As he followed Kurt through the crowded hallway later that week, Blaine tried to figure out how he ended up walking to glee club when he had promised himself he would stay invisible, even if that meant not making friends or joining any groups. Mr. Schue had given them another Spanish period to work on their projects, but because they were basically finished, Kurt had used the majority of that free time attempting to convince Blaine to join glee. Kurt's reasons ranged from having another guy to support his campaign for more show tunes and seeing Rachel's face when Blaine sang, to making more friends and gaining bonus points with their Spanish teacher. Blaine really did want to start singing again; the West Side Story skit over the weekend had reminded him how much he loved to perform, even if it was just for a stupid school assignment.

But if he was being honest, the main reason Blaine conceded to attend at least one meeting was to spend more time with Kurt. The two of them had a lot in common and Blaine had sincerely enjoyed their time together over the weekend. But part of him was afraid that their brief friendship would end with the assignment. Yes, it was probably irrational; Kurt seemed to have fun the past few days, too, and he wouldn't have invited Blaine to everything from lunch to glee club if he didn't at least moderately like the other boy's company. But Blaine couldn't keep from wondering when Kurt would get tired of him and move on; that's what had happened with the rest of his friends when he came out at Huntsville. And the one person who didn't stop speaking to Blaine ended up in the hospital, before disappearing entirely. Was it too much to ask for one friend to stick around?

Despite sitting in the cafeteria with half of the glee club, Blaine was still rather nervous to walk through the choir room door. The glee kids seemed to be a very tightly knit group and Blaine wasn't sure how well they would take to his intrusion. Kurt turned to face Blaine, grabbing both of his arms and saying, "Don't be nervous. They're going to love you. And I told you, you don't even have to sing today. Just sit next to me."

Blaine wasn't sure if Kurt looking into his eyes like that was really calming him down. It caused his heart to beat even faster, but he appreciated the gesture all the same. He took a deep breath and nodded. Kurt must have been waiting for his approval, as he gave Blaine one last reassuring smile before releasing his arms and opening the door.

Slowly the conversation came to a halt, and eleven pairs of eyes watched the two boys enter the room. Some were staring at Blaine in apparent delight, including Artie and Tina, who were waving enthusiastically. Others looked at him warily, due to mistrust or dislike; either way, Blaine made sure to avoid eye contact and just take the seat closest to Kurt. He ignored everyone else in the room, other than a small smile and nod of acknowledgement to Brittany, who was sitting on the other side of Kurt.

Before any of the students could say a word, Mr. Schuester walked out of his office to the front of the classroom. Blaine looked over at Kurt in confusion as the teacher immediately started explaining that week's assignment without a second glance at his new club member. As the teacher turned back around from the whiteboard, Kurt raised the hand that was not currently holding Brittany's and attempted to catch Mr. Schue's attention. When he finally glanced over at the boy, Mr. Schue exclaimed, "I'll get to your question in a minute, Kurt, but it looks like we have a new student!" Kurt rolled his eyes and lowered his arm, as Mr. Schuester smiled widely at Blaine. "Welcome to New Directions! What's your name?"

"Uh, it's Blaine… I'm in your seventh period Spanish class…"

"Oh, of course, of course," replied Mr. Schue, with an unconvincing chuckle. "Well, we're glad to have you here! New members are always welcome. So as I was saying, this week's assignment…"

Rachel's hand shot into the air across the room and she cleared her throat, not even waiting to be called on before declaring loudly, "How do we know that he's any good? Doesn't he have to audition? Even I had to audition this year, although we all know that was just a formality since I'm the female lead."

"Rachel," the teacher sighed, "we have never turned away a student that wanted to join."

"As the obvious leader of the group, I must insist-"

"Calm down, hobbit. He's hot, I say he can stay," drawled the dark-haired cheerleader next to Brittany.

Blaine blushed and quickly stammered, "Uh, I don't mind auditioning or whatever, but I don't have anything prepared." He made eye contact with the teacher as he continued, "Can I just let you know when I'm ready to sing?"

"That would be fine, Blaine," answered Mr. Schue, seemingly relieved that the students had worked it out amongst themselves.

"But Mr. Schue-" Rachel complained loudly, actually getting up out of her chair.

"Rachel, sit down," said Kurt firmly. "I've heard him sing and believe me, it's worth the wait." Rachel pursed her lips and plopped back down into her seat with her arms tightly crossed. Blaine was slightly concerned with the whispers that began after that statement, but mostly he was pleased that Kurt had defended him. And it was nice to hear that Kurt had been just as impressed with Blaine's voice as Blaine was with Kurt's. Blaine wasn't sure what to make of the Latina girl, though. It was nice that she had stood up for him, but the way she had been staring at him ever since was rather unsettling.

Apparently Blaine had a right to be nervous, because she promptly cornered him as soon as class ended. He immediately turned to Kurt for help, but his friend was busy attempting, and by the looks of it failing, to have a serious conversation with Brittany. Blaine helplessly faced the other girl, who introduced herself as Santana. "So new kid," she continued, "I've been craving some breadsticks. Hows about you meet me there at seven o'clock on Friday. You're paying." Blaine had no idea how this cheerleader had gotten the idea that they were going on a date, but he didn't know how to respond. He gaped at her for a second and she smirked, saying, "I can think of a lot better things to be doing with that pretty mouth of yours."

Blaine turned bright red and he swallowed nervously before saying, "Uh, you're very attractive but I, um, don't really want to date anyone right now and um, you're not really my type," he answered, quickly glancing over at Kurt, who was still occupied with his girlfriend. Understatement of the year, he thought to himself. He never imagined dissuading girls would be an issue with not declaring his sexuality at a new school!

"Oh, I'm not looking to date either," Santana replied, practically purring as she ran her fingers along the collar of his shirt. "Either way, you're buying me dinner. I'll see you at Breadstix on Friday." She patted his cheek and stared one last time at Brittany and Kurt before sauntering out of the room.