“Mr Anderson. It’s so nice to meet you” she held out her hand and Blaine shook it, his hand shaking slightly.

“No need to be nervous. This is a good visit, I promise” she smiled and Blaine’s eyes focused on the name card in front of him.

Principal Stevens

“Mrs Stevens…”

“Oh no, its Miss” she winked and Blaine frowned as he continued, shuffling in his seat.

“Miss Stevens, Why exactly am I hear?” he asked and the principal smiled.

“ Mr Anderson, it’s come to my attention lately that Ava seems to be…. A little distracted in class time.” She sighed and Blaine sat up a little straighter.

“Distracted?” he mused and the Principal sat back in her chair.

“Distracted. She tends to wonder off topic and she starts to talk about some magic wishing rock she has?” Principal Stevens frowned and Blaine smiled.

“Ah yes. It’s something I gave her when she was younger. It’s just a rock.” Blaine smiled and the Principal frowned.

“Yes, but Ava seems to think that this rock will make her Mummy love her, as she claims.” The principal stated and Blaine felt the blood rush from his face, his heart starting to break all over again.

“She said that?”

“Oh yes. Repeatedly. Now Mr Anderson, I’m not sure what your home life is like…”

“Our home life is fine” Blaine said a little to quickly, Principal Stevens raising an eyebrow.

“Is Ava’s mother present in her life?” she asked and Blaine swallowed.

“Yes. And she loves Ava very much.”

“Are you two separated?”

“We were never together” Blaine sighed and the principal nodded.

“I see. Mr Anderson, I think maybe Ava needs to have a mother figure in her life, if her own mother isn’t full filling those needs…”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you have the right to tell me about how to run my family. It’s complicated, but Ava is perfectly fine.” Blaine snapped and Principal Stevens coughed.

“And what would be your definition of fine, Mr Anderson?” she asked and Blaine stood up, his eyes narrowed.

““ I am a respectable man Miss Stevens, with a steady income. Yes, it's true that Ava's mother can be absent from her life at times but that doesn't matter. I have raised my daughter since I was 18years old and I do not need your help in doing so. Now if that is all I'd like to take my daughter home." Blaine snapped and the woman nodded her head.

" Of course" She replied simply and with that Blaine left the room, his hands still shaking. God he needed a drink.

��������

"I saw a puppy today" Ava said shyly as she sipped her chocolate milkshake as she sat across from her father, her legs kicking gently at the air. Blaine gave a small frown as he sipped his mocha.

" We'll aren't you lucky" he stated and Ava rolled her eyes.

" No."

" Ava. It's rude to roll your eyes, you know that." Blaine sighed and Ava shrugged her shoulders. She continued to drink and Blaine leant forward, his chin now resting on his arms.

“So little Miss Ava, How’s school?” he mused and Ava smiled at him sweetly.

“I love it Daddy. There are so many things to do, but sometimes I don’t like what we get taught” she swallowed and Blaine frowned slightly.

“And why is that honey?” he asked and Ava sighed dramatically, causing her father to chuckle lightly.

“Well, the other day, Miss Francis was talking about families.” Ava began and Blaine could already tell this wasn’t going to be good.

“ And Ingrid was telling people how her parents were divorceded.”

“Divorced sweetie.”

“Yeah, divorced. And Miss Francis said that was ok, and some other kids were the same as Ingrid, but the others all had parents who were married. And when it came to me, I said that I live with my Daddy, and my Mummy visits me and calls me, but she doesn’t live with me anymore, she lives with her girlfriend. And then Miss Francis asked if you and Mummy were divorced, and I told her no, you weren’t married at all. You were just best friends who decided to have a baby together.” Ava smiled and Blaine took her tiny hand in his own.

“ And we love you so much Ava” he smiled and the girl nodded.

“I know Daddy, but today Matt asked me if I was getting a new Mummy, because if you had a girlfriend, she would be my Mummy, but I told him that you never have girlfriends. Only boyfriends.” Ava said even quieter, Blaine still holding her hand.

“That’s right sweetie.”

“Daddy… what’s...a fag?” she whispered, her eyes now a little wider. Blaine felt his throat tighten at the word as it made its way out of his daughter’s mouth. He knew she would have to face this someday, but not at six years old.

“Did Matt say that?” he asked and Ava shook her head.

“No Jimmy did.” Ava sighed and Blaine’s hatred towards Jimmy Lenard grew about five feet.

“Of course. Sweetie, a… what Jimmy said is a bad word for people like me.” Blaine sighed and Ava tilted her head to the side in confusion. They’d already had this talk with Ava, about how it was okay for anyone to love anyone, no matter their gender.

“ You mean people with really curly hair?” she whispered and Blaine chuckled.

“No honey. For people who like people of the same gender. Remember?” he asked and Ava nodded.

“I thought it did, but I didn’t want to believe him. You’re not a bad person Daddy, and most of your boyfriends are nice too” Ava smiled and Blaine frowned.

“Most?”

“Jackson was a bit of a Weiner” Ava crinkled her nose up and Blaine wasn’t sure whether to yell or laugh. Instead he leant closer to her and tapped her nose.

“He was wasn’t he?” he giggled and Ava did the same.

“ I love you Daddy” she smiled and Blaine smiled back.

“I love you to Ava bug.”
“Can I get a puppy now?”

“No!”

****

That night Blaine found himself standing in a crowed room full of people dressed in elegant clothing, a champagne glass in his hand. He took a large gulp and licked his lips, his mind flipping over the events that had happened before he arrived. He’d given Rachel a lecture on bed times for his daughter, and a healthy dinner for her. Rachel had also given him a lecture on how to have fun at the opening, and Blaine had taken her advice by downing at least three glasses of champagne in the first hour alone. It was now 7 pm and dinner had gone swell. They had been served a buffet, Blaine somehow managing to drop chicken pasta all over his jacket, so now he was just dressed in his white shirt, blue tie and dress pants, his hair slightly messy as people danced around him, talking and laughing with one another. Blaine had made small talk with people, a few recognising him from a year or two ago, asking how Ava was and so on so forth.
Blaine was in his right mind to leave, he didn’t really have to be here did he? He took another sip of his champagne and he looked around the room, hopefully for the last time that night, just to check he hadn’t left anybody out. He scanned the room and his eyes paused on a figure he didn’t recognise that now stood at the other side of the room from him.
The man was dressed in a black tuxedo that was obviously fitted for him specifically. He was tall and slim, one hand resting on his him, long fingers gently tapping a constant rhythm on his hip, the other hand holding a champagne glass.
His hair was chestnut and styled up, Blaine tilting his head slightly to the side as the man turned around, Blaine taking in a small breath.
He was absolutely stunning.
His skin was flawless and pale, like a china doll, his cheekbones high, lips peach coloured and pursed slightly. His eyes were an odd colour, Blaine couldn’t put a name to them, but they were beautiful. Blaine was simply admiring the strange colour when he came to the realisation that the lovely eyes were now fixed on him. The pursed lips turned up into a small smile, one delicate eyebrow raised in question for the slightest moment before the young man turned away again, Blaine letting out a deep breath. He was about to turn and run, most likely home, when the man placed his glass down on a table, nodded his head at someone, and began to make his way through the crowd towards Blaine.

“Shit” Blaine muttered, looking around for somewhere to place his glass as the man continued to walk forward, stopping when he was in front of Blaine, the small smile still present on his lips.

“Blaine Anderson isn’t it?” the man asked, his voice higher than Blaine would have imagined, yet it was still angelic. Blaine nodded his head and reached out his hand, shaking the man’s. His skin was surprisingly soft, Blaine clearing his throat.

“Indeed it is. I’m so sorry but I have no idea what your name might be.” Blaine smiled weakly and the man grinned.

“Kurt. Kurt Hummel. I’ve heard so much about you from Cassie, apparently you work magic in the studio” Kurt smiled and Blaine could feel the heat rising in his cheeks.

“ I wouldn’t say magic, but it is quite wonderful” Blaine winked and he had no idea why. Kurt folded his arms across his chest and put his weight to one side, looking Blaine up and down.

“I see you happen to be missing your jacket. The chicken pasta get to you too?” he asked and Blaine nodded.

“You caught me”

“Me too” Kurt opened the inside of his jacket, revealing the small smudge of sauce that was now there. Blaine chuckled lightly and Kurt took two champagne glasses off the tray that was now passing the pair, handing one to Blaine.

“Blaine, is it okay if I call you Blaine?” Kurt asked and Blaine nodded, watching as Kurt took a small sip before he spoke again.

“So Blaine. I don’t now if you heard, but my manager was hoping to talk to you sometime in the next few weeks about possibly fitting me in for a recording session or two for my new album.” Kurt began and Blaine went to reply when Kurt carried on talking.

“But that’s all I’ve been talking about all night, so… What do you prefer? Boxers or briefs?” Kurt asked and Blaine coughed.

“Well, that’s… um… a little… why… boxers” Blaine nodded and Kurt laughed.

“You’re the first one to actually answer!” Kurt cried and Blaine chuckled, taking a small sip from his glass.

“I usually answer anything after a few glasses of these” He smiled and Kurt bit his lip.

“So I suppose after this one, you’d be willing to dance?” Kurt asked and Blaine went to object, Kurt chugging down the rest of his champagne, smacking his lips together dramatically.

“Come on then” he winked and Blaine drank the rest of his drink quickly, rolling his sleeves up.

“Oh, rolling up the sleeves are we?” Kurt wagged his eyebrows and Blaine watched as he spun around other people, gesturing with a finger for Blaine to follow him, Blaine doing just that. People all around them were dancing by now, Blaine letting the smile stay firmly on his lips for the rest of the night.