DISCLAIMER: I do not own Glee, nor am I associated with it or Ryan Murphy. I am just an out-of-college daydreamer who sometimes gets into these writing funks and ends up tossing out a story after letting the idea sit in my brain for a few days!

Something For Myself

By: xSlythStratasfaction

Pairing: Kurt x Blaine (implied)

WARNING: This fic will contain season 3 SPOILERS, so if you haven't seen the first episode of season 3 yet, don't read it unless you want to be spoiled. Don't say I didn't warn you! :]

Button the white button down.

Tie the tie.

Slip on the blazer jacket.

It was a routine that Blaine Anderson had grown accustomed to. He had been doing this very action every weekday morning for the last two years and he couldn't believe that after today, things were going to change.

Smoothing down his grey dress slacks, the boy took in a deep breath and went over the last few steps of his routine.

Use a lint roller on your uniform.

Check for escaped curls. Gel them.

Apply cologne.

Inspect.

A Dalton boy needed to be a perfect, well represented young gentleman. It was something that Blaine Anderson lived by.

That would soon be changing.

"I have an announcement to make."

The already quiet sounds coming from the dinner table silenced as soon as Blaine opened his mouth. Both Maria and William Anderson lowered their utensils and focused their gaze on their son, who had directed his eyes to the spotless tablecloth before him.

"You have an announcement to make?"

The tone that slipped from his father's mouth caused shivers to travel up Blaine's spine, but he pushed the initial fear of his father's tone back and continued.

"Yes, dad. There's something I'd like to discuss with you and mom."

Maria tucked a stray piece of her silky hair back behind her ear as she leaned in closer towards her son. Her dark eyes narrowed slightly, "Is something wrong? Is that boy treating you badly?"

Blaine rolled his eyes at his mother and ignored her questions. Ever since he had introduced Kurt to his parents, things became more tense between them; his mother was convinced that Kurt was pressuring Blaine into doing 'gay' stuff and his father believed that Kurt was a bad influence because he was, in William Anderson's words 'as flaming as they make them.'

Of course, every time something about Kurt was brought up at the Anderson household, things usually ended badly. Blaine would lose his temper, as would his father, and things would blow up around them. The silent treatment would ensue, Blaine would sneak off to Kurt's, and his parents would flip out on him when he came home.

It wasn't unusual for something like that to happen, but at the current moment, Blaine pushed his initial anger at his parents down and continued on. He needed to let them know what his plans were.

"I'd like to transfer out of Dalton."

"You'd what?"

"I want to go to McKinley."

Blaine tugged helplessly at his blazer, bottom lip worried between his teeth as he gazed at his reflection in the mirror.

Was he really ready to do this?

Today was the day that would probably change his life forever. He was putting on his Dalton Academy blazer for the last time; after today, he would no longer be Blaine Anderson, lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers. He would be Blaine Anderson, senior at McKinley High School and (possible) member of the New Directions glee club.

It was a scary thought, to say the least.

A decision such as this was not one to take lightly. In fact, Blaine had spent all summer wracking his brain over what to do once his senior year started up. The lazy summer months were spent working at Six Flags and spending time with his beloved boyfriend Kurt; the muggy July days spent lounging in Blaine's pool were also times of serious talks. Kurt was convinced that Blaine should transfer schools once the term started. The Anderson family was going to be moving closer to Lima, near the outskirts, meaning that Blaine would be much closer to McKinley then he would be to Dalton.

Sure, Blaine had always boarded at the Academy, but he could always just drive a few minutes more each day and attend McKinley High with his lovely boyfriend.

That was a good thing, right?

To be honest, Blaine knew he would bend over backward for Kurt. He would give the boy the moon if he could and he did his best to be a perfect boyfriend. However, the drastic changes that would come from slipping back into the public school system terrified him. He still had the physical scars from the final attack at his old school that sent him packing to Dalton and truly, he had never really gotten over the torment that he endured at his old school.

But, then there was Kurt. Beautiful, amazing Kurt.

Kurt was more, well, flamboyant than Blaine was. People usually did a double take when they found out Blaine was gay, but with his boyfriend, they usually knew from the get-go. Kurt was never ashamed to hide himself though; Blaine was a completely different story. He had his moments where, as Wes had once called it, his sassy gay slipped out, but other than that, he was a mystery to most people. He feared letting people see the other side of him.

Kurt, on the other hand, was brave. He put on his bitch face every day and dealt with the snarky remarks like they were nothing - he just batted them away with a flick of his wrist.

Blaine desired to be more like his boyfriend, to have the bravery and courage that Kurt emitted every single day of his life. Perhaps heading off to public school would do just that.

That's when Blaine had his epiphany.

After having a discussion with Kurt about possibly transferring just days ago, Blaine found himself reflecting on the night of Kurt's junior prom at McKinley. The comments made about getting rid of the lumps in his throat and the way the two boys held themselves in front of the McKinley student body came barreling back into Blaine's mind like a stampede of wildebeests. By leaving the safety of the Dalton walls and its enforced no-bullying policy, Blaine could be getting rid of the very lump in his throat that had once taken over his very existence.

McKinley was the real world, Dalton seemed to be too good to be true.

If he wanted to survive, he needed to change it up. He needed to leave.

Which was why he was standing there in his bedroom, fingers slowly tracing the lapels of his blazer, eyes shining with tears.

It was now or never.

"This is because of that friend of yours, isn't it?"

"Not really, no. This doesn't really have anything to do with my boyfriend Kurt; it's about me. Me and my future. I'd like to go to McKinley. We're moving soon and we'll be closer to their school district, so perhaps I could go then."

"I don't like this idea at all, Blaine. Do you remember what happened the last time you went to a public school?"

Blaine stared incredulously at his mother. Of course, he remembered what happened to him while he was in public school. As if he could forget the punches, kicks, and insults that were thrown at him daily. As if he could forget the pain of bones breaking or forget the taste of blood that pooled in his throat the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance.

No, stop it Blaine, he warned himself. You'll freak yourself out and you'll never get this done.

"Is this why you've not been staying in your dormitory these last few weeks?"

Blaine nodded. It was true. Dalton had started a couple weeks before McKinley did and while Blaine was supposed to be living in the dorms, he had been hanging around his parents' house and just driving to and from the Academy. Honestly, he wanted some time to think about his choices before he made a solid decision on what to do. Staying at Dalton would've just distracted him.

Running his hands over his thighs to wipe his dampening palms, Blaine raised his gaze and looked hard at his parents. "I need this. Yeah, Kurt is at McKinley and I would love to be closer to him, but this is more about me. I've always felt like I ran from the public school system. I've always felt like a coward and even though I know I really shouldn't feel this way, when I see how Kurt has handled McKinley, I want to do that as well. I don't want to live out the rest of my senior year wondering what could have been. I need to grow up. I need to man up."

He knew that final line would get his father.

"So, you're finally going to actually fight your own battles instead of running?"

"Yes, sir. I need to do this."

Maria Anderson looked less than convinced. Despite the fact that she really wasn't fond of the fact that her son was gay, she still feared for his safety. "I wish you'd just stay at Dalton. The curriculum there is better for you; you'll get into a better college this way. Plus, you're safer at Dalton, honey. I don't want to deal with another Sadie incident."

"Neither do I," Blaine whispered. "I just feel like going to McKinley will prepare me for going off to college better than Dalton would. Sure, the workload at Dalton might prepare me for college better, but being in the public school system would help me deal with people better."

"But Blaine-"

"You guys would be saving a lot of money as well. Tuition at Dalton is so steep and me going there as well as boarding is costing you loads of money. I could go to McKinley and you guys could save that tuition money for my college or something. I don't know."

His mother bit her lip for a moment before she turned back to her son with bright eyes. "Oh Blaine, I just don't want you hurt."

"I know, mom. I know."

William Anderson took a sip of his wine and then cleared his throat, waiting until his wife and son's eyes were focused on him. "Well, I think a transfer would be perfect. Blaine could finally stop hiding," Blaine winced at that comment, but said nothing. "-and we'd be saving a ton of money. I never liked the pricing at that school anyways."

"So I can transfer?" Blaine asked quietly, his fork laying limply between his fingers.

"Yes. I'll file the paper work tomorrow morning."

"Honey! You'll be late for school if you don't hurry up!"

Blaine took one last look at himself in the mirror, straightened up his posture, and then booked it out of his room. He rushed down the stairs and skidded to a halt in front of his mother, who was standing at the front door with tears in her eyes.

"Mom, what are you-"

"It's your last full day at Dalton and I'm just sad to see you in your blazer. That's all." She brushed a few stray tears from her cheeks and then reached over towards a pile of stacked moving boxes. When she pulled her hand back, there was a camera nestled in her palm.

"Mom, no."

"Just a picture or two, okay? I'm going to miss that blazer. I really am."

Blaine rolled his eyes, but let her take a few shots of him anyways. After she snapped enough photos to satisfy herself, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. It was a shock to Blaine to feel her get so close to him. Over the last few years, things had been strained between the two of them, but for some odd reason - at that very moment, his mother was actually acting more maternal towards him than she had been in forever.

It was kind of nice.

"You be careful, okay? Take this camera. Take pictures with all your friends. Take pictures of the school. Your father and I will be at the dorms after five to help you move your things out of your room, alright? Be ready for us."

Blaine nodded, hugged his mom, and then headed out to his car, palms growing damp as he got closer towards his vehicle.

This would be the last time he would be driving to Dalton Academy as a student.

After today, Blaine Warbler was a thing of the past.

A/N: This needed to be written. It was stuck in my head and it wouldn't go away. I was brainstorming stuff for my other multi-chaptered fics and after watching the season 3 premiere last night, I had to write something. So, here it is.

There's another chapter coming up after this one. Blaine's gotta talk to the Warblers sometime, right?