French-American |t.c|

five

Blair looks just as good as Nai remembered him to be. A little bit better if she's honest with herself; he looks like he's had more sleep and it's the most refreshed she'd ever seen him. A part of her felt like it was due to not being part of her life anymore. 

"I take it you're still upset?" Blair addresses Nai in a matter-of-fact voice, bringing her out of her head. He reaches forward and pours the two of them water before he begins drinking his own glass.

"What gave you that impression?" Nai folds her arms over her chest, not knowing what to do with her hands. Usually, they would be intertwined with Blairs' but she had a lot of new things to get used to. 

Blair raises his eyebrow, "Nai, you've barely spoken to me."

"Can you blame me?" As Nai speaks, she watches Blair's eyes turn down, the way they usually do when he's upset about something. It couldn't be about her, he seemed happier without her, so it did make her wonder.

"I just want to be friends again," Blair admits and a small piece of Nai's heart feels for him.

They were the best of friends growing up, whether that was because of what their parents set up or not, they had been so prevalent in each other's lives. Without Blair, Nai felt as though a piece of her was missing and while she so desperately wanted that part of herself back, there was a question she needed to ask.

"Okay. We can be friends. If, you answer my question." 

"Ask away."

"Did you cheat on me?"

Blair looks visibly uncomfortable and reaches for his glass of water again. Once he's drank it all, he opens his mouth and begins telling Nai his truth. To any outsider, this might have looked like an awkward first date before, but now as Nai's face crumples and Blair tugs at his collar, it's clear to tell; a heart is getting broken.

Blair fills Nai in on the relationship he started while dating Nai, how he'd fallen in love with her, but never did anything sexual with her because he couldn't bring himself to. 

Nai wants to tell him, to stop it. He's hurting her. Every word he says is making her want to fall to pieces; she hated it. Giving her all to someone only for them to make her feel weak? She could throw up.

It was disgusting and pathetic. Maybe it was the Angelina Ellsworth in her, but as Blair finishes up, Nai hardens her emotions. His words hurt her, but she wasn't about to show him that, give him whatever victory he craved calling her to this lunch. 

"You know what," Nai starts after a moment of silence has passed since Blair's confession, "I don't think I can do this."

Blair looks visibly upset at Nai's comment and reaches forward for her, but Nai recoils further back into her seat.

"Do what? Nai please." Blair pleads but Nai shakes her head, focusing all her energy on not getting sucked back into his "kind" eyes.

"This Blair," Nai gestures between the two of them, "be your friend. Be near you. I can't-- I don't want anything to do with you anymore." Nai makes the mistake of looking up at Blair, his tear-stained eyes bring similar tears to her eyes.

The wetness shocks her, she thought she'd done a good job of  hiding her emotions. Turns out Blair had a bigger impact on her than Nai would've liked to admit. Losing Blair as a friend hurt a lot more, it was like a fresh kind of pain. 

"I think I'd better go. Please don't call again." Nai rushes to get her bag and stands up but Blair's hand wraps around her wrist, halting her in her tracks.

"Nai, before you leave," Blair looks at her neck before sheepishly meeting her eyes again.

"Oh."

Resting on her delicate collarbones and clasped around her small neck, was the Cunningham diamond necklace Blair had given to her for their 6-month anniversary.

He'd said that he planned on marrying her and wanted her to have it as a constant reminder of his love for her. It was ironic how he wanted it back, the constant reminder of his love for her is no more.

"Right," Nai places her bag on the table slowly and reaches her fingers behind her neck to unclasp the necklace. It bunches it up in her hands and she looks at the diamonds reflecting from the light. 

So many memories in a necklace.

"I'm sorry, my parents just want it back," Blair blurts out, holding his hand out for it.

Taking a deep breath and cherishing the feeling of it in her hands for one last time, Nai places it in Blair's open hand.

"I hope your new girl enjoys it."

"Nai--"

Blair starts speaking again, but Nai is no longer paying attention. She's got her bag in her hand and with her free hand, is texting her driver, Travis, to meet her outside. As she walks out of the cafe, a defeated Blair looks after Nai with sad eyes and hardening her emotions, Nai flips him off.

Sure, being a ballerina is all about grace, class and discipline, but when it comes to a torturous ex-boyfriend; the most graceful thing there is to do, is flip him off.

As she walks to her driver's car, the paparazzi swarm her.

"Nai! Nai!" They clamour around her.

"What happened in there with Blair?!"

"Were the cheating rumours true?!"

"Do you have any comments?!"

But as usual, she pays them no mind and with the help of Travis, she gets into the waiting car and they leave the messy scene behind. Already knowing the articles that will be up by the time she gets home, a headache begins to form as Nai thinks about having something else to deal with.

Trying to put her mind at ease, Nai begins thinking about the party tonight. Said party is something unofficial that Nai is hosting for all the models who have their contracts renewed. A chance for friends to reconnect as well as a chance for new models to network; something she wished she had gotten to experience when she started.

In an effort to put her mind at ease Travis begins asking her questions about the party tonight. It works, talking about something she's genuinely excited about, erases all the previous worries Nai had for the time being.