Hey! So I tried to post this chapter a little more quickly, but life keeps getting in the way! So I apologise for still being pretty quiet, but I hope you all like this chapter!:)

Chapter 13 - All In

"What?"

Blake watched as his best friend balled his fists tightly, burning to throw a punch at something, anything.

"I told you it wasn't a joke." Shanna commented matter-of-factly. She ignored the anger that Michael was quite obviously radiating throughout the room.

Michael and Blake both glared at Shanna. She ignored their glares and carried on basking in the fact that she was right.

"I can't believe this!" Michael exploded and ran a hand through his curls, something he had been repeating for the last five minutes.

Blake had known that something wasn't right when he had received Shanna's text. He'd just seen her a few hours ago. He should have known that she wouldn't be able to keep a secret for long, especially from Michael, but he hoped that between the two of them they could keep the secret for him.

"I'm not going to apologise for this Mike," Blake commented, hoping that Michael would eventually come around to the idea. "I really like her."

Michael let out a sarcastic laugh that he was unable to hold in. "You don't even know her, Blake! For all you know she could be playing you!"

"I know enough" Blake mumbled with a shake of his head.

Michael snorted and rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot."

Blake refrained from throwing a punch at his best friend, knowing it would make things worse and let out a heavy breath. "You don't have to like it Mike, but you're gonna have to deal with it because I like her and I don't plan on breaking up with her anytime soon."

Michael raised his eyebrows, the shock evident in his eyes, but he didn't speak. The two boys stared at each other for a few minutes, each of them hoping to make the other break first while Shanna stood in the middle almost awkwardly.

"Oh c'mon!" Shanna exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and pulling both boys from their stare off. "I was pissed too Michael, but it's his life! If he wants to throw himself into the fire then let him, there's nothing we can do,"

Michael stared at Shanna for a few moments. He wasn't stupid, he knew Shanna was right, but Blake was his best friend and he would do everything in his power to make sure he didn't get hurt; whether it was physically or emotionally.

"You should probably go," Michael muttered, his gaze meeting Blake's across the small distance separating them.

"Mike-" Blake started to protest, shocked that his friend was practically throwing him out.

Michael shook his head. "I'll see you at school." He said, his voice unwavering.

Blake met Shanna's gaze across the room and he gave her a pleading look. "I'm sorry," She whispered and gave him a sad look. She really didn't mean any harm, she was just so bad at keeping secrets.

"Alright," Blake held his hands up, giving in. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said and slowly left Michael's house, throwing him a backward glance, but Michael was still staring at the wall in deep thought.

Shanna waited until Blake had left before she turned back to Michael, throwing him the iciest glare she could work up. "I'll see you at school?" She mimicked Michael in a deep voice. "Really? That's the best you can do!?" She exclaimed, back to her normal southern drawl.

Michael rolled his eyes and turned to Shanna. "What do you want me to say to him? That this is okay!?" Michael responded, his frustration obvious. "That he's not making a huge mistake!?"

Shanna sighed and took a couple of steps toward Michael so she was stood right in front of him. "I'm sorry baby, I should never have told you," She said softly and one of her hands reached up to his cheek.

"No," Michael shook his head. "You should have told me." He said and his voice had a sudden confidence to it.

Shanna let out a breath of relief, but she knew Michael's tone was anything but accepting. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking-" Michael started and he took his phone out of his pocket. "-That I should call Charlie." He said and started dialling Charlie's number.

Nellie groaned as she rolled over. She could faintly hear the sound of her phone buzzing on vibrate and a light tapping coming from unknown source. She blindly reached for her phone and put the phone to her ear, not even bothering to look at who was calling in her tired state.

"Hello?" She croaked out through her sleepiness.

"Hey sleepy head," Blake's voice came through the speaker.

"Blake?" Nellie was shocked, but she couldn't hide the smile in her voice, as usual.

"Are you gonna say nothing down the phone all night or come and let me in?" Blake asked, all humour leaving his voice and Nellie felt her own smile drop.

"What?" She choked out. "You're outside my house?"

"Yeah and its freezing." Blake responded with a chuckle. "So how about it? Am I allowed in?"

"Of course," Nellie didn't think about it for another second and dropped her phone in her bed before she raced down the stairs, being careful not to wake her dad or brother. She didn't pay any attention to the fact that she was in her pyjamas and she had just rolled out of bed because she knew Blake wouldn't care, he was the one that showed up in the middle of the night.

Nellie reached the front door and could see the faint outline of Blake's body through the glass in the door. She smiled brightly and slowly pulled the door open, being careful to keep it quiet. She knew this was dangerous – her father could wake up any second; Reece could wake up any second – but the danger was almost like a thrill.

"Hey, beautiful," Blake's voice was soft – like it always was – and his smile matched.

Nellie matched his smile and stepped toward him, her hands reached around his neck and pulled him down to her lips in a soft kiss. "What are you doing here?" She whispered, pulling him into the house.

Blake sighed and glanced around the house, searching for any hint that anyone else was awake. "Uh, Michael, he knows about us." He said, matching her whisper.

Nellie's eyes widened and she struggled to keep her voice down. "Let's go upstairs, Reece sleeps like a baby. He won't hear anything." She said and started leading him up the stairs.

"Your Dad?" Blake asked and followed her up the stairs, their hands locked in each others.

Nellie shook her head. "He has a room down stairs." She said, a hint of sadness in her voice that Blake didn't miss.

Blake nodded, choosing not to press on the subject just then and carried on up the stairs. "This your room?" He raised his eyebrows as they entered a door and Blake was greeted with pale blue walls, wooden floors and white wooden furniture.

"Yep." Nellie nodded, shutting the door behind them. "Is it what you expected?" She asked, watching as he looked around her room.

Blake smiled and nodded his head. It definitely was – it was neat and girly, half of one of the walls was covered in pictures of her and her friends and family – it all seemed so Nellie.

"I did half expect it to be covered in 'I hate McKinley' posters though," He joked and turned to face Nellie, letting his hands rest on her waist.

Nellie laughed lightly, leaning into him and captured his lips in a soft kiss. She pushed him back and they landed on the bed, lips still attached.

Ten minutes into their unplanned make-out session Blake rolled off of Nellie, running a hand through his toloused hair. "I'm not complaining, but I did come here for a reason Nel,"

"I know," Nellie bit her lip lightly. "I don't want to think about it." She admitted quietly, averting her eyes from Blake's.

Blake sighed and lent onto his forearms, staring at Nellie. "I know this is hard and it's just going to get harder... I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to stop this." He said softly and Nellie snapped her head to look at him.

"Do you?" She asked with wide eyes.

Blake sighed and shook his head. "No."

"Me either." She admitted with a smile and pressed her lips to his in a soft peck. "What's Michael going to do?" She asked when they pulled back and she fell back on her bed, their hands lacing together between their bodies.

"I wish I knew..." Blake shrugged. "Shanna told him and he was pissed, but if I know Michael then he won't tell anyone. He's my best friend, he wouldn't want to make anything harder for me."

Nellie nodded and let out a breath. "And you? Are you still all in?"

Blake couldn't help but laugh and he rolled over, his arms caging Nellie in either side of her head. "That's not even a question." He muttered before he pressed his lips to hers in a hard kiss that sent them spiralling into many more heated ones.

"Hey Nel?" Blake turned to Nellie a few hours later. Neither had even looked at the clock, but from out the window they could see the sun rising. It was probably coming up to 4 in the morning which meant Blake would have to leave soon if they didn't want to risk anyone around the neighbourhood seeing him leave.

"Hmm?" Nellie smiled across at Blake, her insides turning slightly at the tired smile he sported.

"Your dad? Why does he sleep down stairs?" He asked curiously. He noticed Nellie's obvious confusion. "I mean, this is a big house with plenty of bedrooms, so why does he sleep down stairs?"

Nellie sighed and sat up slightly, leaning against her bed frame. "He has his own bedroom. He just doesn't use it, he hasn't for nine years," She explained softly, a far off look in her eye.

"Can I ask why?" Blake asked, unable to keep his curiosity to himself. He wasn't sure if they were at that sharing stage of their relationship, but if she were to ask him anything personal, he'd have no problem telling her.

"My mom died when Reece and I were eight," Nellie said, keeping her voice and eyes low. "My dad hasn't stepped foot in their bedroom since the day she died." She explained and couldn't help the small hiccup that escaped her as a stray tear fell down her cheek.

"Oh," Blake's eyes widened in shock. He had never heard anything about the Veitenheimer's mother, just that she didn't live with them, but he hadn't been expecting this. "I'm sorry, baby." He muttered and wrapped his arms around her.

She didn't hesitate as she fell into his body and let her tears fall freely. She didn't cry often over her mother, but when she did, it was bad – like this, but she fought to stay somewhat silent, not wanting to wake her brother or father.

"You should probably go," Nellie said when her tears had finally subsided and she looked out the window and saw that the sky was now completely light.

Blake nodded, knowing that he really should go, but he didn't want to leave Nellie like this. "Can I come over after school?"

Nellie thought about it for a few moments and nodded. "Yeah, but make sure it's after five. My dad's going out for dinner with the Dean from Ohio state and Reece is out with the guys, they won't be back til late."

Blake smiled and lent forward, pecking Nellie's lips quickly. "Sounds good." He said before they made their way back down the stairs.

Charlie and Michael both wore the same determined look as they exchanged glances. They stared across the road, their eyes locking on the same destination and then stepped off the sidewalk.

They held the hoods of their sweaters over their heads and walked with their heads down, not wanting to be seen in this part of town at this time of the morning. They were on the South side of town, just a few blocks down from Carmel where they knew they would find the person they were looking for. They were surrounded by kids that if saw them would throw more than one punch at them without a second thought – it was a careless thing they were doing – but necessary.

"Hey," Michael muttered as they stepped onto the sidewalk and they came face-to-face with one of the Veitenheimer twins. "We need to talk." Michael said, his glare penetrating through them and he took hold of their arm, pulling them around the corner and out of sight.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

Charlie rolled his eyes and pulled his hood down when he knew they were out of sight of the other Carmel students. "Just be quiet."

"Excuse me!?" Nellie shrieked, her eyes widening at her boyfriend's two best friends. Blake had never spoken much about the two of them, apart from that they had always been friends and would do anything for each other. They seemed like they were good guys, but now, Nellie wasn't so sure.

"You heard," Charlie mumbled, exchanging a glance with Michael that told him they needed to hurry this up. "This is important, so just shut up and listen."

"Break up with Blake." Michael said, not giving Nellie a chance to interrupt. This needed to be done and dusted with as soon as possible.

"What?" Nellie choked out through her shock. She had definitely not been expecting that.

"Break up with Blake." Michael repeated his words. "We know enough about you to know that you're a smart girl. You already know that he's going to have a harder time than you if this ever gets out, so end it now."

"Before it gets out." Charlie added, almost like a warning.

Nellie frowned, but she still managed to glare at the two boys. "And if I don't?"

"You will." Michael corrected her.

"I'm not breaking up with Blake," Nellie shook her head and pushed past the two boys.

Michael and Charlie shared another uneasy look before Michael spoke up again. "I don't know what Blake's been telling you, but he sure does have you hooked," He said, the humour obvious in his voice. Michael was a good actor.

Nellie stopped in her tracks, but she didn't turn to look at them. "I'm not breaking up with him." She said, her voice unwavering.

"Well that's too bad, because it won't be long before the whole of town finds out," Charlie added in with his own humorous chuckle. "Y'know, when Blake breaks the news to McKinley later today, it's gonna spread like wildfire."

Nellie frowned and spun around to look at Charlie and Michael. "What are you talking about?"

Michael smirked. "A knight falling for a Titan; it'll be big news."

"I hope the football team hear first, I'm sure your brother would love to know how his sister got played by the captain of McKinley's football team." Charlie said, his own smirk widening as the confusion changed to realisation on Nellie's face.

"Played?" Her voice was barely a whisper caught in the back of her throat.

"Oh you haven't figured it out yet?" Michael let out a shriek of laughter. "Why else would Blake date anyone from Carmel? Especially Reece Veitenheimer's sister?"

Nellie's eyes widened again and she understood. It all came together like puzzle pieces. It was all too good to be true.

"It was all a prank." Charlie finished. "The perfect way to one up Carmel – Get their princess to fall for our king."

Nellie couldn't stand there any longer. Her tears were welling up in her eyes and she wouldn't let them see her cry. She turned on her heels and rushed around the corner, running the opposite direction of Carmel, her tears now running freely down her cheeks. She should have known something like this would happen. How could she have been so naive to believe that Blake could like her; that he was different to every other guy at McKinley.

She ran until her feet felt like they were bleeding and until she no longer had any tears left inside of her. It hurt. Her whole body felt like it was hurting, even her insides felt like they were being ripped apart.

How could she have been so stupid?

So what did you think? :D So you might hate me a little bit, but the story has got to have its ups and downs! :D Review and let me know what you want/think is going to happen! :) And just so you all know, after I have finished writing this story I am going to quit writing, for The Glee Project that is - I just feel like it's all dwindling down. I'm also almost nineteen and life is getting in tough now, I have a lot of stuff to work through and writing just takes up a lot of time that I don't have! ANYWAY, that won't be until this story is over so no worries :) You still have a little bit of time to be my friend, hint hint, :p

Thanks, Sophie :)