Title: I Knew You Were Trouble: Trying On New Faces

Rating: M for language and smut.

Pairing: Seblaine, Ex-Klaine; AnderCohen-Chang, Blam, & Blittany friendship.

Genre: Angst, Friendship to Romance

Warning: angst(?)

A/N: So I'll be honest this was probably the hardest thing for me to write. It just wasn't turning out how I wanted it to and I'm still not thrilled about it. There some bits where I'm still like eehhn, but I think it's ready now. I'll definitely indicate time in this as well so you know what's happening when. I hope you enjoy it, writing this was like walking through mud. It starts off the Sunday right after Thanksgiving. I suppose I should ask you all not to be too angry with this one as well. They're definitely getting there and next chapter will be a treat I think. Anyways enjoy lovies and thank you for your patience. Some of you (I'm looking at you domnotdomme! Lol)

—- SUNDAY EVENING—-

Blaine was acting strange.

And the observation, Sebastian noted, was not exclusive to Blaine scooting away every time he tried to cup him through his sweatpants or slide his hand under the hem of his shirt to feel his skin; it definitely extended to well…everything.

Things were tense, like really tense, and they weren't talking about it. Blaine wasn't talking about it. Sebastian was almost entirely sure the other boy was intent on keeping it that way—perpetually stuck between wanting to shut Sebastian up with sex and not wanting sex with him at all. It was the most exhausting game of cat and mouse and he was quickly growing weary of it.

Bottom line: it was getting old and it had only been four days since "it" happened. ("It" being the forevermore, evasively alluded to "Scottland Incident.")

He had to actively put a superfluous amount of effort into not wanking one out in the middle of the night like an ashamed fourteen-year-old discovering his body for the first time one night. He wasn't proud of it—he hardly ever jerked off anymore, didn't have a need for it up until this weekend. There had to be some kind of rule against it. There were only so many times a guy could be worked up to the halfway point with no release before it became a problem. That didn't even take into account that anything they'd start to do physically would somehow start to feel one-sided on his end, almost wrong, as it became more involved. And yet, unexpectedly, that was the least of his problems.

Blaine wasn't talking about it and Sebastian thought no words would ever be as infuriating as "I'm fine."

His empty smiles were back, naturally, and Seb was almost insulted that Blaine genuinely thought he couldn't tell the difference. Their conversations resembled something of the conversations between two polite strangers: stilted and unsure.

He felt it was becoming uncomfortable, agonizing even; it made him feel like the elephant in the room had them pressed up against opposite walls, yet they continued to have a tea party on its back.

It certainly made for an interesting drive back to Dalton.

Leaving the issue alone for the Thanksgiving dinner party—suspended above them where they'd left it in the car ride to Blaine's house—was reasonable; it wasn't the time or the place for a thing like that. Except, now they were coming up on Monday and classes were the perfect excuse for avoidance, not to mention the frustration set in and they'd become a brimmed cup of tension, dangerously placed at the very edge of the counter, at risk of falling over.

Literally, they were about to fall over the edge.

Seb pulled his lips off Blaine's and pushed against his chest when the shut-eyed boy tried to follow.

"Blaine…"

Blaine tried to ignore him, leaning in for another kiss only to be blocked by Seb's hand holding him down.

Firmly, he said "Blaine stop," and that was all it took. Blaine would never push Seb if he really wanted him to stop. He was too much a gentleman.

Blaine dropped his head back onto the pillows, peeling his eye lids open with a look that crossed between uncertainty and frustration. "What is it?" he asked.

"Do you not want to do this?" Seb gestured to the way their bodies intertwined everywhere but at the hips and below. He thought he might have maybe said something truly farfetched if the way Blaine snorted and eyeballed him was anything to go by.

"You're the one pushing me away Seb, not the other way around." He replied, words so unknowingly true, but Seb heard the lilt in his voice that assured there was more. Blaine was repressing—lying—for him.

Seb rolled his eyes. "Blaine if you scoot any further away from me, you'll wind up on the floor."

The boys looked around at their positioning and sure enough, Blaine had scooted them from the middle of Sebastian's full size dorm room bed to the direct edge.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Seb leaned up, propping himself up on his elbows. "Can you just tell me what you're thinking?" He pleaded quietly.

"I'm not thinking anything Seb. I'm fine."

'I'm fine', again. He was always fine. Apparently Blaine was living in a fairytale land where nothing substantial was ever wrong. This wasn't going to work.

There was something truly unsettling about actually witnessing Blaine mold himself to better suit the needs of someone else—even if those needs were his own.

He sat up and stared down at Blaine—gaze unrelenting as he spoke. "Stop that. Stop acting how you think I want you to act to make this okay. I don't need you to do that. You're clearly mad about something, but your being really weird and trying to drag us off the bed. If you're mad, be mad."

Blaine sat erect and crossed his arms. "What exactly do you want me to say, Seb?"

"Stop worrying about what I want." Gently, "What's wrong?"

"Fine." Blaine scrambled off the bed. "I'm mad okay?" Blaine dropped his arms at his sides and shrugged with the weight of his distress, his honey eyes becoming the silver screen of his emotions. "But I get what this is. Okay? I just…I would have liked to not have been made a fool of twice in one week."

Sebastian's entire body became saturated—bloated—with guilt as the words sunk in. Maybe he had come to the decision that he needed to draw a stronger boundary line where his feelings for Blaine were involved, but he hadn't meant for Blaine to walk in and see Scott in his bed. It was by no means intentional, it's just the persistent little fucker wouldn't leave. (Not even after Blaine stormed out.) He hadn't even been worth the drama and now Seb, not for the first time since it happened, wished it hadn't.

"I'm sorry Blaine."

Blaine turned his head away, a humorless laugh passing through his lips and chilling the air around them. "What for? You weren't wrong."

Perhaps he hadn't been, but he still felt wrong.

He realized things were getting complicated where he didn't want them to be. The lines between being friends and lovers became tangled and tightened, blurring into one another, fluctuating from stranger to intimate and just shy of something more. He wasn't sure what to do to cut loose from them.

"So? I'm still sorry. You're upset about it, so I'm sorry." He paused in a moment of uncertainty—a moment of denied fear. "Do you want to not…to not?" He finished lamely, eyes trained on the bedspread.

He couldn't even say it.

What was this anyways? They weren't even dating and this felt something like a break up would feel.

Blaine shrugged looking every bit at a loss of what to do as Sebastian felt. "Maybe…maybe we shouldn't do…it…anymore." Blaine cringed at his choice of words. "I'm trying to be okay with it but I can't. Not after Ku—everything..."

"You should have never acted like you were then. I'm not Hummel okay? I don't need you to do me any favors in holding anything back from me. I sure don't with you." Sebastian replied, forcefully grabbing his shirt from the end of the bed and tugging it on. "If you want you can go."

Retrospectively, he clearly hadn't been ready for Blaine to agree.

When he looked up, it was in time to see the other boy wrap his arms around himself, hitching one eyebrow up and casting a hard glance at him.

"Don't dismiss me like that."

At this point, Sebastian wanted to flump to the ground in defeat. This was never-ending. No matter what he said or did, he fucked up. It was only a matter of time he screwed things up beyond repair.

And yet…

Blaine stayed, taking tenacity and giving it new meaning. Maybe he was stupid? Blaine was better than him in every way he could think of, and still he stayed.

This was all Sebastian was willing to give. It was a lot in his eyes—he was trying—and naturally he was still ruining things.

So maybe Blaine was stupid.

And he was Selfish.

"So stay, if you want to… God I'm such an ass—I'm sorry B, for that and for before, okay? We can watch a movie or something." He shrugged and shuffled back towards the center of the bed.

My, how far he had fallen from the person he used to be that a simple sullen look from Blaine could diminish him to self-loathing and disdain for his inability to shut off his feelings for one boy.

Blaine nodded and sat next to him, curling his legs up, wrapping his arms around his bent legs and resting his chin on his knees.

They watched in silence, pretending the ease of being around each other hadn't been sucked out of the room.

Sebastian watched, unseeing, though his eyes were obstinately trained on the screen, pretending all his attention wasn't on the boy beside him.

Pretending like the small space between their bodies didn't make him feel like they were on opposite ends of the planet.

—-MONDAY: AFTER CLASSES—-

"Ice cream…in the middle of winter…in Ohio?" A voice cut in, pulling Blaine out of the world to which his mind traveled and his eyes from the window, up to meet Eli's bright-brown, smiling eyes instead.

"Hey Eli." Blaine greeted, attempting a smile.

"Hey Blaine."

He didn't wait for an invitation, just took a seat in the chair across from Blaine and smiled a charming lopsided grin. Blaine smiled back, despite himself. He couldn't help it.

"I will say: it does look tempting, even if it is snowing outside," Eli commented, tilting his head thoughtfully as his eyes dressed Blaine with a kind of fondness that made him blush, desperate for anywhere else to look.

"Or maybe…" Eli continued, his smile growing as he leaned in and rested his chin on his propped up hand, "it's just you that looks tempting—my being lactose intolerant doesn't really serve to make ice cream that appealing." He winked then; it was cute, even if he was being extremely cheesy.

The heat that spread under the skin of Blaine's cheeks and the feeling of being flattered and embarrassed in equal measure was not enough to dampen the hurt of the past few days, but it made Blaine smile.

"If you're lactose intolerant, what are you doing here?" He inquired, decidedly ignoring Eli's advances. It seemed so out of left field. Eli complimented him before, sure, but this was so bold and full of intentions he clearly was no longer keeping to himself.

"It's my little sister's birthday today and she loves Brenda's ice cream cakes. We're not celebrating until the Saturday, but you know. Anyways, I'm glad I am. I'm not going to say that it's fate or anything, but I've been meaning to get you alone."

Blaine smiled around a bite of his strawberry ice cream and swallowed before replying. "That's sweet—what you're doing for your sister…Um, what did you need?"

Eli jerked his head to the side and shrugged. "I'm a sweet guy," he teased, "and I've just been meaning to ask you something."

Blaine smiled behind his hand. He realized that he'd never get used to anyone trying to win his affections. It wasn't like it would have been a difficult thing for Eli to do, to earn them either if the circumstances were different; it was no secret how attractive he was and he was charming (the guy had the type of smile that was definitely swoon worthy). Blaine thought he could have been everything he wanted—needed—in a boyfriend in another life.

It wasn't want he needed though. Not now, not from him at least.

Finally composing his thoughts, Blaine spoke apologetically. "Look Eli..."

"Wait. Before you shoot me down and before I've even had a chance to ask you, hear me out."

Blaine was caught between shaking his head 'no' and being polite. He decided on a nod to allow Eli the courtesy of asking him, at least, before he let him down easy.

"Look I'm not asking for a lifetime commitment—obviously—I'm not even asking to go steady yet." He smirked, "I just—you know—heard about Scott and Smythe and thought since you guys aren't exclusive or anything, you might let me take you out."

Blaine's smile faltered at the corner of his lips. Scottland had practically made an announcement with a PowerPoint presentation for visual aid about his night with Seb. Of course he'd heard. No matter how much Blaine wanted to just forget about it, the story was everywhere, like Dalton's very own headline news and they (even he) were the talk amongst the boys at Dalton.

"I'm not really in the mood for a date with anyone right now Eli." Blaine replied softly, wide-eyed and contrite.

Eli only shrugged. "So let me take you out to get your mind off things. It'll just be two guys having fun. It's up to you. If you decide it's a date and you want to kiss me when it's over then okay—in fact, I'll embrace it—and if you don't, that's okay too. We'll still have had fun."

Blaine made a stuttering noise; he opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. "I don't—Eli…"

Eli stood then, grinning down at Blaine and looking something like that cat that got the cream. "So Friday?"

"Can I think about it?"

"Of course. I'm really hoping you'll say yes though Blaine. I know I'm coming off strong but I'd really like it if you gave me a chance. Anyways I'll see you around kay? Bye."

Eli sauntered over to the front counter to put in his order, leaving Blaine with just one more thing to worry his mind over.

—-THURSDAY—-

It was subtle at first—easy to drown out and disguise as complete nonchalance.

See, it took a bit for it to really sink in: A day for the vexation to settle and completely nibble at his psyche and two for the fury to turn into something green and possibly toxic, leaving him with a bitter taste in his mouth and a compulsion to punch Eli in the face.

Repeatedly.

A frown pulled at the corner of his lips at the memory of Blaine tugging on the seams of Sebastian's pillow as he sat on his bed, gaze averting him and desperately trying to work around the faint astriction that still lingered between them.

They'd been studying (actually studying, not just as an excuse to make out—more like as an excuse to not have to talk too much) when the shy admittance slipped past his full lips, his words half submerged under his breath.

There was a blush on Blaine's cheeks as he told him, but the blush wasn't for Seb and that just didn't sit right with him. He was hesitant though, as if he didn't really want to go, but felt he should tell him anyways.

Sebastian held on to that; it was the only thing keeping him from physically attacking any boy that even looked at Blaine.

Bringing him to another issue:

Sebastian was recently struck with the realization that there had been a moment that must have drifted right over his head where Blaine went from his to the last crystal glass of water in a desert filled with thirsty Dalton boys.

But Blaine really wasn't ever his, was he?

He had no right to the possessiveness that manipulated his mood and actions. At least, that was what he told himself when he (in his moment of being a supportive friend) told Blaine to go; he actually talked him into going.

Jealousy was not a good look on him, he thought, and it was nearly going to land him a stint in juvie. He was confident Kiv Schaffer actually felt the jagged-edged daggers of his hateful glare when the other boy openly flirted with Blaine right in front of him—his eyes lingering in places they shouldn't and touches grazing in ways that made Seb's fists clench.

So Blaine was going, though he wouldn't call it a date (thankfully) and Sebastian was trying to put all thoughts of blackmail, slander and assault to rest.

It wasn't easy. It kept his mind busy—reeling—as he leant back on Blaine's bed, propped up on his elbows, and watching as Blaine put clothes together for his night with fucking Eli.

He hadn't even realized the other boy had been speaking to him until a sock hit his forehead. Blaine was smiling at him when Seb looked up—amused by something he must have missed.

"Can you pay attention here? You're not helping."

Seb rolled his eyes. He didn't' need to help Blaine figure out what to wear (because seriously, that wasn't his thing) or how to act.

If it were up to him, Blaine would be in sweatpants, a thick sweater and a hijab.

More importantly, he'd be bored out of his mind. Eli wouldn't get him like Seb did; he wouldn't know what to say to make him laugh (really laugh) or how to get the varying hues of pink and red in that pretty blush with just one compliment. He'd suck, and not in the way that made Blaine's toes curl. Then, Sebastian would be awarded the sight of Eli's broken face when Blaine came running back to him, completely dissatisfied.

But it's not like he could just tell him that.

After convincing Blaine to wear the baggiest pants he could find in Blaine's closet (Eli did not deserve the delight of the sight of Blaine's ambrosial ass in tight pants; he wouldn't even know what to do with it), Seb retreated to his own dorm.

It only took twenty minutes for Sebastian's sulking to turn into scheming and an hour before his body itched to follow through with his plan.

He picked up his cell phone and opened up his contacts screen, scrolling down to the Ts.

"Sebastian?" a soft voice answered, cutting off the monotone ringing.

"Tina." He replied.

"Why are you calling me? Is Blaine okay?"

"Depends. He's going out with Eli Friday night so that's definitely reason to be concerned. Other than that, he's doing well."

A sigh crackled through the line. "Sebastian, what's this about?"

"How would you like to go on a date with me Friday night?"

Only sounds of steady breathing passed through the lines that time and just when the silence grew to the size of a whole other person in the conversation, Tina's voice cut through it with a warning tone. "Sebastian…"

Sebastian huffed impatiently. He didn't need her on board if she was going to give him more trouble than it was worth; it's just that one guy sitting at a table by himself looked a lot more suspicious than if he was with someone, and Tina cared about Blaine didn't she? They were best friends, or whatever.

"What?"

"You need to listen to me and you need to listen well. Firstly, my entire uterus is tearing out of my body—"

"Ew."

"—I am not in the mood to be messed with right now. So don't. Whatever it is that you called me for you need to spill it right now or I'm hanging up."

He seriously contemplated hanging up.

"We're spying on Blaine's da—night out with Eli, Friday."

"Was there a request in there somewhere? Maybe some manners?" Tina carped, grating on Sebastian's last nerve already.

He clenched his jaw and spoke through gritted teeth. "Please?"

"Why do you even want to spy on them? Is there something wrong with the guy?"

Why couldn't she just agree without all these dumb questions?

"He's nice enough, just not for Blaine."

"…And we're spying because?"

Sebastian groaned. "We're doing it for Blaine's sake. Eli is not good for him."

"Okay, Sebastian? Eli seems like a good guy, okay? And that's more than I can say for some assholes he's been wasting his time on as of late. If you're content to keep your head in your ass and this Eli guy is a good guy—if he can make Blaine happy—you need to back off."

The force with which Sebastian gripped the phone was probably going to make him pop a blood vessel at some point. "This is happening whether you're in or not, Chang."

Tina mumbled under her breath and some rustling could be heard before she replied. "Fine, but I'm not going for you. I'm going to make sure you don't ruin Blaine's night."

"Fine." Sebastian nodded curtly, "there will be pie."

"There better be, preferably of the Key Lime variety."

"Deal."

—-FRIDAY—-

Sebastian timed their arrival so they got to the restaurant after Blaine and Eli were already there and seated.

"Dinner and a movie," Sebastian scoffed, "how trite."

"I thought he said this wasn't a date." Tina commented as they stepped out of Sebastian's Audi.

"Eli is not the type to take no for an answer, in any situation—write that down."

"I'm not taking notes Sebastian, and—also…" She pivoted on her heels to face him, casting upon him the sternest expression he'd seen from her yet. Just because she was here, in no way meant she was supporting any of his madness. "If you like him you need to tell him and stop being an idiot. What we're doing is ridiculous and it better not happen again. Don't fuck anything up and if you hurt him, I will have your left nut on my 'dickhead trophy shelf.'"

A smirk pulled at the corner of Sebastian's lips. "Why just the left?"

Tina ran her hands through her hair, brushing the curls to one side as she responded as if she was simply announcing the weather. "I need something to threaten if he forgives you and you attempt something as equally idiotic as this again."

Sebastian nodded. "You're a scary girl, Tina. I like that."

Tina bit the inside of her cheeks to stop the smile that threatened to form. "Let's go in, I'm cold."

Once inside, Sebastian paid off the hostess to sit them so Blaine and Eli were in view but the two of them remained out of sight."

Tina was working on her second slice of pie when Eli excused himself for the restroom. Sebastian couldn't tell if Blaine was having a good time or not, which probably meant if he was, it wasn't anything to write home about; it was always obvious when Blaine was really having a good time.

Now that Eli had separated himself from Blaine, something dark and instinctual took over and Sebastian was up, excusing himself for the restroom as well before his mind had time to even process what he was doing.

He made sure to stay out of Blaine's line of sight as he snuck off. Turned out, Tina wasn't the best at chaperoning when her mind was trained on Key Lime pie and her seat had her back towards the other boys.

Eli was washing his hands when Sebastian entered the bathroom, his eyes meeting Sebastian's immediately in the mirror at the sound of the door opening. He smirked, "What are you doing here Smythe?"

"Well I'm about to empty the contents of my bladder if you don't mind—this being the bathroom and all."

The other boy rolled his eyes. "I meant here at this restaurant, tonight of all nights. I have to say I'm genuinely surprised; I didn't think you'd be threatened by me."

"Don't flatter yourself; it looks pathetic on you. There's nothing to be threatened by. I'm here with someone."

Eli shut off the water and grabbed some paper towels out of the dispenser to dry his hands with before turning to him, arms crossed and his lips turned up at one side. "See I think there is. I think you're scared Blaine will enjoy himself—maybe even call this a date. I think you're scared he'll see he's better off with someone who doesn't take him for granted. You had him and you fucked Scottland Harris? You don't even deserve him, one day he'll see that. It baffles me why he's even still hanging out with you now. You're a slut."

Sebastian snapped.

It was the shock of pain shooting up his arm from his hand that brought on the realization that he had just punched Eli in the face. His hand was throbbing and it only worsened when he moved his fingers.

He wasn't even afforded the opportunity to dwell on the one-part pain, two-parts triumph of finally punching the smug look off Eli's stupid face before said boy had him pinned up against the wall.

Eli's fist connected with his mouth and the stinging force of it sent him tumbling back into the wall again. They were pretty evenly matched and it seemed neither boy was going to let up as they clung to each other's body aggressively.

They hadn't even noticed him enter the bathroom but suddenly Eli was being shoved backwards by Blaine, his back facing Sebastian. Seb went to brace himself on Blaine's shoulders but the smaller boy turned and shoved him off.

Blaine was pissed. His eyebrows were hitched so high on his forehead; Seb thought they might fly off his face. His face was flush with blood, hot and angry under the soft skin, and usually Seb found it hot when Blaine got angry, but this was far from it; this was scary.

"What. The hell. Are you doing?"

The door creaked open and Tina stuck her head in, eyes widening as she surveyed the scene and stepped in fully. Her reluctance to make eye contact with him told Sebastian she was the one who tipped Blaine off. He could see that she was angry though. (At herself or him, he wasn't sure. Probably both.)

"What are you doing here Sebastian?" Blaine demanded.

"He's jealous." Eli groused, wiping at the blood on his face with a paper towel. Bruises were already forming on his face—probably not unlike Sebastian's.

Seb lunged forward, only for Blaine to hold him back with strength his height did not suggest. "Fuck you!"

Blaine pushed him back. "Stop Seb! Just stop. What is your problem? You don't get to come in here and ruin my date like this—not after what you did to me."

"What did I do to you Blaine? We weren't fucking dating!" He spat in repost. Instant regret, "I'm sorry Blaine. I'm so sorry. I didn't mea—"

"Just go."

Sebastian didn't move—stuck frozen in shame.

"I said go!" Blaine screamed, the sudden volume of it making the others jump and pulling Sebastian back into reality.

He fucked up.

So he left—left the bathroom, left the restaurant, left his pride on that bathroom floor and when he got home, back to his pool house alone, he used whatever energy he had left not to break down.

Blaine had called it a date and he ruined everything.

Instead of sleep, there was a bottomless cup of tea and the rest of the homemade biscuits to indulge in when Blaine returned home, curled up in the booth of his kitchen table with a blanket wrapped around him.

Shortly after the blow out at the restaurant, he asked Eli to take him and Tina home. Exhausted merely scratched the surface of what he was feeling and yet he couldn't even manage to fall asleep.

He heard the sounds of feet dragging in the hallway before his mom rounded the corner, wrapped in a robe and squinting at the offending brightness of the kitchen light.

She shuffled into the kitchen and placed a kiss on the top of his head before making both of them fresh tea and joining him at the table in the chair across from him.

Norah's hazel eyes roamed over him gently, concern etched on every one of her features.

"Why are you awake so late sweetheart?"

Blaine's noncommittal shrug could just barely be seen from his blanket cocoon. "Can't sleep," he muttered, adding honey to his tea.

Norah tutted, cautiously sipping from her mug. "Are you okay?"

Those three little words had a way of pulling all his emotions to the very front, a way of pulling his heart down to the bottom of his stomach and filling his eyes with hot tears.

No. He wasn't okay.

Far from it, he thought as he shook his head. His mom was always someone he could talk to. She loved him regardless of anything and more importantly, showed it. Where his father was still struggling to come to terms with Blaine's sexuality (though he loved him all the same), his mom embraced it. So he knew as soon as she spoke those words there was nothing he could hold back from her. Not now when he was barely keeping it together.

She reached out around her cup of tea and gripped his hands tight with one hand as the other wiped his tears. "Is it a boy?" she prodded gently, her head tilted to the side, searching for Blaine's gaze.

Blaine nodded wordlessly.

"Is it Sebastian?"

Another nod. "Yes, and Kurt kind of…and Eli?"

Norah's brows furrowed, "Blaine…"

"Not like that mom," He cut in quickly, "Kurt came back and it was pretty bad and I don't even know what's going on with Seb and now Eli…"

"This thing with Kurt..."

"It's over." Blaine offered with a sullen gaze. It was no secret that Norah loved Kurt, once upon a time.

"And Sebastian?"

Blaine sighed, "We're just friends but he's confusing me and driving me crazy and I don't know."

"That's because you and I both know you two are a little more than just friends." Norah commented, sipping her tea with a smirk curving her lips.

Blaine blushed down to his feet, staring down at his cup as me mumbled "Mom…" completely mortified.

"I'm home more often than you think sweetie. You never were as quiet as you thought with Kurt and even less quiet with Sebastian. You're lucky your father is a heavy sleeper when he happens to be home and your 'friend' is over."

"Oh my god."

"Relax Blaine. I remember being your age. I know what it's like. I would have liked you to wait, but there's nothing I can do to change that now. Who's this Eli? How does he fit in?"

Blaine took a sip of his tea and slumped back. "He asked me out. I didn't want it to be a date at first but it sort of turned out that way and it was nice…sort of—Seb showed up and ruined it and they fought and he—Seb—went back to being a jerk and I don't get it."

Norah hmm'd, nodding as she listened intently until Blaine was done talking.

"So which one do I have to hunt down for being the real reason behind those tears honey?"

Blaine cracked a teary smile and wiped at his face before answering. "Kind of Kurt, but mainly Seb. He kind of…you know…with someone else without telling me he was still going to be doing that."

"Look at me." Norah took Blaine's hands in hers again, casting a firm glance at her son. She meant what she was about to say; more than anything she wanted him safe and happy. "Please be careful, okay Baby? With your body and also your heart. If you're anything like me—and I like to think you are—you wear that thing on your sleeve." Her thumbs stroked at the soft skin of his hand gently—soothing. "There's more than you're letting on with Sebastian, you may not realize it and maybe he doesn't either, but I know. I see the way you look at each other."

Blaine shook his head at this; she didn't understand that there couldn't be more.

"Not yet." She mused quietly. "I'm not going to tell you to stop, whatever it is you guys have going on…"

"We're not…anymore."

Norah nodded understanding completely and sighing because of it. They were so far in over their heads. "Just promise me you'll be careful, Honey. I don't want to see my son brokenhearted again. I couldn't take it—"

Blaine frowned at her admission. "You should take it easy too mom. I know the pneumonia cleared…but you work too hard."

She only smiled in return, shaking her head as she wiped at the remaining wetness on his cheeks. "I'm fine honey. I'm more concerned about my son right now." She placed her hands over Blaine's once more and squeezed. "Go to bed now. I'll clean this up."

They stood and she hugged him, pulled him in tight and placed a kiss on his head before pushing him towards the kitchen entryway.

Sleep finally (finally) came easy when he plopped down on his bed heavily. Some of the weight on his chest had been lifted after his talk with his mom. He was no closer to knowing what to do about everything, but it didn't feel like his world was closing in on him anymore.

tbc

There's hope I swear! Sorry if what Sebastian wanted Blaine to wear was offensive. That wasn't my intention so if I was, I apologize. I also apologize for the angst. Please talk to me dearies. I want to know what you think.

Super long E/N in which I thank everyone for reviews, alerts and favorites:

Hii also I just want to thank everyone who reviewed in the last chapter! The most reviews I've gotten so far. It was really exciting for me! I want to bake you all cookies but obviously I can't do that so I'm just going to say thank you to some new reviewers that I've noticed!

MARA! Omgggg thank you so much. I adore you so much and talking with you has really helped me and made me happy to write and get these out. I was really moved by your review and everything we've talked about after. I'm so excited to get to talk to you on here :). You're a sweetheart! Your feedback is always appreciate. (that goes for all of you too!)

Mika-Chan I'm so sorry I didn't say this before in the last one but really thank you so much. You've been a consistent reviewer as well and I appreciate it so much. I love seeing that you come back for more. :)

Ournoisyhearts! You're also someone who reviews quite often and it definitely brings a smile to my face. I hope you keep coming back and reviewing! Thank youuu!

Applejuice! You are firstly the best anon because you named yourself apple juice. That's my favorite drink over here! Oh my god. Perfect. Secondly thank you for reviewing. Thank you for taking the time to come on here and tell me that! I really appreciate it. Just thank you for the compliment and the tumblr reference and your screen name haha!

Imperverd! Thank you for giving my story a chance! :). and for letting me know. I really appreciate your review and yeah I totally get what you mean! If there is a choice between writing a love story that just works out beautifully and one where I'm crying myself because of all the painful realism I always choose the second one! haha. I was just talking to Mara about that!

Guest! haha Idk who you are but I appreciate your honesty. Keep holding out hope. Good things will come for these boys I promise. I'm sorry you didn't like the development but I'm glad you understood.

MisslissaPotter! I like that you love the pain! hahaha. I hope you enjoyed this one too! thank you for reviewing!

Cicy! Hi hon! They'll realize it and when they do it will be glorious! thank you for coming back and sharing the music that you thought fit. I actually really love when people do that. If anyone wants to share little tid bits of songs they listen to when the read this or anything like that feel free.

Diamond'dst! One: you are a very fast reader! haha. 2 hrs? Damnnnn. Lol but hey thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

&& Obviously Gotta B writin cause you're honesty is always welcome and I appreciate it! and Livechatting your reactions kind of made my day! Thanks for all your help dude I seriously appreciate it. He beta's btw and you probably already know his story (because it's that awesome) "We Love, We Lose, We Start Again" but if you don't go read! It's really good and it hurts in all the right ways! So check it out!

If I missed anyone. First: I'm sorry. Second: Thank you! Please review and let me know what you think.