Chuck Bass was many things: he was a womanizer, an alcoholic, a manipulator and a liar. One thing he was not was a committed boyfriend, but the look on Blair's face at the White Party made him regret everything he had done in his life up to that point. After leaving Blair at the airport at the start of summer, he had spent every waking second regretting his decision. The truth was that he had allowed his father to get to him like always, and both he and Blair had ended up paying the price. She had finally returned from her summer abroad but to Chuck's surprise, she came with a new boyfriend on her arm. He was British and dashing and charming, but ultimately nothing more than a ploy to get revenge on Chuck for abandoning her. He had stomached seeing the two of them together during lunch at the Hamptons, but the White Party was a different story. Every time he was in their view, Blair would flaunt herself all over Marcus and kiss him, much to Chuck's disgust. It was getting harder and harder to stomach as the hours ticked by and after finally getting her alone for a moment, Chuck made his biggest mistake yet.
"Chuck! Aren't you done trying to destroy my night?" Blair asked with a defeated look on her face.
"Look, I never should have abandoned you. I know I made the wrong decision as soon as your plane took off," he began quietly. "I distracted myself all summer…hoping I wouldn't feel it but I still do."
"And?" Blair asked, looking into his eyes.
"I was scared. I was scared that if we spent the whole summer together, just us…then you'd see," he stated.
"See what?" she asked, slightly confused.
"Me," he whispered, his voice similar to that of a lost child. "Please don't leave with him."
"Why?" she asked, leaning towards him. "Give me a reason and 'I'm Chuck Bass' doesn't count."
"Because you don't want to," he said and she shook her head.
"Not good enough," she said, looking down.
"Because I don't want you to," he whispered.
"That's not enough," she said, her voice as torn as his.
Holding her elbows, he gently pulled her closer towards him. "What else is there?"
"The true reason I should stay right where I am and not get in the car," she said, gazing back into his eyes. "Three words. Eight letters. Say it…and I'm yours."
He stared at her for a long moment as she searched his eyes.
"I…," he began, knowing exactly what she wanted to hear. "I…"
But he eventually fell silent and Blair pulled away, looking more hurt than before.
"Thank you," she said, her voice sounding bitter. "That's all I needed to hear."
With that, she turned around just as Marcus pulled up next to her. Smiling brightly, she climbed into the passenger seat without any hesitation as Marcus pulled away. Chuck stood in silence, a defeated and hurt look in his eyes as he watched them go.
Standing in the terrace of his penthouse suite, he stared up at the night sky sadly. She was willing to forgive him and be with him if only he had uttered three words to her, but he had been a coward. He had remained silent and watched her slip further and further away from him. As the days went by, he continued to watch from the sidelines as Blair and Marcus continued their relationship, always looking giddy and happy. It made him sick to his stomach whenever Marcus placed his hand at the small of her back, nuzzled her neck or kissed her goodbye. He knew she was only using Marcus to get back at him and make him jealous, but it made it harder and harder for him to bear as the days went by.
He had tried distracting himself with countless beautiful women, but had been unable to follow through on every account because his mind was plagued with thoughts of Blair. He wanted her, desperately, and he knew deep down that she wanted him too. But he still couldn't find the courage to say those words to her so their banter grew more bitter every day and they seemed to drift further and further apart.
At the party Blair had thrown and he had crashed, he had tried seducing her and although it was working at first, Blair had eventually come to her senses and had gone in search for Marcus. Chuck had then followed Blair upstairs to her bedroom after the lights had gone out and had surprised her with a kiss. Deep down, he knew she had recognized him and had wanted to be with him, but Marcus had barged in and ruined the moment, much to his dismay. After the British Lord had punched him, he had stormed out of the room and Chuck had watched as Blair ran after him, claiming that it had all been a mistake. He watched as she leaned in and kissed him, allowing him to hold her close within his embrace. Just before he left the party, he had seen Blair pull Marcus upstairs towards her bedroom and it left him feeling helpless and torn.
Although he had tried to take his mind off of everything by hooking up with a random girl from the party, he had once again been unable to carry through with the offer. After kicking the girl out of his limo, he had returned to his suite and buried himself in alcohol, desperately trying not to think of what was happening between Blair and Lord Marcus. But no amount of drink had been able to push such thoughts away and he found himself standing in his terrace, looking more lost than ever before.