"Hi! You've reached Kurt Hummel, sorry I can't come tothe phoneright now... leave a message!"

Blaine sighed deeply, this was the third attempt he'd made to call Kurt since he'd been released from the hospital that afternoon. Two days ago, Blaine had collapsed at school. 911 had been called, and it was discovered that Blaine hadn't eaten in approximately a week. Six days, Blaine had internally corrected everyone. He was too embarrassed to admit it though.

Lately, he'd been feeling a bit self-conscious of his weight, not that he thought himself as fat or anything, but being on the Cheerios came with a certain mentality as a side-effect. Between Cheerios practice, Glee Club, Student Council, Secret Society of Superheroes, preparing for his NYADA audition and his regular schoolwork, Blaine had rarely found the time to get a decent meal down anyway. He wasn't sure exactlywhyhe stopped, only that once he had, life seemed to get a lot easier.

Until Tuesday, when he collapsed during Glee Club, which brings us full circle to where Blaine is now. Of all places, Blaine currently finds himself in the bed of none other than Sam Evans. His parents, following their typical behaviour, were off on one of their fancy "business" trips. Blaine had talked to his mother briefly while he was still in the hospital over the phone, and she said that he was to find a friend's house to stay at, because they couldn't be bothered to return to the USA for a few days and make sure their son was okay.

Which is how Blaine had come to timidlyaskSam if it was all right to stay with his family, just until Cooper managed to get some time off work in LA to come take care of him, and Sam had agreed before Blaine had even finished the question. It had been arranged, and since the Evans' didn't have a guest room Blaine was to stay in Sam's room. It had been cautioned that Blaine shouldn't be alone at any given time anyway.

Tossing his phone onto Sam's nightstand, Blaine settled himself in and hugged a pillow tightly to his chest. Sam was at school right now, his mother having forced him to go. Mrs. Evans had made it a point to check on Blaine at least once every hour, bringing him homemade meals that Blaine had guilted himself into eating by remembering that the Evans' didn't have a lot of money, and he didn't want to waste valuable food that they could have given to Stacie or Stevie. He made a mental note to pay the Evans' family back for their hospitality.

He didn't know how long he had been laying there, lost in thought, but he must have drifted off because the next thing he was aware of was Sam crawling into the bed. He felt arms around him and he made a noise of query. Sam simply adjusted them so that he was lying on his back, with Blaine curled into his side. Sam kept his arms around Blaine in an almost protective embrace, and Blaine rather enjoyed the feeling, until his mind woke fully up.

"Sam, what're you doing?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Here's the deal, B. Obviously you haven't been doing as well as everyone thought. You're stressed about school, and Cheerios, and Glee club, and I know that Kurt's been really busy studying for his exams and stuff and hasn't been answering your calls."

"What's your point...?"

"My point is that obviously someone needs to keep a closer eye on you. Being your best friend isn't enough anymore."

"Still not following..." was Blaine's response to that, finally releasing the tension and relaxing into Sam's embrace.

"From now on, I'm your boyfriend." And the tension was back, Blaine tried to pull back in order to ensure he heard properly, but Sam just tightened his grip and wouldn't let him go.

"Sam- What!? Are you drunk right now?"

"Nope, and hear me out. Kurt gets to have a rebound, so why shouldn't you get one too? There's only so much support I can provide –emotionally- as your best friend, so I'm giving myself a promotion. As your boyfriend, I can give you that support. I'm aware that eventually, Kurt's going to realize that you and him are like, meant to be together forever, and you're gonna get back together with him. I'm okay with that. Actually, that's what I'm hoping for. So we're going into this under two conditions. One, you choose Kurt over me, I know you won't have a problem with that. Two, I'm the best man at your wedding,and I don't care how much Puckerman bribes you."

Blaine was shocked into silence. Sam was serious. He was a hundred percent, undisputingly, offering his services to Blaine as a rebound. The first thing he could think to say was, "But you're not-"

Sam cut him off, "Don't label me, it's not important."

Blaine frowned, in fact, he'd never actually heard Sam say the words "I'm straight" at any point while they've known each other. The guy just always dated girls, so Blaine had assumed. Wait, Sam was dating Brittany, wasn't he?

"What about Britt?"

"She broke up with me today, this was actually partly her idea, and she said she wants to try and fix things with Santana, so it works out well for everyone."

Blaine was still frowning, "I don't need pity, you know..." He said softly.

"I'm not doing this out of pity, Blaine..." Sam sighed. "Look, when you passed out, I was really scared. During the time you were in the ER and no one knew what had happened, I realized something. I love you. I don't know what I'd do without you... You're probably the most important person in my life right now, and I want to make you happy."

"Sam..." Blaine started, but he really had no idea what he wanted to say to that. But he was in luck, because Sam did the talking for him.

"I think this will be good for both of us, all right? I need to show you that you're important to the world, and before you go off on how it's not fair if I'm the only one making sacrifices," Blaine closed his mouth, having been prepared to interrupt with just that point. Was Sam a mind reader or what...? "Let me just remind you that you've helped me too, and you still do. I don't feel stupid when I'm around you, and you helped me apply to colleges and stuff. As long as you continue to do that stuff we'll be fine."

Blaine remained silent again, he wasn't quite sure how to respond. It didn't seem like Sam was giving him much of a choice in this, not that he'd really pick anything else. Before he could think of a response, Sam was speaking again.

"We can do everything boyfriends do, okay? This isn't fake, even though it's eventually going to end, we're real. We'll go on dates, kiss, hold hands, everything. And I'm cool with all of it, so don't give me any of those excuses."

Again, Blaine had opened his mouth to bring up a point when he had been shushed yet again by Sam. He closed it, and let himself really think about what Sam was saying. Sam spoke one more time.

"Are you okay with all of this?"

And Blaine knew his answer, but it took him a few moments to actually get it out. "Yes, I'm okay with that..."

Sam grinned and tightened his arms in a hug around Blaine. Blaine snuggled closer into the embrace and let his eyes close in relaxation.

"You should get some sleep, B." He said after a few minutes, adjusting the blanket and getting them both comfortable. "Sleep well."

Blaine was aware of a gentle kiss placed on his forehead, before everything became a peaceful oblivion.