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Chapter Five
One month ago
She didn't notice him at first. That was mostly because the cafe by the Seine was nearly full around when she first settled herself at a table near the entrance. However, by the time evening came along, the crowd thinned enough for her to see one lone figure at the outermost edge of the cafe, which had a fine view of the Seine.
He sat facing the Siene, which was turned golden by the evening sun. The man was cast in a deep shadow by the setting sun; he hardly moved except to lift the glass by his side for an occasional sip. By all appearances, he looked like a native Parisian – you can always spot the tourists by their restlessness – deep in thought.
But something about the way the man lifted that glass seemed terribly familiar. Serena frowned, placed her cup of tea on the table, and sat up straighter.
Then, a barge floating by cast a brief light on the man, and she finally saw who it was.
"Oh my God," she moaned.
She couldn't believe it. Blair had come all the way to escape Chuck Bass, only to find Chuck Bass in Paris. Life was funny that way.
Fortunately, Blair had decided to catch a cab back to their hotel a few hours ago. So, she wouldn't be exposed to the man who broke her heart last month. And who, apparently, is currently stalking her like some creepy serial killer from a slasher flick.
Sighing, she stood up and marched towards him. When she finally stood at his table, she crossed her arms and cleared her throat.
He looked up, and his eyes widened.
Good attempt at looking surprised, Chuck, but I know better.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
He merely stared speechlessly at her. If she knew what she knew now, she would have noticed that he was thinner and paler, and that he was bereft of the smugness he carried around him like a cloak. But while she did notice that he did look haggard, she had quickly assumed that he was having one of his drug- or alcohol-induced hangovers.
"Are you following Blair?" she snapped.
"Blair's here?" he asked softly.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. As if you didn't know. I find it hard to believe that you're just here because of some big cosmic coincidence."
His face hardened. "Maybe I'm here because I own the place."
With Chuck, that's quite a possibility. But she ignored that and slid into the chair opposite his and glared at him furiously.
"If this is one of your twisted schemes to get back together with Blair, let me tell you that I'm going to do my very best to make sure that you don't come anywhere near her. Frankly, I find it creepy that you're even stalking her like this," she said.
"I'm not stalking her," he snapped.
"So, you're just having a holiday in Paris," she said, her voice laced with heavy sarcasm.
She readied herself for the sarcastic comeback, but it never came. Instead, Chuck suddenly shuddered and closed his eyes. Was it … pain that she saw?
But before she could say anything, Chuck got up. She noticed how he bit his lip and how he was gripping the chair for support.
"Chuck, are you okay?"
He took a deep breath and glared at her. "Like you care," he said through clenched teeth.
He stumbled away from the table. Serena got up hurriedly.
"Wait, Chuck!"
She followed him to the back of the bar just in time to see him stumble hard. She quickly ran to him and caught him just in time as his knees gave out. He was too heavy for her, so she helped him to the floor, and he leaned against the wall heavily, breathing in harsh gasps.
"Chuck, you're scaring me."
He didn't answer, but instead fumbled for something in his coat. He took something out with violently shaking hands, and the object fell from his shaky grasp and clattered sharply on the wooden floor. Serena quickly reached out for it and to her surprise, realised that it was a plastic tube filled with red pills. Her French was rusty, but she could make out two words – pain killers, it said.
With hands that barely coorporated with her, she unscrewed the top and handed him the tube and watched silently as he downed a few pills.
"Chuck, what's wrong?" her voice sounded small and frightened to her ears.
Of course, something was obviously wrong. He had gone white, and sweat was dampening his forehead. He shook his head in response.
"I just need … time," he gasped and then closed his eyes and leaned wearily against the wall. He clenched his side and breathed through pained gasps.
Serena knelt helplessly at his side as she watched him struggle with the pain. She reached out with a shaking hand and lay what she hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder.
It took forever for his breathing to return to something akin to normal speed. When it finally did, dismay written all over his face.
"Chuck..."
"Go away," he rasped.
"Not until you tell me what just happened."
He looked away, and Serena only moved to his other side.
She fixed a determined stare at him, and it seemed to do the trick. He sighed and struggled to sit up straighter. Concerned, she tried to help, but Chuck only waved her away.
"I'm not an invalid," he snapped.
"Sorry, but from where I am, you are. Now, tell me."
He managed to settle into a more comfortable position with some effort and then looked tiredly at her. Realising that she was not about to give up, and perhaps tired out by the seizure of pain he had endured, Chuck finally answered her question.
"I was shot three months ago," he said softly.
She blinked, too shocked to respond. She ran through her mind several possibilities what "shot" meant, but came up with only one possibility that involved bullets and guns.
"What? But how?" she finally managed to say.
"Two idiots mugged me in Prague. They shot me and left me for dead in an alley," he said shortly. "It's not a very interesting story. Can we move on?"
"No, you're not going to just leave it at that. Why didn't you tell anyone? My mum? Nate? Blair?"
Fire flared in his eyes at the mention of her name. "I don't want this getting back to anyone back home – especially Blair," he hissed and narrowed his eyes.
That stumped her. "Why? You need – "
"I don't need anyone," he snapped.
"You need help, Chuck. You need to be with friends and family right now."
"I managed three months on my own without any of you, so I disagree," he said.
They could circle each other like this forever, Serena thought in frustration.
"Fine," she reached into her bag and took our her cell phone. With a practiced flick of her wrist, she flipped it open. "My mum is on speed dial. All I need to do is call her. She'll be here before you can pack your bags. So, you might as well return to New York with me and Blair."
He gave her an incredulous stare. "Are you blackmailing me?" he said in disbelief.
She raised an eyebrow. "I learned from the master."
"What, Georgina?"
She sighed. "I'm serious. My finger is on the speed dial now. And I have to warn you, my mum and Blair's speed dials are quite close together. I could accidentally just..." she slowly pressed her finger on the lighted screen –
Chuck lay a hand on the phone and looked at her pleadingly. "Don't."
Fear shimmered in his eyes. He looked so … exposed. Serena had never seen him so nakedly vulnerable before. Was this what Blair meant when she said that the real Chuck beneath the Bass mask was a different creature altogether?
"I have to let her move on, Serena. This is not going to help her," he said.
"And hiding this from her is going to? What part of your plan is supposed help her with that?"
"Don't pretend as if you don't know what she'd do if she ever found out," he bit out.
She would feel conflicted, most definitely. She would pretend, for a while, not to care, only to be drawn back to Chuck – for all the wrong reasons. The old Chuck would've welcomed it. In fact, he would've totally manipulate the situation to his advantage.
"She doesn't need any more pain from me, Serena," he said.
But he was … he was not the Chuck she knew.
He really loves her, she thought.
She took his hand in hers.
"Then come back to New York with me. And I promise you that I will not tell a soul."
He stared at her hand as if it was some alien creature. Then, he frowned at her.
"And if you do, let me assure you that I will leave New York City for good. This time, without a return address," he said in a low voice.
She knew that he was deadly serious. But she was determined not to back down.
"It's a deal," she said, staring determinedly into his eyes.
He must have seen the truth in her eyes because he slowly grinned – a shadow of his trademark leers that she had so hated before. "Your first blackmail, Sis. You make me so proud."
She rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a smile. "Shut up, Chuck."
Impulsively, she leaned over and hugged him. He stiffened in surprise, but slowly, awkwardly, he returned the hug.
"We're going to get through this," she said softly.
GG – GG – GG
We're going to get through this.
She meant it. But fate may have other plans.
"Well, thanks, Serena. I feel so protected," Blair said snidely. But her eyes were wet with tears. Without another word, she stood up and walked hurriedly away.
"Blair!" she called out. She looked uncertainly at Nate.
"Go to her. I'll call you when there are any updates," he said tiredly.
She nodded and ran after her.
GG – GG – GG
That Bass-tard. That Mother-Chucker.
He always thought that he had the solution for everything, that he executed his schemes for their own good. He was an idiot, a moron, a Bass-hat for orchestrating that conspiracy with Serena. And Serena, being his partner in crime? Words defy her right now.
"B?"
She lifted her eyes to stare at the simple crufix on the altar. "S?" she said flatly.
She felt Serena sit next to her.
"I'm sorry."
She let out a short, bitter laugh. "You fell for it, S. This is his usual schtick," she said bitterly.
"What, Blair?" Serena sounded drained.
"Don't you see? He did all this so that he could avoid facing the people he'd hurt. He was hiding in Prague, then Paris, and then finally in this stupid scheme."
"Maybe. But I did what I did to get him home."
Blair allowed a tear to fall. "What am I going to do then? I would always remember that my last moments with him was me being the bitch. How is that fair?" she said.
Serena never thought that far. She had hoped that Chuck would eventually come around and finally tell everyone the truth. Or Blair, at least. Chuck proved to be more stubborn than she thought.
"I don't want him to die, Serena. After everything that has happened between us, I should hate him, and I do, but I don't want him to die either. I can't lose him. It's messed up," she said weakly.
It was messed up and yet it was so Chuck and Blair. Serena leaned against Blair and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"He's going to be okay."
Blair just nodded. Serena sounded too unsure for Blair to fully believe her.