Author's Note: Written for the...Quartie ficathon! ) Thanks to Carli for some editing assistance!

Prompts: Quartie plays 20 questions

Friendship or Romance: Friendship that leads to the admission of a crush

Not Quite Twenty Questions

It was Brittany's nineteenth birthday party, which Santana had planned, and everyone was swimming in Brittany's Olympic sized pool. Everyone except for Quinn and Artie, that is.

Noting the way that Artie was staring at those splashing each other in the pool, Quinn, who hadn't yet removed her clothing, revealing the red and black tankini underneath, seated herself on the oversized couch (apparently, Brittany's family liked things big) and patted the cushion next to her.

Sighing, Artie rolled over and maneuvered himself into position next to her. "Not sure why I came," he muttered.

Reaching forward, Quinn grabbed a plate of different kinds of food. "For San's spinach dip, Mike's guacamole and, most importantly, Rachel's chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. They're vegan!" Quinn added, attempting her best impression of Rachel.

Laughing a little, Artie nodded, then plucked a cookie from the plate. "They may be vegan but they are awesome!" As if to prove his point, Artie bit down on the cookie. "So good," he said, mouth full of cookie.

Grinning, Quinn nodded. "I agree. You know, I've seen Rachel eat cheese before. She cheats!"

Faking a gasp, Artie leaned towards her. "Cheats? Cheaters never prosper, you know."

Biting down on her bottom lip, Quinn gazed at his face, closer than before, feeling a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Thankful for the dim lighting in the room, she murmured, "They don't, you're right."

Completely oblivious to the rosy hue of her cheeks, Artie drummed his fingers on the couch. "Would you like to play a game?"

Hearing a scream outside, Quinn turned her head, ever so slightly, to see Sam pulling Santana into the pool with him. Though it was weird to see the two of them together, Quinn found herself actually hoping for their happiness. Besides, it wasn't as if she still had feelings for him. Those had long since faded away and new feelings, of a different sort, had arisen for someone else. "Like?"

Shrugging, Artie nudged her with his elbow. "You were supposed to think of something."

Running her fingers over the area his elbow had just touched, she found her eyes drawn to Brittany, who was playing a game of Marco Polo with Puck, Rachel and Tina. She often wondered about Artie's feelings for either of his exes. Despite their blossoming friendship, which had begun when Puck and Rachel had tried setting them up on a date four months earlier, it was a topic left unmentioned. "Um…we could play a version of twenty questions. There's this one we used to play at cheer camp, where one person thinks of a question and then the other person answers the question but not out loud. Then the first person has to guess the answer to the question." When Artie scrunched up his face in confusion, Quinn sighed then tried to explain better. "Let's say you ask…What's your favorite movie? I think of my favorite movie then you have to guess what that movie is by asking me twenty questions."

"Oh," replied Artie, snorting. "That's super easy. Anything with John Cusack or Ryan Reynolds. Um…" After a few minutes of thought, he snapped his fingers. "Say Anything and The Proposal!"

With a roll of her eyes, Quinn confirmed those were her favorite movies then said, "But think of another question. Something less super easy."

Tapping his finger against his chin, Artie considered several options. "Hmm…I know you so well that coming up with a question that won't be super easy will be kind of...hard." A few more minutes passed before a huge grin plastered itself on Artie's face. "Got it! At graduation, you started to tell me you liked someone…but then refused to tell me who."

"That's not exactly what-"

"That's exactly what happened!" he cried, waving a finger under her nose. "So, okay, who do you like, Quinn Fabray?"

"I don't want to play this," Quinn mumbled, starting to rise from the couch.

With a yank on her arm, which kind of hurt, Artie held her in place.

"Ow!"

Realizing he had caused her pain, he rubbed up and down her arm in a comforting manner. "Sorry. Um…is this person a guy?"

Sighing, Quinn gave in, figuring she might as well play. In three weeks, she would be heading to Miami for college and he would be making his way to Ohio State. And then it wouldn't matter anyway. "You're going to waste a question on that? Yes, Artie, he's a guy."

Smirking, Artie shrugged. "Never know. Okay, hmm…does this guy have a wicked sense of humor?"

Opening her eyes a little too wide, she gulped. "Y-yes, he does."

"Is it me?" Artie asked, with a wink. When she didn't immediately respond, he recoiled, stammering, "K-kidding. Could this guy be classified as popular?"

"Um…" Ignoring the rapid beating of her heart, which felt as if it might burst from her chest at any second, she said, "That depends on your definition of popular. It could be yes, it could be no."

"Fair enough. I'll go with a could be for that one." Scooping some spinach dip onto a piece of bread, Artie contemplated his next question. "The guy you like…is he extremely attractive?"

Watching Artie devour the dip and bread, crumbs falling onto his shirt and a little bit of spinach sticking to his chin, she said, "Yes, he is. Extremely."

An expression akin to disappointment crossed Artie's features but only for the briefest of moments. "He's someone you know, right? Please don't tell me you're thinking of Ryan Reynolds, Q. Or, even worse, John Cusack. He's…old."

"Yes," she laughed, grabbing a pillow and hitting him with it. "I know him!"

"No need to be violent!" he exclaimed, catching the pillow on it's second trip toward his face. "Fine, okay. That's…four questions. Sixteen more to go! So, hmm…how long have you known this guy?"

Without a pause, Quinn replied, "Since first grade."

"How long have you liked him, then?"

The answer to that was a little more difficult to think of. "I…think it first hit me at prom. Wait! Yes or no questions only! You tricked me."

"Hey!" he protested, throwing his hands up. "I don't know the rules to this game! You never said yes or no questions only! How was I supposed to know? So have you liked him since prom?"

Trying not to giggle, Quinn affirmed what he already knew.

"So let's see then…is this guy tall?"

Eyeing Artie, Quinn recalled something that had occurred in the past. "He's…about my height. Maybe a little taller. I mean, no?"

"I think I'm running out questions," Artie told her, clicking his tongue against his teeth. "Uh, is he…someone you can talk to about things?"

"Oh," murmured Quinn. "I can talk to him about anything."

There was no mistaking the sadness that entered his eyes at her words. "Oh. You can? Anything?"

Involuntarily, she inclined her head towards him, so that her hair brushed against his shoulder. "Anything," she said, softly.

"That's uh…that's great." Clearing his throat, Artie poked a chip in the guacamole. Stretching a finger up, he scratched his chin and the bit of spinach came off. "Is he the most amazing guy ever?"

Hearing his hard edged tone, Quinn frowned. "Yes, he is. The most amazing and…you're kind of white. Are you alright?"

"Yes," Artie snapped. "Perfect. I'm not sure I like this game. And this question about who you like…I should've thought of another."

Moving closer to him, she whispered, "Why?"

Uncomfortable, Artie wiped his hands on his pants. "I don't know. I just should have. It's none of my business who you like."

"It's not?"

"No." Lifting his head, he noticed their proximity and turned bright red.

A smile played across her lips. "You wouldn't be…jealous by any chance, would you?"

Jumping at her assumption, Artie sent the plate of goodies flying. "Oops. And I'm not jealous, of course not."

Lifting the plate off the carpet, she grimaced when she saw the green spot and white one, from the guacamole and spinach dip, respectively. "Oh, Artie…" That's when his other words sunk in. "Of course not? Why of course not?"

"I'm just not!" Twisting his body, he faced away from her. "You've always been my friend and I've never thought of you like that and you liking some amazing guy who is extremely attractive and you can talk to about anything is not bothering me at all!"

After a slight hesitation, Quinn wiggled herself into his lap. It was time to take a chance. "I didn't answer one of your questions."

Tensing, Artie's eyes went from her lower portion, now apparently comfortable in it's new position, to her face. "Yeah, you answered all of them…"

"I didn't," she insisted, linking his fingers with hers. "You asked me if it was you then said you were joking."

Mouth suddenly dry, Artie struggled to form words. "Is-is-is it m-m-me?"

Resisting the urge to laugh at his sudden bashfulness, Quinn closed the distance between them, touching her forehead to his. "Yes, Artie, it's you. You are the amazing guy I like, the one I can talk to about anything, the one I think is extremely attractive."

Clearly having trouble processing, Artie just stared into her eyes.

Taking matters into her hands, Quinn whispered, "I would like it if you kissed me now."

Obliging her, he did just that, wrapping an arm around her waist and attempting to draw her nearer as their lips connected.

Fifteen minutes later, when everyone else filed into the living room, they were still kissing.

In a collective chorus, their peers uttered, "Umm…"

Breaking the kiss, reluctantly, Quinn and Artie smiled sheepishly at their friends.

"So…" said Artie, in announcement form. "Quinn and I…we like each other."

"Yes," Quinn confirmed, resting her head on Artie's shoulder. "We do."

"And it only took us…" Artie closed one eye thinking. "How many questions to figure it out?"

"Not quite twenty, Artie, not quite twenty."