Chapter 17: BTW
Dinner was always a quiet affair chez Anderson, tonight even more so. Blaine's mind was a running scenario of everything his father could possibly say, and every argument Blaine could use to justify leaving Dalton. Blaine was freaking out. He and his father, had never been soul mates, and telling Anderson senior that he was gay had not helped. Confronting his father was never something that Blaine handled easily. He tried to avoid it at all costs. What the hell had he done?
Blaine put his fork down, and cleared his throat. Two pair of eyes locked onto him. "I transferred to McKinley today. I talked to the principal, worked out a schedule with the guidance counselor, and joined Glee Club."
"Blaine, why would you do such a thing?" His mother was shocked.
"This is because of that kid. You said he was just a friend." Mr. Anderson would never even say Kurt's name.
"To some extent, yes, this is because of Kurt. Not in the way you mean, though. Kurt has a boyfriend." Blaine pretended he didn't see his father wince at the word boyfriend. "We are just friends."
"Then explain this. No one walks away from a private school education. Graduating from Dalton almost guarantees college acceptance."
"Dalton's limited, it's only a small part of the world. I want more." Blaine looked at his mother, wanting her to understand. "I want to be me, not a replica of every other prep kid."
Mr. Anderson put his napkin on the table. He didn't throw it down, that would be a loss of control that he wouldn't allow. "So, you're presenting me with a fait accompli?"
Blaine looked at his father, and swallowed nervously. "Yes, I'll be attending McKinley for the next two years, until graduation."
Mr. Anderson stood, facing Blaine across the table. "I don't agree with your decision. I think leaving Dalton is a mistake that you will regret for the rest of your life." He looked at Blaine, and there was a glint of something in his eyes, that couldn't be respect, could it? "But, I'm pleased to see that you have finally developed a back bone." He checked his watch, and moved to leave the table. "You will do whatever you have to do, to get into a decent school."
"Yes, Sir."
Blaine's mother smiled and patted his hand, as his father walked away. "Blaine, honey, he's so proud of you."
Blaine was shell shocked. He was just never going to understand his father, not ever!
Kurt jumped out of his Navigator, and hurried to catch up with Blaine. "Did you tell your parents? How was it?"
Santana and Brittany joined them before Blaine could answer. "So, Frodo, are you sleeping on a park bench tonight?" Santana actually looked worried.
An arm snaked around Blaine's shoulders from behind, and hands patted him down. "Just checking, I don't see any broken bones."
Blaine laughed and pushed Puck away. "Get off me! My father's not like that." He nodded at Santana. "But I did think he might throw me out of the house."
Brittany took Blaine's hand. "But he didn't, right?"
Blaine smiled at the anxious eyes circled around him. His father was wrong. Coming to McKinley was the best decision he had ever made. "No, he did something I never expected. He said it was about time I developed a backbone. I think he was actually proud of me."
"Way to go, prep boy!" Puck punched his shoulder.
"Not anymore, now I'm just a regular plebeian like you."
"That was an insult, right?"
"Yes." Kurt threw an arm around Blaine's shoulder. "Welcome to McKinley."
"Kurt?" Finn tromped down the stairs to Kurt's room, and sat on his bed. "Are you ever going to talk to Rachel again?"
Kurt didn't even look up from his computer screen. "No."
"She's really upset."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh."
"No, I mean really upset."
Kurt turned to look at his step-brother. "Finn, don't get involved here. This is between Rachel and me."
"Yeah, dude, I know. But your shit is falling all over me."
Kurt leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms. "I'm listening."
"Dude, she's really upset. She's not eating, she's not sleeping…" Finn's eyes shifted away from Kurt's. "…and she's not doing anything else, so I can't do anything else."
Kurt stared at Finn, totally not getting it until Finn started to blush. "Finn Hudson! Are you blaming me because you're not getting any?"
"Well, it's not like I was getting a lot, but now, I'm not getting anything. Dude, you've got to fix this." Finn looked miserable, all puppy dog pathetic.
Kurt laughed. "Talk to your girlfriend, Finn, not me." Kurt turned back to his laptop, dismissing Finn from his mind.
"Kurt!"
Kurt shook his head. "End of discussion, Finn."
From Kurt: still studying?
From Nigel: I'm going to kill myself!
From Kurt: so yes?
From Nigel: yes
From Kurt: we getting 2gether 2night?
From Nigel: no sorry I've got to finish this.
From Kurt: K :)