Games

by pLei4fun

Games are the norm for our favorite NJBC: Love games, war games, etc. But it's senior year and that just means that the stakes are even higher. Sequel to the Queen and her Dark Knight can Blair, Serena, Chuck, and Nate make it to the end of their high school careers unscathed and together? We'll find out. Chair always, but the rest is up in the air.

3. It's Good to be Home

Chapter 3: It's good to be home

As summer comes to an end, I'd like to share a few of the things I've learned about fun in the sun. Gossip Girl's guide to summer Tip number one: Don't fall asleep on the job. The best hookups are free of morning breath and awkward conversation.

The only thing harder than making up is waking up.

Serena slowly opened her eyes, reluctant to wake up to another day of heartache. She wasn't quite ready to get up and face the day although she noticed that the pain in her heart had begun to hurt a little less just like the previous days before; this gave her hope that she'd be able to let go. As she took in her surroundings the events of the previous day flashed through her mind's eye, she remembered going to the White Party with Nate and trying to get him through the ordeal with Catherine, his married ex. She remembered attempting to make said ex jealous by making out with Nate in front of everyone and how she felt at ease and peace with Nate after their whole year worth of drama and thinking that maybe she could move forward from Dan. That thought was shot to hell when just after the kiss was over, there was the boy that haunted her thoughts and heart throughout the summer.

She remembered their conversation and his hurtful words of judgment before he was called out by those two girls which resulted in him being dunked with colorful cocktails that stained Serena's grandfather's white jacket. While Serena attempted to salvage the jacket, Dan decided that he wanted to explain why he came to the Hamptons. He came in the hopes of finding closure only to find that he missed her as much as she missed him.

After making plans to meet up later at the beach, Serena went off to say goodbye to everyone, her mind swirling to the point that she was almost dizzy. She remembered the feeling of complete happiness, but she also remembered her reservations. Last night she decided to worry about those later and just enjoy the night with the guy that she loved so much before he broke her heart, figuring that they would talk the next day so they could start over. And here it was the next day, and all of the reservations that Serena had the previous night had come flooding back with a vengeance. She also felt regret with what she and Dan did out on this beach. It was wonderful and it brought back great memories, but it was the fact that they did that without talking about the hard stuff first. Now she was left wondering what was going on with them and where were they going.

Serena slowly lifted her head up at her ex-boyfriend as he slept, still holding her to him gently just like he used to so many times before. If she let herself, Serena knew that she could just pretend that everything was fine and they could go on their merry way just as before, but after watching her mother go through similar situations with her past husbands she knew that was just a band aid for the situation and she wanted her and Dan to be more than that.

Serena slowly sat up, wrapping herself up in the stained jacket from last night as the thoughts continued to swarm her head, not knowing what to do as Dan sat up beside her with a yawned, "Hey."

"Hi," Serena replied with a soft smile as he wrapped his arms around her as he always used to and kissed her lips gently.

Before she could get caught up in the moment, Serena turned away and decided that maybe it was best for her to get home and think about this by herself. Obviously being near Dan wasn't going to help her think this decision through. As she began to put on the jacket and gather her things, Dan looked at her in confusion, "What?"

"I'm sorry," Serena stated as she pulled her hair out from the jacket, "I-I'm just a little, um…"

She covered her face and shook her head to clear her thoughts as Dan attempted to finish her sentence, "Overwhelmed?"

"Confused," Serena corrected with a sigh before looking over at Dan, "Last night was…"

"It was amazing," Dan answered as he took Serena's chin and pulled her towards him for another kiss.

Serena let him, but forced herself to turn away after one kiss as she added with a laugh, "And confusing."

"Okay. Now I'm a little confused," Dan said as he looked down the beach before turning his attention to Serena.

"Well, it was so romantic what you did," Serena began to try to explain her feelings as she pushed a strand of hair out of her face, "showing up here, and it feels so right to be together."

"But you're having second thoughts," Dan responded.

Serena turned away, needing to not look at him as she tried to process what it was that she wanted to say, "I just think that we should think…before we get back together, right?"

As she turned back towards Dan for confirmation even though she knew in her heart that her reservations would not let her be happy with Dan for long if she kept ignoring them rather than addressing them. "Yeah, I mean, I thought," Dan began before sighing before moving his hand up behind Serena's neck as he finished his thought, "I thought this meant we were back together."

Serena felt herself slipping back into the moment and kissed him back eagerly, loving the feel of his lips on hers as he held her close. As Dan slowly started leading them back onto the blanket, Serena began to snap back out of her haze of lust and started to respond in the negative as she broke the kiss, "Mnh-mnh. Mnh-mnh. Mnh-mnh."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Dan responded as he sat up again beside her.

"No, you're not," Serena retorted with a smile as she looked over at him, holding the jacket tight around her, becoming very much aware that she was only wearing her bra underneath.

"No, I'm not at all," Dan agreed with a laugh.

Serena joined in before she reassured him, "And neither am I, and I want to keep it that way. But this is a big decision, and- and we did break up for a reason…many reasons." Serena nodded to herself in confirmation of her words as she continued on to reassure Dan that she hadn't made her decision yet, "But this was never our problem."

Dan smiled at her as the pair rested their forehead against each other's before they began to kiss again, this time with a lot more control as Serena pulled away with a soft, "Okay." She decided on a plan and began to speak, "I will see you back in the city…" Unable to resist, Serena began pressing kisses along his neck and face as she spoke, "mmm," kiss, "Fully clothed.." kiss, "with lots of people around," kiss, "Okay?"

Dan agreed with a nod as Serena stood up from her spot on the blanket, gathering her dress from the previous night and began to head back to her family's house. Before going too far, she quickly turned back, not knowing what else to say she simply said firmly, "We'll talk."

Dan nodded as he began to button up his shirt, "Yeah, about our problems."

Serena smiled before she continued her way up the path, only glancing back one more time before continuing on her way home. She hoped that they were able to work everything out because the morning reminded her of how much she missed waking up in his arms and how much she missed the good parts about their relationship. Hopefully they could work out the bad parts and be able to move forward and leave them in the past.

xoxo

Meanwhile, while Serena was sneaking into the Van Der Bass Hampton home, Blair was sound asleep while Chuck was busy smirking down at his deviously sexy girlfriend. He wasn't lying when he said that she was perfect at the White Party last night. Even during her most controlling moments, Chuck couldn't help but be mesmerized by her and her love and loyalty for those she claims as friends was one of her greatest characteristics. A characteristic that Chuck, himself, shared. It was part of the reason why he was weary when Humphrey joined their circle briefly last year and it was, again, the reason why he was still weary of Marcus.

But he trusted Blair and he knew that despite the starting over that she agreed to with Marcus, she would be weary of the Lord for a while. Blair hated secrets and liars. And Marcus proved that he was both with the revelation the previous night and, whether he knew it or not, he was in the red in regards to being Blair Waldorf's confidant. The knowledge alone allowed Chuck the luxury of being able to relax in regards to Marcus, for now.

Mentally clearing his head, deciding that he could be spending this precious, undisturbed time doing better things, Chuck smirked as he slowly and deliberately kissed up Blair's arm. At the sight of Blair's stirrings, Chuck paused before continuing up to his own personal kryptonite, the nape of Blair's neck. He slowly moved her hair to the side to clear the way for him to kiss and suck on his favorite spot on his girlfriend.

"What are you doing, Bass?" Blair asked softly as she opened her eyes, not moving for her spot.

"You know exactly what I'm doing, Waldorf," Chuck responded as he pulled away, allowing Blair to roll over to face him.

"I feel like we just went to sleep," Blair said as she began to slowly trace a pattern on Chuck's chest.

"Well, since we technically called it a night two hours ago, we did," Chuck responded with a smirk before lifting her hand in his as he pulled her towards him, going back to work on her neck.

Blair couldn't help but release a laugh as she threaded her hands through his hair, "You are definitely proving your reputation as insatiable, Chuck Bass."

Chuck grinned as he lifted his head up as he teased, "You're only just now figuring that out?"

Blair smiled as she narrowed her eyes at him before she pulled him towards her and took his lips with her own hungrily. Chuck eagerly returned her kiss, pressing his body against hers as he ran his hand down her leg before hitching it over his hip, resulting in Blair releasing a soft moan of pleasure. The hot make-out session was interrupted by a ringing phone. Chuck and Blair immediately chose to ignore it and continue on with their morning fun in bed together. The summer was almost over and soon Blair would be busy with school, her social calendar, and her duties as Queen and Chuck would be busy with Victrola along with school and the social scene so the couple would a significantly less amount of time alone together in comparison to this past summer.

The thought alone upped the passion between the two and it wasn't until more than an hour later that they came up for air. Blair rested her head on Chuck's chest happily, feeling as if she was at peace for the first time since Chuck had left France the previous month ago. As they both relaxed, Blair realized that it was her phone that went off earlier and propped her head onto Chuck's chest as she asked, "Grab my phone for me? See who called earlier."

Chuck carefully moved over to the night stand and picked up her phone, pausing as he saw James' name as the missed caller. "It seems that your new friend had an early rising today," Chuck said lightly as he handed Blair her phone.

Blair sighed as she looked at her phone and saw James' name before she quickly changed it to Marcus, "I guess he wanted to set up that dinner sooner rather than later…"

Chuck duct his head down and placed a soft kiss on Blair's temple as he laced one of his hands with hers, "What's the plan according to our esteemed Lord?"

Blair laughed softly as she lifted her phone to her ear, not really wanting to leave this bed at all today, as she listened to Marcus's message before deleting it. "He wanted to meet up for breakfast," Blair replied before she checked the time seeing that it was well past that time now, "And it appears we've missed it."

The pair smiled at one another as Chuck responded in a whisper, "I fear that I was much too busy eating something far more decadent."

"And after you were finished, I believe, so was I," Blair retorted with a smirk, "But since I find that I'm hungry for something else, what shall we do?"

Chuck sighed before reluctantly responding with, "Why don't you call the Lord and make lunch plans for all of us."

"Really?" Blair asked a bit surprised and more than a little bit suspicious.

"Yes, really, and then afterwards we continue on with our lust filled day of solitude in this bed," Chuck suggested, figuring that showing to be accommodating and open to being "friendly" with the Lord will help him in the long run. Despite what Marcus liked to say, he was not going to be around for much longer if Chuck had anything to do with it.

"Okay," Blair replied with a smile, "I'll go call him now to set it up while you go shower."

"Only if you join me," Chuck immediately responded with a smirk, resulting in Blair smiling and shaking her head lightly at her boyfriend as she lifted her phone up to her ear to make her call.

A couple of hours later, Chuck, Blair, and Marcus were having lunch and everyone appeared to be behaving themselves accordingly. Marcus was regaling about the social scene in England and what he did in his spare time there while Blair was listening with rapt attention, storing away a few ideas for future social gatherings for the upcoming year, and Chuck was mentally rolling his eyes at the sound of such boring drivel. He was unable to believe that Marcus was able to keep Blair's attention while he was portraying a pauper of some sorts for a month; especially when now that he actually had something interesting to say, could still make it sound dull.

It was no wonder the guy could only get a girl interested in him because of his title, it was the only thing that he had going for him! Chuck glanced over at Blair as she laughed in delight at Marcus's words about a party he attended just before he came to France. After spending actual time with the guy, Chuck began to feel a bit more relaxed in regards to Marcus's feelings. Blair was more interested in everything around the Lord rather than the Lord himself. Almost as if she heard his thoughts, Blair artfully turned the conversation over to Marcus's plans, "So, what's next?"

"I believe dessert," Marcus replied with a smile.

Blair laughed lightly as she responded, "No. I mean, since you don't go to Princeton or Georgetown, I assume you're not headed back to college. So where are you headed? Are you staying here?"

Chuck smirked lightly as he threaded his fingers through Blair's as he listened to the answer he wanted to know as well. "Would it be too forward of me to say that I'd like to stay here and spend more time with my new friends?"

Blair gave a smile as she responded, "I'd be honored milord."

It was a smile that Chuck would have recognized from anywhere. It was the smile of triumph after a particular delicious takedown or when a pawn moved in the direction she wanted it to go without her even having to ask it to. Yes. Blair Waldorf had plans for the Lord; whether it was good or bad, it remained to be seen, but Chuck felt himself smile too as he placed a light kiss upon Blair's shoulder, his smile growing more devious at the feel of a shiver running up Blair's back in response. Deciding to be patient and not push Blair on revealing her plans and have her fun, Chuck was content with the knowledge.

Marcus laughed at Blair's response as he chided lightly, "Blair, you don't have to call me that. In fact, you shouldn't-"

"I know. Don't worry," Blair responded reassuringly as she took a sip from her glass before continuing, "As you've probably guessed, we have to head back to the city."

"Senior year awaits," Chuck said with a smirk, taking a sip from his own glass as he let his Queen hold Marcus's attention.

"Autumn in New York…I'm sure that I could find some way to entertain myself," Marcus responded, "I wasn't lying when I said I had a little bit of family business in the city. Not to mention that they would be glad that I'm staying in one place for a while."

"Oh, your family. I'd love to meet the Duke and Duchess," Blair replied with an eager smile as she gave Chuck's hand a gentle squeeze. She'd been doing that throughout the entire lunch as if to remind him that even though she was talking and interacting with Marcus, her focus was always aware of him sitting beside her.

"Duchess. Right," Marcus responded hesitantly, "Well, we'll see."

Chuck felt his queen freeze briefly at the brush off before she laughed with a light shrug, "Of course."

There goes that possible chance that Marcus could win her over; it was like he was the ultimate amateur. Chuck quietly lifted Blair's hand in his and kissed the back of it gently as a show of silent comfort to which Blair smiled over at him in gratitude. He loved that he knew her so well. As Chuck glanced over at the Lord he could see that Marcus realized his mistake as he forced a smile at both of them. Before Marcus could even attempt to rectify it though, Blair's phone went off to indicate that she had a phone call.

"Oh! Excuse me, I need to take this," Blair excused herself as she stood up to take the phone call outside. As Chuck looked at her, silently asking who it was, Blair leaned towards him and whispered in his ear, "It's Serena," before kissing his cheek and heading outside for some privacy at the sight of Chuck's nod of understanding.

As he watched her go outside to take her call, he smirked as he turned back towards Marcus at the sound of him clearing his throat.

"You know, I've done quite a bit of research on you…Chuck," Marcus began nonchalantly.

Chuck simply smirked back, not worried at all, "Have you now? And what did you find in your search?"

"Little things here and there, but at the end of it: Proof," Marcus stated bluntly as he looked Chuck dead in the eye.

"Proof of what, exactly?" Chuck countered, wondering where the supposed Lord was going with this line of conversation.

"Proof that I was right, that Blair deserves someone far better than the likes of you," Marcus spoke arrogantly, "and I plan to show that to her during my stay in New York."

Chuck moved his lower jaw as he contemplated and decided that since Marcus was being so honest, it was only right for Chuck to lay his own cards on the table, "And I assume you think you're that better someone?" At the sight of Marcus's smile, Chuck smirked as he laid it all out for the stowaway, "I'm aware that in your little social order in England you're pretty high ranked, but what you've failed to realize is that you're in my realm now and I have Blair ruling happily by my side. You may be used to getting what you want…but I'm Chuck Bass and you've yet tohave gone to war with me."

As Marcus simply glared at him, Chuck finished with, "Oh. And when she figures out what you're up to, and I promise you she will all on her own, you won't just have me to deal with. She will burn you alive with not even a trace of who you used to be, and I'm going to enjoy watching the flames."

As Chuck took a sip from his glass as he finished off with, "But until then, let's keep things civil. After all, isn't that a trait your people pride themselves on?"

Chuck watched as Marcus forced himself to put on a pleasant smile, "Right."

xoxo

While the boys were inside drawing battle lines, Blair was outside on the phone unaware of the war being declared, "Serena, what's up?"

"Honestly? I have no idea," Serena responded sounding happy and worried at the same time.

Blair sighed before responding, "Okay, well let's start with last night. I assume from your lack of text or the fact that you didn't return home last night that you and Humphrey are very much on?"

"Well that is the million dollar question isn't it?" Serena answered with a question.

Blair frowned into the phone as she began to grow impatient, "What are you talking about?"

"Last night with Dan was everything I'd hoped it would be after this whole summer apart but…we didn't actually talk about anything," Serena began to explain her plight.

Not at all surprised, Blair offered an attempt to prove her and Chuck wrong with, "But you guys talked this morning right?"

"…No," Serena responded hesitantly, "I know it was stupid. That we should have talked about our problems before jumping back into things, but I guess I just got caught up in the moment."

"Well you two are in a relationship it's not as if you're not going to eventually talk about your issues right?" Blair asked, noticing that Serena never actually answered her about if they were back together.

Serena shook her head, "That's just it. After waking up this morning, I, for some reason, thought it would be a good idea not to rush back to being official yet until we talked. And I put that off until we were back in the city."

"And what did he say about your decision?" Blair asked, feeling a bit proud of Serena for not just jumping in without thought even though she did end up sleeping with him first.

"He was a bit confused. He, apparently, was all for us getting back together without a thought," Serena sighed into the phone, "I don't know. Do you think I made the right choice?"

"Speaking for myself, yes I do. When Nate and I broke up before my birthday and I began to date Chuck in secret, I admit there were still some questions on if I was moving on too fast. I love Chuck, you know I do, but I thought I loved Nate for a very long time before that. It wasn't until Nate asked to escort me to Cotillion that it forced me to think of the reasons why I ended it, what led up to it….and I realized that I did the right thing. That as much as we love each other, we didn't love each other nearly as much as either of us deserved."

Serena was silent for a while, absorbing Blair's words, never realizing how much she thought she put into not going back to Nate. She never voiced it out loud, but Serena worried that Blair didn't want to get back together with Nate because she feared he'd hurt her again. As crazy as it sounded, Serena didn't really come to terms with Chuck and Blair's relationship until just before their trip to Tuscany together, but now, looking back, there was no other people on this earth more right for each other.

"We've never really sat and talked about that before…," Serena said softly into the phone.

"I know," Blair responded just as softly, "I only brought it up now because I want you to know that I understand where you're coming from and I support you."

Serena smiled at her best friend's words, "I'm getting that, and thanks Blair, for everything. But enough about my problems, how are things going with you and Chuck and James?"

Blair frowned in confusion before realizing that Serena is so behind, "It's amazing what can happen in 24 hours. Things are a little iffy with Lord Marcus."

Serena frowned, "Wait. Who's Lord Marcus?"

"James," Blair responded, "Turns out that he was only pretending to be a commoner. It's like "Roman Holiday," only I'm Gregory Peck, and he's Audrey Hepburn, and I'm not interested in him at all romantically."

"Oh, suddenly it's all so clear," Serena laughed as she teased; glad to no longer be focusing on her problems for a moment.

"He's not really a college student. He's a Lord and we're attempting to move forward with honesty and friendship," Blair explained.

"And how does Chuck feel about this?" Serena asked, having an idea for the answer.

"He's being Chuck," Blair said with a shrug, "watching from a distance and playing nice, but secretly plotting out ways to remove a possible threat." Blair couldn't help but smile in affection.

"Oh, is that all?" Serena asked sarcastically, "What exactly is the problem then?"

"You know me. I like to be aware of my new friends' parents, where they come from, what their secrets are. You know, just in case the new friend turns on me I'm adequately prepared to strike back without a thought," Blair explained as if this was perfectly reasonable.

"Yes," Serena responded with a roll of her eyes, "Although I hope you realize that it's not always the best way to keep said new friends."

"I've learned from the mistake I made when I allowed that Jenny Humphrey girl into my circle, I won't repeat it," Blair explained without remorse, "My original goal in regards to Marcus was to create a contact, you never know when you might need to have good foreign relations. But it seems that Marcus isn't very keen on making an introduction."

"Well it's not as if you two are dating and you worry that you're involved in some scandalous secret relationship like how you began your current one," Serena responded, unable to refrain from grinning.

"Ha ha," Blair responded not amused, "But your point has been made. Who knows if Marcus is going to be able to survive being my friend anyway? With Chuck plotting, any secret the Lord may have hoped to have kept in the dark will be brought to light soon and I may not want anything to do with him."

"Always thinking positive aren't you Blair?" Serena teased as she saw her destination and someone else that she wasn't planning on seeing for at least a while and her smile slowly disappeared, "Crap."

"What?" Blair asked in concerned, "Serena, what is it?"

"It's nothing," Serena responded, unconvincingly, "I'm heading back to the city and we'll talk then, alright? I have to go."

"Okay," Blair responded before hanging up the phone, feeling as if it was far from nothing that Serena came across. But instead of hounding her best friend for an answer, Blair uncharacteristically decided to let it go for now. Serena needed to make her own decisions just like she did in regards to Nate and all she could do was be there when she was ready to talk to someone about it. Blair sighed before she headed back inside, figuring that the boys had been alone long enough.

xoxo

Nate sighed as he finished with his packing to head back to the city with Chuck and Blair. He was supposed to meet them over at the Van Der Bass Hampton home in about an hour so he figured he better head downstairs and say his goodbyes to his mother. It was weird that although the two stayed in the same house this summer, he barely got to see much of her while he allowed himself to get caught up in his affair with Catherine. If she ever showed signs that everything wasn't okay, Nate would have been concerned but looking back his mother never revealed to him that anything was wrong.

Feeling almost excited to be going back home Nate walked down the stairs, dropping his main bag in the entry way and continued to carry his side bag that held a few things to keep him occupied during the trip back before figuring he'd start his search for his mother in the gardens. She'd been spending a lot of time there lately and he could tell that it brought her some form a peace. Nate wasn't naïve to think that she was hundred percent fine after his father fled the country but he knew she was finding ways to work through it. He just wished that she would get back out and do other things that she loved like socializing with her friends, but he understood that his mother didn't have the same type of friends that he had. The kind that stuck by him through the hard times as well as the good and didn't ditch him at the slightest hint of a scandal.

Nate plastered on a happy face as he saw his mother in the distance and made his way down the stairs and around the pool towards her as she looked up at him and stood, adjusting her sun hat with a smile.

"Hey, mom. It's looking really nice out here," Nate complimented as he looked around.

"Thanks," Anne responded as she held some yellow flower that Nate assumed she was going to use later to make an arrangement for the house. "I couldn't sleep, so I got up early." She glanced at his side bag and commented, "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm going to head back into the city, actually," Nate explained as he scratched the back of his neck.

Anne raised her hands offhandedly as she replied lightly, "But there's still a few more days of vacation."

"Yeah, I know," Nate nodded as he shoved his hand into his pocket, "I figured it'd be good to get back in and settled before school starts."

He noticed his mother freeze up a bit before she looked away and grew concerned, "I mean, Louisa's at the house, right? It's- It's not a big deal."

"No," Anne responded softly before she looked up at Nate. At the look of confusion, Anne forced herself to continue, "I haven't wanted to tell you this, but you're going to find out soon enough."

Knowing that he wasn't going to be happy by the end of the conversation, Nate decided to just get it over with, "Find out what?"

"The federal prosecutor has taken your father's leaving town as an admission of guilt. They want to forfeit our assts…for restitution," Anne began to fidget under Nate's look of disbelief.

"What, they want to take our money?" Nate asked, wondering how this could have happened without him knowing about it.

Anne took of her gardening gloves as she continue to explain, "Well, not yet, but they have frozen our accounts. And now they're making an inventory of everything that we own," she sighed before she continued, "I asked your granddad for help."

"What, you told Grandpa?" Nate asked, the entire scenario was so surreal and the fact that his mother had to ask his grandfather for help financially proved how bad the situation really was despite how his mother attempted to sugar coat it. Nate honestly felt hurt that he was the last to know about this and he had a feeling that he was only told this now because he made the decision to go home early.

"Not that it did any good," Anne nodded, "As you can imagine, he's not very happy with my role in your father's departure. For the time being at least, I've been cut off."

"I can't believe you knew all this, and you didn't say anything," Nate yelled, feeling as if, once again, his entire life was ripped out from underneath him.

Anne stepped towards him, "All summer, I kept hoping I could make it go away," she gently lifted her hand and lightly touched Nate's chin in comfort as she continued on, "and maybe I still can, which is why I need you to keep your chin up and trust that your mother's got this handled."

"No, when he left, Dad told me to take care of you," Nate explained, still obviously upset with the situation.

Anne nodded with a soft smile, "And you are."

It was then that Nate's phone began to ring as he rolled his eyes and took it out to see who it could possibly be as he heard his mother speak, "Nate, let's not fight about this, please."

At the sight of Catherine's name on the display screen, Nate felt himself grow even more upset. Maybe if he wasn't so caught up with Catherine this summer he would have noticed that not everything was as perfect as he thought it was with his mom. Unfortunately for him, he'll never know for sure and at this point in time it was too late to even contemplate it. Now he had to come up with an idea to figure out how to fix the situation.

As he hit ignore on his phone he found himself sighing again, "Mom, I gotta go. Let's talk about this later, okay?"

Anne said nothing as Nate quickly turned and headed back inside to gather his bag and head over to Chuck's. He knew he was going to be a bit early but hopefully him and Blair wouldn't be opposed to heading out a bit earlier. He needed to know just how bad the situation was at home and in order to do that he had to actually be there. He made a mental decision that he wasn't going to say anything to any of his friends for now. He just wanted to come to terms with it on his own for now.

Next tip: Take time to smell the flowers.

It's true that all good things must come to an end, and August is no exception. They don't call it "Fall" for nothing.

xoxo

Serena couldn't believe that she was in this situation so soon after this morning. While she was on the phone with Blair she was shocked to see Dan at the bus stop waiting for the next Jitney which had been her plan. She assumed he was going to take the train, apparently, that's what he thought she would do as well, resulting in her sitting just across the aisle as the Jitney brought them closer and closer to the city, and it couldn't be any more uncomfortable.

Serena did her best to distract herself inside the magazine she brought along for her trip, but she couldn't find it in her to give it her full attention when she kept catching herself glancing towards her left accidently catching Dan's gaze before they quickly looked in the opposite directions. This was ridiculous! Their relationship before wasn't completely about sex, they could talk and interact without it being awkward. It's like Dan said back at the bus stop: They weren't animals.

Taking a deep breath, Serena purposely looked over at Dan. Seeing his eyes closed with his ear buds in, she nudged him gently with her magazine. When that didn't work she simply reached over and yanked one of them out of ear to gain his attention. When she was successful she simply smiled and spoke, "Sorry. Um, I'm done reading my magazine…," she offered it up to him, "And I know that you like…"

"Oh," Dan responded as he took it from her, their hands grazing each other causing a shock to run up Serena's arm in anticipation. Unable to help herself she slowly pulled her hand away, not taking her eyes off of him and he unable to look away from her.

She quickly realized what she was doing and turned away, shutting her eyes tightly as she finished her thought process on why she offered him the magazine in the first place, "The music reviews, so if you want to read it, you can."

"Thank you," Dan responded softly as he took the magazine from her.

Serena smiled and glanced over her shoulder at him, not letting herself linger too long as she turned towards the window.

A little bit later, Serena decided that she was hungry, which wasn't surprising since she didn't get to eat breakfast this morning before she left, and mentally thanked her forward thinking when she remembered that there was a box of chocolate covered strawberries in her bag for her to enjoy. After taking out the box, she didn't waste any time picking out the biggest one and taking a bite, careful of the juices and the crumbling chocolate. After eating the fruit she began to lick the chocolate off of her fingers, unaware that she was being watched until she glanced over to see Dan staring at her with a dazed and lustful look on his face.

Once again, Bad Serena made an appearance and encouraged him to look as she offered to him lightly, "Want one?"

"Oh, no thanks, I'm good," Dan responded.

Serena nodded and continued on with eating her strawberries, very much aware that she was playing with fire. A half an hour later, Serena started to feel a bit off. The ride had been far from smooth and after eating those strawberries, Serena worried that they were going to find their way back up. She stood up from her seat carefully before slowly making an attempt to get to the back of the bus where the bathroom was. It was then, as if it was a sign, the bus hit a particular nasty bump resulting her falling onto Dan's lap.

Serena gasped as he wrapped his arms around her, keeping her steady. She rested her hands on his shoulders as she looked down into the face of her ex-boyfriend and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Dan responded as he looked up at her.

Serena just couldn't resist any longer and she didn't want to. Making a decision that she knew she shouldn't before they talked, she stood up from his lap, taking his hand in hers and leading to the back of the bus quickly. He willingly followed after her as Serena pulled him into the bathroom with her unable to help the excitement she felt at what they were about to do. As the door closed behind them, she smiled and kissed him. Despite the negatives associated with his escapades over the summer, the fact that Dan Humphrey was all for a quickie in the back of the Jitney with her, was definitely a plus.

xoxo

Meanwhile Blair, Chuck, and Nate were in the back of a limo heading back to the city themselves. Blair shook her head softly to herself as she spoke out loud. "I can't believe that you invited him to play squash with you at your father's club. I swear Chuck if you mess this up for me, I will squash you!"

Chuck was unable to hold back his laugh as he attempted to reassure her of his good intentions, "Relax Waldorf. As I'm sure you're aware, the Lord is short on friends on this side of the pond. Besides there are some things that guys will only talk about with other guys. Think of it as me doing a bit of recon for you. Besides you'll be a bit busy, supposedly preparing for a party that you've claimed to throw at the end of every summer…"

Blair rolled her eyes, not believing his words for a second before responding, "Well I figured if he wasn't going to introduce me to the Duchess willingly, I could set the stage for an impromptu introduction. Which reminds me…" Blair quickly as took out her phone and sent out a text message to her faithful Dorota to set the party plans in motion so it would have at least been started to be planned by the time she made it back. Considering that to be as done as she could under the circumstances, she turned towards Nate, "So Archibald, how was your summer?"

Nate sighed and looked over at his ex-girlfriend and shrugged, "It was a nice break away from the prying eyes of our world for a while."

Blair nodded in understanding remember when her own father went through his scandal the previous year, "Be grateful for small favors; not everyone is fortunate enough to have that luxury."

Nate gave her a half smile in agreement as Chuck refilled Blair's glass of champagne, "I have to admit that I've missed you Nathaniel, but it seems that the time out of the spotlight has done you good."

"Thanks, but to be honest…at this point, I don't really want to talk about me and my situation," Nate explained. The couple nodded in understanding, both unaware of how the situation has gotten even worse than anyone in that car could comprehend and Nate wasn't prepared to share that with them just yet. "What I want to talk about his this whole war between Chuck and this Lord."

Blair smiled and shook her head to herself as Chuck responded, "It's far from a war, at this point, he hasn't even given his opening move other than revealing who he really is. At this point it's just a gathering of Intel; I have no doubt that he won't be staying on our island for long."

When Nate glanced over at Blair she simply responded, "As long as it doesn't result in jeopardizing my goals, he's free to wreak havoc within reason.

She took a sip from her glass as she glared at her boyfriend. She was very much aware that lines had been drawn during her time outside of the restaurant on the phone with Serena; after the mess with the attempted dethroning last year, Blair and Chuck had agreed and kept up the promise of no secrets between them. Be it good or bad. In the end was better for them and worse for their enemies to have secrets used against them to cause an internal war with the couple.

"No offense," Nate began, gaining the couple's attention once again, "But don't you think you're a little outmatched?"

"At squash?" Chuck asked, purposely playing obtuse, "I've been playing my father since the eighth grade. How good can Marcus be?"

"No, I mean, as a guy," Nate responded, "No offense Blair, but you've always wanted to be a princess, and Chuck's greatest achievement is owning part of a Burlesque Club."

"My supposed dreams of wanting to become a princess went away along with my supposed dreams of being Mrs. Nathaniel Archibald," Blair responded with a smirk, "Besides, why bother being a princess, when I could become Queen in my own right?"

Chuck smirked as he responded, "She already has the experience. Although Nate's right about my lack of accomplishments, I will repeat myself: I have to get to know the guy, and this is my way in. See, no one's that perfect. Once I found out what he's hiding, it'll be easy to take him out when the time is right."

"Oh, you know it's love when you start talking like an assassin," Nate teased. "How are you okay with this?" he asked Blair who was busy fiddling with her phone.

"It's Chuck," she responded before looking up at Nate, "He's going to do what he wants in regards to Marcus, and I've made it very clear that he wasn't allowed to take the kill shot until I say so. Besides it's always a good idea to have some Intel on our side. Marcus has already shown that he has it in him to lie about himself, so what else could he be lying about I don't know. But I know that Chuck will find out and tell me if there's anything worth mentioning."

"I think you're jealous of my new best friend," Chuck chimed in with a smirk, loving how well Blair knew him and the fact that he at least had her blessing to dig into the Lord was definitely a point in his favor.

"Well, I have been hoping someone would tag in for a while now," Nate responded sarcastically as he shook his head at his two friends.

Chuck and Nate laughed together just as Chuck's own phone rang. When Chuck was about to ignore it, he paused at who was calling and decided to answer, figuring that it might be important, "Hello?"

As he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, he knew that he couldn't talk freely with his current company, "Uh, I can't talk right now. I'll have to call you when I'm home."

As the caller understood, Chuck hung up the phone feeling a wave of worry wash over him. The fact that this particular person called him was big and it could only mean that something was happening that he didn't know about.

"Hey, if you need to work out the details of your takedown, don't let me stop you," Nate responded as Chuck forced a lighthearted smile on his face.

Blair looked over at her boyfriend and saw what Nate didn't. She saw the worry and placed her hand on his arm gently, silently asking if he needed her to do something. Chuck glanced over at her and slightly shook his head, knowing that he'd fill her in when he knew what was going on later as he responded to Nate's inquiry, "You know me well, but it's nothing."

Blair said nothing as she went back to planning her party tonight, knowing that Chuck will talk to her about it when it was time. From the way he was acting she knew it wasn't about Marcus at all and that it was serious so she didn't think she had to wait long to hear the details. Until then Blair was perfectly content to let the boys talk and catch up as she focused her attention on her party, just being able to reach over and hold Chuck's hand whenever she wanted was more than enough to soothe her frazzle nerves. She needed this party to be perfect. She needed to make a great impression on the Duchess. The comment she made earlier about being a Queen to Nate was true. During her down time away from Chuck, Blair had been planning out her future. She knew that her plans needed a bit of revamping now that her goals had changed along with the man that she wanted by her side through it all. She wanted to be a powerful person and rule her island effectively. In order for that to happen though, she needed to have good contacts, good favors to call in, as well as good secrets to hold over other's heads, and the introduction with the Duchess was the beginning of setting that plan in motion.

About an hour later, Nate left his friends and headed inside his childhood home, unsure what to expect from the news that his mother dropped on him before he left the Hamptons earlier. What awaited him when he entered the sitting room was not what he expected. He found a group of people he'd never met before with notebooks in their hands taking notes as some guy, Nate assumed he was the leader, was giving out instructions about seeing what they could find upstairs.

"Excuse me," Nate interrupted, making his presence known.

The group froze and turned towards him before dispersing, leaving the head guy there to represent them, "You Nate Archibald?"

"Yeah. Since this is my house, how about I ask the questions?" Nate asked hostilely as he walked further into the room towards the man, dropping his bags by the door.

"Don't worry," the man responded arrogantly as he pulled something out of his jacket pocket, flashing Nate his FBI badge as he continued on, "Your family's lawyer is upstairs, supervising."

"Supervising what, exactly?" Nate explained, even more confused than he felt when his mother first told him this morning that their accounts were frozen.

"Us. We've moved into your house, and we're going through every single thing your family owns," the agent explained as he motioned around the room with a slight smile, putting away a file that was in his hands when Nate came in.

"Wow," Nate spoke as he realized something from that slight smirk on the agent's face, "You're actually enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Look, no one wants to hold a yard sale. We want your father locked up," the agent spoke bluntly.

"No, we already told the prosecutors we don't know where he is," Nate explained, just wanting these people out of his house already.

The agent sighed as he shook his head, "That's too bad."

"We'll deal with it," Nate spoke aloud attempting to reassure himself more than anything.

"Maybe you will," the agent spoke, "But after spending so much time in your mom's closet, I feel like I know the lady. I don't think she'll adjust so well."

With that final word, the agent gathered his briefcase and left Nate alone in the room to his thoughts as he continued on to do his work. Nate stood there feeling once again as if his life was thrown another curveball. He knew that the agent was right. His mother was born and raised with a certain lifestyle and he honestly didn't know how long she could go on pretending that everything was fine and that everything would be alright, especially after Nate's grandfather had cut her off completely.

Nate began to feel as if his childhood home's walls were closing in on him and he just had to get out of there. He took out his phone and began to dial what had become a familiar number over the summer, just needing to talk to someone. When the call immediately went to Catherine's voice mail, Nate decided to leave a message: "Hey. It's me. Uh, listen, I really need to talk to someone. So, um, I need to talk to you. So if you can call me, please."

After he hung up, he didn't know why he didn't call Chuck or even Blair. Maybe he was still trying to avoid their reaction to the situation. They were his best friends and overall he knew that they would be there for him, but there was a small part of him that feared that…like the rest of his mother's friends they'd drop him. Money and status were just as important to them as it was to most of the kids on the Upper East Side and the conversation that he had earlier in the limo with Blair showed that when she wanted to use Marcus as a possible contact. And he had to admit that they have dropped others for less than simply being in bad financial states; he felt bad for thinking of them in such away. He knew that after the scandal broke about his father, despite all the drama going on with them as a group, they stood by him. Maybe he was also worried that with their help he would become their charity case with nothing to offer them in return. He honestly just needed to talk to someone who wouldn't attempt to fix the situation.

Nate left the house to go for a walk to clear his head. Maybe he was overreacting about his friends' reaction to his plight. Just because their parents treated friendship one way, didn't mean that they treated it the same. Hoping that he could figure it out soon, Nate sighed. He knew he needed to at least vent to someone because he didn't know how long he could keep all this mess to himself.

xoxo

While Nate's life was falling apart around him, Chuck would be found playing a few rounds with the Lord himself, Marcus Beaton, and he was winning. He had to admit that his father did him a favor with not going easy on him growing up when then they played this game. The taste of victory even made up for the sweating that Chuck had to go through for it. He could admit only to himself that Marcus definitely made him work for it, but Chuck was proving to be superior.

After winning yet another point, Chuck spoke, "Something tells me you're off your game. Anything I can help with?"

"Uh, no one can help," Marcus responded shaking his racket as he attempted to breathe.

"You sure?" Chuck asked, not believing Marcus for a second.

"Well, it's the Duchess," Marcus explained, "You know how it is."

Chuck mentally smirked knowing that this was the key he needed. If Marcus was foolish enough to trust him after he declared war on him earlier, than it was up to Chuck to take advantage of it. Besides, information for him, was information for Blair. Chuck purposely missed the next point before heading back over to Marcus's side, "Tell me."

"No one's ever good enough," Marcus explained as he panted, "I've dated a lot of topflight girls, and even had a few as friends, and she always sends them running; each and every one of them. It's like, she gets inside their heads, figures out their worst fears and just…"

"Ruthlessly exploits that fear," Chuck finished with a nod and a smirk as he was instantly reminded of another woman of similar talents, "It's rough."

"Not to mention, she's completely got my father's ear," Marcus explained, "Of course, Blair is desperate to meet her."

"And when Blair sets her mind on something…" Chuck began as he smiled and got into position for the last round.

"Exactly," Marcus nodded in agreement as he served the ball. After a few back and forth, Chuck won the point and Marcus claimed, "That's a match."

"Yes it is," Chuck mentally stated as he shook Marcus's hand.

"I'd say let's keep at it, but I'm sure we both have to get ready for Blair's party," Marcus said as he headed out.

Chuck nodded in agreement, "Definitely."

"Thanks, Chuck. We should do this again," Marcus offered as he picked up his towel, "See you at the Hudson."

"Perfect," Chuck responded, playing nice as he gathered up his things, "And, uh, there was a problem with your cell earlier. Why don't I get your home number?"

"Yeah, sure," Marcus said easily believing the lie. As Chuck added the new number he mentally laughed as he thought of the plan that formed in his head being almost too easy. He knew he should have given Blair some warning to prepare herself for the coming conflict, but in this instance the couple's goals were not aligned. And if he wanted Marcus gone from their lives, he needed to go rogue.

"That was a good match," Marcus responded with a smile as the two walked out together.

Chuck chuckled over at him, "You nearly had me."

Spotted: Chuck Bass putting his new BFF on speed dial. Is it the beginning of a beautiful bro-mance…or the end of Blair's bid to mingle with the British?

xoxo

Blair smiled as she looked at all that Dorota had done in a mere couple of hours in regards to her party for the evening as she slowly made her way through her penthouse. She had to admit that she was impressed, but then again, Dorota's track record was usually always perfect when it mattered. "Well done, Dorota. I like what I'm seeing," Blair spoke with a smile as she led the way through her penthouse with Dorota following behind her before giving her next set of instructions to make the party perfect, "Now make the library the sky terrace, the Ranunculus Dahlias, the Veuve Clicquot Larent-Pierre, and I think we have ourselves a party. "

"Thank you, Miss Blair," Dorota spoke with a smile of pride.

"This guest list, however, is a complete page one," Blair spoke as she flipped through her pad to look at the list.

"But those are your friends," Dorota responded in confusion.

Blair looked up, feeling irritated as she shoved the clipboard at Dorota, "Then invite strangers!"

She took a mental breath and brought herself back into control before she spoke again, "I have to present myself as a crown jewel, surrounded by other smaller, slightly flawed gems, but quality stones nonetheless. And try to round up a couple of people who can vote so it doesn't feel like a total high school party."

As Serena walked in through the sitting room, Blair dismissed Dorota to get back to work, "A party at the Hudson, huh? I got your message. Since when are you having a party?"

"Since it became clear that Marcus does not think I'm worthy of meeting his family," Blair explained.

"Oh, my god," Serena responded as she took breath and looked away from her best friend's antics.

"Obviously I have some more work to do," Blair finished as she flipped through her planner for the day.

Serena smiled and spoke softly, "B., you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do," Blair corrected, before looking up from her list, "Marcus dated the descendant of Princess Grace. He interacts with royalty the way that you interact with Brooklynites: with ease and simplicity. I need to show that I can do that as well and to be able to hobnob with oligarchs and dictators."

"Well, if you can't find common ground with a dictator, I don't know who can," Serena teased as she watched her best friend fret.

"Dan likes soccer, right?" Blair asked carefully, "Or "football," as Marcus calls it. You think it'd be too weird if he came?"

"Um, no, not necessarily," Serena spoke wearily, feeling very uncomfortable.

"I mean you two have talked right? Figured out if it was best to get back together or the break up was permanent?" Blair asked, having a sinking feeling that Serena had been doing the opposite of that.

"Not quite…" Serena responded, not quite meeting Blair's eyes.

Instantly, Blair knew what happened. Her best friend wasn't one for self-control when it came to certain things and this was proving that Chuck was right when the couple spoke at the White Party. Serena will go down the road of fun and sex before something inevitably happened to force the two to actually talk about their problems and they decide to part ways. Blair made a mental note to talk to Chuck and make sure he was working on the response plan for when that did happen amongst his other plans to take down Marcus.

"Well, take my party as the opportunity to do that," Blair offered, hoping Serena would take the opportunity to not go down the road she had already started on, "You two can talk, figuring things out and proceed from there."

Serena nodded softly as she thought about it. She agreed that maybe the party would be the best setting so that she and Dan could focus and not do anything rash like they did on the Jitney or like they did after the White Party, "You're right. It's probably the best setting for it."

"Good. You'll call him?" Blair requested as she checked off another thing on her list.

"Wait, so does this mean you actually think Dan has a redeeming quality?" Serena asked, surprised.

Blair smiled as she looked up at her best friend, "As long as he knows his arse from his arsenal,I think he's aces. I just hope that if you two do decide to reconcile that I don't lose out on getting my old Serena back. I know you were happy with him, but Dan was a bit of a downer."

Serena laughed as Blair pulled her along out of the penthouse to do work for the party, "Now come on. There's lots of work to do."

xoxo

While Serena and Blair were off planning the party to end the season, Chuck was busy at home coming up with a game plan for how he wished to proceed in regards to Lord Marcus. He also had another problem arise stemming from the phone call that he had received earlier in the limo. The second problem, to Chuck, was simple. He would do what he needed to do to help. In fact he was doing what he needed to do to help right this very second.

It was then that Chuck heard the sound of the elevator door go off announcing that a visitor had arrived. Chuck excused himself from his companion, having received a heads up from the desk worker downstairs about his pending guest so Chuck wasn't at all surprised at who had come by. He smiled as he welcomed the newcomer, "Nathaniel."

"Hey," Nate greeted back with a sigh before lowering his voice, "Look, could I, uh, could I talk to you for a second?"

"I'm actually in the middle of something," Chuck replied as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Oh. Is Blair here?" Nate inquired, figuring that to be the only reason for Chuck not being available, "I have to say I'm surprised that you managed to distract her from party planning, especially after her stating how important it was."

Chuck smirked, "No, she's busy preparing for tonight, despite my best efforts. It's business."

He glanced behind him, indicating where he left his first guest as he explained further, "I'm, uh, liquidating my shares in Victrola."

"Wait, you're selling the club?" Nate asked in shock, "But you love that place. Besides isn't that a significant place for both you and Blair?"

Chuck nodded in agreement as he pursed his lips as he listened to Nate continue on, "Look, Chuck, if you're doing this because of what I said in the car earlier… I mean, come on."

"Look, what you said in the limo was right," Chuck interrupted, "If I'm going to compete with this guy, I have to rise to his level and not play this as if he were some Brooklyn rat."

"Yeah, but don't you think that's a little extreme?" Nate asked, concerned.

"Maybe, but given the situation, it's the right thing to do," Chuck explained simply. He figured it would be best for Nate to believe that Marcus was the reason for Chuck's decision to sell. He knew Nate; he was his brother in all the ways that mattered, and he knew that if Nate found out the real reason he would not be too happy about it.

"And, uh, I should probably get back to it," Chuck made to excuse himself, "The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can settle it with Blair. She can be very sentimental when it matters."

"Okay," Nate nodded as he took a step back, "All right. I, um, I'll see you ya."

As Nate turned away he took out his phone and began to dial his plan B, he knew that Chuck wasn't in the frame of mind to talk about Nate's problems. Fortunately for him, his plan B answered after a couple of rings, "Hey. Yeah, what's going on? What are you up to right now?"

As Chuck watched his friend head out he breathed a sigh of relief at his quick thinking. His mind flashed to after he and Blair dropped off Nate at his house earlier. How Blair questioned him about who was on the phone really, and how Chuck confided in her that it was Nate's mother. After getting all of the details about the problem at hand in regards to Nate, Chuck came up with his current plan to help out. The only roadblock in his plan was Blair. He more than most knew how sentimental she was, but the surprise was that she actually encouraged him to do it. She understood how big of a deal it was and was willing to give her emotional ownership over the place that Chuck had admitted to feeling the butterflies and began their journey that led to where they were now.

Chuck released a soft chuckle to himself as he sat down across from his broker. There was another thing about Blair that he should have considered was that she was loyal to her friends to a fault. She would give up everything she could to help those she deemed family by choice, and in that way the couple was the same.

Chuck sighed before addressing his broker, "Is this going to take much longer? I told Mrs. Archibald we could have it done by tonight."

The broker shook his head in assurance as he continued with his work quickly as Chuck sat back in the settee quietly as his mind raced with all that he needed to get done before he could even arrive at Blair's party for tonight. The last thing he needed was to give the Lord a chance to make his next move.

xoxo

Serena had finally managed to get home to get ready for Blair's party. She loved her best friend but sometimes Serena worried that she focused on things that didn't matter for the sake of her position in their circle. Serena didn't understand what the big deal was about Blair making a good impression on Marcus's stepmother; it wasn't as if she was dating the guy or something.

Serena sighed just as her phone started ringing in her bag as she got settled in her room and headed into her closet, glad that no one was home at the moment. She braced herself on the off chance that it was Blair calling to ask Serena's help on some part of the party planning. She swore that Blair was obsessed. Fortunately for her, it wasn't her best friend it was another person entirely and she eagerly answered.

"Hello," she smiled into the phone as she lifted a potential garment for the night up to herself as she looked into the mirror.

"Hey. Hey. It's me," Dan responded.

"Hey, you. Did you get my message?" Serena hoped that this was a sign that he was able to come to the party tonight.

"Yeah. Yeah, and listen, before you say anything else," Dan began "I just want to let you know that, uh, this morning on the-on the bus…"

Serena sighed softly as she turned from the mirror, feeling the regret from earlier return, "Yeah, we didn't exactly stick to the plan, did we?" She returned something to be hung up back in her closet she chuckled to herself at the understatement of the week.

"Well, uh, no. the plan was deeply flawed," Dan responded, "I think we overestimated our powers of restraint…" He chuckled, causing Serena to smile as he continued on with his ramble that she always found so adorable, "Or, uh, I-I did, at least."

Finding something that she felt had potential for tonight, Serena pulled out another dress as she continued her conversation, "Yeah, me, too, but then I realize something."

"Yeah, me, too," Dan surprising responded.

"Really?" Serena asked, pausing before continuing on back to the mirror with her item, deciding to hear what he figured out first.

"Yeah, well, uh…," Serena listened as he spoke out loud his thoughts, "I-I think if we want to figure anything out for real, you know, we- we do need to take some time…alone."

"Oh." To say that Serena was shocked was another understatement. "Sure," she slowly spoke, knowing that from what happened on the bus this morning, not to mention after their night on the beach, that it wasn't a good idea, but Serena didn't want to push him to do something that he didn't want to do. She carefully put her dress down as she tried to come up with an alternative, "Yeah, um, but Blair's not going to like that."

"Blair?" Dan asked, sounding confused.

Serena sighed as she sat down on her bed, knowing that she messed up with her approach and decided to be honest with her intentions, "Yeah, it's actually why I called. Your knowledge of Premier League football is integral to one of her schemes. She just wants you to come to a party." And give me an opportunity to talk to you without getting caught up in my emotions of how we used to be. Serena added silently to herself.

"A party?" Dan asked, not sounding too put out.

"Yeah, well, I'll be there," Serena attempted to sweeten the deal as she laid back on her bed, smiling softly, "And I really want to see you."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess we can star4t with the new plan tomorrow," Dan agreed.

Serena nodded, feeling a bit disappointed that she wouldn't be able to follow through on the plan that her and Blair had come up with. There was a lot the two needed to talk about and Serena understood that she had a lack of self-control when it came to Dan and more than anything she would love to just forget about the past and just start up as if their break up and the summer apart never happened.

But Serena wanted her relationship with Dan to be different than that; she wanted it to be better than it was before. As the conversation wrapped up and she hung up the phone she started to wish that she pushed the subject on their supposed new plan, but she realized why she didn't. She was afraid. She was afraid that he would think that she was pushing him to do something he wasn't ready for and he would say that she wasn't worth it and she'd be left alone wondering and it would be all her fault.

Serena sighed as she shook her head clear of her morbid thoughts. She and Dan will talk about their issues eventually. If she learned anything from her mother's many marriages was that the issues that a couple has that get left alone will come up again and again until it was settled or the relationship ended. It was inevitable. Serena just hoped that her and Dan would be strong enough to make it past the storm.

xoxo

"You know, they're obviously trying to scare us to get us to rat out my dad," Nate speculated out loud to Vanessa.

After he left Chuck's place, he called Vanessa to see if she was available to talk and she graciously offered him to come over to Mr. Humphrey's gallery where she was converting a small space into a café to help out. It sounded exactly what Nate needed and it didn't take long for him to make the trip to Brooklyn to meet up with her. She was there waiting with a cup of coffee and an open ear to listen. Nate couldn't help but began to pour out all his problems in regards to the FBI taking over his house and the way they were treating him and his mother. He had to admit that it was nice to get this off of his chest and not keep it all bottled up.

"You do know where he is, right?" Vanessa asked as Nate took a sip from his mug.

Nate paused and nodded faintly, "Yeah, but…I couldn't." He looked up at Vanessa, expecting to see judgment, but all he saw was understanding in her eyes as he continued on, "Even after everything he's done."

"Just had to put it out there," She explained as she looked down at her own cup before continuing on, "But if the worst-case scenario comes true, I promise my sister and I will give your mom some good pointers on how to do more with less."

Nate laughed, barely able to keep from spitting out his coffee as he quickly put his cup down, "I'd love to see that."

Vanessa laughed with him as she continued on with the joke, "The Salvation Army's having a bag sale on Saturday, and Ruby knows this place in the Village that has two-for-one taco night."

"Stop it," Nate played along in exaggerated eagerness.

"It's lesbian-Mexican. Sometimes their band plays there," Vanessa explained, smiling.

Before Nate could respond, his phone rang beside him on the counter. Seeing that it was his mother, he picked up the phone, figuring that it was time to talk to her, "Um, just one second, okay?"

He walked further into the gallery for some privacy as he answered the phone, "Hey, mom."

"Hey, Nate. I just wanted to apologize for scaring you this morning," his mother spoke sincerely into the phone, "It turns out I was able to fix things after all."

"How?" Nate asked in surprise, before coming to an obvious conclusion as he leaned onto a nearby crate, "You didn't tell them where dad is, did you?"

"Of course not," Anne reassured, "I just got a loan from a family friend."

"From who?" Nate asked, feeling even more suspicious. He knew that his mother's fiends had all basically exiled her and there were few that he knew would offer to help with that kind of cash, not to mention that his mother would actually talk about her financial problems with someone who wasn't, in fact, family.

"That doesn't matter," Anne responded.

"Okay, but I just find it hard to believe that you opened up to one of the book club ladies and told them we're completely broke," Nate whispered into the phone to avoid raising his voice.

"He's not in book club, Anne explained, "He's outside of my regular circle."

"Oh, so you just asked someone you barely know for money?" Nate asked, mentally seeing how the situation was even worse than he originally thought.

"I didn't ask. He offered, and when I tried to refuse, he insisted that it was the right thing to do," Anne explained.

"The right thing to do?" Nate asked as he paused. The phrase brought to mind a conversation he had a couple of hours ago with someone else entirely. He began to get a bad feeling as he asked his next question, "You said he's outside of your regular circle? Is he in mine?"

"Nate, please stop it. Let me do this," Anne tried to dissuade him.

"Okay, fine," Nate snapped back, getting irritated, "I won't bring it up again."

He hung up the phone without saying goodbye and felt his anger grow even more. There goes something else in his life that was happening with him being the last one to know. Nate forced himself to take a deep breath as he headed back into the make-shift café to where Vanessa was waiting for him. He knew he needed to get some answers and he didn't have the luxury to wait.

"Everything okay?" Vanessa asked concerned.

"No, actually, it's not," Nate spoke as he looked down at his phone, "Look, I gotta go. I'll come back later tonight, but I have to find Chuck first." As he turned to head out, he realized something and turned around. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, the place looks great. I'm so glad I called you. I really missed you this summer." And he meant it. It wasn't until he actually heard her voice on the other end of the line when he called that he realized that he missed being able to talk to someone outside of his circle with a different perspective on the world. She had a way of making him feel like it was him she was talking to, not the façade of Nate Archibald. He smiled at her as he left, fiddling with his phone in hopes that he could reach Chuck on the phone instead of running around Manhattan trying to find him, worse-case scenario he'd have to look at the spotted map on Gossip Girl.

He was so wrapped up in his plan to find Chuck he didn't even hear Vanessa's response of "Thanks and me, too."

xoxo

As Chuck sat waiting patiently in the Hudson on the main floor, waiting for his guest. He knew that Blair would not be happy and if he failed he knew he wouldn't be in his Queen's good graces. But it was a risk he was willing to take to achieve his goals. His war with Marcus was something to kill time with and Chuck knew he needed to make a move to show that going to war with him wasn't to be taken lightly.

Seeing that his pawn had not made an appearance yet, Chuck began to think about the events of the day. He managed to liquidate his holdings with Victrola not too long after Nate left and transferred the funds to Anne right on schedule. She was very grateful and was very big on emphasizing that it was just a loan and that when everything was once again in order, she would repay him. Chuck shrugged it off and again reminded her that Nate was like a brother to him and it was the least he could do to help out his friend and his family if he was able to.

He wasn't naïve to believe that Nate would never find out about what he had done, but he hoped that it wouldn't be until quite some time later when the dust settled a bit. Before his mind let him linger on that thought for too long, he looked up towards the entrance and smirked when he saw the woman he was waiting for, Catherine Beaton. He had to admit that she was very attractive and, from what Marcus told him of her reputation of running off any female that had any hopes of getting close to the Lord, she knew how to use her attributes. It was definitely going to be an interesting evening.

"Charles Bass?" She asked after approaching him.

Chuck slowly stood, shaking the woman's hand as he spoke, "I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting anyone so young or so beautiful."

"Just because I didn't give birth to Marcus doesn't mean I'm any less interested in his well-being," Catherine responded. Chuck found himself beginning to smile, already tasting victory, but knowing that now wasn't the time to celebrate just yet as Catherine continued on, "I don't usually take meetings with children, Charles, so what do you have to say for yourself?"

Chuck smirked as he slowly walked around the Duchess indicating that she should take a seat as he answered, "Plenty."

Lordy, Lordy, look who's 40: or at least a well-preserved 38. We knew Chuck had a thing for older women, but is this risky business or strictly business? We wonder how Queen B would react to her Dark Knight socializing so closely to his old games?

While Chuck was doing a little pre-gaming, Blair's party up on the rooftop was in full swing. Blair stood by Marcus as the group listened to the entertainment that Blair booked for the evening, a two piece ensemble playing Boccherini's Minuet from 'string Quintet in E Major'. Unfortunately for Blair, the music and it seemed the party was as dull as Marcus was before Blair found out he was a Lord. She casually glanced around at the strangers that Dorota invited and it was just horrible.

As the song ended, Blair put on a big smile and applauded loudly and did what she did best, pretend that everything was perfect. Doing her best from grimacing she turned towards Marcus, "Wasn't that wonderful?"

She turned towards the entertainment, still smiling, "Thank you Ingrid and Beatrice."

"I'm Ingrid. She's Beatrice," the harp player corrected.

"That's what I said," Blair responded, trying her best not to snap at the woman before turning her attention back to the man beside her, mentally wondering where in the world was Chuck Bass when she needed him. "Ah! I just love Mozart."

"Uh, that wasn't Mozart," Marcus attempted to interrupt, but Blair was well aware that her party was sinking fast and if it was going to grant Blair success in her goals she was going to need to quickly distract the man by her side.

"Come, come," Blair urged as she led Marcus away, holding her glass in her hand. As she saw someone approach Marcus, she continued on to her best friend, finally allowing her anxiety to show.

"Blair, who are these people?" Serena asked as she glanced around, not recognizing anyone.

"Dorota invited them," Blair explained, feeling a bit ashamed that she has gone this far in her scheme.

Serena laughed as she saw her best friend realize that she may have obsessed this party to death. She stopped laughing though when she saw in the distance Dorota leading Dan in. Blair glanced over to where Serena was looking and smiled to her best friend before heading over to greet the Brooklynite, ignoring Serena's protests. At least one thing will hopefully go right at this party.

"Dan, Hi!" Blair greeted the outsider with enthusiasm as she pulled him over, "Come meet the Lord."

"Okay," Dan responded a bit reluctantly as he pulled in front of Marcus shaking his hand. "Uh, Hello Lord, I'm Dan Humphrey."

"Marcus Beaton. Nice to meet you, Dan," Marcus responded before motioning over to Serena beside him, "Do you know Serena?"

There was a slight pause as Blair remembered that she didn't mention that Humphrey was Serena's ex before the former couple smiled politely at each other and Humphrey responded with a simple, "I do."

"He does," Serena answered as well as Blair watched on, sensing that the two were still in the awkward stages of post break up.

"Dan is a huge football fanatic," Blair explained to Marcus, trying so hard to put herself in the best light that if she were watching herself she would have shaken her head at how pathetic she was acting, "He's a BIG Chelsea fan."

"Oh, me, too," Serena added in, "I just love the Balenciaga store."

Blair smiled at Serena's joke, grateful that she was at least attempting to help. But it seemed that the stars were against them because the joke was lost on Marcus and it was surprising that he wasn't the least bit charmed by Serena. Blair found herself just chugging her drink down. She honestly didn't know what she was thinking! She more than anyone should know that a party thrown at the last minute was a disaster waiting to happen. Even though she was outside, Blair didn't feel as if there was enough air in the world to help clear her head and she more than anything wished that Chuck was here already to help her relax and not sweat the small stuff.

"Freshen your drink?" Marcus offered.

Blair continued forcing her smile as she handed her glass over, "Yes, please."

Deciding to just let Serena and Humphrey have their conversation she turned away and went off to attempt to mingle with the rest of her guests and mentally curse Chuck for not being here! The one time that he wasn't there when she needed him was the one time that she needed him the most!

Serena watched her best friend go wallow with sympathy as she walked off with Dan, knowing that even though the party was a bust, Blair was still attempting to give her the alone time needed for her to have the conversation she needed in order to get on the same page with Dan. And Serena would have been grateful for it, if Dan hadn't already offer up a new plan for how they could proceed with their attempt at moving forward.

"So, uh…," Dan began as she held his hand, "She actually refers to him as "The Lord"?"

Serena laughed as she nodded, turning towards him, "Yeah. I'm so glad that you're here." As she glanced over Dan's shoulder she sighed in relief, "Chuck."

"The name's Dan," Dan corrected with a smile.

"No, Chuck's here, and he's late. But fortunately he's probably the only one who can calm Blair down from her crazy," Serena explained as she watched her step-brother greet a few people.

Dan looked over his shoulder and nodded, "Who's his plus one?"

Serena froze as she saw the woman with Chuck and recognized her from the White Party. "That's Nate's…," she quickly stopped talking as she realized what she almost said out loud to Dan and quickly finished, "Mom's friend. Um, I have to go. I'll be back."

She didn't know why Catherine was here or what was going on, but she knew it would lead to nothing but trouble. Fortunately it could have been a lot worse if Nate decided to show. As she saw Blair approach the two, Serena quickly made her way over to find out what was going on.

At the sight of Chuck finally making an entrance, Blair felt as if she could finally relax. He had that effect on her. She quickly made her way over, ignoring the woman beside him and put the first genuine smile of the evening at her boyfriend, "Chuck, you're late."

Chuck smiled as his girlfriend gave him a kiss in greeting, "Blair, forgive me. You know I'm always one to make an entrance. Besides I had a bit of business to attend to. I thought you might like to meet my friend."

Blair finally acknowledged the older woman's presence, not having seen her before, mentally wrote her off as someone not of importance at least at this party and spoke as she turned back to her boyfriend, "Why? So she can warn me about the effects of too much Botox?"

Chuck had to press his lips together very hard to prevent from laughing out loud at his girlfriend's wit. Unfortunately for Blair, it was going to be a point against her in this situation. As Catherine spoke up, "Blair, is it?"

Blair took a mental deep breath as she turned towards the woman in question and simply smiled as the woman introduced herself, "I'm Duchess Beaton."

Blair immediately felt mortified and did her best to hide it and bounce back with the social grace that she'd been trained with since was born, but all she could do was respond as her best friend came up beside her, "The Duchess?"

"The Duchess?" Serena echoed as she realized just how big of a mess Nate had gotten himself into. It wasn't until times like these that one realizes just how small of a world it really was when a teen from the Upper East Side has an affair with a married Duchess who's step son was dating said teen's ex-girlfriend.

"It's nice to meet you," Blair responded as she looked over at her boyfriend, "Can I speak to you for a moment alone, Chuck, now."

Chuck simply smiled and motioned her to lead the way as she smiled at Catherine before leading her boyfriend away. When the two finally alone in a quiet corner she turned on him, "What are you up to, Bass?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about Waldorf," Chuck lied with ease, "I simply knew that you wanted an introduction with the Duchess and I provided it for you."

Blair narrowed her eyes as she put the pieces together, "Don't think me naïve, Chuck. This isn't about me and my goals, this is about you and your goals. You're trying to sabotage me in the hopes that it would get rid of Marcus faster."

Chuck couldn't keep up the façade with her and simply spoke the truth, "Yes, I am, but there are worse things I could have done to succeed and you know it."

Blair crossed her arms in agitation, knowing that it was true as he continued on, "At the end of the day, either you win and gain favor with the Duchess or I win and she starts working Marcus against you. The Blair Waldorf I know would take that small set back from earlier and do what needs to get done to win."

"And if I don't win?" Blair retorted back.

"Then it's one contact not at your disposal for now," Chuck responded softly, "It doesn't equal the end of Blair Waldorf, just the end of the Lord and Blair Waldorf; if even that."

Blair looked around the room. The entire situation screamed last minute. She didn't have the time to prepare for this opportunity, she didn't adequately prepare this party for royalty, she was completely off her game and she hated that. This was not the type of powerful woman Blair Waldorf aspired to be; it was just a mess.

She smiled deceivingly at her boyfriend as she fixed his collar, "You, my dear boyfriend, are in trouble. Depending on how the night ends will reveal to me just how much trouble you are really in. But until then," she broke off as she purposely stepped on his foot hard, relishing his grunt of pain as she patted his shoulder, "tread lightly my love."

Chuck panted as she watched her depart, even though his foot hurt, he found himself falling even more in love with Blair Waldorf. The sight of the passion and fire in her eyes as she was greeted with a challenge was breathtaking and he found himself waiting with anticipation for how she was going to punish him. No one could doll out punishment like her when she felt particularly wronged and Chuck knew that it would be in the cards for him when he set this plan in motion after his squash game with Marcus. Call him a masochist, but he enjoyed being punished every once and a while.

xoxo

Deciding to not go look for either Marcus or the Duchess, Blair immediately found Serena not too far from where she was talking to Chuck. Seeing how angry Blair was before she went to talk to Chuck, Serena made a point to stay close by to help her best friend move forward from this. Blair took another deep breath took Serena's arm to lead her around for a walk around the room and a quick recon on her options, "So obviously I need to fix my blunder in order to keep the cards in my favor with my friendship with the Lord."

Serena smiled as she saw that Blair wasn't going to let her mistake from earlier completely knock her out just yet with succeeding in her goals, "Well if you genuinely like Marcus, I don't see why a simple apology wouldn't fix things."

Blair shook her head, "What good would that do me now?"

Before the two could continue on with options, the woman in question was just across the way, picking up a drink from a nearby wait staff, and before Blair could even form a thought, Serena was already pushing her over to the Duchess to at least start apologizing. Blair did her best to act as if the action didn't faze her; to be honest, it was classic Serena to think that a simple apology would fix such a major social faux pas. Just look at what happened when she agreed on Blair's behalf for her and the minions to go to Butter when she was at war with Jenny Humphrey!

Deciding that it wouldn't hurt to at least give it a try, Blair began to speak, "Duchess?" When Catherine turned her attention towards her, Blair continued on with her heartfelt apology, "I am so sorry about what I said about the Botox. Your work is flawless."

Blair mentally scolded herself as the last sentence slipped from her lips and into the air. What was wrong with her?! She was Blair Waldorf. Parents adored her and wished that their own daughters could be anything close to her in regards to social grace and charm and for some reason all of that has jumped off of the rooftop deck and plunged a horrific death onto Park Avenue, leaving her there with nothing but the social graces close to a person raised in Brooklyn for god's sake!

She glanced over at her best friend and took a moment to reconfigure her thoughts before turning back and trying again, "Look, I know you arrived with Chuck, and I can only imagine what he's said about me," Blair reflected aloud, knowing that Chuck was attempting to sabotage her efforts and wouldn't pull any stops to win, "Limo sex, social torture of freshmen, blackmail. But I assure you, there is an explanation for all of it."

"Save your breath, Blair," Catherine responded coolly, "Chuck didn't tell me a thing."

Blair frowned in confusion, "Oh. He didn't?"

"Wait. He didn't?" Serena asked too for confirmation as she leaned into the conversation. When Chuck Bass was trying to ruin people or plans he usually did with simply telling the truth. That was what Chuck Bass was all about! To say it was a shock to both girls was putting it lightly.

"I told him not to bother," Catherine said lightly as she shook her head, "None of it makes any difference to me." Blair started to feel herself relax and hope that she could win this, but the thought was killed as the Duchess continued on, "Because nothing will change the fact that despite your best efforts, which are completely transparent, by the way, Marcus is never going to bring into the fold a lowly Waldorf."

Blair honestly didn't know what to even say to that. If it was some other person in her circle she would have had the Intel to cut the woman down quick and easily. She would have had higher social status on her side, but the Duchess had that on her in spades. Catherine's words cut Blair to the bone because at the end of the day, she wasn't a Queen. Not yet. She was just a Queen of a high school. The ambition she had to be Queen of something more was out of her reach and if she couldn't even woo someone like the Duchess to welcome her in to the world, what hopes did she have of being able to woo others to follow her after high school?

Serena didn't know how to help her friend after the quick and painful cut down by Catherine. AS she glanced around she saw Nate approaching them and knew that the situation was about to get worse, "Nate."

Blair and the Duchess turned towards the new arrival as Serena went to greet him, "Um…"

Nate smiled in greeting as he noticed what he just walked into as Catherine called out to him, "Nate?"

"Catherine?" he responded in disbelief before catching himself as he noticed Blair.

Blair frowned as she noticed that little bit of information as Serena tried to move Nate away, but Blair wanted to know exactly what was going on as she asked in confusion, "You two know each other?"

"No. No, no, no," Serena interjected as she and Nate slowly moved over to where Blair and Catherine stood as she began to ramble, "Yeah, well, just from Book Club this summer. But that's it. They've had no other personal contact."

Blair moved her head to the right at Serena, not believing her for a second as Serena made the introductions, "Uh, Blair's dating Catherine's stepson. And, Catherine, Nate's Blair's ex."

The group took in the supposed new information as they glanced at each other. Nate looking amazed and confused, while Catherine's face was clear with a hint of confusion, Blair had a look of suspicion as she mentally made a note to look into it later, while Serena refused to make eye contact with anyone. The party had definitely taken a turn from dull to WTF territory.

What's this? Chuck's and Blair's plus ones are mother and son, and Nate and Blair are exes, and Nate and the mother are in a book club?

Now there's a novel plot twist.

xoxo

Thankfully the group dispersed with Catherine being greeted by someone she knew and Nate off trying to find Chuck, the reason that he was even at the party to begin with. Serena took it upon herself to lead Blair away so the brunette could lick her wounds in peace instead of attacking anyone who moved to take her frustrations out on. The party was basically coming to an end anyway and she didn't even get the opportunity to talk to Dan even a little bit about their relationship, and after what was going on with Blair, Serena was seeing the benefit of simply just letting it go and moving forward with Dan. They could cross the hurdles and figure it out when they come; she just knew that she enjoyed being around him again.

"This party's a complete bust," Blair announced as she sulked by the railing, overlooking the spectacular New York skyline, "My whole life's a bust."

"Well, it serves you right," Serena responded, resulting in Blair frowning at her supposed best friend as the blonde continued on, "You were scheming to convince Marcus you're someone you're not."

Blair pouted a bit, knowing that Serena was right and it was something that Blair, herself, realized back during that horrible string quintet performance, but she attempted anyway to defend herself, "But my intentions were good. I really do enjoy his company, when he actually loosens up a bit." She turned to look out at the view, "I just…as soon as I knew that he did genuinely want to be friends and not some secret, I would have relaxed and dropped the manipulative plotting and devoted myself to being the best girl-friend ever."

Serena lifted her brow at her best friend, doubt obviously showing, resulting in Blair coming clean, "Alright. At least until he went back to England and owed me a favor."

Serena smiled, "See? Thank you. There's my B. Although I shouldn't be encouraging you to use him like this, this is you in regards to your friendships and acquaintances. You don't try this hard for new people in your life, especially those who you deemed boring for the first month of knowing them. You are effortlessly charming around authority figures and can wrap them all around your well-manicured finger. Show this girl to Catherine, and she'll want you in her circle as much as you do. Just be yourself."

Blair looked at Serena as if she were crazy, "She made "Waldorf" rhyme with "Spears." I may as well have gone commando and held my party at Nyla's burger basket."

"Serena rested her head in her hand as she smiled at Blair's dramatics, "Fine. While you stand here and feel sorry for yourself and denigrate the fine people of Kentwood, I'm gonna go find Dan."

Blair sighed softly as she realized that while dealing with her own issues, Serena had yet to have the opportunity to have the much needed conversation with Humphrey to figure out if getting back together was the best thing, and Blair began to feel a bit guilty. She was supposed to be helping her best friend and she got distracted trying to impress a Duchess and a Lord. This wasn't the type of Queen she wanted to be. Contacts come and go, but her true friends were her family and they mean more to her than some random "Best Friend for Now".

Blair put on a slight smile and nodded, "Go ahead. There's still that conversation that you two need to have."

Serena smiled as she squeezed Blair's hand gently and turned to leave with a soft, "Cheer up." She knew that her best friend would figure it out and besides the friends made a plan to have a sleep over tonight at Serena's to talk freely about the party and Blair's next move as well as how well the talk with Dan went and Serena's final decision, so either way, she'll find out what happened by the end of the night.

xoxo

While Blair was stewing in her embarrassment, Chuck was doing what he did best: sitting in a corner and people watching. He just received his drink from the bartender as Nate came up behind him looking upset and a look of betrayal as he hissed at him, "I can't believe you'd do this to me."

Chuck frowned in confusion about what Nate could possibly be talking about. The brief thought flashed in his head that he was referring to the money, but Chuck figured that it was much too soon for Nate to have found out about that so he went with the more obvious response, "Bring the Duchess to Blair's party? What do you care?"

As Chuck attempted to walk away, Nate held onto his arm, "No, I know about the money."

Chuck mentally kicked himself, he seriously wasn't ready to have this conversation especially here in front of strangers, but from the look on Nate's face, he wanted to have this conversation now. Chuck sighed as he spoke, "Nate…"

"No," Nate stopped him from attempting to explain as the two continued to walk to a quiet corner as Nate continued to paint the picture, "You weren't trying to sell Victrola to impress Blair. You did it to loan my family money?"

Chuck frowned as he turned to his best friend, not really understanding why he was acting like this, "Look, you say it like it's a bad thing."

"No, and maybe you were just doing it to be a friend, but I would never let you do that, and you knew that, which is why you didn't tell me," Nate accused, feeling hurt and a bit betrayed that once again someone close to him was lying to attempt to protect him.

"Yes, it is. So what?" Chuck asked bluntly.

"So what? You go behind my back and make a deal with my mom?" Nate asked trying to get the last bit of information he needed as to how this even came about.

"She called me to see if I thought you were okay," Chuck snapped back, "I didn't know what she was talking about, because you didn't tell me anything was wrong."

"I'll tell you what's wrong: my best friend lying to my face," Nate lashed out.

"Look, normally, I would agree with you," Chuck responded, mentally taking a step back, evaluate and admit that he did go about this in the wrong way, "But for your mom to open up to me about something like this, don't you think it has to be pretty bad?"

Nate knew that Chuck was right. It was the thought that he refused to let himself entertain the moment realized what Chuck did. Anne Archibald was one of the proudest of women on the Upper East Side and for her to accept Chuck's offer of help showed that they were worse off than what Nate could even imagine. "I'll handle it, okay?" Nate responded after a pause.

"How?" Chuck asked the question that was currently circulating through Nate's mind after he made the declaration this morning that he was supposed to take care of his mother. The one question of how he was going to be able to help keep him and his mother afloat and help them to continue to survive this storm. He didn't know. As he walked away without answering Chuck, he knew he should have at the very least thanked Chuck for his help, but he just couldn't. He was too ashamed and embarrassed that his life has resulted to this. Maybe Anne wasn't the only proud one in the Archibald family after all.

xoxo

Serena was about to give up on ever finding Dan when she got the idea that he may have gone to the bathroom and headed in that direction. Fortunately for her she caught him just as he was calling an elevator to head out. She quickly called out to him, "Dan, hey. You leaving?"

She smiled as he looked over at her with the look that almost never changed. It was the look of amazement and genuine happiness to see her. It made Serena feel warm and safe when he looked at her like that. Like she mattered to him and meant something, which was all that she wanted growing up. To simply matter.

"Yeah, I have to get Jenny from the train," Dan explained, "I didn't know if you were coming back, so…"

"How about I come with you?" Serena offered, her decision having been made that she wanted Dan to keep looking at her in that special way of his. To continue to feel what she felt when she was with him. She looked around and saw that they were completely alone in the corridor and asked him a question, "Why don't we get out of here?"

Dan looked a bit confused, so Serena took over the reins and pushed him up against the wall, his arms quickly wrapping around her waist as she brushed her nose along with his and whispered, "Who are we kidding?"

She ran her hands up into his hair as she offered, "What do you say we just forget thinking and follow our hearts?"

Dan wasted no time in pulling her towards him and passionately kissed her right in the open where anyone could see making it pretty obvious on what he thought of Serena's offer. Serena just let her emotions guide her as it always did in these situations. Just like she told Blair to stop trying to be someone she wasn't, it was time that Serena followed her own advice. When it came to her love life, Serena was all for going with the flow of things and getting swept up in the abyss of it all. She didn't think about the future, she just took it one day at a time. And that was what she was going to do with Dan. Sure it may be a mistake, but she couldn't find it in her to regret it.

"Mmm," Dan moaned as Serena broke the kiss to let him talk, "Are you sure that's your heart you're following? Cause…"

Serena laughed as she responded, "Shut up, or I'll change my mind."

"Hey, clearly, there are other forces at work here in the universe, so…," Dan justified to them both.

Serena smiled as she kissed him again and again, "Mmm. Forces much more powerful than us."

Dan nodded eagerly as the two continued to make out, unaware of the company they were about to receive. Dan whispered against Serena's lips with a smile, "I'm glad we had this little talk."

Nate cleared his throat, attempting to gain the renewed couple's attention a bit surprised at what he found as he was planning to go meet Vanessa like he promised. When that didn't work he just asked the obvious question, "Um…are you two back together or…"

Serena and Dan pulled apart and looked at Nate, playing it off that their little make out session was nothing. "Uh, no. This was just a little, uh, friendly-," Dan tried to cover for them while Serena just stood there with her hands on her hips saying nothing.

"Kiss, yeah," Nate finished Dan's sentence with a nod.

"Mm-hmm," Dan agreed with a nod to which Nate returned.

It was then that the elevator made its appearance, giving the couple an opportunity to escape the awkward pause that had begun upon Nate's arrival. Serena quickly grabbed Dan's hand as she spoke to Nate, "Okay. Are you coming?"

Nate's phone notification went off before he could answer and he took it out to see who it was. It was a text message from Catherine stating that she was in the library and that she wanted him to come meet her there. Deciding that he still had time to meet Vanessa after he talked to Catherine, Nate made his excuses that he'd head down later. After the big revelations of the night and his renewed feelings in regards to Vanessa, he didn't think it was a good idea to continue the affair and now was as good a time as any to end it officially.

He shook his head as the two got into the elevator far from being done with their little make-out plans as Nate headed in the direction of the library, mentally trying to come up with a plan of how he was going to do it. By the time he finally arrived and shut the door behind him, he figured that being honest was the best thing so when he found her there with a smile and sultry, "Hey."

Nate just stated the obvious as he sat down on the couch, "This is so messed up."

"Your ex being friends with my stepson while he's attempting to pursue her? Yes it is," Catherine agreed with a nod before she slowly took a seat beside him, "But I actually do know you, Nate. That isn't what's bothering you."

Nate glanced at her as he began to talk about what's on his mind, "Well, I think I'm starting to get it, you know, how things are going to be now that the summer's over. I mean, it would be kind of nice to have someone who could actually be there." Catherine sighed as she rested her hand on Nate's shoulder, but before she could attempt to comfort him, Nate stood up and finished what he wanted to say, "But when the best version of the situation is that I'm going to become a father-in-law to Blair? I think it's just time to move on, Catherine."

"No, wait, Nate," Catherine spoke as she stood up, trying to dissuade him, "Come on, I'm here now, and I want to talk. Just tell me what's going on."

Nate looked at her as she held his head in her hands. Sure he had Vanessa he could turn to, but they were just friends and he did have feelings for Catherine and she was showing signs that she genuinely cared about him and what was going through his head that he had to admit that it was nice. Without realizing it, Nate found himself pouring out everything that had been going on in the past year with his family. And he kept talking until he got to the end with the revelations that came this morning at the house.

Catherine didn't say anything at first as she attempted to absorb everything that he told before she turned to him, "Personally, I think Anne Archibald would rather die than lose her house, her things. They're her whole identity."

"And that's why I'm not going to let that happen," Nate responded firmly as he crossed his arms as Catherine told him things that he already knew. As Catherine looked at him with the silent question of "How?", Nate answered with, "I'll find a way."

"God, but it's not what she's gonna have to live without," Catherine tried to explain to him, "It's what she's going to have to live with."

Nate paused, not quite following with what she meant by that, but as she continued on, he began to understand, "I mean, a scandal will destroy her. Can you imagine her watching her house seized, her grandmother's jewels up for auction?"

"I told you, I'll figure something out," Nate repeated himself, knowing that his mother wouldn't be able to handle going through that. He looked at Catherine straight in the eye and said firmly, "I can handle this. I just need some time."

"Yeah," Catherine nodded in agreement as she slowly walked towards him, "You can take care of this…with my help."

Nate sighed as he looked down, not wanting to take another hand out. Almost sensing that he was going to turn her down, Catherine spoke softly as she ran her hands up and down his chest, "It'd just be between you and me. No one would have to know. I care about you, Nate. I would do it for you."

Nate looked at her, knowing that what she was offering wasn't going to come without some sort of price, "And what would I have to do for you?"

She simply smiled as she stroked his face and pulled him towards her as he went willingly; he knew that this was a bad idea. He knew he should have just swallowed his pride and accept Chuck's help and see it as an opportunity to give him the time he needed to come up with a plan on his own to help his mother. In the end he was accepting money from his lover in exchange for sex instead of accepting money from his best friend. In the end he decided that he was already ashamed of his circumstances what's a little more shame added to the mix.

No one would find out and if they do, they would just assume it was just about sex instead of something more. They would never guess that anything else was going on, and with his mother living in the Hamptons while the townhouse was being swept by the FBI she would never know. She could even assume that it stemmed from Chuck's loan. He wasn't planning on doing this for long, just until he figured out an alternative option. After a while, Nate stopped thinking as he hovered over Catherine as he had done before so many times. He just focused on the present and what he was doing, the rest he'd worry about later.

xoxo

After some time alone on the deck and people watched a bit, Blair decided to take Serena's advice and relax. She wasn't going to be some Jenny Humphrey that tried too hard to gain acceptance. She was Blair Waldorf and nothing could stop her from finishing and succeeding in her goals. Chuck knew it and so did Serena, as well as their peers on the Upper East Side. If Blair Waldorf wanted to go global, she wasn't going to let some Duchess stop her. Her decision made she started in her search for the Duchess. Having already seen Chuck slip out after some confrontation with Nate earlier, she could only assume that Nate found out about Chuck's aid to help and was too caught up in the details to really realize how much of a best case scenario it was.

Serena sent Blair a text saying that she'd meet her at the Van Der Bass house for their sleepover after she was finished with Dan and went with him to pick Jenny Humphrey from the train station. Blair chose not to worry too much about that. She could only fix Serena's problems for as long as Serena saw them as problems. Once that stopped, Blair's help wasn't welcomed and frankly, Blair found the entire process a bit exhausting when she had her own problems added to the mix. All she could do is be supportive and be there when/if it fell apart.

She asked several people as she passed if they had seen the Duchess and it wasn't until she spoke to Dorota that she finally got an answer, "Dorota, have you seen the Duchess?"

"In Library," Dorota pointed in the direction she needed to go.

Blair smiled and was quickly on her way, not saying another word to her maid. She was a woman on a mission and she will simply say what she had to say and be done with it. When she opened the door and looked inside, she didn't see anyone in there. She assumed that maybe the Duchess had left and Dorota missed her departure and was about to turn to leave when she heard a moan.

She paused and looked over her shoulder, not sure where the sounds were coming from as she slowly walked further into the room, taking in everything in the room. It wasn't until she stepped into the main part of the room that she saw them. It took a moment for her to realize what it was that she was seeing. There was no way that she was being blessed something this monumental to her cause. There was no way that Blair Waldorf was going from down and out to up on top. It was the best thing that could happen and she was there to witness it all!

"Oh, my effing God!" Blair exclaimed unable to stop herself from responding. This was just too good for her to walk away from.

Her shock filled voice drew the attention of the two people currently panting and grinding on the floor, who, up until that very moment, were unaware of Blair's presence. When they both looked up at her, Blair shook her head at amazement that the source of her good fortune stemmed from Nate Archibald of all people! She just couldn't take her eyes away from the scene as the two quickly stood up and righted their clothing to leave.

As Nate straightened his shirt he finally spoke up as he made to leave, "Well, I don't have to explain myself to you."

Blair smirked as she watched him go, speaking softly, "No explanation necessary. I think I got it."

"Catherine?" Nate called out to the woman, still adjusting her dress.

Blair smiled as she turned her attention back to the Duchess and answered for her, "She'll just be one more minute, if you don't mind."

Catherine nodded in agreement and Nate quickly headed out, figuring that it was probably best that he left alone to avoid any question that may be stirred up. He decided he'd just meet her downstairs in her car and he could take the opportunity to call Vanessa and give his excuses for why he couldn't come hang out with her tonight like he promised after realizing how late he already was.

Blair walked even further into the room before she took a familiar stance mentally as she noticed Catherine's shoe on the ground. She gently picked it up and gingerly handed it to the Duchess with a smile, "Here you go."

Catherine took it wearily as Blair adopted a look of remorse as she began to spoke, "Can I just say how sorry I am that I judged you earlier?"

"You judged me?" Catherine asked for clarification.

"I thought you were just a callow, social-climbing former swimsuit model who married above her station only to be enslaved by her own insecurities," Blair explained as she tilted her head to the side. Yes, this was Blair Waldorf. "But now that I've seen you rolling around on the floor with my adolescent ex," Blair smiled as she paused briefly before she finished, "I understand you have a compassionate side, too."

"What are you saying, Blair?" Catherine asked, obviously wanting to cut right to the chase. Which Blair understood since she had someone waiting for her downstairs.

"That I think you'll find it in your heart to take pity on me, and in spite of my common, lowly, unroyal ways, accept that I do think Marcus as a friend and he feels the same way. Maybe even a bit more…"

When Catherine said nothing but look away, realizing that she was stuck, Blair simply stated, "I think that would be the best thing for both of us, don't you?"

Before the deal could be set, Marcus walked in, "Oh, there you are."

Blair smiled, "Hello."

"Hello, Darling," Catherine called out in welcome.

"Am I too late?" Marcus asked hesitantly as he stood by Blair, "As soon as I heard you were at Blair's party, Duchess, I knew I had to find you and do damage control. Is there still time, or have you already scared Blair off?"

Blair looked over at the Duchess with a look of pure innocence that she had perfected many years ago as she waited for the woman's answer. "Not at all, dear," Catherine answered with a smile, "Blair here is a treat. I can see why you're so fond of her."

Blair and Marcus shared a smile, "She never likes the women in my life, but frankly I'm not surprised that you're the exception. I had hoped that you two would find something in common."

Blair smiled happily, "She just had to get to know the real me. Now if you'd be so kind as to help me wrap up this party? I'm afraid it's been a long day."

"Of course," Marcus agreed as he led Blair out of the library. Blair couldn't help but give one last look over her shoulder at the Duchess as she left, reveling in her triumph.

xoxo

Chuck was alone in the kitchen with his thoughts when he heard Blair and Serena walking down the hallway. He hadn't heard from Nate and he figured that he would let his friend have the time by himself to figure out the drama that was going on with his family. The only regret Chuck had was that he lied to Nate about his motives in selling his share of the club. He should have just been honest, but since Nate didn't tell him what was going on he didn't know how to go about doing that. Chuck was all for fixing the problem first and asking question later when it came to those he cared about.

He just hoped that this wasn't the beginning of another downward spiral of his friendship. He didn't like it last year when they'd been on the outs with the revelation of him and Blair being an actual couple and the last thing he wanted was to go back there. Deciding to nix the original idea of alcohol, Chuck decided to go with a simple glass of Orange juice instead. It was then that Serena and Blair saw him.

"Great," Serena spoke up first, knowing that Blair was still a bit angry with Chuck with that stunt he pulled at her party and she really didn't want to witness what was sure to be messy altercation.

"Actually, Serena, can we have a second?" Blair asked with a smile as she looked at her boyfriend.

"Mm," Serena agreed before quickly taking Chuck's glass to avoid the upcoming mess to be a physical one, "Um, I'll take that and I'll just leave you two alone."

Chuck just rolled his eyes at Serena's antics as Blair moved to lean against the counter top across from him. He couldn't help but smirk as he joined her, "Did you enjoy meeting Duchess Beaton?"

Blair smiled as she answered, "I did."

Chuck paused as he realized she was being serious, "That's not sarcasm in your voice. It's-"

"Victory," Blair finished for him as she relished once again in her triumph and shrugged, "I know. Your plan to sabotage me totally backfired. It turns out Marcus' mommy is even sicker than you are."

Chuck looked at her in amazement as he saw that she was telling him the truth, "You got along great."

"I think she recognized a part of herself in me," Blair explained before rethinking her choice of words, "Or rather, I recognized someone in her."

"I don't follow," Chuck responded getting a bit perturbed by the turn of events, but also happy that Blair managed rise and succeed. What could he say; he was a sucker for her happiness.

"All you need to know is that you lost," Blair reiterated, "But don't be too hard on yourself. It was a solid effort."

"Tomorrow's another day," Chuck responded with a smirk as she leaned towards him.

"It is," Blair sighed softly, "Unfortunately for you, you don't get to join me in my celebration since you chose to work against me. Since the night was a success your punishment isn't as severe as it could have been."

"I'll take whatever you deem necessary my Queen," Chuck responded with a slight bowing of his head.

Blair smiled at him as she gave him his sentencing, "You are hereby cut off, indefinitely."

Chuck didn't like that punishment at all; especially with no set end in sight. Choosing to refrain from fighting his sentencing, knowing that it would only make it worse for him in the long run he reluctantly nodded his head in agreement. "What exactly does that entail?"

"You only touch if I initiate it, and you have to stop when I do," Blair explained easily, "But I can guarantee you this…there'll be no sex for you."

Chuck pursed his lips as he turned his head away, knowing that it was going to be a very long drought. It was one thing when he went an entire month without her when they were on separate continents but to have her so close and at his disposal to play with and not be allowed to until she said otherwise was definitely going to be tough. And Chuck didn't even have the option to bury himself in Victrola any longer.

Chuck took a deep breath and accepted his punishment, "As you wish, my Queen."

"Good night, Chuck," Blair responded with a light smile, knowing that she was playing with fire, but never had the thought of getting burned ever felt so good.

Chuck smirked back; it was going to be one hell of a game, "Good night, Blair."

Blair walked back towards Serena's room, playing with the ends of her hair as she glanced at him over her shoulder, unable to stop herself from getting one last look at the guy that held her heart.

xoxo

After leaving Blair's party, Nate and Catherine swung by her place so she could get what Nate could only describe as his first payment. As he sat in the back of Catherine's limo waiting for her to come back, He found himself, once again, questioning himself on if he was doing the right thing. He wanted to help his mother through this hard time and he was grateful to Catherine for providing him with a way to do it. He just couldn't help but remember those budding feelings resurface with Vanessa earlier when they were talking. They went their separate ways at the end of May because they thought it was best what with their own separate problems to deal with and digest.

Nate sighed as he noticed that his problems didn't settle down like he hoped, they only got bigger and much more complex. Glancing out the window towards the building and seeing that Catherine was nowhere to be found he pulled out his phone to make a much overdue phone call.

"Hey, Nate," Vanessa answered after a couple of rings.

Immediately Nate began to smile in response and sighed out, "Hey."

"So that maybe took a little longer than you thought," Vanessa spoke lightly, making it sound like it wasn't a big deal that he was late.

"A little bit, yeah," Nate agreed as he looked out the window beside him out onto the street as the cars of New York sped by him before he closed his eyes and bit the proverbial bullet. "Uh, hey, listen. I'm- I'm so sorry, but I'm not going to be able to make it back tonight."

"I- I figured. It's- it's okay. I was tired anyway," Vanessa responded, her tone giving him a sense of relief that she wasn't mad at him for flaking out on her, "So we'll hang out another time."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure," Nate agreed eagerly. Even though he developed this strange agreement with Catherine it didn't mean that he had to give up seeing Vanessa. "Um…so look, I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye," Vanessa responded.

"Bye," Nate finished and hung up the phone with another sigh. When was it that his life got so complicated that he couldn't just go out with the girl he wanted without there being some other thing to hold him back? Nate had to chuckle to himself because there was a very small window of time that his love life was as easy as that.

At the sound of the door opening beside him, Nate glanced over as Catherine climbed in beside him with a sultry smile. He pasted on a smile in return as he watched her open her bag and pull out a large, folded envelope and handed it over to him. Nate didn't take it at first. He just looked at it and then looked at Catherine. Here was his last chance to back out. This was his last chance to just walk away and come up with another idea to help his family with their problems.

It was then that Nate realized that he was tired. He was tired of thinking, of worrying, and he just wanted everything to be fixed and to go back to the way it used to be. And Catherine was offering that to him. A chance to go back to the life where Nate's biggest problem was wanting to not go to Dartmouth for school like his parents planned for him to and what was he going to do with his future. Thinking of the future was a lot less daunting than thinking about his current problems of the present.

Nate slowly took the envelope from Catherine, his decision made with no way of going back. He was going to see this through till the bitter end. "Are we good?" Catherine asked lightly, not taking her eyes off of him.

"We're good," Nate responded softly as he looked down at the envelope in his hands before looking back up at Catherine.

She smiled and gently took his hand in hers as the car started driving them away to the hotel room that Catherine had reserved for the night. All Nate could do was lay his head back and sigh as he went back to looking out the window as New York continued to speed by. It was amazing what a year can do to change things. Nate could only hope that, just like last year, things won't stay the same for long. He wasn't sure how long he could survive living his life the way it currently was.

Every summer, vacationers traverse the globe in search of new sights and experiences. But when it comes to scandal, I'll take Manhattan every time.

Welcome Home, Upper East Siders.

You know you missed me.

X.O.X.O.,

Gossip Girl

A/N: Alright! I know it's been a month since my last update, and I've just given up on posting every two weeks and just do my best to post once a month. I have an inconsistent work schedule at the Wal-Mart, with the added two povs and storylines in comparison to the first story and basically doing an original SL with Chair to keep it relevant and consistent. Let's just say that I've reached a better understanding to writers who take a while to update and I want to take this moment to formally apologize to all of those wonderful writers that I've criticized out loud and in my mind for taking forever and a day to update because this experience with this sequel has shown me what they go through in order to produce a great story.

Now, I hope that this 43 page, 21+k word chapter will more than make up for your month long wait along with my most sincere apology for taking so long, but just know that I HAVE been working on it a little bit each day. Here's an alternative though for you, I'm gonna need you to sound off in the reviews, normally I write a chapter to the equivalent of one episode of the season. Sometimes, like the last two chapters, I split it in half into two chapters. Would you rather I do that from now on and be able to update a bit faster, or would you prefer that you get nice long chapters like this? I'm fine either way, I just want to do my best to make this story great and post as consistently as I can.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! What did you think of Chuck and Marcus stand-off? How about Blair in regards to Serena and Dan, not to mention Serena and Dan?! Or we could just talk about B and her schemes. I wanted to bring in a bit of season 6 Blair to this story in regards to her wanting to become a powerful woman in her own right. And in true Blair fashion she gets so caught up that she almost screws herself over.

I have to say that next chapter's going to be fun since Chuck's being cut off and of course Chuck Bass is only going to accept that for so long. ;) The lights will go out and so much is going to happen that by the time the lights come back on, nothing will be the same!

I love you all for your patience and encouragement and I love your reviews and PMs. I'm amazed at 28 reviews after only two chapters and I'm so grateful to the old and the new readers and welcome to the newbies who've alerted/fave both this story and the Queen and her Dark Knight!

Lots of love and I hope to post as soon as I'm able to!

-Plei4fun