"Good morning strippers!"

Blaine practically danced into the dressing room, and there were four amused facing staring back at him. He'd Googled everything on the card Kurt gave him last night, and everything came up kosher. He was beside himself.

"Well fucked." Thumper laughed appreciatively.

"I take it last night went well?" Cinnamon grinned, raising an eyebrow.

"Best night ever." Blaine laughed happily.

Kandy's eyes widened. "Holy shit you're happy. How much did he give you? He was smokin'!"

"Six hundred and fifty, including the lapdance." Blaine said proudly, his heart hammering in his chest.

Snaps let out a low whistle. "Nice first night, whore." It wasn't friendly anymore.

Blaine closed his eyes, trying to force the smile to stay. "I have to go see Avalon. I'll be back."

"You better tell us all the juicy details when you get back Bambi!" Thumper called.

Blaine breathed in deeply and shook his head as he headed to Avalon's office. That was scary as hell. What was he supposed to say to them? 'Yeah, I totally had a good fuck…'

Ugh.

But he couldn't worry about that. He had to tackle Avalon first.

He knocked on the door a couple of times, and a few seconds later, Avalon opened it and appeared – gorgeous as ever.

"Hey Bambi!" she cried happily, inviting him in. "Did you have a good night?"

He nodded awkwardly.

"Well, how much did you get then?"

"I-uh…six hundred and fifty."

Her eyes lit up. "Well done! That's brilliant. Especially on your first run."

He grinned bashfully, and she raised an eyebrow. "Is there anything you need Bambi?"

"Um." Blaine closed his eyes. "I…I have…something to ask."

She sat down, kicking her stiletto-clad feet up on the desk. "Shoot."

Blaine swallowed hard. "Have you always wanted to be a stripper?"

She frowned. "What?"

"Was it your lifelong dream? Is it, your dream?"

Her eyes softened. "I wanted to be a writer." She said softly. "But writing doesn't bring in money, Bambi."

"I want to be an actor." Blaine said softly, and Avalon nodded sympathetically.

"Dreams are easy to achieve Blaine…and here you're getting experience with people and your dancing has improved considerably. I think you'd be an amazing actor…you just have to put yourself out there."

Blaine faltered. "What if I said that I did? And what if I made it?"

Avalon needed a moment, but it registered and her eyes widened. She took her feet off the table and sat up straight.

"Wait…seriously?"

Blaine grinned a little, pulling out the card and passing it over. Avalon's eyes widened even more, and Blaine was afraid they'd pop out of her head.

"Are you…don't fuck with me Bambi."

Blaine just grinned, shaking his head. "Kurt Hummel…he wants me to go with him tonight."

Avalon's smile dropped. "So you're quitting?"

Blaine swallowed hard. "I'm sorry for the late notice…and if you really need me, I can probably get across town in time for the show tomorrow night but-"

"Blaine…you really want to be an actor, don't you?" she dropped his stage name – because of course, she knew his real one.

Blaine nodded seriously.

"Alright…I'll figure something out for tonight…but if it's that important to you, then by all means you can leave." She stood up and moved around the table to engulf him in a genuine hug – a rare act for her. "I wish you all the luck Blaine…you've got the spark and you're following the trail…and I'm proud of you. You're doing what I could never do."

Blaine held her tightly. "Thank you so much. I just…"

"No." she pulled away. "Do not get sappy on me. Go cry to Cinnamon about how lovely this little family is."

Blaine laughed, biting his lip and turning for the door.

"Blaine." He turned back. "If you ever get lost…our doors are always open for you, alright?"

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you Avalon…for everything you've done."

"Hey." She grinned. "You're no longer staff. It's Anna."

Blaine grinned even wider and nodded. "Thanks Anna."

He left the room with a grin.

He was free.

He was free and he was going to Broadway in less than four hours.

He was practically skipping as he entered the dressing room – the four of them were still waiting.

"So…?"

Blaine just smiled smugly, shrugging nonchalantly as he headed to his locker.

"Come on Bambi! Spill!" Kandy called.

"Nothing to tell. It was good. That's all, and he paid well."

"Was he huge?"

Blaine faltered, his eyes on the floor, before a smirk floated across his lips. "Yeah. He was."

Four pairs of eyes widened.

"But that's not important." Blaine sucked in a deep breath. "I just went and saw Avalon, and now I have an announcement."

"You're pregnant!" Cinnamon guessed, laughing at her own joke.

"Funny, but no. We used a condom." He laughed. "Anyway…tonight's my last night."

There was a stunned silence.

"Wait…what?"

Blaine swallowed hard. "I talked to Avalon, and I quit."

"Fuck…you fell in love with him, didn't you?" Thumper asked, his eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"What?"

"That man, the one who paid you. He paid you to run away with him."

Blaine frowned. "No, that's not it at all…"

Snaps frowned. "What could it possibly be then?"

"I'm going to be an actor." He said softly, and another stunned silence took over.

"Bambi, you can't just go out on a whim. Who says you'll get the part if you audition?"

Blaine shook his head. "Trust me…I've got the part."

"So you're just leaving us then?" Snaps hissed, shaking his head.

Blaine frowned. "What do you care?"

Snaps just rolled his eyes, and everyone could see the obvious tension between them. It just so happened that Blaine was the only one who didn't know about Snap's affections for him.

"But yes." Blaine sighed. "I'm leaving. But I'll definitely be back to visit. You guys have been so great to me...and everything that's happened over the past five or so years...but I'm moving on now."

"Good fucking luck." Snaps muttered, before exiting the dressing room.

Blaine looked crestfallen, and Cinnamon shuffled up to him, obviously hurt.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Blaine sighed. "To be honest...I only found out last night." she still looked hurt. "Come on Cassie." he whispered, and she looked at him sharply for the use of her real name. Thankfully, nobody was listening. "You knew what I wanted. From the second we met, I told you I wanted to be an actor."

"Yeah, but that was five years ago." she whined. "I thought we'd grow old together here."

He smiled. "I'll come visit all the time."

"You'll get busy."

"Then you can come see my shows and hang with me backstage. Okay?"

She nodded sadly. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"You better get us front row seats for your first show Bambi!" Kandy called and Blaine laughed, nodding.

"Of course I will."

Thumper approached Blaine from behind, tapping him on the back. Cinnamon excused herself, and Blaine turned to the younger boy.

"I'm proud of you, even if Snaps isn't."

Blaine pulled him into a hug. "Thanks Thumper."

"My name isn't going to make sense anymore." he joked with a wink. "I'm going to need someone to take up the name 'Flower'."

Blaine just grinned. "Take care of yourself, and apologize to Snaps for me..."

"Mm. He's pretty angry."

"I don't know why." Blaine muttered. "He just told me not to sleep around and then went off at me when I didn't listen to him."

"He did teach you. Maybe he thought he had some kind of influence over you?" Thumper mused.

Blaine sighed. "Regardless, it isn't his place."

"Maybe..." Thumper said softly.

Blaine turned to his locker, dumping all his stuff into the backpack that was already in there. He didn't have much and he was done quickly, ripping the tape with his name written on it off the locker.

"There. Officially gone." he said proudly.

"Bambi...are you still living with me?" Cinnamon asked from in front of the mirror, where she was attaching a hair piece. "Because otherwise I'm going to have to start looking for a new roomie."

"I'll bunk with you." Thumper winked, but both Blaine and Cinnamon ignored him.

"I'm...not sure. I'll let you know tonight."

Cinnamon nodded, looking a little apprehensive.

"Three hours to chill. Want to go for a coffee?" Kandy asked, and the three of them nodded.

^.^

Blaine waited nervously at the bar. Now that he had actually made up his mind to do this, he couldn't stop the nerves.

"Stop fretting." Kandy hissed as she slid past him, openly flirting with the bartender as he filled her drink orders. "It'll be fine, and even if it's not, you can always come back."

Blaine nodded at her absently, sipping at his drink as he turned to survey the crowd, looking out for Kurt.

Thumper caught his attention, up on the stage, dancing around the pole with one of the new girls. He grinned at Blaine before concentrating on his routine, and Blaine smiled, watching for a few minutes before his gaze flicked away and he went back to nervously watching the door.

"Blaine?" Anna asked softly from behind the bar. Blaine raised an eyebrow at her, setting his glass down to hide how much his hands were shaking. "You okay?"

He nodded weirdly, chewing on his lower lip.

"Relax." She soothed. "We're your safety net."

Blaine managed a nod, before turning to sneak a glance at the table.

And there sat Kurt, looking as perfect as ever. He wore something a little classier tonight – a vest over a white shirt and damn he looked amazing. His black skinny jeans rode his hips perfectly, but Blaine shook his head. He couldn't fall in love with Kurt.

Kurt was the man that was saving him. Don't fall in love with your boss.

"Is that him?" Anna asked, following Blaine's line of sight when he perked up.

Blaine nodded wordlessly, picking up his bag.

"He's hot."

Blaine shot her a dirty look. "I'm not looking to sleep with him."

She smirked, then nodded at him to go ahead.

"Thanks Anna…goodbye…" he muttered lamely with a little wave.

He hauled his bag over his shoulders and hesitantly walked to Kurt, standing before him and waiting.

Kurt's eyes lit up. "Oh good. I hoped you'd be here."

Blaine grinned. "It was a little too hard to refuse."

Kurt stood up, stretching slightly and eyeing Blaine's bag. "Is that all you've got…?"

"Nah…my other crap is at my apartment."

Kurt paused in thought, before nodding a little. "We can go and pick your stuff up on the way."

"So…that means I'm not coming back?"

Kurt chuckled. "Nope. Tonight you'll be sleeping in your new bed, in your new apartment."

Blaine nodded, sending a quick text to Cassie to let her know what was happening.

"Are you ready then?" Kurt asked softly, giving Blaine a small smile.

Blaine nodded, swallowing hard.

"As ready as I'll ever be."