“Sorry, Dad, but Rachel and I have had these plans for about a week now. I still can’t believe she forgot last night,” Blaine said, his voice a little strained. Even though he wasn’t too fond of his father, he still hated disrespecting him- and that included lying to him. His father let out an over exaggerated sigh.

“It’s fine. Maybe I can talk your mother into watching a few episodes with me.” Blaine’s dad pulled him into a brief hug. “Say hi to Coop for me. And ask him when he’s going to visit his old man.” Blaine hugged his father back and half smiled at him.

“Will do.” Rachel pushed past him and hugged their dad.

“Bye, Daddy. See you tonight.” Blaine felt the familiar pang of jealousy as he watched his sister and father interact. He turned away, eyes cast down until another set of arms encircled him.

“Have a safe trip,” his mother whispered in his ear. Blaine wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. She pressed a soft kiss to Blaine’s hair. “Drive carefully.”

“I will, Mom,” he mumbled into her shoulder. He held on a moment longer before pulling himself away. “C’mon, Rach. We should get going while it’s still early.” Rachel nodded her head and smiled brightly at their parents.

“Love you guys,” she said over her shoulder and followed Blaine to the car.

“Bye sweet pea!” Blaine heard his mother shout. He gave a quick wave over the roof of the car before sliding into the driver’s seat and revving up the engine.

“Ready?” Rachel asked from his side and Blaine nodded at her.

“Absolutely.”

-XXX-

“Blaine, that was the turn! Blaine! Blaine you missed it!” Rachel was yelling, filling the car with her shrill voice and drowning out the radio, causing Blaine’s muscles to tense. “You were supposed to take 5th!”

“No, I’m taking the 15th,”he retorted, trying to calm himself but he ended up grinding his teeth together. God, maybe he shouldn’t have asked Rachel to join him. His hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles were white.

“Blaine, I have the map right in front of me,” she snapped as she pointed to the creased paper on her lap. “It clearly shows that the exit is…” she trailed off as she leaned closer to read the fine print. “Oh,” she said simply before smiling up sheepishly at him. “We’re fine.”

“What’s the exit, Rachel?” Blaine asked, wanting to hear her admit that she was wrong.

“Just- just keep driving.” Blaine looked over at her for a second and she avoided his gaze.

“Eyes on the road,” she scolded.

“What exit should I take?” he pressed.

“I’ll tell you when we get closer,” she mumbled and looked out the window on her right.

“Wait,” Blaine said in a feigned surprised and innocent manner. “So it wasn’t the 5th?” The next thing Blaine knew his arm was stinging from Rachel’s slap. “Ow!” He cried. “I’m trying to fucking drive, Rachel.”

“Well stop being an ass.” Blaine sighed and spun the dial on the stereo to turn the volume up. He let the music flood through his ears and focused on the lyrics. Within the next five minutes, Blaine and Rachel were belting out the words to Chasing the Sun by the Wanted and smiling at each other like their previous fight never happened.

“It’ll be nice to see Cooper,” Rachel said once they entered his neighborhood. Blaine smiled over at her.

“Yeah, it’s been a long time. Too long.” They pulled up in front of the house and Blaine killed the engine. They both sat in the car and stared up at the house. It’d been about two months since Blaine had last been at his older brother’s house and it felt good to be back.

When Blaine was enrolled at Dalton, he lived at Cooper’s house since it was just down the street from the school. The house was much smaller than his parent’s house, but it was more of a home to him than the one in Lima. Blaine smiled to himself as he climbed out of his car and didn’t wait for Rachel as he bound up to the front door and gave it a hearty knock. He bounced on the balls of his feet for a few minutes before the door swung open.

Standing before him was a man in his mid-twenties, about a foot taller than Blaine. He had dark hair, much less curly than Blaine’s, but it still had a slight wave to it. He beamed down at Blaine with warm blue eyes before pulling the smaller boy into his chest in a tight bear hug. “Blaine! God, I’ve missed you,” Cooper confessed and Blaine felt a million times better just to be around the older man.

“I’ve missed you too, Coop.” He held onto his brother for a moment longer before pulling back. Cooper ruffled Blaine’s hair slightly, since Blaine hadn’t put any gel in it that morning, and dragged Rachel into an embrace.

“Long time no see.”

“I know. I keep bugging Dad about coming down here, but he says it’s a long drive and that I shouldn’t go alone…” Rachel ranted on and Blaine side stepped past them and into Cooper’s house. It was just as he’d remembered. The door opened up into the living room and a pony wall separated it from the small kitchen and dining room. Blaine smiled at the room before him, recalling nights spent watching television, singing, playing games, and just having fun with Cooper. He felt an arm go around his shoulders and looked up with a grin as Cooper led him and Rachel into the kitchen.

Blaine took a seat at one of the bar chairs in front of Cooper’s raised counter and Rachel took the seat next to him. “Can I get you guys anything to drink?” Cooper asked, already grabbing a few glasses from one of the cabinets.

“Just water,” Rachel said and Blaine craned his neck to get a peek into the fridge.

“Do you have any apple juice?” Blaine asked hopefully and Cooper gave him a look.

“You know that I do,” he said and pulled out the carton before pouring himself and Blaine some. He handed Rachel and Blaine their drinks before taking a few big gulps of his own. He stood across from them at the counter and looked at Blaine. “So, how’s the new school going?” Blaine swallowed the juice in his mouth before answering.

“It’s great. I mean, the classes aren’t as challenging as they were at Dalton, but there are definitely perks.” Blaine felt his cheeks grow warm as he thought about Kurt. Cooper’s eye brows shot up and he gave Blaine a pointed stare.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Blaine crossed his arms on the countertop and lowered his face onto them so they covered his grin. Cooper pointed a finger at him. “B,” Cooper said warningly and Blaine burst into a fit of laughter. God, when had he turned into a thirteen year old girl? Cooper grinned widely in response and leaned over the counter, placing his chin in his hands. “What’s his name?” he asked excitedly.

“Kurt,” Blaine said and Cooper clapped his hands together. This is one of the reasons Blaine loved Cooper so much. Cooper never judged Blaine for who he was; he was always so supportive of Blaine no matter what and it was a breath of relief. The only bad part about making this trip would be having to leave Coop again. Blaine forced that out of his mind.

“Is he hot?”

“Coop, you have no idea. He’s- god, he’s beautiful. He has this hair- and these eyes- and Jesus Christ he’s perfect.” Blaine sighed and rested his head in his hand. Cooper took a slip of his juice before nodding his chin at Blaine.

“Got a picture?” That made Blaine frown slightly.

“No.”

“I do,” Rachel perked up and Blaine, in all his excitement, forgot that she was even there. She pulled out her cell phone and flicked through her photos before holding her phone out to Cooper. He heard his brother breathe out a whistle.

“Nice.” He held out his fist to Blaine and Blaine bumped it with his own. “Seriously, B, nice work. You tapping that?” Blaine felt his cheeks burn and he opened his mouth to reply when his own phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and when he saw the caller ID he felt even more heat travel to his face. “Is that him?” Cooper asked and Blaine shushed him. He slid off the chair as he answered the call.

“Hey, Kurt,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as flustered as he sounded.

“Hi Kurt!” Cooper yelled at Blaine shushed him before walking down a hall and into his old bedroom. He smiled softly as he saw that Cooper had left his bed made and he could see through the slightly opened closet door that some of his clothes were still there; Cooper had left his room just as he’d left it. Blaine had to bite back the raw emotions he was feeling as Kurt’s voice filled his ears.

“Who was that?”

“Rachel and I are at our brother’s house,” Blaine supplied and Kurt made a noise of understanding. “I was just telling him about you when you called.”

“Oh, were you?” Blaine hummed in response. He sat down on his old bed and dragged one of the pillows under his head. “And what did you tell him?” Blaine shrugged even though Kurt couldn’t see him.

“Just that he should give up on love because no matter what, he’ll never find anyone as sexy as my boyfriend.”

“I don’t know, Blaine. I’m pretty sure my boyfriend’s sexier than yours.”

“You haven’t seen mine in action. The noises alone are enough to get you-”

“Blaine.” Blaine chuckled softly.

“What are up to today?” he asked, amusement still clear in his voice but he thought he’d change the subject to something Kurt was a little more comfortable with.

“Well, I was going to see if you were free, but I guess that’s out.”

“Kurt,” Blaine reprimanded, “you’re not supposed to call until at least three days after the first date.”

“Dammit, I thought it was three hours. Am I coming off as desperate?” Blaine smiled up at the ceiling.

“A little bit. Lucky for you, it’s cute.” Kurt was silent on the other end and Blaine imagined him blushing. He then heard a muffled voice through the receiver and Kurt covered the phone as he talked back to the voice. A few moments later his voice was clear again.

“I have to go,” he said with a sigh. “I’m helping my dad in the shop.”

“Let me make sure that I have all this straight. You’re gorgeous, can sing, used to be a cheerleader, and can fix cars.”

“Those are a few layers, yes.”

“How the hell did I get so lucky?”

“I have an affinity for bow ties,” Kurt replied without missing a beat and Blaine’s smile grew.

“Yeah, I’m definitely going to be bragging about you a lot.”

“I think my dad and Carole are already tired of hearing about you,” Kurt said and Blaine felt himself blush slightly at the confession. Did Kurt really talk about Blaine to him parents? It made his stomach flip. Kurt sighed softly. “I have to go. I’ll call you later?”

“Yeah, I’d like that. Have fun.”

“You too. Bye Blaine.”

“Bye, Kurt.” Blaine flopped his hand onto his chest and laid on the mattress for a little while longer before heaving himself off and back into the kitchen where Rachel and Cooper were having a heated discussion about which Broadway musical was best. “Lion King,” Blaine said as he took his seat and Cooper leaned over to give him a high five.

“That was a fun weekend,” Cooper said and Blaine smiled at his brother. Rachel looked at them with drawn in brows and slightly parted lips.

“What weekend?”

“We drove down to the Big Apple, what- a year ago? Maybe two?” Blaine shrugged at him and nodded his head softly. “We stayed there for three days because it was Christmas break and we saw the ball drop in Times Square. That’s where B had his first kiss.” Blaine hadn’t been expecting it. One moment he and Cooper were counting down to midnight and the next someone was pressing their lips to his. It was simple and sweet and thrilling, but Blaine still wished he had gotten to choose who he’d given it to. He pushed back the memory as Rachel scooting back in her chair and took off down the hall. Fuck.

Cooper gave Blaine a confused look and Blaine shook his head slightly before going after her. He found himself at his old room again and he knocked lightly on the door before cracking it open. Rachel was perched on top of the bed and hugging one of the pillows to her chest. Blaine crept inside and closed the door behind him before sitting next to his sister and putting an arm on her back, rubbing slow circles in an attempt at comfort. She hiccupped and looked over at him with tear stained cheeks.

“New York, Blaine. Seriously?”

“I know, Rach, it just happened so quickly and-”

“You know that’s always been my dream!”

“I get that, but-”

“I’ve been begging Dad to take me for years to take me, but you’ve already been. A few years ago.”

“God, Rachel, do you even know what it’s like for me?” Blaine said, his voice rising to a yell. He didn’t want to have this conversation with his sister, but now the words were tumbling out of his mouth at a rapid pace and it seemed he couldn’t stop them. “You’re the perfect child. Mom and Dad love you so much and they care so much about you. They’d do anything for you and everything you do is just fucking amazing!”

“They love you too,” she said softly.

“Yeah, when it comes down to it they do. But do you think I don’t see the judgment in Dad’s eyes every time I talk about Glee Club? Or how he looks disgusted if Kurt and I are even standing too close? And he doesn't even know we're dating! Sure, he says it’s okay for me to be what I am, like I fucking decided that I wanted my own father to resent me, but I can tell that it kills him to know that his son is gay.

“Why do you think that he keeps taking me fishing and hunting and to football games? Do you think that we just sit there and talk about how proud he is of me for being top of my class at Dalton? No. The whole time he talks about how I’m just going through a phase. That I’m just confused. That I just need to be with a woman so I can see what I’m missing out on. He thinks that I need to be reprogrammed. God, last time we were at a game he made me hit on a woman at one of the concession stands. Oh, and get this, we always have seats far enough in the back so we can just make out the different colored jerseys. My theory is that he doesn’t want me to be staring at their cups the entire time.

“Why do you think I hardly came home over the past few years? Cooper makes me feel like I actually belong. And that feels fucking great. Look around- he kept my room exactly the way I left it, just in case I needed to come back. He told me he would, but I wasn’t sure he’d actually do it.” Blaine was speaking softly now, his rage burned out in his rant and now Rachel was staring at him with sad eyes. “Coop doesn’t judge me, he encourages me. You heard the way he talked about Kurt. That’s what I needed. Shit, that’s what I still need. It’s nice to have someone on my side for once.”

“What about me? Do you think that I don’t care about you, Blaine? Do you think that I don’t love you? Do you think that I’m not on your side? That I judge you and Kurt? That I’m not happy for you and the fact that you’re finally getting back out there? Do you think that I judged you and Justin?” Blaine felt a new sharp pain in his chest at the name.

“No, Rachel, I know that you’ve always been there for me. But Cooper was the Dad I always wanted. The father figure I needed because Dad was never there for me unless I did what he wanted. Mom never fully backed me up either. And yes, I appreciate you, Rachel, and all that you’ve done for me, but I couldn’t stay in that house. Why do you think I begged them to let me go to Dalton in the first place?” Rachel was quiet beside him and was now hugging Blaine’s arm. “Did you know that Dad stopped paying my funds for school?” Rachel nodded her head.

“Yeah, that’s why you came home. Because Mom and Dad couldn’t pay it anymore now that Mom quit her job.” Blaine looked at Rachel and bit his lip. God, was that what his parents had told her? Blaine debated with himself on whether or not to tell his sister the truth before deciding that he might as well get everything out in the open now.

“Dad stopped paying for me after I came out to him,” he said softly and Rachel’s brows knitted together.

“But that was like, two years ago,” she said and Blaine watched as the wheels turned in her head.

“Dad said that sending me to Dalton and surrounding me with too much testosterone had turned me gay. He said the lack of a female student body had driven me mentally ill. He told me that he wouldn’t pay for me to go there anymore and that I was going to be put into a public school immediately.”

“Then how did you…” she began, but Blaine could tell by her expression that she already knew the answer to her question. “Cooper.” Blaine nodded slowly.

“I was just trying to blow off steam and I was ranting about it to Coop one night. He sat me down and told me not to worry about it and that he’d talk to dad. A few months later I found out that Coop had been paying for it since. I tried to tell him that it wasn’t worth it and that he didn’t have to waste his money, but he blew up on me and basically told me that there was no way I wasn’t going to Dalton.” Blaine’s mind whirled back to that night. Cooper had yelled at him for one of the first times and told Blaine that he had to go to Dalton. That he deserved the best and that he would do anything it took so Blaine could stay at that school. It was the moment when Blaine discovered just how much his brother loved him. And when he realized how much he loved Cooper as well.

“I began living here instead of in the dorms because living on campus was more expensive, but you already knew that,” Blaine added lamely. Rachel took a deep breath and stared at her brother to see if he was finished. Blaine only had one more point to add. “Cooper’s our half-brother and he was more than willing to do a hell of a lot more than Mom and Dad was. So yeah, we went to New York. And yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it. But honestly, I’m not sorry for going because it was one of the best times of my life. And I’m not trying to rub it in your face or anything I just-”

“Blaine, I get it. Breathe.” Blaine sucked in a long ragged breath and exhaled loudly. Rachel wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. They sat there for a few minutes in silence before the door opened and Cooper came in.

“Alright, crying time’s over!” he shouted and Blaine felt himself crack a smile. Cooper had come in at this moment on purpose, and had no doubt been listening the entire time by the puffy redness of his eyes. Blaine wiped at his own briefly before standing up. “How late are you guys staying?”

“Probably till about six,” Blaine said and looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was now a little after 1:30. “We should get going,” Blaine said to Rachel and she nodded her head before standing up as well.

“Justin?” Cooper guessed and Blaine nodded his head as he worked his hands together in front of him.

“It’s been a while since I last saw him and I thought it’d be good. We’ll be back for an early dinner though.”

“Why don’t I come with you?” Coop suggested and Blaine raised his eyes brows. “What? It’s been like, a month since I last saw him and I’ve been feeling a little guilty myself.” Blaine smiled fondly at his brother.

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Blaine said and the three of them made their way to the garage and into Cooper’s VW Eos. “God, I’ve missed this car,” Blaine muttered as he climbed into the backseat and sat back. Cooper pulled out onto the driveway and put down the roof and Blaine let himself smile as the wind tousled his hair. God, this was going to be one of the most emotional days of his short sixteen years of existence.