As usual,

Me-Me157: Oh, somehow I had imagined it was you, I don't know why! Yes, of course Mike and Puck immediately sided with Blaine and told Sebastian off, they're good people after all! I think Sebastian is not used to getting a no, so he doesn't really know how to deal with it (and not just with Blaine, but with the whole group). And nooooo, you're right, is not going to be so smooth from here yet :) Thank you so much!

THEMoDePo: Yes, poor Sam managed to do it all the wrong way, instead of being honest both with Sebastian and Blaine, but he was so blinded by his love... Poor Blaine, with his history and Sebastian and everything just imagine how he must be feeling at Sam's unfortunate words! Thank you so much, sweetie!

Mildlifecrissis: you're guessing right, as far as he heard, Sam was telling Sebastian he had won :( And of course what Sebastian got hurt was just his pride, Sam is right! Though he should have been honest with him, like Puck warned him to... Yo might not be wrong about the violence reference... Thank you sooo much!

Darrinia: cariñín! I know, I didn't want them to fight either, but... it happened! Blaine is very very upset at the moment, Sam is going to have to outdo himself this time to make it better. As always, thank you so much, honey, you're the best! :)


CHAPTER 9

Blaine couldn't stop the tears falling as soon as he left the school building behind him, even as he tried drying them again and again with the back of his hands. He felt like running, to put as much distance between him and the place where his heart had been shattered to pieces as possible, but he contented himself with walking fast, as more tears found their way down his cheeks, uninvited. God knew it was not the first time he had trusted someone and they had failed him. But it had never happened with someone whom he had given his heart to so completely, someone with whom he had shared so much. Someone whom he was in love with.

He couldn't believe Sam's cold blood, comforting him about the episode with Sebastian when he had been doing the same, only more successfully. Had it been part of his strategy? Like sending all those messages to him worrying about him? Like coming to pick him up when Blaine had needed him the most, always trying to make him feel better? Like giving him the jacket? It all seemed like too big an effort to him, even if it was because he wanted to shag him or because he wanted to beat Sebastian.

And the happiness he had seen in Sam's eyes when he had suggested he could go away with him when he was of age and left Lima? He couldn't be that good an actor, could he? He knew he was pinning his hopes on this, but would it be possible that it all had been a terrible misunderstanding? It was not only that he couldn't believe he has been so easily fooled by Sam. But he couldn't believe someone like him would take part in something like that. He could believe it from Sebastian, but from Sam?

Yet his words didn't leave much room to confusion. He had said he had won. And that he was proud of it. So he couldn't fool himself anymore: as hard as it was to accept, Sam was not like he had thought he was. And that only showed him, once more, how he couldn't trust anyone and how alone in the world he was.

And the grief he felt at admitting that to himself physically hurt on his chest.


"What the hell happened here?" Mike asked Sebastian in reproach, his voice far from its usual friendly way.

"Can you believe that selfish prick betrayed me like that?" Sebastian responded in fury.

"Betrayed you?" Puck asked, confused.

"He was snogging Blaine!"

"Was he?" Mike asked with a sigh, troubled, starting to imagine how things had gone, and feeling sorry for both Blaine and Sam, now that his suspicions about their feelings had been confirmed and everything seemed to have been ruined. "I'll go and talk to Sam" he whispered to Puck, who simply nodded, and then he was gone.

"What the hell? I'm the one who was betrayed!" Sebastian yelled at Mike's retreating back, though receiving no answer.

"Will you shut your fucking mouth?" Puck ordered in no uncertain terms, and Sebastian stopped yelling, reluctantly, though he wasn't ready yet to stop complaining.

"I don't get it! I'm the victim here, and you all worry about him? He betrayed me and then he almost punched the lights out of me!"

"And you did nothing to him, I assume" Puck sarcastically replied.

"Ok, I punched him first" Sebastian admitted, muttering in embarrassment.

"You did what?" Puck couldn't believe his ears.

"I was angry, ok? He was kissing Blaine, when he knew I was the one supposed to do it! I wanted Blaine from the beginning, and he knew it"

"Sebastian, open your eyes, will you? This is not about what you want! Blaine is not a toy for you to play with, he's a person. And he chose Sam!" Puck yelled at him to make him react.

"But Sam was supposed to be my best friend!" Sebastian still protested, shocked that no one seemed to get the seriousness of Sam's disloyalty. "He was not supposed to betray me like that"

"Ok, maybe he wasn't" Puck admitted, because none of that would have happened if Sam had listened to him and talked to Sebastian from the beginning. "Maybe he should have talked about it with you. But he didn't look for it, he didn't do it on purpose. I think he's really fallen in love with Blaine"

"So what, that just justifies everything?"

"I'm sorry, but yes. The only one who is being a lousy friend here is you, not understanding how important Blaine is to Sam. Much more than to you, who couldn't even make the effort of being his friend. If you weren't so selfish you'd be able to see that"

"So you're taking sides with him?"

"Mike and I are not taking sides with anyone, we are going to stay out of your troubles. I stayed here, didn't I? I'm just telling you what you need to hear. Of course Sam will have to hear me too. You both are like little kids in need of being told off"

"Oh, so that makes you the responsible adult?"

"Compared to you, yeah" Puck answered, sarcastically.

"Then God help us, if we have to wait for you to solve all our problems" he answered, clearly annoyed at the little comprehension he was receiving after the emotional blow he had received.


Sam was finding it hard even to breathe as he climbed down the front stairs of the school after so many emotions: one minute he had been kissing Blaine, holding hands with him, having him pressed against his own body, as if nothing else mattered in this world. Next minute, although involuntarily, he had broken his heart –he hoped not irreparably– and was pinning his best friend by the collar to the wall, dangerously close to smashing his face in. If he now felt as if he could never forgive Sebastian, what would Blaine be feeling about him right now?

"Sam, wait!" Mike yelled after him and, even though the only thing he wanted to do was run away and be alone, he knew Mike was just worrying about him, so he stopped.

The first thing Mike did when reaching his side was resting his hand sympathetically at Sam's arm, and it took Sam all he got not to burst into tears right then and there.

"What happened, Sam?" Mike asked softly, and Sam found it was very difficult to put so much sadness into words.

"I screwed up, Mike" he answered honestly, and there was so much grief in his voice that Mike felt he could almost touch it, it was so intense.

"But you two will make amends, I'm sure" Mike offered kindly, but Sam only shook his head in negation.

"I don't know if he will be able to forgive me. He trusted me, he opened his heart out for me even if he had never done it with anyone else, and all he got was more disappointment and betrayal"

That's when Mike realized Sam was not grieving about his fight with Sebastian, but about whatever the hell had happened with Blaine. And that's when Mike understood how much really Blaine meant to Sam, and that it was not just attraction: he was in love with him.

"What happened, Sam?" Mike insisted, trying to understand the situation.

"My stupid mouth and stupid words coming out of it made him believe that this thing between us was just because of some sort of competition between Sebastian and me to which he was the prize" Sam lamented, hiding his face between his hands. "He leant on me and all he got was another failure. I know he's strong, but there's only too much a person can take, you know"

Of course Mike didn't know what Sam was talking about, but they all had seen enough about Blaine to be aware that he didn't have an easy life. And they knew how much Sam had fought to make him feel secure, to fill whatever void he had in his life. So now that he seemed to have ruined it somehow, the guilt he was feeling was so evident that Mike could almost feel it on his own heart.

"But this is just a misunderstanding, Sam. You just have to talk to him"

"And why would he listen to me?" Sam retorted, his face coming out of its hiding place to look intently at his friend, silently praying for him to contradict him and give him hope. "To his eyes I'm only the guy who fooled him and made him believe they had something special when he was just playing around to beat his friend. Why would he give me a second chance?"

"Because he loves you" Mike answered him, because it was as simple as that, and Sam was just left speechless for a second, so Mike went on. "He might be angry and hurt right now, but he will listen. And he will understand. I know I don't know him that well, but... he just seems like that kind of person"

"He is" Sam answered with a sat, yet fond, smile. "He's got such a big heart..."

"Then you two are surely made for each other" Mike continued with a reciprocating smile. "Everything has to turn out okay"

"I wish I could be that positive..." Sam lamented.

"Just... try, okay?" Mike pleaded, squeezing his shoulder in a friendly way before leaving in search of Puck, giving Sam the space he knew he needed to think things through.

As he walked away from the school building, Sam couldn't stop thinking about his conversation with Mike. And the more he thought about it, all the more difficult it seemed to him that Blaine would want to listen, and even if he did, that he would believe him. No one knew like Sam how alone Blaine was. And only three days ago, he had promised him he would always be there for him. He had only needed three days to screw it up and break his promise, although unwillingly. And that's what hurt him the most: to know that for Blaine right now he was only one more person that had failed him to add to the list. And that's why he felt he could never forgive Sebastian for it. He couldn't even begin to imagine how he would be feeling if the only person he could trust, and whom he had opened his heart to in every way, said what he had said. Of course Sam hadn't really meant anything with it, but he knew how it had sounded, and what Blaine would be feeling: that Sam had betrayed his trust and that he didn't really care about him. Just like Sebastian. Just like his brother. And his father.

He suddenly decided to hurry up and try to catch up with him on his way home. He needed to talk to him and make him understand it had all been a terrible misunderstanding. And he needed to do it as soon as possible, because he knew Blaine was devastated at that moment. Even if their relationship was marred forever with this and they couldn't be together, at least he needed to make him understand he had always been honest with him. And that he was not alone, if he would let him be with him.

But when Sam made it all the way to Blaine's home and there was no trace of him, he knew he would not be seeing him that day. He had probably run all the way home, just to avoid someone following him, and he was already inside.

Sam wondered for a second if he should try ringing the bell and see if he would answer. But he stopped himself before it was too late: even if Blaine hadn't openly said what went on behind those walls, Sam knew he had a very difficult situation. What if his father didn't like Sam being there? What if he got angry at Blaine? He could not risk it. Blaine didn't need more trouble on himself. Especially caused by him and his stupid impulsiveness.

So it was with a big sorrow that Sam made the way towards his own home that afternoon. Especially if he got to remember how in ecstasy he had been feeling just the day before. And all because of Sebastian. And both their big mouths.


Blaine sighed tiredly as he finally decided to leave his bed at mid morning the day after. He had been lying awake for hours –he practically hadn't had any sleep–, but he surely wasn't feeling like getting up today. What for? There was nothing worth getting up, nothing that could make him want to stand up and face the day.

And there it was his damned phone, vibrating again. It hadn't stopped doing it from an early hour –too early for Sam, usually–. Maybe he hadn't slept that much either. But that would mean he was worried about their situation. And why would that be, if he didn't give a damn about him? Trying to figure out how Sam's mind worked was only giving him a headache. He knew it would be easier for him to pick it up and let him explain, but he was not ready yet to talk to him. And he was afraid he would fool him again with his nice words and his kind manners, as he had done before.

When the phone rang again after only a minute, Blaine groaned, exasperated, and grabbed it with the intention of shutting it down. But then he realized it was not Sam calling this time, but Mike. Sweet and caring Mike. He was not in the mood to talk to him, really, but he knew there was no real reason that justified ignoring the call. Mike was not to blame for the sins of his friends, and he had been nothing but nice to him. So with a great effort, he finally brought the phone to his ear and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Blaine" Mike greeted him, trying to sound jovial.

"Hey, Mike. What's up?" Blaine answered as politely as possible, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice.

"Nothing really... I was just wondering if you were doing something this afternoon"

"Not really"

"Oh, so you have no plans?"

"Come on, Mike, don't feign with me, I can tell you know about what happened yesterday"

"Okay, I know. That's why I'm calling you. I wanted to make sure you were okay"

"That's very nice of you, Mike. But don't worry about me. Focus on those two, if they haven't killed each other yet"

"No, Blaine. Puck and I worry about you too. We care about you, you know? Just because you've had problems with them doesn't mean you can't be our friend anymore"

Blaine felt like crying all over again. It was true: what had happened with Sam and Sebastian didn't have anything to do with Puck and Mike, and they were always great with him. But he had thought that about Sebastian at the beginning too. And Sam... How could he trust anyone after Sam?

"Thank you, Mike. You're both very generous" Blaine answered, not wanting to get into any more detail.

"Are you okay, then?"

"I'll be okay"

"We were wondering if you would like to come with us to the club this afternoon"

"Mike, I don't think..."

"We aren't going with Sam or Sebastian, if that's what's worrying you. They won't be there. It will only be Puck and me. And we'd really like you to come. I don't think you should spend all the weekend locked up at home on your own, especially after... after what happened. You'll go crazy"

Blaine knew Mike was right about that. He hated being at home at any time, he didn't think he could survive a full weekend with the only company of his father. And he really needed to occupy his mind with something that was not Sam. Even if it was only for a little while.

"I know you're right... Okay, I'll see you there, then"

"But you'll come, won't you? You're not just saying this so I don't keep insisting"

"Of course not. I'll be there"

"Okay, then. See you later, Blaine"

"See you, Mike. And thanks"


Blaine arrived to the club some minutes later than they had agreed. He had come dangerously close to not come, but the alternative was to stay home all weekend, with his father, and he wasn't sure he was able to take it, so he had changed his opinion in the last minute.

When he arrived, he immediately spotted Mike and Puck sitting on a table, talking amicably, apparently oblivious to the hell that had broken loose the day before. But they weren't, he knew that. That's why Mike had called and pleaded for him to come. That's why they worried about him, and he really appreciated that. And at least they had been honest with him and it was not a trap, as he had feared: neither Sam or Sebastian were there, so he wouldn't be forced to talk to them.

"Hey, guys" Blaine greeted them, as cheerfully as he was able, as he sat down in front of them.

"Hey, Blaine" Mike answered with a big smile, to which Blaine could do nothing more than to reciprocate, even if his own smile was much smaller. "I'm glad you came"

"I told you I would" Blaine answered, as he joined his fist with Puck in a friendly gesture.

"Yes, but you didn't sound too convinced about it, so..."

"We were fearing you wouldn't show up" Puck finished the sentence for him, always more direct.

"I couldn't fail you, guys. You've been nothing but great to me" Blaine answered honestly with the smallest voice, and Mike and Puck worried about how emotional he seemed to be, silently cursing their two other friends for causing him so much trouble.

"We wanted to know if you're okay" Mike told him, so warmly that Blaine felt like bursting into tears right at that moment.

"You know everything that happened, right? Then you know the answer to your question" Blaine answered with a humorless smile.

"Were you... were you serious about Sam? About your feelings for him?" Mike asked.

"It doesn't matter now, does it? He surely wasn't" Blaine answered sadly.

"Are you sure about that?" Puck intervened.

"Of course I'm sure. It was the same that happened with Sebastian, only so much worse. Because he made me believe he had feelings for me so he hurt me way more deeply..."

"But how can you be so sure he was not being honest?" Mike was trying to find the tiniest crack in Blaine's protective wall, but he was making it very difficult.

"Guys, I now you want to help, and I appreciate it, really. But please, nothing you can say is going to make things better, so could we just leave it?" Blaine implored, and both Mike and Puck realized they were not the ones who could make things better again.

"You know we only want the best for you, right?" Mike asked, mysteriously, and Blaine could only nod, a bit confused.

"I guess" Blaine answered, hesitantly, just before he noticed Mike nodding his head at someone at his own back.

"Blaine?" Sam asked tentatively as he approached him, not wanting to scare him away. "Can we talk?"

Blaine turned around just enough to discover Sam standing behind him. So it had been a trap, after all. As soon as he saw it was Sam, he abruptly stood up to leave, not saying a word, but throwing a dirty look at Mike and Puck, who immediately disappeared guiltily to leave them alone. Sam gently grabbed his arm to stop him, but he noticed how Blaine's muscles tensed at the unexpected pressure, so Sam let go of him immediately and prayed he hadn't made the situation even worse. Even if he didn't trust him right now, at least he hoped Blaine would know he would never hurt him.

"Please, Blaine. Give me just one minute. We deserve a chance, don't we?" Sam didn't care if it sounded like begging. He would get down on his knees to supplicate, if it was necessary.

Blaine's only response was silence, but he sat down again and gestured to the now empty chair in front of him for Sam to sit, which he hurried to oblige but –was Sam seeing a deep hope in his eyes that everything had a solution?–. Sam waited for a second, in case Blaine wanted to initiate the conversation, but when he realized that was not going to happen, he decided to take the initiative.

"Blaine, what happened yesterday..."

"I don't want anyone fighting over me" Blaine interrupted him.

"It wasn't like that. At least, not in the way you think. I know what it looked like, but you are not the prize of a competition between Sebastian and me"

"Then what was it like?"

"I was not supposed to feel the way I do about you. Sebastian was interested in you from the beginning and, as his best friend, I shouldn't have fallen for you. But I did. In a way I wouldn't have thought possible" Sam answered, resolute to being completely honest about everything and not to leave anything unsaid, as it was the least Blaine deserved.

"Is that why you stopped me when we first kissed? Why you said you were trying to resist?" Blaine asked, and Sam tried not to get his hopes up when he could feel Blaine dying to believe him.

"Yes" Sam answered, nodding effusively.

"And why did you change your mind?"

"I didn't at first, I just wasn't able to help it because I felt too strongly for you. But then when Sebastian hurt you... suddenly it didn't matter that much to me anymore if he got angry"

"So did you tell him about us to rub it in him?" Blaine asked with a trembling voice.

"No, I swear I didn't" Sam answered with a sad sigh. The things that had been going through Blaine's mind since the day before... "I know how it sounded like, but I swear to you I would never use this thing between us for any purpose, much less something like that. It's too important for me. But Sebastian saw us kissing yesterday. And he wasn't very happy about the fact I acted on you on his back, as he put it. He is... he was my best friend, and I didn't want to hurt him but... what I feel for you is much stronger than that, and I can't fight against it"

"I'm not worth fighting for" Blaine mumbled, shaking his head in sadness as Sam's heart broke for the hundredth time.

"I beg to differ about that. I would fight for you against anything or anyone that tried to take you away from me" Sam promised, meaning it from the bottom of his heart.

"And how do I know I can trust you?" Blaine asked, unable to hide anything, including his insecurities.

Sam tried not to be offended by that, because he knew Blaine had the right to be distrustful. Hey, he would be in his place after how things had gone, and he didn't have such a history of disappointing people in his life.

"Because you know me" Sam answered while looking intently at Blaine to give him the chance to read his eyes and see how honest he was. "And I know you can see through me and you can tell I'm not lying"

"I don't want to come between two best friends" Blaine insisted, although Sam could see all his defenses slowly going down.

"It was not your fault. Sebastian... I know I disappointed him, but he disappointed me much more, believe me. I'm taking a chance on you, if you'll let me" Sam begged him, offering his hand to Blaine across the table.

Blaine looked at him in the eye intently, as if trying to read his thoughts, and Sam could see his reluctance to believe him slowly breaking, and another feeling –could it be love? – filling his beautiful eyes in its place. Then he silently took Sam's hand and pulled it to guide him to the dance floor, not looking back 'cause he didn't want to risk taking a look at Sam's face and finding some hesitation there that would make him lose his courage. What he didn't know, though, was that Sam could hardly stop smiling like a fool, so happy was he feeling about having Blaine's hand in his again. His own hand had felt so empty until that moment...

When they arrived to the dance floor and found a bit of space for them, Blaine took a deep breath, trying to stop the blushing he knew was coming to his cheeks at his impulsiveness, and then he slowly turned around. If he had expected Sam to be annoyed or surprised he couldn't be more wrong: a big and extremely tender smile was on his lips, and his loving gaze didn't leave Blaine's eyes for a moment. Then Blaine smiled shyly in response, and Sam chuckled happily, as he took the chance to put his arms around Blaine's waist in a tender embrace with the excuse of dancing to the slow music playing at the moment. Blaine blushed even a little more, if that was possible, but he didn't run away. If something was going to separate him from Sam, after all they had gone through, it surely wasn't going to be embarrassment, so he slowly moved his arms to envelop Sam's neck with them, and he started rocking them both around in time to the music.

"Does it hurt?" Blaine asked worriedly, gently caressing the little bruise that had formed on Sam's jaw because of Sebastian's punch.

Sam smiled fondly as he took the hand Blaine had on his face and brought it to his lips to kiss it, as if asking him to stop worrying about it.

"No, it doesn't. The truth is Sebastian punches like a girl" Sam joked, and Blaine chuckled in spite of himself at his poor attempt of humor.

When Blaine's arms returned to embrace Sam's neck, they danced gracefully for a while, as if they had been born to dance together, their eyes never leaving the other's. Sam smiled at Blaine reassuringly, as if asking for permission, and when Blaine nodded almost imperceptibly, Sam leant over and captured Blaine's lips in a slow and tender kiss that elicited a few murmurs and whispering around them –to which they were completely oblivious, so absorbed they were by one another. Right there and then, only they existed.

When the kiss broke, Blaine gave Sam one of his million-dollar smiles, which Sam reciprocated with one of his own, and trustingly rested his head on Sam's shoulder, completely in a bliss as Sam squeezed him strongly to his chest, their connected bodies never losing the beat.

"I told you he would listen" Mike whispered in Sam's ear as he passed them by, accompanying Puck to the bar to get a drink. "And I told you you two are made for each other"

Sam looked down at Blaine's contented smile, his face still lying on his shoulder, and he could only nod in agreement.