Blaine's phone rang with the call he had come to expect. Every Tuesday at eight o'clock, Jen would call to check in on Blaine and give him the latest about her life. The phone hadn't even finished blaring out the first bars of Teenage Dream when Blaine answered. "Hey, sis," he said with a smile.
"Hey, Buddy! How's it goin'?" she asked.
"It's goin' good," Blaine answered honestly. "Great actually. How about you?"
"Fantastic," she grinned and Blaine could hear it through the phone. "And I have good news."
"What is it?"
"I'm pregnant."
"Oh my God!" Blaine exclaimed. Jen had been married for about a year now to her high school sweetheart, Jarrett. They were sickeningly adorable. "Were you planning it?"
"Not conciously," Jen answered. "But I'm defintely not complaing. Neither is Jarrett." A few beats of silence. "We're gonna be a family."
"And I'm gonna be an uncle," Blaine grinned. "I'm so happy for you."
"Me too, me too," Jen agreed. "But enough about me - what's going on with you?"
"Things are good," Blaine answered.
"I know you wanna talk about Kurt," Jen teased. "Tell me the latest. Spill it."
Blaine laughed at his sister's antics. "Actually, he's coming to Dalton."
"No way!" she exclaimed. "So you guys can make out in the dorms in between classes instead of you racing down to Lima?"
Blaine laughed again. "Not exactly. I wish it were his choice. Remember how he was getting bullied but he only told me?"
Jen muttered her understanding.
"Well, people finally started noticing so Kurt told his story and got the kid expelled," Blaine explained. "But he appealed to the school board and got back in. Kurt couldn't stay there with Karofsky still around, his parents understood that, so they gave up their honeymoon money and sent Kurt here."
"Good for him," Jen replied. "He'll be safe. Lord knows it's been good to you." Blaine smiled to himself. "So, how about romantically?" Blaine could practically hear her wink.
"Nothing," Blaine answered with a sigh. "I haven't seen him since dinner with him and Mercedes the other day. We've been texting back and forth, but -" Blaine pulled the phone away from his ear as he heard it beep. "Hang on a second. I've got another call," he informed his sister. He pressed the necessary button and pulled the phone back to his ear. "Hello?" he answered politely.
"Hey, Blaine," Blaine would recognize that voice anywhere - it was Kurt.
"Hey, Kurt!" Blaine greeted, mood instantly getting better. "What's up?"
"I was telling my dad all about Dalton and you," Blaine could just imagine the adorable way the tips of Kurt's ears would have turned red as he said that. "And he wants to meet you." Kurt explained. "Just to make sure you'll be able to take care of me," Kurt quickly backtracked, realizing the way what he had said could have been misinterpeted.
"I'd love to," Blaine told him honestly. "Listen, I gotta go but text me the details and I'll be there. Alright?"
"Okay," Kurt smiled.
"Talk to you later."
"Bye."
Blaine ended his call with the small soprano, returning his attention to his sister. "I'm back," he informed her breathlessly.
"What was that about?" she asked, non-judgementally. Blaine could practically see her sitting back in a chair, feet propped up, shamelessly eating from the tub of Ben&Jerry's Half Baked and inspecting her cuticles.
"That was Kurt," Blaine answered.
Blaine heard the clatter of a spoon and knew he was right about at least a quarter of his theory. He knew his sister too well. "Spill! What did he want?"
"He wants me to meet his dad. Or, more so, his dad wants to meet me."
Jen let out a low whistle. "Blaine Anderson meets the parents... er, parent," she corrected herself.
"He just wants to see if I'm trustworthy. Kurt said he can be a little overprotective," Blaine explained.
"Worried?" Jen teased.
"Not at all," Blaine answered. "I don't know if you know this already, but I can be quite charming when I want to be. I've been told I'm quite the dapper gentleman."
Jen laughed her rich, melodic laugh. "Of course you are. It's in your blood to charm the pants off everyone you meet," Jen didn't mention which parent he got this quality from, not wanting to bring up their father. Neither one of them wanted to think about him. Blaine hadn't thought about him in two years and he planned on keeping it that way. "Well, Jarrett's getting impatient 'cause NCIS is about to start, so I better go. I'll be calling Tuesday to hear about your date!"
"Not a date," Blaine sighed.
Jen just let out another laugh. "Bye, Buddy."
"Bye. Love you."
"Love you too."
A few days later, Blaine pulled his car up outside of Kurt's house. The house was small and quaint, especially compared to Blaine's home, but he liked it. It was so unlike Kurt, not matching his larger-than-life personality. Blaine politely rang the doorbell a single time. It was Burt who answered the door. He wore a baseball cap on his head, casting a shadow over his kind eyes. He was slightly out of shape, as to be expected for someone of his age. "You must be Blaine," he remarked as he opened the door to the curly haired boy.
"Yes, I am. And you must be Mr. Hummel," Blaine guessed, offering a hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"Call me Burt," he corrected, giving the younger boy's hand a firm shake. "C'mon in."
Although the house looked small and quaint from the outside, inside was beautifully decorated in expensive-looking furniture and decorations. Somehow, Blaine immediately knew this had to be Kurt's work.
Kurt walked out of the kitchen at that moment, holding two plates of pasta, one in each hand. He looked so domestic and for some reason Blaine found himself blushing at this. Was it the fact that the image of Kurt in this same position, years into the future, as Blaine got home from work flashed into his mind? He shook it off. "Blaine!" Kurt grinned widely when he spotted his friend. "You're just in time."
Blaine gave him a charming smile, still a little speechless, as he wriggled out of his jacket.
"I'll get Carole and Finn," Burt said, trudging up the stairs.
"Wanna help me with this?" Kurt asked, laying the two dishes on the table.
"Certainly," Blaine agreed, pulling off his scarf and hanging it over his jacket. He walked up the few steps and met Kurt in the kitchen. Whatever Kurt had cooked smelled amazing. "This smells fantastic," Blaine voiced. "My compliments to the chef," he winked, nudging Kurt in the shoulder.
Kurt flushed and picked up two more plates, "Linguine with Shrimp and Creamy Roasted Tomatoes," Kurt informed him. "Wanna get that last plate and the forks and knives?"
"Sure thing," Blaine answered, picking up the items. He carried them to the table and helped Kurt set out the utensils in their proper manner.
Kurt quickly ran to the kitchen again to retrieve a pitcher of ice water. "Perfect," he smiled, hands on his hips, proud of himself.
"Can't wait to eat," Blaine said with a grin and Kurt finally noticed that Blaine was out of uniform. It was the first time Kurt had seen him without the Dalton regulation blazer and he had to admit, he didn't disappoint. Blaine was not as flamboyant in his dressing style as Kurt, but he still looked devilishly good-looking. He wore a dark blue, button-down shirt, tucked into his black trousers. His amber-hazel eyes danced as he noticed Kurt's inspection. "It feels weird to be out of uniform," Blaine laughed, as a way of saying "I caught you." "You know, you're looking pretty good yourself," Blaine complimented with a wink.
Kurt flushed and laughed awkwardly as Carole, Finn and Burt entered the dining room. "Honey, this smells amazing," Carole offered, approaching her step-son and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you," Kurt grinned, still slightly flustered from Blaine's compliment.
"Finn," the tall boy introduced himself to Blaine, offering his hand.
"Nice to meet you," the much shorter boy said cordially, taking his hand. "I'm Blaine."
"I've heard a lot about you," Finn grinned, directing a wink Kurt's way.
Kurt flushed and swatted at Finn. "I just told them about your advice," Kurt covered.
Blaine gave him a look and laughed. "It's okay. I've told my sister a ton about you," Blaine said, giving Kurt another nudge.
"Let's eat!" Kurt called, growing tired of being the center of attention for once. Everyone took their seats and began to chow down in slightly awkward silence.
"So, Blaine," Burt addressed. "You go to Dalton Academy?"
"I do," Blaine confirmed.
"You're gonna look out for Kurt, right?"
Kurt shot his father a look, but Blaine simply chuckled. "He'll be safe with me," he grinned, looking at Kurt out of the corner of his eye.
"Good to know," Burt grunted.
"What's Dalton like?" Carole asked non-chalantly.
"Kurt will love it," Blaine answered. "It's beautifully grand and elegant, the teachers are fantastic, the students are even better. The classes are a little more challenging, but I think Kurt can handle," he shot the boy what must have been the fiftith grin that night. Carole gave Blaine a large grin, charmed by the prep school boy. Blaine knew he had yet to win over Burt, so he addressed him next. "So, Mr. Hummel, what do you do for a living?" he asked.
"Burt," the older man corrected. "And I own a garage," he answered. "You know anything about cars?"
Suddenly, a flood of memories came rushing back to him. The '59 Chevy, the hot July sun, the sweat, the gravel rubbing against his bare back, the confrontation. A day he hadn't allowed himself to think about in forever came rushing back all at once. His sick, disgusting, homophobic father. Kurt was lucky to have a father like Burt; so accepting, so kind. Burt was a polar opposite of Hugh.
"Blaine, are you okay?" Kurt petite hand squeezed his forearm. "You're pale."
"I-I'm not feeling well," Blaine choked. "Kurt, the food was lovely, but I've got to go. Mr and Mrs. Hummel, Finn; pleasure to meet you."
"Text me later," Kurt called behind him as Blaine quickly ducked out of the door.
Blaine drank large lungfuls of the crisp, frigid, early December air. He had to get a grip. He unlocked his car and stepped inside, allowing his head to fall against the steering wheel. And then the tears began to flow. Blaine quickly wiped them away, gasping for air as he nearly began to hyperventilate from sobbing. He had to get a grip. It was two years ago. He couldn't let himself fall apart everytime anyone mentioned anything about cars. He sighed, turning the key in the ignition and heading for Dalton; his safe haven. He just prayed it would be as good to Kurt as it had been to him.
Author's Notes:
Thank you so much to everyone who has added this to story alert and favourited. A special thanks to those who have added myself to author alert or favourite author. And an extra special thanks to anyone who has reviewed. They really put the biggest grin on my face. Even the short, meaningless ones telling me to continue. It lets me know someone out there is enjoying the story, and personifies it a little more than just the simple email telling me someone has added it to story alert. No matter what, I appreciate you all. This fandom is awesome!
Oh, and by the way, the chapters will probably be more like this length instead of the length of the prologue. It was much longer because I had to fill you in on where Blaine has come from and his history with his father.
Love you guys! Please review!