When Blaine came to the realization that he was gay he was not sure who to tell first.� Telling his parents was a terrifying thought - after all, he knew for a fact that his father was not in support of gay relationships - so in the end he told Amelia first. Over the years he and Amelia had become quite close and Blaine always went to her when he needed someone to talk to.

�

Bringing the subject up was difficult at first so Blaine had to find a way to make himself feel a bit more comfortable.� So he asked Amelia if she would like to watch a movie with him.

�

"As long as it's not Harry Potter again, because I think we've watched it the past ten times we've watched a movie together." She replied, laughing.

�

"But Harry Potter is the best!" Blaine protested. Ever since the books and movies had been coming out Blaine had been obsessed with them. Whenever he was feeling down or bored he would pull out either one of the books or one of the movies and get lost in them.

�

In the end they settled down to watch Mulan because Blaine still loved Disney movies just as much, and Mulan was one of the best, in his opinion.

�

About half way through the movie, Blaine turned the volume down so the sounds became background noise. He was curled up on the one couch, and he turned so he could see Amelia better.� "Hey, Amelia..."

�

Slightly confused as to why Blaine had suddenly turned the volume down, Amelia was giving him a questioning look. "Yeah?"

�

"Do you..." Blaine picked at the edge of his shirt sleeve nervously, "have you ever met anyone who was gay?"

�

"A few people, yes." Amelia replied. "Why do you ask?"

�

Blaine had been trying to judge by her response if she was okay with gay people or not, but he could not tell from her tone of voice. "Were you...okay with them?" He asked quietly.

�

Amelia was giving him a curious look now, but she just nodded. "Sure.� When I was little an uncle of mine was gay. I even had a friend in college who was gay.� I'm not going to treat someone any different just because of their sexual orientation."

�

Well, that made Blaine feel a lot better. "Oh, and...you wouldn't treat me any different would you? If- if I was gay?"

�

"Oh, sweetie, of course not." Amelia replied sincerely. "I'll still love you just the same. Are you trying to tell me that you are?"

�

Blaine nodded, feeling a lot less nervous now that he had managed to get it out in the open. Someone else knew. He did not have to keep it a secret all to himself anymore. "Should I...should I tell my parents?"

�

Amelia was silent for a moment.� They both knew Mr. Anderson's views on the topic. Mrs. Anderson on the other hand, well, they were not entirely sure her opinion on the matter. "It's up to you, Blaine.� I suppose you should tell them at some point, but it does not have to be right away if you don't feel comfortable yet with doing so. You know that no matter what though you'll still have me, sweetheart. I love you."

�

"Thank you, Amelia." Blaine managed to choke out. He had gotten a little teary eyed after being so relieved that one of the people he loved most in the world was still going to love him despite the fact that he was gay.

�

"Come here, hun." Amelia held her arms open and Blaine hopped over to curl up beside her, always feeling safe when she gave him hugs. "You know...you might want to tell Abby. She's very accepting of everyone, and by this point she's pretty much your best friend. I'm sure it would make you feel better if you told her."

�

Blaine nodded in reply. He and Abby did hang out a lot. She was one of the greatest friends ever. And it would be nice to have someone his age to talk to about this as well.

�

He decided the next time they hung out he would tell her.� For now, Blaine turned the volume up on the television again and he and Amelia finished the movie cuddled up together.

�

Now that they were older, Blaine and Abby were allowed to hang out in town together without an adult, as long as they called their parents every once in a while to check in with them.� Amelia dropped them off at the mall one weekend and would be back to pick them up whenever they got bored or if something came up.

�

"Soooo, where should we start this time? I so want to look at those cute stuffed animals at the Hallmark store again." Abby giggled, skipping in through the open doorway to the mall. Blaine had definitely learned by now - thanks to his parents - that manners were important.� Not only that, he loved how, in some of the older movies he had watched, the gentlemen were always so chivalrous and nice to the ladies. He was sure it made them feel good and everyone deserved that at least once in a while if not all the time.� So he always held the door open for Abby wherever they went. And in general he just showed everyone proper respect.� His parents loved it - it made them look good as well, especially when they had lots of important business people over.

�

"Sounds to me like a good place to start." He replied, smiling as he watched his best friend look about enthusiastically.�

�

After having left the hospital a couple years back, Abby had had a few more cases of the illness.� At one point the doctors had not even been sure she would make it.� Blaine had visited her all the time, hoping and praying that she would get better.� And it had worked - she had been free of her illness for the past four years now.� She was always amazed, because even she had believed she might not have made it past age ten - it gave her a greater appreciation for life. Now they were both fifteen and she was going strong.� She had even grown several inches and was amused by the fact that she was taller than Blaine.� Her hair was way past her shoulders now, but it still curled a lot.� Not as much as Blaine's hair did.� His hair definitely had hers beat in the curly department - he liked to tell her she could have all his curls; he did not want them. Abby was definitely pretty, but Blaine had never been able to think of her anymore beyond that of a sister and best friend.

�

They made it to the Hallmark store and Abby ran over to squeal over how adorable the stuffed animals were. Blaine had to admit the penguin one was adorable.� They talked about the stuff in the store as they looked about and after a bit headed off to find another store to look through. After a bit their conversation turned to school and friends.

�

When Abby started attending the same school as Blaine they had both been ecstatic. Sure Blaine made friends well - he was quite the people person when he wanted to be - but it was hard being a new kid when all the other kids already had their little groups of friends they had made over the years.� Abby knew exactly how he felt and so they just spent all their time there together.� Little by little they had added a few others to their group, but together they were still the closest. Abby had been the one there for him when some of the popular guys had decided to start picking on him for his great interest in musicals and Disney movies.� And Blaine in return had been there for her when she was getting picked on by some of the other girls at school for not dressing as cool as they did or for not being as cool as they were.� Blaine thought some people were just too shallow sometimes.�

�

What Blaine had not told Abby though was that it seemed that more and more lately he was getting bullied more often.� The hurtful words and comments did not always hurt him as much as the shoving into lockers and hitting did.� Just the other day even he had gotten hit right in the stomach by one of the football players as some of the other team members stood watching and laughing. His excuse to the nurse when he went in after throwing up was that he just felt sick that day.� It was the same excuse he gave his parents and Amelia when he was sent home.� No, he had definitely not told Amelia yet about the bullying. He was afraid to tell anyone, really. Especially when the jocks threatened that they could do worse if he blabbed to anyone. Blaine did not want to know what ‘worse' entailed.

�

Blaine was pulled from his thoughts by Abby tugging on his arm. "Look, B!" She dragged him over to a new store that had apparently moved into the mall since the last time they had visited. There was a neat little display of bow ties arranged near the entrance. Each one was a different color and had a different design or pattern on it.� "Remember how you used to always tell me how bummed you were that no stores around here sold fun bow ties?"

�

"Cause I always wanted to wear them to school." He did dress kind of oddly compared to the rest of the guys in school. Not over the top odd, but just different.

�

"Exactly! And here you go!" Abby giggled, dragging him onward into the new store.� The clothing was unique that's for sure, but Blaine loved it.� And was that really a display for brightly colored skinny jeans? Oh yeah, new favorite store, definitely.� "This is, like, your store, B."

�

"I know..." Blaine laughed, "my dad would totally disapprove, but I'm loving this. You think I can find a pair of red skinny jeans in my size?"

�

Abby laughed and skipped over to the display. "I'm sure they do. You're super skinny yourself, Mr. Hobbit."

�

"Hey!" Blaine protested, laughing as he went over to join her by the display. "I'm not a hobbit." He pouted and looked through the jeans until he found a pair his size.� He was about to turn and head for a dressing room when Abby suddenly took his hand in hers, causing him to look up at her in confusion. "What's up, Abby?"

�

"Uh...nothing." Abby replied, sounding a bit off.� "Um, so there's a whole bunch of guys in uniforms over there. They look really nice, don't they?"

�

Blaine looked over in the direction his best friend was looking and saw that indeed there was a small group of guys in uniforms standing together nearby.�

�

One of the guys from the group looked over and caught them staring. He was slightly taller than the rest of the guys, with soft brown hair and a more well built frame.� The guy caught Blaine's eye and smiled, staring a bit longer than was necessary.

�

Blaine could feel his whole face go red and he tore his gaze away, embarrassed. "Yeah...they have nice, er, uniforms."

�

"That guy is totally checking you out." Abby huffed, sounding somewhat annoyed.

�

"Oh god, he's still staring?" Blaine squeaked.� Sure he may like guys, but that did not mean he knew how to handle obvious signs of interest.� Besides, there was already a guy he really liked, and hopefully he would be able to tell him soon...maybe.� "Let's just...come back some other time, Abbs." He put the jeans back and led Abby out of the store, almost scared to let go of her hand.

�

Once they were out of there and had headed on down to the food court to sit for a while, Blaine felt like he could breathe normally again.� Heck, it wasn't that the guy back there had not been cute or anything. He had just sort of panicked a bit.� This was just all so new to him.

�

"Blaine? Blaaaaine! Sheesh!"

�

He looked up at Abby, surprised by how almost angry she looked. "What?"

�

"I've been talking to you for the past two minutes and you haven't heard, like, a word I've said." She huffed, giving him an annoyed look.

�

"Sorry..." Blaine sighed, feeling bad for having ignored his friend. "You know...you've sounded really annoyed since we were in that store back there. Everything alright?"

�

Abby's face went slightly red and she shook her head. "I'm fine, I swear. I guess...I don't know." She shrugged, looking rather uncomfortable now. "That guy and all..."

�

Blaine was confused. Why would that guy have been such an annoyance to her?

�

"You just seemed...uncomfortable about how he was looking at you and I didn't want you to feel like that." She shrugged, not looking him in the eye.

�

Oh. Blaine bit his lip, knowing he had to tell her now.� This was the perfect moment to do so; he just hoped she would not stop being his friend because of it.� "Abby, I was uncomfortable...but not for reasons you might think."

�

"What do you mean?" Abby looked over at him again, confused.

�

"Abbs...I'm gay." He tried to read her reaction as he continued. She just looked surprised so far. "And...I've never had another guy so obviously show interest in me before so I panicked. I didn't know how to respond so I just ran from it..."

�

"I see..." Abby replied quietly. She looked down at the table for a few seconds then shrugged. "Well, next time I'll totally introduce you myself, cause that guy was cute."

�

Blaine almost laughed in relief.� It looked like Abby was still going to be his friend too. Which was good; he did not want to lose his best friend.� "I'm sure a guy like that could have way better looking guys than me." Besides, Blaine would never want to be in a relationship where looks were the only thing that mattered.� He wanted to be with a guy who would understand him, appreciate him for who he is, and who would hopefully not mind it if he treated them like they were the most important person on the entire planet.

�

"Don't sell yourself short," Abby laughed, "you're good looking, trust me. But I know you'd rather be with someone who takes the time to get to know you first. Jumping headfirst into a relationship without knowing what you're getting into is never a good idea." She stood and grabbed her bag. "You want to go back to that store? I bet those guys are gone now."

�

"Sure..." Blaine stood.� Well, he really hoped those guys were gone.� He wondered what school or group they were from. Those uniforms were really nice looking.

�

Thankfully when they reached the store it was devoid of the group of guys from before. Blaine and Abby went back over to look at the jeans and Abby made him try on a pair of each different color.� There was just no way he was getting the electric green ones though.� Ew. And of course he wanted to try on about every single bow tie they had at the store.� He even got a few in the end, feeling quite excited about getting to finally wear one to school.

�

It kind of bothered him though that Abby seemed quieter than she had earlier. She was still smiling, but something seemed a bit off.� Blaine wanted to ask, but he was afraid to upset her.

�

After a while of shopping about, they called Amelia who came to pick them up.� Blaine rode in the passenger seat on the way home while Abby had asked to sit in the back.� The ride was quiet and at one point, when he snuck a quick glance back, he was sure he saw her wiping her eyes a bit.

�

When they dropped Abby off Blaine got out of the car and ran over to give her a big hug. "I love you, Abbs. I'll see you at school on Monday, okay?"

�

"Okay." Abby hugged him back tightly. "I love you too, B, lots." She kissed his forehead lightly then went into her house, not looking back.

�

Blaine still felt somewhat worried that something was wrong when he got into the car.

�

"So, did you tell her?" Amelia asked quietly as she pulled away from the curb.

�

"Yeah." Blaine replied, nodding. "I guess she's okay with it and we're still friends. So that's good, right?"

�

"That's great." Amelia smiled. "I'd be sad for you to lose your best friend."

�

"Me too. It'd hurt too much."

�

That Monday Abby was not at school.� It was the day Blaine finally came out to his friends.� And the day that he kind of, sort of, told Josh that he liked him, only to be turned down.� It was also the day that the jocks decided they were through with handing out the verbal threats and actually going through with them instead. And it landed Blaine in the hospital. So far, one of the worst days of his life.

�

Blaine had managed to sneak out of the house wearing one of his brand new bow ties - a plain black one that went well with his new red skinny jeans and white button up top.� Well, in terms of sneaking out, he mainly just had to make sure his father had not seen.� His mother had caught him putting together the outfit Sunday night, but, thankfully, she had just smiled and told him he would look nice in it.� Blaine had almost told her right then and there about being gay, but something had held him back.

�

The morning had started off fine, despite the fact that Abby was obviously absent.� Blaine had sat with his friends - Josh, Mandy, Ryan, and Shannon - in home room and had discussed what they might sing that afternoon during glee club.

�

Their high school's glee club was small and did not compete in shows - thanks to the rule stating that a group needed at least twelve members to compete, and they only had six, Abby included - so they spent most of the school year just singing whatever songs they wanted to perform and trying to find small musicals they could put on for parents in the spring.� Blaine loved performing and singing so joining the small club had been one of the best things he had done since starting high school.� Sure it led to them being some of the biggest losers in the school, but at least they had fun and they had each other.

�

By lunchtime Blaine had finally decided to work up the courage to tell his friends his secret.� All four of them had just shrugged and said that was fine - it did not change a thing; they were still all going to be friends.� Shannon had even giggled and commented how she had thought he was for a while now. Blaine could not believe how good this was going. So maybe coming out at school would not be too terrible, as long as he avoided the jocks. They already bullied him enough as it was just thinking he was gay, but once they knew that he really was gay...well, things would probably get worse. So as long as he avoided those guys then maybe he could make it.

�

Well, that's what he thought until after lunch when somehow the news got spread about and kids were giving him odd looks all through the hallways.� It was extremely uncomfortable. He even skipped his history class to hide out in the library, sitting in a corner with his face in a book.�

�

On his way to his last class Blaine spotted Josh getting stuff at his locker.� Swallowing his nerves he walked over to say hi, ignoring the stares he was still getting from kids.� "Hey, Josh..."

�

Josh looked up from his math textbook and smiled at Blaine. "Hey, B. Didn't see you in history class. You didn't skip, did you? That'd be very odd, Mr. I-never-break-the-rules Anderson."

�

Blaine laughed, looking down at the floor. "Yeah, I know, but, yes, I did skip. I just wasn't feeling well..."

�

He looked up in time to see Josh give him a sad smile. "It's cause everyone keeps staring, huh? Everyone's been talking about you." Okay, Blaine did not like that. "Don't worry; it'll die down after a day or two.� It is high school, big news around here changes as fast as kids change their Facebook statuses half the time. And you know you can talk to me or any of the other kids from glee club."

�

"Thanks, Josh." Blaine smiled, really hoping his face was not bright red right now.� Josh always knew what to say to make him feel a bit better. "I really hope that happens...cause all this staring is ridiculous and makes me feel like an animal on display at the zoo." He chuckled nervously.

�

"I can imagine." Josh shut his locker, shifting his bag strap on his shoulder. "Well, I have to get to math class, so I'll see you after school for club then, okay?"

�

"Alright..." Blaine replied quietly. As Josh started walking away though Blaine made a split decision and reached out quickly to grab his friend's arm. "Josh, wait." His heart was beating heavily and he wondered if he was going to pass out from nerves.

�

His friend turned back, giving him a questioning look.� Or was it a slightly uncomfortable one?� "Yeah?"

�

Blaine dropped his friend's arm and was pretty sure his face was on fire by this point. "I was just thinking...I was wondering, if, maybe...I just-" why was this so hard all of a sudden?

�

"Blaine, I'm not gay." Josh spoke quietly, sounding somewhat sad for him. "I'm sorry."

�

"Oh...right, no, I'm sorry." Blaine wondered if getting your heart broken was suppose to hurt this much. "I'll just...go. You have math." His heart was going to explode...or something like that. He knew it.

�

"Yeah." Josh bit his lip, not sure what else to say. "I'll see you later, B."

�

Josh was half way down the hallway before Blaine could make himself talk again. "Josh!" His friend looked back, pausing. "This doesn't...it doesn't change anything, right? We're still friends?"

�

"Of course." Josh smiled that perfect smile Blaine adored so much. "Don't skip anymore classes, goof." And then he turned down a different hallway and was gone.

�

Classes had started already; no one else was in the hallway.� Blaine leaned back against a locker and slid to the floor, bumping his head back against the locker a few times. "I am an idiot."

�

He ended up not going to his last class, instead choosing to go to the choir room to just sit.� Checking his phone he saw still no texts from Abby. He had texted her a few times through out the day to see if she was alright.� It worried him when she missed school - he was always worrying that her illness might come back.

�

Abby...what's going on?

�

When the bell signaling the end of school rang, Blaine left the choir room, not wanting to be there when Josh showed up.� Sure they may still be friends, but Blaine really liked him and knowing that he never had a chance broke his heart and it was going to hurt seeing Josh for a while, he knew it. He left his bag by his chair though, figuring his friends would just think he was coming back at some point. Then, once they left, he'd come back for it.

�

Later, when he woke up in the hospital, he would wish he had just stayed in the choir room and faced Josh.

�

Blaine remembered leaving the room then heading down the hallway to his locker. Halfway there he was grabbed from behind and dragged in the opposite direction. No one had really paid much attention to his pleas for help. It probably did not help that he was being dragged off by some of the biggest guys on the football team - they were quite intimidating; no one wanted to stand up to them ever if they could help it.

�

The next thing he knew they were outside behind the bleachers.� It was a deserted area that most people normally did not venture to.� There was litter on the ground that students dropped through the bleachers during games and it was somewhat cool from the shade.�

�

He was tossed to the ground as the huge guys laughed around him.� "It's about time you told everyone what a homo you are. Not that the rest of us didn't already know it. Your entire outfit screams fag."

�

Blaine gritted his teeth, knowing that if he yelled back it would only fuel their fire. Although staying silent could make it worse too. The guys would probably beat him up no matter what he did.

�

"They need to kick freaks like you out of the school." One of the jocks landed a kick to his side and he bit his lip to keep from yelling out. "Some of us don't feel safe, you know."

�

"Yeah, we can't just have you gays walking freely about, stealing looks at us while we change in the locker rooms."

�

Blaine was pulled up and slammed against the cold metal of the bleachers, the pain rocketing through his back.� It seemed like the guys were going to have fun taking turns in beating him up too.

�

"Can't even fight back, pussy. You should go back to the girl's school where you belong."

�

Anger coursed through Blaine and he tried to shove forward, trying to aim a punch at the kid's face, but another one of the football players got to him first, landing a hit at his eye. Blaine saw stars, black spots crowding his vision as he fell to the ground.� Tears were coming to his eyes and he was trying desperately not to cry - he knew they would think him even weaker if he did.

�

"Think you're so tough trying that little move? You need to be taught a lesson, fairy."

�

And that was the last thing he remembered hearing before he was kicked again and the back of his head collided with metal, knocking him out cold.

�

_ - - - - - - - - -

�

The first person he saw when he woke up was Abby.� She was sitting in a chair that was placed right next to his bed and her eyes were puffy and red from apparently crying.� When she saw that he was conscious she quickly stood and grabbed his left hand gently, sobbing.

�

"Oh my god, Blaine! I was so scared! But you're awake now and it's been hours..." She could not say any more because she was crying so hard.

�

Blaine was confused at first. What had happened? His head hurt like hell, that much he knew, and his back.� He could not feel the fingers on his right hand though and that scared him for a second until he looked and realized it was just because his right arm, from the elbow down, was in a cast. Well, that explained it. At least they were not missing like he had thought for a crazy second.� "Abby..." He winced at the pain he felt when he tried turning his head.

�

"Don't. Don't move your head, Blaine." Abby scolded. "You suffered a concussion when your head hit the side of the bleachers, not to mention how many times you were kicked..." her voice shook with anger.

�

"Kicked?" Blaine tried to remember, ignoring the pain that was slowly starting to grow stronger now that he was more awake.� Suddenly it came back to him - the insults, the kicking, being tossed about.� Anger rushed through him and he gritted his teeth, only to wince at the pain it caused in his jaw.� He should have just stayed in that damn choir room and faced Josh. "Who found me?"

�

"Mr. Johnson." Their glee club instructor. "Apparently you left your bag in the choir room? Anyway, everyone was there the whole time during practice and when you didn't come back to pick up your bag or answered any of their calls or texts they grew worried." Abby sat back down on her chair, still holding Blaine's hand. "They searched the entire school and finally Mr. Johnson decided to check outside. You were unconscious but still breathing so he called 911 and got an ambulance to come. Blaine...who did this to you?"

�

Thank god he had decided to leave his bag behind, and thank goodness his friends still liked him. Otherwise who knew what could have happened. It might have been too late by the time someone found him.

�

"Blaine?"

�

"Some football players. " Blaine replied quietly. "I left my bag to go to my locker and they dragged me off.� No one even stopped them." His voice caught as tears sprang to his eyes. "They just watched or completely ignored my calls for help..." He started sobbing then.

�

Abby was tearing up as well.� She kept hold of Blaine's hand and leaned over the bed, very lightly pressing her forehead against his and whispering soothing words as he cried. "It's going to be alright, B. I'm here. They can't hurt you anymore..." Well...if he went back to school and the school board didn't do anything to the football players then they might try something again. So technically they could hurt him.� It made Abby scared.� She loved Blaine and did not want to see him get hurt this badly again.

�

It was shortly after Blaine had somewhat managed to calm down when the doctor came in.� He informed Blaine that while his skull had luckily managed to remain unfractured from it's collision with the bleachers they were still being careful due to his concussion. His right wrist had been broken and there were huge bruises all over his body. All in all they figured he had managed to get off luckier than what he should have.� The beating he had suffered could have led to a lot worse, like broken ribs and other injuries.� Blaine was really glad when they said after his wrist was fixed, and he went to physical therapy, he would still be able to play piano.� Playing the piano was important to him and it would be devastating not to be able to continue it.

�

When he asked the doctor where his parents were he was informed that after he had left for school that day his parents had been called out for a business trip.� It was a few hour long flight there and back so they were on their way back now, having canceled the important meeting in favor of making sure their son was alright.� Amelia had dropped Abby off, having had to watch the house and Dawson. Abby was to call her as soon as Blaine was awake; which she did while the doctor talked to Blaine.

�

Once the doctor had left the room, Abby went back to her chair next to Blaine's bed and reached over to brush some of the curls from Blaine's eyes. "I'm so sorry, B."

�

"Why are you sorry?" Blaine gave her a sad smile. "It's not your fault I ended up in here."

�

"I know..." she sighed, "but I feel like it is. If I had been at school then I'd have been with you the entire day and they wouldn't have been able to drag you off like they did."

�

Blaine slowly, carefully, turned his head to look up at his best friend. "I texted you all day, even called during lunch. Why didn't you respond? You haven't really talked to me since Saturday afternoon. This isn't...it's not about me being gay, is it?"

�

Abby looked guilty as Blaine asked her about why she had not been at school. When he asked if it was because he was gay she looked down at him with a slightly horrified look. "No! You being gay is not a problem, I swear.� I mean...well, it is" her face went slightly red, "but not in, like, a ‘oh I'm going to hate you because of it like all those homophobes out there' sort of way."

�

"I'm confused." Blaine chuckled, giving her a questioning look.

�

"It's just..." Abby sighed, shrugging, "I've...really liked you for a long time. And hearing that you're gay, knowing that I'll never get to have my first kiss with you like I was hoping, it's kind of heart breaking."

�

Wow. Okay. Blaine had totally not seen that coming.� He must have been super oblivious or something for all that ‘long time'.� "Wait...so, you like me?" It took a moment to sink in fully.

�

"That's what I just said, silly." Abby giggled, shaking her head.� "Look, I know...it's not going to happen. I've accepted it now. I just had to take the day off and let myself be sad over it for a bit.� I'll find someone else in the future. I know that. I'm always going to care for you though, okay? You're my best friend, B."

�

"You're my best friend too, Abbs." Blaine squeezed her hand lightly. "I'm sorry...things turned out like this."

�

"No, don't you dare go being sorry for who you are." Abby scolded him. "You need to accept yourself for who you are and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.� You're perfect just the way you are, B. Don't let what those football players did make you hide. You're stronger than that. You've always been strong and courageous.� They're some of the reasons I like you so much. And you have me and our friends from glee club. We're all going to be there for you. So you're not alone."

�

Blaine was getting hopelessly teary eyed again. "Thanks, Abbs. I promise I won't stop being myself just because of them."

�

They were quiet for a few seconds before Blaine spoke up again. "You know, before I realized I was gay...I had always thought you were going to be my first kiss too."� Abby laughed, making him smile.

�

"Would it be terrible if I asked you to still...to still be my first kiss?" She asked him shyly.

�

"I feel like...it might be, because I don't want to hurt your feelings, but if you really want me to then you better lean down here because I can't get up to where you are." Blaine chuckled.� He was somewhat nervous though; he had never been kissed before and he was sure he would be terrible at it.

�

Abby giggled and stood from her chair to slowly lean down over the short side railing on the bed. "This is so not how I pictured this. It was more like...we were at the park or in the school hallway or something."

�

"The school hallway?" Blaine laughed. "Okay, at least I only pictured the park or the mall. Why the school hallway? So unromantic."

�

"Oh shush, you!" Abby giggled. Before either of them could say another word she closed the remaining distance between them and pressed her soft lips gently against his.� She was afraid to hurt him, considering he did get punched in the jaw, so she only applied slight pressure to the kiss. Blaine managed to get almost a face full of her hair, so with his good hand he reached up and gently pushed it away up over her shoulder his hand then resting on her cheek softly.� Honestly it seemed like a very good, nice first kiss, but Blaine really did not feel anything that might suggest romance or other such feelings while they did so.

�

Seconds later Abby pulled away, standing up straight again. "So..." Blaine started, "you're like a pro at this or something, and I was probably terrible." Abby laughed. "Was it a good first kiss though?"

�

"It was perfect." Abby replied, smiling down at him. "I'm going to go down and see if Amelia's here yet or not." She let go of his hand and made for the door. Before she left though, she turned her face back to look at her best friend. "Thanks, Blaine." She left before he could reply.

�

-��������� - - - - -- - - - - - -

�

By the time Blaine's parents arrived at the hospital he was on enough pain killers he could not feel the constant throbbing headache he had, or the ache in his broken wrist, or the fact that every time he moved even the tiniest bit his entire body protested in pain.� The only good thing about all this was that he would not have to go back to that school until he was better, which meant not having to deal with everyone's stares or the bullying. Schoolwork was going to be a problem. Luckily Mr. Johnson had apparently agreed to bring him his missed work and even stick around a bit to tutor him if needed.

�

"Who brought my bag, anyway?" Blaine asked Abby at one point while they and Amelia were waiting for Blaine's parents to arrive. Amelia was standing outside the room.

�

"Oh," Abby looked over at his bag real quickly, "Josh did. He wanted to check in to see how you were doing and make sure you got it back."� She caught Blaine's slightly guilty look at the mention of Josh' name. "Did something happen between you two? Josh did seem slightly odd during practice."

�

Blaine sighed, biting his lip. "I...may have told him I had a crush on him. And he totally turned me down obviously, because he's straight and all, but still..." Abby nodded, giving him an ‘I obviously understand completely' look, "but he said we could still be friends. I just wasn't ready to face him yet after that. It's the real reason I left my bag in the room and then left. I figured they'd all just think I was going to come back for it later. Lucky I did leave it there."

�

"Yeah. Lucky."

�

And then his parents came into the room and his mother was throwing a fit at the state of him.� His father was near the doorway, looking like he was stuck between being concerned and being displeased.� Amelia walked in behind them, looking slightly worried.

�

"Oh sweetie!" Mrs. Anderson was still throwing a fit. "How could you get into a fight like that? And look, your poor wrist! Why Blaine? Didn't we teach you that physical fighting is wrong?"

�

"It wasn't him." Abby spoke up, seeing the annoyance in her best friend's eyes. "Those football players have been bullying him for ages. They went over the top this time."

�

Blaine felt ill. He had done such a great job keeping the fact that he was bullied away from his parents. And now on top of that he had to tell them why and he did not feel like he was ready to yet.

�

"What?!" Mrs. Anderson looked over at Abby then down at her son in shock. "Blaine, darling, why didn't you tell us this has been going on? We could have gotten the school to stop it, why would kids do such a-"

�

"Mom, stop." Blaine wondered if he'd be able to even turn his body in time if he threw up right now. "The school won't do anything about it.� No one in that damn building will."

�

"Watch your language, young man!" His father scolded him from the doorway.

�

"It's cause I'm gay, mom." Blaine ignored his father, keeping his gaze entirely on his mother right then.� He already knew his father was going to disapprove, but he had no clue how his mother was going to respond. And somehow that scared him even more.� She was his mother. She had to love him no matter what, right?

�

"You're..." His mother blinked in surprise, the news taking a few seconds to sink in, "you're gay?"

�

"Yes." Blaine nodded, giving his mother a pleading look. All he wanted was for her to accept him, to not suddenly decide he was not worth keeping around anymore. At least one of his parents had to.� "And there's nothing at that school, besides my friends, that is keeping me protected from those football players. Even then there's not much my friends can do, because those sports guys are really strong and huge."

�

"Oh, Blaine, sweetheart..." His mother was giving him a sad look.

�

Before she could continue though Blaine's father asked Abby and Amelia to leave the room. The two gave him a somewhat frightened look before slowly getting up and leaving. Then Mr. Anderson closed the door. "So you're getting bullied and beat up at school, because you're gay?"

�

Blaine knew this was not going to be good. "Yes...sir." He replied quietly.

�

"Blaine, you know how I feel about gay people, why would you bring that nonsense into our house?"

�

Blaine winced as his mother turned to her husband in surprise. "Jerry...please, not now. He's hurt and had a long day..."

�

"And he brought it upon his self. Now I will not have this...nonsense in our home. You can keep it to the outside all you want, if you want to keep dealing with bullying and getting beat up that is, but I'm sure you're perfectly capable of playing it straight while you're under our roof, especially when we have important people over.� The last thing we need is people wondering where we went wrong with him."

�

His father's words were stabbing Blaine in the heart and he had to shut his eyes tightly to even begin to try and hope this was not real.� Why couldn't his father just accept him for who he was?

�

"Jerry, we'll discuss this later. Let's just...we need to figure out what to do about the school situation." Mrs. Anderson spoke quietly. She had reached out and took Blaine's hand in her own.� Seeing her son hurt and in a hospital bed was terrifying for her.� When she had gotten the call from the hospital she had thought for a split second that Blaine had died, and the thought of losing her son was more than she could bear.� "I don't want him to be getting hurt every day at that school. And if he's scared then he won't be able to concentrate on his studies or anything else. It'll be terrible for his future."

�

�

Blaine's father was quiet for a moment before replying. "There's that all boys' school in Westerville we could send him to.� That Dalton Academy." He did not like the idea of his son going to an all boy school though, mainly because he knew there was a zero tolerance policy which meant more gay boys probably attended there which, in turn, meant Blaine would be more exposed to that stuff.� It would probably ruin any hope of trying to get Blaine to be straight. Yet at the same time it would get the boy out of the house and... "Well, I hear the academics there are tough. And the students who graduate from the school tend to end up in some of the best colleges and universities. He'd be challenged more there than at that pathetic excuse for a high school he attends now."

�

"We'll look more into it later then so we can figure out what we're going to do before he's well enough to go back to school." Mrs. Anderson replied. If the chance of Blaine getting into a better college after graduating was higher then there was no way she was going to turn that chance down.� Plus then she would not have to worry about her son getting beat up all the time.

�

Blaine was pretty sure in the end his decision would not matter in this case. So he kept his mouth shut.

�

"Alright. I'm going to go talk to that doctor." Mr. Anderson turned and left the room, shutting the door a bit rougher than was necessary.� Both Blaine and his mother flinched slightly as the door shut.� It opened only a bit later by Amelia and Abby who were wondering if they could return to the room. They went unnoticed though because Mrs. Anderson and her son were currently having their own conversation.

�

"Blaine, darling, why didn't you tell me about all this?"

�

"Because...I knew what dad's reaction was going to be, I didn't want to listen to all that...stuff from you too." Blaine felt emotionally drained right now.� He was sure his father would love the thought of sending his gay son to a boarding school to get him out of the house.

�

His mother leaned over and kissed his forehead gently. "No, sweetie. I'm not going to say all those things to you. You're my son and I love you, just the way you are. I've told you before, you can talk to me about anything. I'm here for you."

�

"Really?" Hearing all that from his mother was making him teary eyed again.

�

"Yes, really." She leaned over to give him as good as a hug she could, considering he was laying down and she was trying to be mindful of his injuries.

�

Blaine started sobbing again, hugging his mother as tightly as he could, not really caring if it hurt him a bit to do so. "Thank you, mommy. I love you."

�

"I love you too, baby." She kissed his forehead again. "I'm going to stay here tonight so you don't have to be alone. I just couldn't bear that thought."

�

Amelia and Abby had snuck back out of the room, both glad to see that, while Mr. Anderson was not going to be accepting of his son, Mrs. Anderson at least was.�

�

And Blaine was glad to see when he woke up in the morning that his mother had indeed stayed the night with him. Seeing her made him feel safe.� He knew things were going to be different from now on, tough, but Blaine had his mother and he would make it. He had to be strong; he had to have courage.