Title: You don't fall in or out of love - you grow into it.

By: blaineandsamevanderson

Paring: Blaine/Sam

Rating: PG-13

Warnings/Tags: School Shooting related

Summary: S4 AU ~ Blam re-write of Shooting Star

Notes: Sorry for any typos. My transcription software doesn't always understand what I say and I don't always catch the mistakes. I have trouble typing things by hand since I suffered an injury last year to my right hand and it seizes up if I try to do too much.

Sam's eyes were sad and his usual good spirits were conspicuously absent, making the choir room seem somehow less bright and hopeful. At least that's how it felt to Blaine. Since Monday, when Britney had decided that she had to break up with Sam in order to spend her last few pre-Tubbingtonbop days with Lord Tubbington and Skype reconciling with Santana, Sam had been trying to put on a brave face, but everyone could see he was hurting.

Once again, Sam had fallen for a girl, only to be cast aside and have his heart crushed. He was so sweet and loving that it was painful to witness and Blaine hoped he'd be able to bounce back eventually.

But how many times could your heartbreak before it stayed broken?

As most of the club was present, save for Brittany, Tina, Joe and Sugar, Mr. Shue wrapped up his conversation with Coach Bieste and stepped to the front of the room. "All right," he called, smiling broadly. "Let's get started!"

A strange thing happened then. When Mr. Shue clapped his hands, an odd, chilling sound rang out, followed by a scream and the sound of running footsteps. Everyone froze, an awful sense of dread creeping into their minds.

No.

It couldn't be a gunshot.

Then another rang out, and Coach Bieste ran to close the door as Mr. Shue looked at them all and ordered, "Everyone, spread out. Just spread out and hide."

Panic bubbled up in Blaine's chest as someone killed the lights and he heard shutters being closed. Blaine hit the side of the piano, trying to shove it toward the door, but he couldn't move it far enough and settled for edging closer to the wall before helping Artie out of his chair and down into cover. Mr. Shue locked the second door and they all settled into their hiding places.

The silence (broken only by the tick of the metronome he had knocked onto the floor) in the room was terrifying, as they could still hear the panic outside and Blaine whispered, "Are we even sure they were gunshots?"

Even as he asked the question, Mr. Shue shushed him and Blaine hugged his knees tighter, curling into the smallest possible ball he could. All around him, he heard sniffles of fear and the occasional little shaky breath.

Quietly, Mr. Shue spoke. "Everyone, guys, guys, guys… Start texting. Tweeting. Let everyone know what's going on, but don't tell them we're here. Shooters have smartphones too."

With shaking fingers, Blaine pulled out his phone and Mr. Shue pulled Artie further back in the cover offered by the piano. Blaine could see him, Marley, Kitty and Jake tapping away on their own phones as Mr. Shue tried to provide a calming commentary.

"We're all just going to stay here, okay. We've got nowhere to be. We don't know what's going on out there." A phone buzzed, scaring them all. "I love you guys."

There were more footsteps running in the hall and suddenly the handles on the door rattled, making them all freeze in terror. It could be the shooter, trying to get in at them… Then someone was at the other door... And there was another shot….

Kitty and Marley were crying and Jake was doing his best to comfort them… And then there was sound of someone moving around inside the room.

It was Sam. Blaine could hear Mr. Shue and Coach Bieste whispering his name urgently. "Sam, get down!"

"I have to go." What was Sam doing? "I have to go. Brittany doesn't have her phone on her. She's in the bathroom. She's alone. And Tina's not here or Sugar or Joe. I have to…."

"Sit down. Sam, sit down!" Mr. Shue ordered, physically pushing Sam down beside Artie and Blaine looked up to see the fear in his eyes.

Not fear for himself so much as fear for others. Sam was a protector, a nurturer and caregiver. Not knowing if Brittany, who he still loved, was safe, not being able to get to her or their absent friends was obviously killing him.

He was completely willing to go out there and risk his own life if it meant a he might be able to save someone else.

Shaking, Blaine reached out a hand to Sam, who stared for a moment, then slid over beside Blaine and wrapped an arm around him, pulling his in close to his side. He was silent, but Blaine could feel his unsteady breathing and the repressed tremors in his muscles.

Oddly, Blaine was reminded of a jumpy polo pony he'd once ridden and been thrown from when he was 12.

Nearby, Marley was frantically attempting to contact her mother, who would have been in the cafeteria, but she wasn't answering. Jake and Kitty attempted to reassure her, but poor girl was distraught.

Understandably distraught.

Then Kitty was apologizing for taking in Marley's costumes during the musical, making her think she was getting fat and both girls cried, hugging each other close. Marley was a good soul, Blaine thought. Scared for herself and her mother, she still found forgiveness in her heart... And then she was scrambling away, over to where Blaine assumed Unique and Ryder were… Then Ryder hit the wall beside Marley… Then Artie had his camera out and was recording messages case….

In case they died….

When it came to be his turn, Blaine looked at the camera and said, "I love you Mom, Dad, Cooper. I know you guys didn't always understand me, but I never felt unloved. I don't know if I ever thanked you for that, but… Thanks. And look after Burt Hummel, okay. Kurt, I still love you."

A few minutes later, Sam just lost it, scrambling up and making a break for the door, crying and begging Mr. Shue and Coach Bieste to let him go, to let him find Brittany and the others. Blaine hid his face in his hands, unable to watch the two teachers physically restrain Sam, fighting him away from the door, clipping hands over his mouth and holding them tightly until he stopped struggling.

If Coach hadn't been there, Sam would have easily thrown Mr. Shue off and gone out into the hall, but she was there and Sam couldn't fight them both. Together, the teachers tried to get through to Sam, telling him he was endangering them all by making too much noise, telling him to look at all of their friends.

Blaine could hear him crying, sounds muffled by Mr. Shue's hand, but he just pressed his face against his knees, unable to look up. Something got through to Sam though and he sank to the floor beside Blaine, shaking and panting.

Sam always managed to stay calm. He adapted and did what needed doing. Having him come undone like this…. Blaine sniffed, trying not to cry too loudly and folded his arms over his head.

Again, Sam pulled him close, but this time Blaine felt himself hauled fully onto Sam's lap as the larger boy seemed intent to fold himself around Blaine. His nose pressed against Blaine's temple and his voice was a whisper of hot breath against his ear.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I'm sorry…."

Not saying anything, Blaine simply wrapped an arm around Sam's neck and held him tight.

Then Mr. Shue slipped out of the room and they sat in silence for 5 minutes until there was another raffle at the door and Coach Bieste opened it to admit Brittany, Sara, a Cheerio, and another boy with Mr. Shue.

Brittany immediately dove down, joining Blaine in Sam's embrace, and soon after they heard someone shouting.

"All clear! All clear! All clear!"

Gasps of relief echoed around the room as everyone climbed to their feet, unfolding themselves from their terrified huddles.

Blaine watched as Brittany gave Sam a hard hug before moving off to embrace Kitty and wondered if anyone would tell the girl how hard Sam had fought to get to her. He wondered if maybe that would change how she felt….

And then Sam was in front of him and Blaine felt strong arms surround him again as he pressed close to Sam, clutching him harder than he could ever recall hugging anyone. The case of his iPhone bit into his palm as he pressed his face into Sam's shoulder and muffled sobs he could no longer hold in.

"It's okay, we're okay," Sam murmured in his ear, one arm locked around Blaine, holding him tight, the other hand rubbing his back soothingly. Shuddering and sobbing into flannel, Blaine barely registered the soft lips brushing his cheek and temple between words. "I love you, Blaine."

"Love you too, Sam," he managed to reply before trying to rally himself and taking a few deep breaths. Raising his face, he met Sam's own tear glazed gaze, and was startled by a final kiss, right on the corner of his mouth.

He blinked and sniffled, then almost laughed when Sam used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe Blaine's cheeks and eyes.

When Mr. Shue called them in for a group hug, Blaine found himself once again tucked under Sam's arm, someone else leaning up against his back.

It had been terrifying, but they'd survived.

When the group hug broke, everyone pulled out their phones and Blaine immediately dialed his mother, who answered on the first ring. "Blaine!"

"Hi, Mommy."

"Oh, sweetheart, are you okay? What's happening?"

"There were some shots, but we stayed in the choir room," he said, glancing down as Sam (also on the phone with his own parents) took his hand and pulled him toward the door, mouthing Tina. He nodded and let himself be led along. "The police cleared the building, Mommy, and were going outside now. I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay."

"Thank God, baby. I'm heading overture school right now. I'll see you soon. Your father is meeting me there. Love you."

"Love you, Mommy," Blaine responded, wanting hugs from her really badly.

Sam finished up his own call as they rounded the role buses parked outside the school and found themselves running into a mass of students, everyone milling around with varying degrees of shock on their faces. In this moment, there were no cliques, just terrified teenagers clinging to each other for comfort.

"Sam! Sam!"

Blaine saw Sam peer over the crowd, tall enough to see over most heads, and smile. "Sugar!" he called back, drawing Blaine through the crowd with him. "Someone was holding her up for a better view."

Joe, Tina and Sugar had found each other in the crowd and collided with Sam and Blaine in a flurry of arms, tears and hair. Tina clung to Blaine while Sam hugged Joe with one arm and swept Sugar up in the other. The rest of the club kind of circled around them and another massive group hug happened.

Then parents started arriving and everyone went separate ways.

Blaine spent the night tucked between his parents on the couch, hugging them, talking and crying while Cooper FaceTimed with them via iPad.

It was nice, spending that time together.

The rest of the week went by in a bit of a blur and, on Friday, the glee club gathered in the auditorium and sang Say together. Blaine hugged Tina and Brittany leaned against Sam's leg as he played his guitar and all was good….

Which was why everyone was surprised when Britt told them she was going to New York for a few weeks to visit Santana.

Apparently, the PTSD counselor her parents sent her to thought it would be a good idea for her to remove herself from the environment were her trauma occurred and wrote her a medical excuse from classes. Figgins was obviously honoring it.

Frankly, Blaine would've been surprised if Figgins would feel anyone for missing school at the moment.

Sara, the Cheerio who had been hiding in the bathroom with Brittany, was willing to fill in for her in glee so that they would have 12 members to qualify for regionals.

After saying goodbye to her, everyone drifted off and Blaine took a seat beside Sam and asked, "How are you doing?"

Heaving a sigh, Sam carefully fiddled with tuning his guitar until they were entirely alone. Then he admitted, "Okay. A little confused, but okay."

"Confused?" Blaine asked, watching Sam's long fingers work at the instrument.

"Do you think someone can love more than one person?" Sam questioned, setting the guitar down and turning to face Blaine with a very serious expression on his face. "Like, be in love with two people? Maybe not in exactly the same way, but…."

"Yes," Blaine told him with a nod. He was still in love with Kurt, maybe he always would be, but he was also more than a little in love with Sam even though he knew was fruitless to fall for a straight boy. "Are you thinking Brittany is in love with both you and Santana?"

Sam shook his head. "No. Brittany loves me, but she's not in love with me. There's a big difference. I love Tina and Sugar and Artie and the rest of her friends. I'm in love with Brittany… And you."

He was obviously hearing things. "What?"

Sam smiled a little. "Yeah, I kind of felt mule kicked when I figured it out myself. That whole time we were in the choir room, there was this loop running through my brain, Brittany-Blaine- Brittany-Blaine- Brittany-Blaine, over and over. I could see you, touch you, you're okay, but Britt wasn't there should wasn't safe… Dude, if you'd both been out there, no way would Mr. Shue and Coach have been able to keep me in there... But I saw you and I needed to hold you and then Mr. Shue brought Brittany back when she was okay and I stopped being so scared, but I still didn't want to let you go…. Am I making any sense?"

Very little about that day made sense and emotions were still running high. Blaine wanted so much to think that Sam was in love with him, but… "Sam, I'm a boy. You're straight."

"You're Blaine. That's what's important," Sam told him very earnestly. "I've never been big on labels. I'm attracted to the person, not the outside… And your wonderful inside and out and have the prettiest eyes… I wanted to kiss you the other day, but I didn't want to just spring this on you right after…."

Smiling, Blaine touched the corner of his mouth. "You did kiss me a bit."

With a little blush, Sam shrugged. "Well, if you had seemed freaked, I could have said I was aiming for the cheek again. My lips cover a lot of territory, you now!"

"I know," Blaine said and glanced down at Sam's plump, pink lips for a moment before reaching out and taking Sam's hand in his own, letting his thumb rub across broad knuckles. "Sam… I'm still in love with Kurt," he began, then wet his lips and continued, "But what started as a crush all those months ago… Somewhere along the line I fell in love with you. I just never thought you would feel the same."

"I do," Sam breathed, sliding closer to Blaine and bending to press their brows together. "I know eventually you'll get back together with Kurt, but until…."

"No," Blaine said sharply, cutting Sam off, causing him to jerk back, startled. Blaine reached up and cupped his jaw, forcing him to look into his eyes. "You listen to me Sam. Yes, you are the second person I've loved, but that in no way makes you my second choice. I'm not going to leave you with Kurt suddenly decides he wants to reconcile or if I meet someone new… Because Kurt and I had our chance to get back together and we didn't and I'll never meet anyone better than you, because, in my eyes, I don't think that's possible."

His voice shook and he tried to convince Sam with unflinching eye contact, feeling Sam swallow rapidly, then exhale. "I love you," he said quietly, fingers wrapping around Blaine's wrists. "I'm a clingy dork who jumps into relationships way too fast, but you know all that. You know me and love me anyway and I know you and love you."

"I love you," Blaine reaffirmed, then used the pad of his thumb to sweep away the tear that had rolled down Sam's cheek before leaning in and letting his nose brush Sam's before kissing him softly.

Sam reacted with a happy little sigh and melted towards Blaine, letting his hands wander Blaine's arms and slide around to rest on his back, big palms warm and solid against the soft fabric of his Cheerio shirt.

The kiss was sweet and soft and full of promise has Blaine couldn't help but nibble lightly on Sam's lush bottom lip. Sam smiled against his mouth and made a sound of approval, hands tightening on Blaine's back as Blaine shifted his own grip, cupping the back of Sam's neck and burying his fingers in his hair.

A buzz broke through the happy little bubble around them and Blaine groaned, breaking away from Sam to glance at his phone.

"It's my mom," he said, then cocked his head to the side. "Want to meet my folks? Have dinner with us?"

"Sure."

His easy agreement made Blaine smile and he answered the call. "Hi, mom… Yes, I'll be on my way soon. I invited Sam for dinner… I watch him meet him… Yeah, will be leaving school now… Love you. Bye."

When he hung up, he said, "They were home for a couple of days when the shooting happened and canceled their plans through next Thursday. It's been really nice spending time with them."

Gathering up their bags, Sam shouldered his guitar and took Blaine's hand again. "Thursday? We've got Friday off for that teacher meeting. I was gonna drive over to Kentucky and spend a couple days my family… Would you want to come? They'd love to meet you."

It was really nice that Sam seemed eager to introduce him to his parents and Blaine replied, "I'd like that...Um, how will they react to you bringing a boy home?"

"They'll be fine," Sam said with a snort. "They take us to Rainbow Gatherings in the summer."

"Really?" Blaine asked with a smile. "That's kind of awesome."

"They're going to love you," Sam assured him. "You're very lovable."

Blushing happily, Blaine smiled at him. "You have to say that. You're my boyfriend."

He liked saying that, but liked the way Sam smiled at him, bright and happy with warm, soft eyes, even more.