Hey guys! So here's the penultimate chapter. Hope you guys enjoy the changes in Chuck and Blair now that they're together. Sorry if they've gone soft, but hey i'm a sap at heart :) Happy Readings!! xoxo

Blair looked on in horror as the usually impeccably beautiful face of her ex boyfriend was now filled with blood, oozing out of his nose and drenching his face and his St. Judes uniform. "Oh my effing God," she gasped as she clutched Chuck's arm and began pulling him back.

"I told you to watch what you said," Chuck spat out, his eyes glazed and wild, staring at Nate without sympathy or remorse.

Serena stood to the side, eyes wide and mouth gaping, before she rushed over to Blair and began to pull her back. "B, Chuck... Guys we should go," she murmured softly, eyes trained on the blood that was dripping down Nate's face.

"You son of a bitch!" Nate finally managed to croaked out as he grabbed at his nose and tried to wipe at the blood. "You broke my fucking nose!"

"What the hell?" Dan asked as he came up the stairs of the courtyard, Jenny trailing not too far behind.

"Oh my God! Nate!" she ran forward, clutching at Nate's face and looking up at the damage Chuck's fist had caused. "What the hell happened to you?!"

Dan walked over to Serena and clutched her hand. "Babe, what's going on?"

Snapping out of her trance, Serena turned to Dan and shook her head. "He had it coming..." was all she was able to say, turning around to reach for Blair only to find that Chuck and her had disappeared through the crowd of shocked onlookers.

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xoxo

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"Chuck... maybe you shouldn't have done that," Blair breathed out nervously as they hurried through the empty hallways toward the side exit of the school.

Chuck remained silent as he pulled her along with him, the anger and adrenaline still running through his body. He needed to get out of here. He needed to leave before he turned back and finished what he had started with Nathaniel. The bastard. How dare he speak about Blair that way? What gave him the right to be all high and mighty when he'd been a complete asshole to her a few short weeks ago?

"Chuck! Are you listening to me?" Blair huffed, her feet beginning to burn at the uncomfortable effort of having to run in four inch Jimmy Choo's.

He stopped then, turning to look at her with misplaced anger. "What?!" he yelled, pushing her against the wall and placing both hands next to her head, effectively trapping her between his body and the wall.

"Wha... where... are we going?" Blair stuttered out uneasily, the rage boiling in the depth of Chuck's eyes a sight she had never seen before.

"I don't know, Waldorf. The fuck out of here I guess," Chuck snapped, taking an unsettled breath and closing his eyes. Relax, Bass. This is Blair. Don't fuck this up right now just because you're pissed off.

Leaning his forehead against her own he breathed in her scent and felt the anger drain his body instantly. She was so soft and so small and delicate. He shouldn't be yelling at her just because he was out for blood. "I'm sorry. I... I'm just upset," he explained gently, finally opening his eyes and meeting her own anguished ones.

"I know. I know," she nodded gently, raising her hand and caressing his cheek. "You know, you really scared me there for a minute. I've never seen you like this," she said softly, reveling in the fact that Chuck Bass was here before her, pressing against her in a tender, purely emotional way. This wasn't about desire and sex and want, this was about a completely different type of need, a need that neither one of them had had fulfilled in a long time.

"I've never felt this way. I mean," Chuck sighed as he tucked in a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I know I fucked up by harassing you in front of the entire student body," he smirked half heartedly at his own words.

"Not that I minded that of course," Blair teased right back, feeling the tension start to fade around them.

"I just... well I couldn't just stand there and let Nathaniel say all those things about us. About you," Chuck said uncomfortably as he pulled away slightly to get a better look of her face.

"My knight in shining armor," Blair joked though her heart had kicked into overtime at his words.

"Hardly," Chuck scoffed.

"I can get use to this new Chuck Bass you know," Blair grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled their bodies together once more.

"I'm glad you approve, Waldorf," he chuckled as he leaned down and closed the distance between their lips.

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xoxo

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Friday Night

"Blair! Thank goodness you're home. I need you to come to my room. Quickly. The designer is here to make all final adjustments to my dress and yours as well," Eleanor rushed out as she dragged Blair from the elevator without so much as a greeting. "Oh and Charles," Eleanor stated over her shoulder as if just realizing that her soon to be stepson was inside the elevator as well, "Your father is in the study. The tailor is here for the two of you as well..."

Chuck nodded at Eleanor before giving Blair an uncomfortable look and turning to head in the direction of his father's study.

"Mom," Blair started as Eleanor continued to drag them to the master bedroom of the penthouse. "We need to talk."

"Of course. Of course. We can talk later. There's so much that still needs to be done and the ceremony is tomorrow."

"Mother, I don't think this can wait," Blair retorted, trying to have the conversation she knew would cause all hell to break loose. It was now or never.

"Blair honey, whatever it is, it can wait until later," Eleanor said pointedly as she stared down at her daughter angrily and pushed open the door to her room.

The next hour passed in a daze as the dress was put on and adjusted and removed and fixed and then put back on. Blair watched as her mother flew from one corner of the room to the other, talking on the phone with friends and caterers and florists and musicians. Everything was being verified by her personal assistant, yet Eleanor felt it imperative to speak to every person personally.

Blair's hair was manipulated as Eleanor deemed fit and her body and dress appraised to the last detail. "You look wonderful, Blair," her mother finally told her as she looked at her daughter through the mirror. "Everyone will be in awe when they see you."

Blair nodded gently, a sudden sadness overwhelming her as she thought about the heartache she would cause her mother once word of her and Chuck's relationship got out. She couldn't do this to her mother. It wasn't fair to her.

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xoxo

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Saturday Morning... A few hours before the Wedding

Serena stared at her friend sympathetically. Blair had spent the entire night contemplating a course of action, realizing that both her mother's and her own happiness was at stake. She'd eventually come to the conclusion that she couldn't hurt her mother this way, and that her only choice would be to break things off with Chuck.

"Blair... are you sure you want to do this?" Serena asked softly as she watched Blair finish off her makeup.

"No, Serena. I don't want to do this. This is the last thing I want to do. But I have to. I... I can't do this to my mom. As much as I might hate her at times, she's still my mother. She doesn't deserve this.

"But what if Chuck already told Bart?"

"He hasn't."

"How can you be sure? You haven't spoken to him since yesterday."

"My mother isn't in here strangling me is she?"

Serena laughed at that. "Aww, B."

"Please Serena... just... don't make this worse. Can you find Chuck and tell him I need to speak to him?" Blair asked quietly as she tried to keep the tears at bay.

Serena nodded and gripped her shoulder, placing a quick kiss on her cheek before running out of the room to find him.

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xoxo

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"You look exquisite," he murmured against her ear, dragging his lips along her jawline before she had even registered that he'd walked into the room. "So damn beautiful."

Blair sighed as she allowed her body to relax and lean against his, basking in the warmth of his body and the feel of his lips against her skin. "Chuck..."

"I love it when you say my name like that, Waldorf," he chuckled huskily as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Blair pulled away abruptly leaving Chuck confused. "What's going on?" he asked suddenly serious.

"Chuck... we need to talk."

Scowling at her, Chuck ran a hand through his hair and leaned his shoulder against the wall. "I don't like the way that sounds."

Blair shook her head as she stared down at her peep toe heels and gathered her strength. "I don't like what I have to say either."

"Blair, what's wrong?" Chuck asked, his heart beginning to ache as an uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach.

"We can't do this anymore."

Chuck felt the air rush out of his body. No. No. She must be joking. This is one of her sick, twisted jokes she uses to scare the shit out of people. She can't possibly be serious. "Why are you saying this now?" he asked with as much casualness as he could muster.

"I can't do this to my mother."

"You didn't care about your mother yesterday."

"I did. I just, it wasn't as real then. It wasn't me pretty much running down the aisle objecting as my mom is about to marry your father. Is wasn't me ruining the entire wedding, ruining my mother's relationship, ruining my mother's chance at happiness."

"Why do you make this seem so horrible? What do our parents care if you and I are together?"

"Are you insane? Do you know what people will think?! This is hillbilly. It's incestuous even!" Blair cried out dramatically.

"Why do you care so much about what people are going to think?"

"I don't. But my mother will," Blair shook her head and shuddered.

"No. I don't think this has anything to do with your mother or my father. This is all about you. What are you so afraid of, Blair?" Chuck prodded, his anger already spiked at how easily Blair was willing to give in. To let him go. She'd have fought more for Nate if he was in his place.

"I'm not scared of anything," Blair snapped as she turned away from him and began running a hand down her silk gown.

"You're lying," Chuck whispered as he took a step closer to her. "I know you're lying. You're eyes are doing that thing where they don't match your mouth."

"Chuck, why are you making this so difficult?" Blair pled as her eyes closed at the sensation of his warm breath on the back of her neck.

"I'm not the one making this difficult. This should be the easiest thing in the world."

"Says the guy who up until three weeks ago was the biggest commitment-phobe this side of the Atlantic."

"Three weeks can change a lot." His hands settled comfortably against her hips.

"That's a given. In two weeks I've managed to turn my life upside down and have considered ruining my mother's short lived happiness." She was trying valiantly to fight the sensations his nearness caused on her body.

"You're making more of this than what it is."

"You're insane. My mother is marrying your father. You and I are going to be brother and sister! How can you say that I'm making more of this than what it is?"

"I don't give a fuck about what people have to say. But apparently you do. When are you going to stop living for what everyone else thinks and what everyone else says? When are you finally going to realize that the only way for you to live your life is to do what you want to do and ignore everyone else?" His fingers dug deeper into her skin and he saw the goosebumps starting to breakout along her skin.

"But my mom-" Blair began to object.

"Is just an excuse. You're only looking for excuses. Do you not want to be with me?"

She turned around in his arms then, the tears threatening to spill at the corners of her eyes. "I do..."

"So then forget everything else..." Chuck breathed as he brought his face closer to hers.

Blair smiled gently. "When have you become this enthusiastic-romantic who fights for the girl?"

Chuck returned her smile as he stared deep into her eyes. "Since I fell in love with you."