Chapter 56

Chapter 56

“Alright, bye, Jenny.” Oliver kissed Jenny on the lips, and when he walked away, her friends began squealing.
“Oooh Jenny! He so loves you!” Isabel cooed.
“He so does. Did you see that? Adorable!” Kati added.
“Oh, come on, guys,” Jenny said, blushing. But deep inside, she was ecstatic. Not just because Oliver was now her official boyfriend, but because now she had her very own man for Is and Kati, infinite bachelorettes, to admire and envy.
Serena smiled. “Good for you, J,” she said happily. “But I have to go. I’ll talk to you guys later.” The girls waved as Serena walked away, leaving them to chat about Jenny’s new beau.
Suddenly, as Serena turned the corner out onto the street, Dan popped out in front of her.
“Dan!” she said excitedly, hugging him. She kissed him quickly, then pulled away. “I haven’t talked to you in forever.”
“Yes, well, you’ve been incredibly busy with that Becky girl.” Dan looked slightly disappointed. Serena frowned, and hugged him again.
“Awe, don’t be sad. You don’t have to worry about her being a bad influence on me anymore. I’m just waiting for the right moment to shun her from my life.”
Dan looked at her, puzzled. “Explain, please?” he asked.
“It’s… complicated. A Blair thing. I don’t even know.” Serena shrugged.
“Oh. Well, don’t hate me for it, but I’m glad. Something about her just didn’t seem right.”
“Apparently,” Serena muttered under her breath, thinking of the note from Blair stashed safely in her bag.
“But anyway, where is Blair?” Dan glanced around at the emptying campus. “I haven’t seen her all day.”
“I don’t know, but hopefully I’ll find out soon.” Dan gave her another quizzical look. “Don’t worry. She’s fine. I’ll just… I’ll explain later.” Serena kissed Dan’s cheek, and waved her fingers at him and she walked off down the path. Dan sighed, and started off in the other direction. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to Serena explaining her life in the vaguest way possible.

Chuck looked up as his hotel suite door opened. “Hey, Serena, I—” He stopped when he saw that it wasn’t Serena. It wasn’t even close.
“Serena, huh?” Becky closed the door behind her, looking amused. “Charles Bass, I had no idea. I thought you were a one-lady man.”
Chuck rolled his eyes. “Rebecca Kailey Summers, what do you want.”
“Oh, so we’re going formal now, huh?” Becky threw her coat onto the hanger, and walked slowly over to where Chuck was sitting. She sat beside him on the sofa and crossed her legs neatly. She smiled at him.
“So, you were expecting Serena? Hmm, I wonder what for.” Becky eyed him suggestively.
“Yes. It’s exactly what you think it is.” Chuck’s voice was dull, as if he didn’t want to talk playfully with her.
“What’s wrong?” Becky said, frowning. “You always used to like bantering with me.”
Immediately, Chuck thought of Blair. He liked bantering with Blair. He didn’t mind when she insulted him because he knew it was out of affection. And although the things she said weren’t always respectful, he knew she respected him. And he respected her, obviously. Chuck Bass doesn’t ask, “You Sure?” very often. Especially to hot, drunk, dress-less girls in his limo.
“I guess I’ve grown out of it.”
Becky inched closer. “A lot of things you’ve seemed to outgrow since I left,” she said, scooting over a little bit with each word.
“What do you want, Becky.” Chuck’s question was less of a question, and more of an invitation to her to leave.
“I just thought we could hang out,” she said innocently. “Like old times.” She leaned closer to him, placing her hand delicately on his thigh. Fingering his collar, Chuck could feel the heat of her breath. His pulse quickened, and he pushed her away slightly.
“What?” Becky pouted. A sly smile made its way onto her lips. “I’m not doing nothing.”
Chuck glanced at her wearily. “Becky,” he said, “No, okay? You know about me and Blair. And we…”
“Chuckles,” she said softly. “But we have history. Important history. And you just want to forget that? Like nothing happened? Like what we did that night meant nothing?”
“History. Exactly. That’s what it is; history. And I think you’re the one who wanted to forget.” Chuck’s voice started to waver a bit as he got louder, the anger boiling up inside him. “You’re the one who left a week later, left for the other side of the country. And didn’t call, or write, for 3 years. And then you just come back, expecting nothing to have changed. You expected Serena to still be a party girl. You expected Blair to still be Nate’s virgin. You expected me to forgive and wait for you to come back.”
He stared at her, hurt softening his face. “But I don’t wait. Not for people like you. You don’t deserve me waiting and being loyal while you were off drinking with the cast of the OC, and sleeping with the dancers from High School Musical. While you were attending movie premiers and red carpet events, you expected me to sit her in New York, waiting. And I got sick of waiting. I got sick of you controlling me from a million miles away, so I made a vow to do what I wanted.
“You’re the reason I found happiness in spending money and investing in strip clubs. You’re the reason I didn’t know what true happiness was until I was with Blair. You ruined my teen-hood and kept me from what I really wanted, just so when you decided to come back, you’d have someone to come home to. But I left that position a long time ago.
“So don’t even try. Because you know I’ll never even look at a selfish, b****y piece of **** like you ever again.”
For once, Becky Summers didn’t know what to say. For once, Becky Summers’ eyebrows weren’t raised. For once, Becky Summers was hurt. But Chuck wouldn’t let her have the satisfaction of being hurt. He’d let her have the guilt, and the understanding of what he’d always seen her as.
But she deserved nothing else.
“But… but you loved me”, was all she managed to say.
Chuck remained stone-faced. “No. I lusted after you. You were just one of the many stuck on that list.”
Becky opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Quickly, she tried to save some of her pride. Standing up, she snatched her coat, and opened the door without another word. But someone was already waiting on the other side of the door.
“Becky,” Serena said in surprise. The surprise wasn’t at her being at Chuck’s; it was the tears brimming her eyes. In all the years S had known Becky, she had never, never, seen her cry.
Still without saying anything, Becky pushed past her and hurried down the hallway. Serena turned to Chuck, silently asking him for an explanation.
Chuck sighed. “Don’t even ask,” he said, leaning back against the couch.
Serena just pursed her lips, and walked over. Sitting down where Becky had just been, she lifted her bag up beside her. Chuck sat up, intrigued.
“So? What’s going on?” he asked as Serena dug around in her purse. She pulled out the two envelopes, and handed one to Chuck.
“She left us letters. That’s the one she gave to me.”
Chuck read it over, frowning. Serena watched his face as he gravely handed it back to her.
“What was that part about you being able to elaborate?” she asked curiously.
“Remember when Becky and I dated a few years back, right before she left for California?” he asked, not hesitating to tell her. “Well, we slept together. My first time. And then she left.”
Serena’s eyes grew so wide they looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. “Uh…” Wow. Serena hadn’t even ever considered that Chuck had lost his virginity. She’d just thought he was born a nonvirgin.
“I know. So, what? Becky told Blair?”
“Well, it wasn’t exactly out in the open,” Serena pointed out.
Chuck sighed. “That’s because that’s a chapter in my life I’d like to forget.”
“Seriously? Out of everything, that’s the one thing you regret? Unbelievable.”
“You know what I mean. That girl just drives me insane. And not in a good way.” Chuck eyed the other envelope. “Is that one mine?” he asked.
Serena nodded, and handed it to him. She waited while he opened and read it.

Chuck,

Don’t think I’m not extremely pissed off at you for not telling me. You could have, you know. It would have been better than Little Miss Evil breaking it down.
I’ve gone away for a while. It’s just best. I need some time to cool off and think. I’m not going to tie you down, though. Do whatever you want while I’m gone; the Victrola girls must miss you.
And even though I can’t see you right now, and you kept this huge secret from me, just remember that I love you. Always will.

xo, Blair

Chuck let out another sigh as he read it over, and then handed it to Serena. She read it quickly, and placed it back in the envelope.
“Looks like she doesn’t want us to know where she’s gone,” Serena said quietly, looking at her lap.
“Well that’s stupid,” Chuck said. “We could just ask her mom.”
Serena shot up and looked at him. Her eyes were filled with hope.
“What? Now?” Chuck sounded almost irritated.
“You truly know nothing about romance,” she said, pulling him up and out the door. “No wonder you gave your virginity to Becky Summers.”
Chuck scoffed, but followed her down the hall to the elevator. “So, what? We ask Eleanor where Blair went, and then what do we do? Hop on a private jet and drag her back to Manhattan?”
Serena whirled around so abruptly Chuck bumped into her. She looked into his eyes, her expression serious. “I think you know what you need to do.”
Chuck gazed at her. Thoughts of Blair filled his mind. Her perfect smile, her warm eyes, her luscious lips, her amazing body. Her voice when she said his name. Her hair blowing about her face as the wind rushed by. Her soft, feminine hands as they slid over his jacket, her touch full of desire.
Chuck came back into focus and looked at Serena. His face was solemn with determination. “Let’s go,” he said firmly, pulling Serena into the elevator.