A/N: Hey guys, so I really struggled with this chapter because nothing was coming to me. Like I knew what I wanted from the chapter but I feel like I couldn't execute it how I imagined in my head. So after several rewrites, here we are. It's not my best writing but I'm hoping now that this little stint in the story is over with, I can dive fully into new ideas and produce better chapters. Also, while I really want to make Dan and Blair's relationship very healthy, I also want to add the erratic nature of a teen love that's filled with high highs and low lows. But don't worry, our lovers will not be directly hurting each other at all in this story. Thanks for all the love this story receives too! I appreciate it so much. Much luv guys!


Crushes (Part 2).

"Hey, Blair." A boy that looks like he's been dipped in a beach theme says.

"Nate." Blair almost growls as her eyes narrow. Her fingerprints are still well on its way to tattooing themselves onto my thigh.

"Uhh, Blair..." I manage through the pain, "...my leg."

"Oh, sorry." Her everything softens, including that choke hold of a grip she has.

"Thank you." I say in relief.

Her eyes dart back to the beach boy, "What do you want?" Her voice is firm.

"Well, it's not really what I want, it's my dad. He gave me this invitation to give to you, to give to your mom for this party he's hosting Friday night. Apparently he's got a business idea he wants to talk to her about or I don't know, but yeah, that's it." Beach boy almost stutters as he hands Blair the invite.

"Oh okay, yeah. I'll ask her." Blair relaxes and takes the textured envelope from him.

"Cool..." The boy says as his eyes dart around Blair's face, as though he's hesitating something, but then he walks off.

"Who was that?" I ask.

"A bad decision." Blair says quickly and stands up.

My eyebrows furrow, "Huh?"

She puts her hand out to me, "Come on, the bell rang."

I take her hand and she guides us through the busy assembly hall, weaving through the trust fund kids to get out. Once we're in the hallway she rushes us toward the girls bathroom, pulls me in it against all my will, and then shuts the door behind her. With her back leaning against the door now, after a moment of gathering herself, she raises her index finger and instructs me to come closer. The naughty smile curving on her face right now basically summons me towards her. I swear I'm no longer in control of my own actions. As I get within her reach she catches my blazers lapels and hauls me in until our chests collide. Her heart is literally punching against my chest right now and her eyes are pleading with it's darkness, wanting one thing and one thing only. My heart's racing at a million miles a second and I want it just as much. But somehow, someway, in the midst of her strolling her soft fingers through the short hairs of my buzz cut and the undeniable look that's permanently marked in her desiring eyes, I manage to pull away from her, an absolute miracle, because something just doesn't feel quite right for me. The way her face falls in response makes me want to rush right back to her and give her exactly what we both want, but again, a miracle.

"I'm sorry, Waldorf, but there's no way our first kiss is going to be in the school's bathroom." I try to sound assertive.

She looks like she's about to snap, but she stops as if to process what I've said, and then, "Yeah..." Damn that forever tender voice, "...you're right."

Her eyes look to the ground now, losing all of what was ever left of its darkness and being replaced by somber and disappointment. I step back closer to her but her arms are crossed and her head is down, not even giving me an iota of notice.

"Hey..." I say softly as I tuck her hair behind her ear, "...did you really wanna kiss me right now? Or was that just a panic reaction to me asking you who that beach boy was?"

She looks up now, "I'm made out of glass aren't I?"

I have to chuckle, "If that's the case, then you're the most beautiful piece of glass I've ever seen. Or not seen? Can you even see glass? Because like you know, it's see through?" My eyebrows furrow.

"Humphreeeeey..." Her eyes roll and she pushes me playfully, with a small smile running across her face too.

"Okay, I'm sorry..." I chuckle, "...but back to the question. Was it because of that?"

"Well...yeah." She says almost ashamedly.

"Is it okay if I ask why you reacted like that?" I try to be as gentle as possible.

"I don't know, I just, I guess it's just...you're gonna think it's stupid and we just spoke about it and..."

"Hey, hey, Blair..." I put my hands delicately on her arms, "...just tell me."

"Well you see, Nate and I were kind of a thing until 4 nights ago, the night my parents had that ballroom party."

"What!?" My entire face skews.

"Just let me finish!" She says quickly.

"This better be good, Waldorf." I snicker.

"I know you're questioning every single thing I've told you earlier about my feelings for you, but I swear Dan, they were, and they are all true. I promise you. And even though I was with Nate for the entirety of that two years, I was never really with him, because, like you, he also had this huge crush on Serena. So, I don't know, it just, it never felt like he actually loved me."

"And did you love him?" I hate that sound of insecurity that seeps through my voice.

"Could I have ever really said I loved him when my hearts been set on you this entire time?" She says and I swear her eyes light up.

A stupid smile responds on my face, "I take back what I said. Our first kiss can totally be in the school's bathroom."

My hands cup her cheeks quickly as I rush down to her, but she turns her cheek and laughs, leaving my lips planted against the side of her face.

"Humphrey!" She complains.

"Waldorf..." I plead desperately.

"No. No. There's no way..." She pushes past me as her head shakes, "...you were right to stop me, so now I'm stopping you." She turns around to face me and puffs out her chest.

"But Blair..." I moan.

"No buts Dan!" She interjects.

"Fine." I sigh as my eyes roll.

She chuckles, "But, I am definitely taking this sudden urge to kiss me as a sign that you're not mad about the Nate thing?" She bites her teeth.

"No, I'm not."

"But?" She furrows her eyebrows.

"Like you said, no buts." I laugh.

"Okay, good." She claps her hands together, "Maybe it's a good idea if we get to class now."

"Yeah." I chuckle.

I open the bathroom door for Blair to walk out first and as she does so, her eyes stay on mine. Suddenly they've gone hypnotically dark as her smile turns cravingly cheeky and to make matters worse, she bites on her index finger, wraps her lips succulently around it and then sucks hard. There's tingles running through me and it's not in my spine. Blair then pulls her finger out her mouth, *POP*, and her tongue slips out, sending me into near delirium. But just as my libido is about to spiral out of control, someone walks right into Blair through the doorway, causing the both of them to fall flat against the floor.

"Eww eww eww..!" Blair screams, "...get off of me you delinquent!"

"Shit, I'm so sorry." The other girl says,

But I wish she hadn't said anything at all. That voice punches both me and Blair into a realization that we both could do without. Serena Van Der Woodsen - back in the Upper East Side. Serena pushes herself up and to be fair, she does look awfully sorry about knocking Blair over. As soon as Blair locks eyes with her once upon a time best friend, disgust falls on her face. And now that I know about the Nate thing, it's a reasonable disgust. Serena puts her hand out to help Blair up but I quickly make my way in front of her. She clearly doesn't know all the damage she's done.

"Uhh, rather let me." I say as I reach down for Blair.

Blair takes my hand, "Thanks, Humphrey."

As she gets up she tucks herself under my arm and places her hand against my chest. Kinda feels like she's marking her territory as she sends a cold look Serena's way.

"Well I guess this wasn't the best way to say 'hi' to an old friend." Serena bites her teeth.

"Oh, I didn't know boyfriend stealers are considered friends?" Blair snaps and comes out from under my arm to grab on my hand, pulling us both past Serena and out the bathroom.

"You know about that?!" Serena says in shock.

Blair stops our march and turns back around, our hands still very much intertwined, "Know about what?" Her eyes narrow.

"Oh...uhh...never mind." Serena says in a broken half-sentence.

I'm not sure what world Serena lives in but there's absolutely no way she can fool Blair Waldorf just like that. With that sixth sense of hers, not even the devil could stand a chance. Blair hauls me back in with her and at this point I'm basically just a dog on a leash. Suddenly there's a whole lot of girls standing outside the bathroom, all with phones in hand, trying to peep over each other to see what all the commotion's about.

"Did Nate cheat on me, Serena?" Blair leaves no room for assumptions or blurred lines.

Serena's lips are tight though as she almost rattles out of her school skirt from fear. That in itself is an answer. Blair's grip on my hand tightens.

"Did he cheat on me with you?" I can see Blair's trying her best to stay as calm as possible though.

A tear, whether sincere or not, falls from Serena's face and it tells all. Blair's mouth falls agape as she laughs resentfully but before she can do anything stupid, especially with all these cameras behind us, I tighten my own grip on Blair's hand and bring her into me.

"Look, it's best if we get outta here before you're headlining Gossip Girl." I whisper in her ear hopefully.

Luckily she obliges and like a celebrity I have to hide Blair beneath my blazer as I try to push her through the paparazzi of girls standing outside the bathroom. But just before we can finally leave this stupid room, Serena unleashes one last cry for - I'm not even sure what it's for.

"It was an accident, Blair, I swear!" You can hear her tears.

"Oh, yeah right." I can't help myself, "Because fucking your best friends boyfriend is totally not a choice."

Gasps fall out the mouths of all the girls around us and finally, Blair and I make it into the hallway. There's not a chance I'm gonna leave her alone after all of this though so I remove my blazer, grab her hand and walk us both straight towards the front exit of the Constance building. Just as we step out, Blair tugs on my hand to stop us.

"What are you doing, Dan?" Her voice is full of hurt and I hate it.

"We have to get you out this place. What do you say? A ditch day on the first day?"

"But my perfect attendance record..." She frowns.

"They already did the register when we came into the hall remember."

"Oh, yeah, you're right." She looks down and my heart sinks.

"Hey, I know all of this is a lot for you right now, but I'm here for you, Blair. And I'll always be here for you."

She looks up at me with watery eyes, "You promise?"

I pick her hand up gently, "I promise." And lay a tender kiss on it.

We then clasp our hands together and hurry down the stairs to get out of this shit show. But just as we get outside Blair pulls me back again.

"Yes?" My eyebrows raise.

"What about Jenny?" She says worriedly.

"Oh shit, I forgot about her."

"So what now? She can't ride the bus home alone, Dan."

"Okay, how about we take a stroll or whatever for the rest of the school day, just to take your mind off of things, and then after school we can come back here so I can ride home with Jen."

"Okay, that sounds doable."

"So it's settled then?"

"Yes."

"You're not gonna pull me back again are you?" My eyebrow arches.

"Not unless it's necessary." She responds playfully and I'm glad her wits are returning.

"Come on, let's get outta here." I chuckle and grab on her hand. She replies with a warm smile.


Despite the circumstances, walking through Central Park on a crisp morning with Blair's warm fingers intertwined in mine still holds a feeling of romanticism in it. The sun glimmers through the clouds, hitting against the wet walkway , which sends flashes of light to sparkle against Blair's porcelain skin. She seems as though she's feeling a lot better than earlier. But I haven't opened my mouth yet to know if that's for sure or not. Her eyes have been wandering aimlessly since we stepped onto these slippery bricks, probably from her mind trying to gather all that just happened, but the small gesture of her thumb playing on the back of my hand tells me that she's still present. We soon near a coffee stand and I guide the both of us towards it.

"Hey..." I say to the man behind the stand, "...do you sell hot chocolate as well?"

"Yes, I do." He replies with a smile.

"Great, can I get two please?"

"Sure thing."

Blair takes her free hand and places it over our intertwined hands, holding me that little bit more. I turn to look at her and she's got this tiny kink in her cheek, an almost dimple if you must, as she smiles warmly at our holding hands. Before I can ask her what it is she's thinking that's making her smile like this, she says quietly,

"You're the best, Humphrey."

The most idiotic smile forms across my face, "What do you mean?" I ask in disbelief.

"Ugh, you're just the best okay..." She rolls her eyes playfully, "...believe it or not."

"Or not." I grin.

"Here we are, two hot chocolates ready to go." The man behind the stand interjects as he holds out our cardboard cups.

"Thank you." I say as I take them from him.

I then hand them both to Blair carefully and pay the guy. When I turn back around Blair hands me my hot chocolate and we set off on our walk once again.

"Do you wanna find a place to sit?" I ask Blair.

"Yes, please. These heels are killing me." She replies.

I scan the immediate surroundings for a park bench or a staircase but nothing's in sight. There is a whole lot of grass to my right hand side and a whole lot of grass to my left hand side though. I chuckle to myself because I know there's no way Blair's gonna want to sit on the damp grass, let alone walk on it. But I don't see any other option really.

"Can we sit on the grass?" I ask her.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" She glares.

"Come on, there's no place else to sit. I'll even put my blazer on the ground for you to sit on."

"And the walking distance to the seating place?" Her eyebrow arches, "If I walk on this wet grass right now these heels will plant themselves into the ground, Humphrey." She complains.

"Fine..." I kick off my school shoes, "...Walk in those."

"Then what are you gonna walk in? My heels?" She bursts out laughing.

"No dummy, I'll walk in my socks." My eyes roll.

"You really want us to sit on the grass don't you?" She teases as she puts her hand on my shoulder to help her balance while she slips out of the heels and into my school shoes.

"You really want us to walk another mile don't you?" I say as I pick up her heels and point to them with my eyes as I hand them back to her.

Blair's face goes amusingly horrified, "No! Absolutely not." She starts marching off onto the grass with my shoes that are way too big for her.

I can't help but cry in laughter as I walk behind her, "You look like a clown!"

"Whatever, Humphrey." I can feel her eyes rolling.

She walks to the nearest tree that has a bunch of brown leaves laying around it. Once there she stands upright, arms crossed, waiting expectantly. I lay my blazer down and she breathes a sigh of relief as she lowers herself to the ground.

"Ouch..!" She screeches as she sits properly, "...what the hell's in your blazer?" She then digs into a pocket and pulls out that little leather diary she bought me.

I quickly try to snatch it from her but she pulls it out of my reach even quicker.

"Huh-uh." Her smile's mischievous now, "It's too late, Humphrey. You've completely given yourself away." She chuckles.

"Blair, are you seriously gonna do this? That's an invasion of privacy."

"Mmm, you have a point..." Her eyes tease over the book, "...but just a tiny peak won't hurt."

I rush down again to get it but again she's too quick.

"Hey, now, there's no need to swipe things. If you want it just ask." She says naughtily.

"Please, Blair, can I get my book back." I beg.

"No." She laughs. But I don't find the amusement in all of this.

Blair probably sees that though because her voice softens, "Hey, I'm kidding. Come down here." She pats on her lap.

I lay down and rest my head in her lap. She then puts the book, still very much knotted closed, on my torso. She starts lightly scratching her nails over my head and just like that I'm not even upset anymore. I don't think all this power she has over me is fair at all. But who cares about what's right or wrong in this world when you're lying in the lap of Blair Waldorf. She bends a little forward to look me in my eyes but mine avert to the colors of her hair that twin the autumn leaves. She starts caressing her fingers lightly past my forehead, over my eyebrows, across my temples, along my jaw and then she starts playing with my lips with her index and middle finger. I pierce my lips to catch one of her fingers and her eyes widen in response. I chuckle at the sight. She then takes away her fingers and starts playing with my little hairs again.

"Humphrey, can I ask you something?" Her voice is tender.

"Of course." My eyes soften.

"What are you so shy for in that diary of yours."

"It's nothing."

"Is it your poems?" She guesses first time.

"Well obviously you know that because I told you what this diary's for."

"Can I see them?" How do you say no to such a tiny voice?

"There's only one."

"Well, can I see it?"

"No judgments?"

"No judgments." She affirms warmly.

I sigh heavily at first as I pick the book up. As I untie the knots Blair bites on her lip in anticipation and I'm trying my best to stifle a laugh. It's not working though.

"What?" She asks.

"You should see your face." I chuckle.

"Ugh, just open it already will you." She rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, there we go it's open." I turn over the front cover.

"Will you read it to me?"

"I had a feeling you were gonna ask me that." I chuckle.

"I'm a sap okay, sorry."

I laugh in response as I turn the page again onto the single poem I've written so far. A lump gets swallowed from my throat before I say,

"My eyes wander and gaze

Over the heart of her face

Where the horizons trace

Can be scented in place

Along those edges you'll taste

Warm sun rays

And the endless grace

Of long hot summer days

Like the infinity of Space

Her lips split your mind in ways

Which sends you into a craze

That only her kiss can erase."

And just as the last lines escape from my mouth, the most gentle kiss is laid onto my lips. Clocks stop ticking, the earth stops rotating, the universe stops expanding and I'm left falling into the most consuming, most riveting, most beautiful feeling I've ever felt. Who would've thought, when my eyes are shut, when I'm not seeing her at all, that I'd realize how hopelessly far gone I am for her. But the mere gaze of her amounts to nothing when feeling her like this. She deepens the kiss, all the while deepening the infinity of my feelings, and clutches hard onto my face. And just as gently as she came down on me, she leaves tracelessly. She looks at me now with bright eyes and a wholesome smile. But I'm too in awe of what just happened to even hold a reaction. She laughs at my state of shock and starts playing her fingers through my hair again.

"All that you imagined?" She asks through a cheeky smile.

"And more." I chuckle.

She laughs and bends down to kiss me again. And kiss me again. And kiss me again. But between them all there's so much smiling that I'm not even sure if we could call this kissing anymore. It's more along the lines of complete happiness intertwined in a somewhat show of affection. It's like blissful kissing. Blissing. And even this stupid thought right now makes me smile as Blair devours my lips that much more. And just as she cuts the pecking and lays a hot, everlasting and passionate kiss on my lips, the heat of a sun ray hits against us both. But I'm in no mood to wander over the gloriousness of Blair's abilities to bring the summertime, so I push myself up and get on top of her, because the only fixation my mind is currently on is the heavenly bed of her lips that's sent me to my knees whilst making me lose my faith all the same. And as we kiss over the autumn leaves, under the watchful eye of an endearing sun, in the heart of Manhattan, I've found words are no longer needed. Because with every pounding heart beat, I'm telling Blair, "I love you. I love you. I love you." I just hope she hears me...