Author's Note: Thank you for being patient with me as I struggle to post these chapters as part of the larger "binge" segment of chapters. I anticipated this to be posted earlier and I always try to stick to my promises when it comes to my readers, but unforeseen circumstances prevented me from having this up sooner. With that being said, this chapter was the chapter that drove the creation of this story. This was the core chapter that affected the entire plot of the story and it was my keystone that I came back to when planning and writing the other chapters. As always, thank you to my readers for your support.

Enjoy,

A. Gates

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, their characters, setting, or plot. All of those belong to Ryan Murphy, FOX, and their affiliates.

Chapter 10 – The Proof
Sam

"You nervous?" he asked as we drove to his house.

"What's there to be nervous about?" I replied. "I'm just about to meet my boyfriend's parents. No pressure, right?" He glanced over at me and I gave him a quick wink.

"You don't have to if you don't –"

"Blaine, I'm kidding," I said, putting my hand on his as it laid on the gear shift. I remembered how much I wanted to do that on our first date and I never got tired of it either. "This is important to me. I'm really glad you invited me."

"I just hope my parents don't freak out," he muttered as we turned onto his street. I saw his house at the end of the cul-de-sac and felt the butterflies suddenly whiz around in my stomach. It was crowded. Very crowded. Cars lined the street and circled the cul-de-sac. It hit me just how public we were going. But I needed this proof. I had to know that Blaine loved me as much as I loved him.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," I said, secretly not so sure. "You couldn't resist my charm, why would you think they can?" He laughed as we drove carefully up the street.

"Oh please, you had no game before you met me!"

"Hey!" I shoved him. "I was a tortured soul," I said, giving him another punch on the arm.

"Ow! Don't!" he said with a laugh.

"So what's the plan?" I asked as we pulled onto the driveway. Now I could see people. They walked up the driveway and into the backyard, some carrying food, others with a lawn chair. A few glanced inside Blaine's car as we inched past them.

"Do I look like I have a plan?" he asked.

"I don't know, you're the smart one. Tutor me in the ways of your parents, oh wise one."

"Just follow my lead and we'll be fine," he said. I heard the worry in his voice. He was scared. I couldn't blame him. It had to be worse for him. This was his family. He was putting a lot on the line for me.

"Hey," I said as he pulled into the garage. "Whatever happens, you know I've got your back."

"Uh huh," he said, nodding as he stopped the car and turned it off.

"I'm serious, Blaine. This is a really good step for us. You're doing the right thing." He finally looked over at me. "Don't doubt yourself if things go bad. You're doing the right thing," I repeated. He gave me a hesitant smile before leaning in for a kiss.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Let's do this," I said. We got out of the car and walked out of the garage to the backyard. Blaine unlatched the gate and I saw hundreds of people filling his backyard. Suddenly our party a few weeks earlier seemed like nothing.

"Blaine!" a voice called out. I turned to see a young kid, about ten years old, running toward us with a baseball glove in one hand. His dark hair had to make him a relative.

"Hey buddy," he said, giving the kid a hug. "What are you up to?"

"Patrick and I are playing catch," he said, pointing to another kid that could've been his twin. "You wanna play?" he asked, looking up at me for the first time. "We need two more people to make it more fun."

"Maybe later," he said. "I'm sure Sam and I would love to play." I nodded and gave the kid a smile. "Have you seen my parents?" The younger kid shook his head. "Alright, I'm going to find them and then we'll be back out to play."

"Awesome!" the kid said, beaming. He ran back to his teammate calling out "Blaine said he'd play later!" like it was the most excited news in the world.

"Those are my cousins Parker and Patrick," Blaine explained as he led me through the crowd toward the patio.

"Twins?"

"Yeah. My dad's sister's kids." He slid the door to the kitchen open and stepped in. "Hey Mom," he said, sounding as though nothing was out of the ordinary. A woman turned around and spotted him. Her hair was long, dark like Blaine's and it was pulled back with a headband, hanging an inch above her shoulders. Her bright blue dress spun as she turned.

"Blaine! You're here! Patrick and Parker have been asking when you'd get here."

"Yeah, I caught them as we came in." His mom perked up as he said that, realizing he didn't come alone. Her eyes shot to me and I smiled.

"Oh." Her face dropped, but she noticed it and forced a smile. I knew that look before. It was the look my mom used to give me when she visited Dalton. That look of disappointment, but the kind you hide behind what you're really thinking. It was a look I hadn't seen on my mom in a very long time. "You brought someone with you."

"Mom, this is Sam Evans. He and I are…we're dating…or well, we've been together for a while," he said, stumbling over his words. I moved toward her, extending my hand.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Anderson." She looked at my hand, then back up at me before taking it.

"Mhmm," she said, the smile still plastered on her face. "I didn't know you were bringing anyone," she said to Blaine.

"Yeah, you told me I could, remember?" Her face got stony, like she just smelled a gym bag or something.

"Right," she said, nodding. "Have you seen your father yet?" she asked.

"No, we just got here."

"Oh, okay." She kept nodding, processing everything that happened.

"You have a really nice home, Mrs. Anderson. Blaine's told me all about it, but I've never got to see it up close." She turned back to me and forced out that smile again.

"Thank you." She looked at Blaine again who was standing at the end of the counter. "Why don't you two stay here while I go find your father?" she asked.

"Sure," Blaine said nonchalantly.

"I'm excited to meet him," I added. She didn't acknowledge me as she turned from the kitchen and into the main hallway. I turned to Blaine. "Did you tell them I was coming?" I asked.

"Not in so many words," he said. My stomach dropped. So this was a surprise attack. I took a deep breath. Blaine didn't need me losing my cool right now.

"This might've gone better if you gave them a heads up."

"It's not going poorly, is it?" he asked, still maintaining a calm attitude. "It'll be alright." Just as he stopped talking, a man walked into the kitchen with Blaine's mom. He was tall, stocky. He looked like he was definitely on the football team in high school and maintained his large stature as he aged. At the same time, he looked stone cold.

"Both of you come with me," he said, waving a hand and turning back to the main hallway. We followed his parents and got to the end of the hall where a large wooden door stood tall. He turned on us again, still expressionless.

"Hi Mr. Anderson, I'm Sam," I said quickly, holding my hand out. He didn't even look at it. "You sit here," he instructed, pointing at a chair in the hallway. "You come with me," he said to Blaine. I instantly remembered my promise to him in the car. I didn't want him to go in there alone.

"I can come with –"

"I'm good," Blaine interrupted, shaking his head. "It's cool."

"Okay," I said, taking a seat. The three of them went inside the room and shut the door. Okay, now this wasn't going well at all. I cracked my knuckles and then heard muffled voices coming from inside the room. I stopped fidgeting and stayed still to hear them better.

"I'm not trying to start anything," Blaine said.

"Then why in the hell would you do this?" his dad said.

"Dad, I want you to just give him a chance. It's not all bad."

"It is bad, Blaine. It's very bad. There's nothing good about what you're choosing to do," his dad said, his voice getting louder. My stomach clenched with nerves. I fought with myself. I can't just sit here and leave Blaine in there alone. But going in there might make things worse. It would be better for me to stay put.

"Dad, I love him. He's good. He's a really great person and I know if you just talked to him, you'd see he's not so different than you."

"Don't you dare compare me to that!" his dad yelled. "I'm nothing like that. That's disgusting, that's what that is. How many times are we going to have to go through this before you get it in your head?"

"This isn't going to change, Dad. This is who I am. Why can't you just try to understand me? Give me a chance to show you I can make you proud." Blaine was practically pleading now and it tore at my heart like claws.

"I will never be proud of that Blaine. That behavior is unacceptable."

"Mom, you understand, don't you?" Blaine asked. There was silence. "Mom…" He was pleading again. I felt myself bottling it up again. Keeping it down. I had to keep it down. For both our sakes.

"Don't ask her. I'm talking to you," his dad said. "Look at me. You have two choices. You either tell him to leave and don't see him again or you get the hell out of my house. I am tired of having you embarrassing us every time you walk through the door. This ends today."

"No Dad, it doesn't end today. Don't you think I would've ended it if I could have? It never ends. And that's not a bad thing. I'm a good person, not an embarrassment."

"You are an embarrassment." I shot out of my chair. It wasn't his dad's voice that time. It was his mom's. "What will Parker and Patrick think? How can you look them in the eyes knowing what you do at night?"

"Being gay is more than just sex!" Blaine shouted. But his mom yelled over him.

"What would your brother think?" Dead silence. "Hmm? What would you tell him? If he was still here he'd be mortified!" she yelled. And then it happened. The bottle exploded. Before I knew it I was barging through the door and talking.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm probably making this worse, but I just…I can't," I said, looking at Blaine. He was sitting across a desk from his father, like a kid in a principal's office. This had to be his dad's study. His mother was standing next to his dad.

"This has nothing to do with you. Get out," his dad said firmly. He didn't yell. He knew better than that with the door wide open.

"It has everything to do with me! I love your son, sir. I love him more than anything and I can't just stand here and listen to you bully him. I can't…I won't…and…and you…" I said, looking at his mom.

"Son, you have ten seconds to get out of my office before I beat some sense into you," Mr. Anderson said calmly. I could see the rage simmering under the surface and I was going to use it for everything it was worth.

"Really? Assaulting a minor? If you think I'm gay, you just wait until you get to jail." Damn, that felt good. The blood rushed to his face and Mrs. Anderson gasped. Okay, on second thought, maybe it was vulgar. Blaine's mom moved for the door, shutting it behind me.

"Now you listen close, you have no business coming into my house and –"

"No you listen close!" I interrupted him. "You have no business treating your son like that. He's your son! He's not an embarrassment. If there's one thing Blaine is, it's good. He has so much to offer you. He is smart and talented and kind and loving. And if I had to choose between myself or Blaine, I would choose him every single time. He is twice the person I'll ever be and ten times the man you are." Mr. Anderson looked at Blaine and stood up.

"If he's still here in a half hour," he said, pointing a harsh finger in my direction, "I'm calling the police. As for you, you know your options."

"I can't stay here if you can't love me." Blaine's lips trembled as he spoke.

"I can't love what you've become."

"Then I'm leaving." His dad walked around the desk and my senses shot into full gear. I was ready to throw down if he even brushed Blaine's shoulder much less touched him at all.

"Give me your house keys and your car keys," he said, holding his hand out. "You go get what you can carry and you can come back later for the rest of your things. Blaine's hands shook as he fumbled for his key ring and dropped it into his father's hand. His dad walked to the door and stopped short of opening it. "You know, if I had to choose between Benjamin or Blaine, I'd choose Ben. Every. Single. Time." His words stabbed through me like a knife and my heart dropped. I was finally speechless. He turned and walked out with his wife, slamming the door behind him.

"I'm so sorry," I said, getting on my knees in front of Blaine. I hugged him and he just exhaled.

"No…it's not your fault. I knew this would be bad. I…it's my fault. I shouldn't have pressured you to come." He wasn't crying, but I could feel his muscles shaking in his skin. He wouldn't look at me.

"You're coming home with me," I said.

"It's cool, just go back to your place and I'll meet you there later," he said. I looked up at him as he sat in the chair. He finally caught my eye and I stared at him.

"I'm not leaving this house without you in front of me."

"Sam, I'm fine. I'll just pack some things and come over later."

"I'm not leaving this house without you in front of me," I repeated, sounding stronger. It didn't matter how unnerved I was by his parents. I wasn't about to leave him here with these people. Especially not after everything I said to his parents. "Let's go pack some suitcases and I'll call my mom. She can come get us." Blaine nodded, still keeping himself in check. I don't know how he did it. I was damn near in tears, but he seemed like he was in shock or something. Like it hadn't hit him yet. Or like he was preparing himself for the numbness. It was a feeling I knew well, but felt a lifetime away. The feeling of shutting your emotions off to the world around you. It was a self-preservation thing.

"Thank you." I walked him upstairs to his room and we avoided any of the party guests. I called my mom while he was in his bathroom getting things together and told her everything. She couldn't believe what I told her and even asked me to repeat the part about choosing Blaine's brother every time. Within minutes, she was on her way. As Blaine and I finished packing all of his suitcases, I realized if I had any doubt that I loved Blaine or that he loved me, it had vanished. The proof was right here. He chose to bring me here knowing the consequences. And I chose to stand up for him even when it meant making myself a target. It was all the proof I ever needed to know that he and I needed each other, more than either of us had realized.