Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 43rd cycle. Now cycle 44!

INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!
Go to: gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet

** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 44 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about shift days!

This is a shift day [see above]. There will be another upload this afternoon: Steps 16-36, Time Is On Your Side, chapter 19.

"Square One"
Artie/Lucy (OC)
Following 'The Cautionary Tale of Lucy Collins'

The next time they'd had Glee Club, he hadn't gone. Never mind the fact that he was still healing up from his run in with Grant, he wanted to give her space. She had asked this of him, the break up, but she hadn't closed completely to the possibility that one day they could reunite. So if giving her space would help, he would give it to her.

He missed her like crazy.

What made it worse was that they wouldn't be apart, not really. They would still be in school together, seeing each other in the halls, in the cafeteria, in classes, and in Glee Club… Then there was Stella. For now, Lucy had said that it would be better if he didn't see her.

He had gone off to the library as Glee Club was going to start. Sometime later he'd gotten a text from Rachel asking where he was, which he couldn't be surprised for. Only three minutes passed before she pulled the chair across from him and sat down, not Rachel, but her… He didn't know what to say.

"Come to Glee Club," she asked him, regretful like she knew why he wasn't there.

"I… have a lot of homework," he shrugged. She looked to the table, to the comic book in front of him. "I'm starting in a minute."

"You don't have to stay away for my sake," she shook her head.

"How'd you even find me?" he evaded the statement.

"Pointed out to Rachel how you weren't there, and she did all the rest," Lucy explained.

"Smart," Artie nodded.

"Come back to the choir room," she asked again. He looked down to his book. "You shouldn't have to stay away for my sake, I mean… Look, I'll stay here and you go. You were there before, it's not fair that I'm keeping you away…"

"I wouldn't want to keep you away from it either," he insisted.

"Then let's just go." He hesitated, looking to her. She still wanted them to be friends. As hard as it was for him, she could tell it was just as hard for her if not more. She hadn't wanted this breakup either, he could tell. But all the same he understood why she'd done it. His fight with Grant wasn't exactly his proudest moment, especially as it had meant losing her. "Come on, I mean… from what I hear, half the girls may be about to start arguing over who gets this next solo, you can't miss that…" she tried, and part of him would have just preferred that she didn't make jokes like that, like old times, but then he remembered that this was how they had started, as friends, and he wanted to keep that at the very least, so… As much as it could be a bit of a painful reminder, he did decide not to say a thing.

"I think at this point, since I wasn't there to begin with, I should just sit this one out. But I'll be there next time, I promise," he nodded. She still looked sad not to have him there, but finally she just accepted it. They were silent for a while. He wanted to say so many things to her, he did. He would have told her how much he missed her, how much he hated not knowing whether he should or could call her, how he missed just being around her, missed Stella as well, how much he wished he could at least see her, even if it was just to talk, so she would understand why he wasn't there, not just think that he was ignoring her.

Mostly he wanted to tell her he was sorry. She knew, but he still wanted to say it. She had trusted him with a lot more than he'd realized and then he'd gone and spoiled it. He may have been provoked, but he should have risen above it and he didn't. But she was here now, so he was reminded that no matter what she wanted to fix this, too. She wanted to trust him, and he was going to prove her that she could, that he was that same guy she had first fallen for, not the kind of guy who made his point with his fists.

"You should go back there. It's not fair that we'd both miss it. Actually it would kind of defeat the purpose of me not being there," he pointed out.

"I know, it's just that… it doesn't feel right," she admitted. Looking at her now, he could just see how conflicted this was making her. She knew they needed this step back, but she didn't want it just as much as he didn't want it. So he closed his comic book, placed it in his bag, and wheeled around to her side of the table.

"Let's go then," he nodded.

"Where to?" she had to ask, unsure if he was intending for them to go somewhere else to hang out, or if he meant…

"The choir room," he told her. "Then we can make it feel right again." She gave a small smile and it actually made his heart flutter.

"Lead the way," she told him, standing up.

A few of them had commented on his absence, and Mr. Schuester had not said a word, but he had given him a look. Since the fight, he had been trying to get the story of it out of Artie, but he wouldn't say. It was between him and Lucy. All things considered, the period was not that productive, but he was still glad to be there. More importantly, he was happy that she was there as well.

It took one more week before one afternoon his doorbell rang and he went to answer to find Stella Collins sitting there. Artie hadn't spoken to her since before Lucy had broken up with him, so he wasn't sure what to expect, if she would be upset, or… She didn't mention the break-up once, or Lucy for that matter. She was with a friend she hadn't seen in some time, so her visit revolved around the two of them catching up on things, like schools, and horses, and games… Lucy had not spoken ill of him to her little sister, he could see it in the young girl's eyes. If Lucy had given any indication of having been hurt, Stella would have shut him out, that much was clear. Now he knew almost without a doubt, that he could hang on to hope, that someday, maybe in weeks, or months, a reunion would be possible. He'd screwed up with girls before, but he wasn't going to do it again, not this time, not with her.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!