Blaine's hair: it's complicated... A story with roots prior to canon, and definitely not limited to Blaine's beautiful mane. I hope you enjoy! And, of course, I don't own Glee or its characters :-)

Kurt excitedly looked around at the goofily decorated prom before them. He had to admit, it worked better than he would have expected, and wait?...

"Blaine! Do you see that? Is that a bunch of Cheerios with T-rex heads on at the other side of the room?"

Blaine looked around Kurt and smiled as he caught sight of the Cheerios. "is Brittany really wearing a Pebbles costume -" As he stepped further into the room he was interrupted from his reverie by none other than class president, Brittany...

Blaine at first was just a bit stunned... she really wasn't going to make him de-gel his hair right here, right now? Except that apparently she was. He wanted to just bolt – he hadn't really wanted to go to prom anyway, and the never-ending string of reminders that Kurt was soon to leave him behind to go to New York was just depressing. However, one look at Kurt, who was much more relaxed than last year, and looked really happy to just enjoy the party, was enough for him. He could not ruin this night for Kurt.

"Blaine, it'll be fine! Do you want me to go with you, sweetie?" Kurt's brow furrowed cutely as he offered to go help Blaine. Truthfully, he was eager to see his gorgeous boyfriend without the dreaded gel prison, and mentally noted that he owed dear Brit Brit for this one.

"No, erm, ah, you go ahead." Blaine smiled weakly. "I'll be back soon, it's all right."

Kurt frowned slightly, but seeing the resigned look on Blaine's face decided not to press the matter. "OK, I can't wait to see you back, so hurry!", and he planted a quick kiss on Blaine's cheek, giving him a quick hug as he leaned in and whispered to his ear "Courage."

He has no idea how hard... Blaine tried to stop his internal monologue as he headed to the restroom to ungel his hair. It's OK, breathe, he chanted to himself; you've done lots of crazy things in the time you've known Kurt, and God love him, Kurt seemed to have hidden reserves of coping when it really mattered. It's hair for cryin' out loud, get over this! Reaching the door of the bathroom, he decided to just give up the internal pep talk – just do it, Anderson, don't think. And definitely, don't feel anything. But then, unbidden, thoughts of that unending summer came back to him...

The beating he and Adam suffered at the Sadie Hawkins dance hadn't been the end of his troubles freshman year. They both missed weeks of school, and then in the end Adam didn't return to school when Blaine did, finishing the year instead with tutors while his battered body and shattered psyche healed. They'd started to drift apart even before Blaine returned to school. It was not that they'd ever had a falling out, but more that aside from being the only gay freshmen they each knew about, they didn't have that much in common and had never gotten a chance to become close as anything more than a first crush. When Adam's father got a promotion that resulted in the family's relocation to California, the boys promised each other to stay in touch, but didn't communicate more than a couple of times a week.

Blaine found himself unable to catch up academically, as the terror he couldn't shake facing life at his school made focusing impossible. His father had been initially shocked and protective of his son following the attack. But as Blaine healed, the fights with his father intensified: his father continued to berate him for his "choice" of homosexuality, spending too much time on his music, and failing at his classes. Then grandfather Anderson persuaded his son to send Blaine to Dalton Academy for the next academic year. After several tense family conferences, they decided to have him board there; Blaine was panicked at the thought of leaving home, but also hurt all the time from the constant message his father gave of how inadequate he was, and how disappointed he was that his son kept insisting that he was gay.

There were at least two things about Blaine that nothing would change that drove his father crazy: that his younger son was gay, and his freaking curly hair. Academic deficiencies could be overcome, wounds could heal, but Blaine felt powerless in continuing to disappoint his father in those two ways. Blaine's hair had been just mildly wavy, like his brother Cooper's, until puberty. Blaine had been as surprised and flustered by his unruly mass of curls as anyone else: it had been one more baffling thing to deal with, one more thing about Blaine that he hadn't asked for or chosen that pissed his father off. His mother had been no real help; she had taken him for haircuts, but when Blaine refused to have a super short, she had given up and just insisted that he keep it clean.

Blaine had never been happier to go visit with his grandfather Anderson for a few weeks at the start of summer vacation than he was that year. Escaping the tension at home for the comfortable quiet life of his grandfather's lake house was a relief. Grampy knew most of what had happened after the dance, but was still saddened to see his grandson as he now appeared: nervous, unsure, and sometimes he'd swear he was on the verge of tears for no apparent reason.

And then there was... the hair?

"Blaine, it's good to see you've grown since last summer" he said, marking Blaine's height on the doorpost to his workshop, where he'd put a fresh mark every year of Blaine's life when he would come to the lake house for the first visit of summer. He'd then tousled Blaine's hair, and tried to hold back a frown as it appeared that Blaine had flinched a little from contact, as Blaine's eyes drifted to his hair. "Son, I see you got your uncle's curls after all."

Blaine could only nod, not knowing what to say, bracing himself for some hurtful comment on his hair.

His grandfather went on, "You don't seem too thrilled about this." And he smiled. Blaine was relieved to see only a gentle smile on his grandfather's face as his hand returned to his lap. "Rob was just the same: his hair changed about when his voice did, surprised us all."

They were interrupted by his grandmother. "Blaine! Oh, I've missed you so much!" She moved quickly, and swooped in to give him a strong hug and kiss on his forehead. "Let's get you settled, I'm starving and I bet you are too!" And she darted back into the house, leaving Blaine and his grandfather smiling and following after.

A/N: this is my first chapter of my first fanfic! AU? A bit – we get to see that while Blaine suffers from unsupportive parents, his grandparents do love him unconditionally and are his emotional anchors. And... perhaps his signature style owes more to Grampy Anderson than that of most boys his age.

More soon! Reviews would be much appreciated!