A/N: Hello! I thought I'd take a short break from my story "How They Bloom" and write a one-shot of Blair and Dan. This is my take on what happens after Blair wakes up on Dan's couch, after falling asleep watching the movie. Based off of only a few seconds of spoilers from the upcoming episode. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl or any of its characters.

When Blair opened her eyes, the first thing she felt was pain. Her hand immediately went to her neck, clutching the left side. It was stiff and sore, as if it had been resting on something hard all night.

"Hey," came a quiet voice.

Blair's head flew to the side, following the sound. She let out a cry of pain, and it was both from the movement and the fact that that something hard was Dan Humphrey's shoulder.

Dan.

Humphrey.

Dan's face grimaced as he watched her grip her neck. "Ooh, let me get you ice. My shoulder is no pillow."

"What?" She asked, still confused to why she was sitting on Dan Humphrey's couch. She saw him walk to the freezer. "Um, no thanks. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Cause it looks like-"

"Yes." She cut him off. "I'm sure." Blair closed her eyes and took a deep breath, rubbing her neck. She opened them when she felt something freezing meet her skin.

"Here," Dan said, wrapping a bag of frozen peas around her neck. "It'll make it feel better."

As much as she tried not to, she let out a groan of relief. "Oh my god that feels so good," she said, reaching up to keep it steady.

She met Dan's eyes, whose gaze was on her lips. A warm rush spread through her body, including the spot the ice pack was soothing. Blair cleared her throat, prompting Dan to look up. "What time is it?"

Dan looked at his watch. "Uhh, 10."

"What?" Blair shrieked, jumping off the couch and dropping the bag of peas. "I'm late for work!"

"No you're not," Dan laughed. "You got fired, remember?"

She opened her mouth to retort, but closed it quickly. "I was not fired." She straightened her posture. "I quit."

Dan glared at her, smiling.

Blair raised her eyebrows. "Don't look at me like that Humphrey."

"Like what?" He challenged, enjoying pushing her buttons.

"Like..." For the love of god, why can't I come up with anything?

Dan smirked, "That's what I thought." He walked over to the counter and poured himself some coffee. "Can I make you some breakfast?"

She picked up the bag of peas and walked over to the counter, handing it to him. "Um, no. I should be going."

Unable to help himself, Dan asked, "Where are you going? No classes. No work. Come on, let me make you breakfast."

She sighed, looking hesitant. "I don't know."

"Blair," he glared. "When was the last time you sat down and ate a real breakfast?" Before she could answer, he added, "And I don't mean a yogurt or piece of fruit." His eyes bore into hers. "A real breakfast."

There was no use in trying to come up with a lie, so she just stared at him.

He set his coffee down on the counter. "Blair, I dare you to stay for breakfast."

The hand that wasn't holding up the bag of peas went promptly to her hip. "You dare me?" She scoffed. "What are we, twelve?"

Dan smiled and shrugged. "Okay."

Blair rolled her eyes, although she was slightly amused. "Fine. But I get to dare you to do something."

"Deal," he agreed. "What?"

Blair walked around the island and sat down on one of the counter stools. "I don't know yet. Let me think about it."

"Okay." He nodded. Then, his face grew serious. "Now, I'm going to ask you a very serious question. Answer truthfully, okay?"

"Okay," she promised. Her heart sped up. What could he possibly ask me that is so important?

He took a deep breath. "Pancakes or waffles?"

She couldn't have held a laugh in if she tried. "Waffles," she smiled. When she looked at his excited face, she felt a jolt of something run through her veins.

::

She had to hand it to him; his waffles were good. Scratch that: heavenly. They ate in comfortable silence for the most part. The only time Blair felt slightly off kilter was when Dan reached across her for the syrup, accidentally brushing his arm against hers. She felt the blush rise to her cheeks, and she quickly averted her eyes from his.

When she asked for a second waffle, Dan smiled widely. He looked rather pleased with himself, which Blair realized would look arrogant on anyone else. But on him, she didn't mind it. She actually found it rather endearing.

She studied him as he washed their dishes. She didn't realize she was so out of it until Dan's voice snapped her back to the moment. "Think of a dare yet?"

She bit her lip. "I dare you to not write the entire day."

"Okay," he agreed simply, drying a plate with a towel.

It slightly irked her that he seemed fine with it. She thought this would surely pain him, as it seemed like all he did was write.

"And I dare you to never talk to Vanessa again," she added.

He stopped drying the plate and glared at her, hoping the ridiculousness of the request would translate.

"Okay, not the second part," she sighed. She got off the stool and walked over to put on her jacket. "I should go. Dorota must be worried."

He smiled at the ridiculousness of that statement too, but refrained from harping her.

Dan walked her downstairs, unable to shake the disappointment he felt with her leaving. When Blair held up her hand to flag a cab, Dan got an idea.

"I dare you to take the subway."

She dropped her hand and jaw. "What?"

He slowly walked up to her, pressing his body so close to hers she could feel the heat come off. Why is my heart speeding up again?

"I dare you to take the subway," he repeated, glint in his eye.

She wouldn't let him win this one. "Fine," she said, turning to walk to the subway stop. She didn't miss the way her body screamed from the loss of proximity to his.

Dan was nearly speechless as he watched her walk away. "Can you figure out how to get back?"

She turned her head. "I think I'll manage," she said in a voice that conveyed, 'I'm not an idiot.'

When he was up the front stairs, about to open the door, he heard her speak again.

"Humphrey," she called from about twenty feet away.

"What?"

Here we go, Humphrey. The ultimate challenge. "I dare you to burn all of your flannel shirts."

You could hear a pin drop.

"Call me if you get lost," was all he said before closing the door.

::

It took her longer than it should have, but she made it home. She would never admit it out loud, especially to Dan, but if wasn't as bad as she thought. However, that didn't mean she didn't immediately get in the shower after she got home.

After lounging around the house all day, and faking being asleep to dodge Serena's questions to where she was last night, she heard a knock on her door. She stared at the door for a moment, waiting for another knock. It didn't come. She slowly got off her bed and padded over to it. She opened it, expecting Dorota. There was no one there. "Hello?" she called, walking out the door. Instead of getting a response, she nearly tripped on something. "What the-" She looked down and saw a box. She picked it up and looked it over. It was rather light and was taped shut.

She carried it into her room and placed it on the desk. Curiosity took the best of her, and she quickly scrounged for scissors to cut through the tape, anxiously opening the box. It was filled with...

Ashes.

Realization hit her like a freight train.

Cradling the box, she ran out of her room and nearly flew down the stairs, just in time to see him enter the elevator. "Wait!"

Dan blocked the door with his hand, opening it again. He stepped out and faced Blair, who was standing about fifteen feet away from him.

"What is this?" She asked, holding up the box.

He shrugged. "All of my flannel shirts."

She shook her head. "But-"

"That was the dare, right?"

She scoffed, "Well, yeah, but-"

"But what?" He cut her off.

Her face softened. "Well, I didn't think you would go through with it. This is what, half of your wardrobe?"

He brushed it off. "Whatever."

In a quiet voice, she said, "But you love these shirts."

"But you don't."

Blair's heart lurched. "But-"

"You took the subway, right?"

She nodded, "Well, yeah, but-"

"So I followed through with your dare."

Silence ensued, and Blair felt tears sting her eyes. Why does he always need to be so goddamn nice?

"Can I get one more dare?" He asked slowly walking over to her.

She could only nod.

He continued his walk towards her, stopping when he stood close in front of her, the box of ashes the only thing separating them.

"I dare you to kiss me."

She swallowed. "What?"

His voice lowered. "I dare you to kiss me." His gaze traveled down to her lips and her mouth went dry. "One kiss."

She gave a whisper of nods, but it was enough for him to slowly bring his hands up to cup her head. His warm hand felt heavenly on the left side of her neck, instantly soothing the dull pain that had resonated there all day.

He leaned in so slowly, she felt the room start to spin. He stopped an inch away from her mouth and she nearly shook in anticipation. She closed the short distance and he finally brushed his soft lips against hers. She brought her hands up to run her fingers in his hair, dropping the box and spreading ashes on their feet and marble beneath them. She was too lost in his lips to care.

The kiss was something she had never experienced before. It was so new, so perfect, so...right.

When he pulled away, she whimpered at the loss of contact.

Thankfully, his hands were still holding her neck. When she regained her breath, she asked, "I dare you to kiss me again."

He smiled and she swore she heard an angel's chorus. "Enough with the dares. I was going to anyway."

If you can believe it, the second kiss was much better.

A/N: Like? Review! :)