As always,
Darrinia: hehehe. i'm glad you can breathe easier since Blaine saved Brittany. You're totally right, they can't stay there, so what will they do? And please, don't worry about not being able to review, just enjoy your vacation! Thank you so much!
THEMoDePo: I love it so much that you like the action parts, because they're so difficult to write! Now the blam moments, that's what I live for! :) Thank you so much, dear!
Midlifecrissis: Poor Blaine, he really needs some rest, if he wasn't so damned stubborn... Sam didn't carry him in that second because they were in such a hurry, the walkers were coming to them so his only thought was to get Blaine out of there whatever the way... But don't suffer, you might get a piggyback ride soon enough ;) Blaine really needs to learn not to carry the whole world on his shoulders, but I'm sure Sam will help him with that. Hehehe, they're just buddies (yet), I guess they have more important things to worry about right now. Thank you so much!
Angellovercriss: I know, but I think Blaine is really like that, he has a tendency to feel guilty whenever he feels he is not being completely perfect. Sam will convince him otherwise, sooner or later ;) Oh, and of course I speak Spanish, I thought you knew from tumblr that I'm from Barcelona! Thank you so much! :)
Me-me157: I don't know about the deaths yet... They definitely have to happen but... I can't decide! I guess Blam's relationship will grow into something else (though I already like this dinamic they have right now, to be honest), but I'm letting it flow on it's own so we'll see when that happens. That's an interesting question: no, I wasn't planning on including those character you mentioned (though funnily enough they are going to be mentioned in the chapter following this one!), though you never know! Thank you so much, dear!
Gleeville: Necesitaba tanto un comentario como este, muchísimas gracias! Me has hecho sentir mucho mejor!
A/N: Sorry again for the delay, but it's been a hard week for me and I couldn't bring myself to get any writing done... This chapter wasn't supposed to end here, but it just kept getting longer and longer so I had to divide it into two. Hope you like it!
CHAPTER 9
Blaine woke up in the middle of the night because of the cold. He knew that was going to happen before he fell asleep: the sports hall was a big place and it wouldn't be so long until all the bonfires they had created would die down. He turned on his side, so he could curl around himself, and ended up facing Sam, who was lying on his side too next to him, apparently deeply asleep. Blaine almost blushed when he realized he had stolen practically all the blanket they were supposed to be sharing, as he usually did. Though fortunately Sam didn't seem to be that cold, at least he wasn't shivering as he was. That was probably why Sam always made fun of him and of how sensible he was to the cold, he thought when a particular strong shiver ran all along his body.
Somehow Sam seemed to notice his state –Sam always noticed, even when he was deeply asleep– and he threw an arm around Blaine's to bring him to him, protective and warm like a bear, until Blaine ended up squished to Sam's chest. Well, he couldn't deny he was warmer that way, if only by the blush undoubtedly climbing to his cheeks. Especially when he realized Sam and he had slept in each other's arms, one way or another, every night since Sam woke up from his coma. And he didn't think there was anything he liked more.
As he lay there, strongly held against Sam's firm and broad chest, with the blond's warm arms holding him tightly, he allowed himself a moment to enjoy it, so he closed his eyes and sighed happily, even more so when Sam rested his head on top of his.
The next time he woke up, a soft lightning was starting to find its way through the small windows at the top of the walls. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he was still tightly wrapped in Sam's arms, which had efficiently kept him from getting cold again and had made him feel safe enough for him to sleep like a baby. He couldn't help but to smile, even if he knew he shouldn't be enjoying it so much. This massive crush –he didn't even want to admit it could be more than a crush– he had on Sam was getting out of control. And it was complicated enough before the apocalypse happened, so now…
He felt ridiculous for even thinking about it when their only objective right now should be surviving. But he couldn't help it. He and Sam had been close, really close, for some time now, but now… Sometimes they acted almost as if they were a couple, right? It was not him imagining things, it was really happening.
He wasn't an idiot, though: he knew it was the circumstances that had driven them to the position they were now, and that none of them could understand life without the other anymore, but… Blaine knew there was no room for more than that in their relationship, as much as he wanted. And it was definitely not the right time to be even thinking about it.
With a sad but resigned sigh, he extricated carefully from Sam's embrace –there was no need for him to wake up so early… and frankly, Blaine didn't want to see the embarrassment or repentance in Sam's face if he woke up and he saw he had been embracing Blaine like that in his sleep– and sat up. He looked around them and noticed everybody was still sleeping, still in the circle they had made the night before around the fire so they wouldn't leave him alone nor he would have to move with his injured leg. For a moment, Blaine felt grateful for them and for the fact that Sam's welfare didn't depend solely on his own and they were more secure around so many people, who happened to care about them. They only needed to learn a bit more about how to take care of themselves –of which Blaine would take care of as soon as possible–, and maybe then he would feel safe enough to take a break once in a while.
With a rush of affection for his friends, he thought it would be nice to do something for them, like maybe starting a fire again, as it was still pretty cold. But as soon as he moved an inch to stand up, a hand closed unexpectedly around his wrist and a hoarse voice made him jump out of his skin.
"Don't you even dare to start walking on that leg" Sam whispered in an authoritarian tone even if he didn't open his eyes.
"Shit, Sam, you scared me" Blaine answered with an embarrassed chuckle as he drew a hand to his heart, as if willing it to go back to its normal pace.
"You thought I was asleep and you were going to go your way, right?" Sam admonished him, but Blaine smiled at the obvious hint of joking in his voice.
"Pretty much, yeah" he cockily answered, widening his smile when Sam finally opened his eyes and tried to stare sternly at him.
"Besides it's still so early! You should get some more sleep. Come here" Sam said as he put his arm around Blaine's waist in a swift, unexpected movement and pulled until he made him lie down on his back next to him again.
Blaine tried not to blush too much at Sam's actions –though fortunately the latter had already closed his eyes again– and especially at the fact that Sam's arm had stayed around Blaine's waist, even repositioning more comfortably until the tip of his fingers were brushing Blaine's hip in a light grip. So maybe it wasn't the possessive strong embrace from a while before, but at least he could be sure that this one was not accidental. Even if he knew it didn't have to mean more that Sam being his usual cuddly and affectionate self.
"Besides I'm getting too used to sleep with you, I don't think I can sleep anymore if you don't cuddle with me" Sam whispered, dangerously close to his ear, with a hint of mischievousness in his voice. "You stole the blanket again, by the way"
"Sorry" Blaine embarrassedly apologized as he repositioned the blanket again so it was covering both of them, making extra sure it covered Sam's shoulder so he would be comfortable.
"It's okay" Sam answered with a fond smile and he shuffled even closer to Blaine to the point he was almost touching his shoulder with his face, and for a second Blaine thought he was going to rest a kiss there. Unfortunately he didn't. "Now shush, I want to get some more sleep"
"And so do the rest of us, lovebirds, shut the fuck up once and for all!" Puck protested from Sam's other side, trying to sound angry even if he failed miserably and Sam ended up laughing at him.
"What's up, Puckerman? Jealous I'm not cuddling with you?" Sam joked, and Blaine marveled at how Sam was not embarrassed at all at having been caught in a position and a conversation that would have been embarrassing for most of the guys Blaine knew, or at the fact that Puck had just called them lovebirds.
"You wish" Puck joked back as he curled around himself to get more comfortable. "Besides, I would never do that to my good friend Blaine"
"Didn't you two want to sleep?" Blaine interrupted more annoyed that he had meant, blushing furiously at Puck's hint that he would be jealous if Sam was cuddling with Puck instead of him –even if he knew Puck was only joking and didn't mean anything with it.
"Shit, he's strict" Puck complained, making Sam chuckle.
"That he is. You cannot even imagine how many times he's…" Sam started.
"Shut up!" Blaine hissed at them, desperate to finish that conversation.
"Sorry" Puck apologized guiltily, as if he had been caught in the middle of a prank.
"You just made Puck shut up. You're amazing" Sam said with a chuckle.
"You shut up too" Blaine answered, though he couldn't keep a small smile out of his lips.
"Sorry" Sam replied with another smile before finally nuzzling Blaine's shoulder and falling asleep again just like that.
Amazingly enough, Blaine had been able to fall asleep again under Sam's arm, feeling protected and calm for the first time since everything started. Unfortunately that wouldn't last long, and when everybody started waking up a couple of hours later, the mood fell down drastically as they remembered everything that had happened the day before.
"So…" Mike started once more or less everybody was awake and sitting up, hoping to relieve Blaine from some of the pressure of having to lead them on their survival, as he could already feel the smaller boy dying to start making a plan but holding himself because he didn't want to impose himself. "I think we should start thinking about what we're going to do from now on"
"Yeah, I guess we can't stay here" Marley lamented as Ryder threw a comforting arm around her shoulders. "We don't have any supplies here"
"Maybe we can go back to the other building and make sure there are no walkers left?" Unique suggested with little conviction.
"I don't think we can do that" Blaine hesitantly intervened when he couldn't resist it any longer, and Sam rested a hand on his back, between his shoulder blades, to let him know he would support anything he said. "There might not be any walkers right now, but more can come. It's not safe, too many exits and now that the fence is broken…"
"Plus it's not a nice place anymore" Sam finished for him, remembering about all the blood splattered on the floor and the walls. They couldn't possibly live there knowing it belonged to their classmates.
"Then what are we going to do?" Santana asked, turning to Blaine trustingly and with an apologetic look that Blaine immediately reciprocated in the form of a smile.
"Here's what I think" Blaine began, his confidence and resolution coming back in an instant at the trust he could now see in his friends, that confidence Sam was so proud of that he had to put his arm around Blaine's shoulders as his friend spoke. "We need to find somewhere where we can be sure we're safe, and where we can find supplies or easily store them when we run out of them and we need to go looking for them"
"As in…?" Puck asked, not knowing where Blaine's mind was going.
"I was thinking… maybe the prison? There can't be anything more secure than a prison, right? And we'll have beds for everyone and even a protected playground so we don't have to remain indoors all the time"
"That's a clever idea" Sebastian commented, smiling proudly at his friend.
"And if no one has gone there yet, I bet they will have a lot of supplies" Trent added with a hopeful smile.
"And how are we going to get there?" Artie asked, hating to be the devil's advocate. "The one in Lima is at the other end of the city, and Blaine and Brittany are injured…"
"Brittany has a broken arm, so she can walk" Blaine said, looking at Brittany for confirmation, which she immediately nodded. "And I… I will manage"
"I'll help you" Sam immediately added, squeezing Blaine to his side until he elicited a grateful smile from his friend.
"What about one of the school buses? Anyone knows if they still work?" Sebastian suggested, hating the idea of Blaine covering all that distance with his injured leg.
"No, when all of this started a lot of people tried to escape with the buses" Ryder explained. "There was one left, but I don't know if you noticed how yesterday a couple of guys took it when the fence broke and ran"
"They did what?" Puck answered, obviously indignant. "Nothing better than an apocalypse to get the best out of people, right?"
"Well, let's not lose any time lamenting on what we don't have" Blaine suggested, always the practical one. "We need to go back to the school building to get whatever we think we might need and then we need to leave as soon as possible so we can make it there before dark. After all, we'll need to make sure it's safe before we can make ourselves comfortable"
"Ok, so let's get started getting all we need ready" Mike encouraged them and everybody stood up to follow his instructions.
"Not you, Nightbird" Blaine smiled at the nickname even though Sam was pushing him down with a hand to his shoulder. "I'm going to have a look at your wound and change your bandage first"
"Sam, my wound is alright" Blaine tried to protest, but Sam was already pulling the leg of his pants up to check on it.
"Great, so let's keep it that way, shall we?" he said with a smile as Blaine sighed in surrender.
"As if you were giving me any options…" Blaine joked, trying not to wince as Sam took the bandage from his injured leg.
"That's right, I'm not" Sam answered, keeping the light joking in hopes of distracting Blaine from his pain before turning serious again. "Are you going to be able to walk that far?"
"Yes" Blaine answered with no trace of hesitation, glad when Sam nodded approvingly at him.
"Ok then, I'm going to bandage it more strongly so you can walk better on your more than probable sprain, ok?" Sam said as he started doing what he had said.
"Ok" Blaine answered with a grateful smile.
It didn't take Sam too long to have Blaine's leg tightly bandaged again, and then he carefully slid the leg of his pant back in position to cover it.
"I need to get something from the school" Sam announced. "I'll be right back"
"I'll go with you" Blaine immediately offered, not ready yet to lose sight of Sam while he was in the open –and in possible danger– but Sam once again pushed him down so he couldn't get up.
"No way" he immediately opposed, pointing a finger at Blaine's face to make more of an impression. "You will be a good boy now and rest here until exactly the moment we leave. Did I make myself clear?"
"But…" Blaine tried to protest. What was so important that the others couldn't take and he had to get himself?
"Did I make myself clear?" Sam insisted with a stern gaze.
"Yes" Blaine was forced to surrender with an adorable pout that elicited a chuckle from his friend.
"I'm glad. Artie, make sure he does as he's told" Sam said to the other boy, that had been looking quizzically at them during the whole exchange.
"I will" he answered, raising his eyebrows in amusement.
"Hey, I just told you I would, don't you trust me?" Blaine protested at Sam's retreating back.
"No!" Sam yelled without even turning back, making the other two laugh.
"Be careful" Blaine warned him before he was out, turning serious all of a sudden to the point Sam stopped for a moment and turned to him again.
"I'll be okay" Sam promised with a smile and a wink that only reassured Blaine slightly.
"So now that Sam isn't here, are you going to be honest?" Artie asked, suddenly looking pointedly at the other boy.
"What?" Blaine asked, not sure what Artie meant with that.
"How is your leg really?"
"It's alright, you heard me" Blaine answered quickly, feigning to be surprised about Artie's question.
"I heard you trying to reassure your very worried best friend" Artie reasoned with him. "Now I want to hear the truth"
"It… hurts" Blaine admitted, knowing he didn't need to say exactly how much for Artie to understand.
"That's what I was fearing" Artie answered with a sad sigh. "Do you really think you can do it?"
"It's not like we have another option" Blaine answered with a sad smile. "Even the car we used the other night is not an option anymore, it became totally useless when it received a lot of the shots meant for the walkers during the attack"
"Maybe we can manage to make a stretcher somehow" Artie suggested, even if he perfectly knew the answer he was going to get.
"No, Artie, no way I'm letting any of the guys carry me all around"
"I'm sure they wouldn't mind, they could take turns…"
"Artie, please, don't say anything to them" Blaine begged, knowing that if Artie suggested it in front of them they would think it was a good idea and they would never let it go until he agreed –which he didn't have any intention to do–. "We might have to run and defend ourselves, a stretcher is completely impossible. I can deal with it and I don't want to be a burden in a situation like this, it's bad enough as it is. Promise me you won't say anything"
"Alright" Artie surrendered, knowing how much Blaine hated for everyone to fuss over him, especially when he was clearly trying to look after everybody. "I won't say anything about the stretcher or about how much you're really hurting, but only if you promise to stop and say it if it becomes too unbearable"
"Artie…" Blaine tried to protest, but his friend had relented enough.
"Take it or leave it" Artie interrupted, leaving no room for argument.
"Why do you all treat me like a little kid?" Blaine protested, bur Artie was relieved he was not really angry when a little smile broke in the corners of his mouth.
"Maybe it's because you are acting like one" he gently admonished him. "Or because how small you are"
"You are smaller than I am!" Blaine practically shouted even if he couldn't stop himself from bursting into laughing.
"Maybe, but you can't really tell with my chair" Artie joked, as he moved his chair towards where Blaine was sitting and rested his hand on his shoulder. "We just want you to be alright. And not just because we so obviously need you"
"Thanks, Artie" Blaine gratefully answered.
It didn't take the others too long to pack everything they thought they might need. Puck's ability to open lockers proved to be very useful, as there they found a lot of things they could possibly use –like food, pieces of clothes and other personal stuff– plus backpacks to carry all the stuff.
Curiously enough, no one thought to bring Blaine a bag to carry –and for once he didn't protest, as he knew they only had his best interest at heart– and he only had to concentrate on walking the long distance that was separating them from the Allen Correctional Institution with a leg that hurt like the devil on every step he took. Of course Sam offered for him to lean on him as much as he needed, but Blaine gratefully refused for the time being, as he knew he might need help later on and he intended to postpone it as much as possible.
"Guys, we need to be careful, stay together and as close as possible to each other" Blaine warned them as they finally left the school area and started walking down the road. "Nobody can stray from the group without saying anything, ok?"
"Ok" Ryder answered as he and the others closed around each other to be more effective in case they needed to defend themselves, making a circle around Blaine, Artie and Brittany as they were the ones less likely to be able to defend themselves.
The fear and the anxiousness to arrive as soon as possible was quite obvious amongst the youngsters, as for a good while nobody said a word and they kept walking as fast as their feet would carry them without actually running.
After a while, though, they started to relax –even if they kept extremely alert, just in case– and soft conversations started between them.
Blaine wasn't aware about any of that, though. He had to use all his strength to keep taking a step after another with that pain that only kept intensifying every time he rested his weight on that leg. He was aware of Artie's eyes fixed worriedly at him so he avoided his gaze and tried to increase the distance between them. Though that only brought him closer to Sam, who immediately noticed how his limp seemed to be getting worse.
"You alright?" Sam asked, and his worry only increased when he noticed the sweat on Blaine's brow even if it wasn't warm at all.
"Uh-huh" Blaine answered while nodding his head, not daring to use his voice in fear it would betray him.
"Why don't you put your arm around my shoulders and lean into me?" Sam suggested, as he could see how much Blaine was pretending.
"No need for that" Blaine said even if a wince escaped his lips as soon as he unclenched his lips to speak.
"Blaine…" Sam warned him.
"Alright" Blaine surrendered with a sigh, preferring to obey and let Sam hold part of his weight than fighting him and risking for him to get any other ideas, like picking him up in his arms or anything like that.
Sam didn't dare to show his triumph when Blaine put his arm around his shoulders and lent into him, afraid that the shorter boy would change his mind if he so much as mentioned he had won. His hand grabbed Blaine's wrist to make sure he wouldn't remove the arm from him as his other hand curled around Blaine's waist to help him more efficiently. And even if Blaine would never admit it, it really helped.
Sebastian looked at them from behind and couldn't help but to worry about his friend. How much he could go on like that? And why the hell did he have to be so stubborn? It would be so easy for any them to help him like Sam was doing, or even carrying him if it came to that… But he couldn't say he didn't understand him: apart from the fact that he knew Blaine absolutely hated being seen as weak –his small size and all the bullying he had been victim of had made him think he needed to be stronger than the rest–, he also knew how Blaine felt responsible for everyone's lives and how he still felt guilty about the people they had lost only the day before. The last thing he wanted was for the others to see him as anything else than invincible, if he was supposed to lead them and be trusted to do that. And even if Sebastian didn't think anyone was going to think less of him because he was injured, he could still understand Blaine's reasoning.
And there was something else that hadn't been sitting well with Sebastian for two days now and that didn't have anything to do with Blaine, but with Kitty. He felt kind of bad about their fight in the car, even if the gun he had held to him had really angered him. But that thing she had said… It wouldn't probably hurt to talk about it, so he resolutely made his way to Kitty. After all, he thought it was crucial to keep a civil relationship with everyone in a time like that.
"Hey" he said, trying to sound friendly enough so the girl wouldn't run from him.
"Hey" she answered, confident but clearly surprised.
"I just… I thought this would be as good a moment as any to bury the hatchet between us" he offered.
"I don't need you to apologize, Smythe" she answered, still not as friendly as Sebastian would have liked.
"I wasn't doing it. Who do you think I am?" he dared to joke, and he was relieved when she couldn't help a small smile.
"Oh, alright, of course you weren't" she joked back.
"So no hard feelings?" Sebastian asked, offering his hand to the girl.
"No hard feelings" she answered, more warmly this time, while she took his hand and shook it for a second. "After all, everything you were saying was true"
"Listen, you said something about losing people and not to biters…" Sebastian tentatively asked, and he almost regretted it when a shadow of grief immediately crossed Kitty's face.
"Yeah" she answered, not offering more explanations.
"Do you want to talk about it…?" Sebastian offered, feeling that maybe the girl just needed to let it all out.
"My parents were actually able to come to the school to get me before they evacuated the city" she started, so absently that it almost looked as if she was just talking to herself. "But while they were waiting for me, some people pointed a gun at them and told them to get out of the car so they could take it. And when they refused, they shot them and took the car. Just like that"
"And you saw it?" Sebastian asked before he could stop himself, completely horrified at what he was hearing.
She nodded, apparently coming back from her reverie with Sebastian's words.
"Yes. I was almost to the car when that happened, but I was able to hide behind the trees at the entrance. When those murderers left I went to my parents, but there was nothing I could do for them. So I had to stay at the school with everybody else"
"I'm so sorry, Kitty" Sebastian said with a sigh, feeling completely useless at his lack of appropriate words to offer to the girl. "And I'm also sorry for lashing out at you, I now understand why you felt threatened enough to pull a gun on me and Sam"
"You didn't know" she immediately dismissed his worries. "And you were angry about us leaving Blaine in that hospital, so…"
"I'm still sorry" he insisted.
"Apology accepted then" she answered with a warm smile.
"You alright?" Sebastian asked, more incisively. Because the fact that she hadn't shared a tear while explaining something like that to him didn't mean she was alright, right?
"I have to be" she answered, and as her voice shook slightly Sebastian put a comforting arm around the petite girl's shoulders. "There is no other choice"
"You know, I feel like this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" Sebastian only half joked as he squeezed Kitty to his side, giving her a wide smile when she turned to look at him.
"Shut up!" she joked, disentangling herself from his arms and slapping his arm playfully as Sebastian heartily laughed.
"Why don't we have a rest for a minute?" Artie suddenly caught everyone's attention with his request. "I'm sure poor Trent here is exhausted after pushing my chair for so long"
Of course the real reason for Artie to ask for a rest was not himself, or even Trent –who had been kind enough to push his chair when Artie's arms had become too tired–, but for Blaine. The other boy hadn't complained even once, but he and Sam were gradually being left behind as Blaine's pace kept getting slower because of the pain.
"I'm alright, I can keep going" Trent answered, not noticing Artie's intentions.
"Well, I can't, I'm telling you this diva needs a bit of rest if you want her to keep looking as fabulous as she does" Unique, much more observant than the warbler, intervened, effectively getting any possible focus of Blaine's injury, for which Artie sent her a grateful smile.
Without asking, Sam deposited Blaine on the floor at the side of the road as everyone started sitting down around them –making sure to keep their eyes and ears open for any possible undesirable appearances–. Then Sam sat down next to him and put his bag on his lap so he could rummage through it.
"Here" he said, stretching his arm towards his friend so he would take the energy bar he was offering him. "I took it from your locker, so you can't say you don't like it"
"Thanks" Blaine answered with a grateful smile, though it came more as a grimace as he tried to recover his breath after all the effort.
"I imagine you are not hungry with all the pain and the exhaustion and everything but… you need your energy" Sam encouraged him, and it moved Blaine to no end how well Sam could read him and how much he cared about his wellbeing.
"So Sam, did you bring energy bars for the rest of us?" Puck joked from the other end of the group, and Blaine wondered if it was really just innocent kidding or he was actually trying to hint something –after all, he had already done that in the morning, right?
"No, just for him" Sam joked back, once again without a hint of embarrassment in his voice, playing along with Puck's game –whatever it was–, which made Blaine wonder if he was just overthinking it or Sam really didn't give a fuck about the others implying there was something between them.
Before he had time to give it much more thought, Mike suggested they should get going or they wouldn't make it before dark and everybody reluctantly agreed and started getting up. Blaine tried to stand up too before Sam came to help him, but as soon as he rested his injured leg on the floor, the pain that raised up all the way to his hip became so unbearable that he couldn't help a loud moan that immediately got the blond's attention.
"What's wrong, B?" he asked, appalled at the paleness of Blaine's skin as he held his leg protectively towards himself.
"Nothing" Blaine answered through clenched teeth as he tried to deal with the unexpected jolt of pain. "I guess my leg cooled while we rested, I just need a minute"
"Let me help you" Sam immediately offered, taking Blaine's hands and pulling him upright, making sure to keep his arms around his waist to hold onto him until he was stable enough to do it himself. "Are you sure you're up to this?"
"Yeah, yeah, it feels better already" Blaine answered honestly, as the pain seemed to have subsided a little, but as soon as he tried to take another step on that leg it happened again, which elicited a visible wince that didn't go unnoticed to his friend.
"Ok, you can't keep going on like this, it obviously hurts too much" Sam said.
"Don't be ridiculous, I'm fine" Blaine answered, although the grimace on his face made how much he was hurting pretty obvious.
"That's enough, Blaine" Artie interrupted, looking guiltily at his friend for what he was about to do. "I'm sorry, but you can't go on like this"
"Artie…" Blaine warned him, but the other boy had already made his decision.
"He's in a lot of pain, Sam" Artie confessed, avoiding Blaine's furious gaze. "He was even before we left the school, much more than he was letting on, but didn't want anybody to know"
"Is that true?" Sam asked, looking accusingly at Blaine, making him felt incredibly guilty at the hurt in his eyes for not having trusted him with the truth.
"He thought he would be able to make it" Artie said, trying to defend him even if it had been him the one to put him in that position. "But it's obvious he can't keep going on. I'm sorry, Blaine, but you didn't keep your promise either"
"I thought you trusted me" Sam said, turning accusingly to Blaine again.
"I'm sorry" Blaine apologized, his eyes and his voice filled with sorrow at having disappointed Sam of all people. "But I thought it was for the best, we needed…"
"I don't want to hear it" Sam interrupted him as he took his backpack off his shoulders and handed it to Tina, who was standing nearby. "Tina, take this"
"What are you doing?" Blaine asked as Sam walked to him, turned around until he was giving him his back and crouched in front of him.
"Just climb onto my back for a piggyback ride right now before I get really angry" Sam ordered him, knowing that making Blaine feel guilty could probably prove more useful than begging him to do it.
"What? No, Sam, are you crazy? You can't carry me all the way down there!" Blaine protested, blushing furiously at all the attention he knew they were drawing to themselves.
"I'm not telling you a second time, Blaine, jump in right now" Sam threatened, but still Blaine would protest.
"I'm not going to… What the hell are you doing?" Blaine shrieked as someone unceremoniously grabbed him from behind and lifted him up until he was securely on Sam's back, who took advantage of the situation to straighten up and firmly grab Blaine's legs so he wouldn't be able to climb down.
"Blaine, you know I love you, but I can't possibly hear you saying you're fine one more time" Sebastian answered as he made sure Blaine was secure in Sam's grip before he let go of him.
"But I'm fine!" Blaine protested with a pout, not being able to help it even if he knew he was sounding as a spoilt brat.
"I said I didn't want to hear it!" Sebastian answered, chuckling at his friend's antics.
"Sam, put me down immediately, you can't possibly carry me all the way there, I'm too heavy" Blaine said, trying to squirm his way out of Sam's grip, but the latter was having none of that and just held onto him more strongly.
"Aww, isn't it adorable how he thinks he is all big and heavy?" Sam joked, hoping the embarrassment would beat Blaine's resistance.
And it did. At the end of the sentence Blaine was blushing so badly that his mouth shut on its own accord and he stopped struggling at once.
"Ok, so shall we get going?" Sam cockily said as he noticed all their friends looking amusedly and grinning at them, so he simply started walking, with Blaine on his back, expecting the others to follow.
"This is the most ridiculous stunt you've managed to pull for a long time" Blaine protested in Sam's ear after a few minutes of embarrassed silence when he finally surrendered and put his arms loosely around Sam's neck, eliciting a chuckle from him as he imagined the pout that undoubtedly was in Blaine's lips even if he couldn't see him.
"Can you just for once stop worrying about everything and just enjoy the ride?" Sam answered, all anger forgotten for now, as he even jumped a couple of times as if he was a horse, aiming for some laughter that he was glad to receive from the smaller boy.
"Ok, but you've got to promise me you will let me down if we have to run" Blaine answered.
"I promise" Sam replied too quickly.
"You so crossed your fingers!"
"If you knew I was going to do it, why did you even ask?"
"Oh my God, just shut up!" Santana protested good-naturedly, heartily laughing when Sam smiled and Blaine blushed again.
They continued down the road for a good while, with little talking and eyes wide open, until they came across with one of the school buses –probably the one Ryder had mentioned it had been stolen just the day before–, doors closed and no sound or movement coming from it. Everyone looked wearily at it, trying to decide what to do, as the fact that it had been left abandoned in the middle of the road couldn't mean good news for sure. But it was so tempting…
"Ok, so who knows how to drive a bus?" Puck asked with a mischievous smile towards the group.
A/N: You know what? I know I said there would be some important characters' deaths but apart from the one that WILL happen and I had planned from the beginning, I'm feeling guilty now! And I can't decide which of them should be the first one! But this is The Walking Dead, there has to be casualties, right?
