Chapter One: First Encounters

Freshmen Year- January 6th

Blaine glanced down one more time at his schedule to make sure he was at the right classroom. Yep, this was it- freshmen Spanish, his last class on his first long and dull day at McKinley High. He walked in and scanned the room for an empty seat. With dismay he realized the only available spot was next to a blond boy with a Letterman jacket. Dam, him and jocks didn't have a good history. He sat quietly, wishing he was invisible. The blond boy looked over and gave him a small, friendly smile. Blaine quickly looked straight ahead, suddenly feeling panicky. This happened a lot since he had gotten assaulted- talking or even making eye contact with new people made him paranoid. He was constantly on edge these days, as if around every corner there was a homophobe waiting to teach him a second lesson. In his mind Blaine knew that was ridiculous, but he still couldn't stop his body from wanting to flee every time he was around other people. It was really inconvenient, to say the least.

"Alright everyone!" The teacher-Mr. Schuester, Blaine recalled- yelled from the front of the room. "We have a new student this semester!" he said brightly, gesturing to Blaine. "This is Blaine Anderson. Blaine, why don't you stand up tell us about yourself!" Mr. Schuester smiled.

Oh God, no! Blaine groaned internally. He had been lucky all day until then. The teachers just said his name and moved on, but not this one… Evil man… His anxiety skyrocketed. He felt nauseous and like his throat was closing up. He managed a meek, "Um, I'd really rather not, if that's ok…"

Mr. Schuester gave him an empathetic nod (oh God, did he know?) and said, "Of course. Welcome to the class." He turned to write on the board.

Blaine's whole body felt hot, so he knew he was as red as his bowtie. His heart was racing in his ears. He kept his eyes pointed forward despite some whispers, wishing he could just crawl in a whole, disappear, anything to get out of this room.

Mr. Schuester started the lesson and everyone minded their business again, everyone except for one person. Blaine could feel someone still staring. He glanced up and saw the boy with the Letterman jacket looking over at him with curiosity. Blaine's heart jumped in his throat as he turned back to the teacher. Why was he staring? Did he already suspect Blaine was gay? He had to focus on breathing slowly as he started to panic. What would this guy and his friends do to him, and did it really have to be on his first day, for crying out loud?!

The longest few seconds in the history of time passed before the blue-eyed stranger finally turned to face the front. Blaine sat tensely for the rest of the class, not hearing a word of the lesson but instead focusing on bolting the second he could. Mr. Schuester dismissed them but before Blaine could even attempt his escape, the boy stood up and held out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Sam. Sam Evans," he said with an easy smile.

Blaine froze. He wasn't expecting that, so it took him a couple moments longer than it should have to respond. "Blaine," he said quietly, squeezing Sam's hand quickly and letting go instead of shaking properly.

"So do you like to sing?" Sam asked.

"What?" Blaine exclaimed, taken aback by the pure randomness of the question. Was this a joke? He cleared his throat and answered, "I mean, yeah, I guess…" he shuffled uncomfortably, wanting nothing more than to be away from this new person and go home so then maybe he could breathe normally again.

"You should totally come to glee club!" Sam said excitedly, his blue eyes alight with energy. "Mr. Shue's the director, and we could use another member."

"You would love it, Blaine," Mr. Shue interjected. "And they're a great group of people. It would be a good way to make new friends."

"We're going there now, if you want to come see what it's like," Sam offered kindly.

Blaine felt like he was going to pass out. His irrational fear was getting the best of him. He looked from Sam to Mr. Shue and back, trying to think of a way to say no without being rude. "Um, not today. Maybe another time," he said, and without wasting a beat he was out the door and almost running to the car. He got in the passenger seat and deeply sighed in relief before looking over at his dad, who gave him an apprehensive look and asked hesitantly, "So how was your first day?"

Blaine thought back and realized it actually hadn't been that bad. In fact it had been pretty boring until Sam and Mr. Shue talked to him, and they were being friendly, so it's not like it was a bad thing. "It was actually pretty good," he answered honestly.

"Then why do you look so happy to be leaving?" his dad asked, and Blaine realized he had no answer that didn't make him seem crazy.

"I'm just tired," he lied.

His dad knew better, though. After all, he's seen first-hand how bad it really was- the constant panic attacks and increasing isolation for the last month…

"It will all be okay, son," he said knowingly, giving Blaine a comforting squeeze on his shoulder. Blaine nodded vaguely, hoping he was right.

Yeah, to say he was just a little spooked by the attack at his last school would be a massive understatement.

Xxxxx

January 22nd

Life at McKinley was going smoother than Blaine expected. He had managed to stay off the radar so far. All anyone knew about the new kid Blaine Anderson was that he was extremely shy and kept to himself. The only contact he ever had with another person that he didn't mind was in Spanish class, where every day Sam would turn to him, give him a friendly smile and say, "Hi Blaine!" like they were the best of friends. Blaine even sat by himself in the hallway at lunch and would read in the library when he was done eating. He had no problem with this lifestyle, as unhealthy as he knew it was.

He was on his way to Spanish when he saw Kurt, a boy from history class, get pushed into a locker just a few steps ahead of him. The two bullies walked away like nothing happened. When they were a safe distance away Blaine went to go help Kurt pick up his things, but Sam had already beaten him there.

"Are you alright, dude?" Sam asked as he offered Kurt his hand.

"Yeah, thanks Sam."

"That Karofsky guy just won't let up," Sam said irritably.

"That's ok. He's just a coward," Kurt smiled. "So are you ready to perform in glee today?"

"Yeah. I'm going to sing a One Direction song to Quinn and hopefully make her rethink getting back with Finn."

Kurt laughed and rolled his eyes. "Sam, singing about love triangles in glee never ends well."

"It's worth a shot," Sam said but laughed in agreement. Just then he looked up and noticed Blaine, who was just standing there eavesdropping like a weirdo. "Hey, Blaine, what's up?" Sam said in his usual cheerful manner, as if Blaine wasn't just caught being extremely rude.

"Oh, hi. Not much. I mean, I was just seeing if you were ok, Kurt, but um, never mind I guess," he said awkwardly and attempted to smile before escaping to Spanish. Well that was embarrassing.

Sam followed him and took his usual seat. "So how do you like McKinley so far?" he asked.

"It's good," said Blaine. Wow he sucked at making conversation these days. He looked away nervously, his mind drawing a blank on how to talk like a normal human being.

"I like your notebook," Sam said, nodding to Blaine's X-Men book. "Who's your favorite character?"

"Wolverine," Blaine answered automatically. At least that was an easy one. Sam laughed at his quick reply.

"Yes! I knew you were cool," he said triumphantly.

Blaine couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I like your definition of cool," he said.

"Have you seen the new movie yet?" Sam asked excitedly, practically bouncing in seat.

"No," Blaine said. He couldn't remember the last time he went and saw a movie.

"Oh, bro, you have to see it," he said dramatically. "One of my favorites so far."

"I'll remember that," said Blaine. Mr. Shue called everyone to start the lesson. Sam smiled and looked forward.

Huh, sadly that was the most Blaine had talked since he started at this school, and the surprising thing was that he didn't feel nervous right now. Sam was so friendly and non-threatening that it was easy to talk to him... And he smiled a lot. Blaine liked his smile, it was cute. His hair was cute too. Ok, Blaine would admit it, he thought Sam was all-around attractive, and he was also nice, which made him even more attractive. Blaine felt guilty for assuming he was a bullying jock that first day, when in fact Sam was kind enough to help Kurt, the only out gay guy in school.

Maybe he should check out the glee club. After all, it wouldn't kill him to meet new people. It might make him a fidgety and paranoid mess but it wouldn't kill him. If anyone asked why he joined glee, he would say it was because he was trying to be more involved in school activities, maybe even trying to move on from what happened at his old school, but Blaine unwillingly admitted to himself that it was also because he liked the idea of seeing Sam more. And that was very, very stupid considering Sam was planning on singing a love song to a girl that day.

Well, there was nothing wrong with just admiring from afar, right?

Xxxx

March 17th

"Nice bowtie, fairy," Karofsky guffawed loudly. Azimio laughed right on cue and stepped threateningly towards Blaine. Both boys laughed at the way he flinched and backed right into a locker.

"Aw, he's scared. Go run to your buddy Lady Hummel," Karofsky teased. He and Azimio bumped fists and strutted away.

Blaine's flight response was in overdrive as he hurried to Spanish class. It had started. The school found out he was gay- well really everyone had just assumed because he sat with Kurt at lunch, but he did officially come out to the glee club. And now it was happening again. How long would it be until Blaine had to transfer yet again? How long until something bad happened?

Blaine plopped in his chair, breathless and a little shaky.

"Dude, are you ok?" Sam asked the second he saw him.

"Yeah. It's nothing," he said, trying to sound like he wasn't completely freaking out.

"Did something happen?" Sam asked.

"No, everything's fine," Blaine said, with more attitude than he meant to. He hastily took out his phone and asked Dad to be there right after school. He definitely wasn't going to glee today. After hitting 'send' with a shaky finger Blaine looked up to see Sam studying him, trying to read his mind.

"It was Karofsky, wasn't it?" he guessed correctly.

"I said it's fine. Just leave it alone, ok?" Blaine begged. Sam grimaced as Mr. Shue started class. Blaine focused intently on taking his notes in order to calm down, the minutes dragging by ridiculously slowly.

"Ready?" Sam asked when Mr. Shue finally dismissed them.

"Actually, I'm just going to head straight home today. I have a lot of homework to do." That was a blatant lie. Outside of glee club Blaine had no social life, so he had nothing better to do than get ahead on his studies. Even glee club didn't count for much; he's only sang once and that was at Kurt's insistence. He usually just watched and occasionally played the piano for a number they were doing. He talked just enough not to be considered weird, but kept a safe enough distance so he never fully committed to anyone or anything. He just preferred it that way.

"Regionals are this weekend, man. You should come," Sam said, not unkindly.

"I know the moves well enough," he dodged. It's not like had a solo- he would just be in the background, which was perfectly fine with him, but it's not like he needed any more practice. Blaine glanced at Mr. Shue, who was getting his things together before heading to glee. Now was his chance. "Tell Mr. Shue I'll see everyone tomorrow, ok?" he gave Sam a pleading look. His only goal right now was to go home where he was safe. His stomach was twisting with anxiety.

"Alright," Sam surrendered, but he looked a little concerned.

"Thanks," he mumbled and hurried out of the room. When he got in the car Dad noticed his obvious distress and relief to be going home. He gave Blaine a sympathetic look, knowing it was one of those days. Blaine appreciated that he didn't try to talk to him about it. Unlike Mom, Dad wasn't overbearing and never pressured him to talk about things, and that was something Blaine loved most about him.

When he got home Blaine went straight to his room, as usual, and decided to read a book to distract himself. He was so engrossed in the story- it was about teen superheroes and zombies, naturally- that he didn't hear the doorbell ring. He jumped a little when Dad came in.

"A friend of yours is here to see you," he said. "I wasn't sure if you wanted him to come in."

Blaine looked at him, puzzled. The only person he might consider a friend would be Kurt.

"He said his name was Sam," his dad informed him when Blaine didn't respond.

Sam? What on Earth was he doing at Blaine's house? They didn't know each other that well. Blaine was too shy to say much to him, and he was back with that cheerleader Quinn Fabray, who Blaine really didn't care to be around.

He set down his book and went to the front door, at a complete loss as to why Sam Evans was standing on his front porch.

"Hey, Sam. Uh, what are you doing here?" Blaine asked unsurely.

"I need to talk to you. Can I come in?" he asked politely.

"Sure," Blaine said, gesturing him inside.

Sam walked in and looked around. "Wow, nice house, dude!" he exclaimed. He continued to the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch.

"Thanks. So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Blaine asked nervously as he sat in the recliner. He didn't like doing things outside his comfort zone, and sitting in his living room talking to a guy he found attractive was definitely not included in that. Blaine noticed how muscular Sam's arms were as he ran his hand through his hair. He really tried not to notice things like this, but really, how could someone be so good-looking?

"I think you should sing a song at regionals," Sam stated bluntly.

Well that certainly got Blaine's attention off of his arms. "A solo? No way. Why would you say that?" He laughed at the sheer absurdity of the idea.

"Because it will help you," Sam said, as if that explained everything.

"I'm not following…"

For the first time Sam actually looked a little nervous as he continued: "Well… Ok, look, you were driving me nuts being all mysterious and quiet. I wanted to know what your deal was, so a couple weeks ago I did some digging and I, uh, found out what happened at your old school." He looked down guiltily at the last part.

It felt like Blaine's insides had turned to ice. He did what?! He knew? How humiliating! "How did you…?" Blaine trailed off. He couldn't talk. His brain wasn't functioning- it was full of shocked white noise.

"I convinced Ms. Pillsbury to tell me," Sam answered Blaine's incomplete question. "I'm sorry, but I really think singing about what happened could help. I know that sounds dumb, but you'd be surprised at what music could do."

When Blaine didn't say anything Sam reached into his backpack and thrust some papers at him.

"Cher is one of your favorite artists, right? Look, I'm just asking you to really consider it. Quinn and I would give the opening number to you instead."

Blaine sorted the papers and saw that it was sheet music for one of his all-time favorite Cher songs, 'You Haven't Seen the Last of me.'

"How did you know I liked Cher?" Blaine asked curiously, because he didn't know how to respond to the solo proposal.

"Oh, I heard you and Kurt talking about it in glee club," Sam said dismissively. "Anyway, will you consider it?"

This was insane. Blaine couldn't handle the embarrassment of Sam knowing what happened, or the craziness of this idea, or the way Sam's eyes were looking at him so earnestly and waiting for an answer.

"I'll think about it," he said, though he couldn't imagine actually going through with it. Sam smiled in victory anyway and got up to leave.

"Awesome! You would be great. You just have to sing the song with everything you've got, and, most importantly, you have to believe what you're singing." Sam said in a teacher-like tone.

"And Mr. Shue is ok with this? Which means he knows, too?" Blaine's face went red. He never wanted anyone to know.

"Of course your teachers know why you transferred, but I'm the only student that knows, and I won't tell anybody," Sam promised.

Blaine sighed, suddenly feeling drained. This was too much for one day. "I'll let you know by Thursday, ok?"

"Ok. See you tomorrow, dude," Sam said happily as he gave Blaine a departing pat on his shoulder.

Blaine remained in the rocking chair for quite some time processing what just happened. Sam knew and he wanted to help, but could Blaine possibly sing in front of all those people? What if he costs the New Directions the whole competition? A faint voice in the back of Blaine's head said he should go for it. He did love to sing, and maybe it could help him feel a little better like Sam said. Maybe he wouldn't feel so afraid anymore. If so then is was worth a shot, maybe?

Blaine went up to his room, put the Cher song on his iPod and hooked it up to his speakers. It wouldn't hurt to just test it out…

Xxxxx

March 22nd- Regionals

Everything was still, the atmosphere full of suspense as the host got ready to announce the winners. This was it. This is when Blaine would find out if he ruined it for everyone. He sang his solo as passionately as he could, but the competition was fierce. He did feel better, though. He definitely needed that cathardic release, and right now he was so full of adrenaline and endorphins that he didn't feel scared at all- well, except at the prospect of losing.

He looked up at Sam to see if he was as nervous as him. On the contrary, he looked excited, like they had already won. He leaned in and whispered in Blaine's ear, "We got this, dude. You were amazing!" He gave Blaine a side hug and Blaine couldn't help the tingles he got when Sam was so close to him.

"And the winner of the Annual Lima Regional Show Choir Competition is…"

Everyone stopped breathing. Sam squeezed Blaine harder in anticipation.

"From McKinley High School, the Neeww Directiioonnns!" the host roared, and suddenly the auditorium was full of noise. Blaine clapped and jumped, utterly relieved. Everyone started hugging each other, and Blaine was so ecstatic that for the first time in a long time, he let himself go and enjoyed being around these people, enjoyed the feeling of comradery and victory. He hugged Sam with a huge smile on his face and when he pulled back he saw his joy reflected in Sam's features.

"You did it!" Sam yelled over the overwhelming noise.

Blaine looked up at him through the falling confetti, feeling very grateful that Sam made him do this. He gave him another hug and yelled, "Thank you!"

Sam understood what he meant and smiled wider. He then screamed loudly in celebration, making Blaine laugh, and continued his round of hugs.

Blaine's stomach was full of butterflies. He felt elated, like he was floating, and later he realized that he wasn't just happy about winning, but also that his crush on Sam had grown a little bigger. He hadn't intended that to happen, but he would just have to ignore it. It would pass soon, and Blaine felt like him and Sam were actually friends now, so he didn't want anything to mess that up.