The Sadie Hawkins Day dance at McKinley high turned out to a far better experience than the last one Blaine attended.

A week earlier, after glee club had let out, he and Sam had stopped at Papa John's to grab a pizza and talk about the week's assignment 'Be Honest With Yourself'. As usual, the conversation evolved, bouncing from topic to topic until Sam finally asked, "So are you going to the dance with anyone?"

Blaine raised a brow. It had been a couple of months since his relationship with Kurt had officially ended and, though he thought he was ready to consider dating again, Lima didn't exactly have a large openly gay teen population.

"No," he replied easily. "How about you? I bet there are a lot of girls…."

"Wanna go with me?"

That froze Blaine mid-bite. Quickly chewing and swallowing a mouthful of cheese, sauce and crust, he blurted, "What?"

Sam shifted in his seat, pulling a green pepper off of his own slice. "Do you want to go to the dance me?"

"Like in a group?" Blaine asked slowly and Sam sighed.

"No. I'm asking you to be my date."

That was a little puzzling. "I thought you were straight."

Sam tilted his head. "I guess…bi, if you need to put a label on it. But it's, you know, the person."

"You only dated girls," Blaine said, wrapping his head around this new bit of information.

"It was easier," Sam admitted quietly. "First I just wanted to fit in and last year I had Mercedes tunnel vision."

True enough. "So…you've never actually dated a guy," Blaine mused. "Tested the waters, so to speak."

"Not dated, no," Sam replied, eating the pepper he'd been toying with. He didn't expand further and, at the moment, Blaine didn't feel the need to push.

Though he had to ask, "And you're asking me because…."

"Dude, you're my best friend and we have a lot in common. Spending time together is awesome and I thought maybe we could see if there could be something there," Sam said, cheeks flushing. "Plus, I like when you smile at me and you've got great eyes... If you don't want to go, just forget I said anything…."

"No, I want to," Blaine said quickly, startled by how true the statement was. Up until this conversation he'd never considered Sam as possible romantic option, because Blaine didn't chase after straight guys. He adored Sam, sure, but in a purely platonic way.

Okay, so he occasionally checked out the abs, but everyone did. Sam was gorgeous.

A relieved smile flashed across Sam's face and Blaine couldn't help but return the expression.

The rest of the night went pretty much as their night usually did. Pizza, over to Blaine's to watch a movie and then say one home. It was as comfortable as ever, even knowing they were planning on going on a date.

On Monday, at lunch, sugar had been chatting away happily about the dance when she paused suddenly and looked at Blaine. "I'm not being rude, but had a Sadie Hawkins work for you? I mean, the girl's supposed to ask…."

It was a guileless question, so Blaine couldn't take any offense. "Well, since there's no girl involved, one guy just asks the other."

She nodded, then grinned. "Have you asked or been asked?"

"Yes," he replied simply, not wanting to say more. True, everyone would know when they showed up at the dance together, but, as yet, Sam wasn't known to be anything but completely straight and it was his step to take.

"Oh my God, who?!" Tina asked with a grin, then narrowed her eyes. "Not that Sebastian kid, right? I mean, not after…."

"Me," Sam said casually, nibbling on a carrot stick and letting his shoulder bump Blaine's. "I asked."

Artie nodded. "Single Bros sticking together, huh?"

"It's a date."

Ever had blinked and taken a moment, then seemed to shrug it off as unimportant.

But of course, word spread like wildfire through their glee family and by the end of the day, Blaine had been inundated with texts.

Finn: Dude, U no Sams not gay right

Kurt: SAM! SAM EVANS! STORY NOW!

That made Blaine smile. He was glad he and Kurt were able to talk like friends again.

Rachel: Sam? How did that happen?

Mercedes: Blaine Warbler, you treat my boy right!

Finn: Wait did I miss sumthing

Mike: Have fun guys!

Puck: U & Sam. Bet everyone's losing their shit over this

Santana: Be nice to Trouty or deal with me

Kurt: TXT ME!

Quinn: I think someone's has gotten confused, because Rachel told me you and Sam were going to a dance together. You know how rumors spread.

Cooper: Way to go, Little Bro! Sam's the blonde kid, right?

"Dude, Cooper texted me," Sam said, causing Blaine to look up from his own phone. "How does he have my number?"

"Everyone's texted. Someone probably told him," Blaine said, swapping his phone for Sam's to see what Cooper had said and he had to scroll through bunch of text similar to his own…but different.

Finn: Dude, Artie thinks ur going to the dance with Blaine. Gotta do with that rumor

Kurt: You and Blaine? Spill, Sam.

Rachel: This is an unexpected development, but I applaud your willingness to explore your sexuality. Have a nice time at the dance!

Santana: Always said you have cocksucker lips. Play safe XOXO ==3

Mercedes: Happy for you, Sammy!

Mike: Huh. Didn't see that coming, but congrats. Also, I'll be in town in two weeks. Halo tournament?

Puck: HA! Now you can find out how many balls you can fit in your mouth. Rock on

Cooper: You seem like a good kid, but hurt my little brother and I'll kick your ass.

"Sorry about Coop," Blaine said, switching their phones back. "Do I want to ask about Santana and Puck's messages."

Sam rolled his eyes. "No, probably not."

"Okay," Blaine agreed, because honestly, he really didn't want to know half of what went on in either of those two brains.

While firing off texts, they made their way to the choir room. That was the only fuss that was made in the week seemed to fly by.

On Friday evening, Blaine open the door to let Sam in so they could wait together for the party bus Sugar had hired to pick them up.

Sam was wearing a black suit and a light blue shirt that matched his eyes. Blaine's suit was gray shirt a deep green he knew worked well with his skin tone.

It had been a bit of a change not having to plan his outfit to coordinate with his dates, but it was nice.

"Hey," Sam said, smiling a little nervously. "You look nice."

"You too," Blaine replied, hating the fact that he tend to get nervous on first dates. Something that could probably be traced back to his freshman year Sadie Hawkins dance where he'd been beaten up, but he was getting over it, he was going to go tonight and be fine and….

The feel of hands grasping his own startled him and Blaine blinked, looking up at Sam who was peering at him and concern. "You okay?"

Sam's hands were bigger than his own, fingers calloused from guitar strings and comfortingly warm. "Yeah," he said, then took a breath and continued, "The school I went to before Dalton, I was beaten up at a Sadie Hawkins dance just after I came out. Bad memories, you know?"

A myriad of emotions tumbled across Sam's face as he gave Blaine's hands a gentle squeeze. "That won't happen this time. We'll make some good memories."

Outside, a horn beeped and they walked out to the bus hand-in-hand. The dance was already in full swing by the time they arrived and, though there were more than a few surprise glances at him and Sam, no one made a big deal out of things.

It was a good night, full of friends, laughter, dancing and, of course, singing a song or two on the stage.

After the dance (and Breadstix), the bus dropped him off at Blaine's and, waving to their friends, they made their way to the door.

"I had fun," Blaine said, grinning at Sam who nodded.

"Me too," he replied. "I guess I better head home. Finn told Carol this is a date so I have a curfew."

"Want to get coffee tomorrow?" Blaine asked, hoping he was reading the situation correctly.

Sam grinned and stepped a little closer. "I'd like that."

Raising a hand, Blaine brushed his knuckles long Sam's cheekbone and felt the taller boy draw in a shuddering breath before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against Blaine's lips.

Raspberry Chapstick and garlic bread should have been an offputting combination, but somehow it wasn't and Blaine hummed, one arm going around Sam's body, the other curling at the nape of his neck.

Sam's hands were warm on his back, pulling him closer as Blaine let his tongue dart out and play along the lush curve of Sam's lower lip. Needing no further prompting, Sam deepen the kiss, licking into Blaine's mouth before withdrawing slightly and sucking on Blaine's lower lip, nibbling in a way that drew a gasp of surprise and a shot of desire.

Eventually, they broke apart, hovering close and sharing breaths. Sam's mouth was pink, a little kiss swollen, and oh, that was a sight.

"I'll come pick you up at 10, okay?" Blaine breathed.

"Okay," Sam replied hoarsely and kissed him one final time before disentangling himself and stepping back. "I was right, huh? You and me. Awesome."

The only appropriate response was to laugh happily and agree. "Yes, Sam. This is awesome."