Chapter 1: Courage

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the characters. The pairing for this fic is Blainchel with a hint of Finnchel and Quaine. There's also a lot of Hummleberry friendship involved, too! Rated M for mature content later in the future.

Rachel hummed a tune as she put her hair in two braids before she went to bed. The only Berry on her family tree had a little bit of a dilemma.

Everyone thought that her and Finn Hudson were going to get married one day, hell, Rachel already planned the date. But ever since Rachel fixed her chocolate eyes on Blaine Anderson, thoughts of marrying Hudson didn't occupy her thoughts anymore.

Rumor has it that Blaine is gay, but he already held hands with Quinn Fabray and tried locking lips with Santana until he found out she was in lesbians with Brittany. Kurt has told Rachel many times that if it weren't for her dating Finn, Blaine probably would have tried going after her. If it weren't for Kurt, Rachel wouldn't be having these thoughts. Well actually, if Blaine hadn't joined New Directions, she wouldn't be having these thoughts.

Rachel rubbed at her eyes and grabbed her phone. She texted Finn goodnight and curled up in a ball under her blankets.

When Rachel went to school that morning, Blaine appeared behind her with a wide grin. "So, you're the famous Rachel Berry I've been hearing about," he said, holding out a hand for the girl. "I'm Blaine Anderson and I understand that you're the star of New Directions?"

Rachel felt her face heat up. He was talking to her AND! He also called her a star. Rachel knew he was a keeper.

She gently took his hand in hers and nodded. "I am," she said. "Rachel Berry, that is. I don't want to come off as some egotistical teenaged girl, but I do shine pretty bright in my school's glee club."

Blaine chuckled; it was like music to Berry's ears. "I guess I'll have a great duet partner, huh?" He said, releasing Rachel's hand. "I don't want to seem like I have a big ego either, but I can definitely top Hudson any day when it comes to singing."

Rachel found herself frowning when Blaine let go of her hand. His touch sent electricity through her veins and a shiver up her spine. Before her expression was noticeable, she quickly put on her signature, wide smile. "Probably dancing too," Rachel laughed. She spun her locker open and put her coat inside and grabbed her binder. She still felt Blaine's eyes on her, or the pictures of her and Finn in her locker, or that hideous cat calendar that had hers and Finn's faces photoshopped in.

"You're dating Hudson though, right," Blaine asked, a slight hint of discomfort in his voice as he leaned his shoulder against the locker. He studied Rachel's profile, how her bangs seemed to sway more to one side than the other, even though they were straight across. He studied her nose that she just started to accept after she gave up that nose job appointment. And lastly, he studied her lips. She seemed to be chewing on the bottom one anxiously before she spoke. That's when his eyes flickered back to hers as she turned to face him.

"Yeah," Rachel said softly. She looked puzzled and her voice made it seem like she wasn't all enthused about it. "Yeah, I am. Are you still with Quinn?" Rachel asked, hugging her binder to her chest. She hoped that he'd say no, even though it made her feel guilty.

Finn didn't like Blaine to begin with after he hooked up with Quinn and then started talking to Rachel. He started to grow jealous and felt threatened when Blaine won all the duets with Rachel.

Blaine shook his head. "Her and I broke up weeks ago, Rach," he said, his eyes on hers dead on. "We just weren't working out. She didn't appreciate me or the things I would do for her. She also complained about you a lot and complained that she couldn't have Finn. I mean, who does that when you're dating someone? But I guess I'm a hypocrite because while dating her, I had, and still have, my eyes on someone."

Rachel felt her heart start pounding. He was in the same situation she was in now. She wanted to tell him she knew exactly how that was, but she didn't want to come off as a bad person. Even though Blaine had the balls to confess, her opinion on him didn't change. It was the confidence to cover that up and Rachel found confidence a turn on.

It was after school hours when Rachel pressed her lips to Finn's. Her smile afterwards was more forced than real. She couldn't get Blaine Anderson off her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about how he said he had his eye on someone else. Was Kurt right? Was Blaine disregarding the fact that Rachel was indeed dating Finn Hudson, the star quarter back? The thought of them fighting over her made her excited, anxious even. She always had to have some drama in her life.

She pictured it as something like Finn and Jesse's fight last year at prom, but more intense. There'd be more throws, they would be spilling their hearts out about Rachel as they fought… It made her feel like this situation could be in the movies.

Rachel snapped out of her daydream when she felt someone poke her shoulder from behind. "Are you listening to me, or are you daydreaming about something completely ridiculous and impossible again?" It was Kurt Hummle, her best friend. Well, her only friend other than Finn and apparently Blaine.

The girl's chocolate eyes flickered upwards to see Kurt. His lips were pursed shut and his eyes were cold. He hated it when Rachel wasn't paying attention, especially when he had something important to tell her. She shook her head, and gave Kurt an apologetic smile. "No, I'm sorry. What did you say?"

Kurt sighed and put his hands on his hips while he rolled his eyes. "I asked you if Anderson had talked to you today," he said. "He had been talking about trying to break the ice between you two all lunch period and I wanted to know if he actually came through with it. If so, he's brave because if Finn finds out, Blaine will not be appearing on the cover of Vogue in the future." The boy idly played with his scarf as he talked and occasionally fixed his hair. For being best friends for so long, Rachel picked up Kurt's habits and Kurt picked up hers.

Rachel nodded as she shrugged on her pea coat. "Yes he did," she said. "We didn't really talk about much though. He said he could get any of the solos Finn would usually get. He seems cocky." Rachel was obviously lying. She had the same attitude when it came to solos. She felt they already had her name on them when handed out the sheet music.

Rachel did however, seemed surprised when she heard Kurt scoff. "Rachel, you act that way," he pointed out, smirking. Rachel darted her eyes away from Kurt, feeling like he was inside her head somehow. But she knew he was right and he knew she agreed with him. "You guys will get along easily. You might want to actually consider Blaine's actions, Rachel. Forget about Finn, you guys are like Sue and ; your names may sound like you guys match, but emotionally, you don't fit well. I hate to break it to you, but he isn't your missing puzzle piece." Kurt could be saying this because he wanted Finn to himself, even when Finn was now his step-brother. But Rachel knew that he meant it in the sincerest way possible. He looked after Rachel like he was her older brother, he wanted what was best for her. And Finn was definitely not it.

Rachel agreed in her mind, but she had to like she wasn't interested in Blaine. She failed miserably however when she began to think about them as a couple and smiled without realizing it. "I guess, but how could I break it to Finn? I can't just tell him I'm leaving him for another guy. He genuinely loves me, Kurt. I couldn't break his heart." She frowned as she spoke, her eyes drifting down to her feet.

Kurt shrugged and his lips slanted with his unsure expression. "You're Rachel Berry," he soon comforted her. "You can do anything as long as you put your mind and heart to it. I wouldn't be encouraging you if I didn't feel as though this was right. I'm not doing this to have Finn to myself."

Rachel's frown quickly faded as she laughed. She pulled Kurt into a long embrace and thanked him. When she pulled away to start walking out of the school with her best friend, she came to a realization. "Ya know, this school year started a few weeks ago and Blaine started going here the day the school opened after vacation. How come him and I never met before?"

Kurt shrugged. "He may be confident, but when he feels a connection for something or someone, he won't act on it right away. Us guys are like that…or at least I am."