I'm Not A Girl, I Swear [Discontinued]

XXXI

"Sebastian, can I talk to you?" Blaine glanced at Hunter. "Privately?"

Hunter got the hint, giving Sebastian a quick kiss and continuing to the commons.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked, catching Blaine's tone.

"Just... I mean, Hunter kissed another guy, yet you two are inseparable. Like, it's almost like you're afraid to be away from each other."

Sebastian sighed, leaning against the wall. "He was drunk, Blaine. And... And maybe I don't want him to be alone."

Blaine still looked worried. "What does that mean?"

"We just... We had a conversation that reminded me of how much we need each other."

"That's not an answer."

"He's just not in the right state of mind to be blamed for his actions."

He was quiet for a minute. "Isn't he?" Blaine asked softly, understanding what Sebastian meant.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sebastian asked defensively.

Blaine put his hands up in a placating gesture. "Just, what I'm getting here is that he threatened to kill himself if you broke up with him. Isn't that a tad manipulative?"

"What the hell is wrong with you? He never threatened to kill himself! Maybe you should handle your own business before nosing in someone else's." Sebastian left, following the direction Hunter had gone.

Blaine stood there, biting his lip. Either he'd horribly misunderstood what was implied, or Sebastian truly was in an unhealthy relationship.

He continued on his way to the commons, keeping a close eye on Hunter and Sebastian while also avoiding eye contact.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked quietly, noticing his mood.

"I'll tell you later." Blaine figured that either way, they needed to help the couple as soon as possible and he couldn't do that alone.

"Hey, has anyone seen Thad?" Jeff asked, looking around at them.

"Isn't he probably in the library?" Wes asked.

Jeff shook his head. "The library thermostat broke, I'd certainly hope he's not there."

"You really think that'd stop him?" Kurt asked skeptically.

"It's the same temperature in there that it is outside."

Kurt slowly nodded. "That would probably stop him."

Blaine looked around at the group. "Who's going to check anyway and make sure he doesn't freeze?"

Everyone looked around at each other and back at him and Blaine sighed. "I will." He mainly needed to get away from the tension between himself and Sebastian.

"Don't get locked in," Sebastian said, tone saying the exact opposite.

Blaine nodded, walking out of the room and to the library. It wasn't far, and the temperature seemed to drop ten degrees when he was barely in the doorway.

"Thad?" he called. The library looked empty, but Thad always tucked himself away in the maze of bookshelves.

He walked into the shelves, shivering as it got colder. Who would be in here but Thad?

"Thad?"

He was about to give up, walking into the section nobody went into, until he finally saw him. He was about to say something but paused.

Thad looked extremely focused on the book in front of him, not seeming to notice the cold. There was a notebook open in front of him and multiple books around him, some stacked and some not. He was mumbling the words when he read, something they all knew he only did when he was anxious.

It was the genre of book that caught his eye. Not only was it nonfiction- something Thad hardly read if he could help it- it was also psychology. Specifically the study of human gender.

Blaine bit his lip. He wasn't sure if he should talk to Thad, or leave him be. He wasn't really in the mood to deal with an angry Thad because he disrupted his reading, but he couldn't go back to the commons empty handed.

Also, he wasn't sure how Thad would react if he saw what he was reading. He thought he was completely sure about everything?

Surely there's a different reason he's researching it, Blaine told himself. He hasn't been acting like he did before.

Finally deciding that he was too cold just to stand there and had to do something, Blaine walked over to him. "Thad?"

Thad was too absorbed in his book to hear him.

"Thad."

Looking around, Blaine saw a wadded up ball of paper next to Thad. He took it, throwing it at the boy's shoulder.

"Fuck off," Thad said, not even looking up.

"Thad, do you even know what time it is? Or that the heater broke?"

Thad blinked, looking up at him. "The heater broke?"

"You were in here before it broke?" Blaine asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. "Possibly. But what time is it?"

"It's almost nine. At night."

Thad looked shocked, checking his phone. "Seriously? Wow, I've been in here a while."

"What were you doing?" Blaine asked, hoping he'd react well.

Glancing at the books around him, Thad sheepishly looked back up at Blaine. "Research?"

Blaine chuckled. "Research?"

"I'm trying to help someone. I didn't bring the books back because it's quieter here and I didn't want you guys to immediately freak out." Thad looked at him knowingly. "You freaked out, didn't you?"

Now it was Blaine's turn to smile sheepishly. "Maybe? But that makes sense. We were all wondering where you were and if you were freezing in here."

Thad shrugged. "I don't get cold very easily."

"It's hardly above freezing in here."

"Eh." Thad stood up, stretching. He flexed his ankle that had been underneath him and yawned. "I am tired, though."

Blaine chuckled. "I believe it. I'll help you put these back."