A/N: Guys, I am so excited. I have FINISHED this story! And as a reward for myself (and for all of you), I've posted a second chapter today! I hope you all enjoy this. Please drop me a review and let me know whether you want one chapter a day until the end of this story or TWO chapters a day!

Hey. It's Blaine. My old phone kept dying and losing texts. This is my new number.

Blaine reread the text seventeen times. He couldn't decide whether to add or keep the "so you have it" at the end, and finally deleted it for good. Quickly, and before he could lose what little nerve he had, he hit send.

Immediately, he felt his stomach flip with anxiety. He hit the side button to turn the phone's screen off and flopped down on his bed. His laptop was playing "Animal" by the Neon Trees.

He started to tell himself that he needed to let it go. If Jeremiah didn't want to get together again, if this text went unanswered, he'd take the hint.

In spite of what he'd said just moments ago, his phone did not lose texts. It sometimes took longer to send or receive texts than it should have, but it never took two whole days. It had been two whole days since he'd texted Jeremiah – perhaps against his better judgment – to say he'd had fun, apologizing if he did anything embarrassing, and saying that he'd like to get together and "maybe actually catch that movie. ;)"

In response, he'd had nothing but radio silence.

An alert sounded. Blaine's stomach flipped. It was a text from Jeremiah.

Hey gorgeous. -J

"So? Tell me about him?" The words came through so much more clearly on his new iphone than they had on his old Samsung flip phone.

Blaine laughed. "What, no hello?" he teased.

"Blaine," she responded, the tone warning.

"OK, OK – no need to get your tits in a twist," he said, throwing her favorite phrase back at her. "He's…I don't know. He's cool. He's funny, and god, that hair.." Blaine laughed.

"Are we talking about Jerry, here? Or Kurt?"

Blaine sat up in bed. "Beth," he addressed her in a warning tone. "Kurt and I are just friends."

But then, he smiled. "I think Jeremiah really likes me, though."

"That's awesome, Blaine. So what did you do Saturday, then? What did you see."

Blaine's smile faltered a bit. He'd forgotten he told her about his plan to go to the movies. "Oh. Actually, we, uh, ended up just hanging out at his place. It was…cool."

For a moment, Bethany said nothing. Then, finally realizing Blaine was not going to elaborate, prompted him, "and?"

"And," he responded breathlessly. "Nothing. We – we hung out. We – made out a little. I think."

"You think? Oh. My. God. Blaine, tell me you did not put out on the second date," she teased with a laugh.

Silence. "Blaine?" Her voice got serious. "Tell me you did not put out."

"No, Beth, no. It wasn't…" He exhaled. "Look, he offered me a drink and I got a little…you know. You know what I'm like."

She did. The one time she and Blaine had ever made out, they'd both been drunk. It had taken a sober attempt at a kiss to confirm that they weren't going insane and falling for one another after all. Blaine was most definitely gay and Bethany….well, Blaine was her best friend and not her type at all, which she would have remembered if she hadn't gotten drunk.

"So, what happened, then?"

"Nothing – not – not really. We fooled around. No big deal. And he wants to see me again." The smile was back on his face.

"And this is the guy that works at the Gap, right?"

"Yep."

"Awesome. So when you two get married, you'll get 50% off everything and can pass your friends and family discount on to me!" She laughed and Blaine joined her.

"Yeah, you got it."

When the conversation went quiet again, Blaine bit his lip. "Have you seen Adam at all?" he asked quietly.

For a long moment, Beth said nothing. Then, her voice tight, she responded, "No. I haven't."

Blaine nodded. Then, realizing she couldn't really see him, sighed, and said "I should go. It's late and I have a math test in the morning."

"OK. Sleep well, yeah?"

"Yeah," he said, "you, too."

Blaine was changing books at his locker Thursday when behind him, he heard a throat clear. He turned to find Rachel, a cardboard coffee tray in her hands. She took a deep breath, then held out the tray and said in her usual rapid vibrato, "A peace offering. Medium drip, one sugar with a splash of cinnamon."

Blaine raised an eyebrow, but before he could even ask how she knew his coffee order, she continued with barely a breath, "I bribed the barrista. I thought maybe we could talk for a few minutes about something…important."

He considered her a moment, then closed his locker. With a curt nod he said, "Fine."

Rachel let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and led the way to the choir room, which she knew would be deserted at this time of day.

Blaine walked into the room, with the sound foam things on the walls and the piano and the plastic chairs and took it in. So, this is where it all happens, he thought cynically.

He let his eyes find Rachel again and found her holding out his coffee for him to take. Then she strode over to the plastic chairs and sat, her own coffee nestled in her hands after setting the drink tray daintily on the floor. He grabbed the back of the chair next to hers and turned it so he'd be facing her. Then, he took the lid off his coffee and blew before replacing the cap and taking a sip.

"So," he said finally, looking Rachel – his sister – in the eyes. "What did you want to talk about?"

Rachel brought her own coffee cup to her lips and didn't answer straight away. "Look, Blaine," she said finally, after a long beat. "I know we haven't exactly…seen eye to eye since you came to Lima." That was putting it mildly. "But recently, some things have been happening that helped me realize that, in a lot of ways, I hold on way too tightly. To everything. My dads, my boyfriend, my school…" She took another sip of her coffee.

"And I'm really trying to be a better person. I'm going to try and be a better person. I'm going to try and be a better…sister," she said, though the word slid past her teeth like sandpaper.

Blaine frowned, not understanding where this was coming from. "I realized it's my own fault that you haven't really made many friends here and – so, I'm resolving to fix that. I thought maybe we could spend some time getting to know each other and then…I could maybe help steer you towards people that have, you know, the same kind of interests as you."

Blaine simply sipped his coffee silently, considering her offer before asking, "Why do you think I haven't made friends?"

She looked a bit disgruntled at the unexpected question and swept her ear frenetically behind each ear. "I just – I mean, I only ever see you hanging out with Kurt, and it's not like he's really…"

"Really what?"

"I don't know – the kind of friend guys like you have."

Blaine blinked back his instinctive rage, but he was saved from responding by Rachel, who continued to try and explain.

"Look, Kurt's not exactly a man's man. He likes things like fashion, and broadway, and make-overs. If you spend all your time hanging out with Kurt, people are going to start assuming you're the same as him and you're never going to make friends around here, Blaine."

Blaine scoffed a mirthless laugh. "You mean, I'm never going to make friends that aren't your friends, too."

Rachel's eyes widened with shock. "I…n-no…that's not," she stammered.

"Save it, Rachel." He stood, swung his bag onto his left shoulder, and started to walk away, but stopped and turned. "Look, I'm all for you doing whatever it is you need to do to be a better person, Rachel. But in case you haven't noticed," he said venomously, his eyes rolling to the ceiling as he set his coffee down on the piano top so he could point between them with his free hand, "you and I? We're sort of stuck with each other. At least until I turn 18 and can blow this sad-sack of a town."

A flash of something that almost looked like hope flashed across Rachel's face. She hadn't considered that Blaine might want to leave, and might want to do so as soon as he was legally able.

"But in the meantime, I haven't got much of a choice. The only thing I do have a choice over is who I spend my time with and you are the last person on this planet who is going to stop me from being friends with Kurt or – or anyone." He emphasized his words with a wide sweep of his arm. "Especially not when I'm probably the only person in this stupid school who sees what shitty friends you and your whole freaking glee club really are to people like Kurt."

He started to turn, but Rachel stood up. "Wait!" He stopped and turned back, his face grimly determined. "What do you mean I'm a bad friend to Kurt?" she said, her voice demanding, but whether she was incensed or worried – or some combination of the two – Blaine couldn't tell.

He scoffed and shook his head. "You really have no idea," he said, almost as if he hadn't really thought she'd be this clueless. He crossed his arms over his chest. "There are bullies in this school making life for Kurt a living hell. I've been here, what, three weeks? Four?" he shrugged. "And even I've seen it. You're his friend. You're all his friends. But what the hell have you done to stop those jack-ass jocks from terrorizing Kurt? I may not be able to stop it, but at least I've got his back…which is more than I can say for you."

Hiking his backpack higher on his left shoulder, he finally walked off for good, leaving Rachel to consider his words. His nearly full medium drip stood forgotten on the piano top.