Cooper had left and with his departure, he made a lot of promises. Some of which he had been good on - namely calling regularly, even when he had nothing to tell Blaine about except the details of his latest sexual exploits - which despite Blaine's protests, he insisted on informing Blaine all about.

Cooper also promised to "fix" things with mom and dad. Blaine didn't know how they could be fixed, but didn't press it because he knew Cooper wanted to try and do something positive. He certainly didn't expect anything to come out of it and after Cooper had left, it was the last he heard about it.

With only a couple months to go before he turned eighteen, Blaine had also been visited by the family accountant and estate lawyers. The meetings were private, and Blaine was given insight into just how much he was worth. Basically, if he didn't work, went into the most expensive post-secondary program in the USA, lived lavishly throughout it, and put away ten percent for retirement - he was set for exactly eleven and a half years. That of course didn't include the fact that any children he might have in the future were also planned out for with trust funds and college funds. His great grandfather had been very meticulous about setting up his ancestors nicely. Apparently, even his own great grandchildren would be taken care of just because they would be very distantly related to a man who mastered the trading system over a hundred years ago.

Of course, all that meant was that Blaine needed to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. Even though the position was always available, he had absolutely no interest in working for Anderson Inc. - hell, he didn't even really understand what they did expect make sure he had money in his pocket. Somehow, making money off the masses didn't appeal to him. His great grandfather would probably roll over in his grave if he found out, but Blaine wasn't a very good capitalist. He didn't like to go shopping - despite the fact that he was happy to indulge Kurt's love of it, he was satisfied with the minimum in gadgets - didn't need a phone with too many bells and whistles, and never got more than he needed. The eleven and a half year projection the accountant gave him may of well have been forty years the way Blaine spent - or for that matter, didn't spend.

Of course, there were times that Blaine felt inclined to spend money. Usually it was on Kurt, and occasionally he offered to pay off Schuester if he didn't make them do something stupid.

Like this week. He made it disco week, even though everyone was quite insistent that disco sucked. He even had Mike, Brittany, and that new kid... Joe? do a dance to some old number in the auditorium - Dancin', and once again reiterated how he had won Nationals when he was in school by doing disco. The attempt to get them all enthused had failed, but Schuester seemed to want to still do it as evidenced by the fact that he and Coach Sylvester had a white dancing floor installed for the week in the choir room. A dance-off was held to determine finalists for winning some horrid, white polyester suit that Kurt insisted he had to have, and even though he didn't really try, Blaine was listed by Mr. Schuester and Coach Sylvester as one of the four finalists for the outfit.

"This has got to be rigged...." he grumbled as he sat back in his usual spot, Kurt as his side.

"You might be right. I mean... Finn won with you guys. Finn is the worst of us all, even Artie knows how to use his legs better." Kurt whispered back over.

His suspicions were confirmed when Mr. Schuester took the finalists into his office after practice and told them that to win they needed to perform a song from Saturday Night Fever and tell the glee club what they wanted to do with their lives. Santana and Blaine both declared 'bullshit' simultaneously, while Mercedes grumbled, and Finn just looked confused.

Why the hell was the world conspiring against him to focus on the future?

Kurt's finger lazily traced the tattoo on Blaine's bare chest, now coloured in and as much a part of him as all his fingers and toes, "I hate to admit it but I love this...."

"I'm glad." Blaine murmured, eyes closed as he rested aside the brunette boy. A half hour had passed since they had finished their bedroom romp and Kurt was now waking up from his blissful post orgamisc state whereas Blaine was just getting tired.

"Maybe I should get a matching one with your name...."

Blaine's eyes snapped open and he immediately sat up and gripped Kurt's hands in his own, "Don't you dare!"

Kurt's eyes had bugged out, shocked by the sudden response, "But..."

"No. Your skin is the absolute most gorgeous fucking thing ever. Never mar it."

Kurt chuckled and nodded towards Blaine, "Fine."

"Promise."

Kurt rolled his eyes but nodded, "Fine. I promise."

"Good." Blaine noted, releasing Kurt's hands and laying back on the bed again. Carole and Burt were off for a few days in Washington, leaving the boys to their own devices while family friends checked in on them. Really though, Kurt was enough of a parent for all of them - making sure they were fed, watered, and otherwise taken care of.

Again Kurt's finger went to trace the lines of the tattoo as Blaine felt drowsiness overtake him slowly, "What to sing for my NYADA audition... so many choices. I could go with something contemporary or something classic. I wish I knew what other finalists were doing so I could pick something that would be unique. I wouldn't want to redo a performance that someone else has - unless I outdid it anyhow.... and..."

Kurt's voice carried on, but Blaine was already drifting off, soothed by the sound of his boyfriend's talking. If there was one thing that could put him to sleep - it was Kurt talking about New York. It had come up more and more often as the school year had worn on, and Blaine was honestly just bored of it all. As far as he was concerned - it was just another city, albeit one that was a little more bedazzled and glittery.

Kurt had been rhetorically asking his opinion on everything from what to sing, to what to wear, to how to introduce himself for his NYADA audition. He had been looking at apartments online, making a checklist of things he wanted to do in New York, and reading the blogs of other NYADA students to get a feel for the professors there in anticipation of being there - all of which he read aloud to Blaine.

Blaine was sure that even though Kurt was speaking to him, he wasn't really necessary for there to be that dialogue since Blaine was silent throughout the pseudo conversations.

Kurt had even tried to encourage the prom committee to do a New York themed prom. Blaine wasn't sure why - but Kurt's grumping for a day after the New York Prom promotion led Blaine to recognize that his prom idea had been rejected by the rest of student council and the prom committee.

Blaine had even been served pancakes yesterday that Kurt had managed to somehow fry the letters NYC into.

They didn't taste as good as the pancakes Kurt usually made.

And when Kurt wasn't talking about New York these days, he was talking about his new friend Wade/Unique. A transgendered student from Vocal Adrenaline who was having a difficult time both in and out of school and apparently idolized Kurt and Mercedes. Kurt used Blaine as a sounding off board to try and determine what to tell this new friend of his who was seeking advice from him.

If Blaine was to have been asked, the advice would have been along the lines of "Move to Taiwan or Tibet or wherever the hell that asian country was that had all the lady-boys."

But he wasn't being asked, and it was probably for the best.

Mercedes had sung and told everyone she wanted to be a singer that inspired people. She was scared of moving though and didn't know how to get her foot in the door with singing. The fact that the black diva wanted to be famous wasn't exactly shocking. Hell, everyone in here probably wanted fame and fortune at some level. You had to be at least a little bit of an attention whore to be in glee club after all.

Then Santana has gone, sung her bit, and told everyone straight up that she wanted to be famous. At least she was honest about it. A little bit too honest actually because that night Sam and Finn called Blaine over to the computer to watch Two Girls, One Cat - a sex tape of Brittany and Santana interlaced with footage of Brittany's cat in the kitchen.

"Oh my god... I'm going to be sick..." Blaine groaned and left once he got the first sight of vagina onscreen. His ghostly expression caused Kurt to come over to see what the fuss was about and then shriek and give the other boys hell for watching that in the house.

It also apparently didn't have the effect Santana wanted it to have. Everyone looked at her funny in the days following the video being uploaded, and while Brittany thought she was doing Santana a favour by getting her famous, she had actually made things worse for the newly out lesbian.

"Brit... it's fine..." Blaine murmured, hugging the blonde girl who was crying gently against him as the guilt overtook her for making Santana feel bad.

"But.. she... I thought..."

Blaine sighed and shook his head. "Maybe you can find a better way for her to be famous. What is she good at?"

"Ah... lady kisses... lady licking...."

"Maybe nothing that related back to pornography. I think you already got that covered with that video."

"Cheerleading. She's the best cheerleader."

"Well there you go! Why don't you see if she can become famous with her cheerleading!" Blaine offered.

That seemed to have help Brittany's spirits, and once she was calmer she left Blaine and thanked him for the advice.

Finn did his song that day, getting everyone to dance with him and even had Kurt back up his singing. It was a rare event for Kurt and Blaine to dance together, but Blaine enjoyed being able to have his hands on Kurt's waist in public. His boyfriend was generally so shy about it.

Finn declared that he wanted to be an actor and apply to the Actor's Studio - which was apparently more than just a show on TV.

Unfortunately, with the other three singing and making good on the competition requirements, that meant Blaine was up next.

"I'm not fucking singing about an occupation. I considered singing Hand Jive since that was the last fucking song left on the album, but it was terrible - as is the rest of the album." Blaine announced when it came time for him to present to the glee club. Puck at least nodded in agreement with him when he denounced the album, while the rest of the group, Mr. Butthead especially, looked mortified.

"But I am going to tell you what I can about my future since it's apparently all so suddenly important."

Blaine held his arms out to either side, looking at the group gathered before him, "You know, I read all these books; A Child Called It, One Child, Damaged, Sickened, They Cage the Animals at Night, Punished, The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, Empty Chairs...." he took in a breath, recognizing he could go on for awhile and the looks being passed between the members of New Directions were those of confusion... they didn't know these books. "... they're all memoirs of child abuse. At first I was happy to find them, to know that others had gone through similar, and in most of the books, worse than what I've gone through..."

Some of the faces in the group had whitened when they realized what he was about to talk about so openly, and so Blaine locked eyes with Kurt who was looking back at him with such loving support, nodding for him to continue on.

"... and then I got mad. Mad that there were... are so many of these books. Mad that even though everyone always seems to outwardly be aghast at the thought of abuse happening to children, it still keeps happening. Mad that even though people knows it goes on, nothing is fucking done about it. Mad that in all these books, and in my own case, the system is too overburdened and apathetic that even though they might be aware of the abuse, they don't look into it or get more involved. Children are second class citizens. The right wing politicians are insistent in interfering with the ability of two men... or two women,... " He glanced acknowledgingly at Santana and Brittany, "... to get married, and at the same time they insist on the parents right to raise children however they see fit with no government interference to the point that parents can complain and protest about something as simple as teaching evolution in school. Do you know how many kids who have been taken away from abusive or seriously addicted or even neglectful parents only to be returned to those parents within a short time frame once the parents appear to have improved?"

"But most parents are decent parents..." Mercedes intoned quietly.

"And most teachers are good teachers too. But if a teacher sleeps with a student or takes advantage of them in some way - they lose that job. Not all teachers do that, not even the majority, but there are those that do. Why should it be any different for parents?"

Silence again, a few nods, and another supportive smile from Kurt.

"I don't know what I want to do... because I didn't plan this far ahead in my life. I never said "when" I grow up - I said IF I grow up. So, until lately, I've sort of existed on autopilot - just waiting until I died or ended up on the streets. I never fucking planned past high school." He shot a glare at Mr. Schuester and then looked back to Kurt so he could continue without letting the anger fill him, "... but I know if I do something... it'll be to change things."

"How?" Sam asked, leaning forward in his chair.

Blaine shrugged up his shoulders just a little, "I don't know yet. I know that social workers are just drones for the most part - underpaid, and too overworked to really care, so change can't happen at that level. I'm not exactly the most fucking diplomatic person to get into politics where the laws could be changed... but I was thinking I could at least go into some general program while I figure it out and then declare a major once I know what the hell I want to do."

"And... what do you want to see done?" Tina inquired.

"I want.... well...." He took in a breath and looked upward, "There's this document... the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United States has signed it, but hasn't ratified it. It doesn't just deal with the sort of things I experienced growing up, but deals with all sorts of horrific things children can experience. I want the United States to ratify it... and I want to see some kind of better system for kids who need help because they got stuck with shitty parents. I want to be able to help kids stuck in the cycle of abuse. See that they don't have to endure that. See that they can be loved. See that they don't have to think in terms of IF they grow up. I'm in a unique position because not only do I have the money to take care of myself, where most abused kids don't, I also have a good support system now. I think I need to take advantage of that and do something good with it."

More silence, and Blaine kept his gaze away from everyone else but Kurt, sure he had weirded them out officially now. Everyone else was interested in becoming famous and be stars, and here he was, just wanting to do right somehow.. anyhow.

Then one person clapped, and quickly they all were and Blaine blinked back his surprise, scanning over the room at the people in there, just nodding and smiling and CLAPPING for him. What the fuck?

Kurt stood up then and wrapped his arms around Blaine as he neared him, whispering, "I'm so proud of you."

Blaine beamed and leaned into the hold for a moment before Kurt led him back to sit beside him in the choir room. Throughout the rest of the practice, he received warm smiles, pats on the shoulder, and Mike even told him that he was amazing. He really didn't know what to do with it all. He knew he had just talked about having a decent support system - but he meant the Hummel-Hudson household, now he knew it included all these people he had befriended on account of joining this club to spend more time with Kurt.

After the practice disbanded, Mr. Schuester approached Blaine and suggested he meet with Ms. Pilsbury to see about possible programs he could get into to help with his goals.

"With all due respect, I don't need anyone's help. There's this thing called the internet and I know how to navigate it." Blaine shot back before leaving.

He never needed an intermediary when he needed information. If there was one thing Blaine knew he was good at - it was finding information.

"There are lots of colleges and programs in New York..." Kurt began as they got into the car and headed home. Blaine looked out the window as Kurt, once again, began talking about the joys of New York. Blaine was sure there were great opportunities there, but he just wanted a day to not have to hear about that place.

It wasn't that he was against moving to New York, and he didn't even hate the place - it was just that he had a hard time thinking so much about the future. He enjoyed life now. It was good now. He was safe, he was loved, and he wanted to enjoy this time while he had it. He didn't know when things would get bad again, because Blaine was sure things would get bad again. He didn't trust the world enough not to find a new way to screw him over. It was just a matter of time.