Pictures in magazines, movie screens
Mirrors and cameras, so many beauty queens
It's so good to be
Fabulous and glamourous,
We love ourselves and no one else
Vanity.

Chapter 2 - Stupidity

It was free period. After a very unfulfilling pot of yogurt, Blair stood alone close to the front of school, fingering the solid silver lighter in her pocket with her right hand, holding a cherry-red lollipop to her cherry-red lips with the other. It wasn't that she smoked, no, but the lighter had been a gift from her father's fiancé when she'd gone through a phase of "fashionable smoking" whilst spending a Christmas in Paris the previous year.

It had happened in the midst of a dispute between herself and her father, and in an effort to rebel, she'd bought cigarettes. It hadn't had the desired effect, though.

"Look, Daddy. I'm smoking."

Harold laughed. "Blair-bear, this is Paris. Everybody smokes in Paris."

She took out the lighter and the flame flickered in the light fall breeze. Too busy focusing on the dancing flame, Blair failed to notice the blonde sophomore dashing by, consequently knocking the lighter out of her hand.

"Hey! Would you watch where the F you're-" Jenny was quickly silenced by a death glare from Blair, who was holding the two pieces of the now broken lighter. "Oh-my-God, I am so sorry, B!"

Blair stood up and raised an eyebrow in that intimidating way that she had perfected. "Only my friends call me B," she stated ominously. Drawing herself up to her full height, Blair stared coldly at the blonde in front of her. "And a friend to me you are not."

Jenny's bottom lip started to tremble. "I'm really sorry... I honestly didn't see you there, Blair. I'll replace it, I swear..." The girl hastily reached for her purse in despair, as the first tear fell down her pale cheek.

"God, Little J; pull yourself together!" Blair inwardly triumphed when the girl's face fell slightly at her new nickname. Bitch had broken her lighter and only apologised after she'd seen who it belonged to. She deserved to be knocked down a peg or two. "Didn't anybody tell you? Frailty is not an attractive quality. Vulnerability, maybe; but never frailty. As for my lighter, I'm afraid it was hand-made in Paris, and has my initials engraved on it."

Blair held up the bottom part of the lighter, clearly displaying the elegant "BW" inscription.

Jenny's face flushed and she bit her lip. "I'm sorry Blair. I didn't realise." She was wary of Blair; she'd heard rumours about the temperament and calculating nature of the brunette and did not want to test their worth.

"No, you didn't. And you only apologised after you realised it was me." Blair's mouth fell into its natural pout and she put a hand on her hip, narrowing her eyes at the younger, albeit slightly taller girl.

"Blair, I really am sorry," Jenny gushed, desperate to get back on her good side. "If I'd of known that it was you-" the blonde stopped short, realising her mistake. Mistake number one.

Blair stepped towards Jenny, so their faces were only a couple of inches apart. She was a little shorter than the sophomore, even in her heels, but she thrust her chin upwards and stared directly into her eyes.

"Exactly. 'If you'd of known that it was me'. I don't like social climbers who use the people at the top to get what they want. I've seen a dozen of you, Little Jenny Humphrey; girls from the wrong side of the bridge, desperate for a one way ticket to the money, the guys and the parties," Jenny went to interrupt Blair, but she raised her eyebrows, and Jenny was immediately silenced, "No, don't you dare interrupt me; you know that I'm right. I don't trust girls like you; you're fake, you dig for gossip and bring nothing but drama. Well, be warned right now, if, down the line, I find out that you've even slightly marred the reputation of my best friend, you'll hear from me. As for right now, I suggest you stay out of my way. Am I clear?"

Jenny lowered her eyes from the older girl's, and it was obvious that Blair was deadly serious. "Crystal," she squeaked in response.

Blair gestured towards the school with a tilt of her head. "Run along," she instructed coolly, following the blonde's retreat with narrowed eyes. Jenny turned to look back once, and Blair simply stared at her in response. A flushed Jenny let out another squeak and carried on into the main building.

Spotted: Jenny Humphrey looking red faced and humiliated after experiencing a thorough dressing down from our potential new Queen. Better watch out, Little J; something tells me this isn't over, and it's never a smart idea to make an enemy out of someone on the rise. You know you love me,

XOXO

Gossip Girl.

Chuck smirked as he looked at the blast. Good. He'd never liked the catty sophomore, especially since she'd turned him down at the Kiss on the Lips party last year. He had always said that the blonde was as fake as her hair colour, and apparently a certain Blair Waldorf had picked up on the same vibe. Interesting.

God, he'd missed her.

"Blair?"

The brunette frowned as she turned to face her best friend. "S?"

"Was it really necessary to do that to Jenny? On your first day back here? She's practically inconsolable right now. She's under the impression that you hate her."

Though she longed to say 'Good, I do,' Blair simply raised her eyebrows but smiled nonetheless, leaning forward to pat Serena's arm condescendingly. "Serena, she's trouble. You'll see."

"Blair-"

"No, S; every single word I said to her is true. And she broke my lighter."

"Blair, do you even smoke?"

"I really do not see what that has to do with anything."

Blair smiled serenely as the taller blonde mulled over her words. "Whatever, B. She was really upset when she came to me." Ah. Mistake number two, Little J. "Just give her a chance."

Rolling her eyes, Blair groaned in agreement. "Fine. One chance," She held up a pointer finger to drive the point home."One." Not that Blair planned on letting her make more than three mistakes without punishment, anyway, but this killed two birds with one stone.

"So."

"So?"

"I saw the blast."

Blair's brown eyes swivelled to the eyes of the boy sitting beside her. "Would you like a 'well done'? Or is my wonderful sarcasm gift enough?"

"Blair, I'm serious. Jenny's okay. Get to know her."

"Nate, no; I don't trust her."

"You don't trust her because you can't control her."

Blair raised an eyebrow. "Don't underestimate me, Nate. Besides, I haven't even tried to control her. Why bother when Serena has Constance covered? As much as I love being the one at the top, she's my best friend, and unlike her, I don't take things from my friends." She looked pointedly at Nate, keeping her face serious for a moment, before they both laughed a little.

"Blair, I'm serious. I think you should apologise to her."

She blinked innocently back at him. "To Serena? Whatever for?"

He pushed her arm playfully and smiled at her. "To Jenny. It was pretty harsh of you to do that to her this afternoon. You're frightening at your best, Blair; was it really fair of you to 'release your wrath' on her without even attempting to get to know her?"

Blair stared at him. "God, Archibald, I don't think I've heard you say so much all at once. Ever."

"Blair!"

She narrowed her eyes, but sighed in resignation. "Must you always play my conscience?"

Nate laughed. "Someone has to. If you and Chuck were left to your own devices you'd probably destroy everybody but yourselves."

Unable to argue with him, Blair relented. "I'll make you a deal. I won't apologise. But, I will make an attempt to be civil towards her."

"Deal."

Staring at eachother sombrely for a moment, the two shook hands, before grinning at eachother.

"So."

"So?"

"What's the deal with you and Chuck?"

Blair feigned interest in her shoes. Not that they weren't perfectly interesting in their own right, (they were this season's Dolce-must-haves, hand-made, over $600...), but she wanted to avoid this conversation as much as possible. "Deal? There's no deal."

"Come on, Blair. What happened?"

Blair looked at him for a moment, before grimacing and shaking her head. "I can't talk about this with you. It's weird," Blair checked the time on her Ssidekick and groaned. "Look, I gotta go."

Nate leaned over, and, seeing the time, stood up, pulling Blair with him. "Me too. I'm meeting Serena for-" He trailed off when he saw the beaming smile on Blair's face. "What?"

"Awww, Nate! You get such a cute look on your face when you talk about her."

Nate blushed. "I do not. Shut up!" He stuck out his tongue towards her, and they both laughed. "Are you going to Butter tonight?"

Blair rolled her eyes. "I suppose so. That is so not my scene. Did you know Penelope has the biggest crush on Chuck? Ugh. Whatever."

Nate laughed again and reached out to ruffle her hair. "You know, you're more Valley Girl than you let on. You don't fool me, B."

Blair slapped his hand away. "Never the hair, Nate. Never, ever the hair."

"Right. 'Only your boyfriend gets to touch your hair.' I remember."

"Something like that. I'll see you later." And with that, Blair stood up from the steps and walked out of school, climbing into the limo that had conveniently pulled up directly outside the entrance just seconds after she'd stood up. Nate watched her go, wondering where the hell this alien version Blair Waldorf had come from.

That night at Butter, Blair, Serena, Kaati, Is, Hazel and Penelope sat around one of the larger tables. Whilst Serena, Kaati, Is and Hazel were already quite inebriated, Blair and Penelope sat at opposite ends of the table, staring eachother down. It was a power struggle between an obvious winner and an obvious looser, and Penelope had never been one to accept defeat gracefully.

Penelope sipped a martini. Blair's glass of what had been scotch was empty. Penelope 0 - Blair 1

Penelope's dress was lemon coloured, tight, low cut and ridiculously short. Blair's was black, green and blue, and looked mariginally more expensive. Penelope 0 - Blair 2

Penelope's hair was ironed straight, her bangs emphasizing her large nose. Blair's hair was teased into perfection and hung loosely around her shoulders, the tips of her hair just catching underneath her breasts. Penelope 0 - Blair 3

The only field that Penelope had excelled in was the breast area, and Blair knew that at heart, Chuck was an ass guy.

Blair had her back to the entrance, but it was still obvious when Chuck walked in with his friends. Penelope fluffed her hair, pouted her lips and yanked her dress down a further inch, almost revealing her nipples. Blair scoffed and rolled her eyes at the amateur effort the other brunette was giving, and looked around for a waitress to bring her something a little stronger. Catching the attention of one, she mouthed, "Scotch, on the rocks," and sat back in her seat.

"Giving up so soon, B?" Penelope smarmed.

One day, Penelope would learn. Inwardly, Blair seethed. Outwardly, she was the ice queen. "No, P, because you know as well as I do that there is no competition."

Before she could reply, another voice spoke up. "I feel inclined to agree with you, Waldorf."

Blair answered this with a smirk that matched his own. "Nice of you to show up, Bass."

"Always a pleasure." He brushed Blair's hair from the nape of her neck and ran his fingers into her hair. To anybody watching, he just looked as if he was standing very closely behind her. Blair held back a purr at his ministrations.

Penelope caught Chuck's attention, and he nodded at her with his own smirk on his face, tipping his drink towards her in a mock-toast. The waitress placed Blair's own drink down onto the table, but Blair immediately plucked it from the napkin and stood up, clearing her throat as she did so to gain the attention of her friends sitting around the table, not failing to notice how closely Chuck was now pressed up against her back.

"I propose a toast. To old friends, new beginnings, and senior year!" She offered calmly, never once loosing face as Penelope glared up at her.

"Old friends, new beginnings, and senior year," echoed her friends, each smiling at her sentiment. Blair raised her glass to her lips , her beautiful smile dancing on her face. She turned back towards Chuck who smiled at her. She tugged on his hand, gesturing for him to follow her, and he nodded.

It wasn't particularly cold outside, but Blair's skin goosepimpled all the same. "I guess I've not adjusted to the temperature yet."

Chuck chuckled his deep, throaty laugh, then sighed. "Blair?"

"Chuck?"

A moment between them passed; just Blair and Chuck; just Chuck and Blair, like they used to be, before the sex, the drugs, the gossip; when they were just two vulnerable fourteen year olds who loved eachother. Blair threw herself across the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers fisting in his thick hair. He didn't hesitate for a moment, and responded by wrapping his own arms around her waist, one creeping up her back to cup the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her hair. Because only Chuck gets to touch her hair.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, hidden down an alley way at the side of a busy restaurant, where the world did not exist, away from Gossip Girl and all her teenage spies, and they could be whoever they wanted to be, and right now, they were Chuck and Blair.

Blair pulled back her head from the crook of his neck, and looked deeply into his smouldering hazel eyes, stroking the left side of his face with her right hand. "Hi," she whispered softly.

"Hi," he replied, just as softly. Around everybody else, and admittedly around him 90% of the time, Blair was strong and independent. So was he. But in these few quiet moments when they both allowed those tough inner walls to come crumbling down were the tiny moments when they could think that they could actually stand a chance together.

"Let me take you out," he whispered huskily.

Blair raised an eyebrow, but a small smile crept it's way onto her face. "What?"

"Let me take you out."

"I heard what you said, I just didn't believe it. The great womanizing Chuck Bass wants to take me out. And to think this is only my second official day in New York. Won't that damage your image?" She teased, poking him lightly in the chest.

He grabbed her hand and made her look into his eyes. "Blair, please. Let me take you out," he insisted.

Blair seemed to mull this over for a moment, biting her lip as if she was in deep thought, then, "Where?"

"It's a surprise."

"Done."

Chuck grinned at her, and had to hold himself back from pressing a kiss to the top of her forehead, a kiss to the tip of her adorable little nose, a kiss to her slender nuckles, a kiss to her full, ruby lips... Looking away, he took a deep breath to steel himself, before smirking again. "We should go back inside." She nodded in response and, placing his hand onto the small of her back, led her back into the building. The second they were within sight of anybody, Chuck regretfully withdrew his hand. It was Gossip Girl country, after all.

They shared a a wistful smile, their eyes smouldering into the other's, before disappearing into opposite corners of the restaurant.

They could only ever be vulnerable with eachother, and that made them value the company of the other that little bit more. Chuck Bass would always be Chuck Bass. Blair Waldorf would always be Blair Waldorf. But when they were together, they built up a little fortress around themselves and their emotions, one which only they could build, one which only they could destroy. Half the fun for Chuck was getting to seige Blair's inner castle walls over and over again, and Blair would never admit that she let him tear down each and every one of those walls until they were brick dust.

For the rest of the world, these walls were, and always would be, impenetrable.