A.N.: Hi, hello. I know it's been a long long time since I last updated. I didn't even dare to check how long - really, I'm sorry. A lot has happened but I always wanted to finish this story - so here's finally the next chapter.

I guess I will be posting shorter chapters from now on - but hopefully more frequently.

Quick recap because we might all need it: Blair travelled back to her original timeline to see whether or not things were better. What she saw made her return to the past (the Ivy Mixer) and for an unknown reason she decided to get back together with Nate.

Chuck watched the newly reunited couple. It was like some enormous object suddenly came crushing down on him. The terrible emptiness he usually felt when people left him was this time joined by a twinge of sadness and a new kind of desperation that was lurking inside of him.

The feeling was confusing at best and all he wanted was to get rid of it.

Maybe his usual scotch would do the trick, but something told him this time he needed something more drastic, just to make sure that every possible connection would be cut. Some nice exotic country suddenly seemed very appealing. A place no one knew him and therefore he could avoid everyone.

Escape and oblivion for a few days was always the best cure to bring him back on track. It always worked.

He came back and could easily pretend that he wasn't bothered at all. It always worked with his Bart problems, so it should work wonders with the Blair issue.

But before he could examine the idea more closely and possibly settle on a good location for his trip, a voice right next to him interrupted that train of thoughts.

"You okay?"

Chuck turned, feeling a bit surprised at the unexpected note of concern.

"You look like the sushi just gave you food poisoning." Serena detected dryly.

"Very observant, S." Chuck said with an eye roll, secretly glad to have some company.

Serena only raised her eyebrows and gave him a scrutinizing look. She could push him now, get some information out of him, find out what Chuck and Blair had talked about as they disappeared for a while. If he knew why her so called best friend got back together with Nate. She couldn't deny that she was curious.

Serena could press for it right now, but somehow she knew that Chuck wouldn't spill anything. He never did. And maybe right now he needed something else entirely.

It was odd because Serena couldn't remember when she last had the feeling that Chuck Bass needed soothing - needed company. She wasn't sure if she ever thought he'd need it to be honest. Maybe it was usually Nate's job, sometimes even Blair's. She never thought she of all people had to emotionally stabilize Chuck Bass on day but it looked like she was all he got right now. And to be quite honest, maybe she needed him as well.

"Wanna get out of here?" she asked and was rewarded with a look that seemed almost thankful.

Chuck let a few seconds pass before he answered, just so he wouldn't seem too desperate to leave.

"Yeah." He breathed the answer with an aura of indifference.

Of course Serena knew that it was one of his well-practiced features - if you pretend something didn't affect you maybe it would actually work and affect you less in the end - or at least she assumed that this was one of the many reasons and issues that lead to the complex living enigma that was Chuck Bass. She didn't think she would ever be able to fully understand him.

"Let's get drunk." Chuck suggested and Serena felt herself nodding at the idea. She tried to refrain from her partying ways lately, but somehow she knew that Chuck wasn't up for partying right now. Forgetting was on his menu and she could relate.

"We both could need it." She said, trying to be more cheerful.

"Come on." She actually took him gently by his arm to lead him out of the venue. For a short moment she felt confused at her own gesture since that was something she usually ever did with Eric or Blair and they were her siblings (an actual one and a chosen one), but soon it felt normal and she completely forgot her first felt irritation.

As Blair finally managed to turn and look for Chuck she found him leaving, and for some odd reason with Serena on his arm. She frowned slightly, not sure if she should be jealous or relived.

She had just wanted to tell Nate to go hang out with his buddy, just to make sure that Chuck wouldn't get one of those stupid ideas as leaving the country. He did that often enough and she always hated it. Even more now that she knew that he also would do that in the changed future scenario.

Serena would surely manage to take off his mind, so maybe she should be relieved, though their uncertain pre-sibling relationship did concern her a little. In the end she preferred to find out, so she quickly excused herself from Nate and the Captain, who had happily joined them to talk about how lovely they looked together …the usual talk. To be honest, she hadn't spent that much attention on their conversation.

She followed Chuck and Serena in safe distance and hid behind a corner to watch how Chuck walked up to the street, phone pressed against his ear. She could guess that he was probably calling Arthur to bring the limo around.

Serena hung behind a few steps to text someone.

Blair just pondered on joining her best friend, just to make sure what they were planning was by all means a harmless evening between friends, as none other than Dan Humphrey emerged from the other corner to talk to Serena. He acted like he just walked by and was surprised to see the blonde girl.

Blair had to roll her eyes. Oh, the irony.

Dan had probably seen them leaving as well and considering that he knew about Chuck's reputation and that he still had this obsessive crush on Serena of course he followed them to find out what was going on.

Blair watched in interest how their slightly awkward conversation turned into something friendly and finally, before Serena jumped with a full-on smile into Chuck's car, there was something more.

It was good to see that Serena still felt some attraction towards the Brooklyn boy, because now that Blair found out about the consequences of her Serena and Nate meddling she knew how unfortunate it was to have them dating too early and the best way to change Serena's dating preferences was - she hated to even think it, but yes, it was probably Dan Humphrey.

They needed to be together - at least for the next few months she calculated. Serena never told her that she once asked her mother not to be with Rufus, because of her and Dan.

Well, now she knew. She knew that if Serena was with Nate she wouldn't ask that from Lily and since the Van der Woodsen's appeared to be a Humphrey attracted family (for whatever reason - really!) Lily would be with Rufus - not with Bart.

Blair had never thought of those consequences at all. Now she could only curse that stupid ... Butterfly Effect, or however it was called, for ruining her plans.

Well, she wouldn't be Blair Waldorf if one crushing, life-shocking event wouldn't let her return stronger than before.

Of course Chuck had helped in some ways to find the strength to leave him again - but hopefully only momentarily.

Being with Nate would help to control that he would stay away from Serena and having seen the flirt between Humphrey and her best friend just minutes ago ... maybe she wouldn't need to force things there. Maybe she had to loosen her reigns a little to let everything find its own way.

The following weeks could only be described as horrible.

Blair avoided Chuck at all costs - she wasn't sure if she would be strong enough to control herself if they were somewhere alone.

She spent more time with Nate - she had to secure that he would not sneak away to meet up with Serena, a Serena who just had her first date with Humphrey after they met at a shopping trip that Blair had planned to even out eventual tensions between them.

And she tried to sleep as less as possible. She usually was all for beauty sleep, but she had still those nasty recurring nightmares.

Just that this time she remembered them. It wasn't hard to forget them really, since she was reliving her trip to the future over and over again. And most of all what happened to Chuck after he was left family-less after Bart's accident. Not completely family-less to be correct but that worm Jack Bass didn't count. He would only steal the company from Chuck and this time Lily would not be able to adopt him and help him get it back.

Normally Blair would say that she was Chuck's family and no matter what happened or whoever tried to gain his trust only to throw it right back into his face, she would always be at his side, try to fill the family-sized hole in his life.

But apparently that wasn't always enough, it wouldn't be enough to get Bass Industries back and if Jack won it was only a matter of time until Chuck fell.

He would run, and this time he would not return with exclusive gifts in his arms and a declaration of love on his tongue.

Blair would have this nightmare every night, only to wake up and realize that she brought this scenario to life. That she made things even worse than they actually were. She remembered seeing herself when she traveled back (or forward) in time. Her lonely self, waiting in front of the Plaza. She had thought Chuck was simply being late, now she knew that he never showed up. Would never reply to her confession of love. And this time she didn't even know if he was alright (considering the already messed up circumstances) or if he was in the hospital again.

The only positive thing Blair saw in that whole fiasco was that she knew now. And as long as she knew she could prevent this from ever happening. She had to stop this and she would.

She had a plan, the plan to clutch to the right version of this period of time. She was probably more of a control freak than ever, but she couldn't risk anything, there was a fear inside her that if she made a decision, a change that was too bold her future would be turned from flames to ashes.

As much as Blair wanted to see Chuck the following weeks, to spent as much time with him as possible, to just be with him, she had a feeling it was better to stay away for now.

Though she did watch his every step on Gossip Girl. - especially during the Lost Weekend.

She told herself not to be bugged by this event and surprisingly she wasn't. She was rather grateful that it gave her the perfect opportunity to avoid Nate, because the only girls the boys were allowed to talk to were the ones Chuck paid for. And Nate was no exception to that rule.

And thank Chuck! That way Nate was occupied and she didn't have to play happy couple without causing any suspicions.

It was soothing somehow that some things were still the same. Before everything would be destroyed.

The Lost Weekend was still a feast of debauchery and Chuck was still as flamboyant as ever. His daring basketball outfit was proof enough. True, it was tempting to put on a beret and see that outfit in real life, plus Chuck and a non-horizontal athletic activity? That was something she rarely saw.

But however tempting it was to sneak into his immediate proximity she managed to resist, to stay away.

She was just glad that Chuck was seemingly leading his normal life and most of all that he was still in the country.

What she didn't know was that Chuck was far from feeling normal.

He did the things he always did. He drank the same scotch, he smoked the same hash, enjoyed the same late night entertainment but it all felt different.

Dull, if not tasteless and bland. Normally this was his escape from the dullness, from the pain that lingered in his life.

But this time nothing seemed to actually work - his mind was somewhere else.

He did what he did to avoid the nasty thoughts that just kept returning. As much as he tried to forget the Ivy Mixer the events always seemed to come back with much more force.

He had contemplated leaving the country for a while. And really he should have. Maybe visit Monaco, Prague or Marrakech, just to blow off some steam.

But thinking about it he came to the conclusion that the Lost Weekend gave him an even better opportunity to get lost.

Better because Nate would be at his side the whole time. And the rules forbid that he would contact Blair. And the thought of keeping them apart and if it was just for a weekend filled him with a strange feeling of pride.

It was true, the sight - the mere thought - of the two of them still turned his stomach. He had to admit to himself that he was jealous and that kind of jealousy was something he wasn't accustomed to, it could not be him.

So as the weekend went on his agenda changed from wanting to get completely trashed to go back the original ways of Chuck Bass.

It was hard, but he was determined to get his groove back. Things were not supposed to feel this way for him. He was usually above all of that.

He struggled but he commanded himself to be the indifferent person he used to be.

As the Lost Weekend came to an end he thought he halfway succeeded in doing so. His suite was a mess, drugs, skanky underwear and bottles of alcohol scattered the carpeting, a tell-tale of his attempts to drown and rise at the same time. And even though the cleaning service wouldn't get much fonder of him, he thought he actually achieved something. Now he would just try to not care. Maybe even test his newly built walls by facing the inevitable.

The mask ball was the next big social event of the season and really it just gave him the best opportunity to do what needed to be done. Face Blair Waldorf.

If he made it through the ball without any incidents he was certain that he would be able to face any other future event that might include Blair and Blair and Nate.

He would be the uncaring scum Chuck Bass to a T and wouldn't care less about anyone and anything else, but his own amusement.

So he knew when he started preparing for the ball, all he needed to do today was to embrace his inner devil.

A.N.: I've been told not to make things too complicated and for a time travel story it might be hard sometimes to keep everything simple but be assured that it's not my intention to overcomplicate - so I hope I'm halfway successful in providing you all with reasonable, fun-to-read story. Let me know :)

If there are some original readers I wanted to thank you guys for returning to this story - consider yourself virtually hugged.

And if there are actually some new readers, thank you for reading and for giving this story a chance. I'm grateful for any reader and I am also grateful for every review I get - so, also thank you to everyone who reviewed so far. (This just needed to be said.)

Make sure leave me a few words for this chapter before you go, it's much appreciated. Thx and happy Easter!