Mom is always up and ready for the day before anyone else. Today, for the most part, is no different. She sets her hair; she dresses and slips into her heels; she lays the table for breakfast. This morning, however, she realises she's forgotten her earrings. She runs back upstairs and what she sees on her dresser takes her breath away.

Blaine catches Santana just before they go down to breakfast.

'Hey. Are you okay? You seemed really freaked out last night.'

She avoids his eyes. 'Oh, it was nothing. I think I just got overwhelmed. I don't want to get into it now.'

He nods. 'Okay. But I'm here if you need to talk; you know that, right?'

They finally make eye contact, and she sighs at him. 'Gay.' He laughs. That's much more their usual speed. They take their seats at the table, Dad ignoring his surroundings until they ignore him back.

'Waffles, darling?'

Mom puts Blaine's plate in front of him, and her smile seems less practised than usual.

'Mm, yes please. You seem happy today.' Mom keeps smiling. Blaine glances at Santana and notices that her eyes are strangely wide. She looks insane. She clearly has something important to discuss. The only problem, which has been a problem too many times before, is that Blaine is hopeless at reading lips.

She mouths what looks like 'oo ah er ee rin'.

'What?' he mouths back.

She nods in Mom's direction and tries again. 'Ee. Rin.'

He shrugs, utterly lost.

Santana pulls on her ear lobe and whispers 'Earrings.'

Blaine looks at Mom again, just as she turns to face them. Blaine's eyes widen to match Santana's.

Mom's earrings are a rich, emerald green. Blaine barely manages to avoid choking on his breakfast.

'Something wrong?' Mom asks, pretending she has no idea what's taken them by surprise.

'No, nothing wrong. I just agree with Blaine – you look really pretty today.' Mom stands up a little straighter. 'I especially like your earrings. Are they new?'

For a moment, Mom looks like she's got a mischievous secret to hide, but it doesn't last.

'No, I've had them for years, but… the darndest thing happened this morning!' She sits between Blaine and Santana, opposite her oblivious husband. 'Well, last night, Blaine and I had the most splendid evening playing cards, and he even tidied up after dinner, and I went to bed in the best mood and put my earrings on the dresser, just like I always do. Except something must have been different, because this morning they were green! Have you ever seen anything like it?'

They don't have time for that conversation. They both settle on shrugging and shaking their heads. Dad, however, chooses this moment to care what is happening around him.

'What's all this fuss about?'

'We were just discussing my earrings. Aren't they something?'

Blaine and Santana share a look – one that says 'brace yourself'.

Dad takes his glasses off and squints to get a look at the earrings. They expect him to explode, perhaps unfairly, as so far he's been absent-minded, not cruel. He cocks his head, then blinks and leans back to take all of her in. His face softens for a moment, until the frown returns.

'You, uh… you look- very nice, dear. They suit you.' His grey skin flushes a little darker, and he clears his throat and puts his glasses back on. 'But you should probably wear something normal if you're planning on seeing anyone else today.' Mom freezes. 'Anyway. I should probably get to the office. I-' he gets up and looks at his children staring at him, and the hurt on his wife's face. 'Thank you for breakfast. Very good.'

Mom snaps out of her trance and hurriedly takes out the earrings, her knuckles whitening as she grips them.

'My pleasure. Have a good day, honey.' He looks at her, as if he's about to say something else, but instead his brow furrows as he picks up his briefcase and leaves.

There's a pause in the kitchen after the front door closes. Santana gives Mom's arm a squeeze. 'They were still really pretty, Mom.'

Mom can't even look her in the eye. 'I- I didn't change them on purpose. I just liked them.'

Blaine pipes up. 'You know, you don't have to do what he says all the time.'

A deep breath, a clear of her throat, and a few quick blinks, and she straightens herself up. 'Yes, I do. It's fine. Look, you two should go to school. I don't want you to be late.'

They look at each other, then back at her. She's smiling again, but it's so different from the one she was wearing ten minutes ago. They mumble out their goodbyes, each giving Mom an attempt at a comforting hug, then leave her alone. The knowledge that she'll likely be alone for the rest of the day makes them walk a little more slowly.

Blaine breaks the silence. 'Was that our fault?'

She stops walking. 'Why would it be?

He falters.

'I don't know, I- I was just being nice. I helped clear up after dinner and we played cards for a few hours; I didn't think it would change anything. I definitely wasn't expecting that.' He can see her brain working while he talks.

'So you think if we do things differently, then things will just start to go into colour?'

'Maybe. But it didn't feel so good just now. Is it worth a bit of green to make her that sad this morning?'

'I don't know. Change is hard sometimes.'

They walk the rest of the way quietly, but hang back when they arrive. Kurt is with the cheerleaders, laughing with Brittany and copying the moves the girls are practising – and, Blaine can't help but noticing, kicking a little higher than them. The other boys watch curiously.

They both walk towards the cheering group and Kurt and Brittany seem so happy to see them that it fills them both with hope. Santana's quickly fades when she sees that Brittany is still entirely monochrome. Obviously, she was imagining that closeness last night. She turns to see Blaine positively fawning over Kurt.

'You're really good at those moves, like, even better than basketball. You should be on the team.'

Kurt laughs and looks all goofy and awkward, hugging him without thinking. Santana tells herself it's lame, but she's painfully jealous.

'Blaine, you're so funny. I can't be a cheerleader; I'm a boy.'

He swallows, unable to think about much other than Kurt's arms around him. He wants to argue, to tell him that as long as he's having fun it doesn't matter, but the boys appear next to them before he can get the words out. Maybe he's wrong. Maybe it would be better if Kurt just blended in with everyone else, especially here.

'Kurt, what are you doing?' Finn asks. There's no cruelty in his face, just confusion. One more thing that hasn't changed between realities. 'You're not a cheerleader. You're on the basketball team.'

Kurt, who was so carefree and happy a minute ago, suddenly tenses up. 'I- I know. I was just… playing around.'

Finn sighs with relief. 'Okay, Good. Just, you know. Boys don't do…' he gestures towards the girls, 'all of that.' Blaine thinks about home – it isn't perfect, but he knows nobody would bat an eye if they saw a boy cheering, or a girl playing basketball. 'And boys don't hug each other. If your buddy does something swell, you give him a pat on the back, or maybe even a handshake. You don't have to hug him.'

Blaine would expect those words to be said with hate and a shove, but Finn really is just trying to help and explain the right way to behave. Either way, Kurt still looks like he wants to disappear. He mumbles 'sorry,' staring at the ground.

'Hey, pal, don't worry about it!' Mike gives his shoulder a slap with the biggest, most genuine smile on his face, and Kurt smiles back and nods, despite clearly wishing the ground would swallow him. It hurts seeing him like this – Blaine doesn't even know him back home, not really, but he knows he's this confident, out-and-proud activist, not the kind of guy who would ever apologise for being himself, doing something totally harmless. Seeing Kurt hanging his head in shame for a hug and a high-kick makes Blaine's chest ache.

The bell rings and Santana ushers everyone away, smiling back at Blaine and Kurt. He's grateful for the moment to reassure him, but has no idea how to go about it. This isn't a skill he has to use often.

He puts a hand on Kurt's back – gently, not one of the hearty thumps he normally receives from the others. 'You know, it's okay.'

'What?'

'Well, joining in with the girls and- and hugging… boys. There's nothing wrong with it.'

Kurt looks at Blaine like he's speaking another language. 'Nobody said it was wrong. It's just not normal.'

He would love to tell Kurt that he's so much better than normal, but then he remembers this morning with their parents. He doesn't want Kurt to end up feeling the way his mother did earlier.

'Okay. Listen, I have, uh, homework that I need to do and I'm completely stuck. Would you mind helping me with it? We could meet at the library tomorrow afternoon?'

Maybe he can't magically fix this place, but he can give Kurt a friend. Kurt smiles a little, so it can't be that bad an idea, and it sends relief flooding through Blaine.

He nods. 'I'd like that.'

They drag through another day that would make their usual curriculum seem challenging. In English, they don't read a single word, just spend an hour practising handwriting and discussing different punctuation marks. Santana writes 'what is happening', and the teacher doesn't even read the words, just points out that they need to fit more precisely into the lines. They spend an hour of math on addition. Nothing higher than 50. By lunchtime Blaine and Santana are ready to crumble and in desperate need of a vent, but they get dragged off with their respective teams this time.

Brittany makes Santana practise her routine in front of the rest of the girls, and it excites them as much as… basically everything else. Their only criticism is that she still needs to work on the 'cheer' part of cheerleading. She plasters a smile on again.

Blaine lets the guys talk about the usual while he tries to coax some other conversation out of Kurt. He doesn't even want to hit on him here. He doesn't know how that would even work. All Blaine wants is to help him be himself without feeling like an outsider. There are some moments when he thinks he's starting to get through, but Kurt clams up again every time, scared the others will notice.

Santana manages to catch Blaine's eye before their afternoon classes start and they exchange unconvincing smiles.

In Music, they sing hymns. In Art, they paint identical pictures of a grey tree on a lighter grey background with darker grey grass underneath it. The walls are covered in more of the same picture.

Practice is just as perfect as it was yesterday. Every throw sails through the air, either to a teammate or into the net. Yesterday it was fun, but when it's another hour of exactly the same thing it's just tedious. His heart sinks to notice that Kurt isn't playing with the same ease as yesterday, like today something is putting him off. Blaine knows that the only thing that's changed is him asking questions and trying to change things.

'Looking good, Hummel!' Another damn slap on the back from Puck. 'I know somebody cheering you on is going to be very impressed!' He's nudging him playfully and Blaine feels confused yet again.

'Who? Who do you want to impress?'

Santana's routine is better than every other girl's at the try-outs, and she executes it flawlessly. The coach seems unsure for a moment, and confers with her assistant. Santana scowls at her until Brittany catches her eye, giving her a huge grin and two thumbs up and mouthing 'you were amazing!' Santana's face relaxes into an easy, giddy smile.

'That's more like it. Santana, you're on the team.'

The girls scream and run over to her, all talking over each other about how fun cheerleading is.

'You're going to have the best time!'

'Cheering is the funnest thing in the whole world! And we get to see the basketball team a lot, which is fun too!' Santana would be impressed at the suggestiveness in Tina's tone if the thought of getting close to the boys didn't gross her out so much.

'She's right,' adds Quinn, 'just ask Brittany.'

Brittany giggles. Santana stares at her. 'What?'

'You know who he wants to impress. His girlfriend!' Blaine's mouth falls open. 'Brittany, the blonde girl on the cheer team.'

'I- I know who Brittany is,' Blaine stammers out. He expects Kurt to look uncomfortable and sad but's he just smiling gently.

'You're dating Brittany?'

Kurt shrugs one shoulder, a failed attempt at nonchalance. 'Yeah. She's been my girlfriend for a while now. We've even-' he lowers his voice, 'held hands.' This is a kind of dumb teen bravado Blaine has never seen before.

'Wow. Well, you're…' kidding yourself, wasting your time- 'you're a lucky guy.'

'Oh, you don't have to tell me. She's the keenest girl in the whole school!'

Blaine locks eyes with him. Kurt tilts his head a little, wondering why Blaine looks so intense.

'And she's a very lucky girl. Really.' The smile doesn't change, but Blaine's sure he can see something else warming in Kurt's eyes.

'Duh, Santana,' Mercedes laughs, 'Brittany's dating Kurt. He's on the team, remember?'

'Kurt? You mean, Kurt Kurt?'

Rachel prods at Brittany's waist. 'Yeah, Kurt Brittany's boyfriend. She loves him, don't you, Britt?'

Brittany gives another shy laugh and rolls her eyes. 'Come on, it's not like we're holding hands or anything. He hasn't even pinned me yet.'

Santana scoffs. 'No kidding.'

'Oh, don't worry about that,' Tina says, helping Quinn with her ponytail, 'he'll give you his pin soon.' Right, Santana thinks, that's what that means. Pinning aside, she knows what this means for her, and for their moment last night. It was nothing.

When they finally have time to debrief after school, they're both in a state of shock. They sit on the grass at the front of the building, and Blaine is first to take the plunge.

'So. That was… a day.'

Santana blurts out, 'Blaine, I think I might have to talk to you about last night.'

'Oh. Not what I was expecting, but okay. What got you so upset?'

'Blaine, I know you saw; you don't have to do that. It's just that we got so close last night when we were practising – I made the team by the way-'

'Oh, congrats.'

'Thanks – anyway, it felt like we had this… moment. There was definitely tension. And it freaked me out, because normally I don't have the time or the energy, or whatever, to get into that kind of stuff. That's why I got all weird.' Blaine has a sinking feeling, knowing what he knows. He really doesn't want to be the one to tell her. 'But just now, at the try-out – it's turns out Brittany is dating-'

'Kurt.'

'Yes! You knew?'

'The guys mentioned it at practice.'

'I mean. What the fuck, right?'

'Yes! It's so weird!'

Finally being able to talk normally was such a relief. Santana gripped onto Blaine's arm as if just talking wasn't expressing her shock enough. 'SO WEIRD. Like, I think Brittany's bi back home, and she's not exactly a brain surgeon, but how can she not see that Kurt's gay? Come on, how can Kurt not get that Kurt's gay?'

'I guess it's just…' he falters, 'not a thing here.'

'God, Blaine, don't do that. Gays always existed; they were just scared so they pretended to be like everybody else.'

'No, I know that, but- I honestly just don't think it's occurred to them here. Well, when the guys talked about Brittany, Kurt looked happy. And why wouldn't he? He and Brittany are really good friends, and if sex doesn't exist here, maybe attraction doesn't either. Dating here just means sharing a milkshake, walking you to class, "let me carry your books," all that stuff. Kurt was actually bragging about holding hands with Brittany. They're just friends, and here, that's basically the same thing as dating.'

'According to her, the hand-holding has yet to take place.'

Blaine snorts. 'Figures.'

'So it's like everything else here. Nice. Strictly no more, no less.'

Blaine pauses. 'But you still had that moment with Brittany last night, didn't you? I saw you. There was definitely something there. What if all the attraction and everything else is just, like… dormant?'

'What, like, we have to wake it up? It needs to be activated? Like a volcano?'

He shrugs. 'Maybe.' He grabs her hand. 'Mom!'

'No,' she points to herself, 'San-ta-na.'

'How are you finding time to make fun of me right now? I mean, right, last night, Mom was so happy, with a real smile and everything, and all we did was play cards. She got to do what she wanted to do for the first time ever, and she was like a different person. And this morning, her earrings were green. Maybe that's why – something, like, woke up in her that she didn't know was there. Wow. And I still don't even understand bridge.'

She looks at the ground. 'Thing is, I kind of already had that idea this morning.'

'What? Come on. If this is ever going to work, you're going to have to share your theories with me as soon as they happen.' He immediately feels bad for his reaction, because she suddenly looks miserable.

'I'm sorry, it's just that- after the earrings, I was hoping that Brittany might…'

'Have been activated?'

She gives a single laugh and nods. 'But she was still all grey. I guess it was all in my head.'

There's a pause. Blaine picks a daisy from the ground and twirls it between his fingers.

'So, our current best theory is that when something changes, it goes into colour. Do you think that could be how we get out of here?'

'Maybe.'

He offers her the daisy. 'I'm sorry about Brittany.'

She takes it. 'I'm sorry about Kurt.'

He opens his mouth to argue "what about Kurt?" but one look at her knowing expression tells him there's no point. 'Thanks.'

'We should probably go and see how Mom's doing.'

When they get home, it's clear that Mom has gone into overdrive. The kitchen is sweltering and plates of food are piled high. Blaine opens the windows. 'Everything okay, Mom?'

'Oh, of course, dear. I thought we should have an extra special dinner tonight, after your father – well, I don't need a reason, do I?' The fake smile is back and bigger than ever. 'Why not treat my wonderful husband and children on a Friday evening? Darling, could you do me a favour and set the table? It should all be ready just in time for when your father gets home.'

Santana gets cutlery and Blaine gets plates, and everything is just about ready when they all hear the door open and freeze. Mom's smile is gone for a moment, but she says, 'Okay, darlings, take a seat, everything's fine!' and slaps it frantically back on.

'Honey, I'm home,' Dad calls as he walks into the dining room. 'Oh- what's all of this?'

If Mom's face tightens up any more, it might crack.

'I don't know what you mean, dear. Just cooking for my family, like always.'

Blaine and Santana have to be even chattier than usual to compensate for the silence that hangs over dinner. Mom is tense, scared of doing anything wrong, and Dad obviously feels bad about this morning but does nothing to fix it – except leave his newspaper in the hall, which is admittedly a big step for him. Blaine reels off details about basketball practice and the Big Game, Santana announces that she made the cheer squad, and everyone smiles and nods. Even knowing the potential risks, Blaine and Santana offer to clear up.

'Oh, no, that's my job-'

Blaine puts a hand on hers. 'No it isn't. We've got this. Why don't you and Dad go and sit down next door? Maybe you could play a game of cards with him?'

Santana gives Dad a nudge. 'Wouldn't that be nice, Dad? To spend time with your wife?'

He's so surprised at receiving a death glare from his daughter that he concedes. 'Well, yes, I suppose I wouldn't mind…'

'That's right, now you just get up, and- yes, good.' They go into the living room. Blaine washes, Santana dries, and soon enough the kitchen is spotless. They creep around the corner to see how their parents are getting on, but Mom is alone, sitting on the couch, working on a piece of embroidery. They look at each other.

'Blaine, she likes you the most. You should go in.'

'You just need to spend some time with her. Plus, Dad's scared of you.'

'That could be a good thing-'

Blaine shakes his head. 'Go.'

She takes a deep breath and goes in.

'Hi, Mom.' Mom looks up, meeting Santana's eyes for a moment before looking down again. 'Where's Dad?'

'Oh, he's had such a busy week. He decided to turn in early.'

Santana edges closer. 'Are you sad?'

Mom sniffs and puts on that big smile again, even though her eyes are shining with tears. 'Of course not, dear. I can't expect him to sit in here with me all night, can I?'

'It's okay if it hurts, Mom. You're allowed to feel sad sometimes.' Mom can't quite speak, but she starts to shake her head. 'I mean- I'm kind of sad today.'

She finally looks at her properly and stops trying to sew, putting her things to one side. 'Why, sweetheart? What happened?'

Santana sits down next to Mom and desperately tries not to let the tremor come through in her voice. 'It's more what didn't happen, I guess.'

'Oh. Um. Can I get you anything? I could probably bake you some brownies-'

Before she can finish the thought, Santana is leaning into her and putting her arms around her waist. She's a little stiff at first – this isn't the kind of perfect, happy conversation she's used to – but she instinctively hugs Santana close and strokes her hair.

'Oh, darling. It's okay. We can both be a little sad tonight, I suppose.'

Santana nods. She can't believe she got her hopes up about Brittany, when she's always so careful not to get her hopes up about anything. She feels like a little girl again, desperately hoping her parent can make everything better. She can't remember the last time she dared to have that thought.

'Dad?'

He's just staring at himself in the bathroom mirror, tie undone, hanging round his neck.

'Yes, son?'

'How come you left Mom alone downstairs?'

He takes a slow breath. 'Oh. I'm just tired.'

'Does this have anything to do with this morning?'

He glances at Blaine. 'No. I don't know.'

'Why did you make her take those earrings out? They made her so happy.'

He shakes his head. 'She would've looked… different. Out of place. She can't be happy if she's different.'

'If you changed, she would still love you.'

'I didn't say I don't love her. Of course I love her.' He looks genuinely upset – it's the most emotion Blaine has seen from him all week. He puts a hand on his arm.

'Sorry. But… maybe you could remind her sometimes. I don't think she feels very loved right now.'

Dad's gaze returns to the mirror. 'I need to get to bed. Goodnight, son.'

Blaine watches him leave, dumbfounded, then pads silently downstairs to check on the others. He hears a voice, and when he gets into the living room he sees Mom holding an almost-asleep Santana, humming to her. She catches his eye and nods. He nods back, turning away and heading up to his room.

Note: I know it keeps getting all sad, but I promise it's going to get happier soon! If you leave a review I'll love you forever xo