A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took so long again. This chapter was kind of emotionally draining, hence my reasoning for putting my note at the beginning this time. Anyways, thinking about this chapter had me crying all alone in my room like some kind of blubbering buffoon….okay it wasn't that bad, but I'm a big enough person to admit that my own writing makes me cry sometimes…maybe it's because I don't really allow myself to cry in my everyday life (it's not that manly, and I'm pretty sure I'm an ugly crier hahaha).
…..
Sam is sitting in a desk at the school and has just answered the last question on his make-up midterm for his chemistry class. So far he'd taken his algebra 2 test, his history test, and his English test, so after he was finished with this one all he had left was his art history test and he was free to get ready for prom. He finishes the equation and goes back to double check the rest of the test. Once satisfied he turns it in to Principal Figgins, who sits at the desk in front of the young man.
Figgins takes the stapled stack of pages from Sam and smiles, "Finished already, Mr. Evans?"
Sam nods, "Yes, sir. I even double checked my answers and I'm pretty sure I aced it."
Figgins nods, "That is good, because you know that in order to pass your classes and not have to take summer school classes, you need at least a B plus on your midterms or you'll have to get all A's on your final exams."
Sam shakes his head nervously and Figgins grades the test. He hands the test back to the young man. Sam flips it over; A minus. Sam sighs, feeling a great weight lifted off of his chest.
Figgins clears his throat, "Excellent work Mr. Evans." Sam smiles and nods. Figgins takes the test back from Sam and adds it to the stack of completed work. "Now, since we have an extra half hour before you are technically supposed to take your last exam, I will allow you to use your cellular phone to check any messages you might have received as a reward. But you only have five minutes."
Sam's smiles quickly fades as his chance at a mental break is reduced to six times less than he originally had. Then he realizes this mean more time to get ready for prom and be with Blaine. He goes over to a shoebox the principal had sat next to the door when he arrived and retrieves his phone.
He reads the first text from Blaine and immediately knows something is wrong. Blaine has been planning their prom since the two of them woke up from their shared dream. Even when Brittany announce the no hair gel rule, Blaine still wanted a night where the two of them could relax and just be happy with their friends. A night that would be free of the drama that seemed to plague their lives and so Sam now stares at the message, knowing that this has to do with Blaine's parents.
He turns to principal Figgins and says, "Excuse me, Principal Figgins."
Figgins looks up from his computer, "Yes, Mr. Evans, are you done with your break already?"
Sam shakes his head, "No, sir. Actually I just got a text from my boyfriend and something is really wrong." Sam's voice is calm but it sounds tight and constricted at the same time. "Would it be alright if I came in early on Monday morning to take my last test. Art history is kind of an easy class for me, since it's mostly looking at old pictures and I don't have to read too much and try and get passed my dyslexia and all."
The older man shakes his head, "I'm sorry for Mr. Anderson's predicament, but if you leave now, you won't be allowed to take your exam and will likely fail. I suggest you get one of your fellow glee clubbers to take care of the issue until you can do what you need to do. Besides, your last exam is only a hundred and fifty questions. It should take you no more than two hours, what with the two page essay at the back."
Sam sighs. His entire body feels like it's being pulled in different directions. His head says to stay put and take the test. He'll still have plenty of time to fix things with Blaine. But, his heart aches and is urging him to just run out and protect the man he loves. Then he realizes that if he leaves, he and Blaine will be in separate grades, and that means that Blaine will go off to college without him and that means an entire year without him. A tear runs down his cheek and he dials Sebastian's number.
"Hey, Sam! You finished already?!" Sebastian's excited voice only makes it harder for Sam to ask this.
He clears his throat and says, "Not yet, I've got one test left."
Seb groans, "Well hurry up, dude, Puck's already got the plan worked out for spiking the punch this year…Becky Jackson is going to be the decoy and distract Coach Sue!"
"Seb, that's great, but I need you to shut up and listen for a sec." Sam says getting frustrated, even though he doesn't mean it.
"Sorry," Sebastian says sounding hurt.
Sam sighs, "Listen, I'm not trying to be a dick, but something's wrong with Blaine and Figgins won't let me leave or I'll have to repeat my junior year. I need you and you only to go over to his house and get him ready for prom. He deserves this, Sebastian. You of all people should understand that."
He hears his friend sigh on the other end, it's like he's choking back some tears. "I'm on it."
Sam smiles, "Thanks, Sebastian."
"Anytime, Sam." Sebastian says.
Just before ending the call Sam remembers an important detail that Sebastian will need to know, "Hey one last thing."
"What's that?" Sebastian asks.
Sam runs his free hand over his face, "If this has anything to do with his mom and dad being themselves, then he's locked his bedroom door and barricaded it with his dresser. You're going to have to climb up the side of his house, where the vines are, climb onto the roof of the porch and go down three windows and then you'll see his bedroom."
Sebastian groans at the thought of all that physical work, but agrees to it anyways.
"Thanks, Sebastian. You're the only person other than me that knows his secret and I have to keep it that way." Sam leans against the wall and slides down to the floor. Tears drown his face as he hangs up. He wipes his tears away and sends Blaine a text.
SAM: BABE, UNLOCK YOUR WINDOW. HELP IS ON THE WAY. I LOVE YOU.
He switches over to his dad's number and composes a text.
SAM: I'M ON MY LAST TEST, MADE ALL A'S ON THE OTHERS.
He sends it, looks up at the ceiling, but instead sees through it and thinks of his deceased parents and writes out a second text to Will.
SAM: I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS FOR BEING THE BEST DAD I COULD ASK FOR. I KNOW I SCREW UP AND WE MISSED OUT ON SO MUCH, BUT I LOVE YOU DAD AND I'M SORRY IF I EVER SEEM LIKE I DON'T APPRECIATE YOU AND MOM. I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'D BE WITHOUT YOU BOTH.
Sam hears Figgins calling for him and he climbs to his feet and goes back into the classroom to take his last test. He takes his seat looks at the first question, but before he answers he says a quick prayer, "God, please help me help get Blaine through this."
…..
It took fifteen minutes for Sebastian to get to Blaine's and when he gets out of his car he sees only Blaine's in the driveway. He parks next to his friend and looks around for where he's supposed to climb. He walks around to the side where Sam had told him to go and finds a wall of vines and climbs up. He almost loses his footing half way up, but he holds tight and makes it to the top. He cautiously looks around to see if anyone is watching. When he gets to the third window, the room beyond is dark. He wouldn't even suspect it to be Blaine's, had he not noticed the shadowy form of a shorter man lying on a bed.
The window is cracked open a bit and so Sebastian slides his fingertips under and lifts up. He crawls through and hears the sobs coming from his friend, and then the smell hits him. He looks around and sees the burnt remains of a greyish, silver tux lying on the floor. His heart drops. He'd heard Rachel and Santana talking about how excited Blaine was about having found the perfect outfit for prom and how it was going to be special for him and Sam.
"Sam?" Blaine says with a quiet sob.
Sebastian turns his attention back to Blaine, who is still facing the wall. Sebastian sighs, "No, it's Sebastian."
Blaine wipes his eyes and sits up quickly. When he looks at Sebastian he turns on the light. His face is red and puffy from having spent so much time crying. He rubs his eyes, pretending to have just woken up from a nap. "What are you doing here? I thought Sam was coming over?"
Sebastian takes a seat on at the foot of the bed and says, "He's taking his last midterm. If he leaves he might get held back. So he sent me to come and help you get ready for prom."
Blaine scowls at Sebastian and lays back down, turning his back to the other young man. "I'm not going. I already told Sam that I'm sick."
Seb rolls his eyes and grabs Blaine by his ankles and flips him onto his back. "We both know you're not sick, Blaine."
"Yes I am!" Blaine fakes a couple of coughs and tries his best to look ill.
"Dude," Sebastian says shaking his head, "You'd have to literally be puking right now for me to even consider that you might be sick. We both know this has to do with your mom and dad." He sees Blaine's eyes go wide and then give him an angry glare. "I'm also guessing that that smoky, burnt thing over on the floor there was your tux?"
Blaine can only nod. "I'm going to kill Sam for telling you."
Sebastian scoots forward and takes hold of Blaine's hand, "He only told me, so that I could get my dad to help get you out of here and not lose your trust fund."
Tears begin to well up in Blaine's eyes as he feels more loved than he has in his entire life. He can't remember a time when he was this happy. He owed it all to Sam. The boy who went from being a comforting shoulder and best friend, to the only person he would ever truly want.
"How have you kept this a secret? Or am I the last to know about all of this?" Blaine asks.
Sebastian smiles, but then it fades, "No one knows besides me, Sam, and my dad…well Mr. Schue kind of knows, but not enough, because if he did know everything, he'd have to report it more than likely. And as for how I've kept it a secret, that part was easy."
"How so?" Blaine asks sitting up to pay closer attention.
Sebastian feels a tear run down his cheek and he knows he can trust Blaine with his own secret. "Because I know what it's like to be afraid of your dad."
Blaine doesn't quite understand, but he can see the emotional scars behind the eyes of his friend. "Can you tell me about it?"
Sebastian nods and he tells Blaine everything.
….
Will and Emma are at the gym, helping Coach Beiste and the prom committee finish setting things up. Emma is telling a young girl to adjust the dinosaur banner, when the poor teenager falls off the ladder, bringing the tarp-like banner with her. Emma runs to help the girl, but when the girl rolls over onto her back, the OCD wins out over her care for her student when she sees a piece of bone protruding from the girl's wrist.
"SHANNON!" Emma screams before running in the opposite direction.
Will is walking back from getting a drink when Emma crashes into him. He sees Coach Beiste running over to an injured student. "What happened there?" He asks his girlfriend pointing directly behind her.
Emma's pale complexion is almost see-through by now and she stutters as she speaks, "She fffell, an an and there was bla bla blood and b b bone!"
Will looks past Emma and sees Shannon holding up the girls arm. He hears her say, "Eh, it's not that bad. I can pop that baby back in there and have it set before a donkey can kick a mule's ass."
The girl looks frightened beyond belief, "What?! NO!" Tears of pain drench her face and Shannon laughs.
"Oh come on punkin' I was only joshin' ya. You kids these days just don't seem to have much of a sense of humor anymore. Just lie still and the ambulance will be here soon." Shannon says with a bright smile and the girl looks at her with an expression that reads, "Oh sweet baby Jesus, save me!"
Will's phone vibrates in his pocket and he fishes it out. He smiles when he reads Sam's first text, "Sam's got one test left and has made all A's on the others so far."
This brings Emma back to reality and the rosiness back to her cheeks, "Oh that's wonderful. He's been studying so hard the past few days. I'm glad he's dating Blaine and not Brittany, otherwise he might have been focusing on drawing pictures and writing his answers with the right colored crayon."
Will laughs, "I can't believe you just said that!"
She laughs too, "I'm only kidding…well mostly, but it is true, that poor girl is going to repeat her senior year because she doesn't go to class, and she draws on her homework."
Will stops laughing when he reads Sam's second text. "Emma, read this."
She takes the phone and reads the message, "Aww, that's so sweet of him and it…it..makes me want to…" tears fall from her eyes like rain drops, "Nope, its making me cry. Oh, Will, I'm so happy that Sam has started calling me his mom."
Will hugs her tightly. "Me too, but I have a feeling that text is more about him being worried about Blaine, than him loving and appreciating you and I."
…..
"Wow, I'm so sorry, Sebastian." Blaine says after having just heard the entire story.
Sebastian wipes his own tears away, "Thanks, but I'm fine now. After my mom married my stepdad I found out what a real dad was supposed to be like, and after talking to Puck about this and then again with Sam, I really know that it wasn't my fault and whether it was because my dad had a tumor or not, it will never be my fault and because of that, I've learned to forgive him…I think I have at least."
They hug and Blaine says, "I can't go to prom."
"Why not?" Sebastian asks in a demanding tone.
Blaine sighs, "I don't have anything to wear. I wanted to look good for Sam and …"
Sebastian interrupts him with the truth, "And you could wear the ugliest outfit ever, and Sam would still think you looked like a million bucks." Blaine shoots him a snide look, "But, I get what you mean, so come on. We'll swing by wherever it was you rented that thing and return it, I'll pay for it and then you can have this tux my dad bought me." He sees Blaine looking at him confused. "I only wore it, when I tried it on, and it's similar to the one you were going to wear; only it wasn't treated like a wearable marshmallow."
Blaine laughs and agrees to go with Sebastian. "Why are you paying for my tux?" He says just realizing what Sebastian had offered him.
Sebastian shrugs his shoulders, "I'm rich, I nearly blinded you, and you didn't sue me for damages, so I owe you one."
"Fare enough," Blaine says as he puts on his shoes and begins to climb out the window.
Sebastian is surprised he doesn't have to argue over this, "Wait why aren't you doing the whole, "Oh no it's too much money!" shtick that people do when they're offered something like that?"
Blaine turns back to his friend, "Because I don't have five grand I could just spend right now." He smiles at Sebastian, devilishly and then hops down the ground.
Sebastian feels flabbergasted, but he knew how much that tux cost, since he had two in his closet that were similar.
…
Sam has just finished with his final test and turned it when he gets a text from his dad.
WILL: I'M PROUD OF YOU, SON. BLAINE IS GOING TO BE FINE, I PROMISE.
He smiles at the fact that his dad knows him so well.
"Well Mr. Evans, it looks like you might be missing summer classes after all!" Figgins's voice comes happily from behind him and Sam turns around.
He sees his grade, another A minus and he jumps for joy, "I'd love to stay and celebrate, Principal Figgins, but Blaine needs me!"
Figgins nods, "Go, have fun and be safe at your prom."
Sam smiles and then runs off for his car. He sends his dad a quick text telling him he was going to Blaine's and that he'd see him at prom. When he gets to his car the phone rings. Sebastian's name pops up on the screen and without blinking Sam answers it. "How is he?!" Sam can't hide the worry in his voice.
"He's fine, he's in my room changing into one of my old tuxes." Sebastian's words relieve some of the tension Sam is feeling.
"Wait, what happened to his tux?" Sam asks and Sebastian quietly tells him everything that happened earlier. Sam holds back his anger and calmly says, "I'll be over in a bit, I'm going to run to my house and change. I'll meet you guys at your house." With that he hangs up and drives quickly to get ready for a night he was going to make sure would be amazing for Blaine.