The Anderson home stood at the end of a street full of elegant houses. It was magnificent and lovely but sort of resembling a cozy English cottage. Blaine reached the door and sighed, he hoped he’d be able to go in and out unnoticed. He turned the knob and entered as quietly as he could.

‘I just need a change of clothes,’ he thought to himself as he walked through the hallway.

Unfortunately, his parents were already up and waiting for him. When he stepped into the living room, he found both of them standing by the fireplace.

He cursed under his breath; this was going to get ugly. His mother looked nervous, but tried to her best to appear calm. His father, however, looked absolutely furious.

“Where the hell have you been?!”

“Out,” said Blaine defiantly. His mother frowned and gave him a warning look.

“Out? That’s all you have to say? Do you have any idea of how worried we were?”

“Oh, please!” Blaine said in a sarcastic tone and let out a small laugh. “Like you would notice. You probably only realized I wasn’t home because mom told you.”

“Don’t you use that tone with me! What’s gotten into you? Huh? Are you in some sort of gang? Are you doing drugs?”

Blaine rolled his eyes and refused to answer such stupid accusations. “Answer me, dammit!”

His mother took one step forward and grabbed her husband’s arm. “Harold…”

Blaine’s father pulled his arm away and yelled at her. “Stay out of this, Kate!”

“Hey! Don’t talk to my mom like that!” His mom looked at him and shook her head. His father turned to look at him.

“Shut up, Blaine. I’m not done with you.” “But I’m done with you,” said Blaine as he grabbed his bag and went up to his room, ignoring the frantic yells of his father to come back down.

He closed the door and threw his bag on his bed. He went to the closet and pulled out his shirt, looking for another to wear. He looked for one of his sketch books and threw it inside his bag as he heard the front door being slammed. His father must have left for work. Moments later, there was a soft knock on the door and his mom appeared. Blaine turned around and sighed as she came closer and pulled him in a hug. He held her close and closed his eyes.

“I’m so sorry, mom.”

She pulled away and locked her eyes with his.

“It’s okay, honey. Just… Please don’t do that again. You know I don’t mind if you want to stay with friends, I know how things are between you and your father these days. I just want you to talk to me, okay? Let me know what’s bothering you; let me know where you are. Don’t keep things from me, Blaine. Help me so I can help you.”

Blaine nodded as he answered, “I know, I’m sorry. I meant to call you but I forgot. It won’t happen again, I promise. It’s just… Sometimes I can’t take it, mom. He makes me so angry lately.”

“I know, sweetheart. But I need you to communicate with me, yes? If I know where you are, what you’re doing, there’s no need for a scene like this to repeat itself.”

Blaine smiled at his mom. She had always understood him and helped him. He felt extremely guilty for not thinking of her before he agreed to go with Kurt. He promised himself he wouldn’t do that to her again and it would be somewhat easy to keep that promise, considering he’d never see Kurt again. He felt his stomach drop at that realization and his smile faltered. His mother noticed and asked.

“Is something else bothering you, Blaine?” He stared at his mother’s eyes and found nothing but love and warmth.

‘This could be the moment,’ Blaine thought. ‘Just say it and get it over with. Mom, I’m gay. Mom.... I met someone. Mom, he doesn’t want me.’

Just let her know everything. Be able to cry on her shoulder because the first person he was ever interested in him didn’t want him. Be able to talk to her and listen to her advice. Be able to be his true self with her.

But he could not do it, he was afraid of her reaction. He was afraid of losing his mother. So he just said, "I'm still upset about the fight with my dad. Even if we don’t really get along these days, I hate fighting with him.”

She smiled understandingly and cupped his cheek with her hand.

"Then vent out all of your feelings. Draw. Draw till you drop, until you feel at peace with yourself. Draw everything you’re feeling. You have a gift, Blaine. Make it your safe place. Make it your escape from the real world.”

Blaine realized then that he would be lost without his mom. That’s why he could not tell her his secret. The mere thought of her rejecting him nearly killed him. So he just nodded and hugged her again. She was right, he had a way to let it all out and he planned on using it.

After the tender moment, Blaine grabbed his things and left for school. He was already late for first period when he arrived, so he took a seat on the bench he’d been the day before when Kurt approached him. He took out his sketch book and lost himself in the magic of drawing. He wasn’t really paying attention to what he was creating; he just let his hand wander through the paper.

That was what he always did. It was like entering a trance where his mind left his body and wandered while his hands made their art. Whenever he felt like he’d had enough, he’d draw or paint something. He left all his insecurities, his fears and anger on the drawing. Normally, his feelings were shaped into something. Sometimes, they took the shape of a person. It was a fun thing for Blaine, to forget about everything and be surprised of what his mind came up with to represent his feelings.

When he finished, he let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding and stared at the finished sketch. Even if he wasn’t expecting the outcome, he couldn’t say he was surprised by it.

Because his bottled-up feelings seemed to have taken the form of one Kurt Hummel.

The alarm clock rang loudly, successfully waking Rachel up. She opened her eyes unwillingly and turned it off. She got up and went down the stairs to find her boyfriend almost ready to leave the house.

“Why are you up so early? You don’t have to go to work till 10 on Fridays” she said, startling Finn. He turned around and smiled at her.

“Hi, babe. Yeah, I know. But I have to go help Burt at the workshop so I have to leave a bit earlier.”

“What time will you be home tonight?” she asked and saw Finn’s face turn serious.

“Yeah, about that… Kurt wants to go out tonight so I’ll be home late,” as Rachel frowned, he quickly added, “I’ll bring Puck with me, that way we can get out of there early and hopefully Kurt won’t have any boy toys with him.”

Rachel pondered on Finn’s plan. Noah Puckerman was Kurt and Finn’s best friend. Finn and Puck had met at college when he was a junior and Puck was a freshman. When Finn introduced Puck to his brother, they hit it off right away. Puck and Kurt were similar to a certain extent, the difference being that Puck actually cared for the girls he slept with, even if they were many, whereas Kurt only saw the guys he slept with as sex toys.

The three of them were really close and always hanged out together. With Puck graduating from college this year, they had more time to go out, even if most of the times they went to gay bars to keep an eye on Kurt. Puck was cool with that, as long as he’d find a cute girl to make out with once they got out.

‘Maybe he’ll nag Kurt all night long and make them leave early,’ Rachel thought. She figured it’d be a good thing for Puck to go with the two brothers.

Finn took Rachel out of her reverie as he came near her to kiss her goodbye. He went out the door and Rachel was left to her own thoughts again. She sighed as she sat on one of the chairs. She was worried about Finn. He’d been too invested into getting Kurt to his old self these days. Ever since they had met that Blaine boy, Finn had grown obsessed with the idea that his brother could change.

Now, if anyone understood determination, it was Rachel. But even she knew that the old Kurt was long gone.

It was a painful truth, but one she had come to accept. He was still her best friend, though. They still talked and went out and had fun times together. But it wasn’t like it had been in high school.

After being rivals with both being in love with Finn during their freshman year, they had become inseparable. Both of them had had big dreams of leaving this town and making it in New York. They had both accomplished that. Kurt had gotten into a fashion school and Rachel had gotten into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. They were so excited when they got their acceptance letters and started making plans. But those plans were crashed after that happened.

Kurt became someone else and decided he’d live alone. He became rather popular and suddenly, he was spending all of his free time partying and hooking up with any willing partner. The rest, as they say, is history. Rachel tried the best she could to control him. To make him see that sleeping around was a terrible thing to do. But he wouldn’t listen. At the end, she could just pray that he’d be careful and realize his mistakes some day. But so far that day had not arrived.

After they graduated, Kurt had returned to Lima and Rachel was given a role in Les Mis with a traveling production. She had just finished the tour and decided to come home and be with Finn for a while. Being apart had been difficult but they had pulled through. Unfortunately, they weren’t together that much, lately. Finn’s work was demanding and besides, he had spent an incredible amount of time visiting gay bars, trying to keep Kurt in line. She didn’t mind it, after being in a long distance relationship with Finn all through college and the two years of touring, she knew they could make it through anything.

She just hoped this didn’t end in disappointment for her boyfriend.

“Blaine, are you sure you’re okay? What happened yesterday?”

Quinn had been worried about Blaine ever since she saw her best friend leave school with Kurt the day before. When she and Santana had found him in the morning, she had noticed the sad look on his face.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” He smiled at her but returned his attention to the teacher and his lecture.

Quinn and Santana exchanged looks. Santana moved closer to Blaine and grabbed his face so he could look her in the eyes.

“You tell us what’s wrong right now.” Blaine just sighed. He figured it be good for him to let them know.

“Fine. I got into a fight with my dad today because I stayed out last night. I-I was with Kurt. Before you ask, yes, I slept with him again. And I hate that I did because it just made me like him even more but I’ll never see him again so…” He shrugged, avoiding eye contact with his best friends and biting his lip.

Quinn gently put her hand on his and he smiled slightly. Santana was quiet for a few minutes before she spoke up.

“You know what, I thing we need a night out. The three of us and we can go to one of those gay bars at the Gay Zone. Make you meet new people and forget about this guy.”

Quinn nodded in agreement. “That’s a great idea! I bet it’ll be fun, what do you say, Blaine?”

“I don’t know, I mean… What if we run into him?”

“Then we ignore him, simple as that.” Santana answered and winked at him.

He considered that for a moment. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. He needed to get Kurt out of his head.

“Okay, let’s do it.” He finally said.

Quinn squealed as Santana started talking about fake I.D.’s and plans for seducing the guards at the entrance. Blaine wasn’t really paying attention. He just prayed they wouldn’t run into Kurt. He knew he wouldn’t be able to withstand another encounter with the older boy without falling in love with him.

And Blaine was smart enough to know that it was probably the worst thing to do.

Quinn and Santana were in awe at the amount of people walking through the streets of GZ. There were lights everywhere and big signs inviting people to enter the different bars. Blaine was talking on the phone with his mom, letting her know he’d go out with Quinn and Santana and that he would not stay out. He wasn’t going to give his father reasons to repeat a scene like the one from that morning.

When he hanged up, he approached the girls and Santana gave him his fake I.D. He stared at it and tried not to laugh.

“Are you sure these will work? They don’t even look real.”

“I know that, why do you think I’m wearing this mini skirt?” She said, modeling her outfit with a triumphant smile.

“San… you do realize we are going to a gay bar, right? As in, a place full of guys who like other guys. I doubt your seductive plans will work here.” Quinn commented as Blaine burst out laughing. Santana frowned and cross her arms, pouting.

“Well, I guess that Blaine will have to strip at the entrance, then.” The three of them laughed even harder as they walked through the streets, examining the bars and trying to decide where to try and enter.

They arrived at Epsilon and Blaine recognized it and remembered how he saw Kurt and Finn leaving through the back door. He stopped in his tracks and Santana noticed where he was looking. She smiled, the place looked great and she was sure it was filled with handsome guys who would love to dance with her best friend.

“Hey, let’s go to that one,” she said as she grabbed Blaine’s arm and pulled him towards the entrance.

Blaine tried to stop her but Quinn quickly started to drag him also.

“Guys, wait! Not here! He could be in there!” he hissed as they drew closer to the guard at the entrance.

“Yes, or he could be in any of the other bars. C’mon, Blaine! This place looks amazing!” Santana said and Blaine gave up.

The three of them showed their I.D.’s and the guard just eyed them. They smiled and tried to appear calm. Finally, the guard shrugged and let them through. When they got in, their mouths dropped. The place was incredible. It was decorated beautifully, with white seats and black tables at the sides of the dancing floor. It looked elegant, yet fun. The lighting was also great as it made the dance floor look the colors of the rainbow. It was crowded with men dancing to the music of the DJ.

They just stood there, not knowing what to do. Santana spotted the bar and nudged Quinn on the ribs. Quinn noticed and pulled Blaine towards it. When they arrived, Santana asked for beers just for her and Blaine, since Quinn was the designated driver. They took a seat at the stools and started drinking. Blaine felt rather comfortable; there were many handsome guys to look at. He had already forgotten about running into Kurt and was just enjoying himself and his best friends’ company.

Suddenly, a guy appeared at the bar. He asked for a drink and turned to look at Blaine, who was oblivious to the attention. Santana and Quinn exchanged excited looks and discretely moved away from their friend.

“Having a good time?” The guy asked Blaine, who whirled around in his seat and realized that the man was talking to him.

He had blond hair and beautiful blue eyes. He was rather handsome and didn’t look older than 21. Blaine blushed and nodded.

“Mind if I buy you a drink?” Blaine’s eyes widened. This guy was hitting on him! He cursed himself for being so oblivious to this kind of stuff. But he was flattered and decided to go on with it.

“Y-yeah, sure.”

The guy smiled at him and asked for two drinks to the barman. The guy’s name was Tom and he was an interesting guy. They talked and laughed and Blaine was actually having a good time.

After a while, Blaine remembered he had brought company. He felt horrible for forgetting about his friends. He looked around, searching frantically for them with his eyes. He found them quickly. Quinn and Santana were talking to each other in a table not far away from where he was. They were trying not to be obvious as they stared at Blaine and his companion but were failing miserably. They kept giggling and whispering to each other.

When they noticed he was staring at them, Quinn gave him a thumbs up and Santana winked at him. Blaine rolled his eyes, smiling, and returned his attention to the handsome man talking to him.

Just as he was starting to get loose, thinking it’d be a nice night, he heard a voice behind him that made him almost drop his drink.

“Well, look who we have here.”