Chapter XVIV

Opening her eyes, Blair noticed that she was in bed alone. Sitting up, she wore her robe just as Chuck walked inside, carrying a cup of coffee. He was wearing his pajama bottoms, but his top was bare.

"Hi," he said as she smiled at him.

"Hi," was her response. "How long have you been up?"

"Not too long," he replied, walking to her side and kissing her lightly.

All of a sudden, the sound of the door opening reached their ears.

"Who is that?" Blair asked as he took a sip.

"Who else?" he replied with a smile just as Serena ran inside the bedroom and jumped onto the bed, scaring the life out of Blair as she pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Blair, I'm so sorry for everything. I can't believe Eleanor would do that. I was so sure that you had left on your own, just like I had and I tried to convince Chuck of it too," she said, all in one breath. "B, I'm so sorry. I should have realized what had happened."

"Slow down," Blair expressed with a laugh, calming her friend down. "I missed you too."

With that, Serena pulled her into another hug and Blair laughed again.

"I can't believe your mom," she said, pulling away. "That's crazy even for her."

"I tell myself that her heart was in the right place….albeit a twisted version of the right place," Blair replied. "But what she did…it's going to take some time for me to forgive her."

Nodding in agreement, she looked around and noticed the gym bag lying on the floor by the night stand.

"Did you bring an overnight bag?" she asked, facing Blair. "Or are you moving in?"

"Where else do I have to go?" Blair replied, smiling at Chuck. "I'm not staying with my mom and Chuck's alright, I guess."

Giving her a dry laugh, Chuck he into the bathroom as both girls faced one another.

"B, you could stay with me," she said softly.

"You were tied for first with Chuck," Blair replied. "But with your brother just getting out of that place your mom was keeping him in and starting to feel normal again, I didn't want to add any drama. And the only thing that's attached to my hip wherever I go these days is drama."

"You're so sweet for thinking that," Serena exclaimed. "But my home is always open to you, Blair…no matter what."

"Thank you," she replied as Chuck walked out dressed in black pants and a blue sweater.

"So how is it? Living with this one?" Serena asked with a smile.

"He can cook," Blair said after a moment's thought.

"Really?" Serena asked, getting off the bed. "I really am hungry, Chuck. Care to make us breakfast?"

"Fine," he said grumpily before heading towards the kitchen.

Serena followed him out as Blair began tidying the bed and heading to the bathroom to change her clothes. As she sat on the kitchen stool and watched Chuck grab a few items out of the fridge, Serena sighed softly.

"So how are you doing?" she asked as he faced her.

"I'm glad she's home," he replied with a smile.

"Chuck, I ran into your father yesterday," she stated as he faced her. "He told me about what happened."

"What are you talking about?" he asked in return.

"About the drugs," Serena said quietly.

"Keep that between us, alright?" he asked. "I don't want Blair to know about it."

"Okay, I will," she agreed. "But talk to her, Chuck. Tell her what happened. One of the many problems between Blair and Nate was that he never told her what was going on in his life. Don't make that same mistake."

He finally nodded at her as she took a sip of water from the glass in front of her.

"Your dad asked me to look out for you," she said as he scoffed. "He seemed like he meant it."

"Serena, come one," he said with a frown.

"I know, okay? After everything you told me about what happened between you and him all those years ago and with everything that has happened up until the other week, I don't blame you for never wanting to see his face again. But he's in therapy right now and he seems like he wants to change, make amends for what he did. I hope for his sake and yours, he can."

"Me too," he said quietly as she smiled at him.

"So if I'm going to be looking out for you, please try and make it easy on me, alright Bass?" she said, lightening the tone of the conversation as he smiled at her.

"Never," he replied as she laughed.

Walking out of the bedroom, Blair sat next to Serena and joined in on the conversation as Chuck continued to cook breakfast. After they had finished eating, Chuck had offered a ride to Serena as well and the three of them had left for school. Once they arrived, they noticed Nate standing on the front steps, anxiously waiting for them.

"There's Dan," Serena said, moving towards her boyfriend.

"I think I'll go say hi to Dan too," Blair said, following her friend.

Watching her leave, Chuck sighed and began approaching Nate who met him halfway.

"Hey," they said in unison.

"How've you been?" Chuck asked as Nate shrugged.

"Alright, I guess," he replied. "What about you? I heard about everything that happened with Blair and her mom. I'm glad you brought her back home."

"She's happy to be back," he stated with a wry smile.

"What about you? How are you doing?" Nate asked quietly. "With everything?"

"One day at a time," Chuck replied with a shrug. "Thank your father for me for getting my dad some help."

"Of course," Nate said with a nod before sighing. "I'm so sorry, man. For everything that happened."

"I'm the one who's sorry," Chuck responded, cutting him off. "I betrayed you by getting together with Blair without telling you how I felt for her."

"And I've forgiven you for that," Nate said, much to Chuck's surprise.

"You have?" he asked, raising his brows.

"Yeah, I have," he assured him. "Blair and I were never good for each other. We constantly brought each other down and I was horrible in the way I treated her. I did love her, I really did. But I was never in love with her. I hate myself for hurting her over and over again and in a way I'm glad she found you because you seem to complete her. I've never seen her smile so much or cry this much when we were dating. You guys fit together like pieces of a puzzle and I'm glad she has you. I'm glad you have her, too."

"Wow," Chuck said with a small laugh. "I really didn't see this coming."

"I have my moments, just like you," Nate said as both boys smiled.

From the other side of the steps, Blair kept her eyes fixed on the two boys that had each at one point in her life held a place in her heart.

"What I was going to say earlier…why I'm sorry," Nate began. "I'm sorry for not realizing how bad things were for you at home. As angry as I was at you about Blair, a bigger part of me hated myself for not being there for you."

"Nate, I wasn't exactly upfront with the information," Chuck began.

"I know, but I still should have sensed that something was wrong. All the times you'd have a black eye or a swollen ankle or a broken wrist. You always said that you had tripped or some other lie and I believed you. I never thought otherwise. I'm sorry, man."

Nodding quietly, Chuck slowly smiled.

"So you're sorry and I'm sorry," he stated. "Friends?"

Staying quiet for a moment, Nate looked over the cuts on his friend's face that had begun to heal and the large bags under his eyes.

"Best friends," he said, pulling Chuck into a brotherly embrace.

"Serena, look," Blair said, pointing towards them as both girls smiled.

Taken aback by the move, Chuck hugged him back before both guys pulled away.

"Let's not do that again," he suddenly said with a smile as Nate laughed. "At least not in public."

"Once every ten years sounds good enough," he replied.

With that, they began heading towards the rest of the group, up the stairs.

"Blair, can we talk for a moment?" Nate asked as Chuck smiled at her.

"Sure," she said, following her ex-boyfriend to the main doors.

"Is everything okay with you guys?" Serena asked, noticing the huge smile on his face.

"For once…yeah," he said contently.

"I just wanted to apologize," Nate began, exhaling heavily. "I never would have guessed your mom would do something like that."

"You and me both," Blair replied before frowning. "And everyone else, for that matter."

"Things have changed so much from last year…hell, from last month," he explained. "I'm sorry I was never a good boyfriend and I'm sorry for never treating you the way I should have. You were always there for me and forgave me for everything and all I did was betray and hurt you over and over again. From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry."

Smiling genuinely at him, she pulled him into a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry too…for everything," she whispered before leaning back.

As they faced their group again, the others approached them and they began heading inside. Staying back for a moment, Blair leaned forward and kissed him lightly.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Whatever happens, we'll face it together," she said as he laughed.

"Let's just get through class today," he said as she smiled. "Then we'll worry about everything else."

"Sounds like a plan," she said. "After all, you are Chuck Bass."

"And you are Blair Waldorf," he stated.

Holding hands, they turned and walked inside their school with confidence as a number of junior students approached them, wanting nothing more than to join their popular circle.

(THE END…LOL. I really wasn't sure what else to write or how to end it. The rest of the chapters were full of so much drama, I wanted to end the story on a lighter note. I hope you guys like it.)