Sam had always believed in the idea of love at first sight, but he had no real life frame of reference for the concept until the day he met his new roommate. Though many boys without roommates preferred it that way, Sam had been quite pleased to be assigned someone when a new boy transferred to Dalton halfway through November of their freshman year.
Though he knew the boy was coming, he was surprised to return to his room after classes to find someone sitting on the previously unoccupied bed. The boy was small, with dark hair, a black guy and a split lip.
He looked up when Sam entered, a flash of fear in really pretty, brandy brown eyes and Sam felt like someone had grabbed his heart and squeezed. He knew the feeling, but this was far more intense and immediate than the crush he'd nursed on Emily Mae last year at his old school. The fact that it was a boy making him feel that way didn't register as significant to him, as his parents had raised him to believe that other things were more important.
"Dude, what happened?" he asked, mouth engaging before he could be more tactful.
The other boy blinked, coal dark lashes fanning smooth cheeks. "I was beaten up."
The statement made Sam feel a surge of protectiveness for the boy. He didn't really know why (he wouldn't be much help in a fight, skinny as a reed, but thank God he finally had a growth spurt and his shoulders were showing signs of filling out), but thankfully his brain to mouth filter engaged long enough to keep him from saying anything too stupid. "That sucks," he simply offered. "I'm Sam Evans."
"Blaine Anderson," the other boy replied, biting his lip and wincing when it pulled at the scab.
"I've got something for that," Sam said, crossing to his desk and opening a drawer to rifle around and find an unopened Chapstick. "It's medicated to help with cracked lips."
He extended the tube to Blaine, who took it carefully. "Thanks," he replied, fingers curling around the lip balm, a pensive expression on his face. "Look, there's something I should probably tell you…."
His voice trailed off and Sam dumped his book bag onto his desk chair. "What's on your mind? We're going to be living on top of each other for the next year, maybe longer if we get along, so you might as well just spit it out."
Those eyes peered at him piercingly. "I'm gay."
Sam blinked. "Oh…Is that it? Dude, from the way you were fidgeting I thought you were going to tell me something like you can't sleep without blaring Norwegian death metal!"
"You don't have a problem with the fact that I'm gay?"
"No, why would I?" Sam replied, honestly confused until something clicked. "Shit. Someone beat you up because…."
Sam had seen that happen once before, years ago. He'd been out with his father and they'd left the ice cream shop to see three teenagers punching another couple of boys. His father had waded into the fray and sent the bullies running before making sure the others were okay.
Later, Sam had asked why they were fighting and his father had told him that some people were small minded and didn't accept that some boys liked boy or some girls liked girl. He said love was love no matter who you loved and, above all, God loved everyone. Anyone who said different wasn't worth listening to.
"Yeah," Blaine muttered, shoulders slumping a bit and he somehow looked even tinier which made Sam's jaw clench.
"It's cool," he blurted, maybe a little too loud considering how Blaine jumped. "I mean, you're what, 14? Me too, but you know yourself. Me, I look in a mirror and I have no idea who I am, still waiting for the day when my mutant powers arrive and I become who I'm supposed to be. Not that I think I'm a mutant or anything, but wouldn't that be awesome…and now you probably think I'm the biggest dork ever…."
"No!" Blaine said quickly, a hint of a smile crossing his face. "I get it. I'd totally love to be Wolverine."
"Me too," Sam agreed, then tentatively asked, "Have you heard this new X-Men movie coming out in 2011?"
That got an enthusiastic nod. "And Captain America."
"Yes! Are you into the comics too, or just the movies, cuz there's this shop in town…."
It might've been a cliché, but his Blaine grinned at him, brightening as they discovered more common interests, Sam thought to himself, This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.