It feels like forever has passed, and they still haven't had a proper conversation.
Blaine eats, dresses, works out, and sleeps. Sebastian does the same, and it's all in silence. They'll have moments where they accidentally interact, usually Sebastian figures it out first and ends it, but Blaine commits each occasion to memory, figuring out ways he can restart the cycle again.
Sometimes he just talks to Sebastian anyway, hoping that his chatter will force the other boy into response. It isn't until Friday night when they're at dinner does Sebastian make an effort.
Blaine's shoveling salad in his mouth, Sebastian on his right, when it happens.
"So, Blaine." He starts, coolly choosing the right words and sending shivers up Blaine's spine, "about that kiss..."
Blaine doesn't answer.
He's distracted by the blinking red letters hovering across the cafeteria's television screen: Breaking News. He's seen this once before, the day of the repeat attack, and he holds his breath in anticipation for the worst.
Sebastian double takes and follows Blaine's sightline towards the small screen in the back of the room. He looks back at Blaine again; whose fork is hovering mid-air, and decides it must be important so he watches too.
Blaine forgets almost instantly that Sebastian's broken their treaty of silence.
They have a lead.
Detective Smythe is visible on Dalton's television and they have a lead. He sets his fork down, and takes it all in.
He'd been so angry when they reported the repeat attack, and he's spent enough time thinking now to understand why. He feels responsible. He always feels responsible. Blaine's figured out that he'd carry the weight of the world on his shoulders before giving up the feeling of failure.
Regardless of his revelation, what's fact is fact. Blaine's account of what happened that night hadn't been useful enough for investigators. It was to variable, they said, because of his black outs, to variable because he'd been concussing from blows to the head.
That and he'd only clearly seen one of the men…
… the man with the tattoo.
Blaine suppresses his body's repulsion of the memory. He feels sickness creep in and out of his limbs, a small sweat forms above his brow. That man. He'd never forget being forced to stare into his eyes, and the cruel sadistic smile that followed the stranger's hesitation. No. No. No.
He cups his left hand absentmindedly to his throat, remembering how his blood pulsed in frantic blasts beneath the cool sharp metal. It's there that Blaine discontinues his train of thought.
They have a lead.
That means the second victim is awake and giving information, concrete, pursuable details that will put those men away for an admittedly long time. He wishes it were forever.
Unfortunately, Blaine knows what's coming next.
This must be what his gut was preparing him for. What his body has been training to fight, what his mind has been trying to forget. Just like that, as if it'd been waiting to mock him his entire life, there it is.
There he is.
It roughly made, but accurate nonetheless. Among the dark charcoal smudges and chalky fingerprints there's a recognizable quality to it. His nose is off, but the artist has captured his eyes and jaw line perfectly in the sketch.
The tattooed man is watching Blaine through blinking red letters, and his first thought is, when will the Warblers find out?
The kids here are smart. They pay attention to fine details, and Blaine's slip up is bound to resurface. He knows this isn't McKinley where one kids problems are another's playground. Dalton has a zero bullying tolerance, but Blaine can't help but wonder what they'll think.
He's only worried because he knows how he feels about it.
Suddenly he isn't hungry anymore.
He's about to excuse himself, face paling, when a hand reaches out and laces its fingers through his. With the numb comes a swelling sensation, and really, who needs words when actions dissertate volumes?
"I see you two have made nice."
Sebastian snatches his hand away, and Blaine can still feel small tingles shooting around beneath his palms.
"About damn time. If I have to hear this guy," he motions to Sebastian as if he weren't present, "complain one more time about missing-" Puck shrinks under devious eyes, and directs the conversation back to Blaine. "Anyways, did Sebastian at least tell you about last weekend?"
Blaine tries his best but he can't avoid feeling devastatingly hurt. They've been distant since the party, but were they that serious? What about all those near miss conversations they'd had?
Blaine wasn't even worth hinting that something important was happening in his best friend's life? He plays with his food, wondering what else Sebastian has been silent about, when Puck continues.
"Of course he didn't. You're so damn hardhead, man!" He smacks Sebastian on the back of his head, earning another death stare. "His coach officially made him team captain."
Blaine lights up, proud on the other's behalf, but feeling dejected inside, "Congrats!" Hidden beneath his smile are pain, rejection, and fear. Sebastian mumbles a 'thanks' after Puck gives him a look, and Blaine tries to ignore the story replaying in red in the back of the room.
"Yeah, he's officially a starter now. Lead attack, bro. Alan said he couldn't make it because of this homo hunting douche bag," Puck gestures over his shoulder at the television, "so all the Warblers are in mandatory attendance."
Blaine overlooks the douche bag comment, and scrambles to keep the conversation away from the attacks, "Who's Alan?"
Puck looks at Blaine suspiciously, "Smythe's dad? Duh."
Blaine tilts his head from Sebastian to Puck, and remembers his salad. "You call him Alan?" He takes a bite, successful in his diversion.
"Beside the point, dude. You in?"
Both Sebastian and Puck are waiting for Blaine's answer, but there are other things pressing on Blaine's mind. The air goes stiff around their table, and Blaine wishes that he isn't imagining that shimmer of hope in Sebastian's eyes.
He accepts on one condition. "As long as I can wear my new bowtie!" he gushes, full of confidence from Sebastian's expression.
All three of them laugh while he goes into detail, explaining how the deep blue contrasts the red canaries that are polka dotted along the reversible fabric. Sebastian has to occupy his mouth with food so that he doesn't react to fondly towards Blaine's request, but it doesn't go unnoticed.
The belief that things will get better turns into something solid within him, and Blaine looks forward to whenever it decides to do so. Hurry up, he thinks, watching the television again for more information