See end for AN

8 Years Ago

Blair sighs when she turns to nudge Isabel but instead sees curly, unruly hair, that does not belong to Isabel. She had almost forgotten that thanks to the new school-wide assigned seating policy that her friend was no longer her seatmate. Instead, she had been unceremoniously plunked down in a seat next to this hipster. Whatever, it could be worse she supposed. She could be seated next to that indie-wanna be Aaron Rose and have to look at his greasy hair all day. The curls were better, much better.

It turns out that Dan, her new seatmate, actually knows a lot about cinema. Maybe even more than her which she had previously thought her love of classic movies made her an expert in film studies. But she soon learns, he seems to be well versed in foreign and indie films which ends up making her movie tastes feel a bit average. She could be bitter, but instead, she decides to join forces and partner with him anytime the teacher instructs them to work with someone. Isabel is a little annoyed, naturally, but she soon finds Kati is more on her level since both of their ideas of a good movie is anything starring Jennifer Aniston. So Blair carries on sitting next to Dan, whispering about the movies while they're being shown in class, and swapping notes. By the end of the month, her new favorite documentary is Nenette and she thinks this whole assigned seating thing may not be so bad afterall.

She doesn't think of him much outside of class, except for maybe when she's picking out a movie to watch. Or when she's doing her Film Studies homework. Until the day when she's sitting in class next to him, watching Sabrina and he turns to her, his voice low and says, "You look like Audrey Hepburn," and she swears she nearly falls in love with him right there. Then, suddenly, for the rest of senior year, he's all she can think about.

Blair Waldorf sighs at the sight of the email atop her inbox, having predicted this exact scenario and now being proven right. She clicks it open, even though she already knows what it says and visibly slouches in her ergonomic office chair. She glances around her Tiffany blue painted office, trying to think of something, anything to get her out of it. But she comes up blank, just like she did when trying to prevent it from happening.

From: Lennon Dashiell

To: Blair Waldorf

Subject: Brooklyn Gallery Owner

B,

I hate to do this to you since I know how you feel about Brooklyn (ps have I mentioned lately just how funny I found it that you ended up as managing editor at a magazine where 70% of its staff lives in that very city?) Anyways, as of course, you would know since you conducted round one of the interviews, you were right and none of those candidates for senior staff writer will do. And with Dex covering Coachella this weekend, there simply is no one to cover the opening of that gallery in Brooklyn that we have slated.

So as you have probably predicted, I desperately need you to cover it. I know no one else can quite do it justice, especially with it being so dear to my heart.

Thank you a million times in advance! Almond milk lattes and chocolate croissants on me next time we go the cafe.

Lennon

It's so hard to truly complain when her boss is being so nice about the assignment. Technically she shouldn't have to even ask her, most editors-in-chief would just send a short, concise email saying "Blair, you're covering this gallery opening on Saturday in Brooklyn" with zero thank yous or apologies. But not, Lennon, the eternal people pleaser.

It's not that Brooklyn itself even bothers her so much. In high school, yes, she would have ranted and raved about the prospect of having to even set foot there. But now, she had been to plenty of events in Brooklyn that were perfectly fine. It was more so the scene, it just so wasn't her and add on the fact that it took at least 45 minutes to get there and the whole idea made her groan. But there was nothing for it now than to trade in her diamante Choo's for a pair of suede ankle boots and brave Brooklyn.

After resigning herself to the fact that she would indeed be covering this event, she started a new email to inform the gallery opening that she would now be taking over. She left out of the part about how the previous writer had been fired after an Instagram photo scandal and instead simply stated the former writer tasked "was no longer with the publication." Then, she did a quick Google search of "Rufus Humphrey" to dig up some intel to help with her interview.

Just a slight scroll through the results revealed Rufus Humphrey was a 90s rock star turned art enthusiast. After running a successful gallery in Dumbo for 10 years, he was opening his second, which would house higher priced work, in Bushwick. When she first heard his name, it dimly sparked a flicker of recognition so she decided to play a snippet of his one hit wonder. It sort of sounded familiar, she supposed, so that must be how she had heard of him.

She jotted down some notes to include in her line of questioning and then closed down Google. Switching back over to her email, she started a new one to confirm with the photographer that he could be there an hour before the opening to get initial exterior and interior shots. After getting the rest of the details sorted, Blair packs up her bags save for her phone which she promptly uses as soon as she's walking out the office doors.

B: Still here?

G: Ugh, yes, trying to leave though. You?

B: Just finished, coming down to you.

She pushes the button in the elevator to descend her down to the fourteenth floor. She steps out of the doors the moment they open and veers right, headed straight for the corner cubicle.

"I need a drink." Blair sinks into a chair and stares at her friend's computer screen. "Done yet?"

"Close enough to done." Georgina smirks and shuts her laptop screen. "Judging by your expression, I'm guessing you'll be going to Brooklyn tomorrow night."

"Yep," Blair rolls her eyes. "After already covering two events this week. We seriously have got to fill that senior staff writer slot ASAP."

"Well, I can't help with that but I can help dull the pain of being overworked." Georgina rises up and helps Blair up to. "Come on, that stress is nothing a couple of G and T's can't fix."

After her third drink, Blair was beginning to feel lighter. The past two weeks had been extra rough at work with the vacancy of the senior staff writer position and the grueling hiring process she had to conduct to fill it. Not one interviewee had shown nearly enough promise and as a result, nearly everyone on the team had to pick up extra work with Blair bearing most of the brunt.

"Hey, on the brightside, there are bound to be at least a couple of hipster hotties at the gallery thing." Georgina brightens with the idea. "I might just have to tag along."

"In that case, I'll give you the piece." Blair says dryly, twirling slightly on her backless bar seat.

"No, thanks, I have enough to do with trying to prevent complete backlash from the PR nightmare that is Insta-gate." Georgina shakes her head, vehemently. Insta-gate is what they had termed the scandal that had rocked the magazine. Blair forgot how much it had affected Georgina's job as well as hers. "Besides, you're the one that needs help meeting someone, not me."

"I do not," Blair instantly protests. "I am very much in control of my love life and am simply choosing to be single."

"Love life?" Georgina snorts. "More like, lack thereof."

Blair glares at her. "As opposed to what? Sleeping with a new guy every night? Tell me, who is the flavor of the moment, Julian, Justin, or is it James?"

"None of the above," Georgina grins. "Luca, he just moved to the city from Italy and I've been showing him around."

"Your bedroom? I highly doubt you've taken him outside the perimeter of your building." Blair replies with a laugh.

"Not yet, at least." Georgina says coyly. "Anyways, my point is, maybe you wouldn't be so strung out over work if you had a distraction. Like Luca is, for me. You're gorgeous, successful, and let's face it, you're Blair Waldorf. You can have any guy you want. So if you keep giving me all that too busy BS, I'll just have to take matters into my own hand and set you up."

"No," Her nose wrinkles automatically. "With your taste, I'll end up with some greasy haired, banker who smells like the fragrance department of Macy's."

"That was one guy!" Georgina swats at her arm. "Are you really going to hold that over my head forever?"

"I will if you keep pestering me about who I do and don't date." Blair glares at her.

"Fine, ugh," Georgina groans. "Enjoy fending off the unwanted advances of all the cuties at the gallery tomorrow night."

"Since when are you so into Brooklyn guys? I doubt anyone worth a second glance will be there anyways." Blair says, but still feeling a tiny flicker of hope. It wasn't really that she was happy being single, she merely saw the benefits to it. She had worked endless hours to get to where she was now and she still wasn't quite where she wanted to be. Her dream would always be obtaining a fashion editor position at Vanity Fair, Vogue, or Harper's Bazaar.

Nylon Magazine had been her going rogue shortly after graduating from Yale. Her mother had pressured her to work at Waldorf Designs instead of slaving away as an assistant in the publishing industry. She had spent the past 8 years of her life doing the right thing and always being the perfect, provident daughter and she wasn't looking to spend the next 8 that way. So she got a job as the associate fashion editor at a small indie magazine in Chelsea and then secured the same position at Nylon Magazine. Last year, she had finally been promoted to managing editor. All the while her mother refusing to name which magazine her daughter worked at when asked and instead declaring it, an independent publication.

To fit in with the Nylon crowd, Blair chopped her hair into a blunt length that grazed just past her shoulders. Then, she traded in her patent Manolos for rockstud Valentinos. She got a second ear piercing and started wearing ear crawlers along her cartilage. Of course, she also swapped her neutral Chanel eyeshadows in favor of a smokier palette by Dior and started winging her eyeliner. Just like that, she was still Blair Waldorf but now, Blair Waldorf: trendsetting socialite but with an edge.

Her favorite part of her transformation was the way her mother had fussed over all the earrings. Eleanor said the next thing she knew, her daughter would get a "Feminist" tattoo and stop wearing a bra. Blair did neither though the idea of faking that very tattoo did cross her mind every time her mother pissed her off. But she always ended up foregoing it, convinced it just might give Eleanor Waldorf a heart attack.

Blair involuntarily smiles now at the memory of that day she had debuted her new look to her mother. But then, Georgina's voice cuts through the reverie.

"See I knew you wouldn't resist a hipster hottie even if he is from Brooklyn." Georgina laughs. "You're already daydreaming him up now."

In that moment, sitting in the bar listening to her best friend, her memory flicks away from the one of her and her mother and goes further back. To one she didn't even realize she held onto. The one of sitting in a classroom next to a hipster (he didn't know it yet though) from Brooklyn, telling her she looked just like her favorite movie star. At the realization of a strange fluttering taking hold in her chest, Blair blinks away the memory and levels her gaze at Georgina. "Hardly."

AN: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story! It's very AU and it's not mentioned in there, but Serena never came back from boarding school. The implications of that will be filled out in the coming chapters. Also, to give you an idea of this story's length, I have nearly all of this written and I think it'll come out to around 10,000 words. So it'll be a shorter story. But don't fret, I have a much longer multichapter fic also in the works that is inspiring me. I can't wait to share more on that soon! Anyways, I hope you like where this is headed. I'll update with Chapter Two by the end of the weekend. Thank you for reading!

PS I'm still working on the idea for Part Two of Delicate. I haven't reached a plot decision yet so I don't want to rush it.