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"Didn't think I'd see you here today, man." Nate calls out with a grin from across the courtyard, slapping his clueless friend on the shoulder when he joined him at the picnic table that was their unofficial spot. Chuck Bass didn't have a hair out of place or a single wrinkle on his shirt but his eyes were still full of sleep and whatever had caused him to pass out the night before in the first place.
"And why's that?" He asks offhandedly while suppressing a yawn, his back leaned against the cold concrete table.
"It's Monday dude." Nate was still laughing, obviously enjoying this.
".. Monday?. Shit." Chuck rubbed a hand over his face frowning. Who came to school on Monday man? Just the entire student body, minus Chuck Bass. Monday was recovery day. Some people had to regain their strength after all.
"If Penelope can so can you I guess right?" His friend teased, casting a glance towards the pack of girls you couldn't help but notice. Everyone noticed them, they were like the mean girls but not as funny and more mean. Until Nate was around of course but it was the school's worse kept secret that Penelope was hooking up with Chuck behind the public's eye, despite it being common knowledge it was Nate Archibald her heart lusted for. As it turned out however, Penelope had not even been the entertainment of the night. It was Jenette. Or Jean. Jeanine? Didn't matter. Chuck didn't care to reiterate, he just watched the girls with the same muted interest until another something crossed his eye. The back of a head newly arrived in the courtyard, a glossy, perfectly cut and curled head. Did he know the name of said head? Seeing the perky little ass accompanying the strut a little further south urged him to find out. With an elbow he nudged Nate, eyes never venturing far. "Newbie?"
It took just a second for his friend to figure out just who had caught his attention.
"Must be. I'd remember her." He answered with a light laugh as the girl disappeared through the big doors of Constance Billiard's School for Girls. Fashionably early? The bell hadn't even rang yet.
"Doesn't Hazel run that...what is it? Welcome committee? After her dad got her off for getting caught in the music room doing a little more than-"
"Yeah I think so." Nate quickly cut him off, already leaving Chuck in the dust to wave over the troupe. It was all Penelope could do not to keel over and die. Help out Nate? All he had to do was ask. It was great to watch and within three minutes, yes he counted, Nate was back with the grin of victory.
"Fresh in New York. Her dad is some big shot lawyer and her mom is like an international designer so they moved around some. Came back for these last few years of high school for some stability cause she's been groomed for Yale since day one. Join the club right? Oh yeah, and her name is Blair. Penelope says they're going to try and initiate her if she's cool."
"Are you done?" Chuck asked in mock exaggeration, shaking his head and rising from the table as the bell rang and people started to scatter in directions of all sorts. Girls to one side, dudes to the other. He wasn't in much of a hurry.
"Well you know.. Being new and all, sounds like she could use a helping hand am I right?" Chuck mused thoughtfully, a less thoughtful smirk graced his lips.
"I'm sure the term helping hand means a little something different between me and you, man." Nate retorted shaking his head and huffing a laugh. They disappeared through the regal looking doors. On to the daily grind.
"Fair enough." Chuck shrugged and they parted their separate ways.
After taking a pretty great nap in the back of Algebra he'd completely forgotten the matter. He was more bothered with the fact that there was the remaining pink puckered imprint of a a spiral notebook stuck to his cheek from his nap. Just like his first teacher of the day, they were definitely raising an eyebrow at his presence on a Monday of all days. You could say Chuck was one of those people with the potential to be brilliant, unfortunately he didn't really care what letter grade was slapped on a paper with a red stamp until dear old dad got in one of his lecture moods. Not that he wasn't always in lecture mode, it just depended how much energy Bart Bass felt like wasting on his disappointment of a son.
Suffering through 15 minutes or so of paying attention to a lecture at 9 am just brought back the question of why the hell people got up so early and did this the bulk of the week. Who decided this weekday/weekend bullshit? He wanted to straight up fight them. His only relief came when lunch rolled around. Nate was taking up requests to have a pizza ordered. Chuck was considering cutting the day short. Maybe he'd text Marcia Vega and see if she was free for a visit to the science hall. It was always free around this time of day. Since she'd gotten her braces taken off last month she had become much more interesting after all. He was shocked out of his musings when Nate not so subtly elbowed him to get his attention, nodding towards the new royal prospect, she was standing alone and looking completely unbothered by it. She did look mildly pissed off but maybe she was just always mildly pissed off. Somehow this was intriguing.
"Looks like your girl didn't come through, Bass. She's alone. "
"My girl? You can have her. I have other interests." Chuck retorted, glancing at his watch. Exactly 10 minutes left to make some kinda magic happen. He didn't even look back at Nate after shoving his bag at his friend and taking off in a very guessable direction.
"Make good choices!" He heard yelled at his back and it helped make his smile genuine as he approached her. Nice hair, nice ass, and an even nicer face, he noted. Hand out reached, he gave her an enduring grin.
"Someone like you out here alone? Unbelievable. I'm Chuck Bass."
Insert charming tone, sincere expression, and boom, give her the name. This was going well. Thank god that notebook print had worn off his face.
She looked surprised for half a second before quickly reassessing the situation. Her eyes were big and brown, but sharp at the same time. They scrutinized him for another second before deciding something. She took his hand and gave it a firm shake, the corners of her glossed lips tilted up just slightly.
"Blair Waldorf."
"Charmed." He answered, never skipping a beat before continuing "I hear you're new. Must be tough. I assume you've made acquaintances with Hazel?"
It was amazing how she so subtly soured before reigning herself back in. The corner of those glossed lips twitched ever so slightly. She really did have nice lips.
"I can't say I'm impressed. The lack of management around here is intolerable. The tall girl, whatever her name is, with the daddy issues -"
"Penelope" he added in helpfully.
"Yes,Penelope,she's so -" her voice was almost raising with aggravation before stopping altogether. "Wait isn't this an all girl's school?"
"Barely. We're next door. Feel free to mingle." Chuck shrugged passively, flashing her his 'helpful' smile again. Time to get back to it however. He dropped his eyes to hers, lowering his voice in the way that he knew did things to so many others.
"A pity that the help is so unbearably dreadful. Is that headband a crown? I'm sure new leadership would bring peace to the 'kingdom' good corn crops. That sort of thing." He nodded surely and despite the sarcasm she beamed.
"A displaced queen is still a queen." She agreed, rolling her shoulders into a shrug.
"Heads will roll..." This was going well? How about a subject change in the right direction though.. "How would you like a more noble guide? I live to serve, you know."
At this she was skeptical.
"You know your way around the girls hall?"
"like the back of my hand." He answered, and at the exact moment the bell rang. With lips pursed she agreed finally, and when he put an arm around her waist, shooting a 'yeahhhh boyyyy' look in his friend's direction, she went with it, despite being mildly uncomfortable. He was kinda cute. Kinda helpful. Kinda weird too though. Plus didn't he have his own class to get to? When they enters the hall she ducked from underneath his arm and relinquished that she hadn't even told him what class it was she needed to find yet. The slight had deterred him somehow and the class was right there, so he let her be. The science hall would still be empty tomorrow. She lingered in the doorway of the classroom however, unsure of what to say now. Just say bye?
"Thank you. Chuck? Right?" She said giving him a small smile, still trying to read him.
"Right." He nodded, jamming his hands in his pockets and ignoring that they were blocking the doorway. Blair either seemed to not notice or not care.
"Maybe you can pay me back later. Tonight? The Palace Hotel bar? I'd love to hear more about your plans for world conquest.
The teacher yelled something in the background about stop dallying and Blair answered with a simple "We'll see." Before turning her back to him and disappearing. We'll see right? This was going to be an interesting story for tomorrow.
Since he was already late Chuck figured he may as well call it a day. Besides, he hadn't gotten any pizza. It'd been like a whole four hours since his morning croissant, plus the day chef at The Palace made top notch tomato soup.
As usual Arthur the trusty limo driver was there in five minutes, traffic be dammed. Bless him. He was really feeling that soup.
The other poor suckers got out a few hours later. They were all climbing into town cars and limos while Chuck was climbing out of the shower and into some more comfortable digs. Blair Waldorf would show, he was positive. She'd probably be "fashionably late" to look like it was no big deal. He was so certain that we went downstairs almost 20 minutes later where he expected to sit and sip scotch when he found her looking irritated at the bar with a half empty gin martini. She must have seen him at the same moment because she looked away almost immediately and ate the olive from the glass, lightly tapping her foot before he slid beside her.
"Waited long?"
It was almost hilarious how she acted completely surprised, even jumping just a bit. "Oh!" She fluffed up her hair tittering "I hadn't even noticed what time it was."
He nodded apologetically and in a bold move he put a hand out and patted her on the leg. Right where her little school girl skirt was creeping up a creamy thigh.
"I apologize, regardless."
She smiled back, a small forcefully polite smile and swiveled her seat back and forth. His hand fell flatly away.
"So.." She pursed her lips, eyeing him with newfound apprehension. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"
Chuck leaned an elbow on the bar top casually leaning forward. "Actually, I prefer no talking."
Yeah she looked pretty decided now. A smile flashed across her face and she leaned toward him, her face so close yet so far away. She rose from the chair and inched closer, not caring who saw when she curved her arms around his neck.
He began to say something but she shushed him, only imagining what he was gonna say now. Invite her upstairs? Did he really take her to be that easy?
"No talking. Because I don't talk to pigs." And with that, those hands curved over the back of his neck pulled a tuft of hair and disappeared. A twenty found its way from her purse to the bartender, and with one last "bitch you thought!" smile she left him in the dust rubbing the back of his head.
Damn she was interesting.