Glee Fic: We Say Summer Holds Such Wonderful Things
Title: We Say Summer Holds Such Wonderful Things
Characters/Pairings: Blaine, Cooper, Tina, Brittany, Santana, Kurt, Artie, Sam, Sebastian; Blaine/Kurt
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers/Warnings: through 4x01; language
Word Count: ~4,800
Disclaimer: Title is from "We Say Summer" by All Time Low.
Summary: "So don't get too lazy this summer - Rachel never slacked and it showed." | The summer before Blaine's senior year.
We Say Summer Holds Such Wonderful Things
On the very last day of school, the seniors of New Directions have stepped out of the choir room and the juniors and underclassmen remain with Mr. Schue, who tells them to have fun, be safe, and keep their voices sharp for when they return.
"September will come before you know it and we're going to need to work hard in order to keep up our winning streak, especially now that we're going to need new people step up and fill some pretty big shoes left by the seniors," Mr. Schue continues, his eyes alight with excitement.
Blaine looks around and sees Tina straighten her posture, preening a little and he smiles, happy that she'll finally have her chance to shine next year.
"So don't get too lazy this summer - Rachel never slacked and it showed."
Blaine waits for him to continue on - comment about Finn's determination to becoming a better dancer, or Mike's amazing influence on the choreography, or Mercedes' remarkable ability to bring down the house with a single note - but Mr. Schue just talks about being rewarded for working hard, for more solos.
Blaine shifts in his chair, trying not to grimace. It wasn't like Rachel won the competitions single-handedly - she wasn't even in all the competitions this year. This is rather…debilitating instead of invigorating.
He doesn't quite understand why Mr. Schue is suddenly doing this, but maybe it's just because he's upset about her leaving, her being one of the first members and all.
When the bell rings, he stands up and walks out with Tina and she tells him that she's thinking about joining a gym this summer to stay in shape, so he gives her the name of his, in case they want to coordinate times.
He forgets about what Mr. Schue said - everyone else seems to have selective memories when it comes to events that conspire in the choir room, so he should just do the same.
**
There are graduation parties all throughout the first week of summer - Mercedes' family hosts one in their backyard and they eat barbeque and hot dogs and Puck brings over a Slip-N-Slide. And then there's Puck's graduation party, which is just everyone crammed in his basement, drinking into oblivion and Blaine's pretty sure he and Sam worked out a dance routine at one point, but he doesn't remember and Sam looks away with a fierce blush on his face whenever that party is brought up, so Blaine's pretty sure it wasn't the most appropriate thing.
He's sad when he has to leave the Monday after, his brother having bought a plane ticket for him to come out to California for ten days. It's the most fun he's had with glee club and he selfishly doesn't want it to end.
**
Cooper picks him up at LAX with tears in his eyes, bringing him in for a tight hug, rambling loudly about how he hasn't seen his 'long-lost brother' since he was six due to their cruel parents and there are people stopping and staring at them.
"Cooper," Blaine hisses, pinching Cooper's back, ignoring the scandalized ouch in his ear, "What are you doing."
"It's for a script, I'll tell you all about it on the way to my apartment," Cooper explains, pulling away with a bright smile before wrapping an arm around Blaine's shoulders, keeping him close.
"So beautiful," a woman whispers, tears streaming down her face as she watches them in awe.
Blaine waits until he's a few feet away to roll his eyes. Only Cooper.
**
The first five days consist of Cooper taking him around LA, showing him his favorite coffee shops and where he likes to buy his clothes (Blaine manages to find a tweed bowtie that he can't wait to wear to school). Blaine helps him with an audition for a TV pilot - a role in which he plays a character reminiscent of Jesse from Full House, which Cooper stands a chance of getting, at least if he doesn't do the 'emotion tornado' beforehand, which Blaine has repeatedly told him that it scares people.
"They're just intimidated by my pure talent," Cooper scoffs before a waitress comes by their table and he lowers his voice, slowing his speech as he asks in an Italian accent if he could have another soda.
"That is the worst Italian accent I've heard this week," the waitress states flatly before walking away.
Blaine snorts and ends up choking on his drink from laughing. (He's giving her a good tip.)
**
Cooper gets him a newer, better fake ID that actually has his picture and a name he can remember with an age that's believable.
"We can even go to a gay bar, if you want! I can be your wingman."
"Coop, I'm in a relationship, why would I need a wingman?"
Cooper waves a hand dismissively. "Just because you're tied down doesn't mean you can't hone your flirting skills."
They end up going to a quiet bar a few streets away from Cooper's apartment (much to Blaine's insistence because no, he's not interested in going to a strip club, even if there are stripping men and women) and accidentally ends up helping Cooper hook up with a girl he was talking to - a nice girl originally from Kentucky and Cooper has always wanted to perfect his southern accent.
Blaine's kept out of the apartment that night until three in the morning. He would spend the time on the phone with Kurt - and he does for an hour before Kurt complains of it being three in the morning his time - but he spends most of the time in the McDonalds down the road, watching the drunk people that stumble in, and writing the first draft his personal essay for his college applications.
**
Their parents fly into LA on the fifth day and they go out to nice restaurants and Cooper makes it so easy, bringing them all together and they must look like such a picture-perfect family from the outside.
**
The next day they all fly to northern California for college tours, much to Cooper's chagrin.
He complains about how cold it is and how the people are weird with no explanation ("At least in LA, you can assume they're method!"), moaning about how rural it is in comparison, but Blaine likes it.
He likes the easy feeling of it, that everyone just lets each other be, which is a nice change from Ohio, where straying from the norm has consequences.
Although he's not quite sure if it's really him, if he can live in this area for nine months out of the year for four years.
He takes notes during the tours and smiles and nods along with the guide, ignoring his parents, who are trying to read him.
(It's his choice - his parents, his brother, nobody will influence him.)
**
The last night he's with his brother, they're splitting a bottle of wine and Cooper tells him to embrace senior year.
"And you better step up and take charge," Cooper adds, pointing at him to prove how serious he is. "You're the most talented kid there and you deserve to shine on that dinky Ohio stage."
"So do all the other seniors," Blaine points out, finishing his third glass. He finds it tastes a lot better than his first one.
Cooper shrugs, his movement a little sloppy. "Yeah, but, they're not you. And besides, those kids are vicious. High school kids are nasty little devils. They'll step all over you to get what they want. Doesn't matter if you're friend or foe."
Cooper tends to get very overdramatic when he drinks (more so than usual, anyway).
Blaine hums noncommittally and pours the rest of the bottle into his glass. "I don't think the other guys would do that, especially after everything. I mean Tina especially knows what it's like to be ignored and it's terrible. Why would she want others to suffer the same way?"
"Why wouldn't you? If I were ignored for three years, you bet your ass I'm going to push everyone out of my way to be in the spotlight. Not that it would ever happen, it's not possible, but you get what I mean." Blaine rolls his eyes. "I'm serious, Blainey, not everyone is as nice and thoughtful as you. I don't want you to get hurt."
Blaine puts down his glass. "They wouldn't," he states.
(He doesn't like the doubt that seeps into his tone.)
**
Blaine comes back to Ohio in time for Fourth of July festivities and Santana is plastered, laughing loudly and hugging everyone, sniffling every now and again.
Even though he's watched her do it with everyone, he's still surprised that she comes up to him and drapes her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. He returns it as best he can with a drink in one hand, patting her back with the other.
"I'm gonna miss you, Blanderson," she mumbles, pulling back to look him in the eye. He wonders if she did that on purpose - blending his names, or she's so drunk that she's not aware of how she's slurring her speech.
"I'll miss you too."
"You better. 'Mreplacable."
"Yeah, you're irreplaceable," Blaine says softly, hit with unexpected sadness.
Suddenly, her eyes are sharp and she jabs a finger into his chest. "You better lead glee club to Nationals, okay?"
He blinks. "I thought you didn't want that," he says, confused.
"May have…" she shakes her head. "You should do it," she states, as if it's irrefutable.
He wants to point out that it's a team effort, that it's not just him who's going to lead New Directions to victory, he doesn't want that, but she's drunk and there's no use in being reasonable.
"I'll do my best," he promises her.
She snorts inelegantly and keeps one arm around his shoulders, her drink in her other hand sloshing dangerously over the rim. "You're lucky you're cute."
He grins and keeps an arm around her waist to hold her steady. "You're so going to regret that tomorrow."
**
Blaine texts Tina about going to the gym together later one day, but after a few hours and not getting a response, he goes himself, bringing his boxing gloves.
When he walks in and sees her on an elliptical, he tries not to be hurt by it. Maybe she left her phone at home (not likely), maybe her phone died, maybe -
She catches him looking at her and he waves, hoping he doesn't seem too sad.
She just nods and looks back down at her feet, guilty.
(He spends almost two hours in front of the punching bag, hoping Cooper's words that are ringing in his ears can be drowned out by the slaps of his fists against the bag.)
**
When Blaine goes to Kurt about it, Kurt shrugs his shoulders. "She's been a bit - well. I think she's considering breaking up with Mike when he leaves," Kurt explains.
Blaine frowns. "That's so sad - they should give long distance a try."
"We're trying to convince her, but who knows," Kurt sighs.
But Blaine still wonders if that's really it.
(If I were ignored for three years, you bet your ass I'm going to push everyone out of my way to be in the spotlight.)
Maybe he's just being paranoid - Kurt knows Tina better than Blaine does. He shouldn't be worrying about glee club yet.
(He shouldn't be worrying about it at all, so why is he?)
**
The invitations start coming in.
First they're from Puck, telling them that they're all invited to so-and-so's house for a party and it finally starts to sink in that they're considered popular now.
Only rising seniors and graduates are invited, but it doesn't stop Sugar from waltzing in like she owns the place. (It also helps that she's providing good quality alcohol.)
They're welcomed with cheers and Blaine high-fives more guys than he can count and at one point, Sugar pushes a drink into his hand that she calls 'Sugar Me Sweet,' which actually tastes like liquefied Pixy Stix as they come together in a circle.
"Cheers, ladies and germs, we're finally the coolest fuckers in the room," Puck announces, raising his cup.
"Let's stay that way," Tina adds and there's something dark in her voice that Blaine tries to ignore as he leans into Kurt's side and raises his own drink.
**
For a week, Blaine travels with his parents up and down the east coast to look at more schools - schools in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and while he's in New York City, he just feels so guilty, irrationally thinking that Kurt should be here right now, that he should be coming here in a few weeks like Rachel will.
From Kurt Hummel <3:
Soooo???
From Blaine Anderson <3:
It's just missing you :(
From Kurt Hummel <3:
I'll get there next year.
As much as Blaine would love to be in the same town as Kurt, to not have hundreds of miles between them, he can't stand the idea of Kurt being stuck in Lima.
He doesn't respond and swallows the lump in his throat.
**
Brittany calls him one day to ask about borrowing some grease for her motorbike since he seems to have a lot on his head. Blaine sighs tells her no before he realizes that she does motocross, so he asks her about it and by the end of the conversation, he's marked a day in his calendar to see her at the nearest track, which is twenty minutes away.
"Did you know this?" Blaine asks Kurt over the phone as he drives on I-75 South.
"I don't take half of what she says seriously," Kurt answers. "Let me know when you're on your way home so I can start cooking."
"I will, love you."
"Love you too."
**
Blaine has his finger over the 'call' button, 9-1-1 already dialed in when he watches Brittany start the bike, but nearly drops his phone when he witnesses her flip her bike in the air and land safely.
He has enough sense eventually to start recording a video, sending it to Kurt with the message, 'maybe you should start taking what she says more seriously.'
**
At one point, Santana plops herself down next to him on the bleacher, watching her girlfriend ride with a fond expression on her face.
"She was really excited today," Santana says in lieu of a proper greeting.
"I was too," Blaine answers, gaping as Brittany leaves the jump and whips the bike sideways, removing her front leg and swinging it around behind the bike to the other side. "My God, does she do this professionally? She's amazing."
Santana beams. "I know. But no, it always conflicted with Cheerios. Besides, this is her way to unwind."
He nods. "I can understand that."
They're quiet for a bit, content on watching Brittany until Santana says, "Keep an eye on her, okay?"
He doesn't look over at her, figuring she's already uncomfortable with this as it is, and just nods. "Okay."
He can hear her exhale before she adds, "And watch your own back. I know you haven't experienced it, but friends will backstab you in a heartbeat at McKinley."
(…Those kids are vicious.)
Blaine clenches his jaw. "You really think so little of your friends?" he comments lightly.
Santana shrugs. "I left New Directions for the Troubletones because I felt ignored. I can't imagine what Tina or Artie feel like after all these years. Just saying."
He drives home with his stomach churning.
**
Once the graduates start leaving, the ones left behind are invited to parties for rising seniors only, or upperclassmen only, and frankly, Blaine isn't all that comfortable.
It's the first time Blaine has ever been to party like this - football players and cheerleaders abound. It's loud and chaotic like a New Directions party, except this feels sharper, nastier, like everything is done with a purpose (get wasted, blackout, hook up).
"Drink up," a football player demands, handing Artie and Blaine and Sam cups of beer from the keg and Blaine has never felt like he belonged anywhere less.
"Well…cheers," Artie says, raising his cup high and Blaine and Sam clink their drinks together.
Artie and Sam begin chugging and Blaine does the same, almost gagging on the cheap taste, hoping it'll ease him.
(He remembers being a freshman for the first time and feeling so lonely when jocks and cheerleaders would come in on Monday morning, laughing and talking about the crazy things they did over the weekend and this is it - he's living that dream and he should make the best of it, right?)
**
It doesn't get better.
He has a few more drinks and things are fuzzy, sluggish. He remembers talking with people, but he forgets their faces and what they even discussed. He can hear Tina laughing loudly in the corner, gossiping with a cheerleader whose name he doesn't know and Sam is playing a final round of beer pong now and he can't find Brittany or Artie and he feels awful.
A football player pats him on the back - even though it's more of a push - and he flashes to cold concrete and his body aches like -
He stumbles out of the room, towards the bathroom and closes the door behind him, sliding down to the floor as he tries to breathe, hoping to ease his stomach.
A minute later he has his head halfway down the toilet, heaving and trying not to cry because he's pretty sure this isn't how popularity is supposed to feel.
There's consistent banging on the door and he croaks out, "I'll be out in a sec."
"Dude, it's us!" Sam calls out and Blaine woozily gets to his feet before unlocking and opening the door, revealing Sam and Artie.
Sam looks at Blaine in surprise, making Blaine flush (which can't be too appealing since the last time he looked in the mirror, his skin was pasty and shiny with sweat) and then at the toilet.
"It's not even midnight and you're puking, not cool," Artie says, his eyes unfocused. "Getcho head in the game!"
"Artie's right," Sam says, grim as he walks in, dumping the contents of his own drink in the sink and filling it with water, handing it to Blaine. "Come on, rinse, drink, and let's get back in. We're on thin ice as it is."
Blaine looks at them, wishing he were back in his room, under the covers so he can pretend everything doesn't exist because sure, they're unified, of course they are, but it's all about popularity - one weak link can ruin what they have. There's a distinct, gross, all-consuming fear of falling from the top and going back to what they were, worse than where they were because this time they have no allies - no more football players or cheerleaders (besides Brittany, who nobody took seriously to begin with) to bridge the gaps and if he thinks about it too much, he loses his ability to breathe properly.
Nobody wants to be a victim and Blaine gets it, of course he does, but.
But.
Blaine takes the cup from Sam, rinsing out his mouth as best he can before drinking some water, grimacing at the lingering taste of beer. Artie hands him a stick of gum, which he takes gratefully.
"Come on," Sam says, patting Blaine on the back too hard as he leads him out of the bathroom and into the party.
Blaine takes a deep breath, prepares himself, and smiles brightly, hurting his face.
(Did they even ask if he's okay?)
**
He wants to tell Kurt about the party, but Kurt starts complaining about his training at the Lima Bean and he can't bring himself to do it - it can't be worse than what Kurt is feeling right now.
So he holds his tongue.
**
A week before school starts, Blaine gets a text from Sebastian, asking if he wants to meet for coffee.
Blaine picks the day before Kurt starts working at the Lima Bean, weary.
Sebastian strolls in with a tan and his typical smirk in place, although it seems to soften into something more of a smile when he shakes Blaine's hand.
"I was in Paris for most of the summer," Sebastian tells Blaine after they sit down with their coffee orders. Then he sighs, shaking his head. "So much better than here. The guys are quite remarquable."
Blaine rolls his eyes at his pretention and smiles.
"What about you, Anderson, how's your summer been? Still with the boyfriend?"
"Yes, still with Kurt," Blaine answers evenly before shrugging. "I visited my brother in LA, looked at some colleges."
Sebastian grimaces. "Sounds like a fun summer," he says, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Please tell me you did something to warrant being a seventeen-year-old."
"Eighteen," Blaine corrects.
Sebastian raises an eyebrow. "A bit old for a senior."
Blaine shrugs, trying to keep calm about it. "I went to some parties," he says instead.
"There you go," Sebastian says, approving.
Blaine drinks his iced coffee, not sure why he continues to give it a chance every month when he knows he doesn't like it as much as a hot one.
"Okay, what's wrong with you - you look like a kicked puppy. Did Hummel revoke your bowtie-wearing privileges because it was competing with his absurd scarf collection?"
Blaine shoots him a pointed look. "I'm just…concerned what this Nationals win is doing to New Directions," he admits after a minute.
"You mean they're acting more like brats than they already are," Sebastian concludes.
"You're hardly one to comment."
"Zing."
Blaine smiles against his will. "We're 'popular' now, you know."
Sebastian shrugs. "Shouldn't be new for you."
Blaine grimaces a little because sure, he was well liked at Dalton, but he never cared for the word 'popular' - it just brings him back to his first time being a freshman at public school and he hates it. He hates being reminded of that time and he hates that McKinley is becoming that place.
"It's new for a lot of people in New Directions," Blaine reveals.
"Ah." Sebastian takes a long drink and eyes Blaine, making him uncomfortable at the scrutiny. "I take it that it's not longer a hippie lovefest anymore. Your club."
"I mean, we never really were, but. Yeah, there's just…this tension. We're going to end up competing against one another when school starts."
Sebastian snorts. "You mean who's going to lead the New Directions this year? Blaine, that's not a competition. You're it. Obviously. The only smart thing those morons ever did was snap you up for themselves."
"Nobody 'snapped me up' - it was my choice to transfer," Blaine says, annoyed that everyone seems to forget that he's capable of acting on his own behalf.
"Okay, well take that assertiveness and go after what you want," Sebastian replies, shrugging his shoulders as he leans back into his seat. "You're too nice - your teammates are not above pushing you off the stage to be in the spotlight, if Berry is anything to go by. And frankly, I'd rather compete against a team with a leader who will actually give a fighting chance, so."
Sometimes it surprises him how similarly Cooper and Sebastian think.
"My brother said something like that to me in June."
"He's got a point."
"I don't like thinking the worst in people."
"If multiple people are warning you about this, shouldn't you take it seriously? Besides, something tells me you're already half-convinced."
Blaine rubs his forehead, feeling a headache forming between his eyes, not wanting to give Sebastian the satisfaction of being right.
But Sebastian's smirk is growing wider by the second. "You led a respectable show choir as a sophomore. You're more capable than those clowns. You'd be doing that sad team a favor by leading them. It's not just for your benefit, if that helps you sleep at night," Sebastian continues.
Later that night he lies in bed, scrolling through his iPod, considering which song to sing to blow Mr. Schue away to convince him that he should be -
Blaine stops what he's doing and takes a deep breath because since when does he think like that?
**
The next day he calls Tina, drumming his fingers nervously on his bedspread.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Tina - it's Blaine," Blaine says, smiling a little in excitement.
"Oh, hey, Blaine. What's up?"
He pauses a moment at her tone, but continues on with, "I was thinking that maybe we could do a duet when we get back at school. Start the year off on a good note."
He thought about it last night and Rachel and Finn were co-captains - can't they have the same this year? He thinks that Tina and he can work really well together and out of everyone remaining in New Directions, he would love to work with her the most, to lead everyone to a winning year.
He hears her sigh on the other end. "I don't know, Blaine. I don't really have time to coordinate anything? I'm very busy."
His lips part as his looks at his bookshelf without really seeing it. "Oh," Blaine says, his throat swelling a little. "Okay, that's fine. I've never sung with you before, so I just thought it would be fun."
"You haven't really sung much with anyone," Tina corrects him and that hurts a lot more than he thought it would.
He wants to say that it's not like anyone was offering, that nobody really stood up and made him feel welcome last year, so yeah, whenever he sang, it was usually alone, but at least he tried to involve other people in his performances, because that's what he loves the most.
But he doesn't get a chance to say anything before she says, "I have to go, I'll see you at school."
He hangs up without saying goodbye and he gets a sick little satisfaction out of it.
**
"Hey, little bro! Excited for your first day as a senior?" Cooper exclaims and usually his enthusiasm brings a smile to Blaine's face, but not tonight.
"You were right, Coop," Blaine states, his voice flat as he searches through his closet with one hand to find something to wear for his first day. "It's just a competition."
"Oh, Blaine," Cooper sighs and Blaine wonders if he's being serious or not. "I'm sorry," he says, this time sounding more genuine.
"Yeah, me too." Blaine pulls out a green and navy sweater vest, something he bought with Kurt a few weeks ago and maybe it can be a makeshift breastplate.
(Kurt would be proud.)
"So…are you going to play along?"
"I competed with the best since I was four," Blaine answers, taking out grey trousers and a white polo, "I'm going to win it."
Cooper laughs. "Now that's what I'm talking about. You're an Anderson, you're going to wipe the floor with them."
Blaine opens his drawer with all his bowties, debating. "I'll call you later about it."
"You better, squirt. Just, be careful, okay?"
"I know." Blaine picks out a grey, pointy bowtie. Perfect. "I have to go - I want to get to school early tomorrow so I can ask my English teacher for a letter of recommendation."
"Still don't think you should go to college, but whatevs. Arrivederci!"
"Ciao, fratello."
"Hey, you're catching on!"
"Bye, Coop," Blaine says with a roll of his eyes, hanging up and dropping his phone on his bed, staring down at his outfit for school.
He hates this. He hates Mr. Schue for doing this to them, he hates that his teammates are hurting each other just to have a solo, he hates that they're only sticking together out of necessity to remain popular, and he hates that he's going along with it.
But he's tired. He's just done trying to be nice, trying to do something that Mr. Schue should've been doing in the first place - he can't bring these people together who don't take him seriously.
But they will - they should take him seriously because he's talented and he's had experience with leading a show choir. He would've loved for this to be a team effort, he really would've but if nobody's willing, if nobody cares, then fine. He can do it alone.
It's not like the concept is unfamiliar to him.
**
Blaine Anderson wakes up for the first day of his senior year of high school and steels his face.
(He doesn't have to look in the mirror to make sure it's convincing.)
Characters/Pairings: Blaine, Cooper, Tina, Brittany, Santana, Kurt, Artie, Sam, Sebastian; Blaine/Kurt
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers/Warnings: through 4x01; language
Word Count: ~4,800
Disclaimer: Title is from "We Say Summer" by All Time Low.
Summary: "So don't get too lazy this summer - Rachel never slacked and it showed." | The summer before Blaine's senior year.
We Say Summer Holds Such Wonderful Things
On the very last day of school, the seniors of New Directions have stepped out of the choir room and the juniors and underclassmen remain with Mr. Schue, who tells them to have fun, be safe, and keep their voices sharp for when they return.
"September will come before you know it and we're going to need to work hard in order to keep up our winning streak, especially now that we're going to need new people step up and fill some pretty big shoes left by the seniors," Mr. Schue continues, his eyes alight with excitement.
Blaine looks around and sees Tina straighten her posture, preening a little and he smiles, happy that she'll finally have her chance to shine next year.
"So don't get too lazy this summer - Rachel never slacked and it showed."
Blaine waits for him to continue on - comment about Finn's determination to becoming a better dancer, or Mike's amazing influence on the choreography, or Mercedes' remarkable ability to bring down the house with a single note - but Mr. Schue just talks about being rewarded for working hard, for more solos.
Blaine shifts in his chair, trying not to grimace. It wasn't like Rachel won the competitions single-handedly - she wasn't even in all the competitions this year. This is rather…debilitating instead of invigorating.
He doesn't quite understand why Mr. Schue is suddenly doing this, but maybe it's just because he's upset about her leaving, her being one of the first members and all.
When the bell rings, he stands up and walks out with Tina and she tells him that she's thinking about joining a gym this summer to stay in shape, so he gives her the name of his, in case they want to coordinate times.
He forgets about what Mr. Schue said - everyone else seems to have selective memories when it comes to events that conspire in the choir room, so he should just do the same.
**
There are graduation parties all throughout the first week of summer - Mercedes' family hosts one in their backyard and they eat barbeque and hot dogs and Puck brings over a Slip-N-Slide. And then there's Puck's graduation party, which is just everyone crammed in his basement, drinking into oblivion and Blaine's pretty sure he and Sam worked out a dance routine at one point, but he doesn't remember and Sam looks away with a fierce blush on his face whenever that party is brought up, so Blaine's pretty sure it wasn't the most appropriate thing.
He's sad when he has to leave the Monday after, his brother having bought a plane ticket for him to come out to California for ten days. It's the most fun he's had with glee club and he selfishly doesn't want it to end.
**
Cooper picks him up at LAX with tears in his eyes, bringing him in for a tight hug, rambling loudly about how he hasn't seen his 'long-lost brother' since he was six due to their cruel parents and there are people stopping and staring at them.
"Cooper," Blaine hisses, pinching Cooper's back, ignoring the scandalized ouch in his ear, "What are you doing."
"It's for a script, I'll tell you all about it on the way to my apartment," Cooper explains, pulling away with a bright smile before wrapping an arm around Blaine's shoulders, keeping him close.
"So beautiful," a woman whispers, tears streaming down her face as she watches them in awe.
Blaine waits until he's a few feet away to roll his eyes. Only Cooper.
**
The first five days consist of Cooper taking him around LA, showing him his favorite coffee shops and where he likes to buy his clothes (Blaine manages to find a tweed bowtie that he can't wait to wear to school). Blaine helps him with an audition for a TV pilot - a role in which he plays a character reminiscent of Jesse from Full House, which Cooper stands a chance of getting, at least if he doesn't do the 'emotion tornado' beforehand, which Blaine has repeatedly told him that it scares people.
"They're just intimidated by my pure talent," Cooper scoffs before a waitress comes by their table and he lowers his voice, slowing his speech as he asks in an Italian accent if he could have another soda.
"That is the worst Italian accent I've heard this week," the waitress states flatly before walking away.
Blaine snorts and ends up choking on his drink from laughing. (He's giving her a good tip.)
**
Cooper gets him a newer, better fake ID that actually has his picture and a name he can remember with an age that's believable.
"We can even go to a gay bar, if you want! I can be your wingman."
"Coop, I'm in a relationship, why would I need a wingman?"
Cooper waves a hand dismissively. "Just because you're tied down doesn't mean you can't hone your flirting skills."
They end up going to a quiet bar a few streets away from Cooper's apartment (much to Blaine's insistence because no, he's not interested in going to a strip club, even if there are stripping men and women) and accidentally ends up helping Cooper hook up with a girl he was talking to - a nice girl originally from Kentucky and Cooper has always wanted to perfect his southern accent.
Blaine's kept out of the apartment that night until three in the morning. He would spend the time on the phone with Kurt - and he does for an hour before Kurt complains of it being three in the morning his time - but he spends most of the time in the McDonalds down the road, watching the drunk people that stumble in, and writing the first draft his personal essay for his college applications.
**
Their parents fly into LA on the fifth day and they go out to nice restaurants and Cooper makes it so easy, bringing them all together and they must look like such a picture-perfect family from the outside.
**
The next day they all fly to northern California for college tours, much to Cooper's chagrin.
He complains about how cold it is and how the people are weird with no explanation ("At least in LA, you can assume they're method!"), moaning about how rural it is in comparison, but Blaine likes it.
He likes the easy feeling of it, that everyone just lets each other be, which is a nice change from Ohio, where straying from the norm has consequences.
Although he's not quite sure if it's really him, if he can live in this area for nine months out of the year for four years.
He takes notes during the tours and smiles and nods along with the guide, ignoring his parents, who are trying to read him.
(It's his choice - his parents, his brother, nobody will influence him.)
**
The last night he's with his brother, they're splitting a bottle of wine and Cooper tells him to embrace senior year.
"And you better step up and take charge," Cooper adds, pointing at him to prove how serious he is. "You're the most talented kid there and you deserve to shine on that dinky Ohio stage."
"So do all the other seniors," Blaine points out, finishing his third glass. He finds it tastes a lot better than his first one.
Cooper shrugs, his movement a little sloppy. "Yeah, but, they're not you. And besides, those kids are vicious. High school kids are nasty little devils. They'll step all over you to get what they want. Doesn't matter if you're friend or foe."
Cooper tends to get very overdramatic when he drinks (more so than usual, anyway).
Blaine hums noncommittally and pours the rest of the bottle into his glass. "I don't think the other guys would do that, especially after everything. I mean Tina especially knows what it's like to be ignored and it's terrible. Why would she want others to suffer the same way?"
"Why wouldn't you? If I were ignored for three years, you bet your ass I'm going to push everyone out of my way to be in the spotlight. Not that it would ever happen, it's not possible, but you get what I mean." Blaine rolls his eyes. "I'm serious, Blainey, not everyone is as nice and thoughtful as you. I don't want you to get hurt."
Blaine puts down his glass. "They wouldn't," he states.
(He doesn't like the doubt that seeps into his tone.)
**
Blaine comes back to Ohio in time for Fourth of July festivities and Santana is plastered, laughing loudly and hugging everyone, sniffling every now and again.
Even though he's watched her do it with everyone, he's still surprised that she comes up to him and drapes her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. He returns it as best he can with a drink in one hand, patting her back with the other.
"I'm gonna miss you, Blanderson," she mumbles, pulling back to look him in the eye. He wonders if she did that on purpose - blending his names, or she's so drunk that she's not aware of how she's slurring her speech.
"I'll miss you too."
"You better. 'Mreplacable."
"Yeah, you're irreplaceable," Blaine says softly, hit with unexpected sadness.
Suddenly, her eyes are sharp and she jabs a finger into his chest. "You better lead glee club to Nationals, okay?"
He blinks. "I thought you didn't want that," he says, confused.
"May have…" she shakes her head. "You should do it," she states, as if it's irrefutable.
He wants to point out that it's a team effort, that it's not just him who's going to lead New Directions to victory, he doesn't want that, but she's drunk and there's no use in being reasonable.
"I'll do my best," he promises her.
She snorts inelegantly and keeps one arm around his shoulders, her drink in her other hand sloshing dangerously over the rim. "You're lucky you're cute."
He grins and keeps an arm around her waist to hold her steady. "You're so going to regret that tomorrow."
**
Blaine texts Tina about going to the gym together later one day, but after a few hours and not getting a response, he goes himself, bringing his boxing gloves.
When he walks in and sees her on an elliptical, he tries not to be hurt by it. Maybe she left her phone at home (not likely), maybe her phone died, maybe -
She catches him looking at her and he waves, hoping he doesn't seem too sad.
She just nods and looks back down at her feet, guilty.
(He spends almost two hours in front of the punching bag, hoping Cooper's words that are ringing in his ears can be drowned out by the slaps of his fists against the bag.)
**
When Blaine goes to Kurt about it, Kurt shrugs his shoulders. "She's been a bit - well. I think she's considering breaking up with Mike when he leaves," Kurt explains.
Blaine frowns. "That's so sad - they should give long distance a try."
"We're trying to convince her, but who knows," Kurt sighs.
But Blaine still wonders if that's really it.
(If I were ignored for three years, you bet your ass I'm going to push everyone out of my way to be in the spotlight.)
Maybe he's just being paranoid - Kurt knows Tina better than Blaine does. He shouldn't be worrying about glee club yet.
(He shouldn't be worrying about it at all, so why is he?)
**
The invitations start coming in.
First they're from Puck, telling them that they're all invited to so-and-so's house for a party and it finally starts to sink in that they're considered popular now.
Only rising seniors and graduates are invited, but it doesn't stop Sugar from waltzing in like she owns the place. (It also helps that she's providing good quality alcohol.)
They're welcomed with cheers and Blaine high-fives more guys than he can count and at one point, Sugar pushes a drink into his hand that she calls 'Sugar Me Sweet,' which actually tastes like liquefied Pixy Stix as they come together in a circle.
"Cheers, ladies and germs, we're finally the coolest fuckers in the room," Puck announces, raising his cup.
"Let's stay that way," Tina adds and there's something dark in her voice that Blaine tries to ignore as he leans into Kurt's side and raises his own drink.
**
For a week, Blaine travels with his parents up and down the east coast to look at more schools - schools in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and while he's in New York City, he just feels so guilty, irrationally thinking that Kurt should be here right now, that he should be coming here in a few weeks like Rachel will.
From Kurt Hummel <3:
Soooo???
From Blaine Anderson <3:
It's just missing you :(
From Kurt Hummel <3:
I'll get there next year.
As much as Blaine would love to be in the same town as Kurt, to not have hundreds of miles between them, he can't stand the idea of Kurt being stuck in Lima.
He doesn't respond and swallows the lump in his throat.
**
Brittany calls him one day to ask about borrowing some grease for her motorbike since he seems to have a lot on his head. Blaine sighs tells her no before he realizes that she does motocross, so he asks her about it and by the end of the conversation, he's marked a day in his calendar to see her at the nearest track, which is twenty minutes away.
"Did you know this?" Blaine asks Kurt over the phone as he drives on I-75 South.
"I don't take half of what she says seriously," Kurt answers. "Let me know when you're on your way home so I can start cooking."
"I will, love you."
"Love you too."
**
Blaine has his finger over the 'call' button, 9-1-1 already dialed in when he watches Brittany start the bike, but nearly drops his phone when he witnesses her flip her bike in the air and land safely.
He has enough sense eventually to start recording a video, sending it to Kurt with the message, 'maybe you should start taking what she says more seriously.'
**
At one point, Santana plops herself down next to him on the bleacher, watching her girlfriend ride with a fond expression on her face.
"She was really excited today," Santana says in lieu of a proper greeting.
"I was too," Blaine answers, gaping as Brittany leaves the jump and whips the bike sideways, removing her front leg and swinging it around behind the bike to the other side. "My God, does she do this professionally? She's amazing."
Santana beams. "I know. But no, it always conflicted with Cheerios. Besides, this is her way to unwind."
He nods. "I can understand that."
They're quiet for a bit, content on watching Brittany until Santana says, "Keep an eye on her, okay?"
He doesn't look over at her, figuring she's already uncomfortable with this as it is, and just nods. "Okay."
He can hear her exhale before she adds, "And watch your own back. I know you haven't experienced it, but friends will backstab you in a heartbeat at McKinley."
(…Those kids are vicious.)
Blaine clenches his jaw. "You really think so little of your friends?" he comments lightly.
Santana shrugs. "I left New Directions for the Troubletones because I felt ignored. I can't imagine what Tina or Artie feel like after all these years. Just saying."
He drives home with his stomach churning.
**
Once the graduates start leaving, the ones left behind are invited to parties for rising seniors only, or upperclassmen only, and frankly, Blaine isn't all that comfortable.
It's the first time Blaine has ever been to party like this - football players and cheerleaders abound. It's loud and chaotic like a New Directions party, except this feels sharper, nastier, like everything is done with a purpose (get wasted, blackout, hook up).
"Drink up," a football player demands, handing Artie and Blaine and Sam cups of beer from the keg and Blaine has never felt like he belonged anywhere less.
"Well…cheers," Artie says, raising his cup high and Blaine and Sam clink their drinks together.
Artie and Sam begin chugging and Blaine does the same, almost gagging on the cheap taste, hoping it'll ease him.
(He remembers being a freshman for the first time and feeling so lonely when jocks and cheerleaders would come in on Monday morning, laughing and talking about the crazy things they did over the weekend and this is it - he's living that dream and he should make the best of it, right?)
**
It doesn't get better.
He has a few more drinks and things are fuzzy, sluggish. He remembers talking with people, but he forgets their faces and what they even discussed. He can hear Tina laughing loudly in the corner, gossiping with a cheerleader whose name he doesn't know and Sam is playing a final round of beer pong now and he can't find Brittany or Artie and he feels awful.
A football player pats him on the back - even though it's more of a push - and he flashes to cold concrete and his body aches like -
He stumbles out of the room, towards the bathroom and closes the door behind him, sliding down to the floor as he tries to breathe, hoping to ease his stomach.
A minute later he has his head halfway down the toilet, heaving and trying not to cry because he's pretty sure this isn't how popularity is supposed to feel.
There's consistent banging on the door and he croaks out, "I'll be out in a sec."
"Dude, it's us!" Sam calls out and Blaine woozily gets to his feet before unlocking and opening the door, revealing Sam and Artie.
Sam looks at Blaine in surprise, making Blaine flush (which can't be too appealing since the last time he looked in the mirror, his skin was pasty and shiny with sweat) and then at the toilet.
"It's not even midnight and you're puking, not cool," Artie says, his eyes unfocused. "Getcho head in the game!"
"Artie's right," Sam says, grim as he walks in, dumping the contents of his own drink in the sink and filling it with water, handing it to Blaine. "Come on, rinse, drink, and let's get back in. We're on thin ice as it is."
Blaine looks at them, wishing he were back in his room, under the covers so he can pretend everything doesn't exist because sure, they're unified, of course they are, but it's all about popularity - one weak link can ruin what they have. There's a distinct, gross, all-consuming fear of falling from the top and going back to what they were, worse than where they were because this time they have no allies - no more football players or cheerleaders (besides Brittany, who nobody took seriously to begin with) to bridge the gaps and if he thinks about it too much, he loses his ability to breathe properly.
Nobody wants to be a victim and Blaine gets it, of course he does, but.
But.
Blaine takes the cup from Sam, rinsing out his mouth as best he can before drinking some water, grimacing at the lingering taste of beer. Artie hands him a stick of gum, which he takes gratefully.
"Come on," Sam says, patting Blaine on the back too hard as he leads him out of the bathroom and into the party.
Blaine takes a deep breath, prepares himself, and smiles brightly, hurting his face.
(Did they even ask if he's okay?)
**
He wants to tell Kurt about the party, but Kurt starts complaining about his training at the Lima Bean and he can't bring himself to do it - it can't be worse than what Kurt is feeling right now.
So he holds his tongue.
**
A week before school starts, Blaine gets a text from Sebastian, asking if he wants to meet for coffee.
Blaine picks the day before Kurt starts working at the Lima Bean, weary.
Sebastian strolls in with a tan and his typical smirk in place, although it seems to soften into something more of a smile when he shakes Blaine's hand.
"I was in Paris for most of the summer," Sebastian tells Blaine after they sit down with their coffee orders. Then he sighs, shaking his head. "So much better than here. The guys are quite remarquable."
Blaine rolls his eyes at his pretention and smiles.
"What about you, Anderson, how's your summer been? Still with the boyfriend?"
"Yes, still with Kurt," Blaine answers evenly before shrugging. "I visited my brother in LA, looked at some colleges."
Sebastian grimaces. "Sounds like a fun summer," he says, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Please tell me you did something to warrant being a seventeen-year-old."
"Eighteen," Blaine corrects.
Sebastian raises an eyebrow. "A bit old for a senior."
Blaine shrugs, trying to keep calm about it. "I went to some parties," he says instead.
"There you go," Sebastian says, approving.
Blaine drinks his iced coffee, not sure why he continues to give it a chance every month when he knows he doesn't like it as much as a hot one.
"Okay, what's wrong with you - you look like a kicked puppy. Did Hummel revoke your bowtie-wearing privileges because it was competing with his absurd scarf collection?"
Blaine shoots him a pointed look. "I'm just…concerned what this Nationals win is doing to New Directions," he admits after a minute.
"You mean they're acting more like brats than they already are," Sebastian concludes.
"You're hardly one to comment."
"Zing."
Blaine smiles against his will. "We're 'popular' now, you know."
Sebastian shrugs. "Shouldn't be new for you."
Blaine grimaces a little because sure, he was well liked at Dalton, but he never cared for the word 'popular' - it just brings him back to his first time being a freshman at public school and he hates it. He hates being reminded of that time and he hates that McKinley is becoming that place.
"It's new for a lot of people in New Directions," Blaine reveals.
"Ah." Sebastian takes a long drink and eyes Blaine, making him uncomfortable at the scrutiny. "I take it that it's not longer a hippie lovefest anymore. Your club."
"I mean, we never really were, but. Yeah, there's just…this tension. We're going to end up competing against one another when school starts."
Sebastian snorts. "You mean who's going to lead the New Directions this year? Blaine, that's not a competition. You're it. Obviously. The only smart thing those morons ever did was snap you up for themselves."
"Nobody 'snapped me up' - it was my choice to transfer," Blaine says, annoyed that everyone seems to forget that he's capable of acting on his own behalf.
"Okay, well take that assertiveness and go after what you want," Sebastian replies, shrugging his shoulders as he leans back into his seat. "You're too nice - your teammates are not above pushing you off the stage to be in the spotlight, if Berry is anything to go by. And frankly, I'd rather compete against a team with a leader who will actually give a fighting chance, so."
Sometimes it surprises him how similarly Cooper and Sebastian think.
"My brother said something like that to me in June."
"He's got a point."
"I don't like thinking the worst in people."
"If multiple people are warning you about this, shouldn't you take it seriously? Besides, something tells me you're already half-convinced."
Blaine rubs his forehead, feeling a headache forming between his eyes, not wanting to give Sebastian the satisfaction of being right.
But Sebastian's smirk is growing wider by the second. "You led a respectable show choir as a sophomore. You're more capable than those clowns. You'd be doing that sad team a favor by leading them. It's not just for your benefit, if that helps you sleep at night," Sebastian continues.
Later that night he lies in bed, scrolling through his iPod, considering which song to sing to blow Mr. Schue away to convince him that he should be -
Blaine stops what he's doing and takes a deep breath because since when does he think like that?
**
The next day he calls Tina, drumming his fingers nervously on his bedspread.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Tina - it's Blaine," Blaine says, smiling a little in excitement.
"Oh, hey, Blaine. What's up?"
He pauses a moment at her tone, but continues on with, "I was thinking that maybe we could do a duet when we get back at school. Start the year off on a good note."
He thought about it last night and Rachel and Finn were co-captains - can't they have the same this year? He thinks that Tina and he can work really well together and out of everyone remaining in New Directions, he would love to work with her the most, to lead everyone to a winning year.
He hears her sigh on the other end. "I don't know, Blaine. I don't really have time to coordinate anything? I'm very busy."
His lips part as his looks at his bookshelf without really seeing it. "Oh," Blaine says, his throat swelling a little. "Okay, that's fine. I've never sung with you before, so I just thought it would be fun."
"You haven't really sung much with anyone," Tina corrects him and that hurts a lot more than he thought it would.
He wants to say that it's not like anyone was offering, that nobody really stood up and made him feel welcome last year, so yeah, whenever he sang, it was usually alone, but at least he tried to involve other people in his performances, because that's what he loves the most.
But he doesn't get a chance to say anything before she says, "I have to go, I'll see you at school."
He hangs up without saying goodbye and he gets a sick little satisfaction out of it.
**
"Hey, little bro! Excited for your first day as a senior?" Cooper exclaims and usually his enthusiasm brings a smile to Blaine's face, but not tonight.
"You were right, Coop," Blaine states, his voice flat as he searches through his closet with one hand to find something to wear for his first day. "It's just a competition."
"Oh, Blaine," Cooper sighs and Blaine wonders if he's being serious or not. "I'm sorry," he says, this time sounding more genuine.
"Yeah, me too." Blaine pulls out a green and navy sweater vest, something he bought with Kurt a few weeks ago and maybe it can be a makeshift breastplate.
(Kurt would be proud.)
"So…are you going to play along?"
"I competed with the best since I was four," Blaine answers, taking out grey trousers and a white polo, "I'm going to win it."
Cooper laughs. "Now that's what I'm talking about. You're an Anderson, you're going to wipe the floor with them."
Blaine opens his drawer with all his bowties, debating. "I'll call you later about it."
"You better, squirt. Just, be careful, okay?"
"I know." Blaine picks out a grey, pointy bowtie. Perfect. "I have to go - I want to get to school early tomorrow so I can ask my English teacher for a letter of recommendation."
"Still don't think you should go to college, but whatevs. Arrivederci!"
"Ciao, fratello."
"Hey, you're catching on!"
"Bye, Coop," Blaine says with a roll of his eyes, hanging up and dropping his phone on his bed, staring down at his outfit for school.
He hates this. He hates Mr. Schue for doing this to them, he hates that his teammates are hurting each other just to have a solo, he hates that they're only sticking together out of necessity to remain popular, and he hates that he's going along with it.
But he's tired. He's just done trying to be nice, trying to do something that Mr. Schue should've been doing in the first place - he can't bring these people together who don't take him seriously.
But they will - they should take him seriously because he's talented and he's had experience with leading a show choir. He would've loved for this to be a team effort, he really would've but if nobody's willing, if nobody cares, then fine. He can do it alone.
It's not like the concept is unfamiliar to him.
**
Blaine Anderson wakes up for the first day of his senior year of high school and steels his face.
(He doesn't have to look in the mirror to make sure it's convincing.)