Author's Note:

Hey everyone! For those of you who missed me next week, please follow me on tumblr at GleekMom, I try to give updates there. I was less than inspired by Sweet Dreams (plus I really just needed a break) so decided to combine in with Light's Out into one chapter. Which also has the added benefit of keeping Wonder-ful Chapter 21. So yay.

After Light's Out I was fully committed to boycott the episode and not write it. I was furious at Sam (and Artie). But Blaine wouldn't leave my head, and so of course, I had to.

This chapter is a crazy mix of meaningful moments and ridiculous banter. Which MuseInMe3 pointed out is very Glee. So hopefully I have done an okay job with two episodes that frustrated me. My awesome beta typegirl19 seems to think I did.

I own nothing. The boys' comment made that ridiculously clear. But here's what you missed on Glee.

We feel, we hear, your pain, your fear
But we're here, to say, who you are, is okay

Kurt startled awake from another nightmare, the third one this week, and he rolled over to grab his phone. He turned it on, squinting briefly as his eyes adjusted, then tapped into Blaine's Facebook page. He knew it was stupid. Blaine was fine and no doubt fast asleep in his bed, but it soothed him to see he had posted to Tina only a couple of hours ago. Nothing would have happened to him between then and now. He put the phone down, shaking his head at himself. Blaine was fine. He'd talk to him in the morning. Kurt took a breath in, then out, and closed his eyes, snuggling into his boyfriend pillow. Just before drifting off to a dreamless sleep he realized that just maybe it was time again for the real thing.

And you don't have to go through this on your own
You're not alone

Blaine clung to Tina a little more tightly after the school shooting and not just because he couldn't keep track of Sam these last few days. He needed her close, needed to know she was safe, and truth was he needed a friend. Even though he'd been talking to Kurt and Santana more frequently since the scare, the calls were quick check-ins on their way into work or school or in between homework and sleep. But more than that, they didn't fully understand what everyone was going through. They weren't here. Tina was.

"You staying for supper tonight Tina?" Mrs. Anderson asked with a smile as Blaine and Tina arrived after school. As they had been every day, they went immediately to Blaine's room and emptied their homework out onto his desk and his bed, Tina curling up with a pillow and her books, Blaine switching on the computer.

"No, I can't, Mrs. A, Mom wants me home tonight," Tina said apologetically and Amy just smiled. This was the way it should be. The day after the shooting she went to work and told them in no uncertain terms that she was switching to the day shift until Blaine left for college and if they didn't like it than she could find a new job. They switched her immediately, and she was enjoying every single moment.

"Alright sweetie. Well if you two get hungry, let me know," she said, and Blaine grinned at her. He loved having her home. If nothing else, everything that had happened had made him bury the lingering anger toward her and just accept her for who she was.

"We will Mom," he promised and she closed the door behind her as she left.

Tina started in as soon as the door was shut. "What are we gonna do about Regionals Blaine? Mr. Schue is crazy if he thinks his ancient choices are gonna get us a win. Sure, the old standards are great for hanging around the choir room, for loosening us up. But they'll never win in competition."

"Yeah, but what else are we gonna do?" Blaine asked, half reading his work, half concentrating on Tina. "Mr. Schue is set on his dream theme. And now may not be the best time to argue with him," he reasoned.

"You just don't want to make waves, but sometimes the ship needs to be overturned Blaine!" Tina insisted.

"You might want to lay off the boat metaphors," Blaine smirked. "I'll talk to Kurt tonight. See what he thinks. Okay?" he asked, hoping it would appease her.

"And if he says you should rock the boat you will?" she challenged, her eyebrow raised. "Because Kurt's never let Mr. Schuester get away with telling us what to do when he's wrong."

"I promise Tina," Blaine said. "Now can we please get our homework done?"

You'll have more love in your life
Don't let go, give it time
Take it slow
Those who love you the most, may need more time to grow

"Here's the rent money," Santana said lazily, handing Kurt a stack of bills outside her bar. It was right near the subway stop he took home from NYADA, so it made sense to pick her up when they got out at the same time, especially when it was already dark outside.

Kurt looked around nervously as he grabbed the money and shoved it in his pocket. "Are you crazy 'Tana?" he hissed at her, his heart beating a mile a minute.

"What?" She asked with a shrug, starting to head down the street. "People will just think you're a drug dealer packing heat. See! I just upped your street cred tenfold. You're totally safe now."

"Oh sure." Kurt rolled his eyes. "Because drug dealers never get stabbed or shot at or killed."

But Santana stopped paying attention to him. "Oh damn, this mattress looks brand new, I should totally snag it!" Santana said, running up to a queen size mattress leaning against a dumpster.

"Don't you dare touch that thing Santana Lopez!" Kurt shouted and Santana turned, hands on her hips.

"Reduce, reuse and recycle Kurt," she told him haughtily.

"Bedbugs, Santana," he retorted with disgust, and she reluctantly kept walking. His phone buzzed and he pulled it out as they continued down the street.

From Blaine: Skype in 5?

To Blaine: Walking home. Make it 10?

"When are you just gonna admit that you still love him and want him back?" Santana asked, exasperated.

"When are you gonna learn to mind your own damn business?" Kurt snapped back.

They walked the rest of the way home in silence, and Kurt quickly retreated to his bedroom. Santana was right, of course, but it made no sense. Not now. He still needed more time. They'd figure it out over the summer. He needed to know where Blaine was going to be next year. If he was coming to NY, Kurt knew he wanted to try and make it work. But if college sent Blaine further away…well, he didn't need his heart broken twice.

His Skype rang as soon as his laptop booted up and Blaine's smiling face met his. "Hey stranger," Blaine cooed.

"Hey," Kurt said, still a little melancholy from his thoughts.

Of course, Blaine noticed. "Everything okay?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah, just tired," Kurt said and smiled for real this time. "So what's going on?"

"How do you know something's going on?" Blaine asked, his voice a little higher than usual.

Kurt chuckled. "For one, you're starting to sound like me. Two, I just know you. So what is it?"

Blaine sighed. "It's just Mr. Schuester. His set list for Regionals is awful and everyone knows it but him."

"This isn't news, Blaine, this is 'been there, done that'," Kurt said snarkily.

"So what should we do?" Blaine asked.

"Take charge," Kurt urged him. "Schue isn't always right and someone has to be the one to stand up to him. You've always been willing to stand up for what you believe in, don't stop now. You were voted the new Rachel. Figure out what she would do, then do it with all the charm and poise of Blaine Warbler."

Blaine rested his head on his hand, eyes shining through the screen at Kurt. "What on earth would I do without you?"

"Apparently you would sing terribly overdone songs from the 70's and 80's," Kurt smirked.

Blaine laughed, his eyes ducking, and Kurt's breath hitched as those lashes fluttered on Blaine's cheeks.

Summer couldn't come fast enough.

Be brave, be strong,
You are loved, you belong
Some day soon, you will see
You're exactly who you're supposed to be
And you don't have to go through this on your own
You're not alone

Everyone had come when he texted. They gathered in the auditorium and brainstormed a new set list. Now they sat in the classroom and watched as Mr. Schuester continued to not only ignore them, but berate them as well. The others looked on stunned.

"Honestly, I don't even know what's going on in this room anymore," Mr. Schuester snapped. "What happened to you guys? Openly defying me?"

Blaine hesitated. He hated questioning authority. For Blaine, these were all too familiar words covering all too familiar ground. But the whole Glee club was counting on him and he wasn't a child anymore. He was their leader. Apparently Mr. Schuester thought so as well.

And Blaine?" his teacher called on him and he looked up, not quite sure what to expect. "I am disappointed in you for allowing this to go on."

"I'm sorry, but we're just trying to-" Blaine started, but he was cut off.

"No what you were trying to do is not rehearsing the songlist that I gave you. And that is unacceptable." Blaine stared, wanting to be the person Kurt wanted him to be, more like him or Rachel. Stand up, shout his objections, tell him off, then storm out of the room in dramatic defiance until Mr. Schuester went chasing after him. But Blaine stayed where he was, charming and poised, and none of those things happened.

"So here's what's gonna happen," Mr. Schuester said. "I'm gonna go to the teacher's lounge and get the coffee that I skipped to get here early, and when I get back here in five minutes you will be ready to rehearse. My songs."

Mr. Schuester stormed out of the room and Blaine looked around at the faces of his defeated friends. He sighed and walked heavily to the piano, stopping as he reached the side. He leaned against it, resting his head in his hands, rubbing his face with frustration. A soft hand gently touched his back.

"You okay?" Tina asked privately as the rest of their friends whispered behind him.

He nodded into his hands then turned to her, granting her a small but grateful smile. "Yeah."

"I don't know what's gotten into him," she said, glancing out the room where Mr. Schuester had left.

"I do," Blaine said though, his voice thick with emotion. "Everything affected him too. He was supposed to be the authority, able to protect us from being hurt, and he couldn't. So now he's grasping for control." She looked at him curiously, but Blaine just shrugged with defeat. He'd lived it for the past five years. "It's a very familiar scene for me." He turned around to the group and snapped out of his revelry, clapping his hands before sitting at the piano. "Ok guys, gather around. If you don't know the song stand next to someone who does. Like the set list or not, it still needs to be perfect."

You have more friends than you know
Some who surround you
Some you are destined to meet

"Which direction does the sun rise from?" Blaine asked.

"Up!" Brittany shouted, beaming as she grabbed a green piece of the pie for her trivial pursuit wheel.

"Oh…no, Britt, the answer is…" but Sam glared at him and his face slumped without finishing. He forced a smile, not wanting to break her heart. "I mean, good job!"

Now it was Tina's turn to glare at him, but he just shrugged apologetically. "What did you want me to do?" he whispered, but she grabbed the dice and rolled them.

"My turn," she announced and moved 6 spaces. "Entertainment, yes!" she cheered.

Blaine's phone rang and he quietly excused himself off of Brittany's bed into a corner of her room. "Hey," he said happily.

"Whatcha doin boyfriend?" Santana drawled lazily as she painted her nails.

"Playing trivial pursuit with Tina, Sam and Brittany," he says, a little more grumpily than he meant to.

"Ah. Brittany will win. Just because you can't say no to her," Santana said knowingly. "And everyone knows how much you hate to lose."

"I get it from Cooper. Who gets it from our father. Who I have heard gets it from his father," Blaine told her.

"So what you're telling me is the Anderson men are a bunch of whiny babies," she smirked.

"Yeah, okay, I'm done with you," he chuckled at Santana and then held it up. "Who else wants to talk to Santana because she's being mean to me."

"Oh, me, me!" Brittany said, raising her hand and she scrambled off the bed and grabbed the phone from Blaine. "Hi," she said coyly into the phone, then went inside her walk in closet for privacy.

Both Tina and Blaine turned to stare at Sam, who looked nonplussed by his girlfriend's actions.

"Did she just…" Blaine said slowly, pointing to the closet.

Sam looked up at him and shrugged. "Yeah, she sometimes does when she talks to Santana."

An excited scream from the closet startled them all. "Oh my god, Santana that's awesome!" she yelled and stuck her head. "Tina, come here, you have to hear this!" she called, her face beaming.

Tina smiled back and slipped into the closet as well. Blaine stared after them, realizing why he'd never really had girlfriends before. Then they giggled excitedly and he realized how much he loved having them around.

"It's your turn Blaine," Sam said, quirking an eyebrow at him as he pointed to the board.

Blaine turned back to Sam with a smile and rolled the dice. He rolled a three and landed on geography.

Sam pulled out a card and read the question. "Where is the Guggenheim Museum?"

Blaine leaned down on the bed, propping his head on his with a smile. He knew that answer like he knew the exact color of Kurt's eyes. "New York City."

It's gonna be okay
It's gonna be okay
You're gonna be okay
You have more friends than you know

Blaine waited around the corner until Brittany kissed Sam with a smile at her locker and Sam took off for the choir room. "I'll meet you there in a minute," she yelled her promise, then turned back to get her books. "You can come out of hiding now Blaine Warbler, he's gone."

"I wasn't-" But he cut himself off as he walked over to her because he was, and he leaned against the lockers. "I just wanted to ask how he's doing?" Blaine admitted, a worried pout on his face. "He says he's fine, he seemed fine the other day, but I don't know."

"I think he's fine, but I miss Evan," she said with her own pout. "I wish he'd come back. His accent was sexy. And sex with two guys is better than one."

Blaine cocked his head curiously at Brittany trying to, then deliberately trying not to, imagine two of Sam in his bed. It was bad enough picturing one. He squeezed his eyes shut and she shook his head. "Brittany," he said, but she grabbed his hand as if frightened and he immediately opened his eyes to find nothing but darkness.

"What if it's another shooting?" she asked terrified. Her palm grew sweaty in his hand as it began to tremble.

"Britt, I don't think it's another-" She started to hyperventilate and Blaine recognized that reaction immediately. "Ok, let's get you some light and some air," he said, pulling out his flashlight app with one hand and leading her out the side door of the school with the other. They continued walking until they reached the school parking lot.

"I…can't…go back…in there," she stammered between gulps of air.

"It's ok Britt, I've got you," he said and he held both her hands in his. "Breathe in and out for me."

"I can't," she stuttered, her teeth shaking with fright.

"Yes you can," he said calmly. "In and out Britt, with my words, okay?" And he began to sing: Come what may, Come what may… "In on Come what, out on may," he instructed her. "You can do it Britt." And he continued on, singing the words over and over as Kurt had done many times for him before, until her breathing finally slowed.

"I can't go back in there," she repeated despite her calmness and Blaine brushed a hand to her cheek.

"No one's expecting you to darling. Do you need me to drive you home?" he asked.

Brittany shook her head. She was okay now.

"Ok, I'll talk to Principal Figgens, and let Sam now you're going to stay home until the lights come back on, okay?" Blaine asked.

She nodded. "Thanks Blaine."

Blaine smiled warmly. "No need to thank me. Text me when you get home."

He stood watching her until she drove away, then retreated back inside with a sigh, ready to deal with the mess at McKinley.

"Principal Figgens, we can't ask the students to come into school with no power," Blaine argued as Student Council President.

"Winter was terrible this year, Mr. Anderson," Principal Figgens answered, "and then he school was closed for a day after the shooting. Unless you all want to be coming to school until August with no air conditioning, we cannot afford to close the school. Students can stay home if they like, but school will be in session and all activities will be held. Outdoors if necessary."

Blaine relented, having another matter he'd been wanting to address with Principal Figgens though he was certain now wasn't the time. Still he was here and he might as well. "Can we talk about how Coach Roz has been treating the Cheerios?"

"Mr. Anderson," Principal Figgens drawled as he stood, his patience wearing thin. "I have a school plunged into darkness, I do not have time to be talking about what Coach Roz may or may not be doing with the Cheerios."

Blaine frowned but he'd guessed as much. "I'll come back later then," he said, backing slowly out the door.

"You do that," Principal Figgens said dismissively.

But Blaine knew there would be no later. He'd learned long ago that if you wanted anything done at McKinley High School, you needed to do it yourself.

Blaine left the aerobics room after talking to Sue, still out of breath and knowing his body was going to hate him in the morning. 7 months ago a workout like that would have been a cakewalk, but while he was stronger than ever, hanging with Sam in the weight room, without Kurt his flexibility had suffered. Even with his time spent on the Cheerios. Nothing compared to Kurt, he thought with a nostalgic smirk.

He stripped in the locker room and stepped into the gym shower letting the not so warm water cool him down in more ways than one. By the time he got out he felt refreshed. He dressed and gelled and grabbed his bag, heading out to the car. Maybe he'd come back another day, he thought. The work out was a good one.

"Hey," a voice stopped him in the lobby, and he turned around to see aerobics boy flashing a charming smile at him. He couldn't help but smile back and that fueled his new friend's confidence. "My name's Luke," the man, definitely an older man, said as he held out his hand.

"Blaine," he introduced himself, accepting the hand shake with an awkward unsure smile. "You come here often?" Blaine asked then laughed embarrassed, throwing his hand over his face. "I'm sorry, that's such a line."

"Yes it is," Luke laughed with him, already entranced by how adorable Blaine was. "And yes, I do. And now it's time for my line. Would you like to get some coffee?"

Blaine looked at him a moment, his mouth frozen between a yes and a no, but what came out was an apologetic shake of the head. "No, thank you, I have a…" but he didn't know how to finish the sentence.

"Girlfriend?" Luke offered, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

Blaine chuckled again, his cheeks growing redder by the minute. "No. Definitely not a girlfriend."

"A boyfriend then?" Luke asked sadly.

Blaine shuffled, shoving his hand in his pockets as he bit his lip. "No. Well, kind of. I mean…"

"I get it," Luke said kindly. "Well it was nice to meet you Blaine, maybe I'll see you around again sometime."

"Yeah maybe," Blaine said, feeling like he should apologize for something but knowing there was no need. He'd done nothing wrong. And as Luke left the gym, Blaine knew for sure that what he'd done felt totally right.

"Kurt, I can't believe you're going to the NYC Ballet Gala!" Blaine said in awe. "That's gonna be the most amazing experience of your life!"

"I can't believe it either Blaine," Kurt said, still reeling from the news. "I wish you were here to enjoy it too though. Rachel is ecstatic, but Santana couldn't care for anything but the dress. She doesn't even like ballet," he said wryly.

Blaine's brow furrowed with confusion. "That's ridiculous Kurt, of course she does. She and I watched the Miami City Ballet on PBS one day last summer while you were working at the Lima Bean. I remember she never stopped smiling."

Kurt snorted. Of course Santana had just been lying. "I honestly don't know how you deal with that girl," he said. "She is a thorn in my side."

Blaine smiled. "She grows on you."

"Like ivy up the cage she's stripping inside," he murmured and Blaine's smile froze.

"What?"

"Santana. She's some go-go Barbarella cage dancer," he said derisively. Blaine was quiet. He didn't know what to say, or what to think. "Blaine? Don't freak out on me here please."

"Oh don't worry, I won't freak out on you," Blaine assured him. "But I damn well plan to freak out on her!"

"Well, the more the merrier, Rachel and I already did. Maybe she'll actually listen to you though." Kurt yawned and curled up in his bed. "I need to go to sleep. My schedule these next few days is going to be crazy."

"Crazy amazing," Blaine smiled. "Night. Oh and Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"Have fun at the ballet."

Ryder's confession in the choir room had weighed heavily on Blaine, but the reaction of his friends had made the walls of the room close in on him and desperately need air. As soon as they were dismissed, Blaine grabbed his bag and walked quickly out of the choir room. Realistic calculations in his head battled with his heart when he heard footsteps hustling behind him. "Hey, Blaine, wait up!" Sam yelled, breathless in trying to keep up with Blaine despite his friend's shorter legs. "Artie and I had this great idea for-"

"Sam, stop," Blaine told him and tried to keep walking, but Sam grabbed his arm and Blaine twisted around. His stomach tied in knots looking at the friend he'd relied on so much this year. "I can't talk to you right now," he said angrily.

He caught Sam's confused look, his lips pursed together to question why, but Blaine just turned and continued on alone where he had been headed.

Tina caught up to Sam, who was still staring after his best friend with no understanding of what had just happened. She looked at him gently and just brushed his hand lightly to bring him out of his revelry. "I'll go find him, okay?" she said softly. Sam nodded and watched her go.

It wasn't hard. They'd talked a lot since the shooting, spent a lot more time together. Blaine had been opening up to her. Not like he did with Santana or Kurt, she wasn't going to delude herself any longer on that regard. But she was trying to be a good friend to him and she'd been rewarded with tiny tidbits of information that she'd strung together with the things she'd seen over the past two years of him being in their lives. So even when she'd lost track of where he was, she was pretty sure she knew exactly where he was going.

She turned off her cellphone flashlight before entering the auditorium, but she caught his before it went out, up in the spot tower. With a small smile she walked in the pitch dark, knowing the auditorium like the back of her hand, and made her way over to the ladder to climb up. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly and she could see him well enough sitting against the wall, arms lying on his knees pulled up, head resting back with his eyes closed. "Mind if I join you?" she asked quietly. Blaine shook his head as if he'd known she was there and she sat down across from him. "I thought I'd find you here."

"Yeah, well, I considered a ten hour drive to Bushwick, but this was closer," he muttered bitterly.

"Are you okay?" she asked. She watched him. He ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed his hands over his face, as she was starting to notice he often did when he was upset. She waited though, not wanting to rush him. She had nowhere to be and he wasn't asking her to leave or moving to go himself. He opened his eyes, clasping his hands back together as he rested his arms over his knees again but he stared at the floor next to her.

"When Karofsky kissed Kurt, that day in the locker room," he started, his voice a murmur barely above a whisper, "I remember how violated Kurt felt. How hurt he was. To have something so special as a first kiss taken from you, without your consent, from someone who had no right…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "Ryder must feel…" He couldn't even put into words how Ryder must feel, but he felt it in his gut, the memories of his own father's betrayals. He lifted his eyes to meet Tina's attentive gaze. His eyes looked so wounded, even in the darkness. "And Sam and Artie just…" His balled his hands into fists, once again unable to find the words to describe how angry and disappointed he felt toward his friends, but he wasn't sure the words existed. "I guess I just know a little bit how Ryder feels," he finished meekly.

"Because of me?" she asked nervously, chewing her bottom lip between her teeth.

"What?" he asked surprised, then understood and reached out to grab her hand. "No, Tina, no," he assured her than laughed softly with a playful smirk. "Well maybe a little because of you." She smiled with embarrassment, glad for the shadows that hid her blushing cheeks. "But no, I mean because of things with my Dad."

"He didn't…" she asked him in shock.

"No," Blaine assured her squeezing her hand. "But the things he did do, and especially the things he said. About my sexuality. It all makes you distrustful of others but of yourself even more. It's hard to know what's right and wrong, what to believe about yourself and what you feel. It doesn't matter who it is that does that to you. When you're a kid, no one has the right…"

"You should talk to Sam," Tina told him. "Tell him why you're angry."

Blaine pulled back, closing his eyes and resting his head back just like she'd found him. "Yeah, I don't know," he sighed.

They sat in silence like that for a few minutes while Tina's thoughts drifted outside the room. Her heart was heavy with Blaine's words, understanding even more what it had cost Ryder to reveal what he had. And what Sam and Artie's ignorance had likely done. But still, she wasn't sure what was right. "What do you say?" she asked Blaine, and he lowered his head to look at her. "To someone who's been through that when you haven't?"

Blaine watched her a moment, her sincerity clear even now, and his voice was strong. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm sorry that someone took something precious from you that only you had a right to give. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here."

She nodded, then took his hand. "If you ever need someone to talk to Blaine, I'm here. You know that right?" she asked hopefully.

He slowly smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah. I know that."

"Alright, the last order of business is…" Blaine looked down at the agenda items he'd put together the night before after trolling McKinley student twitter accounts. "Talking to Principal Figgens about getting the vending machines on the generator during the blackout. All agreed?" he asked looking around. Sam watched him warily as he nodded his agreement with the rest, the look having stayed fairly constant throughout their student council meeting. Blaine ignored it and smacked the gavel. "Then this meeting of the Student Council is adjourned."

Blaine silently gathered up his papers and put them away in his bag, slinging it around his neck. The others filed out, and he moved to follow them without a glance to Sam.

"Can you at least tell me why you're mad at me?"

Sam's voice stopped Blaine before he crossed the threshold. He closed his eyes, torn between wanting his friend back and wondering who he even was. "The fact that you even have to ask me that is why I'm mad." His voice dripped with disappointment.

Sam shuffled, shoving his hands in his pocket. "Come on Blaine," he pleaded. "I'm just a dumb straight guy, you're gonna have to help me out here."

Blaine turned and really looked at Sam for the first time since his comments in the choir room. The first thing he noticed was that Sam looked ready to cry and desperate to fix whatever he'd broken. The second thing he noticed was that whatever feelings he'd had for Sam were suddenly gone. But even though that was true, he still loved Sam's friendship and needed him to understand how terribly wrong he had been. Blaine placed his hands on his hips, and ducked his head, biting his lip as he figured out how to say what he needed to say. "How old are your brother and sister now?" Blaine asked, glancing up at him.

Sam was startled by the question, but crossed his arms across his chest and answered. "Stevie's 11 and Stacey's 8."

"So if you walked into your house and found their babysitter touching them in the shower you'd be all ready with the high five, right?" Blaine asked sarcastically.

"What?" Sam screeched with disgust. "No, they're just babies."

"And you think it would be totally okay for you or Artie to go fondle a cute 11 year old girl in the shower?" Blaine argued.

"No, Blaine, what the hell? Of course not," Sam spat out. Blaine watched him quietly as he let it sink in. The realization on Sam's face was visible. 'Oh my god," he whispered as his face fell. "I'm so sorry."

Blaine pursed his lips and raised a brow. "You owe Ryder an apology, not me," he said pointedly. Sam rubbed his hands through his hair and nodded his head. Blaine offered him a tentative smile in return. "You really are a dumb straight guy, aren't you," he chuckled softly.

Sam shook his head. "The dumbest."

"Good thing you're dating such a brilliant girl," Blaine offered, finally relaxing as the tension between them eased.

"Good thing she wasn't in the room yesterday or I'd be a dead straight guy probably," Sam said as he and Blaine left the classroom and headed out to their cars.

Blaine smirked in agreement. "Yes, yes you would."

"So how was ballet class," Blaine asked as he slipped into bed Friday night at his Dad's house.

"It was really good," Santana answered, and she sounded almost surprised at that. "Felt a little bit like being a kid again."

"A lot better than stripping?" Blaine asked pointedly.

Santana started to respond but stopped herself from snapping at him. She took a deep breath before answering. "I'm dancing Blaine. I'm not stripping. And I love dancing."

"I know you do 'Tana," Blaine said. "New York is full of opportunities for dancers, why do you have to do it in a cage?"

"Because it's hot Blaine," she tried to explain. "I like being sexy. I like showing my body off. No one touches and I feel really good about myself, doing something I love. And the money is fantastic."

"I don't like it," Blaine frowned.

"Well you're gay, I wouldn't expect you to," she smirked.

Blaine scoffed. "You know what I mean."

"Look boyfriend. I love you," Santana said. "And I appreciate your concern for my propriety, far more than Lady Lips and Yentl. But I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself, and I know the meaning of the word consent. Capiche?"

Blaine sighed, knowing that she was right and hating it. "Capiche. I just worry."

"Well worry about someone else Anderson, because Santana Lopez was made for New York City," she said proudly. "And it's made for you too," she added quietly.

"Well, we'll just have to see what NYADA says about that," Blaine said sadly.

Blaine's father knocked quietly and stuck his head in the door. "It's getting late Blaine, lights out," John said before retreating again out of the room.

"Talk to you tomorrow 'Tana?"

"Sweet Dreams Blaine," she answered.

Author's Note:

I hope all of you survive the Darren Criss riots in order to make it until Thursday. If any of you are going to his tour let me know where! See you next week!