Title: After What You've Been Through

Chapter: One

Author: Cyn

Summary: Finn has some questions for Blaine following Kurts comment about what he'd been through.

Catergory: Missing scene - "Prom Queen"

Disclaimer: Not real. Lies, I tell you. Complete and utter lies. ;)

Author's Notes: Constructive criticism always welcome. Flame on if you must, but I tend to be fire retardant. Besides, I don't offend easily and I usually just delete what I don't like anyway, so why waste time and energy.

And now, on with the story. . .

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After what you've been through.

Those words struck Finn as odd. Kurt had mentioned something about what Blaine had been through and Blaine had immediately looked uncomfortable about it. Finn had given the other boy a look, but Blaine hadn't said anything. And, when Kurt stormed off, Blaine had followed soon after. But, the words After What You've Been Through hung in the air.

Burt seemed not to notice or if he did, he was doing that whole when-he's-ready-to-talk-he-will parent thing that Finn's mom did a lot, too. Finn wasn't quite as patient.

-/-

"How bad was it?" Finn asked Blaine a few days after the prom. Blaine was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Kurt to finish getting ready for their date.

"How bad was what?" Blaine asked confused.

"How bad was it at your old school?"

"It - it wasn't that bad." Blaine shrugged. Finn wasn't convinced.

"Oh, really?." Finn asked.

"It was a long time ago." Blaine said. "I was 14 and not everyone there thought it was such a good thing for me to be out."

"What happened?" Finn said refusing to accept Blaine's shrug as an answer. "What caused you to transfer to Dalton?"

"There was this girl who asked me to a Sadie Hawkins dance. I turned her down." Blaine explained. "I thought she was my friend. When she asked me why I didn't want to go with her, I was honest. I told her I was gay." Blaine paused clearing his throat. "Her brother was on the junior varsity football team. She told him and they outted me to the whole school." Blaine shook his head at the memory. "They made this banner that he and the other players carried out onto the football field during their next game. It was huge and it said, 'Blaine Anderson Is A Cocksucker'."

"Dude." Finn winced. "That is so wrong."

"Yeah, well." Blaine shrugged again. "I kept to myself after that. Tried to stay under their radar." He huffed a laugh. "It worked for the most part. I got slammed into lockers from time to time and I got a massive swirly once when I got cornered in the boys room in between classes. I'd usually wait until I got home, but I had to wash my hands and it was like they had a homing device or something. They just knew how to find me, you know." Finn nodded. Puckerman was like that. He seemed to just know when and where the weak kids were at all time.

"Then this other guy, the only other gay guy in the school, started talking to me and I ended up asking him to go with me to the Sadie Hawkins dance. I just wanted to have a good time. And, we did. No one bothered us. It was kinda weird. I mean, it wasn't like we were dancing slow dances together or holding hands or anything. We just hung out together and listened to the music."

"But, somebody was paying attention?" Finn asked knowingly.

"Yeah." Blaine nodded. "When the dance was over, he and I went outside to wait for his dad. And, while we were waiting, these three guys, all football players, beat the crap out of us."

"Holy crap." Finn gasped.

"They broke my nose, cracked a couple of ribs and gave me a concussion." Blaine said off-handedly. "Max wasn't so lucky. They got him on the ground and kicked him in the head a few times. He ended up in a coma." Blaine's voice cracked. "He was in the hospital a lot longer than I was. They weren't sure if he was going to make it or not."

"He - he didn't die or anything, did he?" Finn asked very uncomfortable with the very idea.

"No." Blaine said. "But, he and his family moved out of state." He knitted his brow a moment. "I think his family moved to Arizona or something."

"I feel like I should apologize to you and possibly to him, too." Finn said.

"Why?" Blaine asked looking oddly at the other boy.

"Because." Finn said. "I was kinda like that, too, once."

"I doubt that." Blaine said. "You may have given others a hard time, but I doubt you, or even Puck, would ever do something so ugly as what happened to us." Blaine took a deep breath. "When I got out of the hospital, my mother and father told me that I wasn't going back to that school." Blaine huffed a laugh. "It was more than likely my mother who put her foot down on that one. Dad probably would have sent me back. He would have chalked it up to being something to 'build character'." He shook his head.

"So, is that why you and Kurt were so un-couple-like at the prom?" Finn asked. "I mean, the two of you didn't really dance much." Finn paused thinking. "Rachel said that you only danced with Kurt after Karofsky wussed out when Kurt was voted Prom Queen."

"I couldn't let him stand there all alone like that." Blaine shrugged. "Karofsky might be a coward, but I was tired of running. Especially after watching Kurt go from humiliated to triumphant like that." He snapped his fingers grinning widely. "Your brother is pretty damned awesome. I hope you know that."

"I'm aware." Finn said smiling.

"And, when Karofsky walked away from him, I refused to allow him to lose that moment, you know. His moment." Blaine smiled. "He was determined to not let them get to him. To us, really. I've never been so proud of him."

"They wouldn't have had the guts to do anything to either of you." Finn reasoned. "They are cowards. They had to do it behind his back. Assholes." Blaine nodded. "That's the great thing about Kurt. He's nothing if not brave. To be out and proud."

"In Ohio." Blaine added.

"In Ohio." Finn nodded.

"What about Ohio?" Kurt asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Nothing important." Finn said. He grinned as he watched Kurt shrug taking Blaine's hand as he leaned into kiss his boyfriend hello.

"Ready?" Blaine asked.

"Sure thing." He said. "We'll be back late." Kurt said. "See you, Finn."

"Have fun." Finn said.

-/-