Addicted

Pilot - Part Two

When Blaine wakes up the next morning, it's an hour before his alarm clock is set to go off. He knows it's because he's nervous to return to school. Who wouldn't be after getting slushied their very first day? He knows now, thanks to Kurt, how to avoid the jocks that like to bully the underclassmen. He knows it in theory, but he's not quite sure if he can put it into practice. The football team seems almost omnipotent to Blaine after Kurt told him about them. Finn Hudson, the quarterback, is dating the head cheerleader (The Cheerios, as most of the student body calls them) and for the most part owns McKinley. Noah Puckerman ("Puck" for short) is Finn's best friend and partner-in-crime. Puck is the scariest guy on the football team. Blaine wouldn't be surprised if Puck found himself in juvie sometime in the future. Azimio, one of the larger football players, has zero patience for freshmen and even less patience for gay students. And Karofsky? Kurt isn’t sure what was wrong with the overweight, constantly angry jock but he had said he never wanted to be alone with the guy.

So yeah, Blaine is not looking forward to the second day of school. Waking up an hour earlier than he had to only gives him more time to dread and over-think all of the ways the school day could go horribly wrong. Azimio could toss him into the dumpster and he could bang his head on the way down. Puck could shove him into an open locker and bruise his shoulder. Karofsky could hurl another slushie into his face and ruin yet another piece of his beloved clothing (Blaine's mother had tried to fix the white dress shirt but Kurt was right- there was nothing to be done for it. The bow tie and the vest would take time, and by that Blaine knew she'd never get around to it). Finn could mock Blaine for his sexuality and further alienate Blaine from people he didn't even know yet.

Blaine shakes his head, trying to rid his mind of the miserable thoughts running through his brain. He decides he might as well take a shower now because he doesn't have much else to do. Maybe the shower will even help calm him.

When he exits the shower he feels even worse. With the ending of the shower it means that school is even closer. He stalks over to his closet, hoping the daunting task of picking out an ensemble for the day will distract him enough. He begins rooting through his collection of polos, wondering which one Kurt would think goes best with Blaine's skin tone. He settles on a deep purple, noting that the color would also look good with Kurt's bright blue eyes. He moves onto bow ties and decides a solid white tie would stand out against the shirt and get Kurt to notice him. Blaine grabs a dark pair of tight jeans, hoping to show off his legs for Kurt and also decides to don a pair of white suspenders.

Blaine admires himself in the full-length mirror and is suddently all too anxious to see Kurt. A voice in the back of his mind yells at him Kurt is straight! You have no chance! But Blaine chooses to ignore the voice. Even if Kurt is straight, there's nothing wrong with wanting to look good for him, right? Or wanting to be neard him. Or wanting to hold his hand.

Blaine looks at his clock and sighs. Only one more hour till he has to face the day.

~

Blaine enters the school and tries not to look terrified. He's scanning the halls quickly, looking for any letterman jackets or Big Gulp cups. He keeps an eye out for the mow hawk Kurt says Puck sports and the giant that is Finn Hudson. Blaine has an extra set of clothes for the day, as per Kurt's instructions, and he already knows how damn cold being slushied is, but he still isn't prepared for round two. He still hasn't gotten over the shame of yesterday's incident and it definitely hurt when kids on the bus rehashed the experience. But as Blaine looks around the crowded halls of William McKinley, his eyes land on Kurt. The pale boy is standing next to an open locker, chatting and laughing with an African American girl. Blaine can't hear their conversation but he knows Kurt has noticed him when Kurt smiles and gives a small wave in his direction. Blaine's heart speeds up and he waves back at Kurt. He turns down the hall towards his own locker and decides that as long he can start the day with that smile, everything else will be okay.

~

Blaine makes his way to the cafeteria with Tina by his side. That day during English the two decided to meet outside Tina's locker before heading to lunch. Mrs. Enrico had instructed the students to take the class period to associate themselves with the school's code of conduct before reclaiming her spot at her desk and opening a book. Tina had immediately turned to Blaine and questioned the boy about the rumors asserting Blaine had been slushied.

The two are heading towards the table they occupied yesterday when someone calls out Blaine's name. His head whips to the side and he sees Kurt signaling him over. A wide smile breaks on his face, which he surreptiously tries to hide behind his hand. Blaine grabs Tina by the arm and steers her towards Kurt's table, where Kurt is sitting with the African America girl from his locker that morning and a boy in a wheelchair.

"Hey," Blaine greets the three as he sits down.

"Good morning, Blaine," Kurt returns amiably. "Blaine, this is Mercedes and Artie. Mercedes and I have gone to school together since middle school, and Artie is a freshman who's a year ahead in math and in my class."

"I'm Blaine," Blaine introduces himself to the two sitting at the table. "This is Tina," Blaine motions to his friend sitting beside him, aware of Tina' shy nature and trying to ease introductions for her. He catches the shy smile that Tina directs toward Artie that the boy reciprocates.

"So I see you haven't been slushied today," Kurt comments as he steals Blaine's attention away from the other two freshmen at the table.

"Yet," He adds with an uneasy laugh. Kurt gives him a sympathetic look and turns to the girl sitting across from him.

"So Mercedes, what song will you audition with?" He asks.

"'Respect' by my girl Aretha Franklin, there ain't nothing else," She answers with a sassy bob of her head. "What about you, white boy?"

"I've decided on 'Mr. Cellophane' from the Broadway classic, Chicago," Kurt returns with a grin. Blaine can tell that whatever Kurt's talking about, he's confident.

"What are you auditioning for?" Blaine asks, hoping Kurt and Mercedes won't mind his interruption.

"New Directions," Kurt answers with a sideways glance at Blaine. He doesn't elaborate and Blaine almost thinks Kurt's doing it on purpose.

"What's that?" Blaine inquires further, biting the bait on the end of the line Kurt is feeding him.

"McKinley's glee club," Mercedes tells Blaine. "Mr. Schuester, the Spanish teacher, just took it over and he decided on the completely ridiculous name New Directions."

Blaine doesn’t really hear Mercedes after the words "glee club" are spoken. Blaine has been involved in music since elementary school. Piano lessons, violin lessons, self-taught guitar. He'd never had formal voice training, but he doesn't think his voice is half bad. He hadn't ever considered joining the glee club at Westerville High because he knew before middle school finished that he'd be moving. He hadn't even considered the option in a different city though.

"Can anyone audition?" Blaine asks the pair next.

"I don't think Mr. Schue would ever turn anyone away, the more he can get the better," Kurt informs Blaine. When Blaine looks at Kurt quizzically, the brown-haired boy continues, "No one is beating down Schue's door to join."

"No one except Rachel Berry," Mercedes adds with a laugh. The other three at the table joke along with her, although Kurt swats her arm lightly in reproach.

"Are you interested in joining, Blaine?" Kurt questions, cocking his head to the side when he asks. Blaine can't stop his heart from pounding just a bit harder at the adorable action. It's really not the time or place to be thinking about it, but he can't really help himself when Kurt is gazing at him with those bright blue eyes and his hair is flopping to the side ever so slightly.

"Um, y-yeah," He finally manages to stutter. "I'd really like that, actually. Where can I sign up?"

Artie gives Blaine directions to the corkboard near the front office where all the sign up sheets are posted on. Blaine and Tina agree to walk to the board together and sign up before their next period class. The rest of lunch passes by quickly with light conversation. Blaine watches Tina and Artie exchange small, shy smiles as they discuss fifth period history with Mr. Geller. He observes the close friendship between Mercedes and Kurt as they get into a heated argument about the music of Beyonce vs. Lady Gaga, and even jumps in to expound upon the merits of Katy Perry. Kurt laughs at his jokes and Blaine thinks he could listen to the melodic laugh until the end of time. Blaine discovers that Artie only lives a few minutes from his neighborhood and Artie reports he vaguely remembers seeing a moving van and hearing about a new family on Smith Street.

The bell rings, signaling the end of lunch, and Blaine watches as everyone gets up from the table. Abruptly his heart swells with happiness and a warm feeling spreads through his chest. He doesn't know much about the people he just shared lunch with, but he knows that he wants to. Blaine realizes with delight that he finally has a place where he belongs.

~

When Blaine’s parents get home that evening, the fourteen-year-old decides he should just get it over with, rip the band-aid off quickly.

His mother is pouring herself a glass of water, still dressed in the gray pantsuit she wore to work. Mr. Anderson is at the kitchen table scanning the day’s paper as he sips a cup of tea.

“Mom, Dad,” Blaine starts, waiting until his parents are both giving him their undivided attention. “I’ve decided to audition for the school’s glee club.”

Neither of his parents say anything for a moment and Blaine decides that this is worse than any other reaction he could have imagined.

"What the hell is a glee club?" His dad finally asks and Blaine feels his heart plummet downwards. His dad doesn't even know what show choir is and he's already disapproving of it.

“It’s show choir, Dad,” Blaine tells him. “We sing, organize performances for the school, and compete in competitions.” He hopes the competitiveness will be what brings his dad on board. Mr. Anderson is competitive in almost every aspect of his life and he has tried on multiple occasions to breed the same sort of aggressiveness into his son.

"A singing club? Really, Blaine?" Mrs. Anderson groans, her disdain for her son's choise apparent in her voice and bodt language.

"How is that any different from piano or violin lessons?" Blaine demands, growing angry at his parents' unsupportive reactions. Would they rather he be a social recluse with no friends and no hobbies? He has real friends in the glee club and he enjoys singing. Shouldn't that be enough for them?

“Private lessons with instructors who graduated from the top music schools in the world are very different from a public school’s silly little show choir.” Mr. Anderson asserts. “And you know that, Blaine.”

“Does this mean I’m not allowed to audition?” He asks, his voice low and furious. Blaine focuses his eyes on the tips of his shoes as opposed to his parents’ faces. He doesn’t want them to see the frustrated tears in his eyes.

Mrs. Anderson looks warily at Mr. Anderson and silent conversation passes between the two of them. After a few moments, Mrs. Anderson finally sighs heavily, “Do whatever you want, Blaine.”

Blaine can’t even take getting their permission as a victory, not when he knows they’re doing it because they’d rather not deal with the consequences of saying no to an angry adolescent boy.

Without another word, Blaine trudges up to his room and flops gracelessly onto his bed. Blaine just wants to disappear into his covers and pretend that his parents are excited he’s joining glee club and that no one slushies anyone else at school and that Kurt isn’t so damn attractive and so damn straight.

Blaine wants to disappear into the covers but his phone buzzes and he decides that since he doesn’t know that many people, much less text them, it must be important. He unlocks the phone to find a message from Kurt waiting for him.

I can’t wait to hear your audition tomorrow :)

Blaine finds himself smiling broadly at the messafe and responds without a second thought.

I’m sure my audition won’t even come close to yours!

~

The school day couldn’t have passed any slower if the world had stopped turning. All day Blaine is a ball of nervous energy, wondering if he’s chosen the wrong song or if his pink bow tie clashes horribly with his powder blue button up or if Mr. Schuester is going to turn him away before he even had a chance to sing. In first period Tina is just as nervous as Blaine and at lunch, everyone is encouraging each other but they all know it won’t help. Blaine is so wrapped up in his own mind that he doesn’t even notice when Noah Puckerman shouts a homophobic jeer at him (apparently someone had overheard his conversation with Tina that first day at lunch and since then the whole school had found out. It didn’t bother Blaine that they knew. Blaine was out and proud. It bothered him that his peers made it a problem.)

Now Blaine is standing backstage with Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Artie and another girl he's never met before. She's shorter than he is (small victories, he thinks to himself) with long brown hair. She's dressed in a white button down and a frumpy plaid skirt. Blaine tries not to judge her but knee high stockings? Really? It was almost offensive to fashion everywhere. No one introduces Blaine to her, or talks to her, really, but he assumes she's the girl Kurt and Mercedes were talking about yesterday. Rochelle Barney? Rena Berkly?

Suddenly a hand is thrust in Blaine's direction and the girl starts talking quickly. "My name is Rachel Berry, I have two gay dads and one day I'm going to be a broadway star. I look forward to any future duets we may perform in glee club. Of course I'll sing more than you and you'll really just be there to compliment me, but I can already tell we'll be a successful pair."

Blaine tentatively takes her hand but he has no idea how to react. He's about to introduce himself when Kurt cuts in. "Rachel, back off. I can assure you Blaine does not want to be your duet partner and he definitely does not want to date you. Stalk someone else." Rachel huffs angrily and separates herself from the group. Blaine looks after her, feeling a little sympathetic but still freaked out by her aggressive introduction.

“That was harsh, don’t you think?” Blaine murmurs when he looks back to Kurt.

Kurt shrugs his shoulders. “She’s rude and offensive and pugnacious. The only way to deal with her is to treat her the same way.” Blaine nods but still feels a little guilty. In the short while Blaine has known her, she’s been everything Kurt has classified her as. But Blaine can’t ignore the sad and hurt look in her eyes from across the stage floor. He’s about to approach her when Mr. Schue calls a name from the table positioned in the middle of the auditorium.

“Mercedes Jones,” he orders. Everyone whispers encouragements to her as she walks out on stage.

“My name is Mercedes Jones and I’m singing-,” Instead of stating the name of her song selection, she launches into a strong and stunning rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”. When she finishes, Schue and the other glee club hopefuls give her a round of applause. She gives a quick bow and hurries of stage. Kurt gives her a hug and she says goodbye to the group, explaining that her dad is already waiting for her in the parking lot. As Blaine watches her go, he realizes that probably everyone here is a better singer than him and maybe he shouldn’t join, maybe he’ll just be an embarrassment.

“Tina Cohen-Chang,” comes Mr. Schue’s voice. She nervously approaches center stage and delivers a slightly more aggressive cover of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl.” Blaine tells her he thought her audition was fabulous and while he was telling the truth, he thinks it’s partially due to his love for Katy Perry.

Artie goes next and sings “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. Blaine thinks that while it’s not an appropriate choice for a show choir audition, Artie is a good rapper.

It’s Kurt’s turn next. He looks to Blaine, suddenly nervous and seeking assurance. Blaine gives Kurt a charming grin and hesitantly reaches out to grasp Kurt’s arm. The pale teen tenses under the touch and his eyes involuntarily flick to Blaine’s hand on his arm.

“Oh! S-sorry,” Blaine apologizes immediately and blushes deeply, ducking his head and looking anywhere but Kurt. Blaine feels like an idiot now. He’s known Kurt for all of two and a half days; of course he doesn’t know Kurt’s boundaries. Besides, he’s probably not completely comfortable being touched like this by a gay boy.

“Blaine, it’s fine,” Kurt tells him, although Blaine isn’t sure the other boy is completely sincere. Blaine looks up at it him and sees what he knows is discomfort in Kurt’s eyes. Blaine can’t take seeing that look in Kurt’s face directed at him so he quickly moves on.

“Anyway, go out there and kill your audition,” Blaine tells Kurt with a small smile. “You’ll do great.”

And Kurt is great. He sings "Mr. Cellophane" from Chicago and Blaine can't even believe his voice is real. He hits every note with ease and Blaine isn't sure if he's listening to a teenage boy or an angel. When Kurt finishes, he saunters happily over to Blaine and before Blaine can even congratulate him, Kurt is hugging Blaine tightly. Without missing a beat, Blaine melts into the hug, wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist. He can't believe how soft or warm Kurt is. He wants to hug Kurt forever, Hold him in his arms as long as he can.

Blaine has to keep himself from pulling Kurt back into the hug when the taller boy moves back.

“You did great,” Blaine compliments softly.

“I did, and now it’s your turn,” Kurt returns, placing a hand high on Blaine’s back and nudging him towards the stage. “Go get ‘em, tiger.” Blaine chuckles at Kurt’s stupid jokeand with one last push walks onto the stage.

"My name is Blaine Anderson and I'll be singing 'Part of Your World' from the Little Mermaid." As he waits for the piano player, Brad, to begin, he looks over to Kurt. When hazel eyes meet blue, Kurt gives him a small nod and it gives Blaine any and all courage he needs to open his mouth and pour his heart into the song.

When he finishes, Mr. Schuester thanks him for auditioning and dismisses Blaine. He uses all of his will power not to skip over to where Kurt is. He doesn’t try to contain the wide smile on his face. Why should he? He just killed his glee audition and Kurt was looking at him like Blaine was Ariel herself.

“You have an amazing voice, Blaine,” Kurt remarks, causing Blaine to blush again. His heart speeds up just a little bit and he just hopes Kurt can’t hear it beating loudly in his chest. “Can I give you a ride home?”

Blaine pretends to ponder the question, as if he doesn’t know his answer, and finally answers coolly, “Yes, you may.”

~

Glee club’s first meeting is Thursday during lunch. They have an hour to fiddle with choreography for “Sit Down You’re Rocking The Boat”. It’s obvious Mr. Schuester has never choreographed anything in his life and Blaine wonders what qualifies the Spanish teacher to lead the show choir. By the end of the lunch hour it seems as if they’ve finally figured out halfway decent choreography and are running through it when Rachel’s first official meltdown rears it’s ugly head.

Rachel is in a foul mood because Artie has the solo for the song. She argues with Mr. Schue about the soloist choice and the glee club’s first official meeting ends with Rachel forcefully asserting, “There is nothing ironic about show choir!” and storming out.

Over the weekend Blaine, Kurt and Mercedes discuss the probability of Rachel actually quitting glee club, despite not having the leading male she’s always dreamed of. Mercedes jokingly suggests Blaine should step up and take his place as Rachel’s duet partner but Blaine throws a wet blanket on that fire before it can spread.

On Tuesday, glee practice is held in the auditorium after school. Blaine walks in with Artie to see Schue already handing sheet music to the rest of the club. Blaine notices that an uncomfortable silence has fallen over the group. As he scans the group, his eyes land on the reason why.

Finn Hudson.

Finn Hudson is here. In glee club. With them. Blaine’s immediate reaction is to protest but he tells himself not to. He doesn’t want to piss Finn off and make himself more of a target for the football team. He’s been shoved into lockers more times in the past week and two days than he could remember. And he really does want to be a team player. So instead he sings the part he’s assigned and lets Mercedes have the outburst instead. Everyone seems to be on Schue’s side, saying Finn is actually helping them improve but Blaine is cheering Mercedes on, unable to forget that fateful first day when Finn and his friends slushied him.

After practice, Blaine is slipping his sheet music into his bag when Kurt approaches him.

“It’s been a long day and I need caffeine,” Kurt tells Blaine without any preamble. “Come to the Lima Bean with me?

Without missing a beat, Blaine answers cheerily, “Sure!” As they walk to Kurt’s Navigator, Blaine compliments his ensemble, launching Kurt into a description of each piece. Blaine listens contentedly, enjoying listening to the taller boy speaking so passionately about his clothing. Blaine’s surprised that he knows so much about the topic but just because Kurt is straight doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy fashion.

At the counter of the Lima Bean, Kurt orders a grande nonfat mocha and Blaine orders a medium drip. They pick a table for two in the corner of the Lima Bean, away from the rest of the patrons.

“So you didn’t say anything in glee club today when Mercedes bitched about Finn,” Kurt remarks.

“And?”

“And everyone has an opinion about it.” Kurt continues. “What about you?”

Blaine sighs and thinks briefly about the question before he starts. “Finn’s a good singer and Rachel seems to like him. So does the rest of the club. I guess I’m still… hurt. Because of the slushie.”

Kurt nods understandingly. “I was really bitter towards the whole football team after the first time they slushied me. But Finn’s actually not so bad. He’s influenced by all the other Neanderthals he hangs out with. Maybe glee club will even be good for him.”

“Maybe,” Blaine grumbles. He knows Kurt is probably right and he should just give him a chance. But the way Kurt seems to perk up just a little bit when he talks about the football player makes Blaine want to never see Finn Hudson again.

“Enough about Finn Hudson and glee club,” Kurt says quickly. “Who is Blaine Anderson?”

“That depends, who’s asking?” Blaine inquires with a coy tone.

“Let’s say an attractive and talented movie star,” Kurt jokes back.

Blaine ducks his head a little bit, a big smile spreading on his face. “Well then, I’d say Blaine Anderson is charming and cute and definitely single.”

Kurt lets out a quick laugh and sips from his coffee. “How humble of you, Mr. Anderson.”

Blaine tries to school his face, but can’t keep his heart from pounding against his chest. He just made Kurt Gorgeous Hummel laugh and he’s pretty proud of himself for it. “So what, I shouldn’t try to make myself look good to an attractive celebrity who’s asking about me?”

“Not at all,” Kurt returns, placing his cup on the round table gently. “Maybe just be more modest about it next time.”

“Noted,” Blaine says with a small smile as he removes the top of his coffee cup and sprinkles a sugar packet into it. When he tries to replace the plastic cover, the thing pops right back off and clatters to the table. Blaine feels his cheeks heat up and tries again to no avail.

"Here," Kurt giggles and reaches to take the container from Blaine. Blaine tries to ignore the feeling of Kurt's fingertips when they brush against his. Why do you always overreact to everything, Anderson? Blaine scolds himself. Kurt easily covers the coffee with it's top and returns the drink.

“Thanks,” Blaine mumbles. “I’m not very coordinated, I suppose.”

“Hm, you really are a good fit for New Directions,” Kurt jokes with a warm smile. Blaine can’t help but smile back, appreciative of Kurt’s understanding. No matter how rude Kurt can be, he seems to want Blaine to feel comfortable and Blaine can’t help but feel special because of it.

Kurt and Blaine spend the next few hours sipping at their coffee and sharing biscotti, chatting about whatever comes to mind. When they finish, Kurt drives Blaine home and bids him a warm goodbye. Blaine dashes up to his room and collapses into his pillows, trying to hold in a giddy, twelve-year old girl squeal. This is the best day Blaine has had since he moved to Lima and he’s optimistic that there will be many more.

~

Blaine is with Kurt, Tina, Mercedes and Rachel backstage during lunch on Tuesday. Over the weekend they had gone to see Vocal Adrenaline perform at their Invitiationals. Vocal Adrenaline was so good they could have won the nationals trophy right then and there. Even though Blaine is intimidated by the award-winning vocal group, he can't bring himself to be disappointed by the outing. He got to sit next to Kurt in a darkened auditorium, their knees occasionally brushing against each other. Blaine is thankful for the dark lighting so that Kurt doesn't see him blush. After the performance, Blaine went over to Kurt's house and listened as Kurt discussed the major redocoration plan Kurt had for his basement bedroom.

On Monday, Mr. Schue announced his impending exit from Mickinley High. Finn is quick to quit the glee club after that. Blaine is the only one who’s happy to see Finn go. Finn has a good voice, and Rachel likes him as a duet partner. Glee club is his space to escape his bullies, not sing with them.

It would seem that the glee club has reached it end, but Rachel refuses to let the club fail. She’s currently trying to annoy the other four into submission when Finn comes in with Artie.

“This is a closed rehearsal,” Kurt immediately bites out. Blaine can’t help but feel a little triumphant at Kurt’s negative reaction towards Finn.

“Look,” Finn begins. “I never should have quit. I don’t wanna be the guy that just drives around throwing eggs at people!”

"That was you?" Rachel demands. Blaine looks between the football player and the singer. He threw eggs at her? What the hell is wrong with this city? He knows the bullies in Westerville were bad but he's never heard of anyone being egged before.

“You and your friends threw pee balloons at me.” Kurt deadpans. Blaine is even more scandalized by this. And Kurt had defended this guy just a week ago? Blaine starts to think he was right in not wanting to Finn to join initially.

“I know-,” Finn starts but is cut off.

“You nailed all my lawn furniture to my roof.” Kurt adds again. Blaine shifts closer to Kurt and gives him a sympathetic look. Kurt glances at him but his icy, guarded glare doesn’t change.

"I wasn't actually there for that but I'm really sorry... Look, that isn't who I am!" Blaine bites back a snort. No, that's who you are. Blaine looks around the room to survey his friends' reactions to Finn's speech. He sees he's not alone in his skepticism. "And I'm tired of it. This is what I wanna be doing. With you guys. I used to think that this was like the lamest thing on earth. Maybe it is. We're all here for the same reason. Cause we wanna be good at something."

Suddenly Blaine feels the tiniest twinge of guilt for writing Finn off. He acknowledges that Finn is trying and is giving up something almost every high schooler covets- popularity. He still doesn’t like the way Finn has treated him and his friends in the past, but he figures everyone deserves a second chance.

Even Finn Hudson.

Together, the glee club hatches a plan to convince Mr. Schue to stay. Blaine is excited for the performance and hopes it’s enough to get their director to withdraw his resignation.

~

Performing on stage with New Directions is nothing like Blaine ever experienced. Yeah, there’s no one in the room; there’s only seven members; Finn and Rachel have the solos. Yeah. But Blaine still gets a rush at the incredible music arrangement they’ve created. He loves dancing on stage with the lights beating down on him as he belts out the words with Kurt by his side. Even if their plan doesn’t work and Schuester still leaves and the glee club disbands, he’ll always have this memory of standing on stage with his friends singing their hearts out.

Blaine and the rest of the glee club don’t even acknowledge their teacher until he starts clapping. Immediately he’s coaching them, helping them to do better. When Finn asks if this means he’s staying, everyone waits with baited breathe for his answer and sigh in relief when Schuester confirms it. They rehearse the number for the next few hours and everyone is out of breath and tired by the time Schue lets them go. Despite the exhausting practice, Blaine is excited for the next one. He can’t imagine doing anything else with anyone else. Glee club is his home now.