A/N: This is my first attempt at a Gossip Girl story and is completely AU. Some of characters do not have the same relationships as they do in the show. You will notice changes in some of their last names. Chuck and Eric Bass are brothers as well as orphans. Bart Fairmont is the father of Vanessa and Pete Fairmont. His wife passed away long ago and he never remarried. He runs Fairmont Industries. Lily ended up with Rufus. This is their second marriage for both of them. He is currently a professor at Yale University. Their marriage caused the permanent breakup of Dan and Serena. The Waldorf-Rose family and the Archibald family remain the same. The only difference is that Howard is Nate's step-father. All relevant characters are attending Yale University. Chuck and Nate are the only exceptions as they are the handsome detectives in this story. Please review!
Forgive Me, Forgive Me Not
Rufus turned the lights back on as he finished his lecture. As usual, a few of his students had fallen asleep. He cleared his throat to get their attention.
"We start our in-depth discussion of Pride and Prejudice on Monday."
At the sound of his voice, the students collectively turned towards him. They all gave him a blank stare. Rufus sighed. He was hoping he wouldn't have to state the obvious.
"Clearly, you will need to have read the entire novel by then."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a student raising his hand. Rufus smiled when he finally pinpointed the student. Aaron Rose. He was undoubtedly one of his best students.
"Mr. Rose?" Rufus asked quite eagerly.
Aaron displayed a wide smile on his face before answering.
"Where do we leave our essays?"
Before Rufus could answer his question, the entire student body turned towards Aaron. Georgina, one of the worst students in the class, even went so far as to take out her pocket knife and point it in Aaron's direction. Intimidated, Aaron slunk down into his seat. Rufus, however, took no notice of the weapon in Georgina's hand.
"Thank you, Mr. Rose. Please remember to hand in your essays before you leave."
He gestured towards an empty envelope on his desk.
"And please don't take out your frustration on Mr. Rose after class. I would have remembered eventually," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.
The students groaned. Some of them were muttering curses under their breath. Georgina slowly raised her hand. She had a sly expression on her face.
Reading her mind, Rufus answered her unspoken question. "No, Miss Sparks, bribes will not be accepted."
Georgina persisted and refused to put her hand down. Rufus let out a huge sigh. This had become a routine every time an assignment was due.
"Yes, Miss Sparks, that includes sexual favors of any kind."
Upon hearing his well-practiced answer, Georgina slowly lowered her hand as a satisfied smirk crept across her face. She enjoyed torturing her professors. That much she wouldn't deny.
Meanwhile, near the front of the room, Blair was rummaging frantically through her purse. She muttered quietly to herself.
"I swear I put it in my purse this morning! Where is that essay? Come on, Waldorf! Think!" she said with utmost frustration.
Her continuous mumbling was interrupted by Aaron, who carefully put his hand on her shoulder to reassure her.
"Calm down and take a deep breath. Now, try to remember..."
Caught up in her moment of panic, Blair paid no attention to Aaron. She looked up momentarily from her purse. A look of anger passed over her face as she remembered the events of that very morning.
"Serena!" she exclaimed.
"Serena?" Aaron asked as memories of his relationship with Serena began to cloud his mind. How could she have dumped him in Buenos Aires?
"Serena."
Blair paused. She realized that Aaron's hand was still on her shoulder and slowly turned her head to the side to look at him. Sensing her irritation, Aaron removed his hand immediately. Blair leaned back into her chair.
"Dorota put that essay on my breakfast tray this morning. I remember taking it with me when I left. Serena!" she exclaimed. Again.
Blair slapped her hand on the table. The sudden noise caused some of the lingering students to look in their direction.
"Blair, I am really confused."
Blair rolled her eyes at him.
"I bumped into Penelope this morning. It must have been a diversion! Serena must have taken the opportunity to take the essay from my purse!"
Aaron took her by the shoulders and gave her a good shake.
"Let me spell this out for you. You. Are. Paranoid," he said, careful to enunciate every word.
He let go of her, but continued.
"Besides, why would Serena take that essay from you? She doesn't gain anything!"
"I'm glad stupidity isn't contagious or I would have caught it a long time ago. Seriously, Aaron?" Blair asked.
Aaron maintained a blank look on his face causing Blair to throw her hands in the air in frustration.
"No wonder Serena dumped you! I mean, why do I even bother?"
Aaron opened his mouth, preparing to answer her question. Blair pursed her lips together and held up her hand to silence him.
"That was a rhetorical question?"
She started to gather her things as Aaron turned a bright shade of red. Hoping to redeem himself, Aaron decided to give Blair a suggestion.
"You should talk to Professor Humphrey. I talk to him all the time. He can be quite understanding."
Blair bit her tongue, trying hard not to lash out at her step-brother again. She sighed and taking his advice, began to make her way towards Professor Humphrey. Each step was harder to take. It was a well-known fact that she wasn't his favorite student, although she never truly understood why. She got good grades and worked hard for them! So, what was the problem?
"Blair?" Aaron asked, interrupting her thoughts.
She turned around abruptly to face him. Taping her foot against the carpeted floor, Blair waited for his question. She was hoping that he had already left.
"Do you know what Serena has planned for this weekend?"
Blair's cold expression remained unchanged. She hated answering this question at the end of every week. What made him think that she, of all people, would know of Serena's plans for the weekend? Had he been living under a rock?
"No, but a safe guess would be that none of her plans will involve you," she said with a hint of bitterness in her voice.
With that, she turned and walked away from him, leaving him to his thoughts of Serena.
"Ah! Always a pleasure, Miss Waldorf. How may I be of assistance?" Rufus asked.
He wondered if she could detect the insincerity in his voice. She wasn't his best student, but she was a good student nonetheless. Besides, he only had a problem with her on a personal level.
Blair took a deep breath. Courage, Waldorf. Courage.
"I have a problem."
A tiny chuckle escaped from his mouth. "Don't we all? For example, Miss Waldorf, I have a problem with you dating my son."
There. He had finally said it. Blair was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered from her initial shock. She composed herself.
"With all due respect, Professor Humphrey, I think Dan is old enough to make his own decisions."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I have to approve of the choices he makes."
He continued to be unmoved.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing then that he doesn't need your approval and neither do I."
Seeing Blair so worked up over his comment, Rufus chuckled. Again.
"Just don't break his heart. You think I don't know why you're dating him? He's just another one of those bullets you have loaded in your gun to take down Serena."
Blair felt the anger rise within her. How dare he? How could he make such a ridiculous assumption? Wait, what was she saying? After all, it had been her original motive, but she was passed that. Wasn't she? She took another deep, calming breath to prevent herself from killing Professor Humphrey right then and there.
"I need an extension on that essay, Professor Humphrey. I brought it to school, but this morning..."
Rufus interrupted her, knowing exactly what had happened that morning. "Don't worry, Miss Waldorf. I know what happened this morning. You have until tonight to bring me another copy of that essay."
Blair opened her mouth to argue, but closed it abruptly when she realized what he had just said.
"Really?" she asked in disbelief. "Thanks..."
"Don't be so surprised, Miss Waldorf. Despite my personal dislike towards you, I still need to be fair on a professional basis."
Upon hearing this, Blair could only nod.
"Right. Well, thank you. I'll bring another copy of my essay when I come over for dinner tonight."
A look of pain appeared across his face. Noticing his pained expression for the first time, she realized what she had just reminded him of.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to..." she said quickly.
Rufus remained silent as flashbacks of his fight with Lily began to haunt him. He remembered it all too clearly.
"So, should I leave the essay with Dan tonight or should I bring it to you directly? You are staying at the Palace, right? I'll just drop it off at the front desk?"
She honestly just wanted to get out of there. This conversation was getting awfully uncomfortable. Rufus continued to zone out, but could hear Blair's questions echoing faintly in the back of his mind. He hadn't meant to do what he did. Was Lily ever going to forgive him? It had only been a day or two, but he missed her already.
Being impatient, Blair snapped her fingers at him only a few moments later.
"Professor Humphrey?"
He could sense the irritation in her voice.
"That will be fine, Miss Waldorf, and I'd appreciate it if you kept my family affairs to yourself."
"Yes, of course," Blair stated as she made her way towards the door.
All of a sudden, Blair felt the air rush out of her lungs. She fell to the floor, inevitably taking all of her belongings with her.
"Watch where you're going, Waldork."
That voice was all too familiar. Serena. Blair slowly began to pick up her things as Penelope and Hazel circled around her, snickering. They had been her loyal followers until Serena had whisked them away, but it amazed her that every day, she cared a little less. She really wanted to make peace with Serena, but she wasn't making it easy. Who was she kidding though? There was still a little part of her that was unforgiving.
Taken over by her sudden thoughts of bitterness, Blair quickly walked past Serena only to give her a tiny push along the way. Unable to maintain her balance, Serena fell to the floor, taking Penelope and Hazel with her. Blair rushed over to them immediately.
"Oh no! Look what I've done now! How will I ever be able to live with the guilt? Here, let me help you up," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Serena reached out for her hand, but grasped the air instead. By that time, Blair was already at the door. She turned back towards them for a brief moment and smirked.
"That's cute, Slutrena. You actually thought I cared."
Penelope and Hazel helped Serena up, but Blair was already gone. The nerve! Who did she think she was?
"Serena! Just the person I wanted to talk to," Rufus exclaimed, making his way towards her.
"Your mother...Is she still...?"
"Mad at you? Ask her yourself! Do I have messenger written anywhere on my forehead?" she asked, her face etched with defiance.
Hazel laughed. "Nope!"
Penelope elbowed her causing Hazel to scream out in pain.
"That was a rhetorical question? God, Hazel, you are so dumb!"
Serena rolled her eyes at them. Sometimes she really wondered how both of them had gotten into Yale. Rufus, however, did not find the situation to be quite as amusing.
"You have better start showing some respect for me and your mother, Serena."
Serena scoffed. "I will when you two deserve it."
Rufus let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, Serena, I won't apologize for preventing you and Dan..."
Serena put up her hand to prevent him from going any further.
"Please. I'm over it. Anyone who could fall in love with Blair Waldork isn't worth my time."
It sounded harsh coming from her mouth, but it was also true. Every day, she missed Dan less and less. Before Rufus could say anything else, Serena walked away. Penelope and Hazel followed closely behind, taking their seats at the back of the lecture hall. Rufus sighed and cleared his desk. He quietly left the lecture hall, as students from the next class started to file in.
Lily. All he wanted to do was hear her voice. He took his cell phone out of his pocket, looked around to make sure he was alone, and quickly dialed Lily's number. After a few tries, Lily finally picked up her cell phone. As usual, she was busy planning a party. Rufus remained silent. He had no idea what to say to her.
Lily spoke into her cell phone. "Hello? Hello? Rufus? Is that you? Hello?"
Rufus continued to hold onto his cell phone until he heard the unmistakable monotonous beeping of the dial tone.