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Blair's POV-

I woke up early after having gone to bed last night shortly after Chuck, his father, Senera, Eric, Lily, Baizen, and the wannabe queen Georgina Sparks had left. I had wanted to get as much sleep as I could since I needed to look my best for the photo shoot my mother was holding today. If I didn't look my best then my mother would be unhappy and if she was unhappy then she would make my life unhappy and I already had too much to deal with right now without the added pressure. Besides, Serena would be there along with Georgina, Chuck, and Carter and so I had to be in tip top condition in order to be pushed to the sidelines like I was whenever Serena was around. My mother had always preferred her over me and she did not even have the decency to hide it. i wasn't sure what I would do if she started to prefer Georgina Sparks over me as well.

Since Eleanor had left early, I had to call a car service to pick me and bring me over to the studio. By the time I arrived Serena, Chuck, and the others were already there. My beautiful blond best friend, as always, was already in the spotlight having some pictures taken with Carter. I had to admit they looked good together, it really was a shame she would never hook up with him considering she thought herself to be in love with the Brooklyn outcast. The one good thing I had going for me today was the fact I wouldn't have to play nice with Humphrey. I couldn't stand that boy and the only reason I even tried was for the sake of my best friend; hopefully she would end things with him soon so I wouldn't have to pretend anymore.

"Morning Waldorf." Chuck greeted me with a smirk I wanted to slap off just for the simple fact he was here. "I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up at all. The only reason I even came her today was because you were going to be here as well and unless you wanted to pose with Carter during the couples portion of the shoot, I am your only option."

Making a face full of disgust, I sighed and rolled my eyes. "We are not, nor have we ever been, and we will never be, a couple and therefore we have no reason to pose together during the couples portion. I would rather not spend part of my day having to worry about where you hands may wander off to."

"I never said we have to be a real couple." He replied with that lazy smirk of his. "Do you honestly think all the couples in different magazines and such are really together? It's called pretending Waldorf and should be something you are used to by now considering you pretend to be something you're not on a daily basis. If you are too scared of being able to control yourself in such close proximity to me then that's something I can completely understand. If you are worried that I am going to bite you, you shouldn't be because I usually save that for the bedroom."

"I think I just through up in my mouth a little bit at the mental torture you forced in to my brain." I told him before heading over to where my mother stood waving her arm in order to get my attention. "I'm sorry I am so late mom; I had a rough start and I hope my lateness didn't cause you any problems. I just wanted to look my best in order to ensure your line is as popular as it was last year, not that I had any doubts of course."

My mother made a small noise of pleasure as she looked me up and down. "I suppose it will do. Do try to be on time next time Blair; luckily Serena was here early so we didn't lose too much studio time. Hurry up and go change in to the green dress I left for you out back and for goodness sake Blair, please do hurry; we already have a late start and cannot afford to lose even more time."

With a nod of my head I went out back to change. Sometimes I wondered if anything I did would ever be good enough for my mother. I always tried so hard to make her happy and I always failed. I wasn't blond enough, I was too pale, I needed to lose a few pounds because mom could pinch my skin together tightly in some places. When dad had first left, she claimed it was my faultWhat my mother wanted was Serena to be her daughter instead of me and nothing I did would ever change that.

Once I was finished changing, I headed back out to the main part of studio where everyone was gathered. Chuck spotted me first and it took me a moment to realize why he seemed so different and then I saw he was wearing a suite the exact same color of my dress and he was smirking. Oh that smug bastard! He had waited until I was out of sight before he ensured that we would be paired together in the couples portion of todays shoot. I never should have left him in a room with my mother without my supervision. I should have known he would try to do something like this and it wasn't as if I could anything about it considering my mother was probably the one to pair us up after I left and if I said anything about it she would claim I was trying to ruin the shoot. The only thing I could do now was grin and bear it.

"Oh madam Blair, you look beautiful!" Albert, one of my mothers male assistants, came skipping over in my direction. I actually was rather fond of Albert. He was there for me when my father left and throughout my recovery from bulimia. I am not sure what I would have done without him. "It is lovely to see you as usual. It has been so long I was starting to think maybe you had forgotten all about me, not that I would blame if the young man you are to pose with has been taking up your time. Who is he if you don't mind me asking? Have you finally come to your senses and realized that Nate boy wasn't good enough for you?"

I smiled softly before giving him a quick hug. "I could never forget about you Albert you know that and to answer your question, his name is Chuck Bass and we are not together no matter how persistent he may be. As for Nate, we are taking a break right now to figure things out." He shook his head in understanding. "I think that is probably for the best. You know I like Nate, but you also know I never thought he was the one for you; now this Chuck fellow may be a different story all together. There is this pull between you, I can sense it and it's something seductive and dangerous. It is like the two of you were made for each other and I haven't even spoken with him yet. It is my opinion that the pictures with the two of you in them will be the most captivating of them all and speaking of pictures, I think we are about ready to start and that means I have some more work to do, but I will speak with you afterwards."

TBC...

AN: This chapter is broken in half and the actual photo shoot part is in the next chapter I am still really sick and the trip to Boston drained all of my energy and that is why I broke this in half.

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