Title: Best Summer Ever
Author: fuzzyalligator
Rating: T
Genre: Romance, Humor, Angst
Disclaimer: Not mine. Oh, but if they were... D
A/N: I know, how dare I post a story that takes place during the summer when we're all going back to school! I'm doing it 'cause I want to! So shush! xD
Enjoy~
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The tall trees gave way to an open field as Blaine Anderson stared out the window of the large red car. As he watched the scenery pass by them, he turned up the volume on his iPod as one of his favorite songs started to play. Just as the chorus started he felt his mother gently grab his shoulder.
"Yeah?" he asked, turning away from the window and pulling an ear bud out.
Karen smiled sadly at her son and looked back at the road. "What are you listening to?"
Blaine returned the smile and paused his music so he could talk with his mother. "Hey, Jude. Sorry, was it too loud?"
"Just a little," she admitted and pushed her curly black hair behind her ear. "But I wanted to know because you were mouthing the words. Again."
"Stop being a creeper, mom," Blaine joked and adjusted in his seat so he was facing her a little more. "How much longer until we get there? It's been a while since we got out and stretched our legs." This was the first time he'd ever gone to his aunt's house and didn't know how much farther they had to go on this particular road.
His mother nodded in agreement, "We should be there in the next fifteen minutes. Depending on traffic."
Blaine looked out the windshield to the empty road before them. The highway had ended 20 miles behind them and since they'd gotten on this road they'd only seen a few cars. But Blaine wasn't complaining. The forest they had driven through had been so beautiful. If only he decided to take photography last year he'd have a proper camera.
"So, fifteen minutes?" Blaine asked with a cheeky smile and laughed when his mother playfully shoved him. The two continued their conversation, not having properly talked to each other since they left over five hours ago.
Blaine was laughing at one of his mother's corny jokes when he saw the large wooden sign. Blakeston Town was carved in curvy letters with a small 'Welcome' written below it. In less than a mile Blaine saw the town his mother had grown up in.
It reminded the teen of all the little towns described in books and seen in movies. The small but endearing houses had friendly people waving at the passing car in their yards and there were actually 'old-timers' whispering to each other in front of one of the stores.
It took five minutes to get from one side of the town to the other where Cindy, Blaine's aunt, lived. Her house, much like the others, had a white picket fence, a perfectly groomed lawn, and a couple of chairs out on the deck. Really, the only way someone could tell the difference between it and a neighbor's was that her house had been repainted a bright pink color.
"Huh…" Blaine's mother said quietly as she parked right behind the beaten up truck in the driveway. "She told me the house was lime green."
Before Blaine could say anything the front door slammed open and a 7 year girl flew off the porch. "Auntie Karen!" she squealed in joy and collided with the front of the car with a big smile.
Blaine chuckled at his young cousin and opened his door, effectively catching the interest of the blonde girl. "Blaine!" she screamed much louder in surprise and sprinted to his side of the car. Before one foot was even touching the gravel the girl had thrown herself at her cousin. "I didn't know you were coming!"
"Surprise, Zoey," Blaine laughed and hugged the girl back tightly. The two hadn't seen each other since Christmas, a little more than five months ago. "Mom told Aunt Cindy not to tell you so it'd be a surprise."
While the two embraced, Karen had gotten out of the car and headed to the front porch where her sister and brother-in-law were watching with smiles. "Hey," she said happily and hugged her younger sister tightly, being careful of her large stomach. "When's this one due?"
"Next month," Roger answered with a proud smile and pulled his wife close to kiss her cheek. "We're going to name him Eric."
"Or her Emily," Cindy countered with a small laugh and rubbed her stomach lightly. "Depends on what it is."
"I still think you're crazy not knowing the baby's sex," Karen said with a smile and followed the couple inside.
Eventually Blaine wormed his way out of his cousin's arms and the seatbelt. "Where's Tigger?" he asked and knelt to the ground.
The blonde girl hopped onto his back and giggled as she was carried to the backward. "He's sleeping in his house," Zoey answered and pointed to the rainbow colored dog house in the farthest corner.
As the two got closer, an old yellow lab walked out of the colorful house and wagged its tail quickly when he spotted them. With a happy bark, he met them the rest of the way, jumping up on Blaine's chest to lick his face sloppily.
Blaine gently pushed the dog down and helped Zoey off of his back. The young girl hugged her dog around the neck, being careful not to hurt him. "How long are you guys staying?" she asked happily, so excited to see her cousin and aunt.
"Until the end of August," he answered, laughing when Zoey started jumping up and down even more thrilled. Normally it was his mother who came to visit during the summer, and that was only for a week or two. So hearing that both of them were going to be there until school started made her the happiest girl in the world.
Zoey grabbed both of Blaine's hands and started to dance around in the circle. After a few spins, Blaine started to go faster and she was quickly lifted off the ground as they spun faster and faster. It wasn't too long before Blaine became dizzy and stopped, both of them falling to the ground laughing.
"This is going to be the best summer ever!" Zoey exclaimed and turned so she could use Blaine's chest as a pillow. Tigger had watched them with his tail wagging and now used the teen's leg as his own pillow.
Blaine hugged the little girl close, happy tears finally falling. He knew that no matter what happened in his life, whatever he was, she would always love him. And that's all that he needed right now.
Karen watched as the two children laid in the grass and smiled at them. "So…" Cindy asked, walking up behind her sister quietly. How was that even possible when she was that big? "Are you going to tell me why you're staying so long?"
With a sigh, Karen turned to her sister and said one thing, "Teddy."
Cindy looked at her sister curiously and knew that was all she was going to get out of her for now. She didn't know what her sister's husband had to do with them staying in the town for almost three months but hoped it wasn't anything too bad.
"Food's ready!" Roger called, waving one of the sandwiches at the kids through the kitchen window. Instantly the dog was up and running towards the house with the cousins following at a much slower pace.
The family ate their grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (Zoey's very favorite) at the dining table while they shared stories since the last time they were together.
Zoey had gotten all A's in her classes, which was wonderful because she'd been having trouble in some of them. And because of her good grades, her parents had allowed her to pick the house's color.
"That explains so much!" Karen laughed, knowing that hot pink was her little niece's favorite color. "You're going to be careful next time you promise her anything, right?"
Roger grumbled, not a big fan of the color his house now was. But he'd been true to his word and had painted it the color for his little princess. "It won't be something big like that, I'll tell you that."
Cindy chuckled lightly and turned to Blaine on her right. "So, has anything exciting happened to you since Christmas?" she asked conversationally with a smile.
Blaine knew that his mother talked to her sister almost daily so there really wasn't anything too exciting to tell. Except…He wasn't sure if he was ready to tell them that so he just shook his head. Although he knew Zoey would love him no matter what, he wasn't sure how his aunt and uncle would react to hearing his latest discovery about himself.
"Well I just finished my latest book this morning," Roger said happily and leaned back in his chair proudly. "I just need to send it to my publisher and we should be getting tons of cash really soon."
Cindy rolled her eyes at her husband's playful boasting and groaned when the baby kicked her. "Excuse me," she said, getting out of her chair carefully. "I have to use the rest room."
Blaine watched her leave the room and jumped lightly when he felt something wet touch his hand. Underneath the table was Tigger looking for table scraps. Blaine still had some sandwich left and tried to sneak it to the dog.
"You know better than that," Zoey scolded, looking under the table to glare at her dog. Tigger's ears went back and he slowly crawled over to her, trying to apologize for his bad behavior.
"Where are you two staying?" Roger asked out of the blue, just now realizing that there wasn't enough room in their house for two guests (his wife had forgotten to mention Blaine was coming until a few hours before their arrival). "You can barely stand our couch for a week, Kare." Karen glared lightly at him, hating that nickname.
"Blaine can stay in my room!" Zoey offered helpfully, forgetting about her apologetic dog in favor of trying to convince the others to let him stay there.
Karen smiled at her niece but shook her head, "Since there's not enough room here for both of us I called the bed and breakfast in town. We have two rooms waiting for us there. But maybe Blaine can spend the night a couple times while we're here." She added the last part when Zoey's face started to fall.
Instantly the smile was back and she was looking at her cousin expectantly. Blaine smiled back at her and nodded, "As long as we can stay up all night watching funny movies."
"Yes!" she cried happily and bounced in her seat.
"Are you promising her something now, sis?" Cindy asked, waddling back into the room and smiling at her family at the table. It had been too long since they'd all been together.
Roger quickly leapt from his seat to help his wife to her own, making sure she was comfortable before walking to Tigger who was now sitting by the back door. "Be free, beast," he told the dog as he opened the back door.
Zoey giggled at her father and smiled up at him when he ruffled her blonde hair, much like his own. "Can Blaine spend the night tonight, daddy?"
"Actually," Karen said, standing and stretching, "Blaine needs to come with me so we can unpack all our things. But maybe if you're a good girl he can on Saturday."
The little girl had a big grin and looked at Blaine as he stood along with his mother. "I'll be the best girl in the world!"
Blaine laughed and walked to her side of the table, pulling her close in a hug. "I'll unpack everything so I can come see you early tomorrow. OK?" Zoey nodded as she held him close, still so happy to see her cousin.
The rest of the family said their goodbyes and the two Andersons headed back to their car. "They'll still love you, you know," Karen said as she backed out of the driveway. Blaine refused to look at his mother, not wanting to see him feeling guilty.
They drove to the B&B in silence, neither of them wanting to say anything. There were only a few cars in the parking lot so the red vehicle was parked almost right next to the entrance. Karen told Blaine to start unpacking while she went to check them in.
Because the two of them were staying for the whole summer, both had packed a couple of large suitcases (along with Blaine's guitar). How was she expecting him to pull them all out by himself? Not to mention the way they'd been jammed in earlier that day.
With a sigh, he grabbed the handle of the suitcase on the top and pulled with all his might. It budged just a little bit a few times but it was definitely stuck in there. Just when he was going to give up, someone walked up to him.
"What some help?" a girl asked and when he turned around he saw a girl about his age standing there. She was wearing a pair of bright orange jeans and a white tank top. Her black hair was in a French braid and her arms were crossed over her chest as she waited for an answer. "Well?"
Blaine nodded and pointed to the luggage he'd been trying to get out earlier. "It won't move," he explained and stepped to the side as the girl moved towards the car. Together, they each grabbed the handle and pulled. It took a few tries but eventually it came loose. "Thanks, uh…"
"Mercedes," she answered, already pulling another piece of luggage out. Because there was one less piece, it was easier to get the rest of them. "You must be Anderson."
Blaine stopped pulling the last piece out and looked at her in shock. He'd heard that in small towns news traveled fast, but this fast? "How-"
"My parents run this place," she explained with a smile and it looked like she was trying not to laugh. "Didn't mean to scare you. I just noticed that you have a lot of luggage for one person."
Blaine instantly relaxed, he was glad to know that news didn't travel that fast around here. That's not what he needed right now. "I'm Blaine," he offered, holding out a hand which Mercedes gladly took.
"Oh, I see you're already making friends," Karen said as she walked out of the B&B and grabbed her largest piece of luggage. "Come on, B." Blaine rolled his eyes at the nickname but grabbed his own luggage to follow her into the building.
The first floor was completely open; the only wall was hiding the kitchen area. One half of the large room was filled with tables and chairs near the kitchen. Blaine assumed that's where everyone ate meals, which made sense because that's what some people were doing right then.
The other half of the room was filled with couches and stuffed chairs, a large television, and some bookcases that were completely filled. In the farthest corner Blaine could see a table with a stack of bored games on top.
Even though he couldn't see it, Blaine knew that the upstairs was bedrooms. He absently wondered how many other guests were actually staying there. When his mother started to move, he followed after her. He noticed that his mother's other bag was already there and assumed that Mercedes as slipped past him to put it there.
It took them a little bit to get everything in their respective rooms, but once everything was locked behind the doors the two of them decided to head down for something to drink.
"You could bring your guitar," his mother suggested as she stood next to his locked door. Although they both trusted the people in the town, they had each brought things that were very important to them and didn't want to take any chances.
Blaine hesitated at the top of the stairs and thought about that. It had been a while since he'd gotten to really play. But the more that he thought about it, the less he really wanted to. "It's okay," he finally replied with a smile. "I just want something to drink. Then, maybe if you're a good girl, I'll play you something."
Karen reached out to smack the side of his head but he was too quick for her. As he hurried down the stairs he laughed and a few of the patrons there looked at him curiously. He waved to them lightly in embarrassment and walked to one of the empty tables. His mother joined him soon after and the two of them looked at the drink menu.
A few minutes later someone stopped by their table and asked, "What would you like to drink?"
"Just a nice, big glass of ice tea please," Karen replied with a smile and handed the menu to her son. The waiter smiled back, writing her order down and then it was Blaine's turn.
"Can I get a…" Blaine started to say but when he looked up at the waiter he lost his train of thought. The boy standing by the table was absolutely beautiful and it seemed that Blaine's brain decided that it was a perfectly good idea to stop working just then.
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