A/N: So things are kind of slow-going in this story so far, but expect it to pick up the pace very soon. Thanks for reading!

I don't own Glee

Chapter 11

Blaine was startled awake by some unknown force, bolting upright in bed. He thought at first maybe his alarm had gone off, but judging by the pitch black room around him, it was still several hours before he could expect that to happen. He cast a cautious look to his right where Santana lay, still soundly asleep before carefully extracting himself from the covers and sliding gently off the bed, praying that he didn't wake her.

It had been two days since Santana had told him about her grand plan for escaping the community. Well, Blaine wasn't sure it was much of a plan, not yet anyway. It was more of a goal; get out alive. And even then, she had no idea what would be facing her once she was out on her own, none of them did. What lay beyond the boundaries of the New Reality was as foreign as what one might find in a completely uncharted area. It would be like stepping on an alien planet, unsure whether one would be greeted with friendliness or hostility.

As far as Blaine knew, no one had ever done it successfully, at least not in a very long time and the chances of being caught were certain. So naturally, his reluctance to be a part of any of it was understandable. At least, it should have been.

"So that's it?" Santana had asked him sharply. "You're not going to even try?"

"No, because this is absolutely ridiculous," Blaine countered. "I'm not going to help you get yourself killed."

"But don't you see, with you being on the inside—"

"With me being on this inside, your plan will get me killed too."

"Blaine." Her voice was much softer this time, enticing Blaine to believe her, despite his better judgment. "This isn't the life you want, we both know it."

"Regardless, it's the life I've been given and I'm not willing to risk it."

"Right," Santana argued. "It's the life you've been given, but not the life you've chosen. Don't you want to be able to choose who to spend your life with, where you want to spend it? Don't you want life to be the way it used to be?"

"Santana," Blaine exhaled heavily, trying not to lose his patience. "That world doesn't exist anymore. It's pointless to dream for something that's not possible."

"What if it is possible?" she pushed. "What did you want to be when you grew up? Before the outbreak?"

Blaine had to think about it for a few moments. It had been a long time since he allowed himself access into the far reaches of his memory.

"A performer," he finally answered with a small, wistful smile. "I wanted to sing and dance and act on stage."

"And now look at you," Santana laughed humorlessly. "You're married to someone you don't love and in two days, your headed to an office job, working for the same people who would be willing to put Kurt to death because of a decision you made for your own happiness. Can't you see how messed up that is?"

Blaine didn't answer. He couldn't counter that, everything she said was right. Of course he wanted to argue. Until a few weeks ago, Blaine had been relatively content with his lot in life, but a lot had happened in the last few weeks and now he wasn't so sure anymore.

"Don't give me an answer today," Santana told him. "Think about it, and just give me your word that you'll keep this between us until you decide okay? Please?"

"Okay," Blaine answered. It wouldn't be hard to keep her secret. So far, she hadn't really made any solid plans and even if he wanted to turn her in, which he didn't, she'd be questioned by the Officials and given a relatively mild punishment in the square and sent back home to him. Imagining her wrath was nearly as scary as what he'd seen out of the Official punishment review board.

Now, walking down the short, dark hallway to the kitchen, Blaine found himself incredibly nervous about his first day on the job. What kind of questions would he be asked? What kind of information would he be privy to? What would his responsibilities be? The training he'd received over the past few years gave him an overall idea of what things might be like. He was trained in accounting, stenography, public speaking and so on, but there was never a specific outline of what the average day in the life of an Official looked like. Blaine had always imagined there was a good reason for that, but his conversation with Santana in the days prior led him to believe that there might be something more sinister behind the Officials decision to keep everyone in the dark at all times.

The only thing that weighed more heavily on Blaine's mind was his conversation with Kurt. He could tell by the way Kurt looked at him after Blaine asked him about his feelings that Kurt felt something for him too. If only he could get the boy to trust him, maybe he'd have another shot at making things right with him.

And then what? Blaine asked himself. The two of us would ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after? No matter how many times Blaine tried to rework it in his head, he always came up with the same solution. The only way he and Kurt could be together is if they went along with Santana's plan, whatever it was, and escaped together.

But what if Kurt didn't want to go? Or didn't even want to be with Blaine? Sure, Blaine was pretty confident that Kurt had some sort of feelings for him, but were they enough to risk his whole life? Then again, what kind of life did Kurt have ahead of him? The life of a lonely laborer, it wasn't something that was particularly desirable. It was one thing to be forced into a marriage, but it was quite another to never have a shot at being with someone romantically.

Kurt deserved more, a better life, Blaine decided, and he wanted to be the one to give it to him.

"Psst! Kurt! Come here!"

Kurt immediately changed his path to head up to Santana's house, where she was waiting for him on the porch. He hadn't been around in the past few days, waiting to see what would happen once Santana told Blaine about her plan for escape. He didn't want to admit it, but he was terrified Blaine would turn her in and he didn't want to be around when it happened.

"Don't worry, he left for work about a half hour ago," Santana said, reading Kurt's mind. Upon hearing this, he took his usual spot on the porch across from her.

"So, did you talk to him about it or not?" Kurt probed, knowing she'd gather what he was asking without providing more context.

"I did," Santana admitted. "Right after you and I talked the other day."

"And?" Kurt prompted.

"And, he's thinking about it."

"He—wait what? He's thinking about it? You're kidding."

"I'm dead serious," Santana answered with a smile. "I can be pretty persuasive, you know."

"Yeah, I've discovered," Kurt mumbled, still in shock that Blaine not only didn't report it, but that he was thinking about helping her. "So what did he say? Why isn't he fighting you on this?"

"Well, he definitely tried at first," she explained. "But when I started reminding him about all the things he was missing out on living in the community and the fact that his life was not his own here, I think that help plant the seed in his mind."

"Did you…did he…God this is so embarrassing."

"Your name wasn't mentioned by either of us," Santana spoke, reading his mind once again. "But I guarantee you that you're the reason he's even considering any of this."

"That's crazy, Santana," Kurt scoffed. "He doesn't even know me."

"Based on what he's seen, he really wants to know you, Kurt. I think this is more than a little schoolyard crush. I think he really has feelings for you and if I had to guess, I'd say that picturing a life with you is what's motivating him to even consider running."

"No, no, see he's just figured out that he likes boys," Kurt answered skeptically. "And I happen to be the only boy in his life right now, so—"

"Kurt," Santana interrupted with a look of no-nonsense on her face. "You do realize that his dorm was all-male just like yours. Don't you think he would have been attracted to someone there if he just liked boys?"

Kurt cocked an eyebrow and averted his gaze, but remained silent. Santana could almost see the line of boys parading through Kurt's mind at that moment, the ones he'd development unspoken crushes on over the years.

"You have a point," he finally conceded.

"I always do," Santana answered with a self-satisfied smirk. "Now, when he gets home from work, I'll have a better idea of where his head is at. If he's on the fence now, his first day at work with the Officials should knock him over onto one side or the other."

"And what if that side is to stay?"

"I'm not going to focus on that," she answered. "I'm taking this one step at a time and the only thing I can do is hope for the best."

"Okay," Kurt agreed reluctantly. "Same time, same place tomorrow?"

"I'll see you then," Santana answered, putting on a brave smile. The truth was, she was terrified and as she watched Kurt step off her porch and continue on his way, she couldn't help but worry that this was the last time she'd ever see him.