He didn't even manage to get a hand on the door before it was wrenched open. Cooper pulled him in for a bone-crushing hug, shaking in relief. "Thank God you're okay," he babbled, tugging Blaine into the house. "I realized after I left how stupid it was of me to leave you there. I should be—I don't know—I should've stayed, or taken you home, or—or—something! I'm a terrible brother. Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?"

"Coop!" Blaine laughed exasperatedly. The brothers sat on the couch together. "It was...fine. I was only shoved into six lockers and thrown into the dumpster out back once. It could've been worse." By the end, Blaine's tone was horribly bitter.

Cooper hugged his little brother again. "I'm so sorry, Blainers. I wish I knew what to tell you. Luckily there's only two more months until graduation. Can you make it? If you can't that's totally fine!" He began babbling again. "I can teach you at home and you can go in for exams. Hell, I know that school; you don't need to be taught to pass the exams. No one—no one important—will think you weak if you drop out a little early. You can still go to high school."

"Coop!" Blaine smiled up at his brother. "I'll be fine. It's...about time this got out. I was tired of hiding it from everyone. I'll just take my lumps as they come. I'm tired of hiding."

"Tired of hiding what?"

Neither Anderson boy noticed their father's entrance into the house. They leapt from the couch, the younger immediately seeking refuge behind the older's arm. I'm tired of hiding had not applied to his parents. Blaine had hoped they would forever remain blissfully ignorant of his sexuality.

The confused, angry look on Rick Anderson's face nixed that reality. Blaine swallowed thickly. "Dad...when did you get home?"

"Cut the bullshit, Blaine," Rick snapped. "What are you hiding?"

Cooper stepped fully in front of his brother. "Dad, look, this is Blaine's business—"

"I don't give a fuck!" Blaine flinched, a Pavlovian response to his father's yell. "My son is lying to me, and I will not stand for such insolence in my house!"

Blaine took a deep breath—I can do this, I can do this—and stepped out from behind Cooper. "Dad...I'm gay."

The silence was deafening. The clock on the mantle ticked with each passing second. A car alarm went off outside, and was quieted a moment later. The Hopkins girls next door splashed in their pool. It was as if the world had stopped for the Anderson men only.

Until it crashed back to life.

"Come here."

Blood coursing through his ears, Blaine almost didn't hear the murmured command. After a pause, he moved woodenly toward his father, ignoring Cooper's protests. Trembling, he stopped a few feet away, cowering under his father's icy glare.

SMACK!

Blaine recoiled, nearly collapsing to the floor; he had no idea how Cooper got there in time to break his fall. His cheek burned at the spot where the back of Rick's hand had connected with his face. Cooper and Rick were yelling at each other, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Suddenly, he was on his feet, being led up the stairs with an arm around his shoulder. From behind him he heard shouts of "OUT OF MY HOUSE!" and "I DIDN'T RAISE A FAGGOT!" He vaguely heard Cooper scream back, but his father's words echoed loudly in his dazed mind.

Somehow he wound up in his pajamas under the covers. Cooper refused to leave the room for fear of his father's return. After a few hours of drifting in and out of sleep, Blaine awoke to more shouting. He turned his fearful eyes on Cooper.

The junior grabbed his hand and squeezed. "It's okay, Blainers. Mom and Dad are...working it out. You're not leaving, and Dad is never going to hit you again. I won't allow it."

"How?" Blaine asked, his voice small. "You're at Dalton. What if he gets angry again?"

Darkness clouded Cooper's face. "Blaine...has Dad hit you before?" Blaine didn't answer. "Son of a bitch—" He rose angrily to his feet, but Blaine's hand in his brought him back down.

"Please, Coop...don't," Blaine sighed. "It doesn't matter. I'll be at Dalton in a few months, so..." He trailed off when he saw Cooper's guilty expression. "What?"

"It's just...I heard them arguing. Dad said he refuses to pay for you to go to Dalton. You have to go to Westerville High."

Blaine blinked back tears. Ever since Cooper's freshman year at Dalton, Blaine dreamed of walking those hallowed halls himself one day, uniform crisp, tie straight, curls slick. He'd be a Warbler, just like his big brother, and graduate with honors, earning him a free ride to nearly every university in the country.

And just like that...the dream was over.

"Okay," Blaine breathed. "Okay. I'll just...go to public school." He didn't add with all the people I go to school with now who currently hate my very existence.

Cooper hugged his brother again. "I'm so sorry, Blainers. I wish I could protect you more. I wish...I wish things were different."

Blaine pulled back, his face mirroring that of a kicked puppy. "You mean...do you wish I wasn't gay?"

Cooper's eyes blew wide as he scrambled to explain himself. "NO, Blaine, God, no! I love who you are. I would never, ever dream of changing you. I mean, I'm glad you're gay; now I don't have to worry about you stealing all the ladies." He winked saucily, earning a smile from Blaine. "But seriously, what I meant was...I wish people—society—Dad—everyone was more accepting of homosexuality. I wish you didn't have to feel ashamed—which you don't, and shouldn't. I wish you could be you and be awesome. I wish people were different."

Blaine smiled softly. "Thanks, bro."

The shouting below stopped, and a minute later the boys heard footsteps on the stairs. Blaine bolted out of bed and hurried to make himself presentable. He stood next to Cooper as their mother opened the door.

Unlike Cooper, who received most of his dapper good looks from their father, Blaine looked almost exactly like their mother: short, slight, long eyelashes, full lips, dark skin, wild curls. Her dark golden eyes were swollen as they took in her two sons. "Blaine?" she whispered. "...Is it true?"

Swallowing, Blaine nodded. "Yeah, Mom. I'm gay."

Alexandra Anderson nodded absently. "Okay...okay..." She ran a hand through her hair, eyes squeezed shut in concentration. As he waited for her to react more, Blaine held his brother's hand tightly. Finally, Alexandra opened her eyes and smiled. "Okay, honey. It's not...things aren't going to be perfect, but I still love you. You're still my little boy."

Blaine didn't realize how strongly he'd been longing for those words until he heard them. He dropped Cooper's hand and threw himself onto his mother, sobbing into her shoulder. "Thank you, Mommy," he whispered. "Thank you so much."

"We'll work on your father," she murmured in his ear. "There's a lot that's going to change, and it'll take time."

"I know."

Cooper stepped forward and wrapped both of his arms around his mother and brother. The three of them stood there for a long time, embracing and crying.

Everything would be okay.It was only a matter of time.