Artie sat in the middle of the hallway of the school just staring. There weren't very many students around to rush him so he just sat there. Down the hall was Ms. Pillsbury's office. He knew he had to go in there at least once for these mandatory visits or she will think there was definitely something wrong with him if he skipped. Why was he nervous anyway? He was fine now. Back to his cheery never-going-to-walk-again self.

He slowly inched forward and stopped again. The truth was he felt really nervous about this. The last time he was in there turned out to be embarrassing and crushing and he didn't really want to think about it. He thought again about how it probably would not help if he skipped and that was his motivation to finally enter.

"Hi Artie," Ms. Pillsbury said with a smile. Artie only nodded with a small smile and cleared his throat.

There was an awkward silence as he stopped just in front of her desk. Ms. Pillsbury put her hands together on her desk, switching to professional mode.

"I have arranged for you to have meetings with me for a couple of weeks because I...and some other members of the faculty...have been somewhat worried about you and want to make sure you're okay."

Artie's eyes flickered up at the mention of "other members."

Ms. Pillsbury bit her lip nervously. "Um, Mr. Schuester noticed...a change during rehearsals for your song and he was concerned about it."

The confusion on Artie's face disappeared, but he still didn't say anything.

The guidance counselor tried again, gently. "Did that have some connection to your last visit to me? Maybe you could, um, start with that?"

Artie became occupied with a strap on one of his gloves. "Sort of," he muttered. "I decided to accept that I can't dance and watching Tina with Mike was a little more jarring than I thought, I guess. No big deal. Not anymore." Jeez, this lady's eyes were staring into his soul.

Ms. Pillsbury took a breath. "You sound bitter for someone who's 'accepted' something."

Artie rolled his eyes.

"Artie, acceptance has to be about being happy and comfortable about yourself-"

"I am!" Artie said with so much irritation that it caused her to jump and him to feel a little guilty. "I mean...ack!" He rested an elbow on his armrest and put his palm over his face. He took a few minutes before speaking again.

"I mean, I usually am. Especially after joining Glee. Yeah, it's frustrating when someone decides to dump a slushie in my lap in addition to in my face, or pat me on the head like I'm a dog or something, and the staring makes me uncomfortable. But I've found out it helps a lot to joke around about it and put on this kind of bravado..." he smiled at a memory of Tina jokingly smacking him on the back of the head and calling him arrogant. "..and I appreciate irony. A lot."

"You...usually are happy? What's different now?" Ms. Pillsbury pressed.

"Bryan Ryan," Artie said flatly.

"What?"

"Bryan Ryan...he came in to talk to us for some reason. He told us to write down what our dreams were...and since apparently I've decided to be honest here...I thought he was going to give another one of those cheesy inspirational speeches like Mr. Schue gives all the time. I put down 'dancer' half for laughs."

"Half?"

"Well, I do like dancing. I watch So You Think You Can Dance, my favorites list on youtube consists entirely of flash mob videos, I joined decided not to mention the part about how he tries to dance around in his room sometimes, which sometimes ends with him falling out of the chair, which then leads to him playing the guitar instead.

"Okay, so you like dancing, and I know you're passionate about music. How does Bryan Ryan fit into all this?" Ms. Pillsbury seemed less nervous and professional now. Artie decided it was her wide eyes that pulled the truth out of him.

"Instead of giving a speech about how we can all attain the dream we wrote down," Artie cleared his throat awkwardly, "He told us we never would. He took mine and crumpled it up and threw it away. When he did that I couldn't help but think he took mine instead of someone else's because he thought mine definitely wouldn't happen because I was in a wheelchair. I looked at everyone else and thought it was kind of true. Out of everyone, my dream of dancing was the least attainable. I guess it kind of threw me. Even though I was half serious in the first place, I became obsessed with my future and finding a legit dream, I guess. Then Tina started all this hoopla about dancing with her and gave me the research I brought to you. She kept bringing it up and talking about my future as a dancer and...I don't know. I got tangled up in it all."

Ms. Pillsbury studied him as he said his little speech and it made him slightly self-conscious. "So this 'bravado' you speak of covers true feelings, correct?" Wow, now she really was sounding like a shrink.

"Umm...no? Maybe?" Artie scrunched his nose up in confusion.

"We are trying to get down to your roots about whether you are happy with yourself and your wheelchair, which is where you need to be."

"Everyone keeps saying that. You think I haven't had discussions like this with people before? 'You have to be strong, Artie,' 'You have to get on with your life, Artie.' And I do. But shouldn't I be able to get sad sometimes? Be angry? I can't be upset that I can't dip my girlfriend all romantically like Mike Chang? I have to go to the guidance counselor for that?"

Ms. Pillsbury bit her lip again. "Artie, you came to my office like you expected to be walking again next year. And one of the teachers saw you on the floor in the choir room one afternoon crying."

Artie's mouth dropped open and his cheeks turned pink. "Was that Mr. Schue?"

Ms. Pillsbury shook her head.

"Great," Artie sighed and rubbed his eyes with irritation.

Ms. Pillsbury leaned forward on her desk. "Artie, I'm not saying these actions aren't exactly normal. It's not unexpected for you to have some problems with your condition. We-Mr. Schue, myself, the Glee Club-just want to help you."

"I just got sidetracked a little, that's all," Artie replied, tugging on one of his gloves nervously. I'm fine. I'll just go play some Michael Jackson on my electric guitar and everything will be just peachy."

"Why were you on the floor that day?" Ms. Pillsbury tried.

Artie sighed. "I was trying to dance with Tina by using crutches and it didn't work out. I fell in front of her and it was really embarrassing and I acted like a jerk afterward so I'd rather not think about it ever again if that's alright." He crossed his arms.

"Artie, using crutches like that takes time. Learning to dance takes time. You have to slow down. Some things aren't easy."

Artie's voice echoed in his head, "Dreams aren't supposed to be easy." He didn't even listen to his own advice.

Ms. Pillsbury brought him out of his reverie when she picked up a small pile of papers and tapped them on the desk. "I think this meeting is just about finished for today. I'd be interested for you to invest in some research tonight, Artie. Look up some people with injuries similar to your own and their stories. See if there are any about dance." She smiled and stood up to escort him to the door.

"So...I'm guessing I still have to see you next week?" Artie said, looking up at her.

"Yes, I think you should. Don't forget to bring that research with you. Have a good one, Artie."

Artie nodded and added a "You too," as he rolled down the hall.

A few days later he approached Tina and asked her if they could try to do a dance together again. For real this time.