“I was once born to be bad,” Kurt sang along softly with the music, “I used to shiver like that…”

Blaine smiled, glancing quickly over at Kurt before returning his eyes to the road. The exit for Columbus was coming up soon.

Kurt’s hand rested on Blaine’s knee, his long, thin finger tracing lazy circles against Blaine’s jeans. It felt comforting, promising. It made Blaine feel better, more positive. He needed as much positivity and courage as he could get right now.

The song from Rent ended and an older pop song came on. Kurt reached forward, momentarily removing his hand from Blaine’s leg, to turn the volume down.

“So,” Kurt said. “What’re you going to do once I’m gone?”

Blaine smiled slightly. It was Sunday afternoon, and Kurt’s flight left in only a few hours. It was the last time they were going to see eachother in person for a while- at least until Christmas.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Blaine replied in the same teasing tone. “Pine after you endlessly, I guess.”

Kurt chuckled slightly. Blaine waited, but Kurt didn’t say anything. This is my chance, Blaine thought. He’d been unsure whether he should tell Kurt first, but now was the time.

“But really,” Blaine went on, no longer joking. “First I’m going to go to my parents’ house tonight.” It was quiet in the car, only the faintest strains of the music audible, as if Kurt knew that Blaine needed to get this out. “And…I’m going to tell them about us, first.”

Kurt’s hand squeezed Blaine’s knee slightly, in support. “It’ll be fine,” he promised.

Blaine nodded, his eyes fixed on the highway. “And then, if they haven’t fainted from shock…I’m going to tell them something else.”

Kurt hesitated before asking, “What?”

Blaine took a deep breath. “I’m going to tell them that I want to transfer schools. OSU is great, but…it’s just not for me. I’ve missed any deadlines for spring semester, but I should be able to change next fall. I think I need to go to a school in a more…metropolitan area.”

There was a moment, only a few seconds long, where Kurt didn’t get it. And then he gasped, his hand once again tightening. “No, Blaine,” he said, “You can’t mean-“

“Yeah,” Blaine interrupted. “I think New York is really the place I need to be.”

“Blaine,” Kurt said, imploring, taking his hand off of Blaine so that he could gesture. “Don’t do this. You can’t switch schools, move hundreds of miles for me, that’s ridiculous!”

“Kurt,” Blaine cut him off, before he got any more worked up. “Listen, I appreciate the concern. But this isn’t for you. Sure, being in the same city as you would be a perk, but…it’s more than that.” Blaine paused, making sure he could properly explain it. “I have spent my entire life doing things for other people. And for the first time, I’m realizing that I need to be my own person. So this is one-hundred percent for me. I want to live in a big city. I want to experience life in a different way, and I have the feeling that New York is the right place for me, whether or not you’re there. So don’t worry about it. I’m doing this to make myself happy, okay?”

After a second, Kurt touched Blaine’s arm, gently. “Okay,” he said, quietly.

Blaine smiled, relieved. “Good.”

They were nearly to the airport. They didn’t say anything else for the rest of the ride, but Kurt didn’t turn the music back up, either.

Kurt pecked Blaine’s lips before turning away and heading through security. Blaine watched him remove his jacket and shoes and get waved through the metal detector. Once Kurt was on the other side, he glanced up and saw that Blaine was still watching. He waved, grinning, and Blaine waved back, then turned away.

He wandered around the airport, killing time, before walking back to his car. He drove towards Westerville, parking in his parents’ expansive driveway just before six. He checked his phone to see that he had a new text from Kurt.

Plane’s about to take off. Have courage! <3

Blaine grinned, the knot in his stomach loosening slightly. Then he slipped his phone into his pocket and headed for the front door.

As Blaine drove home that night, he had to pull over along the side of the highway at one point. He was so angry, and sad, and ashamed, he couldn’t see straight. He turned the engine off and rested his head on the steering wheel, pressing hard against it so that the rubbery material pushed into his forehead.

He couldn’t get the words out of his head.

“I’m interested in someone,” he’d said.

“Is that why you and Maia broke up?” His father had asked sharply from the head of the table. “Did you cheat on her?”

The idea was laughable. “No, dad, I didn’t cheat on anyone. Maia and I broke up because we weren’t suited to eachother.”

Mr. Anderson had muttered something under his breath, but Blaine ignored it, instead focusing on his mother’s comforting expression.

“You know my friend I mentioned, Kurt?” Of course, his mother did remember.

“Oh, did he introduce you to this girl you like?” She’d asked, interested.

“No,” Blaine had said, twisting the napkin in his lap between his hands nervously. “It is him. He’s the one I like.”

And then the silence. The terrible, suffocating silence that had descended on the Anderson family table. Blaine was finding it hard to breathe, as though the air had been sucked out of the room.

"Are you trying to tell us that you’re…gay?” Mrs. Anderson seemed to struggle a little bit with the word. Blaine didn’t look over at his father.

“I’m telling you that I’m romantically interested in Kurt,” Blaine had said quietly, simply.

That was when Mr. Anderson stood and left the room. Blaine stared at his empty plate, feeling sick.

Blaine’s mom had come around the table to sit next to him, and rested her hand on his shoulder, but it still felt terribly unbalanced in the room. “There’s something else I wanted to tell you,” Blaine had mumbled.

“What is it, sweetie?” Mrs. Anderson had spoken very softly.

“I think I want to transfer schools.”

Mrs. Anderson had squeezed Blaine’s shoulder. “I think that’s something we should talk about another time.”

After that, she’d told Blaine that he should probably leave. “I’ll talk to your father. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure he’s just…a bit shocked.”

Blaine had scoffed, feeling a lump rise in his throat.

As Mrs. Anderson had ushered Blaine to the front door, he’d caught a glimpse into the living room. His father had been standing there, facing the fireplace. He’d been staring at the framed photo at the center of the mantle- the photo of Blaine’s parents and Cooper, their original family of three.

And then Blaine had been escorted outside, into the cold air, surrounded by darkness.

Blaine took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He needed to drive back to his dorm- then he could lose control all he wanted.

He picked up his phone and went to his messages, rereading the one he’d received from Kurt. Have courage.

Blaine pulled back onto the highway and headed to school. He repeated the word like a mantra in his head: Courage, courage, courage. He’d had the courage to tell Kurt how he felt. He had the courage to try and step outside of his comfort zone, to consider changing his life. He’d had the courage to tell his parents. And with his newfound courage, and with Kurt by his side, he’d be able to make it through this. There was a light at the end of the tunnel: his own freedom and happiness, a life that he made entirely for himself. It would be worth it. All of this would be worth it, in the end. Blaine was sure of it.