Chapter 2
The car ride home was very awkward. Neither one of them said a word to the other, both lost in their own thoughts. Peter and Elizabeth had moved out of their home in the city to the suburbs a couple years previously. The city was beginning to get too cramped for them, and they wanted more space to potentially expand their family in the future.t They liked the space that the new home allowed them, and the yard and nearby parks they could walk around in. There were very few moments that Peter regretted moving to the suburbs, and this one was one of them. He just didn't know what to say to Blaine. Part of him wanted to chew him out for his behavior and poor life choices. The other part of him knew that they all had to sleep on it.
Blaine on the other hand was sitting in the passenger seat mourning what his life was about to become. The job was supposed to be super simple and easy. He had gone over the plan several times in his head and figured there was no possible way for him to get caught. Mr. Clarington had even assured him that it was a simple job that anyone could do.
The security cameras were set on a loop. The alarm system had been disabled. He knew the exact rounds and rotation of the guards. The job should be easy enough, provided that he got the timing of it exactly right. He knew exactly which door to slip in and out of. Once he slipped the painting in his backpack he would be able to blend in with the rest of the New Yorkers. That was one good thing about New York, it was the city that never sleeps. Even at the late hour that it was, there would still be a good number of people wandering around that he wouldn't cause too much suspicion.
He got into the Met, according to plan. So far it was as simple as Mr. Clarington claimed it would be. He got to the painting, and with the alarm disabled, he was able to make quick work of getting it off the wall and out of the frame. He put the frame back on the wall, all with gloved hands of course. He wasn't stupid enough to leave any DNA evidence. Mr. Clarington had taught him well. He lifted the painting to put it in the container that he had brought with him.
"FREEZE!" a voice growled out from behind him. "PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"
Blaine dropped his backpack and everything on the floor in his shock. His arms immediately shooting up in the air like he was demanded to do. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest. For a split second he had the urge to run, but he knew that he wouldn't get very far. There were too many of them and only one of him.
His arms were yanked roughly behind his back and he felt the cold metal of handcuffs clap around his wrist. He was dead. His mother was going to kill him. Mr. Clarington wouldn't be too happy either, but he would deal with that one later. Clearly, the job was not as clear-cut as the man had thought it was going to be. If anything, it was his fault.
He just wanted this long car ride to end and to curl up in bed and hopefully awake the next morning to realize that it had all been one long and twisted nightmare. After what seemed like ages, Peter finally pulled into the driveway of a two story brick home with a wrap-around porch. The home was very beautiful, Blaine would give him that. He just didn't know if it would ever feel like home like the streets with his friends did. His own house with his mother never did, so why should this?
Peter pulled to a stop in the garage and they both got out. Peter noted that there was a car out front that he didn't recognize, but didn't think too much of it. Sometimes the neighbors would have a couple people over and they would be forced to park in front of other people's houses because they ran out of room.
Peter opened the door that led into the kitchen and hit the button for the garage door to close. Blaine followed closely behind him through the door and into the house.
"Blaine," Elizabeth said as soon as the two closed the door behind them. "It's good to see you again."
Elizabeth walked up and pulled Blaine into a tight hug, one that he didn't even know he wanted or needed until that moment.
"Hi Aunt Elizabeth, thank you for having me," Blaine said, his manners kicking in. He may have lived mostly on the streets for the past couple years, but he still held on to the manners that his father taught him when he was younger.
When Elizabeth pulled out of the hug, Blaine found that they weren't alone in the room. Standing there, looking almost the same as the last time he saw him, was none other than his older brother Cooper Anderson. He still had the same shaggy and wavy brunet hair and piercing blue eyes as Blaine remembered.
"Cooper…what are you doing here?" Blaine asked in confusion.
"My little brother gets arrested and you really think that I wouldn't be here?" Cooper asked, raising an eyebrow. His tone left no question as to how frustrated and annoyed he was with the situation. He was clearly not happy with Blaine. "Aunt Elizabeth called me to tell me what had happened."
Blaine fidgeted on the spot, glancing down at the floor in front of him. He wanted to be angry at Cooper. This was the brother that he had hardly seen in the past couple of years, who had not helped out with his situation at all. He just didn't have the energy in him at the moment to fight him though. He was so drained. All he wanted to do was curl up in a warm bed and sleep.
"Blaine, why don't you go upstairs and take a shower. I can show you where it is, as well as where you will be living," Elizabeth offered. "I'm sure that it's been a long day and you need some time to unwind.
Blaine wanted to protest. He was sure that Peter and Cooper were going to stay down here and talk all about him, probably with Elizabeth in the loop as well. He really didn't like the idea of not hearing what they were saying. He desperately wanted to know all the details of this supposed plan that his uncle had for him. He wasn't good with the unknown.
He wasn't stupid, though. He knew his aunt's 'suggestion' wasn't really one at all, it was an order put very nicely. No matter how much he protested, they were going to talk about him to each other.
"Thanks, Aunt Elizabeth. That would be really great," Blaine replied with a small smile, and begrudgingly turned and followed his aunt up the staircase. The house had a very homey feel to it. He was sure that it was all thanks to Elizabeth, she always did seem to have impeccable taste. He cringed to think about what the house would look like if Peter was in charge of the decorating. It would be an absolute nightmare.
His aunt led him up the stairs and down the hallway, all the way to the end. There was a bedroom to his left and a bathroom right across the hall to his right. She led him into the bedroom first, and showed him that she had left some of Peter's old clothes on the bed for him to change into since he didn't have any clothes or pajamas with him. Then she showed him into the bathroom and pointed out the shampoo and the towels for him to use. He thanked her and then watched as she walked off. He was finally alone with his thoughts now, not sure if that was really a good thing or not. He just knew that there was a lot to think about.
Downstairs, Peter, Elizabeth and Cooper all sat around the kitchen table with cups of coffee. They heard the shower turn on a couple moments after sitting down, and all seemed to take a collective sigh.
"I can't believe this is actually happening," Cooper said after a couple moments of silence. "I mean, I knew there was a little trouble in the last couple years but I had no idea that it would be like this. I thought it was just limited to him sometimes skipping school and hanging out with his friends. I had no idea what these friends of his were actually up to."
"Were you around much?" Peter asked before taking a sip of his coffee. The hot liquid soothed him, releasing a lot of his tension that had built up throughout the night.
"No, my mother wasn't pleasant to be around. Unfortunately for Blaine, he didn't really have much of a choice but to be around her. I wish that I did more for him, but at the time it was just so much easier to not be anywhere near her. I just can't help but think, what if I visited the house more."
"I honestly don't know that you could have done much," Peter admitted. "He wasn't doing this on his own. He isn't some criminal mastermind. He was working for a man named Walter Clarington, and I'm fairly certain that half the time he was living with him and his son. Your mother didn't provide him with a comfortable home environment, so he just went and found somewhere else that he fit in. No matter how many times you visited, you would still leave and he would be stuck with your mother once more."
Cooper mulled those words over for a moment. He knew how true they were. His mother hardly saw Blaine as a son anymore once he told her of his sexual preferences. He was bound to go out and look for a 'safe' place to be who he was. Unfortunately, it was with a man like Walter Clarington that he found that 'safe' place.
"Thank you so much for taking him in," Cooper said earnestly. "I just can't stand the thought of my younger brother in jail. How exactly did you get him out of it, though?"
"He is testing a new program for us," Peter explained. "He is going to be on a two mile radius with the tracking anklet that is on his leg."
"I'm sure he is thrilled about that," Cooper said with a half-hearted chuckle.
"That is an understatement," Peter laughed. "The whole idea behind the program is that maybe if these juvenile delinquents are kept outside of prison, but kept under very strict terms, that the recidivism rate might lower. He has the anklet to monitor him, but he isn't in jail. He can at least go some of the time without the world telling him that he is a criminal. He will go to school just like any other teen his age."
Peter began talking Cooper and Elizabeth through all of the rules. They both listened in silence, trying to imagine what it would be like to live like that. They both collectively agreed that though it was a million times better of an option than jail, it was not something anyone would enjoy. Elizabeth knew that she would have to seriously consider how she was going to go about being a guardian towards Blaine. This wasn't going to be like a normal parenting experience in many ways.
They were all so lost in their conversation that they didn't hear the water upstairs turn off or the pounding of feet down the stairs a few minutes later. The next thing they knew they saw a form walking into the dining room. They all looked up and glanced over at Blaine as he slowly walked in. He was wearing an oversized Yankees t-shirt and plaid flannel pajama pants that were slightly too big for him. Overall, he looked like a scared child. He looked much younger than the actual sixteen years he possessed.
"Er—I didn't know what you wanted me to do after I took the shower," Blaine said, awkwardly shifting in place.
Peter was sure that Blaine was just tired and overwhelmed. He would be much more willing to fight his punishment in the morning. He was going to revel in these few moments while he could though. El seemed to be thinking the exact same thing that he was.
"Why don't we all go sit in the living room and put on a movie," Elizabeth said. "It's late and Cooper should just spend the night here anyway."
Blaine's whole body appeared to sag in relief at her words.
"You mean I didn't come back down here to be yelled at and lectured some more?" Blaine asked, hopeful.
"No, that can wait until morning," Peter replied, sharing a stern look with Blaine to show that he was serious on that point. "It's too late and we are all too overwhelmed to handle anything else right now."
A few minutes later found them all spread out on the couches in the living room watching National Treasure. It had been Elizabeth's pick, being one of her favorite movies. She loved the combination of mystery and history that the movie provided. It may not be a hundred percent historically accurate, but who cares—it was sure entertaining.
Halfway through the movie Peter looked over to find that Blaine was sound asleep. He was curled up on the side with his feet sticking out of the blanket. He looked quite comfortable given that he was sleeping on a sofa after all. The furrow of his brow was the only thing giving away the stress and anxiety that he was certainly feeling about his whole new situation.
The next thing Blaine knew he was awoken by light streaming through his window. He couldn't remember where he was, and was confused as to why there was so much sunlight. His room faced the west so it usually didn't come in so early in the morning. Blaine rolled over and was jolted into reality the moment that his movement caused him to feel the anklet on his leg. Last night wasn't a dream, and sure enough when he opened his eyes he found himself in the guest bed in his aunt and uncle's home. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to wake up some more. He couldn't believe that he actually got caught…not only that, but that his Uncle was involved.
He smelled coffee wafting up the stairs, so he knew that he wasn't the only one awake in the house. He figured it was probably better to get up and get the awkward conversation over with. All of him screamed to stay in bed and pretend that he was asleep, but his stomach grumbling won out and he decided to go downstairs. He made his way down the hallway and then down the staircase that lead into the foyer by the front door. He turned and walked through the living room and into the dining room. He found that he was the last one to get up. Elizabeth was bringing plates upon plates from the kitchen to the dining room table. There were eggs, bacon, pancakes, and waffles and so on. It was like a breakfast lover's dream. Peter was sitting at the head of the table intently reading the newspaper, with Cooper sitting to his right drinking a cup of coffee.
"Good morning," Elizabeth said as soon as she saw Blaine standing in the archway between the living room and the dining room.
"Morning," Blaine grumbled out in reply.
This caused both Peter and Cooper to look over at him. Blaine avoided their eye contact, and instead headed to a seat as far away from the two of them as he could get at the table. Unfortunately as he approached the table he saw that the place was already set right next to Peter and across from Cooper for him. He couldn't be rude and sit elsewhere, so he took a deep breath and sat where he was supposed to.
"After breakfast," Peter said, and Blaine nodded to show his understanding.
If there was any way to take away someone's appetite like that, it would be holding the conversation on their fate until after a meal. Blaine powered through though. Elizabeth's cooking was as delicious as it looked and smelled. Blaine was definitely fuller than he had been in a long time when he finished that meal. Now it was time for the other shoe to drop though…
"Okay, let's move to the living room to have this conversation," Peter suggested. "No use being uncomfortable for it."
That was how Blaine found himself sitting on the couch a few minutes later with Cooper sitting on the couch to his left, Elizabeth sitting on the couch to his right, and Peter standing in front of him. He really felt like a child about to get scolded for not playing nicely.
"Let's start with the tracking anklet," Peter suggested. "So as you know you are on a two mile radius from this house. If you go outside of that radius I will be immediately alerted as to the situation, as will several people in the FBI. You will be given a thirty second warning period. The anklet will start beeping and you have thirty seconds to get back into the radius. If you do not do so, you will be arrested and I cannot guarantee that I will be able to get you out again with another deal."
"So I can never go outside of two miles from here?" Blaine asked, trying not to let any emotion be evident in his voice.
"Not unless you are with Elizabeth, Cooper or myself," Peter explained. "We would have to call the tracking company and let them know where we are going and that you are with us."
Blaine sighed heavily at this, but nodded. Two miles was still better than a jail cell after all.
"You will be joining me at work twice a week after school to help out. You will be doing jobs like filing, stapling and such. You will also be helping us with any useful information that you have on Walter Clarington," Peter continued, Blaine avoiding his gaze on the last statement. He had a feeling that he was going be asked to nark on the man. "The days you come to the office are going to be dependent on the next rule. You are required to join an extracurricular activity at your school. At the moment there are not specifics as to what extracurricular activity you should pick, but it has to be an official one."
"So I have to go to school?" Blaine asked with his eyes narrowed. "I'm sure I'm going to be making lots of close friends with this thing on my ankle!"
"You surely didn't think that you weren't going to have to do school?" Peter asked, raising his right eyebrow.
"No, I thought that I would at least be home schooled to save me the humiliation of being mocked by everyone," Blaine replied, rolling his eyes. He didn't like the insinuation that his uncle was making that he was stupid or naïve in some way.
"You will be attending an actual school where you must pass each class you are taking and must participate in an extracurricular activity that I approve of, is that understood young man?" Peter asked, not liking Blaine rolling his eyes at him. He was not one that handled disrespect very well.
Blaine folded his arms across his chest, not wanting to answer his uncle's question. He wasn't three years old after all. He really resented being called 'young man'. It was so degrading. He was sixteen years old, after all. He was damn good at what he did, and he was way smarter than most people his age.
"Blaine," Cooper said from his spot next to his brother. He punched him in the arm to get Blaine to look at him. "Don't be an idiot, you are in enough trouble as it is."
Blaine pouted in silence for a few moments before finally mumbling out, "Yes, sir." As he said, he was smart—he knew when to give in.
"Next thing on the list is curfew. You must be in this house on weekdays by 7 pm and on weekends by 9 pm. If there are circumstances that would have you miss this curfew you must run them by Elizabeth or myself first."
"Are you kidding me?" Blaine asked. Being called young man was one thing, but having such early curfews was an entirely different story. "I'm 16 not 12!"
"Those curfews are non-negotiable. They were stipulated in the plan drawn out for you. I didn't come up with them, and you will not fight them," Peter said, and then continued on because he was desperate to get this over with. "Next…"
"There's more?" Blaine asked, raising in pitch in his annoyance.
"I still have the cell phone that they confiscated when they arrested you. You will not be receiving that back. Instead I have your new cell phone here for you. Your cell phone usage will be closely monitored as well as your computer usage. Do not even think about getting a burner phone. I reserve the right to search your person, your belongings and your room at any moment without warning."
Blaine looked so pissed off at that statement. He was so mad that he couldn't even form words to express how mad he truly was. This was an outrage! How dare Peter think that he could just invade his privacy like that!
"Lastly," Peter said, powering through this dreadful conversation. "You will not be allowed to hang around any of you criminal friends. Anyone of questionable nature is forbidden. You will be in a hell of a lot of trouble if we find out that you are."
"And how exactly am I supposed to do that? They all live in the city, which is sure as hell outside of my two-mile radius. I can't even call them or email them, because you took my phone and are tracking my entire life!" Blaine cried out, getting so frustrated that he stood up from the couch.
"Can I talk to him for a moment?" Cooper asked, seeing that this conversation was leading nowhere good, fast.
Peter looked between the two of them for a moment, before he finally nodded his consent. He gestured for El to come with him, and the two headed off toward the kitchen. Once they were out of the room, although presumably still within earshot, he turned toward Blaine.
"Sit down," Cooper barked, startling Blaine into doing just that. "I expect you to be super grateful for everything that Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Peter are doing for you. If it wasn't for them taking you in you would be sitting behind bars as we speak. They are sacrificing so much to do this for you. I know that mom sucked as a parent, especially after…"
"Cooper," Blaine cut him off, not wanting him to finish that sentence.
"Just let Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Peter do this for you. Follow their rules. It's only until you get out of high school," Cooper said with a sigh.
"You mean this thing is staying on my ankle until I'm out of high school?" Blaine asked, his voice raising once more.
"Longer if you can't get your act together by then," Cooper said with a shrug.
Blaine sat there for a moment trying to take everything in. There were so many rules that he was going to have to remember now. He couldn't help but feel incredibly overwhelmed by everything that was happening. This time yesterday morning he had felt as free as a bird. Now it was as if someone had clipped his wings. He had to try to process this a little bit at a time.
"Where will I be going to school?" Blaine asked, hoping to get on a little more neutral of a topic.
"William McKinley High School," Cooper explained. "It's the local public school and is within walking distance from here."
"Am I allowed to have a car?" Blaine asked, hopeful.
"You don't even have your license yet, Blaine. You only turned sixteen two weeks ago," Cooper replied, rolling his eyes.
"Ah—so you do remember my birthday," Blaine replied sarcastically.
"I tried calling, but mom answered the phone and I didn't know your cell phone number," Cooper tried to explain but Blaine cut him off.
"Forget about it," Blaine muttered in reply.
"No, I've been a horrible brother to you for the last couple years and I plan on making that up to you. We are going to work to make things right once again, okay?" Cooper pleaded.
Those were the words that Blaine always wanted to hear. He was just sad that it took all of this to be able to hear them. If there was a silver lining in any of this it had to be the fact that he was no longer living with his mother, and that Cooper appeared to be coming back into his life once more. He just hoped that he would be able to live with all of these new rules without messing everything up. His mother constantly reminded him of how much of a screw up he was. Clearly so far, he had lived up to her words. He just hoped things could be different now.