Thanks once again to anyone who has reviewed, favourited or put this on story alert. It means so much to me that you guys are even reading this story at all. Here is the next chapter of it. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 8

"Anything you care to say, Blaine?" Peter asked, glaring at the teen who was sitting on the couch in front of him.

Blaine just shifted on the couch again, crossing his arms over his chest. There wasn't anything he could say.

"Where did you get these?" Peter asked, growing impatient.

"What does it matter if I smoke?" Blaine asked, ignoring his Uncle's question. He was growing bold or potentially insane—the results were still out on that one. "It's not illegal to smoke a cigarette."

"No, it's not," Peter replied. "But what is illegal is for you to buy them. Either you have a fake I.D. that I don't know about, or someone gave them to you."

Blaine rolled his eyes at that one. He purchased cigarettes all the time without an I.D. You just had to know who to go to. It really wasn't that hard.

"Where did you get them from Blaine?" Cooper asked, walking to stand next to Peter.

Blaine figured there were trying to look intimidating. Cooper and Peter stood next to each other with their arms crossed, both glaring down at him. If they thought their little intimidation tactic was going to get him to blab that he got the pack of cigarettes from Hunter Clarington, they were crazy.

"Blaine," Elizabeth said calmly, walking towards him and sitting down on the couch next to him. "Why don't you just tell them where you got the cigarettes? You know Peter won't stop until you tell him."

Blaine knew she was playing the role of good cop, but could see her point. His Uncle was not one to back down…ever. He just had to figure out how to tell the truth, without telling the whole truth.

"I'm not going to name any names," Blaine began, thinking it was good to lay that down first. "I just got it from a friend. I had a little time after Glee practice before Aunt Elizabeth came to pick me up. I hung out with this friend and he gave them to me."

"Was this the first time you smoked?" Cooper asked, already feeling like he knew the answer to that question.

Blaine stared at him for a couple moments, before finally shaking his head no.

"This is going to stop here and now," Peter said, shoving the pack into his pocket. "I don't care what you do once you turn 18, but whilst you are living under my roof you won't be smoking. I will be using extra precautionary methods to ensure this."

With that said, he turned and walked up the stairs. Blaine didn't like the sound of that. He didn't know what his Uncle meant, but he was sure he was going to find out soon.

It was finally Friday and the results of the Duets Challenge were revealed. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the winner was Rachel and Finn. Blaine and Kurt grumbled their mutiny from the back row. Glee Club was entertaining that afternoon. It ended with Blaine bursting out into 'Last Friday Night' by Katy Perry and everyone dancing around like crazy. He just didn't want it to be the weekend, because the weekend meant more time with his Uncle. He was still grounded and he was still in trouble for the stupid pack of cigarettes.

"Is it weird that I am actually looking forward to Monday?" Blaine asked Kurt as they walked out of Glee Club.

"Yes," Kurt replied with a laugh. "I think every teenager ever is cursing you right now."

"It at least gives me the opportunity to leave the house," Blaine explained. "My uncle is great, but there is such a thing as too much time with him. I can only take so many reminders of how I could be in jail right now before I want to rip my hair out."

"Your hair is too beautiful for you to rip it out," Kurt replied seriously. "We wouldn't want that."

"Thanks," Blaine replied, blushing a little at the compliment.

Blaine didn't blush often, but there was something about Kurt that could cause him to be flustered. He couldn't help but really believe any compliment that Kurt gave him. He hated to admit it, but Cooper was right. He was falling for Kurt. He was falling fast. He was pretty sure that Kurt only saw him as a good friend, though. He was the fellow-gay. The one who actually understood the things that Kurt was going through and could talk to him about it. That was it.

The two walked out front and Blaine looked around for El. She was nowhere to be seen though.

"What are you two fags doing here?" a voice asked from behind them.

Blaine and Kurt instantly turned around and came face to face with Karofsky, one of the jocks on the football team. He was big—in a muscular way—with a closely cropped hair cut. He had his usual uniform on of jeans, a tshirt and his varsity jacket. Blaine often wondered if he owned anything else. The same could be said for almost all of the jocks though…and the cheerleaders. He had seriously never been to a school where the cheerleaders wore their uniform every day. Weren't they afraid that they would get something on it? Wasn't it cold in the winter months?

"We go to school here," Kurt replied, clearly trying to control his tone.

"Well I don't want fags here," Karofsky growled in reply.

"Is that the only insulting word you know how to use against us?" Blaine asked, sounding a million times braver than he actually felt. "I mean I would suggest a dictionary, but I'm not sure you would know how to use it."

"Are you insulting me?" Karofsky asked, punching his fist into his other hand in an attempt to be menacing.

What he wanted to scare them into, Blaine didn't know. He couldn't make them straight. Blaine knew that nothing would, he had tried before. This was their local public school, so it wasn't like there was anywhere else for them to go. He supposed they could be homeschooled, but yeah right. He spent enough time at home, as it was.

At that moment, and to Blaine's great relief, the squealing of tires came into the parking lot. All three of them looked up and saw that it was Peter in his Ford Taurus. Instead of being annoyed, as Blaine typically would have been, he was thoroughly relieved.

"Well as lovely as this conversation has been," Blaine said so sarcastically that he was shocked it didn't actually bite Karofsky. "I have to go now."

Karofsky glared at the both of them, clearly understanding that he couldn't do anything further to either one of them. He then turned on his heel and walked away. For someone who was supposedly as straight as a ruler, Karofsky could sure as hell be quite the drama King.

"Hi guys," Peter said, rolling his window down when he got right next to them. "Sorry I'm late, Blaine. Elizabeth had to work in the city today because she has a really big event tonight."

"You know you could have let me walk home," Blaine replied off-handedly.

Peter gave him quite the look at that and Blaine rolled his eyes and walked toward the passenger seat.

"Get in, Kurt," Peter said, gesturing to the back door. "I'll give you a ride home."

"Thanks, Peter," Kurt said getting in the back seat. He wasn't going to complain about not having to walk all the way home. It was getting colder and colder each day. Winter was definitely going to start soon.

"So how was school today?" Peter asked as he started to drive toward the Hummel household.

"It was okay," Blaine replied with a sigh. He figured if he started talking about Glee then it was less likely that his Uncle would bring up what had happened on Wednesday in front of Kurt. "I'm frustrated with Mr. Schue. I don't know why he decided to have a competition if he was just going to pick Rachel and Finn in the end. He should have just saved all of us the trouble and picked them from the beginning. Clearly our conversation with him about how he was stuck in a rut didn't work."

"So your romantic duet with Quinn didn't work?" Peter asked with a quick 'knowing' look at Blaine. Blaine was never this chatty; it was usually like pulling teeth to get him to talk about his day at school.

"I would hardly call it romantic Uncle Peter," Blaine replied, catching Kurt's eye in the rearview mirror.

Kurt looked puzzled. Blaine just shook his head a little to indicate that no, Peter did not know that he was gay. Kurt understood the signal and didn't press the subject.

"I personally think that my duet with Tina was a showstopper," Kurt stated. "Mr. Schue just doesn't know talent when it hits him."

"I'm sure it was," Peter replied. "I have seen you put on performances at enough parties to know that you are very talented."

"Thanks," Kurt replied with a smile.

"You on the other hand," Peter said, glancing at Blaine once more. "I've actually never even heard you sing. I knew that you had a talent for the arts, but I thought that it was focused on painting."

"I guess you could say that I'm a jack of all trades," Blaine joked.

"Let's just keep the talent on the legal side of things from now on," Peter warned.

"Yes, Uncle Peter," Blaine said through gritted teeth.

"I can personally tell you that Blaine is very talented," Kurt replied. "I've never seen any of his artwork, but I can say that he has an amazing voice and some quite interesting dance moves. You will have to come to Sectionals next week to find out."

"When is Sectionals?" Peter asked. "You haven't said anything about it."

"It's on Wednesday night, the night before Thanksgiving," Blaine said with a shrug. "I figured that you and El would be busy preparing for Thanksgiving the next day or something."

"Are you kidding me?" Peter asked. "We wouldn't miss coming to see you at Sectionals for the world."

"Sorry," Blaine said softly. "I'm not used to having someone that even is aware of what extracurricular I'm in, let alone want to come see me in it."

An awkward silence followed that statement. Neither Peter nor Kurt knew what to say to that. Peter couldn't fathom being the kind of parent that wasn't invested in the life of their kid. The job of a parent was literally to love and protect their child. Who wouldn't be proud of the accomplishments of their offspring? Kurt just couldn't, and didn't want to picture what it would be like having a parent like that. His dad and he had gone through a little bit of an awkward time before Kurt came out. His dad always tried, though. There wasn't a day that went by that Kurt didn't know that his dad loved him more than anything in the world.

Neither Kurt nor Peter broke the silence. A couple moments into the silence, a beeping noise began to sound. It took Blaine a moment, but he remembered that Kurt lived outside of his radius. After the beeping went solid, Peter's phone began to ring.

"This is Peter Burke," Peter said, picking up the phone through the system in his car.

"Peter, Blaine is out of his radius. Is he with you?" the voice on the phone asked. Blaine was pretty sure it was Agent Jones.

"Yes, he's with me," Peter replied.

"Okay, talk to you later," Jones replied.

Peter hit the end call button on his steering wheel.

"That was freakishly quick," Kurt commented from the back seat. "Is that why you freaked out the other day?"

"Yeah," Blaine replied, avoiding looking at Peter. "Well that and I really didn't want to explain the anklet to you."

"The other day?" Peter asked, ever curious. "Oh was that last week when you were at the edge of your radius? You told me you walked Quinn home."

"No, you assumed I walked Quinn home," Blaine said, rolling his eyes. "I told you there was nothing going on between Quinn and me, but for some reason you and El don't want to believe me."

"I was wondering how you two became friends," Peter admitted, ignoring what Blaine had said.

"We have French class together," Kurt replied. "And obviously now we also have Glee Club together."

By this point Peter was pulling into the driveway of the Hummel household.

"My dad is home," Kurt said when Peter pulled to a stop. "I'm sure he would love it if you stopped in."

"Why not," Peter said. "I always love talking to Burt and Carole."

"You know that he is going to try to suck you into Friday night dinner," Kurt said with a laugh as he got out of the car. "As soon as he finds out that Elizabeth is in the city for the night and that you would be left to cook."

"I resent the fact that he thinks I can't cook," Peter said with a groan.

"Oh I don't think you can't cook, I know you can't cook," Burt said from where he was now standing in the doorway of the house. "Yes, you will definitely have to stay over for Friday night dinner. Carole is getting off her shift at the hospital in about an hour and Finn should be back not long after that."

"I could never say no to Carole's cooking," Peter said honestly. "I will have to accept just because of that."

Peter turned off the car and gestured for Blaine to get out as well. Blaine looked at him in pleading, begging him not to do what he was sure was about to happen next.

"Give me your backpack," Peter said sternly.

Blaine sighed and shut the door of the car, before walking toward Peter. He handed Peter his backpack. Peter sat it on the hood of the car and searched through it, much to the confusion of Kurt who was now watching curiously from his spot on the front porch. Burt knew what was happening because Peter had talked to him the day before. Peter would often call and ask for advice on situations with Blaine.

"Now lean against the side of the car," Peter demanded.

Blaine groaned and did as he was told, putting his hands out in front of him and leaning against the side of the car so Peter could pat him down. He was aware that Kurt was watching the whole scene unfold, and was dreading the questions that he was sure were about to come.

"Okay, let's go in," Peter said once he finished. He reached over and grabbed the backpack off the hood and handed it to Blaine. They both then headed to go inside along with Burt and Kurt. Peter and Burt immediately walked toward the kitchen to grab some beers so they could sit down and watch ESPN.

Kurt gestured for Blaine to follow him and they headed up to Kurt's room. Kurt didn't know if the rule applied with Blaine that he couldn't have his door closed. They were just friends at the moment, even though Kurt desperately hoped for more. He decided that he didn't care, he was going to close the door—his father's rules be damned. Both of them were technically already grounded—what difference did it make anymore?

Blaine plopped his backpack down on the floor and sat down on Kurt's bed, waiting for the question that he knew was coming.

"What was that all about?" Kurt asked, sitting down on the bed next to Blaine.

Blaine sighed. "My Uncle may have found a pack of cigarettes in my backpack that a friend gave me. He went ballistic. He says that he doesn't care if it's technically legal to smoke, I'm not allowed to do it while living under his roof. He has taken to patting me down and searching my backpack every day after school now. On Wednesday night, he even searched my entire room. Last night he also made me sit down and watch a documentary on the effects of smoking."

"You do know smoking is bad for you, right?" Kurt asked. He couldn't help but agree with Peter on that one. "Plus it's disgusting. You always end up smelling like cigarettes. I can't ever imagine dating anyone that smokes, it would be like kissing an ash tray. They would have to stop."

"I don't smoke that often," Blaine replied with another sigh. He had no idea that Kurt felt so strongly on the subject. "I just met up with an old friend and it was something that we used to do together."

Kurt thought that over for a moment. "Blaine, don't be insulted but I have a question. Tobacco is the only drug your into right?"

"Yes," Blaine immediately answered. "I swear to you, yes."

"Okay," Kurt nodded feeling immensely relieved. "We can move on to a new topic now."

"You have the new Vogue!" Blaine exclaimed, grasping on to the first new topic that he could. "I'm still waiting for a cover better than Marion Cotillard's."

"Thank you!" Kurt exclaimed in reply. "I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks that."

"Anyone with proper taste would agree," Blaine replied with a laugh.

Kurt studied him for a few moments before shaking his head. "Sometimes I think I understand you, and then you just surprise me."

"What?" Blaine laughed. "You didn't think I would be into Vogue."

"Not based on the clothes you wear, no."

Blaine looked down at what he was wearing that day. He was wearing a ripped black sleeveless tee with white writing, black jeans, black Vans and a maroon snapback placed backwards on his head. He had thrown on his black zip up hoodie for when he was outside, but he had left it in the car.

"I see your point," Blaine laughed.

Kurt flipped off his shoes and sat down crossed legged next to Blaine. They began a running commentary on the entire magazine. Neither of them noticed how, but about halfway through, they ended up laying on their backs next to each other.

"There is nothing more classic than a Burberry trench coat," Blaine stated as they looked at the glossy advert for Burberry.

"Agreed," Kurt replied. "It's such a classic look, and if you choose the right one it's a piece that you can hold on to for a long time because a trench isn't going to go out of style like some other pieces. It's worth the investment that comes with buying one."

"Is Burberry your favorite design house?" Blaine asked.

"I'm quite partial to Alexander McQueen," Kurt replied. "But I can appreciate Burberry's designs."

The sat in silence for a couple moments, just enjoying one another's company and lost in their own thoughts.

"Can you even feel that?" Kurt asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"What?" Blaine asked, broken out of his thoughts.

"The anklet," Kurt explained. "Can you even feel it anymore?"

Blaine looked down and saw that his pant leg had ridden up and the anklet was fully visible. He didn't pull it down like he normally would have with anyone else. He just looked back up at Kurt and answered the question.

"Not really," Blaine replied. "I have gotten used to it now. I used to have a harder time getting to sleep because I could feel it and couldn't get comfortable in the bed."

"I'm sorry for the buzz kill," Kurt said softly. "I'm just very curious about it."

"It's natural to be curious," Blaine replied with a shrug. "Honestly when it's you I don't mind. You must be special or something, because if it was anyone else asking I would probably tell them to fuck off and mind their own business."

"I feel very special then," Kurt said. "I'm going to ask you another question then."

"I think I know what you are going to ask," Blaine said, turning toward Kurt and gesturing for him to ask it.

"Peter doesn't know you're gay?" Kurt asked, although it came out more as a statement than a question.

"My mom wasn't so great with my coming out," Blaine explained. "It was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back in a way."

"Peter knows that I'm gay and he doesn't mind, nor does Elizabeth," Kurt offered.

"I will come out to him eventually," Blaine stated. "I just want to do it my way and to just test out the situation that we're all in a little bit more before I do so. I have a lot to lose if he decides that he doesn't want me anymore."

"I won't tell him if that's what you are worrying about," Kurt sincerely said. "I don't believe in outing people."

"I would never think someone as amazing as you would," Blaine responded. "So not to abruptly change the subject…"

"But to abruptly change the subject…" Kurt joked.

"Finn is your step-brother and he is on the football team," Blaine began.

"And Karofsky is on the football team as well as majority of the people that bully me," Kurt continued what he figured Blaine was going to say. "Finn tries, but even though he would never admit it, his reputation means a lot to him."

"That's awful," Blaine replied, sitting up in his anger. "He should be doing more, he is your brother."

"Okay, I feel like this is you projecting right now," Kurt wisely said, sitting up as well. "Yes, I wish that Finn would be a little more supportive. We just have to give him a little bit more time to figure things out, though. I kind of freaked him out with my crush on him, and we're honestly lucky to have made it as far as we have with him."

"You had a crush on your step-brother?" Blaine asked, his confusion evident in his tone of voice.

"Before he was my step-brother," Kurt quickly added. "He was actually why I introduced his mom and my dad. I was very selfish about it. Fortunately, something good did come out of it. I haven't seen my dad as happy as he is with Carole in the longest time."

"Wait, you thought hooking your parents up would somehow get you and Finn together?" Blaine asked, once more clearly very confused.

"Yeah…" Kurt replied, laughing self-deprecatingly. "I was young and stupid."

"When was this?" Blaine asked in amusement.

"Last year," Kurt admitted.

"Well I'm glad that you are so much older and wiser now," Blaine joked.

"Oh shut it you," Kurt said lightly pushing at Blaine and causing them to fall into a sort of cathartic laughter. The type of laughter that makes people feel like anything in the world is possible. Like nothing can be bad in the world if something can feel that amazing.

Blaine didn't think he was going to be happy about the deal he made with his Uncle, but that moment and that laughter was really proving him wrong. Right there in that moment with Kurt he could really see quitting his other illicit activities. He would do anything that he could to be able to stay like that with Kurt forever. That terrified him. He was much too young to be thinking of forever, yet it felt so real and right.