This was originally intended to be a one-shot, but it's going to be longer than I had expected- so it will be at least a three-shot, if not a multi-chapter story.

Dedication: I dedicate this to Kristina (adistantland) because she's one of my closest friends and it was her idea to write this story based off of one of our RP's.

- INTRO -

It was Memorial Day weekend- the first weekend after the school year had ended. Quinn sat in her living room, idly filing her nails and watching some immature comedy on television that her mother's new boyfriend had insisted on. The man was an imbecile. She was just about to go upstairs and read a book, when her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket, reading a text from Lauren: 'Party at Puckerman's. BYOB.' Quinn let out a groan and returned the phone to her pocket. The last few times she had gone to a party, it resulted in a hangover the next day, and Quinn sitting in a corner watching all of the other couples drunken selves hanging on one another. At one time, it was Santana and Sam, then Rachel and Finn... she didn't want to see any of that again; especially since she had no one to dote over.

Rifling through her books upstairs, Quinn found none of them to her liking at the moment. She decided to venture to the book store, and look for something to ease her mood. Once there, she browsed through the offerings, finally deciding on a few romance novels. Across the store, she heard a familiar voice in the comic book section. She followed it, and then lightly tapped the brunette boy on the shoulder. "Find anything you like?" Quinn asked softly, holding her books against her chest. Quinn knew that she and Artie were probably the two smartest students in glee, so it didn't surprise her that he was in the book store over the weekend; she had to stifle a giggle though, when she saw him attempt to hide his comic books from her. "I already saw them," Quinn smirked, leaning over his shoulder teasingly. "What's the special occasion?" she asked, nodding to the large pile that was now clenched in his hands.

"I just wanted a distraction," Artie sighed, glancing up at her. Quinn's head tilted in confusion, and Artie took the hint and continued on. "You know, from all this relationship stuff. Brittany and I just broke up, and I really don't want to go to Puck's party tonight and see her and Santana getting it on," he said quietly. Quinn bit her tongue so that she wouldn't comment on his "choice of words, then delicately rested a hand on his shoulder."I take it you're not going either then," she nodded, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. She had forgotten that since Nationals, Artie and she were about the only single club members left; aside from Mercedes and Sam. She didn't count Brittany and Santana; they were pretty much marked territory.

"Definitely not. I'd rather babysit my sister," he chuckled bitterly, shaking his head.

"I don't blame you," Quinn retorted, finally pulling her hand back to rest it against her books again. She knew how he felt; they would probably be the two outcasts the whole night. "I had plans with Mercedes, but she bailed. I asked her if it was because she was going to the party instead, but she said she just had something important to do," she said, shifting her weight from side to side.

Artie's eyebrows knitted together before he responded. "Weird. Sam cancelled on me too. We were supposed to have a Halo marathon tonight, but he called like an hour ago and said he couldn't make it... even though it was his idea in the first place."

Quinn thought that definitely sounded weird. She knew Sam had been working and cooped up lately; he wouldn't hesitate for a night out. And she had already spoken with him earlier, so she knew that he wasn't watching his siblings. "Odd..." her voice trailed as she began piecing things together. Sam had been off lately; more so than just his money problems, and seemed to be hiding something else. She looked down at him for a moment, watching him organize the stack of comic books. "You know," she began, her face lighting up slightly, "We need to stick together. Us being pretty much the outcasts of all the couples, and whatnot," she shrugged, lightly tapping her foot to the beat of the music that played in the store.

"You mean like... sidekicks?" Artie laughed, pointing to the cover of one of his books.

"Exactly like that," she grinned, a gleam in her eyes as one of the books caught her attention. "We could do a stake out... be like spies or something."

Artie emitted a soft laugh and looked up into her eyes, his face growing more serious as he realized she wasn't kidding. "For real?"

"Yeah, why not?" she shrugged. Neither of us is going tonight, we both got bailed on, and we both want to know what's going on with our friend. Isn't that what sidekicks do? Super sleuthing and stuff like that?"

"I guess..." Artie responded, still giving her a look like she was half crazy, but secretly loving the idea.

"Awesome. I'll go home, change into all black, and I'll pick you up?" she asked eagerly, thankful this was Artie and not someone who would judge her for her spontaneous nerdiness. Truth was, Quinn was nosy, and if she didn't have anything exciting going on in her life, then she needed to change that.

"Sure, but... do you even know where I live?" he asked, cocking his head.

"Actually... no, but I'm sure I can find it," she smiled softly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Where do you live?"

"On your street," he replied dryly, rolling his eyes at her.

"Oh... I knew that," she retorted, her smile dropping slightly. Artie lived on the same street as her and she didn't even know it? What was this feeling she was overcome with? Guilt?

"No you didn't," Artie sighed, but a small smile tugged at his lips assuring her that he wasn't mad. "It's the house on the corner. I'll bring my binoculars," he smirked.

Quinn bit down on her lip to suppress a giggle- and she wasn't even going to ask him why he had binoculars. "Okay, I'll see you tonight," she smiled, ruffling his hair a little as she made her way to the cashier and paid for her books. Before exiting the shop, she gave Artie a playful little wave; as she was kind of excited for their little stake out plan. She ignored the fact that it was a vaguely familiar act of one Rachel Berry, and she returned home, looking for something to wear.