Something Special

Blaine opened his MacBook and stared mindlessly out his window as he waited for the screen to load. He really was letting Tumblr take over his life. After he transferred to McKinley, he didn’t really have any friends at school except for his next door neighbor, Quinn. When she had introduced him to the blogging site months ago, he never thought he’d be this addicted. It just opened up his world to so many different people. His afternoon routine usually went like this: he’d rush home from school and immediately log on, scroll through his dash for hours while mindlessly doing his homework, then realize it was 2:30 in the morning and decide to go to bed. 

And this happened every day. Blaine barely left his room. He wasn’t a hermit, he just really liked the simplicity of talking to people on the internet. Tumblr was a place where he could just be himself. No on judged him for his love of musicals and Disney or his obsession with classic literature. Most importantly, it was a place where he could say he was gay and not get harassed.

Blaine scrolled carelessly though his dash, reblogging the occasional photo set, before he stopped on a particular post. He smiled as he read through the text post.

Do you ever just walk through the hallways at your school and wonder what the people are like in bed? Today, my victim was the president of the celibacy club. She’s petite, brunette, and wears pantsuits. So, I bet she’s real freaky in the sack ;)

youmoveme was his favorite blog he followed. Blaine wasn’t quite sure what actually constituted being “Tumblr Famous”, but youmoveme was probably the best example he could come up with. This blog had a bevy of loyal and constant followers. So he was always flooded with questions. His followers tried to pry their way into his life. The blogger refused to identify himself, other that the fact he was, in fact, male. Blaine was pretty sure that he was gay as well. Or maybe he just wished.

Blaine typed out what he thought was a witty response. He didn’t want to come across as too eager or just plain dumb. He reread what he wrote and almost pressed send. Instead, he pressed his finger on the delete button. This whole thing was a fantasy. This guy was too cool to be true.

Over the course of the evening, Blaine went through his normal routine, chatting with Quinn and eating frozen pizza. He added new gifs to his collection and read every post that youmoveme blogged that night.

As he scrolled through, he saw that youmoveme started replying to some anon messages he was getting, which he rarely did. He stated that he didn’t really want to clog up everyone’s dashes with pointless blather from jerks who had nothing better to do than be mean. It was just the normal stuff: rude anons trolling because they had nothing better to do. Blaine decided that he was going to send him a nicer message.

He impulsively typed out, “Hey just wanted to say that I love your blog. I always check yours first when I get home. Thanks for giving me something to look forward to.”

He looked at it, sighed, and pressed the ask button.

He kept refreshing his dash for over an hour, just hoping for some acknowledgement of his message. But, nothing. After a while, he just felt grumpy.

Just after he decided to go to bed and read for a while, the little red 1 popped up next to the inbox icon. Blaine clicked on it. “It’s probably just from Quinn,” he thought as he furrowed his brow.

His eyes popped when he saw that youmoveme actually answered him back, privately.

Hey thanks for the message. Honestly, I’ve had a bad day (these asinine anons aren’t helping) and that message was well timed :)

Blaine breathed heavily as he typed out a response.

No problem, I just like letting people know they’re awesome.

Well thanks. Not many people here leave the nicest messages. It’s nice to have someone just be kind on here for a change.

Ha, kind is my middle name.

If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name? You know, so I know who I’m talking to.

Blaine blinked and responded as fast as he could. He couldn’t believe he was actually having this conversation.

Blaine. Blaine Anderson.

Blaine “Kind” Anderson. I guess it has a certain ring to it...

Want to return the favor? Just, you know, so I know who I’m talking to.

Haha, not so fast! You didn’t really think I was going to give it up that easily, did you?

Well, it was worth a shot, wasn’t it? ;)

You keep being kind, Blaine Anderson, and we’ll see.

Why don’t you give out your name? You don’t really reveal too much about yourself on here. Is it just supposed to be all part of the mystery or...

At my school, I get bullied a lot for just being who I am. I’m just overly cautious with letting people in. And the internet is a scary place...

No, I get it. It’s hard to see who’s being real and who’s just a jerk. The kids at my school are awful. People get thrown in dumpsters and slushies dumped on them. It’s like a war zone.

Sounds like my school. I have to keep a change of clothes in my locker. So many shirts ruined.

Wow, I thought it was just at my school.

Haha, I guess not. Where do you go to school?

In Ohio.

Well, maybe it’s a state thing, I go to school in Ohio too.

Wow, small world.

Yeah...

Blaine rubbed his face in his hands. In a million years, he would have never guessed he’d be having this conversation.

Do you mind if I ask why your day was bad?

Just the jocks at my school. They just like to push me into lockers. Normally, I just brush it off. But today, my cheek got cut on one of the hinges. And there were people around and no one did anything. I just let it bother me all day.

I’m sorry. 

It’s not your fault I’m gay and the school neanderthals have no sense of tolerance. And I seem to be the only gay kid at my school. Or at least the only who’s out of the closet.

Blaine’s eyes widened. He scrambled to type something coherent.

Um, you know when people say that they know how you feel but they really just can’t think of what to say? Well, I actually know how you feel.

What do you mean?

I’m gay too.

Blaine waited for a few minutes. Should he not have told him that? He typed out another message and sent it, as he chewed on his bottom lip. He was so nervous, he thought he was going to pass out.

Just so you know, It will get better. I’ve had my fair share of tormentors. But I turned out all right.

How did you deal with it?

I guess I just chose not to be the victim, you know? I let bullies chase me away when I was younger and it’s something I’ll always regret. But then I moved from my school in Columbus and transferred. And I’ve never pretended to be anything I’m not here. You just need to stand up and be the strong person you are.

Jeeze, Blaine Anderson, you are wise indeed. How old are you?

17.

You’re younger than me by a whole year and still so much smarter. You know, it was nice talking to you Blaine.

You too.

I’m going to go to bed. Early glee club practice tomorrow. Night.

Night.

Blaine paused for a second, then sent one more message.

Remember, all you need is courage.

Blaine hit ask and went to the kitchen to get a water bottle.

When he sat back down in his chair, he noticed his follower count went up by one.

youmoveme had started following him.

Before he could even text Quinn to tell her, he had a new message.

You really are something special - Kurt.

Blaine smiled. This night had really turned around.