Glee: Small Umbrella in the Rain

Chapter Five: Here Alone

Unfortunately, Blaine’s luck was short lived.

The next morning, it would seem that the word of Blaine’s recent admittance into the McKinley High New Directions had spread throughout the school. And apparently, the New Directions didn’t exactly mean “cool”. Which was definitely news to Blaine.

“Heard you joined the Nude Erections, pretty boy!”

And there it was again. The ice cold liquid dripped down Blaine’s face, stinging his eyes worse than the time before. A small lick of his lips let a strong cherry flavor fill his mouth. He remembered Kurt telling him that the red dye stung the worst. He definitely was not lying. Blaine sputtered, spitting the little amount of slushie that ended up in his agape mouth out. He pushed the majority of the ice off of his face, not daring to open his eyes quite yet.

This slushie experience was different than the last. Last time, Kurt came in and saved him. Helped him clean off and gave him new clothes. Blaine wasn’t as lucky this time. He was completely alone.

The hallways were already cleared. The bell rang signalling the start of class, and Blaine was standing, frozen in the middle of the hallway.

Blaine trudged to the bathroom and managed to dab off most of the slush with paper towels, but there were still prominent red stains all over the front of his white (seriously, why did he wear white?) polo. His eyes still stung. He was still uncomfortably wet and damp. It was so much worse than when Kurt was there with his adorable little stain remover kit and his dry clothes. So much worse.

Blaine shuffled to his next class, his heels dragging soundly against the tiled hallway floor. Blaine quietly ignored the looks of sympathy given to him by Mike and a couple of the kids he recognized from glee in his next class. What was the point in putting up a fight?

Loneliness is a terrible feeling.

xx

That night, Blaine and his mother ate dinner alone, as Joseph Anderson was at work. He was away for work most of the week, so this wasn’t uncommon for the family. It was part of the reason that Katherine and Blaine were so close. They spent so much time alone during dinner, bonding over whatever was going on. Most days, Blaine loved meals with his mother. They used to have so many interesting and intriguing discussions. But ever since Blaine started going to school at McKinley, dinners mostly consisted of Katherine asking Blaine about his day. Blaine would normally reply with half hearted shrugs and half-truths. It was draining, more than anything.

“How’s school going, Blaine? You haven’t talked much about it.” Katherine started the conversation, not surprising for Blaine. And he would reply with the same answer he had used every day since he started.

“Fine. I like it.”

“Are you sure, honey?” Katherine wore a concerned expression. Blaine winced. “I’m worried for you.”

“I swear, Mom. It’s fine.” he dismissed.

“I just want what’s best for you, sweetie,” she sighed, resting one hand on top of Blaine’s across the table.

“And this is it. I needed this. I’m doing well. It’s going to be fine.” Blaine reassured her, gripping onto her hand like a lifeline, and looking deeply into her eyes, trying his best to convey everything he was trying to say.

“And you have friends...” Katherine prompted, hopefully.

“Yes, Mum, I’ve been making friends.”

Katherine smiled warmly, and Blaine exhaled. “I’m glad, Blaine. You need other kids in your life.”

“Um, yeah.” Blaine gave a half-smile and looked back down towards his food, his brows furrowed.