First of all, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm littlemusings, or Sam as some of you may know me as. I was browsing through Muchacha10's gallery on DeviantArt (oh my lord, she's brilliant), and I saw that she drew a picture of football!Blaine and Cheerios!Kurt, a beautiful piece entitled "Friday Night Lights". So, I was inspired to write a mini series of episodes and whatnot of a very Klaine-centric Season 3. Of course we'll have all the goodness of the New Directions and I'll be, of course, featuring the other pairings and whatnot. The story begins about a week before the start of the new school year at McKinley.
Oh, and the reason why Blaine's mom is Filipino? To quote Rachel from BIOTA, "…he and I could have vaguely Eurasian babies." Or something like that. But she said "Eurasian".
In this story, there'll be new characters introduced: Blaine's family (mother, father, and sister), and whatnot (though they've been introduced in my other story, 'I'm Not Gonna Teach Him How To Dance With You'). So, I hope you enjoy this story and follow it until the end!
Kicker
By littlemusings
I. The transfer
Dinner at the Anderson household was normally a quiet affair. James Anderson, tall, dark-haired, and pretentious, would always sit at the head of the table and eat his food quietly, while his wife, Maria, demure, Filipina, and quiet, sat on his right-hand side. His children, Blaine (whenever he was home from Dalton for the weekends and holidays) and Danielle, would sit on the chairs to his left.
Mr. Anderson found this settlement and tradition apt. He loved the silence, and drank it in, only tolerating the moments where his wife talked to his children about their day. He would occasionally say something or butt into a conversation, telling them about his work with congress.
Today, however, his peace of mind was broken with his son's not-so simple request.
"Dad," Blaine began, clearing his throat. James looked up from his spaghetti in mid-chew and blinked. Maria looked startled, and Danielle's mouth was wide open, her spaghetti-filled fork halfway to her mouth.
He swallowed. "What is it, Blaine?"
His relationship with his son was somewhat strained, with his son being gay and having a boyfriend, but for the sake of peace in his household, he managed to keep a straight face about the entire 'thing' he called 'the situation'.
"Mom, dad…I was wondering, for my senior year, do you mind if I transfer to McKinley High School in Lima?"
"Excuse me? Of course, I mind!" James exclaimed.
"Absolutely not!" Maria added, shocked.
"Hey, doesn't Kurt go there?" fourteen year-old Danielle squealed.
James looked absolutely livid. "I have been paying for your Dalton education since your sophomore year and—"
"Blaine, we are not allowing you to try public school again. It's much too dangerous, and—"
Blaine held up a hand to silence his parents. "Mom, dad. Please, hear me out."
"What is this, a courtroom? The answer is no, Blaine," James snapped, wagging his fork at his seventeen year-old son.
"Come on, daddy, let Bee talk. I want to hear why he's going to McKinley. I bet it's for Kurt."
James' face reddened when he heard his daughter mention his son's boyfriend. "No. We are not discussing this."
"Yes, we are," Blaine said firmly, scooting his chair back and standing up. The entire table fell silent.
"That's it, you're grounded," James said with an echoing finality. Blaine frowned and remained standing, his expression contorted with rage.
"Why don't you ever let me speak?" Blaine snapped.
"Blaine," his mother said gently, "sit down, honey. There is no way we're letting you transfer. You're almost eighteen, almost a senior, and it wouldn't be prudent for you to change schools. You have an impeccable record at Dalton: the Warblers, lacrosse, the writer's guild, the orchestra..."
"Honestly, mom, my triumphs at Dalton can surely be transferred over to McKinley via my transcripts. I'm willing to bet that they have a string ensemble I could possibly join. Plus, I could join New Directions…their glee club."
"I will not have you transferring to a public school. You know how cruel those kids could be," James countered, his eyebrows furrowed. "If you transfer, and I hear of you being beat up and whatnot, I'm not transferring you back to Dalton. It will be your fault, Blaine."
"But, daddy, if he transfers, he'll get to spend more time with his boyfriend," Danielle smirked, winking at her brother, who winked back. James scowled and shook his head.
"Nope. Absolutely not."
"Dad, it'll be for my own good. I know Dalton is great; I have friends there—"
"Yes, about your friends. How about Wesley and David? Surely, you don't want to leave them behind."
"Wes and David run the Warblers, dad. I don't think they'll have a problem, since they pretty much know what I've gone through just to go to Dalton."
"Your teachers."
"I already talked to them, and they said, though with slight concern, that they wouldn't mind a bit if I transferred, though they would, I quote, 'miss me.'"
"You talked to your teachers already."
"Of course."
"Why on earth McKinley, of all places? Didn't your…your boyfriend get bullied there?"
Blaine rolled his eyes at his father's reluctance to say 'boyfriend'. "The bullying rate has gone down exponentially, according to my boyfriend and his friends."
"It's a public school. There's no anti-bullying policy."
"So? And about the bullying, there's this club at McKinley called The Bully Whips. They, well, um, stop the bullying."
Blaine knew better than to lie, but he had to. He learned from Kurt that Santana and Karofsky had created the club in order to boost their chances for winning prom king and queen. They no longer had a reason to keep the club up and running since Santana lost. He just had to tell this little white lie in order to convince his father and mother.
"…'The Bully Whips'?"
"Yes, dad, the Bully Whips."
"Odd name. But I doubt they're efficient. A student-run anti-bullying campaign? Ridiculous."
"Trust me, they were last year. I mean…they were highly efficient."
James stared at his son.
"Transferring your senior year is suicide," James exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. "You're going to risk everything you've worked so hard for at the Academy. Are you insane, Blaine?"
"Let him speak," Maria said loudly, patting her husband's hand. James sighed and leaned back in his seat, arms folded.
"Fine. Give me your case. I already know one of the reasons is for that Hummus boy—"
"Hummel, dad. Kurt Hummel."
"Yes, yes, Kurt Hummus. Whatever. Go on."
"Hold on, just a second. Give me five minutes," Blaine said excitedly, running out of the dining room. James and Maria looked at each other, appalled.
"Dani, do you know what Blaine's up to?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. Danielle shrugged and grinned.
"I think he came up with a poster explaining everything."
"Poster?" James spluttered.
"Yeah. He's really ready to jump the gun and transfer."
He heard his son run up the spiral staircase and open his bedroom door.
"Yeah, he was working on it all last night I think. After he got off the phone with some of his friends and Kurt."
"He spends way too much time with that Hummel boy."
"Duh," Danielle rolled her eyes. James was about to shoot back an angry, father-like retort to his daughter, but calmed down.
"Don't you dare speak to me like that, Danielle Marie," he muttered. Danielle smiled sweetly at her father.
"Sorry, daddy."
He heard a bedroom door close, and footsteps hurrying down the staircase once more. Blaine threw open the door to the dining room, carrying a large, tri-fold poster, setting it on the table. Breathless, he unfolded it and began stating his case.
James was shocked. The poster was intricately decorated, like a businessman's presentation, outlining the reasons why his son, Blaine, should transfer to McKinley High School.
Unfortunately (to him), he was impressed.
"One," Blaine began, pointing towards a picture of himself from his freshman year, "I ran away from Westerville High School in order to escape the bullies I so desperately hated. I lacked courage, dad, something you taught me to have. It was something I didn't apply."
"…And?"
"Shush, dear," Marie said sternly, patting her husband's hand gently once more.
"I felt horrible after transferring to Dalton. I felt like I couldn't face my fears. So, I would like to redeem myself by attending McKinley, which I assure you, is not anything like Westerville High School. Yes, there may be the occasional slushie facial for the non-vigilant, but I promise you that I won't present myself to be a primary target, which leads to my second point."
Blaine gestured towards a collage of school activities. "I plan to join several clubs to, you know, make my transcripts look better since I plan to attend NYU. At McKinley, the clubs I'm highly interested in are…"
He pulled a pointer out of his pocket and motioned towards each photo on the collage. "—The Glee club, of course—" A photo of the New Directions.
"The school orchestra or band…"
He pointed to a photo of his violin.
"The Writing Club—"
A picture of a notebook.
"And last, but certainly not least…the football team."
Blaine made one last point towards the picture of the McKinley High School varsity football team, and braced himself for his father's reaction.
James looked at him suspiciously. "Football."
"Yes. Didn't I say that?" Blaine muttered, looking at his tri-fold board once more.
"Yes, of course, you said that. Are you serious about that?" James snorted. "You just know all the mechanics of football, Blaine, but haven't got the chops to play the sport."
"Dad, I'm being serious here," the seventeen year-old frowned. He looked towards his younger sister, who encouraged him to continue. "Not only will joining the football team add to my already long list of extra-curricular activities—it'll pretty much help me from getting, um, slushied, I guess. I learn fast. I'm already an athlete."
Danielle clapped, nodding in approval. Their parents stared at her, eyes narrowed, and she laughed nervously and stopped clapping right away.
"What?" she pouted. Blaine smiled a little, and looked to his parents.
"May I continue?"
"This football thing," James began slowly. "You really are being serious, are you?"
"If I weren't being serious, I'd be packing my bags for Dalton already. You know the days I've been driving to Lima?" Blaine smirked. James nodded.
"I've been talking to Kurt's step-brother about joining the team. He says I should try out."
"Oh."
"That's wonderful, dear," Maria smiled. "It's good to see you doing sports. But…football? You might get hurt! I've read a bunch of news articles about boys getting hurt during games, getting head trauma and all of that scary, nasty stuff…Lacrosse was much safer."
"Mom, you know me. I'm careful. I'll try out for the kicker position, so all I'll need to do is kick."
"Football. Hay naku," Maria grumbled in Filipino. "Sure, I guess. Just be careful."
"I'm still iffy," James mumbled. "Finish this up so your mother and I can finally make a decision."
"McKinley offers all of the AP classes I've been planning to take for ages. They have AP English Literature, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, and so much more. I'll also take AP Government, if you'll let me."
"Chuck out AP Chemistry. Keep AP Government," James grunted. He was a congressman, after all, and was pleased that his son had taken interest in government. "I'm…thrilled that you're going to take a multitude of AP classes, son, but four is just too much. Now, what else?"
"There's just one more reason," Blaine said idly. He pointed towards a photo of him and Kurt at Six Flags, taken earlier that summer.
James took one look at the photo and said bluntly, "No."
"What?"
"Absolutely not."
"Dad! That's totally not awesome!"
"Danielle Marie Anderson, keep your mouth shut."
"…Fine."
"Dad!" Blaine groaned. "Just for that? I have a boyfriend, okay? Deal with it. Of course he's a major reason why I want to transfer to McKinley."
"For football, yes, since Dalton's team is only a part of the private league, and yes for all the other reasons, but if you're just going to dump your challenging academic life just for a boy—"
"He's not just 'a boy,' dad!" Blaine nearly shouted, his face turning extremely red. "He's my boyfriend, and if you just can't accept that—"
"Now, now, Blaine—" James exclaimed, taken aback, "I already know that he's your…your boyfriend. I've met him and all that jazz, but you just can't give up everything for love and all of that corniness!"
"I'm not giving anything up. I'm just transferring."
"Blaine, your father is right…to some extent. Why can't you just maintain the relationship you have right now even though you go to Dalton?"
"If I transfer, things will be better for the both of us."
"I've never saw you as the love struck type," James jeered. Danielle, who resumed eating, nearly choked on her spaghetti. She swallowed her noodles and cleared her throat, laughing. Her parents stared at her once more, befuddled. She slunk down in her chair again and blinked.
"Well, I do have a boyfriend," Blaine rolled his eyes. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh, stop with all the boyfriend talk. Fine. I get it."
"So, may I transfer?"
James looked at his son pointedly, arms tightly folded together. "There's a problem with that. Your transportation."
Blaine gulped. He hadn't thought that far, and he had to think quickly. "Well, when Kurt went to Dalton, he couldn't board, so he drove the two-hour drive to school every day he was there. So, why can't I do the same?"
"That's dangerous. What if your football practice goes on too late and you're too sleepy to drive?" his mother scowled, her face lined with worry. "I don't like that Lima is so far."
"Mom, I've driven back and forth, from Westerville to Lima, and vice versa for the past two months. It's not going to be any different."
"You're going to be juggling three AP classes and god knows how many clubs you'll be taking up," James said pointedly.
Blaine was getting furious. "Dad, I've managed to juggle that much my junior year and keep a steady relationship for the latter half of the school year. I maintained a 4.0 GPA!"
James took this into consideration. He looked at each member of his family with confusion: his daughter, who looked incredibly bored, his wife, who looked worried but wanted the best for Blaine, and Blaine himself, who looked absolutely ridiculous, begging him to transfer to a public school using a tri-fold board and a silver pointer.
"Daddy, come on, you've got to let Blaine go. I mean, seriously? He's going to play football. Blaine, who just watches football actually wants to play."
"If Blaine is willing to drive to Lima every morning and back here to Westerville every day and play football, and take AP classes, then I'm perfectly fine with it," Maria shrugged. "I mean, he could get tired after practice and call us to pick him up sometimes if he's not up for driving. I could."
Everyone was against him.
"Fine," James said gruffly, falling back on his chair in defeat. Blaine grinned widely, and Danielle jumped out of her seat and hugged her brother tightly.
"But…"
Blaine and Danielle seized their victory dance immediately.
"I have an ultimatum for you. Get on the football team first, and if you guys make it to the state championships, I'll stop badgering you about Dalton and…and your boyfriend."
Blaine made a face and sighed.
"I'll try."
"Not 'try', 'do.' And there's a second part to this. If you guys do not make the state championships…and you constantly get 'slush-eyed,' or whatever you kids call it, that'll be it. I'll transfer you back to Dalton for the second semester, no questions asked."
Blaine stared at his father, his mouth agape. "W-what?"
"No questions asked, Blaine."
The seventeen year-old sighed.
"Yes, sir. So is it a 'yes'?"
"…Yes. We'll go to Dalton tomorrow morning to pick up your transcripts."
Another Author's Note:
Whee. That's the first chapter. Do you guys like it? If you have any questions, just leave it in a review or on my ask box on Tumblr. My URL is littlewizardmusings.
Leave a review, please, & let me know what you think. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. But I do own the characters of Danielle, James, and Maria Anderson. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Love,
Sam