3: Family Portrait

Tina. Tina Cohen-fucking-Chang… Is my mam's boyfriend's daughter…? She could become my step-sister… What the fuck is happening. This year is so fucking fucked up and confusing. Sam leaves the states. Sugar quits glee. Tina could eventually be my fucking sister… WHAT THE FUC IS HAPPENING?

/

"Tina? Wow, that was… unexpected" Blaine said as we walked with Puck towards the choir room.

"Yeah… We're having dinner tonight; just the four of us" I said slowly, as I tried to let the words sink in.

"So you guys could become brother and sister? Have you guys even talked before?" Puck asked inquisitively.

"Of course we have, but we're not close or anything. This is weird. I feel so awkward. I should talk to her. No I shouldn't-wait, yes; yes I will. Wait, no!" I said as I began to panic.

"Ryan, relax. Tina is lovely. I'm sure she'll be fine with this and welcome you with open arms. Who doesn't love you?" Blaine said as he tried to calm me down with a smile.

"Uh Finn, Quinn, maybe Mike and Artie, probably Sugar right now too" I said quickly.

"Dude, calm the fuck down. We're here" Puck said before pushing me into the choir room.

"Good luck" Blaine whispered to me before running to his seat with Puck.

I looked over to a group consisting of Mercedes, Artie, Mike and Brittany, but no Tina… Odd.

A few moments later Tina walked into the choir room and sat down in the corner at the back of the room. I walked over and sat down beside her.

"Hey Tina, I thought we should ta-" I said before being cut off by her.

"Don't even try talking to me. Leave me alone" She hissed angrily before turning her attention to Mr Schue as he began to write on the board.

/

After Glee Club:

"Fuck, Tina sounds hardcore… I've never heard her angry before" Puck said, looking bewildered.

"Obviously she's having trouble dealing with this… Maybe just give her time" Blaine said optimistically.

"He can't really do anything else when she won't talk to him-shit Quinn's on her way to Shelby's! I need to go now and clean up her mess" Puck said before starting up the hallway in a sprint.

"I'm worried about him" I said sadly as I looked back to Blaine.

"Me too… But I think we both know Puck by now; when he wants to talk, he will. He knows we're here" Blaine said happily.

/

Later that night:

"So Tina, your dad has told me a lot about you. How's school? I'm sure you know all the dirt on Ryan in glee club" My mam joked as we sat down on the table facing Tina and Michael.

"Actually, he's just whiny and no, I don't do anything in glee club, before you ask" She said without looking up from her food.

"Tina, behave" Michael said quietly. "So Ryan how was your day? I've been meaning to ask you, I know you like glee club, are you planning on following that route in terms of a career, like Tina wants to?" He asked.

"Um, well I'm still not completely sure. I know that I love performing on stage with my friends. But to be honest, I'm not sure if I'd be suited for a performing career. There's a lot of bigger and bolder personalities in glee for that. Maybe something behind the scenes, like music production, or working in a recording studio… All Ii know is it will have something to do with music" I said.

"You think it's unrealistic to be a performer? See Tina, that's what I've been trying to explain to you" He said.

Tina simply ignored him aside from a small huff of exasperation.

/

The rest of the dinner remained fairly quiet, aside from small talk swapped between my mam and Michael. Before we got up to leave, Michael stood up, walked over to where my mam was sitting and kneeled down.

HOLY SHIT.

"Claire, I know this may not be as romantic as you'd hoped. But right now, I couldn't be happier. You've changed my life for the better. The time we've spent together has been the happiest time of my life. Now that I've seen how we can be, I can't hold it in any longer. I love you. Will you marry me?"

My mam looked teary eyed before happily saying "yes" and hugging Michael.

"Wow mam, congratulations!" I said before hugging her and shaking Michael's hand.

"Thanks Ryan. Tina, what do you think?" He asked happily before looking over to her empty seat.

"I'll be in the car" She muttered as we heard the front door close.

"I'll go talk to her, you guys celebrate" I said.

/

"So what the hell is wrong with you?" I asked as I stood outside the car and looked in the window as she sat with a stoic expression, arms crossed and staring out the window.

"I don't need you. We don't need you." She said plainly before looking away.

"… Fine. You know what? I don't need you either. But guess what? We're gonna be stuck with each other now. So you come to me when you decide to grow up!" I said angrily before walking back into the house.

/

The Next Day:

Momma please stop crying, I can't stand the sound
Your pain is painful and its tearin' me down
I hear glasses breaking as I sit up in my bed
I told dad you didn't mean those nasty things you said

You fight about money, 'bout me and my brother
And this I come home to, this is my shelter
It ain't easy growing up in World War III
Never knowing what love could be, you'll see
I don't want love to destroy me like it has done my family

Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I'll be better, Mommy I'll do anything
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I'll be better, Daddy please don't leave

Daddy please stop yellin', I can't stand the sound
Make mama stop cryin', 'cause I need you around
My mama she loves you, no matter what she says, its true
I know that she hurts you, but remember I love you, too

I ran away today, ran from the noise, ran away
Don't wanna go back to that place, but don't have no choice, no way
It ain't easy growin' up in World War III
Never knowin' what love could be, well I've seen
I don't want love to destroy me like it did my family

Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I'll be better, Mommy I'll do anything
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I'll be better, Daddy please don't leave

In our family portrait, we look pretty happy
Let's play pretend, let's act like it comes naturally
I don't wanna have to split the holidays
I don't want two addresses
I don't want a step-brother anyways
And I don't want my mom to have to change her last name

In our family portrait we look pretty happy
We look pretty normal, let's go back to that
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
Let's play pretend, act like it goes naturally

In our family portrait we look pretty happy
(Can we work it out? Can we be a family?)
We look pretty normal, let's go back to that
(I promise I'll be better, Mommy I'll do anything)
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
(Can we work it out? Can we be a family?)
Let's play pretend act and like it comes so naturally
(I promise I'll be better, Daddy please don't leave)
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
(Can we work it out? Can we be a family?)
We look pretty normal, let's go back to that
(I promise I'll be better, Daddy please don't leave)

Daddy don't leave
Daddy don't leave
Daddy don't leave
Turn around please
Remember that the night you left you took my shining star?
Daddy don't leave
Daddy don't leave
Daddy don't leave
Don't leave us here alone

Mom will be nicer
I'll be so much better, I'll tell my brother
Oh, I won't spill the milk at dinner
I'll be so much better, I'll do everything right
I'll be your little girl forever
I'll go to sleep at night

Tina finished singing as her mind was brought back to the choir room and she sat back down beside Mike.

"Wow Tina, that was… emotional. Is everything ok?" Mr Schue asked.

"I'm fine, I just needed to get that off my chest" She said plainly.

I can practically feel her eyes burning into my back, petty bitch. Fuck this.

/

The Next Day:

Guys, Ryan has a song he wants to sing for us.

"Thanks Mr Schue. I just want to say something before I do… My mam is an exceptional person. She raised me alone, paid the bills and still stayed optimistic. She was put through hell my father. I don't even care about what I'm about to say. My dad is a cunt (several glee members gasped)… Anyways… My mam got through all of that and she has finally found someone she can be happy with, and who treats her right. My point is, now that she's finally happy, a certain person needs to get over herself and learn to be happy for not only my mam, but her own freaking dad! Anyways, on to the song" I said before anyone had a chance to speak.

She was so young with such innocent eyes
She always dreamt of a fairytale life
And all the things your money can't buy
She thought daddy was a wonderful guy
Then, suddenly, things seemed to change
It was the moment she took on his name
He took his anger out on her face
She kept all of her pain locked away

Oh mother, we're stronger
From all of the tears you have shed
Oh mother, don't look back
'Cause he'll never hurt us again

So, mother, I thank you
For all you've done and still do
You got me, I got you
Together we always pull through
We always pull through
We always pull through
Oh mother, oh mother, oh mother

It was the day that he turned on his kids
That she knew she just had to leave him
So many voices inside of her head
Saying over and over and over
'You deserve much more than this.'

She was so sick of believing the lies and trying to hide
Covering the cuts and bruises (cuts and bruises)
So tired of defending her life; she could have died
Fighting for the lives of her children

Oh mother, we're stronger
From all of the tears you have shed (all of the tears you have shed)
Oh mother, don't look back
'Cause he'll never hurt us again (He'll never hurt us again)

So, mother, I thank you (thank you)
For all that you've done and still do (still do)
You got me, I got you
(Yeah, you got me, and I got you)
Together we always pull through
We always pull through
We always pull through
Oh mother, oh mother, oh mother

All of your life you have spent
Burying hurt and regret
But, mama, he'll never touch us again

For every time he tried to break you down
Just remember who's still around
It's over, and we're stronger
And we'll never have to go back again

Oh mother, we're stronger
From all of the tears you have shed
Oh mother, don't look back (Oh mother, don't look back again)
'Cause he'll never hurt us again
('Cause he'll never hurt us again)

So, mother, I thank you (And I thank you for everything you've done)
For all that you've done and still do (Together we always move on)
You got me, I got you (You got me, I got you)
Together we always pull through (always pull through)
We always pull through
We always pull through

I sat back down as some of the guys clapped, while some other half-heartedly did so, not knowing entirely how to act. I could still feel her eyes burning into the back of my head…

/

Later That Day:

Blaine and I were lying on the couch in his den as we watched Harry Potter.

"I'm so proud of what you did today. It was so brave, laying your emotions out on the table like that. Tina would be crazy not to give you guys a chance, especially after that" Blaine said.

"Awh thanks, but I dunno. Obviously she's taking her parents' divorce hard… even though it was about 4 years ago. We'll just have to wait and see I suppose" I said a little sadly.

"Hmm… Have you spoken to Sugar yet?" He asked.

"Nah. I need time for that one. She really pissed me off… Ugh I need some positive stuff to happen… Can I be honest? I really miss Sam" I said a little sadly.

"Me too." Blaine said, trying to hide a look of hurt.

"Not like that… I mean, he was a huge part of my life and of course I'll always miss him in that way a bit… But I mean in a friend way. I miss being able to talk about pokémon and x-men with him… It's a fantasy; something to escape away from all our problems" I said.

"You know you could re-add him on facebook? We all did" He said.

"No, not after how he acted. I can't" I said.

"I understand… You know, I don't really know that much about that stuff. But I'd learn for you" Blaine said with a cheeky smile.

"Ugh, you adorable little puppy; I love you" I said before giving him a kiss.

Blaine smiled dreamily in response before looking a little serious.

"I wanted to talk to you about something. You changed the subject last time. Honestly, now that your grandparents are back in Ireland, do you not think it's time to come out anytime soon?" Blaine asked.

I sighed before replying. "I dunno… I-uh… I just don't think I'm ready" I said.

"But you've had two boyfriends now. Most guys who aren't ready to come out haven't even had one" He said.

"Look, I just don't think I can Blaine" I said sadly.

"Ryan, please explain why. I'm here to help" He said.

"Look let's just forget it. I'm not ready. I don't wanna talk about it." I said before standing up and beginning to pace.

"Ryan, your grandparent's aren't here anymore? What's stopping you from being yourself? Why?-"

"Because I'm scared! I'm fucking terrified of how the shitheads and wankers in school will say and do when they find out. I don't want to do what Kurt had to last year! You saw how that guy acted during the summer on the trip. He didn't celebrate us being ourselves. No; he called us fucking faggots and that we should burn in hell!" I said as I got angrier and the tears began to form.

Blaine sighed before walked over and wrapping his arms around me. The sense of comfort and warmth helped to calm me down as I cried.

After a minute, Blaine took my hand and lead me to the couch.

"Ryan, I know you're scared. You were brought up in a place that taught you that being gay was a sin. You come here and actually get beaten up and have slushees thrown over you. It's not easy. But no one ever said life was easy. What someone in our situation needs is a group of people that will love you and support you unconditionally; you have that. You have your mom, Puck, Sugar (even if you're fighting right now), Santana, and all of glee club. And you have me, and I will never let anyone hurt you. I love you too much to let that happen" He said.

"You're right…" I said quietly.

"I was wrong to force you into this. You come out when you're ready" He said.

"No Blaine, you're right. This was the push I needed. I need to be myself. I need to stop being scared. I'm gonna have to deal with shitty people, but so does everyone. I have you and all the guys to support me… I will. I'll come out, but you need to help me do it" I said timidly.

"Of course. I'll stand by you no matter what. I'm yours, proudly so" He said as he held my hand tight.

"You're too good for me, you know that" I said before hugging him tightly.

"Shut up and kiss me" Blaine said happily before leaning n once again.

/

A/N: So here's another chapter for all you lovely people!

If you have any idea/critiques feel free to let me know! Reviews are always appreciated!

And now, on a sadder note, as some of you who have followed this series know, Girls Aloud are my absolute favourite band… and on Wednesday, March 20th 2013, after 10 years together, they broke up. For me, this news is just… devastating. I think that I'm going to possibly incorporate a Girls Aloud tribute into the series in the future. As a loyal Alouder (fan name) till the very end, I think it would be a disservice to them if I didn't (I know they'll never see any of this but I just love them that much).

Anyways, if anyone knows Girls Aloud let me know some songs you'd like to be done. Ideas on how to incorporate it into the storyline would also be nice :)