Chapter 1

Blaine walked up the stairs to William McKinley High School, trying to keep his cool. When his father told him that Dalton was becoming too expensive, Blaine didn't panic. And when he told Blaine he was enrolling him at the local public school, Blaine didn't panic. But now, staring at the big cement block that was supposedly his new school, Blaine had finally started to panic. He tried remembering back to what he felt on his first day at Dalton, but he had been welcomed with open arms. But no, this was public school, where they ate you alive. This was going to be nothing like his sacred private school.

Breathing slowly, Blaine opened the doors to the main hallway and started walking, looking at his schedule he'd gotten from the principal at their meeting yesterday. He'd located his locker when he was looking over his map last night, but now that he was navigating his way through the sea of students, he realized his planning was for nothing. Pushing his way through the crowds of chattering teenagers, he finally found his locker and opened it, stuffing his jacket and books inside. Brushing off his jacket, he scowled. He hoped the rest of the day went more smoothly.

"Fresh meat?"

Blaine turned around. "Excuse me?"

Leaning up against the locker next to him was a tall and tan boy sporting the stupidest mohawk Blaine had ever seen. Next to him was a petite brunette with wavy brown hair. She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and smiled at Blaine.

"What Noah means is 'Hi! Is this your first day?'"

"Uh yeah." Blaine closed his locker door and looked at the brunette carefully.

"Oh, I'm being so rude, forgetting to introduce myself. I'm Rachel Berry, co-captain of New Directions, McKinley's show choir."

"Name's Puckerman, or Puck," her companion said gruffly, "Don't call me Noah. Only Rachel gets to do that."

Blaine mumbled, "I'm Blaine. How did you know I was new?"

Puck rolled his eyes. "Please, I've tossed every dweeb at this school into the dumpster at least once."

Blaine looked down sadly at his bow tie and saddle shoes. Probably not the smarted first day of school outfit. He wondered if this Puck was already planning to introduce him to the dumpster after school.

Rachel laughed. "Don't listen to Noah. He hasn't thrown anyone in the dumpster since last year. I, on the other hand, make it my duty to know who's new, for recruiting purposes. Do you sing?"

Blaine tried not to smirk, thinking of the Warblers. "Yeah, a little."

"Oh good! You should really think about auditioning for New Directions. We always welcome new members! Come on Noah, we need to find Finn."

"Hey man, it's good to meet you," Puck said, a little more kindly than before, "You should stop by our table at lunch. Oh and welcome to McKinley." Puck clapped his hand on Blaine's shoulder, causing Blaine to fall forward a few steps.

"Bye Blaine! See you at lunch!" Rachel said with a wave.

Rachel started walking away with a bounce in her step, Puck trailing close behind.

Blaine watched them walk away with interest. Leaving the Warblers was the hardest part of transferring from Dalton. But if this New Directions was anything like his old glee club, then maybe he could survive McKinley. Maybe this school wasn't going to be so bad.

Blaine missed his Dalton days during his first morning. He missed the uniforms, the wood paneled hallways, the Warblers... His classwork was embarrassingly easy and everyone was just so crude. He'd seen at least four different jocks spit directly on the hallways floor. By the time lunch rolled around, he actually contemplated leaving campus. But, Blaine figured he was going to have to stick the rest of the year out; leaving now was just going to make coming back tomorrow even harder.

He moved with the crowd to the lunch room. Looking around, Blaine was baffled. Lunch at Dalton was held in a courtyard with grass and sunshine. Here, there were about thirty tables jam packed one huge room lit with florescent lights. Hundreds of kids were pushing past him to what he guess were their respective tables. The diversity at his school was so much more apparent in this setting. Each group had their own table and apparently didn't mingle with the other kids outside their group of friends. It was just so different from the tight knit community he was used to.

Blaine scanned the room looking for Rachel. He ended up having English with her that morning. She talked a lot and had an opinion about everything, but she was nice. He wasn't in a position to pass up friends and she seemed to like him, so he accepted her and Puck's earlier lunch invitation. She said she sat with the rest of her glee club and this was a good opportunity to meet the rest her friend to see if he'd like to audition.

After a minute or so, he spied Rachel standing on a bench, waving him over.

"Hi Blaine! Would you like to join us?"

He nodded and sat down.

"Everyone, this is Blaine. Noah and I met him this morning. Blaine, this is, well, everyone!"

She gestured to the eight other people sitting at the table. "This is Finn, my boyfriend. And this Tina, Mike, Sam, Quinn, Artie, Mercedes, and you already met Puck."

They all smiled and said hello. Blaine smiled back and took out his lunch.

"So," Tina asked, "is McKinley anything like your old school?"

Blaine chewed a bit of his sandwich and swallowed, shaking his head. "No, not at all. I went to Dalton."

Quinn frowned slightly. "Dalton. Isn't that the all-male private school in Westerville?"

"Wow, an all boy's school," Finn wondered out loud, "Is like everyone gay there?"

"Finn, you can't just ask things like that!" Mercedes said, her eyes popping.

"No, it's ok. No, not everyone is gay. I mean, there are gay people there," Blaine said. He thought about telling them that he too was gay, but he wasn't sure how they'd react.

"So, Dalton. Bet it wasn't anything like this," Sam said.

"Yeah, no."

"What was different about it?" Artie inquired.

"Well, classes are harder there. Lack of girls. Just not as many groups of people, I guess."

"Like cliques?" Mike asked.

"Sure. At Dalton, everyone was just sort of friends. Or at least friendly."

"Well, welcome to McKinley, the cliquiest school in all of Ohio," Mercedes said with a laugh, dramatically gesturing to the lunch room.

"Yeah, I can tell. They're really... welcoming," Blaine said. The group all chuckled.

"What kind of people did you hang with at Dalton?"

"Just everyone I guess. I mean, my close friends were in the Warblers with me."

Rachel almost choked on her salad.

"You were in the Warblers?" Rachel shrieked.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Ok, now you have to audition for New Directions!" she exclaimed while clapping her hands together.

Ignoring Rachel, Quinn turned to Blaine. "So your school's cliques all talked to each other?"

"Yeah."

"God, this place must be so awful for you."

"It's ok. Just weird I guess. I've never really experiences the whole 'stereotypical high school clique' thing."

Artie arched his eyebrow. "Well sit back and listen. Here, you have all sorts of people. You've got the celibacy club, drama geeks, the art club..."

"The nerds from computer and the comic book clubs," added Puck.

"The kids from the Black Student Union, the Muslim Students Club, the Asians who's parents don't let them talk to anyone else" Mike continued, shuddering at the last group.

"Don't forget New Directions!" Rachel exclaimed, high-fiving Tina.

"Then there's hockey jocks, the swim team, the football neanderthals, and the worst: the Cheerios," finished Mercedes.

"Cheerios?"

"Our school's nationally ranked cheerleaders. They're the most popular kids in school," Finn said simply.

Blaine glanced over to the table in the middle of the room. It's inhabitants were all wearing red and white cheerleader uniforms that were unnecessarily short. They were all milling around the table, not really eating and chatting with some of the football players. He noticed, though, that there was a small group actually sitting at the table that seemed to be surrounded by everyone else.

"Who are the ones sitting in the middle?"

Mercedes scowled.

"Those three," she said, "are the captains of the Cheerios."

"The Unholy Trinity," Quinn said ominously.

"The blonde one," Mike said, "That's Brittany Pierce. She possibly one of the most clueless girls I've ever met."

"She thinks that dolphins are gay sharks," Tina added.

Blaine snorted into his Jell-O. He watched in amusement as she pulled a pen out of her purse and started doodling on the lunch table. She nudged the girl with dark hair next to her and pointed what she'd drawn on the table. Her friend just rolled her eyes and started examining the split ends in her sleek ponytail.

"The Latina in the middle, that's Santana Lopez," continued Artie, "She's Brittany's best friend and from Lima Heights."

"She could seriously do some serious damage if you crossed her. Bitch is crazy," said Puck.

"Yeah, once I bumped into her in the hall and she threatened to cut all my hair off and donate it to bald cats with feline AIDS," Finn contributed with shudder.

"And the one at the head of the table is their leader: Sebastian Smythe. The only guy on the Cheerios."

"He's the most popular guy at McKinley."

"The whole school worships him."

"He's the reason it's ok to be gay here. So I guess you won't have to worry about that," Rachel said with a wave of her hand,

Blaine dropped his spoon. "What?"

"You haven't noticed no one's really bothered you? It apparent you're gay. I mean, I kind of knew, when I first met you. I have two gay dads and excellent gay-dar," Rachel said proudly.

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious. Not that we mind. I think it might be the bow ties," Quinn laughed.

"And the tightest pants and vest combo I've ever seen," giggled Mercedes.

"But even if we did mind, there's no way we'd be able to do anything about it," said Sam.

"Ever since Sebastian enrolled here, no one gets beat up for being gay," Tina added.

"He threatened to report me to the ACLU when I tried throwing Jacob Ben Israel into the dumpster."

"Puck, Jacob isn't gay. He has a stalker crush on Rachel," Finn pointed out.

Puck shrugged. "Well, still. The guy's hard core."

"I don't like him at all. He's a disgrace to Lima's gay community," Rachel practically shouted.

"Rachel, can we not go into that right now, please?" Mercedes pleaded, rubbing her temples.

Rachel narrowed her eyes. "Mercedes, I know you're capable of forgiving and forgetting, but not me. Not after..."

Artie interrupted, "Rachel, we can't afford to let it bother us right now, ok? We need more members. After we're back up to twelve, then we can bash Sebastian for being..."

"A conniving jerk?"

"Rachel, just drop it," Finn said weakly.

While the rest of the table continued discussing the Unholy Trinity, Blaine tried not to stare at Sebastian. He was cute, but really Blaine's type. It may have been the slight sneer on his face or the way he seemed to ignore everyone around him. Still, he fascinated Blaine. How could a guy come into a shark tank and turn it into this place, a haven for someone like Blaine?

"We'd still love it if you auditioned for New Directions after school today."

Blaine snapped back to reality. "What?"

Quinn smiled. "After school? New Directions is having our first meeting of the year. Will we see you there?"

The whole table looked at him expectantly.

"I think I can fit it in my schedule," Blaine said, smiling.

Blaine walked mindlessly to his next class. Lunch was almost too much to handle. The kids from glee were nice. Almost too nice. His day was going too well.

Walking into his AP Spanish class, he hoped that this would be a little more challenging than his earlier classes.

He introduced himself to his teacher, Mr. Schuester and took a seat in the back of the classroom. Looking through his syllabus, Blaine smiled slightly. This wasn't going to be as easy as the rest of his classes. For some reason, that comforted him.

Mr. Schuester started class as soon as the bell rang. As far as Blaine could tell, he was going to be a good teacher. He at least seemed enthusiastic about his subject.

The door banged open about ten minutes later.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Schue. I got caught up talking with Rachel. You know how she is."

Rolling his eyes, Blaine looked up from his notes, scanning the room, looking for whoever could have been so rude to show up late.

Blaine thought he felt his heart explode. He didn't expect the culprit to look so... attractive. The boy standing at the front of the classroom was simply the most beautiful boy Blaine had ever laid eyes one.

Blaine tried not to stare, but he couldn't help it. He studied his features as he chatting quickly with Mr. Schuester. He was taller than Blaine, with dark hair and light skin. Suddenly, the boy's lithe body walked across the room to the seat in front of Blaine.

Averting his eyes, Blaine stared down at his notes once more, hoping to God that the boy didn't catch him looking.

He was even more beautiful up close, with skin as white and smooth as porcelain and berry red lips. He was dressed in tight grey skinny jeans and black boots with a cream turtleneck that seemed to make his skin have a soft glow. His hair was styled in a fashion that had Blaine imagining running his hands through it. He had his legs crossed and was tapping a pencil on his notebook in a slow, steady rhythm.

As Mr. Schuester droned on about the subjunctive, Blaine doodled in the margins of his notebook.

"Oh here Kurt, I forgot to hand you the syllabus," Mr. Schuester said, handing him the small packet.

His name was Kurt. Blaine decided he liked it. Kurt. He wanted to say it out loud, wondering what it would feel like rolling off his tongue, but he refrained.

Kurt whipped around suddenly, smiling brightly.

"Sorry," he whispered, "But I can't find a pencil. Do you mind if I borrow one for the period?"

Blaine shook his head, handing him the one on his desk.

Kurt smiled again. "Thanks!"

Blaine's insides did a flip-flop.

After school, Blaine made his way to the choir room, grinning.

"All right, guys, let's get started," Mr. Schue announced as he walked through the door. He spotted Blaine and a look of remembrance appeared on his face: Blaine had approached him after Spanish to talk about joining New Directions. "But before we tackle some music, I'd like to introduce a potential new member..."

"He's already met everyone Mr Schue, he ate lunch with us today," Rachel said brightly.

"Oh ok. Well, Blaine, it's customary for new members to audition, just so you can show us what you got."

"Um, ok. Is there a guitar I can borrow?"

Mr. Schuester nodded, handing him one that was propped up against the wall.

"So, I just like this song and I know the whole thing off the top of my head, so here it goes," Blaine said lamely, strumming a few intro chords. He took a deep breath, than began singing.

Love of mine, someday you will die

But I'll be close behind, I'll follow you into the dark

No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white

Just our hands clasped so tight

Waiting for the hint of the spark

Blaine closed his eyes, just enjoying the music. He loved this song from the minute he heard it and it quickly became one of his favorites to play. The simplicity of it made him feel warm and happy. Nothing made Blaine's heart soar like a beautiful love song.

You and me

Have seen everything to see

From Bangkok to Calgary

And the soles of your shoes

Are all worn down, the time for sleep is now

But it's nothing to cry about 'cause we'll hold each other soon

In the blackest of rooms

As he hit that last note, he saw Rachel put a hand to her heart and heard Quinn sigh. He finished the song with all the emotion he could possibly muster.

Then I'll follow you into the dark

And I'll follow you into the dark.

Blaine finished and then looked around the room. Rachel lead the loud applause. Sam even whistled.

"Well Blaine, that was beyond impressive," Mr. Schuester said, chuckling, "I think it's safe to say you're in. Welcome to New Directions!"

Blaine beamed as the group began to clap again and Rachel ran up to give him a congratulatory hug.

He would always miss the Warbler and the times he had with them, but his future with New Directions could easily be just as amazing, if not better.

Blaine felt like he was on cloud nine. He was so happy with his first New Directions performance.

As he walked out of the front doors, he noticed the football team still practicing on the field. Dalton didn't have any real sports teams, just sport clubs like fencing and archery. Blaine found the idea of the high school football team almost comical. It was so cliche, the vision he had of the football team winning the homecoming game while the cheerleaders kicked their legs and yelled.

Walking across the parking lot, he stared up into the darkening sky. The faint outlines of stars were becoming visible as the chaotic mixture of daylight and sunset swirled underneath. The sound of a buzzer and the yells of the football team rattled him a little.

He stopped by the chain link fence separating him from them and watched as they all started to the locker rooms, a few lingering behind to chat with their girlfriends. He felt as if he was in a bad high school romantic comedy, or at least an episode of Friday Night Lights or whatever TV show like that was still on.

Before leaving, he watched closely as a blonde cheerleader with her high, bouncy ponytail jumped into the arms of her tall and muscular football high school sweetheart. They kissed passionately until the coach hit the boy over the head with her clipboard.

For some reason, this all comforted Blaine. Life wasn't like a high school movie, but the times that it felt like one made up for it.

Fumbling with his keys, he opened his car door and fell inside. It was still early. He could go to the library to finish his homework.

He started the car and pulled out into the street. He found himself driving to the closest Lima Bean instead. Coffee was a nice idea.

As he walked to the door, he practically plowed down the people coming out of the shop.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Blaine almost had a heart attack. He had almost ran into The Unholy Trinity, fresh from their cheerleading practice he assumed as they were all still wearing their uniforms.

The three of them starred at him, but all with different expressions on their face. Brittany just stood there, looking at him with wide eyes and no discernible expression. Santana had her hand on her hip, looking at Blaine as if she was staring into his soul. She made him feel uneven, almost uncomfortable. But the most interesting expression was Sebastian's face: a look of curiosity.

"Who are you?" he practically purred.

Blaine cleared his throat. "Blaine. Blaine Anderson. I just transferred from Dalton."

"Why don't I know you yet?" Sebastian said with a smile.

"Uh, what?" Blaine said rather stupidly.

"What he means is that you're hot and he can't believe he hasn't tapped that yet," Santana drawled.

Blaine felt his cheeks get hot.

"Ignore Santana, she's extra bitchy today," Sebastian laughed.

Smiling weakly, Blaine tried to say something clever. But he was lost for words.

"Are you getting coffee to go?" Sebastian asked, "If you'd like, you could sit down out here with us."

"Ok," Blaine said cautiously. He didn't know Sebastian, but from Rachel's little snide outbursts at lunch, he wasn't so sure he should be getting to know him.

"Awesome. I'd love to pick your brain about what to pair bow ties with. I've never really thought I could pull them off," Sebastian said while lightly running a finger over Blaine's bow tie of the day.

Santana just rolled her eyes, sat down and started filing her nails. Brittany bent down closely next to Santana's ear and quietly asked, "Is this the guy you were talking about earlier? Can he take us to the Shire?"

Santana quickly shushed her, then smiled sarcastically at Blaine. "Are you going to just stand there or get your coffee?"

Blaine made his way into the shop, still a little confused at what had just happened.

Blaine didn't want to alienate Rachel and it seemed as if he lost her as a potential friend, he could possibly lose the rest of New Directions.

But Sebastian didn't really seem that horrible. A little conceited and overly flirty for sure, but not some teenage monster.

Blaine paid for his coffee. While he leaned against the counter, waiting, he studied the three at their table outside.

Talking to them over lattes for fifteen minutes wouldn't really hurt.

"What the hell," Blaine thought, picking up his cup and heading out the door.