Smiling at the gesture, Tina turned to look at Blaine then reached over to squeeze his hand briefly. She never thought that she would be such good friends with him when they first met so long ago. it was funny how time changes things and where she ended up because of different decisions made. She pushed those thoughts away when he started speaking again. “I’m flattered that you think so highly of me. You’re probably the only person who thinks positively of me right now.” She had to admit that her attitude this year wasn’t the greatest but she felt justified after everything she went through for the first three years she was at McKinley. “Your support means a lot to me, Blaine. That really does sound nice, like really nice. I just don’t think that person goes to McKinley though. If you have any out of the box ideas though, I’m more than willing to listen.” After her relationships with Artie and Mike, she wasn’t feeling so confident in her ability to find a lasting relationship. Though, she was in her last year so just to have someone to share the year with and be intimate with would be fantastic.
“Tina? If there’s one thing you can always rely on? That’s going to be that you have my support. No matter what. Okay? Even if we don’t agree on whatever it is? You mean so much to me and that’s never going to change.” As suburban Lima–okay in such a small town everything was suburban–became a blur of pretty lawns and old houses mixed with more modern ones moving past the windows, Blaine kept his eyes on the road but his attention on Tina giving her a glance now and then. One look–in particular–was soft and sad. He hated thinking she felt like she’d be alone for the rest of the year. The idea hit home too deep and where he deserved to feel that way? Tina definitely didn’t. With a sniff and a clearing of his throat–his smile came back and so did the lightness of his tone. “Maybe outside glee club has a better dating pool and less history of drama? We could always expand your dating horizons. Introduce you to some Dalton guys? Or. I hear there are plenty of cute ones in Vocal Adrenaline?” That last one was a tease delivered with a huff of a laugh to make her chuckle. There was no way in hell he’d help hook up his best friend with one of those guys.
Tina couldn’t help laughing to herself because Blaine really made it too easy some times. “Careful Blaine, you keep looking like that and you’re face will get stuck like that. And we can’t have that, now can we?” Nodding her head, she didn’t have a problem with him driving. “Just let me drop my stuff at my car first since I won’t be able to get back in here later.” Or she shouldn’t be able to anyways. She didn’t want to go through with the hassle though. At the comment about the vampire movie, Tina rolled her eyes at him. “You weren’t even around when Principal Figgins accused me of being a vampire and banned the clothing I chose to wear. Though…..,” she started smirking, “I did use that to my advantage to get my way…….twice.” Scaring the principal to get out of taking gym class was one of her favorite moments even if it wasn’t quite ethical. Tina was sure Quinn and Santana had done worse so she wasn’t going to feel bad about it.
“I might not have been around to hear it but I heard about it,” with a slight thunk, his chin rested on her shoulder as he put on the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes he could muster up. Which–considering this was Blaine–was a pretty impressive pair. “Please don’t suck my blood and turn me into one of the undead. I only wanted to surprise you. Yes,” he hummed and rocked his head back and forth, “My methods might’ve been off and I might’ve purposefully taunted you a little just to see your reaction but! Unlike Principal Figgins? I would always fight for your right to wear whatever you want. Show your true colors. Even if they’re in the color pallette of Wednesday Addams on Prom Day.” Wow. He sounded like Kurt just then. Thankfully–he didn’t notice it or it would have been the death of his ear to ear smile that only recently returned thanks to the girl he was leaning on and a certain blonde that was MIA. “Kidding! Love you Queen T,” and with a quick peck to her cheek–Blaine was off her shoulder and tugging her down the hall by her hand at a faster pace since they had to stop by her car then get coffee and he didn’t want to be late. Plus–leaving school for the day was always a great feeling. “Should we get dinner after? We could always go to this cool diner near the theater if you want. It’s inside an old train car and probably one of my favorite places ever.”
Noticing that Blaine was looking somewhere else, Tina followed his gaze to a table with a few guys sitting at it. Then she focused on him. “Well, they look like they are fun so it can’t be all bad. Anyways, what instruments do you play?” She looked away from the group because she automatically looked back over there when he pointed. “I play the piano and tap dance. I’m also a part of my school’s glee club so that covers singing and dancing. So it looks like we have some things in common. Though, I also enjoy fashion and making my own clothes as if you couldn’t tell.” She gestured to her outfit of the day that was obviously not something that could be completely put together from shops at the mall besides Hot Topic. She didn’t care what people thought though because it was how she chose to express herself.
Blaine gave the table of boys a grin and a roll of his eyes at their behavior. Regardless if they were complete dorks–they were his world and that was that. Looking back at Tina as they bumped up in the line–he rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “I play the guitar, piano and a few others. The piano is my favorite though. Always has been. My brother is more of a guitar kind of guy.” Hearing that she was a member of her school’s glee club piqued his interest and his brows burrowed in his curiosity. “Wait–? You do?” He figured she had to go to McKinley if she lived in this area. Several of Trent’s cousins did and if it weren’t for his family having the means to send him to Dalton–Trent would be there as well. “That’s what we,” his head ticked back indicating the table where his friends were, “are. We go to Dalton Academy in Westerville.” There was a glint of pride in honeyed hazel eyes that ignited as soon as he spoke the name of his school. It only grew in intensity as he continued. “We’re in the Warblers. You go to McKinley–yeah? That’s the,” he thought on the name trying to remember it from the Show Choir blogs. It didn’t take him long. “New Directions, right? Looks like we may be rivals in the future,” he joked with an aloof smile and a hum. “And I like your outfit. You have a serious talent and it’s unique. Sets you apart from everyone else. In a good way.” A peace offering in the form of a truthful compliment. Another step up and they were next in line.
It was nice to meet someone who was actually kind and friendly for once so Tina decided that it would great to let Blaine have his way. “Let’s ruin my dinner then. We all have to do our part to keep chivalry off of that list.” Tina couldn’t help giggling a bit. Tossing out the cup that was practically empty, she grabbed a napkin and wiped off the little coffee that ended up on her. Then she led the way over to the line. “So Blaine, when you aren’t working to keep chivalry alive, what do you like to do?”
“Thank you for indulging me, Miss Tina.” Blaine paused beside her and glanced over at the table of boys who were giving him quizzical looks and gave them a shrug and raised pair of eyebrows back. Once Tina wiped the pesky coffee splash off her hand–his attention was fully on her and he stepped aside for her to lead. “Doing my part for the chivalry business takes up a lot of my spare time,” he hummed happily, “but when I can step aside from those duties? I–uh. Pretend I can play a few instruments and sing and dance? With those clowns back there mostly,” his thumb jutted over his shoulder towards the boys who busied themselves with anything but staring. Their efforts came late and they were busted anyway. “How about you?”
Tina could only smirk at Blaine’s reaction to her messing up his hair but he totally deserved it in her opinion. Grabbing her phone, she quickly recorded what he was doing then saved it to her phone. She was sure Sam would get a kick out of the video later. “Yeah, yeah whatever. You’re also buying us coffee from the Lima Bean from now until we leave, among other things.” Oh she was sure that she could think of some other things for him to do despite him ‘technically winning’. “Come on, we have a lot to get ready and not a lot of time to do it in.” Hopefully her parents would agree and let her go with Blaine. Though, her best friend was one of the New Directions that they actually liked so she kept her fingers crossed that that would work in their favor. She made sure that she had her bag then linked her arm with his once her phone was safely stored in her bag where he wouldn’t be able to get to it.
Blaine was oblivious to what his ‘best girl friend’–her name should be traitor for filming that!–was doing with her phone. He’d swung back to stare inside his locker at the mirror he had stuck to the inside. Wisps of hair continued to taunt him in their unruliness and refusal to cooperate! Hazel eyes were so close to being crossed that they qualified for the word as he gave his hair one final attempt at being fixed and–deflated in utter defeat. “Fine! I’ll buy coffee,” he laughed and gripped his locker and swung it shut. Tina’s arm received a small pat when the air of betrayal that lingered around them finally sank in. Blaine paused–a puzzled expression drifted curiously to Tina, her bag, her arm that was through his. Then not knowing any real reason why he suddenly stopped–he blinked out of it and tossed the notion to the side chalking it up a serious need for caffeine. “Want to take my car? We can leave yours here and come back for it later? After we go see a vampire introduce some quality cinematic viewing. Hey, wait. Maybe you two know each other? I mean–vampire to vampire–,” he teased with a crinkled nose and wry, cheeky grin.
Smiling at the gesture, Tina turned to look at Blaine then reached over to squeeze his hand briefly. She never thought that she would be such good friends with him when they first met so long ago. it was funny how time changes things and where she ended up because of different decisions made. She pushed those thoughts away when he started speaking again. “I’m flattered that you think so highly of me. You’re probably the only person who thinks positively of me right now.” She had to admit that her attitude this year wasn’t the greatest but she felt justified after everything she went through for the first three years she was at McKinley. “Your support means a lot to me, Blaine. That really does sound nice, like really nice. I just don’t think that person goes to McKinley though. If you have any out of the box ideas though, I’m more than willing to listen.” After her relationships with Artie and Mike, she wasn’t feeling so confident in her ability to find a lasting relationship. Though, she was in her last year so just to have someone to share the year with and be intimate with would be fantastic.
“You’ll always have my support. No matter what, Tina. Even when you go a little crazy,” he flashed her the most charming grin he could manage and then put his attention back on the road. A brow quirked at her doom sentence to her love life this early in on their school year. It sounded like she was calling herself the loser before she even got to run the race. That wasn’t going to do in his book. Not when it came to Tina being happy. She deserved it so much and always seemed to get the short end of the stick. It wasn’t fair. Especially her spending her senior year alone. Humming low with a click of his tongue against the roof of his mouth–Blaine reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “I think that if they do? We’re just going to have to go out and find them for you,” he shook his head, “If they don’t? Well. After this year? Just think. You’re going to be out of this town. Killing it at Brown or whatever University is lucky enough to have you and you’ll meet someone who’s been waiting their whole life for someone like you. Until then? You got me. II know it doesn’t sound like a fair trade now that I thought about it. Seeing as how I get you in the deal but you can save my pride and pretend? That’d be great.”
It was nice to meet someone who was actually kind and friendly for once so Tina decided that it would great to let Blaine have his way. “Let’s ruin my dinner then. We all have to do our part to keep chivalry off of that list.” Tina couldn’t help giggling a bit. Tossing out the cup that was practically empty, she grabbed a napkin and wiped off the little coffee that ended up on her. Then she led the way over to the line. “So Blaine, when you aren’t working to keep chivalry alive, what do you like to do?”
“Yes we do. People say it’s a dying artform. I’m trying to prove them wrong. So thank you, Tina,” he bowed his head, “for giving me the opportunity to do so.” He stood back as she tossed her cup and dabbed the coffee off her hand then followed her to the back of the line. “Oh. Um! This time of year? Sailing is definitely on my favorites list. What else..? I like to sing and play a few instruments,” he lifted his chin in the direction of the boys all wearing matching blazers or sweaters of the same colors, “So do they.” Not wanting to hog the conversation–Tina was given the tiniest nudge to her arm via his elbow. “What do you like to do? How is your summer?”
Tina couldn’t help rolling her eyes as she tried to smother a smile at Blaine’s reaction to her words. Tapping her finger against the window, she thought about his point for a moment. “It might have something to do with that though you’d expect her to like more of the glee club if that were the case.” Her mother wasn’t a fan of some of the things that had happened to Tina over the years so the cheerleaders and jocks wouldn’t be getting any free food from her mother any time soon. Though, Tina was sure Blaine, Artie and the others not on that list wouldn’t mind getting extra free food at all. “What can I say? She has standards for who I date.” Tina shrugged, having come to terms with that a long time ago even though that was a time when she was sure no one would want to date her at all. At Blaine’s compliment, she couldn’t help blushing because its been awhile since she heard someone call her any of those things. She smacked his arm. “You’re such a charmer, no wonder you get into so many romantic problems.”
Blaine lit up like a Christmas tree when he heard that her mother approved of him so much. He knew Mrs. Cohen Chang was a hard woman to impress. Pulling it off meant the world to him. Not only because he wanted her mother to like him but because it seemed to make Tina so happy that she did. Blushing at the compliment–Blaine leaned over and pressed a kiss to Tina’s warm cheek before settling back in his seat and giving her an overly thoughtful look. “You know. Maybe you’re right. That has to be the cause of all my problems.” God. He wished it was that simple. If all he needed to do was back off on charm that he wasn’t even sure he knew how he was pulling off so well and things would magically fix themselves? He’d drop it all in a heartbeat. Not wanting to dampen their time together–he started the car and pulled out into traffic and headed away from suburbia towards the interstate. “What about yours then,” it was time to get the subject off himself before he lost the chance, “You’re smart, pretty and I love you. I think we need to find you a guy who really appreciates you for you. No more compromises. No more changing yourself to suit anyone else. This time? They suit you or I’m making you dump them. Deal?”
Tina was relieved to leave her house so she could start to put this behind her and focus on the fun that they were planning to have. “Alright, time to get going. Mr. Anderson.” Walking over to the car, she opened the passenger side door and got in. She placed her purse on the floor once she made sure she had her phone, wallet and house keys. Her parents had plans later so she didn’t want to be locked out when she got home if they weren’t around. “How is it that you’ve managed to become her favorite without dating me?” First, it had been Artie then Mike but now it was Blaine but they weren’t dating. Though, towards the end of her relationship with Mike, her mother became less impressed with him and had Tina thinking that it had something to do with certain comments he made and her hitting her head on the bottom of a fountain.”
Settled into his seat–Blaine clasped his seatbelt in place and grinned happily, eyes sparking to life as a happy chuckle bubbled out. “I’m her favorite? Really?” The question was asked with a sheepish half-grin. “Maybe it’s because we’re not dating? Throw that whole,” he gestured about trying to paint a mental image along with his explanation, “guy who might marry her daughter thing into the mix? She’d probably dislike me as much as any potential suitor come knocking. Can’t say I blame her.” Warm cheeks puffed out as his smile kept growing, bashfully flattered at first but then a full on flash of teeth as he turned the keys in the ignition. Hearing he was Tina’s mom’s favorite made his heart feel lighter than it had in days. Nothing against the company of his best friend doing that for him. Of course it did. But to get the stamp of Mrs. Cohen Chang’s Approval? That was a pretty big deal. “I’d be super suspicious of anyone showing up to take my daughter out too. Especially if she was as gorgeous, smart and wonderful as you.”
“Tell me about it. I go to school with a whole bunch of jerks.” Tina crossed her arms and frowned at the thought of her schoolmates. At the offer, she smiled. “It wouldn’t be fair to ask you to pay for both but there is a muffin that I was eyeing earlier. I’m Tina, by the way.”
Blaine gave her a sympathetic cringe. This girl suffered enough at her school and they’d almost sent her to the floor just because someone wanted to be mischievous. “I’m Blaine. It’s really nice to meet you, Tina. I’d, honestly, be honored to ruin your dinner by treating you to Lima’s finest coffee and a muffin. I insist. Besides? You can let me do my part of keeping chivalry off the endangered species list,” he grinned teasingly at her trying to still get over the guilt he felt for being a jerk. Even if he brushed his part off, it was still there.
pianokeysandbowties 