I do not own Glee or any songs that may appear in this fic. If I did, I would play Marlie and make her a regular character. But, for now, I have to be content with fan fiction.
Blaine had not seen his older sister in over three years. Actually, if he stopped and thought about it, the last time he got to see Marlie had been when his family had dropped him off at Dalton on that first day. He knew it wasn't her fault; his father was just doing whatever he could to try to get everyone to forget about their "black sheep", even if that meant forbidding Marlie from visiting her brother.
Which is why Blaine was surprised when he had gotten a phone call the week before from his sister telling him that she was coming to see him. Not that he wasn't happy; he loved his sister and missed her like crazy, but he hoped that this wasn't brought on by one of their father's famous outbursts.
So here he was, sitting at the Lima Bean, drinking his regular medium drip and zoning out. Kurt had told him that he would come with him for "moral support" if he needed it, but Blaine had said that this was something that he wanted to deal with by himself first. Kurt had understood, but had told Blaine that he was just a phone call away and if he wanted, he would be at the coffee house as fast as his car could take him.
Blaine smiled at this and due to thinking about how lucky he was to have Kurt in his life, almost missed the person who approached his table.
"Marlie!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around his older sister.
"Now I know this can't be my little brother, Blaine. You are way too handsome to be the little brother I remember." Marlie laughed, looking over her glasses.
Blaine shoved her arm playfully. "You're one to talk, Marl. When did you cut your hair?"
"Last month; I donated it to that charity that makes wigs for cancer patients."
Blaine smiled. "I can see you doing something like that." He looked down as his phone buzzed, signaling a text message. It was from Kurt. It was one word, their word. Courage.
Blaine smiled and texted Kurt a heart back, and then closed his phone. His sister was looking at him.
"Do I even have to ask who that was from?" She said, arching an eyebrow.
Blaine laughed. "I'm sure your guess would be right."
"So what did Mr. Wonderful want?" There was no sarcasm in her voice.
"He was just reminding me to have courage." Blaine said, taking a sip of his coffee, which by now had become cold. He made a slight face.
Marlie looked at him seriously. "Blaine, why would you need courage? Is there something you're not telling me?"
Blaine shook his head, some of his curls coming free of the gel he used to keep them out of his face. "I was worried about what you might have to tell me. It's not like I'm not glad to see you, Marl, trust me I am, but is everything ok?"
Marlie let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. She suddenly looked older than she really was. She leaned forward and put her hands on top of one of her brother's.
"Dad wasn't happy when he found out I was coming to see you." She said after a long pause. "We got into a huge argument that ended up with both of us screaming at each other in Italian. (A/N: In my stories, Blaine and Marlie are Italian, thus the coloring.) He told me, to put it mildly, that if I was gonna side with you, I was no longer welcome in his home."
Blaine looked at his sister, completely in shock. "I can't believe he did that. I mean, to treat you like that just because you wanted to come see me; Marlie, it wasn't worth it."
"What the hell do you mean it wasn't worth it?" Marlie exclaimed, standing out of her chair. "You're my brother, damn it! And if I say it was worth getting thrown out to come see you, it was worth it!"
"Ok, ok. Just please sit down, people are staring." Blaine pleaded, trying to hide behind his hand.
Marlie sat, but she was far from calm. "Besides, I was planning on leaving anyway. I had told him as much once I turned eighteen. Told him I wanted to pursue art."
Blaine smirked. "I bet that went over well."
"Oh yeah; he went on for over an hour about how I was an embarrassment and how there was no way he would allow me to 'throw my life away doing something so stupid.'" Marlie pinched the bridge of her nose again.
"So, what are you gonna do now?" Blaine asked. He had given up on his coffee by this point; he was more concerned about his sister anyway.
"Well, I was actually thinking about looking for apartments around here; maybe one close to Dalton?" She gave him a look like she was asking for permission.
Blaine's eyes lit up. "That would be awesome! I don't know how many apartment complexes there are in that area, but I'm sure we can find something."
Marlie smiled. "That would mean I get to spend more time with you; and maybe even meet this boyfriend of yours." She laughed as Blaine blushed and then paled.
"Just please don't embarrass me in front of Kurt, Marl; I'm begging you."
Marlie shook her head. "Can't promise you anything, bud; It's in my job description as an older sister."
Blaine looked at the clock on his phone. "Hey, speaking of Kurt; I'm actually going to see him in a few hours. Would you like to come with me and meet him then?"
Marlie's eyes widened in shock slightly. "Are you sure you're comfortable with that?" she asked.
"Sure, why not?" Blaine shrugged. "That way we can get the embarrassment over and done with."
They both laughed.
They made their way out of the coffee shop and over to their respective cars. It was decided that Marlie would follow Blaine to Dalton, and then wait while he got ready, and then they would take his car over to Kurt's.
As he was driving, Blaine couldn't help but reflect on the events of the past hour. How had their father been able to treat his sister like that in good conscience? He shook his head slightly. He couldn't, because, as far as Blaine was convinced, the man had no conscience. Marlie had always protected him from all the wrong and evil in the world when they were little; maybe, he thought, this would be his chance to protect her.
I'm sorry if Blaine's a little out of character. I'm going through Glee withdrawal and also writing based on the fact that I think people act differently around their families. And I promise Marlie isn't always gonna be some crazy overprotective older sister nut job. She just gets emotional. Anyway, please review, because I won't update until I get at least five! One last note, my pen name may be changing, so if you see this fic under a different name, please don't panic!