Unlock the Chest of Mystery

You'll Have to Wait

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:18:52 GMT

You'll Have to Wait

As you flip through pages and photographs,
you'll notice some of them are torn
You're keeping him alive in your mind
Though you know that he's gone
You're growing up and old, wasting time
When you should be doing something else
Yet you can't help but wonder if
he's lonely all by himself

Sometimes all the spirits
Are thicker than your blood
You could give the world save him
But you still didn't give enough
And he'll turn from you slowly
Leaving you standing at the gate
Until those angels come for you
You'll have to wait

Now you suffer from injuries
Of battles you haven't won
You're dealing with consequences
From things you haven't done
As the days keep flying by
You know nothing will be the same
Yet you can't help but think
That he'll be coming home again

Sometimes all the spirits
Are thicker than your blood
You could give the world to save him
But you still didn't give enough
And he'll turn from you slowly
Leaving you standing at the gate
Until those angels come for you
You'll have to wait

Until those angels come for you
You'll have to wait

You'll have to wait

Mmmmhmmmm....

~CT

The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair (7/?)

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:53:59 GMT

Title: The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Rating: PG
Pairing: Chuck/Blair
Summary: All the moments in Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf's life are leading up the biggest moment of all.
Note: I own nothing in GG and thanks to Dawn for the beta.

Chapter 7: The First Dance and The Last Breath

Age 11, Ballroom Dancing Class

"I don't wanna go!" Eric whined. "I hate this place!"

Lily Van der Woodsen couldn't believe that she was going to have the same argument with her nine year old son again. It never failed. Ever since she had signed both her children up for this class, Eric complained about everything. She had to coax him to go to lessons but now he was getting too smart for all this. While Serena looked forward to talking with Nate, Chuck, and Blair, Eric hated it namely because he hated the teachers. He also hated dancing with the girls. She figured it was because he was still young and didn't like them.

"Dear, I have been through this with you several times," she said, straightening Eric's tie. "Your teacher is not a bird nor is she a man."

"But she has a beak and a mustache!"

"She does," Serena admitted. "No one likes her, Mom."

Lily didn't know how true that statement was but it wasn't the first time she heard complaints. The ballroom teacher's name was Miss Haines though several older students referred to her as 'Miss Heinous'. She had taught champions in ballroom dance so it seemed right to send her children to the best. Since there was a class for children from ages 9-12, it was nice that both of them could be with the same teacher. So far, they were getting better at dance but the whining didn't stop. Eric hated dancing with the girls and Serena hated the way Miss Haines looked at everyone. They were both convinced that she was half-bird, half-man, and all evil.

"Have a good lesson today," she said, finally giving up. "I will see you when it's over. Try not to get into trouble this time."

Serena waved to her mother before leading Eric to the ballroom. "Come on. Maybe she shaved her mustache today."

"I don't think so," Eric murmured.

She didn't blame him for feeling the way he did. Miss Haines was strict and hardly ever praised anybody. She had a nose like a beak and beady black eyes that peered down on everyone. Chuck and Nate had nicknamed her "The Vulture" because of the way she would crane her long neck down on unsuspecting dancing couples like they were dead animals. But neither one disliked her the way that Blair did. Blair hated "The Vulture" because she never seemed to noticed Blair's improvement. She had been getting better at rumba and foxtrot yet "The Vulture" overlooked it. However, she never overlooked Blair messing up. It was frustrating to go through the lessons and not be noticed.

Right now, Serena and Eric found Blair and Chuck playing Uno on the floor of the ballroom. Blair had only two cards left while Chuck had three. It was a match that would end any minute. Chuck put down a blue card in hopes of stumping Blair. Unfortunately for him, Blair didn't have a blue card but she did have the same number that he put down: 8. Before Chuck could say a word, she blurted out, "Uno!"

"Not fair!" Chuck grumbled. "You cheated!"

"No, I didn't! You just don't want to pay up!"

"This was a stupid bet!"

"Well, you made it and now you have to pay me!"

Chuck was still grumbling and slowly began to take his bowtie off. Serena turned to Blair, slightly confused. "How is he going to pay you?"

"Well, he suggested that the loser would have to dance naked for the winner," Blair said smugly. "I guess he didn't think he'd ever lose. Now he has to do some salsa moves for me."

Serena tried to hide her laughter because Miss Haines finally caught sight of what was happening. "Mr. Bass! Miss Waldorf! Come to the center of this room immediately!"

"Uh oh! The Vulture's screaming at us!" Chuck put his bowtie back on. Blair looked embarrassed as she and Chuck headed to the middle of the room. Apparently the lesson was starting because the whole room was divided with boys on one side and girls on another. Eric quickly slipped into the boy's side while Serena went to the girls. Nate, who was coming in late, also got in with the boys and wondered what was happening. Miss Haines had a despicable smile across her bird-like face.

"Since you two enjoy spending so much time together before lessons, I'm sure you will not mind leading us into the first dance: a smooth waltz!" she announced, putting Chuck and Blair together. Then she turned to the rest of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, once Miss Waldorf and Mr. Bass start moving, find yourselves a partner and join them. I hope you all remember what we learned last time because I will be watching you. Now when the music begins...start dancing."

Chuck grinned at Blair and bowed to her. "I get the first dance with you, Waldorf."

Blair glowered but gave him a little curtsy. "Enjoy it, Bass, cause this is your first and last dance with me. I'm breaking your legs after class."

"MISS WALDORF! MR BASS!" Miss Haines screeched. "THERE WILL BE NO TALKING DURING THE DANCE! NOW COMMENCE IN SILENCE!"

They began to dance quietly as the rest of the class joined in. Serena paired up with Nate while Eric found another girl to dance with. Blair tried to stay quiet and allowed Chuck to lead her around the room. Somehow, he had very good moves. She hadn't noticed until now. He didn't step on her toes like Nate did and he allowed her to glide in and out easily. It was funny to see this. Chuck barely listened during the lessons. He was too busy checking out the girls on the other side or making fun of The Vulture's mustache.

"How did you get so good?" she asked, forgetting all about The Vulture's orders.

"Um...I'm taking lessons? Just like you are?" he reminded her. "Of course, the only reason I am taking lessons is cause Bart wants me to. He says it will help with 'building my character'. I don't know what that means."

"Well, it's working," she said. "My toes aren't broken."

The Vulture, however, wasn't noticing how well they were doing. Instead, she paid attention to Nate and Serena. The two of them were smiling and dazzling the crowd, allowing The Vulture to smile for once. It wasn't a forced smile either.

"Very good, Miss Van der Woodsen," she complimented Serena. Then she turned to Nate. "And Mr. Archibald, you have improved greatly! I see that a new partner has certainly changed everything. From now on, I request that you and Miss Van der Woodsen dance together for the rest of your lessons. Together, you will become the greatest pupils I've ever had the pleasure of teaching!"

Chuck turned to a now enraged Blair. "Looks like we'll spend more time together, Waldorf. Isn't that fun?"

Blair tried not to scream at that.

~ ~ ~

Present Time

"Okay, okay, everyone stay quiet!" Serena told the group in the group. By now, almost everything was set up. Dan had found yet another Chuck Bass crab lookalike and was ready to crack it open. Vanessa had to stop him before crab bits flew out on the table. "My brother will go and get the guest of honor now!"

"No!" Chuck hissed. "You did this eight times already, sis! Give it a rest!"

"Yeah, you should have told me that before I did anything! Now go!" She shoved him towards the door. "Go get Blair and don't tell her a thing! Don't tell her that Dan is eating the crabs! Oh, and when you return, pretend to look surprised!"

Chuck wanted to say some terrible things but held back. It was too late to say no to this. Serena planned everything without letting anyone know. Oh well. Blair would get yet another baby shower where she would receive cloth diapers (which they would never use in the first place), strollers, toys, and God knew what else the baby needed. Everyone would squeal and shriek at the presents. Vanessa would tape the whole thing and they would have another video to add to unborn baby's collection.

Blair was in the living room talking to Lily. She had stopped eating long enough to do her second activity; worry out loud. Now she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted a baby. She was afraid of hurting it within the first fifteen seconds. The only way they could placate her was telling her the same thing again and again: that nothing was going to happen.

"What if something goes wrong?" she was asking. "What if the baby comes too early or doesn't come until Christmas?"

"I highly doubt any child due in August is going to come out in December, dear," Lily said. "That is far too late. And if the baby comes late or early, there's nothing to worry about. You will be in the best of hands. It happens to people. You're healthy. The baby is healthy."

"Yeah but for how long?" she asked. "I mean, Chuck doesn't know..."

"You were told this the last time you went, Blair. The baby isn't in danger."

"I know but...there's that thing..."

"Blair..." Lily kept trying to interrupt but the worries kept coming.

"Chuck will never forgive me!" she exclaimed. "Or he's never going to like the baby! What if he becomes just like his father? Because if it happens, he will. I can't go through this! I'm just going to carry the baby with me forever!"

There was a long pause after that. Chuck found himself in a tight spot and didn't know if he wanted to take her to the baby shower. She was hiding something from him. She knew something about the baby that he didn't. And while he didn't have any idea what it was, it was going to hurt her or their child. One way or another, one of them was going to get hurt.

What if he becomes just like his father? Because if it happens, he will.

Ouch. That was the last thing he wanted. He still remembered hearing his father talk about his mother's last breath. The last breath was supposed to be like a cat's meow but no one had heard a sound from her. Evelyn Bass probably knew she would not be around so her final breath had been quiet. She had gone out peacefully but not before she struggled to give birth. She had screamed and cried and went out quietly.

It was too much. Blair was not his mother and she was not going to die. He would make sure that she didn't. Of course, she would angry that he knew but better to be angry than dead and suffering. Better to hear her screech and scream than not hear her breathing. He respected Blair but there was another life on the line. This was one secret he needed to know.

Thank God, after all these years, he still had a P.I. on speed dial.

TBC..

~ ~ ~

Note: I'm going to try to get back to my other fanfics, I swear. If only the show could inspire me more...For people fearing NS, don't worry. The main coupling here is CB and is going to stay that way. However, there will be NS interactions and NB interactions as well as CS ones in the past. I have to develop all of them, which might displease some of you. But honestly, I need it to happen. After all, they did grow up together.I know what I'm doing so I need you guys to trust me. Thanks.

The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair (6/?)

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:56:26 GMT

Title: The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Chuck/Blair
Words: +/- 1800
Rating: PG
Summary: A series of memories from Chuck and Blair's childhood that leads up to the biggest moment of their lives.
Note: GG still isn't mine and thank you Dawn for the beta.

Banner by issa_bell

Chapter 6: The Good Fairy and Evil Witch's Helper # 5

Five minutes passed before the doorbell rang again. This time, it was an extra large pepperoni pizza for Blair Waldorf. Her face lit up when the box was put on the table and she started digging into it when it was opened. Another delivery boy came by with sushi and a third arrived with hamburgers and fries. All of them were for one person and none of the delivery boys were surprised. This wasn't Blair's usual fare of food but pregnancy gave her cravings.

"What are you doing?" Chuck demanded. "None of that is good for you."

"I don't want it. The baby does." She stuffed twenty fries into her mouth and was digging through two slices of pepperoni pizza. Then she went for the hamburgers.

"The baby isn't out of your womb yet. How does it know what it wants?"

She stopped eating, mouth slathered in tomato sauce and ketchup. "Are you saying our baby is going to be stupid? That it can't make decisions for itself?!"

No. He had done it. He had caused Mt. Blair to erupt. "Are you saying that our child does not know what's good for them? That they can't choose to eat junk now and then?! ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY THAT THIS CHILD LACKS A MIND OF ITS OWN?!"

"Is okay, Miss Blair!" Dorota stepped in to calm Blair down. She had now dissolved into tears over the sushi and fries. "Mr. Chuck know nothing about children cause he no pay attention to Lamaze class...as usual." She shot an angry look at him. There was nothing he could do about it. He had learned a long time ago to never mess with the maid. What he said next would seal his doom.

"Yes, well, I have a few things to talk to my brother about!" Serena exclaimed, noticing the tension. She grabbed Chuck by the arm and started to lead him away. "Excuse us please!"

Chuck was not buying this excuse though he did follow her. "What do you want, Sis?"

"To get you away from Hurricane Blair. I have something to show you as well. We don't have a whole lot of time so I figured you should know. And by the way", Serena held out a piece of paper, "here are the most popular baby names that I have gathered. Look them over and discuss what is the best."

There was a huge list of baby names to choose from. Some noticed Blair's love for Old Hollywood movies and threw in some good names: Clark, Vivienne, Audrey, Grace, Rita, Cary, Gregory, Natalie, and James. Some were simple but worth thinking over. April was a nice choice for girl except their child was due in August and that would look awkward. Pearl also seemed to be a keeper as did Rosemary. Some were clearly jokes: Albus Severus, Reneesme Carlie, Luna Lovegood, Chun Li, M Bison, Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Mike Seaver, Carol Seaver, Soup, Turkey and Swiss on Rye, Zob, and Bagel Land. Then some people just put colors for no reason: Purple, Pink, Green, Blue, Turquoise, Ivory, Puce, and Zac Efron Blue.

"You can't be serious," he said. "I'm not choosing any names from this."

"Okay, I did run into a few people who were tipsy but...at least discuss this with Blair."

"Discuss what?" He crumpled the paper up. "The baby is due at the end of August. Blair is hormonal and not acting like herself. We haven't had a discussion since deciding where to put the baby's room. You see how she reacts to anything."

"I know, I know. Which is why I'm hoping this will cheer her up!"

She led him into a room...that was already filled with people. He could recognize his family along with a few other people and some that he didn't know. Pink and blue decorations were everywhere along with a cake and a banner that said, 'CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NEW BASS!'. Someone had dumped off a table full of crabs to eat and hammers to crack them open with. Dan Humphrey and Vanessa Abrams happened to be at this table. Chuck didn't know who to glare at first, Serena or the Brooklyn crowd.

Dan picked up one of the crabs and stared at it. "You know, this one looks kind of like Chuck. The little frowny face, beady eyes, that whole 'I'm Chuck Bass' appearance." He showed the crab to Vanessa and looked back it. "I have to admit, it's kind of cute."

Then he put it on the table, picked up a hammer, and smashed the Chuck Bass crab open. It only took them a second to notice the real Chuck Bass shooting daggers at them. Vanessa tried to hide her smile and Dan looked innocent with a bit of Chuck Bass crab in his mouth.

"On the bright side, it tastes good," he said.

"What are you both doing here? What is all of this?" Chuck demanded. He looked at Serena who was beaming with excitement. "Sis, you better have a good explanation."

"The best explanation in the world! Surprise! We're throwing you a baby shower!" she squealed, hugging him.

"A baby shower? You've had a baby shower ever since Blair announced she was pregnant! Every month, we had nothing but baby showers!"

"I know but since the baby's almost here...let's throw one more!"

He wanted to protest badly but it was too late. Serena was thrilled with her latest surprise baby shower and he couldn't ruin it. After all, Serena did help him out in many ways. She was the one who helped sort out his feelings. She knew him better than he knew himself. She noticed it from the very beginning.

~ ~ ~

Age Ten: Almost Christmas Time, Central Park

"And guess who is getting the lead in the school's Christmas play?" Blair asked. Nate and Chuck both looked at each other. No other answer would have sufficed. Blair would not hear of anyone else playing the good fairy except for her. Not that she actually had the part; they were all waiting for Serena to bring the news over.

"You, Blair. Always you." Nate nodded. "Because you're a good actress. Like in the fall play, you played a big part."

"Yeah. Witch Number Three." Chuck rolled his eyes. Unlike everyone else, he didn't want to feed into these crazy ideas Blair had. He wanted to wait for the news first. It wasn't that he wanted her to fail but Blair Waldorf took everything to the next step for no reason.

"I made my part amazing though!" Blair exclaimed.

"You punched Hazel by accident and she was unconscious for the rest of your scene."

Nate smiled sheepishly. "Oh yeah, I remember that. You know that wasn't a nice thing to do, Blair."

"Please! Hazel was in my way and trying to steal my glory!" Blair snapped. Then she smiled and smoothed out her bright red coat. "But I'm not worried this time. My competition is very small. The good fairy is dainty and poised and not dancing around some big old boiling pot with other witches."

"Uh-huh." Nate nodded, still mesmerized by Blair pretending to be a fairy. Chuck had to hold back the witty remark he had. He knew Nate was currently crushing on Blair. He could tell from all the N & B signs he wrote on everything. He had even written NB 4ever in the snow. It was almost funny how lovesick Nate Archibald had become.

Yet Chuck couldn't bring himself being happy about this. Two of his best friends dating. He couldn't picture them as a perfect couple. They'd be frigid and boring if they got together. Now if it were Chuck and Blair; that was another story. Blair got snippy and acted more like herself around Chuck. They would have an interesting relationship if they ever got far. But no. Nate had his eye on Blair. Nate always got what he wanted.

They waited for a good five minutes before Serena showed up.

"Finally!" Chuck sighed. "Let's get this over with."

"Serena, Serena, Serena!" Blair squealed, running over to her friend. "I got it, didn't I?! I got the part of the good fairy! That's what you came to tell me."

To everyone's shock, Serena didn't look as happy. "Well, B...you got a part. It's just not the part you wanted."

Blair's face fell. "I'm not the good fairy?"

Serena shook her head. "I'm sorry, B. But you're still in the play!"

"As what?"

"...Evil Witch's Helper #5."

Blair blinked. Then her mouth started opening and closing. "Evil...evil witch's helper? A helper?! THE FIFTH HELPER?!"

"Yeah."

"Ouch," Nate whispered. "I hate to know who got the good fairy's part."

"Well, who's playing the good fairy? Is it Hazel? Because I'll give her more than a lump on the head!"Like on cue, Blair demanded.

"It's not Hazel."

"And Hazel Williams lives for another day," Chuck said.

"Well, then, who stole my part from me?!"

"Um..." Serena looked at the ground. "Blair, they gave the part to me."

All the color that had been in Blair's face drained out fast. "...You?"

"I wanted to get out and give it to you!" Serena added quickly. "But they said you were better suited to play a witch's helper. According to them...you don't have innocence."

"I...I don't have innocence?"

"I'm so sorry, Blair. I wanted to give it up but...they wouldn't let me."

"Oh no," Nate whispered. "What's going to happen?"

"Ten bucks says Blair's head explodes like in that alien movie," Chuck murmured.

Blair's head did not explode. Instead, her face turned three different shades of purple before she stormed away. Serena looked embarrassed and kept looking down at her toes. The last thing she wanted to do was have the part that her best friend wanted. Blair would probably never speak to her again.

Yet this gave Chuck a good idea. He nudged Nate. "Now's your chance, Archibald."

Nate looked confused. "For what?"

"Go after Blair. She needs someone and obviously she doesn't want to talk to Serena. You've got to tell her that it's not the end of the world."

"Yeah but...what if she doesn't listen to me either?"

"She will. Tell her that she did her best, she's still a good actress, and that she will do great. Because she will." He nodded. "Buy her candy too. Maybe a flower. Show her that she's worth something. You know it and I know it. Let her know it."

"Are you sure this will work?"

"I know it will. Now go, Archibald!" He motioned Nate to chase Blair. "Go! Before she decides to run away to Delaware or become a bag lady or something!"

"Oh...okay! Thanks, Chuck!"

As soon as Nate was gone, Serena looked over at Chuck. "You know, with the advice you gave, you sound like you care about Blair. It's like you wanted to do that yourself but were too scared to."

He shrugged. "She's my friend. I'm not scared of anything. Besides, Nate's the one that likes her as more."

He's not the only one. Serena thought to herself but couldn't say out loud. The picture was so clear to her and she was surprised Chuck didn't see it. The was no doubt about it. Nate Archibald was not the only one with interest in Blair Waldorf. He had competition who was giving up too easily.

But if Chuck ever got tired of chasing girls and settled down, it was still clear who his number one choice would be.

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Author's Note: Happy Halloween, everyone! I was going to a Halloween related chapter but then the stores started putting Christmas stuff out and this happened. Anyway, it might be a while before I update anything I again (I'm doing NaNoWriMo for the fifth time in a row) but if a genius moment hits, I might take a break from the novel. Thank you all for sticking around. It's much appreciated.

And to the titmouse complaining about the story: Uh, yes, they will love each other but you forgot that BLAIR IS FREAKING PREGNANT! More specifically, she's almost at the end of this pregnancy! How the hell can they be all passionate and having sex when she's pregnant? And if you're that worried about lack of love, trust me, they love each other. The sweet moments between them will come. In case you didn't notice, I'm only on chapter six. Who knows how long this story will last?

Furthermore, Serena is not as one-dimensional as you think she is. She notices things to. Whether or not she reacts is another thing. And deep down, I truly believe she cares about everyone. The same thing with Nate. They're not that stupid, thanks. So if you're not into her character, that's one thing. To tell me to write her as something different...no, not doing it. I don't mind criticism but telling me what I should and shouldn't put in my story is where I draw the line.

The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair (5/?)

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:42:15 GMT

Title: The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Chuck/Blair
Words: +/- 1800
Rating: PG
Summary: A series of memories from Chuck and Blair's childhood that leads up to the biggest moment of their lives.
Note: GG still isn't mine and thank you Dawn for the beta.

Banner by issa_bell

Chapter 5: Snuggie, Diaper Genie, and The Magic Rock

Blair being pregnant was never a problem. She found out quickly when she started feeling sick. She had been taking care of herself and Chuck looked after her, so she went to the doctor when she had the feeling that she was "going to explode". The doctor had to correct her; she was not going to explode, she was going to have a baby. Her reaction to the news was calm...until she got on the phone with Serena. Then she was in hysterics. Before anyone had time to digest the news, it was posted in Gossip Girl's blog.

Spotted: One of our well-known Upper East Siders is on Baby Bump Watch! Her initials are the same as Baby Bump...and this time, it's for real. Enjoy yourselves while you can, New York City. Baby Bass is going to take over in nine months.

Chuck didn't find out from Blair or Gossip Girl about the pregnancy. Instead, it was Carter Baizen who dropped the news. He had entered Chuck's office somehow and offered his congratulations. Chuck fumed the whole time Carter was making his way around the room, talking about how nice pictures would look in it. School pictures. Prom pictures. Family pictures. It didn't take very long for Chuck to get what he was hinting at.

"She told you and not me?" he demanded.

"Relax. I'm sure you'd learn soon. Think about it, Bass. You're going to be a father. It's big news." Carter smirked. "You spent your whole life driving around in your limo, making love to women in it, and taking...your wife's virginity, if I remember." Chuck's eyes flashed angrily as Carter quickly added. "She told me about it during our little fling. Well, now you're going to be using that limo to drive to baseball practices and piano recitals and ballet lessons..."

"No son of mine is taking ballet lessons!"

"You don't know what it is yet, Bass. Anyway, congratulations on the new arrival."

At home, Blair was ready with the news. All of New York knew that she was expecting. It was a mix of excitement, fear, and regrets rolled in one. Serena seemed to be the most excited out of everyone. It gave her an excuse to check out all the latest baby outfits and items needed. She had bought several tapes on pregnancy and parenthood. She got Jenny to make baby quilts and pillows and all kinds of tiny little booties, which Chuck hated. There were already two million stuffed animals in the baby's room, including a stuffed dolphin that sang lullabies. They were ready with diapers, nannies, and strollers to take the baby out, but deep down, neither one was prepared.

Serena always brought something new for the child. In addition to the horrible mustard-colored outfit, she had something called a Snuggie. It was bright blue and stitched on the back of it was the following: PROUD TO BE A BASS. It was even more embarrassing than the baby outfit. What made Serena think these were good ideas?

"You put it on the front to carry the baby around in," she explained, showing Blair how to wear it. "In case you get tired of carrying it or using the stroller. It's so comfortable that the baby won't have to be anywhere else! You and Chuck take turns wearing this!"

Chuck got a quick vision of him wearing the Snuggie. "I'm not going to be seen in public wearing that!"

"Oh, but you'll wear it in the house? That is so sweet of you," Blair murmured. Damn, he hadn't thought about the indoors. Before he could protest this, Blair turned her attention back to Serena. "I'm so glad you're taking care of all of this. No one else is reliable. I told Dorota to get something and she came back with diapers but not the Diaper Genie." At this, she began to sob. "I love the Diaper Genie!"

There it was. If Blair wasn't raging and crazy, she was emotional about ridiculous things. Now was definitely one of those times. Serena looked up helplessly at Chuck, wishing she could do something. But it was best to let Blair cry out her emotions. The last time anyone got involved, Blair's rage returned and she threw her shoes at Dan Humphrey. Not that Chuck was sorry to see Humphrey getting yelled at, but he did not want to be in the same place.

"I love the Snuggie!" Blair sobbed.

"I'm so glad you do, B," Serena murmured, still looking at Chuck. She was obviously thinking what he was thinking; they might not have been related by blood, but their thoughts remained the same. Neither could believe that all the years spent together led to this.

It wasn't like the magic rock.

~ ~ ~

Age Eight, In the..."Wilderness"

"Okay!" Serena dropped a giant rock in front of everyone. She stood in front of the fireplace and looked at the three people before her. Nate, Chuck, and Blair waited with their stuffed animals for the rules to this game. "It's time to play Magic Rock!"

"What's Magic Rock?" Nate asked. It was the first thing he said since they had been dropped off at this 'campsite'. Of course, the 'campsite' was really the Waldorf's house. No one was going to real camp anytime soon so they were going to pretend. Of the three, Nate was the most scared. He clutched the stuffed panda bear that he had brought along. It didn't matter that they weren't really in the woods. He was still away from his family. So the idea of a 'magic rock' now intrigued him.

"We tell stories using the Magic Rock," Serena explained. "Whoever has the rock in their hands, tells a part of the story. They don't stop until they give the rock to someone else."

"What kind of stories?" Blair asked.

"We just make them up. Like...okay, I'll show you. I'm going to start because I have the magic rock." Serena took it. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named Snow White. And she lived with her father and evil..." She handed the rock to Chuck. "Now it's Chuck's turn to tell the rest of the story until he gives the rock to someone else. Got it?"

"No. Because I already know the story about Snow White! I had to play Sneezy, remember?" Chuck grumbled, still remembering the horrors of their first grade class play. Aside from an itchy costume and not getting to kiss Snow White aka Blair Waldorf (Nate got the role of the Prince), Bart Bass had come to town for this wonderful occasion. While he never told Chuck exactly what he thought of the performance, he had taken plenty of videos of Chuck's scenes. Apparently, he watched them over and over again.

"Make up a story, Chuck!" Serena snapped. "You have the magic rock!"

"Fine." Chuck rolled his eyes and turned to his stuffed purple frog, Howard. Howard seemed to be the only person not into this magic rock mess, but Howard couldn't say a thing about it. He was too busy staring at Arnold, Nate's stuffed panda. "Once upon a time, there was a magic...stock market!"

"What?!" Blair explained. "Stock markets aren't magic! Daddy said so!"

"I have the magic rock so I'm telling the story!" Chuck shot back.

"He has a point, B," Serena added.

Still, Chuck wanted to change it. "Okay, once upon a time, there was a magic hotel. It was also a dangerous hotel. Because in it...there were headless ghosts that howled!"

"How can a ghost if it's headless? It doesn't have a mouth!" Blair explained.

"Excuse me, I have the magic rock," Chuck reminded her. "Anyway, people were scared to go in it because it was haunted. Until one day..." He handed the rock to Blair. "Okay, now you finish it."

Blair frowned but took the magic rock from him. "One day, they realized that ghosts couldn't howl if they were headless. So they thought it was something else. The people in the hotel looked in all the rooms and saw nothing. Except there was one room that no one went into. It was..." She handed the rock to Serena.

"Room 11!" Serena exclaimed. "No one that went in room 11 ever came back out alive! All that came out of it was..."

"DEAD BODIES!" Chuck stole the magic rock from her. "And aliens! And a bunch of zombie clowns that ate your brains while you slept!"

"Ew, no!" Blair griped, taking the rock from him. "Really, what came out of the room was the cleaning lady...but she was not an ordinary cleaning lady, she was..."

"A ZOMBIE!" Chuck took the rock from her.

"You guys, share that rock!" Serena took it from Chuck. "So the zombie cleaning lady was the one responsible for killing people. She ate their brains while they slept and lived with aliens in the attic. That's also where she hid the dead bodies. But no one ever suspected a thing because..."

"She was a headless ghost too!" Chuck took the rock. "A headless zombie ghost who lived with aliens and dead bodies in an attic and ate people's brains! She also liked to steal teeth from the Tooth Fairy!"

"There is no such thing as Tooth Fairy!" Blair pointed out. "Just like there's no such thing as Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, or Communism!"

"This is a story! Any story can have...Communism in it! Plus I have the magic rock! I'm telling it now!"

"Well, not anymore!" Blair took it from him. "Unfortunately for the evil cleaning lady, the ghost catchers came and caught her and saved all the people that was she was eating..."

"How can they save someone that she's eating? They're already dead!"

"You guys!" Serena kept pleading despite no one listening. When that didn't work, she took the rock away. "The hotel was no longer haunted and there were no more dead people and aliens and everyone lived happily ever after! The end!"

There was a good moment of silence between them. Blair glared at Chuck while he shot glares back at her. It became too much. The two of them started laughing at the idiocy of their magic rock story. Then Serena joined in. Finally, Nate started to laugh though he wasn't sure why. Their scary story turned out to be a comedy that had all four in stitches on the carpet.

"That was the worst story ever!" Blair exclaimed. "Headless ghosts, zombies, aliens...how did that end happily ever after?"

"I don't know but it was great. Let's do it again!" Chuck added. "Let's do it right this time!"

"Okay!" Serena sat up and took the rock. It was time for another round of Magic Rock. "But before we do it again, is there anything we need to do first?"

Nate raised his hand. "Can someone pass me the rock? I wanna to tell a story too."

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: I was going to do one of the other stories but then I got stuck in a hospital's gift shop and the baby section. I think it's the headbands that did me in ;)

The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair (4/?)

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:53:31 GMT

Title: The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Chuck/Blair
Words: +/- 2100
Rating: PG
Summary: A series of memories from Chuck and Blair's childhood that leads up to the biggest moment of their lives.
Note: GG still isn't mine and thank you Dawn for the beta.

I always forget to post this banner by issa_bell. *headdesk*

Chapter 4: Baby Names and Aliens

Chuck woke up to find Blair out of bed already. She had to have gotten mad that he wasn't up when she was. These days, Blair's biological clock was off. She would go to bed at seven on some nights and wake up at four AM on others. Pregnancy was driving him just as crazy. He couldn't wait until the baby was here and their lives would return to normal.

But there was no use in making Blair wait for him. He got dressed and decided to see what shenanigans she was up to now. Downstairs, he could hear a conversation that she was having with someone. As he listened in, he could make out the other person: Serena. No surprises there.

It was a routine now. Serena would stop by early and the two would go on about their new favorite thing: baby names. It seemed that his sister was more excited about the new arrival than he was. Ever since Blair announced the pregnancy, Serena began planning the whole thing. She had already gotten them everything for the nursery. Now she had moved on to buying baby clothes and other necessities and she was loving every minute of the baby shopping.

As he headed down the stairs, he could hear an argument brewing although Blair was the only one who seemed angry. Serena remained calm and reassuring. "It can't be that bad."

"Kortney Bass? Kortney with a K? No, S. That sounds like some Paris Hilton look-a-like's name! Come on, give me something else!"

"Okay, how about Piper?"

"Ugh, reminds me of Charmed...especially how bad it got without Shannen Doherty and her wandering pupil. Come on, give me something else."

"Well, if you have a boy, how about you name him after Chuck?"

"No way! One is enough. I don't know if I can live with my son using "I'm Chuck Bass Jr" as an excuse for everything!" He heard Blair bang her fist on the table. "Come on, S. Be more creative! This baby is due any day and we still don't know what to name it."

"How about...Audrey?"

"Audrey." Blair thought it over. Naming the child after Audrey Hepburn couldn't hurt if it was a girl. "That's a possibility. Mark that one down."

"I like that one too," Chuck said, finally getting into the kitchen. Both women greeted him with a smile. "When we have a girl, keep that one in mind."

"It's settled then. Audrey is a top choice," Blair said.

"Good morning, Beautiful." He gave her a kiss, then looked at Serena. Like Blair, she was older and prettier, dressing more classy. Inside, however, she remained the same person she had always been. "And I should say that you look ravishing as well, Sis."

"Well, it's good to know fatherhood isn't going to change everything about my brother," Serena said. "How are you?"

"Still waiting," he admitted, looking at Blair's stomach. She now had that 'pregnant glow' that all expecting women got. It made her look more amazing, not worse. "My heir is in there."

"Your heir? What country has you as its king?" Blair snorted. "And how come I'm not the queen of it?"

"Well, you're the queen of my heart. Isn't that enough?"

"...It's something," she decided.

"You guys are so cute. All these years and you're still cute. Oh, by the way, I saw this and had it made specially for the baby and this is my early baby shower gift to you!" Serena pulled something out of a bag. "Ta da! Jenny put the little designs and the special message on it."

It was a horrible mustard yellow colored baby outfit with stamps stitched all over it. There were stamps all over the chest and stomach and a few on the derriere. In bright green letters, 'SHIP ME TO AUNT SERENA'S HOUSE' was stitched across the front. He wasn't sure what this was but it was ugly.

Serena, on the other hand, was beaming with delight. "I thought this was the cutest idea ever! And this isn't the only one the baby is getting. I had several of this outfits made but with different people's names: Nate, Jenny, Mom, Rufus, Eric. By the way, there are three sets for the grandparents: one for Mom and Rufus, one from Blair's mom and Cyrus, and one for Blair's Dad and Roman! I also have matching booties, mittens for when it gets cold, a hat, and a cloth diaper!"

Chuck took one more look at the horrible mustard-colored monstrosity before shaking his head. His child would not be seen in this. "No."

"Come on! It's cute!"

"No son of mine is wearing..." He pointed to it. "Whatever that is you bought. And Jenny Humphrey can do much better than stamps."

"Chuck, look at it! It's precious!" She showed off the back where two stamps were stitched on the rear end. "You have to let the baby wear this if I'm going to baby sit. And you know that I'm going to baby sit because you two will...well, you'll need privacy." Serena was still waving the ugly thing around. "And I know you're both aching for it. You can't hide this from me anymore."

"Actually, S, I haven't thought about it in forever...because Chuck will never touch me again after this." Blair glared at him. "One night. One night was fine, you said. One night won't hurt us if we don't use a condom. I listened to you and this happens."

He could not believe he was hearing this. First the ugly outfit, now Blair refused to touch him. "I need a drink."

"No!" This time it was Dorota barking at him. She had come in with breakfast and to give him another lecture. "No drink for baby, Mr. Chuck!"

"...I'm getting the drink, not giving it to Blair."

"Baby can see everything," Dorota said knowingly. "Baby know when you do good and bad. Baby not happy when Mr. Chuck go drunk."

It made no sense to him but he gave up. Dorota was still more loyal to Blair than him and she could kill him in his sleep. Much as he hated to admit it, the maid scared him sometimes, but he could not blame Dorota for anything. After all, he owed a lot to her. Especially back in the day. She saved him when no one else wanted to.

~ ~ ~

Age Six, Concluded

Blair Waldorf made him angry.

Okay, she was a pretty girl and she told good stories about her dreams, but she was a horrible friend. No wonder his father told him never to get close with girls now. They had a way of leaving you forever. Just like his mother. Not that he knew who she was, she had been gone ever since he was a baby. Blair was no different and he was dumb to think that she was.

He wanted to teach the others a lesson so he ran from them. He wanted them to feel bad. He wanted them to cry for him and be sorry he was gone. But wandering around did not help his feet so he finally sat down under a tree and waited for someone to find him. After all, he was Chuck Bass. If anyone cared about him, they would come for him. And if they didn't, his father would sue them.

Or not. There was some doubt in his mind. Bart Bass could be cold to him. Some jerk told him it was because Chuck's mother died while giving birth to him. He didn't know how this guy knew but that thought dragged him down. What if it was true? Would his father hate him for something like that? Was he a mommy killer? And if his father did hate him, then who loved him?

Not Blair. No, that girl was horrible. Nate could have her if he wanted. Although he would feel bad for his best friend, at least she'd be someone else's problem. He couldn't believe he was stupid enough to believe her. She was snotty and mean and annoying like all the other girls. It was a shame because he thought she would be different. He thought she was someone who would see him as more than Chuck Bass. Someone who would like him as a friend.

Relaxing under the tree, he heard something crinkling. What was it? He looked behind him to see nothing. Then another crinkle sound. What could that be? Nate had been talking about alien abductions the last three days. He mentioned how the aliens would have octopus tentacles and sucked brains out of their victims. Then they would replace the brains with brains of other animals and turn people into zombies. So far, five people had been turned into zombies and were doing weird things.

When Chuck first heard this, he wondered if aliens had sucked Nate's brain out. Now he was wondering about the abduction stories. Everyone that had been abducted had been alone. They had heard a sound right before they were taken to the mother ship. Was that this? Did aliens make crinkle sounds? Was his brain going to be sucked out and replaced with something else? Would he end up being a Chuck Bass zombie?! Now he was getting scared and wishing he didn't run away. He didn't want his brain gone. They needed to take someone else to the mother ship. Maybe somebody from Brooklyn would be a better fit.

Something grabbed him from behind, causing him to yell, "I'm Chuck Bass!"

"...I know that," Blair replied. "And I was hoping it was you."

He turned to see an entire search party behind her. Dorota, Blair's maid, was holding onto Serena and Nate. There were several other adults including the police, carnival officials, and...to his shock...his father. Everyone started talking at once with Bart Bass trying to break through the crowd, but Blair was the one who made it to him first, the one who was still looking at him. There was something in her eyes that he couldn't make out. It seemed like she was ashamed.

"I thought you were an alien," he said. "Like the ones that Nate talked about."

"Nate was probably abducted by aliens," Blair murmured, looking down at her feet. "Look, Chuck, I just wanna say...well, I'm trying..." She had a hard time with this. Why was Dorota making her apologize? She never made anybody apologize. "Chuck, I never did this before, but Dorota said I should do it. It's the right thing to do."

"Did what? Look at your feet?"

"No, I never said I'm sorry. Because I am," she said, finally looking up. "I said bad things to you. I lied to you. I made you run away. And now I'm in trouble because I did. Even Dorota said I was a bad girl. Dorota never said I was a bad girl and now…" Her eyes welled up. "I feel like a bad girl. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he said. It wasn't the most elaborate apology but at least she meant these words. He had no reason to question anything. He could see it all in her eyes. She felt bad and she wanted him to know it.

"Are you mad at me?"

"I'm glad you're not an alien who wants to suck my brain out."

She smiled. "Thanks, Chuck. I feel better."

"Me too. So...we're really friends?"

"Yeah. We're really friends."

The conversation had to end there because Bart finally made it and picked Chuck up, asking his son a million questions. Harold came over to pull Blair away with a "We need to have a talk about respecting others, young lady" and Nate wanted to know if aliens landed in New York. Again. All the questions and talking kept him from Blair that night but at least he had some relief.

As Bart carried him away, Chuck looked over at Blair who was also being led away with a lecture. She turned to see him and he waved at her. She waved back, hoping that this would be the end of everything. She had apologized and no longer had to agonize over Chuck's disappearance.

Yet there was nothing she could do. Chuck was her friend and she was his. This time, she was not ashamed about it. Apologies did a lot of things and strengthening a bond between two people was no exception.

TBC...

Note: Wow, I take a long time with these things, don't I? Sorry, guys. I promise to move a little faster when I have a less hectic time at home. I doubt this one will get as long as "Postcards" is looking right now. And yes, everyone will more or less be in this. Some more than others but I'm trying to fit the whole family/friends/etc in. Thanks for all your support here! It's much appreciated.

Haiku

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:30:20 GMT

Two Haiku

winter chill greets me
as i bend over to touch
snowflakes on my toes

---

another autumn
with its leaves of red and gold
blows through my front door

-Copyright 2009: Carter Tachikawa

~CT

PFATW- Chapter 13: To Daddy From Blair

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:48:16 GMT

Chemistry Out of Nothing At All (4/?)

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:34:17 GMT

Title: Chemistry Out of Nothing At All (4/?)
Fandom: Gossip Girl/RPF
Pairing: Ed &hearts Leighton. Bonus of RPattz and Betty White!
Summary: Continuation of "Chemistry At Bay" (though reading that is not required to understand this). Now that Leighton's back, everything should be okay. She's getting more time with Ed. So what's the problem now?
Note: Thanks to Dawn for the beta. Whatever she missed is her fault, nyahahahahaha! Thanks to all of you that are still sticking with this.

Banner by issa_bell

Part 4

Today's filming schedule was awkward. They started with latter scenes and were now going to do one of the earlier ones: when Agent 35 met Contessa Fontessa Vontessa I, the client's grandmother. Apparently, the grandmother was the one who wanted to hire him. Her daughter, Contessa Fontessa Vontessa II, had been killed years earlier and now the same creep was after her granddaughter. This new scene was where they would film the first meeting on the streets.

As usual, a crowd had gathered at the filming sight. Three million girls were squealing for Rob who wasn't going to be on set at the moment. But Ed was there and that was more than enough. Thirty marriage proposals, fifteen first born offerings, and one pair of panties were offered to him as he walked out. However, he opted not to sign those and instead signed autograph books and other movie paraphernalia.

Already the poster was out for the movie and all the names were scrawled on top: Ed Westwick, Robert Pattinson, Leighton Meester, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Curry, and Betty White. Leighton had stopped by to stare it on the wall. It was a lovely image of her and Ed in the front with Rob close to the bottom. Samuel was supposed to be Ed's mentor, Tim Curry was playing the main villain, and Betty White was going to be Contessa Fontessa Vontessa I. She had been a last minute addition to the script. So far, she was giving everyone else a run for their money. But that was expected.

"Like it?" Ed wanted to know. He had managed to get away from squealing girls, including the one who wanted her underwear signed. She was glad the he made it out alive. At least she had time with him alone. Instead of making fun of hate mail, they could make fun of the poster.

"My nose looks too big," she complained. "And they put Rob right under my neck. What is that supposed to mean? I thought you two were the bigger roles. Not to mention, he's billed second on this thing."

"But you're not really complaining, are you?"

"Not at all." Secretly, she was pleased that she and Ed were both taking up most of the poster. It had an element of surprise for those who thought she and Ed were the major couple in this. At the same time, it made her sad. Ed wasn't going to run into her arms in the end.

"If I quit again, do you think they'll change the script so I end up with you?" she asked.

"Leight..."

"Kidding, kidding."

Except she wasn't. They had already done enough for her yet she wasn't happy. The ending sounded terrible. Sure, she didn't die this time but Ed left her anyway. She could feel Ed squeezing her shoulder and she leaned back into him. If only they could end the movie properly. They could get away with fake sex on Gossip Girl. Why not a fake marriage here? She wouldn't mind being fake married to Ed. Or real married.

Unfortunately, it was time for work and he let her go. "Come on. They want us."

"Again?"

He nodded. "See you on set."

It didn't take long to get on set because the director began calling for them five minutes later. The makeup artists were working fast and the customer designer finally had everyone dressed. All the fans had been sent to watch in the back while they got ready. The director began screaming at them one more time and then turned his attention to the cast.

"All right, everyone, we're doing an early scene. Take your places! Betty, you're going to start! Ed, Leighton...take your places! Quiet on set, people! No flash photography!"

They ran to their places where Betty White already waiting for them. Leighton was supposed to walk up as the other two were having a conversation. She started walking early but it was good enough to begin. The crowd went quiet and the cameras were ready to roll.

"And...ACTION!"

Leighton began walking up in time to hear the middle of the conversation. Contessa Fontessa Vontessa I was giving Agent 35 a piece of her mind as well as the first payment.

"Okay, listen up, 007. You better be treating my granddaughter like the precious jewel that she is or I'm going to kick your scrawny secret agent ass!"

There were a few giggles from the girls that were watching. Betty White was doing phenomenal as always. Then again, she could switch from man hungry to sweet to complete bitch in two minutes flat. Lucky for Betty, Ed was just as good at turning the charms on. He took her hand and kissed it.

"Rest assured, Misss Vontessa...at least I'm hoping it's Miss Vontessa," he murmured. "I apologize if I'm wrong."

"...It will be whatever the hell you want it to be, Mr. Bond, when you do your job right. You can put moves on me later. Right now, I'm hiring you to protect my granddaughter!" Betty snapped. "Now move your bubble butt and start shooting up the assholes that are trying to kill Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III! If she dies, do you know what that means?"

"...There will be no Contessa Fontessa Vontessa IV?"

"Yeah, that and you'll be lacking something inside your_"

"Okay, grandma, okay! That's enough!" This was Leighton cue. She cut between them and looked at Ed, straightening his tie. Now it was time to flirt like the script said. But she didn't need a script to flirt. "Rest assured, Agent 35 is the best that they have sent. I'm sure he'll do great."

"He better or he's going end up with no_"

"Grandma!"

"Fine, fine, flirt with Agent Tacky Taglines over there! See how far you get." That ended Betty's scene and now it was Leighton's turn. This was one of her favorite scenes to do. It was also one of the easier ones. She got to fiddle with his tie and collar throughout the whole thing. Then she would run her fingers through his hair and dig into the nape of his neck. Something told her that Ed liked this.

"I'm sorry about my grandmother," she explained. "Ever since my mother died, she's been on edge. She's been wanting revenge on every authority figure that has failed to find my mother's killer. Now she's worried that I will reach the same fate."

"No, you won't. Not while I'm here," he promised. "I have been trained to serve and protect my clients at all costs. You are no exception to the rule, Miss Vontessa. It is Miss Vontessa, right?" He looked at her with the same look he gave Betty White. But it was more deep. His eyes were beautiful and warm when he said that line. "Forgive me if I'm wrong."

"You're not," she promised him. Her hands ran through his hair and tugged on it. "However, my grandmother has a point. I am trusting you with my life. It is the most precious thing I have now. Don't let me down, Agent 35."

"I swear my life to protect you, Miss Vontessa."

"Please call me Contessa. If you are sworn to protect me, I feel we should be more comfortable. And maybe one day, you can tell me your name." Her lips were close enough to kiss his. If this was Gossip Girl, they would have been on the floor with no clothes by now. But she was holding back. The sexual tension between them now was heavy and hot. That was as far as they could go.

"Why would anyone want to kill you, Contessa?"

"I don't know. Why would anyone want to kill my mother? Or anyone? I just want to do what I do best. I want to dance and spread the joy of dance to the world. I never asked to be a part of this!" Time for Contessa to become frustrated. Then, not really thinking straight, Leighton reached up and hugged him. "Please protect me! I need you more than ever, Eddie!"

"Cut cut CUT!" Now it was the director's turn to get frustrated. "Leighton, you're not supposed to jump him! And his name isn't Eddie here!"

"Eddie?" Ed mouthed to her, slightly amused and slightly confused. She felt embarrassed and slowly dropped her arms. Of course. Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III was supposed to use her charms to lure him in. She wasn't supposed to jump him now.

"Sorry," she apologized though she wasn't sure to who. Ed was blushing and the director was almost turning purple. Any minute and his head would explode. "I'll try to remember all that next time!"

Unfortunately, the scene wasn't getting any better and now she was stumbling over her lines. The director's head didn't explode, but he never stopped looking like an eggplant. Ed stayed professional but even he couldn't help, but crack a grin now and then. She kept her hands off him all right but it wasn't working as well.

"I don't know. Why would anyone want to kill my...father? No, that's not who died, is it? Who is dead, anyway?"

"I am trusting you with my life. It is the most precious thing I have now. Don't let me down, Chuck Bass."

"Please call me Leighton."

"Cut, cut, CUT! Try those lines again on break and please stop putting Gossip Girl in everything!" The director was practically pissing himself now. "Everyone take five! Come back when you actually know what you're doing!"

Leighton blushed. "Sorry. But I have to admit, calling you Chuck Bass is actually kind of funny."

Ed, however, didn't seem as amused. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were doing fine before. What's wrong? You're not getting anything right."

"I'm...I'm just a little flustered," she said. That was the partial truth. "I know the lines. I swear I know them! It's just..." She rolled her eyes. "I kind of hate them."

"I did all that I could the first time."

"I know but..." Again, she trailed off. "I thought I wanted this. I do want this." He narrowed his gaze and she couldn't lie anymore. "Okay, I wanted this...now I'm not sure. What am I going to do? I have never been so nervous before. Gossip Girl is so much easier. Everything else is easier than this."

Not knowing what she was doing, she leaned into his shoulder. Somehow, Ed had a wonderful shoulder and it soft enough for her to rest on. Maybe he was a little mushy on the inside but mush never hurt anyone. It made him a good cushion this way. He put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. It was rare to get a hug from him these days but he gave good hugs. Never too tight, never loose enough to fall out. He was so warm too. His kisses were divine but the hugs were perfection. She could be lost in them for hours.

"What do I do?" she asked.

"Is that really all?"

"Um..." Again, no real answer for him. "It should be."

"But it's not."

She didn't reply this time. Instead, she tried to keep her lines memorized while he buried a kiss into her dark hair. She didn't want to be anywhere else now. If only this was a part of the script, they would nail this perfectly. If only she could end up with him in the end, they would be fine. If only she could go back and say no to whole thing, then everything would be perfect.

If only she had him in the first place.

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: I'm sorry about my delays with everything. Home life is just getting more and more stressful and I'm getting more and more stressed. *blushes* I swear I will work on Postcards soon. I have the idea, I just haven't had the time for it or Small Moments yet. EL usually comes out the fastest if you didn't notice, lol.

Chemistry Out of Nothing At All (3/?)

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:43:18 GMT

Title: Chemistry Out of Nothing At All (3/?)
Fandom: Gossip Girl/RPF
Pairing: Ed &hearts Leighton. Bonus of RPattz
Summary: Continuation of "Chemistry At Bay" (though reading that is not required to understand this). Now that Leighton's back, everything should be okay. She's getting more time with Ed. So what's the problem now?
Note: Thanks to Dawn for the beta. Whatever she missed is her fault, nyahahahahaha! Thanks to all of you that are still sticking with this. Twilight fans, please don't be offended by how some of the 'fans' are reacting. What's sad is I've seen some very crazy stuff...so yes, it's pretty real. (Now I love and respect RPattz but there are some places on your body that he does not belong).

Banner by issa_bell

Part 3

Everything went flying everywhere and she managed to dodge the bullet in time. People started screaming and the cameras were rolling. Food toppled all over the place. Yet that little bit of action ended the moment everything was on the ground.

"And...cut! Beautiful! Good job, everyone!" For the first time since they started filming, their director was pleased with how the scene had been pulled off. Leighton played helpless and useless well enough. Robert was getting better at being a bitch. And Ed was flawless as always. All at once, assistants ran to them and began cleaning them up. The makeup artist had to come back and retouch everything. Stylists were fixing them up left and right. Meanwhile, the director continued to shower praises.

"All right, that was amazing! Finally, Leighton, you're acting like you're alive!"

It was probably the worst compliment anyone ever gave her, but she took it. As the assistants began wiping salad dressing off her, she watched Robert spit out an olive pit in the street. He had been chewing on it during the scene. Immediately, twelve girls and five women ran over to pick it up. It was a sad sight as these women were clawing away at each other for that olive pit. Five men had to come and drag them away, still squealing and screaming at one another. Someone yelled "Edward's spit is on my hand!" and another woman jumped her.

"God, I hate that Twilight franchise." She heard her director say. "Why are they all here? I'm not directing Twilight 5: The Sun Finally Comes Out and Burns These Morons! Clear this area! Everyone that's watching, keep quiet on set! Everyone here is at work! They'll sign everything for you later!"

This commotion went on for a good two minutes. The police finally had to intervene and keep the women away from the set.

"You okay, Leight?"

She turned around to find an unharmed Ed behind her. A tiny dollop of ranch dressing was on his forehead but he was the cleanest of all. Lucky for him. The dollop was annoying her though. It looked like bird crap running down on him. If she could just inch close enough and brush her finger against his forehead, she could get rid of it.

"I'm good," she said, slowly inching her hand upwards. "I'm sad we had to cut this before you got to shoot anyone though."

"Maybe it's better. Look at them!" He pointed to another group of squealing women. This time, they were squealing for Ed. There was a whole section wearing T-shirts that said 'Sexlips is my sugar daddy!' and another group that was chanting for the two of them. They could still hear all the 'Kiss each other! Kiss each other!' coming all the way from the back.

"Yeah, you don't want to be charged with manslaughter." Slowly, her hand made it up to his elbow. "I hope we're filming indoors tomorrow. Maybe we'll luck out and do the pretend roleplaying sex scene."

"Pretend?" He winked at her. "I've been shagging you on Gossip Girl for the past two years and trying to make it real. Now I've got to pretend?"

"I know. I hate that part too." This time, she managed to get up to his shoulder. Her hand squeezed and she could feel how strong he had become. This movie was doing wonderful things to his body. She began to grow jealous of Jessica. At the end of the day, he went home to her. Not to Leighton. Never to Leighton. As far as they both knew, they were friends. Nothing more. They couldn't be anything more.

But damn, their chemistry made it hard to stay as friends. The fake sex in the movie was going to be the worst experience of her life. It was the part they had the hardest time with. As soon as Ed kissed her, they began to ravage each other. The director stopped them several times and reminded them that this wasn't Gossip Girl: Rated R. But she couldn't help it. The moment Ed's thick lips touched hers, she wanted to succumb to him. Every dirty thought he whispered in her ear made her want him more. Every second of that scene, she wanted to rip his clothes off and lick the sweat off his body.

Wait, what am I thinking? I'm dating Sebastian, he's dating Jessica! She shook the thought out of her head. I'm thinking about doing naughty things with my friend's boyfriend! I have a boyfriend already! I love Seb. Ed loves Jess. We love each other as friends! That's how it should be!

But the more she tried to convince herself that it was wrong, the more she thought about how right they were. He brought out the best inside of her. He had that affect, making her feel more like a woman, than any man. Not even Seb, who she loved, could do what Ed did to her. It was all part of his charm. He could have chemistry with a paper bag and still make it hot. So it was no wonder that she felt like doing him when they were 'fake shagging' on Gossip Girl.

But he's not mine. She reminded herself. He's not going to be mine! You shouldn't be chasing after another girl's guy! Especially when that girl happens to be one of your closest friends!

"Leight? Leight, what are you looking at?"

She blinked. Ed's voice was enough to break anything out of its stupor. What would Blair Waldorf have done in this situation? It was times like this that she wished she really was Blair Waldorf. Blair would have an answer to this. Blair would not be sweating over her feelings for him. At least not with the current season coming up.

She fumbled around for a response. "Um...actually, uh.."

"Is there something on my face?"

Bingo. There was her answer. "Actually, yeah. Here, let me get that."

Finally, she made her way up to his face and scraped the ranch dressing off his forehead. "You must have gotten hit when we started the scene."

"What is it?"

She sniffed it before putting it in her mouth. "Ranch dressing. Although it looked like a bird did its business on your forehead."

"Nice." He wrinkled his nose. Oh, his nostrils were another thing of beauty. They were big but they fit him well. Maybe they were his least attractive feature but they were sexy. Everything about him was sexy. No wonder all those women in crowd were referring to him as Sexwick now. He was a Sexwick. Not fat, not skinny, not ugly. The gossip rags that complained about his looks couldn't be more wrong. He didn't deserve any hate. He was polite, charming, good-looking, and the best friend anyone could ask for.

And that's all he is. Your best friend. Her conscience told her. He's happy with Jess. He doesn't need me to make him happy.

The truth was painful but she needed to hear it again and again.

"Well, um..." She began again. Damn, where was her Blair attitude when she needed it? "I guess we better go back on set."

"Okay. I wanted to know if you wanted to read more fan letters. I got something that...I think...is a used condom in the mail."

"Ew! I hope you threw that out!"

"I didn't bother taking it out of the box it came in!"

"Well, you can tell me about the crazy people later. But not the used condom girl." She straightened his tie out. "I don't want to know her story."

"Him actually. But I don't want to know either." They both looked disgusted and she laughed. Somehow, this conversation was normal. This sounded like them. At least they were acting like friends here. Letters from crazy fans could do that.

"All right, people! Places! Take your places! Someone get those women off Rob please! He's working!" The director snapped. "Leighton, quit flirting and get back to the lack of chemistry between you two!"

Lack of chemistry. Faking chemistry. Why did she agree to come back? Even with better scenes and screen time with Ed, she found herself being miserable again. This was just unfair. Everything seemed unfair. Nobody wanted to use their strengths for this movie and it was quickly headed towards a box office bomb.

"See you, Leight." He brushed back her hair and went off to take his place again. She sighed and watched him leave. Just like with every Gossip Girl set, this set wasn't different. She had to watch him to go to someone else. She had to pretend to love his character. But she couldn't be with him. Not now. Perhaps never.

Yes, at the rate things were going, her life was unfair.

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: I'm sorry I've been taking my sweet time with all my fics. Despite GG coming back soon and all those EL goodies we got from Elle and Ask, I still couldn't find myself motivated to write more. I should be more frequent with my updates, I know. I'll try to be faster next time. Promise!

The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair (3/?)

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:51:49 GMT

Title: The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Blair/Chuck
Rating: PG
Summary: The little moments in Chuck and Blair's life that led to the biggest moment of their lives.
Notes: Thanks to Dawn for the beta and for filling in my blanks (believe me, my brain goes blank a lot). GG isn't mine still. CB would have happened much sooner and wouldn't have gone through so many loops last season if it belonged to me.

Banner by issa_bell

Chapter 3: Search Party and Lessons Learned

One hour and four huge plates of cake later, Blair was finished. It seemed that the baby was stuffed too. Normally, all that eating disgusted her but this was different. This time she could use the baby as an excuse. She had been eating for two for the last couple of months.

"Thank you, Dorota. You have been such a big help." Blair handed her the plate and patted her husband on the back. "You're no longer a table."

"Good to know," he murmured, rolling back to face her. What had started out as one piece of cake turned out to be four empty plates, nothing but crumbs and melted ice cream lining them. Dorota was collecting the plates and fixing up a heating pad for Blair's back. Since getting pregnant, everything ached in her body. If she was standing, she was pain. Sitting down, she was in pain. No matter what she did, something was hurting.

"You eat very well, Miss Blair," Dorota said with approval. "All gone. Baby is going to be healthy."

"From eating ice cream cake?" Chuck asked. "What's so healthy about that?"

"Baby has sweet tooth. Big deal, Mr. Chuck." She gave him a disapproving look. Clearly, she expected him to be a more supportive husband. After all, he had knocked her up. This was going to be his child too. According to Dorota, Chuck wasn't a good husband right now. He didn't pay much attention to Lamaze class and he was insensitive towards homemade gifts. Blair still bawled anytime someone mentioned the word 'booties'. Even if it wasn't the right context, she cried. The stupid hormones were taking over her.

"Anything else, Miss Blair?" Dorota looked over at Chuck. "Mr.Chuck?"

"I think we're good for now. Thank you, Dorota. You can go." She nodded at the maid. "Be sure you turn off the light when you leave."

"Yes, Miss Blair. Good night. And good night, Mr. Chuck." With that, the lights went off and the two of them were left in the dark. It should have been the point where they both fell asleep. Blair's appetite had been satisfied, the baby was fed, and Chuck wanted to go back to his dream. He wanted to start off where he had left off; going down on Blair. The good part hadn't even begun when he had been woken up.

Obviously, Blair had other plans. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. "Chuck! The baby is kicking!"

He groaned as she placed his hand on the cold part of her stomach. Sure enough, there was a kick. It was just like all the other kicks. "The baby kicks all the time! I felt him kicking the last time you told me he was kicking!"

"You're still calling it a him!"

"Better than calling the kid an 'it'." He looked down at her stomach and shook his head. "Sorry you have to listen to this. I bet you want to stay in there forever now."

"Don't be mean to the baby," she scolded him. "You heard what Dorota said before. Pay attention in Lamaze class. You have to speak nicely to the baby. Encourage it to come out and see the world. Tell it that it's worthy of life."

Worthy of life? That was a whole different level of strange. He gave up trying to talk to her and the baby. Instead, he just stared at her stomach. Blair was still beautiful while pregnant. In fact, she was better looking. She complained a lot more and had a ton of pain everywhere. But she was a lovely woman with her puffy eyes and worn out expression. While she was excited to give birth, she was also looking forward to the day she wasn't carrying the child. The pain would be gone and the two of them would be sharing child caring duties.

"Chuck?" she began.

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad you're still here."

Those words were all too familiar. He rolled over on his side and stared back at the wedding picture. How the hell did everyone from Brooklyn end up in this picture? It was supposed to have been him, Blair, Nate, and Serena forever. They were still friends of course. But he had come a little too close to losing them at that carnival. At the same time, he had almost lost himself.

~ ~ ~

Kindergarten: Age Six cont

"Dorota! Dorota, we are in trouble!" Blair began to scream. Even though Dorota was not exactly a guardian, she was the group leader of Team Yellow. None of the parents were able to make this trip so Blair enlisted the help of her maid. Dorota had been happy to oblige because it meant getting out of the house. It was supposed to be a quiet moment. However, all the screaming had gotten rid of the quiet.

"What wrong, Miss Blair?" Dorota asked when she saw the three children running up. Someone was clearly missing. "Where your friend go? One in purple and pink?"

"Chuck disappeared!" Serena exclaimed. "He went 'poof' into thin air! Like magic!"

"Call 911!" Nate went on. He had been yelling that since they noticed Chuck was gone. He was also coming up with all the possible scenarios. "Maybe he got kidnapped by aliens and they're going to eat his brain! Or maybe they're going to replace with a robot Chuck! Or maybe they'll replace his brain with Mickey Mouse's brain!"

"Nate, please!" Blair pleaded. The last thing she wanted to think about was Chuck's brains getting eaten by aliens. She turned to Dorota. "I don't know what happened. I got mad at him, told him to go away, and he did!"

Dorota gasped. "Miss Blair, why? Chuck is friend, no?"

"Well, uh..." Blair looked down at the ground. How could she look at Dorota in the eye and tell her that Chuck's disappearance was her fault? He had run off because of her. He probably felt like he didn't belong and ran off. "I'm sorry, Dorota."

"Miss Blair..." Dorota sighed. "What you say to him?"

"That I didn't want to be his friend," she murmured. "I told him to get lost and that he was gross." Then she remembered the spinning teacups being closed because of Chuck. "But he ruined my chance at going on the teacups!"

"So teacup more important that friendship?" Dorota gave her a stern look. Even though she was a maid, there were certain perks to being a group leader. She had to act as the parental unit for Team Yellow. If it meant dealing punishment out, so be it. And from the looks on the other three, it seemed like now was a good time to teach them a lesson.

"I was looking forward to it, Dorota," Blair went on.

"You can go on teacups another time, Miss Blair. You have plenty time to go on teacups," Dorota said. "But friend...not easy to get. Very easy to lose."

"She's right, B," Serena said. "Remember when I stole your purple blanket? You said you never wanted to speak to me again. It took you two days to say sorry. But you said goodbye in a second."

Nate, on the other hand, was barely paying attention to the conversation. He was still trying to think of all the things that could have happened to Chuck. He wanted to know exactly what Chuck would be interested in. "Maybe he's going to be part of the circus now! He's going to be shot out of a cannon! Oh, maybe he's going to put his head in the lion's mouth!"

"Nate!" Blair hissed.

"Sorry. I'm just trying to figure out where he'd go." Nate shrugged. "I thought it could help us out."

"You see, Miss Blair." Dorota nodded. "Friendship important. Just like you and Miss Serena are friends. You and Mr. Chuck are friends too. Be good friend."

"She's right, B," Serena said. "He gave you that ring for a reason. He wanted to be your friend. You told him you were his friend, right?"

"But...he's kind of gross and mean."

"He's boy. All boys gross and mean sometimes."

"Not Nate! Right, Nate?"

"...What do you think Chuck's brain looks like?" Nate asked, still on his alien theory. "I bet it's purple. He likes purple."

"Okay, never mind." Blair sighed. "So I should find him and apologize right? I made him go away."

"We find him together," Dorota said. "And when we find him, you say sorry. You be good friend to him. All of you." She eyed Serena and Nate as well. Her glare was heavy and they both sunk down from it. "I do not care who started mess. But we find Mr. Chuck safe and sound first. Come now."

"Now? Shouldn't we call 911 if he's abducted by aliens?" Nate asked.

"We call police," Dorota said, grabbing all the three children by the hand. "You tell them what you do, Miss Blair. Then maybe we find him and bring him home, okay?"

"Okay," the three of them said, willing to follow her. If anyone could find Chuck Bass in a crowd, it would be Dorota. She had found three mice hiding in the Waldorf's house once even though no one knew where they lived. In an hour, she located where they had made their home. A child would be easier to find than mice. Especially if that child had a strange sense of fashion like Chuck Bass.

Nate continued on with his conspiracy theories. "What if he's invisible? Maybe he's right behind us and we can't see him when we turn around. Or maybe's floating in the sky! Yeah, he could be floating!

Blair looked behind her, in hopes that Chuck was following them. Invisible or not, she wanted to say sorry to him. To accept the ring and his friendship. To tell him that everything was okay and they would never fight like this again.

But Nate was wrong. He was nowhere to be found.

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: I know, I know, I'm awful for doing this. I should work on something else but I can't. This story is eating me alive. There's something about children and CB having a baby that makes the whole thing far too appealing. More characters to come later. I hope to work on something else soon. Thank you all for being so patient.

The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair (2/?)

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:23:30 GMT

Title: The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Blair/Chuck
Rating: PG
Summary: The little moments in Chuck and Blair's life that led to the biggest moment of their lives.
Notes: Thanks to Dawn for the beta and for filling in my blanks (believe me, my brain goes blank a lot). GG isn't mine still. CB would have happened much sooner and wouldn't have gone through so many loops last season if it belonged to me.

Banner by issa_bell

Chapter 2: Carnivals and Friendship Rings

Chuck Bass woke up to something cold placed on his shoulder. It cut through the dream he was having. Not that he remembered much of it except the sex with Blair, but truth to be told, the sex with Blair made it his favorite dream so far. Once again, they were in the back of a limo. The windows had fogged up but the air conditioner was on full blast. He was getting pretty far, slowly inching down, when the cold feeling landed on him. That took him out of the dream and away from doing Blair.

"Don't move!" He heard Blair say when he started to shift around. "I put a plate on you."

"...What?" He tried to move again but someone put a hand on his waist and stopped him.

"No move, Mr. Chuck!" Dorota, Blair's faithful servant, scolded him. "You are table for now."

Table? What was all this? He reached up and realized that Blair was right. She had put a plate on him, using his body as a table. "When did I become furniture?"

"When you decided to knock me up and go to sleep while I moaned in pain," Blair said, finally taking the plate off him. He turned to see that she was eating a piece of ice cream cake. That explained the cold feeling he received in the dream. Dorota shook her head at him in disbelief. "I was begging for something to eat but you didn't wake up. I kept poking you but you kept saying 'Harder, Blair! Harder! I love the pain!' Poor Dorota had to get me ice cream cake because we were hungry."

"We?"

"The baby, Chuck. Our baby. Your son or daughter," she reminded him. "Any day now, we're going to be parents to it."

"Son."

Blair rolled her eyes and turned to Dorota. Chuck was still determined that they were going to have a boy. "I'm so glad you live with us. Poor thing would have starved."

"Would you mind not calling the boy a thing?"

"Well, you don't know what it is either. You're just assuming it's a boy."

Chuck grimaced. Secretly, he was also thankful that Dorota was around. As soon as they got married, she moved in with them. She could deal with Blair's tantrums and pregnancy cravings far better than he could. Dorota had raised Blair since she was a young girl so she knew how to deal with her. He was also glad that he wasn't the one who was pregnant and carrying a baby for nine months. Then again, Blair was also extremely hormonal and got upset with everything. He was beginning to regret sex without a condom now.

"You pay attention in Lamaze class next time, Mr. Chuck. Baby get hungry. Baby must eat," Dorota reminded them. As she fluffed Blair's pillows, she gave Chuck that look. The one that scolded him for not being a good husband or listening to anything in Lamaze class. Lately, she had disapproved of his behavior a lot. When he disliked a pair of baby booties sent in from Eleanor and Cyrus, she glared at him for daring to hate them. The fact that Blair cried when he mentioned his hatred of the booties didn't help either. Her emotions were running on extreme highs and lows nowadays.

"It's okay, Dorota. We're fine." She smiled at Chuck, who rolled back on his side. "When the time comes, he'll be ready."

He'll be ready. The words sounded so confident but he wasn't. Being a father frightened him a little. He caught sight of their wedding photo that was sitting on the nightstand. It seemed so long ago now. Blair made a beautiful bride, standing next to Serena, the maid of honor. Then came the rest of the bridesmaids: Jenny, Vanessa, several girls from school and college. Some of these girls had not been friends before but they were now. Back then, Jenny and Vanessa would never have been at the wedding. Now they were. Time had changed them. He was next to her, proud to be a husband. Nate and Eric, his best men, were behind him with the rest of their family and friends. Even Dan Humphrey was there, much to his dismay. Unlike her, he still held a few grudges against the Humphreys. He had only come because it was polite.

It had only been a few years ago yet it felt like it was back in the past. When they tied the knot, they had taken their biggest step. Or so it seemed like the biggest step. Now a baby was on the way and neither was ready.

Of course, every step before this one seemed like the biggest. Back when he was six, he thought he was taking the biggest step that one day. The whole class had gone to a carnival for a field trip. As usual, he was making bets and winning them until that second when it stopped.

~ ~ ~

Kindergarten: Age Six

"Kids! Kids, stay together! Stay with your buddy and your group!"

Those words fell on deaf ears again as Chuck, Nate, and their friends starting laughing loudly. Blair looked over in their direction and wondered what was so funny. Then she turned back to Serena, who seemed to have a good idea what the boys were up to. It spelled trouble since the teachers were getting involved as well. And of course, all those boys were in her group. Team Yellow. She would never forget how tacky that name was or how ugly those yellow bordered name tags looked on everyone.

"What did they do?" she asked.

"Chuck just bet Blaine Donahugh a billion dollars that he couldn't eat twelve hot dogs and go on the spinning teacups without throwing up. Blaine took his bet, tried not to throw up, and...I don't think we'll be riding the spinning teacups anymore." Serena shook her head. "Sorry, B."

Blair crinkled her face in disgust and looked back at Chuck. It was hard to see Blaine because all the teachers were around him but Chuck seemed pleased. Nate, on the other hand, was a little embarrassed. Obviously. Nate was a good boy. He followed Chuck's orders and that was why he was in trouble. She just couldn't understand why he was friends with Chuck. Then again, so was she. He listened to her go on about her nightmares last year. That was the reason they became friends. He was the only one willing to listen to her dreams and stories.

But now she hated him again. Because of him, Blaine threw up in the spinning teacups and she didn't get a chance to ride them. It was the one thing she had been looking forward to on their field trip. It would have been her first 'big person' ride. It would have made her feel like a grown up. Too bad it wasn't going to happen now. Stupid Chuck Bass ruined her fun. That was the only reason everyone was gathering around the teachers now. Her skin crawled when she saw Chuck wink at her. Gross. Everything about him was gross.

"All right, kids. I'm sorry to say that there will be no riding on the teacups today!" their teacher announced once all the children had gathered around. Several groans erupted in the crowd. "You can thank your classmates for this. But that doesn't mean that the fun ends! You will have plenty to do and we still have time. Be sure to stay with your buddies and your group leaders..."

Once again, it fell on deaf ears as the children ran off to do various things. All except for Blair, of course. She didn't want anything but the teacup ride. So much for being a grown up today.

"Come on, B!" Serena tugged at her sleeve. "Let's go on the Ferris Wheel."

"We already went on the Ferris Wheel!" Blair complained. "I wanted to ride the teacups!"

"You know we can't! Besides, there's other stuff to do."

"Like what?"

"Like...ride the roller coaster?" Serena suggested. "Or those big swings?"

"Those rides are for babies," she pouted. "There are no other rides besides the teacups. Just like there's no other school but Yale."

Serena rolled her eyes at that. "You're six. Why are you thinking about college now?"

"Because Daddy went there and I'm going there!" she said. "Everything else is a trade school! That's why I'm going to be the best at everything! I'm going to be a doctor and a lawyer and the President and a tree!"

"...B, you can't be a tree. Not even someone smart like you can be a tree."

"You're not getting it, S! Riding the teacup was the most important thing for me to do today! It would make me a grown up!" she sulked. "And now I can't ride it."

"But there's other stuff to do. Let's go eat something," Serena suggested. "Someone said they're making fried ice cream!"

"Ew!"

"Come on, it'll be cool!" With that, she started to drag Blair through the rest of the carnival. It was all right as long as they stuck together and they checked with the group leader. If they didn't go too far, then they could go out on their own. Serena kept making promises that something cool would come along so Blair followed. Maybe she did something else, she could forget about the teacups.

"Going somewhere, ladies?"

Or not. She sucked in her breath and turned to find Chuck and Nate right behind them. Unfortunately, those two were on Team Yellow as well. Wherever she and Serena went, they tagged along. Until they decided to make someone sick like Blaine. Nate was still embarrassed about the whole thing but Chuck didn't seem to suffer a bit. He had that gross smirk on his face and not a trace of remorse. He didn't care that he took away her chance to be a grown up.

"Go away, Chuck," she sneered at him. "I hate you."

"That's not a nice thing to say to your friend."

"I don't want you as a friend."

"Aw, come on, I got you a present!" Chuck tried to give her puppy dog eyes. Jerk. So she spent a few times telling him her nightmares. Big deal. "Don't you want to know what it is?"

"I don't want anything from you!" she snapped. "You're gross! You're mean! And you ruined everything!"

Chuck turned to Nate and Serena, completely confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I don't want to be your friend!" she finally blurted out. "I only went to you because Nate and Serena were asleep. I don't like you enough to be your friend or want you as a friend. No one does. They only hang with you cause you have money, not cause they like you! So just do me a favor and...get lost!"

If Blair Waldorf ever needed proof that words could hurt, that was it. Chuck's smile vanished and he looked down at her folded hands. Probably where he had been hiding his 'present'. "Fine. I'll go away forever."

"Good!"

"She doesn't mean that!" Serena pointed out. "Tell him, B. You know you didn't mean that!"

"Yeah, Blair's just mad!" Nate added. "I like you! You can stay, Chuck!"

But Blair wasn't going to take the words back and Chuck's mind was made up. He flung something to the ground before turning around and running off. Serena and Nate both called after him, trying to mend the broken bond between them. But it was too late and she didn't care. Who wanted to be friends with Chuck Bass anyway?

"B..." Serena began. "You shouldn't have said that."

"Well, it's true!" she huffed. "Who would care about him?"

"I don't know but I think he cared about you," Nate said, handing her a note. "That's why he got you this."

She took the note and read it to herself. Chuck had scrawled it all with crayon and it was no epic poem. Not to mention, his spelling wasn't prefect except for his name. She could understand what he was saying though. He obviously meant the words in it.

Blair,

Sorry. Here. Friends?

-Chuck Bass

Blair read the note again. Even at six, he wrote his full name. "What is the present?"

"Here." Serena handed her a plastic ring. "It's a friendship ring. He was going to give it to you."

"He was," Nate assured her. "He told me he wanted to give to you. He was sorry. We didn't know Blaine could puke that much."

And if there was a time in her life that she felt guilty, it was now. "Find Chuck and tell him I'm sorry. We can be friends."

Serena turned around in hopes of seeing Chuck there. But he wasn't. "Um...where'd he go?"

Nate followed her gaze as well and around. There was no sign of Chuck anywhere. They saw a lot of people from Team Yellow but no Chuck Bass walking around.

"Someone call 911!" Nate yelled. "Call 911!"

Blair and Serena both began look around, calling for Chuck. No one seemed to respond. So many kids but no Chuck Bass. Blair just looked down at the crumpled note and the friendship ring, feeling guilty. She had no idea why but she felt responsible. She yelled at him and drove him away. She told him to get lost and he did. Now no one could find him.

And looking how quickly the carnival was growing and all the people running around, he would never be found.

TBC...

Note: Sorry for this doozy. This chapter was going to be longer but...I thought about tormenting you guys more with a cliffhanger. As you can see, future CB have better relationships with Brooklyn (or at least Blair does) and those will come into play later. In the meantime, I'm going to try and work on my EL's sequel and "Postcards" for those waiting for updates. Thanks for all your support as always. Tons of love! ~CT

Chemistry Out of Nothing At All (2/?)

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:37:39 GMT

Title: Chemistry Out of Nothing At All
Fandom: Gossip Girl/RPF/RPattz bonus
Pairing: Ed/Leighton
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The sequel to "Chemistry at Bay" though you don't need to read the previous to get this one. Now that Leighton is back on set, things should be better for her and Ed. However, not everyone is starting to think that...
Notes: Thanks to Dawn for beta-ing and dealing with my whining. EL don't belong to me and neither does RPattz. If they did, they'd be married with 2.5 children and living in a castle with unicorns and flying toast. EL, that is. Not RPattz. He'd be staying with me :P

Banner by issa_bell

Part 2

They made it to set on time the next day, but neither one knew what scene they were filming. All they knew was that it would be outside and between 8th and 9th streets. Unfortunately, they had filmed several scenes at this corner and if that wasn't bad enough, it was mostly action scenes. The good news was that fans (and Leighton) could watch Ed handle a gun and shoot people. The bad news meant that she would not have a decent scene with him. That much of the script had not changed.

They bumped into fans on the way to set. Each and every one of them had not changed their behavior. They were still squealing and begging for autographs. The two stopped to sign for some of them. They did have a few minutes before starting.

"Oh my God, Ed and Leighton! Ed and Leighton, will you marry each other?!"

"LEIGHTON! HEY, IT'S LEIGHTON! HI LEIGHTON! GOD, YOU ARE SO PRETTY!"

"OH MY GOD, ED WESTWICK! YOU ARE SO HOT! MY PANTIES JUST DROPPED!"

"YOU TWO ARE GORGEOUS! HAVE BABIES OR ELSE!"

"Hi, Chad!"

"Chad?" Ed whispered to her. "People don't even know my name."

"Just smile and nod, sweetie, "she said, signing for a girl. Then they waved them off when the director came storming towards them. "We promise to sign for the rest of you! Right now, we have to work, okay?"

"Move it! Move it! Move it! We're behind!" the director snapped, shoving them towards the dressing room. "Good to see you back, Leighton, now move it!"

Still pushy as ever. Great, she thought. Some people weren't going to change or be happy that she was around.

After a quick talk with the director, she knew what they were filming. She was supposed to walk in on him and Robert having lunch when a shootout took place. She would hide with Robert while Ed shot up bad guys in front of them. Stunt doubles had been on the standby, but Ed insisted on doing stunts on his own. While she admired his bravery, she was worried too. What if he got hurt on set? Sure, emergency personnel was also close by for this but that hole in her stomach remained. It burned whenever she thought about him getting injured.

To no one's surprise, three million more fans were lined up to watch this and screaming out Ed's name when he walked around. She waved to him before heading to hair and makeup. As she got ready, she hoped he would come by with a new pile of letters for them to read. But he didn't come around this time. Probably because he took more time to prep up than she did. While she understood, she felt a little lonely. Mocking hatemail was their new favorite pastime, something that the two of them enjoyed.

"Okay, okay, quiet on set! Take your places!"

Ah, action time. She hopped off her chair and went to hide in the corner. This was where she would interrupt the romantic lunch between Robert and Ed. Except her character did not know that they were having a romantic lunch.

"Okay...and action!"

She watched the scene unfold. Ed and Robert were doing a good job of trying to stay subtle but romantic. As a hush fell over the crowd watching them, she listened to the conversation. The two of them had the whole scene memorized and were going through it now.

"You have nothing to be upset over," Ed was saying. "I'm here with you."

"Are you?" Robert asked. "Cause it doesn't feel that way."

"...So what? You think I'm cheating on you?"

"I don't know what you're doing but it's not like you. I know you. I've known you all my life and you never looked at another woman. But when you look at her, I see something. You can't keep your eyes off her. You want that...that...dark-haired, ruby-lipped skank, don't you?!"

Leighton grimaced despite knowing that this was part of the scene. Luckily, she could see Ed clenching his teeth. "Stop that. You know that's not true!"

"I don't know anything with you anymore! You don't come home at night!"

"I am a busy man! I've only made time for you because I love you! I don't want anyone that isn't you!"

"Then why do you look at her? Why did you take on such a job?"

"So you haven't stared at her? You haven't spent time with her? You don't laugh with her? Don't try to hide it anymore! You've been so...enamored with this woman," Robert went on, poking violently at his salad. "Every night that you do come home, you talk about Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III. And it's not just her first name! You say her whole name all the time like it's some twisted tongue twister!"

Twisted tongue twister? Clearly, no one wanted to get rid of that ridiculous line. In the beginning, Robert giggled too hard at that line. He didn't believe he had to say that either. But Ed remained cool through all their rehearsals. He was cool now, eyeing Robert's fidgety, upset character. He didn't seem unnerved by how upset his 'boyfriend' was.

"Now Miss Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III..."he began.

"You did it again! What do you have with this woman?" Robert demanded to know. "Are you sleeping around with that disease carrying prostitute?!"

"Enough!" Ed snapped, standing up. "If you don't stop talking about her, then I'll..."

That was Leighton's cue to walk in. She strolled around the corner to where the two were at. Other patrons had stopped eating to stare at them. She smiled and made her way to where Ed was glaring down at Robert. Robert looked frightened at him but gave her a tight, fake smile.

"Hello, gentlemen, "she greeted them, holding out her hand for Robert. Robert looked down, disgusted, before shaking it. Then she exchanged a kiss with Ed. It was only supposed to brush across his cheek but she wanted to go one step further. She gave him a nice one, leaving behind a red lip print. It worked for the scene because the anger Rob's character was supposed to have increased. "I don't believe we have met. I am Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III. And you?"

It took a lot to not laugh at that name, but she was a professional. She had to be one for the sake of this job. If she acted as bratty as last week, then the tabloids would have another field day. They would call her a 'diva' and make up lousy excuses for her behavior.

"Edward. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." Robert gave her a tight, Blair Waldorf like smile. It was scary to see him pull that off. "I suppose he didn't tell you about this lunch that we were supposed to have together."

"Oh, he told me he'd bring a friend." She gave Ed a sweet smile. This one was a real smile. No script needed to tell her to smile at him. "I'm sorry I was late."

"Actually, you are right on time." Ed gave Rob a look, then got up and pulled out her chair. Rob glared back and then smiled at her. Fake, tight, so long that it would have made his face hurt. She smirked back and sat down. Not that she blamed him for looking so uncomfortable. Poor Rob was acting like Blair Waldorf but dressed like Chuck Bass. Somehow, the pink and purple businessman combination was not working on him. Then again, only Ed could pull off such an outfit without looking like someone who belonged in a circus.

"Have you ordered already?" she went on with the lines, pretending to open the menu. "I heard that the lobster and sirloin combination is absolutely divine."

"...I happen to be a vegetarian," Rob went on, giving her another Blair look. Wow, the guy was getting better at this. Before, he used to be too goofy to pull off the eyerolls and smirks. Now he had the sass to do it. "Hence why I am eating this salad."

"That's salad?" She looked at the tortured vegetables in Rob's bowl. "I would never have guessed. It looks like a massacre."

"Now, now, Miss Vontessa. Be polite." Ed rubbed her shoulders. Oh God, that was wonderful. His hands. Those strong, long fingers pressing against her shoulder blades...was it in her script to look like she was having an orgasm? If not, then it was getting in the movie. She could have sworn her eyes had rolled back into her head like in Gossip Girl episode 2.03, The Dark Knight. It was one of her favorite moments. Ed had been a sexpot in that scene and he was working the same charm here.

"Thank you, darling, but that will be enough, "she managed to get out. Her fingers curled around his hand and slowly pulled it off her shoulder. "Now...let's order something, shall we?"

"...I've lost my appetite," Rob said, holding back a grimace.

"Edward, order something. It's polite," Ed said. Then he took her hand and stroked it. Damn the man. This was not one of their 'chemistry' scenes yet he was turning her on. "We'll have whatever you want, Miss Vontessa."

She squeezed his hand. "I think I'll have..."

Just then there was a loud crack and an explosion that shattered the glasses on their table. Everyone in the scene started to scream and Leighton covered her head, hitting the ground. Everything fell on the floor and people began to run around while she and Rob hid under their table, but Ed was not in sight. She looked around for him, eyes darting back and forth. Where did he go? Did he run away?

"Where is he?!" she demanded, clawing at Rob. "Where did he go?"

BANG!

She screamed as the bullet sailed straight at her, never knowing what happened to Ed.

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: I love to leave you guys hanging a lot, don't I? I blame telenovelas. For those waiting on CB stuff, I'm getting to that too. I've been crazy busy for the last week and next week does not look any easier. But I promise to work as much as I can on everything. Thanks for sticking around with this. &hearts

Chemistry Out Of Nothing At All (1/?)

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:28:38 GMT

Title: Chemistry Out of Nothing At All
Fandom: Gossip Girl/RPF/RPattz bonus!
Pairing: Ed/Leighton
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The sequel to "Chemistry at Bay". Now that Leighton is back on set, things should be better for her and Ed. However, not everyone is starting to think that...
Notes: Thanks to Dawn for beta-ing and dealing with my whining. EL don't belong to me and neither does RPattz. If they did, they'd be married with 2.5 children and living in a castle with unicorns and flying toast. EL, that is. Not RPattz. He'd be staying with me :P And the lyrics are by Jim Steinman and sung by Air Supply. Ah, 80s. You were gone so soon.

Banner by issa_bell

Part 1

"Want to read the letters again?"

Leighton Meester looked up to find a pile of papers in between her and Ed Westwick. Fanmail. Some hate mail. And some mail that made no sense whatsoever. For a second, she wasn't sure why they were doing this in a car. All the activities in the world and she was reading mail with her costar. So much for rehearsal.

"Only the funny ones, "she suggested. "Find all the marriage proposals and death threats. I'm sure we got ten of those."

"Ten marriage proposals? I beg to differ."

She smiled at him yet everything felt uncomfortable and she couldn't understand why. If there was a time to be uncomfortable, it was last week. She and Ed had signed up for a movie that was supposedly going to be a hit in the summer. Robert Pattinson of the Twilight fame would be co-starring with them. The title sounded interesting: The Dance Never Dies. Ed got to play a Bond type character, which was all kinds of appealing. When she got cast as the female lead, all seemed well. Then she read the script.

The first problem had been how weak and dependent her character was. She paled in comparison next to everyone on Gossip Girl. Second came her inability to do the tango properly. While Ed was praised throughout rehearsals, Leighton was yelled at for 'not having enough chemistry.' And that led to the third problem. She and Ed were not supposed to have chemistry aside from that dance. The reason for the lack of chemistry was the fact that Ed's character was gay and in love with Robert Pattinson's character. Not that she had anything against this idea, but how it was executed was terrible. It frustrated her to the point that she walked off set. It took a week before Ed came back with good news: changes had been made to the script and they wanted her back. She accepted it with the condition she and Ed got rehearsal time. And a reason to use all that good chemistry.

Yet they weren't using any of it now.

Despite being happy with the changes, despite finally getting time with Ed to rehearse, Leighton was still not ready to start. The car was not helping. The cold air running through did not cool her down. Even the new script, which was better than the old, wasn't helping either of them. No matter how happy this news made her, it wasn't enough to make her rehearse.

The name remained the same. Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III. They didn't even bother to drop the III at the end of it. So the script would still be silly, just not like before. Ed's character was still going to be gay and in love with Rob's character. It seemed like all the good stuff was going to be wasted. Miss Vontessa now had a backbone but she still wasn't getting the man.

Right now, instead of rehearsing, they had made three piles for their letters: fan mail, hate mail, and unsure of sanity. Unsure of sanity was currently winning with the largest pile.

"Listen to this one." He opened up a new letter from the fans. "The game is up, Sexlips. I know your true identity. One day, I will find you and capture you with my...Pokeball?! What the_"

"And I thought the ones accusing you of cheating on Chace were bad." She shook her head. "Or those willing to drown in the ocean for you. What else is Pokemon girl saying?"

"Pokemon boy actually. He claims I'm really a rare Pokemon named Kutchu and has plans of...evolving me." He held up the letter for her. Sure enough, the letter was signed by someone named Pokemon Carl. There was also a drawing of what looked like a Jigglypuff or Wigglytuff or one of those other puffy Pokemon. "Throw it or keep it?"

"Put it in the 'unsure of sanity' pile, "she suggested. They had gone from trying to rehearse to reading fan letters and fanfiction. Right now, she was getting further in the 'Ed dressed in a catsuit and seduces Leight' fanfic. It was very sexy. Odd but sexy. Right now, Ed was slinking up to her like "the sexy British leather condom that he was portraying". That alone made her want to read the rest.

"New hate mail, "he said. "You ugly, fat son of a bitch, how could you leave Chace like that? He is gorgeous and more talented than you. You don't deserve him! You make me puke! Call me!" He waved the crumpled paper in the air. "Unsure of sanity again?"

"Most definitely." The hate mail pretty much rolled off their backs now. Leighton herself got a huge surge of it when she walked off the set of The Dance Never Dies. Most of it came from girls who called her a bitch for hurting 'Eddie and Robbie's feelings'. They were all harmless though. Someone yelled at her on the street and one girl cried but that was it.

"Marry me. Marry me. Marry me. Marry me." Ed went on reading.

"You got four marriage proposals?"

"No, it's all in one letter. See?" Sure enough, it wasn't just four proposals but those two words scrawled all over the letter. "Fan mail or unsure of sanity?"

"Fan mail, "she decided. The poor girl couldn't be blamed for anything. At least those two words made more sense than some paragraphs people wrote.

As Ed shuffled through the mail, she tried to continue reading the hot fanfic of Ed in the catsuit. People had wild imaginations when it came to them. Though they didn't have many verbs for her actions besides purring and murmuring and whispering. Evidently, Ed made her vocal cords go down. Not to mention, they were making love to 80's music. Snickering to herself, she read the lyrics to "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" out loud.

"I know just how to whisper and I know just to how to cry. I know just where to find the answers and I know just how to lie."

"That's fantastic, love, "he said, still reading his letters. "Great. Another one wants me to stop cheating on Chace with Rob."

"Want to stop reading those and listen to some music instead? Our 'unsure of sanity' pile is getting too big." She pointed to the teetering tower of letters. He nodded, but didn't look up as she turned on the ignition and then the radio. As luck would have it, the car was stuck on an 80's radio station. But the song that came on next was even more shocking.

Everytime I see you, all the rays of the sun
Are streaming through the waves in your hair.
And every star in the sky is taking aim at your eyes
Like a spotlight.

"Oh my God! I don't believe it!" She laughed. Air Supply from the fanfic was now on the radio. Namely the song that she had been thinking about and reading.

"What?" He still didn't look up. However, he was listening to the music and moving his head up and down. They were sitting in silence, listening to the lyrics.

The beating of my heart is a drum and it's lost
And it's looking for a rhythm like you.
You can the darkness at the pit of the night
And turn into a beacon burning endlessly bright
I gotta follow it cause everything I know
Well, it's nothing til I give it to you

"This is dancing music, "she explained. "It was also in the story I was reading. We were dancing before we were doing it. And you were still wearing that catsuit."

"Wonderful, "he sighed.

"We don't dance much in this movie, do we?"

"Only once." Then he dropped the letter he was reading and took her hand. He felt so soft as he rubbed her fingers. "We should start rehearsing. We wasted too much time."

"I know."

Yet they couldn't rehearse. The more they listened to the music, the more they just wanted to be here. Her eyes were now locked on his, wishing that he could be hers. Even for one second, she wanted him to be hers. No worries about boyfriends and girlfriends. No worries from the gossip rags and paparazzi. Just the two of them together, doing what they did best.

But I'm never gonna make it without you
Do you really want to see me crawl?

"We need another dance, "he said. "We do good with dances."

"Chuck and Blair have epic dances, "she murmured. "Except for prom. I wish I got the chance? to dance with you in the prom episode."

"Me too, "he admitted. Then he pulled her closer to him and she closed her eyes. She was so tired from reading fanfics and letters. In his arms was a perfect place to rest for a few minutes. From the look on his face, she could tell that he was also exhausted. Reading all the hate mail or deciphering the unsure of sanity could not have been fun. He snuggled up with her and put his chin on top her head. He was gentle though as he rested on her.

So it was no rehearsal tonight. They were probably going into work completely unprepared. Robert would be horrified at how bad they were doing. The director would burst out into tears. The fans would be crawling all over them and gaping in awe at how terrible they were.

But dammit, it was totally going to be worth it.

And I'm never gonna make it like you do
Making love...out of nothing at all

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: I was not planning to make a sequel but...damn triple rhyming names and crazy fans. Damn EL and their amazing chemistry. Damn the 80s and Air Supply. Is there anything I'm not damning right now? We'll see. Anyway, I can't wait to write out the next parts of this fic and the rest of the ones I'm working on. Hope you all enjoy this.

PFATW-Chapter 13: Boat Rides, Bodies, and Bath Time

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:42:22 GMT

Title: Postcards From Around the World
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Chuck/Blair
Rating: PG
Summary: Now that the words have been exchanged, Chuck and Blair are ready to take on the world. Or so they think. Can their love survive the obstacles lying at every corner of the map?
Notes: GG still doesn't belong to me. Thanks to Dawn for the beta and for dealing with my constant whining and lack of self-confidence. And to all of you for being patient with me.

Banner by issa_bell

Chapter 12: Boat Rides, Bodies, and Bath Time

This was not Blair's first time on a boat but she was still nervous. It had nothing to do with seasickness. She had been on one back when she had been dating Nate. He had taken her on his family's yacht several times when they were children. The first time, she had thrown up in the ocean. It had come from drinking too much Diet Coke and snacking well before getting on board. Since then, she never went on a boat with a full stomach. It worked out for her the rest of the times she went sailing with Nate and his family.

But this time was different. She wasn't with the Vanderbilts or Archibalds, but with a Bass. Like her, he had been sailing before. Unlike her, he wasn't nervous about it. He had seen her throw up that very first time. The rest of the trip had him interrupting her times with Nate and taunting her. Then he told her that someone had tied a dead body at the bottom of the ship and the ocean was filled with them. It was a tall tale of Chuck's, making Nate's family out to be cannibals and killers. No one believed him but it frightened her. That day forth, she also made sure to look at the propellers. When asked why, she used the same excuse Kate Winslet used in Titanic : she just wanted a good look at them.

Not that this mattered to Chuck. Everytime he tagged along, he would say the same things. "There are dead bodies in the ocean! You're puking on dead bodies! They're going to be mad at you! They're going to rise from their watery grave and eat your brains, Waldorf! Whoooooooo!!!!!"

Then Serena would chase him away while Nate gave her a sheepish look. She knew zombies did not exist nor would they rise from their underwater grave. Still, Chuck had a way to get to her. No matter how old she got, he looked forward to taunting her. Even as they made their way up the steps, he leaned over and whispered, "there are no dead people tied to the bottom of this boat. I promise."

"Shut up, Bass." She grimaced and he just smirked, leading her to their suite. "I'm too old for this."

Still, she looked over the boat and down into the water. It was dark and there didn't seem to be any signs of a dead body. So far, so good. Those four words were now becoming her mantra for this trip.

Of course, Gossip Girl was looking forward to taunting her as well. Once on board and alone in the room, another blast came through:

Spotted: Wow, it's getting harder to catch up with our new King and Queen! They're not even halfway around the world but barely anyone has seen them. What gives, people? I finally got a scoop from my sources in Puerto Rico. Seems like I was wrong. C's not dead, B's not killing him. Instead, they are headed somewhere else! Where? Well, it looks like I need to bug my sources all over the world again. I'm getting tons of stuff on N and V but I need more action! So if you're out there and you spot our new golden couple, send me a blast. - XOXO

She closed her phone and shook her head. "Poor Nate and Vanessa."

But she didn't mean it. For once, it was good to be out of Gossip Girl's reach. If there was one good thing about their vacation, it was the lack of her talking about them. Serena was also hard to catch up with but for good reason. Let Gossip Girl deal with Brooklyn and all the boring people back home. Served her right for ruining graduation and the party afterwards.

Their suite was a lovely little bedroom for two. One bed for them was covered in red sheets and pillows. The closet and dresser was big enough for both of their wardrobes. There were red and white candles in the room, all of them lit. Chuck must have had someone do this. It put a romantic feel to the room. Not to mention it smelled like cherries and peppermint. So there was also a Christmas feel but that was good. It was about time they had a good moment together. It might not have been Christmas but it did feel like the holidays.

Now, as she shifted through all the lingerie that she had brought along, she was pleased there was no Gossip Girl. No one would be catching the two of them at sea. The further from people, the better off they would be. And tonight was going to be perfect. He planned a quiet dinner, but she was going to serve the desserts. She knew him well enough to know just what would whet his appetite.

There was a sharp knock at her door. "Blair?"

Ah, the other half of the golden couple. Poor Gossip Girl. She was going to miss out on something juicy. Oh well, her loss.

She plucked something out of her suitcase and dumped it on the bed. "Just a minute!"

She finally decided on a racy burgundy number for the night. Admiring it from all sides, she nodded. This was the way to Chuck Bass' heart. He would forget about the women that he had seduced before. He was hers and she was going to keep him. Burgundy was a good color to lure her prey. Smiling to herself, she slipped it on and went to greet him.

Chuck was waiting for her and, to her shock, was also wearing burgundy. The boy was good at matching with her outfits. He held a bottle of champagne in one hand and some bubble bath in the other. "Orchids. I know you love the smell."

"And I thought you hated them."

"For you...I'll tolerate anything, "he said, gazing at the burgundy lace that covered her. How did she know he was in the mood for burgundy? His finger traced the straps over her shoulder blades before letting them fall. "I thought you wanted to eat first."

"Well, I changed my mind. I want to start with dessert first, "she suggested, letting him pull the straps down her arms. "And judging by the bubble bath you brought, the kind that you hate, I think you want that too." She stopped his hands from going further down. "Wait! You can't do this now."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll have nothing to do once we get in the tub." To prove her point, she began to undo his burgundy ascot. Two could play this game. "Get undressed, Bass. I'll be waiting."

"I like where this is going, "he said, handing her the champagne and bubble bath. "Keep the water warm."

"You know I will." She winked, picking something else from their bed. Unfortunately, he did not get a good look at the box. Then she disappeared into the bathroom where they would spend their night together. A nice jacuzzi style bathtub was waiting for the two of them. More peppermint and cherry scented candles were in the bathroom, lit brightly. It gleamed white and silver, no smudges or mildew anywhere. This bathroom was Dorota's dream come true. No need to clean under the sink or the pipes. All anyone had to do was just sink in and soak up the water. This was definitely the perfect appetizer to their quiet dinner later.

She let the water run and poured in a good amount of bubble bath. The smell of orchids filled the room quickly. Poor Chuck. He hated them but he would have to deal with it tonight. As the warm water started to pour in, she slowly slipped off her silk stockings and picked up the box that she had gotten from the bed.

Chocolate garters from Dylan's Candy Bar. She had bought them a few weeks before their trip started. These along with the gummy bra were her secret weapons. Should Chuck become boring or bored with her, then they could eat edible underwear and clothes. The sugar rush would turn them on. This way, neither was going to starve before dinner. If they were lucky, they could eat some of them before dinner. Hopefully, she wouldn't run out of these before the trip was over.

She slowly unwrapped the chocolate garters as the tub continued to fill up with orchid-smelling bubbles. Any minute now, she would call him in to undress her. Hopefully, he had taken off enough of his clothes. This was going to be fun. No Gossip Girl to spot them, no one to interrupt, nothing could ruin it.

And that was when the thud came from below. The boat hit something hard and shook the room. It reeled her forward, causing her to slip and snuffing out all the red and white candles in their room. Blair landed on the ground and everything soon went dark. The room was now pitch black and she couldn't get up.

All that remained was the sound of pouring water and the scent of peppermint and cherry.

TBC...

Note: My apologies for taking long with the next part. I was pretty frustrated with the story and not sure what I wanted to do next. I think I found my footing again. By the way, the chocolate garters and gummy bras do exist and are found in Dylan's Candy Bar. No, I didn't buy any. For shame on me. Thank you all who are following this and those who started to follow my new fanfic, "The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair". I'll be bouncing between those two plus a new EL fanfic PLUS my original stuff. Will I survive? We'll see.

The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair (1/?)

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:59:53 GMT

Title: The Small Moments That Led to Chuck and Blair
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Blair/Chuck
Rating: PG
Summary: The little moments in Chuck and Blair's life that led to the biggest moment of their lives.
Notes: Shoot me, I have too more ideas that I need to get out. That's what happens when you finish one fic (my EL one) and don't know what to do with the other (Postcards); you need to replace it with something to help you out of your funk. This is one of two new projects. This is a little less humorous than Postcards but it'll still have its moments. Thanks again to Dawn for beta-ing (if there's still a mistake, blame her. Mwuahahahaha, just kidding :P) and those of you who are willing to follow this one through.

Banner by issa_bell

Chapter 1: Killer Headbands and Bowties

As a little girl, Blair Waldorf dreamed about the perfect life. She was born to be a queen. Her parents had given her everything she wanted and then some. She saw the perfect partner in Nate Archibald (not that he knew it then, of course). She had the perfect best friend in Serena Van der Woodsen. And of course, she had Chuck Bass. Not that she wanted Chuck. But he came with Nate and she had to deal with him in preschool. He was a snotty little kid who found pleasure with other people's pain. He was also rich and disgusting for his age. Not very many people wanted to friends with him. Somehow, Nate had the patience of a saint to deal with Chuck Bass. No one else could deal with his torment. Not to mention he was new money at that time. Preschoolers were brutal when it came to new people.

But worst of all was when he messed with her. The first day of preschool, he had taken a quick look under her skirt and declared to the class just what underwear she had on. Since that day, she learned to fend for herself. It was the last day anyone bothered to laugh at her. She got young Charles in trouble by subtly tattling to their teacher. The just desserts tasted absolutely delicious. And yet, something about the way he glared at her made her feel a little bad. She was almost sorry for getting him in trouble. He never mocked her like that again.

Try as she could, she could not avoid him. If Nate was there, so was Chuck. Smirking, sneering, and just being a pest. Along with Serena, they had become friends. Every group had a nuisance and Chuck was theirs. Blair allowed it but told herself she would never get close to Chuck. Not close enough to tell her secrets or play a game with her alone. She'd tolerate him as long as Serena and Nate were around. It was a promise.

She never dreamed about giving Chuck Bass a hug at five. Now, many years later, she was carrying his child. Their child. It was night time and she would have given anything to be able to lie on her stomach again. Or her side like Chuck was doing. But no, the pain left her on the back. The baby was kicking as usual, which added to the physical pain. The beloved father of their child, however, was trying to catch his sleep. He had a meeting the next morning and didn't want to go into it half-awake.

Not that Blair or the baby were being helpful there. He didn't blame her for being upset, he expected all this. But it seemed that she became ten times the bitch when pregnant.

"This is your fault. All your fault!" she grumbled at his figure. His back was to her, lucky bastard. He didn't need to worry about carrying their child for nine months. "You said that we were ready. Well, I'm not! I'm not ready to give birth!"

"...Then why didn't you tell me that nine months ago?" He rolled back to face her. Like her, he was worn out but not from carrying a baby. The late night pains were getting to him too. The baby was due any day now. "Whatever you do, don't tell our son that you're not ready."

"What makes you certain it's a boy? Did you find out on your own? We agreed that it would be a surprise!" She gave him a nudge.

"Calm down, I'm making a very educated guess. Call it a father's hunch." He laid a hand on her stomach. "You're a boy, aren't you? That's why you're driving your mother crazy."

Blair rolled her eyes. "Well, one thing is certain; this is your child. He or she doesn't want me to sleep anymore. I close my eyes and I get kicked."

"Well, maybe he's scared. I recall one time when you didn't let me sleep because you were scared." He smirked. "Remember preschool? Naptime?"

"...Did you have to remind me?" She slumped in bed and the baby kicked. "Okay, okay, I won't complain about it! But I remember it. That dream. I hated that dream. I still remember how it changed all of a sudden..."

~ ~ ~

Pre-school/ Nap Time

Blair Waldorf was having her dream again.

Oooooooh

Naptime. One of her least favorite times because she would have the bad dreams.

Ooooooooh! Boooooo!

Every dream in nap time was a nightmare and it usually involved howling ghosts. She had no idea why but they were always there and they were always chasing her around. The dreams would start out like fairy tales; she would be a princess in her castle. Then all the riches and wonderful scenery would melt into darkness. Her fancy castle would turn into a dark tower and she would trapped in it. Ghosts would appear and chase her. Some were flesh-eating ghosts as well. She would run screaming for Prince Charming, demanding that the dream end...and she would wake up.

But this particular dream today was different. It started the same and then, as the castle turned to a dark tower, it happened.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooh!

It was not a ghost with teeth. It was no vampire or witch or werewolf. It was the last thing she expected to chase her around.

BOO!

A headband.

She was being chased around her castle by a headband. A pink headband with a big old pink bow on top. The ones she had were small but this one was huge. With teeth but a headband all the same. This killer headband kept opening its jaws up and down, heading towards her. Clank clank clank! The headband was even drooling green drool so that made it all the more terrifying. It was inching closer and closer and...

"RAWR!" it growled at her and she screamed.

Her eyes popped open wide and she stared at the ceiling. The first thing she did was touch her head. No headband, she didn't wear one today. That was good. Everything seemed normal. She was back in school. Lying between Serena and Nate. Sweating all over her mat. But no killer headbands at her side. Just her sleeping classmates and the teacher over in the corner. No one was allowed to get up during nap time until it was over. Even if the child woke up, they still had to stay on their mat until the lights came back on. But she wanted to talk to someone.

She turned to Nate only to find him dozed off. Same thing with Serena. Both of them looked like blond angels, off in dreamland, and no sign of fear on their faces. Like a princess and her prince. But as perfect as they looked, this was not going to help her. She wanted someone to talk to right now. Someone to listen to her go on about the terrible dream. And with two of her friends sound asleep, that left just one person.

She peered over Nate's shoulder to see Chuck Bass. His back was to her so she couldn't his face. But it couldn't be angelic. Chuck Bass did not know how to be angelic. He was naughty and slimy and unpleasant. At the same time, he was a friend. Friends did things for each other. Friends listened to each other. If she wanted to keep him as a friend, she had to get him to listen.

Ugh. She was going to reveal her feelings to Chuck Bass. But she had no choice either. Looking up to make sure her teacher wasn't hovering around them, she slowly crawled over to where Chuck was sleeping. He didn't look as angelic as Nate and Serena. Strong nose, thick lips, and arrogant face. Maybe he would get handsome when he was older. There was some hope for him.

Squeezing herself between him and Hazel Williams (who whined as she was pushed back), she began to hiss his name.

"Chuck! Chuck, wake up!"

"...No, Daddy, I'm not wearing that bowtie. It's...blue," Chuck murmured, rolling away from her. Oh, for crying out loud! She nudged him hard in the ribs and he let out a whimper. "Okay, okay, I'll wear it!"

"Chuck, wake up! It's me!" she whispered.

He rolled back to face her. Then he opened his eyes to find her there. "What is it?"

"I had a bad dream."

"...And I wear pink bowties. Good night." He closed his eyes.

"No, Chuck, this is important!" She nudged him again. This time, he groaned and woke up. "You have to hear this! It's what friends do!"

"I thought you didn't want to be friends with me, "he murmured.

"Well...that was yesterday! I want to be friends with you today! Now please listen to me, I had that same dream again! Nate probably told you about it, the princess dream. Only I wasn't being chased by ghosts. Or anything evil."

"So why was the dream bad?" He wanted to know, still grumpy from being woken from his nap. He rubbed his eyes and that's when she got a good look at them. Okay, so Chuck Bass had something redeeming. He had beautiful eyes for a kid. They were deep and they were locked on her. She could tell. His attention was not going to drift until she finished her tale.

"Because I was being chased by a...a..." She winced just thinking about the headband with its chomping jaws. It was terrible and stupid but he needed to know everything. She had promised to tell him the dream.

"Headband."

He lifted his head at that. "Excuse me?"

"I was chased by a headband! It had teeth!" she went on. "And it was enormous and pink and spat green stuff at me!"

Chuck looked at her for a long time. "So you're telling me that you were chased around by...a killer headband?"

"Yes!" She blinked, realizing what she had just admitted to. "A killer headband? Did I just say I was chased by a killer headband? Why did that scare me?"

"Don't worry, I was chased by a killer bowtie once, "he told her.

"Really?"

"No." He smirked. "I just tried to make you feel better. But look on the bright side, it's a dream."

"Yeah. One I don't want to dream it again, "he murmured. "At least it'll never happen. I mean, come on. Killer headbands. What a dumb dream." She looked up to see her teacher getting up now. It meant nap time was almost over. Any minute, the lights would flip back on. "Uh-oh, I better go back! Time to wake up!"

"Already?" He groaned. "Thanks a lot, Waldorf."

She nodded and decided to crawl back to her spot. But there was still something she had to do before leaving. Leaning over, she whispered, "Thanks for listening to me, Chuck."

He shrugged and turned away. "That's what friends do."

Friends. He had a very good point. And as she crawled back to her place between Nate and Serena, she knew one thing for certain. Chuck Bass was her friend and there was nothing she could do to change that.

Dreams about killer headbands did funny things like that sometimes.

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: I promise to work on "Postcards" soon. I'm sorry that I'm behind on that one but I needed to finish my EL fic first. Which I've done and am now working on a sequel. Anyway, I've been anxious to write a fanfic of the NJBC (namely C & B) in the past. Kids are way too much to write because they are more straightforward with what they like and dislike. So yeah, here is this. I hope you guys enjoy the beginning...and I hope my updating becomes more frequent too! Much love to all of you!

Chemistry at Bay (7/7)

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:05:02 GMT

Title: Chemistry at Bay (7/7)
Fandom: Real People/Gossip Girl actors/Robert Pattinson
Pairing: Ed/Leighton
Rating: PG-13
Summary: They're in the same movie but not as love interests. It was for their own good they weren't cast as opposites, the director said. Ed and Leighton think they'll be fine. They're just friends after all...right?
Notes: Thanks to Dawn for the beta, anyone you heard of doesn't belong to me, and I swear, I'm cutting my hands off after this. *headdesk* Or sliding down into Hell on a waterslide...except it's got lava so it's a lavaslide? Eh, just read!

-Banner by issa_bell

Part 7

One week later...

The tabloids were going insane now. Leighton Meester's outburst on set had made the front covers of every gossip rag, putting the Gosselin mess into a small corner on the right. A good lot of them were stretching the truth. She was not outraged because of Rob's passionate chemistry with Ed nor was she angry that Ed had knocked up Kristen Stewart with an alien child. But she could ignore those. The outpouring of ridiculous fan letters and hate mail was what she couldn't escape. Half were congratulating her for speaking her mind. The other half wanted her to fall into a crevice (or at least one letter did) and leave Ed alone. A small few were happy that she dumped Ed for Chace (although those few letters were confusing as that hadn't happened). Then there was one letter that turned out to be a Chuck/Blair porn. She read three paragraphs of it before putting it away. Good writing even if it was slightly creepy.

Now here she was, pushing aside all the tabloids. The titles of the articles were dumb and hard to take seriously. But they were selling out stands everywhere.

Leighton Meester Speaks Out: Admits Disapproval of Boyfriend's New Lover!

Leighton and Ed: Will Chuck and Blair Suffer From Lack of Chemistry?

Leighton Meester confides in Bubbles the Chimp; Secretly Longs to Be With Ed Westwick.

She had tried to read them but to no avail. Her decision was clear. She didn't want to be in this movie unless some changes were made. Until then, she would stick with easier roles. Roles that Ed would never touch and she wouldn't have to worry about faking chemistry with him. Roles where her character did not have three rhyming names and wasn't killed by being thrown in an ocean.

But the look on Ed's face when she left him there. He had been right, this wasn't her. She was far more professional. She had been more professional with Drive-Thru, which was worse than this movie. He must have been disappointed at how rude she had been. Throwing a hissy fit during a scene. Stepping on someone's foot though that person justly deserved it. It was as though Blair Waldorf had taken over and that was what she didn't want to do. She had been trying to step away from the Blair persona and be something else. Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III was no Blair Waldorf, but the role wasn't fun. Not like Blair, not like anything else. She left only because it truly felt like Hell.

And now, with Ed gaping at her as she stormed off the set, he was probably never going to speak to her again. That would ruin everything on the Gossip Girl set. No 'fake' shagging, no 'fake' kinks, no more chemistry. Perhaps the tabloids were right. Chuck and Blair were going to suffer. It was plastered right there next to the latest date escapade between Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

She was in the midst of reading all this Ed and Leighton fanfiction that some fans were sending in. Somehow, everyone else got them. Even people who had never met her knew what she was like. There was a lot of porn of course but they did that porn tastefully. Although, in every story, he was seducing her with his accent. Damn Ed and his British accent. He could make a mailbox bend over if he spoke to it. He was that good. He was professional. He was...everything she wasn't. He kept his cool while she lost it. He didn't complain about how ridiculous the role. He didn't even mind that his character didn't have a name but an number. No wonder they weren't together in reality. The more they got close, the further apart she felt from him.

There was a sharp rap at her door. Thinking it was Sebastian or maybe one of her friends, she put the fanfiction aside and opened it. She was slightly relieved that someone had come around. She needed to get a lot off her shoulders.

Unfortunately, the person at the door was Ed. Like her, he had a ton of fan letters in his hands. "May I come in?"

"Yeah, sure. I wasn't doing anything important. Just..." She let him and pointed to the fanfics on the ground. "I was just reading about us."

He rolled his eyes at that. "Tabloids, Leight? You believe that junk?"

"No. Ed and Leighton fanfiction." She winked. "Writers have been sending me in their stories about us. So far, I've come across three sex scenes while I give you a strip tease, two sex scenes while at a concert, one sex scene where we're drunk, and one sex scene wearing a cat suit."

He pictured her in the cat suit and smiled. "Me-ow."

"Actually, you're the one in the cat suit." She smirked. "You're described as a hot, very British, and 'dripping with sex appeal' condom."

"How...nice." He sat down and shifted through his letters. "Want to read some of mine? I got tons more today."

She blushed. Oh, they enjoyed doing this while she filmed that movie. Why would he torture her like so? "You mean you're not mad at me?"

"About what?"

"What I did last week. I ran off set, quit the whole thing, and gave no explanation. Well, not a good one." She shrugged. "I was just frustrated and unprofessional. I shouldn't have acted like that, but I hated it. I hated the lack of chemistry with you."

"...We don't have a lack of chemistry."

"Exactly. I was ruining the whole thing because I couldn't stop thinking about you. Gossip Girl is different. We're supposed to be hot when we're together. I can't be cold around you." She shook her head. "But now I'm supposed to let you sweet talk a guy and...I'm getting jealous. I thought working together would be more fun."

"So you left because you were jealous, "he concluded. "You quit."

"I'm sorry, "she apologized. "It was completely out of character. But I really didn't like the script and I thought some changes could be made. I guess that was a bad time to take a stand, huh?"

"Actually, it wasn't."

She looked up. "What do you mean?"

"It's why I came here, Leight. People have talked non-stop about you making a stand. It went on so much that it caught everyone's attention. We had to halt production because they were re-writing the script. Giving Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III a better role. Fleshing her out. More chemistry between you and me. No crazy dance scene. And no death scene, I actually save you in the end. Or rather, you save yourself and help me save the world."

"So the dance scene..."

"Is a simple dance now. A waltz between you and me."

"The revelation?"

"Happening but you handle it much better."

"...But her name's the same?" Leighton grimaced.

"You went far enough, Leight. I wouldn't push it any further." Then he looked at her, all hopeful and sweet. It was precious how he could be sexy in one second, adorable the next. "They want you back. So do I."

"You mean it about the changes?"

"Absolutely. They were right. When we're together, it's a much better script, "he agreed. "So will you consider coming back to the movie? I know they didn't change the name but...at least we get more rehearsal time."

She thought about it for a bit. Her stand worked. Her role was more fleshed out. She was going to live at the end of the movie. She got more rehearsal time with Ed. Best of all, he was not angry with her. What more could she want?

Wait a second.

"I've been looking at these stories for the past couple of days, "she said. "These people have some very good ideas for us. And I was thinking_"

"I'm not putting on a cat suit," he said firmly. "I refuse to dress like a condom."

Curses.

Lucky for her, she had a Plan B. "Well...can we rehearse a scene in the car again then?"

"Much better."

Feeling good for the first time in a long time, she kicked aside a couple of gossip rags and grabbed her things. Not that she needed any of them. They had it, they felt it...they were pure chemistry. All they needed was each other to make sparks fly.

Though 'the rehearsals' in a car were a nice bonus.

-FIN-

Final Note: And thus ends my first...and probably last...venture into RPF. Needless to say, I am glad to be through with this one. EL are quite fun with their chemistry and cuteness (and damn, why couldn't I have one photo of them together at the TCAs?! That would have led to some more inspiration!) It's one item off my shoulders and will allow me to get started with a new project (CB related, of course) and continuing "Postcards". Anyway, I'm glad that you've all enjoyed this little frappery I've come up with and thank you all for your support and comments. I might not have been able to reply to each one but rest assured, they were all read and much appreciated. &hearts

Til the next time that we cross paths!

Chemistry at Bay (6/?)

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:31:38 GMT

Title: Chemistry at Bay (6/?)
Fandom: Real People/Gossip Girl actors/Robert Pattinson
Pairing: Ed/Leighton
Rating: PG-13
Summary: They're in the same movie but not as love interests. It was for their own good they weren't cast as opposites, the director said. Ed and Leighton think they'll be fine. They're just friends after all...right?
Notes: Thanks to Dawn for the beta, anyone you heard of doesn't belong to me, and I swear, I'm cutting my hands off after this. *headdesk* Or sliding down into Hell on a waterslide...except it's got lava so it's a lavaslide? Eh, just read!

-Banner by issa_bell

Part 6

"And...action!"

So here it was. From reading the crazy fan letters together to being away from him. She liked Rob a lot. He was a good person and this was just a movie. It didn't mean that Ed was cheating on her. Or Jessica.

Jessica! The night of rehearsal in the car made her feel worse. As far as Jessica knew, they were 'fake' shagging on set. That was fine because the two of them were in a pretend relationship. But last night had been different. They had done it in a car without thinking of the consequences. Jessica was one of her friends and to do this to her was a huge mistake. Then there was Sebastian. He had stayed faithful to her while she went off with Ed and tried to shake out the chemistry between them. Instead, it had led them to the backseat without clothes and a shower curtain for kicks. If Jessica or Sebastian found out, the two of them were doomed. And that was far worse than trying to fake a lack of chemistry.

"Quiet on set, people!"

A few squealing girls were on the side taking pictures but everyone else stayed quiet. As for Leighton, she waited for her moment. Ed and Rob were now going through the lines where Rob confessed that he knew something Contessa Vontessa or Fontessa or Florescent or whatever her name was. Earlier on, he had caught Contessa exchanging spit with Agent 35 and so he was heartbroken. This was turning out to be a problem for Rob; while Leighton and Ed struggled with lacking chemistry, Rob struggled with crying. No matter how many times he said his line, he burst out laughing. Just like them, he found some of the lines ridiculous. His character was also too soft and emotional. Also, he got in danger far more times than Contessa did.

She tried to listen to their lines.

"Nothing happened between us..." Ed was saying. Oh, that voice. He made an American accent so dark and mysterious like his character.

Rob tried to fake his tears. He was doing it a lot better this time. "I saw the way you look at her. You look at her like...you want her more. The way you stare into her eyes...the way you speak to her...like she's the one you love."

Leighton gulped. Okay, so her part wasn't up yet but the line was touching. Rob was talking about her character. Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III. He wasn't referring to the two broads with that name before her. He was talking about her. The way Ed looked at her, spoke to her...he was right. He spoke to her like he was in love.

Damn. Why couldn't she have been the one kissing him at the end of this? Why couldn't she run out and tell Rob that this was true?

"She's not the one I want, "she heard Ed say. Her heart sank at that. "You've always been my one and only. I can't be with that girl. Ever."

Ouch.

"You can always change your mind. Decide you want something better," Rob pretended to sob out. "And maybe she is better for you. You have a connection. You see it, you feel it..."

See it, feel it. Why did that line sound so familiar? Of course. It was the best way to describe their chemistry. It might not have been tangible but it was there. Any minute, she was supposed to make her entrance. She was supposed to have her heart broken then, not now. Her whole world was supposed to be shaken by the true revelation of Agent 35's sexuality. The kiss those two shared was supposed to kill her inside. Then the evil villain would swoop in, keep her in a chamber for three hours, then dump her in the ocean. And Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III had no clue how to swim so that was the end of her.

"Leighton, you're on!"

Oh, of course! Time for her big moment where Ed and Rob were going to kiss. As soon as she was shuffled out, she saw it. Ed getting close to Rob. Ed's lips...Sexlips as the girls called him now...close to Rob's lips. Three girls crying their eyes out at scene. She wasn't sure if they were crying because it was a beautiful scene or if they were jealous of Rob. Or Ed. Or both. Not that she could blame any of them now. Those two were having the chemistry that she wanted to have with him.

She walked up to them and stopped. Damn Ed. He could have chemistry with a lamp post and make it hot. All the same, she would get jealous of that lamp post. Calming down inside, she started her line. "Oh...my God!"

The two separated from each other to see her. "Miss Vontessa!"

"I...I..." she began to stammer. So far, so good. Contessa was supposed to stammer at this.

"Miss Vontessa, I'm sorry," Rob said. "But...he's mine."

Oh, that felt like a knife into her back. No, he wasn't Rob's. He couldn't be Rob's or anyone else's. He had to be hers. At the very least, she wanted some passion in her lone scene with Ed. Because that was all that they knew how to do.

"I understand this is a huge shock to you," Ed went on. Poor thing, he was still acting out his scene. "I should have been honest from the beginning. But that moment, that kiss...that was nothing."

"The hell it wasn't!" she snapped. That was not in her script, which caused Ed to step back. "There was something between us! It was something from the moment you entered my room to when you went...when we..." Now she was losing it. She still had to keep this a secret because three billion people were watching them film. Two billion of them had cameras, obviously Gossip Girl fans.

"I...I..." she started.

Ed waited for her to say her line. And she just stared at him. His eyes, his lips...they were drawing her in. How could she say no to all of this? More importantly, why did she say yes to this movie?

"I...I can't do it, "she explained. "Because I know that...I can't stop this!"

"What is she doing?! Cut cut!"

"Leight, what are you doing?" Ed asked.

"Admitting that this movie is...terrible, "she went on. "Yeah, it's terrible. I don't like what I'm supposed to do. I don't like how it ends! And above all...I don't like not working with you."

"Leighton, dammit, what are you doing?! We have a movie to shoot!" the director yelled. "Cut, everyone! We have to start over!"

"Yeah, we do!" Leighton yelled. It was time to stop being Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III and throw in some Blair Waldorf. The bitch needed to be here. "And you have to start with the script! I can't do this! In fact...I refuse to do this!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! We don't have time to re-write the script!"

"Yeah, Leight, what's wrong?" Ed asked. "You've never done this before. I know you're more professional than this."

"This whole thing is wrong!" she complained. "This isn't what I wanted! I'm okay with not being the love interest but having to fake this? It's...it's just not what we're good at." She sighed. "None of this is what I signed up for. I can't get dance steps down, I can't memorize these awful lines, and I don't want to die in the end! Why can't he die instead?!" She pointed to Rob.

"Wait, why am I suddenly involved in this?" Rob demanded to know. "What is going on?!"

"Dammit, people, cut the cameras! Cut the cameras! Why are we still filming this?" their poor frustrated director was screaming.

"Good question! Because you just lost your female star!" she snapped. The three billion fans on the side let out a collective gasp and started whispering. But she had said her piece. Enough of this garbage. She had to walk out now or the whole thing would drive her insane.

"What?!" Ed and Rob both exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" the director demanded.

"Yeah, Leight, what do you mean?" Ed asked. "I don't understand why you're acting like this."

"I quit, "she whispered to them, giving Ed a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry. I just can't do this anymore. Good luck with the whole thing."

She stormed off set, a whole crowd watching her. She didn't care though. She decided to leave it without looking back. But first, she purposely stepped on the foot of some jerk yelling out hateful slurs at Ed. This asshole had been calling Ed fat and ugly ever since they started filming outside. Not that Ed cared but it was just annoying. He had been there and was trying to disrupt everything. The crew's attempts weren't good enough to shut him up so she nailed a good one on his toes.

And damn, did that feel better than quitting a terrible movie ever could.

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: Okay, the last part is definitely the last part of this whole thing. But...I leave a question mark at the end just in case I change my mind at the last minute. And once I'm finished here, I'm going back to "Postcards" and possibly something new. As well as an original work that I hope you guys plan to stick around for. Thanks for sticking with this...hoopla here. Let's pray that Leighton, Rob, and Ed never end up in an awful movie like this.

Chemistry at Bay (5/?)

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:08:11 GMT

Title: Chemistry at Bay (5/?)
Fandom: Real People/Gossip Girl actors/Robert Pattinson
Pairing: Ed/Leighton
Rating: PG-13
Summary: They're in the same movie but not as love interests. It was for their own good they weren't cast as opposites, the director said. Ed and Leighton think they'll be fine. They're just friends after all...right?
Notes: Thanks to Dawn for the beta, anyone you heard of doesn't belong to me, and I swear, I'm cutting my hands off after this. *headdesk* Or sliding down into Hell on a waterslide...except it's got lava so it's a lavaslide? Eh, just read!

Banner by issa_bell

Part 5

Rob kept silent about his discovery. It didn't scar him for life but it was a big secret. Ed and Leighton doing it in the back of a car. Pretending that it was a rehearsal. Throwing in a scene that clearly wasn't in the script. The two could not stay away from each other. It was clear the moment they revealed what Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III's true purpose was; she was supposed to lead Ed's character to his true love, Edward. Other than that, she was disposable. Leighton's talent was too big to be disposable. They all saw it. It was the only reason those two were 'rehearsing' in the first place.

But rumors could break everything they had worked hard for. While this was no better than his previous jobs, at least the girls went crazy over Ed too. The craziness was shared between them. So he stayed quiet to keep the peace. Not that he had much time to blab to anyone in the first place. As soon as morning rolled around, there were hoards of fans waiting outside for a piece of him. Three girls managed to grab a lock of his hair and two almost drew blood thanks to their lack of manicures. There were also gifts waiting for all of them. The majority belonged to him and Ed of course. Some were normal like flowers and candy. Some, like the stained cooler on the sidewalk, were things he did not want to open.

As for Leighton, she was getting her makeup done. All soft and subtle colors on her. That was a bright spot about her character. At least Contessa Vontessa (or was her last name Fontessa? She did not know anymore) did not wear gobs of loud makeup. The wardrobe was also reasonable; not too expensive and not too cheap. She might not have been walking around in Collette Dinnigan or Jil Sander but she looked nice. If only Agent 35 were straight, then maybe Miss Vontessa could charm him with the way she looked.

"Hi, Leight."

She turned to find Ed holding a pile of envelopes and flowers. This was routine now. As it turned out, the girls had hounded him. Rob was probably getting slaughtered but Ed had escaped. This happened whenever they were outside. If someone recognized them, then they got gifts. So far, they had gotten everything from a puppy to a kitten. The worst had been the ones donating their organs. Literally. The boys ended up with kidneys, livers, and too many hearts. It slightly romantic in a disturbing way. So right before they rehearsed, he would show up with some fan letters and read them to her.

This time he didn't have anything that resembled organs. "They're not for me, are they?"

"...Does anyone refer to you as sugar daddy bumpkin?"

"No."

"Then these are definitely not for you. I've been reading them all morning. Listen to this." He put a bunch of the gifts on the ground and opened up a rather soggy letter. "Dear Sexlips...Sexlips?" He read that word again. "Sexlips? Couldn't they at least call me Chace? Even Chace is better than Sexlips!"

"No, they mean Sexlips. I heard three girls referring to you as that. They also claimed to write porn fanfiction about you and me. And sometimes lesbian fanfic between me and Blake," she chuckled. "Read the rest of that letter, Sexlips."

He gave her a look before continuing. "Dear Sexlips, I dream about you all day and night. I dream about us in the mountains and drowning in an ocean. My nostrils fill up with salt water and I die, but at least I die in your shriveled arms."

Leighton winced, "Gross."

"It gets worse. Listen to this", he went on. "When you speak, it's like the whole world comes together as one. You have the ability to cure AIDS with your voice alone. You can also stop world hunger just by breathing. If I could, I would give you the ocean and ship the seas...overseas?"

"Don't be mean. That part is very sweet."

"Unfortunately, I tried that and I learned that envelopes can't hold water."

"Or not."

"But one day, I will cross the oceans, climb the mountains, and run through the grasslands just to see you, my love dumpling. If I could dream, I would dream of you. Look after my heart, I have left it with you. Be mine forever." He folded the letter up and shook his head. "I was hoping this one was for Rob but it's not."

She smiled at him but he just looked miserable. He was flipping through all these letters. Poor thing. He was finally getting a taste of the crazy fangirls that followed Rob. She wished she could do something about it. Chase them away. Put a stake in them. Do a Blair Waldorf and ship them off to boot camp. But this was a different environment. The girls were just being girls; excited about seeing big stars. Yes, the donated organs were stretching it, but she couldn't fault them for being drawn to him. Ed was attractive. The eyes, the full lips, the voice, the chest hair peeking out from another ripped shirt...who could blame them for falling in love?

"Dear Sexwick, please give me a bikini wax. Your strong sexy hands will take the pain away." He snorted and opened the next one. "Dear jerkface, when are you going to return my calls? And stop cheating on Chace."

"That one goes in the trash, "she suggested. Now the stylist was tying her hair up tightly and she was in slight pain. Contessa's hair was always tied up so tight and cutting off whatever circulation she had in her face. No wonder the woman was so brainless. With hairstyles like this, pulling up her scalp, there wasn't much room for a mind.

"Dear butt ugly, you're ugly. You're fat. You suck as an actor. Thanks for stealing Leighton from Chace. She's his property. And you're a therapist." An eye roll. "How the hell is being a therapist an insult?! I didn't know you belonged to Chace, Leight."

"Neither did I. Apparently I'm his property. Oh well, looks like he sold me."

That letter pissed her off as well. Damn the haters. For every twelve million fan letters came one of these idiotic notes. But they never phased Ed, just amused him. Namely because they never had good grammar or made very much sense. "That one needs to be burned. Ignore all those notes. What else did you get?"

"Dear lover for life, will you marry me?" He shook his head. "What is this, my fiftieth marriage proposal?"

"Listen to this one." He began. "Dearest Sexlips...another one is calling me Sexlips." Rolling his eyes, he went on. "I write gay fanfiction about you and Chace...now I've moved to gay fanfic about you and Robert. I also like lesbian porn with Leighton and Blake. And I love to write porn with you and Leighton. Every single time, you are doing it in a limousine. I pretend that you are 'rehearsing' your lines for Victor/Victrola again and again."

Leighton didn't know whether to laugh or be worried at this. The rehearsal last night had been just that; a rehearsal. They did get naked. They did use a shower curtain to try and be kinky. Then they did it because sometimes it worked. Having sex in real life made the scene better. It would be grand if it weren't for the fact that she had Sebastian and he had Jessica. So far, Rob was the only one who knew the truth and he wouldn't blab. Unless someone got him drunk and he spilled the secrets. Then things would get worse.

"Look...about last night..." she began.

"What about it?"

"Our rehearsal...do you think we went far?"

He almost dropped his latest love letter from a fan. "Christ, Leight, don't tell me that you're...I mean, we used a condom."

"No, "she assured him. "I'm not pregnant. You can relax, what we did was harmless. I was just thinking...we should not do that anymore. We should try to stay away from each other. I mean, we have no chemistry here. We shouldn't have any. It'll make the movie much better. More believable." She was searching for excuses now to keep him away. This was going to be their only night.

"...Nothing with a character named Contessa Vontessa can be believable, Leight."

"Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III, "she corrected him. Oh God, she was getting used to that terrible rhyming name! But Ed had a point. Their movie was not going to win them any Oscars. If they were lucky, they'd get nominated for the MTV awards.

"But what I'm saying...let's keep our chemistry down. Or I'll get yelled at again for not following through, "she said.

"Fine by me." He shrugged, then ripped open another envelope. "Oh God, here's another one that's planning to send me their blood. Why? And her sister wants to invite me to her birthday party!"

"Oh, they're kids! It's cute! Kids do that all the time."

"How many kids do you know that are 42 and have three young ones of their own?" He showed her the letter. Just as she got passed the 'Dear Future Husband Of Mine" part, the director yelled for them to take their places. She gave him a sad look and got off her chair. This was going to be the last moment they were going to have together. All his chemistry had to be saved for Robert while she tried to keep her kisses dry and dull.

"Places, everyone! Places! Move it, Leighton!" the director snapped at her. Bastard. He was already tired of her inability to get into character and now he was taking out the rest of his frustrations on her.

"I need Edward here and Agent 35 to come up from behind. Leighton, make sure you walk in on them this time!"

Oh, of course. They were filming the moment when Contessa Vontessa walked in on 35 and Edward making out. All her dreams of seducing him were going to shatter at this point. This was supposed to be when she felt the strongest emotions, right before she was kidnapped and killed.

"Break a leg, Leight," Ed whispered.

"I'm going to end up doing that in the next dance rehearsal, "she murmured. There was another of those hellish days coming up this afternoon.

"Hey, look at me." She did as he asked and he kissed her this time. "Good luck." Another kiss. "You'll do fine."

One more kiss before he headed off for his big makeout with Robert Pattinson. About fifty fans were sitting out with their cameras out. Thirty of them were screaming and crying for them. That only made Leighton feel ten times worse. All that rehearsing was going to waste. The more they stayed apart, the closer she wanted to be with him. She wanted to be the one who lived, the one he took off into the sunset with. She didn't want to die in this film. She deserved better. They both did.

Miserably, she went to her corner on set and just waited for that moment. But she was not going to be able to enjoy it. Staring at Ed was not going to help keep the chemistry at bay. That was the truth.

TBC...

Note:...So I had too much fun making up fan letters (and hate mail...haters suck though. We all know that). All right, I'm sure this will end in one more chapter. Unless a brilliant idea hits me and wants me to continue this. But I think I want to wrap this up before starting my next GG idea and continuing Postcards. In non-GG realm, I will have original stuff up someday soon too. Hopefully, you'll enjoy reading that as much as I enjoy writing it. In the meantime, thank you for all your comments! Who knew RPF could be so much fun?

Chemistry at Bay (4/?)

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:39:08 GMT

Title: Chemistry at Bay (4/?)
Fandom: Real People/Gossip Girl actors/Robert Pattinson
Pairing: Ed/Leighton
Rating: PG-13
Summary: They're in the same movie but not as love interests. It was for their own good they weren't cast as opposites, the director said. Ed and Leighton think they'll be fine. They're just friends after all...right?
Notes: Thanks to Dawn for the beta, anyone you heard of doesn't belong to me, and I swear, I'm cutting my hands off after this. *headdesk* Or sliding down into Hell on a waterslide...except it's got lava so it's a lavaslide? Eh, just read!

Banner by issa_bell

Part 4

They did not stop making out despite the fact their kiss was supposed to last one minute. Every time they tried to do that kiss, it became passionate. They could not make anything dry and cold. His lips were made of perfection. Pillowy perfection. She was jealous of Jessica at times. The girl got to kiss his lips once the cameras stopped rolling. If only she could be Jessica all the time. But in a way, it was good that she wasn't. Then she could never be in such a role.

"This isn't working," he murmured.

"Maybe we should watch Twilight," she suggested. "That should teach us what we shouldn't be doing."

"Don't be cruel, Leight," Ed warned her. "He's a nice guy."

"I know he's nice. It's not an insult on him. Just the movie," she said. "But compare Edward and Bella to Chuck and Blair...it's not the same."

"Yeah, Chuck and Blair aren't phallic, marble objects that sparkle."

"Look who's being cruel now," she snorted, picking up the script again. "Come on, Agent 35. Let's start somewhere else. Like another scene where we don't kiss, but we're talking! Because talking is good! Talking does not always lead to kissing!" She flipped through her script and came across a scene. "How about when you and I meet for the very first time?"

"Fine by me. Go from the top." As usual, he didn't need the script. "You start."

She scanned her script to find Contessa's first line to Agent 35. She was sauntering towards him like a snake charmer. Or so the description read. "Well, if you're the 35th one, I wonder what happened to the first 34."

"...Some died, some retired, and some just don't know how to handle a woman." He grabbed her waist and pulled her close. Her leg hiked up and brushed against his thigh. "I take it you're the victim."

"Nice. I take it that you're none of the above," she purred, playing with his chest. Her fingers began to walk up to his collarbone. Damn Ed. He had to rip another shirt to show off his chest hair. Not that she was turned on by this. Sure, she noticed he was working out. Those chest muscles were beginning to show. He had a man's chest, not one of those little boy's chests. She couldn't understand who could find Ed unattractive. So what if he had chest hair and a lack of abs? That made him all the more appealing.

"As you know, your life is in danger."

Oh God, the whispering. Be still, her heart. "Tell me something I haven't figured out, Mr. 35."

"I'm highly qualified, Miss Vontessa."

Leighton couldn't help herself; not only did her character fail at everything, her last name was even more laughable. She giggled even though it was not part of the script. "My my, Mr. 35, if I weren't Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III and a single woman, I would say that you were being naughty. Because I feel you coming onto me."

He pushed her away. "Not happening, Miss Vontessa. I'm here to protect you, not start a romantic relationship. Besides I am..."

"Married?" she pouted. "I knew it! I knew it, you and Vanessa made sparks fly all over the place! It's no wonder you've gotten married in secret."

There was a pause and she began to wonder if he had forgotten his line. He just looked at her, eyebrow arched. "What's wrong?"

"...You said Vanessa."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I was making stuff up and...her name popped up," she admitted. "This script is just driving me crazy! I hate everything about it!" Frustrated, she crumpled the script up. "I thought this would be fun, we'd be working together. And...we're not. I can't do this 'lack of chemistry'."

"Then why don't you drop out?" he suggested.

"Because..." She frowned. He was right. Why didn't she drop out of this hellish movie? It wasn't like they couldn't replace her. They had plenty of time to get a new Contessa Fontessa Vontessa III. She could drop out and go back to doing movies like The Roommate. Sure, it would never win her an Oscar, but at least she wouldn't have three rhyming names. And if she died, at least it would not be because she couldn't swim.

"You're right. I don't like anything about this. The smart thing would be to quit and do something else. Something I would be much better at doing."

"You don't want to drop out, do you?" he concluded. "And I'm guessing it's not because this is the role of a lifetime."

"I'm trying. I'm doing the dance steps, I'm working on my emotions, and I'm trying to...not be attracted to you. I know this is not Gossip Girl and not everything I do will be. But I just can't get into this character." She looked down at the crumpled script in her hand. "I wish we could change this whole thing."

He looked at that script and read the lines in silence. No wonder she hated her role. The woman was pathetic and spineless, everything that Leighton was not. Although he hadn't said a word, he felt for her. She got a lot of flack from the director and producers. But she was doing her best with such a weak role. He knew just wanted to do a lot more.

"Let's make something up," he suggested. "You don't like this, then make up something new."

"Like what?"

"Make up our own scene. Do the exact opposite of what they're telling you. Do what they wouldn't do."

She looked skeptical. "...Would Chuck and Blair do those things?"

He grinned. "Maybe, maybe not."

That convinced her. "Then let's do it."

Three hours later...

Rob was tired. Not that he was surprised by fatigue anymore. Ever since agreeing to do Twilight, he was growing more and more tired by the world. Girls were crazy about him, rumors were spreading, and this new movie was not helping much. Now new rumors were spreading about his time with Leighton Meester and Ed Westwick. The latest titles from OK, US, and Star magazines already were taking about his affair with Leighton and how furious Kristen Stewart was. It was such a load of bull but it sold. But as long as the people involved didn't believe a word, then it didn't matter.

He ran his fingers through his now dark hair. For the role, he had to have it dyed dark brown. This Edward was not a handsome vampire that was built like a marble statue. He was normal and struggling in a relationship. He didn't win people over with his looks. Even still, the girls recognized him. They continued to jump him and demand bites on their necks. What was worse was that they were dragging Ed Westwick into this. Never mind that Ed had nothing to do with Twilight, they just wanted a piece of him. In a way, he felt responsible. Poor Leighton was miserable because of her role and Ed was going to die thanks to a crazy fangirl one day.

But at least they were not out tonight. No one could spot him in this empty parking lot. He could walk in peace. He could make it to his place without someone dangling from his neck. The last girl who did that almost fell off and broke her arm.

He had made it halfway down the parking lot when he saw something. Walking up closer, he recognized it. It was Leighton's car. The one that her character Contessa drove around in throughout the movie. Normally the hood was down but it was up and the windows were rolled. He could see nothing inside it because everything was fogged up. But it was not a cold night so that meant one thing. It was hot inside.

He knocked on the door of the car. Lucky Leighton and Sebastian. Those two were getting it on and steaming up the windows. "Having a good night, Leight?"

Someone rolled down the window and he finally saw Leighton. Her hair was a bird's nest and she was trying hard to cover her breasts with a shower curtain. It looked like she had ripped it out of her bathroom and was using it as a prop. Maybe this was one of her kinks. But it didn't matter as they were both adults. This was not the shock. Except for the shower curtain, he didn't understand that.

Then Ed popped up from behind her. Just like her, he was naked. Unlike her, he didn't hide anything. He gasped and tried to hide behind Leighton, ashamed that he had been caught. Both were sweating hard and it wasn't because of the warm night air. The whole puzzle suddenly made sense now that all the pieces were together.

"It's okay, Rob, we're just rehearsing our new scene," Leighton replied sheepishly.

Robert backed away from the car slowly, amusement and satisfaction of knowing the truth both plastered on his face.

TBC...

Note: Okay, I think there's at least one or two more parts left. I think...I'm not sure. Forgive me, Twilight fans, I just couldn't resist poking a little fun at the series. It was too easy. I adore Rob to death though. I'm still kinda hoping he'd end up on GG one day and it would make my dreams come true. Lol. Thanks for sticking with this.

PFATW- Chapter 11: To Eric From Chuck

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:00:40 GMT

Title: Postcards From Around the World
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Chuck/Blair
Rating: PG
Summary: Now that the words have been exchanged, Chuck and Blair are ready to take on the world. Or so they think. Can their love survive the obstacles lying at every corner of the map?
Notes: As you can see, this part is more or less concluded. GG still doesn't belong to me. Thanks to Dawn for the beta. And to all of you.

Banner by issa_bell

Chapter 11: To Eric From Chuck

It took about two hours for them to get from their hotel to Chuck's 'secret' place. At least that was what Blair thought. As soon as she came out of the bathroom, Chuck blindfolded her and told her that he wanted to keep the whole trip a surprise. That meant from leaving their room to their final destination, she would be left in the dark.

"But I won't be able to see," she pointed out.

"I'll lead you," he promised. "Trust me."

Ah, trusting Chuck Bass. Last year at this time, she wouldn't have trusted him to donate his organs if she was dying. Last year, he had been a Basstard and deserved to be hurt. But now she had complete faith in him. He wasn't going to lead her astray this time. He had been there the whole time so why would he run now? He came to her when she thought he had died. He had not fooled around with anyone while they were together.

"Can't you just blindfold me when we get there?" she asked, tugging at the blindfold. But he kept stopping her. "Besides I really wanted to drop off this postcard before we leave. I was telling Daddy that we would see him and Roman real soon."

"No because you'll know where 'there' is," he explained. "I want the whole thing to be a surprise. Because you deserve it. You can drop off your postcard tomorrow when I send one to Eric."

"You mean the postcard about me nagging too much? About how lucky Eric is because he'll never worry about pleasing a girl?" She was miffed by his words but she couldn't blame him either. Chuck was trying his hardest to please. She just hated that he had to spill it to his brother instead of her. As a couple, they needed to work on problems together.

"I didn't say that."

"I saw what you wrote. And you don't have to hide it, you are right. I'm just not used to all this. I know you aren't either but...you're trying. You're being better about this than I am. Just tell me I'm being a bitch next time instead of Eric," she smiled. "Now come on. Take me to my magical place."

"With pleasure. Now be careful, we're getting in the car." And that was how Chuck led her around. When there was a crack, he moved her away from it. If there were steps, he let her know before going up or down them. The whole car ride, she remained quiet although she wished she could look outside. He insisted that the blindfold stay on though.

Unfortunately for him, the night wasn't magical. Not yet anyway. His phone kept ringing the whole way through. It rang as he helped her out of the car and started to lead her to their secret place. It kept going and as a result, he kept losing his grip on Blair. She almost walked into the ocean twice and would have gone off the dock if he hadn't caught her.

He hated the fact that Blair had stepped into gum and bird poop while making her way across the dock. It was something they could have easily avoided, but it happened. At least she would not know...not until she looked under her shoes. Then he would be in trouble. Giving up, he checked his phone and saw Eric's name. Clearly, there was an emergency and Eric wanted to get in touch with him. Before Chuck could tell him to call back, Eric said the dreaded word.

"Dan..."

"He's been in there, hasn't he? He's been in my closet," Chuck realized.

Eric paused for a second. "Once...twice..."

"How many times?"

"He's been borrowing your clothes ever since you left," Eric finally confessed. "It's not a bad thing though! Besides, I let him in your closet! He borrowed a shirt for an interview..."

"Which shirt?" Chuck demanded.

"I'm not sure but it was blue." There was silence on the other end. "With stripes. Dark blue stripes on light blue. He says it was the best thing that complimented the pants."

"You mean the purple pants I left him?"

"No...your dark blue ones." Chuck inhaled sharply at that and Eric confessed more. "Okay, he's borrowed an entire suit. That includes your red tie by the way. He hasn't ruined your outfits though...except for..."

"For what?"

"Nothing."

"What did he ruin?"

"...He dropped mustard on your navy blue suit jacket!" Eric blurted out. "And cherry soda on your pants. He dropped those off at the dry cleaners, but I don't think the mustard stain will ever come out. It's kind of mustard that doesn't come out of anything."

"Humphrey stained my jacket. You let Humphrey borrow my clothes," Chuck said. The tone of his voice was hard to decipher. Eric couldn't tell if his older brother was angry or upset or nonchalant. It was the voice of a serial killer. "And he ruined my pants."

"Oh, they'll be fine. The cherry soda smell will be gone. Besides, Blair ruined your pants once."

"Don't compare my girlfriend to the likes of Dan Humphrey!" Chuck snarled. "At least she doesn't take things from me without asking. And why didn't you stop him if you knew he was doing that?"

"Sorry! I didn't think it would be such a big deal! He shouldn't have touched your things but..." Eric paused for a second. Obviously, there was much more too this whole situation. "I want you guys to get along. I thought if he borrowed something from you and kept it in good shape, you might actually...I don't know, be friends. Treat each other better. Maybe it would be a good enough reason for you stay with all of us."

Aha. Eric wanted the two of them to get along. Stay as a family. It was bad enough that Lily intended to marry Rufus Humphrey. The fact that he would bring his children over was worse. Jenny still was uncomfortable around him, not that he blamed her, and Dan was too lame to be friends with. Poor Eric wanted to have everyone together, but it wasn't going to happen. The moment Jenny revealed what Chuck had done to her last year, he would be thrown out. No apology could change his actions.

"What's going on?" a blindfolded Blair asked. He had been so caught up with his thoughts he forgot about her for a second. She was coming close to walking off the dock again. "I can't see where we are, Chuck. Where are we? Are you going to tell me anything?"

Chuck pulled her away from the edge and pressed a finger against her lips. "I'm almost done here." Then he turned back to his phone. "As touching as that is, little brother, I can't talk about it now. We'll deal with my potential relationship with the worst fiction writer in Brooklyn later. Right now...I have a date."

Hanging up, he led her away and started to head towards the ship. So far, so good. Everything was in place. "Now start guessing...where are we?"

They were moving upstairs. "Are we outside still?"

"For now. We won't be in for long."

"Interesting, so we're going inside. Um...we're not in Paris, are we? It might feel like it but we're not. That car trip was too short. But...are we at the airport heading to Rome?"

"No. We're heading to Rome but not now. Try again."

"The airport would be noisy so that's out of the question. Let's see...I smell the ocean. We're at the ocean," she said. "Ocean, roses, definitely not Paris or the airport...I have no idea..."

A passerby, who had been watching the whole exchange, finally got fed up with Blair's guessing and walking towards the ocean. "For crying out loud, chica, it's a boat! He's taking you on a boat!"

Chuck glared at the man as Blair ripped off the blindfold. Sure enough, he had been right. There was a boat waiting for the two of them and Chuck was leading her up to it. "Oh my God!"

"Thanks for the help that I need!" Chuck snapped.

"Hey, at least I mentioned nothing about all the champagne you bought."

"There's champagne?" Blair asked.

"And music and a four course meal made by the finest chefs and a staff waiting to give you a pedicure. Oh, I should also that he managed to get your favorite actor..."

Chuck handed him some money. When all else failed, money paid for everything. His father taught him that a long time ago. Then another thought hit him and he handed the guy the postcard. At least that leech would be useful for something. "Take the money, drop that off at the post office, and get out."

It seemed like a fair exchange. "Cool. Have a good time. By the way, tell your girlfriend that after twelve times, Roman Holiday doesn't get better. Even if it's on a bigger screen than usual."

"Chuck!" Blair exclaimed. She was gaping at the whole thing like a princess who had just been returned to her castle. Her dark eyes were shining with excitement. "You did all this for me?"

"Yeah, he did. He was hoping to make your trip better so he hired..."

"Get out."

The man chuckled and took a quick look at the postcard. Then he looked back to see the couple making their way to the ship. So what if the surprise was ruined. So what if the guy was a bastard? He was a caring bastard.

"First time...lucky bastard."

~ ~ ~

Eric,

Little brother, I appreciate you telling me the truth today. But if Humphrey touches my wardrobe again (save for the pants I've allowed him to take), there is a crowbar in the safe. Don't question why it's there. Just take it out and break his hands with it. If you're feeling violent, you can break any other part of his body too.

Besides that, I think Blair finally trusts me to do the right thing. And I will. So far, it's been hell but I promise to make the rest of this trip better. It's not easy being a boyfriend. But, and don't tell anyone this, I like it. I like having a girlfriend and being her boyfriend. I never thought I would say this but it's true. BUT if you mention anything to anyone about it...I'm going to tell Serena what REALLY happened to her underwear that night and who was responsible. Yes, I know. I'm Chuck Bass. I should know about female lingerie and its many uses.

Anyway, you know the rules: Humphrey touches my pink bowtie, he loses a finger. Remind him of that.

Your brother,

Chuck

P.S. No matter what happens, don't worry. We're still family. But if you spill that, remember...I'm Chuck Bass. I know what you did to Serena's underwear.

~ ~ ~

Note: Ugh, this chapter was giving me so much trouble. Forgive me if it's not up to usual standards. My beta saved this one for me. I struggled with it way too much. I promise that once we start moving further, it'll get better. I'll be taking a quick break from this (I want to finish my EL fanfic first). Then I'll return with more to annoy you all with. Or entertain, whichever this is doing. Thanks for sticking around, those of you who are!

Chemistry at Bay (3/?)

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:41:10 GMT

Title: Chemistry at Bay (3/?)
Fandom: Real People/Gossip Girl actors
Pairing: Ed/Leighton
Rating: PG-13
Summary: They're in the same movie but not as love interests. It was for their own good they weren't cast as opposites, the director said. Ed and Leighton think they'll be fine. They're just friends after all...right?
Notes: Thanks to Dawn for the beta, anyone you heard of doesn't belong to me, and I swear, I'm cutting my hands off after this. *headdesk* Or sliding down into Hell on a waterslide...except it's got lava so it's a lavaslide? Eh, just read!

Banner by issa_bell

Part 3

She stood in silence for a good three seconds, her fingers brushing her lips. Even now, she could feel the warmth of his lips. It was like the end of every Chuck and Blair scene; heavy, burning, and memorable. They were like magnets, always drawn to each other no matter what they were filming. That was the beautiful thing about Gossip Girl. Happy or angry, Chuck and Blair made the show at times. She didn't like to brag, but she secretly agreed with the critics about that. The two of them did keep the show interesting with their banter and interactions.

Oh God. He kissed her too early. He broke the flow of script and kissed her too early. She had to take a few steps back. Even though she was used to the kisses, this was not planned. They weren't being Chuck and Blair here. He was supposed to be in love with Robert Pattinson and she was only supposed to seduce him. Their only kiss had to be dry and cold, not warm and wet. Damn Ed and his full lips. She still had his saliva on her mouth. A part of her wanted to lick her lips and taste him again.

"You shouldn't have done that," she told him. "Jess would be so mad with you."

"Why? She knows we're doing the movie together. She's seen us kiss on set before and she never had a problem."

"Still, that wasn't what we needed to do. We have to start over."

"Why?" he asked. "You said you hated the script! You hated what was written."

"Yeah, I did but...I didn't want you to change the story!"

Ed blinked at her like she had grown another head "...I kissed you before I was supposed to. That's not changing the story, Leight."

"But...but you kissed me before the monologue! I memorized that monologue...before anything else. Kind of..."

Now she was fumbling for excuses. Secretly, she was glad that he cut in and kissed her. Ed had been right when he said she hated what was written. Aside from the story being ridiculous, she hated her character, Contessa. The name was bad enough as were all her lines. She was too overdramatic about everything. But worst of all was Contessa's personality. The girl was such a stupid flake. She was hopeless, weak, cried too much, and lacked several brain cells. She was always in need of rescuing until the end when she was tossed into the ocean. Seeing that Contessa didn't know how to swim, she drowned while Ed saved Robert as well as the world. Normally, Leighton would feel bad that her character died, but Contessa bothered her too much. The lack of spine was annoying as was her shallow nature. If Contessa and Blair Waldorf had a showdown, Blair would easily destroy her competitor and get Dorota to dump Contessa's remains in front of the Humphrey loft. Just to be cruel, she'd leave the remains in Brooklyn. Ha!

But she had to suck up her pride and play Contessa like she was written. This character was not Blair. Sure, she could throw in quirks, but she couldn't change everything. Contessa was supposed to be the idiot flake in this story. Contessa needed to be killed off. Her main scenes would be with Ed and the villain but they wouldn't go too far. They were to be dry and lacking all romance. Aside from the tango from Hell, Contessa's greatest moments were in her one scene with Robert. In it, she helped him learn about true love. It was probably the smartest thing she did. After that, she died because she couldn't swim in an ocean.

"Let's start from where we left off," Leighton suggested, straightening herself up. She looked at the crumpled script in her hands. The sudden rush of chemistry almost destroyed her script. "Do you need to borrow the script?"

"No." Of course he didn't. He knew the whole story from beginning to end. "Start from where you say 'I'm sorry'."

"Okay." She took a quick glance through the script before starting up again. "...I'm sorry?"

"No, I am," he sighed. "I came in here, leading you to believe something that's not true. I made you want me."

"You didn't make me do anything." Once again, she softened her voice. According to the script, Contessa was supposed to sound innocent. But she didn't want the girl to be innocent. If she was trying to seduce Ed's character, she needed to be more sensual. It would make more sense than being confused.

"But don't you see? This is all part of my game! I use people to get what I want and I let them go. You could never do well with someone like me!"

This was a moment where she was supposed to cry but she couldn't. Something about his line dripped with the Chuck and Blair chemistry. She had to work off it without any tears. "Use me?! Nobody can use me! And I will tell you that I want you. Not because you want me to want you, but because I want you! I wanted to be in love with you! This has nothing to do with games or you protecting my life! This is how I feel! This is who I am!"

"Who you are?" he drawled in his American accent. The Chuck Bass voice. She didn't know if it was her but the room suddenly felt very hot. It was like someone put the furnace on at full blast. "You mean to tell me that you're foolish? That you are a doll I can wind up and set loose? That you have no mind of your own unless someone tells you to do something?"

"...How dare you!" she shrieked. This wasn't in the script but she couldn't deal with all the crying scenes anymore. Contessa needed a backbone and she was going to give her one right now. "I love you! No one can tell me otherwise!"

"But I don't love you! I'm in love with..."

"I know you. You think you love Edward," she whispered. This was another thing she hated about this script; Robert Pattinson was Edward again. Granted, he was not a sparkling 107 year old virgin vampire in this one, but he was an Edward and girls still fawned over him for it. Between Edward, Ed, and Edward Cullen, the media was having the greatest time of their lives as were the fans.

"I do love Edward."

Why didn't she believe him? She was dripping with passion and excitement while his declaration of love was so dull.

"Then show me one thing," she suggested, still going with the script. "Kiss me like you would kiss Edward."

"You can't be serious."

"I am. Kiss me, Agent 35. Kiss me like you would kiss the one you love." It was a stupid line, but she didn't want to change it. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips. "One kiss."

"One kiss," he agreed.

"And if you feel nothing, I will let you go."

"That seems fair."

So she waited for his kiss to come, but it wasn't coming. She could taste nothing but the air. What was wrong? Ed never hesitated when it came to kissing in their scenes. He always went for it like she did. He had no qualms in taking everything to the next step. Why stop now? What was wrong?

She opened her eyes to ask him...and his lips pressed against hers. It was shocking at first because it was unexpected. Then she felt weak and gave into him. His tongue slowly inched into her mouth and she took in those lips. They were doing it wrong. Lack of chemistry, they did not have. Her eyelashes fluttered as she could feel him slowly slip his tongue out of her mouth. Breathless, she stared at him wide-eyed. Her whole face was red and hot. The furnace was not on yet, but it felt like she was in Hell. There were flames around her and fireworks above.

Damn, Robert Pattinson. He was a lucky bastard if Ed kissed him like that during the scene. As for Ed, his warm eyes were locked on her. It was like he didn't want to stare at anyone but her.

"It's better to kiss with eyes open," he suggested.

"That's not in the script," she murmured.

"I know."

"Everyone will be so mad." The burning feeling in her mouth was spreading throughout her body. Those lips of his needed to be kissed in return. She tried to push all thoughts away. His lashes fluttered when he blinked but it didn't seem like he was suffering.

"I know."

"Do you care?"

"...No," he confessed.

"Good."

And she returned the kiss with that same passion. Let him feel the burn for a while. It wasn't in the script, but it was her favorite scene so far. Finally, she was enjoying her character and the movie.

Damn Robert Pattinson. If only they could change places in the end.

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: We're not through yet but I'll slowly wrap this up. I think one or two more chapters is left, possibly one more. I'd like to get back to my CB fanfic as well as original stuff as soon as possible. The sooner I knock this out, the less work I'll have to do. Still praying that Leighton, Ed, and Robert never come across this in their lives. Lol, I think I'd ruin them XD

Thanks for sticking with my little experiment in RPF! I'll try to reply to all comments asap.

Chemistry at Bay (2/?)

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:31:38 GMT

Title: Chemistry at Bay (2/?)
Fandom: Real People/Gossip Girl actors
Pairing: Ed/Leighton
Rating: PG-13
Summary: They're in the same movie but not as love interests. It was for their own good they weren't cast as opposites, the director said. Ed and Leighton think they'll be fine. They're just friends after all...right?
Notes: Thanks to Dawn for the beta, anyone you heard of doesn't belong to me, and I swear, I'm cutting my hands off after this. *headdesk*

Banner by issa_bell

Part 2

"You left the door open again," he told her. "Anyone can get in."

Oh, that voice. It could only be Ed. No one but Ed could make her melt with just simple sentences. Still, she was a professional. She had to stay professional with him. Their director had laid it out a long time ago. He was gay in the movie, she was going to die and never get sexual pleasure from him.

"Maybe I wanted someone to get in," she replied. Her foot was now sliding up his leg. This was definitely in the script. Of course, he was not supposed to be turned on by it. He was only supposed to pretend. His character faked all that attraction towards her. His main goal was to bed his lifelong partner. Yet she still tried to dig her heel into his knee. It wasn't to cause pain, but some pleasure.

She felt her shoulder bump into his chest and a small smile formed on her face. Typical of Ed to have his lines down pat and use them to seduce her. Or maybe it was the accent. She heard plenty of British accents but none of them sounded the way Ed's did. There was the sex appeal mixed in with boyish charm and a sweet nature. The voice certainly matched the personality. No wonder he was her favorite person to work with.

"Help me out here. You can keep me from cutting my feet off," she whispered, not bothering to look up. She could picture his face even if she was blind. His lips were a huge giveaway when he kissed and his eyes were warm and thoughtful. But she figured him out because of how good he smelled. Alcohol, cologne, and possibly daisies. Not that he was a pig or anything but she never noticed his scent before. Maybe this was his way of turning her on. It probably worked on all his fans. And, if this was his intention, it was working. The chemistry was hard to push aside now. But this was strictly business, a rehearsal. Him gay, her dying. Him gay, her dying. That was how the story went.

Okay, that was depressing. She was losing the hot guy to another hot guy. Tragic. Why was her life like this now? Why couldn't she be the other hot guy? And why couldn't she live at the end of the movie?

Step one, step two, and then a dip. Step one, step two, and another dip. Then he would lift her in the air and spin her around. This was stuff she expected on reality shows and professional dancers to do. All the other background dancers seemed to pick it up faster than she did. What a tragedy.

"I wish you were a guy," he said, pulling her close to him.

"Excuse me?" She whirled around but only because he made her.

"For this movie," he explained, wrapping his arm around her. She gently bumped her shoulder into his again. It was a backwards bump, but it was still a shoulder bump. It reminded her of "I wish I was kissing you instead of the guy from Twilight."

Ah, yes. Ed's 'crush' was not just any man, it was Robert Pattinson. Apparently, this drove all the women crazy (and possibly to suicide). Of course, Robert already had expertise in kissing men thanks to Little Ashes. Two British men, very hot British men, making out caught everyone's attention. And if the crowd following Robert Pattison wasn't bad enough, they were now following Ed too. Apparently, girls were mixing up the two of them and some were asking Ed to bite their necks. Leighton couldn't help but be jealous and angry. Not that she was his girlfriend or anything! But all the screaming fangirls were making it hard for them to work.

If that wasn't bad enough, gossip rags were having a field day with all this. Now they were all convinced that Ed was cheating on Jessica and was planning on raising rabbits on a farm in Oklahoma with Robert. Others went on about Robert's obsession with Ed and their onscreen chemistry. TMZ claimed to have photos of their romantic weekends (none of which were real) and The Sun was now speculating on their 'true sexuality'. She even got a few mentions about her jealousy and her love life torn between two men. It was all ridiculous and she ignored it. Yet every magazine seemed to go on about it. The good news was that neither Jessica nor Sebastian believed them.

"Let me guess; three more people asked you to bite them and show off your sparkling chest," she said.

"Of all the bloody people, I ended up with the vampire that's a virgin and sparkles in sunlight," he sighed. "And none of the girls can tell us apart."

"Come on. Rob is a good guy. Contrary to popular belief, that's what he is; a guy," she said. "Everyone likes him. They're just a little excited and are getting you mixed up cause you're both in this film."

"...The people who like him are sending me love letters written in blood." At that, he almost dropped her. Either that or she was being clumsy again. "Oh, sorry!"

"No, I'm okay. Just another bruise." She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up. Unfortunately, he pulled her up so fast that she almost went pummeling straight into his chest. "I'm never going to get this!"

"You have more grace than Rob does if it's any consolation."

"Just a tad," she admitted. "Come on, let's go through the lines. You're here, I might as well try to get something right."

"Fine, where do you want to start?"

"...Right before you kiss me," she suggested. Screw the lack of chemistry for the moment. If she couldn't nail the dancing, she could at least nail her part. "Okay, from the top...I'll start and you go from there."

So she began. "You know something? I like you. You're a quiet, intelligent type. You care deeply about your friends. I know, I saw him with you. The way you talk to each other...it's like you take in every word."

He shifted straight into his American accent. "Of course. When people are talking, I take things in. It's called listening."

She chuckled. Okay, that wasn't in the script but it was a nice touch. "And a sense of humor too! A dangerously funny man!" She playfully punched his arm. Yet another thing that wasn't written in their script. Maybe if she injected some creativity, this part wouldn't be torture. "I bet you have all kinds of adventures with all kinds of women."

"On the contrary, I don't have very many."

"I don't believe you." A cock of the eyebrow and she played with his collar. Similar move to Blair playing with Chuck's bowtie in the first season finale. "Smart, agile man like you? Not enough women? You can't tell me that I'm your first. You have too much experience."

"I faked a lot of that experience."

"...I'm sorry?"

"No, I am," he sighed. "I came in here, leading you to believe something that's not true. I made you want me."

"You didn't make me do anything." There, she made that sentence breathy and soft.

"But don't you see? This is all part of my game! I use people to get what I want and I let them go. You could never do well with someone like me!"

He was getting dramatic now so she had to keep up. "Use me?! Nobody can use me! And I will tell you that I want you. Not because you want me to want you! But because I want you! I wanted to be in love with you! This has nothing to do with games or you protecting my life! This is..."

"Enough! Is this what you want?! Well, here! Taste my love!" He kissed her. She was taken aback because this wasn't the time for the kiss and it felt too good. Their first kiss was never supposed to feel like fire. It was supposed to be quick and dry, no tongue. Not a Chuck and Blair kiss. He was gay, she was to die. There was nothing between them.

So why the hell was his tongue practically jamming up her throat? Why was she feeling fireworks around them? The passion that wasn't in the script was in their rehearsal. It didn't belong with their lines and he cut off her big monologue. But it didn't matter. Somehow, it felt right. The kiss came too early but it felt perfect.

When he pulled away, she whispered. "That's not supposed to happen now. It's supposed to be after my monologue."

"...Yeah, I know."

"Then why..." Her sentence was never finished. "Why did you...how could you...what was all that..."

"I wasn't kidding when I said I wished I was kissing you, Leight."

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: I know, I know, I'm evil for the cliffhanger. No, I secretly don't ship Rob/Ed *shifty eyes* ...maybe I ship a little. I love both my boys. Gah, real people continue to be too hard to write. *prays Leight, Ed, and Rob never read this* Thanks for all the comments, guys. I've only replied to a few but I'll get to all of them soon. Those plus the ones on "Postcards".

PFATW- Chapter 10: Surprise, surprise, surprise?

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:52:06 GMT

Title: Postcards From Around the World
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Chuck/Blair
Rating: PG
Summary: Now that the words have been exchanged, Chuck and Blair are ready to take on the world. Or so they think. Can their love survive the obstacles lying at every corner of the map?
Notes: I didn't die, I promise! This part was a lot harder to write so I apologize for the lateness of getting it up. That and I started writing EL fanfic too...I know, I'm kind of ashamed of it. Thanks to Dawn as usual for the beta and to all of you! GG still isn't mine.

Banner by issa_bell

Chapter 10: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise?

Now Blair was used to surprises ever since she was young. She had had surprise birthday parties, surprise visits from people she hadn't seen in a long time, and of course, surprises from Chuck. They started all the way back in kindergarten when he brought her a frog instead of a Valentine for Valentine's Day. He claimed it was Nate's idea but she knew that was a lie. She thought the frog was dead until it leaped up and landed on Hazel's shoes. For the next hour, it was girls piling on top of desks and trying to get away from the frog. Chuck wound up in trouble, despite claiming it was Nate's fault because they had made a dare, and the frog most likely ended up in a toilet.

As for Blair, she had been angry with him. She wanted to stay angry with him until she found something in her mailbox later that day; a crayon-drawn Valentine from Chuck. There were frogs on this one but they were drawn. They were poorly drawn but the thought was what mattered. He apologized for his actions in it and admitted that the frog was to surprise her. According to him, Valentine's Day was boring and he only wanted to make it exciting. Somehow, the Valentine he gave her made it worthwhile. She still had it in her room where all her other important childhood memories were.

But now, this surprise behind the door was not what she wanted. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the pillow from the bed and waited until the door flung open. It wasn't a knife or gun or bazooka as she would have liked, but it would do. If she was lucky, she could knock them unconscious, then have Dorota talk her through the 'secret move'.

Gossip Girl had left one short blast before the door opened:

Spotted: Okay, now I'm confused. Someone noticed C and B, but they're not sure. People, send pictures! God, I'm not part of the Twitter fad, okay? I need visual aids, not verbal ones! Anyway, if one of you can figure what our lovebirds are up to, please shoot me up some shots. I'm lost...XOXO

Damn Gossip Girl. Here Blair was, possibly about to die, and she just had to blab now.

BANG!

She charged towards the person at the door and began swinging the pillow at them. Surprisingly enough, she got them on the ground and kneed whoever it was in the chest. "You! Where is he?! What did you do with him?!"

The person under the pillow muffled something and tried to pull her off.

"You think we don't know anything about you? I know you're on the run for murder. I know what you've done to Chuck Bass too. Don't think that people didn't see you because a certain someone in cyberspace caught you dumping his body in the incinerator! You were getting rid of evidence, weren't you?! Thinking I wouldn't find out, right?"

"Blair...stop...I need air to live..." The person gasped from underneath her.

"Well, give me a good reason not to kill you right now!" She demanded.

"Because...I...I love you?"

Now that was something she didn't expect the convict to say. "What?"

"Blair, get off me...you're going to break my ribs with your knee!"

She pulled the pillow away to find Chuck underneath it. His face was the same color as the tie he was wearing. Crumpled in his hand was a single red rose, obviously meant for her. In the other hand was a key to something. She slowly pulled herself off him and tossed the pillow aside. He was alive. Gossip Girl's blast was wrong. He was not cut up in piece or burnt to a crisp. He was alive. Barely breathing, thanks to her, but alive.

"Chuck! Oh my God, hold on!" She ran off to get him a glass of water as he sat up. His face was slowly returning to its normal color. "I thought you were the killers!"

"The who?"

She let him drink the water before answering. "You don't know? Dorota said she saw something on America's Most Wanted about them. She says they're convicted killers and I thought they would come after you because you're..."

"Chuck Bass, I know." He finished off for her. "But Dorota is wrong."

"What? Dorota can't be wrong! Dorota's never wrong! Dorota wouldn't be Dorota if she was wrong about something!"

"Trust me, she made a mistake," Chuck explained. "But it's okay. I accidentally left my cell phone at the beach or I'd show you what I found. I was watching you on the beach when I got a call. It was my P.I. clearing their names. Yeah, they have been convicted before but not for murder. They were telling the truth. Once I hung up, I got another call. An anonymous one. They gave me directions to a flower shop."

"Hence the rose." Blair said.

"One of many," he went on. "I bought four dozen roses when I went there. Before I knew it, I was handed a note and key..."

"Oh God, you're not chasing nannies you 'care' about again, are you?" Blair suddenly remembered the horrible Elle ordeal and wished she hadn't. Carter Baizen had told her all about it. Hopefully, Elle had been eaten by piranhas while trying to cross the Amazon. Or by a boa constrictor. If there was a greater being up there, then she was most likely eaten by both.

"What are you talking about?" Chuck asked, pretending not to know. Elle no longer existed to him. She was a bad mistake and a bad decision to make. "The only person I've ever cared about is you."

Blair smiled. "But what was with the note and key?"

"I was getting to that. I ended up getting more directions on the note. I was going to tell you what I was up to, but I accidentally left the phone behind. That, and the note told me not to tell anyone. Turns out that this key leads to somewhere special."

"Like what? A strip club left to you in Bart's will?"

"On the contrary, I think you will like it...but you have to follow and you have to close your eyes." She made a face, which he countered with, "Trust me on this."

"If I close my eyes, then I can't see where we're going!"

"I won't lead you into a volcano or anything like that, Blair. I'm your boyfriend. I'm cruel enough to do that to other people. For example, Dan Humphrey. I'm fine with tossing him into a pool of lava. But you...I won't hurt you. Not like before."

His voice softened at that and she relaxed. That word again. Her boyfriend. Years of hooking up with random women led to him to be a boyfriend. This was the same boy who, after scaring her with a live frog, gave her a Valentine's with badly drawn frogs and a heartfelt apology. She had accepted that apology because he had been her friend. It never crossed her mind that he'd be more or that he'd still have surprises waiting for her.

"So? Why are we still here? I want to see what you have for me," Blair said. Then she got up and headed to the bathroom. "I'll freshen up first. Wait for me."

"I'll still be here," he promised. As she disappeared into the bathroom and locked the door, a sharp knock came on the door. He opened it up to find Milt waiting to be let in. He was smiling as if he was expecting a plan to fall into place.

"I heard you dropped off your hotel key today," Milt began. "Sucks we won't be roomies but I guess it's for the best. How'd she take the news?"

"I haven't told her yet. It's a surprise. Of course, I should have held onto my key so I wouldn't be banging on this door and trying to open it," Chuck sighed. "Are you sure you're okay with this? You planned..."

"You need it more. We can always come back here, relive the moment. But this is your first time together," he interrupted. "You got this girl, Chuck Bass. Don't let her go." He patted Chuck on the back. "You did a good job following my instructions, pal. But the rest of it is up to you."

"I know. Thanks for your help."

"Hey, you're still young. When you love a woman and want to please her, you'll need all the help you can get." Milt squeezed his shoulder. "Have a good time tonight, Bass. And maybe, if we're really lucky, we'll end up seeing each other in..."

"Rome."

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Notes: I apologize for taking too long with this chapter and for getting a little cutesy here. I got stuck a little and the inspiration dried out a bit for it. Then I wrote that EL piece (I'll be going back and forth with that and this). But hey, I'm almost ready for them to have a normal vacation now! They're gonna leave North America obviously so postcards are coming! Thanks for all your reviews. You guys make my life complete the way the UES and Brooklyn crew make Gossip Girl complete :)

Chemistry at Bay (1/?)

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:27:43 GMT

Title: Chemistry at Bay (1/?)
Fandom: Real People/Gossip Girl actors
Pairing: Ed/Leighton
Rating: PG-13
Summary: They're in the same movie but not as love interests. It was for their own good they weren't cast as opposites, the director said. Ed and Leighton think they'll be fine. They're just friends after all...right?
Notes: There has to be a special place in Hell for me. I vowed I would never RPF, no matter how much I loved Ed and Leighton. I said I wouldn't do it despite reading RPF. I said I would not do this...and I did. It was nice knowing you all. I'll send you a postcard from the river Acheron. Oh yeah, these two don't belong to me...or else that makes me a very scary person.

Banner by issa_bell

Part 1

It's good to keep your chemistry at bay...

Those words echoed in Leighton's head for the past couple of nights. It was something that she should have done easily. After all, the two of them were already good friends. They had fantastic chemistry on the set of Gossip Girl. They got along off set. But that was where they drew the line. She had Sebastian, he had Jessica. They were all friends. Everything was good.

Keep your chemistry at bay...he's not into you.

But that was something that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't do. She could not turn off the attraction to him. If she didn't learn to keep that chemistry out, then she could not do this movie with him. It was difficult enough on the set of Gossip Girl. But that set had a lot more support. She had friends and Sebastian to lean on. The producers thought well of her. Even at her worst, they trusted her to deliver. Here, it was pure torture.

And I really wanted this role too, she thought, thinking back to the events that led her to this moment. How it went from excitement of a new movie to her room in this hotel, slightly aching and frustrated.

What should have been a dream come true was now a nightmare. She and Ed had gotten the movie roles of a lifetime. They would be up there with the bigger names. She knew that Ed would be winning the Oscar for this role. It was challenging both physically and emotionally, but he had gone into audition prepared and born to play the role of a spy. He was supposed to be the next Bond and it had been a dream of his. While this was more Alias than Bond, it was worth it. It was physically grueling for him and Ed was learning things he didn't know before. But that was the good thing about this film; he was gaining experience. He was starting to look better physically too. Of course, he had always been attractive but the exercise was giving him more shape and form. She felt slightly envious of Jessica now. She was going to get quite a surprise when they went on vacation next time.

But Leighton didn't have it as easy. She had tried out to be his leading lady, a dancer in danger, partially because she was interested in the script and partially because she wanted to be in it with him. It sounded a lot like The Bodyguard but it would be far better acting. The audition went well and she had been thrilled to get the part. It wasn't until reading the rest of the script that she realized the awful truth: Ed's character was supposed to be gay. He never had a fling with her character and their steamiest moment was one excruciating tango scene. In the end, they stayed as friends while he went off with his lover, a pilates instructor, into the sunset. Her character was killed by the villain. Not exactly the fairy tale end she had expected.

All you have is a dance scene together...you're a dancer. He can dance. This is as much as chemistry as you need.

And the dancing! God, the dancing. Ed was being challenged physically, but she ended up with more bruises from being dropped and kicked by accident during rehearsal. Their steamy tango scene had far too many lifts and spins. It wasn't Ed's fault that this was turning out so hard. He was always polite and apologized, but that didn't heal anything. To top it off, their dance instructor was a bitch. She was a snappish Russian woman with a beak for a nose and a moustache. Granted, she was a very good dancer but her expectations were too high for beginners. She was always in Leighton's face, telling her to work on steps or point her toes, and then cursing when she wouldn't. She also felt that Leighton lacked chemistry with Ed, which was laughable.

"You have no spark with him! None!" The woman would always snap. Obviously, she was not a fan of Gossip Girl. She snapped about Leighton's lack of chemistry and spark with Ed during their rehearsals. Then she would complain about the director making a wrong choice for leading lady. She would never say Leighton's name but the glares shot in her direction did all the talking.

She wasn't doing that either. Leighton's frustration with part was affecting her work. Ed was prepared, of course. He was like that on the Gossip Girl set, never needing a script while the others would pour through them while rehearsing. He was a professional and a perfectionist. She tried to follow his example, keeping up with him and remembering her lines. But the snapping from dance rehearsals killed all her professionalism. On more than one occasion, she had to stop rehearsal and take a breather. Ed's gaze would follow her as she stormed off but his body didn't move. He would just watch, wondering what to do.

The frustration was just getting worse. Sometimes, the rest of their friends would show up; Jessica and Chace came around often. Of course, Sebastian stopped by to give her support. Blake and Penn were busy, but they made sure to make it to set once. Taylor had sent her regards and best wishes though she couldn't make it in person. They all wanted her to succeed and she appreciated the encouragement. But the one person she needed it from seemed stuck on what to do.

He's not into you...

Damn.

Then again, she couldn't blame Ed. Like her, he had been told to keep the chemistry at a minimum. If it meant staying away from her, so be it. He always such a good actor and did what he needed to stay in character.

Feet aching, she stood up anyway and tried to remember her lines. While she was up, she could practice that damn tango. That way, she could avoid the complaints at the next rehearsal. Rocking on her bare feet, she tried to say her lines again. This part was the biggest struggle. She and Ed were doing a verbal tango here. They were bickering and dancing at the same time.

For this role, knock off the sexual chemistry. He doesn't want you. He'll never want you. You're not the object of his affection. You're just the client and nothing more. It shouldn't be too hard.

Oh, those were hard words to swallow. True words, words that would matter on his set, but she couldn't take them in.

"You are a dangerous man," she began to recite while doing her steps. So far, so good. "You flirt with those who are vulnerable and strike when they feel strong."

No tripping over her feet yet. She swayed her hips and started moving backwards. "You are strong and suave. You make me weak in the knees. I want to faint anytime you're in the same room as I am, but I have to keep my distance. You're poisonous to the women you attract. A predator that doesn't let his prey go. If you and I fell in love, it would never last."

"So what? Does that mean you're in love with me?"

She bumped into something warm and soft behind her. Someone grabbed her arms and she felt her face grow hot. Go figure he would show up at this time. "Lock your door next time, Leight. Anyone can get in."

She blushed and tugged his arm. Just the person she wanted right now. The only person she wanted.

"Nice to see you too, Ed."

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: As you can see, there's more to this. I doubt this will be a long fic though. No, I haven't forgotten about my other fic, "Postcards". I've just hit a bit of a rut and I've been so busy that I didn't get a chance for working on that one. Then this idea refused to leave my head. So...here you go. I'm hoping to get back on "Postcards" soon. Thanks for reading, your support is so much love. &hearts

PFATW- Chapter 9: Blasts, Body Bags, and...BANG!

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:22:37 GMT

Title: Postcards From Around the World
Fandom: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Chuck/Blair
Rating: PG
Summary: Now that they've passed their biggest obstacle, Chuck and Blair are ready to take on the world. Or so they thought...
Notes: I blame Harper's Island for this chapter, lol. Thanks to Dawn for the beta and to all of you. GG is still not mine.

Banner by issa_bell

Blair blinked twice, hoping that this wasn't true. Chuck had been there only a few minutes ago. She had turned her shoulder and saw him waving at her, letting her know about his hard luck. He couldn't have walked away and left her like that. This wasn't like when he ditched her last time. She had wound up in Tuscany alone, but they were here together. He wasn't going to ditch her without a reason. Not this time. If he went somewhere, he would tell her.

"I am Grace Kelly, Grace Kelly is me..." she began chanting. "I won't panic. I won't panic. Dorota could be wrong. Dorota has to be wrong."

Desperately trying to stay calm, she began calling for him. Her head darted back and forth, side to side, trying to catch a glimpse of him. People were passing her by, but none of them were Chuck. She began walking down the shore looking for him, but there was no Chuck. Whatever footprints had been made were being washed away by the waves.

"Chuck? Chuck, where are you?"

She looked around the area that he had been. Strange. There were footprints everywhere, but which ones were his? People were running around him and she'd have no way of knowing which direction he went. She picked up his phone and scrolled through the numbers. His P.I., Lily, Serena, Eric, her name, Nate, some men she didn't know, and several random girls popped up on the screen. Had to be all those whores that he paid. Disgusted, she decided that she would clean those numbers out. He didn't need them anymore.

No sooner did she put his phone down, a blast from Gossip Girl came.

Spotted: Or I should say...not spotted? This is getting way too weird. According to my sources, two unidentified strangers were seen coming out of B & C's room. One was carrying a garbage bag and dragging it across the carpet. Another source tells me they dumped that garbage bag into the...incinerator? Furnace? Wait, what?! Whoa, this is getting creepy! What are our new King and Queen up to down there? And more importantly...where are they?! Someone spill some deets over here! -XOXO

It was getting worse. Gossip Girl would not be wrong about what her sources saw. Those convicts had done the worst. They had killed Chuck and decided to destroy all evidence of their crime. Dorota had been right all along. These people could not be trusted and now it was too late. Biting down on her lip, Blair decided that it was time to stop being Grace Kelly. Grace Kelly was too polite and poised.

No, it wasn't the time to be poised and polite Grace Kelly. It was time for Grace Kelly to kick some convict ass. Not sure exactly what her plan was, she dialed the Bass residence first. Lily needed to know what was going on. Engaged to Rufus Humphrey or not, she needed to know that her son, the boy she had legally adopted, was most likely in danger. If he was still alive, that was.

Go figure that the person to answer was the new telephone operator, not Lily. "Hello, Bass residence, Dan Humphrey speaking."

"Humphrey, I don't have time to explain anything, just tell Lily to dump your 90's rocker dad and get back home pronto!" Blair snapped.

"Um...wait, why? What's going on?"

"Did I ask you to ask questions? Just get her! Oh, and stay out of Chuck's closet! You can only have the purple pants! Not those purple pants, the other ones!"

"Wait, I wasn't in his closet! What is going on?"

"You're lying, Humphrey!"

"Okay, I borrowed a shirt but I needed something..."

"Just do what I said! Find Lily and tell her to call me back right away!" Without bothering to let Dan Humphrey say another word, she hung up and rushed to their room. If the convicts were there, then she'd have to fight. They couldn't be very smart if they decided to come here. It was full of people who could recognize them. As she stormed into the hotel, she didn't stop to say hi to anybody. She was a woman on a mission. She needed evidence.

The room was empty when she stepped inside. Nothing looked like it was out of place except for a few clothes and underwear on the floor. Room service had already come and cleaned everything up. This was bad. Whatever evidence they had left in here was probably already thrown away. She looked under the covers to see if there were signs of a struggle or blood drops. But the sheets underneath had also been changed. They had new bars of soap, shampoo, and all other bath items. The towels inside had also been changed and they had new rolls of toilet paper.

Next she began to go through Chuck's things. His clothes were all still neat and folded. He had plenty of cash and credit cards that he kept in the drawer and the convicts had not taken it. Their passports and tickets were still in the same place. There were a few blank postcards that they had picked up. Mixed in with the others was the one he was going to send Dan Humphrey. He had not put the stamp on it yet. For all she knew, he would probably never be able to

Her hand brushed over something else. It was a postcard that he had been writing to Eric. It lay next to the one he was going to send Dan Humphrey and was only half-finished. Feeling sick, she read what he had written.

Let me just say, little brother, that I envy you. You're not interested in girls so you'll never need to worry about pleasing them. Women are high maintenance. I figured that out while being Blair's boyfriend. Now don't get me wrong. I love her. I've always loved her. I know she loves me. But I think she's bent on...

That was where it stopped. As far as she knew, these were his last words. He had declared his love for her in a postcard to his brother. Why didn't he finish his sentence? What had she been bent on doing? Throwing it down with the others, she slammed the drawer closed. She needed someone, anyone, at this point. More than anything, she wanted Chuck. She wanted something that let her know he was okay. Or if the worst had happened, she wanted the proof. She needed it before those two got back.

The doorknob began to rattle behind her and she saw it moving. "Chuck?"

No response, but the rattling continued. She slowly stood up, bit down on her lip, and started heading towards it. If it was Chuck, why would he be struggling to open the door? He had the key. "Who is it?"

The door shook and the knob continued to rattle. Worrying about her own safety, Blair looked around for something to hold these people off. They weren't responding. And if it was Chuck, he would say something. He had to say something. He would not just keep quiet while she called out his name. Her eyes darted back and forth, hoping to find a weapon. The rattling was getting louder.

"Who is it?!"

BANG!

The door flung open.

TBC...

~ ~ ~

Note: I'm sorry about the shortness of this chapter. Like I said, Harper's Island kind of swallowed my brain during it. I thought it was going to be longer. But I felt evil and decided to leave you guys with a cliffhangers, ha ha ha. BUT...don't worry. You know I could never really hurt Blair and Chuck. You will find out where he went and what happens next chapter ;)