Blaine Anderson, the very same Blaine Anderson whose name was imprinted on Kurt's wrist that day, was a year younger than Kurt and not quite as worried about the marking. Okay, perhaps that was a lie. As confident and happy as Blaine was, he was terrified.

Blaine didn't have the same kind if loving home life that Kurt had been blessed with. His parents held a strict line and always expected the highest achievements from both their sons. His father was in business and he expected both his sons to do the same with their lives. Blaine's older brother Cooper had already proven a disappointment as his decision had been to go off to LA to be an actor. The fact that his father's remaining hopes all landed on Blaine did nothing for the boy's confidence.

It wasn't that the Andersons didn't love their children, it was that their family had been held in high regard for a very long time. They gave their sons what Henry Anderson called tough love. He always said it would make Blaine and Cooper better men later in life and they would thank him for it one day.

But Blaine was painfully aware that so far, the only thing about him that seemed not to be a disappointment to his parents was the fact that he had been born a Dom.

The uproar in the Anderson family when Blaine's older brother Cooper had been born and was marked a Sub, had been quite the scandal for some time. Originally, the Andersons had no intentions on having more than one child, but the pressures of producing a Dom were great on Henry and he refused to be ridiculed and humiliated in his own family for his Sub son. A matter of years later, Blaine was born.

But the fact that he was a Dom seemed to be the only thing about Blaine, Henry was satisfied with. It soon became clear to him that his younger son was not a stereotypical boy. Blaine liked sports well enough but he didn't actually enjoy playing them with the exception of fencing and boxing. His heart was in music and he had begged his parents for piano lessons, which after some discussion, they agreed was an appropriate skill for Blaine to have.

They, or rather Henry, were not pleased when Blaine took up the harmonica as well and indulged quite frequently in singing and musicals. Henry only agreed to tolerate it if Blaine promised to balance it out with sport. Blaine had protested that he already did fencing. Henry had scoffed and told him fencing was not a manly sport. That was when Blaine had taken up boxing. Although he liked football, he was really too small for the sport.

It all came to a head in Blaine's eighth grade year, which would have been Kurt's freshman year of high school.

One evening, a few weeks into the school year, Blaine had come into the living room where his mother sat sewing and his father was reading the paper.

"Mom, dad," Blaine had said, causing both his parents to look up. He was nervously twisting his hands in front of him. "I have something to tell you."

"What is it Blaine?" his mother, Gillian Anderson had replied.

Blaine remembered his throat constricting and the difficulty of his ability to breathe. He had never been more nervous than in that very moment. Despite modern day society views and not showing predjudice because it was all up to the fates to decide who a person was destined for, Blaine knew Henry was counting on him to produce Anderson heirs with his hopefully more than suitable Sub wife.

Blaine had been struggling to breath as his parents stared at him expectantly. He had figured there was no better way to do this than to just be upfront and to the point.

"I'm gay," he had finally gotten out.

Henry had stared at his son for at least a good ten minutes before he turned to his wife, said, "Sell the piano," and walked out of the room.

After that, things were never quite the same in the Anderson household. Henry had forbidden Blaine from playing music and forced him to get rid of anything that had to do with musicals, throwing out all his musical and Disney stuff. And then he told Blaine he was only allowed to listen to rock and country. He spent all his free time taking Blaine on male bonding outings, fixing cars and fishing and things like that. Anything he thought would change the 'gay' label.

Realization would eventually bite Henry in the ass thought. Towards the end of his eighth grade year, Blaine's school held a Sadie Hawkins dance. Blaine had only recently found the courage to come out at school. He asked a friend, who he knew was openly gay, to go with him to the dance, if only just as friends. With society more accepting of gays because the fates decided it, they didn't feel there was anything to worry about.

They were wrong.

As they were waiting for his friend's dad to pick them up, three big boys from the local high school happened by. They decided it would be a fun game to be the living crap out of the two eighth graders. Blaine had ended up hospitalized for a week. His friend…hadn't made it.

The fact that his son had nearly been beaten to death was an eye opener for Henry. After some discussion with Gillian, the Andersons decided to pull Blaine from the public school system. And by the time the first day of freshman year had arrived for him, they had enrolled Blaine in a top notch private school called Dalton Academy. The fact that it was an all boys school, showed Blaine that his father had taken a step toward acceptance.

And that brought Blaine to the present morning. It was the first day of his freshman year of high school. Marking Day as many often referred to it as.

Blaine drew his bottom lip in between his teeth. He was nervous of course, for more than one reason. First, who wasn't nervous about being marked? But his biggest concern was that he was completely new to the private school atmosphere and he didn't know a single person.

Blaine was quite sure the other boys had spent their whole lives in the private school system. They all had friends. He was alone. Not that it really worried him. Blaine had never had trouble making friends but not having someone to confide in about fears concerning the marking made him feel more alone than he had ever felt before.

All around him, boys were flooding into the school building, which looked more like a large scale mansion rather than a school. Blaine had never seen anything like if before. He swallowed heavily and continued watching students flooding through the doors.

"Hi!" called a sudden voice enthusiastically from beside him. Blaine turned to find an energetic blonde boy standing beside him a huge smile on his face. "I've never seen you before," he went on.

Blaine locked his lips. "Um yeah, I'm kind of new to the private school system," he admitted.

The blonde boy stuck out his hand for Blaine to shake and Blaine took notice of the silver bracelet on his wrist. "I'm Jeff Sterling," he introduced, the smile still on his face.

"Blaine Anderson," Blaine replied, taking his hand, black. Bracelet gleaming in the sun.

Jeff stared at Blaine's bracelet for a moment before turning to wave at a brunette boy who was standing with a few other boys, chatting nonchalantly. "Nicky! Hey Nick! The new kid could use your help!" he called.

Blaine had a confused look on his face as the brunette boy called Nick came jogging over, until he saw the black bracelet on the boy's wrist. Jeff smiled between them. "Blaine Anderson, meet Nick Duval, the boy I'm certain is my Dom and we're not every marked yet."

There was no doubt in Blaine's mind that Jeff was smitten with Nick if the heart eyes and starry gaze he gave the boy was anything to go by.

"We'll see Jeff," Nick replied before sticking his hand out for Blaine to shake. "Nice to meet you Blaine. I take it you're a freshman?" he enquired and Blaine nodded.

"Yeah. I'm new to private school too." Nick gave him a knowing look. He turned and whistled to the other four boys he had been conversing with. They all came on over with bright smiles. Of the four of them, Blaine noted that two were Subs and two were Doms.

"Blaine," Nick said, smiling at the boy. "I'd like you to meet Trent Nixon, Thad Harwood, Wes Montgomery, and David Thompson. Trent is a freshman like us and the other three are all juniors." Blaine was taken aback. He had no idea that anyone would already know students at the school. He shook each of the boys' hands. Trent was on the larger side and he struck Blaine as kind of shy. He was a Sub. Wes was clearly a leader type and Blaine didn't fail to notice the gavel in his pocket. He was a Dom. David was a tall dark skinned boy who seemed friendly enough. He was a Sub. Thad had dark hair and a slightly goofy smile. He was a Dom.

"It's nice to meet you all," Blaine said with a nod and a smile.

Wes stepped forward, eyes on Blaine's Dom bracelet. "I see you're a Dom," he said. Blaine nodded his head. "Great, you can join us. Thad and I were going to show Nick where to go while David showed Jeff and Trent where to go."

Blaine looked slightly confused and David cut in with an explanation. "Dalton has separate assembly halls for Doms and Subs. It's their way of treating us all on a somewhat equal level," he said with a slight roll of his eyes.

"Even though the Sub hall is nowhere near as elegant as the Dom hall," Thad said. Blaine wondered how he would know that if he was a Dom. "David took pictures of it. He went through a faze where he was protesting the low level of equality." David scoffed and folded his arms across his chest.

"Excuse me if I believe in equality," he spat. Wes slid his hand into David's, effectively calming the boy down and David looked at him with adoration.

Realization hit Blaine like a tidal wave. "Oh, are you two soulmates then?" he asked. Wes and David smiled and held out their wrists, showing each other's names scripted there. Blaine was amazed. He wanted so badly to reach out his hand and trace one of their markings with a finger but felt that was probably inappropriate. Instead, he stood there gaping for a moment.

Wes laughed. "Come on, we better get you guys inside before you're late for your marking ceremony," he said, withdrawing his hand from David's. Blaine watched in amazement as the two of them shamelessly kissed before parting ways. No one paid them any mind. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Blaine found himself falling into step beside Nick as the two of them followed Wes and Thad inside the school.

"So," Nick started as they walked along. "What brings you to Dalton Blaine?" Blaine turned and looked at him, biting his lip.

"Well, some things kind of went down at my middle school and it made my parents reevaluate a few things. Hence, they pulled me out of the public school system," he said, hoping Nick wouldn't pry for more details. To his relief, the other boy nodded his head and didn't press the matter further. Blaine was surprised. If it had been public school, the kid who had asked that would have pried for a more detailed explanation. He got the impression that private school kids knew a few things about manners.

"Do you sing Blaine?" came Wes' voice suddenly from in front of them. Blaine was caught off-guard but his eyes lit up at the question.

"Oh yes, music is my whole life!" he said happily.

Wes threw him a smile before turning back ahead and leading them around a corner. "You and Nick should both audition for the Warblers than," he replied.

"The Warblers?" Blaine questioned in curiosity.

"They're Dalton's Glee Club," Nick explained. Blaine's eyes sparkled with the thought of joining the Warblers. "Wes, David, and Thad are all a part of them," he went on. Well, that made sense. After all, Wes was enquiring about whether he liked to sing. He had to have some reason for asking that right?

They took a few more turns before coming to a stop in front of a set of double doors that were propped open. Students were filing into the room and Wes and Thad gave both of them bright smiles.

"Here you are, future Doms of Dalton," Thad said with a wink, his hands shoved nonchalantly in his pockets. Blaine chuckled lightly. "Best of luck to you!"

Wes waved at them as Blaine and Nick followed the crowd in and found seats in the second row of the hall. It really was superb, with its polished wood floors and walls. All the chairs were upholstered in a lovely red velvet fabric. High windows allowed sunlight to stream into the room from all sides. At the front of the hall were two men, one was standing beside a machine called a Fate Finder according to the name scripted across it.

Nick and Blaine glanced at each other but didn't say anything. Blaine suddenly became aware that if they did this alphabetically, he was going to end up having to go first. He mentally cursed the fact that his last name started with and A.

"How do you think it works?" Nick asked. Blaine gave his shoulders a shrug.

"Not a clue. I expect they're going to tell us though," he replied. Nick gave his head a short nod. Out of the corner of his eye, Blaine saw him stare down at his bare wrist and he wondered if he was hoping that Jeff's name would be the one that would be marked there.

"Good morning students," said the first man and Blaine was surprised to notice how quickly the boys in the room settled down to pay attention to the man. He looked around and his eyes caught sight of a familiar face who was staring right at him. Blaine groaned. What was he doing here? Didn't his family move to Paris? At least, Blaine knew that there was no way they would be soulmates because they were both Doms. That was a relief. He didn't like the idea of the other boy getting exactly what he wanted.

Sebastian Smythe.

Blaine shuddered and turned back around. "I am Headmaster Pantone and I'd like to first welcome you all to Dalton Academy. We are very honored to serve your young minds with your required education." This was so formal. Blaine knew how to be polite and have manners but he never been subjected to etiquette like this before. "This," the Headmaster went on, indicating the man with the machine. "Is Eric Carter. He will be administering your soulmate marks. So please, give him your full and undivided attention."

There was polite applause as the man stepped forward and gave them all a reassuring grin. "Hello," he greeted. "As Headmaster Pantone said, I am Eric Carter and I'm from the Fate Finder Association. I am here to administer your marks." Blaine bit his lip. "How this works is when I call your name, you will come up and place your wrist in the wrist hold, palm up." He demonstrated what he meant. "The blue light identifies you and your specific code. Once if has confirmed your identity, the ink pins will come down and imprint the name of your soulmate on your wrist. Are there any questions?"

Sebastian of all people raised his hand. Eric nodded at him. "How long does it take?" he asked. It was clear that he apparently had better things to do and Blaine was quite sure he didn't even want a soulmate. He was studying his nails with a bored expression on his face.

"The pins are designed to imprint the full name all at once so it should only take a few seconds," Eric replied. Sebastian seemed satisfied with that answer. "Yes?" Eric nodded at Nick who had raised his hand.

"Is it possible to have a sense of who your soulmate might be before getting the mark?" he asked.

Blaine turned his eyes back on Eric with a curious look. Was it possible? "It can be yes. Sometimes, if your soulmate turns out to be someone you've known for quite a while, the fates will give you clues by the connection you feel to that person prior to being marked." Eric looked around at them all. "When this happens, it's a strong sign of a long and happy relationship between the Sub and the Dom."

Nick's face was glowing with a sudden admiration at the thought of this being possible. A random boy raised his hand and Eric nodded in his direction.

"There's an article in the Human Relations text that states it's possible for two Doms or two Subs to be soulmates. Do you believe that?"

Blaine's blood ran cold at the question. Shit. No way that could be possible right? He subconsciously glanced back at Sebastian who gave him a knowing smirk. Oh God, what if he was in that percentage - if it was indeed possible - and he ended up with Sebastian? Blaine did not want to spend the rest of his life with that boy.

"There are reported cases, yes," Eric replied and Blaine's heart sank. This was not happening. "And while it seems to be happening a bit more common, it's extremely rare still and the chances of it happening to you are very slim." Blaine couldn't understand why but this didn't make him feel much better.

Swallowing, he raised his hand carefully, an entirely different question having randomly popped into his head. Eric nodded to him.

"What happens if your soulmate…um…dies?" he asked. The whole room felt still and he could feel Nick's wide eyes on him.

But Eric seemed to take the question as though he had answered it a great deal of times in the past.

"If your soulmate should pass, than you are free to form a connection with someone new. But the law does say that no one may court someone whose soulmate is still living, unless it is before the two have found each other. But once you find your soulmate, no one can court you unless you lose them."

That was kind of grave. So basically, if you wanted to get remarried after losing a soulmate, you could only date people who had also lost their soulmate. That did make sense. It was and fair to steal someone from their soulmate. Blaine was hoping that he would find his soulmate quickly because once he had him, Sebastian couldn't advance on him without breaking the law. Of course, this was assuming Sebastian wasn't his soulmate.

Don't think like that Blaine, the boy thought to himself.

"Are there any more questions?" Eric asked. The room was quiet. "Okay than. When I call your name, please come up and we'll get you marked. When you are done, take a wrist cuff from the table behind me," he said, indicating the table behind him. "It is against the law for anyone other than you or your soulmate to remove that cuff and you don't have to tell your soulmate's name to anyone if you don't want to." Good. That meant Blaine wouldn't have to tell Sebastian if it wasn't him. And he wouldn't want to. The last thing he needed was for Smythe to track down the poor boy who would be Blaine's soulmate and try to kill him or something. That thought scared Blaine. Would Sebastian really do that?

To his relief, they were not going in alphabetical order and Eric was reading names from the list he held in his hand. Sebastian was up before Blaine and he seemed uneffected by the pins and rather bored. He didn't even hardly glance at his wrist as he grabbed a cuff from the table.

"Nicholas Duval!" Eric called out and Blaine gave Nick a reassuring pat on the arm as the boy headed up front. He could tell that all the color had drained out of Nick's face as he walked up and slipped his wrist into the wrist hold. Nick squeezed his eyes shut as the pins marked him and he was almost hesitant to look at the marking but when he did, Blaine saw the widest grin break out across his face and Blaine couldn't help but be happy for him. He must have gotten what he wanted.

"Blaine Anderson!" Eric suddenly called, alerting Blaine back to him. The curly-haired boy swallowed hard and made his way to the front of the room.

Eric showed him how to place his wrist and Blaine stared at the blue light flooding down over it. It felt oddly warm and kind if penetrating. His eyes watered as he was intending not to blink so he could watch th whole process. But as the ink pins began to descend, it became too much and Blaine blinked hard.

A stinging sensation shot up through his arm for a few seconds a moment later and when Blaine opened his eyes again, it was to see the pins pulling from his wrist and rising again. Eric directed him to the cuff table.

Blaine walked slowly to the table, Swallowing again as he lifted his wrist to look at it.

Kurt Elizabeth Hummel

Blaine's first thought was not wondering who the boy was. No, he was more preoccupied with the curiosity of one silly little factor.

"Who gives their son the middle name Elizabeth?"