Blaine knew it was only a matter of time before word got out about the argument between him and Finn. He also knew it would only be so long before the rumor mill got going and people figured out why the star quarterback had attacked the brother of the most talented girl in school. It took far longer than he had thought it would, but by the end of the week he was definitely on the receiving end of some not-so-pleasant looks.

He could only garner a few tidbits here and there, unsure of just what exactly Finn had told everyone and not particularly wanting to call too much attention to the ordeal. He was sure the other boy would leave out any bit about how Finn had only attacked him out of jealousy, because Rachel preferred the company of her brother over her boyfriend, and he was also as sure that he made it sound like Blaine was some creep prying on his baby sisters love life.

So he started avoiding Rachel in the halls, not wanting to tarnish her reputation even if his own was being thrown down the drain. He could care less about it-he only had another year and a half, but Rachel had another year on top of that. She was still only a sophomore, and one who cared more about her popularity than he ever did in the first place. It was one of the reasons Finn had attracted her towards him, and one of the reasons she still stayed with him now-not that she'd ever admit it aloud. But a rumor about Blaine and Rachel being less than platonic could do a lot more damage to her than it ever would to him, which is why he quit the glee club immediately, resisting the urge to give Finn a black eye at the smug look on his face. He was still of the belief that he owed the kid one, even if Rachel pleaded him to take the high road.

She had said she was going to break up with Finn, she finally had an excuse now and she couldn't trust Finn after the incident between the two boys. But Blaine had reminded her that it would probably do more harm than good, something he regretted the second the words left his mouth. He wanted Finn out of the picture, of course, but having Rachel dump him after Finn accused Blaine of lurking around his sister-it would only to make the rumors worse, it would only lead them closer to the truth that they had to pretend was a lie.

So she stayed with Finn, though even Mike could see the waning adoration coming from Rachel. "If she doesn't want to be with him," Mike asked one day as they passed the couple on the way to their math class, "why doesn't she just break up with him?"

"It's complicated," Blaine sighed heavily, so tired of avoiding Rachel, of avoiding Finn, of trying not to stir up any more trouble than had already started.

"You say that a lot," Mike responded calmly, and Blaine looked over to notice the penetrating stare the other would sometimes give him when he knew something more was going on, when he knew there was something Blaine wasn't telling him.

Blaine was pretty sure he could tell Mike what was going on, how everything had changed in the past few months, how him and Rachel had evolved from siblings to more, and there'd be little to no judgment. Mike was laid back and kind and caring and didn't care about things like that.

But there was a small voice in the back of Blaine's mind that worried that Mike would care, would judge, and losing his best friend would suck worse than any rumor Hudson could make up about him.

"You're avoiding me," Rachel complained as she moved into his bedroom late one night, their parents out at some function or another.

"I'm doing no such thing," he said with a quick kiss to her temple before moving around her to his closet, pretending to be incredibly enthralled by his selection of cardigans so he would have a reason not to look at her. If he looked at her, he couldn't lie, and right now he needed to.

"Yes," she pressed as she followed him with hands on her hips. "You are. You've been avoiding me at school all week, and while I don't like it, I can understand it. I know what they're saying as much as you do, and while I wish there was some way to stop it-"

"There's not," he finished for her, still not looking in her direction. He heard her heave a heavy sigh, far too loud to be natural and not an attempt to get him to look at her, but he couldn't. He wouldn't.

"Where are you going anyways?" she finally asked, moving closer to him, her arms wrapping around his waist as she leaned her head on his shoulder. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and relishing the feeling of her body against his for as long as he could before stepping away from her, knowing this was the beginning of the end. Sure enough, he heard her sharp intake of breath, heard the shakiness in her voice even as she tried to disguise it. "What's wrong Blaine?"

"Nothing," he lied, trying to sound nonchalant as he pulled a pair of shoes out of his closet, moving around her as he got ready. "I just-I'm on kind of a time limit."

"For what," she asked, but it wasn't really a question, more a hurt statement and a vaguely disguised one at that.

He knew the next words out of his mouth had to be chosen carefully, knew that even if he was going to end this-end them-she was still his sister, he'd still have to spend the rest of his life knowing her. And he couldn't do that knowing that he broke her heart so much she hated him. "I have a date," he said quietly, his eyes focused on the floor as he heard her breathing halt for a moment, waiting for the screaming, the yelling, the potential slap or shove.

He didn't expect her to run out of the room, slamming the door to her own bedroom shut loudly. He didn't except her to run away from the confrontation instead of facing it, and he realized once more how deep they were both in if this was her automatic defense.

If Quinn said anything worth listening too, Blaine had no idea. He spent the entire night in a blurred daze of sadness, and it wasn't until she let out a huffy sigh that sounded frightfully like Rachel's that he snapped to attention, looking at her for the first time in the evening. "You know Blaine, if you ask a girl out, you should at least have the decency to pretend to listen to her."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time," Blaine replied dryly with a quick kiss to her cheek before heading back to his car, not even bothering to make sure she made it inside of her house safely. He had come to the conclusion, somewhere over dinner, that he had to explain himself to Rachel. That he had to explain why he was taking Quinn out again, why he would pursue a relationship with her over Rachel.

Because at least if he could explain it and make Rachel understand, she wouldn't hate him more than needed.

Her room was dark when he walked in the house, and he stared at her bedroom door willing her to come out and talk to him. He didn't hear anything from inside-no crying, no talking, no anything, but after a moment he decided to go in anyways.

What he saw broke his heart more than anything else had before, Finn entangled with Rachel under her covers, clearly in a state of half-undressed, him snoring loudly against her hair while she was curled up next to him, her hands gripping his own tightly. He knew this was her payback for what he had done, he had left her alone on a night they could have spent together and so she ran to Finn, and he wanted this for her. He wanted her to have a boy she could hold proudly on her arms without worrying about shame and becoming an outcast.

He wanted her to be happy and normal, and that wouldn't come out of their relationship.

She didn't speak to him for another two weeks, but he expected no less from her. If their parents noticed, they made no comment about it. Finn seemed smugger than normal, having Rachel fully devoted and back on his arm wherever he went, the smirks he sent in Blaine's direction completely unnecessary.

Blaine, for his part, tried to pretend to be interested in Quinn, though he knew it was hopeless. She wanted undivided attention and someone who really wanted to be with her, deserved it really, and Blaine couldn't give it to her. He couldn't pretend she was the center of his universe when he was busy focusing on Rachel perched on Finn's lap across the cafeteria, nibbling on a piece of carrot while his hand was secure on her hip. He couldn't listen to her talk when all he would hear is Rachel going on twelve thousand miles an hour about what her and Finn's plans were for summer vacation as they walked by. She was never going to be the most important girl in his life, and she knew it. They didn't even officially break up, not that he thought they had been officially dating, but when he saw her on the arm of Noah Puckerman a week later, he couldn't have said he was surprised.

He wasn't even upset.

What did upset him was how he could still hear Rachel cry sometimes when she pretended she wasn't, that he couldn't fix this for her. That he wasn't the one who was allowed to fix it. He had broken her, and he couldn't put her back together.

This was why he had driven to the garage Finn worked at after school, why he made sure he got there before Rachel could show up. He had to make sure she was going to be taken care of, and while he wasn't fond of Finn's existence, wanted to pinpoint all the blame onto the guy, Blaine wanted Rachel to be cared for more.

"Hudson," Blaine said by way of greeting, looking warily at the wrench in Finn's hands. Finn stared at him impassively, turning the tool around in his hand as he waited for Blaine to explain himself, which he started promptly. "I don't want to be here anymore than you want me here-"

"Then leave?" Finn suggested, Blaine rolling his eyes and continuing on despite the interruption.

"But Rachel has been-"

"Upset, heartbroken, angry, distant-"

"Are you going to continue to talk while I talk?" Blaine snapped, not wanting to hear that Finn had noticed all these things, not wanting to hear that Finn had the potential to be good to Rachel at all. "I just came to say one thing, and it'd be a lot easier if you would shut the fuck up and let me talk."

"Fine," Finn said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring pointedly at Blaine. "Talk."

"Thank you," Blaine muttered, though now that he had free reign, he wasn't sure how to begin. "I just wanted to say that-I know that this is probably my fault," Finn snorted but didn't interrupt. "And I can't be the one to put her back together. I can't-"

"What's the difference from before and now?" Finn asked, his tone only half accusational, the other half seeming to be genuine curiosity. "Why is it so wrong now if it wasn't before?"

"No one ever said it wasn't wrong before," Blaine replied nervously, unsure of how Finn seemed to hit the nail on the head so well. He had never been known for his astute observations, and the fact that he seemed to know scared Blaine, threw him off course.

"It wasn't stopping you though," Finn supplied, and Blaine just let out a soft sigh.

"No, it wasn't," he admitted quietly, almost silently, though Finn's face flinched a little in response. "Bottom line, Finn, we both care about her. And we both want what's best for her-and that's you." He was tearing his own heart apart, admitting these things, and Finn's look of shock and surprise was enough to tell him that neither expected these words out of Blaine's mouth. "Just-take care of her the way she needs to be taken care of, okay?"

He didn't wait for a response, hearing Rachel's voice call out for Finn as he turned around, blinking back tears of his own as he rushed past her, not responding to her confused "Blaine?", focusing on reaching his car and getting as far away from them as he possibly could.

She came to him later that night when he was laying in the dark, his iPod playing quietly in the corner. He didn't respond when she came in, didn't move when she sat on the foot of his bed. Images of all the other times they were splayed across the bed flashed across his mind-them flipping through song books for her to sing along to in glee, them making out while their parents were downstairs, them napping together when they were just too tired to do anything else-and he curled up on himself, shaking off the threat of sobs that wanted to overtake him.

"I heard what you did," she said quietly after a moment, a hand reaching out and resting on his knee, soft and gentle. He wanted to hold it, take it in his own, kiss it tenderly, and the fact that he was back to denying himself these small pleasures killed him inside. "I mean, I understand why you're doing it. And it's really-" she took a deep breath, her fingers tightening just a smidgen against his leg. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you for being the strong one of the two of us. It probably is for the best that it ended before we got in too deep."

He closed his eyes, willing his body to teleport to literally anywhere else, but he stayed frozen as she stood up, leaning over to place a small kiss on his forehead before disappearing, Blaine making an instantaneous decision to go anywhere, be anywhere but in that house the moment the opportunity arose.