fic: What Friends Are For
Title: What Friends Are For
Characters: Blaine, Tina, mentions of Kurt
Rating: PG
Words: ~1,200
Notes: Written for Nikki, who sounded like she really needed a scene like this. It's only fanfiction, but hopefully it can help ease some of the post-4x06 Glee feels she's having ♥
“Relationships are about trust, and I don’t trust you anymore.”
Those words were weighing on Blaine’s chest in a way that felt constricting - he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think straight, and he definitely couldn’t speak. He’d messed up in a way that he knew he’d never be able to compensate for, and for that, he hated himself. Kurt might hate him, but Blaine’s hatred towards himself was tenfold.
Now the fact that he’d transferred to McKinley for Kurt was more obvious to Blaine than ever. Whenever he was upset he’d have Kurt to turn to, but now what? Now who did he have to turn to?
The whole time, working on the musical, Blaine hadn’t been himself. He was hardly needed for rehearsals since he was only in one scene, but when he was there, he was by himself. Either on stage singing, but in his own world, or off in the auditorium seats, or on the stage wings - somewhere that was secluded. And nobody had bothered to come find him or talk to him. It was like nobody even cared if he was okay.
It stung a lot. Blaine thought that with the presidency, he might have made a few friends. He’d expected to at least have a friend out of Sam, his running mate, but no. There was nobody.
Blaine couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t eat, and his voice didn’t even sound as great when he sang, and he knew it. After the musical, he’d lost all hope that anyone would approach him. If they didn’t notice his pain and the way he shut in on himself when they were around each other for an extra two hours a day, there was no way they’d notice him after.
A week after the musical, Blaine skipped lunch like usual, opting to just eat the dinner his parents would expect him to, because his appetite was diminishing. His usual hide-out was the auditorium, but that was closed for cleaning today, so he found himself wandering into the choir room instead. Thankfully, nobody else was in there, including Finn.
Blaine sat down at the piano and rested his hands over the keys. Then, he just let his fingers move. He’d taken years’ worth of piano lessons in the past, so he’d been taught how to improvise long ago. It wasn’t difficult to do anymore - on the contrary, it was just instinct. His fingers would move in the right places, hitting the right notes for that key, and it tended to reflect his mood. The melody was morose and full of emotion, and Blaine’s eyes stayed close in fear that if he opened them, and then blinked, he’d actually cry at school. He refused to let that happen - he had to be strong.
“That’s beautiful.”
Blaine’s fingers instantly tore away from the keys in embarrassment. He hadn’t expected, nor wanted, an audience. Quickly, he whipped to the doorway behind him to see Tina. “Oh, hey Tina,” he replied, but the usual cheer was completely gone from his voice.
She walked in and in a matter of fact tone, added, “It’s also the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Blaine sighed. He just nodded and sat on the piano bench, head bowed and hands knotted in his lap. “You know, I thought your mood was because you weren’t cast as Danny Zuko in the musical, at first,” she confessed, pulling up a chair to sit near the piano bench, eyes fixed calmly on Blaine. “When you were upset even after the show, that’s when I realized something was wrong.”
The first thought in Blaine’s mind at Tina’s words was that he must be imagining things. No way had somebody noticed his mood. There was no way. “I… yeah,” he replied awkwardly.
“Is this about Kurt?” Tina pressed, in that gentle way that it seemed only she knew how to do.
It wasn’t like many people actually knew about the breakup. To stay safe from any bullies that might be lingering online, Kurt and Blaine had been hesitant to state that they were in a relationship on Facebook. In fact, they’d left it out of their personal information all together. Living where they did, the two of them had agreed long ago that it was the safe thing to do, at least until they got out of Ohio and they were both somewhere far more open minded, like New York City. But now it didn’t matter, because they weren’t together anymore. “We broke up,” Blaine croaked out, voice absolutely dripping with sadness.
Tina looked sympathetic, and she reached out to pat his arm gently. “Breakups suck,” she told him softly. “Trust me.”
Blaine was so grateful that Tina was being sympathetic, but he knew that might change when she found out why they’d broken up. “I cheated,” he added.
But Tina never faltered, and that gave Blaine a feeling of hope that nobody else had given him since the breakup. “People make mistakes,” she said softly. “You guys are young, and he’s far away, and believe me, I understand.”
“You do?”
Tina looked up at Blaine, who fixed her with a hopeful look in his wet, teary eyes. “Yeah, I do,” she told him softly. “Back when I was a freshman, I was dating Artie. It was great,” she paused, eyes drifting to the side as she thought about it, and her smile diminished slightly. “It was great but then I went to Asian camp, and I got closer to Mike there. We didn’t really have much contact outside of the camp ground, so…” she took a deep breath and looked back up at Blaine. “I cheated on Artie. I got together with Mike long before I ever broke up with Artie. I could blame technology or bad reception, but… the truth is, I was just impatient. I wanted to be with someone, to feel wanted, and… Mike gave me that. Artie used to, but he just wasn’t there anymore.”
Blaine just looked at Tina in slight awe. He hadn’t known that story, but now that he did… he got it. He understood why Tina knew how he felt, and it was the most liberating, relieving feeling in the world. Blaine could have cried, he felt so glad to just have someone to talk to about it. “How did you…” he began, but his voice cracked. Blaine swallowed and wiped the wetness from his eyes as he tried again, “How did you get through it?”
“I hated myself for a while,” she shrugged. “Mike helped me through it, though. He just had to keep reminding me that I’m a good person, and that people just make mistakes.”
Blaine looked down at the floor, a frown forming on his face. Easier said than done, that was for sure. He didn’t exactly have a ton of friends at McKinley. “I want to help you through this, Blaine,” Tina told him softly, realizing almost instantly why he was upset. “You’re a really great person, and you're strong and talented, and I’m not going to let you throw away your senior year moping over one little mistake you made.”
“Thank you,” Blaine said in nothing but a whisper. He was far too emotional to find his voice in the mix of it all.
Tina smiled and stood up, holding out her arms for Blaine to give her a hug. “Of course,” she told him simply. Blaine slowly rose from the piano bench and wrapped his arms around her, and Tina reciprocated the hug happily. She rubbed his back and said, “That’s what friends are for.”
Characters: Blaine, Tina, mentions of Kurt
Rating: PG
Words: ~1,200
Notes: Written for Nikki, who sounded like she really needed a scene like this. It's only fanfiction, but hopefully it can help ease some of the post-4x06 Glee feels she's having ♥
“Relationships are about trust, and I don’t trust you anymore.”
Those words were weighing on Blaine’s chest in a way that felt constricting - he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think straight, and he definitely couldn’t speak. He’d messed up in a way that he knew he’d never be able to compensate for, and for that, he hated himself. Kurt might hate him, but Blaine’s hatred towards himself was tenfold.
Now the fact that he’d transferred to McKinley for Kurt was more obvious to Blaine than ever. Whenever he was upset he’d have Kurt to turn to, but now what? Now who did he have to turn to?
The whole time, working on the musical, Blaine hadn’t been himself. He was hardly needed for rehearsals since he was only in one scene, but when he was there, he was by himself. Either on stage singing, but in his own world, or off in the auditorium seats, or on the stage wings - somewhere that was secluded. And nobody had bothered to come find him or talk to him. It was like nobody even cared if he was okay.
It stung a lot. Blaine thought that with the presidency, he might have made a few friends. He’d expected to at least have a friend out of Sam, his running mate, but no. There was nobody.
Blaine couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t eat, and his voice didn’t even sound as great when he sang, and he knew it. After the musical, he’d lost all hope that anyone would approach him. If they didn’t notice his pain and the way he shut in on himself when they were around each other for an extra two hours a day, there was no way they’d notice him after.
A week after the musical, Blaine skipped lunch like usual, opting to just eat the dinner his parents would expect him to, because his appetite was diminishing. His usual hide-out was the auditorium, but that was closed for cleaning today, so he found himself wandering into the choir room instead. Thankfully, nobody else was in there, including Finn.
Blaine sat down at the piano and rested his hands over the keys. Then, he just let his fingers move. He’d taken years’ worth of piano lessons in the past, so he’d been taught how to improvise long ago. It wasn’t difficult to do anymore - on the contrary, it was just instinct. His fingers would move in the right places, hitting the right notes for that key, and it tended to reflect his mood. The melody was morose and full of emotion, and Blaine’s eyes stayed close in fear that if he opened them, and then blinked, he’d actually cry at school. He refused to let that happen - he had to be strong.
“That’s beautiful.”
Blaine’s fingers instantly tore away from the keys in embarrassment. He hadn’t expected, nor wanted, an audience. Quickly, he whipped to the doorway behind him to see Tina. “Oh, hey Tina,” he replied, but the usual cheer was completely gone from his voice.
She walked in and in a matter of fact tone, added, “It’s also the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Blaine sighed. He just nodded and sat on the piano bench, head bowed and hands knotted in his lap. “You know, I thought your mood was because you weren’t cast as Danny Zuko in the musical, at first,” she confessed, pulling up a chair to sit near the piano bench, eyes fixed calmly on Blaine. “When you were upset even after the show, that’s when I realized something was wrong.”
The first thought in Blaine’s mind at Tina’s words was that he must be imagining things. No way had somebody noticed his mood. There was no way. “I… yeah,” he replied awkwardly.
“Is this about Kurt?” Tina pressed, in that gentle way that it seemed only she knew how to do.
It wasn’t like many people actually knew about the breakup. To stay safe from any bullies that might be lingering online, Kurt and Blaine had been hesitant to state that they were in a relationship on Facebook. In fact, they’d left it out of their personal information all together. Living where they did, the two of them had agreed long ago that it was the safe thing to do, at least until they got out of Ohio and they were both somewhere far more open minded, like New York City. But now it didn’t matter, because they weren’t together anymore. “We broke up,” Blaine croaked out, voice absolutely dripping with sadness.
Tina looked sympathetic, and she reached out to pat his arm gently. “Breakups suck,” she told him softly. “Trust me.”
Blaine was so grateful that Tina was being sympathetic, but he knew that might change when she found out why they’d broken up. “I cheated,” he added.
But Tina never faltered, and that gave Blaine a feeling of hope that nobody else had given him since the breakup. “People make mistakes,” she said softly. “You guys are young, and he’s far away, and believe me, I understand.”
“You do?”
Tina looked up at Blaine, who fixed her with a hopeful look in his wet, teary eyes. “Yeah, I do,” she told him softly. “Back when I was a freshman, I was dating Artie. It was great,” she paused, eyes drifting to the side as she thought about it, and her smile diminished slightly. “It was great but then I went to Asian camp, and I got closer to Mike there. We didn’t really have much contact outside of the camp ground, so…” she took a deep breath and looked back up at Blaine. “I cheated on Artie. I got together with Mike long before I ever broke up with Artie. I could blame technology or bad reception, but… the truth is, I was just impatient. I wanted to be with someone, to feel wanted, and… Mike gave me that. Artie used to, but he just wasn’t there anymore.”
Blaine just looked at Tina in slight awe. He hadn’t known that story, but now that he did… he got it. He understood why Tina knew how he felt, and it was the most liberating, relieving feeling in the world. Blaine could have cried, he felt so glad to just have someone to talk to about it. “How did you…” he began, but his voice cracked. Blaine swallowed and wiped the wetness from his eyes as he tried again, “How did you get through it?”
“I hated myself for a while,” she shrugged. “Mike helped me through it, though. He just had to keep reminding me that I’m a good person, and that people just make mistakes.”
Blaine looked down at the floor, a frown forming on his face. Easier said than done, that was for sure. He didn’t exactly have a ton of friends at McKinley. “I want to help you through this, Blaine,” Tina told him softly, realizing almost instantly why he was upset. “You’re a really great person, and you're strong and talented, and I’m not going to let you throw away your senior year moping over one little mistake you made.”
“Thank you,” Blaine said in nothing but a whisper. He was far too emotional to find his voice in the mix of it all.
Tina smiled and stood up, holding out her arms for Blaine to give her a hug. “Of course,” she told him simply. Blaine slowly rose from the piano bench and wrapped his arms around her, and Tina reciprocated the hug happily. She rubbed his back and said, “That’s what friends are for.”