As usual,
THEMoDePo: OMG, thank you so much! I was a bit insecure because it looked so silly, but I'm so glad it was so well-received! Come on, of course Blaine instantly fell for Sam! This is me, remember? ;) Thank you so much!
Darrinia: Well, here there's more, your wish is my command! Thank you so much, preciosa! Besos!
Mildlifecrissis: Yes, poor Blaine is kind of shy in this one, but he has reasons for it, just wait ;) If you can't wait for the drama... Just wait! You're going to get lots of it! :) Yeah, that Lancelot thing is because as I said on tumblr, I'm rewriting an old fic from another fandom for this one, and the name just escaped... I've fixed it now, hope it won't happen again :) Thank you so much!
Joely P: And lots of drama you'll get! :) Thank you so much!
CHAPTER 2
Sam was brought back to reality from his day-dreaming by a playful nudge to his ribs by the person who was sitting next to him: lovely Blaine –how pathetic it was of him to think of the word lovely whenever Blaine came to his mind, which was quite often?
"Welcome back" Blaine whispered jokingly, and Sam could only smile at him. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes. I just got distracted for a second" he answered, reassuringly. What was he supposed to say, that he had been thinking about him all the time? No way.
Sam looked at his other side, to see Sebastian looking back at him and not looking the most happy he could be. Sam knew he was trying hard to approach Blaine, had been doing it for the whole week, but the latter was not making it very easy for him. It's true the Blaine was not being rude or downright evasive –he was still perfect and charming every minute of the day–, he just… wasn't reacting to Sebastian's low-key flirting as the taller boy would have expected. If he did it consciously or it was just chance, Sam didn't honestly know. But the truth was that, somehow, Blaine always ended up next to Sam, instead of Sebastian.
That same morning, for instance, Sam had been the first one to arrive to class, surprisingly enough, and had sat in one of the chairs closer to the window. When Blaine had arrived next, he had just sat at his side, so when Sebastian arrived, it had been impossible for him to sit next to Blaine. Sam had received quite a killer look from his best friend, but it hadn't been his fault! It's not like he had arrived earlier than usual on purpose to sit on the second to last seat on the row, knowing that Blaine usually arrived pretty soon and would pick the seat nearer to the window, was it?
"Are you daydreaming again?" a sweet voice whispered dangerously close to his ear, sending shivers all along his body. "You've not written a word for ages"
"I'll try to concentrate" Sam answered with a nervous smile.
"Don't worry, I'll let you copy my notes" Blaine offered sweetly, sliding his notebook nearer to Sam so he could take a look at it. And even as he smiled gratefully at Blaine, he could feel Sebastian's look at the back of his neck. Boy, that year was going to get difficult.
"Hey, Blaine, do you want to be a part of our research group in history?" Sebastian offered kindly at the end of the day, as they were moving out of the classroom. "The four of us always work together, but the teacher said we could do a group of five, so we wouldn't mind for you to join us. Right, boys?"
"We surely wouldn't" Sam answered a little too willingly, eliciting a shy smile from Blaine.
"Well, if you guys really don't mind, it would be great" Blaine answered gratefully. "I still don't know anybody around here and it would be difficult to find someone to work with"
"We should warn you we are not the most clever or hardworking people around here, though" Puck told him, only half joking, making Blaine chuckle.
"Hey!" Mike mockingly protested. "Speak for yourself! I'm brilliant!"
"I'm not that bad either!" Sebastian intervened with a chuckle.
"Well, I am, I'm not going to deny it" Sam confessed, once again bringing a smile to Blaine's face at his raw honesty.
"Come on, you can't be that bad" Blaine told him, nudging him playfully, spreading a warmth across Sam's chest that little had to do with Blaine's compliment about his studying skills. "Although the lack of concentration I saw in you before doesn't help any, I'm sure"
"Believe me, I am" Sam responded, nodding pitifully.
"Believe me, he is" Puck added, jokingly.
"Well, thank you!" Sam told him, playfully punching him in the arm.
"You're welcome. I know what I'm talking about, I am as much of a disaster as you are"
"Yes, that's true" Sam answered, chuckling.
"I could help you" Blaine offered Sam immediately. "What's the subject you have more problems with?"
"You pick" Sam answered, honestly.
"Well, it doesn't matter, I can help a little with everything. I've always got good marks" Blaine suggested, and Sam fell for him just a bit more when he noticed the lack of arrogance in his words; he really only wanted to help.
"Wouldn't you mind?" Sam couldn't believe his luck: he was going to get some much-needed help with his studies, and on top of that he was getting to spend more time with Blaine, without him being disloyal to Sebastian. "I could really use some help"
"Of course I don't mind, it was me who suggested it, wasn't it?" Blaine responded, chuckling.
"Am I included in that offer?" Puck intervened, sensing something going between those two.
"Of course" Blaine responded jovially, trying not to show how disappointed he was that it was not going to be only Sam and him.
"Please, I'm joking" Puck was quick to deny. "The last thing I need is to spend more time with my head stuck in books, it's bad enough having to stay here all day"
"It wouldn't hurt you to do something to improve your grades, you know" Mike intervened, obviously wanting the best for his best friend.
"It wouldn't hurt me, you say? It surely would! I would go crazy!"
"As if you weren't already..." Mike mumbled, getting a cuff on his head from Puck for good measure. "Hey!"
"When do you want us to get started?" Blaine asked Sam.
"Already? It's only the first week of the year" Sebastian intervened, not that comfortable with the idea of Blaine getting busy with someone who was not him, as that would leave him less time and chances to woo him.
"Well, the sooner the better, isn't it?" Blaine answered at Sebastian, though looking at Sam to guess his opinion in the matter. "What's the use in postponing it, when you can be up to date from the beginning? What do you think, Sam?"
"Emmm..." Sam hesitated between his desire to begin spending so much time with Blaine and the guiltiness at the gaze he was receiving from Sebastian. At last, desire won. "Yeah, sure, as soon as possible makes more sense"
"Ok, so I'll see you at the library tomorrow after school, is that alright?"
"Yes, that's great"
"Ok, then. I'll see you guys tomorrow" Blaine said with one of those sweet smiles that made Sam's knees go weak, before waving his hand at them and turning to go.
"Wait!" Sebastian practically shouted at his retreating back, making Blaine turn around in an instant.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing! It's just that we were planning to go to this bar after class to have a drink, play a little pool... We do it every now and then. Would you like to join us?"
Blaine looked at his watch nervously, and the others could tell he was trying to make a decision.
"Come on" Sebastian insisted. "It's not like you're going to start studying today, is it?"
Blaine smiled politely at Sebastian's attempt of humor and then relented.
"Okay. But just for a while"
"Fair enough" Sebastian answered, putting his arm around Blaine and directing him through the exit door as the others followed them.
Was it just his imagination, Sam thought, or Blaine's smile faltered a bit because he was not entirely comfortable with Sebastian's impulsive gesture?
"Okay, guys, what do you want to drink?" Mike asked, offering to bring the drinks to the table. "Coke for everyone, like always?"
Everybody nodded, except for Blaine.
"Nothing for me, thanks" he shyly answered.
"Are you sure?" Mike insisted.
"Yes, I don't want anything" Blaine responded with a polite smile.
"Ok, then, four cokes. Would someone be as kind as to help me bring them?" Mike asked jokingly.
"I'll help you, Mikey" Puck offered. "And then we can play some pool. I owe you a rematch"
"You owe me? It was me who won the last time!" Mike mockingly protested.
"Was it? My memory is not that good, you know that. Especially if it's about something I don't want to remember" Puck joked back, as they moved away from the table.
After a couple of minutes, Mike and Puck left Sam and Sebastian's drinks on the table and went to the pool area, as they had agreed on. That left the other three boys at the table, something which was not entirely appealing to Sebastian.
"Sam, didn't you tell me you wanted to play today?" Sebastian told him pointedly, wanting Sam to disappear to be alone with Blaine.
"Did I?" Sam asked, pretending not to understand what Sebastian was meaning.
"Yes, back in class, remember?" Sebastian insisted.
"Oh yes, yes I did" Sam finally relented, knowing he couldn't pretend anymore. "But Puck and Mike have already started a game, I can't play on my own, can I?"
"I'll play with you" Blaine immediately offered, and Sam had to suppress a smile at such a turn of events.
"I'm sure there's no need for that" Sebastian intervened, trying everything he could to avoid Blaine's leaving the table, even if that meant keeping Sam there too. "Sam can wait for Puck and Mike to finish their game"
"Oh, it's no trouble at all, I love pool. Shall we, Sammy?" Blaine asked him kindly, all smiles again, and Sam's heart melted when Blaine shortened his name in such a sweet way. No nature force would have been able to stop him from standing up and following Blaine to the pool table –or anywhere he went.
"Sammy?" Sebastian asked him, grabbing his sleeve to stop him, when Blaine was already out of earshot.
Sam loved Sebastian, he was his best friend and everything, but he couldn't help but to feel kind of resentful towards him from having taking the chance from him to discover if maybe he could have some kind of future with Blaine. So he again had to suppress a devil smirk at the fact that Blaine, once again, had preferred him over Sebastian. Maybe he couldn't have anything with Blaine –he would never do that to Sebastian–, but nobody could stop him from enjoying what felt like small victories. So he just shrugged his shoulders, feigning both confusion and guiltiness, and followed Blaine to the pool table.
The expression Sebastian's face was wearing was not very friendly when Mike and Puck came back to the table to have a drink and rest for a bit after a while.
"If looks could kill" Puck commented, as he and Mike sat each side of Sebastian.
"What's wrong with you?" Mike asked, caring as always.
"Isn't it obvious?" Sebastian answered, annoyance evident in his voice.
"Is this about Blaine? Things not working out as you had planned?" Puck asked kind of sarcastically.
"No, they sure aren't. Otherwise he would be sitting here with me, not playing pool with Sam"
"That doesn't mean anything. Give him some time to know you. Maybe he was really in the mood for some pool" Mike tried to cheer him up.
"It doesn't matter what I do or say, I just seem to push him away from me... and into Sam's arms" he only mumbled the last part to himself, not wanting to sound ridiculously jealous.
"Poor Sebastian, the new boy hasn't fallen head over heels for him" Puck said sarcastically.
"You don't have to be so pleased about it" Sebastian responded, slightly annoyed.
"It's not that I'm pleased about your failures" Puck explained.
"Thank you" Sebastian sarcastically responded, judgingly raising his eyebrows at Puck's choice of words.
"You know what I mean. But I think it can be good for you, every now and then you need to be brought down a peg or two when it comes to... how do you call it? Boy hunting?" Puck reprimanded him, as they all thought Sebastian sometimes was too frivolous about his conquests.
"If you think a little setback is going to change my plans... Blaine will swallow the bait sooner or later, as they all do. He's too pretty for me to give up on him" Sebastian explained with a confident look that elicited slightly frustrated sighs in both his friends.
Meanwhile, Blaine and Sam were having a great time at the pool area. None of them gave a damn about who would win, but both pretended to care for the sake of the game –and not to give away too much of their feelings.
"You suck at this!" Sam joked, after a particularly big fail of his opponent.
"Please, don't try to cushion the blow!" Blaine joked back with a wholehearted laugh that deeply warmed Sam's chest.
"I'm just worried. If you're that bad in everything you do, maybe I shouldn't trust to with my studies"
"Hey, with that I'm good!"
"You said that about pool too"
"No, I didn't!" Blaine responded with mock indignation.
"You're right, you didn't. I'll have to trust your word, then" Sam responded in a way he hoped didn't sound too much like flirting.
"You should" Blaine answered, pretending to be offended, but his face was decorated with that million-dollars-smile of his again a second later.
"Hey, are you sure you don't want anything to drink?"
"Emm... no, thanks"
"Don't take this the wrong way, but... is it about money?" Sam asked, hesitantly.
"How do you know?" Blaine replied before he could stop himself, realizing a bit too late that he had confirmed Sam's suspicions.
"Well, it's happened to me too!" Sam said with an understanding smile, wanting for Blaine to know it was nothing to be ashamed of. "Those guys are great, but they don't always understand what it is to be broke all the time"
"I'm glad you understand. Sometimes it's a little embarrassing" Blaine confessed with a little smile.
"I know. I would love to buy you something, but I don't really have any more money" Sam told him regretfully.
"I wouldn't..." Blaine started, but Sam wouldn't even let him finish the sentence.
"But we will share mine. Do you like coke?" Sam kindly offered.
"No, please, it's okay" Blaine shyly refused, but Sam was having none of that.
"I asked you if you liked coke, I don't remember asking for your opinion" Sam joked as he stretched his arm in front of Blaine to hand him his can, eliciting a wide and fond smile on Blaine's lips.
"Thank you" he told him gratefully.
"Us poor people have to stick together, don't we?"
Blaine chuckled again after taking a sip and returned the can to Sam, making sure their fingers came into contact. Sam's eyes immediately turned to Blaine's, trying to find out what was in Blaine's mind and if he had done that on purpose. But all coherent thought left his own mind when their gazes met, and the only thing he could do was to smile goofily at Blaine.
"It's my turn" he said, his eyes never leaving those of the lovely person standing in front of him.
"To what?" Blaine asked distractedly, his gaze lost in the green depths of Sam's eyes.
"To pool" Sam answered, and Blaine blinked a few times in an attempt of breaking the spell that had them so absorbed in each other.
"Of course. Come on, it's your turn to screw it up so I can win" Blaine joked as he moved a bit away from Sam, feigning giving him some room to play –to which Sam could only feel disappointed at not having him that near anymore.
Back on the table, the other three boys –especially Sebastian– were quite busy observing Blaine and Sam. Although they couldn't hear what was being said, not a gesture between the two boys went by without the other three being avid witnesses to it.
"Is it me or Sam is getting on too well with Blaine?" Sebastian commented after the can intercourse.
"Oh come on, Seb, Sam is just being nice. It's hard to be the new one, he just wants to help" Mike defended Sam, hoping he would be right in the end.
"Well, he's supposed to be the shy one, isn't he? It doesn't seem to me as he has been having problems talking to Blaine"
"Where is this going, Seb? Are you jealous?" Puck asked, as he had never been the one to beat about the bush. "Do you think Sam would betray you like that, and right under your nose? Give him some credit, man, he's your best friend!"
"I know you're right. It's just... He's keeping Blaine away from me, and I need him nearer than that if I want something with him" Sebastian explained.
"Seb, you're a good person and I love you and everything, but I can't stand you when it comes to your 'love life', really" Mike confessed, needing for Sebastian to know he didn't approve of his ways with boys. "Though I'm guessing love is the last thing on your mind right now"
Sebastian's only response was to smile wickedly, to which both Mike and Puck exchanged knowing looks.
"I hope you will treat him with respect, at least, I'm starting to like him and I think he could be a good friend" Mike added, not wanting to see Blaine getting hurt because of Sebastian's shallow attentions.
"Hey, I don't intend to be mean to him or to send him away after we've had our thing! He can stay if he wants, I like him too" Sebastian answered.
"Ok, I hope you stay true to your word and I don't have to regret helping you" Puck offered. "See how he's continually moving his body to the beat of the background music? I bet he loves music. Or dancing. Or both of them. Do you know what you should do? Invite him to the club with us on Saturday. I'm sure he'll be delighted to come. After all, he doesn't have any friends here, right? I bet he's dying to find something to do at the weekend"
"Hey, I think it's a great idea. Turns out you're not completely useless" Sebastian joked, eliciting a smile from both his friends.
"I knew you would notice sooner or later" Puck answered sarcastically.
Sam and Blaine chose that moment to finish their game and came back to the table, both of them too smiley and happy-looking for Sebastian's taste –because yes, he loved Blaine's smile, but he wanted to be the one to elicit it–. And Blaine was about to sit down when something came to his mind.
"What time is it?" Blaine asked all of a sudden.
"It's past 5:30" Mike answered, looking at his watch.
"What?" Blaine asked while his face visibly paled –something that didn't go unnoticed to any of the other boys–. "I've got to go" he said, very quickly putting on his jacket and turning to the door. "See you tomorrow, guys, thanks for everything"
"Wait, Blaine!" Sebastian stopped him. "Don't leave like this! We can all go and accompany each other home, like we always do"
"No, thank you, Sebastian, but I must leave now. See you" he hurriedly answered, already halfway to the door, not leaving them time to react.
"That boy sure is... strange" Sebastian commented once Blaine had disappeared, and Sam somehow didn't like it one bit.
"Why, because he's in a hurry? It can happen to the best of us, you know" Sam sarcastically replied, suddenly feeling very protective of the curly-haired guy.
"I know, but it's not just that" Sebastian answered, not noticing Sam's irritated tone. "He seems to have some issues, doesn't he? I mean, he never talks about himself, and it's like he's always nervous or uncomfortable"
Sam had noticed that too. Apart from his immediate warmth and his friendly way in everything he said and did, which were kind of obvious, there was some hidden mistrust and vulnerability that made him build a protecting wall around himself, which apparently only Sam could climb to see what was on the other side, but only to a certain point. Sam realized that after a whole week, in which Blaine had practically become a part of their gang, he didn't know anything about his life. Only that he didn't have a lot of money, that he had been in Lima for less than two months and that something about being late coming back home had really scared him.
Yes, he knew all that and he realized that Blaine was probably more complicated than most boys their age. But that didn't mean he had to like Sebastian referring to him as 'strange'. What the hell did he know?
"Should we get going?" Sam offered, a little too unfriendly, just so he didn't have to keep talking about Blaine with someone so quick to judge without having seen the whole picture.
"Yes, let's get going, it's pretty late, actually" Mike agreed with him, following him to the door, and finally the other two just had to oblige.
Sam was getting ready to get into bed that night, but he found he could not stop thinking about Blaine. The way he had left and the expression on his face had left him worried. If only there was a way to know he was okay... Wait a minute, of course there was! They had exchanged their mobile phones that same day, while playing pool –Blaine had asked for his with the excuse of having a way to get to him if he couldn't make it to the library or something. He could text him! How he had not thought about it before?
He hesitated for a minute, though. Would that be interfering in Sebastian's ground? To be honest, it was not the most common thing to start texting your best friend's love interest, or whatever Blaine was to Sebastian. But Sam was not really looking to make advances in Blaine right now: he was only worried about him. He honestly only wanted to know he was okay. He was allowed to be his friend, right? Of course he had the right to do it. Just better not to say anything to Sebastian, though, in case he didn't agree with his reasoning.
He sat on his bed and picked up his phone to start writing. Hey, dude, he started, trying to be nice without looking too fond. You left in such a hurry that I needed to check you were okay, he went on. No, way too intense for a week-long friend. He erased the sentence and tried again: You left in such a hurry that I was wondering if everything's alright. Much better, friendly but not so obvious. And now he needed something to end the message, a change of subject to make it look like his worrying was not the only reason he had written him. Does your offer to help me after class still stands? See you tomorrow, mate. Yes, that was great. Just so Blaine would see he cared about him but nothing too intimate. Just a friend worrying about him. But not too much. Or was it...? He would better send it now, before he started regretting it.
Only a couple of minutes had passed when he received the much-expected answer. He clumsily picked up the phone from the night stand and opened the inbox, his heart beating faster when he confirmed the new message was Blaine's.
Everything's good, man, thanks for asking. Of course the offer still stands, I'll see you at the library after class tomorrow, ok? Thanks.
A goofy smile broke in Sam's lips at reading the message, for different reasons. The most important was that Blaine was alright, of course. The second one, he still got to study with him the next day, something that really made him very happy because he was going to be spending some time with him on their own. And the third one was that he knew his worry for Blaine had really touched him. He had thanked him. Twice. In one message. That had to mean something.
As he left his phone on the nightstand again and hid his arms under the covers against the cold temperature, he realized he should not be feeling this happy about everything that had to do with Blaine. After all, nothing could happen between them, he was out of limits for him; Sebastian had made that perfectly clear.
But that night he didn't care –he would worry about that the next day, if anything–. That night he went to sleep with a smile on his face and his heart filled with the warmth of a particular golden-eyed boy that had entered his life only a week ago. And who seemed very keen on turning it upside-down.