"Thank you, Blaine," the priest said quietly. "The Lord forgives you."
Blaine sighed and stood up. He hadn't been able to do it. The words had been building up inside of him, desperate to tumble out, but he was too scared. Instead he told the priest about yelling at his little sister and lying to his mother about cleaning his room. He turned to go, eager to get out of the small, claustrophobic room.
"Blaine?" He turned around to see Quinn sitting on the bench across the hall. She was the only other one who came to confession on a regular basis. He forced a smile and shoved his hands in his pockets as she got up to greet him, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
"You look nice," she reached out to touch the sleeve of his jacket. "Very handsome," she murmured. "Remember when we were little and we used to play house together?" Blaine felt a genuine smile creep up on his face.
"Yeah," he said. "You used to wear your mom's make up. Remember the time we ran out of crayons and decided to use your mom's lipstick instead?"
Quinn laughed as her hands moved to Blaine's tie, wrapping it around her finger. "Yes. She wasn't so happy with us." Quinn looked up at Blaine. She had very pretty eyes, such a lovely shade of green.
"I should get in there. I'll see you at around?" She flashed him one last smile before heading towards the door.
Blaine stood there for a moment. His heart was beating fast; his mind trying to process what just happened. Quinn was beautiful. He liked the way she smiled at him, the way she laughed, the way she dressed. She never wore those tight shirts or super-short skirts all the other girls seemed to be into. Blaine liked that. They had grown up together as well. They had similar families, similar values.
"Quinn," Blaine ran over to her before he had a chance to talk himself out of it. "Would you want to go out sometime?"
Blaine paced nervously back and forth. He hadn't ever really gone out on a date before. There was a soft knock on his door and a second later his little sister popped her head in.
"Blaine?" Elise had the same hazel-colored eyes as Blaine, dimples on her cheeks, and a halo of bouncy curls. She looked up at him and her eyes widened. "You look nice, Blaine." She was clutching her teddy bear in both arms.
"Thanks," Blaine crouched down to ruffle her hair. She squealed as her hair tickled her face. "Do you think Quinn will like it?" He gave a small spin, causing Elise to burst into another fit of giggles.
"Yes," she said when she finally stopped laughing. "I like Quinn. She's always so nice to me at church." She hopped up onto Blaine's bed and began jumping up and down.
"Careful now," he said. "Mom's going to get mad at me if all my sheets are winkled." Elise made one final jump before handing in a heap of pillows.
"I love you, Blaine," she said, her eyes closing softly. "You are the best big brother, ever." Blaine felt his throat lock. There was something so innocent about her, so sweet. He sat down gently next to her and gently brushed the hair off her face.
"I love you to, Ellie."
Blaine pulled up along the curb in front of Quinn's house. So much was still the same. There was the maple tree by the front window; the little birdhouse the two of them had painted was still hanging from it. Smiling to himself, he reached over and turned down the radio.
"I had a really nice time," Quinn said, smiling at him. Blaine nodded, his heart starting to speed up. Was he supposed to kiss her?
"Yeah," his voice sounded a little rough. He cleared his throat. "I did, too."
"My mom was so happy to hear I was going out with you tonight," Quinn smiled to herself. "She adores you. How do you do that? You make people just…melt."
Blaine laughed softly and shook his head.
"Maybe we could do this again sometime?"
Quinn opened her door and stepped gracefully out of the car. Blaine did the same, reaching out for her hand as they walked up the path to her house.
"Such a gentleman," Quinn murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. They reached the porch. The sound of the television tricked through the window.
"Kiss me goodnight?" She asked hopefully.
Blaine leaned in slowly. He was close enough to feel her breath; close enough to see the light freckles on her nose. And then he was kissing her.
"Blaine?" He spun around to see Kurt.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Kurt looked apologetic. "How are you?"
Blaine shrugged and looked down at the ground. It was funny, he thought. Before Kurt had come into his life, he was so energetic, talkative, full of life and chatter. But now he was quiet, reserved, and somewhat shy.
"I…I heard you and Quinn are together now." Blaine nodded and looked up at Kurt.
"Oh," there was something in Kurt's voice—disappointment, maybe. "Right, well…I just…" he began playing with the strap on his bag, trying to avoid Blaine's eyes. "I just thought we had something?" It came out sounding like a question.
Blaine swallowed and shook his head.
"I honestly don't know what I was thinking," he said, his voice a little angry. "I like Quinn. She's…" he was about to say beautiful, but that's not how boys described girls. At least not boys his age. "She's pretty hot."
"So that's it then?" Kurt could hear the anger in his own voice. Blaine flinched and he instantly felt bad. "Blaine," his voice was softer. "You shouldn't have to hide what you are."
"I'm not anything," Blaine's voice echoes across the empty hallway. "So just leave me alone."