AN- Don't all of you just hate exams? They take away all the precious time one can utilize in writing fanfiction. :) Really tough couple of entrance exams and I write this while awaiting results. So blame any mistakes to a very jittery heart.
Oh! And did I mention that I absolutely adore my beta-bsloths? That girl always finds time from her busy schedule to make right all the childish grammatical mistakes I make.
And also from now onwards this story is going to get more and more AU and more and more Emma like. Even though I plan not to simply pick up scenes from the book, there will be now introductions of new characters from the book.
The cosmos are definitely conspiring against her.
Like right now the stupid sun is all set to dazzle her to blindness as it peeks at her from the side windows. Couldn't it simply keep out of her way for a day or two? If it isn't bad enough that her head aches in places she doesn't even know exist; a throbbing pain which just seems to grow with every passing pulse, but to think that she almost missed her English class! Blair never, make that never misses Rick Clampton's class.
She shakes her head in despair, a very bad move though as the contents of last night just gear up to slip all out. She has never been sick before! Yeah, okay so there was that occasional bout of Bulimia, but the common placed deals of head colds and throat aches and allergies! Never.
But of course it takes NYU and its miserable little germs to get her feeling like a walking disaster…
And then there was Serena!
Her yet again estranged friend had decided to use her 'best friend' cue card last night, an unexpected call which had easily run into a tell all tale of the disaster in making that was Serena and Carter. The night had grown longer as Serena kept trying to decide and Blair kept trying to keep up.
And then in her hurry to get to class this morning she had bumped into Vanessa Abrams. She is officially putting this down as her worst day at NYU.
It finally takes a Cliff Richard smile from a certain professor to make her head stop spinning and her heart soaring.
Two steps above her Dan Humphrey watches the exchange between the model-turned-professor and Blair with a mixture of amusement and worry and even though the chances of the balance being tipped slightly more towards amusement are exceptionally high, he nevertheless has a slight crease between his forehead.
He knows what it is to crush on a teacher, okay so he knows what it is to more than just crush on a teacher and in spite of the hype associated with it, it may not have been the smartest move he has made.
And he knows now that it definitely isn't the smartest move Blair is making. For one, the guy looks like he spent considerable amount of time getting his eyebrows shaped just right and secondly, fraternizing with the faculty was hardly going to help Blair up her popularity charts. This wasn't high school after all!
He laughs aloud as she sits up a little straighter and flips her hair to one side. Oh God! The poor girl had it bad.
"Waldorf!" he has by now mastered the art of sliding in front of her to catch her attention.
"Patch? It's you." She looks at him with disdain, "again." But there is something more off putting about her. Her eyes are puffy with lack of sleep and her nose and cheeks have a pinkish, flushed tinge to them making her look nothing more than fifteen. The girl almost looks adorable. Ummm, scratch that, she just looks ill.
"Are you sick?" he isn't sure if her health is also a part of mission 'Save the Queen. Save the University,' but considering she looks almost as old as Jenny did until recently he can't help the protective urges from kicking.
"Of you? Of NYU? Yes."
He ignores her quip and is about to press more only to realize that she has dodged past him and is well on her way out.
"Working our way down the social ladder, are we?" He calls after her and that like he knew it would, catches her attention. She stops in her tracks and turns around slowly, taking a good look in both directions to check if someone is listening. In two quick steps she is standing nose to nose with him and Dan has to keep himself from sniffing in the sudden cherry filled air.
"What are you talking about?" she hisses.
"Nate Archibald, Chuck Bass and now…" he quirks up an eyebrow, "and now Richard Clampton?"
"Wh…How?..." She looks livid and scary and yet he can swear that he has never had this much fun around Blair Waldorf before.
He simply shrugs at her, "it's really simple you know. I know a few students from your other classes and of what I hear you have hardly attended a class all week and yet", he pauses dramatically before continuing lazily, "I see you in English every day."
Blair blinks at him just once and he has to give it to her for keeping an impassive expression, "Your point being?"
And in what is the first ever Dan Humphrey smirk, he tells her, "My point, Blair, is that I know that you don't even know anyone else's name in this class so unless it's your love for the English language my guess is that if you're not here for the teacher," he grins down at her before continuing with an absolute look of horror on his face, "then you're here for me."
Blair's expression is a mix between a disbelieving gasp and an annoyed frown. She hovers over a clever line to retort before simply turning around and leaving. Dan Humphrey trying to act cute is the creepiest thing she has ever come across.
He is now standing outside her door and she is just about to issue a restraining order when he thrusts a coffee cup in her hand.
She looks down at the styrofoam cup in her hand and then looks up at him; he in turn just shrugs again, "It's the best coffee on campus."
Blair has never had coffee in a styrofoam cup before, to come to think of it she isn't much of a coffee drinker either but something about the hopeful, apologetic way Dan is looking at her makes her take a quick sip. The caffeine automatically helps to sooth the ache in her head.
However, when he simply just stands there and refuses to budge from her doorway she starts to tap her foot impatiently. Isn't he done for the day with his good will crap?
"I have something else for you," he finally lets on, taking out a stack of brochures from that horrible clay colored bag he always carries. There are notices for auditions for a 'Taming of the Shrew' adaptation.
"You want me to audition for a play?" she asks incredulously and he reminds her that they did manage a pretty cool act with 'The Age of Innocence', so why not?
And really, why not?
"Besides," he continues, "you would totally suit the part." He ignores her eye roll at the predictable insult, "plus it would be a great way to make some actual friends." He finishes quietly.
This is it. She has had it with Dan Humphrey and his Brooklyn bound concern. So she did take his help to adjust to a college party but how dare he suggest that she does not have friends? The coffee in her hand is about to land on his face when he rambles on, "This isn't Constance Blair and I guess you may miss the hoard of ladies in waiting you are so used to …I just think it's time you actually made an effort to …"
He is stopped short by an ear piercing screech from his right, "OMG! Blair is that you….Oh God! I can't believe it. Blair Waldorf at NYU. At the school I go to. How cool is that?"
Blair throws a pointed glare in Dan's direction before turning around to greet the strawberry blonde girl. This is the first time someone recognizes her at this place and she plans to make full use of it.
AN- So? What do you guys think? Review?