II

Blaine Anderson had always thought life was going to be so much harder than it was. It wasn't like it was ever easy, but he seemed to have things handed on a plate to him. He got on with pretty much every single person at school. Hell, he'd got on with every one since kindergarten, he was definitely one of the lucky ones. He'd never expected this. He was a friendly, and not bad looking boy. He was definitely a hit with the girls. Blaine was shorter than the average guy his age, he always had been, but it'd never bothered him, his hair always had at least, what looked like, half a tub of hair gel in it, his eyes were the most amazing hazel, that could make anyone swoon when he caught their gaze. Only thing was it wasn't the girls that he was interested in.
Blaine was gay. One of the reasons he had never thought life was going to be this easy for him. So it took him a little to get used to the idea of being attracted to guys, and if he was going to be honest, it scared him to start with. It wasn't as though the thought had never crossed his mind before, he'd never had a girlfriend and he never seemed to be interested in girls in the way his friends were. Part of him thought that it was just that he hadn't found the right girl. That and that he wasn't around girls very often, other than when his friends would have friends over, or of a weekend when he would go back to their houses. Blaine had attended an all-boys private school, Dalton Academy. Maybe being at Dalton was one of the reasons why he hadn't been bullied when he came out in his freshman year. Being a private school, with rather steep fees, the rules and tolerance levels were rather high, and that included bullying. He didn't keep his sexuality to himself for long, in some ways he was a private person, but he knew that he wasn't going to be able to keep something like this to himself.

During the beginning of his freshman year Blaine heard of the glee club that they had at school -The Warblers- and went straight to audition as soon as he was able to. There was no way around it, Blaine had only ever sung in his bedroom at home, when he was alone, but now, he thought, was time that he was going to go for it. He was in a new school and he was comfortable, happy even, with who he was, so why not try something new. As he sung, the room was silent as they all listened to him. He noticed that a few of the boys in the room were nodding. He had never been quite so nervous in his life when he was waiting outside the senior commons, where the audition had been held, but he didn't have to wait long for a result. Turned out Blaine had been wasting talent by not gracing the world with his voice before now.

His sophomore year brought a new face to the school, same year as Blaine, transferred. Sebastian Smythe. Also known now as his first boyfriend. Being gay, Blaine of course had an amazing gaydar, and was instantly attracted to the boy. Sebastian was cocky and mouthy, and there was not one person in the school who knew what Blaine saw in him, but what they didn't see was the side that Blaine did. No one knew him the way Blaine did because they never saw the side of him that actually really cared. Sebastian had had a boyfriend before, who he didn't talk about much, not that Blaine wanted him to, but he was Blaine's first. His first kiss, his first date, his first everything, which sort of made it hard for both of them. Sebastian had already been though this, and at the time, it seemed as though he was pressuring his boyfriend to give him what he wanted - something that made Blaine wonder whether or not he really cared about him, or whether he just thought he could get what he wanted and dump him. No matter how many times it happened, no matter how many times he would walk out, no matter how many times Blaine would question their relationship, it couldn't stop the way that he felt about the taller boy. He loved him, he knew he did. No one else, ever, had made him feel the way Sebastian did, and that was the scary part. What if he didn't feel the same way?

During his time at Dalton, Blaine had become the lead singer of the Warblers and captain, taking them to Nationals two years in a row. There was nothing that could have helped the disappointment when they lost in their first year to The New Directions. Blaine had shook hands with their director, forcing a smile and congratulating them. The following year however they triumphed, winning their first ever nationals competition, and for Blaine it could not have come at a better time.

Despite being into the arts and performing, Blaine was one of the unfortunate ones who were not successful in getting into the college of their dreams. Yes, of course he was downhearted about it, but he always had a passion for anything that was art related. The first Christmas when he was at Dalton he had received a camera, and he barely put it down and he knew that had found something other than performing which meant just as much to him. He'd always dreamed of going to New York, and he knew that Sebastian wasn't a huge fan of that, but that was his dream, and it always would be. Unfortunately Blaine was unaware of how against New York his boyfriend really was.

***
"Blaine, are you really doing this?" Sebastian asked, his tone was harsh.

"Seb, I have wanted this for as long as I can remember. Since I was a kid' I've wanted to go to New York. It's my dream, babe." Blaine sighed, he knew that it was no good arguing with his boyfriend, but this wasn't anything that he was letting go of.

"You know I can't up and leave, Blaine! This isn't just about you. I have dreams, too."

"I know, Sebastian, but this is my dream! This is my life and I'm not going to throw my dreams away just because you don't want to come with me! I can't just change who I am because my boyfriend doesn't like it!" Blaine threw back at him. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay here."

The taller boy threw himself down on the couch and looked up at Blaine, "You didn't even get into that stupid school anyway. I don't get why you want to still go." He groaned,

"It's not about NYADA, and it's not a stupid school." Blaine scowled, "The point is that I belong in New York."

"Doing what? Huh? Going to take that pathetic excuse of a camera and pretend to be one of those people who take freakin' tourist shots every day. That doesn't sound like your dream, Blaine."

"If you're going to be like this, then you can get the hell out, and don't bother to come back!" The angered boy tried to stay calm, as the other got up and walked out,

"Enjoy New York." And with that he walked out of the door.

Waiting until he heard the door slam he collapsed in tears on the couch and curling up into a ball.
***

With a not so great start to the beginning of life out of school, he still headed to New York, his camera with him everywhere he went. Over the course of a year he started a blog online, with all of his work, he left out some of the photos which he had taken towards the beginning, not sure that they would impress. Occasionally he would receive a comment on a photo, but it wouldn't be anything worthwhile or promising, and he had had to juggle three jobs just to be able to afford the smallest place that he could find. Maybe Sebastian was right, maybe NYC wasn't the best idea for someone who had just come out high school. Blaine, however, never let anything get him down. He kept his chin up and hoped that one day someone would notice his work.

Soon enough he did. And the jobs were rolling in. He found himself at professional photo shoots, taking photo of models for magazines and billboards. He was back on his feet. He had the job which he wanted since he had moved and he was currently dating one of the guys who he worked with on a previous shoot. Dave. He was nothing like Sebastian, and initially not Blaine's type, but he was cute. He had a bigger build than Sebastian, and his personality was something which Blaine loved about him.

Two years into their relationship Blaine and Dave brought an apartment together, one of those with the amazing views of the city, which they only appreciated more being photographers. They were happy together, and of course they had their ups and downs, but this was nothing like his past relationship, it was more grown up, more adult, more mature. He was happier now than he ever had been, and to add to that, he had just received a phone call from Vogue, asking him to take photos for their new magazine, and that was the icing on the cake. Finally! His big break