Blaine's Dorm Room

Blaine's hand came up to lightly rest on his cheek where Kurt's lips had just been, the smile still clear on his face even as the other boy left the room. He walked forward and leaned on the door frame as he watched Kurt's retreating form heading back to his dorm. He couldn't remember the last time he had been with a guy that made him feel the way he felt when he was with Kurt. "I missed you too," he thought out loud when Kurt was already long gone. He stood there for a short moment longer before going back into his room and closing the door behind him.

He walked over towards his bed, pausing in front of the mirror to look at himself, running his fingers through his hair the way Kurt had when he first noticed the lack of gel. It made him smile that Kurt liked his hair this way. Blaine hadn't really worn his hair without gel since he attended his last school where he had fled from the bullies. He sighed and went back to his bed to unpack, thoughts of the upcoming weekend with Kurt filling his mind and causing the smile to remain frozen on his face.

What on earth am I doing here? Mercedes thought to herself as she knocked on Blaine's door. When she had tried calling her best friend numerous times, all she had gotten was his adorable voicemail. She needed help, and she needed it desperately. Blaine was her last option, but when she heard no response, she decided to leave a note.

Hey Blaine! Just dropped by to ask for help, Kurt's unavailable. Don't really wanna bother him anyway, with all that he's going through. Call me if you can, Mercedes

She scribbled her number at the bottom, just making sure everything was legible before sliding it under his door and leaving.

Blaine walked back into his room and closed the door behind him, almost walking over the note on the ground without noticing it. But as he did a double take, he realized someone had indeed slipped him a note. He smiled to himself as he picked it up, wondering if it was from Kurt, though he doubted it. If Kurt had wanted to talk he probably would have just texted it.

As he read over the note, he frowned in concern. He had only met Mercedes the one time, but he had liked her from the start. He just hoped nothing too seriously wrong had happened. He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number written down, hoping this wasn't a bad time to be calling.

"Hey, Mercedes. Just got your note. What's up?" he asked in a friendly voice as soon as she answered her phone.

ooc; I guess I'll just respond here? D; I'm bad at phone conversations in RP. :/

--

Mercedes responded lightly, "Hey Blaine, and before you ask, no, the sky isn't falling." She laughed, knowing if he was anything like Kurt, he would be thinking it was something super serious. "I have this problem," she began talking about how she had chosen Reflection to sing for her Glee assignment, (the Christina version, of course) and she was totally prepared to sing it, but she really didn't know anything about the Chinese culture. And since the assignment was Mulan, not Mrs. Aguilera, she wanted to go all out. "Trust me, I've got the music down, I just don't know about all that Kimono, sushi stuff they wear. It's really pretty and all, but I have no idea what to do. Where to shop, what to order online. I want to diva it up, I just don't know how." she muttered into the phone, still wishing she had Kurt to help her. But she wouldn't bother him with this. She knew how much he's dealing with right now. "Sorry, I know this is a lot, seeing as I just met you and all but. . . I really don't have any other options." She prepared herself for the tone you heard when someone hung up, knowing he probably wouldn't want to help her.

Blaine sighed with relief at Mercede’s first words as he walked over to sit on his bed, feeling much better now that he knew nothing was wrong. He smiled as she told him about the assignment she was working on. Dalton was amazing and all, but they never had awesome assignments where they got to sing Disney songs. He would have loved to help her out with the song, but as he listened to her talk he realized that it was the outfit department she was looking for help in. He knew Kurt would be much better with helping Mercedes out with that, but he didn’t mind helping either. He had only hung out with Mercedes once, so this would be a perfect opportunity for them to get to know each other better.

“Reflection? Awesome song choice, first of all,” he said with a grin once she was done explaining her situation. “And I’d love to help you out. Fashion seems to be more of Kurt’s thing, but I’m not completely hopeless. If anyone can pull off a dive-fied Kimono, it’d be you, so we don’t have to worry about you not looking amazing. I do have a few magazines with some accessory ideas that would be perfect for the kind of outfit you’re going for. Um, did you want to meet up or something? That might be easier. I have no problem with driving out there and meeting you somewhere. Or you could come up here. Either way is cool with me,” he suggested with a light shrug. He had almost considered inviting her to the mall this weekend, but he decided against it. Kurt hadn’t called it a date, but Blaine still thought of it as one and as much as he wanted to chill with Mercedes, he sort of wanted this weekend to spend some time alone with Kurt at the mall. "But if you're busy then we could do this over the phone. Up to you," he added as he turned on his computer, waiting for it to start up so he could research some Chinese culture and style tips for Mercedes.

Shane knocked loudly on Blaine's door, hoping the older boy was in there. It had been so long since they'd talked, since they'd even seen each other, really. Shane had just moved to Dalton after following Blaine's lead and getting fed up with their father. Since he'd come, he really hadn't seen Blaine much at all. His brother was always running around with that boy Kurt, or else doing something Warbler-related. Shane had been secretly hoping to have some brother time, but it just hadn't happened so far.
So Shane had a plan. Be as annoyingly persistant as possible, at all times, until he FINALLY could catch Blaine alone for some good ol' bonding time that they'd missed out on the past few years.

Blaine jumped at the sudden knock at the door, dropping the bottle of hair gel that he had just been about to apply. He sighed and picked it up, then set it down on the counter so he'd remember to take care of his unruly hair later...before he had to go to class.

He walked over to the door, unsure of who was knocking because it wasn't like Kurt to bang so loudly on the door like that. He opened it up to see his younger brother... "Shane?" He grinned and took a step forward, wrapping his brother in a tight hug before pulling him into the room and shutting the door behind them. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at school?" he asked excitedly, not sure of why his brother was here at Dalton, though he didn't care much. It wasn't often that he got to see his brother so when they finally did get to hang out they usually made the most of it. "Here, sit down," he suggested as he glanced around his dorm at the lack of seating arrangements. He settled on grabbing a chair for Shane, sliding it closer to his bed. "Sit," he repeated with a grin as he took his own seat on the edge of his bed. "So to what do I owe this surprise visit?"

[Sorry, noob is a noob, but Shane goes to Dalton now...So does Blaine know that? Or does Shane have to inform him?]

[Oh! I knew that but I figured Blaine wouldn't know yet, so Shane can tell him about it now. ]

[Okay, gotcha.]

Shane sat on the chair Blaine had pulled up for him and watched as the older boy looked at him with a mix of surprise and excitement.
"So to what do I owe this surprise visit?"
Shane shifted in the seat, folded his hands on his lap, and looked at his brother full on. He squinted his eyes, trying to discern the slightest hint that Blaine was just joking. When he found none, just pure surprise, Shane leaned back in the chair, shocked.
"D'you mean no one told you?" he asked, surprised himself. "That I'm going here now?"
Shane felt a pang of guilt that his own brother didn't know he'd transferred here, but how was Shane supposed to tell him other than this way? He didn't want to call, or worse, text. It seemed too impersonal. Somehow, Shane had just figured Blaine would find out. He wouldn't find out from their dad, Blaine hated their dad. There was no way in a million years that Blaine would willingly talk to their father.
Shane felt his cheeks getting red. He'd really messed up this time, hadn't he? Why did he always have to be the stupid little brother who counted on Divine Intervention or something for even the biggest of messages to be delivered?

Blaine just stared back at his brother, wondering what all the squinting and silence between them was for. No one told me what? He was starting to get nervous, wondering if something was wrong and Shane was here to break the news. His mind quickly assumed the worst and he was starting to get annoyed that no one had bothered to tell him sooner about whatever was going on back home.

Oh. "Wait, what?" He grinned as soon as he got over the relief of knowing nothing was actually wrong. "You? Here? Shane, that's great! I honestly had no idea," he promised, still grinning happily at the thought of being able to see his brother more often without having to go home and visit. "Wait...why are you suddenly going to Dalton?" he asked out of curiosity, hoping that the bullying at home hadn't gotten worse and driven Shane out as well.

"Wait...why are you suddenly going to Dalton?"
There were so many answers to this question, yet Shane wasn't quite sure he could tell Blaine any of them. First, he'd come to visit a few weeks ago and met Reed, and...he couldn't stop thinking about Reed the whole time he was back at home. That had definitely influenced his choice to come here, to Dalton in particular, as opposed to another boarding school...
But it was really probably exactly what Blaine thought it was, judging by the sudden concern in his eyes. Shane didn't want Blaine to be concerned, he wanted to just come out with a really good answer that aroused no suspicion on Blaine's part and that was completely believable...
However, Shane wasn't good at thinking on his feet, and suddenly he felt the dams behind his eyes breaking. No. No. Please. Anything but crying. Please! he begged his inner self, but to no avail.
Change the subject. Change the subject.
Panicking, Shane mumbled a quick, "Wanted to," and then said, "I start classes tomorrow."
It was too late, though. He was crying. It was official. He would always be the stupid younger brother who could never hide his emotions.
But thoughts of the final weeks with his father were just too much...
"You and your f---ing brother are f---ing fags and I can't STAND having you under my roof!"
"The rest of the WORLD and I all wish you had never been born!"
"No kid of mine will ever be gay! You must not be a kid of mine!"

Blaine watched Shane answer, not sure if he believed Shane's response. Sure, Shane was an impulsive person but Blaine really didn't think his brother would just get up one day and transfer to Dalton just because he wanted to.

Blaine's face fell when he saw his younger brother break down, and on brotherly instinct he got up and knelt down next to Shane. He wrapped both his arms around his brother and hugged him tightly. Without letting go, he pulled Shane over onto the bed and sat down beside him, rubbing his hands up and down Shane's arms as he tried to comfort his brother. He rested his hand on the back of Shane's head and pulled it to his chest as he moved his hand to his brothers back and continued holding him tightly. "I'm sorry, Shane," he whispered quietly, not trusting himself to speak too much. Shane needed his big brother to be strong for him, and Blaine wasn't about to let himself lose it in front of Shane. "I'm so sorry," he said again as he rested his head on top of Shane's. He didn't need to ask what was wrong to understand exactly why Shane had come here now. He had been in the same position a few years ago, and he knew it wasn't a fun place to be. "I'm here for you, Shane. Everything's going to be alright, I promise."

"I'm here for you, Shane. Everything's going to be alright, I promise."
For a moment, Shane had an angsty teenager thought, one that he would've hoped he could have skipped in his years of being a teenage boy.
He can't possibly know what I went through. No one can!
Then Shane remembered all those months when Blaine had been the receiver of the shouting, the cursing, and Shane realized that here was someone that understood him. Someone who was gay like him, had the same father, the same everything...Even the same hair.
Shane stayed where he was, because it felt safe in his older brother's arms. He felt safer than he'd felt in a long time.
"I should tell you everything," he mumbled, feeling the obligation on his shoulders. Didn't Blaine have a right to know? After all, it was family matters...
But something made Shane hesitant to tell. A lot of the worst things were about Blaine, because for whatever reason, their father truly hated Blaine more than he hated Shane. The mere fact that Shane loved Blaine made it terrible to hear the things his father said about Blaine.
Shane didn't know if Blaine would want to hear all of those things, all the terrible, terrible things...And if he wanted to, if he should.

Blaine took a deep breath and pulled back from the hug, but he kept a tight, comforting hand on his little brother's shoulder. It was sort of hard to believe how much Shane had grown but no matter how old he got, he would always be a little brother to Blaine. He nodded towards Shane, encouraging him to talk about what was going on home, but not wanting Shane to feel like he had to explain anything that was too difficult for him to talk about.

"You can tell me-- No matter how horrible it is. Trust me, I can handle it. I've been there too," he reminded him in a soft voice, his heart breaking at seeing his brother in so much pain.

Could he handle it? Reed sat up, looking at Blaine, trying to see in his eyes whether or not he could handle it. But there was nothing there that told Shane to tell or not. All that was there was encouragement, and Shane knew that it was his own choice. It wasn't for Blaine to decide. And Blaine was right - he could handle it. He'd probably be surprised at how tame some things were. He'd heard worse about himself, and to his face.
"Okay." Shane clasped his hands in his lap and turned so he was sitting cross-legged, facing Blaine. He realized this probably looked very elementary-school, but he didn't care. He was ready to play little brother, and Blaine would play big brother. They'd done it countless times before, when things were really bad. "Okay," he said again, wondering what, exactly to say.
Then he felt a slight throbbing in his elbow. And he knew what to do. Without regard to what Blaine might think, Shane pulled up the sleeve of his sweatshirt and twisted his arm, ignoring the small stab of pain. There was a large black and blue bruise sitting right on his elbow. Without looking at Blaine, Shane leaned forward and pulled up his pant leg, revealing several smaller bruises along his left shin.

Blaine's breath caught in his throat as his eyes dropped to the bruises that covered his brother's legs and arm. He bit his lip and closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as he told himself not to lose it. Not in front of Shane, anyway. When he opened his eyes, the bruises were still there. This wasn't some awful dream like he wished it was. His brother had faced the same situation with their father that Blaine had to suffer through two years ago.

He exhaled deeply before bringing his eyes back up to meet Shane's, not wanting to look at those bruises any longer. "Shane, I-I'm so sorry," he repeated, hating himself the second the words came out because he knew apologizing wouldn't fix anything. "I-I should have been there for you and I wasn't. If I had been there, I wouldn't have let him do this to you." He glanced down at the bruises again, flinching slightly as he could practically see the scene of his father beating Shane flash by in his mind. "You should put ice on those," he mumbled, feeling as though he couldn't sink any lower than he had. He was supposed to be the big brother, and he had failed in keeping Shane safe.

"No!" Shane blurted too loud. "No," he said again, as though saying it twice would convince Blaine. But Shane knew what Blaine was like. He thought everything was his fault, at least in these situations.
"I could have call you any time I wanted and you would've been right there," Shane said, staring at Blaine, boring his eyes into Blaine's. Willing his brother to believe. "I didn't want you to be there because...because if you had to go it alone, so did I."
Shane looked down at his leg and rolled his pant leg back down. He hadn't been there for Blaine - he'd been young, he'd thought that Blaine could handle it all on his own. He'd thought Blaine was a superhero.
Shane remembered when he was very young, and had thought Blaine rode a rocketship to the moon every night. It was just like that whenever Blaine was being tossed around the kitchen, the living room, the dining room...Shane just figured Blaine could hop on his rocketship and get out of there if he wanted to.
But then when it was Shane being thrown around the room...He realized that there was no rocketship. He wasn't even sure if there was a moon.

Blaine shook his head. "No, Shane. You didn't have to do this alone. You didn't deserve what he did to you," he said in a low voice, stopping himself to keep his voice from cracking. "I faced dad alone...so you wouldn't have to," he reminded Shane as he returned his brother's intense gaze, his own eyes sad as he realized that he had failed in his most important job of being a big brother. "I was supposed to protect you...and I couldn't even do that."

Shane returned Blaine's gaze, but only for a moment. He broke away, adjusted himself so that his feet were on the floor and he was facing the wall.
"I wished you hadn't faced him like that...for me," he said quietly. "I didn't want to see you do that again." He pinched the bridge of his nose and willed the silent tears to stop. He didn't move, didn't look at Blaine. He didn't want to see Blaine's face right now. He didn't know if he could bear it.

"If I could go back and change things, you know I wouldn't," he told Shane in a soft, quiet voice. "I don't regret anything. You're my brother and I'd do anything to keep you safe." He frowned as Shane turned away from him, but made no move to force Shane to look at him. "If I had been there when he did this to you, I..." He trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished. Blaine didn't think he could hate his father more than he already did, but now that it was Shane being the one to take the abuse, it took his loathing for their dad to a whole new level. "But you're here now," he added, trying to see the positive in the situation. "And I'm not going to let him get away with hurting you again, Shane. I promise."

I promise. Shane almost scoffed, but held it in, for Blaine's sake. Blaine, at least, seemed to think that his promise meant something. That any promise ever meant something.
"Let's just talk about something else," Shane said, still staring at the wall. "Let's just forget any of it ever happened." He still needed more, though. All of a sudden, Shane needed to make sure that it was done with. That none of it would ever happen again, that it would all be okay. But since that was another promise that could never be made, he had to settle with not acknowledging it.
Some people faced their problems.
Shane turned away from them and ignored them, even as they sat behind him, breathing heavily and poking him whenever his guard went down.

Blaine sighed and pushed himself back onto the bed even further, so that his back and head were resting against the wall of his dorm. He understood why Shane would want to forget any of it ever happened, but he also understood that it'd be impossible to forget everything they had been through.

He stared at the back of Shane's head in silence for a moment, before finally deciding to do as Shane wished and drop the subject. He looked down at his hands in his lap, trying to think of something to talk about with his brother to help cheer him up. When he came to Dalton, the first thing Blaine had done was start over. He didn't tell people about his family or what he had been through, and although it might have not been the best decision, it kept Blaine sane and made him happier in the end. And now he had Kurt. Sure, he didn't have the greatest time growing up once he came out to his parents, but it didn't really matter to him anymore now that he had everything he ever wanted with someone he was so in love with.

He smiled and looked up at his brother again. Thinking about how happy Kurt made him had reminded him of a certain someone who he knew would surely be able to put a smile on Shane's face. "Does Reed know you're back?" he asked with a small smile, knowing that Shane had quite the feelings for his fellow Warbler.

Shane turned around upon hearing Reed's name. So Blaine would drop it. Good.
"Yeah, he does, I pretty much texted his phone dead when I decided I'd come. I think he's happy about it, though it's really hard to tell what the hell he's thinking." Shane realized he probably sounded like a 13-year-old girl gushing about some superstar. "So..." He nudged Blaine's knee. "You and Kurt? Eh?" He raised his eyebrows and smiled knowingly.

Blaine chuckled and situated himself on the bed so he was more comfortable as he kept his back rested against the wall. "Think? Trust me, I'm sure he's ecstatic that you're here for good," he assured Shane with a grin. He smiled and looked away from Shane as his brother nudged his knee. It seemed like everyone had just been waiting for him to get together with Kurt, but although he knew Kurt was different from any other guy from the time he met him on the staircase, he was glad that he hadn't rushed their relationship. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he teased as he looked up at his brother with a smile that showed that he knew exactly what Shane was talking about.