Title: I'd Rather Make Mistakes Than Nothing At All
Author: Claddagh Ring

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, or Mr. Know It All by Kelly Clarkson, or anything else recognizable.


William McKinley High School was hell, or at least a forgotten level of it filled with creatures of sub-par intelligence and absolutely no interesting qualities. At least underneath their crisp blazers, the boys at Dalton had proved to be entertaining even if his manipulations of them had ultimately resulted in his expulsion. He'd rather have been shipped off to another pretentious boarding school but his father appeared to have had a stroke and decided to teach his son some kind of passe, antiquated lesson about humility or one of the other seventeen virtues he didn't desire to posses. Being banished to this toxic waste of a public school for his junior year wasn't exactly fitting punishment, and fell far below the standards of Sebastain Smythe.

The one and only upside was that by being confined in a school that always seemed to smell of damp laundry was that it made Blaine Anderson easily accessible on a daily basis. It annoyed the other boy to no end, but there wasn't much he could do about it. The school was only so big and their lockers were assigned close enough together that it was only polite to say hello, or leer, or suggest a one-off in the janitor's closet. Sebastian could have restrained himself from joining that joke of a glee club, but being in New Directions practically guaranteed him an hour in a plastic chair next to Blaine as he tried in vain to ignore him.

Blaine had become the club's de facto leader in his senior year, but Sebastian couldn't help his natural tendency to force his opinions on everyone else. They had argued more than a few times about the way the club should be run, though Sebastian eventually had to admit that not all of Blaine's ideas were bad ones. Besides, he and Blaine were the leading talents and New Directions needed a serious overhaul if they intended to actually win at Nationals this year. After a few weeks, they'd somehow fallen into a sort of uneasy truce. They were stronger if they worked together and if Sebastian was going to waste his time on a sinking ship, he was sure as hell going to make sure he had a life raft when the water rose above their heads.

He had friends, by default, but he was honestly used to that. People didn't like him and he didn't like people. Except every now and then he did, which was even worse. He found himself thinking during study hall – a even bigger waste of his time than his wandering lack of attention – that the kids in glee weren't so bad. They were horribly mis-matched and every cliché in the book, but at least they had a sense of loyalty or "family" as they liked to call it. He still had to fight off the urge to roll his eyes every time the word was used, but it didn't make him dissolve into a fit of laughter anymore.

It wasn't until the blue raspberry slushie hit him in the face that he began to understand the meaning behind the word. It had come out of nowhere, crashing into the side of his face. It was unbearably cold, chilling to the bone. The ice and syrup clung to his hair, funneled down his ear and dripped down the popped collar of now blue-splattered white shirt. His eyes stung and he couldn't breathe through his nose. He could barely remember throwing his books to the ground and lunging towards the nameless football player who had doused him. All he knew was that Blaine had caught him by the arm and shoved him into the nearest bathroom as Sebastian shouted every string of obscenities he could think of, fighting Blaine every step of the way.

"I will ruin him!" Sebastian shouted as Blaine turned on the tap and started filling one of the sinks with water. "I will set his tacky as shit letter-man jacket on fire using the grease seeping out of his pores as accelerant. I will destroy him."

"And to think yours didn't even have rock salt in it," Blaine muttered as he took the entire roll of paper towels out of the dispenser and sat them on the floor. Sebastian found himself uncharacteristicly at a loss for words and let Blaine direct him in washing off as much of the slushie as he could. He was resistant to the idea of submerging his face in the dirty bathroom sink but the warm water was an instant relief to the cold, sticky mess that was currently drying into his skin.

"This has happened to everyone," Blaine explained as he ran a wet towel through the ends of Sebastian's hair though it was obvious to Sebastian that it was a lost cause. Still he let Blaine run the water until his entire head was soaked.

"There will be severe consequences, trust me," Sebastian insisted, throwing the meager paper towel to the ground. He slipped out of his stained shirt and began using that to dry his hair instead. He looked down at his chest, his anger increasing when he realized it was covered in blue syrup as well. "He's not going to get away with this."

"Yes he will," Blaine insisted, his voice hard as he leaned against one of the unused sinks, his eyes never leaving Sebastian's own. He had to give the boy credit; if Blaine had been the one standing in front of him shirtless in an abandoned bathroom, Sebastian wouldn't have been able to keep his hands to himself, let alone keep his gaze from wandering. It was insulting, to be honest, as Sebastian would be the first to admit he was a little vain and even though he was a soggy mess, Blaine could at least appreciate the fact that he was naked from the waist up. But no, he just continued lecturing him. "Don't do anything to cause trouble Sebastian. You can't afford to get kicked out of another school and as much as I hate to admit it, we need you for competition."

"You mean you'd miss my undeniable charms," Sebastian quipped as he picked his argyle cardigan out of his shoulder bag, relieved to find it clean if a little rumpled. The v-neck was a little low to wear without a shirt, but he didn't have much of a choice unless he wore his gym shirt underneath it; he may have been publicly humiliated but he hadn't yet sunk so low.

"You know, I just might," Blaine laughed ask Sebastian winked at him. Blaine suddenly reached over, dragging his thumb under Sebastian's chin. The way he eyebrows furrowed with concentration was insanely endearing, Sebastian noticed. When he pulled away, the tips of Blaine's thumb and forefinger were covered in the remains of the blue slushie. Sebastain turned to the mirror on instinct, searching for any other spots he may have missed and out of the corner of his eyes, saw Blaine pop his fingers into his mouth, casually cleaning the sweet syrup from his hand. Sebastian bit the inside of his mouth until blood ran to keep himself from finishing the job for him.

"You look like a hipster," he teased as Sebastian snapped closed the last button on his sweater.

"And you look like a cocktease sucking your own fingers off like that," Sebastian countered, his smile light and easy for the other boy's sake. A faint blush rose in Blaine's cheeks as he mumbled something Sebastian couldn't quite make out but as they exited the bathroom, he couldn't help but think being at McKinley was starting to pay off.

-:-

Of course, he should have known that would come back to haunt him during what he silently dubbed "The Glitter-Gay Depression of 2012", though everyone else knew it as the day Kurt Hummel broke up with his stay-at-home boyfriend for life in the big old city. He couldn't really understand why everyone was so surprised; he had seen it coming a mile away and had even said so many times. Still, despite all efforts he made to be otherwise, he was only human and seeing Blaine so dejected kept him from singing "I told you so" at the top of his lungs.

He had only been able to stand it for about month before Blaine's moping around started to get on his nerves. Pining after Kurt Hummel was somehow even worse than dating Kurt Hummel and quite frankly, Sebastian was sick to death of it. The little elf had disappeared into his city of lights and insomnia and it was high time he stopped interfering in life as Sebastian knew it in Lima.

"We're going out," Sebastian announced as Blaine put his chemistry book in his locker, managing even that in the most depressing way possible. "This is really getting pathetic and as your only friend who is actually glad to see you get rid of your ex, I demand to be the one to make you forget about him."

"That's worked so well for you in the past," Blaine replied in what might have been a joke if he bothered to put any effort into it.

"Funny," Sebastian said as he knocked his shoulder into Blaine's, grinning widely as Blaine cracked a tiny smile of his own . "You know I'm good for a good time." He nudged him again and added, "you know you need me." Blaine just shook his head, his smile stretching wider and Sebastian nudged him again. "You know you want me," and he could has sworn he heard a laugh escape his friend. "You know you I can-"

"Okay!" Blaine practically shouted, shoving Sebastian away, a real smile on his face for the first time in weeks. "Fine, I'll go, just stop talking. It's obnoxious."

"I'll pick you up at nine," Sebastian promised just as the warning bell for sixth period rang.

-:-

They never actually made it out anywhere as Blaine had apparently broken into his parent's liquor cabinet on his own and was sloshed by the time Sebastian made it to his house. His hair was in complete disarray as he answered the door, a bottle of vodka in one hand, and he ushered Sebastian up to his room which he then proceeded to ransack. He only paused to take a swig of his drink, his face scrunching up each time as the alcohol hit the back of his throat.

"Is this like a scavenger hunt or something?" Sebastian asked, kicking one of Blaine's belts in the general direction of his closet.

"Kurt wants his Gucci scarf back," Blaine grumbled, throwing his head back and chugging quite a bit of out of the bottle. "I can't find it."

"Are you serious right now?" Sebastian scoffed and crossed the room, prying the half-empty bottle from Blaine's hand and setting it high on the bookshelf where he probably couldn't reach it – and really, why where his bookshelves so tall? – and forcing him to sit down on the edge of his bed. "First of all, Kurt has more scarves than the little fairies that live in his hair can find time to knit, so I think he can live without one. Secondly, if he put half as much effort into being your boyfriend as you are into finding what it essentially just a scrap of fabric hemmed on the edges, then you wouldn't need to find it in the first place."

Blaine didn't do much besides blink at him and Sebastian half considered just leaving right then and there until Blaine started giggling. Honest to God, he started giggling, short and quick little bursts of laughter until he was laughing so hard that he slipped off the bed onto the floor, clutching his stomach as he doubled over. "Kurt is terrified of fairies," he said breathlessly, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes, "and they live in his hair."

"You are ridiculous," Sebastian exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief. He felt the tugging on his sleeve before Blaine managed to pull him down to sit on the floor with him while he tried to compose himself. Sebastian sat cross-legged in front of him. "You know what we should do?" he asked as Blaine shook his head. "You need to get over Kurt, so I say you compose a list of everything you thought you liked about him and I'll tell you why you're wrong. And then we take a shot."

"I'm already drunk," Blaine slurred even as he pulled out an unopened bottle of vodka from under his bed.

"Clearly you're an alcoholic in the making," Sebastian retorted, twisting the cap off and placing the bottle between the two of them on the floor.

"You go first," Blaine insisted, trying to cross his legs to mirror Sebastian's but ended up swaying and opted to stretch them out in front of him.

"It doesn't work that way," Sebastian said.

"I don't care," Blaine pouted. "It's your game, you go first."

"His smile," Sebastian responded without missing a beat. "He looks like a geriatric patient who lost his dentures after lunch when he smiles."

He lifted the bottle to his lips and drank a good bit of the liquor as Blaine chortled once again; even though he was beyond drunk, Sebastian felt a little proud of himself for being able to make Blaine enjoy himself and smile. The truth was, he desperately needed it. He needed to lighten up, have a good time, remember that he was a person outside of Kurt Hummel because Sebastian liked the Blaine that came to surface when he wasn't being dragged down by a relationship. He was incredibly biased for personal reasons, he knew that, but as Blaine stopped saying things he liked about his ex and started his own list of Kurt's flaws, he couldn't help but feel his dislike for Hummel was vindicated.

Sebastian made sure to hide the bottle after the first few rounds, knowing there was only so much Blaine could pack away in his tiny body before it could potentially be a problem. Not that Blaine even seemed to notice, though he had settled down from being a bit of a sloppy drunk to regaining some coordination. He scooted forward on the floor until his legs lay on either side of Sebastian's own. He leaned forward, his hands on Sebastian's thighs for support, studying his eyes curiously without saying a word.

He might kiss him, Sebastian realized. He gulped, his throat suddenly dry as he waited for Blaine to decide what he wanted to do. He could see Blaine trying to work it through his hazy brain even as he moved closer and closer into Sebastian's space. His tongue involuntarily flickered out to wet his lips and he knew Blaine had seen it happen. He wasn't an idiot – had been in this situation several times in the past – but he'd be lying if he said he didn't want it to happen. He'd thought about it, ever since he'd first met him, he'd dreamed of what it might be like to kiss Blaine Anderson, infamous former Warbler. But now, he just wanted to kiss his friend, Blaine, whom he could potentially might have real feelings for. Maybe. Possibly. He wasn't sure.

Blaine closed the distance before Sebastian's patience broke, pressing his lips over Sebastian's waiting mouth. Immediately Sebastian buried one hand in Blaine's hair, locking him into him as Blaine's lips parted to suck Sebastian's into his mouth, nipping gently at his bottom lip until Sebastian granted him entrance. Blaine moved over him, lifting himself onto his knees until he was properly straddling Sebastian's waist. Sebastian had to stretch his neck to reach his kiss, only to find Blaine had abandoned his lips for his neck. He bit back a moan, letting his head fall back. The hand that wasn't currently tangled in Blaine's hair found his waist and pulled his hips closer to him.

He could feel things moving much to quickly and a part of him just didn't care. He'd wanted this, for such a long time, and he didn't care how it was happening, only that it was. But the other part, the part that had an actual, annoying, demanding conscience told him to break it off, to back out before it was too late. And he tried, he really did, maneuvering his neck away from Blaine only to have him actually fucking whine in his ear. Who could really expect him to say no to that?

Blaine could, he realized. Sober Blaine would and no matter how good it felt right now, the alcohol would wear off by morning and it was this that gave Sebastian a reason to pull away. Because he could be a selfish prick, but occasionally, for the right person, he would put that aside and though he would never admit it out loud, Blaine was more important that what ever his body was telling him he needed.

"Stop," he said and then nearly laughed at the utter lack of conviction in his voice.

"No," Blaine growled, his hands swift as he pulled Sebastian's shirt out of his jeans before slipping under the thin cotton. His palms pressed against the flat skin Sebastian's torso, snaking around to the center of his back and dancing along the dip of his spine. Sebastian could feel his body quake under the touch, that having always been his weak spot and then his shirt was off and Blaine had him pressed to the floor, flat on his back.

The move surprised him more than anything, a shock of clarity even as Blaine started kissing his way back down Sebastian's torso, fingers ghosting around the waistband of his jeans. "You're drunk Blaine," Sebastian said and the excuse sounded so feeble even to his own ears, he was surprised Blaine acknowledged it at all.

"What does that have to do with this?" he asked, and Sebastian bit back a groan when Blaine reached down and cupped the front of his jeans. He couldn't take it; he couldn't only be expected to fight of so much at one time and this was past his limit. Spurred into action, he clutched Blaine's waist, pushing him off and sitting up in one fluid motion. Blaine began to protest only to be silenced as Sebastian met his mouth with his own, tongue dancing in dominance as he forced Blaine to stand up. He pushed them back towards the bed, somehow keeping their hips interlocked even as they walked until Blaine's knees bent underneath him and they tumbled onto his soft mattress.

Sebastian pinned his wrists above his head and attacked his neck, bruising a mark into Blaine's collarbone as he was rewarded with a groan from deep in Blaine's chest and bucking hips." You want this," Blaine stated, his voice husky and deep just before they met for another kiss. He did; he really, really, did and against all his attempts at better judgment, he was having it.

-:-

Sebastian was a very heavy sleeper, always had been, so there was no telling how long Blaine had been trying to wake him up. He pulled a nearby pillow over his head and turned over on his stomach to escape as Blaine started shaking the bed underneath him. His back was cold and bare but it was too much of a struggle to try and untangle the blankets from around his waist. Not that it even really mattered, since Blaine was clearly not going to let him sleep in peace.

"You have to get up," Blaine whispered harshly. "You have to leave."

"No, thank you, I don't want to," Sebastian grumbled, lifting his head to fix the other boy with a bleary glare. "Your bed is perfectly comfortable, though it'd be better if you stopped having a seizure and joined me in it."

"Get up," Blaine repeated, throwing Sebastian's jeans at him for added effect.

"Who put the stick back up your ass?" Sebastian snapped, finally sitting up as Blaine tossed his shirt at him next. "Because I'm pretty sure I took it out last night."

"My dad is home," Blaine muttered, finding Sebastian's shoes and setting them on the bed next to him. His attitude was starting to make a little more sense to Sebastian, knowing that Blaine's father wouldn't be especially thrilled to come home to find his son curled up with another boy in his bed. But that didn't really explain why he hadn't so much as looked at Sebastian; even when he'd been so intent on disturbing his sleep, Blaine hadn't touched him at all and if Sebastian ever took the time to think about it, it might hurt a little bit.

But as it were now, it was time to leave so he pulled on the legs of his jeans and stood up, leaving the button open as he took a quick look around, hoping to spot his boxer-briefs that Blaine hadn't managed to scrounge up. He thought about making Blaine look, but a masculine voice outside Blaine's door made them both jump. They could hear footstep coming up the stairs, the sound traveling through the walls in a way that made it seem louder than it was, but it was definitely coming closer.

Sebastian scooped up the remainder of his clothes and Blaine wasted no time ushering him to the window. He dropped his shoe and bent to pick it up, only to find it being shoved back into his hands by Blaine, his eyes silently pleading for Sebastian to disappear. He made sure to secure his footing on the roof before he crawled out the window sill and pulled the rest of his body through. The shirt dangling from his hands caught on the lock and he swore quietly as he tried to unhook it. Blaine's nimble fingers worked it free and Sebastian quickly slipped it on, sighing when he realized there was now a hole in the shoulder.

"Wait," Sebastian cried, his hand darting forward and landing on on Blaine's shoulder just as he moved to close the window. Blaine paused, that curious look back in his eyes and Sebastian couldn't resist the urge to move forward and kiss him one more time. His hand moved to cradle Blaine's face, angling his lips against his. He took advantage of the split-second Blaine's mouth fell open, diving further in until her could feel Blaine's tongue curl against his teeth and bite down gently on Sebastian's bottom lip.

"Now you really have to leave," Blaine whispered, pressing his forehead momentarily against Sebastian's.

"One more for the road," Sebastian insisted and kissed the corner of Blaine's slowly emerging smile before letting go of the window frame and sliding as carefully as he could down the roof.

-:-

He should have realized something was up when he didn't hear from Blaine over the weekend, but it wasn't really Sebastian's nature to dwell on that kind of thing. Not when there were so many other more gratifying things to dwell on such as all the surprisingly talented ways Blaine could use his mouth when he wasn't singing. Being with Blaine had been vastly different than in his fantasies, but Sebastian wasn't complaining. If he wanted to be saccharine about it, he might say it was one of his better sexual encounters. Even if Blaine had been drunk, didn't make him any less of a performer. And Sebastian liked him, actually kind of cared about him and maybe there was something to that waxing poetic platitude that having actual emotions made it better.

He finally caught up to Blaine during lunch, sliding into the booth next to him. He rested his hand on Blaine's knee, smirking as Blaine looked up from his book with an expression Sebastian could only describe as amazement. "Since we never actually made it out of your bedroom," Sebastian started, a playful smile on his face as he spoke, "and I'm really not complaining, but maybe this Friday we could try to at least make it to my car."

"I don't think so," Blaine muttered, shifting his legs away from Sebastian until he was forced to pull his hand away.

"I can see we're going to have to work on your attitude first," Sebastian said, a little more guarded than before.

"We don't have anything to work on Sebastian," was Blaine's response, "except maybe an apology."

Sebastian was taken aback at this, and he leaned away from Blaine to put distance between them. "An apology for what exactly?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest as Blaine scoffed, refusing to look at him. "I don't remember doing anything you didn't beg me for."

"I was drunk Sebastian!" Blaine yelled, slamming his book shut. Several people turned to look at him and he blushed as he grabbed Sebastian by the collar and pulled him out of the cafeteria into the empty hall before he said another word. "You know it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been drunk."

"Just to clear up your incredibly selective memory, I told you to stop and you grabbed my dick," Sebastian growled, the implications of Blaine's words not lost on him at all. He knew he wasn't the best guy around but he wasn't that depraved and it was downright infuriating that Blaine would think he would force himself on him. If he'd wanted him like that, the deed would have been done months ago. "Did you really expect me to say no with you throwing yourself at me?"

"It would have been the decent thing to do," Blaine said hotly, his glare slicing through Sebastian deeper than expected.

"When have I ever been decent?" Sebastian muttered automatically only to find his heart wasn't in the joke.

"You just used me to get off," Blaine insisted and Sebastian fought the urge to punch him in the face. "You got what you've always wanted from me."

"You needed a way to get back at Hummel," Sebastian argued, his fingers pointing accusingly at Blaine's face as he yelled. "You needed to get off and piss him off at the same time. I was there for you and that was my mistake," his voice trailed off to a dangerous whisper as he stepped closer to Blaine, forcing the boy to look up as he drew to his full height. "You think I used you? You used me and as far as I'm concerned, it's an even trade."

He wanted to leave it at that and keep his generally aloof and unaffected persona intact, but he had so much more to say. He just couldn't help himself. "You're not the only one who gets to have feelings Blaine," he said, cringing over how pathetic and weak he felt for even saying this out loud. "So before you go spin your poor little victim routine for someone else, remember that you know damn well what mine are."

-:-

Sebastian had a special talent for staying angry and he hadn't calmed down one bit by the end of the day. Blaine tried to catch him as he entered the choir room, but he merely glared at him until Blaine shrank back to his normal chair in front. Sebastian fumed on his own in the corner, sitting as far away as possible from Blaine, and did his best to ignore the whispers flying around the room. He could tell they were talking about him, glancing at him out of the corners of their eyes, occasionally making a few not-so-subtle gestures in his direction. It only served to aggravate him further to the point that he was beyond being pissed, he was livid.

Because whatever they decided the story was, it would be his fault. Everyone always assumed the worst about him and usually he encouraged it, but this was past just being thought of as an uncaring asshole. This was something that actually mattered to him, that bothered him, and no one even made the effort to ask him about it. If Blaine had already run his pretty little mouth off with his version of what had happened, the rest of the club would follow his lead like blind sheep. He was their golden boy; he did no wrong and Sebastian was sick of it.

He nearly left the room in disgust the moment Schuester started rambling on about their assignment for the week, an American Idol themed sing-off to decide who would have solos for their upcoming Sectionals competition. Since the the insanely talented Berry had run off to take Broadway by storm, solos became an attainable commodity and everyone wanted one. Sebastian didn't bother to do the assignments half the time but when Schuester sprung his "surprise twist" that they could only use songs performed by American Idol winners, he instantly knew what song he'd be performing by the end of the week.

The girls finished early on Wednesday – Tina winning with a perfectly decent rendition of Jordin Spark's Battlefield – and Blaine had stunned them all with his piano-driven version of Bring it Back from Kris Allen before they wrapped up for the day. Some of the girls had even cried and gone to comfort him when they were dismissed. They all assumed he was still pining after Kurt and considering the lyrics, Sebastian felt they were probably right, which only served to reignite his ire towards the older boy all over again. But his moment was coming, Sebastian thought as he left the group without another word, ignoring the sound of Blaine calling his name like he'd done all week thus far.

"I know it's usually Blaine who has a slight case of gender confusion when he chooses his songs," Sebastian said on Thursday as he stood in the front of the club and introduced his song, "but I have something I need to get off my chest and no one gives the brush off like Kelly Clarkson."

As the opening chords echoed through the room, Sebastian looked at Blaine for the first time since their fight Monday. He looked tired, Sebastian realized, but most of his expression was unreadable. He couldn't be bothered to care right now; he forced himself not to care all week and he wouldn't break now, not when the beat dropped into his song and all his own frustration finally found an outlet.

"Mr. Know-It-All, well yeah, you think you know it all," he sang, keeping his eyes locked on Blaine as he did. "But you don't know a thing at all."

Blaine's jaw fell into a silent "oh" and Sebastian, filled with smug satisfaction, ripped his gaze away from him as he continued to sing. He made sure to meet everyone's eyes as he unleashed his anger towards them all because as much as he meant the song for Blaine, it was meant for them too. He'd realized earlier that Blaine hadn't told anyone what happened over the weekend, but that didn't stop them from talking and as he'd predicted, all the blame had been placed on Sebastian's shoulders. "When somebody tells you something about you, think that they know you more than you do."

The ones who were smart enough to keep up with him had the decency to look a little ashamed and it was clear they knew he'd heard all their talk over the week. But his gaze eventually found it's way back to Blaine, who looked pretty devastated and Sebastian briefly thought that maybe this wasn't as gratifying as he thought it would feel.

"Baby, you should know that I lead, not follow." Sugar and Tina jumped up from their chairs as he neared the end of the verse, harmonizing in the background before joining him in the chorus. The rest of the girls joined him as he sang through the the next few verses, spinning and sliding across the linoleum floor until all his pent-up anger and used feelings seemed to evaporate.

"So what, you've got the world at your feet and you know everything about everything but you don't," Sebastian directed once again towards Blaine and he felt his mask crack a little bit, hurt bleeding though his voice.

"Oh you think that you know me, know me," he continued, his voice wavering though he knew no one else would noticed. Blaine had stopped looking him in the eyes, his sad face downcast towards the floor, but Sebastian knew he was listening and this was the end of the song, this was the last word and it was his. "That's why I'm leaving you lonely, lonely 'cause baby you don't know a thing about me. Yeah baby, you don't know a thing about me."

The song ended and everyone lost their minds in applauding him, Schuester clapping him on the back and congratulating him on a job well-done that he followed up with some lame challenge to the boys who hadn't sung yet, but Sebastian couldn't bring himself to enjoy it as much as he might normally had. Because while he was no longer angry, Blaine wasn't even looking at him anymore and he wasn't sure that was a price worth paying.

-:-

He'd never admit it out loud, but Sebastian was more than a little nervous to see Blaine shadowing his locker first thing Friday morning before classes started. He was pacing, as much as one could pace in front of a locker, and wringing his hands. Sebastian could see his lips moving but he couldn't hear any actual words leave his mouth as he stood next to him and started spinning the combination into his lock. Blaine looked a little startled by his sudden presence and Sebastian took care to hide the smile threatening his perfectly constructed neutral facade.

"You did great yesterday," Blaine said with a small smile, leaning against the closed row of lockers but his hands were still fidgeting and the worry in his eyes betrayed all of his efforts to appear casual.

"Thank you," Sebastian said in a slightly clipped tone as he pulled out his English notebook for his first period. He'd let go of his grudge and he could appreciate that Blaine had made the first move to talk to him, but that didn't mean he wasn't apprehensive about it. There were a million things that could come of it and only one of them actually worked in his favor; his odds weren't good and he wasn't willing to put himself out on a limb just yet.

"I think you'll definitely end up getting a solo," Blaine tried again.

"Probably," Sebastian said with a shrug as he shut his locker and leaned against it to face Blaine. "Get on with it then," he said, perhaps a little too expectantly but he couldn't take it back and frankly, if Blaine wasn't used to this from him by now, why should they bother trying to work things out.

"Um, well," Blaine stuttered and damn it, but he was adorable when Sebastian wasn't upset with him. "I was thinking we could see a movie? There's a new Robert Downy Jr. and, well, I don't know, I thought maybe we could go tonight, together."

"No." The word left his mouth before he could stop it and he watched as Blaine's face fell, his smile disappearing completely into a deep frown.

"Oh," Blaine whispered, rubbing the back of his neck and Sebastian opened his mouth to put the poor boy out of his misery but Blaine hadn't seemed to realize and continued on. "Sebastain," he said in a voice so sad, laden down with regret, and it intrigued Sebastian. "Look I didn't think. I really thought you were just using me, you know, finally getting what you wanted. I should have never insinuated that I wasn't responsible as well. I just didn't want to get hurt again so I just acted like it was nothing. You're not nothing and I'm sorry."

There was an odd lump in his throat and it took him a few swallows to realize it was a side effect to the embarrassing fluttering in his stomach. He was melting at this boy's feet and it was unacceptable. Sebastian Smythe did not melt. Except maybe there could be an exception, because he couldn't stand to see that depressing look go back into Blaine's eyes and if he was willing to take a chance that Sebastian might make him happy, then Sebastian would be a fool to pass it up. "No," he repeated, his face softening into a smile as he did. "I meant I don't want to see that movie. Maybe we could pick another one."

"Yeah. I'd like that," Blaine said enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up and Sebastian marveled at the rosy pink blush that began to spread across Blaine's cheeks, disappearing into his hairline. It was just so easy to please him sometimes; he was so excitable and even though Sebastian's sarcasm and blunt remarks were second-nature to him by now, he was willing to bend his normal ways for Blaine. Maybe. Probably.

"God, you're so hot when you blush," Sebastian stated matter-of-factly, which only caused Blane's blush to deepen even more. Blaine muttered something along the lines of "shut up" but Sebastian just took it as his cue to sling his arm around the shorter boy as they walked down the halls that still could have belonged in some layer of hell, but at least the company wasn't so bad.


special thanks to Ashley (aceftepicw) for beta'ing and coming up with the American Idol sing-off competition while I stressed over how to include Mr. Know-It-All in an organic way.

"I'm an insecure, neurotic control freak on crack." - properly translates into please review because I love you.