It was hard, between jumping every weekend from Dalton Academy to trying to keep up grades at

Crawford. Yet, Elizabeth Carmichael was determined. She wasn't that type of person to balk under

pressure. Lissie waved goodbye to her brother as he stood beside the building, wringing his hands

nervously. The twins were nothing alike - Lissie was tall and blonde and had those striking blue eyes that

could silence a room with one glare; James, on the other hand, was around the same height (yet short for

a boy), with chestnut hair and soulful brown eyes.

In truth, he was the striking image of his father, the deadbeat that left his family when things got tough.

When his wife and three children needed him the most, he just up and left. Left his wife to fend for her

family, working three jobs and hardly sleeping, his daughter to take care of her minutes-younger brother

and her sweet and autistic little sister. Sara was the light in the darkness - when she smiled, it just made

everything melt away. Every bit of pain and resentment that Elizabeth held for the world vanished, and she

would scoop up the tiny girl and hug her dearly. And for a few years, things were okay.

The came middle school. Lissie had already been teased for being tall, but that was okay; she could

slouch and get away with it. But James had a different story. He was picked on often for his reading

glasses, his shy personality, his sexuality. It hadn't meant to come out, but some stupid jocks had decided

to bully the poor kid into admitting he was gay. And he hadn't complained, not for a second, until James

had gotten pushed into a locker so hard that there were bruises littering his body. Mrs. Carmichael had

freaked out so badly that she immediately started looking into private schools.

So came Dalton Academy. And it just so happened that Lissie's grades made her eligible for a scholarship

from Crawford Country Day School. As Mrs. Carmichael would say, "Kill two birds with one check." Sara

had been heartbroken to realize that both her beloved siblings would be leaving, yet James had been sure

to assure his little sister that they would visit as often as they could.

Lissie promised the same thing to James. She knew how skittish her brother was, and she was

determined to see him as often as permitted. And it didn't hurt that he went to an all-boys school with

plenty of good-looking men.

As she walked, Elizabeth noticed the famous Blaine Anderson walking with an Asian teen and a brunette

with shockingly blue eyes. He was tall and pale and had that same look that James had. Scared and out of place and observant. Nearly bumping shoulders with the brunette, Elizabeth instinctively apologized. The brunette smiled sweetly and did the same. "Sorry, wasn't seeing where I was going," he said in a voice that just screamed 'musical'. Blaine held out his hand politely, and Lissie took it.

"Blaine Anderson. And you are?"

"Elizabeth Carmichael. I'm James's sister." At the mention of her little brother, Blaine's eyes lit up in recognition. "And you are?" Lissie continued, addressing the pale brunette.

"I'm Kurt Hummel. It's a pleasure to meet you. And, just so you know, James is an amazingly nice person. And he has great hair."

Blaine chuckled at his friend's comment. "He rooms two doors down from me. And it's pretty difficult, considering that he rooms with Nick, whose boyfriend likes to visit constantly."

"And by constantly," Kurt jumped in, "he means every single day."

Laughing at the boys, Lissie shouldered her purse farther up her shoulder. "I go to school at Crawford Country, so-"

"Do you sing?" Kurt and Blaine asked simultaneously, sharing a look with each other when they said it. They must have been a couple, Elizabeth mused, because they looked wonderful together, and they knew what the other wanted to say. Then again, if Blaine Anderson had a boyfriend, wouldn't word have gotten around by then? After all, he was Blaine Anderson. Lead of the Warblers. King of Dalton Academy. James might've mentioned something like that.

Elizabeth furrowed her brow in confusion but nodded wordlessly. "At home alone. Why?"

"Well," Blaine started, "we've been trying to get your brother to audition for the Warblers because Nick said that he heard James singing once, but he refuses. Something about allergies," Kurt shot Blaine a strange look, "though I doubt that that's why he won't. Anyway, the Cardinals-"

"The Crawford Country Glee Club," Kurt interjected.

"Are looking for new members, and they'd love someone like you." Blaine gave a sweet grin that could make anyone melt, yet Elizabeth only raised one eyebrow.

The girl pushed a bit of dirty blonde hair away from her face. "Sorry, but I'm just not into that sort of thing. I just transferred, still trying to get used to everything. So, no."

Before Kurt could say anything, Blaine nodded knowingly. "I understand. When I transferred to Dalton, it was in the middle of the year, Kurt transferred in the middle of the year - it's hard to adjust. So don't worry about it, and thank you for visiting Dalton Academy."

Lissie gave the sweetest smile she could muster before turning her back on the pair with a confused expression on her face. It was odd, she thought, that Blaine had been so understanding when he had just been practically begging Elizabeth to join the glee club at Crawford. Perhaps the people at Dalton Academy were really nice people.

Once he was sure that Elizabeth was out of ear-shot, Kurt turned to Blaine. "Normally, I trust your opinion on everything, but what was that? You just gave up."

Blaine smirked and pulled out his cell phone. "Kurt, have you ever noticed that brothers and sisters, most specifically twins, act alike?" The pale teen in question nodded his head slowly. "Well, if Nick heard James singing in the shower, then I think that Jane-"

"Nick's sister."

"I didn't notice that, but yes, Nick's sister - who is quite like her brother - will be fortunate enough to hear a certain someone singing in the shower."

Kurt tried to fight away the blush forming on his pale cheeks. "Blaine Anderson, that was . . . devious and mischievous." The brunette tried to keep the stray thought of also sexy go through his mind.