Blaine wasn't sure how he ended up at Rachel's door of all places, duffel bag in hand, trying to hide the undertones of what he didn't want to talk about when she swung the door open, a soft "Blaine?" reaching out to him.

"I," he shrugged, and while she looked at him skeptically, he couldn't find the words he needed, the words that would explain just why he had banged on her front door at 10pm at night, taking her away from whatever she was normally doing. Her eyes flickered from his face down to his hand, watching as he shifted the bag in it awkwardly, and she seemed to know what he couldn't voice.

"Come in," she said, letting him in. He gave a small smile, the best he could do under the circumstances, standing in her hallway next to the living room where a movie had been paused.

"Sorry for just-barging in," he said, and she shook her head, her hair soft around her face.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, taking the bag out of his hand and placing it on the floor, her arms folding across her chest as she eyed him, still slightly apprehensive. He realized she was probably uncomfortable, only wearing a pair of shorts and a teeshirt that was undoubtedly Finn's, and he felt guilty again.

"No," he said, and while he had meant to lie, the word came out before he could stop it. Then again, he doubted she would have believed him anyways.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, biting her lip. He watched her for a moment, wondering once more why he was there instead of at Kurt's, but he felt this was something Kurt-and more importantly, Finn and Burt-wouldn't handle well. Rachel would focus on Blaine, and Blaine's feelings, instead of threatening to do anything stupid.

"I don't know," he shrugged, feeling helpless.

She just nodded, didn't pressure him at all. "Well, here, you can stay in the guest room if you'd like, I'm sure my dad's won't mind-after all, it's not like you're Finn," she let out a small chuckle, but even to Blaine it sounded hollow as she led him up the stairs, opening a door across from what was obviously her bedroom, the yellow walls looking so cheerful and enticing. "I don't know what's going on," she said as she placed his bag on the bed, letting him take a moment to glance around the room, "but I'm sure you can stay here as long as you need. I'm sure-it must have been something bad if you came here." Blaine didn't say anything, just nodding, fighting back the sudden rush of tears that started prickling his tears. "I'll leave you be," she said, walking over and giving him a small hug, wrapping herself around him quickly before she was gone again, disappearing back down the hall, leaving him to collect himself before he could explain to her exactly why he was there.

As he watched her walk away, he knew this was another reason he had come to her over Kurt. She wouldn't bother him until he was ready.

Even if it meant she had to wait.

He didn't remember falling asleep, but when he woke up the next morning he knew it was later than normal and panic set in as he realized he was late for school, sitting up and almost falling off the unfamiliar bed in panic. It took him another minute before he realized he wasn't at home, can't go home reverberating through his brain, before Rachel knocked softly on the door and stuck her head, the reminder causing him to calm down a bit.

"Hi," she said, a small smile on her face as she walked in quietly, handing him a cup of coffee. He took it, appreciative, before glancing at the clock.

"It's 11 in the morning?" he asked, his eyes wide as he turned back to her.

"I figured you probably needed a personal day, and you looked so cute sleeping that I couldn't wake you," she shrugged, a slight blush crawling over her cheeks. In normal circumstances, he'd chuckle about it, maybe trace the skin that was a light red, watch as it traveled over her even more, but he couldn't bring himself to even begin to think about flirting with Rachel.

"Thanks," he responded instead, sipping the coffee.

"Are you ready to talk about it?" she asked, sliding back on the bed and tucking her legs underneath herself. He chewed the inside of his cheeks, something he hadn't done since he was a kid, and shrugged. He knew he owed her an explanation, but verbalizing it-verbalizing what had happened made it real, made it so much worse. "If you're not, it's okay," she said after a minute, sensing his hesitation. "You look a little dishelveled. If you need to take a shower or change or anything, my bathroom is free-my dads are kind of uptight about people using theirs, but-"

"Thanks," he said, smiling genuinely at her offer as she rambled. "I think maybe I'll take you up on that. Clear my head a little."

"Okay," she nodded, her brown eyes staring intently at him. If it had been anyone else, the gaze would have been weird, but he knew she was just watching to make sure he was okay, seeing how she could fix it, figuring out what she could do.

"Then I'll explain why I just crashed in on you," he promised, locking his eye line with hers, and she nodded, standing up and heading towards the door once more.

"I'll be downstairs," she assured him, and he nodded, picking his bag up off the floor to rummage for a fresh outfit.

When he joined her downstairs, she was singing along to an old Britney Spears album, her voice beautiful even when she was distracted. It wasn't until he sat down at the island table that he realized she was cooking breakfast, for him. His heart swelled with the overwhelming feeling of love, feeling completely caught off guard.

"I made you some food," she said, sliding a few pieces of bacon onto a plate for him. When he raised an eyebrow, she smirked. "Finn eats over here sometimes, and despite that I prefer not to have meat in the house, he pleaded until we broke down and had 'normal breakfast foods'."

"The vegan waffles aren't doing it for him?" Blaine chuckled as she passed the plate, piled high with eggs and toast and bacon, towards him.

"Surprisingly not," she smiled in return, pouring him another cup of coffee. He watched her while he ate, letting his mind wander to a place he tried not to let it go-a place where things could be normal for him, where he and Rachel had a chance at being something, where she did these sort of things all the time, and not just because he was a friend who was in trouble. Because he was hers.

But that wasn't the case, and he shook his thoughts out of his head quickly as she shut the radio off, climbing into the bar stool next to him and looking at him expectantly. He realized his promise, and nodded, swallowing his piece of toast practically whole. The food filled him up, the shower had sobered him up, and he was just hoping that it all would make things seem more distant than it had the night before. He knew even before he started talking that that was as far from the truth as possible.

"My parents kicked me out," he said quietly, and she nodded.

"I had surmised as much," she said quietly, her hand falling to his knee. His first instinct was to jerk it away, to shield himself as he explained what happened, but he did feel a little more comforted with her there, like her hand was weighing him down.

"They knew I was gay," Blaine finally elaborated after a few more bites of egg. "They never mentioned it, not to me anyways-I'd hear them, fighting about it, talking about how it was wrong, how the right girl would come along and make me normal again. But then they found out about Kurt, and-" Blaine choked back air, feeling queasy as he pushed his plate of unfinished food away.

"It was real to them," Rachel supplied, and he nodded.

"My dad was mean, loud and harsh and saying all the things I'd hear him say when he thought I wasn't around, when he thought I wasn't listening. It wasn't anything new, really. But my mom, I always thought maybe she was on my side," he said, closing his eyes and laying his head on the cold surface of the counter top, Rachel's hand moving to rub his back comfortingly now. "I thought when it came down to it, she loved me enough to look past the fact that I like guys."

"I'm sure she-"

"She doesn't. Told me she doesn't," He said, his voice breaking as the tears welled up again.

"Blaine," Rachel's voice reached him, almost through a tunnel as he shook his head of the tears, begging them not to fall again. He was sure Rachel was crying, crying for him, which only made it worse.

"I can't go back there," he finally said after he had managed to gulp down enough air to still his nerves. "They told me I can't go back. That they never want to see me again." He felt himself being turned, felt Rachel's arms wrapping around him tightly as she held him, and he couldn't stop it anymore, crying onto her shoulder and feeling completely broken down in a way that he hadn't in years.

"We'll figure it out," she promised, rocking him slightly, kissing the side of his face, wiping away a few tears. "We'll figure everything out."