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.

9. A New Game, Comes with New Rules

Chapter 9:

Every girl fantasizes about finding her prince charming. But if that prince refuses to come…a girl has to take matters into her own hands.

Blair Waldorf was having one of the top ten worst weeks of her life. It was fitting really that it was a rainy day. It had been a few days since Chuck's issued challenge and she honestly thought they'd be done with this game and she could finally get some relief, but that Basstard refused to fold to her! She knew that she could easily end the game today if she would just swallow her pride and just say the words he wanted to hear from her, and it wasn't as if she didn't already know she felt them towards him wholeheartedly, but this was a game. It was beyond feelings; it was about winning damnit!

Almost in reflection of her thoughts, a particularly loud crash of thunder echoed in the air. Blair took a deep breath to calm herself as she continued to walk down the sidewalk to Constance. She would admit only to herself that she was a bit on edge lately. It had gotten to the point that she had to take matters into her own hands this morning. Unfortunately she was interrupted by Dorota informing her that she was late and that breakfast was ready. Blair remembered explaining that she'd be down in a moment after she finished something and found herself smiling at Dorota's reply as she left her bedroom: "Don't forget: God always watching, Miss Blair."

Blair scoffed to herself at the thought. If God was always watching then he would have witnessed a lot worse things that Blair had done besides merely pleasuring herself because a certain Basshole wouldn't just give her what she wanted. Granted she hadn't seen him since he issued the challenge and in a way, Blair figured she should be grateful. Out of sight and out of mind, sort of. He'd been busy setting everything up in the Brooklyn Inn, his latest investment, for its big reopening and he'd been swamped with work. But now, the grace period was over and Blair couldn't help but feel a bit excitement flutter through her. He didn't come in to school on Monday but she expected him today and that's when the fun would really start. Besides, games were always much more fun in person.

Almost as if she conjured him up with the mere thought of him, a familiar limo pulled up beside her. "Want to get in?" a voice called out to her. She slowly turned her head towards her boyfriend and refrained from responding as he continued on, "I'd love to give you a ride."

Blair couldn't help but smirk as she clutched onto the handle of her umbrella as she replied lightly with a shrug, "Oh, I'm sure you would. Too bad you've made the terms of that arrangement unlikely."

"About that- maybe I was a little too hasty," Chuck replied, gaining Blair's full attention. She slowed her measure steps and turned towards the car, not a hundred percent sure if he was serious or not. Sensing her hesitation, Chuck urged, "Come on. Get in."

"Maybe I don't want you anymore," Blair replied, choosing to play a little hard to get. If he was really folding to her, she wanted to make him work for it a bit.

Chuck tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at her obvious lie, "Don't torture me. I'm dying."

Blair looked at him for a moment before making her decision to take the risk and walked towards to car. Just before she reached for the handle she saw that Mother Chucker lock it before he spoke again, "All you have to do is say those three magic words."

"I hate you," Blair replied without hesitation.

Chuck slowly rolled up the window and had Arthur drive on, leaving Blair there stewing in her anger. She was more mad at herself than at her boyfriend. Chuck wasn't some minion, he was her equal in every sense of the word and with that position demands respect. Waiting for him to fold was obviously a miscalculation on her part and she planned to rectify that immediately. Chuck Bass was going to fold, one way or another.

xoxo

While Blair was gathering her wits and making plans, Serena was trying to work through her own current dilemma. Yesterday in her A.P. Economics class, Serena was assigned to do a project with an assigned partner that was due next week. The assignment was worth a percentage of her final grade for the class and Serena was actually kind of excited about it. That was until she found out that her partner was: Dan Humphrey. It was a safe assumption that she hadn't been really talking to Dan much since the whole Amanda thing and she allowed Blair to basically turn him into a pariah at school.

The first time she even spoke to him was last week when she was hanging out with Nate on his stoop as he told her the truth of his living situation and it was obvious that Dan had some pretty hard feelings against the blonde with his reaction to seeing her. After the class was over, Serena didn't even bother attempting to talk to him because she didn't know what to do. After a night of thinking about it, she realized there was only one thing to do. Suck it up and get the project done. And that's what she planned to do this morning.

She was walking across the courtyard to head to her locker first, when Dan appeared in front of her, looking nervous, "Hey. Can we talk?"

Serena paused and took a deep breath before smiling softly at how cute he was when he was nervous and replied, figuring now was as good a time as any, "Sure."

Dan motioned over to a table and the pair sat down together. Neither one of them said anything for a moment before Dan bit the bullet and spoke up, "So, how's economics treating you?"

Serena paused for a moment at the attempt at small talk but decided to just go with it, "Um, well, today there was a rousing debate about inflation versus liquidity as you know."

Dan nodded, "Yes, and Isabelle settled it by calling Warren Buffett."

"I know I wasn't the only one surprised to find out that he's her godfather," Serena finished resulting in the pair laughing at the memory. Serena had to admit that it felt good. "Speaking of Economics, about this project we have to do together, do you think it's possible?"

"I was thinking that same thing and I figure that an apology would be a good step in the direction of yes we can," Dan replied before clearing his throat and continuing, "Serena. I'm sorry about the whole Amanda fiasco. I admit that I judged and accused and I'm going to try to not do that."

Serena nodded softly, accepting his apology, "And I'm sorry too about the whole Blair thing."

"Look, I know the whole Dan/Serena "let's be friends" tour was a disaster, but uh…" Dan asked tentatively.

Serena took in his sincerity and nodded with a light laugh, deciding to give him another probationary chance. "Well, we were young and stupid then. Now we're older and wiser."

Before Dan could reply, Blair came out of nowhere and gave the blonde a shove as she took a seat beside her as she declared, "You have to help me destroy Chuck Bass."

"Ooh," Dan spoke as he was almost pushed off the bench and began to gather his things, "All right, I'll take that as my cue to leave."

"Oh, you're very perceptive," Blair snarked, making a mental not to ask Serena later about what's going on between her and Humphrey.

"Dan, wait," Serena called out to stop him before turning her attention to her best friend, "If you're having a problem with Chuck, then a man's perspective could be helpful."

"Just because you two are making a doomed attempt at being friends doesn't mean I have to play the enabler," Blair replied, voicing the obvious assumption of why Humphrey was even still in the vicinity. She thought Serena had learned her lesson, and they just had Nate's eyes opened to the Humphrey way. Did they need to stage an intervention with the other blonde in their group now too?

"Blair, come on," Serena insisted firmly.

The brunette looked at her best friend for a moment and decided that she didn't have anything to lose and she'd do it for her best friend's sake. Besides, Humphrey needed to be watched after the stunt he pulled with Chuck and it was becoming obvious that if he lost one entry into their circle, he found another. Like a cockroach. It was pathetic really and Serena needed to be protected. Who knows, the brooklynite may actually have something useful to say.

She looked up at the outsider with a sigh and forced a smile, silently allowing him to sit back down and join the conversation.

Humphrey sighed and dropped his bag on the ground as he took a seat, "Well, if you're plotting against Chuck Bass, then I-I'm sure I can think of something."

Blair narrowed her eyes at his words and almost didn't say anything until she looked at the hopeful look on the blonde's face beside her. She also saw a message that she would explain later about the situation between her and Dan if she'd just humor her. Blair rolled her eyes as she spoke, "Fine."

"I have an itch that only Chuck can scratch, and he won't oblige unless I tell him I love him," Blair explained bluntly. The brunette gave a half smirk at the sound of Serena's disgust beside her, not taking her eyes off of Humphrey.

"You- you need help getting Chuck to sleep with you? Really?" Humphrey asked.

Blair immediately turned to Serena, "You hear the judgment in his voice right now, right?"

Serena nodded in agreement as she lifted her hands up from the table a bit, trying to calm the storm that is Blair Waldorf, as she looked at her ex-boyfriend, "He's working on that."

"Yeah," Dan sighed as he began to ramble, "You're right. I'm sorry. Uh, no judgment, only help. So do you love him?"

"Obviously! Where have you been for the past year?" Blair yelled at him.

"Then why don't you just say it to get what you want?" Dan asked, "Frat guys have been doing that since forever and in this situation you would actually mean it."

"I can't," Blair hissed before speaking slowly as if she were talking to a small child, "If I say it, then Chuck wins."

"Right, but if you say it, then you get him and you win," Humphrey countered.

"No, I lose," Blair replied, done with trying to explain the delicate balance of a power struggle against a Bass, she turned back to the person she came to talk to in the first place, "See? This is totally pointless. I was thinking I would just disappear for a while and give him a taste of life without me."

"No, no, no. that's a terrible idea," Humphrey spoke, "Don't disappear. Become unavoidable. Chuck may be a deviant, but he's still a man. So just, you know, drive him crazy, wear him down. You should be good at that."

Blair thought on it and she had to admit that Humphrey had a good point. Meanwhile Serena was smiling encouragingly at Dan, feeling that this was a good first step before turning her attention to Blair as the brunette spoke, "Well look who finally got a little interesting."

"I'm sure it's a fluke," he replied.

"See? Isn't this nice?" Serena replied with a smile and a nod as she looked at the two of them bonding.

Blair just looked at her in disgust. It was obvious that Serena needed a reminder of why she cut all ties with Humphrey in the first place. Unfortunately, now was not the time. She just simply gathered her things and sent a glare over at Humphrey as she spoke to them both, "Even broken up you guys make me nauseous."

xoxo

At the end of the day, Chuck couldn't help but feel weary as he began his usual trek to his awaiting limo. He hadn't seen Blair much at all today. With the exception of their morning banter, he only saw her in the hallways and even then it was from a distance. She was up to something. He didn't know what, but he knew her like he knew his scotches, Blair Waldorf was strategizing and she planned to execute it when he least expected. There were few things that he looked forward to more.

He smirked to himself as he walked down the sidewalk to his awaiting limo. His confident strides slowed a bit at the sight awaiting him. There she was, the Queen B herself, waiting for him with a smile that was specifically designed to drive him wild as she sat on top of the hood of his limo with her legs crossed. God he loved this woman.

He walked the rest of the way towards her silently. "Want to get a drink?" Blair asked him in greeting.

"Want to say those three little words?" Chuck replied without hesitation.

It was Blair's turn to smirk as she shook her head, "No."

"Then no drink," Chuck replied firmly. He knew that if he spent too much time with her in a social setting his will power would be gone.

"Why?" Blair asked, "Scared you won't be able to handle it?"

Chuck smirked in response, loving how well she knew him, but refused to rise to the bait. That was until he watched his girlfriend cross her left leg over her right one, revealing a tantalizing white lace garter that held up her stockings. The sight of her creamy thigh was his undoing and he decided that if his Queen wanted to play, who was he to deny her?

He silently offered her his hand to help her down from the car which she triumphantly took. It was definitely going to be an interesting evening.

After the pair went home to change from their school uniforms, they got settled at the bar found just off the lobby of the Palace. Chuck chose to keep silent until their drinks were delivered, wondering what exactly Blair's game was. The fact that she insisted on them going out for a drink in public was intriguing. He watched her silently as she took a sip of her martini and decided to set his cards on the table.

"I'll have one drink with you and nothing more unless you can convince me why I should stay, of course," He replied as he rested his hands on top of the bar.

Blair leaned towards him, "Well, just because we've reached an impasse on a certain issue, for now, doesn't mean that we can't still spend time together." Chuck looked at her suspiciously as she continued on, "So ever since Charlize Theron became the face of Dior, I've wanted to change my signature scent. And I've been trying out a new one, but I can't decide if I like it. Would you mind?"

Chuck watched as she flipped her hair over her shoulder to expose her collarbone for him to smell. Because he was a masochist, he took her up on her offer and took a whiff of the smell that was pure Blair Waldorf. He found himself lingering as he took it in and couldn't resist place a soft kiss just underneath her ear. He smirked silently to himself at the feel of her shudder before whispering against her ear, "It smells a little like transparency."

He watched as his words registered to her and she tried to play it off as if she had no idea what he was referring to as she picked up her glass, "Yeah, well, I'll just keep on looking. Thank you. You've been very helpful."

Chuck was beginning to wonder what the point in this game was. He loved Blair and he knew she loved him. She had told him as much several times over the course of the past year. And even though he loved the game as much as she did, he couldn't help but notice a stirring in the pit of his stomach that had nothing to do with butterflies and more to do with a warning that he was playing a more dangerous game than he considered.

Before he could even think to heed the warning, Blair lifted her glass towards him with a smile, "To us."

Chuck turned towards her as he tapped his glass with hers and took a sip. It shouldn't have surprised him when she "accidentally" poured her drink onto his lap, but it did. "Oops! I am so sorry," Blair exclaimed as she reached over and began to pat a specific part of him dry with a cloth napkin, "Let me help you with that."

Chuck took her hands in his as he stood up from the bar stool, doing his best to not show that he was affected by her efforts as he spoke, "I gave you a shot to play nice. And while your efforts were admirable, I'm afraid you're going to have to try a little bit harder, and you've ruined my pants. Good night, Blair."

He turned away and walked out of the bar so he could head upstairs and take a cold shower. He didn't feel as if he won the battle, he just felt frustrated and the war wasn't even close to being over. He had no idea how long he could last and he wasn't even sure anymore if he wanted to or why he issued the challenge in the first place. Maybe after all this time he had grown spoiled with her words of love and now when he actually was asking for it and she refused him it made it seem much more important than ever before. He glanced down at his cufflinks as he quickly began to undress, the same ones she gave him last Christmas and found some comfort. She gave him these as a way for him to have her heart on his sleeve and he made a point to wear them every day.

This was how he loved their relationship. Where they were able to be vulnerable with each other without fear of it being used against each other and Chuck couldn't help but think that with his challenge he put what he loved most about his relationship in jeopardy just because of a moment of letting his pride speak for him.

xoxo

Serena was not looking forward to her afternoon with Dan. Sure they made amends and he made a solid effort with Blair at school, but, despite what others are probably thinking after witnessing her talk with Dan, Serena wasn't completely back on board with him. It was one thing to apologize and move forward, but it was another thing entirely to follow up on the promises that were made between the two. The blonde couldn't help but notice that even though she was content with having a type of friendship with "outsider", Dan seemed to be looking at her as he used to when they were dating. With a look of longing and wanting to appease her and that was the last thing Serena needed or wanted. She understood the lesson after the whole Amanda thing at the beginning of the year. She and Dan weren't meant to be anything more than friends because of the simple fact of the matter was that he was unable to see beyond the surface of her friends and his inability to not judge. But with his promise of trying to not do it anymore on the table, Serena was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and Blair was the perfect opportunity to see if it would stick.

The blonde knew that it was wrong to test people, but after everything she and Dan had gone through, Serena didn't think she could handle going through all of that again just to come out on the other side the same place that she began or worse. So she tested Dan with the whole Blair and Chuck situation and encouraged Blair to take his advice and she'd just have to see how it goes down in the end. Normally, Serena would have just stood back and watched from a distance so as not to encourage more than friendship, but thanks to their shared economics project, that just wasn't possible.

So here she was, in Brooklyn, walking down the familiar gallery hallway searching for Dan so they could get started. She sighed softly to herself as she came up empty and peeked into a nearby room to find someone kneeling at the wall. Figuring that he could help her locate her ex-boyfriend, Serena spoke up from the doorway, "Hi. Um, I'm looking for Dan Humphrey."

The stranger replied still intent on his work, "Uh, yeah, he's here with Vanessa somewhere. Café, maybe?" It was then that the stranger turned towards her, revealing his face and paused. Serena nodded and began to turn away to go see if Dan was over there when she was called back by the stranger with,"Uh, wait."

She turned with her brows raised as he motioned toward the wall he was working on and asked as he stood up, "What do you think? If no one comes to the show, you might be the only one who ever reads it."

Serena smiled as she slowly walked further into the room, replying honestly, "Um, well, I don't know much about art." She stood beside him looked at the writing on the wall and continued, "But I do know a lot about spelling, so…." The stranger chuckled with her allowing her time to take in what was in front of her. As Serena began to read, she decided to tease him a little since he seemed so nervous about his work, "Um…oh, no. I think maybe you should have had someone proofread it before you stuck it to the wall."

"Are you kidding me? Where did I mess up?" the stranger asked beginning to panic as he quickly read through it, "I went over it a hundred times!"

"I'm kidding," Serena smiled softly and laughed as he took a sigh of relief.

"Wow. You haven't even said your name and you're already humiliating me," the stranger spoke, his smile belying his hurt.

"Mm, sorry about that," Serena apologized, smiling back as she shrugged.

"Good, so you'll stop abusing me then?" he replied, smiling back.

"No," the blonde replied as she turned fully towards him offering her hand, "But I will introduce myself. I am Serena."

"Uh, Aaron," the stranger replied, removing his glasses as he shook her hand.

"Oh!" Serena replied recognizing the name, "Aaron. Then- then you're the artist."

"Yeah," he replied with a nod

It wasn't long before Aaron was showing Serena around his exhibit and explaining his vision and the blond could definitely admit that it was impressive. She paused when he told her to laugh and listen. It took her a moment to notice a slight echo in the room when she did as he instructed and it caused her to laugh even more as she looked around. "So I don't get it. Where's the mike?"

"Oh, they're hidden," Aaron explained, "There's a bunch all around the gallery."

"Well, I hope people only have nice things to say about you and your show because you're gonna hear 'em," Serena replied with a genuine smile.

"Well, I guess you'll have to come and find out," Aaron replied.

It was obvious that he was flirting with her, and Serena didn't mind at all. He was cute and sweet and he seemed genuine. Besides there wasn't anything wrong with a little bit of flirting. The blonde couldn't honestly remember the last time she had a bit of fun and flirt with a guy after her break up with Dan, and she figured it was time to remedy that fact.

Unfortunately the pair was interrupted by Dan himself, "Serena?" The blonde turned at the sound of her name and smiled in greeting. "Hey. You been here long?"

"Uh, no, uh, not that long," Serena replied with a shake of her head.

"Okay, well, you wanna get some food before we get started?" Dan motioned out of the room, "See you later, Aaron."

Serena nodded at the mention of food and headed out as Aaron replied to Dan, "Yeah, you, uh, you two have fun on your date."

Serena quickly turned back as she stood beside Dan and was quick to assure him, "Oh, no it's not a date. We're just working on a school project together."

"Yeah, no, we're, uh, we're just fri- we- we used to date, but we're friends now," Dan added as Serena turned and headed out the door.

She had no idea why Dan felt the need to add that little bit of information to the conversation, but she knew that she didn't want to discourage Aaron's attentions. So she artfully took one last glance over her shoulder with a smile as she began walking out the doorway after Dan. The sight of his returning smile proved that she was successful in her message.

xoxo

Blair Waldorf was mortified. How had it come to the point that she was back in this situation where she was trying to have sex with her boyfriend only for him to keep turning her down. She thought she'd be done with all that when she started dating Chuck, but thanks to this stupid challenge, she was back where she was last year when she was dating Nate! Frustrated and alone.

She was surprised that Chuck managed to say no to her and she could admit that when he stated that her attempts were admirable, but it wasn't enough, it hurt. It brought back some of her old insecurities in regards to her not being enough to keep her boyfriend interested for a long period of time. Silently she admitted to herself it was part of the reason why she hadn't succumbed to saying those three words to him since that night that he won his bid and they humiliated Vanessa. Blair quickly cleared her head and decided that if she was unhappy the least she could do was spread it around and place blame accordingly.

She took out her phone as she sat in the back of her town car and dialed the person she deemed responsible for her current humiliation. Fortunately for her he didn't keep her waiting as he answered with a "Hello."

"I just wanted to thank you for encouraging me to throw myself at Chuck. I can skip dinner now that I'm so full on humiliation. Chuck was completely unmoved," Blair explained as she looked out the window.

"Well, are you sure he wasn't just acting like it didn't work?" Humphrey asked.

Blair reflected on when she poured her drink down his pants and there wasn't even a hint of hardness when she attempted to clean him up as she replied into the phone, "Unfortunately, there was no hard evidence of that, literally. I didn't even get the chance to show him my necklace tangled up in my hair. The nape of the neck is Chuck's kryptonite."

She smirked at the obvious sound of discomfort from Humphrey through the phone as he replied sarcastically, "Oh, that's good to know. So he just got up abruptly, and he left?"

"Like a Bass outta hell," Blair replied.

"Well, then you got him right where you want him. Trust me. He's headed home. Intercept him," Humphrey responded.

Blair listened, pausing at the phrase of him asking her to trust him. She was beginning to question that decision. Although he was making sense in this regard, she can see how both Nate and Serena were drawn into the Brooklynite's web. Making a note to be more careful she replied before she hung up the phone, "I'll let you know what happens."

She told her driver to turn around back to the Palace and shot a text to Serena to let her know that she would be staying over at her place for the night.

xoxo

Serena looked at Dan in shock. After she received a text from Blair explaining that she was staying at her place for the night, she made a vague comment on how she expected her and Chuck to have made up by now. Especially after witnessing just how many times Chuck had been unable to resist his girlfriend. The blonde shuddered at the thought and it wasn't until Dan spoke up that the current shock on her face formed.

"Yeah, apparently he's playing hard to get," he said with a shrug.

Serena frowned at him in confusion as she paused in her steps toward their usual diner in Brooklyn, "Wait, how do you know that?"

"She called me after her original plan didn't pan out," Dan explained with a shrug, "I guess to blame me. So, I offered an alternative to pursue him more at his place."

Serena could not believe it. It was one thing to offer a bit of advice, but to take it this far was going a bit too far and beyond. She silently began walking again around the corner and it wasn't until later after the pair got a cup of coffee and was beginning the trek back to Dan's loft that Dan asked Serena what was wrong.

"I just cannot believe that you told Blair to go to my house to seduce Chuck," she explained with a shake of her head and a slight smile. Saying out loud made the irony more apparent.

"Well, I would have sent her to my place, but I thought it might be a bit counterproductive," Dan teased with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Serena laughed along with him, "Just a little bit. So, how are things going at home with Jenny working for Eleanor?"

"It's been pretty good. Although I don't think I ever realized just how obs-," Dan began to explain only to be interrupted by the sound of Serena's phone going off.

"Oh!" Serena exclaimed as she took her phone out of her back pocket, "Is this the third time Blair's texted me?"

"Uh, fifth, actually, I think," Dan replied.

Serena sighed as she read the message. She could admit that her best friend was being a bit obsessive over this whole thing, and the blonde definitely didn't need a play by play, but she understood that this whole supposed "challenge" between Chuck and Blair was leading down a bad road if it didn't come to an end soon. It was part of the reason why she suggested that Dan help Blair out. With Dan's sincerity when it came to relationships, Serena hoped that he could make Blair see reason better than she could. Playing games in regards to others is fine, but playing them against your partner was a different thing entirely.

And because of that, Serena refused to just ignore her phone messages and let her best friend go through it alone. Blair had always been there for her so the blonde felt it only right to be there for her now. The blonde wrinkled her nose as she read the message. "Oh, she wants to know if I have candles. Ew. No," she quickly sent her reply back and turned her attention back to Dan with a smile as she tucked her hair over her shoulder, "I'm sorry. Um, go on."

"No, I was just saying I don't think I ever realized how many-," Dan began again only to, once again, be interrupted by Serena's cell phone.

"What?! Is this driving you crazy, too?" she asked in frustration. She was officially reaching the end of her rope with her friend. There was being there for her, and then there is this.

"No. no, it's- it's fine," Dan replied as the pair stopped again on the sidewalk.

After taking in the message of how easy it was going to be for her to break Chuck down, Serena couldn't help but speak out loud her thoughts, "Oh, she's getting cocky now." Before she typed out her reply of U R so bad! And sent it. She began to shake her head at her friend's antics as she noted the time, figuring she had time to get her project with Dan started and to give the couple time to make up. She was just hoping that they wouldn't do any of that making up in her bed.

xoxo

The room was set and Blair was dressed for battle. After her quick texting session with Serena, Blair began to feel more and more confident about how the night was going to end. She purposely left the door open at a crack as she stood in the prime spot beside Serena's bed in her night gown that she specifically bought to drive Chuck wild. She heard his footsteps coming down the hall and quickly put her phone away and began to light up the few candles she could find. She knew the visual was very similar to that blackout some months ago. It seemed to take the anticipation up several notches and just remembering how her boyfriend came into the room and kissed her as if she were the only woman in the world for him, brought a soft smile on the brunette's face.

So in tune with him the guy in question that she was able to distinct the second he came into the room as she finished with the candles, so it wasn't as much of a surprise when he spoke up, "What are you doing, Blair?"

Blair purposely kept her back to him as she sighed and began to put her hair up in a clip, revealing the nape of her neck as she explained innocently, "Oh, Serena knew how upset I was. She didn't want me to be alone, so she invited me to sleep over."

She had just finished with her hair when she felt his body heat radiate over her back and didn't even hesitate as she spoke again, "Go away, Chuck." She purposely ran her hand over the back of her neck as she finished speaking, "It's pointless. I'm not gonna say it."

"I don't care," Chuck whispered as he reached up and untied the back of the nightgown slowly. The tie at the back was the only thing holding the scrap of silk up and with it gone the gown itself slipped off of Blair revealing her provocative undergarments. Blair turned towards her boyfriend and let him kiss her hungrily and returned in kind.

This was what she had been longing for the past week, to be in his arms with his lips on hers as she held him to her. The heated reunion was interrupted by Blair's message alert on her phone. Figuring it was just Serena replying to her last message; Blair quickly worked on distracting her boyfriend to get him back in her thrall by kissing even more passionately. Unfortunately for her, the phone chimed again and Chuck look towards it.

"Ignore it," Blair replied as she tried to pull him towards her to kiss her again, this time meeting resistance.

She saw the moment that he read her and knew that she didn't want him to see what he would find on her phone and she knew the only way she'd be able to save the situation was if she got to the phone first. In complete unison the couple lunged toward the bed for the phone. Chuck landed closest to the foot of the bed and was able to get Blair's phone first.

"Give it!" Blair yelled as she sat up, already knowing that she had lost again.

Chuck looked at her phone and chuckled as he closed it, obviously having read the message from Serena and the message that the blonde was replying to, before tossing the phone over to her. "You almost had me, Blair. Almost."

With that he turned and left the room quickly, leaving Blair alone in her underwear and frustrated with her thoughts.

xoxo

The next morning, Serena refused to let Blair wallow past 8 o'clock in her supposed failure. This entire game had gone too far and it was time for Blair to face what was happening in her relationship with Chuck before it gets to the point of no return. After dragging her best friend out of bed, wining and being her own personal brand of dramatic, Serena finally succeeded in getting Blair to come with her to Brooklyn under the guise of taking her frustration out on Dan for getting her into this mess in the first place. Unfortunately, the only way Blair would even think of going would be by car service; she claimed she was much too fragile for public transportation such as a cab. Serena just shook her head and smiled.

After the pair got settled in the car, Blair didn't bother wasting her time with playing innocent when she turned on her best friend, "Speaking of Hum-drum Humphrey, care to explain what's going on between the two of you? I thought after the whole Amanda mess you were done with him?"

Serena sighed softly, she guessed she should have better anticipated that Blair would ask questions especially after witnessing the scene for herself. "I was," Serena replied slowly before continuing on, "But then he apologized for it all and he seemed so sincere in just being friends. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in love with him or anything and I know he was majorly judgmental in the past, but maybe now that he's aware he could change?"

Blair shook her head with a roll of her eyes, "What is with you and Nate getting pulled in so easily?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Serena asked confused.

Blair waved her off, "If you want to know you have to ask the guys. Back to the original subject, so Humphrey is forgiven just like that? I thought I taught you better than that S."

Serena couldn't help but smile at the brunette, "I guess my bitchiness can only go so far. We can't all be like you, you know?" Blair smirked, obviously taking the statement as a compliment before Serena continued on with her explanation, "Look, with this project we're working on together I saw it as an opportunity to give him a chance. The friendship is tentative and with his genuinely helping you with your current dilemma with Chuck he can prove to me that he's not the judgmental and vengeful person that we think he his."

Serena saw that her best friend wasn't entirely on board for the plan and gave her a little nudge with her shoulder, "Come on…think of it as him kissing your proverbial ring. You can spot a knockoff a mile away."

Blair contemplated it in the new light, "So what you're saying is, if he goes to the proverbial dark side, which he probably will considering it is me and Chuck, and proves that he's a judgmental outsider who's not worth our time, which he is by the way, you'll be done?"

Serena laughed as she teased, "Yes, my queen. If he proves that he hasn't changed in the past months, which I'm sure you'll be the first to tell me. Then, after this project, I'm done. But you can't set him up, it has to be completely his own doing!"

Blair nodded reluctantly, "Agreed." She had to admit, it was obvious that Serena thought this through very thoroughly and it wasn't as if the pair wasn't going to spend time together for their school project so why not test the waters and see if his isolation has forced him to see the light? Besides, despite how much Blair would loathe to admit it, Humphrey had been relatively helpful in her scheme against Chuck the previous night. But Blair wasn't so forgiving. After finding out what the Brooklynite attempted to do to Chuck, attempting to write a story revealing Chuck's secrets, the brunette made it a point to keep an eye on him; especially now that Serena was considering letting him back into her life, and by extension hers and Chuck's.

Just thinking about Chuck caused a pang in her chest. She missed him. And not just the sex part, but him in general. She missed her best friend and with their current challenge against each other they weren't able to just sit down and talk like they used to without there being some sort of hidden agenda. It reminded Blair of her other friendships, with the exception of Serena, a typical Upper East Side relationship where you smile in a person's face just to backstab them while you did it. And the realization made Blair upset. She prided her relationship on the fact that it was genuine and somehow because of her pride and insecurities from the past, it was changing into something else. Something unsafe and undependable.

Before Blair could delve even further into her thoughts the car came to a stop outside of Humphrey's gallery. They had arrived sooner than Blair anticipated and she began to have second thoughts on going inside to ask Humphrey for help when she was feeling so raw and exposed after her current thought process, but she promised Serena that she would make an attempt, so she put on her game face and followed her blonde counterpart out of the car and inside.

Blair slowly walked in, taking in her surroundings. She had to say she was impressed with what she saw of the featured artist's work and from the look on Serena's face she agreed. The pair were interrupted from their browsing by Humphrey who was in the café appearing to stock it up for the show tonight obviously noticing them as he spoke, "Blair Waldorf in Brooklyn. You two- are you two lost?"

Blair scoffed and purposely chose to be difficult as Serena began pulling her along towards Humphrey as she begged, "Will you talk to her, please?"

"There's nothing to talk about. I told you that I failed and I'm doomed to go on without my boyfriend touching me again. It'll be very similar to my first relationship with Nate, so I should be just fine," Blair explained. Although the thought of having that relationship again made her blood run cold with dread and fear.

"She stopped listening to me," Serena continued on as she dragged Blair over, ignoring her friend's dramatics, "Maybe she'll listen to you."

Humphrey was busy looking around the back of the bar as he half-heartedly replied with, "Um, sure."

Serena nodded before she not so casually looked around, "I'm gonna go check out the art in the art gallery."

Blair looked at her friend in shock that she was actually going to leave her alone with the vermin. She honestly chooses now to show some culture. But then she noted the look on the blonde's face and realized that it wasn't the art, Serena was interested in. It was someone that had something to do with the art. But before she could even begin to ask the millions of questions running through her head, the blonde quickly gave her a nudge and a firm order of, "Talk," before she fled the room and went into the gallery alone. Blair produced a sarcastic smile of interest as she silently watched Humphrey finish emptying boxes.

"You and Chuck have been toying with each other forever," Humphrey started out with a shrug, "So you didn't win this one. You ever think maybe you should just, I don't know, let it go?"

"This is different," Blair replied, knowing that she should, but she was in too deep now to back out.

"Why?" Humphrey asked. When he didn't get a response he looked at her as she stared at her hands quietly, her thoughts running a mile a minute. "You do love him don't you? I mean I know it amazes me that someone could actually love Chuck Bass, but if you don't you've been faking it really well this past year."

Blair scoffed as she rubbed her face with one of her hands, "My loving Chuck has never been a question in my mind. I just…I don't understand how we got to this place. A place I never thought I'd be at again."

"You know, the first time I told Serena I loved her, uh, it was terrifying. I've never felt so exposed. But the feeling that I got when she said it back to me, uh, was probably the single greatest moment of my life. Was it like that for you," he asked.

Blair nodded softly, remembering how she refused to say the words first, but she couldn't help herself with at least showing her love by giving Chuck those cuff links for Christmas and how scared and exposed she felt as he wore them every day afterwards, unaware of the item's hidden meaning. And how relieved she felt when he finally told her during her pregnancy scare. She remembered how scared he looked when she didn't immediately say it back. She could only imagine that it was similar to what she was feeling now. Uncertainty was a very scary thing.

"Despite us breaking up," Humphrey continued on, "I would still do it all over again, and maybe we would have gotten farther if we didn't have the secrets and games that tore us a part."

He had her full attention at his last statement. One of the promises her and Chuck made to one another was to never keep secrets or to lie to each other. Recently they added to never plot against each other as well. Maybe it was time to add to the list of rules in their relationship. The rule of never playing a game that involved something as sacred as those three words.

"You know you're not just some other girl to him. He would do anything for you and I know the same goes for you. You have to decide what's most important to you: Keeping your pride and getting nothing or taking a risk and be vulnerable and continue on having everything," Humphrey finished

xoxo

While Blair was contemplating in Brooklyn, Chuck was doing the same in Manhattan. When he woke up that morning to find his girlfriend not sleeping beside him he reacted the same way he normally would when he was forced to wake up alone since that first night. Irritated. And, unfortunately for the staff, that irritation didn't stop, it only grew as the day continued on. He began to notice things that escaped him for the past week, but thanks to his almost succumbing to his girlfriend's charms the previous night it became obvious. Blair's scent could not be found anywhere on his things. Throughout their relationship, Blair had spent a significant amount of time with him and therefore her scent had been around too. Chuck enjoyed it because of the fact that it was specifically Blair and in times of stress it soothed him the way that feeding the ducks soothed her. When he looked himself in the mirror after his shower, he noticed that he had bags under his eyes. He hadn't had a great night's sleep since the night that he walked out on Blair after he won the bid for the Brooklyn Inn, and he looked it.

The only good part about this entire situation was that Chuck was spending a lot of time with Nate who now lived in Chuck's old suite downstairs. This was where he could be found now. Chuck sighed softly into his glass of scotch.

"Hey, man, you okay?" Nate asked concerned as he sat beside his best friend.

"I'm fantastic, Nathaniel, why would you even bother to ask?" Chuck responded half sarcastically with a smirk.

"I'm just surprised that you're here. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy your company, but I would have thought that you and Blair would have cracked by now and would have forgotten this stupid challenge," Nate spoke the thoughts that have been running through his head for a couple of days now.

"So did I," Chuck muttered. He didn't like admitting out loud that somehow he lost complete control over the situation. Like the previous night, Blair looked beautiful surrounded by the soft light of the candles and he would have cracked right then if it wasn't for her pesky phone. Instead of just declaring the game over, he let his pride talk for him, again, and left her there as he escaped.

"So what happened?" Nate demanded.

"It's complicated," Chuck replied with a sigh as he set his glass down in front of him and leaned back in his chair.

"Of course it's complicated, it's you and Blair, but throughout the entire time you two have been complicated, I've never seen you like this and I don't like it," Nate spoke firmly.

"Like what?" Chuck demanded as he turned towards his best friend with a glare.

"You two being unhappy about it," Nate blurted out. "Look, I understand that I'll never understand the way you two work and as long as you two are happy I guess that's all that matters, but lately you're not. And neither is she."

Nate had been silent enough on this entire situation and the last thing he wanted was to be mixed up in a battle between his best friend and his ex-girlfriend, but it was getting into dangerous territory and if someone didn't say something soon, the couple might never get back on track. It was ironic that Nate of all people was taking the reins on making Chuck and Blair see the light when just last year he tried to break them up before realizing himself just how evenly matched the pair truly are.

Nate now had Chuck's full attention as he turned towards him, "What do you mean she's not happy?"

"She looks like she used to when she and I were dating, Chuck," Nate confessed. The statement alone was enough to shake Chuck back into the reality of the situation, but Nate continued on, "Throughout all of our talks about you and Blair, one of the main things you promised me was that you'd keep her happy. In fact up until this mess, you've been successful. Even when you two are fighting it's obvious it's not something to worry about and in the long run it's for the best, but when was the last time you two sat down and spent time together since this whole thing got started?"

Chuck's mind whirled as he realized the truth in Nate's words. The answer to his question was not since he won his bid for the Brooklyn Inn last week. It may not have seemed so long ago, but it was for him and Blair. She was always interested in his projects and he was always interested in anything that she was up to as long as he got to be with her. Somehow that truth got lost in the shuffle of this challenge and the fact that Nate of all people noticed it was a big deal.

"That's what I thought," Nate spoke up, taking Chuck's silence as an answer. "Look, I know you'd do anything for her, whether it's accepting punishment of abstinence or screwing over the entire Upper East Side just so she could be "Queen" and she would do the same for you," Chuck smirked at the memories that were stirred up, "Maybe it's time that this thing ends before something happens to make you two end for good."

Chuck nodded softly as he took in Nate's words. It was then that his phone went off, indicating that he had a text message. He took it out and read the message and smiled softly as he saw it was from the girl in question. It read: You win. Tonight. –B.

He took a deep breath as he stood up from his chair, quickly finishing his glass of scotch, "Nathaniel, I'm afraid I have to leave you."

Nate smiled and shook his head, "And here I was thinking you'd take the news hard if I said the same thing. Serena invited me to some art gallery in Brooklyn.

"How traumatic for you," Chuck replied without missing a beat.

Nate shrugged, "There's this guy she's interested in and she didn't want to go by herself just in case it didn't work out the way she wants it to, plus she wanted to talk to me about something."

Chuck shook his head, "I don't know when you're going to realize that this is probably your shot to try taking this friendship beyond just that."

"What are you talking about?" Nate asked with a scoff, "Serena and I are just friends, just like me and Blair."

"You're friends with Serena the way I was friends with Blair before we got together. And you see how that turned out," Chuck checked his watch, realizing that he had a lot to do before he met up with Blair tonight, "Just think about it Nathaniel."

Nate nodded half-heartedly, not ready to admit that he already had been as he watched his best friend head out the door with a sigh.

Chuck's mind was going a mile a minute as he began setting things in motion for his make up with Blair. He may have technically won, but she wasn't the only one putting all her cards on the table tonight. The entire situation taught him how important their relationship and Blair was to him and he wanted to make sure that she was never in doubt again of those factors.

xoxo

Serena was so nervous. She didn't know what it was but she felt so comfortable around Aaron and she was hoping that he felt the same way about her. She was just glad that she was able to get Nate to come with her on the off chance that this whole thing was a bust. He was always there to get her through anything even possible humiliation. She smiled at her friend standing beside her and spoke, "Thanks for joining me, I know it's not really your thing, but with the whole Blair and Chuck situation, I figured it would be better to leave them alone tonight to figure things out."

Nate smiled at her and nodded, "I happen to agree, and Chuck seemed to be ready to move forward when he left 1812 earlier, so hopefully by tomorrow everything will be back to the way it was."

Serena smiled with hope. If Chuck and Blair couldn't make it, she had no idea how she could even hope for she herself finding love and keeping it. "Besides," Nate continued on, "this place looks pretty great. Mind showing me around since in your spare time you help arrange art galleries?"

Serena laughed and was about to reply before the pair was interrupted by Dan. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," Serena greeted with a smile, "This is a huge turnout. Aaron must be so thrilled. And your dad." She quickly added the last part.

"Yeah, yeah, it's pretty exciting. Uh, I'm surprised that you brought Nate. Although I guess it's better than Blair. What happened?" Dan asked showing interest.

Serena found herself impressed that he was taking an interest in her friend's life and without hesitation replied as she checked the time, "By now she should be getting ready to meet with Chuck and putting this whole messy thing behind them."

"I think we've talked enough about those two don't you think?" Nate spoke up with a light smile towards Serena, "For the rest of the night, if they don't call we don't mention them. We've done our best and now it's up to them."

Serena smiled at Nate and nodded in agreement although she could tell that he wasn't as comfortable as he was when they first walked in, she just didn't know why. "Yeah, I'm just going to make my rounds and I'll catch you guys later?" Dan asked.

Serena nodded, while Nate said nothing as they watched him walk away. Now Serena needed to know what was going on. Blair had hinted that Dan did something to the guys, but refused to spill, saying that she needed to talk to the guys to find out her answers. And now the blonde wanted those answers. If it was something so big that not even Nate could get passed it, it was something she needed to know if she was going to continue with this friendship with Dan.

As she was about to open her mouth and question him, Nate spoke first, "You know what? I'm going to go get us some drinks. Why don't you walk around and I'll find you so you could introduce me to this Aaron, okay?"

Sensing what Nate was doing, Serena reluctantly agreed. Figuring that she'd find out what the big secret was later. For now she was just going to enjoy the night and hope for the best.

xoxo

Blair was nervous. She never got nervous when it came to Chuck. Everything with him was easy because they were always on the same page in regards to any situation. Blair supposed that there was always a first time for anything, she just would have preferred this particular brand of freaking out didn't happen at all. She needed a drink. She roamed around Chuck's limo that he sent for her wondering where she could find his beloved scotch he always kept on hand.

It didn't take her long to find it, take a drink, and sigh as the ride continued towards her destination. The drink definitely helped with her nerves. This was Chuck she was going to go see. There was nothing to be nervous about. He loved her and she loved him and they'll get the rest of it sorted and never do something like this again and they'll be back to how it was. Perfect.

Blair was interrupted by her musings by the sound of her cell phone going off beside her. Seeing it was Humphrey, she frowned and contemplated not answering before going ahead. "What?" she replied bluntly, the last thing she wanted to do during her last few minutes alone before talking to her boyfriend was talk to Humphrey.

"Blair, I need to talk to you," the Brooklynite spoke urgently.

So urgently, that Blair began to worry that something happened to Serena, "Is it Serena? Is she okay?"

"What? No, no, she's fine. It's nothing like that," Humphrey replied quickly.

Blair sighed in relief, "Don't scare me like that Humphrey. What do you want, Chuck's waiting for me."

"I know, it's about that," Humphrey spoke hesitantly, "Just, um, you know, be careful."

Blair frowned at the supposed sound of sincerity in his voice and became suspicious, "Why?"

"I realized that the advice I gave you earlier was bad advice, cause when I said that, I was thinking of how things were for Serena and me," he explained into the phone. "I mean we're talking about Chuck here. It's not the same thing."

The doubts attempted to crawl in, but Blair refused to let them as she responded as the car pulled to a stop, "It is though. It's going to be okay."

"Sure, well, maybe," Humphrey replied, not sounding very convinced, "Just before you say anything, Make sure he's done playing games."

Blair paused as Arthur came around and opened her door for her and finally found out her destination. It was Victrola. Chuck made it a point to pick the setting of where they'd meet for her admitting defeat. Leave it to him to pick the one place that would make Blair feel secure at this brief moment of doubt. She smiled as she spoke into the phone, "You know what, Humphrey? You were right earlier. It's not the same thing, because Chuck and I are a completely different breed than you and Serena and I'm just reminded of that." She climbed out of the car with a flourish as she wrapped up her call, "I appreciate your help, Humphrey, but I think you've done more than your fair share and it's time for us to part ways. Permanently." With that she hung up the phone and put it in her purse, making a plan to make another call later.

"I've been instructed to tell you he's waiting up on the roof," Arthur spoke up.

Blair smiled and thanked him as she headed inside of the place where it all started. It was the same as it was it was a year ago. Even though Chuck had sold his share of the place to help Nate, he still had some pull with management of the establishment and because of the success they had seen, they kept up with the few suggestions Chuck made to make the place a genuine place to escape.

This was the place that Chuck first admitted to having the butterflies. This was the place that Blair stripped down to her slip and danced on that very stage for him and for the first time felt free. Free to be herself without anything holding her back. Not Nate, not Serena, not the girls at Constance and it was all thanks to Chuck. And it had been that way ever since with the exception of this week.

Taking a deep breath, the brunette began to climb the stairs up to the roof to meet her boyfriend. Despite Humphrey's poor attempt at destruction, Blair knew she was doing the right thing. The only thing that made her pause was the question was if the games were done, would she be enough to keep Chuck. That was the fear that began to fester inside Blair for the past couple of days. Could the couple be normal and still be happy together.

She took a deep breath before stepping out onto the roof. She smiled to herself as she saw him look out at their city with his back towards her. The couple joked how they'd rule the city together and how ruling high school was just a stepping stone towards that ultimate goal. Later the goal formed into ruling the world after their take down of Marcus and Catherine. In the end the most important part of the goal was that they did it together.

"Plotting the next phase of our world domination?" she called out as she walked towards him.

Chuck turned towards her with a smirk, "Not the world tonight, just New York."

She returned the smirk as she stood beside him at the railing, "Leave it to you to pick the perfect location for this meeting."

"Well, it is where it all started," Chuck replied as he watched her carefully.

"True. I remember butterflies were mentioned," Blair replied as she smiled out at the city before him.

"I also remember you not necessarily returning my affections," Chuck retorted.

Blair closed her eyes, "You took me by surprise." She turned towards him as she explained, "I had just broken up with Nate, I was all over the place that night and then you came out of nowhere with these feelings. Feelings that I felt, but weren't quite ready to explore and accept."

Chuck nodded. He knew all of these things already. "But I did come around eventually right?" Blair spoke again with a soft smile as she reached towards him and ran her fingers through his hair, "In the limo and in your bed and by the following morning I was yours."

Chuck smirked and nodded in agreement, "I'm sorry, but don't you have something you want to say to me?"

Blair rolled her eyes at his impatience as she replied, "Yes. Chuck Bass, I did come here to say something to you." Blair paused as she tried to get her bearings. Despite her bravado, the smallest bit of insecurities flared up on the thought that he may not say it back. That the things that she wanted from their relationship now was not possible, that she was not enough to keep him happy. "This is just so silly," Blair laughed at herself, "I mean I've said it hundreds of times to you."

"And I you," Chuck smiled softly as he replied, "And I'll say it again." Chuck then took her hands in his and decided to end this once and for all, "Blair Waldorf, I love you and I'm sorry."

Blair frowned in confusion, "What are you sorry about?"

"I'm sorry for making you question for a second that I didn't," Chuck explained softly

Blair pressed her lips together as she attempted to shrug it off at how well he knew her, "I didn't."

"Please," Chuck scoffed obviously seeing right through her, "Don't forget who you're talking to. I'm not Nate; I can tell when something's wrong with you." The brunette smiled softly at the truth in his words as he continued on, "Originally I issued this game for fun, as a way for you to pursue me. It wasn't until later when I thought about and saw the game play out that I saw my error in judgment."

"And what was that?" Blair asked as she linked her fingers around his neck.

"That this particular game may be hitting a bit too close to home for you," Chuck explained softly, "When you were with Nate you tried tirelessly to gain his attention and it wasn't until the end that you finally succeeded and that was because he felt guilty. I saw how much that hurt you and the last thing I ever wanted was for you to feel that way with us."

Blair sighed softly as she looked down between them. "I did feel that way," she replied softly "It's funny how I thought was I past all those petty insecurities and this game showed just how much I'm not."

Chuck tilted her head up by her chin as he looked her in the eyes so she could see his sincerity, "And that's okay; you two dated since kindergarten, certain wounds take longer to heal than others."

Blair smiled softly, feeling better the longer they talk, "You know, when Arthur opened my door to show where you picked for us to have this conversation…I felt sure of myself. I felt everything being put to right. Being here with you makes me feel like I did our first night here. Free. Free to let go and embrace the butterflies and it's because of you, Chuck Bass and I love you for it. I love you so much."

Chuck then leaned towards her taking her lips with his with complete abandoned as he held her close. He refrained from taking the kiss further, but only barely. It had been a while since they were together, but he wanted to focus on this aspect of their relationship for a moment longer. His main concern was making sure that his girlfriend felt secure and safe as she did before this stupid challenge was issued.

He gently broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers as he closed his eyes relishing their closeness after so long as he whispered, "What do you say about putting off the games for a while?"

Blair smiled softly at the offer and nodded in agreement. It was times like these it amazed her at how in tuned with her thoughts that he was when she didn't even have to say anything. But putting off games wasn't just what Blair wanted and she knew she'd have to tell him now while she still had the courage. So she took a deep breath and spoke, "Let's just stick to relatively normal means of entertainment."

She watched him closely as he looked her in the eye; watching for any indication that he'd respond negatively, but all she saw was intrigue in her boyfriend's face as he responded, "Define normal."

"Umm…," she thought on it before thinking of the most normal of things a couple could do, "Chuck and Blair holding hands?"

Chuck smirked as he slowly reached for her hands with his and laced them together, "I like the feel of that."

Blair nodded in agreement feeling the pressure lifting at his agreement before continuing on to something else, "Chuck and Blair go to the movies?"

Chuck tilted his head to the side as he looked at his girlfriend as he retorted, "Do you honestly want to spend two hours in a room full of peasants?"

Blair wrinkled her nose at the picture he painted and couldn't deny the lack of appeal it sounded as she replied, "You're right that doesn't sound like much fun…well maybe we can do it once a month for the experience?"

Chuck tilted his head the other way as he took in her compromise, already knowing that he would do anything she wanted if it made her happy. At the end of the day as long as he got to be with her, that's all he really cared about. That's how far gone he was for this woman; he'd suffer through a setting with Dan Humphrey if she asked it of him. "Alright," he conceded, "But I hold the right to buy out the theatre on any occasion."

Blair smiled softly at his counter offer. Sure it wasn't what others would deem normal, but it was their type of normal. "Deal," she replied as she slowly unlinked their hands and wrapped her arms around his neck, getting more comfortable by the second by these new guidelines of their relationship as she offered up another type of normal activity, "Chuck and Blair o to dinner?"

Chuck smiled back at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist, knowing that the worst part was over and they survived it relatively unscathed, "That sounds like something I can perform right now."

"Really?" Blair replied, not at all surprised. Chuck wasn't one to do things half way.

"You didn't think I'd have us come here and talk and go home did you?" Chuck replied looking a bit affronted that she thought so little of him.

"Of course not," Blair assured him with a light laugh, "You're Chuck Bass, not Dan Humphrey."

"I would hope so," Chuck retorted without missing a beat before slowly leading them towards the door to head out into the city would eventually become theirs.

"I hope all this normalcy doesn't bore you," Blair half joked, finding the courage to voice her fears of why she never spoke the word normal before then.

Chuck, obviously seeing right through her, smirked and kissed the side of her head as he whispered firmly, "We're Chuck and Blair, we could never be boring."

xoxo

Serena smiled as she took in everything. It was one thing to see everything in the light of day without it all being together, but it was another thing entirely to see it when it was all put together. She giggled softly to herself as she remembered after she left Blair alone with Dan to talk how she found Aaron in the gallery surrounded by wires and metal and all the blonde could say to comment was how complicated it look.

Aaron assured her that it was very similar to walking in on surgery halfway through. It looked like murder, but after it's over everything will look as it should. Serena smiled and even offered to help out with a few small things. It was basically all she could do since she didn't know much about welding.

Serena then saw the piece she helped with in all its glory and it was amazing to see the finished product. She walked closer to it and lightly touched it with her hand and laughed a bit as it changed colors, unaware of the figure beside her until he spoke.

"What do you think?" Aaron asked.

"Um, I think that you are officially a successful artist," Serena replied with a smile as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, thank you," Aaron replied with a smile of his own, "You know what they say: "Success is nothing without someone to share it with."

"They do say that," Serena agreed with a nod, "So who are you planning to share it with?"

"Uh," Aaron took a deep breath before replying, "My dad, my nana, my dog mookie, named by nana. She's a huge Mets fan." Serena smiled and nodded in understanding as he finished, "And, uh, and you. Uh, I was hoping you."

Serena pressed her lips together to hold back her smile. "Dinner, maybe?" he officially asked.

"Um…," Serena contemplated. She knew what she wanted. She wanted to say yes, but then she saw Dan in the distance and faltered. If she had met Aaron anywhere else it wouldn't be a problem, but since she met him through Dan, Serena wasn't so sure if it was such a great idea. She and Dan weren't in a very solid place and the last thing the blonde wanted was to make it more complicated. It didn't escape her notice that he still looked at her like he used to, like he wanted more than mere friendship. So for once, the blonde went with her head and smiled softly at Aaron as she turned him down.

"Uh, sorry. I, um, I'm not really dating right now," she spoke softly as she turned her head towards to color changing ball beside her.

"Ah, yes," Aaron replied, "The vague and unsatisfying "I'm not dating right now" response. I know it well. Usually I'm giving it, not getting it."

"Sorry," Serena apologized with a shrug as she kept smiling.

"Yeah, I can tell," he replied with a smile of his own, "Which is why I'm gonna give you a second chance. If you can tell me the fate of Cecil the caterpillar, I will go out with you."

Serena scrunched up her face in confusion and shook her head, "Okay, I don't really date crazy people who speak in riddles."

The pair laughed before Aaron urged, "Just think about it, and when you figure it out, I'm yours."

With that, he turned and left leaving Serena confused and intrigued at the same time. It was then that her phone went off in her bag. The blonde quickly pulled it out and at the sight of finding Blair's name flashing across the screen she quickly answered, "B.? What's wrong, did everything go okay?"

"Well it was almost a disaster, but we came to a compromise," Blair replied lightly before continuing on, "But that's not why I'm calling. Listen, Humphrey called me on my way to see Chuck and he was saying some things that if Chuck and I were at a less stable place would have ended us before we even got started."

"What?" Serena asked in shock.

"I don't trust him and I don't think you should either," Blair finished bluntly.

"I'm assuming this non trust is also in reference to the secret you, Nate and Chuck all know, but won't tell me," Serena concluded as she looked around the room finding Dan, but keeping up with her sweep until she saw Nate.

"It is," Blair replied, not giving any more aware, "Talk to Nate, tell him Chuck said it was okay and get the full picture of Dan Humphrey before you go down this path of friendship or whatever, okay?"

Serena nodded softly, already having an idea of what the full picture looked like after this very brief conversation, "I'll talk to you tomorrow, kay?"

"Sure. I love you, S.," Blair replied softly.

"I love you too, B.," the blonde responded wholeheartedly before hanging up the phone. She didn't hold Blair responsible for her own case of bad judgment and she wanted her friend to know that. After that she quickly crossed the way to Nate as he was standing in front of a sculpture and taking the piece in.

"Hey. Can I talk to you for a moment, outside?" Serena asked urgently.

Nate looked over her and handed her a drink as he nodded, "Something tells me you're going to need this for whatever we're about to talk about, but sure."

The pair headed out into the slightly chilled air, deciding to not waste any more time, Serena blurted, "Okay, what is the deal between you and Dan?"

Nate sighed before replying hesitantly, "Dan's cool. I just found another side of him that I didn't particularly like."

"What happened?" Serena urged, "I know it has something to do with Chuck." Nate looked up at her in shock before she continued, "Blair called me not too long ago saying that Dan called her before she made it to Chuck and said some things to her. She said it was time that I saw the full picture and to tell you that Chuck said it was okay that you told me. Tell me what, Nate?"

Nate took a deep breath and motioned her over to a nearby stoop so they could sit down. "Okay. Remember when we all went to Yale for college visits a couple of weeks ago?" Serena nodded, not seeing where this was going as Nate continued on, "Dan went too. You know my father had hurt a lot of people and…let's just say the name Nathaniel Archibald was not the name to have there. I met this girl and I got scared and told her my name was Dan Humphrey when she asked my name." Nate paused and looked at the blonde beside him, preparing himself for judgment but saw none.

"Trust me, I understand fully the need to just be someone else for a while, Nate, go on," Serena assured him when he stopped and looked at her.

Nate nodded and spoke again, "Well, in a weird twisted way, Dan found me and sold me out. Looking back I can understand why he'd be angry, but he didn't even give me a chance to explain he just went on and on about how I was ruining his life and how it was not okay. He then went into my family situation like he knew everything when in reality he knew nothing and I was just done."

Nate took a deep breath, "Anyway, as a way to protect me, Chuck told some guys that were looking for me that Dan was me and he ended up tied in front of a statue in his underwear. I was able to find him and the girl turned out to be a TA for the English department and ended up helping with the knots. We all hanged out all night and I was able to persuade Jordan to get one of her bosses to write Dan a letter of recommendation for Yale and Dan and I went our separate ways at a good place."

"Okay…so what happened to change all that?" Serena asked a little confused, "It sounds like you two were able to get passed the preconceived notions of the other."

"We did, at least I thought we did," Nate agreed with a nod, "I even went and confronted Chuck about his part in sending those guys after him. Then Chuck told me about his reasons and it opened my eyes."

"What were Chuck's reasons?" Serena asked hesitantly, afraid of what she'd find out.

"He said that Dan attempted to befriend him a week or so beforehand, and, as you know Chuck, he wasn't impressed. Turns out that Dan was writing a story on Chuck and his secrets," Nate finished.

Serena looked out into the street silently taking in the new information. On the surface it wasn't that big of a deal. Chuck was an open book about most things, but there were some secrets that only a very select few knew. Those were the secrets that hurt and would cause destruction if they came to light.

"After finding out about that, I was forced to rethink the previous day with a different perspective. About how Dan treated me in the beginning to how he was when I could help him. Let's just say it was similar to something someone from our world would do. I haven't really spoken to Dan since," Nate finished.

Serena felt her anger rise and looked at Nate, "Why didn't anyone tell me this before?"

"It was Chuck's story to tell and I guess we assumed that you were completely done with the guy so why beat a dead horse," Nate shrugged.

"I just feel so…," Serena started only to be interrupted by the man himself.

"Hey, Serena, you heading out?" Dan asked.

Serena paused before replying, "Yeah. I'm done. One question though?" she asked before standing up from the stoop to confront him, "Do you know what happened with Chuck and Blair? She called me not too long ago and she said some things like you called and tried to stop her from going?"

She needed to hear the reason he would attempt to sabotage Blair like that. It was obvious that this attempt at friendship was done and it became even more obvious that it shouldn't have even gotten started, but it was her own fault.

"Uh, yeah," Dan replied, "Look, Blair and Chuck were gonna self-destruct at some point, so I may have helped it along."

"So you intentionally sabotaged her?" Serena clarified.

"I know you're upset," Dan quickly replied before continuing on with his supposed "explanation", "And that was not my intention, but I just found out they completely screwed over Vanessa."

"No. whatever they did to Vanessa, that's different. This is about two people who love each other," Serena spoke firmly.

"Blair and Chuck? Come on. I know they've been together for a year, but do you honestly believe that it's for anything other than convenience?" Dan asked in disbelief.

"Wow," Serena replied softly, "You really are what I thought you were. I thought you wanted to help Blair."

"No, I did this for you, 'cause you wanted me to help her. I don't care about Blair Waldorf," Dan replied with no remorse. "All of this is all a game to her."

"No, when it comes to Chuck, it's not," Serena retorted, "Fortunately for you, you failed and it worked out. I told her to talk to you because I genuinely thought that you would help her realize that games in relationships don't work and she had to be brave enough to ask for something more."

Dan shook his head softly as Serena crossed her arms, "I was an idiot to think you'd changed and I think it best if we just finish our project separately and consider this final attempt of friendship done. " With that the blonde turned and motioned Nate to come with her.

"Serena-," Dan tried to call out to her.

"Hey, leave it, Dan. It's done," Nate spoke up for the first time before he went after Serena, wrapping an arm around her as they walked.

"I just…I just feel like such a complete idiot you know?" Serena finally spoke up after a moments of silence.

"I know the feeling," Nate offered remembering how he felt when he realized that Dan was no better than everyone else on the Upper East Side. "But hey, at least you're not alone," Nate tried to be positive, "You have at least three honest friends who would do anything for you. Sometimes without even being asked."

Serena chuckled in agreement, knowing that last bit was definitely a description of her friendship with both Chuck and Blair, "The brunettes in our group definitely have a knack for that, don't they?"

Nate nodded, "So…tell me about this Aaron guy. How'd it go?"

Serena sighed as the pair continued to walk, "Um…Aaron asked me out."

Nate wasn't even the least bit surprised as he replied with a slight smile, "So obviously it went well, but the fact that you're here with me instead of with him leads me to my next question of: What happened?"

"I said no, because I- I wasn't sure how Dan would feel," Serena explained, "Back when I thought there was a genuine friendship to take into consideration."

"But you want to say yes," Nate spoke rhetorically, already seeing the answer in Serena's face before she nodded. "Well he seems like a good, talented guy," Nate voiced his opinion.

Serena pressed her lips together as she hugged Nate's side, "He does seem nice, right? And even though we just met, I feel like I've known him my…" Serena stopped walking as she realized something, causing Nate to stumble in surprise as she spoke softly, "Oh, my god."

"What?" Nate replied a bit confused.

"'Cecil the Caterpillar.' Camp Suisse," Serena exclaimed with a smile.

"I remember Camp Suisse, what about it?" Nate asked trying to follow the blonde's thought process.

"I just realized that I do know Aaron. He went to Camp Suisse too and there was this song about Cecil the Caterpillar. I- I can't believe I didn't recognize him," Serena rambled on happily, getting more excited the more she thought about it.

Nate stood back and just watched in amusement at his friend, "Must have been some summer."

Serena smiled, "No, it was much more than just camp. We got married. Uh, there was a small ceremony with licorice rings on the banks of Lake Geneva. It was tasteful."

"What happened?" Nate replied, the whole thing sounded very Serena.

"Well, I took a bite out of my ring, so he asked for a divorce. But we were happy for a time," Serena replied with a reminiscent smile.

"Maybe you'll be happy again," Nate replied, "Sounds like true love to me."

Serena laughed as she nodded, "I have to go find him. Do you mind?"

"Of course not," Nate replied with a shrug, "Who am I to stand in the way of your first husband?"

Serena smiled at his joke and gave him a hug, "Thank you for tonight. I don't know how it would have went if you weren't here."

Nate returned the hug ignoring the pang in his chest, "Well you'll never have to worry about my not being here."

Serena knew the truth in those words as she gently pulled away and smiled at her friend. "I'll call you?"

Nate nods in agreement as he watched her walk away toward the gallery building. It was then that he finally acknowledged the pang in his chest for what it was. It seemed that Chuck was right after all, but in the end it didn't matter because he was too late. Timing had never been on his side in regards to the energetic blonde who was now walking towards someone else. All he could do now was, ironically enough, take a page out of Chuck's book and wait it out.

A/N: …yeah I know it's been forever and a day since I last updated. From July till about September I was moving so I needed to unpack and get settled at the new place before I could find my muse to write this next chapter. The bulk of this was even written at the beginning of October because I wanted to have posted then, but then we got a dog. A dog who's spoiled and adorable and does nothing but eats up my entire attention with his cuteness and I dropped the ball. :( Plus add in the fact that I'm currently working two jobs, there just was a lot of stop and goes for the past several months.

The ending of this chapter with Chuck and Blair gave me a ton of problems. I knew how I wanted it to play out sure. Even though B and C hadn't gone through their roller coaster ride of emotions at the beginning of their relationship like in canon, I thought it'd be realistic for B to still have some of those insecurities stemming from Nate, not to mention feeling of inadequacy brought on by Eleanor and being in Serena's shadow for most of her life. So this chapter was to address that and have them work through an actual issue of transitioning out of the honeymoon phase (very similar to the first episode in season 3). But every time I had an idea on how to articulate it was I usually at work and unable to write it all out and by the time I make it home to my computer I've lost it and come to a complete blank and everything I wrote wasn't even close to the supposed masterpiece I thought of earlier in the day. But this current ending was one that I was able to write up while I was at work on a piece of paper when inspiration hit me so I can finally declare the chapter done and I can move on!

I'm so sorry for the wait though. Let's just make that clear. The alerts and favorites and follows have definitely warmed my heart and helped get me through my current funk with this story and I'm not giving up on it!

I hope you like the chapter! And I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'll do my best to update a lot sooner for the next one, but with the holidays coming up I'm not sure how it's gonna work out.

I'd also like to send a shout out to Awesomenes2502 for adding this fic to their Best of the Best 2014 community page way back in July! To me that's just a big deal that you love this story to the point that you would put it on that type of list when it's not even finished! :) Thank you.

I love you all, and I wish you every happiness.

-plei4fun