A Cinderella Christmas

The Disappearing Man

Blair put her head in her hands for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. She raised her head after a moment and spotted the sliver of black silk on the floor that she had torn off Chuck's neck in her earlier fit of desperation.

Blair bent down to pick up the silk and felt it between her fingers...Chuck had left his bow tie! Maybe she would be able to catch him if she ran! Maybe he would still be at the entrance, waiting for a taxi to take him to the airport...

She took off at a run, opening the door of the balcony and descending the steps in as quickly as she dared. "Excuse me! Excuse me!", she exclaimed, pushing past waiters and cooks and bursting out into the ballroom. A few heads turned in her direction but she ignored them and ran to the golden doors which she had entered through. It felt like a life time ago.

Pushing past crowds and vaguely familiar faces, Blair caught eyes with that Serena girl, she looked at Blair curiously for a moment before Blair pushed past her and ran to the doors just in time to see a taxi pull away from the curb.

Dave the security guard was standing guard as he had been when she arrived, "Dave! Have you seen Chuck?"

Dave raised his eyebrows at her and Blair watched has his eyes flicked to the untangled bow tie she had in her hand. He shook his head, "No, I haven't seen him since you two went inside."

Blair bit her lip and muttered a word of thanks, she took off down the steps, flashes went off as a few paparazzi still lingered. Holding her dress up so that she didn't fall over, she reached the bottom of the steps, "Can I help you ma'am?", a man, in a similar outfit to Dave the security guard put a hand out in front of Blair.

"I need a taxi" Blair said quickly, distractedly looking around. Trying to scan the faces of the crowds but everything was a blur, he wasn't here. He wasn't here!

"Yes, ma'am, right here...". The man guided Blair to a waiting taxi as more camera's flashed.

"Where to?" A thick Brooklyn accent asked from the drivers seat.

"JFK." Blair said quickly. It was a guess but Blair didn't know anyone who had ever flown out of LGA!

So began a tense 40 minute cab ride through Manhatten and Queens, Blair watched the skyscrapers turn into houses, twisting the black, silk fabric between her fingers, until finally the taxi pulled up outside the busy airport. Cars crowded the roads and people dragging suitcases behind them seemed to come from all directions. "That's $40, thanks." The driver said in a bored voice. 

Blair fumbled for her non-existent purse, shit she had no money! "Erm...I don't actually have any money on me...but I really need to get to the airport...I just need to find someone-" Blair rattled off quickly, stumbling over her words, getting more and more panicked by the second.

"Are you telling me, I'm gonna have to call the cops?" The driver turned in his seat to look at her with his eyebrows raised.

"I can pay you, if you drive me home but I really need to just see if I can find someone here! Please...wait 10 minutes and then I'll come back and you can take me to Brooklyn so I can pay you $50 extra!"

The cab driver looked at her for a moment, "...Take 20 minutes and you don't have to pay me extra, its Christmas..." Then after a moment of Blair staring at him in shock he grinned, "Gone on! Go!"

Blair thanked him and got out of the car, taking off at a run, in heels and a floor length dress. People full on stared at Blair as she ran, not even trying to be subtle about it. As she ran she wondered what her plan was, she didn't even know how she could go about finding him, she didn't even know if he was at this airport!