Disclaimer: I have no affiliation to Glee or its characters. This is fiction pure and simple.

LokiFirefox and AgainstAllOds, my lovelies, I hold you responsible for this fic.

Red Letter Days

Chapter 1

"That is all of it." Blaine announced as he concluded the tour in the spacious living room. "What do you think? I mean I wanted you to be able to come and go without needing any help. I mean we – I - would be happy to help you anytime. It's not a problem at all." He fumbled. Artie's disability was a tricky thing to bring up for Blaine. He had never had to deal with anybody that wasn't fully able and he was scared to say the wrong thing. He never wanted to make his friend feel disabled.

Artie spun the chair with ease facing him with suspiciously bright eyes. "Thank you. I was terrified of student housing but…" He swallowed audibly. "With all you guys here, it is kind of like I'm still at home but not. I feel safe, you know."

"Cool. I didn't want to offend you by implying you couldn't take care of yourself."

"Offend? Are you kidding me? Look at this place. Your parents are the best." He spun in his seat checking out the brightly lit apartment. The four bedrooms, two and a half baths in Hamilton Heights was excessive for anyone let alone four students from Ohio. No wonder Artie still seemed a little shell-shocked.

"Well, they are only paying half of the rent and utilities. We have to split the remaining half between the four of us." Blaine repeated this information exactly the way that he'd heard it from his humorless dad. Even as his parents were both lecturing him on his life choices like they were wont to do, it was obvious that the monetary laxity was simply a payoff for him not getting married at age eighteen. Hence his mom's 'sow your wild oats' speech right before he left for New York. Parents god, what did they know about true love. His parents barely spoke to each other as it were.

Even preoccupied with his own family drama, Blaine could hear Tina and Sam's whoops grow in volume until they burst into the open space, identical grins plastered on their faces.

"Dude!" Sam screamed. "This – This is awesome."

"Oh my god, Blaine, please thank your parents for us again." Tina interjected. "This is the first time deferring a year at Vet school has felt totally right."

Blaine nodded. Her wording made it seem like it was a mutual choice but really after their success at regionals, Tina had kind of lost it. He understood, the future was scary; Tina wasn't the only one second-guessing every choice she ever made. He was too but New York was where Kurt was, where he had to be. It helped that he'd gotten into NYADA. He needed every spare second he could find with Kurt so he could re-establish their relationship and reassure him that he was the one.

"I'm taking the master bedroom because I'm the girl." Tina shrieked interrupting his thoughts. Turning, Blaine watched her squaring off with Sam, the tall blond teenager towering over in a vaguely intimidating fashion.

Sam stood his ground hands on his lean hips. "Well that's convenient."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Sam crossed his arms staring her down. "You chicks are all the same. It's all about equality until you want something then it's I should get it because 'I'm the girl'." He mimicked.

Doing that twisty aggressive neck thing that Blaine would never in a million years pull off, she snarled. "Do not call me a chick." Tina's teeth clicked making a great emphasis on the 'Ch' and 'i'.

"Fine, you're a woman. Whatever." Sam tossed his hands in the air in mock surrender, "You don't get the room just because you have woman stuff under that…." He gestured in the general direction of her really short skirt.

Tina's indignant shriek drowned out the traffic on the street.

Blaine was engrossed watching their war when Artie tugged at his cuff. "They know that's your room? Right?" He asked, leading Blaine to shrug. He was paying the most via his parents so he should have the biggest room. It made sense but quite frankly he was more concerned with his two best friends fighting all day, every day for the next three years they roomed together. Boy would that get old.

Turning to Artie he gave a tentative, "Yes." Honestly he hadn't anticipated the Sam/Tina dynamic. He was best-friends with both of them and he always just assumed that they got along great when he wasn't around. Obviously he was wrong. "This is kinda weird, right?"

Giving him an indulgent smile, Artie picked at his shirt. "Well, that's not weird. Weird is living with my ex-girlfriend who has feelings for the gay guy who is in love with the straight guy."

"What?" The veracity of that statement pulled at parts of Blaine he had buried months ago. There was no him and Sam, there never would be a Blaine and Sam. A strange unnatural smile pulled at his lips. It was so odd that his hand stole up to his jaw thumbing the overextended flesh. "I'm not in love with Sam." He swore giving a small laugh that he could almost believe was real even though he had to force it past the curve in his throat.

"O – kay!" Artie intoned, skeptical eyes still boring through him.

"Okay." Blaine affirmed. He didn't love Sam. It was just a thing, a crush that manifested because he was sad and lonely and away from Kurt. Sam was just his very best friend. There was nothing sexual about it. Anymore. Sure, after they'd graduated from McKinley High the thought of leaving Sam behind had freaked him out so much that he'd made his way to Kentucky and begged Sam's parents to let him stay with him. Sam hadn't gotten into any colleges and was suffering as a result. Blaine wouldn't leave him. When he met them, he'd been open about his sexuality lest that become an issue and rushed to reassure them that things weren't like that between him and their son but they hadn't cared. All they needed was for him to look out for Sam…always. He could do that, and he was doing it anyway. For his sake.

"Kurt turned down my proposal –"

"Rejected" Arte insisted.

Giving him the stink-eye, Blaine continued, "He turned down my proposal because he thinks and rightly so that we should fall in love with each other again and rebuild the trust between us before we can make a lifelong commitment."

"You cheated on him and you're in love with your best friend." Artie dismissed. "I don't think that is something you can just 'large romantic gesture away'. If that's what you're planning?"

Blaine's mind flitted to the massive bouquet he'd sent to Kurt earlier this morning but he insisted. "I am not in love with Sam." Getting in front of him, he crouched to Artie's level. The closer he was, the faster Artie would understand and believe. "I am not in love with Sam. Kurt is my soul mate. We will be together as soon as I can convince him that we are meant to be."

"Who's not in love Sam?" A strange voice asked.

Startled. Blaine rose to his feet studying the tall leggy intrusive blond that filled their doorway and appeared a little older than them. "Who are you?" He tried for inquisitive and not possessive.

"I met your roommate, Sam right? In the elevator." She smiled revealing an endearing crooked incisor. "I'm Michelle. I live a few blocks over but I was sneaking in to do my laundry when he busted me."

"Oh great! She's a felon." Blaine mumbled so only Artie could hear him.

"She's hotttt!" Artie tossed back. "Hello New York."

Blaine was about to respond when Sam hurried past him, a goofy welcoming smile on his face. Blaine pretended not to notice how the strange girls smile got even broader as she looked at his friend or how Sam's hand lingered on the curve of her back as he formally introduced her.

Suddenly Blaine felt like this – them living together - was a bad idea, as the eeriest feeling of foreboding crept up his throat, an unnerving certainty that everything was about to change and not necessarily for the better.

ooOoo

The inspiration for this fic is from Ataris Whatever Lies Will Help You Rest and is loosely based on the song, very loosely. This chapter in particular;

Welcome to the after-taste

Of cheap wine and bad decisions

My heart trembles in this Morning Prayer

I can't turn my eyes

From this inner most seductions

But still somehow you found me there

And why don't we say what we really feel?