Chapter 2

Three weeks.

Kurt can't believe it's been so long since the name Blaine Anderson entered his life. This name actually is a third wheel between Sam and him when they go out as friends. Sam always talks about him, in an excessive way, especially considering how much consideration he himself had given to boys until now.

He can't believe Sam had stopped while they were playing a videogame in his room only to tell Kurt about the nth fantasy he's been having about Blaine.

He had decided to allow a videogame afternoon because no matter how much he hates them – almost as much as he hates football – he hoped Sam's perfect hobby could distract him from the thought of that gelled guy.

It wasn't enough of course because they've started talking about Blaine again, over and over again, only Blaine.

"It's just that he is so handsome, and I think he plays for our team; I mean, those bowties are a good proof …"

"Honey, I love you, but just tell me that this is my imagination and we aren't actually talking about the hobbit again, please." Kurt begs hoping for an answer that would make him feel better; or that Sam understands his pain about this at least.

"I can't talk to anybody else about it though. Aren't you my best friend?"

"Of course, honey, but don't you think you're exaggerating a little with this crazy crush?" Kurt asks hoping that Sam would get alone to the answer with no need to use the strong-arm tactics.

Sam considers the eventual answer for a moment: of course, he understands that it can be though for Kurt having to listen as he speaks about Blaine all day long, but Kurt is the only one Sam can talk to about it since nobody else knows about his sexuality and so they wouldn't understand. Maybe there's a solution: he might find someone for Kurt too, someone he can talk about so they're fair and it's not just Sam annoying him.

"Maybe we could find someone you like." He says easily.

"We could find? You and an army you mean?" Kurt asks giggling. It's a cold laugh though, deeply marked from the awareness that he developed in the last eighteen years that no one is ever going to want him, no one is ever going to fall hard for him like Sam's falling for Blaine.

Especially, he's sure that he himself isn't going to like anybody like so much and for now, he's always been right about that.

"C'mon, don't be like that." Sam scolds him, letting his joystick fall to the floor and moving closer to Kurt confidently.

"I'm just being realistic, Sam."

Kurt lets this conversation go on a little more, though he doesn't feeling like talking about is non-existent love life; but talking about that means they won't talk about Blaine and everything related so it's fine to him for now.

"What about Sebastian?" Sam asks at some point breaking the silence in which Kurt had curled himself not to listen at his friend's monologue.

"Sebastian … who?" Kurt asks almost spontaneously. How can Sam mention the boy now? Why should he be linked to this conversation?

Sam looks at him surprised and angry for a moment because he knows Kurt is just pretending that he doesn't remember; or maybe he really doesn't, which means something's wrong anyway.

"Sebastian, Blaine's best friend …"

"Sam, we don't even know if they're actually best friends, they could just be classmates." Kurt notices giggling, trying to move over since he can already see Sam's brain is fantasizing, and he hates that it's about Blaine again.

"No, of course they're not, it's evident! They're like, always together, dude-" Sam stops abruptly and the way his thoughts are evident in his eyes make Kurt shiver. "What if they're dating?"

"No, I don't think so. I told you what they say about that Sebastian guy. He surely doesn't even a boyfriend, even if it's Blaine we're talking about and he looks quite cute. We're not even sure is gay and you're already giving him a boyfriend."

Sam starts pondering about it; maybe he is exaggerating a little. Blaine and Sebastian can easily be just friends, and maybe they're not even as close as Kurt and he are; maybe they just know each other and that's why they sit together. When he's convinced enough he nods at Kurt's words, letting the conversation drop. At the same time though, in his head, he's trying to elaborate a way to understand how to pull all the doubts away the ones about Blaine's sexuality and the ones about his relationship with Sebastian.

"What are you thinking about?" Kurt asks leaning over to finally turn off the TV, since he's quite sure they won't play anymore for today. He has no idea whether he feels happy or not about it.

"I think there are a lot of things I should know, things that aren't clear to me. I have to find a way to get it." He explains looking more and more thoughtful.

Kurt moves closer to him taking his hands and letting the proximity calm his thoughts; then he says, "I think you just have to wait, maybe get some information, but don't rush it: someone might find out about you and, since you don't want people to know yet, maybe it would be better if you don't get to obvious by staring at one of the most ambiguous boys in school now."

Sam trusts Kurt: he's always thought his advices were precious because Kurt can see things objectively, in the right way. He has often saved him from lots of situations that could have force Sam to an unwilling coming out or just a bad impression; and Sam has thanked him as much as he's never thanked anyone else. But right now he can't seem to understand. He can't see how much Sam likes Blaine, how much he stares at every single movement or shift of his face; or how he's learnt Blaine's smell perfectly after he's spent hours breathing in during lessons when he forced Kurt to sit behind Blaine and Sebastian.

He has no idea how to explain this, how to say it out loud, but he feels like he has to.

"Kurt … I feel like it's worth it this time." He says then, hoping that his best friend might understand.

"What do you plan on doing then?"

"I … I don't know." Sam confesses hoping that Kurt won't get mad, that he won't judge him.

Kurt doesn't. He leans on the floor, arms behind his head and teeth biting his own lips as he looks thoughtful. Sam knows this means Kurt is actually considering how to solve his problem, and he is so thankful for that.

"You said he's going to try out for the Titans with coach Beast, didn't you?"

Sam's eyes light up and Kurt rolls his own a little when the boy stands up all of a sudden leaving the pillow against the headboard and running to the other side of the room like he was suddenly drugged with excitement. "You're a genius!" He shrieks, and Kurt is wondering why exactly: considering that Sam is the captain of the football team, he should have known already.

"Stop! Just calm down for a moment and let me explain my plan …"

And that's what he does. They spend the rest of their afternoon discussing about Kurt's plan and what Sam is supposed to do not to be caught on. When Sam leaves, at about 7 pm, Kurt lays on his bed and stare at the ceiling feeling tired and bored: he hates it, that Blaine is now part of their lives because until then Sam and he always had so many things to do and talk about together, while now he finds himself enjoying some rest after the nth afternoon spent discussing, thinking and planning about what Sam is supposed to do. It's becoming tiring.

Not to mention that before he walks downstairs to have dinner a thought is starting to bother him; Sam had tried to land him a boyfriend and he can't believe he would choose Sebastian Smythe for that. He's got nothing personal against Sebastian, in fact he is good-looking and, from Blaine's laughs, he seems funny; but there are so many bad rumors about him that won't allow Kurt to even consider the idea of a relationship.

He doesn't need a boyfriend anyway, he doesn't need to change his mind. He might regret it but for now, everything is just fine the way it is.

/

The next afternoon, Sam puts into practice the plan he's made up with Kurt. He's going to see Blaine trying out, considering that he is the quarterback and he has the right to do so; in fact, it's his duty (that's what Kurt said) to know the new kids in there and test them with his coach. Right now, he's just going to be discreet and judge as positively as he can. Maybe with a little luck he is going to meet Blaine in the locker room and talk to him where no one can see them.

Of course, everything goes perfectly – Coach Beiste appreciated his interest – until he's found himself in front of Blaine who is wearing the football uniform and walking in front of him, so sure that Sam can definite in one word only: sexy.

He tries his best to stay focused and not show how mad Blaine is driving him, but it takes him a lot of his self-control to succeed. He manages to do so eventually because he walks to the locker room and no one has noticed the way his eyes were shining every time he stared at Blaine on the field.

"Hi." His voice comes out. It's the first time he talks to him, so Kurt was right again.

Sam puts the helmet on a bench and turns to Blaine smiling.

"Hi. Nice job." He greets Blaine adding a compliment, just like Kurt had suggested.

"Thank you." Blaine replies and he goes back to change his clothes.

Sam doesn't notice the blush spreading on Blaine's cheeks, or his embarrassment when he realizes he's going to be almost naked in front of this blonde guy whose name is Sam Evans – he found out in class during the roll call.

He would want to tell him more and he is sure that if Sebastian saw him now, he would call him an hysterical fairy or something, considering how decided he was to speak to Sam as soon as the coach told him he was going to be there for the try-outs too, and how he ended up just whispering a little Hi. Sebastian had told him the opposite, like to go straight to the point to understand if Sam might be interested.

At the same way, Sam is blushing at the idea that Blaine would see him wearing boxers, and that he is going to see Blaine like that too.

He can't believe it, but he can't either turn and stare at him because, even if they're two dude in a locker room – so there wouldn't be anything bad with that – he knows his crush would be out of place and inappropriately wrong.

So they dress up again, looking around at each other occasionally, but not too long. Their friends would have said that they look childish, but the truth is just that they're head over heels for one another without even knowing, and they have a terrible problem of shyness to get over with.

/

Right when that is happening in the locker room, on the outside it's even worse. Sebastian and Kurt are waiting for their friends there. They're both there to help in case something went wrong, but they don't know that about each other of course.

Kurt leans his gaze on Sebastian for a moment: he's charming, that is objecting, maybe one of the most good-looking boys he has ever seen; but he's got that indifferent look Kurt doesn't like at all. It's the look of cold manipulative person, and even if Sam had said the same thing about Kurt's gaze in the past, Kurt doesn't think it is completely true.

Sebastian's green eyes stare at the horizon, ignoring Kurt even if the boy is just one car away from him. He stares at everything almost maniacally, with his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Kurt doesn't notice that the gaze has moved to him when he's finally looked away.

Sebastian has heard about him and, like everyone at their school, he knows who Kurt is. As he stares at his thing body, he realizes this boy must be shy, he posture feeling like he wants to protect himself from the outside. When he walks along the hallways he might look like he thinks he's better than anyone else, but Sebastian is realizing now that under his mask Kurt is probably more than the ice-eyes boy.

His thoughts get distracted from Blaine's voice calling him through the parking lot.

"Bas!" He screams and he notices that before he turns to him Sebastian's gaze is focused on Sam's best friend. Blaine's brain starts working immediately, but it gets interrupted when Sebastian nods to gesture him to get in the car.

He walks quickly along the path that brings to the lots, almost running because he's anxious to tell Sebastian about what happens, but when he's noticed the way Sebastian was staring at Kurt, he couldn't help but slow down and wonder the reason why his best friend was giving such an intense look to this boy. Sebastian never stares at people so intensely.

Therefore, as soon as they get in the car, away from everyone, he starts asking.

"Since when do you stare at boys like this?"

Sebastian turns to him for a moment before he turns on the engine and steers fast to the exit.

He only replies when the red sport car is speeding along the road to Sebastian's place, where they're going to spend most of the night.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

The answer is cold and there's no way Blaine might read it wrong. Sebastian sounds like someone who doesn't want to be asked about this.

"Oh really?" Blaine asks, determined not to let this slip.

"Really."

"I think you know what I'm talking about." Blaine notices pinching the hand Sebastian has on the shift.

"I think you have no idea what's going on your head, let alone mine." The boy replies even more coldly and Blaine realizes that maybe he's actually pushing it too far; but still, he is curious.

"I think you've stared at Kurt Hummel since the moment you've met in the parking lot. Did you guys talk?" He asks.

"Hmm, no. We didn't, why should I have talked to him?" Sebastian's words sound strict so Blaine decides not to push it more than that, even though he knows what he's seen was interesting and it's going to make him think a lot.

"By the way, I greeted Sam." He falls back to the main theme.

"Really? Did you fuck him?" Sebastian asks lightly looking a little more enthusiastic that he would have usually been.

"No, what are you talking about? I'm not that kind of person, Sebastian."

"Yeah, if you were that kind of person, we would have had it going already." Sebastian smirks while he stares at the road.

"Dumbass. I've just said hi to him, he complimented me about the try out and I thanked him." Blaine confesses waiting for Sebastian to snap at him. But it doesn't happen, not too soon at least.

In fact, Sebastian stays in silence for a moment, thinking about if he wants to hit Blaine with another joke or just let it go so that he can avoid any thing Blaine might say about Hummel and him.

"Well, next time you might also ask him how he is doing, you know." He replies eventually, because it seems like it suits the situation better.

"Yeah," Blaine answers but he doesn't realize the reason why Sebastian is so supportive all of a sudden, "I think we could talk a little longer next time, but I was so embarrassed today."

"How come?" Sebastian asks surprised. Blaine had seemed determined to talk to Sam in the morning, they even planned on an amusing speech and entertaining jokes.

"Locker rooms means being naked, Sebastian. He is handsome, but I was embarrassed and I forgot about our speech," He says clumsily.

Sebastian sniggers for a moment, and then eventually says, "I think you might get a chance to talk more if you have your clothes on next time."

Blaine just nods and they just say silence, both about Sam and Kurt.

Sebastian is sure that they're going to talk about it some more, but he hopes it's not too soon, whether it is about Sam or Kurt.