For the second time in less than three months, I wake up in a hospital bed, but this time it's Mr. Schue standing over me, which is a lot more comforting than who it was last time.
"Blaine? Are you awake?"
I nod. I can tell immediately that I've had an adrenaline shot. My skin is crawling and my head is pounding and my heart is racing like I've just run a marathon, but my throat isn't swollen closed anymore, and I'm nowhere near as dizzy.
"Oh my god," I mutter, "What happened?"
He says, "You had an allergic reaction and you lost consciousness. But you're gunna be okay, Blaine. I need to call your parents. Can you give me their phone number?"
I groan. "My dad's out of town on a business trip," I lie, "I don't have a number for him."
"Well what about your mom?"
What about her? I say, "I don't have a mom."
Blatant lies, but I can't even dream of explaining the truth right now. I feel like hell.
Mr. Schuester looks seriously stressed out. "There's really nobody I can call?"
"Call Kurt," I say.
Mr. Schuester says, "I have. He and Finn are on their way now."
I'm a little annoyed that Finn is coming, but then I remember that if he hadn't realized what was happening, I could be dead by now. I nod. "That's good."
"Blaine, you really scared us," Mr. Schue says, "Have you ever had a reaction like that before?"
I close my eyes for a moment, trying to relax my racing heart. "When I was a lot younger, yeah," I say, "But it's been so long that I didn't even realize what was happening until Finn figured it out."
"You're lucky," Mr. Schue says, "If there hadn't been an EpiPen in the first aid kit, I don't want to think about what would have happened."
I grimace, imaging what the rest of the choir must have thought, watching me pass out like that. "I am so sorry," I say.
"Don't apologize," he says, "I'm just glad you're alright."
A nurse stops at my bed, and says, "I need to check your vitals, Blaine. How're you feeling?"
I shrug. I recognise her from last time I was in the hospital, and I hope that she doesn't recognise me.
She measures my blood pressure, and says, "You're not having such a good few months, are you, hon? First the concussion, and now this?"
I grimace, and say, "Not the best, no."
"When did you have a concussion?" Mr. Schue asks, frowning in concern.
She says, "When was it? Just before Christmas, wasn't it, Blaine?"
I blush deeply and nod.
The nurse finishes taking my vitals, and says, "We'll have to keep you here for observation for a few hours to make sure you don't have another reaction, but it looks like you're just fine."
She leaves, and Mr. Schuester asks, "How come you didn't tell us you had a concussion?"
Finn and Kurt show us just as he asks it, and Kurt frowns deeply. "Concussion?" he asks, "What are you talking about, Mr. Schue?"
Mr. Schue says, "The nurse just told me that Blaine was here just before Christmas with a concussion."
I feel like puking now; there's no way to back out of this lie. Finn stares at me, and Kurt asks, "What? You didn't have a concussion—what?"
He looks confused, but I can practically feel him figuring it out in his head. He stops talking. Fuck fuck fuck.
"He was here because of an asthma attack just before our Christmas concert," Finn says, "Maybe that's what she meant."
Mr. Schue says, "No, the nurse definitely said it was a concussion, didn't she, Blaine?"
I shrug, locking eyes with Kurt, who instinctively changes the subject. "That doesn't matter," he says, "Blaine, how are you feeling right now? I've been so scared."
"I'm going to be fine," I say quickly, grateful, "They just have to watch me for a while to make sure I don't have a secondary reaction or something."
There's a brief silence while they all stare awkwardly at me, and then Finn says, "Seriously, Blaine, did you lie about the asthma attack? Did you actually perform at the concert with a concussion? Is that why you got so messed up?"
Kurt is frowning deeply, studying my face, and Mr. Schue just looks confused. Finn looks angry.
I stutter for a moment trying to figure out what lie to tell, and then I say, unconvincingly, "I think that the nurse just got confused. She obviously sees a lot of patients."
Kurt is looking at me as though he's seeing me for the first time, and it scares the crap out of me.
"I should call Mercedes," I say, "I want to make sure she knows this wasn't her fault. She looked so scared in the choir room."
Finn nods. "Good idea. We should call everyone and let them know you're alright."
They don't ask me any more questions about the concussion, but I can't make eye contact with any of them for the rest of the day.
