Chapter 50

Chapter 50

“Miss Blair, someone is here to see you!” the maid called from downstairs.
“Who is it?” Blair called back, fluffing up her hair in front of her vanity mirror.
“Miss Becky Summers, she says.”
“Okay, send her up.” Blair sighed and she gazed at her reflection.
A few moments later, Blair’s bedroom door swung open and Becky walked in.
“You really have no life,” she said, laughing. “You spend all your time in this stuffy little room.” She gazed around Blair’s bedroom, which was anything but stuffy or little.
Blair narrowed her eyes and gave her a curt smile. “You’re so kind, Becky darling.”
Becky grinned and flopped down on the bed. “I know. I’m fabulous.”
“What are you doing here?” Blair asked cheerfully, putting in an earring.
“Oh, I just wanted to see how you were. After not showing up for school yesterday, after all.” Becky raised her eyebrows and caught Blair’s eye through the mirror.
Blair turned around to face her. “I’m fine,” she answered simply. Becky smirked.
“And how’s Chuck?”
Blair opened her mouth and paused. She gave Becky a brief smile, and said, “He’s fine.”
Becky looked away from her quickly. “That’s good.”
There was a silent moment, as both girls tried to read each other’s expressions. Finally, Becky said, “So, it’s Friday, and, you know, I was just wondering…”
Blair sighed. “Yes, Becky. Drinks at 8.”
Becky grinned. “Good. You guys are way too sober.”
“I know,” Blair said, looking at her almost sympathetically. “We’re pathetic.”
“Unfortunately.” Becky laughed and threw a pillow at Blair.
“Hey, um, can I ask you about Chuck?”
Blair frowned slightly. “What about?” she asked slowly.
Becky’s lips pouted, and she stopped smiling. “Well, I just wanted to know about your relationship.”
Blair shrugged, and turned around to put in the other earring. “What’s there to know?”
Becky shook her head. “Nothing… I guess. But, can you tell me about how he was, before you guys got together?”
Blair paused again. She avoided Becky’s eye in the mirror. “We don’t really… talk about it,” she said uncertainly. “He… I don’t know, it’s hard to put into words. But I think ‘womanizer’ pretty much sums it up.”
Becky thought for a moment. “What was so different about you, then?”
Blair gave a little shrug. She didn’t actually know herself. “Um, I guess…” she trailed off, racking her brain for something to say. She sighed. “I seriously don’t know. He just, after we hooked up, he changed. It was like, the start of a whole new person.”
Becky took a deep breath and processed this information. She licked her lips, nervous. “When… when did Chuck start his whole womanizer phase?” she asked slowly.
“Uh, I don’t know.” Blair laughed. “It was just like that’s how he’d always been. We all forgot what he was like without his perverted ways.”
“So you don’t know what changed him?”
“Don’t know, or don’t remember. It was a real gradual change, I think. We just kind of never noticed, until one day, he was full-on, date-rapist Chuck Bass.” Blair’s thoughts became cloudy when she tried to recall the answers to Becky’s questions. “But what does it matter? He’s different now.”
“Yeah,” Becky said quietly. “Hey, I uh, I gotta go. Homework and stuff, you know.”
Blair raised her eyebrows sceptically. “Since when do you do homework?”
Becky laughed. “Since Constance started kicking out the people who don’t.”
Blair smiled a little. “Alright, see you later,” she said, waving, as Becky got up to leave.
“Bye, Blair.” She blew her friend a kiss, and left the room.

As Becky turned the corner on her way to Sak’s, she ran into Nate. He was leaning against a brick wall, smoking a joint.
“Hey, Becks,” he said when he saw her. Becky smiled and walked over.
“Can I have some of that?” Nate handed her the joint, and she took a long drag on it, closing her eyes. Tilting her head back, she blew out the smoke.
Nate laughed. “I thought you went to rehab.” Becky shot him a doubtful look.
“Yes, three years ago.” Nate laughed again, and took back his joint.
“Hey, do you miss Blair?” Becky asked, looking up at him.
Nate shrugged. “Not really. We broke up, I’m over it.”
“Right,” Becky said sarcastically, leaning up against the wall beside him, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets.
“I’m serious,” Nate insisted. “We just, didn’t work out. Plus, there’s someone… else.”
Becky raised her eyebrows at him suggestively, flipping her hair back and batting her eyelashes. Nate laughed. Becky leaned in close, breathing in the marijuana fumes radiating off of him.
“I know you want me, Nate Archibald,” she said seductively, her voice dropped to a whisper. “You don’t have to deny it any longer.” She grabbed his collar, and pulled him into her so their faces were only inches apart. Becky’s breath was hot against Nate’s lips.
Quickly, Becky jerked to the side, and kissed Nate’s cheek. She laughed, and looked down at the sidewalk, before returning her gaze to Nate.
“But I owe it to Blair not to get involved with you, Nathaniel. And you must resist the lust you hold for me. Because I’m not that type of girl, Nate.” She searched his eyes, and then slapped the side of his face where she had kissed him. “So get your mind out of the gutter, Nathaniel! You will never be with me!” Becky huffed, and stormed off down the street. Nate watched her for a moment, and then realized that other people on the sidewalk were staring.
“What the hell, Becky?” he called after her, laughing. She just turned around briefly, winked, and kept on strutting away from him. All Nate could do was stand there, with by passers still watching him, and wonder if Becky Summers was slightly insane.