Blaine had looked through the information his parents had collected on Dalton Academy. He had been amused to see that the school uniforms just so happened to be the same uniform him and Abby had seen those guys wearing that day at the mall. It seemed like a great school with a great education system. Not to mention they had a pretty popular music club. The Warblers. Blaine wondered if it was more difficult to get into Dalton's glee club. Probably. The Warblers most likely had way more group members than his high school's glee club. And they were probably way more talented.

His father was not interested in whether or not Dalton had a glee club. The education Blaine would receive, not to mention the fact that Blaine could board there, was pretty much all Jerry Anderson cared about.

Blaine's mother hated the idea of having her son live away from home so soon, but the zero tolerance policy insured he would be a lot safer and that was her main concern. Secretly she was glad about the glee club there. If Blaine had at least one thing at Dalton that would make him happy then hopefully that would help him focus on his school work as well so he could graduate and go to the best college or university he could. She wanted him to be happy, of course, but education was still a big concern for her as well.

So after being able to get out of the hospital, Blaine and his parents spent a bit more time discussing their options. Blaine still had to go through a few more weeks of recovery for his wrist plus physical therapy and there were still quite a few bruises that were visible they wanted to fade before he went back to school. Mr. Johnson was still bringing Blaine his homework and helping him out so he could stay as caught up as possible.

By the time Blaine's wrist was cast free and he was getting through physical therapy, his bruises having faded quite a bit, it had been decided that he would transfer to Dalton. The thought of boarding at the school kind of scared him at first. Making friends was probably not going to be much of a problem – without the threat of getting beat up or harassed for being himself meant Blaine could be more outgoing – the problem was Blaine was so worried that even with the zero tolerance policy he might still run into a lot of students who were homophobic. What if his roommate was like that and ended up not liking him? In the end he had to tell himself to be brave, have courage, and think positively.

Amelia had been a bit sad at first when she heard that Blaine would be boarding at Dalton. After all, Blaine was like a grandson to her and she loved all the time they spent together. They would see each other much less now, but Blaine promised to call her whenever he could to keep her up to date with what was going on. Plus he would definitely come home on weekends some times. Amelia was just happy though that Blaine would be some place a lot safer, where he could study, have class, sing and perform, and just be himself without having to worry about getting beat up again. She would go with Blaine and his mother when they dropped him off at Dalton.

The worst part about transferring was leaving Abby. They had been so close for years that they rarely spent more than two weeks apart from each other anymore. They always were hanging out and spending time together. Abby understood Blaine more than anyone else he knew, besides maybe Amelia, and she was always one of the people he went to first when he was either having a bad day or just needed someone to talk to. Now they would have to spend way more than two weeks at a time without being able to see each other.

Blaine had not been sure how to even tell her at first. He had begged Amelia to drive him over to Abby's house, wanting to at least tell her in person. Abby had been surprised to see him at first, but then they had just gone up to her room to talk.

Of course, the conversation did not start out the way he had finally decided he wanted it to. He wanted to just say it, get it out into the open, but instead once they shut the door to her room he instead started crying. Of all the things...crying.

Immediately concerned – and wondering if it had anything to do with how his father had been acting towards him of late – Abby dragged him over to her bed and made him sit down so she could hug him while he cried. "B...what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry..." Blaine shook his head, hugging his best friend tightly, "I'm transferring. Leaving our school and going to Dalton." Luckily he was able to calm himself down a bit before he turned into a real blubbering mess. "My dad wants me to board there too, thinks it'll be good for me. So I won't be able to see you as often as we're used to..."

"More like your dad just wants his gay son out of the house; because he's disappointed you aren't what he considers 'normal'." Abby huffed. "Pssh. His gay son who is the best, most wonderful guy in the entire world who is doing nothing wrong by being who he is, instead of being a fake all the time just to please his parents." She saw Blaine's face and sighed, rubbing his back soothingly. "I'm sorry. It wasn't my place to talk like that, but you know I'm right. And you're brilliant, B. You'll do well at Dalton and you'll make plenty of new friends. Just promise you'll call or text me whenever you get the chance. And let me know when you're coming home on weekends or whenever so we can try and see each other."

Blaine ignored the comments about his father – he knew Abby was right after all – he just really did not want to talk about him right now. "I promise, Abbs. You know how badly I'm going to miss you. Like...really really badly. I wish you could visit, but you probably won't be allowed in the dorms. I'm sure there's stuff to do around the town though. I'll do some exploring to let you know."

"That'll be wonderful!" Abby smiled. "And you know what else this means?"

"What?" Blaine asked her curiously.

"You're going to have to make a lot of friends so you can introduce me to some cute boys!" She giggled.

Blaine laughed, shaking his head. "Sure, sure. We'll see about that. I'll have to make sure they're good enough first, because you know how I like looking out for you. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"I know." Abby smiled warmly at him. "And I appreciate it; I really do. Just don't start acting like my parents." She laughed. "If you don't do that then we should be fine."

- - - - - - - - -

The day Blaine left for Dalton the weather was gloomy, perfectly matching his mood. He found it to be pretty clich�, but at least the thought made him laugh a little. It was comforting knowing he did not have to go back to his high school and deal with those bullies anymore, but leaving his friends and family behind was rather tough.

His mother, Amelia, and Abby's father – one of Amelia's children – were all coming along to drop him off at the school. Abby's father, Martin, was coming along because Blaine's father had a work meeting scheduled and he had not thought it important to post pone the meeting just to drop his son off at a school. They were going to need some help getting Blaine's things to his dorm, so Martin had agreed to come with. Abby had begged to be allowed to come as well, but it was a weekday so she had to go to school. Her parents were pretty strict when it came to school attendance.

When they finally reached the school and saw it and the campus for the first time, Blaine was impressed. The pamphlets describing the school had not done it justice. The campus was gorgeous and the school itself was stunning. He hoped the inside of it was just as amazing. They parked their car near the Administrative office building, having been told to meet with the head of the school before doing anything else.

The inside of the office building was impressive. The floors were shiny, curtains draped perfectly across windows, the lighting was soft but still bright, and the furniture was all set about nice and neatly. Their footsteps echoed a bit on the floor and it was the only sound they could hear in the otherwise silent hall.

Their meeting with the head of the school was brief, mainly a welcome to the school and a light lecture on the rules and such. Blaine had to admit he had drifted off during half the talk, preferring to look about the office instead and wonder how his friends were doing. Now that he was here they seemed further away than ever. It was a lonely thought.

One of the students who monitored the dorm Blaine would be staying in came to meet them there and then showed them to Blaine's room. The dorms themselves were warm and inviting, having a fun, friendly atmosphere and looking pretty neat. Well, it was nice to see that even though he would be living in a dorm with a whole bunch of other guys at least they tried to keep it nice looking. He was sure the insides of some of the rooms were a complete different story. Hopefully his roommate would not be too terribly messy. Blaine liked to keep his stuff organized most of the time and did not like huge messes.

After telling them that if they had any questions don't be afraid to seek him out for help, the dorm monitor left them outside his new room. It was the middle of the morning and all the students were technically supposed to be in class, but Blaine knocked on the door anyway before opening it. Just in case. There was so answer from within so he unlocked the door and went in first.

Only to come face to face with another boy who had apparently been on his way out. "AH! You're early!" The boy had headphones on and Blaine could hear loud music coming from them. Tugging the headphones off, the boy held his hand out to Blaine. "So you're Blaine! I'm Nick! I'll be your new roomie. And I really hope you're not as messy as my last roommate. Otherwise I'll go crazy!"

Blaine was still recovering from being startled by Nick's appearance. Amelia, Jeannette, and Martin were all near the doorway, mostly looking amused. "Er, hi. Yeah...we did get here a bit earlier than planned." Blaine shook Nick's hand, giving the room a quick look about. Thankfully it was pretty clean and neat. The only real mess in the room was on Nick's desk – books were stacked haphazardly and papers coated the top in no sense of organization whatsoever. "Don't worry...I prefer things to be kept neat and organized." He was going to assume the desk's disorganization was just due to some heavy studying.

"That's great!" Nick laughed. "Well come on in then. Oh! Hello!" Nick waved to the rest of Blaine's little group. "Do you guys need help bringing his stuff in? I'd be glad to help out. David and Wes are just down the hall and they would be more than willing to help too."

"Shouldn't you boys be in class?" Jeannette asked, unable to help smiling just because she was so happy her son's new roommate seemed pretty friendly so far.

Nick looked somewhat guilty for a moment before shrugging. "I know we should be...but I really wanted to be here for whenever Blaine got here. And those two...well, I don't know one hundred percent sure what their excuse is, but I have a guess." He laughed. Then he grabbed Blaine's arm and dragged him to the door. "Come on, come on! Let's get you moved in! Can I help you unpack? I'm good at packing...or unpacking. Whichever is needed."

Blaine was a little frightened of his roommate. The guy seemed like he had been drinking a lot of coffee or something. He was very hyper. "Er...sure." He allowed himself to be dragged along down the hall of the dorm, Amelia, his mother, and Martin following behind.

Nick stopped them a ways down the hall and knocked on a door. A taller guy opened the door and peeked out, looking somewhat sleepy. "Meh...what do you want now, Nick? I'm sleeeeeping."

"No you're not. You're standing at the door watching me." Nick grinned, shoving the door open. Another guy was inside the room, sitting at his desk and typing away at something on his laptop. "David! Stop working on whatever you're working on. You and Wes have to help us get Blaine moved in."

The guy at the desk – David - paused to turn and look over at the small group standing out in the hall. "Oh! Is that your new roomie? Hey, new guy!" He waved. Blaine waved back, unable to stop smiling a bit despite his gloomy mood from earlier. These guys were entertaining and friendly at least. Then again – and even with the zero tolerance policy – Blaine wanted to be careful. There were other ways to bully someone that did not just involve violence. Ways that made it harder to prove someone was indeed bullying you.

Wes was slouching at the door, clearly still half asleep. "Can't I have like...ten more minutes?"

"No!" Nick laughed. "Maybe you shouldn't have stayed up till four or five in the morning having a Halo marathon."

"I was not-"

"Yes you were. Why else would you be up that late? And shame! On a school night as well!" Nick made a 'tsk tsk' noise and waved a finger at Wes. "Now come on! You wouldn't want to be a jerk and let these two lovely ladies carry all of Blaine's heavy stuff?"

Wes looked over at the word ladies and finally noticed there were more people than just Nick and Blaine at his door. His eyes widened when he saw Blaine's mom. "Oh, hellooo...okay, okay," he turned to Nick, shoving him back out of the room, causing him to stumble into Blaine who caught him before he fell, "give me, like, five minutes to get ready and then we'll help." And with that he shut the door.

Nick laughed, turning to Blaine who had let go of him now that he was in no danger of falling. "Sorry about that. And generally we're very responsible around here, Mrs. Anderson." He looked over to Blaine's mom, giving her a reassuring look. "Wes just...needs time to de-stress on occasion and that usually involves video game marathons."

They waited a few more minutes and soon the door opened again. David and Wes both came out and shut the door behind them. "Alright...let's get cracking!" Wes seemed much more enthused about helping now. The group headed on out to the car to start bringing Blaine's stuff in. Luckily Blaine was good at packing. He managed to consolidate stuff pretty well which meant not a lot of boxes to carry in and not a lot of trips to do so. Especially not a lot, considering they had seven people carrying everything in.

At one point while they were heading back in, Wes walked up beside Blaine and whispered so only he could here. "So...not to creep you out or anything, but your mom is hot."

Blaine blinked and looked at Wes for a second. "Wait...what?"

Wes laughed, being careful not to drop the box carrying some of Blaine's DVDs. "Sorry, sorry. I should have kept that to myself, but it's true you know."

Blaine was not even sure how to respond to that comment. He knew his mom was pretty, but it was just kind of weird hearing someone – especially someone around his own age - say she was 'hot'. "Er...I don't know whether I should just say 'thanks' or just be creeped out. So...I'll just stick with 'no comment'."

"Fair enough to me." Wes laughed again.

Since they had so many people helping them it only took about two trips to get everything in. At one point Blaine almost dropped a box carrying some of his heavier books, but Martin lunged over just in time to help him. They brought the box in together and laughed when Martin asked if Blaine had brought his whole library with him or what, because that box was heavy. When Blaine spotted Nick's poster for the Ohio State Buckeyes he excitedly pointed it out to Martin – they were both big fans of the football team. Of course this led to a long conversation between the two and the other boys. Nick about cried with joy because apparently his last roommate had not been a fan, which had caused some disagreements and petty arguments between the two on occasion. Blaine just could not believe how lucky he was so far. His new roommate was awesome and he had already made some new friends. No one had said anything mean to him yet, nothing rude based on his appearance or on some of the comments he had made about his own interests towards movies or other such things. The guys had all been really nice to him so far.

It was not long before Blaine realized it was probably soon for his mother, Amelia, and Martin to head on home. The thought made him feel rather nervous; because he still was not one hundred percent sure he was ready to be so far apart from his family and friends yet.

Sensing his nerves, David went over to him and sat down. "Hey...so we heard that you put on your transfer papers about being interested in singing and performing here at Dalton. And we were actually quite thrilled when we heard that because it just so happens that the Warblers lost a member just the other week with Ryan moving. So if you'd like there's a spot for you with the rest of us."

Blaine looked up in surprise as David spoke. "Wait...you're one of the Warblers?"

"Yep." David laughed, nodding. "So are Wes and Nick."

"Wow...and you guys want me to join?" Blaine was feeling even more excited now. He could not wait to tell Abby and the others from his old glee club.

"Of course! We actually have a meeting this afternoon around six, so you can come with the three of us."

That would be great, because now Blaine would not spend most of the night moping about living far away from his family and friends.

His mother was glad about this as well. She knew Blaine was going to be sad about them leaving him here. At least he would have his new friends and the Warblers to cheer him up. She was sure it would not take him long to get used to Dalton and being so far apart from everyone back home.

When the time came for them to leave, Blaine was not too embarrassed to give them all hugs. After all, he loved hugs and it was going to be a while before he got to hug his mother or Amelia again. He promised to call them a lot to keep them updated on things, and to let them know when he might want to come home on weekends.

Martin hugged him too. He had always been sort of a second father to Blaine. "I'm going to miss having you around the place, Blaine." He laughed. Well, Blaine did spend quite a bit of time over at Abby's. It was not unusual for Martin to get home from work and see his daughter and Blaine sitting on the couch watching television or a movie.

"I'm going to miss you too!" Blaine hugged him back, smiling. "Don't let Abby worry about me too much while I'm out here. Tell her if she does she'll go gray before she's even twenty." They both laughed.

"I'll make sure to tell her that." Martin grinned. "Look, this is a new start for you, Blaine. And I want you to remember that no matter what you can't stop being yourself. You're a strong, smart, amazing and talented boy and no one can tell you otherwise. Well..." he chuckled, "they can, but you don't have to accept that from them. And you better let us know when these Warblers have shows because you know we'll come to watch."

Blaine was smiling, and glad he had not gotten teary eyed over everything Martin had just said. He did not need his new friends thinking he was a total crybaby. "Thanks, Martin. I really appreciate everything you've just said. And I promise to let you know about the shows. I need my biggest fans out there to cheer me on so I won't screw up."

"Aww," Amelia laughed, moving over to hug Blaine as well, "you won't screw up, sweetheart. You're one of the best singers I've ever heard. I'm not just being bias either, because I love you so much."

"I agree with them." His mother spoke up, smiling brightly at him. "I've heard some good singers in my time and you're definitely one of the best."

"'Your time'? Aw, come on, Mrs. A!" Wes chuckled. "You can't be that old!" David and Nick both facepalmed.

Blaine's mother laughed, grinning. "You can keep being friends with that one, Blaine, dear. I like him." Blaine just looked embarrassed.

Blaine felt like a little kid again when the time came for him to hug his mother goodbye. Just like all those times when he was little and his parents had to leave for a business trip, he just did not want to let go of her. "I love you, mommy." He whispered softly, close to his mother's ear so the other guys would not hear him. "Please don't ever stop...you know...because of the fact that I'm..." he was feeling sad again.

His mother pressed her forehead against his, giving him a sad smile. "Never, darling. You're my son; I will always love you no matter what. Never stop being yourself, love yourself for who you are. Things are going to get better, Blaine, love. I promise. I'm going to miss you terribly."

"I'm going to miss you more." Blaine gave his mother a watery smile. "I love you. And I promise to call you at least once a week, okay?"

"Okay." His mother chuckled, giving him one last hug. "Now, we should probably get going and leave you to the mercy of your new friends. Try not to have too much fun." She grinned.

"We'll take good care of him, Mrs. A!" Nick reassured her, quite loudly. Both David and Wes agreed to that.

Blaine followed his mother, Amelia, and Martin out to the car. He wanted to give them all one last hug and wave farewell. As sad as he felt, he managed not to cry once their car was out of sight. Before going back into the dorm he texted Abby and told her he missed her way too much already.

- - - - - - - -

Jeannette Anderson was glad Martin had agreed to drive on the way home. She was feeling terribly sad and was having trouble keeping her eyes from tearing up.

It had hurt terribly to leave Blaine back at that school. She was not ready to have her son living apart from her. He still looked so young to her, too vulnerable. What if he ended up not liking Dalton? What if someone still managed to find some way to bully him? There were so many 'what if's running through her mind.

What made her the saddest though was remembering that look her son had given her while asking her to not stop loving him just because he was gay. That look had pierced her heart. It gave her a sense of d�j� vu at the time and now she knew why – Blaine had given her that same look the day back at the orphanage. The day they asked him if he would like to come live with them.

It was a pleading, desperate look. One that screamed for someone to just love him, accept him for who he was. And Jeannette knew in her heart that she would always always love her son. She wanted him to be happy, more than happy even. And she would accept him no matter what.

A few tears escaped, sliding silently down her cheeks. Not one to like crying in front of others, Jeannette turned her face to the window, hoping Martin and Amelia would not notice. Her thoughts were on her son the entire drive home.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

David and Wes slipped off back to their own room after Blaine returned. They wanted to get some work done before Warblers practice. Well, David planned on getting some work done. Wes went right back to sleep.

Once Blaine had shut the door and went over to his stuff to start unpack, Nick came out of their little bathroom and flopped down on his bed. "So...not gonna lie, your parents are cool. I mean, your mom and dad both seem to care about you a lot. And your dad is a Buckeyes fan! That's major awesome points right there." He laughed.

Blaine was confused at first – his dad had definitely not come along – but then he realized Nick was talking about Martin. His face reddened a bit and he shook his head. "Martin's not my dad. He's Amelia's son and a good friend of our family. He's my best friend's dad."

"Oh!" Nick looked somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry, man. Well, he's cool either way." There was a brief silence then Nick spoke up again. "So...why didn't your dad come along then? Too busy?"

Blaine did not really know how to answer Nick's question. He did not want to tell him it was because his father did not want much to do with him now that he knew his son was gay. "Yeah...something like that." He looked down at his stuff, biting his lip a bit.

Realizing there was probably more to it than that, but knowing it would probably be insensitive of him to ask, Nick dropped the subject and slid of the bed to go over to Blaine's boxes. "You gonna let me help you unpack?"

Blaine was glad Nick decided not to pester him about his father. He did not want to talk about him right now. "Nah, it's really okay. Shouldn't take me too long."

Nick begged Blaine nonstop to let him help unpack until Blaine finally gave in. He let Nick help make his bed and organize his books and such. Nick had a field day looking through all of Blaine's DVDs. He was a bit surprised at first at all the musicals and Disney movies, but he just about squealed when he saw Blaine's entire collection of Harry Potter movies.

"OH MY GOD. CAN WE HAVE A MARATHON THIS WEEKEND? PLEASE?" Nick literally yelled, clutching at Blaine's arm.

Blaine had jumped about a foot in the air, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, when Nick yelled. "Uh...of course...big fan, huh?" Well, his roommate was getting even more awesome by the minute.

"You have no idea...well, maybe you do." Nick laughed. "The other guys will definitely want to join us. They're all big fans too." He let go of Blaine's arm and happily went back to DVD organizing, humming loudly to himself.

It took a bit of time to get everything unpacked and organized, but once they were finished Blaine felt accomplished. And the time had been spent getting to know his roommate more as well. They had even gotten Blaine's iPod out and sang along with a whole bunch of random music. Nick had been impressed with Blaine's voice and had told him more than once that he would be a great addition to the Warblers.

Closer to six David and Wes returned to walk with Nick and Blaine to the Warblers practice. Blaine was a bit nervous about the meeting, but the guys reassured him it would be quite alright. Nick was talking quite loudly, as seemed normal to Blaine by now, and was going on and on to his friends about having heard Blaine sing and how good he was. Now David and Wes were interested in hearing him too, but Blaine was saved from giving an impromptu performance by them reaching the meeting room.

There were quite a lot of boys in the room, all talking and laughing about. Some gave Blaine curious looks when he came in, but Blaine was too nervous to introduce himself. One of the guys accidentally bumped into him and Blaine had to bite his tongue to keep from reacting in terror – the guy was a bit bigger and almost reminded Blaine of one of the football players from his old school. His frightened look did not go unnoticed by David however. And the taller boy reached out to briefly place a comforting hand on his shoulder before directing him to a seat on a couch. Another boy sat on his other side and introduced himself as Trent. Nick leaned over and excitedly told Trent about Blaine's Harry Potter DVD collection and the marathon they were going to have that weekend. Trent's eyes grew wide and he all but hugged Blaine excitedly. Blaine was starting to feel a little overwhelmed over how friendly everyone was. He almost half expected someone to turn about and go 'oh hey this is just all a joke' and then beat him up.

When the meeting started, Wes stood and took the honor of introducing Blaine to the rest of the group. Blaine managed to squash his nerves long enough to say hello and that he was honored to get the chance to sing with such an impressive group.

It was a little odd that there was not an adult present, but Blaine figured that with as responsible all these guys seemed so far they probably did not need an adult present, except for during trips to shows or something.

By the time the meeting was over Blaine was starting to feel a bit tired. It was still a bit early but it had been such an overwhelming day and he did have to start classes the next day. He wanted to be well rested so he could get off to a good start.

One the way back to their dorms, Wes asked Blaine if he would maybe consider auditioning for a solo. They needed some new talent to showcase considering Ryan – the guy who had been their lead soloist the past three years – had just moved away. Blaine was completely surprised that they would ask him to audition, considering he had just transferred to the school, but he accepted because he loved singing so much, and being in the spotlight was kind of fun for him. Even if he did not get this solo he could at least show them his talent so as he got better they might keep considering him for more solos.

Back at the dorm Blaine about collapsed onto his bed, glad the mattress felt pretty comfortable. He still had to go wash his hair – sleeping with this much gel in his hair always assured he would look dreadful in the morning. Of course this meant his new roommate would also get to see his unruly mop of curls. Blaine had been sort of hoping he would not have to show anyone his crazy curls for a long time, if ever, but having a roommate made that sort of difficult. Ah well. He would survive. Hopefully.

And, to his relief, Nick did not make fun of him for his curls. He even told Blaine he should keep his hair like that more often. Blaine just shook his head violently and said no, he had to keep the curls under control.

When he was finally in bed for the night he texted Abby for a little bit before finally falling asleep. She was curious to hear all about his roommate and new friends. And she was super excited that he was invited to join the Warblers and audition for a solo; she had no doubt he would get it, because he was a really great singer. Blaine was all embarrassed, but he appreciated the faith she had in him. Before saying good night he told her again that he missed her and that hopefully it would not be too long before they got to see each other again.

- - - - - - -- - - - - -

The Harry Potter marathon that weekend was quite a bit of fun. Blaine had been somewhat surprised at how many of the Warblers ended up packed into their dorm room just to watch. He was even more surprised that not only did they all enjoy watching the movies so much, but they also had some pretty heavy discussions on them as well.

The only problem he had that night was when Thad – a Warbler that tended to get teased for being so serious all the time – caught him texting Abby and had jokingly snatched his phone.

"Ooooh? Who's Abby?" He asked excitedly. All the other guys seemed rather interested all of a sudden and Blaine's face reddened.

"She's my best friend." He replied, trying to grab his phone back from the other boy.

"Not a girlfriend?"

Blaine was inwardly panicking a bit. Was he going to have to tell them all right now that he was gay? Would they still want to be his friend? He had not met anyone else yet here who was gay – or if he had he just did not know it. "No. Just my best friend. Believe me."

The guys did not look convinced, but after a few more teasing remarks they let the subject drop.

Later, when everyone had left and Blaine was heading down the hall to return Wes' sweater to his room, he bumped into David.

"Oh, hey, I was just heading over to give Wes his sweater back. He left it in our room."

"Ah, thanks! He's been tearing up the room looking for it." David laughed, taking the sweater Blaine was holding out to him. "I swear that boy can be so forgetful sometimes."

Blaine laughed then felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out he saw a new text from Abby.

David caught him glancing down at the phone and then spoke softly. "Sorry they were teasing you so much about your friend. They do that. You'll find they can be worse than a bunch of gossiping school girls some times."

"Er, it's alright." Blaine shrugged, smiling lightly. "Abby and I have been so close for years that we're used to people thinking we're dating. It's just not going to happen though."

David was silent for a second before speaking again. "I know we've only known each other for a few days, so it's probably not my place to ask, but I – well, we all really – can't help wondering...why you transferred here." Blaine started to look a bit uncomfortable as David spoke. "I mean, since I've started here I've only heard of a few guys transferring during the school year as opposed to at the start. And that's usually been because they were bullied or something else awful happened. Unless they've just moved or something, but judging by the fact that you're boarding here I'm gonna guess you didn't just move out here. You don't have to talk about it, but I just want you to know that we're all really supportive and accepting around here. Especially with the Warblers – you're one of us now and we take care of one another like family."

Blaine was still feeling a little uncomfortable as David continued to speak, but by the time he finished talking Blaine was feeling a bit relieved. Maybe he could just...tell them. It was not like he had to go into details. And they all seemed so nice so far. If anything else, he could at least tell David. Besides Nick, David had been the nicest to him so far since he got to Dalton.

"At...at my old school the teachers never really did much of anything to stop kids from bullying one another. I got hurt really badly and didn't feel safe there anymore so my parents thought it be best if I transferred." Blaine took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "I didn't really want to board, but my dad would rather it if his gay son wasn't around all the time. So I didn't have much of a choice in the end." He hated how bitter he sounded. "Now that I'm here though I am glad I'm boarding. It means I get to spend more time with all of you guys. Which so far has been quite a bit of fun."

"Well, Blaine, you can relax here. I promise none of us are going to hate you or bully you because you're gay, or just for the fun of it." David placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "And I'm sorry to hear about your dad. I'll let you in on a secret: you'll find that a lot of the guys here have issues with at least one if not both of their parents. Lots of things like academics, family related drama in general, or just other random things can cause lots of strain and pressure on their relationships with their parents; so they can relate. My mom thinks I'm wasting my time having fun singing with the Warblers. She never comes to any of the shows and says that if I intend on continue with performing after graduating here I can pretty much assume I'm not welcome at home anymore. I just hope they won't miss me too much there, because I'm not giving this up. It's my dream to perform." He shrugged. "So...you don't have to tell anyone here anything until you're ready. I promise I won't say anything to the guys. Just remember that we'll always be here for you if you need us."

"Thanks." Blaine gave David a watery smile. He really loved how wonderful these guys were. And he appreciated how comforting David was being. It really helped him feel more welcome here. And when he went back to his dorm room afterward he finally told Nick he was gay. It went really well, though Blaine was slightly embarrassed when Nick shouted rather loudly that 'he just knew all along' and that 'a guy who was as obsessed with Disney movies, show tunes, dressing super nicely, and Vogue magazines, like Blaine was, had to be a least a little bit questionable'. Blaine knew he was not ready to tell all the guys right away, but at least he was not as afraid anymore for when that time would come.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Surprisingly, Blaine did get the solo he auditioned for and now, a year later, he was still singing mainly lead for the Warblers. The work load at Dalton was definitely heavy but Blaine had learned to manage it well, along with Warblers practice and hanging out with all of his awesome friends.

He did go home pretty often to visit his mother, Amelia, and Abby and her family. His father would speak to him about academics and that was mainly it. The Warblers had stopped teasing him about his friendship with Abby ages ago once he had finally worked up the courage to tell them all he was gay. And David had been right; instead of treating him differently, the Warblers were just fine with the fact that he was gay. Some of them had even laughed and said 'they knew all along'. Once Blaine was sure that they were not going to turn on him at some point, he managed to open up more to his friends and have more fun. He could always be counted on to help someone if they needed it, and he was very friendly.

Sectionals for Blaine's sophomore year were fast approaching and once again he had gotten a solo. The Warblers were not sure yet who their competition was, but from what they had heard the other groups were good. They were practicing twice as much it felt like to Blaine and, with the added stress of extra school work, he was starting to feel the strain of it all.

Nick – who had decided they were both too awesome to not be roommates again for a second year – had noticed Blaine seemed more stressed out in the past few days so he came up with an idea. One night while Blaine was studying he went over and flopped down on the chair next to him.

"So, Blaine."

Blaine looked up tiredly at his roommate. "Yes, Nick?"

"Wes found out who our competition is for Sectionals." Nick leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the top of Blaine's desk and ignoring the look Blaine gave him for doing so. "Some group of old people and then that 'New Directions' group from McKinley High. I've heard of them; they're supposed to be really good, but Wes doesn't seem too worried."

"Yeah, well, Wes didn't seem too worried about his History test the other week and look what happened there." Blaine pointed out, smirking slightly as he shoved Nick's feet off his desk.

Nick pouted and sniffed, putting his feet right back up again. "You have a point. Well, either way, I was thinking...since we've been working twice as hard lately we should take a little break tomorrow afternoon. I and a few of the others are going all the way to Lima to visit this coffee shop to hang out for a bit."

"You're going on a two hour drive just for a coffee shop?" Blaine gave his friend an odd look.

"Well, David's been there with his girlfriend before cause she lives in Lima. He says they have really good coffee and a lot of McKinley students hang out there after school. So the rest of us get to have fun checking out girls. You should let your curls free too, because you're even better looking with them down and that'll attract more girls for us. Come on, come with, please?" Nick begged, giving Blaine a sad look.

"I'll think about it. Still...two hours?" Blaine could not figure out why they would want to drive that far away just for good coffee. 'Henry's' off campus had amazing coffee; they would hang out there a lot when they had study groups or just wanted to chill.

"Yes, Blaine-y Pie, two hours." Nick grinned. "Besides, you haven't experienced a fun car ride until you've gone with some Warblers."

Blaine-y Pie? Blaine threw his book at Nick.

- - - - - - - - - -

Nick was right in the end. The car ride was hilarious. Blaine could hardly breathe half the time from laughing so hard. They played loud music and sang along, told jokes and funny stories, and were just plain hilarious. The two hour drive was over before he knew it. Nick had begged so badly that in the end Blaine had let his curls alone too, though he felt utterly ridiculous without them gelled down like they normally were. And with the humid weather they seemed to be even curlier than usual.

Blaine had never been to Lima before. They passed McKinley on the way, just as school seemed to be getting out. Tons of students were out and about the campus and in the parking lot. A group of football players could be seen tossing some poor little ginger into the dumpster. Blaine grew angry at the sight, not to mention it brought back some bad memories. David, who was sitting next to him and saw what the jocks had done too, could tell it bothered him and he placed a comforting hand on Blaine's shoulder for a brief second.

It took a while to find a parking spot once they reached the coffee shop, but soon they were all getting out and heading into the shop. It smelled really good – Blaine just loved the smell of fresh coffee. Their uniforms attracted a bit of attention at first, but they just ignored it and went over to order their drinks. Blaine was glad to see they had what he normally got so he went with that and then went over to the little condiment section to talk to Nick until the other guys were ready.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"-rt? Kurt? Kurt!"

Kurt looked away from his open locker to see Mercedes standing next to him. She looked rather concerned. He wondered how long she had been standing there. With how today had been going, between the bullying and his constant worrying over his father's still comatose condition, Kurt had been zoning out pretty much all day. "Yes? Sorry, Mercedes. I was zoning."

"It's okay. Look, we're playing hooky from glee club today, okay?"

"Wait...we're what?" Kurt gave her a confused look. "Why?"

Mercedes smiled sadly at her best friend. "Because we're going to head over to the Lima Bean instead, have coffee and just chill for an hour or so. You've been so stressed out lately; I think you could use the break."

Well, Kurt really did not feel like going to glee club – they had been doing more religious or faith based songs all week and he hated it – so maybe skipping out would be nice. He was sure Mr. Schuester would understand. "Well, alright, Mercedes. I suppose it would be nice. I'll meet you outside after our last class."

"Great. See you then, boo!" And with that Mercedes turned and headed off to her class.

After she was gone Kurt went right back to feeling sad. Maybe he should not have agreed to this. All he wanted to do was go over to the hospital to visit his father and then go home and sleep. He was tired and his body ached from being shoved into lockers all day. Thankfully he had managed not to get slushied this morning.

As he shut his locker and turned to head off to his last class he was suddenly shoved roughly against the row of lockers, causing him to drop his binder and fall. It came as no surprise when he looked up and saw Karofsky sauntering off, looking back just to laugh at him.

Tears of anger and pain welled up in Kurt's eyes, but he managed to keep himself under control as he grabbed his binder and pushed himself up off the floor. He only had one more class to get through. One more class and then he could leave.

His study partner for History was so stupid. Kurt had no doubts he would end up doing the whole project himself, because clearly the other guy had no idea what he was doing.

By the time the bell rang Kurt was pretty much ready to snap at anyone who came close to him. He was glad he did not have to deal with Karofsky, or any of the other jocks who normally bullied him, while he was making his way out of the school. Mercedes was waiting for him out by the steps.

"Alright...let's get out of here before I go insane." Kurt grumbled, walking by his best friend and leading the way to his car.

They headed over to the coffee shop and managed to find a parking spot after several minutes of circling. Apparently the place was busy. Once inside they got in line behind a few boys who seemed to be in a school uniform of some sort.

"Fancy, those." Mercedes commented quietly to Kurt. "Aren't those the uniforms for that Dalton Academy we're competing against in Sectionals?"

Kurt was eying the uniforms up and was agreeing with Mercedes. They were pretty nice. "I think you're right. Isn't that school, like, two hours away though? Wonder why they're all the way out here." Not that he cared too much at the moment. His thoughts kept drifting back to his father and how badly his shoulder hurt from that last shove into the lockers he had gotten from Karofsky during school.

While they were waiting Kurt pulled out his phone to turn the volume up a tiny bit. It was always hard to hear his phone go off in this place when it was busy. And he needed to be able to hear his phone at all times right now just in case the hospital called him about his father.

The lady behind the counter called for it to be his turn before he was finished looking through a few texts so he just put his phone in his pants pocket; probably not the best idea considering he was, as usual, wearing skinny jeans and the pockets did not have a lot of room. Hopefully it would not fall out. That had happened on countless occasions.

After they both got their usual drinks, Kurt and Mercedes went over to the condiment station to grab some napkins before finding a table. As Kurt turned to walk off he accidentally bumped into one of the boys who was wearing the Dalton uniform. Embarrassed, and wincing slightly because he had bumped into the boy with the shoulder that hurt, Kurt did not even look up as he mumbled a quick apology and took off to follow Mercedes to their usual table.

- - - - - - - - - -

The rest of the Warblers had gotten their drinks and they were getting ready to go find a table when Blaine was accidentally bumped into. He turned just as whoever had bumped into him mumbled a quick apology and took off.

"Dang, did you get a look at him?" Nick whistled beside Blaine. "I'm not gay, but that guy was kind of good looking."

"Was he now?" Blaine shrugged, trying not to sound too interested. After all, he may not have gotten a good look at the front of the guy, but from the back he looked pretty good. Shame the guy had to take off so quickly like that.

The group of Warblers found two tables to put together right next to the condiment station. They were quite loud as they talked and laughed at one another for silly things. And the coffee was indeed really good. It did not take long though for Nick to notice Blaine was quite distracted.

"You're still checking him out, aren't you?" He laughed, elbowing Blaine in the side.

"I am not!" Blaine protested, glad his roommate had managed not to make him spill his coffee.

Nick did not look convinced. "Yeah, okay. So that's not the reason you chose to sit at this end so you could face the direction that just so happens to face where he and his friend are sitting? Or the reason why you've been somewhat distracted for the past ten or twenty minutes?"

"Shut up." Blaine glared weakly at him, cursing his face for going lightly red.

"Aww! I knew it!" Nick laughed more. "You should go talk to him."

"I'm not going to just go over there and talk to him." The thought terrified him actually. The guy had his back to their tables, but Blaine had no doubts the guy was at least somewhat good looking. He definitely had a nice body going for him; if those super tight skinny jeans were anything to go by. And his outfit, although a bit unusual for a high school student to wear from what Blaine knew, was pretty stylish and Blaine was sure he had seen that shirt in a copy of Vogue a month or two ago.

"Hello? Earth to Blaine?" Nick was smirking, waving a hand in his face. "You're staring again."

"I am not!" Blaine could feel his face redden.

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too..."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Kurt was pretty sure those Dalton boys were going to make his headache worse if they continued being so loud. "Mercedes, maybe we should have gone somewhere else. I feel like I just want to go over there and duck tape their mouths shut."

"I left my red duck tape at home. It would go great with their uniforms." Mercedes was actually getting pretty annoyed with them too. She had hoped by bringing Kurt here after school it would help him relax a little bit, not stress him out more.

Kurt sighed, crossing his left leg over his right and tapping his foot against the one leg of the table. "I suppose we can't really maim them either, though if any of them are in the Warblers then it could help us sabotage the competition." He laughed. "Nah, I'd rather beat them fair and square. I just really wish these guys would stop being so loud." He grumbled, reaching down to pull his cell phone out of his pocket. Carole had promised to text him from the hospital to keep him updated.

"What the heck?" His pocket was empty. "Oh my god, my phone fell out of my pocket again!" Kurt groaned, looking to see if it was on the floor around his chair.

Mercedes looked too, trying not to laugh. "Well, not gonna lie, your jeans don't normally have much room in the pockets. After however many times it's happened by now I would have thought you'd have learned."

Neither of them could see it anywhere, but then Mercedes gasped lightly. "Maybe it fell out when you bumped into that kid earlier over there."

Kurt's heart sank a little. Did he really have to go over there and look for his phone around all those guys? He would probably die of embarrassment before he even got close. "Okay...maybe I'll just wait till they leave-"

And that's when his phone went off. The beginning of Lady Gaga's song 'Bad Romance' filled the air. Kurt had forgotten just how loud his phone could be. The volume was not turned up all the way, but they were still sitting close enough to the condiment station that it was pretty loud.

They could hear the Dalton boys get quiet for a second and then start to laugh. Kurt let his head fall forward, his forehead smacking the tabletop, as he groaned. How embarrassing.

- - - - - - - - - -

Nick had stopped teasing Blaine a while ago and they were all just talking away when suddenly, and very loudly, they heard Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' playing from nearby.

They all quieted for a second, trying to figure out where the song was coming from. It did not take long for Trent to pop up from looking under the table – he was closest to the condiment station – holding a cell phone. "Ah ha! Here we go. Found the culprit." He set it down on the table.

"Blaine wants Mr. Skinny Jean's bad romance." Nick teased, causing Blaine's face to go bright red and all the guys to laugh hysterically. And then, to their amusement, Nick stood and moved behind Blaine, leaning down to sing in his ear quite loudly. "Oooooh, caught in a bad romance..."

The other guys laughed but wasted no time in joining in as Nick continued, all singing rather loudly and causing other people in the shop to start looking over.

"Rah rah ah ah ah, roma roma ma, Gaga ooh la la, want your bad romance." Nick sang, grinning like a goof as he draped his arms over Blaine's shoulders and pressed their faces close together. Blaine's face was fire engine red by this point and he was sure it was going to melt off.

It seemed like they were all going to gang up on him now as they continued to sing. Nick continued to sing the lead as he jokingly teased Blaine and messed with his curls. Eventually Blaine just gave up and joined in singing because he knew they were just joking about. Plus he could get Nick back, knowing it was not going to freak him out too bad.

"I want your horror, I want your design, cause you're a criminal as long as you're mine. I want your love. Love love love, I want your love." The rest of the Warblers laughed as Blaine started singing and stood from his chair to turn on Nick, grabbing his tie and yanking on it. Nick looked startled at first but then he just laughed, flailing his arms as he ran away to the opposite side of the table across from Blaine who continued singing.

And they sang the song right on to the end, where Blaine finally got hold of Nick again and placed a nice big sloppy kiss right on his cheek to their amusement. Nick made a big show of wiping Blaine's slobber off his face, complaining about 'cooties', though he was laughing the entire time.

They were all still laughing, Blaine included, when they heard someone clearing their throat quite loudly. Blaine turned around on the spot where he was standing next to the table and came face to face with the most gorgeous guy he had ever laid eyes on...and that guy was fuming.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Kurt's embarrassment had quickly turned to annoyance when he realized that the Dalton boys had actually started singing the song. His mouth fell open in surprise at first and he turned to gape as the boys sang, having way too much fun as their lead singers chased each other around the table. And damn if that one singer – the one with a heck of a mess of curls – was not one of the most attractive guys Kurt has ever seen in his life.

His focus on the curly haired guy's appearance was pretty much short lived though as he continued to grow frustratingly more annoyed and angered at their performance. It really should not be bothering him as much as it is, but he has not had the best day and all he wants is his phone back, because the fact that his phone went off means that someone either texted or called him and that could have been the hospital or Carole wanting to talk to him about his dad.

So by the time the guys are done singing, Kurt is just really angry. He totally ignores Mercedes' comment about how it looked like they actually got to see some of their competition after all. Instead he gets up and slowly makes his way over to their joined tables, giving his best bitch glare to the curly haired boy who was standing with his back towards him. Kurt cleared his throat loudly, waiting for the boy to turn around.

He just about falters when the boy finally turns around, because he is even more attractive up close. Kurt refuses to let this guy's looks get in the way of his chance to blow off some anger, because, sadly, this is just what he needs. He knows it is not right to take his anger out on these guys, but his emotions have been building up like a storm over the past couple of weeks and he was going to explode at some point if he did not let it out some how. Some times singing just did not cut it.

"You know, it's rude to hold on to someone else's phone. The proper thing would have been to just turn it in at the counter." Kurt glared. The other boy seemed to wilt a little at his mean look, which made Kurt feel just a tad bit guilty, but he pushed his guilt aside.

"Sorry..." The curly haired boy replied quietly. "We really were going to turn it in afterward..."

"And I don't know what it's like over at Prep boy school town, but over here not too many people are fond of impromptu performances. You should just be lucky you're not-"

"Hey, boo, come on," Mercedes appeared next to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "It's okay, just leave them alone-"

Kurt shrugged her hand off and shot her a scathing glance. "Look, Mer," his voice was raising dangerously, but he cut it down to a harsh whisper so hardly anyone could hear. He did not need everyone knowing his personal business. "I've had a really rough day today. I've been shoved into freaking lockers more than I can count, I've had to deal with all of you guys shoving church songs on me every time I walk into the choir room, and my dad is in the hospital, maybe dying, and the last thing I need now" his voice rose as he pointed an accusatory finger towards the Dalton boys who were all quite quiet by this point, "is Curly Top and his gang of Merry Men singing obnoxiously loud while I'm trying to just have a moment to de-stress and have coffee with my best friend."

Mercedes looked a little frightened by how angry Kurt was by this point, but she knew better than to shout back. She just hoped they could get out soon so she could try and calm him down.

"Er..." the curly haired boy's voice was quite soft and timid by this point, "here's your phone..."

Kurt turned his head to see the boy was holding his phone out towards him with a shaking hand. His eyes locked on the boy's and that's when he about faltered a second time. Those hazel eyes were gorgeous, but not only that...they gave Kurt a strange sense of d�j� vu, like he had seen them before. Now was not the time to even think about that though. Angrily, Kurt snatched the phone from his grasp and held it tightly, afraid he might lose it again. Now he figured it was probably a good time to leave, but not before at least trying to intimidate these darn Warblers a little bit more, considering they were competition.

"And just so you know, Warblers, the girls and I from McKinley's New Directions sang that song ages ago and we did a way better job. So you guys better bring it at Sectionals because we're all going to take you down." And with that he turned and made, what he was sure was, a Rachel Berry worthy exit. He wondered if all of her storm outs of the choir room felt as good as the one he just did felt.

Mercedes bit her lip, watching Kurt go. Then she just turned and muttered a quick 'sorry about that' before quickly following her best friend out of the shop.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Blaine was kind of stuck, frozen in place, unable to bring himself to sit down again at the table. That guy...that unbelievably attractive guy had been...

"Bitchy, much?" Nick spoke up from where he was sitting again. The other guys were all sort of still shocked from what had just happened, but they managed to mostly nod in agreement.

Well, appearances could be deceiving. Blaine had to agree with his fellow Warblers, but even then...

The guy had been so damn attractive. Blaine's mind had short circuited a bit when he found himself standing so close to him. His skin had been flawless, his hair perfectly styled, and his lips had looked so perfect that Blaine had, for one crazy second, wondered what it might feel like to kiss them. He almost laughed hysterically to himself – why was he even thinking about that guy like this? The other boy was obviously part of their competition and, not only that, he had been awfully rude to just snap out at them like he had. But then again...unlike the others, Blaine had managed to catch most of the whispered conversation the boy had had with his friend. And it had made Blaine feel a bit guilty. If the boy's dad was in the hospital than he was probably constantly waiting on edge for any calls that may give him updates on his father's condition. So, yeah, maybe they should not have just started singing and instead turned the phone in right away. It was kind of too late to change that now. Maybe Blaine would see him around at Sectionals. Then he could apologize. Hopefully.

The part that bothered Blaine the most though...was the boy's eyes. He could not remember but he was pretty sure he had seen them before. They were a gorgeous blue color. And they were now imprinted in Blaine's mind and he could not stop thinking about them. Somewhere he had seen those eyes before. Somewhere. He didn't know where and he didn't know when.

"You think he was just bluffing about them singing 'Bad Romance' better?" David asked, looking somewhat concerned. His concerned look was more directed towards Blaine though, because he could tell something was bothering his friend.

Wes did not look convinced. "Who knows. If he wasn't, then it could be a little worrisome that he felt comfortable enough telling us that."

"Or he's just delusional and really thinks they're better than us." Thad chuckled. "I'm sure we'll be the ones taking them down at Sectionals." The rest of the guys laughed. They were not too concerned; with all the practice they had been doing they were sure to place first at Sectionals.

"Still..." Nick smirked, looking over at Blaine, "Curly Top and his gang of Merry Men?"

Blaine threw his empty coffee cup at Nick's head as the boys all laughed.

- - - - - - - -- - -- - -

"Kurt! Kurt, wait up!" Mercedes finally managed to catch up with Kurt by his car where he was waiting for her. The driver's side door was open and he was sitting in the driver's seat, his forehead resting against the steering wheel. "Kurt..." She stood next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. That was when she realized he was shaking.

"I'm sorry, Mer." Kurt managed to choke out as he fought back sobs. "I didn't mean to yell at you. You've been nothing but nice to me through all of this and you're my best friend. Everything has just been building up lately and I guess I sort of just lost control."

"It's okay, Kurt." Mercedes smiled sadly at her friend. "I'm not mad at you. I know things have been stressful for you lately. I'm just sorry the afternoon didn't go as I planned." She leaned in to give Kurt a hug. "Let's just blame it on those darn Warblers. It'll give us more of an incentive to beat them at Sectionals."

Kurt chuckled weakly, hugging his best friend back. "You're right. We've so got them beat...though, then again, I hate to admit it but they were good."

"I know!" Mercedes laughed. "Like...really really good. I figure if Mr. Schue has Finn and Rachel do a duet again though we'll have them beat."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he probably will do that, though it would be nice to have someone else singing a solo this time. Like me, or you. We're both pretty amazing."

"Kurt, why don't you ask him to let you solo then?" Mercedes asked him. She went over to the other side of the car and got into the front passenger seat. "You've got an amazing voice. Way better than Mr. Curly Top back there."

"I don't know about that." Kurt snorted. "But thanks, Mercedes. I guess I could ask Mr. Schue, but usually he doesn't listen to me, or anyone else for that matter. We'll probably be singing another Journey song after having to deal with another Finchel duet. Mr. Schue is pretty predictable by this point."

Mercedes sighed, shutting her door and buckling her seat belt up while Kurt started the car so they could leave. "I just think you should ask him again. Maybe this time will be different."

"Yeah...well, we'll see." Kurt shrugged. He turned the music up and they sang along with songs on the radio all the way till they reached Mercedes' house.

"You want to come in for a bit? We could watch a movie or something." Mercedes asked before getting out of the car.

Kurt smiled but shook his head. "Sorry, I was going to head on over to the hospital to check on my dad."

Mercedes reached out to take Kurt's hand in her own and squeezed it gently. "Alright. Let me know if you need anything, okay? You're my best friend, Kurt, and I love you. I'll always be here for you."

"Thanks, Mer." Kurt leaned across the seat to give her a hug. "I love you too. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

After Mercedes was gone, Kurt drove off to the hospital. It was getting later in the evening and he was tired, but there was no way he was going a day without seeing his father. He needed to be with him for a little while, talk to him, and just hold his hand.

The nurse at the desk was pretty familiar with him by now. She waved to him when he came down the hall and asked him how his day was. He lied and said it had been okay.

Once he was in his father's room he went over to stand next to the hospital bed, reaching out to take his father's hand in his own right hand.

"Daddy, I love you." Kurt pulled a chair over and sat next to the bed as close as he could get, still holding his father's hand. "We're part of a team, you and I, and we need each other. I know you'll get better. I just know it." His eyes were tearing up again and he held his left hand close to his heart as he rested his forehead against the edge of the bed, closing his eyes as tears silently fell. "I believe in you, daddy, and I believe in us. We're going to make it; you just need to wake up..." And after a bit he fell asleep, still holding his father's hand.

Only an hour or so later Kurt was woken up by something tugging at his hand. He lifted his head, his eyes slightly red and puffy from crying. His eyes widened when he realized his father was awake and watching him. "Dad? Oh my god, dad, you're awake! I have to get a nurse." Kurt called loudly for a nurse until one came running in. It was the nurse from the desk and she ran to get the doctor as soon as she saw Burt was awake.

While they waited for the doctor, Kurt kept a tight hold of his father's hand. "Dad...you're awake, oh my god, I was so scared." He was crying again, but by now he did not care. His father was awake and smiling at him and Kurt had not felt this happy in weeks. "I love you so much, dad."

His father managed to squeeze his hand a bit and smiled up at him. "I love you too, son."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---

That night, when Blaine went to bed, he said a silent prayer that whoever that boy from the coffee shop was...that his father would get better. And when he finally fell asleep, he was holding his right hand close to his heart, something that had been a habit for such a long time now that he did not even remember why he did it. All he knew was that it comforted him and made him feel safe, and that he tended to do it more often when something was bothering him. Which something was...something that had to do with that boy from earlier; Blaine just could not figure out what. All he could think about were those gorgeous blue eyes staring back at him.