This is the first Klaine I've written in what feels like for ever. Even though this is gonna focus more on the Blam friendship. I don't think Kurt will appear until about the fourth chapter. Anyway, this is quite a departure from my usual Jyder.

So this was inspired by a gifset that I saw on Tumblr. In the gifset, Blaine went and stayed with his cousin Mike. But I really liked my last foray into Blam friendship (within I Think I Got Heartbreak Down) so I decided to change it. But if you're interested, the link is: writeadrabble . tumblr tagged / au%3A-bike-cousin It only relates to the first gifset in the series though. And it's probably only loosely based on it.

Blaine searched through his wardrobe, trying to find the perfect outfit for his date. Which was ridiculous because he didn't even want to go out with Jessica. So why should it even matter what he looked like? Even still, he was trying to find something decent to wear. It was kinda challenging though, since he only had about half his clothes at his parents' house. He only stayed there on the weekend so there wasn't really any need for more.

He jumped when he heard his phone ring, hurrying over to pick it up from his nightstand. When he looked at the screen, he saw Sam's goofy smile plastered across it. 'Hey man,' he greeted.

'Hey. So I'm super bored. D'you wanna come down to Lima and entertain me?' Blaine could practically see Sam's puppy dog eyes.

'Nah, I wish. I have to go on a date.' He returned to his cupboard as he said it, resuming his search.

Sam laughed on the other end of the phone. 'You could sound more excited about it.'

'That's a bit hard,' Blaine told him, laughter coming through in his own voice. 'It's not like I have any interest in her.'

'So don't go then. Come hang out with your bro instead.'

'What, and then deal with the fallout with my parents? I think I'd rather awkward kisses.' He pulled a red shirt from his hanger as he said it, finally deciding it was his best choice.

'You mean you're actually getting some?' Sam sounded slightly envious.

'It's not like it's anything to celebrate. But she was starting to get a bit suspicious; I didn't really have a choice.'

'Couldn't you just dump her?'

Blaine ran his hands over his bowties as he thought. 'Not without a decent excuse. Mom would never accept it otherwise. She seems to have decided we're the perfect match. And the thing is, Jessica is pretty awesome. If I could be into any girl, it would be her.'

Blaine could hear the confusion in Sam's voice now. 'Surely it wouldn't be that bad then? You could just convince yourself you're hanging out with a friend.'

Blaine let out a short bark of laughter. 'Yea, sure. And how many friends of yours are angling for third base?'

'None, unfortunately.' Sam seemed really bummed by that too. 'Y'know, there is one definite solution to this, Blaine. You could tell her you're gay. Or better yet, you could tell your parents.'

'I-I don't know that I could do that.' Why had his voice gotten so small? 'I've never told anyone before.'

'You told me.'

Blaine picked out a black bowtie before answering. 'I don't think that's quite how it went, Sam.'

Xxx

Sam and Blaine had both started at Dalton at the start of freshman year. They were assigned to be roommates and quickly became friends, but they weren't hugely close. Blaine got on better with Wes and David, while Sam spent most of his time with the football guys.

One evening, Blaine had come back to their room to find Sam staring at an open magazine, face aghast. 'Dude, are you ok?' he asked as he dumped his bag on his desk.

Sam looked up at him. 'Um, ah, um, yea?'

Blaine walked towards him, curious as to what he was looking at. His heart dropped when he recognised the magazine. 'Wha-what are you doing with that?'

'I was, ah, um, hoping you had some porn,' Sam explained. 'It turns out you do. Just not the kinda stuff I was wanting.'

Blaine didn't say anything. He just snatched the magazine from Sam's hands, crossing the room to stuff it back under his mattress. Why hadn't he thought to hide it better?

Sam sounded hesitant. 'Is that just something you were curious about? I mean, like, I guess it's cool if you're gay, or whatever. It's just that you've never told anyone you were.'

'I don't want to talk about it.' Blaine was still facing the wall; he couldn't bear to look at Sam.

'Hey, that's cool, I get it. It must be pretty confusing, I suppose, trying to deal with all that. So, like, take your time, dude.'

'I'm not confused.' It came out as a whisper.

'Oh, okay.' Sam paused for a moment. 'Oh, you mean – y'know, it's not that big of a deal, man. You don't need to stress or hide or whatever.'

Blaine finally turned back around at that, whirling as fast as he could. 'Please, Sam, you can't tell anyone.'

'I promise.' He was crossing the room now, pinky outstretched.

Sam had seemed pretty cool about it. Even still, Blaine had been surprised when he didn't insist on being transferred into a different dorm. But actually, this had brought them closer together. Sam didn't shy away from conversations about Blaine's sexuality. He was always asking Blaine about his celebrity crushes and which Warblers he thought were the cutest. And he was always willing to listen to Blaine's complaints about being the only gay kid in all of Ohio.

In fact, they quickly became best friends. And Blaine was relieved to finally have someone he could be truly honest with. Because Sam knew him on a level that Wes and David never could.

When Sam had moved to Lima, it had been hard on both of them. His parents had decided they could no longer afford Dalton, and he was sent to public school instead. But they made it work. They called and skyped, and visited each other when they could. It wasn't the same as sharing a dorm, but at least they kept the friendship going.