#the copious amount of time we spent texting each other that my mom genuinely believed he was my boyfriend

[ffwritingortheattempt]

i'm finally listening to a band i used to love. I stopped listening to it because of who the band reminded me of and made my heart hurt just a bit. I don't think I'll stop thinking of him when I listen to the band any time soon, it's already been 8 years the memories haven't faded yet. It's funny because i never actually started a relationship with him, but somehow this makes feelings stronger? the what if of it all, even if i know deep inside that it wouldn't have ended well. All this to say that I am mazed at the connections that we make between the people we love and the things they love and at some point that thing will continue to remind us of them after they have left our lives. I'm finally listening to the band again and somehow are now okay with the fact that it reminds me of him. And it reminds me of some of the little things about them that I have decided are worth remembering.

[squaredancing-weston]

para || Braine: A New Path, 1/04/2017

Tagging: @mr-blainderson and @squaredancing-weston

Time: Wednesday Morning, 4 January 2017

Setting: Boarding Facility (and trails), Harrod, OH

Summary:  Brody and Blaine both need to get away from Lima’s crazy, so Brody takes Blaine to learn the basics of horseback riding.

Part 3

“No, I mean, I’d definitely love to make this a regular thing,” Brody corrected himself. “I mean, we could go out once or twice a week until you built up the muscles for it. Or, you know, less, obviously,” he added, uncertain how much interest straddling an animal early in the morning would hold for the other man. But it had been a nice ride so far-- quiet, easy. “I mean, Dee likes you.” Not that Delilah didn’t like just about everyone. Brody was pretty sure saving her from being steak might have caused her to have a Scrooge-like epiphany at some time before he adopted her. “Really? You’d hang out in the barn? Like working or just sitting on a bale, watching //me// work,” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Not that he would mind-- Lucy nowadays didn’t come up so much, so he was used to doing his own work, and someone to talk to besides the horses wouldn’t suck. Brody grinned, “Wow, quite the honor-- I’m excited already. Start the holiday countdown.” Brody grinned and let out a laugh. “Yeah, it’s not even just me-- Jeffy always had the lot of us around his finger, you know?” His smile was nostalgic as he thought about his family. “I don’t know why we all decided he needed protecting, but damned if we didn’t, and god help you if the three of us found someone messing with our baby brother.” Even each other, Brody knew from personal experience. The older man’s face broke into a wide grin, “Excellent-- your first job can be to help me manipulate my list into the band’s performances. I have a big one, which is rough because technically D’s in charge of the music-- I’m just Guard. But now that my //son// is here to help…” he laughed and quirked an eyebrow playfully. 

He was so busy keeping his tone and demeanor light, Brody didn't even notice the change in Blaine's. Brody cleared his throat, nodding. Brody wasn’t really into discussing God in the first place beyond hypotheticals, but the phrasing Blaine had used...well, that was pretty damned heavy. His heart kind of broke for the guy if things had been that bad that //high school// had been his saving grace. “Well, then, it’s good you can give back to it-- if you want,” he finally responded. “But I mean, if you stayed-- for now at least-- I think you’re doing a lot of good here too.” The older man chuckled. “Seven years isn’t that long-- I’ve been here seven years,” he reminded Blaine. “You go, you pick up new stuff. If it’s what you want, change isn’t a bad thing, so long as the foundation’s still there.” Blaine elaborated, and Brody mentally berated himself-- of course he knew that Bas had gone to Dalton-- they’d talked about it back in December. Hell, Blaine’s name had even come up. He’d let the news catch him off guard //then// too. But he needed to up his game, if Blaine was starting to worry about Brody being so invested. “Yeah, I guess he must have mentioned it at some point,” he shrugged, “Although not foregoing his normal idiocy.” Brody pushed out a light laugh. Blaine’s question made him antsy, but he kept his face masked, only raising an eyebrow in puzzlement. “What? Yeah, we’re fine-- why?” He’d spent seven years building a life at this school-- he was not going to let one(/two) mistake(s) destroy everything. Brody let out a laugh, “Yeah-- you have no idea, SB. She’s always been our biggest fan, through the dumbest phases: I mean, how many mom’s would get behind their kid going into ballet //just// so he could be the Rat King. Like literally, that was the only thing I wanted for a while. And when Mark dropped out of college...or when Jeffy decided he’d only eat blue foods when he was five.” He shook his head in amusement. “That woman is a force to be reckoned with.”

Brody laughed, “Tell me about it,” he agreed. He certainly wasn’t going to be on any “favorite” list anytime soon. He dropped his grip on the reins, letting them fall into his lap as he rubbed his hands together with a faux evil grin. “Excellent. I’m the epitome of subtle.” Brody watched Blaine carefully put down the reins so he could clap, which was actually more adorable than the applause, although Brody’s bow was more in response to the latter. “Thank you-- one of my better ideas, definitely. I mean, you have to erase the whole thing every semester, because the point isn’t to give each other ammo or anything, but still-- it’s fun. But I’ll definitely send you the link, and if you want to send some over, I’m sure I can get one of my Aggies to read it. When it’s not //their// stuff, they’re a lot more enthusiastic about the posts.” Brody shrugged. “Yeah, I guess guns in general are a bit iffy in my book too.” His grinned wide at Blaine’s words. “Absolutely-- I’ll start asking around, get a full list of what goes into badges at our age, and we’ll make a whole thing of it. It’ll be fun.” He leaned over in his saddle to pat Blaine on the shoulder. “Well, don’t worry-- I’ve got lots of eccentric skills that all people should know. It’ll be great. I’m excited.”

 “Well, I think I would love to make this a regular thing too, honestly,” he responded, gazing out once more to the openness around him. “It’s been a while since I’ve felt this relaxed. It’s definitely something I could get used to.” He chuckled, shifting his leg again. “I think once or twice a week sounds pretty reasonable. No more, no less, I think it would be fine. I think Bing would like it too, though I obviously can’t speak for him,” he teased. “Aww,” he said, patting the horse’s neck in front of him, “I like her too. She’s a sweetheart.” And he meant it. He knew that some horses sometimes didn’t take to well to first time riders, so he was relieved to have Dee as his first. He looked over at Brody, a small smirk playing at his lips. “I mean, obviously, I would help if you really needed me to, but I was mostly going to be content with watching.” He snickered a little bit before smiling genuinely. “Helping or watching, I wouldn’t mind coming and hanging out. I like it out here. It’s peaceful, and you’re a good guy to hang out with.” Blaine scoffed, carefully sliding out his phone and pulling up his countdown app, showing it to Brody. “It started the day after Christmas. I’m a bit of a holiday freak.” A smile broke onto Blaine’s face, despite his small bit of jealousy. “That’s just the way baby siblings are, right? They’re usually the smallest for the longest time at least, and they can literally do no wrong because by some point the older siblings are the ones getting into trouble. The image of innocence can go a long way.” That is one thing he could say about his family. Coop, despite his self-involved attitude and his willingness to constantly pick on his younger brother, always had his back in some sort of way at the end of the day, even if it was often misguided and not very obvious. Blaine gave his older friend a disapproving look, shaking his funk off once and for all. “If Dani’s really set in her ways with the music, I’m not going to be the one to try to step in on it. I’ve picked up that she can be slightly terrifying, and that’s not a side I ever wanna be on.”

 Blaine finally noticed how heavy he had become, noticing the stiff pause in conversation. “Oh, my god, I’m so sorry. I never meant to let the conversation get like that. Tell me to shut up next time, geez,” he said, trying to make light of it, but slightly failing. He had gotten lost in those thoughts, but he had come a long way from being affected by them. He had grown so much since the time of his transfer, and despite having certain triggers through the years, he had gotten himself to a place that was much more positive. He mentally kicked himself for getting that deep. He shook it off, and continued. “Yeah, I suppose your right. I don’t know, it’s just some big shoes to fill, you know? Or at least that’s how I’m building it up in my head; I should probably stop that.” He smiled in gratitude at the compliment. “Thank you for that reassurance. I like to think that I’m doing what I can to get at least some good flowing through my classes. I guess I’ll have to wait and see if that’s actually true or not.” Blaine chuckled, though it came out sounding a bit more uncomfortable that he intended. He proceeded again, still hesitate in his answer. “I just…he seems to be growing distant, withdrawing himself a little, you guys haven’t really been interacting online like you used to, every time I’ve mentioned his name today, it hitches the conversation, however briefly…” he trailed off, shrugging slightly. By no means did he want to push the man into talking to him, but he couldn’t help but be concerned. After New Year’s, it just seemed like everything that had been happening, the playful banter online between all of them, had just stopped completely. Blaine tried to hide his smile. “The Rat King, huh? Well, I guess go big or go home. Only blue foods? Did his diet consist solely of candy, or did your mom have to by copious amounts of food coloring?” he asked teasingly. “She sounds wonderful, honestly.”

He eyed his older colleague suspiciously. “Somehow I don’t believe you. Believe me when I say that if you go too far past legitimate subtlety, I may just ban you from future performances,” he said, small smile on his face to indicate his joking. He laughed. “Of course, there will be no ammo exchange. Though I do hope that your Aggies will get into it. They could do full reenactments! That’d be hilarious with some of the texts that I’ve had the, um, pleasure of reading.” He grinned, shaking his head. “Should we make this a teacher wide thing? Every Friday we could have small badge ceremonies. Though trust me, I have no qualms in having special treatment and being the only one that’s able to receive them. I’m excited too. Get cracking on your cookie making skills. Marley’s mom set a high bar.”

Brody nodded with an easy smile. “Yeah, I guess I take it for granted sometimes, but it definitely gives you a chance to just escape for a while.” Wasn’t that what he’d been doing for the past few days, after all? Just escaping from Marley and Sebastian and Lima and hiding out in the woods with a nonjudgmental horse? “That sounds good to me: we’ll figure out something that works; maybe talk to one of the other boarders about borrowing one more long-term.” He’d loaned out Dee a few times, so he figured his connections could probably work that back in his favor, hopefully. “Yeah, we’ll definitely have to see how he takes to the saddlebag, since I now have that image stuck in my head.” Brody grinned as Blaine complimented his girl. “Yeah, well, she’s good people, despite what her previous owners might have thought--I got a hell of a deal on her and she’s never given me any trouble.” Brody was still surprised that he’d gotten so lucky with the mare-- she was in great shape, and perfect for what he’d wanted. He almost felt bad paying what he had for her. Brody laughed, “Yeah, well, I can teach you to do some clean work if you want to earn your keep-- grooming and watering and the like,” he offered, “but I’ll take someone who can talk back as much as an actual laborer, to be honest.” Brody glanced down at his hands for a second even with the smile beaming across his face-- because, no, he wasn’t a good guy, but he liked that Blaine thought so. He always was happy when people thought he was good people-- Brody was a guy that thrived on validation. “Thanks man; I definitely don’t mind the company either way, so long as you don’t, you know, destroy anything or decorate the place in bowties, because that would be weird.” He chuckled playfully, but his eyes quirked up incredulously at Blaine’s phone. “Are you serious? Okay, I lied-- you’re already weird,” he joked, shaking his head with a smile. He sighed, “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, Jeffy got into the least trouble in general, so I think it wasn’t even the illusion of innocence, honestly. Probably actual innocence for the most part. Me, on the other hand...” he trailed off with a mischievous smirk and a shrug. His eyes went wide in disapproval. “What? You’re not going to help me? As your father, I’ll have you know I’m incredibly disappointed in you for not helping me manipulate your mother.” He shook his head in faux disappointment.

Brody didn’t want to make a big deal out of the situation, especially if Blaine didn’t want to get into it, so he shook his head and waved a hand dismissively, “Nah, don’t worry about it-- we’re good.” He did nod at Blaine’s reflection though. “Yeah, you’ve got to be careful about building things up on a pedestal, I’ll give you that. I mean, everything’s flawed, right? Even the best stuff. So you just go in and you remember what good it did, and help keep that part intact. But I wouldn’t worry about that, SB-- I mean, you’ve got some big feet,” he laughed. “Hey, I meant it. I think you’re doing a hell of a job here. We’re lucky to have you.” Brody kept his face neutral, maybe a little puzzled, but his stomach knotted. God he’d really done a number on everyone, hadn’t he? “I mean, I don’t know-- with the break, I’ve been pretty busy, so I mean, I just haven’t been as--” he gestured with his hands “--active, in general, I guess? And, I mean, no offense to the guy, but with Sebastian’s social life, maybe he’s not withdrawing as much as redirecting? I don’t know.” Redirecting definitely-- away from him and toward any guy at any bar. “But, I mean, I can talk to him, if you want,” he offered. “I don’t think he’d tell me if something was bothering him, but...” Except Bas had definitely already been talking about what was bothering him-- he’d made it very clear about what-- or who-- was bothering him. Brody grinned widely, “Right? Get a big paper mache head and a sword-- that was my dream when I was eight years old. I was a weird kid. Uh, blueberries, grapes, corn, potatoes-- kind of expensive habit really, when you think about it, and I’m not sure he knew the difference between blue and some shades of purple, now that I say it out loud. But yeah-- either dotted in there, like waffles, or she got creative with the food dye. I don’t think Jeffy would have been allowed to just eat candy-- even if there had been good blue candy out there. She’s pretty awesome,” he agreed.

The older man’s mouth opened in disbelief. “I can’t believe you don’t trust me, SB,” he argued, lips twitching. “How can you not trust a face like this?” he added, quirking a brow. Brody laughed, “Oh god-- that would be something. They’d probably make sock puppets or train the chicks come spring-- oh god, stop me before I end up giving them ideas…” He shook his head, “Well, it sounds like your class has much more interesting notes than mine. I get a few gems sometimes, but mostly it’s just drivel. Not that I mind-- I don’t want to make trouble, just keep their damn phones out of my class.” Brody grinned. “That sounds pretty awesome, assuming you can keep up with earning a badge every week.” He shrugged, “Cookies? That’s boring. I think we should do something more exciting, like Human Tetris Badge, or Course Crashing Badge. You know: useful skills.”

Blaine just smiled in response, agreeing with the man. He could see the appeal in escaping to a place like this, away from everything else for a while. He nodded, though feeling a little uneasy. “Sounds great, but I also understand if they say no. I mean, it’s not like they know me. And of course, if they would want to meet me or anything, that’s understandable too.” He bit his tongue to keep from rambling too much. Not only was he excited about the prospect of riding more, but the thought that one of the other boarders wouldn’t be okay with it was keeping him grounded, and the two conflicting emotions was attempting to send his mouth into a frenzy. He cracked a grin, amused by the fact that Brody seemed to be as struck by the idea of Bing riding with them as he was. “Patience, Brodes. We’ll get there at some point. Hopefully soon. I’m not sure how long he’ll stay this small.” Blaine quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah? What’s the story with her previous owners? It’s amazing to think that anyone would want to give her up in the first place.” And it was true. She was a beauty and completely sweet. It really was a wonder. Blaine chuckled and nodded. “Well, if it’s to earn my keep, then by all means.” His face split into a wide grin as he shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t mind to do the work. I’ve become a bit too content in my laziness. I would actually prefer to have something to do.” He watched as Brody beamed through his compliment, a small smile still resting on his face before clutching his chest in mock disappointment. “Oh man, I was really hoping to find a use for that bow tie wallpaper that I had.” He rolled his eyes as he slipped his phone back into his pocket, knowing that it was weird, but he couldn’t help it. He loved the holidays. Blaine smirked. “Oh, you were the troublemaker I take it?” Blaine just shrugged, a playful smile on his face. “What can I say? I tend to be more of a Momma’s boy.”

Blaine sighed and nodded with a tight smile, still feeling uncomfortable with the fact that he allowed himself to even start down that road at all. He could only be thankful that it was with someone that he trusted. He stared out into space a little as he listened to Brody. He was fully comprehending everything being said, but the after almost spilling everything, and the thought of Dalton in general kind of shook him a little bit. But, still listening completely, his head snapped over at Brody at the comment about his feet. He looked over the side of the horse and down at his feet. He scoffed, shaking his head, looking back up. “Rude,” he muttered under his breath. His face softened as Brody gave him a compliment of his own. “Thank you. I’m trying, at least, and I’m glad to hear that I may be succeeding.” He watched Brody explain his reservation over the past couple of days and sighed. He huffed out a laugh. “Redirecting is one word for it, sure.” He observed Brody and shook his head. “No…don’t worry about it. I mean, of course, if you want to, you can, but…” he trailed off, not really knowing where to go with the statement. He didn’t want to push anyone, and Brody was included in that. Blaine grinned back. “Hey, everyone has at least one dream that seems weird to everyone else.” He thought for a moment and laughed. “Like, for example, my sophomore year I was dead set determined to write a play that followed the tragic rise and fall of Britany Spears. And I wanted to play the Chris Crocker role that I wrote.” Blaine nodded, realizing the foods he had embarrassingly not thought of, though still amused and happy with the thought of a mother like that. “That does make more sense. I’ve heard of stranger things, though, so I guess it works.”

 Blaine giggled. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Brodes. It’s just a soft warning, is all. I gotta keep you in line somehow,” he replied with a grin. He laughed with the older teacher and nodded. “I really don’t want to stop you though because I like these ideas.” He shrugged. “It’s mostly just your regular old teenage drama. But the things that kids are coming up with nowadays to call drama. It’s a lot more than what I dealt with in school. Though, of course if you’re not trying to cause trouble, I’ll try to keep an eye on the softer stuff.” Blaine’s eyebrows shot up. “Every week? Geez, Brodes, I’m not sure I can do that. I do still have a job and a new puppy. But I’ll do what I can.” Blaine chuckled and shook his head. “I meant more for the ceremonies. But do I want to know what you mean by Human Tetris?”

Brody scoffed at Blaine’s uncertainty, patting his mare.  “No-- I mean, I doubt it would be a problem, and honestly, it’s not like //you’d// be riding her.”  Brody wouldn’t want to risk someone else’s horse with an inexperienced rider, honestly-- Blaine was right about that.  But that didn’t put a real damper on the idea.  “I mean, you could easily stay on Dee, and they already know me, so I’m sure they wouldn’t mind the break, honestly.”  Brody wasn’t usually that eager to share his horse with coworkers-- it was like letting someone borrow his truck, only much more sensitive-- but Blaine seemed to be doing pretty well, and honestly, Brody kind of missed the company since Lucy began growing up and out of her horse phase.  He chuckled at Blaine’s response about Bing.  “Well, if he gets too much bigger, he’s going to be relegated to running alongside instead of sitting in a saddlebag up top.”  Brody smiled as he glanced over at the chestnut horse plodding along easily beneath Blaine, and shrugged his shoulders.  “To be fair, I don’t really know.  She’s a purebred, obviously, but I don’t know if she ever was a runner, or even intended to be.  It’s possible that there was just something trivial they didn’t want to use, and she didn’t take to another spot in the program.  That’s how it goes with breeding, a lot of times-- dogs too,” he nodded in considering to Bing.  “If they hadn’t been able to sell her to a private owner, they probably would have cut their losses, but I mean, she was in good shape and had a soft personality, and ever since I’ve had her she’s been a cakewalk.  So really I kind of feel like I might have robbed //them//.”  Brody gave a full laugh at the idea of Blaine mucking out stalls, but he nodded in agreement, “Well, if you’re interested, I certainly won’t stop you from helping.  If I’m picking up some slack for the both of these two, it’ll definitely be enough work to make you feel like you’re anything but lazy.”  The older man clucked his tongue and tipped his head sideways, “Well, unfortunately you’ll just have to save it for another occasion I guess: maybe when you start decorating Bing’s doggie house, otherwise known as the guest cottage,” he added in amusement.  His blue eyes widened in faux surprise.at the accusation, “Me?  I was innocent as pure driven snow.  It was all Bob’s fault if any of my actions turned out...untoward,” he smirked.  “I mean, at least Mom had Mark, who had kind of a stick up his ass, even when we were kids, and Jeffy, who wouldn’t hurt a fly.  I guess it’s just a debate over whether you think it’s more trouble to have a kid that purposely gets into trouble, or one who tends to be a little...short-sighted in his decision-making.”  His lips twitched in guilty amusement at what he and his brothers had put his mother through growing up.

Brody cleared his throat as he bit his lip to try to stifle a laugh when his comment about Blaine’s feet caused the other man’s gaze to shift toward his feet.  However, the follow-up apparently cleared things up, because Blaine’s features warmed back up quickly; and Brody nodded in welcome.  “It’s a full-time gig, what we do,” he told Blaine, shifting in the saddle.  “I mean, every day you’re giving them something that they could easily carry with them for the rest of their life.  You’ve just got to brace yourself and do the best you can, and you’ve pretty much got that down I think.”  The older teacher gave a casual smile and nodding along as Blaine reacted to his answer, apparently accepting it and not demanding the man approach Sebastian about all of this mess that he’d created.  At this point, it would be better if Brody just stayed out of everyone’s way, after all.  His eyebrows quirked up, laughing in amazement as Brody explained his “weird” dream from high school.  “Britney Spears?  Really?  Is this like Mamma Mia! then, only actually following the artist in question?  I mean, I think I’d understand the Rat head better...Who’s Chris Crocker?”  Brody smiled happily at the memory; it had been easier then, when they were all little and looked out for each other and Brody didn’t screw everything up.  “I mean, I guess-- I’m sure Mom would have preferred an easier color like green or yellow or something.  I take it you didn’t have phases like that?”

“Keep //me// in line?  I’m sorry-- which one of us is the father, and therefore the responsible one by default?”  Brody rolled his eyes, “Be careful what you wish for Blaine-- you’ll find out really fast that I am more than capable of getting carried away with my own train of thought.  My poor Stat kids probably have to deal with that the most.”  Most of the grading for Stat’s class came from projects that Brody came up with, after all, rather than testing.  Brody figured the AP exam was enough stress, the tests didn’t need to be another source of anxiety.  “Ah, yes-- the hardships of being a teenager.  How can we possibly understand the pain and suffering that they’re experiencing, Blaine?  Although-- is that something you didn’t have to deal with because you went to private school, or because the times are different now?” he followed up.  Brody was sure he’d had his share of high school drama, but as an adult the angst was a little ridiculous to hear about.  “Eh, if you want to send it through, we can edit and/or censor where necessary.  We do it anyways-- what’s one more set, right?”  The teacher let out a dramatic huff, “You mean you can’t devote every spare hour of your life to building skills specifically for my amusement, Blaine?  Talk about disappointing.  Fine, fine-- we’ll just arrange badge ceremonies as necessary, I guess.”  He quirked an eyebrow over at the other man, “Seriously?  You never played Human Tetris in college?  It’s this...it’s where you all pick shapes and you have two columns on the lawn and pick random numbers and try to…” He wasn’t explaining it very well, he knew.  “It’s kind of like Twister, only with shapes.  And copious amounts of alcohol,” he finally settled with a laugh.

Blaine nodded in understanding, feeling a little more relieved in hearing those words. “That’s fair. Not to mention that I like Dee; we’re bonding. It’d be strange to just jump on another horse after her,” he replied lightly, laughing a little. Partially because the thought of having to get used to another horse made him more nervous than he thought it ever would. He got lucky with Dee, and the uncertainty of whether or not he’d get lucky with the next horse, or even if there was anything to be nervous about drove him insane. Blaine cracked a grin and shrugged. “He has a lot of energy, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he ends up actually /wanting/ to run alongside. Then again, I’m his owner, which means he may be getting a little too pampered, so it’s all up in the air from here.” Blaine bobbed his head as he listened to Brody explain, though he had to admit that he wasn’t completely savvy of the inner workings of breeding. Though the two dogs he had in his life were either purebred or a designer breed, he didn’t really pay attention to either. He was too young to understand when his family got Lula, and Bing just happened to be incredibly cute on an online advertisement, and both had worked out incredibly well in his favor. He shrugged with a small smile on his face. “I think it’s safe to say that you probably did rob them in a way. She’s a catch, this one is.” Blaine chuckled and nodded. “I don’t mind, though I may need to invest in some work clothes now. You know, regular jeans and shirts, boots. The thought of even doing work like that in what I have on now is just horrendously terrifying,” he said, gesturing down to his admittedly still too nice button down and straight legged jeans for extra emphasis. He scoffed at the thought of a dog house with /bow tie/ wallpaper throughout. Blaine had his eccentricities, but even he knew what was going too far. He cocked an eyebrow at the older teacher. “Oh? And I take it you were the short-sighted one?” He laughed a little and shook his head. “And pray tell, what sort of things did you get in trouble for?”

Blaine smiled warmly, agreeing completely with the sentiments that Brody had just expressed. In fact, he had first hand, personal knowledge of the actual truth that was there. “You’re right, of course. And again, thank you,” he paused for a moment and continued. “And I think it’s obvious from how your kids are around you that you’re doing well, too. But, then again, you’ve been doing this a bit longer than I have,” he said playfully. He laughed, seeing the expression on Brody’s face. Nodding, he continued his explanation. “Yes and no. It is following Britney Spears and her life, and it does involve many of her actual songs, but I ended up writing a few myself. They were incredibly horrible, I realized years later, and all copies were promptly burned.” He looked at Brody curiously. “You really don’t know who Chris Crocker is? The “Leave Britney Alone” guy?” Blaine chuckled, agreeing with his friend. “Yeah, I suppose green would’ve been easier. Or brown, actually. And I did, yeah, they just took different forms,” he added with a shrug. “For example, when I was about 4 or 5, I refused to go to bed without first watching The Little Mermaid. Every night. For about five months. I don’t remember if I got tired of it or just got past the phase, but my mom, to this day, refuses to have anything to do with it.

Blaine shook his head disapprovingly. “It’s completely possible for the child to be the responsible on in the relationship sometimes, Brodes. Not that I don’t think you’re responsible, but given my age, I think it’s safe to say that we’re in more of a mutually dependent relationship where we have to keep /each other/ in line.” He stared at the older man for a minute, wondering what could possibly be a source of torture for his students before he caved. “Alright, I give; what are you doing to your poor Stat students?” It had been a long time since he had even had a math class, let alone stats. He knew that there were possibilities for creativity, but he had never thought about it himself. Blaine thought about Brody’s question before he shrugged. “I think the fact that it was an all-boys private school where the majority of the student body was in fact straight and preferred to talk to other straight guys about their relationship problems helped. They came to me for some stuff, but for the most part, they just liked to compare notes; so, yeah, I actually avoided a great deal of the drama after my transfer.” He paused, shaking his head. “But in a way, yeah, times have changed as well, you know. Even the drama I did have to deal with is nothing compared to some of the things I’ve seen here. I mean, I was already 18 when Grindr was developed; technology and the ways things can spread now has changed the face of teenage drama.” He stopped himself before he thought about it anymore because he knew that was just a whole other can of worms that he probably didn’t want to open. Blaine laughed when he heard the huff beside him. “I’m sorry, Brody. Unfortunately, I can’t entertain you all the time, as much as you know I live to please you.” Blaine pulled a sturgeon face as he shrugged. “I guess not; I’ve never even heard of it. It sounds very interesting, though. I’m sad I missed out.”

Brody grinned.  “Of course you are-- who wouldn’t become instant besties with a girl like that?”  He nodded along with Blaine’s thoughts about Bing.  “Well, I mean, I don’t know about this one, but Delilah’s definitely easy about animals at her feet.  And it’s not like there’s no such thing as a dog following on a trail ride.  They just aren’t usually as...fluffy.”  He laughed at the thought of the half-poodle keeping up along the path.  “He might need a good hosing down on a regular basis.  We could always see what happens-- personally, I’m kind of getting attached to this saddlebag idea though.”  In his head the older teacher was incredibly entertained by the thought of Bing hanging out of a leather pack as the quarterhorse plodded along, tongue hanging out of his mouth like a very slow car ride.  Brody beamed happily at Blaine’s reply, and nodded.  “I think so too-- I mean, I really just kind of wanted a piece of home out here, you know?  So I was lucky to have found her.  Otherwise I might have shelled out for something crazy, like an Arabian, or a fat horse.”  He laughed. “I wonder if they make work bowties?  But yeah, I mean, I’ve got some spare gear you can borrow, obviously-- gloves and stuff.  But you’ll probably want to get a good pair of boots if we’re going to really do this, for sure.”  He glanced down at Blaine’s feet with a smirk.  “I mean, it does all wash out, I promise; but you’ll probably want to be more comfortable than you are in, well, //that//.”  Blaine really looked like he’d come out for a horse //buy//, rather than a horse //ride//.  When the younger man called him out on his antics, Brody just grinned and shrugged.  “Maybe a little-- impulse control was never really my strong suit growing up.”  Not really his strong suit //now// either, but that was irrelevant to the point.  “Really, just the normal stuff--girls, drag racing, sneaking out to a field for some stupidity. I was the //King// of Improv Repairs at our house, so that was kind of half-success, half-horrible, horrible failure, to be honest.  But really just that sort of thing.” 

Brody smiled genially, and nodded-- teaching was one of those jobs that you really did need all the support and encouragement you could get, or you could easily get lost in the hamster wheel.  Ha laughed at Blaine’s response, though.  “Yeah, well, trust me-- I was not the brilliant mentor you see before you today at your age.  It took a while to find my stride, which was mostly getting the hell out of the books.  I don’t know if you know this about me, but I actually //really// hate math.” He winked at the other.  “So you can see how that could cause a little bit of a hiccup at first.”  Brody arched an eyebrow, impressed.  “You wrote your own songs in high school?  That’s actually pretty amazing, SB.  I mean, I tried my hand at simple choreography, but song writing’s a whole different animal there.  I’d think anything that made sense would be a hell of an accomplishment. Although now I may abduct you and hold you hostage until you perform this show, because it sounds pretty damned awesome.”  Brody laughed, and his expression shifted to one of recognition.  “//That// guy?  Pete, Blaine-- I didn’t realize he actually had a name.  I just figured he was the ‘Leave Britney Alone’ Guy.  You know, like the kid after the dentist or people in flash mobs.”  He smiled and nodded along with Blaine’s addition, and then lifted his lips in a crooked smile.  “Every night?  Man, I’m surprised your parents didn’t realize you were gay right then,” he laughed.  “Although it’s not like you were dressing up as Ariel, so maybe they just figured you were sensitive-- I’m sure mine did when I insisted on taking ballet, right?” He cocked an eyebrow.  “After four months though-- are you really surprised?” 

Brody scoffed.  “Well that sounds just disappointing.  I thought this whole //dad// thing was coming with automatic perks.”  He shook his head, “What?  Nothing-- really.  I mean, they may have to go through weird bouts of random projects based on everything from grocery store inventory to internet ads, but I throw in some relevant stuff too.  Just the other day I used one of their bio assignments to whip up a standard deviation project revolving around vowels in invertebrate terminology, so that was sort of useful, at least.  Hey, at least I’m not throwing a test at them every other day right?”  Brody tilted his head as he watched Blaine explain private school, and he couldn’t help but add, “Mostly straight guys in a private school?  I’m sure Bas was thrilled.”  He had to fight not to wince at his own stupidity- wasn’t he trying //not// to talk about Sebastian?  Or think about him?  He needed to work at that.  “But yeah-- I mean, a lack of drama definitely has its perks.  Oh god-- Grindr.  Did you actually use that?  I think I’d be mortified to find any of my kids were playing around with accounts like that, even if they //were// 18.”  The older man huffed and shook his head.  “Well damn-- maybe I should be more careful about who I decide to recruit for Scouts next time.  I thought the whole point of that thing was to earn badges to make yourself interesting?”  He shrugged.  “It probably isn’t as amazing as it is when your 20-something and drunk, I’ll give you.  But there’s definitely a nostalgia factor in there.”