Hi guys, I love reading all of your reviews, please keep reviewing, it motivates me.

One warning though, I have seen a lot of spoilers and while I'm not working off of those some of them may appear in my story because they fit too perfectly not to.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl or its characters

Rated: T mostly for language

Suddenly, Chuck took off up the stairs, he realized that he hadn't said everything to Blair that he needed to say. He reached her door just as she was closing it and stopped it with his foot.

"Chuck, what are you doing, I told you down in the pool that I can't do this?" Blair hissed. She didn't want to talk loudly enough that they woke anyone else up.

"I heard you Blair but I have something I have to say," Chuck said his voice hushed but gentle. When Blair didn't tell him to leave he continued, "You need to know that I'm not giving up. I'm not going anywhere. If you want to be with Lord Marcus, that's fine, but I'm not going to crawl away with my tail between my legs like I did last time. I'm going to fight for you," he paused for a moment to look at Blair's face, which was a mixture of surprise and something he wasn't sure he recognized. Blair started turning around to shut the door, when he caught her arm, "And Blair, I'm going to win." He left her rendered immobile from shock in the doorway to her room but not before flashing the smirk that said he was sure about what he had just said.

As Blair just watched Chuck Bass walk away from her, suddenly she exhaled a breath that she didn't even know that she was holding. Chuck was going to fight for her. That single thought just sat in her head for a few moments. It was all she could possibly think about. She could still feel tingles where he had grabbed her arm. She finally backed into her room where she dried off and changed into her night gown methodically before lying down on the bed. Now If only she could fall asleep.

Walking away from Blair just then had been one of the most difficult things that Chuck had ever done. He knew that if he had kissed her that she wouldn't have stopped him and they would have ended up in bed together. But as much as Blair turned him on, he knew that first he had to prove to her that they were right together. If they slept together now, the relationship would never last. So for now, Chuck just had to settle for telling Blair that he wasn't giving up.

Just as Chuck was about to fall asleep he heard a light knocking on the door. At first he thought that it was a figment of his imagination but then he heard it again. He knew it was Blair by the sound of the knock alone but he was still surprised to see her standing there when he opened his door. She was wearing only a small silk night gown and it didn't leave a lot to the imagination, not that he hadn't seen everything there was to see of Blair Waldorf. "Hello Waldorf. How may I be of service?"

"I just kept thinking about something you said earlier in the pool about why you didn't come with me to Italy. You said that you were scared about me changing you but I know that there is something else. You wouldn't just suddenly decide to not show up." Blair felt that she had to know the answer. It was a need that she couldn't even begin to explain; but to her, it felt like the answer he gave her meant everything.

"My dad got home. He gave me a lecture about how I was growing up and having a real girlfriend with responsibilities and sacrifices would change me. He told me that life as I knew it was done and that taking you to Italy was going to change everything. And I didn't want anything to change."

"Chuck, I know that that isn't all, sure you are afraid of changing the relationship thing was completely new to you but why are you afraid of letting me get close. It's like you are afraid of caring too much about me or something. But not because you think that it will change you. You didn't seem to mind exclusivity. So what I need is for you to tell me why you are scared of caring about me." Blair's desperation at finding out the mystery that is Chuck Bass only seemed to worsen as she continued speaking.

"Blair, I can't answer that. Why can't you just leave it at me being scared?" Chuck realized as soon as the words were out of his mouth that he should have said something, anything else. Even if he wasn't ready to tell her the truth, he should have made up a reason but of course he just said the first thing that popped into his head.

"Chuck, don't you see how important this is for me to know. We can't have a relationship if you have a problem with letting yourself really care about me. This thing with us can't work if you won't let me in. I'm scared of you hurting me again but I could never even begin to hurt you because you won't let me close enough."

"Blair it isn't like that," Chuck said as he tried to grab her hand.

Blair pulled her hand out of reach and began backing across the hallway, "Chuck, when you decide to actually let me in, let me know, because I can't know if we have a shot at a relationship if you won't even talk to me." Blair immediately retreated to her room where she fell into a restless sleep.

This time it was Chuck left in the doorway. He closed the door quietly before leaning up against it and sliding down. When he reached the floor he let his head fall into his hands and he cried. He cried for the first time since his mom died. If this thing with Blair didn't work out, he had no one to blame but himself and his issues. Chuck knew why he was scared of falling more in love with Blair but the reason was directly connected to the reason he couldn't open up to her. And the worst part was that he didn't know whether or not he would ever be able to tell her the truth.

The house was almost eerily quiet when Serena walked down the stairs. She knew that her mom had left the Hamptons for a few days after dinner last night but she was never the first one up. Serena had the cook make her an omelet and she decided to call Nate and see if he wanted to go ahead to the beach while the others kept sleeping. Nate agreed to swing by and pick her up so Serena finished her omelet. Serena didn't have to change because she had gotten ready as soon as she woke up, knowing that she was going to be heading to the beach. She heard Nate honking from outside just as she finished up a note for the rest of the house.



Serena hopped into Nate's car with a simple hello. Nate turned down the radio because he was quite curious about how things had gone after he left the house. "So Serena, how was the house after I went home? I mean with Chuck and Blair so close together I am sure there has to have been some fireworks."

"Whoa Nate, you must really want to know. You are never the first to start a conversation." Serena feigned surprise.

Nate chuckled a little before becoming serious again, "Well?"

Serena took the hint and started talking. Blair had no idea that she had heard the entire exchange in the hallway between her and Chuck. "Apparently, Blair and Chuck had a discussion at the pool after the rest of us left because I heard them talking in the hall afterwards. Chuck told Blair that he wasn't giving up on her, no matter what. About an hour after that Blair knocked on Chuck's door and asked him what he meant about being scared. I don't know what he told her about being scared but I can only assume that it was at the pool. Chuck couldn't give her an answer and Blair said that they could never be if he couldn't even admit why he was scared to be with her. Then everything got really quiet again."

"Wow, so Chuck really went for it didn't he? I mean I knew that he was determined but he really isn't going to give up." By this time they were pulling into the beach parking.

"Yeah, I can tell that Chuck still really cares about Blair but he hurt her so much that I don't think that she could possibly forgive that." Serena said as she laid out her beach towel. "Umm , Nate, would you mind putting sunscreen on my back?"

"Sure" Nate said, automatically taking the sun screen and starting to rub her down.

"Vanessa, why are we even here?" Dan asked, "We aren't in the water, you aren't laying out, we aren't playing volleyball. Please tell me that we aren't here so that you can look for Nate?" Dan was genuinely pissed off. Vanessa drug him all the way to the beach and they weren't doing ANYTHING. She was just walking around looking at people. It was obvious to him now that she was just hoping to run into Nate.

"Dan please understand, the guy I am in love with just broke up with me. As the best friend it is your obligation to be there for me in my time of need. And right now I need to look for Nate. I have to make him see how great we are together." Vanessa wanted Nate back, more than anything. She loved him. So when she stared ahead and saw him rubbing sun screen all over Serena's body she acted on impulse, grabbed Dan, and kissed him hard on the mouth.

Dan was shocked at first, what the hell was Vanessa doing but out of the corner of his eye he saw Serena and Nate together. He wasn't over Serena by a long shot, so instead of pulling away he wrapped his arms around Vanessa and deepened the kiss. He was positive that Serena and Nate had seen because they were standing directly in their line of vision. Dan moved his attention to Vanessa's neck before whispering, "Play along." After breaking the kiss he took her hand and walked toward the water before pretending like he just noticed Serena and Nate.



Vanessa smiled and waved, "Hey guys"

"Serena, Nate, what's going on? By the way Serena, I'm sorry I was so rude yesterday, I was just surprised to see you there." Dan said in a tone that could only be described as friendly.

The shocked look on Nate and Serena's faces was indescribable, seeing Dan and Vanessa together like this completely through them for a loop. "Hey, and Dan it's fine, I mean you probably didn't expect to see me there any more than I was expecting to see you." Serena kept a smile on her face but there was a note of hurt evident in her voice. She was still very much in love with Dan but he was already with Vanessa.

Nate was even more shocked. He had only broken up with Vanessa yesterday, yet here she was making out with Dan Humphrey. They were so coupley, how had this even happened. But he knew that he had to at least acknowledge their presence, which he did with a tilt of his head and a simple "Hey."

After a couple minutes of awkward silence Dan went ahead and spoke. "Well we really should be going, we are supposed to meet Jenny for lunch to celebrate her meeting with Blair's mom." By this point Dan was getting nervous. He didn't know how much longer he could hold up this charade. He just wasn't into Vanessa like that anymore and he was starting to get unsure as to whether or not he wanted Serena to think that he was. Dan was already regretting his spur of the moment decision to play along with Vanessa's little game.

Everyone said their goodbyes before Dan and Vanessa walked off. As they walked Vanessa couldn't help but worry as to whether or not she had done the right thing. Nate had not reacted well when Blair had dated someone else.

Nate couldn't help but say out loud, "How could Vanessa go to Dan so quickly? It was just yesterday that she was begging me to take her back and now she is already with Dan. How can she do that to me?"

"I don't know Nate and I think Dan is really moving on, I mean he said that that was what he wanted but I was still hoping that maybe he would reconsider."

Hello Upper East Siders, my sources tell me we have some very interesting couple switching going on in the Hamptons. N and S spotted looking chummy and D and V seen sharing a passionate kiss on the beach. I wonder why none of them look very happy? You know you love me.

Xoxo

Gossip Girl

Earlier that morning

Chuck was sitting at the kitchen table. Blair hadn't come out of her room yet. She usually didn't wake up until 11 or so during the summer so that wasn't a real surprise. What was a surprise was who he was 

sitting eating breakfast with. Marcus was directly across the table from him, eating and describing in detail his plans for Blair tonight.

"So you think Blair is going to like all that, right?" Marcus looked genuinely concerned that she wouldn't enjoy everything he had planned.

"Of course she will, Bair is the most romantic girl in the world, she will love all of that stuff." And unfortunately Chuck knew he was telling the truth. Blair was going to love the flowers, the chocolates, the fact that Marcus was cooking for her even if he was making her sushi. Chuck knew that Blair was going to love everything about it and if Marcus could really give Blair what she wanted he wasn't sure that he could fight that.

"Good man, because I so want to hit that tonight. I mean Blair and I have been together for over a month, it is about time I got some ass. And if romance is the way to do, then I'm all for it." Marcus said with a nasty smirk on his face.

Chuck's head snapped up so quickly that he probably could have gotten whip lash. Had Marcus the perfect gentlemen, just said that he wanted to have sex with Blair tonight? And the way he said it was beyond disgusting. Chuck had to restrain himself from lunging over the table and slamming his fist into Marcus's face. How could he have thought for a second that he could let Blair be with this guy? No way was that happening. He was going to do whatever it took to keep Blair safe and win her trust back. "High five man, I mean who doesn't want to tap that?" Chuck knew he had to play along or there was absolutely no way that he was going to get Blair away from this jerk. No he was going to need a new plan. He texted one of his dad's personal assistants and told him to pick up a vase of hydrangeas, a box of Godiva Chocolate's Gold Collection, and the pizza he would take care of himself. Yes, he was going to get Blair away from Marcus and show her that he was the only one who really knew her.

Marcus couldn't help but smirk. Yeah he was finally going to get some pay out for being Blair Waldorf's lapdog for the past month and he couldn't wait to have her in his bed. He couldn't definitely see a friendship developing with Chuck, I mean Chuck is the whole reason he knew so much about what Blair liked. He had a lot of arrangements to make so he went ahead and excused himself.

As he watched Marcus walk away, the only thing he could think was that he didn't know if all of that stuff was going to be enough to get her back.

Blair woke up to the sound of knocking on her door. After quickly checking her appearance in the mirror Blair said "Come in." Honestly, she was expecting Serena or Marcus. She didn't expect two maids coming in with vases full of flowers. One bouquet was red roses accompanied by the Godiva Signature Collection the other was blue hydrangeas with the Godiva Gold Collection. There was a note on each box of candy. She took the one from the Signature Collection first. Reading it only made her smile.

Dearest Blair,

I hope that you will join me this evening for a candlelight sushi dinner at 9:00pm.

Love,

Marcus

Marcus was so sweet. So what if she didn't like sushi, he was wonderful and he was asking her out on a romantic date. Then there were the other flowers. She knew who they were from because there was only one person out there who knew that her favorite flower was hydrangeas. So she hesitantly took the card from the top of the box. Her hands were shaking so badly that she didn't think that she would actually be able to read it; but somehow she managed.

B,

I love you and I know you love me too. I know that we can make this thing between us work. Meet me this afternoon at 6:30pm in the Media Center. I promise I will tell you what you want to know.

Yours Always,

C

Blair couldn't stop shaking. Chuck was promising to tell her why he was so scared of being with her. He said he loved her. Blair couldn't even think about Marcus all she could think about was Chuck's note. As she went down stairs she was expecting to have someone to talk to but from the two notes left she knew she was by herself for the rest of the afternoon. Marcus was out preparing for their dinner and Serena had gone with Nate to the beach then she was hanging out at his place. Well tonight was going to be interesting that was for sure.

Spotted: B getting flowers . . . from two men. Looks like our B has more than one beau.

Chuck waited in the Media Center as patiently as he could. He couldn't believe what he was about to do. He had never told anyone any of this, even Nate. On top of that, he was going to do it in the most romantic way that he knew how. He was going to sing for Blair. No one knew that he could sing or play the guitar so he knew that she would be surprised.

When Blair walked into the room the first thing she noticed wasn't the pizza on the table or the guitar in Chuck's hands, it was the desperate look on Chuck's face. So when Chuck gestured toward the pizza she went ahead and took a piece before sitting down. The next thing she new Chuck was strumming on his guitar.

He watched Blair's eyes widen as he started playing and widen further as he began to sing.

A strangled smile fell from your face

It kills me that I hurt you this way

The worst part is that I didn't even know

Now there's a million reasons for you to go

But if you can find a reason to stay

I'll do whatever it takes

To turn this around

I know what's at stake

I know that I've let you down

And if you give me a chance

Believe that I can change

I'll keep us together

Whatever it takes

She said if we're gonna make this work

You gotta let me inside even though it hurts

Don't hide the broken parts that I need to see

She said like it or not it's the way it's gotta be

You gotta love yourself if you can ever love me

I'll do whatever it takes

To turn this around

I know what's at stake

I know that I've let you down

And if you give me a chance

And give me a break

I'll keep us together

I know you deserve much better

Remember the time I told you the way that I felt

And that I'd be lost without you and never find myself

Let's hold onto each other above everything else

Start over, start over

I'll do whatever it takes

To turn this around

I know what's at stake

I know that I've let you down

And if you give me a chance

Believe that I can change

I'll keep us together

Whatever it takes

When Chuck finished he looked back up at Blair. Shock was written all over her face and she was crying. Shit what had he done now, she wasn't supposed to cry. "Blair are you okay?" He was already next to her chair by this point, gently wiping her tears.

"I didn't know that you could sing." Blair managed to get out. She had so many emotions running through her all at the same time that she found it difficult to articulate. "But that doesn't tell me why Chuck."

Chuck smirked, there was his Blair. "The why, I am getting to." He took a deep breath before he continued. "This is something I have never talked about, with anyone. You already know my mom died when I was nine. Well after that my dad got me a puppy and I named her Daisy after my mom's favorite flower. Daisy was still just a puppy but one day I wanted to bring her to school with me. I snuck her in my backpack and she stayed quiet all day long. That afternoon I went to Central Park and let Daisy run around. A big dog got a hold of her and he died."

"Chuck that is so sad, but I still don't see what that has to do with me."

"Don't you see Blair, everything I love dies. I'm scared to love someone because every time I love something I lose it. I thought if I could prove to myself that I didn't love you, then I wouldn't lose you. I know that it's backwards but I've never let myself love someone before. But Blair, I love you, I love you so much that I can't be without you." As he said this he moved so close that his lips were just a half inch away from hers. He wanted her to finish the kiss and with only a couple of seconds looking into his eyes, she did.

The kiss was fiery from the start. But the longer that they were connected the more passionate it became. She ran her hands up and around his back and locked her fingers in his hair. Simultaneously, Chuck was running his hands from her face down her body until he was grasping her thighs. He picked her up and started carrying her over to the couch. After laying her down he only said one thing. "You sure?"

In response, Blair grabbed his face and pulled his lips back to hers.

Author's Note: I'm so sorry it took so long to update, college is absolutely nuts. Hope you all really like this chapter though.


The song I used is Whatever It Takes by Lifehouse.