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"Hey."
Blaine Anderson turned around to see Santana Lopez hovering over his shoulder. "Come with me."
Santana grabbed Blaine's hand and walked him upstairs to the main floor, which was completely empty. "What's going on?" Blaine asked her, completely confused. At this point, Blaine and Santana hardly knew each other.
"Stay there. I just have to grab something from Rachel's room." Santana handed her wine cooler to Blaine and ran up another flight of stairs while Blaine stood in the foyer awkwardly, whirling the remainder of his drink around in his red solo cup. It wasn't thirty seconds before Santana came running back down.
"What's that in your hand?"
"Cuban cigars. My parents buy them in bulk when they go on vacation. I steal them all the time and they never notice. Okay, let's go." She made a bee-line to the back of the Berry's house and unlocked the door. Blaine pensively followed behind her.
They stepped outside to the Berry's back porch.
"Are we allowed to be out here?" Blaine asked.
"Yeah, it's fine. Here." Santana lit a cigar, handed it to Blaine, then lit another one and took a puff.
"I don't think I can smoke this whole thing, I've never even had a cigar," Blaine laughed and took a puff, which caused him to start coughing heavily.
Santana giggled and nodded. "You'll get used to it. You don't have to smoke the whole thing."
"How did you know this was back here?" Blaine asked, admiring the Berry's well-kept backyard.
"Oh, believe it or not, Rachel and I were best friends growing up."
Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Wow, from what Kurt has told me about both of you, that is surprising".
"Yeah, we're more similar than you'd think. She was actually a great friend, even though I hate her now." Santana rolled her eyes. "No. I don't hate her. She's just irritating."
"So," Blaine asked, after taking a less cough-inducing puff of his cigar. "Why did you drag me out here?"
"I want to know who you are," Santana shrugged. "Tell me about you. Fun facts? A tragic backstory?"
Blaine sighed, smiling. "Well, I have an older brother, he was definitely the favorite in my family. I never really felt like my parents cared about me, and my brother bossed me around constantly. I felt like crap growing up. I got bullied all the time at school. So I switched to Dalton. I think I'm pretty confident now. I love music and football, my favorite food is-"
"Why did you get bullied?" Santana cut him off.
"I, uh," Blaine stammered. He had a pretty decent gay-dar and could tell there was something about Santana. "Do you… do you want to talk to me about something?"
Santana started crying- booze often made her emotional. "Just tell me why you got bullied."
"It was nothing, really. I don't know. Maybe because of my brother."
"You're lying." Santana was still crying. She took a big swig of her drink and then a deep breath of fresh air.
"Okay. I've never told anyone about this, and I probably never will. So you can't tell anyone. Or else. My blackmail and revenge skills are above all. I'm from Lima Heights and I will end your-"
Blaine stopped her and leaned forward. "Hey, it's okay. Anything you tell me is between us. Warbler's honor."
Santana nodded a few times and looked at Blaine. "I think I'm gay. And not just that, I'm in love with Brittany. I only date and hook up with guys because I feel like it makes me more popular. That's all I want out of high school- to be popular. If I ever tell anyone at McKinley it'll ruin my reputation. I don't know what to do."
"Hey," Blaine put his hand on Santana's knee and gave her a gentle pat, kind of like a dad would do. She was looking down now and refusing to make eye contact with him. "I'm really proud of you for telling me. Thank you. And I promise I won't tell anyone."
She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and cracked a smile. "Thank you," she whispered. "You know how much shit Kurt took for being himself, I don't want to go through that. I can't go through it. I'm not strong enough."
"Can I be honest with you?" Blaine asked, and Santana nodded.
"When I came out, I got attacked at a school dance. That was really the reason I switched to Dalton. It was really hard. And it might be hard for you. But being yourself is the most important thing, Santana. And from what I hear about you, you are beyond strong. You're stronger than you'll ever give yourself credit for. And you don't have to come out today, or tomorrow, or ever, but you know what? I don't regret coming out even for a second. Even after all of the shit that I went through at my old school. Because I found people who are accepting, and loving, and I've only become that much stronger. And look, now I get the chance to help other people through it."
Santana started tearing up again. "Thanks, Blaine. I don't know what I'm going to do yet, though."
"That's okay. Here, what's your number? I'll send you a text. You can add my number and if you ever need to talk to someone, just know you can reach out to me. Sound good?"
Santana gave Blaine her number, and he sent her a text containing only a smiley face. They spent the next few minutes finishing up their cigars and chatting about life.
"I can't believe you smoked an entire cigar your first time around," Santana told Blaine as she stood up and grabbed her empty cup.
"I can't believe you called me Blaine," Blaine laughed. "Kurt said you make up mean nicknames for everyone. I don't know if I should be flattered or offended."
Santana nodded towards the door, gesturing for Blaine to come back inside. "I'll get there, don't worry. Now let's go rejoin this shit show."