Title: Pretender Got My Heart

Author: Mary

Rating: T for now

Pairing: Chuck/Blair, mentions of Nate/Blair

Spoilers: None

Summary: Blair stopped believing in love the day a pretender broke her heart. Can a blind date for a
wedding change her mind? Sometimes behind the mask of another pretender lies the prince within. AU

A/N: I'm the worst person ever. I'm sorry for the long wait. Special thanks to my beta Mel (Enunciiate) who
took valuable time from her busy schedule to check for my many mistakes.Enjoy and comments are always
highly appreciated!

The Trouble With Love Is...

“Blair bear,” said an older gentleman with open arms, a big grin upon his face.
“Daddy,” squealed Blair as he enveloped her into a tight hug.
She glowed with happiness. All the insecurities she had felt minutes ago disappeared. It
had been so long since she last saw her father. The best thing about this wedding was the
amount of time she was going to spend with him. Living in New York without him was
harder than she ever imagined. They broke their embrace wearing similar smiles on their
faces. He averted his gaze past her and saw Chuck standing still, carefully watching the
interaction between father and daughter.
“Blair bear, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” asked Harold, observing
Chuck’s every move.
Something about him was extremely familiar.
“Of course daddy. This is Chuck Bass, my boyfriend,” replied Blair, the label easily
rolling off her tongue.
She was such a good actress Chuck would have fallen for it if he didn’t know any better.
“Harold Waldorf son. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Blair’s dad as he shook Chuck’s
hand.
“The pleasure’s all mine Mr. Waldorf. Blair told me some wonderful things about you,”
replied Chuck.
It was too easy for him to win over a parent. He could have him believing he was Blair’s
doting boyfriend in a matter of minutes. He took the opportunity to sneak a hand around
Blair’s waist and he felt her stiffen under his touch, but she didn’t shake him off either
like she had back at the hotel. It was probably because she didn’t want her father to get
suspicious and see through their lie.
“Oh, she did? She hasn’t told me anything about you. I didn’t even know you had a new
boyfriend Blair bear. The last time we talked you were still torn from your break up with
Nathaniel.”

He was always concerned about Blair’s well being since he didn’t really didn’t see her
that often. He really didn’t mean to make her feel uncomfortable, but if Chuck was just
another one of Blair’s schemes, he would put a stop to it before she suffered anymore.
They always ended badly.
“I…I…”
She couldn’t form her words. Lying to her father was something she could almost never
bring herself to do.
“Blair and I have known each other for a while now and after her break up with Nate, we
decided to give it a try.”
Technically, she wasn’t lying. Chuck was and she was grateful that he had stepped in for
her.
“She’s been infatuated with me for while now even when she was dating Nathaniel.”
And he had to ruin it. She was no longer as grateful now.
“Oh darling, I think you’ve got it all wrong. If I remember correctly, you were the one
that followed me everywhere and you were the one that begged me to be with you,” she
shot back, flashing him a fake, sugary smile.
“Sweetheart, I think you’re delusional. Chuck Bass doesn’t beg to be with any girl; girls
beg to be with Chuck Bass.”
“You’re forgetting I’m not just any girl Bass,” she replied, looking him straight in the
eye.
“Certainly not Waldorf,” he drawled in an almost whisper, looking right back at her.
Harold cleared his throat, breaking the moment between them. He eyed Chuck one last
time before speaking.
“Well I think it’s time to go inside. Serena has been so anxious. She was wondering what
took you so long.”
“Well, we don’t want to keep her waiting, now do we?” Blair said before stepping into
the house.
----
After putting their coats away and greeting some old family friends, Chuck and Blair
stood by the bar. Chuck was sipping his usual scotch and Blair was holding a champagne
flute between her perfectly manicured nails. Suddenly, they were approached by a blond
woman. Her skin was almost flawless and that made her look much younger than she
really was.
"Blair, darling, it's been so long! How are you my dear?"
"Lily! Hi! Yes, it's been a while. We have so much catching up to do. I'm good. No. No,
I'm great actually," replied Blair.

"Oh, that's wonderful! We can catch up tomorrow. Right now, I'm looking for Serena. I
swear that girl chooses the worst days to get drunk."

Typical Serena, thought Blair.

"This is a marathon – not a sprint. We've got welcome cocktails today. Then tomorrow's
young people in the park followed by stags and hens. Friday’s picnic will be followed by
the rehearsal dinner and since you foolishly left no time for jet lag, I need you to hydrate
sweetie," she informed her, squeezing Blair's shoulder.

Lily turned her head and looked at Chuck, who was standing beside Blair. The expression
on her face was a mixture of confusion, surprise, and fondness.

"Charles, what a surprise! I wasn't expecting you!" she said to Chuck with a shy smile on
her face.
"Of course you didn't, but I'm not surprised," drawled Chuck in a low, menacing tone.
"Charles, please, not here."
"Yes, of course. You don't want a scandal to drop at a party, especially when all of your
friends are here for Serena not that you actually care for her."
"Wait. Stop it Chuck. Don't talk to Lily that way."
She honestly didn't know why she was defending Lily. She liked her, but not that much.
“And how do you two even know each other Chuck? I thought you only knew Serena."
She was slightly irritated that he had left this little detail out. It was something that could
affect their act.
"Blair tell me. How do you know Charles?"
"He’s my boyfriend."
It's not like she would have come with someone else other than her boyfriend. Lily
should have known that by now.
"Now, Chuck, explain yourself. How do you know Lily?"
She was starting to sound like a real girlfriend. Blair, remember. He is here to help you
and he is only your pseudo-boyfriend.
"I'm surprised he didn't tell you Blair. Normally, he would tell anyone all kinds of bad
things about me."
"Oh, don't worry about Chuck telling me. I already know most of them. Now Lily, since
Chuck won’t answer me, would you be so kind as to tell me how you two know each
other?"
Lily ignored Blair's comment and instead, chose to explain her relationship with Chuck.
"He…"
Before Lily could finish her sentence, someone else had interrupted them. Blair thought
she would never get a straight answer.
"Blair!" someone yelled and when she turned around to look at the person that was
calling her, she was enveloped into a tight hug, surrounded by long, golden waves.
Blair had already forgotten about all the commotion from minutes ago. All she could
think about was Serena, her sister. If there was someone she missed more than her dad, it
was Serena. She was always there for her no matter what. The only good thing about her
father's marriage to Lily was that she got to meet her and since that day, they became
inseparable. Serena was bubbly and happy. She always smiled and brightened everything
up. She didn't care about what other people thought about her unlike Blair who never let
her guard down. Being the perfect girl was all that mattered to her. She had to be perfect
for her mother, her father, and she even wanted to be the perfect girl for Nate, but that
didn’t work out. Maybe that’s why her mother complains so much about her appearance!
Maybe that’s why her father left her and she wasn’t perfect like Serena! Serena got
everything she wanted without even trying unlike Blair who had to work hard and
sometimes scheme to gain what she wanted. Still, it wasn’t Serena’s fault that she wasn’t
perfect like her. The sisters pulled away from their embrace with unshed tears clouding
their eyes.
“I’m getting married B.”
At that, both girls squealed loudly enough to make several heads turn their way. Still,
they didn’t care. They laughed and hugged again. Harold approached and leaned in
towards Chuck.

“I find a good strong drink helps,” he said, motioning towards the two girls jumping up
and down.
Chuck smirked. He liked the way Harold worked. He looked down and noticed that
Harold’s glass was empty.
“Care for a refill, sir?”
Harold handed Chuck his glass and raised an eyebrow.
“What do you think I drink?”
“I’m guessing McAllen…18 years…Neat with a water-back,” he answered without
hesitation.
Harold released a warm chuckle. “Is there any other way to take it? I’ll catch up with you
in a minute. Go ahead.”
Chuck looked at Blair who gave him an encouraging smile and then with that, he walked
away as Blair returned to her conversation with Serena.
“Where did you say you found this guy again?” he asked Blair, breaking her chatter with
Serena about caterers and wedding bands.
She smiled appreciatively at him. It seemed like her father liked Chuck. He showed an
interest in him. She laughed and looked at Serena from the corner of her eye. She looked
at her father again, who was anxiously waiting for her answer.
“Like I said daddy, we were old friends.”
He laughed and gave Blair a side hug. Across the room, Lily found herself with a
microphone in hand. She tapped the knife on the side of the glass to get everyone’s
attention.
“Welcome friends and family!”

Then she tapped the microphone, which squealed, making everybody cringe.

“Sweet Jesus! Who gave that woman a microphone?”

Seeing Lily a little tipsy made Blair very worried. Just then, Chuck returned, noticing that
Harold had gotten distracted by Lily’s call of attention.
“Harold and I would especially like to thank our out-of-town guests for coming to
celebrate with us as we welcome Dan and the rest of the Humphreys into our family.”
At that, Blair cringed. Just thinking that they would be a part of her family made her want
to purge among other things. Lily raised her cup to the Humphrey’s table and then took a
long swig from it.
“It’s funny actually. We always thought we’d marry off Blair first, but that didn’t turn out
like we expected. It actually crashed and burned.”
She laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world, but all you could hear was the
nervous laughter of the crowd.
Blair smiled uncomfortably through the pain and Nate winced sympathetically. Chuck
watched as Blair pretended that she didn’t feel hurt by Lily’s comment, but he knew
better. He could try and comfort her, but he felt like it wasn’t his place. He was the fake
boyfriend. It was hard for him not to reach out to her. He wanted to help her, but was it
for real or merely because he wanted to complete the act?
“Still, we thought there was some hope left since Nate and Blair had been together since
they were young. When I met my stepdaughter, they were always together – never apart. I
had to make Blair let Serena play with her and Nate since she was jealous of them. She
didn’t have anything to worry about. He broke up with her without and it had nothing to
do with Sere-“
Suddenly, Nate tapped his glass and everyone turned to look at him. He had a dashing
smile, perfect man bangs, and deep blue eyes. He looked so perfect, thought Blair. He
lifted his glass and said, “To the happy bride and groom to be.”
“Oh, hmm yes…thank you Nate. Anyway, imagine our surprise when Dan moved in next
door and fell in love with…well the girl next door: our Serena. Congratulations!”
She raised her glass as the crowd cheered them on. The couple was kissing and smiling.
No one noticed how Blair had slipped into the nearest bathroom except for Chuck, who
was watching her go and wondering what she was going to do.
She walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. She was disgusted with her
reflection and turned away. Of course Nate didn’t love her! She wasn’t perfect. She was
pathetic really. She needed to get rid of this feeling of rejection; of being the joke of the
party. So, she did what she always did. She purged away the feeling. She could see their
laughing faces: Lily, Nate, her mother, Serena, and even Chuck must think I’m not worth
all of this trouble.
After she was done, the feeling was still there as was the taste of guilt at the back of her
throat. She stood up and wiped away some tears, holding her head high because she could
pretend to be strong. It was the best she could do: pretend. She turned the faucet off after
washing away the remains of what she had done, applying a coat of lipstick as if putting
on a suit of armor.
Blair emerged from the bathroom. She was ready to go back to the party. She would try to
survive what was left of the night and then go back to the hotel to take a long bath. She
needed to relax, but she didn’t get that lucky. She had to bump into the person she was
the most nervous about seeing. Both stopped dead in their tracks. Neither could find the
words or even a smile. Blair pretended that seeing him wasn’t a gut-punch, so she forced
a silly grin. Nate grinned back at her.
“Nate…” she said in a soft voice.
There is too much tenderness in the way she greets him.

“Blair…” Nate replied as he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

Blair closed her eyes and took in his familiar smell. She didn’t want this to happen, but
something inside of her stirs.
“You look well. Gorgeous,” he compliments her after pulling away.
All he had to do was smile and her plans to get back at him flew out the window. She
blushed and looked down in shame to try and hide it.
“You know seeing you again…”
Blair’s head jerked up after hearing him say that. Did he really miss me? Maybe he wants
me back!...Not that he can have me, but what if he does want me? A million thoughts
were racing through her mind.
“Yeah?” she heard herself ask and she mentally cursed herself for interrupting him.
“Blair Waldorf!”
She couldn’t believe how many interruptions she got in one day.
“We live practically next to each other, but I have to fly all the way to London to see you.
Where the hell have you been? I have gynecologists that call more often,” a beautiful
brunette said.
“You have more than one gynecologist?”
She shouldn’t be surprised. Georgina was usually like that.
“Sure. You’ve got to play them against each other. Otherwise, they’ll think you’re easy.
You should try it sometime,” Georgina replied as if it was the most normal thing to do.
Georgina gave Blair a side hug while sipping her champagne. Suddenly, she noticed Nate
standing there with a confused look.
“Hey, asshole. Since you dumped my cousin so brutally without reason, you don’t mind if
I steal her away? I have all kind of interesting things to tell her.”
She gave Nate her best bitch face and dragged Blair away.
----
Back at the party, they walked arm in arm. Georgina was Harold’s sister’s daughter. She
used to have some issues and Blair thought she still did, but right now, Georgina was
better than ever and Blair was happy for her. Georgina was her scheming partner.
Sometimes she went too far, but Blair was there to stop her.
“You know, you didn’t have to do that,” Blair finally told her.
She was afraid of how she might react, but to her surprise, she was really calm as she
guided her through the crowd.
“I wasn’t saving you from him. I was saving you from yourself. You are just going to fall
back in love with him,” she informed her.
Georgina didn’t know what she saw in him. He was so not Blair’s type. Blair thought that
Georgina was right. If he had asked her for another chance, she might have considered it.
She was over him. She couldn’t do that to herself again.
“Please! I’m so over him…By the way, do you know if he’s seeing anyone?”
Way to prove a point.
They spotted Chuck talking to Harold by the bar; they were laughing and looking like
they were enjoying themselves.
“Why waste ten more seconds on that douche-bag when you have that hot guy waiting
for you?”
“How do you know I’m with him?”
“Oh, Harold told me. Apparently, he thinks he’s good for you.”
Georgina gave Blair a wicked smile. Blair was perplexed. Her father thought Chuck –
Chuck Bass – was good for her? Then obviously, he didn’t know what was good for her.
They didn’t go together. He was too…unfitting. She would settle for that poor excuse.
“What does he do anyway?” Georgina asked.
“He…is into business.”
She really needed to learn more about him; she made a mental note to interrogate him
later about a few things. Just then, Chuck looked up and gave Blair an intimate “get over
here” look. Georgina sighed.
“I think I just came.”
Blair gave her a look of disbelief at her blatant response before they both burst into a fit
of laughter.
----
Chuck and Blair were standing by the bar when the bartender handed Blair a drink.
“Can I have that?” asked Serena.
Blair looked at her. She was standing not very far away from her just by the side of the
bar. Her elbows were resting on top of the counter and she had a silly grin plastered on
her face. Blair slid the drink towards Serena; Blair didn’t really like to drink, so she
didn’t mind.
“You know what I love the most about this?” Serena said as she flashed a drunken smile.
“That there’s finally a reason for the whole world to revolve around you?” she replied as
a joke.
“Exactly,” exclaimed Serena.
Blair frowned, but refrained from replying. She remembered that this was drunken Serena
and not her Serena.
“How’s the future Mrs. Humphrey?” asked Dan as he wrapped his arms around Serena’s
waist.
Serena turned around and gave him a peck on the lips.
“Perfect,” she grinned. “But I need another drink! Mr. husband-man, get me another
drink!”
Serena shoved the glass against Dan’s chest.
“Sure, but you have to kiss me first.”
And she happily complied. Chuck was disgusted by their cheesiness.
“God, I’m so lucky,” Dan said as he spun Serena around in an awkward dance, causing
him to step on her toe.
“See what happens when you put off dance lessons ‘til two days before the wedding?”
commented Serena, leaning against the bar stool.
“Who’s ever heard of dance lessons before honestly?”
“Well Humphrey, sorry to burst your bubble, but just about everyone,” replied Chuck.
“Oh, let’s go together. It’ll be fun,” Serena said while clapping her hands together.
Before Blair could even open her mouth to decline the offer, Chuck had already accepted
the invitation. Serena squealed and threw her arms around Chuck and gave him a kiss on
the cheek. Blair noticed the exchange and wondered if there used to be something
between them. She pushed those thoughts to the back of her head and smiled at the
beaming Serena.
“Dance lessons right,” Blair heard Dan talking to himself and found it quite amusing.
----

Chuck stepped into the cold night wanting to find an escape to all the looks that people
were giving him. Apparently, dating Blair Waldorf was a big deal. He didn’t get it though.
A girl as beautiful as her was bound to date again – not pinning over the same man for the
rest of her life. It was like she was his and nobody else could be with her. He noticed the
man that had interrupted Lily from humiliating Blair. He was nervously teetering on the
railing.
“Hey,” Chuck said.
“Oh, hello,” Nate replied, taking notice of Chuck.
His back stiffened and he tried to look composed.
“Don’t you just hate weddings? A sacrament. A joyous celebration of love and
commitment. In Utopia maybe…In the real world, it’s an excuse to drink excessively and
say things you probably shouldn’t say,” commented Chuck, trying to find a normal guy to
talk to.
“Ah, a philosopher…”
“CEO of Bass Industries actually,” replied Chuck with an air of superiority that
intimidated Nate just a little bit.
“But you don’t look like it,” Nate said, trying to sound nonchalant.
He paused before continuing.
“Would it be too weird if I told you something really personal right now?”
Maybe all he needed to do was talk to someone who wouldn’t judge him; that would
make him feel better and not so guilty about what he had done.
“Are you gay?” he asked when he approached him.
He didn’t think he would get such a confession out of him.
“What? No! Of course not! Why would you think that?”
He was completely confused.

“Well…you said you wanted to share something really personal with me and I thought it
had to mean you were gay and that you were interested in me. What else could it be?”

“Are you gay?”

“I can assure you that I’m attracted to the female population, so what were you going to
say?”
He could see that this wasn’t going anywhere, so he decided to cut straight to the chase.

“It’s all a bit too touchy-feely for me.”

He looked back to the party, watching Blair and Serena talk. He slowly turned to look at
Chuck, who was giving him a skeptical look, but he began to unburden himself to his
new “therapist”.

“It’s just that there’s this girl I care for -- God, I suppose I could even say I love her -- and
the thing is, of course, she’s here with someone else.”

Chuck hid his surprise as Nate raised his glass in a silent toast to his misery. Chuck was
just clinking glasses with Nate when Blair appeared and slipped her arm around Chuck’s
shoulder, turning his face for their lips to meet.

He was taken aback by her display of affection. He never thought she would be the first
one to kiss him. It was supposed to be the other way around, but feeling her lips against
his now and her small hands petting his hair was making him hard as hell. What did this
woman do to him? She was just like any other girl, but when he felt her tongue trying to
make its way further into his mouth, he lost all sense. He took control of the situation and
grabbed her by the waist, caressing her back and touching all he could before the moment
was broken.

She didn’t know what made her do what she was doing, but after seeing Chuck talking to
Nate, she had just lost it. If she was going to make him want her, what better way than
through jealousy? She had seen the shocked expression in his caramel eyes, but before
she could stop herself, she kissed him. It was amazing. His lips were soft but rough at the
same time. She wanted more. She was enjoying the kiss more and more and maybe it was
that that made her take things a little bit further. She slipped in her tongue and just
seconds after she did it, she found herself aching for his touch. She tried to remember the
last time she felt this with Nate, but found it hard. When she perceived Chuck’s hands
wandering all around her back and tights, a low moan escaped her lips and that’s what
brought her back into reality. She was at a wedding participating in a very public display
of affection with Nate by their side! How embarrassing! She pulled away and looked into
his eyes. They were both breathing heavily and a mischief smirk formed across Chuck’s
face.

“Here you are,” she said.

Nate was horrified, looking at Chuck absolutely aghast.

“Hey Blair,” Nate stammered.

“I see you’ve met my ex,” Blair informed Chuck, who looked back and forth between
Nate and Blair.

They were all standing there awkwardly.

“Did I interrupt something?” she asked, faking innocence.

Nate looked desperately at Chuck not wanting him to reveal what they were talking
about, so Chuck covered for Nate. He honestly didn’t know why he did it; maybe it was
out of pity for the poor guy.

“We were just talking about Paris and how lovely the women are this time of the year.”

Blair rolled her eyes at the conversation topic. Of course he would be thinking about
other women while he was with her! Nate looked desperate to get out of there.
“Right. I should be going. Good to meet you Chuck. Perhaps I’ll see you at the stag
party,” Nate said before storming off.

Blair watched him go before turning to Chuck.

“Well, he looks miserable. You’ve served your purpose. Good boy.”

She rested her hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. So, she likes to play
games, thought Chuck. It seriously changed her mood.

“Are you ready to go back to the hotel?”

He was more than ready. It had been a long day and he was sure that Blair was feeling the
same way.

“More than ready.”

He offered her his arm and she gladly took it. They both walked back into the party and
said their goodbyes before they got into the limo looking like the perfect couple.

---

Tbc.