1.
Quinn spun in front of her mirror, smiling as her full skirt spun out beneath her. The bright blue princess dress was getting a little short on her eight year old frame, but she didn't care. She swept back her long blond hair and laughed as she ran out of her room and down the hall. Her father was standing by the phone, looking impatient. He smiled when he saw her shining face. "Hey wait," he called as she passed by. "Where are you going in that dress?"
"Don't worry, I have a date," She smiled widely and rushed down the hall. Quinn ran out the kitchen door and across their bare backyard. She pictured the lilies, daisies and violets that her mother would plant in warmer weather. It was already April; those flowers would be here soon.
She twirled through the garden, smiling. She ran towards the high garden wall at the end of her driveway. Hitching up her skirt, she easily climbed the wall. Normally Quinn would never do something so risky, but for him... anything. Her smile stayed on her face as she pushed aside the wild green weeds that grew in the narrow path between the wall and her neighbor's fence. She kept walking through the magic garden until finally, she pushed back one last branch and she was in paradise.
There was a small clearing, surrounded by the crumbling garage wall and blooming green trees. Someone had long ago placed a Lil Tikes picnic table in the center of this haven. Above it was only clear blue sky. A green glass bottle was sitting on the table with a single dandelion inside. She took a seat at the picnic table. The only thing missing was him.
She smiled wide when she heard the bushes move and finally he appeared. "Where were you?" She asked, looking up at him.
He smiled widely and pushed up his thick plastic glasses. "I was finishing this," Artie pulled his hand from behind his back and out came a big yellow paper crown, which he set on his head.
Quinn couldn't help laughing as the crown fell down his forehead and Artie had to keep pushing it up. "Come sit down," she finally said. "I love it back here."
Artie walked over to the table, studying the foliage that surrounded them. "Hey, look, some honeysuckle flowers are blooming." He reached out and picked a few of the pale pink flowers and handed one to her. "It tastes good."
She watched him as he took a seat across from her and sucked the nectar out of the flower. Quinn would never do something so disgusting. Instead she stuck the beautiful blossom behind her ear and smiled at her date. "So I'm the princess and you're the prince."
"No," Artie shook his head and smiled with pride. "I'm the king. King Arthur."
"Just like Simba," Quinn laughed. She loved referring to one of their favorite movies, The Lion King. "You're too young to be a king."
Artie shook his head vigorously. "Nuh-uh. Josiah was king when he was eight like us. It's possible."
"How do you always know this stuff?"
"I'm just smart," Artie smiled widely.
Quinn chuckled again and looked around their safe haven. "Artie, let's dance."
Not surprised at the request, the boy just nodded and the children held each other closely and waltzed. Both Quinn and Artie took classes at the local Y, so the steps came naturally. They didn't need music; that was in their minds. Artie started humming a slow song as they twirled through their tiny piece of paradise.
"Promise me nothing will ever change," Quinn whispered. "I want to come out here when we're in high school and know that we rule the world."
Artie tipped his king's crown at Quinn. "I promise."
2.
Early the next week, Artie left her. It was like all connection was suddenly broken. He had disappeared from school without a trace for three days straight, which was so unlike him. Usually he would drag himself out of bed to go to school, even if he was sick. Quinn caught her teacher looking at Artie's empty desk a few times and could have sworn her eyes grew dim, but the teacher said nothing. That Friday afternoon, Quinn took the long way home.
She wound around the back of the elementary school and cut down Artie's block. His house stood dark and alone, both the station wagon and small sedan missing. Where had they gone? It seemed like no one was ever going to tell Quinn the truth.
The next week was the same story. All the adults seemed to be walking around red-eyed and absent minded, but no one thought to tell the children anything.
"Where is he?" Quinn whispered to her mother one day after school.
"Just go to your room," her mother cried out and pointed her out of the kitchen. "Right now."
Quinn sighed and wondered if she would ever learn what had happened to her best friend.
The next day, she sat in the dark kitchen, slowly eating breakfast and thinking of her missing friend. As her eyes scanned the room, she caught sight of something familiar. What was that? There was a discarded newspaper cluttering half the table. As Quinn went to sweep it out of her way, she caught sight of it again. She might have missed it if she hadn't been thinking about him. It was a tiny picture, but there was no mistaking his huge smile and thick glasses.
'Interfaith church to raise money for local boy' The headline read. "The Hallelujah Interfaith Church will hold a fundraiser this Sunday to help defray the medical expenses for the family of Arthur Abrams, 8, of Farmer's Mills, OH." Quinn started reading aloud. "The boy was severely injured on Wednesday, April 12 when a cargo van ran a red light and crashed into the Abrams' car. While Mrs. Abrams and the van's driver both walked away with minor injuries, the impact shattered the boy's spinal cord. "It is extremely unlikely that [Arthur] will ever walk again," Our source reported. While police declined to identify the driver of the van, reports indicated that the driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash."
Quinn gasped and dropped the newspaper. "Mommy!" She yelled, her voice almost too frantic. "Mommy, where are you?"
Her mother came running into the kitchen, thinking something was horribly wrong. "What is it? What's wrong?" She took in the sight of her pale daughter and swept towards her.
"How come you didn't tell me?" Quinn glanced down at the article and looked back up at her mother, tears stinging her eyes. "He's my best friend and I thought he just left me. I had no clue where he was and all this time, he was right here." She looked down at Artie's picture again. "Right here."
"We thought it was better to wait until he was back home. You shouldn't have to go to the hospital to visit him. That's no place for little children. Once he came home, you would see that he's alright." Mrs. Fabray looked down at her miserable daughter and embraced her. "He'll be alright, Quinn."
The girl pushed away from her mother. "That's not true! This says he'll never be able to walk again! That's not alright." She threw her face into her hands, crying.
Quinn's mother came closer to her daughter once again. "You'll see," she said and rubbed her hand on Quinn's back. The young girl fell into her mother's embrace, letting her come close. "You'll see. Everything will be alright."
No matter how much Quinn wanted to believe this, she knew that everything had changed. Part of her innocence had become hard and cold, like a stone.
3.
It was weeks before they let Quinn see her friend. On the drive over, Quinn stared out her back seat window, thinking about the last time Artie had ridden in a car. Was he sitting like her, waiting to reach her destination? Was he dreaming of a better place, maybe of their garden oasis? "Mommy," she started softly. "Why did it have to be him?"
"I don't know, baby," Quinn's mother said, looking at her daughter in the rear view mirror.
"He could have been great," she sighed, thinking that they'd never dance together again. "Artie's not like everybody else."
Mrs. Fabray sighed and tightly grasped the steering wheel. The woman knew she couldn't sugarcoat the truth, not anymore. "You might be right, but it's not over. His life will be different, sure, but we all know he'll be strong. You know him..."
Quinn shrugged, "I guess so." She wasn't so sure.
They walked through the hospital in silence. Quinn held her mother's hand, nervous. This was unlike anything she had ever experienced before; different, unexplainable and scary. They slowed as they approached the pediatric ward and saw Mrs. Abrams standing in the hall, waiting for them. Even Quinn noticed how tired she looked. "You can go in," the woman sighed when she noticed their arrival. "I just... can't."
Mrs. Fabray nodded silently and steered Quinn through the narrow door. The girl looked around the room, at anything but the bed. It was just like the hospital rooms she saw on TV, simple to the point of almost being bare. The furniture looked uncomfortable, the TV unused. There was a collection of get well cards on the window sill and among the collection was a crushed yellow crown. Quinn turned towards the bed.
The boy looked smaller than ever, sitting propped up in the big bed. He smiled weakly at Quinn, who approached the bed slowly, like he would break again at the slightest touch. "Hey," he said quietly.
"How are you?"
"Been better," he gave her a small smirk.
"It's good to see you, Artie." She laid her hand on one of his carefully.
He grasped her hand softly. "I missed you."
Finally, Quinn pulled away sadly and sighed. She looked down at Artie's still body and suddenly realized he wouldn't even be able to get to their garden now. "I guess we can't be kings anymore."
"That's not true. We can be whatever we want." Artie's eyes shone. "Kings don't fly, so why should I?"
Quinn rose an eyebrow. "What?"
"Bad things happen to everybody and even the best man can't fly. We can get over whatever happens." He looked up at her. "My dad told me that."
The girl looked down at the floor and nodded. "You're amazing, Artie. I hope you never change."
"Together, we'll be amazing. We'll be kings again someday." He kept that small smile on his face.
Quinn just nodded sadly, hoping it was true.
4.
"Here's the new number, guys. This one's for Quinn." Mr. Schue smiled to his glee club as he handed the sheet music to the visibly pregnant girl.
Rachel and Mercedes both groaned simultaneously as they got a glimpse of the music. "She can't do this song, Mr. Schue," Rachel protested.
"Yeah, last time I checked, you need a guy for this song." Mercedes gave Quinn a very pointed look.
Quinn ignored her and asked innocently, "Who should I do the song with, Mr. S?"
A few weeks ago, the answer would have obviously been Finn, but now he just gave her a cold stare. Puck started to stand up to volunteer, but Mr. Schue shook his head forcefully. This was the last place for another fight. Mr. Schue looked around the room until suddenly, he smiled. "Artie."
All the kids looked at each other curiously, but Quinn locked eyes with Artie and nodded. It was too perfect. Artie rolled himself to the front of the classroom. "Hit it, Brad," he cued the piano man. The piano played the light introduction to 'Shall We Dance?' from The King and I. Quinn began to sing,
We've just been introduced,
I do not know you well,
But when the music started
Something drew me to your side.
So many men and girls,
Are in each others arms.
It made me think we might be
Similarly occupied.
Shall we dance?
On a bright cloud of music shall we fly?
Shall we dance?
Shall we then say "Goodnight and mean "Goodbye"?
Or perchance,
When the last little star has left the sky,
Shall we still be together
With are arms around each other
And shall you be my new romance?
On the clear understanding
That this kind of thing can happen,
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?
Shall we Dance?
Quinn swept around the choir room, showing off her smooth dance moves. Finally, she looked at Artie with a smile and asked, "Shall we dance?"
"One, two, three and?" Artie played along, pushing himself towards Quinn. Quinn smiled widely and did a waltz in front of Artie, who was only a push behind her. In this way, the pair did an unusually beautiful dance together around the classroom. Quinn leaned over and placed her hands on Artie's shoulders and he put his arms around her waist. They swayed in place for a moment before Quinn took off in front of him once again. The room was silent, awed by the sight. Finally, Quinn leaned over and purposely fell into Artie's lap so he could spin her around in his chair.
She leaned close and whispered, "Who says kings don't fly?" Because after all this time, nothing had really changed.