The whole next week seemed to pass by pretty quickly. Luckily Kurt seemed to be pretty busy so Sam was not asked to hang out with him. This of course gave him plenty of more free time to spend time with Blaine. Sam loved getting to know Blaine more. They had a lot in common and never seemed to run out of things to talk about. Blaine never brought up Sam's parents again after the night in the park.

Sam still had to deal with Sebastian though, which was getting a little old. It got even worse when he showed up at Sam's apartment Wednesday afternoon, just because he wanted some alone time. Sebastian was always true to his word though, never pushing Sam further than he was comfortable. Sam was really starting to wonder though if this was even worth it. He would rather Blaine just know, instead of having to endure about an hour of 'alone time' with Sebastian, which was not the most fun in the world.

When Friday came though, Sam got an unexpected visitor. All in all a good thing, considering his day had not started off the best. By the end of the day though he was wishing Friday had never happened.

It all started when Sam walked into his office that morning before the school day started. To his surprise Sebastian was there already waiting for him.

"Oh my god." Sam groaned, setting his work back down and taking off his jacket. "Did you not get laid last night or something? Why are you here this early?"

Sebastian laughed, shrugging. "Actually I did. No, I'm here just to let you know that I don't feel like doing this anymore."

"What?" Sam was confused. "Wait...as in, I don't have to be your make out buddy anymore? I'm all for that, but the whole reason this came about was because of your whole blackmail thing. So does that mean you're going to tell Blaine about my dinner date with Kurt?"

"Yes, you're free from being my make out buddy." Sebastian grinned. "And no, I'm not going to tell Blaine anything."

Well, that was good at least. "I'm definitely not going to complain...but can I ask why?"

"You're kind of boring." The soccer coach replied. He laughed at Sam's surprised look. "Sorry, but I can't be satisfied with plain old making out forever. I'm not going to make you do things you don't want to, I'm not that much of a jerk, so I'm just done."

"I suppose I can handle being called boring, since my excuse is just my inexperience and morals." Sam shrugged, trying not to let Sebastian see that he was a bit more offended by that than he was letting on. He knew he was probably more boring in the intimacy department, but it was only because he was inexperienced and somewhat shy about things.

Sebastian grinned. "Eh, don't worry. Maybe you'll get lucky and find someone else. There's always Hummel."

"No. No, no, no." Sam shook his head. "Why would you even suggest that? I'm sure I'll find someone eventually...just not him."

"Alrighty then." Sebastian laughed. "Don't fret, handsome. Well, I'm off then, but before I go, how about a goodbye kiss? You may be inexperienced with everything else, but you were a damn good kisser."

Before Sam could protest, Sebastian pulled him close and kissed him. Unfortunately that was when his morning really went bad.

A split second later there was the sound of a throat clearing behind them and Sam panicked, shoving Sebastian away from him as his gaze whipped towards the doorway...which Sebastian had left open.

"Oh my god- Blaine, this isn't-"

Blaine was standing in the doorway, a rather distraught look upon his face. "I'm not blind, Sam. I can clearly see what that was. Sorry to interrupt."

Sam's face was on fire as he stood, frozen on spot. Sebastian merely looked amused. As Blaine turned to walk away Sam called out for him to wait, but then Blaine was gone. "Damn it." Sam swore, glaring at Sebastian who was laughing. "And why the hell are you laughing? I suppose you think this is real funny and all."

"Oh, I do." Sebastian replied, nodding.

"Yeah, well I don't!" Sam shouted at him. "You're not the one who's been- been...fuck. I can't believe this." He sunk down onto one of the office chairs, hiding his face in his hands. All he had wanted was for Blaine to maybe like him some day, but it was not going to happen now. He just knew it.

"Aww," Sebastian cooed, a smirk on his face, "you like him, don't you? I'll let you in on a little secret, gorgeous. He's absolutely smitten with you."

Sam's face flew up, a disbelieving look upon it. "What?"

"Has been since day one, I'd bet." Sebastian continued. "Of course, after what happened with Hummel, it doesn't surprise me that he'd be a bit overly cautious when it comes to being involved with anyone."

"I don't know whether to believe you or not..." Sam mumbled. Of course he wished it was true, but at the same time...Sebastian was not always that believable.

"Well, you should." Sebastian smirked, heading for the doorway. "I have to get going, but if I were you I'd do damage control as soon as possible, gorgeous. Blaine's pretty fragile right now, no matter how hard he tries not to be, and I can only imagine this may have upset him more than he'd like." And with that he was out the door, leaving Sam alone by himself.

"Yeah, well, it's not all my fault..." Sam muttered angrily, his face red as it fell back into his hands, "you kissed me, not the other way around, and you left the damn door open." In a way though, he was glad it was just Blaine who had walked in on them. Goodness knows what could have happened if it was a student.

Blaine made it back to his office, shutting the door behind him with more force than was necessary, before he could not make it anymore. A choked sob escaped him and he rubbed the palms of his hands over his closed eyes in frustration.

How could he have not seen that coming? After all, hadn't Sebastian said that he was going to make sure he got with Sam first? Sure just seeing them kiss did not mean they were actually sleeping together, but this was Sebastian. Even if they had not yet, it would not take long until they did.

It should not hurt as much as it was. Blaine had promised himself he would not let himself get hurt again. Once was bad enough. He knew he was opening himself up to the probability when he gave himself permission to develop feelings for Sam, but now he was dealing with the consequences.

It was a little odd though, because hadn't Sebastian told him the other week that Sam was already in a relationship? If so...well, then they really should not be kissing in the first place. Maybe it was better for Blaine not to get involved with Sam, if the other man did things like this. Just like...

Sadness overtook Blaine as he lifted his head from his hands and looked across the room to the pictures he had hanging up on the wall. He loved the picture of him on the bus with the New Directions group. It was taken after they returned home from Nationals Blaine's junior year, after having reached the airport and were making their way back to McKinley. They were in their performance attire, because they were going to perform their stellar winning performance for parents and other family who were waiting to pick them up. Blaine was sitting on the bus, squished in between Quinn and Kurt. Everyone looked so happy in the picture. Blaine remembers being extremely happy. They had won Nationals, he was with some of his best friends, and he had the most amazing boyfriend in the world. Everything was perfect.

He had hoped things would stay that way, but, of course, they had not. Kurt had gone off to New York and Blaine had semi-patiently waited until the day he finally graduated high school as well, so he could finally leave Ohio and join Kurt there. They were happy together; they really were. Everyone had expected them to be the high school sweethearts that stayed together forever, and, honestly, Blaine had expected that too. Unfortunately life had other plans.

After what happened...Blaine just did not feel like being in New York anymore. Plus he wanted a better teaching job and was slightly homesick. So when his mother informed him about the teaching position open at Dalton...Blaine was relieved to take it. He got away from Kurt, he got away from the terrible memories he was surrounded by, and he just got away from everything to hopefully start again.

Now Blaine just did not know what to do. He was upset and hurt, and angry with himself. He needed to make it through the day so he could go home and just hide away from everyone. Not the healthiest thing to do, but for now it was what he wanted.

Sam tried to find ways to talk to Blaine the rest of the school day, but it was not until after the last class ended, as he was walking down to the lobby, that he finally got a chance. He spotted the shorter man making his way towards the front doors, looking rather miserable.

"Blaine!" Sam quickly caught up with him. He tentatively reached out to take a light hold of Blaine's sleeve. "Please wait."

"I'm sorry, Sam...I really should be going." Blaine bit his lip, his gaze drifting back to the front doors.

"No, please...Blaine, I just want to explain." Sam begged. "Please?'

Blaine shifted slightly, an uncomfortable look upon his face. "I don't- I've heard too many excuses before, Sam. I know how these things work. I'm not letting myself get hurt again like that. What you and Sebastian do together has nothing to do with me, so...it's fine, really. I don't care. You don't have to explain yourself to me. Though you might want to figure out what you're going to say to your boyfriend, because cheating is a terrible thing to do."

"My what?" Sam exclaimed. He was confused. He had never mentioned to Blaine that he was seeing anyone, not that there was anyone to begin with, but at the same time he had not said anything to suggest otherwise either. And he was starting to have a sneaking suspicion that he knew what happened between Kurt and Blaine. Why was Blaine worried about being hurt again though? Had Sebastian really been telling the truth when he said Blaine was interested in him? "Look, Blaine-"

"SAMMY! Sammy, Sammy, Sammy!" Sam's eyes widened when he recognized the voice that was suddenly calling out to him. Before he could turn around though, he was practically tackled from behind, long arms flinging around his waist to hug him tightly. "Hellooo, beautiful! Long time no see, and I am so gonna kiss you now because I have missed you!"

"Oh my god-" Sam gaped as he old roommate planted a rather sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"Yes, I know, you've missed me too, lovely." Jackson laughed, turning his gaze towards Blaine, still keeping his arms tight around Sam's waist. "And who is this gorgeous fellow? Are you cheating on me with him, Sammy? No can do, doll," he waggled his finger at Blaine, "this one's all mine."

Sam wanted to just smack his head against the wall a few times at Jackson's terrible timing and poor choice of words. He could hardly blame his friend though, considering he had no idea what was going on. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting you, of course!" Jackson replied before pouting at him. "Why? Didn't you miss me?"

"Of course I've missed you." Sam told him, trying to pry his arms away. "I just wasn't expecting you to randomly show up."

"Well, I did intend for my visit to be a surprise, so I win!" Jackson grinned. "I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation though. Anyone hungry? We could go out to eat; I am starving."

"You're always starving." Sam rolled his eyes. "Maybe you could wait outside for a minute...I really needed to finish this conversation-"

"No, it's alright." Blaine interrupted. "I wouldn't want to intrude on your personal time. He's obviously made time to spend with you, you should go hang out or whatever." He gave Sam a pointed look.

Sam almost gaped at Blaine. Did Blaine seriously think Jackson was his boyfriend? "It's alright, Blaine. Honestly, it'll only be a minute or two."

Blaine shook his head, giving them a weak smile. "No, Sam. Don't worry about it. Like I said, it has nothing to do with me. Go have fun, be safe, and don't do anything I wouldn't do. I have to head home. Bye. Nice meeting you." He nodded at Jackson before leaving.

"Damn it." Sam groaned, smacking himself on the forehead.

Jackson took one look at him and then laughed. "Okay, love, spill. You seem mightily stressed about something involving Mr. Gorgeous Curls."

"His name's Blaine." Sam corrected, allowing Jackson to link arms with him as they walked out of the building.

"And?" Jackson grinned.

Sam groaned again, his face turning rather pinkish. "Okay, okay. I like him, a lot."

"Oh, thank goodness!" His old roommate practically squealed. "I've been waiting for ages for you to finally crush on someone. I mean, you could have had me and all, but sadly I am now no longer within your reach, for I have found me a darling little thing who is absolutely perfect."

"You have?" Sam smiled, happy for his friend. "You should tell me about him."

"I will!" Jackson replied. "But not until you've told me what's going on. I mean, you don't just crush on anyone, Sammy. I know you. You like to get to know someone first and they have to be just right. Blainers must be really special."

Sam sighed, running a hand through his soft brown hair. "He is. I just...well, it's a bit of a story. Where are you staying while you're here?"

"Well, I only got in today. I was planning on finding a motel or something." Jackson shrugged. "You know I don't plan in advance." They both laughed at that. "I have enough free time that I can stay until Sunday. It's not much, I know, but you know how my schedule normally is, what with being in the studio and all."

"I know." Sam frowned. "They work you to the bone in that place. You deserve some more time off."

"It is sad, isn't?" Jackson pouted, draping himself against Sam sadly. "We'll make the most of the time we have together, okay?"

"Alright." Sam nodded. "But you're staying at my place. I have a guest room so there's no point in you staying anywhere else."

"Ah! Thank you!" Jackson grinned. "I don't think there's any need for the guest room though, if you know what I mean." He winked, laughing.

"Jackie!" Sam exclaimed, smacking Jackson's arm. "You have a boyfriend, mister!"

"Eww! I hate that nickname." Jackson pouted.

Back at Sam's apartment they got settled in and Jackson started helping with dinner. To Sam it felt just like back when they were in New York together, sharing the same place and always cooking together. They both enjoyed cooking so it was never really a chore they split up.

Jackson brought up the subject about Blaine again and so Sam told him everything. He told him about the day he first met Blaine, the pictures in Blaine's office, the teachers' party where he met Sebastian, going out for coffee with Blaine repetitively, meeting Kurt, Quinn, and Puck at the Lima Bean, the dinner date with Kurt, and the blackmailing with Sebastian. Then he told him about what had happened this morning.

"And apparently, for some reason, he thinks I have a boyfriend. So now he must think I'm a cheater, because he caught Sebastian kissing me in my office." Sam explained. "I was trying to explain things to him when you showed up."

"Oh god, Sammy..." Jackson face palmed. "And then I went and said the things I did!"

Sam nodded, sighing. "Yeah. So now he probably thinks you're my boyfriend, who I'm cheating on."

"So you were cheating on me!" Jackson laughed. "Just not with Blainers."

"I just...I don't know what to do." Sam groaned. "I want to tell him what was really going on, but then I'll have to tell him about the dinner I had with Kurt. I don't think I can do that just yet, and what if it just hurts him even more? I mean, neither Blaine nor Kurt are aware of the fact that I know they dated, so I could always just lie and say I had no idea either...but I don't want to lie to Blaine. I really like him, like...really, really like him. I didn't even think it was possible to like someone this much after only knowing them for such a short length of time. It's like...sometimes when we're getting coffee and just sitting and talking, I can't breathe when we're so close to one another. It makes my heart hurt. I just don't know..."

"Aww, Sammy!" Jackson cooed. "You're so cute! You're in loveee!"

"What?" Sam gaped. "No, I'm not! It's just a crush...or whatever."

"Sure, sure." His old roommate laughed. "Look, I'm not really sure how to handle the whole Kurt and Blaine situation, but for now you should definitely just try to get him to understand what was going on. You don't even have to explain why this Sebastian the crab fellow was blackmailing you. Just say it's nothing really important and that he's decided to give it up, so you two are through with it all. Maybe it would help to get Sebastian to talk to Blaine as well. After that...well, definitely tell him you and I aren't dating, because otherwise he'll probably continue believing that."

"And we don't want that." Sam laughed. "I seriously love your penchant for nicknaming people. Sebastian's not very...crab-like though. Honestly his face sort of speaks 'meerkat' to me..."

"Oh my god!" Jackson burst out laughing. "I have got to see this guy. I like those little animals."

Sam tried contacting Blaine over the course of the weekend, but he never got a reply. It was frustrating. How could he explain himself to Blaine if Blaine refused to communicate with him? Jackson reassured him and told him to not give up. So Sam figured if the weekend did not work then he would just try during the week.

Saturday afternoon Sam got a text from Kurt. Kurt apologized for being so vacant the entire week. He wanted to know if Sam wanted to hang out. Jackson immediately told him to say no; one, because he was there, of course; and two, because it just was not a good idea, considering the situation. Sam had to agree so he replied with an apologetic no, because he had a visitor that weekend and was unavailable. Kurt made him promise to hang out later in the week. Sam gave in, despite Jackson's protests against it, because he just felt bad and could not say no.

Sadly, Sunday came way too early for Sam's liking. He was going to miss Jackson a lot. Jackson did not want to go either, but he really had no choice. He promised Sam that he would say hi to his boyfriend, Chris, for him, because, after hearing so much about the guy, Sam had approved of him for Jackson and had told him to bring Chris along next time.

"Before I go...I wanted to make sure that you try calling Blaine one more time."

"Wait, what?" Sam asked, a confused look upon his face.

"Just...see if he'll meet you or something so you can talk things out to him." Jackson explained. "Try! Do it, do it, do it!" He poked Sam in the side, cackling as Sam squirmed away.

"Alright! I will, sheesh!" Sam laughed, going to pick up the phone. He really doubted that Blaine would answer, but then again...he was using his apartment phone so Blaine would not recognize the number right away.

To his surprise, Blaine picked up by the second ring. "Hello?"

"Blaine? It's me, Sam."

"Oh..." Blaine sounded suddenly a lot less cheerful. "Hi..."

"Look, please don't hang up." Sam pleaded quickly. "Can we meet?"

There was a pause. Sam was practically holding his breath in wait of Blaine's reply. "When?" The answer was apprehensive, but Sam was just happy it seemed like Blaine would at least give him a chance.

"This evening?" Sam suggested. "I'm taking Jackson to the airport in an hour. You could come over, or we could meet somewhere."

"I'll come over." Blaine replied quietly.

Sam breathed a soft sigh of relief. "Thank you."

After they hung up, Sam covered his face with his hands, taking a deep breath. The horrible, upsetting feeling that had settled into his stomach since Friday felt a tad bit lighter than it had. It just did not feel right when Blaine was upset with him. It made Sam want to cry. He just did not understand. How could just one person make him feel so many different things?

"So, things are going to work out." Jackson smiled reassuringly, hugging Sam tightly.

"I really hope so." Sam replied quietly.