Blaine's first few weeks at Dalton went about as good as he expected them to. He stayed hidden under the radar and did not draw attention to himself. Being the target of a hate crime had taught him that much. He didn't go out of his way to talk to anyone – even though Thad and Wes made it clear that he could talk to them. Blaine didn't want to make friends with any of the other boys because friends got you hurt. He learned that lesson the hard way.

Sighing softly, he walked into the cafeteria, spotting Thad, Jeff, Nick, and Sebastian all sitting at a table, laughing. He paused, feeling a yearning to go join but still too debilitatingly scared to make it known that he wouldn't mind talking to some new people. Sebastian looked up just then, smiling at him as he stood up. He smoothed his hand down his Dalton blazer and walked towards Blaine. "Want to sit with us today, Blaine?"

"Oh, uhm." Blaine was brought up short. On the one hand, it might be nice to have a table full of guys to eat with. On the other, he was still in a cast and getting over broken ribs.

Sebastian smiled at him kindly, not at all like the sneer he saw the other guy give Trent. "We're not that bad."

Horrified that he had unknowingly offended him, Blaine was quick to apologize. "Oh, no, I know. I'm sorry. I'm just...just..."

"Just not good with making friends?" Sebastian asked, and Blaine sighed, closing his eyes.

"Guilty."

Sebastian grinned at him, nothing like the sharp edges he had seen the other boy give the other students. This smile was kind; comforting in ways that Blaine wanted to wrap around him like a security blanket. "That's okay. We all would really like to get to know you better. It's been three weeks since you joined Dalton."

Blaine knew that was true. And he knew that it couldn't hurt to have some friends in case he needed help. Sucking in a wavering breath, Blaine nodded. "All right."

"Great," Sebastian said, tone warm. Blaine followed Sebastian back to his table, tray of food clutched tightly in his hand. Sebastian prodded Jeff out of his seat with his toe, offering it to Blaine the next minute. "Sit by me."

Jeff didn't complain but he did mumble underneath his breath and walked around to a different seat at the table. Grimacing apologetically, Blaine sat down slowly, looking at the group of boys. Thad was there and he was smilingly encouragingly at Blaine.

"Your bruises are clearing up nice, man," he said.

Blaine felt the urge to touch his face, feel his bruises, and see how many he still had left. But he saw them every morning in the bathroom when he was getting ready. He knew what they looked like. Blaine felt timid; shy in ways he wasn't accustomed to feeling since before the attack, but that didn't mean he forgot his manners. "Thank you."

If Thad was surprised that Blaine replied to him, when Blaine rarely ever said more than one word to him at a time, he didn't show it. He just grinned back at him, taking a bite out of his apple. Sebastian spoke up. "Are you going to try out for the Warblers?"

"What's that?" Blaine asked hesitantly.

Sebastian grinned. "Just the men's choir at our school. We're proud of it."

Blaine hadn't sung since the attack. He had been too scared to try again; too scared to hear how abused his vocal cords had been due to screaming for help that never came. "I don't know..."

"Hey, how about you just come check us out," Jeff said. "If it's not your scene, it's not the end of the world."

Blaine looked at them, then at Sebastian, who was looking at him hopefully. "Would I have to sing a solo?"

"That's how our auditions work," Sebastian agreed, "but only Wes and David would be in the room with you. All of us wouldn't be."

His mom had wanted him to try and make friends here. Maybe this was the best opportunity to do so. "Okay."

XXX

That afternoon, Blaine found himself sitting in their choir room with the other boys. Laughter and chatter filled the room, and Blaine took his chance to look around. Jeff, Thad, and Nick were all sitting together. Blaine and Sebastian were sitting on the couch, Sebastian doing a running commentary of the other Warblers. "That's Mark. Grade A asshole but has a great Sparano. There's Will, he's, our baritone. And there's Connor. He's tone deaf so I'm not sure how he makes it each year."

Blaine laughed quietly, feeling his nerves calm down. David whistled and Wes started talking. "We've got three of you auditioning. Everyone leaves the room, and we'll call the three in one by one."

Sebastian and Blaine walked out of the room, with Blaine loosening his tie. Then, the auditions began.

When it was Blaine's turn, Sebastian grinned at him. "Knock em dead."

Blaine walked back into the room, feeling a bit more confident than he had moments prior. His song choice was Stronger by Kelly Clarkson. He hadn't experienced a breakup like the one she sang about, but he was breaking up with his bullies. This was his swan song. Wes nodded at him, smiling kindly. "Whenever you're ready, Blaine."

"You know the bed feels warmer, sleeping here alone."

He belted out the song, nerves flying from him as he got lost in the lyrics. This was just another audition, and he was just singing another song. Nothing too scary about this. He spun, adding his own dance moves as he got into the song. He hit every note, including all the high notes, and then when he was through, there was a resounding applause as all the guys rushed into the room to congratulate him. Wes and David conversed for a moment before David grinned at him. "Off the record, welcome to the Warblers Blaine Anderson."

Happiness flooded through him, leaving him dizzy with relief. He hadn't felt this happy in a long time, too long. And he knew that today was a day of progress for him. He'd take it.