"Claire! Your phone is going off!" Hayley called across the gym as she held up her best friend's iPhone. Practicing for the upcoming National Cheerleading Championships with the New York All Stars independent cheer team, the girls were exhausted but kept going all the same. Seniors in high school, this was the last chance for both Claire and Hayley to win that title before going off to college.
Racing across to the bleachers, she grabbed her cell and checked the caller ID before answering. It was never good when this number called because she only had it in her phonebook for emergencies "Hello?"
"Claire Anderson-Hummel?"
"Yes..."
"This is Principal Sutherland at Lincoln Elementary, I have your brother Fletcher in my office, he's been involved in an...altercation. Would you be able to come and pick him up?" a kind and familiar voice spoke through the phone. Claire's first grade teacher, Mr Sutherland was a nice man who had worked his way up the ranks of Lincoln Elementary.
He was pleasantly surprised when Fletcher was enrolled a few years after losing Claire's bright smile to middle school and found he was a beautiful child to teach. He was a quiet but studious young man who would be the last person you would find in the Principal's office.
"Did you try my fathers?"
"Fletcher asked me to call you"
"I... I will be right there" she insisted before hanging up with a sigh. She knew this was serious when Fletcher specifically asked for her. Her eight year old brother only asked for her when neither of their Dad's could quite understand the situation. Claire had a close relationship with her brother and she would do anything for him no matter what.
"Problem?" Hayley asked as she stretched her legs ready to practice the tumbling section of the routine.
"It's Fletch, I've gotta go"
"Coach won't let you go..."
"My little brother needs me" Claire insisted as she grabbed her bag and pulled her team jacket on "I'll talk to Coach on my way out. If she doesn't understand then screw it"
"Screw it?"
"I'm her main flyer, she'll understand"
"Good luck" she laughed "And I hope all is good with Fletcher"
"Me too"

XXXXX

Claire walked through the quiet halls of Lincoln Elementary School remembering her days there as she headed for Mr Sutherland's office. Anxious as to why her angel of a little brother was sitting in the Principal's office, Claire wasn't ready for what she saw when she reached her destination.
"Oh my God Fletch, what happened?" Claire gasped as she saw her brother with the beginnings of a nasty black bruise forming around his left eye.
"I'm sorry if I called you out of school Claire but your brother asked for you" Mr Sutherland began as he greeted Claire with a polite hand shake.
"No it was just cheer; it's no problem at all" she insisted as she sat down beside Fletcher and took his chin gently to further inspect his shiner "What happened?"
Fletcher simply shrugged and squirmed out of his sister's grasps. Looking down at his hands in his lap, the third grader didn't really want to talk. Sighing softly, Claire turned back to Mr Sutherland.
"How did he get a black eye?"
"I was unaware until today as I'm sure you were too, Fletcher has been the victim of a bully for the last couple months. Two boys in the grade above him have been picking on your brother and today Fletcher fought back earning himself a black eye" Mr Sutherland began as he leant against his desk "That's all I could get out of Fletcher's friend Oliver"
"Why didn't you tell me Fletch?" Claire sighed softly and took his hand gently "You know you can always talk to me. Why have these kids been bullying you?"
"You wouldn't understand..." the eight year old sighed and looked up at his sister with tears in his eyes. Squeezing his hand gently, Claire silently assured him that she would understand whatever it was "They always call me a fag and tell me I'm gonna be gay because our Dad's are gay"
"You've got to be kidding me"
"Have they said anything else to you Fletcher?" Mr Sutherland asked seriously. He never realised that two of his students could be saying these sort of things to another boy. There would be some serious consequences for the two boys that have been bullying Fletcher because Mr Sutherland did not tolerate this sort of harassment in his school.
"They're not very smart so that's really all the insults they came up with" Fletcher shrugged
"What happened today in particular?"
"They pushed me into the lockers when I was actually talking to Molly Freeman for the first time ever without stuttering and called me a fag again. I just sort of snapped. I'm just so sick of them teasing me and saying I'm gay just because of Dad and Papa"
"You had every right to snap" Claire sighed and knelt down in front of her brother's chair and pulled him into a tight hug "You should have told me about this Fletch. I would have opened a big ol' can of Anderson whoop-ass"
"I didn't think you wouldn't have understood..."
"Sadly I would have. I got teased in middle school for the same reason"
"Really?"
"Yep" she sighed and sat back on her heels "There was a girl in my grade who was homophobic and made it her mission to tell me how wrong it was that I had two fathers. I tried to tell her that Papa was better than any Mom I could have asked for, but my relief came when I went to LaGuardia Arts High and she went to some snotty private school on the Upper East Side"
"What did you do when she teased you?"
"I ignored her as best I could, avoided her when I could. I spent most of the eight grade eating lunch in the library with my head stuck in my sketch book"
"David and Henry will be sitting in detention for the next few weeks" Mr Sutherland spoke up "And I will be meeting with their parents this afternoon when they arrive to pick up their sons. I'm going to do everything I can to stop this Fletcher"
"They're not going to stop..."
Mr Sutherland made his way over to Fletcher and sat in Claire's vacated seat "I will make a promise you right now Fletcher. I promise these boys will not bully you anymore. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you're safe and happy at this school"
"Thank you Mr Sutherland" Claire smiled as she stood up "Is it ok if I take Fletcher home?"
"Of course" he smiled "I would like you to come and see me tomorrow Fletch just so I know you're ok. Will you do that?"
The eight year old nodded with a weak smile as he stood from his seat. Picking up her little brother's backpack, Claire shook Mr Sutherland's hand politely before taking Fletcher's hand in her own. Walking out to the car silently, it wasn't until Claire was ready to start the engine before anyone spoke.
"How about we go get some ice-cream before we head home?" Claire asked as she looked to Fletcher who was fiddling with the hem of his school shirt "We need to think about how we're going to explain that shiner to Dad and Papa"
"You're gonna help me talk to them? Don't you have to go back to cheer or something tonight?" Fletcher asked as his attention turned to Claire "You don't have to cancel your plans just for me"
"I know I don't have to, I want to. You're my little brother, I'd do anything for that cute little smile" she laughed "Plus Dad and Papa are going to flip out when they see your face, you're gonna need some back up and I know how to calm them down"
"They're going to be super mad aren't they?"
"They're going to be angry, yes but they're not going to be angry at you"
"Are you sure?"
"Positive, so how about that ice-cream?"
"Yes please" the eight year old smiled. He was a sucker for ice-cream especially when it was a treat before dinner.

XXXXX

"So are we clear on the plan?" Claire chuckled as she stopped Fletcher at the door of their family's apartment. After sitting in Central Park with their ice-cream for an hour devising their plan of attack, the pair knew they had to go home sooner or later. Both Blaine and Kurt would be home from work by then so now was as good a time as any to get this over with.
"I'm scared Claire..."
"Don't be, just let me explain what happened and if they start to get angry, let me handle them. Just tell them what you told me in the park"
"Ok"
Claire took a deep breath before opening the door to their apartment and walking in with her brother. Dropping their bags by the door, she looked through the apartment and saw both their Dad's in the kitchen cooking. Claire loved seeing them together like this because they always looked so happy. She wasn't looking forward to ruining their good moods.
"Dad? Papa?" she called out as she walked in front of Fletcher through to the kitchen "Can we talk to you guys for a minute?"
Blaine and Kurt turned to their children with a smile only to have those happy expressions falter at the sight of Fletcher's black eye. Sitting up on the stools at the kitchen bench, the two Anderson-Hummel children looked at each other for reassurance before Claire started explaining what happened earlier that day. Just as she'd predicted, both Blaine and Kurt started fuming about how this could happen and the ignorance of people teasing an innocent child over something so stupid. Fixing them both a glass of ice water, Claire calmed them down by reciting Mr Sutherland's promise to Fletcher.
Neither Blaine nor Kurt were completely sold that Fletcher would be safe but they listened to what Claire had to say. They were proud that their eighteen year old was going to do as much as she could to make sure her little brother was safe even though she did so much for him already. Turning to her brother, Claire silently told him it was time to tell their fathers what he'd told her earlier.
"Dad, Papa, you're the best Dad's ever" Fletcher smiled "I just got so sick of those guys saying bad stuff about you guys because that's not fair. You're better than any other parents in the whole world and I love you both"
"We love you too Fletch" Kurt gasped on the verge of tears as he pulled his son into a warm hug. Embracing his son and husband together, Blaine too was ready to cry. He couldn't believe that harassment like this was still happening especially to his own son. Pulling away, Blaine wrapped his arm around Claire's shoulder as Kurt whisked Fletcher into the bathroom to get ice on his eye.
"Thank you" Blaine smiled and kissed his daughter's cheek softly as she asked what he was thankful for "For everything you do for Fletcher. I know it's hard with such an age difference but you're a good sister, especially today"
"It's what you do for family. My Dad taught me that"
"He must be a cool guy..."
"Nah, he's a bit of a dork" Claire chuckled and nudged her Dad with her hip "I'd do anything for Fletcher y'know. No matter how annoying he can get, he's still my little brother"