandwich as Dorota swiftly left the building.
"This is one hell of a sandwich. It tastes even better than the ones Serena used to make me."
Upon hearing her name, Blair stopped mid-bite. Realizing what he had just said, Dan reached out for Blair.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to..."
Blair was deep in thought. She crinkled her nose as her insecurities began to resurface.
"Dan, if you hadn't...I mean, if Rufus and Lily hadn't gotten...would you and..."
She trailed off without finishing her question, but they both knew what she was craving to know. Dan could only remain silent. Responding to his lengthy silence, Blair grabbed her purse and turned to leave.
She was almost at the door when Dan finally decided to say, "Absolutely not."
Blair hesitated and stopped her hasty exit momentarily, but she knew that deep down, Dan still had strong feelings for Serena. She thought it was best to leave. She needed more air. Why couldn't she breathe?
She spun around to look in his direction and spat, "Are you trying to convince me, Dan? Or are you trying to convince yourself?"
Again, Dan averted his eyes away from her unable to answer her question. He winced as Blair slammed the door shut behind her. Dan walked over to the bay window, keeping his eyes on her until her limo faded into the distance. He sighed and leaned against the window pane. Serena. He needed to get a hold of himself. Serena was then. Blair was now. Filled with confusion and doubt and having lost his appetite, Dan returned to his work. He really wished he could talk to Vanessa about all of this. As if answering his inner prayer, a new text message set his cell phone off.
We need to talk. Meet me at the coffee shop.
- V
She knew that Dan wasn't completely over Serena. It was only natural. She felt slightly guilty that she had just used him to let out some of her bottled steam. She hated bringing up Serena. It would always bring back the memories of when they had been inseparable. They had been like sisters. Serena was like the sister that God had simply forgotten to give her. Blair closed her eyes then and slowly allowed herself to drown in her memories of Serena. Serena had always been there for her.
"Cheer up, B! You totally have time to find another date. What about Nate Archibald?"
Blair raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Who?"
Serena jerked her thumb over her shoulder to answer her question. Blair turned to look at a handsome boy leaning against a brick wall.
"No. I know who he is. He just stands there and broods all the time! Besides, I need a much hotter date. He needs to be hotter than Robert. I want him to regret not attending the charity ball with me and on such short notice too!"
Serena let out a chuckle.
"Oh, B. You know Robert wanted to go with you. He can't help it if his cousin is in town and nobody wants to be her date."
Blair snorted. "I just don't understand why his mother is insisting that Robert escort her. There are plenty of other eligible..."
Serena rolled her eyes.
"And yet, you still haven't been able to choose a suitable replacement date?"
Blair scoffed. "It is not a crime to have high standards Serena. You should try it some time."
Serena gave her a playful shove.
"B, Dan is not that bad."
Blair gave her a glare.
"What about him?"
"Who?" Blair asked, scanning the premises.
"The one next to Nate Archibald. Chuck Bass, I think. Total womanizer, but will probably drive Robert up a wall. Rumor has it that they had a fallout a while back. B, what other choices do you have?"
Blair opened her eyes at that very moment, interrupting her own thoughts. She knew why he had seemed so familiar now. Chuck Bass. How could she have forgotten that arrogant son of a bitch? The incident had been utterly humiliating.
"Bass. You have the honor of accompanying me to the charity ball this evening," she said upon reaching him.
Chuck slowly turned around. What the hell was Blair Waldorf doing talking to him?
"No thanks, but thanks for asking," he drawled.
Blair stepped back in shock.
"What? Do you know how many guys would kill to be in your position right now?"
"Good. Then you don't need me, now do you?"
He smirked as Blair felt the heat rise up into her cheeks.
The memory began to fade as Blair opened her eyes again. How could she have forgotten about him? That had been their one and only encounter, but she remembered it clearly now. Chuck Bass had rejected her and needless to say, the news had eventually made its way onto Gossip Girl. She had literally been embarrassed for a week because of that nobody, but Robert had convinced her not to enforce his total social destruction. Not that he had much of a social life for her to destroy. She should have just left him in the hands of that piranha this morning. What had she been thinking?
