Title: La Vie En Rose
Pairing: Blair/Carter, Blair/Chuck
Disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl…sigh
A/N: WOHOO I'M BACK! Anyways, thank you to everyone who left kind reviews :) I honestly didn't think I'd be able to come back so easily, but surprisingly have. My writing's a bit rusty at the moment, so hopefully you'll all just ignore my silly mistakes. And another thing, I am in desperate need of a beta. This chapter is unbeta'd so there'll probably be a lot of errors as well. If there are any takers, please send me a message :) A BIG GIGANTIC THANK YOU to everyone and Nat especially.

She wakes up in the middle of the night and realises that she has a date with Carter Baizen. Out of all the people in all the world, it had to be him. She doesn't know whether to laugh, be excited or scared, so she lies in her bed and listens to a French woman's song travel into her room with the midnight breeze. It sounds familiar, but right now, she can't determine anything in her mind except for the fact that she has a date with Carter Baizen. It means nothing, she's sure. After all, Carter is just part of her plan to get back at her sad excuse of a cheating boyfriend – wait, ex-boyfriend, she means.

To be honest, she didn't expect things to turn out this way. In the depths of her mind, she had prayed that she and Chuck would have a happy ending … too bad her heart was always telling her that good things never lasted. She knows she should've known better – after all, a Bass is always a Bass – but can't help herself for thinking that maybe they'll work things out. It's a degrading thought, but she does lo – like him a lot, more so than she tells herself.

Which brings her back to Carter Baizen. Carter Baizen. Sure, she had had a crush on him when she was a freshman, but that was the extent of any romantic feelings she held towards him. When he came back last year, she had noticed the maturity in his face and the way he entered a room filled with confidence and ease. But there was still something about him that screamed 'UES brat'. Maybe it was the way his eyes twinkled when he held a drink or the fact that he would rather wear his leather jacket at public gatherings than the tailor made suits every other male seemed to be fond of.

It should faze her that he had nearly duped Nate, but then again, she can't blame him considering that a five year old could probably coax Nate into buying them a pony. But there is something about Carter Baizen that cautions her. She has to remind herself that Chuck did base himself off of him and that behind those dark grey eyes, there's a young man with the secrets of the world.

Her clock alarms at quarter to eight and she's close to pressing the snooze button, when a thought registers in her head: her date with Carter Baizen is today.

She sits up, still for a moment as she considers her option. Maybe she can get out of it, call him and pretend to have gotten food poisoning, but there are two problems with that idea: one, she doesn't have his number and two, she doesn't want to cancel. Well, at least she thinks she doesn't. In fact, she's rather excited now.

After taking a shower, she looks through her dresser, finding a dress suitable for the day, but gives up when she realises that she has no clue what events will partake. She thinks that he'll be a gentlemen and take her out to see a French play and then to dinner, but after his 'passionate' speech yesterday, she highly doubts it. She imagines him taking her to the beach where the can have a picnic on the sand, but even that seems a bit clichéd for him. Sighing in defeat, she pulls out a knee length navy blue dress that clings onto her upper body but flows freely, deciding that it's close enough to casual chic. She lightly dabs make-up on her face, ties her hair up in a slick ponytail with a white ribbon and straps on her heels before she leaves her hotel room right at five to ten.

She's stands outside the hotel when her watch points to ten and looks around, trying to find any sign of Carter. When five minutes pass by, she shrugs it off, thinking to herself, 'he'll come'. When ten minutes pass by, she begins to feel the slightest tug of anxiety as this becomes a situation she's too accustomed too. And finally when the hand on her watch moves to twenty past ten, she lets out an aggravated sigh, spins on her heel and starts heading back into the hotel when she suddenly hears a revving engine. Immediately, she realises what kind of date she's gotten herself into.

Turning around slowly, she finds her gaze locked on a rusty black motorcycle making its way towards her, and she jerks backward when it stops inches away from her perfectly manicured feet.

"Learn how to drive!" she exclaims angrily, as the driver slips off his helmet off his head and flashes a crooked grin at her. "Honestly, Carter, you're twenty two minutes late."

He merely laughs at her and leans against his motorbike, folding his arms across his chest. "The French have no concept of time."

"Which explains why they've lost so many wars," she grits through her teeth. She has half a mind to say goodbye and leave him to his isolated self (he nearly did crush her toes), but she can't bring herself to move. He stands before her, in a pair of ratty jeans, a white t-shirt and his favourite leather jacket, hardly anything like she's dated before. With his hair rustled and a morning stubble covering his face, Carter Baizen barely resembles anything 'UES' and she has to remind herself that she was the one who agreed to the date.

"Are you still in?" His voice breaks her thoughts and she's now staring into a pair of worldly eyes, eagerly awaiting her answer. 'Say no, say no', her brain tells her, but the pounding of her heart makes her nod her head slowly as he once again breaks out into another smile.

"Well, then get on," he says, swinging his leg over the side of the motorbike, and motioning his head towards the backseat. Blair's UES upbringing kicks in and she gasps in disgust at what he wants her to do.

"You want me to sit there? On that dirty machine? In this dress?" she shrieks, holding her dress out. "This is a Zac Posen original."

"I'm sure Zac won't be offended if you got a bit of dust on it."

"A bit of dust? That bike is practically covered with the whole Sahara!"

Carter laughs and begins to rev up the engine. "You can create a desert line then for Zac."

"Oh and like anyone would wear that? The Cleopatra look is so 90s."

"Must you contradict everything I say?" Carter jokes and notices the tiniest fragment of a smile appear on Blair's face.

"What can I say, it's a talent," she replies proudly. It still doesn't help that she has to get on the dirty machine, but as she steps closer to it, she reminds herself that it's only for one day.

"It won't bite," Carter says and she rolls her eyes, standing straight as she breathes in, prepared to break all the formal decorum she's learnt. She puts her hands on Carter's shoulders and shivers softly when he places his hands over hers, his touch gentler than what she would've expected. Discreetly, she brings her leg over the seat of the bike, and shifts awkwardly into the back seat, trying to find a position comfortable for the journey. It's uncomfortable (barely) being this close to Carter and she once again has that trembling feeling inside of her when he takes her fingers and wraps them around his defined torso.

"Have to make sure you hold on. Wouldn't want you falling off," he says and surprisingly, she scoffs, but with a smile on her face. "And to complete my total destruction of your image, here, put this on."

"Are you serious?" she says, taking the rather large black helmet from his hands and cringing at it. "This will crush my hair and my ribbon."

"Well, at least they lived a happy wonderful life."

"I refuse," she states defiantly, handing it back to him. "I'll be just like an actress from an olden day movie with my hair flying in the wind."

"Alright one, I bet you there were no tragic automobile accidents in their scripts and two, people back then were stupid. Blair, just put on the helmet and then we can get going," he says with a just as equal stern voice. She's almost afraid to disappoint him, so reluctantly, she takes the helmet from his hands and slides it forcefully into her head, the force almost making her fall side wards.

"See, there you go," he says, imaging the frown behind the helmet, "you even look kinda cute still."

Her ears immediately perk at the compliment and she's glad she's wearing the helmet as she feels her cheek turn the brightest pink. "You think I'm cute?"

"I said 'kinda'," he reinforces, but even he knows she's caught him.

"But you still think I'm cute," she says in almost a singsong tune and he decides now's the best time to put on his helmet. He presses harder on the pedal and the engine makes a defying sound that's sure enough to wake up the whole of Paris. Blair wraps her arms tighter around Carter and leans into his back, ready to experience a Paris she's never seen.