AU in which Blaine is a freshman, is siblings with Rachel. Rachel, in this fic, is the most popular girl in school (it's really AU, okay?) and ND is cool. Finn is the star quarterback. Yay!

1.

I could hear the yelling, but still attempted to block it out. Frantically, I flipped through my iPod, trying to find something loud enough to block out the screaming.

I felt like kicking myself for being such an idiot, causing this. I flinched as I heard a crash and the yelling continued. Putting in my earbuds, I turned the volume up as loud as I could and tried to distract myself. I thought of anything else I could. School, the fact that I was starting high school next week, but nothing could pull me from the hell I was sitting in.

The words became more distinct. "He's fourteen, for crying out loud! He's only a freshman! Dear God, George, everyone goes through stages!" I shivered at the word. Stages. I hated it.

"But most stages involve sitting in the dark and playing video games, not - this!" I almost chuckled at how completely incapable my father was of actually saying what he meant. Being gay? I thought bitterly. Is that what you're trying to say? A tear rolled down my cheek, and I wiped it off on my sweater sleeve.

Angrily, I took out my earbuds and threw my iPod on the floor, ignoring the loud and suspicious thud it made. My throat began to feel like I was dry-swallowing a huge pill, and I winced at not only the pain but the vulnerability. How could I let such an ass as my father have this affect on me? Who gave two shits what he thought of me?

You do, clearly, the asshole voice in my head snapped, only causing me to cry more. I shut my eyes, blocking out as much as I could, flinching at every crash, every scream.

"Stop," I choked out, my voice hardly above a whisper. "Please...stop."


I didn't look at her the whole car ride, nothing but the word stage going through my head. I knew she meant well, and her being ignorant shouldn't be a reason to be angry with her. But, it was anyway.

A bad quality of my mother's, however, was her blatant misunderstanding of social circumstances. She was completely blind to anger and discomfort on just about any and all levels. When someone didn't speak, she decided it was because they couldn't find a way to start a conversation. So, she made it her mission to engage me in a discussion, despite my obvious irritation with her.

"Are you excited about school?" I didn't respond. "First day, are you nervous?" Nothing. "Blaine, I understand that you want to...experiment...and find yourself, but -"

"Mom?" I finally said, turning to look at her. "It's not an 'experiment.' I'm gay. There's no changing it!"

I guess I'd spoken too loudly, because all she said after that was, "If you get lost, just ask Rachel where everything is, okay?" I rolled my eyes, turning to look back out the window. Rachel was my older sister - a sophomore at McKinley. I don't understand exactly how being a sophomore makes you an expert at navigating through your high school, but my mom seemed to think so, so I didn't argue with her.

As soon as the car stopped outside the front entrance, I got out, not looking back even when she yelled, "I love you!" through the car window. I gripped my bag and tried to look forward.

Suddenly, an arm linked through mine. "Hey, little brother!" my sister said excitedly. I sighed. "Excited to be going to the big kids' school?"

I'm constantly trying to decide whether or not I'm jealous of my older sister. She's gorgeous and always looks flawless, she's popular, she's dating the star quarterback, she's got the best voice in Ohio, and somehow, despite how positively shitty our home life is, always manages to keep a smile on her face.

"Hello, Rachel," I said dryly, "ecstatic."

Either she didn't notice or chose not to pick up on my sour attitude. "Great! I'll show you around. Give me your class schedule."

On our way to homeroom, she was stopped by at least a dozen people, greeted by at least forty, and hit on by exactly sixteen. Every single time, I stood there like an awkward loner, and the person she was speaking to barely ever noticed me. On a few occasions they would look over curiously, but never said anything.

"Alright, here it is. Room 113." I looked around at the nearly empty classroom, inhabited only by a girl in the back chewing gum, a teacher typing away at her laptop and a boy in the front row scribbling something in his notebook. "The bell doesn't ring until 6:55, so most people are still at their locker." She moved toward the door, shooting a quick 'goodbye' over her shoulder as she recognized yet another 'friend.'

I tugged nervously at my sweater, finally settling on a seat in the back, nowhere near the gum-chewing girl or the strange boy who was now staring at me. I tapped my fingers on the desk rhythmically, glancing around the room and trying to entertain myself.

A few minutes later, the first bell rang, and more students began piling in. Most came in alone, but a few came in in packs, loudly and obnoxiously. Still, I was never acknowledged.

Finally, the bell signaling the beginning of class rang, and the teacher walked up to the front of the room.

"Alright, class, settle down," she said disinterestedly, hardly disrupting the chaos of the room at all. The girl blew a bubble, and the teacher tried again. "I'm Mrs. Vasquez, and I'm going to be your homeroom teacher for this year," she said, slightly louder to be just barely heard over the noise.


The first half of the day went by in a blur. I wouldn't be able to tell you what happened if you held a gun to my head. All I know is once I got to lunch, my entire day shifted from forgettable to one-in-a-million.

"Blaine!" Rachel called from across the cafe, and, before looking to both my left and right for reasons unknown, I made my way to her lunch table, filled with sophomores I had never met, other than of course, Finn.

She brought it upon herself to introduce me to each and every one of them. "This is Tina, Mercedes, Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Sugar, Sam, Rory..." I nodded and smiled politely at each and every one, forgetting their names the second they were said. "...and Kurt, but he's not here."

For some reason, the name interested me. "Why not?" I said, astonished at my own bravery to actually speak in front of my older sister's friends.

"He's with Mr. Schue setting up some performance for glee." I let my mind wander, wondering exactly who this Kurt was, and why I'd never heard him mentioned before. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I've been meaning to ask you. Blaine, how would you like joining?"

"Joining what?" I asked.

"Glee, silly! We almost took Nationals last year!" I looked around. They were all grinning at me and nodding.

The blond girl, Quinn, I thought, nodded. "Yeah, we can always use more members." Her voice was soft and smooth, like cream, and she was gorgeous beyond compare. I found myself thinking if I wasn't gay, I'd probably be in love with her.

"Um, I don't know..." I said quietly.

"C'mon, it's fun," the girl I believed to be Brittany said.

The girl holding her hand next to her spoke up, "Yeah, and hey, if it turns out you suck, you can be our mascot. We could call you Darren, the Gay Hobbit." I shot a glare at Rachel as if to say, you told them?, but the Latina merely continued with, "She didn't say anything, honey, my gaydar is as finely tuned as it comes."

All of a sudden, I had a surge of courage. Why the hell not? I told myself. You love to sing. And hey, maybe you'll finally make some friends. And maybe you'll get to meet that Kurt character...

"Sure," I said with a grin, "I'll do it."


Yay for freshman!Blaine and siblings!Blainchel. There's no coming-of-age category, but that's what this would be if it was. And before you judge me, I've only got two stories to update! So there. :P Hope you like it! I haven't yet decided whether or not Kurt should be a sophomore or freshman. Personally I think sophomore makes more sense, but I just like the idea of them being the same age.

Until next time!