Santana corners Kurt after Honors English ends; he looks partly scared and partly confused as to why she’s talking to him. Mercedes comes up to them and glares at Santana before asking Kurt if everything is okay.

“Pretty boy is fine, Gladys, now if you’ll excuse us I have something important to discuss with Kurtie here.”

Mercedes sighs heavily and Kurt nods at her, so she leaves with a roll of her eyes.

“Okay, you have my attention. What do you need?”

Santana looks down the halls and then drags Kurt to an empty classroom. Kurt waits patiently for her to close the door and pull down the blinds.

“Okay, Hummel, here’s the deal: you and I are going to work on transforming you. There is no way you’ll be able to survive this school without my help.”

“I’m sorry?”

She sighs and paces the floor, picking at her nails.

“Look, I know. I know about you and I – I don’t want you to get hurt, alright? So I’m going to help you and you are going to be able to be yourself and be safe, and then in ten years we’ll be calling each other and talking about how ridiculous it was that you had to be this other person just to survive high school. But that’s the way it is, so just… just say you’ll do this, okay?”

Kurt stares at her for what seems like hours and then he slowly nods.

“Good. Now, I’ve got two options for you: Cheerio, or badass. Which one you want?”

He laughs and shakes his head, thinking it over.

“Hm. Well, I think I’ll Cheerio, seeing as I don’t think I’ll be able to handle ripped jeans and not doing my hair. Plus, I can get scholarships for being on the Cheerios and for some reason Coach Sylvester sort of likes me. I think.”

Santana laughs, nods.

“Alright. I’ll talk to Coach and get back to you. Give me your phone and I’ll give you my number, ‘kay?”

Kurt tosses her his phone and she quickly punches it in, texting herself so she has his number too. Then, they are heading back into the empty hallway.

He stops her before she can walk away with a hand on her arm. She turns and looks at him curiously.

“Why are you helping me? I don’t get it.”

Santana shrugs, a small smile playing on her lips.

“I have a lot of reasons. Maybe one day I’ll tell you.”

---

One day - a Tuesday during lunch at school, Blaine asks Quinn a question that had been bugging him since they got their schedules for high school.

"Hey, Q... How come you didn't go to McKinley? I mean I remember your mom always talking about how she wanted you on the Cheerios. And I know - I mean, most of these kids here still call you-"

Quinn smiles bitterly, sliding her bottle of green tea between her hands.

"Lucy Caboosy. You can say it. Blaine..." She sighs heavily before continuing. "I just - I want to be me, whoever that is. You... Blaine you taught me that. I need to be my own person, not get caught trying to be this vision that my parents have of me. I saw that happen with my sister..."

Blaine stills her hands with his, ignores the paper ball thrown at the back of his head and gives her a tender, fond smile.

"Well for whatever its worth, I love who you are, whoever you decide to be."

When lunch ends, Quinn loops her arm around Blaine's waist and says, "Well just think B, with you around I'll be just fine. I'd hate to think what would happen if I didn't have you."

Blaine scoffs and hugs her close, smirking playfully.

"You'd end up on 16 and Pregnant of course!"

Blaine laughs as Quinn punches him on the shoulder; the hit is hard, but she's laughing and her eyes are sparkling.

---

Santana is helping Brittany stretch in her backyard on Wednesday; Coach had told them rather loudly that if they kept up getting 'as limber as a porn star' they'd quickly move up the ranks.

Brittany doesn't mind extra stretching, dancing and tumbles, just as long as Santana is there with her.

Santana looks up at Brittany; her long blonde hair is shielding most of her face, but she can see Brittany's furrowed brow. Santana smiles as she watches Brittany concentrate. Her best friend bites her lip and hums and Santana laughs.

Brittany looks up with a smile, head cocked to the side in question.

Santana doesn't even think before she answers.

“You’re beautiful, Brit.”

Santana doesn't even have time to regret her words; Brittany is smiling so hard, Santana feels as if she's staring at the sun.

"You're beautiful too, 'Tana.”

---

Seth bounds up to Quinn with a huge smile on his face. Quinn laughs loudly at his antics; Seth may be quiet most of the time, but when he gets excited about something it’s difficult to get him to calm down.

"Miss Quinnifer! I have the absolute best news! Ever. I mean it, this is just fantastic, you have no idea-"

"I'd certainly have an idea if you'd tell me..."

Seth rolls his eyes, ready to continue with a grin, but falters when he sees his audience is missing a member.

"Where's Blainers?"

Quinn smiles sadly at him, points up at the door Seth now realizes she's been guarding- the girl's bathroom. Ah, Seth thinks bitterly, not again.

"What was it this time?"

Quinn sighs, bites her lip and hangs her head. Seth knows the answer before she speaks; her body language points to the worst - spoiled milk, courtesy of the baseball team.

"The milk from the dumpsters. He got pretty sick for awhile because of the- the smell. I think he's cleaning up now."

Seth nods, rubs a hand over his face. He shuffles over to stand next to Quinn, crossing his arms and sighing, waiting for Blaine to come out.

---

Seth doesn't get to tell Blaine and Quinn about his news until they're all sitting in a circle at the edge of Blaine's backyard, sharing a cigarette. Santana and Brittany would have joined them - Santana teasing them about their cigarette as she puffed on a cigar - but apparently they're on a top secret mission to better the world, Blaine isn't too sure. Sometimes his sister scares him.

Seth suddenly jumps up, his hands in the air and he shouts, "The show! Guys! This is important!"

Quinn and Blaine stare on in amusement as Seth mutters under his breath about the best thing to happen in their lives. Blaine takes a drag and passes the slowly dwindling cigarette to Quinn, waiting patiently.

"The New Pornographers!"

That certainly catches their attention. Seth never mentions a band name with this much enthusiasm without a local show being involved.

"Here? In Ohio?" Blaine asks.

"Yup! And we are going this weekend. I convinced my dad to take us. So get ready kiddos, this weekend is gonna be sick!"

Quinn and Blaine share an excited look and Blaine mutters, “I have to tell Santana!”, before they get up and hurry into the house to plan.

---

Blaine smiles as Quinn ruffles his hair as she passes him. The day had been a long one - one ending with a shirt ruined and a new bruise on his back - but now as he sits on his bed and watches Quinn flit about his room getting ready, his problems at school is all but pushed to the back of his mind.

Quinn grabs a black tank and holds it up to her chest and Blaine shakes his head; she rolls her eyes at him and throws the shirt at his head and he laughs loudly.

Getting ready to go out is possibly one of Blaine’s favorite things to do with his best friend. They make a point to only talk about light topics and always criticize each other’s outfits – so they end up changing at least three times before leaving.

“So what do you think about that dance coming up? You going to wanna go?” Quinn asks, her voice muddled from inside Blaine’s closet.

Blaine shrugs as he grabs a grey bow tie from his drawer and holds it up in front of the mirror.

“I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about it. What about you? Are you going to take anyone? It is girls ask guys anyway.”

Quinn snorts and emerges in black lace dress over a blue slip. Blaine walks over to her and hands her a leather jacket and then smiles approvingly.

“My mom is making me go to some church retreat, so even if I wanted to go, I can’t. We’re leaving that Friday morning and won’t be back until Monday.”

Blaine pouts at her and begins to tie the bow tie as she walks past him and puts her boots on.

“Well at least you like church… I mean I can’t say the same for your mom, but at least there will be other people there, so that’s a plus, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. But I won’t get to wear any of my clothes. My mom is packing everything, so I’ll be forced into light sundresses and flats for the whole time I’m there. You can’t go hiking in a dress, B!”

Blaine chuckles under his breath at the image of his best friend attempting to climb rocks in a frilly little dress and Quinn smacks him when she realizes he’s laughing at her.

“It’s not funny, you jerk!”

He’s still laughing when Santana comes in with Brittany on her heels; the two look dressed and ready to go.

“Seth’s here. You two done getting your faces on? Let’s go, I actually know and like this band.”

They both nod and collect themselves before following Santana and Brittany down the stairs. Seth and his father are waiting in the living room; Seth’s father is talking to Maribel as they wait for the rest of the group. Once Maribel spots them she smiles and quickly hugs them all, giving them kisses on their cheeks as well.

“Okay, you know the rules; stay with the group, don’t drink anything you haven’t bought – and don’t leave your drink alone, either – and don’t-“

They all finish with, “Go off with someone you don’t know. Yes, we know!”

Maribel sighs and glares at them playfully, her hands on her hips.

“Alright, alright. I love you and have a good time, okay? Patrick will be there to pick you up at ten, so make sure you are waiting outside the door for him.”

The group smiles and nods back at Maribel and soon they’re off, Santana and Blaine shouting a, “Love you mami!”, as they run out the door.

---

Soon, they are all cramped inside the small building, enjoying the band – The New Pornographers – play. Santana and Brittany are dancing inside their small little circle and Quinn and Blaine sing along while Seth bops up and down enthusiastically.

When the song ends, Santana tells Blaine that she and Brittany are going to get something to drink, so Blaine nods and promises her that their group won’t move from where they are.

When she and Brittany leave, he grabs Quinn around the waist and twirls her in place.

---

Santana leans against the bar counter as she drinks her Coke, watching Brittany bounce in place out of the corner of her eye.

The band starts up again, one of her favorite songs, and she’s glad she’s here with Brittany, alone, than with the others. Here, away from clustered bodies and prying eyes, she can watch Brittany and appreciate how the sweat drips down her forehead and how the lights glint off her hair.

Brittany seems to notice her staring, because she turns to face Santana and gives her a questioning look. Santana just smiles, reaching forward to brush back Brittany’s hair and tuck it behind her ear. Brittany catches her hand before she can drop it and presses a kiss to it.

Santana blushes, but Brittany is smiling at her so sweetly, so she can’t help but lean against her and press her lips to her best friend’s. Brittany smiles into the kiss and squeezes Santana’s hand as she kisses back.

When they finally break apart, the band is done playing and Santana is feeling too many things to properly comprehend. So she focuses herself and decides that she is going to feel anger, anger at the only person who will know how to take it: Blaine.

---

Blaine’s not sure why, but ever since she and Brittany came back from wherever they went for the last two songs in the show, Santana has been giving him death glares and has been giving him the silent treatment.

He goes along with it; he knows his sister and he knows that when she doesn’t know how to deal with something, she automatically defaults to anger. Whatever is wrong will come out when she’s had enough time to process whatever it is, and then she will come to Blaine.

There won’t be an apology to her hostile behavior, but he thinks her talking to him and seeking his help substitutes as one.

He doesn’t say much to her while they wait for Seth’s dad, nor does he say anything on the ride home. When they make it inside their house, however, he sends Quinn up to his room and tells Santana before he follows, “Whenever you’re ready, I’m here, ‘Tana.”

She flips him off and whispers viciously, “I’m never talking to you again; this is your entire fault.”

 He figures this one should take about a week.

---

Quinn somehow convinces him and Seth to go to the dance together. Blaine asks him and once Seth is sure that Blaine hasn’t somehow developed feelings for him, he agrees. They plan to dress nice, but not in suits, and to mock all the atrocious outfits they will encounter there.

Santana still isn’t speaking to him, so he gets Quinn and Cooper on Skype to help him with his outfit on Wednesday, hanging everything up in his closet so he’ll be ready by Friday.

Cooper convinces him to wear his new pink bow tie. Santana would have put her foot down and told Cooper he was an idiot, if she was talking to Blaine.

But she’s not. Still.

---

Maribel cups Blaine’s face as she takes him in. Her baby boy is looking so grown up. She remembers when he was that little five year old coming out of school with the most heartbreaking look on his face. Things have changed so much since then.

He’s still little, she thinks, but he is growing into such a wonderful young man.

She lets him go when he starts to squirm; Blaine will never say he is uncomfortable or tell his mother no, but Maribel has learned so much from his body language over the years.

“Okay, okay, I got it. I just want to take a picture before Seth gets here and then one with Seth, okay?”

Blaine smiles at her and then leans forward to stare at his reflection in the mirror by the hall to fix his bow tie.

“Mami, you know this isn’t a date right? We’re going because we’re bored and because we want to make fun of the uncivilized.”

She laughs at her son, smoothing down his shirt and picking invisible lint off the fabric.

“I know, baby, but it’s your first dance! I have to take embarrassing photos so I can laugh at them later.”

“Ma!”

“What? It’s true!”

The doorbell rings and Charles emerges from his study to answer it. He waves Seth and his father, Patrick inside. Maribel and Blaine go to greet them and Charles pulls Blaine aside after he has said his hellos.

“Blaine, I’d like to give you something for tonight. These were my father’s and he gave them to me when I was fourteen. I thought it appropriate to give them to you now, especially now that you’re off to a dance.”

Charles hands Blaine silver cufflinks in the shape of wings; they are pristine and beautiful and Blaine feels stupid as his eyes start to water. He quickly blinks and hugs his father, taking the time in his father’s arms to recoup.

“Thank you, dad. They’re beautiful and – and this really means a lot.”

“I’m glad you like them. They’re yours now, and who knows, maybe you’ll end up wearing them at your wedding, huh?”

Blaine laughs happily into his father’s shoulder. “Yeah, maybe. I love you, dad.”

“I love you too, son.”

---

Quinn calls Blaine late that night, hoping to hear how the dance went, but Blaine doesn’t answer. Quinn frowns; it is late, but Blaine always answers her calls, no matter what.

She tells herself not to worry, but she has a horrible feeling in her chest and she can’t fall asleep no matter what she does.

She eventually sends him a text and then goes for a walk to clear her head.

Hope everything went well. Miss you so much! Call me as soon as you get this, I need to hear your lovely voice. Love you lots! – Q

---

Santana is cuddling with Brittany, watching Gilmore Girls when she gets the call. She looks at her phone, frowning, as she sees her dads name appearing. Why would he be calling at one in the morning?

When she answers, her dad’s voice is odd; it keeps shaking and he has to stop a couple times before he can keep talking.

“Sweetie I need you to get your things, your grandma is coming to pick you up.”

“Dad, what – what’s going on? Is mom okay?”

“It – it’s Blaine. Just… I need you to get your things and be ready, okay?”

“Okay, dad. I – I love you.”

Santana’s pretty sure she hears her dad sob before he speaks. “I love you too, sweetie.”