AN: Hi everyone, this is my new kid!fic that I will be continuing. I'm not sure how many chapters yet but I'll let you know when it's drawing to a close. There's a lot of ideas I'm working on for it, so it definitely won't be anytime soon. Thanks for your amazing reviews on my other stories, they make me very happy (so do continue ;) please?).
Also, this story is going to be AU (obviously), as there are characters whose subplots have changed (e.g. Quinn was never Lucy etc.) and some characters will not leave, others will be there to start with etc. etc.
Anyway! Enough of my rambles, read and review, hope you enjoy, all that jazz. :)
Love Bee.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything pertaining to it. Just this fic with its subplots and added characters. Sorry if I confused anyone...
"Have you got your bag? Did you pack your lunch? You know where you're going? Are you sure? Oh honey, I'm gonna miss you so much!"
"Mom I'll be fine, I'm sure, yes, yes and yes. I'll only be gone for a day! Now let go of me! Please?"
Seven year old Blaine Anderson was getting ready for his first day at his brand new school, West Lima Elementary. Currently, 'getting ready' was shoving his books into his already overstuffed school bag with one hand and battling off his mother's crushing embrace with the other.
"I know, I know. I just get so choked up because you're growing up so fast and-"
"Elle please, give the boy some space."
Blaine's father stood at the foot of the steps, camera in one hand and glass of half full whiskey in the other. Hugh Anderson loved to drink, everyone knew that, and occasionally this love would make itself known prior to eight o'clock on a weekday morning.
He gave Blaine a small smile, never one for emotional encounters.
"Ready to go, little man?"
"Yep Dad, all set!" Blaine allowed his mother to give him one last kiss on the cheek, then turned and smiled for a photo.
He had no idea that today was going to be one of the most important days of his life.
When Blaine arrived at school he was confronted by a whole range of sights and sounds he had never been exposed to before. They both terrified and entranced him, and above everything else he knew that this was going to be way better than his previous two years of home schooling.
He made his way up the steps, his little legs tripping over each other on some of the larger ones, until he reached the front building. Inside was a large hall, the auditorium he supposed, and hundreds of kids, all different ages and sizes, were packed in like sardines.
Blaine made his way over to some other kids who looked to be about his age. One was Asian and very tall, too tall for Blaine's liking, with a white cardigan and really cool hair. The other was African-American and shorter, but still not as short as Blaine. Blaine thought that no one would ever be as short as him, which made him feel sad but special at the same time.
Tentatively, he stopped next to them and shuffled his feet.
"Can I sit here?" he asked quietly.
"Sure," the dark skinned one said, "take a seat."
"I'm Blaine," Blaine said, sticking out his hand for them to shake.
The other boys looked at him funny, like he wasn't supposed to shake hands, but Blaine's father had taught him that shaking hands was just what you did when you met someone new.
"Hi," the Asian boy said, shaking his hand and smiling shyly, "I'm Mike. He's Matt. Mike and Matt, that's us."
Blaine liked Mike. He was nice, because he shook Blaine's hand, and even though he was really tall with one of those fancy cool-guy haircuts (which kind of scared Blaine a little), he seemed sort of shy and Blaine was sort of shy and maybe they could be shy together.
Mike and Matt started to talk amongst themselves, so Blaine decided to observe his surroundings. He noticed some even taller, even tougher looking guys sitting over in the far corner, and they looked like fifth or sixth graders. Blaine was going to stay away from them.
There was a small group of girls, about his own age, sitting not too far away from them. They were playing with each other's hair and occasionally one would stand up and show the others a dance move or twirl. Blaine wanted to go and play with them, because that looked like fun, but then a little blonde girl with a pretty skirt and equally pretty hair got her hair pulled by a cheeky looking Hispanic girl.
"Ouch Tannie, that hurt! Be more careful next time!" the blonde one yelled, turning around and glaring quite icily at the cheeky one.
"Sorry Quinnie-Pie, I will, I will," she sang back, rolling her eyes.
Maybe he wouldn't go and play there after all.
He was going to turn back around and see what the other boys were talking about; when he heard the prettiest sound he had ever heard in his entire (short) life.
Someone was laughing, and it wasn't just a normal 'haha that's funny' laugh. The sound was so carefree, musical and enticing, like the person who had laughed it had just been handed the whole world. When this person laughed, they laughed with their whole heart and soul too.
So Blaine just had to find the body it belonged to.
A little boy with gleaming chestnut hair and pale moonbeam-like skin sat just six feet away from Blaine. He was with an Asian and African-American set of friends too, but his were girls. He was laughing heartily at something the Asian one had said, thrashing about and giggling into his hands.
Blaine noticed his pale blue bow tie first. It stood out from his black jacket, white button up shirt and grey skinny jeans, which looked very smart. He also had those really cool shoes with pointy toes that Blaine had been trying to find a pair of for ages, but had yet to find some that fit him. He would have to ask the bow tie boy where he got his.
Right. Asking meant talking. And talking meant he would have to have an actual conversation with the really pretty boy, currently panting from laughing too much. Blaine didn't know why, but the thought of doing that made him feel all weird in his tummy, like there were butterflies or ping pong balls in there or something.
Before he could ask Mike who the boy with the blue bow tie was, a teacher with grey hair and glasses made her way to the front of the stage and quieted them all on the microphone.
"Welcome to the new school year, old and new students. I trust you've all had very eventful holidays, but now it's time to buckle down and get back into the swing of things. Work hard and it will pay off."
She continued with her speech, and though Blaine was usually a very attentive listener, he was still a little preoccupied with the amazing boy who had taken up residence in his head.
She finally finished and Blaine stuck with Mike and Matt as they walked through long, surprisingly clean hallways.
"We're in Mr Donovan's class, Blaine, what about you?" Matt asked.
"Miss Thompson," Blaine replied, heart sinking a bit, "So I guess I'll see you guys… at lunch?"
"We have soccer practice at lunch," Mike said apologetically, "but we might see you… um… some other time?"
"Yeah definitely! Nice meeting you anyway Blainers! Your classroom is right over there I think, bye!" Matt chimed in.
"Bye!" Blaine shouted at their retreating forms.
Soon he found himself outside a colourful classroom with Miss Thompson's name on the front door. The walls inside were lined with posters and drawings.
Most of the kids in Blaine's class had been in Miss Thompson's class for first grade too. Blaine felt worried. What if Miss Thompson was mean? What if the other kids didn't like him? What if he didn't fit in?
Blaine's fears instantly diminished when Miss Thompson entered the room. She was young and pretty, with raven black hair in a bob, huge pale blue eyes and rosy cheeks against her pale skin. She looked like the kind of teacher who would talk to you about anything, always be open to opinions and have actual interests and a life outside of school.
"Hello Tina, Jeremy, David! Nice to see you guys again! You all ready for the big second grade?" she asked some students cheerfully.
"Yes Miss!" they answered just as brightly.
When everyone was settled in, Miss Thompson called a role and started them on some crafts. Easy stuff, to get them back into focus, she had said. It was when Blaine had just started decorating his unicorn drawing with some silver glitter that he saw the boy with the blue bow tie across the room.
He's in my class! Blaine thought. This is so great; I'm going to be his best friend!
But then, what if he doesn't like me? What if I'm not good enough to be his friend? He's so pretty, and I bet he's smart too… maybe we don't like any of the same things… what if he doesn't like Harry Potter!
Blaine wanted to hear his laugh again. It was a good laugh, and it lifted Blaine's spirits and made him feel like laughing too. Actually, Blaine wanted to hear him speak. He wondered what his voice would sound like, and then he wondered what his singing voice would sound like. Blaine loved to sing, he sang everywhere he went. His mom said it sounded lovely, but his dad got annoyed at him for doing it sometimes. Blaine couldn't help it, he just wanted to sing.
Soon enough, his inner monologue was heard by some unseen entity, and the boy sang. He had a high-pitched voice, even for a little kid, but it was flowing and gentle, like birdsong.
"No no 'Cedes, it goes like this! I guess it's not funny, life is far from sunny-" he began beautifully.
"I know, I know, why are you so pushy when it comes to songs from musicals?" the African-American girl cut him off.
"Because Mercedes, it's Barbara! Funny Girl is a classic! Well that's what Mommy always says, and she loves Broadway, so she must be right."
The girl shrugged back at him, like he was probably right about his mother being right, and continued with her paper crane that the Asian girl (Tina, Miss Thompson had called her) was helping her with.
The rest of the day passed in a blur, and though Blaine sat alone at lunch, he didn't mind, because it gave him a chance to observe the school (and the bow tie boy) at a distance from everyone else. Sometimes, that was just the way Blaine liked it.
By the time he was trudging over to the park bench his mother had told him to wait for her at, he was exhausted from his first day of school. He examined the half undone laces on his shoes as he swung his legs back and forth over the edge of the bench, and didn't look up until he heard a tiny little cough from beside him.
There, sitting beside him in all his amazingness (Blaine was sure that was a word), was the boy with the blue bow tie.
Now or never, Blaine though nervously.
"Hi!" Blaine said, a little too squeaky for his liking, "I'm Blaine Anderson! I'm in your class! I'm new!"
He stuck out his hand, too fast, and nearly over balanced off the bench.
The boy giggled daintily and shook Blaine's hand.
"My name is Kurt. Kurt Hummel. I saw you in class today. I liked your unicorn. You're really short… it's funny," he said with a blush and a giggle.
Kurt. That must be the prettiest name in the world.
It was silent for a little while, until Blaine blurted out, "I like your bow tie! It reminds me of the sky. Like when there's no clouds, and it's just blue. It's my favourite colour. Apart from red. Because red is like Gryffindor. And that's Harry Potter's house. And I love Harry Potter."
Kurt laughed again. "Thank you. I made it myself, actually. And I love Harry Potter too, but Ron's my favourite. Red hair is cool. I wish I had red hair."
Wow, Kurt made that bow tie, all by himself? He's so smart…
"I like your hair just like it is," Blaine said, before blushing heavily and making sure his shoelaces weren't going to fly away again.
"I like your hair too. It's all curly. It's really cute," now Kurt was blushing and staring at his feet.
He thinks my hair is cute! Does this mean he wants to be friends?
It seemed that Kurt was the entity reading Blaine's mind, as they quickly asked in unison:
"Wanna sit together in class tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"I'd like that."
They smiled and talked and Blaine got to hear Kurt's amazing laugh some more before his mom pulled up and waved him over.
"See you tomorrow Blainers!" Kurt called over to him.
It seemed that this would be his new nickname at this new school, and if Kurt was the one enforcing this new nickname, that was okay with Blaine.
"Bye Kurty," Blaine called back with a cheeky grin.
That night, as Blaine drifted off to sleep, it was to images of blushing chestnut haired boys and the sounds of the prettiest laugh he'd ever heard.
Hope you enjoyed! Criticisms are always welcome, negative or positive, constructive or simply a thumbs up or down, I'd love to hear them.
