That Awkward Indian Boy

“We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created. For me, love like that has only happened once, and that's why every minute we spent together has been seared in my memory. I'll never forget a single moment of it.”
-Nicholas Sparks

-

Almost two years ago...

"I don't need a boyfriend," I laughed, flipping my collarbone-length lob, and putting on another layer of fuchsia lipstick. "I'm living a very happy life right now," I said, looking over at Miguel.

"Mhm, hooking up with guys and going out and partying and what not," he said, giving me side eye. "You don't ever think about settling down or anything?"

I shook my head. I had dated Haz for half of my freshman year, and after spending the entire summer being single, hooking up with Johnny and having a fling with Jake Reagan, I had the realization that I didn't need to be in a relationship, nor did I want to. Relationships were messy and complicated, you put yourself out there only to have yourself smashed to pieces, and before all of that, all you did was walk around with something being tremendously cheesy and tremendously embarrassing. I didn't need to care about anyone- I could take care of myself, and I didn't need to waste my feelings on anyone, except for myself.

We had continued talking, until we ventured to the subject of alcohol. I held up my iPhone 5, and showed Miguel the giant margarita that had given me the hangover of my life.

"I didn't even finish it," I said, "I drank half of it, and then threw up everywhere."

"What a waste," a voice said. I turned to see one of the Peer Advisors standing there, looking at me. He was awkward and lanky, skinny and scrawny. His nerdy t-shirt was paired with engineer jeans and Nikes. He was thin, awkward, and looked like he regularly tripped over himself, due to his long limbs and stumbly personality. Charlie Cuevas, the most awkward, and nerdiest boy that I had ever met in my entire life, he looked like he had never even touched a woman (even accidentally) in his entire life, and his disheveled everything showed that all he did was probably play video games and do other nerdy shit.

He and I had run into each other a couple times freshman year, the most notable experience was when I threw a building pool party, and as everyone lounged casually, his nerdy ass jumped into the pool and was embarassing.

"Excuse me?" I said, looking at him. "Have you even drank before?" I gave him a glare, awaiting his response.

"Yeah, I drink all the time," he responded, awkwardly. Miguel just sat there in the background, loving all of this.

"Oh really?" I scanned him again, from head to toe. He looked like someone who had never been in the same room with alcohol, let alone someone who "drank all the time." I knew he didn't go to parties, and that his friend group wasn't one that drank. "Where?"

"In like, Mexico, and stuff."

Why was this awkward indian boy lying to me?

"Okay." He actually thought that I was going to believe him?

Somehow, he and I kept talking. The two of us kept talking, and for some reason, I found myself actually enjoying the conversation. We kept talking, and he surprisingly was actually fun to talk to, not that I would ever tell anyone that. It was weirdly easy to talk to him, even though we were total strangers, and even though we had talked for the first time minutes before, it didn't feel like it.

"OH MY GOD, I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME!" Chuck yelled, as he looked around rapidly, and then ran off, awkwardly.

"He likes you," Miguel said, as soon as Chuck had ran off.

"No he doesn't," I said, going back to my Instagram. There was no way that Awkward Magee would be remotely into me.

"He does, and he thinks you're super pretty. It's so obvious. You should talk to him."

I looked at Miguel for a second, and then burst out laughing. "ME? AND HIM? He's so awkward and skinny, no way."

"Blair, he's a really nice guy, you should give him a chance," Miguel said, looking at me.

"Maybe," I said, looking away. And I don't know what possessed me, but I did.

-

Blair: Your favorite desk worker works today!

Miguel had told me to try to talk to him, and that was that I did. I sent him that message a couple days later after meeting, and lo and behold, he casually showed up during my shift. He walked up to me, and as he got closer, I kind of looked at him, noticing things about him. Chuck was actually kind of cute, and stuff. Sure, he was still extremely nerdy and awkward, but he was cute.

The two of us talked, as Regina sat there, and a few of my other friends.

"So how are you going to to get it to me?" I asked Chuck, as he fumbled around with his phone.

"Oh, er, well, I could um, bring it when you work or something," he responded.

"How are you supposed to know when I work?" I laughed, looking at him. Come on, I had to be pretty obvious at this point that we should swap numbers. He looked at me, blankly.

"I dunno."

Regina stifled a laugh, as Miguel turned around to hide his grin.

"I could give you my number?" I suggested, as Chuck was processing what was happening.'

"Oh! Yeah!" He took out his phone, and handed it to me, I held on to it, and punched in my number, as he stopped me.

"Put in your first and last name," he said, nodding.

"What the hell is wrong with him? There's no way in hell that he knows another Blair," I thought to myself, as I typed in the i.

As Chuck left the room, I turned to face Regina.

"Do you think he likes me?"

"That awkward Indian boy? Definitely."

-

As I opened another text message, I couldn't help but smile.

"You like him," my roommate said, looking at me. "You're smiling at these texts and laughing like I've never seen you laugh before. You like him."

"No I don't," I said, looking at her.

Blair: What are the ideal characteristics of your perfect partner?
Chuck: Fun and easy to talk to, good sense of humor, smart and funny, pushes me out of my comfort zone

"That's you," she said, looking at my text. "You're that for him, and you obviously like him."

As soon as I said that, my phone beeped with a notification.

Johnny: Come over for a sleepover?

"You're going to go?" She looked at me, "What about Charlie?"

"Charlie isn't my boyfriend, and he probably doesn't like me, and I'm not going to fawn over his texts like a little girl," I commented, as I headed to my room to change into leggings and a crop top.

-

I laid in Johnny's bed, as he started to fall asleep. I reached over, and grabbed my phone, reading the text that Chuck had sent me, and couldn't help but smile, and laugh a little.

"What is it Blair?" Johnny asked, sleepily. I held my phone in my head, and kept typing a response to Chuck's message. I looked over at Johnny, who looked at me, confused. And all at once, this feeling came rushing to me, overwhelming me, and making me question what exactly I was doing.

"You're not this girl, you like Chuck, and you know it. You want something real."

I got up out of bed, and grabbed my clothes.

"What are you doing?!" Johnny yelled, as I pulled a sweater over my head.

"I'm going home, I don't want this." I started walking into the kitchen, as Johnny followed me, awkwardly, as I threw things into my bag, and closed it.

"Now? At four in the morning?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving."

-

After a few Calculus study sessions, a few visits at work, and a little bit of obvious flirting, it was time for Chuck and I to go on our first date. I wore a flowery blouse, a casual cardigan, skinny jeans and flats. Chuck had worn a sweatshirt and jeans, and we met up outside of the library. The two of us walked, and talked until we reached the restaurant.

One of the things you might have noticed about me, is that I'm a little stubborn. One of my favorite food places near campus is this indian food joint called Khwaja Chishti, it is connected to a book store, and a total dive. Willa and I have gotten food poisoning there numerous times, and still continued to eat there, because how much we love the food.

After a lot of hesitation, Chuck agreed to go there for lunch, where we ran into The Chinese Diaper, and actually ended up having a phenomenal date. We talked about so many things that I can't even begin to remember what we had talked about, so I'll fast forward to the part I remember-

"We're not going to find a park," I laughed, as we walked towards a bench next to the Engineering building (yes, the same bench that I've sat on and cried uncontrollably on).

"I climbed that tree once!" Chuck said, pointing to a tall oak tree a couple feet away from us. I looked at him, smiled, and just laughed. I wasn't going to lie and say that he wasn't really awkward, shy and nerdy, because he definitely was, but he was also charming, smart, sweet, and funny. I had a great time hanging out with him, and talking to him.

My heart beat faster, as we sat on the bench and continued talking, I had never been this excited or this nervous before, for a date. We sat on the bench, and talked for a while, before we headed off for class. As we reached my lecture hall, I turned to look at him.

"Okay, bye Blair," he said, turning and walking away.

I stood there, in shock.

"UM, WHY ISN'T HE TRYING TO KISS ME?" I thought to myself, as Chuck disappeared into a lecture hall. I didn't even get a hug? Was Chuck not into me? I was used to guys being over zealous and immediately making a move, and Chuck just walked off...he didn't even hug me!

-

"Blair, you know he's awkward, for god's sake you had to make the first move!"

That was what Willa told me, and that was what I kept in mind, as I headed to Chuck's building for our second date later that week. Chuck had suggested a Disney movie marathon, and so, that was the plan! It was sweet, in a way- he had picked probably the cutest, and most innocent date someone could have.

I sat there and waited in the lobby for a couple minutes, waiting for Chuck to show up. And then I waited some more. I didn't want to seem overzealous, but after fifteen minutes, I texted him.

Blair: Okay, it's been like fifteen minutes, I'm going home
Chuck: No, wait, I'm so sorry, I'll be right there

And in about five minutes, Chuck came running through the door, all sweaty and gross. I looked at him, in disbelief- what exactly was going on?

"I uh, didn't want to be late for our plans, so I- er, ran back from the other side of campus. I'm late. I'm sorry, I'm sweaty and late."

I got up from the chair, and looked at him, "It's okay," I said, as I started to laugh.

-

HOLY FUCK. 

We had been watching The Lion King, when his friend Bertram showed up out of no where, and decided to join along. So now, the three of us were sitting, and watching the Lion King.

"I love this movie!" Bertram said, grinning like a little kid, and clapping his hands. I looked over at Chuck, who was just as enthusiastic as Bertram was.

"I know, right?"

I sat there, silently and awkwardly, as I got up.

"Where are you going?" Chuck asked, as I looked over and gave him a look.

"I'm going to use the bathroom," I said, as I started to walk away. Was I absolutely crazy? Did Chuck not like me?

I paused for a moment and thought about  it.

I mean, he had paid for the lunch date we had, and he ran across campus because he didn't want to be late to see me. He and I had been very obviously flirting, and I had given him my number, for god's sake! It was obvious we were on a date, and I thought it was really clear that we weren't platonic friends. But then again, Chuck probably never went on a date before in his entire life, and he definitely hasn't touched a girl. I stood there, checking my hair in the bathroom mirror, and then put on another layer of matte liquid lipstick.

I walked out of the bathroom, pretending like I didn't have a care in the world, and headed back to the living room, where Chuck, Bertram, and now JD were sitting there, and waiting for me. JD was in my seat, as I awkwardly walked through, and then sat down in the lone, single armchair.

I knew that JD and Bertram, and also James thought that I was a slut. And I knew that it wouldn't be long before James showed up too, making this more substantially awkward than it was already. Long story short, my freshman year of college, I got drunk and made out with James- who had a girlfriend. Because he didn't know what to do, he and JD told everyone in our building that I was a total slut, and tried to do things with him, even though he had a girlfriend. Everyone in our building looked at me like I was Hester Prynne, and no one believed me when I said otherwise, they just believed James and JD. I knew that Chuck was friends with them going into this, but I thought that he was a sweet and genuine guy, and that nothing could go wrong from it.

And finally, after the four of us sat awkwardly, it was just Chuck and I.

"Come back and sit here," Chuck said, patting to the spot next to him. I sat down, where he still had not made a move! I moved a little bit closer, until we were arm to arm, and thigh to thigh.

"Make a fucking move," I thought to myself, peering over to him.

"Bertram was here for a while," I commented, not-so-casually.

"He was only here for like, two songs!" Chuck said, as he pulled up Aladdin.

"He was here from The Circle of Life to Can You Feel The Love Tonight." I said, giving him a look.

The two of us sat and watched Aladdin, we talked and laughed, and he even got me to sing with him, to A Whole New World, I couldn't explain it, but somehow, I just was happy. It was so easy to talk to Chuck, and to be myself around him, without even trying. It didn't matter that he wasn't the smoothest, or that he was awkward and didn't make any moves on me, none of it did- in that moment, all that mattered was that we were having an awesome time together. As we finished laughing from a shared joke, we sat there, as the movie played.

I don't remember how we got to this conversation, but, this is what happened next,

"Guys always have to make the first move, always." I said, as I looked at Chuck, expectantly. He stared back blankly. Was he really this inexperienced that he had never put his arm around a girl before?

"Always?"

"Not always, sometimes girls do too," I said, as I put my head on his shoulder. I've put my head on Chuck's shoulder probably ten million times, but I'll never forget the first time I did, because of the fact that he smelled absolutely terrible. He was sweaty, nervous, and smelled like a mixture of sweat, meat, and weed. But it was okay, even though he smelled like death, because I liked him. I looked up at him, and he awkwardly put his arm around me. We looked at each other for a moment, until a door slammed, and James appeared out of no where.

James looked at me, and then he looked at Chuck, and then he picked Chuck up, and carried him away. Chuck looked back at me, as James carried him off into the distance.

After finishing the movie, Chuck walked me downstairs, and we stood there.

"I'll see you later," Chuck said, awkwardly, as he fumbled with his keys in his hands.

"Yeah, next time," I responded, awkwardly, as I started to walk away. I looked back, and saw him, then turned.

"Wait, Chuck!"

I walked back, and gave him a hug good bye. As as I pulled away, I looked up at him, smiled, and walked away.

-

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM," Willa said, as I sat on my bed, eating a Hostess Ho-Ho and some Kettle-cooked Wasabi Ginger chips.

"What did you expect? It's James," I shrugged. Willa read the ridiculously long text that James had sent me, berating me, bitching at me, and telling me that Chuck didn't like me.

"He can't stop Chuck from dating you, he definitely likes you. Eeek, Chuck!" She said, laughing. "Awkward, adorable, nice Chuck."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" I said, giving her a smirk. It was the day after our movie date, and I was still floating in my own alternate universe. And we hadn't even kissed yet.

"He's meeting you later to give you back your ID, so who knows?" Willa said.

-

"He shouldn't have said that, but uh, one thing he- uh, er said was true. I don't, um, like you like that," Chuck said, as we sat at Dunkin Donuts. He looked at me, half smiling, as I sat there, in silence.

"I'm sorry, Blair, I-"

"YOU DON'T LIKE ME?" I said, looking at him. Everyone at Dunkin Donuts turned and looked at me, as I curled my fingers into a fist. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I uh, don't know why you thought-"

OH HELL NO.

I looked at him, giving him a look. "OKAY FIRST OF ALL- you took me ON A DATE. YOU PAID. CHUCK, YOU PAID FOR ME."

"I uh, treat my friends all the time," Chuck stammered, cowering down a bit in his chair.

"I had told you before that, that it's a date if the guy pays! Would you pay for James?"

"Yeah, sure, um,"

"AND WE WERE TEXTING AND OBVIOUSLY FLIRTING," I said, glaring over at him. "DO YOU FLIRT WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS?"

"That wasn't flirting, I um, uh, we were talk-"

"AND YOU CUDDLED WITH ME LAST NIGHT, WE CUDDLED AND WATCHED A MOVIE, DO YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS DO THAT TOO?"

Chuck stared at me, blankly. "Blair, I-"

"AND YOU OBVIOUSLY THINK I'M HOT, CHUCK. YOU ACT LIKE YOU LIKE ME AND NOW YOU'RE SAYING THAT YOU DON'T?!?" I got up, and grabbed my bag, and gave him the meanest look I had ever given someone, in my entire life. Was he fucking shitting me?

"Blair, please, please sit. I really like hanging out with you, and being friends with you, can we please be friends? Please?" Chuck said, stopping me from storming off. I sat down, and then looked at him.

"Okay, we can be friends."

Chuck smiled. "Blair, I'm glad, I-"

"But you are NEVER getting a chance with me again, Chuck Cuevas, NEVER." I said, looking at him. "And if you think I'm going to be this nice to you again, I'm not."

-

Chuck and I had been kind-of friends, until it became overwhelmingly obvious that he clearly had feelings for me. He had done little things, that my friends had found absolutely adorable, and I had found positively annoying (but secretly adorable). He brought me a lamp to my apartment, when I didn't have one, he helped me unpack, Chuck and I would hang out almost every night, watching movies, and sitting arm-to-arm.

I had been stressed from finals, stressed about school, and I had been doubting myself a lot. And I really wanted a fucking cupcake. After joking about wanting a cupcake, Chuck and I planned to get a late night cupcake from the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM, I had gone earlier that day to get a blow out, because of the stress and everything that was going on, and as I sat on my bed, there was a knock on the door. I had on a chunky knit dark teal sweater from H&M, leggings, and brown riding boots. I threw on my red peacoat, and grabbed my bag to open the door. And there he was.

Grey GUESS leather jacket, dark wash jeans, perfect v-neck.

He looked at me, silently.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey."

I had never seen him outside of a basic cotton v-neck and his Asics before, Chuck dressed pretty simply and pretty basically- a typical nerdy guy combo. He had looked good.

The two of us left the building, and that was the beginning of one of the most unforgettable nights in my entire life. We walked around downtown, to the lake and all around. Laughing, talking, as if it was just the two of us in this sleepless city. As the city lights shone, we walked all around, talking all night, and honestly, falling in love. My heart had never beat faster, and I knew, that I had really, really liked Chuck.

But I wouldn't know that I was falling in love with Chuck, until later that night.

“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” I laughed, as I played with the white flower that I held in my hand. As we walked along the lake, I had picked off a white hortensia off a bush. They were my favorite flowers, and this one was immaculate.

“Not really, but we’ll figure it out!” Chuck said, giving me a mischievous smile. He led the way, as we wandered the city- lost, but still found. As he led me up the stairs, I finally reached the top, only to see the glittering sky shining right back at me. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life, I looked over at Chuck, only to see the moonlight shining on him, as he smiled right back at me.

“This way?” I said, pointing to the path in front of us. He nodded, as we walked.

“I love this spot, actually, I think it’s one of the coolest things ever- how the road divides into two paths, and one is above and one’s below. I’ve only been here once before.”

“The last time I was here was when I went with Perrie and Rhett to go to the theaters last year,” Chuck admitted, as we walked forward. Our hands brushed against each other, for a brief second, as Chuck turned to look at me.

We kept walking, and somehow, magically, what is now my favorite spot in the entire city appeared. It was a circular plaza, with four benches arranged around in a circle. There was a single, lone spot in the center, which was missing something. I walked over, and placed my flower right in the center. What was empty before, was now complete.

I looked back, to see Chuck smiling back at me. Walking over, I sat down, as the two of us looked up at the sky in front of us. The stars glistened brightly, as the city lights illuminated the stage for the sky. He pointed at the buildings in front of us, pointing out little details as we sat.

We sat, and we talked. We laughed, and smiled. And as we sat there, everything was perfect.

“I didn’t get my first kiss until college,” I admitted. Chuck stared back at me, blankly.

“It was with Haz, and it’s one of the few things I don’t regret that he did.”

“That surprised me, actually. I thought it would have been sooner. And you know that I haven’t been with anyone,” he said, looking at me. I knew Chuck Cuevas was a virgin before I had even spoken to him, it was glaringly obvious and very clear.

“A lot of guys think girls are sluts if they’re not virgins, and if they’ve been with guys before them,” I said, quietly. A lot of guys, as in Chuck's friends. After a terrible experience with James, he and JD had taken it upon themselves to tell everyone in our building freshman year, that I, Elizabeth Bui, was a slut. And I secretly worried that Chuck thought that too.

And in moment, as he was about to answer, Chuck looked at me, like no guy ever had, in my entire life. He didn’t look at me like I was some hot piece of ass, or just some other girl, he looked at me like I mattered, and like I was an actual person.

“Yeah, um, some guys are like that, but, uh, I don’t really care.” He said awkwardly, but very sweetly. Chuck looked at me, giving me a smile, and awkwardly brushing his hair. We looked at each other, and in that moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, as we sat underneath the stars, and the wind gently blew my hair to the side. It would have been the perfect moment.

But this is not only real life, but Blair's life, so he responded, “It’s like on the Cleveland show, where Cleveland tells his son it’s like drinking a coke after some guy’s put his dick in it, instead of having a new coke.”

I SHIT YOU NOT- HE SAID THAT TO ME.

IN THE MOST ROMANTIC MOMENT. IN THE MOST ROMANTIC PLACE CHUCK CUEVAS SAID THAT SHIT TO ME.

And honestly, I thought it was pretty cute. I started laughing, and he did too.

“But it’s not like that,” I responded. “Yeah, it’s not.”

And in that moment, as he looked at me, all awkward and nervous, that's when those sparks turned into a raging fire, and when I knew that I was falling in love with Chuck.

-

It was the night of James' birthday party, and even though Chuck and I had made plans to hang out that night, I told him it was fine if we didn't hang out that night. I went to bed, perfectly comfy, and went to bed.

At about two in the morning, I woke up to the sound of scratching on my door, and soft pounding.

"Who the fuck?" I thought to myself, as I grabbed some shorts and put them on, and brushed my hair to the right side, with my fingers. I picked up my phone, to see a bunch of texts waiting for me.

Chuck: Let's watch a movie do you want to watch a movie
Chuck: I'm coming to watch a movie
Chuck: Let's hang out
Chuck: I'm outside your door
Chuck: Open your door

Oh. My. God. In that moment, I didn't know whether to laugh uncontrollably, or what I was possibly supposed to do. Chuck kept knocking, so I walked over, and opened the door. As soon as that door opened, a rush of of vodka, beer, and whisky flooded my apartment. A very drunk Chuck stumbled in, wearing a crumpled version of the shirt he was wearing before, and some random pajama pants.

"Hey Chuck, why are you here?" I asked, stifling my laughter.

"Yooouuu, u, Blaaaair, you said lesss watch a mooovie," Chuck said, as he swayed from side to side.

"OKAY!" I grabbed his arm, stopping him from falling on my kitchen floor. I led him to my room, and sat him on my bed, where he nearly fell off.

Oh god.

"Okay, here is your bag, please do not throw up," I said, hanging him an empty plastic Target bag.

"Blair, I was like, 'I gotta go, I gotta go see Blair, I have plans with her, I have to go see her,' and they were like 'No,' and I was like 'I have to talk to her, I have to go see her, I have to,' and I came here," Chuck said, drunkenly, as I propped him up against a pillow.

"Does Bertram know where you are?"

"Yea yea yea, he knows where I am but I dunnnoooo where thesss pants came from" Chuck said, laughing. "I threw up alll over his apartment, like five times."

Ew.

"You probably fucked someone, and forgot about it," I said, sassily, as I scanned my phone for Bertram's number.

"NO!"

"How do you know?" I responded, laughing at him.

Chuck firmly placed a hand on my shoulder, and looked at me, and said, "Because you weren't there."

DID HE JUST SAY THAT? CHUCK CUEVAS WANTS TO HAVE SEX WITH ME.

"Oh, really? Because I wasn't there?"

"You weren't....weren't there, so I didn't fuck arrryone," Chuck said, groggily. "I don't need this-"

And then suddenly, Chuck started projectile vomiting, as he sat on my bed. By luck, Chuck had projectile vomited into the Target bag that I gave him, as I sat there, in shock. "Oh my-" he kept vomiting, "God, Blair, I'm so-" kept vomiting, "Sorry," he threw up once more. "I'm so embarrassed," he mumbled, as he kept throwing up.

"It's okay," I said, as I ran to get him a cup of water. He sipped on it, as Grease played in the background. His phone kept vibrating, and I reached into his pocket and grabbed it. Bertram was calling, and I looked at Chuck.

"They're just text messasses, isss okay," Chuck said, reach for his phone. I swatted his hand away, and answered the phone.

"OH MY GOD CHUCK, WHERE ARE YOU?!" Bertram yelled.

I put my hand on the receiver, and turned to Chuck. "You didn't tell him you left?!" What the actual fuck was going on?

Chuck nodded, "I did, I left and I told him."

"Bertram? This is Blair. Calm down."

"Oh my god, we've been looking everywhere for him!" Bertram yelled, as he panted. "Are you with him?"

No, buddy, I just casually have your friend's phone, and I'm just casually chilling.

"So you didn't know where Chuck went." I said, turning to look at Chuck. "He's with me."

"THANK GOD, WE'VE BEEN ON EVERY FLOOR OF OUR BUILDING TWICE, I turned around and he was GONE."

Our building has sixteen floors. Bertram checked every single one of them, twice. I started laughing, thinking about poor Bertram waddling through every floor in search of Chuck. Considering that Chuck wouldn't shut up about going to see me at the party, I was surprised he didn't ask me if I knew where Chuck went.

"Well, he's here, and he-"

"IS HE FINE?"

What did he mean, is he fine? Did they think that I was going to kill him or something?

"YES, he's fine. Except he projectile vomited when he was sitting on my bed."

"Oh my god, did he make a mess? I'm so sorry Blair," Bertram said, "If he made a mess, I'll clean it. I just didn't want him coming to see you....in this state...so I was trying to stop him, but he kept talking about it."

"Bertram, that's really sweet. He didn't make a mess, he threw up in the bag, and he's perfectly fine, he's just sitting here drunk while Grease is playing."

"If it's fine, can I check up on him later?"

"Yeah, that's totally fine." I looked over to see a wobbling Chuck, and I pointed at the bag.

"Okay, Blair," Bertram said, hesitantly, "Please call me if you need anything." I hung up the phone, and turned to look at Chuck.

"YOU JUST LEFT? HE'S BEEN SEARCHING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU."

"NO, I TOLD HIM" Chuck said, arguing back, he picked up the vomit bag, and nearly threw it all over my bedroom.

"NO," I said, holding on to the bag, "No."

"I don't need this bag," Chuck grumbled, as he tried to throw it out. Literally, two seconds later, he opened the bag and started projectile vomiting- even MORE than he had before. I looked at him, in terror, as he nonstop vomited into this bag, and I scootched away, reaching for my phone.

"Uhh, Bertram?"

"Yeah, Blair?"

"Can you come get him now... he's projectile vomiting..and I just can't."

I looked over, hoping that Chuck wouldn't drop the plastic Target bag, that held the thin boundary between me and losing my sanity. He looked up at me, embarrassed, and bright red. "Blair, I'm so sorry."

-

The next day, I woke up, and walked into the lobby to grab mail, when I saw Chuck, Bertram, and JD walking into the building. The two of them had come to take Chuck back to his room, you know, because he had been projectile vomiting everywhere.

"Hey Chuck!" I said, as Chuck looked at me, and then ran away.

-

The two of us were sitting, and watching Bob's Burgers, as I turned to face Chuck.

"You know, you said a lot of things when you showed up here drunk," I admitted. Chuck turned to face me, and blushed.

"Like what?"

"I'm not going to tell you," I laughed, shaking my head.

"Blair, you can't just say that I told you something while I was drunk, and then not tell me!" Chuck protested, as I pulled my phone out of my bag.

"Well, I kind of just did," I responded, giving him a look. Chuck stared back at me, completely speechless.

"Why, do you think you said something?" I asked, giving him a look.

"Yeah, I think-"

This was it. This was happening. Chuck was going to finally admit that he liked me, after months of this whole charade.

"I think that I said that I like Natalie," Chuck said, awkwardly.

And I sat there, completely unresponsive, completely silent, in shock. What the actual fuck was going on?

A million thoughts ran through my head, and even though I didn't know what was going on, one thing I knew was for sure- I was going to kick Chuck Cuevas the fuck out of my apartment.

"Blair, look," Chuck laughed, pointing at the screen. He turned to face me, still laughing at what was happening on the show. He froze, and looked at me, with the same look that he always had.

"Blair, I... there's something else that I thought I said, to be honest," Chuck said, nervously, as I looked up from my phone.

"I thought that, maybe, possibly.."

I sat there, in anticipation, as Chuck fumbled with his words.

"That I said that I like you."

"You've liked me this whole time, haven't you?" I said, looking at him.

"Yeah, I don't really like Natalie, I just-"

"So you lied before?"

"Yeah, Blair, I just didn't know how to say it."

"You lied, and you liked me this whole time and thought I was hot."

He looked at me, and smiled. "Blair Bui, I like you, you're funny and pretty, and absolutely ridiculous, but I like you."

-

And that was how it all began, how this all began.