Better Sorry than Safe

25.

 Blake's arms were crossed in front of his chest. His head cocked to the side as he stared at Sem with equal part curiosity and wariness in his lined eyes. 

"Okay," he started, drawing out the word, "what are you doing at my house?"

Sem took a deep breath, and released it through his mouth. Was he really desperate enough to go through with this?

Connor had kicked him out of his apartment. Then, he'd smashed his phone on the pavement outside the building out of rage, which only turned out to be for the better. It prevented him from seeing messages of other people Shannon got to pouring in. Friends or now no longer friends, who he'd completely forgotten about because he'd only thought about Connor. About their relationship, which had went to hell anyway despite his best efforts. 

By calling himself in sick, faking his dad's voice, he was only delaying the whole having to face everyone at school. Not fixing it. He also had exactly two more hours of freedom before his mom would come home and he had to be there too, to avoid more scolding. It'd really been the cherry on top of the crap cake last night: being forced to go home and get yelled at some more as he had no other place he could go to sleep. 

Yes, he was very much desperate enough.  

"...Well then," Blake said, eyebrows raising. "This is getting kind of awkward, so I'm just gonna close this--"

Sem's hand shot to the door, preventing Blake from closing it on him. Blake blinked at him, confused, his hand slowly lowering down to his side.

He supposed he would've had the exact same expression Blake did, had it been Blake looking up his address on the class website and coming to his house out of the blue. Except, well, it wasn't. If Blake had gone to school, he should have some clue what Sem was here for. And he definitely should've grinned and commented something sassy or smart-ass about him being gay by now. Come on, it was Blake they were talking about here. 

"Did you skip school today too?"

"Uh like no way," Blake's eyebrows raised again, "I'm a good student, I want my grades up. Your neanderthal friends missed you though, asked each other where you were, but none of them knew." 

"They asked where I--" Sem trailed off. But that didn't make any sense. "That's it? They only asked where I was?" 

Blake placed his hands on his hips. Finally, his trademark bright smile appeared on his face. "Gee, I don't know babe. Next time I feel like getting beat up, I'll go right up to them and ask them to confirm that's all they said, 'kay?" 

"So there really weren't any rumours going about?" Sem shook his head incredulously,  "None of them said anything? No other weird stuff?" 

Blake snorted. "Weirder than their 'usual' mentally challenged behaviour? Nah. You're the only one being weird. Very weird. Like, again: what are you doing here?"  

"I don't even know anymore." 

Sem's mind was racing for answers. He'd come to Blake's house fully convinced that everything had come crashing down. That he'd been forced out of the closet against his will... but now he hadn't? His friends and teammates at school hadn't reacted at all, or Shannon had forgotten to get to them in her big revenge scheme? 

"What the hell is going on here?" he asked himself out loud. 

"Don't think too hard on it, hon. It's bad for your jock brain," Blake, who apparently had caught his muttering, replied with a teasing smile. "It is a good question though, and the third time's a charm right? So let's try this again: what are you doing here?"