“Please welcome our next candidate for the class of 2016, Blaine Anderson.”

Blaine walked onstage, his confident smile contradicting his sweaty palms and racing heart. This was the moment he'd been waiting for. His callback audition for NYADA. He'd kept his application a secret from everyone, even Kurt. The anxiety behind this performance wasn't just about getting into the college of his dreams. The original song he was going to be singing would finally allow him to exorcise some of his personal demons. 

Taking a deep breath, Blaine avoided Kurt's stunned face in the audience. Instead, he faced the faculty panel and bared his soul.

I lock myself in a hotel room

Been waiting all night for the walls to move

Ive loved some girls that I barely knew

Ive made some friends, and Ive lost some too

Blaine hated himself for lying to Kurt about his life before Dalton. But he'd been avoiding facing the truth for so long; it was easier to live the lie. Dalton was when he started turning his life around.

Beneath the model prep student façade, Blaine was hiding a troubled young man who'd already battled substance use and sexual promiscuity. He hadn't completely lied to Kurt. He just omitted the fact that he'd slept with random girls before coming out. If Blaine could take it back, he'd give anything to have saved his virginity for the boy he'd fallen hard in love with.

Crashed my car, I was 17

My mother in the seat riding next to me

The things Ive learned from a broken mirror

How a face can change when a heart knows fear

The single worst moment of his life, summed up in a single verse. Blaine's father was out of town on business, as usual. Not even family tragedy could pull him from his career. Blaine was driving his mother and baby sister home from the store when it happened.

Driving through a busy intersection, another driver ran a red light and hit the passenger side of Blaine's car. The vehicle flipped twice, coming to a rest in the middle of the intersection.

His eyes prickling with tears, Blaine continued his song.

Through all the things my eyes have seen

The best by far is you

He could still see the bouncy curls of her hair, her big eyes that always lit up when her big brother sang her favorite lullaby.

If I could fly

Then I would know

What life looks like from up above and down below

Id keep you safe

Id keep you dry

Dont be afraid Cecilia

Im the satellite

And youre the sky

As soon as he'd recovered from his injuries, Blaine took off. He couldn't face the guilt of the accident. Blowing through his inheritance from his grandparents, Blaine dropped out of school under the pretense of “finding himself” when he was really trying to lose himself.

Ive cafe crawled through Amsterdam

Been around the world with a punk rock band

And Ive seen London, and Ive played Japan

Ive been knocked down, I got up again

After spending almost an entire year abroad, his mother had finally cut off Blaine's access to his trust fund. He joined small traveling music groups and tried to lose himself in music. He saw his sister's face in every little girl he passed. The pain of losing her was swallowing him whole.

For all the places I have been

Im no place without you

A surprise visit from his father to the hostel he'd been staying at shocked Blaine back to reality. Seeing the Anderson patriarch cry made Blaine realize how selfish he was being. When he left, he'd never bothered to consider how it would affect his family. All he cared about was trying to outrun his guilty conscience. He assumed his parents would blame him for the accident. That they would hate him for killing his baby sister. 

If I could fly

Then I would know

What life looks like from up above and down below

Id keep you safe

Id keep you dry

Dont be afraid Cecilia

Im the satellite

And youre the sky

When he received his callback for NYADA, Blaine decided to dedicate the performance to the memory of his baby sister. After his father brought him home, he realized she could live on through him. That was when he decided to pursue music and composition. Surprisingly, his parents wholeheartedly supported his career choice. They did everything they could to encourage his talent.

Im the satellite

And youre the sky

For all the things my hands have held

The best by far is you

Finally daring to look at Kurt in the audience, Blaine saw a sad, proud smile on his face. Kurt wouldn't hold his past against him. Blaine's voice broke slightly when he thought how much his sister would have loved Kurt. In his mind's eye, Blaine could see the two of them singing lullabies to their own children someday. It was a beautiful glimpse of their future.

If I could fly

Then I would know

What life looks like from up above and down below

Id keep you safe

Id keep you dry

Dont be afraid Cecilia

Im the satellite

And youre the sky

As he finished the song, Blaine realized getting into NYADA no longer mattered. It might be his dream school, but it wasn't his dream. No matter what the admissions panel decided, he was going to make incredible music for the rest of his life.

And youre the sky

Im the satellite

And youre the sky

And youre the sky

He bowed his head to the faculty panel, thanking them for their time. One of them rose from his chair and spoke.

“We can't say anything officially yet, but I want to be the first to say welcome to NYADA.”

Blaine smiled, tilted his head back, and thanked the sky.