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 3 - Clarity
It was Wednesday lunch time and Blair sat surrounded by Serena's "minions", and since Nate had soccer practice, Serena had also decided to grace the girls with her presence.
"So, B; where did you and Chuck get the other night? At Butter?" Serena questioned innocently as she pretended to inspect her manicured fingernails. Blair did not fail to notice how the ears of the girls around her pricked up at the mention of gossip, and she held back a smirk as Penelope noticeably gritted her teeth.
Blair laughed. "S, you're about as subtle as a sledgehammer."
Serena shoved Blair slightly, then laughed herself. "Whatever! Where did you go?"
Blair smiled sweetly at the girls. "Could you give us some privacy please?" Instead of looking to Serena for confirmation like they should have done, the girls hesitated for a moment, then stood and walked into school. "Thank god. I'm almost positive that Penelope's sole interest in life is to irritate me to death. And I'm surprised you even noticed Chuck and I leave. It was after your third shot."
"Fourth, actually, but that's beside the point."
Blair rolled her eyes, but turned to face her best friend. "We just... talked. It feels like it should be complicated, but it's not. I don't know, S," Blair sighed heavily. "But it's Chuck, you know? Just because I was in LA for two years does not mean that I didn't keep up-to-date with Gossip Girl. He sure as hell didn't waste any time," She said bitterly, pinching the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb for a moment. She stirred her apricot yoghurt a final time before wrinkling her nose and placing it down beside her.
"I wish I could tell you that he's a good guy but, well, it's Chuck, B. Being a 'bad guy' is his thing."
"I know, S, I know."
"What if he hurts you?"
Blair scoffed and smirked. "Please. I'm Blair Waldorf."
"And he's Chuck Bass." Serena seemed to think about what she'd just said. "Dear lord, save us!" she cried.
"Come on, S. Let's ditch the rest of the day and go shopping."
Serena snorted looked at her like she was crazy. "Oh yeah, that'll go down well. Your second day at Constance and you're already skipping class."
"So? You're Serena Van der Woodsen! I'm appealing to your inner party girl!"
"I'm afraid she's not available," Serena fired back at her, grinning widely.
"Come on! Let's go before anybody sees us!" Blair tugged on Serena's hand, hauling them both to their feet. "I need to find a dress for Friday."
Serena looked at Blair, interested in spite of herself. "Friday?"
Blair smirked at her. She knew she had her. "I'll tell you on the way."
Chuck watched the exchange between Blair and Serena from one of the upper library windows. Studying their faces closely, he saw his name mentioned several times by Serena, before Blair dragged her to her feet. The word "ditching" was clearly mentioned, and despite Serena's initial protests, Blair got what she wanted. Like she always did. He smiled as they got into a cab. It was almost frightening how much he and Blair had in common.
Settled safely (or not so safely, in Blair's opinion) in the back of a cab, Serena turned to Blair expectantly. "Friday?"
Blair smirked. "Eventuellement mon cher."
Serena looked warily back at her. "Um..."
Blair rolled her eyes in response, but smiled. "I'll tell you later."
"You speak French now?"
"But of course. I spent most of freshman year in France."
"What?"
Blair's smile fell from her face, and she seemed to freeze up. "After my mom, uh, you know." Blair's voice trailed off and her eyes grew heavy.
Serena looked mortified and gazed haphazardly at her best friend; she saw the sudden wetness of her eyes, the steeliness of Blair's jaw as she gritted her teeth, half expecting the iron walls to crumble and Blair to fall to pieces, but it never came.
"Oh. B..." Serena began guiltily, placing her hand over Blair's. Out of all of her friends, only Nate, Serena and Chuck knew what had really happened to Eleanor. The public story wasn't true; it hadn't been a car accident, it'd been a desperate woman in her early forties who was so trapped that she'd ended her life. Blair had never let on how much it'd scarred her.
"I'm fine," Blair removed her hand from underneath Serena's. "Could we please change the subject?"
"Blair..."
"I said I'm fine," she bit out, for herself more than Serena.
"No, B, we're here."
Blair's eyes flickered to the window, and she sighed. "Cab's on me. It was my idea, after all." She pulled a hundred dollar bill from her purse, thrust it into the hand of the cab driver and climbed out of the cab, slamming the door behind her. Serena smiled at the cabbie apologetically, who shrugged in return, then jumped out of the cab and chased Blair into the store.
In an effort to change the subject, Serena picked up a dress that was exactly the same as the one Penelope had been wearing at Butter the previous night, only it was blue. "Look, B. Who am I?"
In spite of herself and her bad mood, Blair laughed heartily. "Oh, Penelope, I can't quite see what you had for breakfast. Perhaps you should roll the skirt up a little more, oui?" Then, "Oh, non! The front is much too high. Your nipples are not showing!" Serena laughed loudly as Blair continued to berate the dress. "Blue, P, really? Non; that is not trashy enough; you must wear sunshine yellow!"
Blair's phone chirped and she ignored it, choosing instead to inspect the blue dress that she'd previously been verbally destroying. "You know, it's a shame that Penelope had to ruin this dress. It's actually 'Alice and Olivia', and it's not that bad. Poor dress for having to be a part of P's fashion distaster."
Her phone chirped insistently again, and Serena groaned. "Blair, please look at the text. I cannot deal with that noise for the rest of the afternoon."
Sighing in resignation, Blair looked at her phone.
B -
Better bring your sea legs on Friday ;)
- C
"Blair?" Serena questioned.
"S?"
"Will you please enlighten me on your plans for Friday?"
"Oh! Chuck's 'taking me out'," said Blair breezily, picking up items, frowning and putting them back down again. "And I've just been instructed to 'bring my sea legs', whatever that means. I'm thinking red and white..."
Blair carried on with her browsing, humming lightly under her breath. Noticing Serena was not by her side, she looked back to where she'd last seen her. Sure enough, Serena was frozen on the spot, open mouthed. "Earth to Serena?"
"Chuck's taking you out? Like on a real date?"
Blair shrugged. "Sure, I guess so. I'm not expecting much; maybe dinner in his hotel room."
"B!" The blonde squealed, "Do you have any idea what his means? Chuck does not date. He hooks up with random girls and then kicks them out of his hotel room. He does not make plans for a date, and- Wait!" She held up her hands, her palms facing Blair. "When did he ask you to go out?"
"Monday."
"And you waited until Wednesday to share?"
Blair gave her a pointed look. "Just because I don't mind certain aspects of my life being splashed onto page six and onto pathetic blogging websites, doesn't mean that there aren't things that I would like to keep private. I can see it now; 'Bad-boy bachelor beds bitchy B'."
Serena's eyebrows rose but she kept her opinion quiet. "Ah."
"Yes."
Serena was silent for a moment, mulling over this new information. She shrugged and smiled. "So, sea legs, huh?"
"Apparently, yeah," Blair laughed and linked her arm through Serena's. "Come on. I have an idea. Let's go."
It was last period on Friday afternoon, and Blair groaned for the third time as her calculus professor once again explained the relevance of the vector of a line to trigonometry. God, were these people amateurs? It seemed that the kids who weren't as bright, namely Penelope and Hazel, were deliberately trying to piss her off. Stifling a yawn, Blair heard a laugh, his laugh. She looked to her left and found Chuck smirking back at her. She rolled her eyes and mimed slitting her wrists, and Chuck grinned. She looked at the clock; only five more minutes of tedium left before it would be time for her to go home and get ready for her 'date', if you could call it that.
The bell signalling the end of the day rang, and Blair frowned as Penelope waited by the door, her eyes planted firmly on Chuck. Blair stepped past her, smiling her coy little society smile, but waited on the other side of the door. She would be able to hear every word.
"Chuck?" Penelope's eagerness was almost sickening.
Chuck gave a tired sigh. "Yes?"
"What're you doing tonight? I've reserved a table at Socialista, if you're-"
"On the contrary, I have plans."
Blair could almost hear Penelope's face fall. "But, surely they could be-"
"No. They're important. Excuse me."
Blair looked around for something to hide behind, but, seeing nothing, stood as nonchalantly as she possibly could against the lockers at the side of the door. Inspecting her nails, Blair felt her face twist into a look of boredom.
Chuck exited the room, and bumped straight into her, knocking her books onto the floor. As they bent down to pick them up together, they each smiled a chagrined smile. Well, if this isn't a cliché, I don't know what is, thought Blair, holding back a gasp as their hands brushed against the other's and electricity sparked, as it always did.
"Blair?" Chuck's tone was sombre; concerning.
"Chuck?" she replied carefully.
"I'll pick you up at 7:30." All heaviness was lost from Chuck's voice and he smirked at her, handing her the rest of her books. They stood up together, and Chuck leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "Don't be late. It's important."
Blair murmured a quiet "Sure," and smiled at him, and, collecting her Prada from her locker, made her way out of the school building. The night would be nothing if not eventful.
"Chuck, are you seriously going to do this?"
He glared at Serena in the mirror, then turned to face his stepsister with an incredulous look on his face. "Of course I am."
"Blair's been through a lot. She needs structure and someone who'll be there for her, not a playboy. Don't do this unless you're serious about her. She deserves someone who can-"
"Serena, as much as I admire you trying to look out for her, have you forgotten that I was the first one she called after 'the incident'?"
"No, but-"
"And have you forgotten who's shoulder Blair cried on throughout the funeral?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Serena, who did Blair loose her virginity too?"
"You, but-"
"Who did I loose my virginity too?"
"Blair, but-"
"And who has been the only person to stand by her through everything? The wild partying, the drugs, the general craziness that followed her mom's death? Who was it who defended her time and time again? Who was it who searched Manhattan almost every night, looking for her?"
Serena sighed in defeat. "You."
"Thank you. When it comes to Blair, S, I am nothing but serious."
"If I find out you've hurt her, I'll be coming for you."
Chuck scoffed. "Please. Your 'punishments' have never and will never work."
Serena's cheeks reddened. "Whatever. Just be careful."
"Oh, I always am. Safe sex and all that," He smirked, and Serena slapped his arm.
"Gross."
"Enjoy your evening, sis," Chuck nodded at her as he stepped past her and out of his bedroom.
"I'm not your F-ing sister," she called after him, a smile on her face.
Chuck walked out of the family apartment and into the elevator. He rubbed at his chin in thought; he should've shaved. Dammit, he should've shaved. He wanted to look his best for Blair. Dressed in a faintly pinstriped navy suit, a crisp white shirt with silk threading, a red bowtie and a red 'kercheif, he looked the business. He sat in his limo, absentmindely staring out of the window as he contemplated the night ahead.
Chuck stepped into the Waldorf apartment with a grimace. It hadn't changed much in the three years that Blair had been away. Stacks of folded fabric stood under two of the small tables in the entrance area, and some sheets still covered items of furniture in the living room. Only the piano and the white couch was uncovered.
"Mister Chuck?" Darota approached him from behind; she'd been in her room at the other end of the apartment. She smiled hesitantly and gestured to the white couch, which he sat down upon. "Miss Blair say she will be down in a minute."
Chuck stood and made his way to the stairs, and Darota hastily dashed in front of him. "She also say that Mister Chuck must wait downstairs."
He opened his mouth to reply, but was silenced by the sight of the dark haired beauty descending the stairs before him.
"Close your mouth, Bass."
Chuck looked her up and down and smirked again. "You look..." He stared at her exposed tanned legs for a moment. "There are no words."
"Thank you," Blair graced him with a smile and tweaked his bowtie.
"Shall we?" Chuck offered his arm and Blair tucked hers through it. She smiled at Darota as Chuck pulled her towards the elevator. "Don't wait up, Darota."
Blair scoffed at him. "Excuse me?"
He smiled at her. "Trust me."
She bit her lip, as if considering it, then, "Fine. As long you promise that I will return with my Chanel, my shoes and with my clothes intact."
"Define 'intact'?" Chuck smirked at her. Blair blushed a little but raised her eyebrows insistently until Chuck held a hand up in defeat. "Okay. I promise."
"Good. Where are we even going?"
The elevator arrived at Blair's floor and they stepped inside. "You'll see."
"Am I dressed appropriately?" She did a little twirl as Chuck looked down onto her outfit.
"Appropriately is an understatement," he bit out, admiring the sight of her ass in her shorts and the length of her exposed neck.
The trip to the harbour was quiet and uneventful, the two teenagers making harmless banter between them, each avoiding the giant purple elephant in the room. "Where are we going?" Blair asked for the millionth time. The limo pulled to a stop, and Chuck fastened a silk piece of fabric around her eyes.
"You'll see."
He guided her out of the limo and along the docks until they reached where they were going. He untied the blindfold and she cautiously opened her eyes.
"Chuck, you didn't!" She took in the sight before her, then turned and gazed at Chuck in wonderment.
"I did," he admitted sheepishly, "It was what you wanted for your fifteenth birthday party, and I hate to think that you missed out on the experience."
Blair's eyes flickered back to the large yacht before them. It was dusk; the sky was a beautiful orange, and across the water, the lights of New York were beginning to come alive. "This is amazing, Chuck. How did you do this?" She didn't wait for an answer, instead grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the 'Calypso'. "I can't believe this."
Once on the yacht, Chuck nodded to the captain who smiled at him, and they sailed out onto the Hudson river. "We're having dinner on the outside deck upstairs. It's a little cold, but you'll love the view," He assured her, and she nodded, still too distracted by their surroundings to take it in properly.
"Why did you do this for me, Chuck?"
"You know why, Blair."
Her big brown eyes searched to find his; they shined with all of the tears that she hadn't let herself cry, her mind clouding over she thought of the last time they were properly alone. It had been that night. That night. So many good things and so many bad things had happened all at once. Perhaps now, almost three years to the day, they could finally fix things between them.
Maybe tonight was the night to mend their broken hearts.