The Golden Boy

Nathaniel "Nate" Archibald. The Angel on the Devils shoulder. “It’s beautiful to be alone. To be alone does not mean to be lonely. It means the mind is not influenced and contaminated by society.” sideblog

[dailygossipgirl]

You’re a really good friend. One of us has to be.

[leobetancourt]

She didn’t know how he would stop Katherine; once she got going, she was unstoppable and, if she ever released that video, it would be just that. It would destroy Serena’s life, future, and possibly relationships.  When he was holding her, though, it was easy to believe he could make everything okay.  She needed the break, so she just… let him.  It should’ve been the easiest thing in the world, letting someone she felt so much for just soothe her worries and take away her problems.  Instead, she’d run away and just compounded everything.  For now, though, she could pretend everything was okay, the way he said.  

“Thank you,” she breathed, holding on tight.  She had a million questions for him, and maybe he did for her, too, but it could all wait just a little longer.

[natexarchigold-blog]

Pulling back slightly, he brushed the hair from her face, savoring every inch of her that he could see. “We don’t have to talk about this anymore.. not until you want to.” 

[carolinelacoqueluche]

She glared at his comment, the joke completely lost on her considering he knew exactly how she felt about his ex-girlfriend.  “That isn’t even close to funny, Nathaniel,” she retorted, rolling her eyes and putting the clutch down.  “What do you want?  Other than to mock me, it seems.”

[natexarchigold-blog]

“Alright alright.. bad joke. I take it back, and plead for eternal forgiveness.” He said, with a small pout in his cousins direction. “I know that face...--- I know it. What’s up?”

[itsevanderwoodsen]

“.. And that sounds like a waterproof plan to you? God, you’re.. Whatever, let’s just go for it.”

“I think that’s his laptop over there. It’s probably password protected though.”

[natexarchigold-blog]

“It’s not a total failure of a plan.”

“Keep the door open, in case we need a quick getaway. Password... Nah --- he wouldn’t. Everything he has that’s worth taking or breaking in for is in his safe.”

[jediscavnger]

“Ah trouble in paradise..” Chuck pressed, lifting his glass to his lips and drink the rest of the scotch. He knew more than he should about his friends’ girlfriend troubles, but knew to keep quiet. “I wasn’t feeling very hospitable this evening so I decided not to call the strippers today. Sorry to disappoint, Nathaniel.”

[natexarchigold-blog]

“Paradise my ass.” He said, without thinking, immediately regretting his decision -- something he seemed to be doing a lot of lately. The idea of having any kind of paradise, with Blair, struck him to the core, considering it was all he’d wanted for the longest time, until he just hadn’t. “Don’t apologize to me, I’m not the one who missed out on a night of frolicking with Chuck Bass --- I will live, though it might have been a day or two longer if I’d seen another stripper.”

[leobetancourt]

There was something about him.  Nate, standing in front of her and gently disbelieving her words, protesting, holding her.  She couldn’t keep her cool anymore and it was about three seconds flat before she started to cry.

“Nate,” she protested in a sharp whisper.  She didn’t step away from him, but she couldn’t look at him.  “I did.  I cut the line he overdosed on.  I called 911 from his cell phone while Katherine was pulling me out of the room and then I watched from outside.  We were at a hotel and…. eventually they brought him out in a body bag.”  She let out a shaky breath.  “He’s dead because of me and Katherine.  I left and didn’t look back because I couldn’t face what I’d done.  I left the wedding knowing I had done something selfish and then I just….made it worse, so I got on a train.  Someone is dead because of me, Nate, and I can’t change that or take it back.  I did this.  It’s my fault.  Even if you can possibly forgive me, I can never forgive myself.  And if Katherine ever releases the tape she made…” she didn’t need to finish the sentence, but she shuddered delicately in his arms.  She didn’t want to think about those particular consequences.  

“I’m so sorry,” she mumbled feebly, pressing her face into his shoulder and breathing him in, hoping it would help, for however long he’d let her before he was disgusted and pushed her away.  She’d take it. 

[natexarchigold-blog]

He could barely find the words, looking down at her as she let it ll out, lay everything about her secret out on the line for him -- and he couldn’ find a single word. Nothing that could make her believe that he didn’t believe t was her fault, that non of it would change the way he’d felt about her. It all made sense now, well, mostly - she hadn’t left because of him. She’d left him in the lurch, definitely, but it wasn’t because of him. “Katherine is never going to do that, okay?” He mussed quietly, unsure of whether he really believed that. “I’m not going to let that happen.”  He shook his head as her own fell to his shoulder, his arm wrapping further around her. “You don’t need to say sorry, Serena.” 

[jediscavnger]

“Archibald, took you long enough. Sorry..I thought you were Eric, or someone I didn’t care to see.”

[natexarchigold-blog]

“Yeah, I ran into Blair on the way over, which was..--- Let’s not go into it. Your text was a little vague, and I spent a little time in the hall wondering why I wasn’t greeted by half dressed women fleeing the scene. So -- I’m late. So, sue me.” Not that he could, not that anyone could --- he had nothing.

[carolinelacoqueluche]

“If you think I’m blonde enough to accept that last season clutch at this season’s price, you’re seriously senile.  Run along,” she snapped at the poor excuse of a saleswoman and turned to find a familiar face.  “Before you judge me or make some snarky comment…”

[natexarchigold-blog]

His brow arched high, Nate shook his head at his cousins attitude --- he rarely seemed to find her in a mood, but that didn’t make it any less amusing to him. “Oh I’m sorry Blair --- I’m wondering if you can tell me where Caroline is?”

[itsevanderwoodsen]

“I don’t know, he’s your friend, not mine. I think he’s out, though. But I don’t know Nate, if he catches us in his room..”

[natexarchigold-blog]

“If he catches us I’ll just tell him you wanted to confess your love to me in private. Don’t me a wimp, we’re going in.”

[jediscavnger]

“Sorry, but I really don’t feel like entertaining company right now. You can show yourself out…” 

[natexarchigold-blog]

“If you think that one is going to work on me, you don’t know me very well.”

[wickedqxeen]

Grinding her teeth together, Blair bit back any emotions that threatened to show on her face, not daring to show any weakness. It’d been months, there was nothing to do about it now, and she didn’t want to show him that it still hurt. “For what?” she challenged, her tone monotonous and her face blank, “You cheated on me with my best friend, who you just so happen to be in love with. Which you didn’t seem to have a problem with yelling in front of everyone in Cancun. I don’t see any need to talk about that.” When he let her go, she instinctively folded her arms across her chest, leaving herself entirely closed off from him, “Oh, you need me? What do you want me to do, play matchmaker with you and Serena?”

[natexarchigold-blog]

If it were possible, he was sure by the look in her eyes that his hand would have been alight with flames had he chosen even a slightly worse time to lay his hands on her. Having everything he’d done thrown in his face was something he should have expected ---- he’d been a terrible boyfriend. “Blair.. it’s not..-- I shouldn’t have done that, any of that. And I didn’t mean for that to happen in Cancun --- I don’t even know if it’s.. “ She folded her arms and he knew he couldn’t weigh in on the conversation much longer before he lost her completely. “What? No, I don’t need you to do anything with Serena and I --- I don’t want you to have to do anything to do with that.” Truth was, for all relationship purposes, Blair had always been there, they’d faced everything head on together, and not having her there while he faced his empty apartment every night alone was eating at him. “I just needed a friend.”

[leobetancourt]

“It wasn’t stupid,” she protested.  “We just went about it all the wrong way.  I don’t know about you but I couldn’t stop it – I didn’t want to.”  She rolled her lips together, looking at him as she did and trying to sort out the mess in her head to figure out what she wanted to say.  This wasn’t the way she’d ever been prepared for any of this to happen, but she wasn’t going to waste the opportunity now that she had it.  He deserved to have her explanation and she wanted to give it to him.  That didn’t mean she wasn’t struggling to spit out.  She nodded when he asked if something happened, shook her head when he said she could lean on their little foursome.  He might’ve trusted Chuck, but she didn’t.  After what she’d done with Nate, she wasn’t entirely sure she trusted her friendship with Blair was on solid ground yet.  Not for something like this.

“I killed someone.  Or… well… I was there when he died and I didn’t stop it from happening.  I was already totally loaded and he overdosed… he started… we left. Katherine taped the whole thing, though.  I don’t know exactly what’s on the video. I don’t remember all the details.  But we left him there and he died.”

[natexarchigold-blog]

“Think I’d be standing here if I could stop it?” He asked, rhetorically. No matter how many times he’d screwed up when it came to Serena -- he’d never be able to stop himself from finding his way back to her. She was the light to everything he’d lost and he couldn’t handle the idea of losing her too. The way she was looking at him now had him worried -- a serious look plastered on the blondes face before him was never a good thing, never something that he would ever forget. He sighed a little as she shook her head, he hated that no matter how much they’d all gone through together, Serena still couldn’t find it in herself to trust them, not all of them. “C’mon, Serena. It’s us.”

The words that fell from her lips shocked him, so much so that he shook his own head, pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a step forward, “What are you talking about? You didn’t kill anyone.” He stated --- not hearing the rest of what she said until he let himself. Nate knew that Serena went to a dark place for a while, as far as her drinking and.. extra curricular activities went, but he never really understood until right now. Heart breaking for her, his brows knit together and his hands found her arms, pulling her in close. “Serena.. you didn’t kill anyone.” Even though he sounded sure -- he wasn’t.

[jennifer--humphrey-blog]

“Well, maybe, but Bart made her that way…. or maybe she always had that wild side thanks to someone else over the years and that’s why they’re so perfect for each other. You never know might have the secret dominatrix gene in them behind closed doors.”

[natexarchigold-blog]

“I’m gonna’ go ahead and say she’s always been like that. Nobody is that serious without having a complete wild side. No..-- no, too far. You’ve gone too far this time. I’m picturing full red room, fifty shades of van der woodsen right now.”

[itsevanderwoodsen]

“I’m just curious to see what kind of porn he was looking at to get an ad about a Baby Jesus Butt Plug.”

[natexarchigold-blog]

“Where is he? Is he here? We’re going mission impossible on this one. Jesus needs us.”

[jediscavnger]

“-well either way out of all the interesting choices we, or I, have made has gotten us either with women or pot. So what’s so bad about that?”

[natexarchigold-blog]

Considering his best friend, Nate sighed lightly, “Nothing -- I’m in, but you already knew that.”

[stefnslvatore]

“Not this city. It’s like, in England, I think.”

[natexarchigold-blog]

“Well shit.. there goes that idea.”

[wickedqxeen]

She didn’t want to look at him, knowing that once she’d look into those blue eyes she spent all those years looking into, it’d do nothing but drag her back into the unrequited love. “I’m over it,” Blair lied, refusing to look at him, “I’ll leave you to daydream about the love of your life.”

[natexarchigold-blog]

Instinctively, his hand shot out and took hold of her upper arm gently, “Blair!” He snapped, for the first time in a very long time, “Will you stop running away from me and just talk?” He sighed heavily, letting go of her, “Things might be difficult for us at the moment... but I still need you..”