REMINDER! REMINDER! REMINDER!

WARNING: I know that there are spoilers floating around for upcoming episodes. Please remember, I hate spoilers. If anything I write resembles those spoilers in any way, I don't want to know—and it is pure coincidence (which HAS happened before). Please respect my wishes and do not refer to them in any reviews.

Thank you! XOXO Sharon

This story takes place after the events of A Thin Line Between Chuck and Nate. Concepts from later episodes may be used.

Previously… on Aftershock

"Are you coming with us Friday? To Marquee?" Kati asked.

Serena quirked an eyebrow. This was news to her. Since when had they decided to go? "I'm not sure, who's going?"

"Oh, you know," Isabel shrugged, "B, Us, M, and little E over here."

Elise didn't crack a grin at that. She knew that one of the things Blair wanted to stop was everyone adding the 'little' to the front of her name. She schooled her expression to be displeased and didn't smile at all even though she knew Kati and Is were looking at her and smiling, looking for some sort of approval after that statement

"B assures me that an introduction to Manhattan's night life is in order," Elise told Serena, nudging Blair's side slightly and bestowing a smile upon Blair.

Kati and Is shifted uncomfortably at being ignored. What had they said?

"E, it's going to be so much fun!" Blair said, emphasizing Elise's nickname and feeling pride because Elise had successfully followed her instructions. "And of course Serena is coming with us; did you even need to ask?"

Serena's eyes traveled back and forth between the girls, understanding what was silently going on here, and knowing that this was necessary. Elise wanted to shed her former status as much as possible and the 'little' was almost guaranteed to remind everyone that she wasn't 'on par' with the rest of them.

Then her eyes flew back to Blair when she realized what had been subconsciously bugging her all morning but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Blair hadn't once called her 'S' today.

She'd done nothing but call Elise, "E", but she hadn't once called Serena by her nickname.

What the hell was going on? she thought, feeling a slight pang of what could only be jealousy. Was Blair doing it on purpose for some reason? But why would she do it?

She scrunched her eyes at Blair, but Blair just smiled back at her. Maybe Blair didn't even realize what she was saying. She knew that sometimes she called Blair 'B' without even thinking about it. Maybe Blair was just having a crazy word day or something. She'd have to ask her later about it. She brought her attention back to the subject at hand.

Kati and Is were having a eureka moment. "Yes, E," they said, letting Blair and Elise know that they followed the unspoken message loud and clear, "definitely fun!"

- + - + -

~~ For Blair and Dr. Sherman's previous counseling session, see Chapter 23. ~~

- + - + -

"I need your help with a little… situation," Chuck drawled out under his breath.

"Not Blair again," Eric said with disapproval. "Thought we talked about that."

Chuck shook his head. "Nate."

"So… what do you need from me?" Eric asked, bewildered.

"A girl."

Eric was hesitant. "Aren't you better at finding women? And what does this have to do with Nate?"

"Nate needs a little motivation," Chuck explained. "A little push… away from Blair."

- + - + -

Jenny managed to finish cleaning her locker before the end of first period.

She made her way to the water fountain that was near her class, the water helped to cool her off.

She turned around and that's when she saw them, walking down the hall, the crowd parting in front of them…

Blair, Kati, Is, with Melissa trailing behind.

Most surprising of all was the girl standing next to Blair, the two chatting like the best of friends, like they'd known each other for years.

Elise.

And with startling clarity, Jenny knew how Blair had managed to pull off the worst humiliation since Carrie got doused in pig's blood.

Jenny turned quickly back toward the fountain so they wouldn't notice her. But inside her mind was racing.

She needed to figure out her next move.

- + - + -

You know you love me,

XOXO Gossip Girl

Monday, February 18th. After school.

"So, Dad chose this weekend to introduce us to his new… lady friend," Dan emphasized, grimacing as he changed the subject quickly once again.

He was talking too fast and about a million different things and knew it was only a matter of time before Serena asked him what he was hiding. She had figured out a long time ago that when he prattled like this, he was nervous about something.

But strangely, the only response he got was a slight "Wow".

He watched her for a full moment.

"You were right, it wasn't Chuck behind the gala," Dan started, deciding that he would end up having to tell her anyway, even though Jenny asked him not to say anything. Plus, it seemed as good a time as any to mention it considering she clearly wasn't paying attention.

"It was Blair."

Of course, that got her attention.

"Hmm, what?" Serena murmured before looking up from the sidewalk they were walking down. "Blair?"

"Jenny told me I shouldn't mention it to you, but I thought you should know," Dan answered quickly. "Blair set up the thing at the gala."

Dan waited to see if Serena would show anymore reaction to the news then she'd been showing since school let out.

Serena hadn't been able to shake this weird feeling all day about Blair and Elise's new friendship.

She had never felt left out like this before. Serena was the one who was the center of attention and everyone flocked to her. She knew that some people didn't perceive that as a good thing, but she found no fault in it because she was a nice person. She returned everyone's attention; it wasn't like she was shallow and vain and stuck up about it.

She just didn't like feeling left out, and that was how she felt all day.

She didn't like to think that she needed to be the center of attention… and that was bothering her a little bit as well.

Dan had interrupted her thoughts with his news and she needed a minute to process what he said and figure out how she felt about it…

"Okay" was her only response.

Dan paused. He stopped walking so suddenly that it took her a second to realize he wasn't still next to her. She stopped and walked back to him.

"Okay?" he asked, perplexed. "That's all?"

"What do you want me to say?" Serena asked.

"A little more than just 'okay'," Dan sputtered.

"I mean, it's definitely cruel…" Serena began.

"Yes…," Dan urged.

"But it's also definitely Blair. And Jenny knew what she was getting into when she decided to be friends with Blair," Serena explained. "Jenny's not an idiot. She told you not to mention it to me because you probably assumed I could or would do something about it, but Jenny was smart enough to realize that this isn't my fight, not to involve me in this craziness. She knows I'm not going to involve myself. Besides, even if things don't just blow over, at least Jenny knows who her real friends are now."

"But no one believes that she didn't do it," Dan said.

"Then I guess she needs new friends," Serena shrugged.

She could get upset about Blair's actions, and maybe it wasn't fair for Blair to take things out on Jenny especially since they knew before the gala that it was Chuck who tipped off Gossip Girl and not Jenny, but she wasn't Blair's conscience.

"So you're not going to do or say anything?" Dan asked, startled.

"And choose between my best friend and my boyfriend's sister?" Serena asked. "Don't ask me to do that. Just let it go. You should too. In fact, I'm surprised you haven't already let it go."

"Because she's my sister?" Dan replied, incredulous.

"Yeah, but you never cared about reputations and popularity before, so why now?" Serena asked.

Dan started to deny that the two things were related but stopped.

She was right.

"I still feel guilty because I didn't believe her before," Dan finally replied.

"Did she forgive you?" Serena asked.

Dan nodded.

"Then just be her friend," Serena replied. "Sounds like she needs one right now—not some avenging angel or superhero."

Dan just nodded again, still feeling like he should do more, but Serena was right. He shouldn't involve himself in this stuff. He'd promised himself he wouldn't. He just had to let Jenny learn on her own… and be there for her whenever she needed him.

"Hrm," Serena said with a speculative glint in her eye. She had managed to push aside her deep thoughts over Elise and was ready to just spend a little time with her boyfriend.

"What?" Dan asked, knowing that glint.

"Just trying to picture you in tights, Morality Boy!" she laughed, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket, turning and walking backwards while dragging him along.

"You did not just give me my superhero name," Dan winced.

Serena just laughed.

Well, she was definitely in the last place she ever expected to be, but she didn't really know what else to do, and if she was going to have any peace for the rest of her high school experience, she needed to do this.

And that was why Jenny Humphrey had just walked through a set of elevator doors into Blair Waldorf's penthouse.

"I know what you did," Jenny said before Blair could even begin. "And I know how you did it."

Blair just smiled that smug little smile and indicated with her hand, prompting Jenny to continue.

"Elise," Jenny revealed, acting like she'd just gotten one over on Blair. "You sent her to do all your dirty work, but you messed up."

Blair quirked an eyebrow, still saying nothing, but the smug smile was still firmly in place.

Jenny expected more of a reaction and was put off for a second by Blair's un-reaction. She recovered quickly

"So this is what you're going to do," Jenny said, drawing herself up, trying to keep her confidence strong. "You will announce the prank. You will get people to back off. Or I will tell everyone what you did and who helped you. Do you really think the girls will all be so accepting of your new little pet if they knew the truth?"

Blair's expression never wavered, in fact she seemed even more amused now that Jenny had threatened her.

"What?" Jenny said, exasperated, losing some confidence. "You think they won't believe me because no one believed me when I said I didn't steal anything? Well, what if they do!" Jenny arched her eyebrows now, indicating the severity of her words.

"Do you really think it's wise to threaten me?" Blair finally asked, still clearly amused.

"It's not fair!" Jenny finally said, almost stomping her foot.

Blair almost burst out laughing at how much Jenny sounded like a middle school brat.

"You know I didn't do it!" Jenny exclaimed. "You lied!"

Blair shook her head. "Oh, the power of suggestion. Everyone came to their own conclusion. I didn't lie about anything. I didn't have to. Everyone wanted to believe the worst… though I didn't think you had a problem lying about people."

Jenny's face was red because she knew she was fighting a losing battle. "I never lied to Nate about you!" She knew that all of this had happened because she had told Nate that Blair had been with Chuck. She wished she had never heard anything!

"But you lied to Gossip Girl and everyone about Chuck," Blair said, smug smile still in place.

"… w-what?" Jenny stammered.

"This is what will happen," Blair began. "You will leave my home and you will say nothing about Elise. And as long as you do, I won't let Bass in on your secret."

"M-my secret?..." Jenny trailed off. She wasn't sure what Blair was talking about, but anything that involved Chuck couldn't be good.

"His grant?" Blair asked. "Ring any bells?"

Jenny flushed. How did Blair know about that?

"I had to do something," Jenny tried to excuse. "He found out that I told Nate about you and him; and he kept threatening me!"

"And what do you think he'd do to you now?" Blair asked, portraying innocence, but didn't hide the glint of victory in her eyes.

Jenny knew when she was beat. There was no way to get around it.

"And that, Little J, is why you won't speak one word against Elise," Blair commanded, eyes flashing.

Jenny looked at Blair.

"Or me, of course," Blair added quickly.

Jenny nodded slowly, but the significance of how Blair worded her last sentence wasn't lost on her. She did feel a slight pang, remembering how she had treated Elise… using her, and making fun of her clothing choices… and calling her hips big… when Elise was actually stick thin.

She started to leave but realized she had to ask.

"Just one question, Blair," Jenny asked softly.

Blair waved her hand, rolling her eyes.

"Why couldn't you ever be that kind of friend to me?" Jenny asked.

"Kind of friend?" Blair asked.

"All I've wanted since the beginning of the year was to be your friend, the kind of friend Elise seems to be to you," Jenny explained. "I don't know how everything got so messed up, but that was all I wanted. To be friends with you."

Blair shook her head. "You didn't want to be friends with me."

"But—," Jenny began but Blair interrupted.

"You only wanted to be friends with me for the popularity you would gain," Blair said. "You wanted to use me. Did you really think I would make it easy for you?" She scoffed.

"I wasn't trying to use you," Jenny insisted.

"Really?" Blair laughed. "Kiss on the Lips invites? Truth or Dare? The Masquerade Ball? Your dismissal? I treated you like crap and you still wanted to be my friend. Why put up with all that if you didn't want something from me? As in what I could do for you."

Jenny didn't know how to respond to that… she had gone through the ringer… and for what?

And Jenny realized that even in this, she couldn't dispute Blair.

She had lost. She was ruined. She had been warned. It was all over now.

Jenny sighed, giving up, and said quietly, "I won't say anything. I can't say anything. But… can you please return whatever was taken… since I obviously can't…"

"I quit. I'm done with…," she threw up her hands "this, but at least if you return everything maybe the sticky lockers and nasty looks will stop and I can just go back to being ignored…haven't I suffered enough?"

"I'll decide when it's enough," Blair said, but she already knew everything was going back, that was what Elise wanted too. Of course, it was only a few things from key people. Anyone else probably just assumed a lost item went through Jenny's sticky fingers.

Jenny just sighed and nodded.

Then she left.

Blair was disappointed that the girl seemed to be giving up so easily. Jenny Humphrey had definitely fought longer than Blair ever expected her to.

She felt a small pang and rushed to bury it… but with a resigned sigh, she already knew that she may have to take some steps to help Jenny.

After all, it was her misdirected anger that caused her to destroy Jenny… she probably shouldn't have gone ahead with her plan… but she hadn't been able to resist.

The plan had just been that good.

Tuesday, February 19th. After school. Matt takes Blair out.

"You want me to do what?"

"Box," Matt grinned, waving one of his covered fists in her direction. He was feeling more comfortable with Blair than he had felt since they first went out. They were in his place now, so he felt like he could relax a little and let his guard down.

Blair was flummoxed.

At first she was pleasantly surprised when he took her to Chelsea Piers, a state of the art sports center complete with a spa. She had been here on numerous occasions with Serena—it was one of S's favorite places to hang out... and was always trying to drag Blair from one activity to the other.

Blair had already sworn off the Rockwall years before and preferred spending time in the Café, which boasted a sushi bar, or lounging on the sun decks in the summer months.

Until this day, she had never set foot in the boxing area... and she was pretty sure by the end of the day she'd be swearing off this sport as well.

"You're not serious," Blair said, still disbelieving.

"Well, no," Matt winked. "See that guy over there?"

He nodded toward a guy across the room.

Blair nodded.

"That's Paul," he explained, "He's been trying to take me down the past couple months. He just keeps coming back for more."

He shook his head and laughed.

"Ah, good, because I don't know the first thing about," she waved a fist in a little waggle in front of her, "any of that."

He reached toward her fisted hand, "May I?"

Good boy, she thought, pleased he remembered to ask before touching her.

She nodded.

He opened her fist and folded the fingers closed again. "Keep the thumb on the outside or you could break your thumb hitting something like that."

She rolled her eyes, "A lady doesn't settle her arguments with fists anyway." She vaguely remembered seeing a scene like this is a movie a long time ago. She was bemused that she just lived that scene…and feeling a little foolish about making her fist wrong to begin with.

"You never know," he laughed.

"He's ready," Matt nodded toward the boxing ring where Paul was already waiting.

"Just make sure you win," Blair said encouragingly.

"For you, madam, anything," he said with a twinkle in his eye before walking up the short steps and stretching through the ropes.

Of course he won.

And during the match she discovered that Matt was undefeated at the club, thanks to one of the coaches stopping by to check out the match.

So, she was duly impressed.

Although she cringed every time either guy took a hit to the face or fell, she really did have a good time.

She had tons of practice watching males practice their sport. After all, Nate Archibald was track and field star, with lacrosse as easily his second best sport. He had dabbled in football, soccer, and even basketball too. She knew way too much about all those sports thanks to him.

And now she was watching a boxing match.

What was next? Squash?

She thought that he would go clean up from his sweatiness when the fight was over…

Instead, he came straight up to her and tossed her a set of gloves.

"Suit up!" he said, energized by his win. He tossed his head and a lock of white blonde hair flew to the side.

"What?" she said, flustered, barely catching the gloves.

"Just slide them on," he instructed. "Don't worry. I won't try to take you. Just try out the bag." He slapped one of his gloves against one of the hanging black bags.

She took a deep breath and finally just put the things on.

"I'll stand over here, out of the way," he went to the other side of the bag he'd just hit.

"This is ridiculous," she said, still unsure of whether she should really try this.

"Come on," he insisted, "just hit it! Don't worry, it won't hit back."

"Ridiculous," she muttered to herself before finally attempting to hit it.

The bag didn't budge.

And she nearly lost her balance. She wobbled, feeling like an even bigger imbecile.

"Come closer to the bag," he suggested. "Plant your feet more firmly."

"Can we please stop this now?" Blair said, exasperated.

"Just one more hit," he encouraged. "All your anger and frustration and every bad emotion you want to get rid of, just put it in the punch."

So she thought about everything. The stuff with Chuck, Nate, Jenny, her father, her mother…. She put it all into the punch.

Her fist hit the bag with a loud *THWACK*!!

And… the bag didn't budge.

They both burst out laughing.

"Sushi?" she suggested finally after catching her breath.

"Shower, then sushi," he nodded, still laughing.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hey… it's me… Eric," he said.

"Well, hi!" Elise tried to stop from squealing. She must act calm, cool, and collected. She must not show how excited she was to finally hear from him.

And of course, all the mixed feelings she'd felt about him not calling went straight out the window at the first sound of his voice.

"Sorry I didn't get a chance to uh…" Eric started.

"It's okay," Elise said. "Blair told me you weren't feeling well. Are you feeling better now?"

Eric groaned inside at the memory of his massive hangover the past Saturday.

"I'll live," he answered.

"So…"

"Yes?" Now that she was on the phone with him she had no idea what to say. So, she would do what Blair said and let him do the talking.

"How have you been?" Eric asked lamely. He sometimes wished he had the finesse of Chuck Bass.

"Good," she replied.

"Good," he repeated.

"Yeah," she said for lack of a better thing to say.

"I saw you on the steps today," Eric finally said.

"Really?" Elise said, grinning.

"I would have come over but you seemed… busy," Eric lied. He wouldn't have come over at all since he hadn't called her back yet. But he figured he probably shouldn't say that.

"I wish you would have, it would have been great talking to you," Elise said.

"Well, we still can," Eric replied.

Elise didn't say anything, hoping that meant what she thought it meant…

"Got any plans this weekend?" he asked.

"Saturday, but I'm absolutely free Friday night!" Elise tried to dial back the excitement but it was hard.

"Pick you up at eight then?" he asked.

"Sure, sure!" Elise had to swallow hard to stop from squealing.

"See you then," he said before hanging up.

Well, maybe he could channel some Chuck Bass after all.

Then again…

Maybe not, he laughed to himself.

Wednesday, February 20th. 4:30pm. Dr. Sherman's.

"We left off last time with an assignment," Dr. Sherman said. "Did you work on it?"

Blair nodded slowly.

"So you have decided what you're going to do to relieve the loss of control you feel with the two boys?"

Blair gave a small nod again.

"And that is…?" Dr. Sherman hoped this wouldn't be a tooth-pulling session to get answers.

Blair just shrugged.

Dr. Sherman sat patiently, hoping for a little more, realizing she wasn't going to get it—not yet anyway.

"Has there been anymore purging since our last session?" she asked, changing the subject.

Blair shook her head.

"Very good, I'm glad to hear it," she said, before settling in for a silent hour.

Sometimes in order to get someone to speak, she had to just sit back and relax and be quiet. Eventually the silence or the patient's inner thoughts got to them until they finally decided to spill what was on their mind.

Sometimes the patient outlasted the hour. If that were the case, she'd just send the patient home with a few kind words and hope for more in the next session. It was one of the facts of her trade. People set up the appointment to see her and may not feel like talking when the appointment finally arrived—especially teenagers who were sometimes forced to come to therapy by an overbearing parent.

Why wasn't she saying anything? Blair groaned inside. She hated when Dr. Sherman got this way. She knew it was because she wasn't speaking. The woman always closed off like that whenever Blair wasn't forthcoming.

Usually Blair could hold out until the end of the session, but the tension was very thick today. She found herself squirming, fidgeting with her fingers, staring at the stupid painting on the wall of a quaint little cottage in the middle of nowhere.

Who would want to live in the middle of nowhere? she thought. She shook her head and started concentrating on the couch pattern.

The silence was thick.

They sat that way for twenty minutes.

Bbbbrrrriiiinggg!

Crap, Blair thought, reaching immediately for her phone. "Sorry."

Dr. Sherman shook her head, "Please try to remember to turn off the phone during our sessions."

Blair quickly hit the ignore button—but not before seeing who was calling. Figures.

This time the tension was too much for Blair to bear, especially after that phone call from the new guy who was helping to create all this tension.

"I was wrong," Blair finally grudgingly admitted, looking everywhere but at the doctor.

Dr. Sherman just waited.

"I mean, I think I was wrong," Blair continued.

"What exactly do you think you were wrong about?" the doctor asked slowly.

"I started seeing someone else," Blair answered.

"And that was wrong because…?" the doctor led.

"We went on a date." Blair stated.

"Yes?"

"To Chelsea Piers," Blair explained. "He likes to box, wanted to show off or something."

The doctor waited.

"It was actually fun," Blair said.

"And why do you think you were wrong?" the doctor asked again.

"Well… he got me to try on the gloves, and that didn't end well," Blair gave a self-depreciating smile, "then we stopped by the Café for sushi, then he took me home."

The doctor just kept on waiting.

"…Then he tried to kiss me," Blair muttered.

"Tried?" the doctor picked out the key word in the phrase.

"Well, he asked if he could. I should have," Blair grimaced. "I don't know why I didn't want to. I mean, he's been so careful with me. I have the guy walking on egg shells half the time. It's a miracle he loosened up at all."

"Do you like this boy?" the doctor asked.

"Well, yeah…" Blair looked away, "Sort of."

"I mean, we had a good time but…"

"But?" the doctor encouraged.

"I've sort of… only been using him…" Blair mumbled.

"For?"

"To keep distance between me and Chuck and Nate," Blair admitted.

"I see," the doctor said.

"What?" Blair snapped. "What do you see? That I managed to just lose even more control?!"

"When was the date?"

Blair sputtered, "I, uh, yesterday."

"And there has been no purging?"

"No!" Blair said sharply.

"Did you want to after the date?"

Blair thought about it… "No…"

The doctor nodded, "Good."

Blair sat in contemplative silence. Maybe she was right after all…

"Remember, I'm not here to tell you whom to date," Dr. Sherman stated. "I'm here to help you with your condition. I will not say whether your coping is right or wrong. That is for you to decide. I will help you ask yourself the questions you need to ask yourself before deciding though," the doctor smiled.

"So what should I be asking myself?" Blair asked softly.

"If you really don't want to kiss this boy, but you had fun with him, do you really want more with him, or just want to be friends?" the doctor asked.

Blair opened her mouth to respond.

"Ah," the doctor stopped her. "Ask yourself. You don't need to answer me. Just think about the answer."

"And even if you're not sure what you want, maybe you need to talk to this boy. Don't tell him you were using him—he may have even picked up on a little of that himself. Maybe you need to let him know you aren't ready for more yet. Maybe you'd like to take this opportunity to just get to know him."

"…Or maybe you didn't want to kiss him because you really aren't interested in him at all. Even though you had a good time, maybe it was just a fluke. In that case, you need to decide if you want to purposefully continue leading him on… or just end things completely."

"Are you worried that if you end things completely, it'll make the other two boys become involved in your life again? And what if you let one or both back in through some capacity and everything spins out of control again? Is that a chance you're willing to take?"

"So if I break things off with him, I'm admitting I was wrong," Blair said. "And if I don't, I was right?"

"Blair, it's not about being right or wrong," the doctor clarified. "It's about being happy or unhappy. And I want you to be happy."

"Happy?" Blair said it like it was a foreign word.

"Yes, happy."

"Okay…" Blair had way too much to think about now.

"Times up," Dr. Sherman said. "Should I schedule you for next Wednesday, same time? Or would you like to be seen again sooner?"

"Wednesday is fine," Blair said, standing up quickly.

"See you then."

Thursday, February 21th. Evening.

"Why are we here... Wherever here is," Eric looked around in shock.

"We're looking for a girl," Chuck said.

"Uh, I've got one…" Eric said, watching a particularly skanky girl strut by. He almost shuddered. "But good luck there."

"For Nate," Chuck explained.

"Nate?" Eric laughed. "Nate just got finished dating Blair Waldorf. Somehow I don't think any of these girls will compare."

"You think too much, brother," Chuck instructed. "Nate has been with the same girl…er, mostly anyway, since Kindergarten. He needs a chance to let loose. Spread some wild oats. He doesn't need a Blair-clone. He needs a one night stand."

"Or a couple of them," Chuck smirked at a particularly hot set of twins.

"So, what? Am I calling him to get him down here or something?" Eric said, starting to feel extremely uncomfortable.

"No…" Chuck drawled. "We're going to get her to go to him."

"How?"

Then Eric's eyes widened with realization.

"It's amazing what you can purchase for a night in this city."

To be continued…