A/N: Hi, sorry it’s been a while! I couldn’t update over Christmas, and then I had exams, and lots of crap happened, but I’m back now, and hopefully updating every 2 weeks.

Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, I’d write Will off of it.

Chapter Eleven: Imagine.

“Kurt, why is Rachel walking around dressed like... well, like the complete opposite of how she usually does?” Blaine asked Kurt carefully, watching Rachel walk past them dressed in a short skirt and skimpy vest-top. “I mean... you went to her house yesterday, and now she’s all dressed up. I figure you had something to do with that, though I may be making giant leaps in deduction here.” He raised an eyebrow at him.

Kurt smirked, opening his locker and watching Rachel over Blaine’s shoulder with a proud expression on his face. “I gave her a makeover.” He said, in a triumphant tone of voice.

“Why? You hate her.” Blaine pointed out gently, a suspicion slowly sneaking up on him.

Kurt paused in the act of spraying his hair, and bit his lip, which gave Blaine his answer. “I enjoy giving makeovers, Blaine. Is that really so surprising?”

Blaine crossed his arms and stared at him.

“Fine. I did it to sabotage her, because she’s in love with Finn and wants to steal him away from me- I mean, from Quinn. Are you happy now?” Kurt asked, before putting his hairspray bottle back in his locker, slamming the door a little harder than usual.

“It seems to have made him more attracted to her.” Blaine commented, with a shrug. He hoped this failure would be the end of the matter, but he had a feeling it wasn’t going to stop here. Kurt was really obsessing over Finn, and might actually be in love with him, much as Blaine hated to admit it. This was going to continue. And it was all going to finish in tears.

Kurt gave him a self-satisfied smile. “Yeah, until Friday night, when he goes to her house and she dresses up as Sandy from Grease, which is exactly the opposite of his preferred type of girl. He’s totally turned off, she’s incredibly humiliated, they never talk to or even look at each other again... Objective achieved.”

Gaping a little, Blaine shook his head before shutting his mouth, then opening it again. “Kurt-”

“Oh, she’s done talking to Finn. I have to go.” Kurt gave him a little wave before hurrying off after Rachel.

Mouth gaping open a little, Blaine shook his head. As Kurt’s best friend, he was aware that he should do something about this, but... well, what harm would it do? Finn wasn’t likely to cheat on his pregnant girlfriend, so the worst thing that could happen would be Rachel getting humiliated in front of him.

Actually, that was quite bad.

But there wasn’t much he could do about it. Rachel was more likely to listen to Kurt than him, since she’d known Kurt longer.

Plus, he did kind of admire Kurt’s plan. It was pretty genius. And anyway, maybe this whole thing would show Kurt that Finn wasn’t going to be interested in anyone other than Quinn.

Although that might change when Finn found out that Puck was the father of her baby. He’d have to find out eventually, right? Quinn couldn’t hide it forever. And even if she could, the gossip system at the school would get the information out.

This was not going to end well.

---

“You set me up! With Finn!”

Kurt smiled inwardly at the sweet sound of Rachel’s indignant voice, and turned to face her. “Looks like someone is running for drama queen again.” He told her icily.

“How could you do that? I thought we were friends.”

She was obviously even crazier than he’d thought she was. Any guilt he might have felt was completely wiped. “And what made you think that?” Maybe he needed to spend more time insulting her, then she’d get the hint. “You should be thanking me. All I did was help you realise that your schoolgirl fantasy of running off with Finn was nothing but a fairy tale.”

A look of realisation dawned on her face. “You like him.” She paused, searching his face. “Yeah. That’s- that’s what this is. And you were just trying to eliminate the competition.” She accused him, angrily.

“I was just helping him understand that you are not a viable second choice.” Kurt told her, shaken at her discovery of his secret. Only Mercedes and Blaine knew so far, and he wasn’t happy about the idea of Rachel Berry knowing, of all people. He turned around to leave and nearly walked into Blaine, whose worried expression told Kurt that he’d heard what Rachel had just said. Shaking his head at his friend, he began walking off, ending the conversation.

Apparently, Rachel had other ideas.

“You think I’m a second choice?” She called, before running after him.

Kurt rolled his eyes at Blaine, who had trotted along with him, before turning to face her. “A distant second.” Kurt said scathingly, looking her up and down. Honestly, what would anyone see in her? She was ugly in personality and in fashion sense.

“You think I’m living in a fairy tale? If I were second, or if I were fiftieth, I’d still be ahead of you, because I’m a girl.”

That hurt, Kurt had to admit. He knew Finn was straight, but you couldn’t choose who you loved. And maybe he had no chance, but neither did Rachel.

Anyway, there was also the possibility that Finn might not be completely straight. No boy that cute could be straight. It just wasn’t fair.

“Okay, here’s the dope, princess. There’s no hope for either of us. He loves Quinn. They’re having a baby together. We’re nothing but distractions. The sooner we realise that, the better.” Kurt told her.

Blaine looked between them and shuffled his feet awkwardly.

Rachel turned and stalked off.

“A little harsh, Kurt.” Blaine muttered, watching her go with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” Kurt asked, a little indignantly.

“I am, it’s just... no-one’s really nice to her, Kurt. And I get that she’s kind of self-obsessed, and pretty much only interested in what she wants, but she doesn’t really have anyone. I feel bad for her, is all.” Blaine shrugged slightly. “But I’m glad you’ve come to your senses.” He added, with a smile.

“Come to my senses?” Kurt frowned.

“Well, you recognise that you have no hope with Finn.” Blaine’s smile faded a little.

“There is hope yet. I have many master plans to put into action.” Kurt explained, a small smile on his face.

Blaine groaned quietly.

“Do you have a problem, Blaine?” Kurt asked, folding his arms and going on the defensive.

“Yes, actually! Kurt, I support you in everything you do, you know that. But this... obsession with Finn Hudson is not healthy! I get that you like him, I do, Kurt, I really do, but you can’t keep chasing after him like this. You’re just going to get hurt.”

Kurt stared at Blaine for a few moments, and something in him deflated. He nodded slightly, crossing his arms a little tighter, hugging himself. “Logically, I know. But I can’t let go of the fantasy.”

“You don’t have to let go just yet, just... don’t do anything ridiculous, yeah?” Blaine said seriously, before smiling. “Don’t go coming to school in a catsuit.”

“Oh my God, Blaine.” Kurt blushed and glared a little at him.

“I have images of Rachel Berry in a catsuit, Kurt. Images I’ll never be free of.” Blaine pouted at him.

Kurt burst out laughing, just as the bell rang. “I’m going to go to my class. You can go to yours, and attempt to cleanse your brain.” He told Blaine, giving him a pat on the shoulder before heading off.

It was weird, but he was actually glad Blaine had said that. The Blaine he’d first met would never have been confident enough to come out with something like that. And though it hurt him to think of taking Blaine’s advice, he could see that it was a little true. Or maybe a lot true. But he really didn’t want to think about it. So he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and concentrated on his schoolwork.

---

“Mr Schue has gone crazy.” Kurt told Blaine, as soon he heard the phone being picked up. “He’s given us all wigs and is demanding that we do a mash up of Hair and Crazy in Love for Sectionals. I’m 100% serious. The routine involves hair-swishing and generally looking like an idiot. I thought it was a fun idea to start with, but then I realised he wanted us to perform in the stupid things.”

Blaine laughed. “A wig? Really?”

“Mine’s blonde.” Kurt told him, rolling over onto his stomach and inspecting his nails.

“I would pay to see you in that wig.” Blaine said fervently.

“Yeah, well, you will do so in a few weeks, at Sectionals.” Kurt told him grumpily.

“Ah, good. Doesn’t it ruin your perfectly styled hair, though?” Blaine asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.

Kurt narrowed his eyes, even though Blaine couldn’t see him. “You’re one to talk, Mr Hair-Gel Helmet.”

“If you saw what my hair looked like without that helmet of gel, you would start buying the gel for me and sending me daily reminders to use it.”

Ears pricking up, Kurt asked, “Oh, really?” Well, this was intriguing. And he was suddenly very interested in hunting down pictures of Blaine with his natural hair.

“It’s... curly, and huge, and... it looks terrible. Especially if there’s electricity around, or it’s humid.”

“When did you start gelling it?” Kurt asked curiously.

There was a pause. “Uh, I don’t know, since I was a kid.” There was a strange note to his voice, of sadness or melancholy or something.

“As young as that? Wow, you must have been really interested in picking up chicks when you were in kindergarten.” Kurt teased, wanting to get rid of that note in Blaine’s voice.

“I wasn’t quite that young, Kurt. Just because you exited the womb wearing the latest fashion.” Blaine said, with a laugh.

Kurt gave the phone an indignant look. “I’m hanging up on you now.”

“Awh, c’mon, Kurt, don’t be like that. I’m sure you would’ve won the ‘Best Dressed Baby’ competition if you hadn’t still been wrapped in a blanket over your clothes.”

“Blaine, we are no longer friends, as of right now.” Kurt told him sternly.

There was a noise that sounded like protest on the other end of the line, and Kurt ‘hmph’ed before putting the phone down.

Kurt received a text a few seconds later: I know you love me really. :D

He rolled his eyes. See you tomorrow, Blaine. And remember, my fashion sense is not a thing that is to be made fun of.

See you then. Yeah, it’s a thing of greatness.

That it is, and don’t you forget it. Goodnight. :)

Goodnight, Kurt.

---

Rachel had a crush on Blaine.

She was being pathetically obvious, in Kurt’s opinion. Not that she’d ever been particularly subtle about Finn, but this really took the biscuit. It seemed like she was throwing all her energy into chasing after Blaine, just to get over Finn. Kurt almost felt bad for Blaine. But the relief over the fact that she’d stopped chasing after Finn overruled that. And, really, it was entertaining to see how ridiculous she was acting. The other day, she’d actually baked him cupcakes.

The best part was how oblivious Blaine was.

“Blaine, I value your opinion more than anyone else’s. Do you think I should sing My Heart Will Go On or Total Eclipse of the Heart in Glee club this week?” Rachel asked Blaine at lunchtime, eyes wide with enthusiasm.

Kurt rolled his eyes for the thousandth time that week. Mercedes looked like she wanted to do so, but hadn’t the energy. Artie and Tina were both absent because they were on a school trip. Lucky them.

In the last two weeks, she’d been getting worse and worse. Yesterday, she’d brought Blaine a teddy bear. The bear in question was holding a giant heart that said “I love you” on it. Kurt had nearly thrown up when he saw it. Blaine just thought she was being sweet and friendly.

“I think you should go with a more optimistic song, Rachel. A happy, I’m-getting-over-you-and-moving-on song.” Blaine told her.

She positively glowed at the suggestion. Kurt fought the urge to bash his head against the table. It was so obvious that she thought Blaine wanted her to move on and be with him. Blaine was too nice, that was his problem.

“Goodbye, by Kristina DeBarge.” She breathed, and squeezed Blaine’s arm. “Maybe you could come and watch, Blaine. You absolutely have to come along and watch me sing again sometime. I always enjoy having an appreciative audience, and it’s so hard to find in that room.”

Kurt almost throttled her. Blaine had only come to Glee club to support him!

“I’ll try and free up a day.” Blaine smiled at her, before getting up to go and dispose of his plate and cutlery, helpfully taking hers and Kurt’s at the same time, which probably earned her everlasting gratitude.

Kurt leant in to glare at her. This would have been a more effective gesture if she hadn’t been staring after Blaine as he walked away. Kurt coughed sharply, and she turned to look at him, expression shifting from dreamy to defensive. “What?”

“Please, Rachel. I know what you’re doing. And he’s not interested.” This he could say with certainty.

“Does he like someone else?” She asked, looking disappointed.

“Well, no,” Kurt admitted.

A triumphant smile appeared on her face. “Then you don’t know that, do you? Within a month, he’ll be mine. You’ll see.”

Blaine returned, and the two of them went back to talking. Kurt shook his head in disbelief, getting up to leave. Mercedes followed.

“Can’t she see he’s not interested?” Kurt muttered, casting a look over his shoulder. Blaine waved at him.

Mercedes nudged him. “Boo, remember, I chased after you, and you were even less interested in me than he is in her.”

Kurt wanted to tell her that this wasn’t actually this case, but he couldn’t break Blaine’s trust like that. “She’s just doing this to try and get over Finn. She’s still head-over-heels for him. Earlier, in class, I caught her murmuring ‘he’s so adorable’ while he was asleep. Asleep and drooling, Cedes. Even I found that disgusting, and I’m in love with him!” He lowered his voice for the last part, not wanting anyone else to find out. It was bad enough that Rachel knew, although thankfully she wasn’t a gossip. No-one would listen to her even if she was.

“I know. I just hope all this ends before someone gets hurt.” She shook her head.

“That’s not exactly likely.” What with the baby drama, the crushes...

“I hope everything stays stable until Sectionals, at least. We need everyone for the performance, and that’s not gonna happen if the truth gets out.”

She was right. The club probably wouldn’t stay together after a scandal as big as this one got out. At the moment, everything depended on Rachel not finding out about Puck being the father of Quinn’s baby.

---

“Blaine, can you sing?”

Blaine jumped and looked up from the contents of his locker, staring at Rachel, who had been the one to speak. She was stood next to him, looking curious. “Uh... what?”

“Can you sing?” She gazed at him for a moment, before stepping closer with a smile. “You’re the only member of our little group who isn’t in Glee club, and I was worried that you felt a little... left out.”

“Oh, you’re too kind, Rach. But, honestly, I don’t feel at all left out. I mean, you guys tell me what’s been going on, and I don’t have any particular inclination to sing about my feelings. I don’t actually have any strong feelings at the moment.” Blaine told her, completely taken aback by what she was saying.

She seemed unsure of what to say next. “Well, that’s good.”

Shutting his locker, he smiled at her, then turned and walked away.

A few moments later, she was at his shoulder. “W-well, can you sing? As you know, I’m the female lead in the Glee club, and I’m beginning to think that Finn is simply not suitable for the male lead.”

“I’m... not too bad, I guess, but I’m not a great singer. Certainly not as good as Finn.” Kurt had actually told him that he was just as good as Finn, which was extremely high praise, but he didn’t want to admit this to her.

“Damn it.” She looked so disappointed that he almost broke down and told her the truth.

“I know you’re getting over him, but I thought you liked Finn?” He asked carefully, not wanting to upset her.

“He hurt me. I deserve someone better. Someone who really likes me.” There was an odd expression on her face as she stared at him.

“You really do, Rach.” He patted her shoulder. “And you’ll find him.” They stopped at the end of the corridor, since their classes were in opposite directions, and faced each other. “You never know, he might be right in front of you.” He offered.

“I think he is.” She looked a little dazed as she stared at him.

“Good for you, Rach. Stay positive.” He smiled at her, before spinning on his heel to get to class.

Tina was watching the pair of them from a few metres away, barely-disguised amusement on her face. As he reached her, he raised his eyebrows at her in question.

“Do you not see it, Blaine?” She questioned, glancing over her shoulder at Rachel, and rolling her eyes.

“See what?” He asked, digging in his bag to check that he’d got the right books for this class.

“She has a huge crush on you!” Tina exclaimed, rolling her eyes as he gaped at her. “Seriously, Blaine, how oblivious are you?” She nudged him.

“Coming from you.” He nudged her, and frowned slightly, taking in this new information, trying to work out what to do about it. Obviously, he couldn’t date her. He wasn’t at all interested in her gender, which would be rather a huge flaw in that relationship. Unless they decided not to have... wait, why was he thinking about this so deeply? He wasn’t going to date Rachel, full stop.

“I don’t really know what’s happening with me and Artie.” Tina sighed, before rather obviously changing the subject. He accepted the change, knowing that what had happened between her and Artie was still a sore spot for her. “What are you going to do about Rachel?”

“I don’t know. I need to find some way to let her down easy. I haven’t had much practise at rejection. Or, y’know, any.” No-one at Westerville had wanted him, after all.

Tina giggled. “You won’t get any practise here. People aren’t exactly lining up to date us. Which is a shame, because you would be getting a lot of girls if you were popular.”

“And straight.” Blaine said dryly, though he appreciated her sentiments.

She laughed. “It’d be perfect, if you were popular. We’d pretend to be dating, you’d break all the girls’ hearts, and I’d be the most wanted girl in the school.”

“Ah, how perfect life would be.” Though it didn’t sound too bad, it just wasn’t him.

“That sounded like sarcasm, Mister.”

“Well, life isn’t too bad for me right now. The popular crowd mainly ignore me, apart from yelling names at me, and the occasional locker slam. I think I’ve flown under the radar, because I haven’t joined any clubs. I mean, you were ignored before you joined Glee, weren’t you?” He asked, although he knew it wasn’t just because of the club. It was at least partly due to the way he tried to blend in, while the others stood out. They shone, and he just sort of feebly glowed.

“I still am, for the most part. It’s Kurt who has it the worst, no matter how much Rachel complains about getting her lipstick flushed down the toilet. He’s in Glee club and openly gay. And everyone knew long before he came out, anyway. Apart from Mercedes.” A slight smile twitched her lips at the memory.

Blaine nodded. “Life at this school isn’t easy for anyone, but Kurt does get it worse than all of us.”

A crowd of cheerleaders rushed past them, bumping into them both and nearly knocking Tina off of her feet. She scowled as she caught her balance, Blaine automatically reaching out to steady her. “Life’s pretty trouble-free for them, don’t you think?”

“Quinn’s pregnant, Brittany’s not exactly doing well in school... they look pretty happy, but they’re struggling. You never know what’s going on in someone’s life.” Blaine shrugged.

“What do you think Santana’s problem is? Everyone just sucks too much?” She asked sarcastically.

“Probably. We are lower beings compared to her.” They both giggled, though shut up as they reached their lesson, since their teacher was a she-demon. Still, Tina caught Blaine’s eye several times during the hour and smiled at him.

He was glad he had her as a friend. She was sweet, and there was little chance of her developing a crush on him, since she knew he was gay.

Unlike Rachel.

He needed to talk to her.

---

Rachel was watching the football practice from the stands. Since she did this a lot, it wasn’t hard for Blaine to find her.

He sat down next to her and gave her a smile. “Hi.”

“Oh, hey, Blaine.” She looked away from staring at Finn, and smiled at him.

The difference between the way she looked at Finn and the way she looked at him was obvious. “You really love him, don’t you?” He asked gently.

She was quiet for a moment. “I wish I didn’t. Sometimes, when I see him with Quinn, I feel like my heart’s going to rip in two. But then he smiles at me, and... it’s like the entire world disappears, and all I see is him. All I want to see is him.”

Blaine bit his lip. “You don’t feel that way about me.”

Blushing, she shook her head. “I was just trying to get over Finn. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

She genuinely did seem sorry, which was nice. Though she could be self-obsessed, she didn’t set out to hurt people. It was just a side effect of her need to be the winner.

“No, no, quite the opposite. I was worried that you were serious about me. No offence, Rachel, but... you’re not my type.” That was an understatement.

She looked relieved.

“I’m sorry about Finn, by the way.” Her mouth twisted down unhappily at the reminder, and she looked back out at the football players. Blaine reached out to touch her shoulder. “But, Rach, you won’t feel like this about him forever.” He paused, wondering what advice to give her. “From here, you have three options. One: He breaks up with Quinn for you, which I admit is very unlikely. Two: You feel miserable for the next three years, because you love him and he doesn’t love you. Three: You don’t let yourself think about him, and you focus on becoming a star.” Blaine told her.

After taking a deep breath, she nodded, and turned her head to look at him again. “I wish I was in love with you. It’d be easier. You’re a lot nicer than he is.” She sighed. “Thank you, Blaine.” She moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, staring out over the field. “Does it ever get easier?”

He thought of Kurt, of the way he felt whenever he saw him, of the way he hoped that every text or incoming call was from him, of the way his heartbeat accelerated when they touched. “I hope so. Loving someone you can’t have is really, really hard.” He realised what he’d just admitted, and shut himself up, a few seconds too late.

She pulled away from him to look him in the eye, expression serious. “It’s Kurt, isn’t it?”

He shook his head violently. “No. Why would you think that?” How did she guess? What if she told everyone? He couldn’t handle being outed. Not again.

His feelings must have shown on his face, because she took his hand and squeezed it. “I was suspicious, and you just confirmed it. You’re not really obvious, honestly. But sometimes I see you looking at him the same way I look at Finn. And honestly, you dress too well to be straight.” She shook her head, seeing the panic on his face. “I won’t tell anyone. I like you, Blaine. And I hope it works out between you and Kurt. You’d be great together.” She stood up, and he realised that football practice was over. “You should tell Tina. She’s your best friend – apart from Kurt – and I know she knows you’re gay, because she was holding back laughter the other day when Mercedes asked if any girls had caught your eye. And you need someone to talk to about this stuff.”

Blaine blinked at her. “You’re a lot more observant than people give you credit for, aren’t you?”

She smiled at him before walking away.

He sat there for a long while, running her parting words through his mind.

Rachel was right, and that was probably the first and last time he’d ever think that.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this!