A/N: I'm so sorry! This chapter took longer than expected, but a majority of my time has been spent staring at my computer screen in disbelief that I have technically "met" Jon Hall (it's still exciting, okay?") as well as trying to continue my own other stuff too. Yay. I hope you enjoy this chapter - it's not as long as I would have liked, but there'll be longer ones coming soon once exams are over.
Other than that, I can't think of much to say! Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the characters except my original ones that you haven't seen on the television show. That is all. You may now read this chapter.
"Who's Kurt?"
Blaine's mouth ran dry. He didn't want to hide who he was, but something told him that hearing about it from their four year old daughter wasn't the best way for Alan and Karen Wright to find out about Blaine's sexuality. Not that it should matter. Having lived in Ohio for most of his life however, Blaine had learned that the things that shouldn't matter often mattered most.
It was for that reason he swallowed and glanced across at Aleisha, words coming out of his mouth before he had the chance to properly think about them.
"I...uh, he's my..um, friend. Kurt's my best friend. Do you have a best friend?" Blaine fumbled, his voice breaking a little as he tried so hard to mask the awkward expression that he had no doubt was currently in possession of his face.
Aleisha glanced up at Blaine sadly, "No."
Blaine frowned sympathetically, "What? Why not?"
"All the kids at daycare think I'm weird."
Blaine felt his heart break just looking at the pure, heart-wrenching sadness that came through the young girl's facial expression. He knelt down, staring into her eyes.
"Aleisha Wright, you look at me" He instructed, lifting her chin up with his index finger. She shied away, giggling lightly.
"You don't ever listen to those boys and girls who say you're weird. You're perfect the way you are. Alright?" Blaine murmured, smiling gently at her – he didn't care he'd only known her a day, she felt unaccepted. Something he'd felt so many times before.
Aleisha looked up at him, smiling again "Blainey, you're really nice."
Her half brother blushed, and she gave him a quick hug before scooting back downstairs.
Blaine rocked back on his heels, yawning. His body was still on Ohio time, and it was funny how even just three hours could make such a difference.
He shuffled down the stairs, toothbrush in hand, eyelids suddenly heavy and ready for sleep.
"Blaine!" Karen's persistent voice carried up the stairs, somewhat faintly as a result of the three stories, but loud nonetheless.
Blaine rubbed his eyes, checking his watch. 7:30am.
Wow,talkaboutearlyrisers he thought to himself, crawling out from the comfort of the sofa bed.
Pulling a t-shirt over his bare chest, and running his fingers through his hair, Blaine headed downstairs to where he could hear Aleisha's giggles and the low rumble of Alan's voice.
"Morning Blaine!" Karen smiled, "Sorry for waking you up early, we've just got to get ready for church."
Blaine's stomach sank. Shit.Church. This changed things. This changed a lot of things.
He plastered a smile on his face, channelling as many positive thoughts as he could.
"Sounds good. Uh, what time is the service?" Blaine enquired, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. It wasn't that he had anything against religion – quite the opposite, but as Kurt often reminded him, religion often didn't think much of people like them.
"It starts at ten, but we have a tradition with the Weckmann family next door of sharing breakfast. They're a lovely family. Their eldest son, Simon, is about your age." Alan informed him, chucking some fruit in a bag – to take next door, Blaine presumed. Karen took the bag from him with a smile, pecking him on the cheek.
"You'd best go get ready" She said to Blaine with a quick smile.
The four stood on the porch of the Weckmann household, Aleisha half way through an in depth discussion on the differences between her two favourite Bratz dolls. Blaine tried his best to listen attentively, however his brain was still fuzzy from lack of sleep.
Alan knocked on the door again, smiling awkwardly at Blaine and muttering something about it not normally taking this long.
"Good morning Wright family!" Melanie Weckmann greeted the quartet, smiling warmly as she opened the door.
"Oh, hello dear, you must be..." Melanie looked helplessly towards Karen, and Blaine interjected, attempting to avoid any more awkwardness.
"I'm Blaine Anderson and it's a pleasure to meet you" he said, offering his hand with a smile.
Melanie beamed in return, charmed with this boy's manners.
"Simon! Come and meet Blaine!"
They moved inside from the porch, entering the Weckmann household. Blaine gazed around him, it all looked essentially the same as the Wright's, however this one felt more... homey.
A tall lanky boy with floppy sandy hair flew down the stairs.
"Hey Mom, what?" He asked, clearly puzzled.
"I was just asking you down to come and meet Blaine; he's staying with the Wrights at the moment."
Simon smiled at Blaine, "Wanna come upstairs 'til breakfast is ready?"
Gratefully, Blaine nodded, following Simon back up the stairs, to a room that felt quite similar to Blaine's own.
Posters were strewn across the walls, and Blaine grinned at the sight of a semi acoustic guitar and amp leaned up near the window.
"You play as well?" Blaine cringed inwardly, asking the obvious.
Simon only smiled, "Yeah, why's that? You do too?"
Blaine nodded, "Ooh, a Fender dreadnought cutaway, nice" he stated, smiling in approval.
"What do you have?" Simon enquired, relieved at how easily conversation was flowing.
"Oh, it's a Martinez or something. My Mom got it from a second hand store, but I love it" Blaine remarked, suddenly self-conscious at how he'd acquired his guitar, in comparison to Simon whose had probably been bought straight from a music store. The houses along this street alone were indicative of a completely different tax bracket to that of his suburb in Westerville.
"So, uh, apparently we're going to be going to school together for two weeks?" Simon asked, sitting down on his bed, offering his desk chair to Blaine who accepted gratefully, nodding in response to the other boy's question.
Blaine cleared his throat, "So, erm... I hear hockey is a popular extracurricular activity?"
Simon nodded, "Yeah, I'm on the school's team. It's pretty awesome." He flashed a smile, "You like hockey?"
Blaine shook his head, "I've never played, I uh..." He blushed, "I prefer show choir."
Simon's eyes widened, "Oh, okay then. Our school doesn't have one of those yet, but there are a few guys looking to start one up."
Blaine's heart plummeted to his feet. A lack of show choir meant it would be that much harder to settle in.
"Oh, okay then. Well that's cool. I'd love to talk to them."
"Boys! Breakfast!" Melissa called up the stairs, breaking the somewhat awkward silence that had settled between the two of them.
"So, Blaine, what did you think of church?" Karen asked on the drive home, "Is it much different from yours in Ohio?"
Blaine grimaced, not sure what kind of reaction would follow his statement; "Uh, actually, we don't go that regularly."
Karen's smile turned stiff, "Oh. Okay. But obviously you go for the important holidays like Christmas and Easter, yes?"
Blaine decided to ignore any voices from his conscience about being honest, and just nodded his head, eyes wide.
Blaine's first day at Hamilton All Boy's Estate went by painfully slow. He hardly saw Simon, and no one else seemed willing to talk to him.
"How's it going sweetheart?" His mother asked him that night, having rung Blaine's cell phone pretty much the moment he had told her he was finished dinner.
"Yeah, it's alright" He lied, flopping onto his bed, exhausted, "The teachers all seem a lot more… full on than Dalton. It's just a different atmosphere I guess…"
Blaine could hear his mother's concern and he felt bad, thisisn'taboutme he reminded himself, "But other than that it's great! I've made a friend next door who goes to Hamilton too." Blaine didn't mention the fact that they had only spoken once, and that sole conversation had left Blaine feeling slightly anxious about the possibility of finding anything similar to the Warblers.
"Well that's great honey!" She exclaimed, hopeful for him once more. Maybe he would be able to adjust after all.
"Tell Blaine I say hi!" Peter's voice called, and Blaine laughed as his mother informed his step dad that she was fairly certain Blaine would have been able to hear him regardless of the telephone connection.
"Alright darling, I should probably head off now, I've got an early start tomorrow. You go talk to Alan or something."
Blaine smiled, "Sure Mom, you go get some rest. I love you."
He hung up the phone, looking longingly at the computer. Kurt had been unable to Skype tonight and Blaine was left feeling lonelier than he had since arriving.
"Blaine? Time to wake up son," Alan stood at Blaine's bedside, worried. The boy hadn't eaten much last night, and proceeded to go to bed earlier than he had the previous nights.
"Are you alright?"
Blaine rolled over, blinking warily, "Wha' time is it?"
Alan checked his watch, "Ten to eight. We should really leave soon…"
Blaine sat upright, "Shoot, I'm sorry, my alarm didn't go off!"
He bolted out of bed, rushing around his room seizing clothes and his towel, dashing down the stairs for a shower.
"Blaine! Hey, Blaine!" A voice called down the pristine Hamilton corridor.
Blaine turned to the voice, smiling when he saw Simon rushing towards him.
"Listen, I'm sorry I didn't catch up with you yesterday, my friends kinda stole my time… I wanted them to meet you too, you're a cool guy. They have been in show choirs too, before coming to Hamilton, so I think you'd get along with them"
"That's okay man, I just thought you might not have wanted to hang with someone who liked singing" he laughed, relieved that whatever seemed to have gone down on Sunday was just an awkward moment.
"Hey, I never said I didn't like singing – and the guys and I were going to have a get together this afternoon, if you're interested. Joe plays the drums and Alex plays keyboard. They both sing too."
Blaine smiled, "Sounds great! I'll just have to text Alan and let him know."
Not even the psychopathic phys. ed teacher could break Blaine's spirit that day. Simon was in his class too, and the two of them chatted about music and television, continuing through to the lunch break when they met up with Simon's friends Alex and Joe.
Lunch flew by, and Blaine found himself getting along with the three boys like he did with the Warbler guys.
"So Mom's said that you guys are all good to come over this afternoon." Joe stated. His house was always the go-to for jam sessions seeing as the drum kit was so difficult to move.
"Blaine, Simon tells us you play guitar?"
Blaine nodded, chewing his sandwich and swallowing before adding, "And Simon tells me that you guys used to be in show choir too?"
Alex and Joe grinned at each other "Yeah, we used to go to the same school before this one. Show choir was awesome, but they don't have it here."
"Yet." Joe added, stabbing his fries with a fork.
Blaine glanced at them, "Yet? So you're trying to set one up? That would be awesome!"
Simon chuckled, "Well, if they start one up I think I might have to join so I can keep hanging out with my friends…"
Joe and Alex beamed at each other, "That brings our total membership up to four!"
"It's actually better than I first thought" Blaine admitted to Kurt that night on Skype.
"I mean sure, apparently we're playing hockey tomorrow, but it can't be all that bad, right?"
Kurt couldn't help but smile at Blaine. As much as it would break his heart to have this rather sizeable distance, Kurt was glad Blaine had managed to settle in so quickly.
"I'm glad you're back to being happy. I hated missing you on Skype last night, but Dad and Carole dragged me out for dinner..." He shook his head at the memory of Carole and his father staring him down at dinner, practically forcing him to eat.
"That's alright, I missed you, but you are allowed to have a life outside of this relationship" Blaine laughed, wishing he could just curl up with Kurt right then and there and talk; Face to face, not separated by this massive distance.
"Shoot, that's Dad coming up the stairs! I should go..." Kurt whispered nervously.
Blaine smiled, "That's alright, you go get some rest and we'll talk tomorrow!"
The pair hung up, and Blaine turned to survey his room, taking in the mess on the floors. He hoped Karen hadn't been able to see it.
Blaine frowned. He and Karen hadn't really had a chance to talk properly yet, and Blaine was a little nervous. She made an effort to come across as welcoming, however he couldn't help but feel that something wasn't quite right.
Glancing at his watch, Blaine sighed. He had another hour or so to kill before he could consider going to bed.
Picking up his guitar, he began to strum softly, losing himself in the acoustics of the room.
Don't I know it; nobody has to say
I've been lucky. Guess I was born that way.
I thank my father, his absence has made me strong,
And I love my mother, though she had troubles with God...
Alan paused outside Blaine's room, mesmerised by his son's voice. James Blunt was certainly an interesting choice, however he had made it his own, completely transforming the song.
He knocked gently on the door, and Blaine looked up, embarrassed.
"Sorry buddy, just bringing up one of your shirts from the wash"
Blaine nodded, "Sure, come in."
Alan cleared his throat nervously before continuing, "That's quite some talent you've got Blaine – I mean, I figured you'd have some musical ability when you brought your guitar with you, and spent that time with those other boys this afternoon, but just... wow." Alan finished, trying to find words and failing.
Blaine shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "Uhh, thanks." He smiled up at Alan, who just placed Blaine's shirt on his bed and ducked out of the room quietly again.
Placing his guitar gently against the desk, Blaine scrambled to find a pen and paper – inspiration hitting him like a sledgehammer. His hand flew across the page. The lyrics were messy and scrambled, but he had to get them down before they escaped. He could edit later.
Ten minutes later he flopped onto his bed, exhausted. He'd been feeling that a lot lately, and blamed it on the energy required to try and maintain awkward conversation with Karen on the trips to and from Hamilton.
If things kept improving as they seemed to these past few days, Blaine told himself, then perhaps living the year out with the Wrights might not be such a bad thing.
A/N: The song used towards the end is called No Tears, by James Blunt. Check it out if you want, but it's not how I imagined Blaine singing it.
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