A/N: This is my first fanfic. Glee does not belong to me, Dalton does not belong to me, etc. This is an AU fanfic where the tables are turned; Dalton is full of bullies and McKinley is the fantastic safe haven of Blaine's dreams. And of course, when he meets the guy of his dreams, everything is complete. There's just one problem: Kurt has a boyfriend. KLAINE.
The halls of a new school are always forbidding, but nobody would know by the way Blaine Anderson floated into McKinley High. It was almost as if he didn't notice the stares the girls were giving him or the way some of the guys were looking at him funny, as if his backpack (which was stuffed full of textbooks) weighed nothing. It was as if after a long, long time stuck in prison, he was finally free.
Blaine stretched his hands out in front of him, adjusting the weight of his backpack more comfortably across his broad shoulders. Today was his audition for the McKinley glee club, which was really exclusive and purportedly a lot of fun. They were the heart and soul of the school, sometimes bursting into song in the middle of crowded hallways. They were practically worshipped. Blaine wasn't unduly worried, and didn't look it, but there was a small knot in his stomach as he knocked on the door of Mr. Schuester's room. It was three exactly.
A short girl with long, straight brown hair opened the door and grinned at him.
"Blaine! Come on in, have a seat. We're just getting started."
"Thanks, Rachel," he said, following her to where rows of plastic music chairs were set up. Mr. Schuester was sitting at the piano and Blaine looked with trepidation over at the members of the glee club: Mercedes, with her sassy black-girl attitude, smiling at him; Artie and Brittany, holding hands; Rachel and Finn; Tina and Mike, who winked at Blaine; Santana and Puck; and finally, Kurt. Blaine bit his lip and looked down on the pretense of settling his backpack at his feet (but really to hide the flush that had crawled up his cheeks). Mr. Schuester cleared his throat.
"Blaine, before we start, would you like to sing for us?"
Blaine looked up with a start, adjusting his glasses on his nose- his contacts had ripped today and so he was forced to wear them.
"Sure. Er- Could I have the piano?"
Mr. Schue backed away, spreading his arms grandly. "Be my guest."
Blaine sat down on the bench, thinking of the song he was going to sing. It was something from the old days at Dalton- the song and the person who had kept him going through countless taunts, bullying and injuries. He let the feeling grow before launching into a piano tune that nobody had heard before, adapted from the guitar to make the spunky song into a ballad.
I was an island before you came along,
Put your boat in my sand, your hand in my hand,
Your heart in my songs.I was a fighter, and I was so brave.
But I lowered my sword when you held me and swore
You'd stay, stay, stay ohI can't do this alone anymore
'Cause I'm no good on my own anymore
What did I do to deserve this?
What did you do to me?
Baby, come back.
You know I don't want to be free.
Blaine continued on, oblivious of the rest of the glee club's reactions. Mercedes had her hand over her mouth, to hide a gaping pumpkin grin. Rachel was hugging Finn ferociously. Brittany was tossing her head from side to side, smiling. And Kurt- well, Kurt was frozen in place, phone in one hand, the other gripping the plastic chair in a death grip. I know what he's doing, thought Kurt desperately. Oh god…
On the phone screen was a text from his boyfriend, Isaac, saying I 3 u with a photograph of Isaac cooly holding up a piece of paper with a heart on it. Kurt slipped the phone back in his pocket without replying, turning it off for good measure. As Blaine reached the end of the song, Kurt found himself waiting with bated breath for the last few lines.
What did I do to deserve this?
What did you do to me?
Baby, come back.
You know I don't want to be free.
No, no, no-
Blaine's voice soared on the no's, reaching into his falsetto, doing that gospelly thing he did, and Mercedes grabbed Kurt's leg, practically squeeing for joy. Kurt silently applauded. His heart contracted painfully and he sighed as Blaine settled down, softly, into his lower register.
Baby, come back.
You know I don't want to be… free.
There was complete silence in the glee club room as Blaine looked up from the keyboard, pushing his sleeves up uncomfortably. Then Kurt suddenly started clapping, rising to his feet. Mercedes followed suit, and Rachel- soon the whole glee club was clapping enthusiastically for Blaine Anderson, who ducked his head with an adorable grin, and tripped over to his backpack. Mr. Schue grinned at the boy, gesturing for him to go out of the room while the members of the glee club voted on whether he would be allowed in.
Blaine sat against the grey lockers in the hallway. Through the glass doors he could see the snow falling softly on the ground. He opened up the smallest pocket in his backpack, trying to calm his jumping nerves. Three new texts opened up on his screen, the first from his brother:
Blaine, how u doin in the new skool? Txt me l8r.
Blaine rolled his eyes- Shane was a shameless abuser of the English language. The next was from his best friend and ex-boyfriend, Alex.
Hey bby, how you doin? We all miss you. Skype tonight, 8.
Alex was always there to cheer him up. Blaine smiled and replied the affirmative, feeling kind of bad about leaving all his friends to face the wrath of the Dalton bullies alone. Not all of them had a lesbian aunt living in the McKinley area to fake papers for them. But that was not his fault, he thought, trying to remember what Kurt had told them as he'd met him sobbing in the park that third time they'd talked. None of this is my fault.
The third was from Kurt. All it said was,
Courage. Break a leg
Blaine tried not to let himself get choked up, remembering how Kurt had come to him like an angel a month earlier, when he was bleeding all over, locked in a bathroom stall in the mall. Kurt had come in to go to the bathroom, and had walked into the adjacent stall. He later learned that Kurt had seen some blood on the floor, and that was what prompted him to climb on top of the toilet and drop lightly over the wall into Blaine's stall, notice his bleeding nose, ear and knee, and say nothing but, "Need some help?"
It all grew from there, thought Blaine wistfully. He couldn't help falling in love with Kurt. He just tried to hide it as best he could from the countertenor. Nothing could be weirder than someone you barely knew falling in love with you, when you were practically his teacher. Plus, Kurt had a boyfriend, someone Blaine referred to in his head as "that asshole". But Blaine couldn't stop the feeling that they belonged together, that they- fit- somehow, in a way nobody ever had in him. It had been the reason for his breaking up with Alex- they just didn't fit. And while Blaine enjoyed wasting the relationship time with Alex, because it had not been wasted time, he didn't want to waste Kurt's.
The door clicked open and Brittany poked her head out.
"Blaine? You can come back in now."
Blaine stood, still limping slightly due to his injured knee, and squared his shoulders. He followed after Brittany into the bright lights of the glee room. Automatically his eyes went to Kurt, who seemed impassive. Then his attention was captured by Mr. Schue, who was casually holding a green slushie in his hand, sipping from it.
"Well, Blaine, sit down," Mr. Schue said, gesturing to a chair for that purpose. Blaine dropped his backpack by the door and sat facing everyone, feeling small.
Artie, who was the farthest left, started talking.
"You know what we're like."
Brittany spoke next. "We need energy and deddycuhshun." Artie whispered something in her ear and she made an 'oh' face. "Dedication."
Santana: "We know where and how you came from, and we know what you do."
Puck: "It was a long, and SUPER HARD, decision." He smirked and looked at Kurt, who was next.
Kurt made a face at Puck, but smiled at Blaine. "We loved the song."
Mercedes giggled. "We love your voice."
Finn took his cue from Mercedes and grinned. "We want to invite you to join New Directions formally."
Rachel had a sweet smile on. "Will you say yes?"
Blaine's mind went blank. "Will it be okay with Sam and Lauren?"
Mercedes laughed, and Blaine blushed. "Already checked, sweetie. Yes."
Blaine couldn't stop his eyes from flicking to Kurt, who was fixing his already-perfect hair nonchalantly. The countertenor suddenly turned his head and winked at Blaine, smiling.
"Yes."
The word was out of his mouth before he realized he had said it, and he flushed, straightening his glasses. Mr. Schuester smiled, and as one all the New Directions members stood up, a plastic cup full of slushie in each of their hands. Kurt's voice broke out, abnormally high.
"Wait, guys-" he dashed forward and tugged Blaine's jacket off, and his glasses. Then Kurt stepped back into rank.
"Now!" screamed Rachel shrilly, and everyone chucked their slushie at once. Blaine laughed and laughed as he was drenched in sweet, sticky soft drink. He felt like he belonged.