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Interviewer: Who’s the most popular person at McKinley High?
Rachel Anderson-Berry: Jacob Benjamin Israel if this is for another one of your scathing blog articles, I refuse to be a part of it.
Not this time Berry. It’s a project for a film contest, about social tendencies in high school. Now will you answer the question?
…Fine. Most popular person? Undoubtedly Sam Evans.
Interviewer: Who do you think is the most popular at McKinley High?
Finn Hudson: Uh… I dunno… like, Sam, I guess. He’s pretty cool.
Interviewer: So what’s it like being the lowest of the low at McKinley
Blaine Anderson-Berry: Jacob, if this is what it’s going to be like-
No, stop- okay. Real first question: Who would you say is the most popular person at McKinley High?
Why does- I don’t know. Kurt Hummel?
Really. Not Sam Evans?
If you’re going to question everything I say-
Why Kurt, and not Sam?
…He’s just… a genuinely nice person. I’ve known him for a while and there’s not a bad bone in his body. He’s smart, funny, talented-
And attractive?
…Yeah. That too.
Blaine’s been in love with Kurt for as long as he can remember.
It probably wouldn’t have been a problem if it weren’t for Rachel, because if his annoying older sister hadn’t invited the cute next door neighbor over for playdates, Blaine wouldn’t have even seen the boy.
And if Rachel hadn’t insisted that Blaine switch rooms with her in middle school because his was bigger and she was better he wouldn’t have scored the view of Kurt’s window from his own.
And if Rachel hadn’t been the god-damn annoying little bitch that she was, Kurt wouldn’t have naturally drifted to Blaine’s room when she got prissy at a sleepover, or held up a sign to Blaine through his window reading “SAVE ME” while on the phone with her, or insisted Blaine deliver messages to her when they were in a fight, or slow-dance around the garage to Marc Anthony songs with Blaine at a tender young age when she got put in a time out.
So Blaine figures his sister is pretty much the reason the love of his life is also his best friend.
But as it stands, Rachel’s not in the picture. It’s junior year for her and Kurt, sophomore year for Blaine and his sister and his friend have had a falling out over the senior class presidency. They’re old enough now not to pass notes back and forth between Blaine, but he ends up getting stuck in the middle of it anyway, because it’s inevitable.
Also in the picture is Sam Evans, star quarterback and yeah, you guessed it, Kurt’s leading man. They’re the perfect trophy-couple, football captain for the cheer captain, defying homophobia because of their sheer popularity. Disgustingly sweet even if he is a jerk and never calls back and forgets Kurt’s birthday and cares more about video games and his sport than his boyfriend.
Blaine’s in the picture too, but he’s almost positive he’s not in the same one Sam and Kurt (and sometimes Rachel) are in. He’s probably in the picture next to theirs. Or maybe in a different gallery. Belonging to a different museum. In a different state.
Aright so maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement but the point is, Blaine’s not exactly in the same league as them. To put it plainly, he’s a nerd. He adores math and science and glee club and prefers reading to video games, prefers music to sports.
He’s all bowties and glasses, and Sam is… buff.
For Kurt, with his pom-poms and designer outfits, the choice is obvious.
Here’s a clue: it’s not Blaine.
Because even though they have bi-weekly conversations on notepads through their bedroom windows, even though they chat in the halls at school, even though they listen to music in Blaine’s room and talk smack about Rachel in Kurt’s room and know everything about each other no matter whose room they’re in, Sam is the one who Kurt is with. Because Sam is… buff.
Well, maybe he’s other things too, but Blaine has to really try hard to see them. He’s popular, kind of sweet, pretty cute. Thinking objectively, Blaine probably wouldn’t hate Sam so much if he wasn’t such a jerk to Kurt.
Or if, you know, Blaine wasn’t hopelessly in love with Kurt.
Above all things, Blaine just wants Kurt to be happy. He doesn’t mind that McKinley High’s student population would never accept them as a couple, not because they’re gay, but because Kurt’s popular and Blaine’s not. He doesn’t mind because Kurt is happy doing what he does; performing is his passion and cheerleading brings out the best in him. But what doesn’t make Kurt happy is Sam. Not because he’s a bad person, more because he’s just a terrible boyfriend.
But Blaine lives with it, telling himself that Kurt is happy with him most of the time, and the time he’s not he comes to talk to Blaine which is certainly not a bad thing. He and Kurt are such good friends now that Blaine’s undying love is almost an undercurrent, pushed aside in favor of maintaining the childhood friendship. Blaine’s a nerd and Kurt’s a cheerleader, and somehow they make it work.
Until things take a turn for the crazy.