Chapter 2 Bring on the new
oOoOo
Blaine sat there after Kurt left, thinking about what he had done, saying goodbye, and realized once again he had done the right thing, made the right choice. He had to move on. He couldn't keep putting himself in a position to get hurt again. He knew he wouldn't survive it the next time.
Since Dave wouldn't be back tonight, Blaine decided to spend one more night in the apartment, giving himself time to figure out where he needed to go, what he needed to do next.
Blaine went into the bathroom and grabbed the towels he and Dave had used the day before when they had showered, the washrags he and Kurt had used, along with the dirty sheets he had stripped off the bed and quickly threw them all in the washer. Blaine walked back into the bathroom and pulled the bag out of the trash can, and tied it up, not wanting to leave evidence of what he and Kurt had done for Dave to find. After replacing the trash bag, Blaine carried it and the trash from the kitchen down to the dumpster the apartment complex provided for their tenants then walked back to the apartment. Blaine sat down on the couch and really thought about his next move, where he should go, what he should do with his life.
He knew he needed to turn in a two-week notice with Dalton, feeling bad that he wouldn't be there to see the boys compete. The Warblers really had a strong team this year. Blaine figured they would make it all the way. He unfortunately, couldn't stay there to see it. With Kurt working at McKinley helping Rachel get the New Directions up and running, there was too much of a chance that they would keep running into each other.
When the washer finished, Blaine moved the clean clothes to the dryer and then went back and sat on the couch, deciding to sleep there tonight, not feeling right about sleeping in Dave's bed again. Blaine feels like he had just fallen asleep when his phone alarm blares the next morning. Getting up, Blaine showers and gets ready for work and then quickly folds and puts away the sheets and towels. He looks around, making sure everything is in place, wanting to leave the apartment clean for Dave.
When he feels everything looks right, Blaine grabs his suitcases and guitar case and walks toward the door, stopping long enough to place his key and the note he had written Dave last night on the kitchen table. Blaine felt he needed to apologize once again for the way they had ended and to thank Dave for everything he had done for him. Blaine looked around really quick to make sure he had everything, and then locked the door, and walked out, shutting the door behind him for the last time.
After work, he checked into a motel so that he could work out his two-week notice with the Warblers. He knew he could have moved back in with his parents temporarily, but he didn't want to do that. He had left their house originally an engaged man, and he had come back feeling more like a kid than he had in a long time. He just couldn't see himself doing that again after his break up with Dave
Blaine thought about what he wanted to do during those two weeks, for once concentrating on himself, what he wanted and needed. He had never done that before. Blaine had always done what someone else wanted or expected him to do, his parents, his teachers, Kurt, and in a small part Dave. He had always tried to be what others had wanted him to be. Blaine was finally ready to be himself. He didn't really know what that would be yet, but was ready to start.
Blaine finished up his two weeks at Dalton, told the Warblers goodbye, and then hopped a plane to California. He spent a week with his brother Cooper, enjoying their time together. Because of their age difference, they had never really been close, but in that week, they got to know and understand each other in a way they never had before. When Blaine was able to find himself an apartment to move into, he actually missed Cooper.
Blaine enjoyed living on his own. For the first time in his life, he could do what he wanted to do without thinking about someone else. It felt liberating. He loved buying things for his home, putting everything where he wanted them to be, not having to worry about what someone else thought about it. He could finally be himself.
Blaine took time for himself. He played tourist, visiting some of the places he had heard or seen about in movies or on TV. He didn't jump straight into school since he really didn't know what he wanted to do yet, and since he didn't really need the money, he took his time deciding on what to do next with his life.
Blaine had been living in California two weeks when he got a call from Cooper about a new show that the Fox Network was holding auditions for. Cooper had already been hired, but they needed someone to play a young gay high school student. Cooper told them about Blaine, the plays he had done while in school, and about his singing voice. Cooper let them know that Blaine was going to turn 19 in a few months, he had only been out of high school six months and that he felt Blaine would be perfect for the role. They wanted to meet him.
"Cooper, do you think that is something I could do?" Blaine asked a little nervous.
"I think so. You did all those school plays when you were in school, so you know how to act. You went to NYADA even if just for a semester, and you also have a killer voice. I know once they meet you, they will be interested. Try out, and if you don't get it, no harm's done. Who knows you might actually like it."
"When is my audition with them?" Blaine asked, starting to get into the idea. Cooper had always enjoyed acting and had done really well for himself.
"Well squirt, that's the thing, it's in an hour and a half," Cooper answered.
"What! I can't do that. I'll do lousy. I won't have time to learn a script or anything," Blaine said, now feeling frustrated.
"They know that. The person who was supposed to be playing the part dropped out yesterday. They want to start shooting tomorrow, so they are bringing in a lot of people just to do cold reads. You will be handed a script. If you do ok with that, then you will be asked to do a chemistry read to see if you and your co-star can work well together." Cooper answered, trying to calm Blaine down.
"If I do lousy on this one, will it ruin my chances for another one?" Blaine questioned.
"No, we all mess up and have lousy auditions it's expected. Suggestion, don't gel your hair, it makes you look older, or just use enough to control the frizz, and you should be ok," Cooper advised.
"Anything else?" Blaine asked
"Have you shaved today, if not, don't shave close like you normally do, just leave it a little scruffy, but neat looking, wear of a pair of jeans and tennis shoes, they always make you look younger than you are. Oh, when you get to security, tell them who you are, and you should have a badge and pass ready. Good luck squirt, I'll see you when you get here." Cooper said with a smile, knowing how nervous Blaine must be right now, remembering all the times he had gone through that himself.
"Thanks Coop, I owe you one," Blaine said smiling
He jumped in the shower, washed out the gel he had put in his hair that morning, put in just a little after his shower. To him, it looked weird. He had worn gel since he was fourteen and had been made fun of in school because of his curly hair. Blaine grabbed a pair of faded denim jeans and a t-shirt, putting that on and then stepped into his tennis shoes and was soon in a cab heading for the Fox lot.
Blaine stopped at security, was given his badge, and was then escorted to where the auditions were being held. He immediately felt out of place watching everyone come in dressed to the nines and being given funny looks because of what he'd decided to audition in. Blaine decided he might have to kill Cooper for the advice he'd given him.
Blaine made it through his cold read and was asked to go back out to the main room. He held out some hope when not everyone was. Some came out and sat with him, but most just left. After the chemistry read, it was down to just him and four other men.
The door opened again, and the production assistant came out. "Mr. Anderson, if you don't mind following me, gentlemen, thank you for your interest."
Blaine stood there for a minute before it hit him. He had gotten the part. He smiled big and happily followed the assistant back. He was taken to the front to fill out paperwork and to sign a contract. When Blaine was asked who his manager is, all he could answer was, "I don't have one. This is the only part I have ever auditioned for," he answered, feeling nervous thinking he had just blown it.
"Give me a minute," Ms. Carson said, picking up her phone. "Sarah, would you mind getting Mr. Drew to come to my office please."
Within five minutes, Cooper was walking in. "Mr. Drew, since you recommended Mr. Anderson, do you think your manager would be available to sign him on as a client so we can take care of the contract today? We need him to be signed and ready for shooting tomorrow if we have any hope of staying on schedule."
Blaine had completely forgotten that Cooper went by the surname Drew, which was short for his middle name Andrew. This made Blaine feel proud because that meant he had gotten the job on his own merit, not because of who his brother was. Sure, Cooper might have gotten him the audition, but Blaine had gotten the job himself.
"Sure thing, give me a sec, and I'll call him," Cooper answered with a smile and a wink at Blaine as he walked out the door to make the call.
Cooper's manager happily signed him on as a client, and looked over Blaine's contract with Fox and found everything in order. Blaine signed the contract and was advised to be on set the next morning at 5 am.
His first day on the job, Blaine was shown where his trailer and was then taken to makeup and wardrobe. Today he didn't need to know any lines. He was mainly doing background scenes. Blaine couldn't believe who he was working with, Ali Roth, Ben Forbes, and his all-time favorite Jenna Malone, he had been watching her in movies and TV shows for years. To actually get to work with her was amazing. Blaine pulled out his phone to text Kurt to let him know where he was, what he was doing, and who he was doing it with. Just as he was typing up the last of the text, he realized he couldn't do that anymore. The most important thing to happen to him in a long time and he couldn't share it with his best friend. Blaine slowly erased the text and put his phone back in his pocket with a sigh. Man, that still hurt.
Blaine got to spend time with his on-screen boyfriend, Bryce Mitchell. They hit it off right away. They had so much in common. Since neither one of them had any real scenes that day, they got to just sit back and talk. Be part of the background, as the producer put it, sitting like shrubbery.
Eventually, they had to start rehearsing for their first shoot together the next day. They were playing two high school boys that had just become boyfriends and were about to share their very first kiss. Blaine knew that feeling, so he had a lot of experience to draw from. Bryce, on the other hand, didn't. He was actually a straight man playing a gay boy, which to Blaine was just weird.
They ended up having to do the kissing scene for thirty minutes, when they called cut Bryce looked at him with a grin on his face, "if I were even remotely bi-curious you would have just converted me to your team." He said laughing, and Blaine could do nothing but shake his head, feeling his face turned red.
About that time, Cooper, who had already finished his scenes, ran up and pulled Blaine into a hug. "Good job there Blainer's, you even had me convinced," he said, moving his eyebrows up and down suggestively.
Bryce looked between them and then asked Blaine, "oh, is this your boyfriend?"
Blaine looked at him like he just lost his mind. "God no," he said, shaking his head.
"Why you gotta say it like that, Blainer's? Come on. You know you love me," Cooper said with his signature pout, which Blaine could only laugh at.
"Bryce Mitchell, I would like you to meet Cooper Drew, aka Cooper Anderson, aka my pain in the ass older brother," Blaine said with a grin.
"Hey, why does it have to be like that, where's the love?" Cooper asked, shaking his head before smiling at Bryce. "Hey, nice to meet you, " he said, shaking Bryce's hand.
Bryce just looked at Cooper, star-struck "Oh wow, I am one of your biggest fans, I was so hoping I would get to meet you," Bryce said just staring at Cooper
"Oh god, please don't say things like that, you don't know how hard it is to get his big head in the car already," Blaine said laughing and shaking his head
"Jealous much there squirt?" Cooper said, laughing.
"Ummm, no," Blaine said, just looking at him like he was crazy.
"Yup, brothers. One hundred percent brothers," Bryce said, joining in the laughter. "You'll have to introduce me to your boyfriend, so I can congratulate him on getting those kinds of kisses," he continued and then noticed the look that crossed Blaine's face and the protective look that Cooper shot him. "Oh crap, sorry."
"It's ok, just a little recent," Blaine said, looking down at his feet until he could get his expression under control, looking up with a smile. "No problem at all, " he said, holding that smile until it became almost real again.
"I'm sorry Blaine. If you ever want to talk to your "boyfriend" about your ex-boyfriend, I'll be here," Bryce said, not knowing what else to say.
"Thanks, I might take you up on that," Blaine said with a small smile.
"Hey little brother, do you want to come over to my place and let me get you drunk, and we can say nasty things about Kurt?" Cooper asked, putting his arm across Blaine's shoulders.
"Thanks Cooper but I think I'm just going to go home. I'll see you both in the morning," Blaine answered, before turning around and walking away from the both of them.
"Oh man, I had no idea. I would never have said anything." Bryce said, looking at Cooper.
"I know, trust me. I still slip up myself. Man, I hate that Kurt still has the ability to do that to Blaine," Cooper said, really pissed off at Kurt.
"That bad, huh?" Bryce questioned.
"Oh yeah, that bad, but I can't say anything. That's for Blaine to tell you if, and when he is ever ready," Cooper answered with a sigh.
"I can understand that. Oh well, I'll see you guys tomorrow, hope Blaine is ok," Bryce said before turning around and walking away
Blaine went home and started reading his lines through for the next day, and it hit so close to home. It was so much like when Blaine had first met Kurt, like someone had written his life. Blaine read through the script until nine-thirty and then gives up for the night. He knows tomorrow is going to be a long emotional day for him and was going to bring back a lot of old memories.
oOoOo
Blaine woke up the next morning more comfortable in his own skin than he had in a while. He had done a lot of soul searching the night before, second-guessing every decision he had made, and finally came to the conclusion that he was where he needed to be, he was finally in the right place for him. Yes, walking away from Kurt had hurt, but Blaine needed to do it. He needed to take care of himself for a while, do what was best for him. He needed to put the past in the past and allow himself to move into his present and eventually set his future.
That morning when he walked onto the lot, Blaine had a better attitude. He had gotten a good job. Was it something he had ever thought he would do, maybe not, but he enjoyed it. He was going to make the most of this opportunity.
Working with Bryce was amazing. Even though they were the same age, Bryce had been in the business since he was fourteen when he got his first TV show. He was always willing to give Blaine pointers, never overstepping so that he made Blaine feel like they weren't equals, but showing him stuff that made him better.
"Are you sure you're not gay? Because that tongue thing you just did was... wow," Blaine said to Bryce laughing, and for once it was Bryce who was turning red
They had just filmed one of their first make-out sessions, and for Blaine, it had gotten a little heated. Luckily the pants he was wearing were loose enough that it wasn't obvious. He hadn't had that kind of reaction to anyone, not even Kurt. He had felt a spark when Bryce had touched him, a very strong physical attraction.
He waited for the comeback he just knew was going to fly his way, and when it didn't, Blaine saw that Bryce was breathing a little heavy and that is when he noticed the slight bulge in the front of his pants, which was a little weird since Bryce was supposedly straight.
"Can I talk to you later?" Bryce asked him not really looking at him
"Sure, are you ok?" Blaine asked him, hoping his joke hadn't been taken the wrong way. Bryce had joked the first day about the kisses they had shared, so Blaine thought his comment was ok, but maybe not.
They went back to filming the next part of the script, and everything seemed to go back to normal. The only thing in this scene had them doing was walking down the hallway talking while holding hands. So it was pretty straightforward. They broke for lunch, and Blaine saw Bryce head for his trailer and stayed there until filming began again.
This would be his first scene with Cooper, who was playing one of the teachers at the school. He had never really seen Cooper work before, yes, he had seen him in commercials, but never anything like this, and he was in awe of his big brother. The depth and warmth he brought to his character was amazing.
The next scene they filmed was of Bryce and him kissing again. Blaine remembered that after he and Kurt had shared their first kiss, that day and the next, at every opportunity they had, they were kissing and holding each other. There had been some heavy make-out session the first couple of days as well when they were getting to know each other, so the scenes weren't too far away from the real-life of a teenage boy.
The kiss he shared with Bryce this time was more intense than the ones they had shared before even though the script didn't call for it, he also got a little closer to Blaine than was scripted as well. Blaine became quickly aroused and felt that Bryce was too. The director called cut before Blaine could embarrass himself.
That was the last scene he was in that day, he quickly walked towards his trailer, locked the door, and walked into the little bathroom. He took care of himself quickly thinking about the kiss he had just shared with Bryce, Blaine came harder than he had in a long time, feeling it down to his toes.
He needed to get himself under control, he couldn't walk around hard all the time, but he was just so attracted to him. Blaine hadn't felt this kind of attraction for a straight man before, wanting something he knew he could never have.
When he went back out to find Cooper, he was on set, wrapping up his last scene of the day. "Hey, can I come over tonight and talk to you?" he asked. He needed to get Cooper's advice on what he should do.
"Yeah sure, if you're ready, we can go now, I can give you a ride. Speaking of which, now that you have a job and an apartment here, it would seem like you plan on staying for a while, when are you going to get yourself a car, or are you thinking of shipping the one you had at home here? I can imagine that the taxi situation is a pain in the butt," Cooper said as they were walking to his car.
"I was actually thinking about looking into it this weekend. I think I'll leave the Audi at mom and dad's for when I go home, so I'll have something to drive. I really don't know what kind I want yet."
On the way to Coopers, they went through a drive-through burger place that Cooper swears had the best burgers he has ever eaten. They both order a bacon cheeseburger, fries and because of the size of the meal, Blaine orders a diet coke and laughs while he does.
When they get to Cooper's apartment, they ate, and he was right, it was the best burger Blaine had ever had. He might have just found his go-to burger place. They were also open late. He knew that some of the scripts called for late-night, outdoor scenes, so it was always nice to know places that were.
"Ok Blaine, what is up, has something happened with Kurt again? You walked away from your final scene and headed to your trailer, looking disturbed. Are you ok" Cooper asked him
Blaine felt guilty for worrying him, and apparently, he needed to learn how to be a better actor if Cooper could see he was upset so easily.
"Coop, have you ever been attracted to a co-star before?" Blaine asked, not even able to look at him. He didn't know why he felt so embarrassed.
"Yeah, I have, that is actually how I met Candi," Cooper answered. He and Candi had dated for three years and had worked together for two of those three years. They had eventually stopped seeing each other but were still very good friends. Cooper still considered her one of his best friends.
"Blaine, why are you asking me this is something going on?" he asked, looking at Blaine not as a fellow actor but as a big brother worried about his family.
"I think I am starting to have feelings for Bryce. I know that's crazy, we just met, but when we had our scenes earlier, I felt something. And it isn't just sexual. I felt something I haven't felt in a really long time. The bad part is that I know he is straight, but when he kisses me, he does this "thing" that just sends electricity shooting through my body. There is this massive attraction. I have never been attracted to a straight man before.
"I mean, just look at Kurt, you can tell by looking at him. He has always been my type. I know Dave was nowhere near that, but he was just a rebound, I know that. I needed someone, and someone completely different from Kurt and he was there, I know how bad that sounds," Blaine said shaking his head looking at Cooper almost feeling lost.
"Listen Blaine. I don't know what to tell you. I wish I did. Maybe you need to start going out, see if you can find someone to start dating. I know a place where I can take you, they don't sell alcohol, so you don't have to be twenty-one, anyone eighteen and older can get in. Why don't we go there Friday and just hang out? Maybe getting your mind off of Bryce will help," Cooper offered.
"Let me think about it," Blaine said before standing up. "I guess I need to head home and run through some lines for tomorrow."
"Do you want a ride?" Cooper asked him.
"No, it isn't that far. I think I'll walk, maybe that will help clear my head, but thanks for everything Coop, I really appreciate it," Blaine said, reaching out to open the door.
"Hey, that's what big brothers for, love you, Blaine, see you tomorrow," Cooper said as Blaine was opening the door.
Blaine turned around and smiled, "Love you too big brother," he said as he was walking out the door.
When he got back to his apartment, he changed into a pair of sweatpants and his old Dalton Academy sports t-shirt. It was still one of his most comfortable shirts. Too bad it was starting to get thin from all the times he had worn it, he wished he had thought to pick up another one while he was working there.
Blaine put his iPod on the docking station and starts playing one of his random playlists, pulling out his script for tomorrow, and started reading it through. The first thing that pops out at Blaine is that it shows another make-out session, but also a small fight. He just smiled, this looked fun. Apparently, Blaine's character Alex, was supposed to say something snarky to Bryce's character Beau, who supposedly smacks him and then walks away.
He was reading over his lines for the third time when he got a text message from Bryce. They had exchanged numbers the first day they met, but this was the first time it was used.
Bryce: Hey, can I come over and we can talk
Blaine: Sure, here is my address" Blaine quickly typed in his address and waited a few minutes when he got another text.
Bryce: If it's ok, I'll be there in about ten minutes?
Blaine: That will be fine. See you then.
Blaine thinks about changing clothes, but then thinks that's stupid. This isn't a date; Bryce is just coming over so they can talk. Blaine continues to read through his script until he hears a knock on his door. He stands up and goes to answer it.
"Hi, thanks for letting me come over such last-minute," Bryce said not looking Blaine in the eyes.
"No problem, do you want something to drink? I have diet coke, and water," Blaine asked after shutting the door leading Bryce into the living room.
He noticed that Bryce looked really nervous and was wringing his hand. "No, I don't need anything, " he finally answered.
"OK, do you want to sit down?" Blaine said, sitting on the couch.
Bryce finally sat down but still wouldn't look at him. Blaine was really confused by the way he was acting. They always got along great on set. Now it just felt weird and awkward. Had his comment earlier upset him that much?
Finally, Bryce turned on the couch, so he was facing Blaine. "I don't even know where to start this conversation, Blaine I really don't. I feel like we have started becoming friends, and I don't want to do anything to mess that up," he said, taking a deep breath before continuing.
"I have always thought of myself as straight. I have only ever dated a woman, yeah, I admit I have found some guys attractive but didn't really think anything about it. That first day we kissed on set, I felt something I have never felt before. I can't explain it, and then when we did that make out scene earlier today, I wanted you more than I have ever wanted anyone else. I have never felt like that with any girl I have ever dated."
"I know with the situation you are in, this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I needed to apologize for taking that scene too far today. Until you made that comment about my tongue, I hadn't even realized I had done that to you. I have only ever done that with one person, one of my ex-girlfriends, and I had only done it when I was so turned on that I felt like I was going to explode."
"Please accept my apology and know that I will work to keep everything between us, professional and friendly. You don't need to go to work and be sexually harassed, and I just wanted you to know how sorry I was," Bryce said before standing up and heading to the door.
Up to that point, Blaine hadn't said anything. He had just let Bryce talk, with his heart beating in his chest so hard he was surprised that Bryce didn't hear it.
"Can I talk now?" Blaine asked right before Bryce got to the door.
"What?" Bryce said, turning around, looking surprised.
"I said, can I talk now. Why don't you come back over here and sit down for a minute," Blaine said with a soft smile on his face.
He waited for Bryce to sit down before turning his body toward him. "I felt it too," Blaine said.
"What?" Bryce said, looking at him in shock.
"I said I felt it too. When you kissed me, it was like a jolt of electricity went up my spine. Unlike you, I have kissed other men, I had a boyfriend for three almost four years who I was in love with and engaged too, and I never felt that even with him."
"It was like this instant attraction, but you were straight, so you were so far out of my league, you were also not the type of man I have ever been attracted to, you are actually the opposite in every way, but you have been on my mind since our first kiss. When you made that comment about the way I kissed, I was confused because you were straight."
"To be honest, I expected you to be a little repulsed. I have only kissed a girl twice in my life, both times with the same girl. I was at a party with my friend, the one who eventually became my boyfriend. I got really drunk and me and a girlfriend of his kissed. At the time, when I was drunk it felt great, we went out on a date, and I kissed her sober it was so very wrong, and I never kissed another girl, never wanted to."
"I went and talked to Cooper for a while before coming home tonight. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. I had all these feelings for you that I knew could never go anywhere. He actually planned on taking me out this weekend to see if I could find someone to date," Blaine said.
Bryce just looked at him smiling "you really felt it too?" he said almost disbelievingly.
"Very much so. I can't believe you didn't feel how turned on I was. When you did that tongue thing, which I loved, by the way, I was so hard I had to walk back to my trailer to take care of some things," Blaine said, laughing.
"Wow, I don't even know what to say right now. I never considered myself gay before. I never had anything against people who were but never saw myself that way until some curly-headed man walked in front of me, and to be honest, I was a little bit lost." Bryce said with a smile on his face.
Blaine reached out and took Bryce's hand in his looking him in the eyes, "I have a suggestion. Since I have never kissed "you" Bryce, why don't….." he didn't get to finish because Bryce cut him off.
"Yes, you have, trust me, that is a vivid memory I have from just a few hours ago," Bryce looked at him with confusion, tilting his head sideways.
"Let me finish," Blaine said, laughing.
"Alex has kissed Beau and Beau has kissed Alex, and very well by the way, but Blaine has never kissed Bryce and vice versa, with your permission, I would like to remedy that, to kiss you because I want to and not because it was part of a script telling me to do so. Would you be ok with that?" Blaine asked, looking deep into Bryce's big brown eyes.
Bryce just smiled, "Yes, I would very much be ok with that"
Blaine gently reached out and pulled Bryce into his arms, leaning down, he softly placed his lips on Bryce's, and there was that electricity again. Blaine raised his hand and cupped Bryce's face before running his tongue on his bottom lip, asking permission to enter. When Bryce opened his mouth, Blaine slipped his tongue in, slowly running his tongue against Bryce's chasing it sucking it gently before running his tongue on the roof of his mouth, never trying to deepen the kiss, just happy to keep it soft and gentle for their first real kiss.
When he finally broke the kiss, Blaine placed his forehead on Bryce's, out of breath, and so turned on, it wasn't funny. He noticed that Bryce was breathing heavily, as well. Blaine leaned in and placed another soft kiss on his lips before pulling back so he could look in Bryce's eyes, judge his response. Blaine just looked at him with a soft smile on his face.
"Wow, I thought Alex's kissed good, but damn Blaine," Bryce said before leaning in and pulling Blaine into his arms and kissing him, deeper than the one Blaine had given him.
When they leaned back, they were both breathing heavy, and Blaine was extremely hard for the second time that day….
