Artie liked to think that he was particularly astute when it came to interpreting other peoples' feelings and behaviour. He was a director after all and he figured people-watching was his responsibility so that he could one day direct millions of actors and actresses to portray the right level of emotion for a scene.
He especially enjoyed watching Blaine. The other boy was handsome in a way Artie had always admired and found fascinating. He liked the sun-kissed colour of his skin, the liquid-honey colour of his eyes and the neat, compact lines of his body. He also liked that Blaine constantly made an effort to be polite and caring, two traits that Artie firmly believed were severely lacking in the world. Although he had never spoken about this, it had troubled him when Blaine had become withdrawn and miserable following his break-up with Kurt. Blaine had sort of been a ray of sunshine in Artie's life and the image of his eyes tinged with sadness and a plaintive look come over his face when there was nothing to distract him, left Artie feeling strangely hollow.
But then there had been Mr Shue's almost-wedding. Initially Blaine seemed to have got some of his hopeful sparkle back. He smiled more easily, his eyes were glowing as if they were lit from the inside and he carried himself with the air of someone who was loved. Artie was fairly certain it had something to do with one Kurt Hummel and what had turned out to be one of the worst kept secrets in Glee Club history: Kurt and Blaine 'rediscovering' each other in a car and later a hotel room. The day after Kurt had walked the halls of McKinley with Blaine, a look of such adoration on his face and staying so close to him that Artie had to resist the temptation to call out "rather than trying to glue your hips together, why don't you two just hold hands?" Instead he had watched them smugly, knowing that it was only a matter of time until they would get their happy ending.
The signs that something was wrong had appeared slowly. At first Blaine just seemed exhausted. Gone were the ways when he sat up straight in his chair, legs primly crossed and eyes bright with a thirst for knowledge. Instead he slumped, chin resting heavily in his hands. Then he was periodically unwell, disappearing from classes, sometimes arriving late to school. He was also weirdly emotional: prone to outbursts, seeming less able to keep up the dapper exterior he usually carried so well.
Artie had his suspicions about Blaine's condition. He had heard a very private conversation in a bathroom last year. Two people (who Artie quickly realised were Kurt and Blaine) had burst into the room, talking in frantic whispers. Artie had stayed in the stall, knowing that the boys definitely did not want to be overheard.
"What if I am?" Blaine had murmured, hysteria evident even in his hushed tone.
There was a gentle kiss sound before Kurt responded "Then I'm here. I'm here no matter what, Blaine."
In the following five minutes Artie had waited, hardly daring to breath, vaguely wondering why they had chosen to do a pregnancy test in the school bathroom of all places.
"One pink line," Blaine had said on an exhale, making the words sound breathy. "I'm not…" He trailed off and there was silence again before both boys erupted into relieved giggles. "Kurt, I'm not!" Blaine cried giddily.
This time, however, Artie had a sneaking suspicion that Blaine was. A suspicion that certainly was not quelled when Blaine collapsed a few weeks ago at Glee practice. Everyone had crowded around him as he came out of it.
"Just dizzy," Blaine had muttered, at the sudden bubble of inquiry about his well-being.
"Did you eat lunch?" Mr Shue asked anxiously. Ever since the Club had found out about Marley's eating disorder they were all hyper-vigilant about making sure that no one else suffered in silence.
Blaine nodded, pulling his knees up almost protectively in front of his body. His body language was screaming at everyone to back off and he was clearly hating the way everyone was staring at him.
Artie had seen Blaine at lunch. He had picked gingerly at his sandwich, seeming to eat out of obligation rather than any real appetite for food. He had gazed longingly at the greasy chips on Artie and Tina's trays before shrinking into himself, apparently trying to take as few breaths as possible. Artie had offered him some chips and Blaine had been very quick to decline, looking a little pale at the thought of them.
Resolving to keep a close watch on Blaine, Artie had noticed that Blaine did not appear to be losing weight. On the contrary, his abdomen seemed to take on a softer appearance over the past weeks, to the point that it seemed to have rounded out, pressing gently against the cute cardigans and sweater vests that Blaine was so fond of. But it wasn't just his body that was changing. Recently Blaine seemed to walk around as if he were expecting to be attacked at any moment. Even in Glee practice he sat like someone condemned, starting when Mr Shue called on him.
"Blaine!" Mr Shue exclaimed, his eyes bright with the enthusiasm that always overcame him when he had a brilliant idea for a performance. "I was thinking that you could sing lead vocals. You know that jump you did during our Disco Week last year? If you did the splits at Nationals – "
"Mr Shue," Blaine sighed, fiddling with a loose thread of his shirt, gazing at it like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen in his life, "I don't think I want a solo this year. I appreciate the opportunity, but I'm happy just to sing back-up."
"But Blaine," Tina interjected, sounding stunned. "This is your year. A solo at nationals could really add credence to you NYADA application."
Blaine's face seemed to tighten. "I'm not applying to NYADA anymore" he whispered.
"What?"
"Wow dude, what brought this on?"
"Is this about Kurt because I thought he was all for you going to New York – "
Blaine sighed, wrapping his arms around his torso. "No it's not about Kurt, it's about me, okay? I know that you all see me as some kind of walking juke box that is maybe dating Kurt, but I actually have my own life and my own stuff going on so can we please not talk about this anymore?" His voice was tense, sharp and the sentence came out in a rush. Blaine's words were followed by one of the loudest silences that Artie had ever heard.
"Oookay," Mr Shue recovered. "It's your choice, Blaine. Take a few days to think about it – "
"I've thought about it and I'm not going to change my mind."
Mr Shue looked anxious. "Blaine if there's something going on…"
"I'm fine, thank you Mr Shue."
xxxxxx
"Hey, Miss P," Artie greeted. Desperate times called for desperate measures and Artie wanted to be sensitive about this. He didn't want to scare Blaine off, but he did want to help him.
"Nice to see you, Artie. What can I do for you?"
Artie chewed his tongue, contemplating his next words. Figuring that cautious and unassuming was probably the way to go he said "I actually wanted to talk about Blaine."
Her warm, inviting expression dimmed slightly. "I see. And what about him?"
Clearly this wasn't going to be as easy as Artie had hoped. "I think he's – " he tried to find the right phrase, " – dealing with something very serious at the moment and he won't talk about it."
"Well I think you just need to be there for him and let him know that he's not alone," she said.
"It's kind of hard to be there for him when he won't tell anyone what's going on," Artie rallied.
"I know," Miss Pilsbury assured him. "But you need to try and get him to open up to you himself."
The conversation playing on his mind, Artie surveyed Blaine in maths class that afternoon with increasing concern. The other boy appeared to have trouble getting comfortable, shifting around in his seat – and that was unusual because Blaine wasn't fidgety, in fact he was always unnervingly composed – and restlessly massaging his hips, digging his fingers into his flesh.
Blaine set off quickly after class – Artie had noticed that he seemed to want to avoid crowded corridors lately. He walked to his locker with an air of exhaustion, flinching horribly when two jocks decided to greet each other by running up to the other and bumping chests. Blaine's hands flew to his belly, his eyes wide and fearful before relaxing minutely when he saw that the other boys meant him no harm. Still he cuddled his books close to his body, one hand still rubbing his slightly distended tummy as he walked the rest of the way down the corridor.
Setting his jaw, Artie determinedly set off after him.
"Hey," Blaine said, a touch of surprise in his voice as Artie came to a halt. Artie furrowed his eyebrows as Blaine very-deliberately-yet-trying-to-appear-casual, shifted his satchel so that it was directly in front of his body, obscuring his belly from Artie's view. It didn't matter though, Artie had already noticed how his cardigan was clinging to his new roundness.
"Blaine," Artie said firmly, "it has come to my attention that something is going on with you. I know that it may be none of my business, but it is really killing me to see how you have been over the past few weeks. I was just wondering if maybe you would like to talk."
"Oh, that's very sweet," Blaine said slowly, as if he were carefully planning every word, screening his sentences before setting them free. "Really, I appreciate that, but I'm fine."
He turned to leave but Artie clutched his wrist. Blaine glanced down at his hand and then back into Artie's eyes. "Please let me go," he murmured tremulously.
"Talk to me, Blaine," Artie replied beseechingly.
"I-I'm sorry, Artie, but I really can't." Blaine's eyes were wide, earnest but Artie felt that he had never seen a person so desperately lost. It almost pained him to see Blaine trying to cling onto the decorum and poise he usually wrapped himself in, while he was so clearly struggling. Artie could sense the confusion and fear bubbling beneath Blaine's facade of good-natured cheer and he was worried that if he were to leave Blaine alone, the other boy would fall apart at the seams.
"Look, Blaine. I'm a director. Anything you're dealing with, I'm sure I can handle. And a problem shared is a problem halved, right?"
Blaine shifted uncomfortably, hitching his satchel back up his slumped shoulder. "I appreciate that Artie. Really, thank-you. But I just can't do this." Artie furrowed his eyebrows at the brittle sound of Blaine's voice; gone was the smooth, buttery quality to it. Instead he sounded weak, on the verge of tears. "I have to go," Blaine half-whispered, wrapping his arms around himself as he practically ran down the corridor.
Feeling it would be irresponsible to leave Blaine to be alone when he was clearly distressed, Artie caught the bus to Westerville, wondering vaguely if he was invading Blaine's privacy by showing up at his house uninvited.
"Artie!" Blaine exclaimed as he opened the door, trying and failing to look pleased to see him.
"I have to talk to you. And if you won't talk to me at school, then we'll have to do it here. May I come in?"
Blaine hesitated, shifting awkwardly on the spot, before his dapper gentlemanliness seemed to take over and he nodded, stepping aside so that Artie could wheel his way into the fancy entrance way.
"Are your parents home?" Artie inquired, taken aback by the silence that seemed to billow through the halls of Blaine's expensive house.
"No. They, um, work late tonight – " he bit his lip seeming to contemplate whether to continue " – and every night, really."
"Oh." Blaine was being awfully nonchalant about his situation, but Artie could sense that he wasn't as at peace with it as he was pretending. Come to think of it, Blaine did have an air of loneliness about him. He needed people to like him, wanted approval from everyone. The thought of Blaine coming home to an empty house every night made Artie uncomfortable.
"So, um, do you want a drink or something?" Blaine asked timidly, leading Artie past several impressive pieces of artwork as they made their way to the living room.
"No thank-you."
They sat in silence for a few seconds before:
"So, why have you come over? Not that I don't like to see you of course it's just that you've never visited me before and I –"
Artie held up a hand to put an end to Blaine's rambling. "You look exhausted," he said, without preamble. Blaine looked stunned and … a little guilty perhaps? "I know that you haven't been feeling well lately and to be honest that cardigan is getting a little tight."
Blaine blushed, tugging at the hem of his yellow pullover. "It was just a…sickness thing that lingered. It's passed now and I'm – "
"Something like morning sickness?" Artie asked, figuring that there was no point dancing around the subject and Blaine clearly wasn't going to volunteer the information on his own.
Blaine stared at him, mouth open in a perfect 'o' shape. Just as Artie noticed his face starting to crumple, Blaine looked away.
"Does everyone know?" he asked towards an ornamental pot plant, his voice wavering.
"No. And I won't tell them," Artie vowed, willing Blaine to believe him, to trust him.
Blaine nodded, attempting to recollect himself if the slow, deep breathes he was taking were anything to go by.
"Kurt's?" Artie prompted. Of course it was, it had to be. Artie may not be best friends with Blaine, but he knew the other boy well enough to know that he wouldn't have been with anyone else. Not since the disaster with Eli and his reunion with Kurt.
Blaine nodded again.
"I was supposed to be on the Pill," he whispered, hands clasped in his lap and his head bowed. As Artie watched two tears dropped onto Blaine's thumbs. "But when Kurt and I broke up I stopped taking it. It just didn't seem worth it anymore given that I had completely ruined my relationship – " He broke off with a choked sob, shoulders shaking.
"It's okay, Blaine," Artie murmured, reaching forward to stroke Blaine's arm. The other boy tensed at the contact, and for a second Artie thought he was going to push him away, but then Blaine relaxed into the contact, seeming to draw strength from it.
"Then Mr Shue's wedding happened and I…I could say that I didn't think, but I did, of course I did. I just didn't want to interrupt the moment. I was so scared that if I did, it wouldn't happen again and I wouldn't get another chance so I didn't say anything."
"What does Kurt think?" Artie asked, confident that Kurt would be supportive.
"He doesn't know." A few tears leaked out of Blaine's eyes as he said it. "Please don't look at me like that. I wanted to say something but things are so good between us at the moment and I just couldn't find a way to slip it into the conversation."
"You're worried that he won't come back?" Artie asked.
"No. I'm worried that he will. That he'll feel some sort of obligation to me and out of a perceived sense of duty come back to Lima to take care of the baby and I. God, we might even end up together just because Kurt's the kind of guy who would want to 'do the right thing'. But – "
"Don't you want to get back together with Kurt?"
"Of course I do," Blaine said with a half-stifled sob. "But not like this. I want him to be with me because he loves me, not because I'm going to have a baby. I-I don't want him to end up resenting me."
"He wouldn't. He'd come back to Lima for himself."
"I said I came to McKinley for myself. It didn't exactly turn out like that," Blaine replied patiently. He sounded so weary, like he had lived a million lives in the past few months and he just needed a break. Artie decided to let the subject of Kurt drop, which of course led to another round of uncomfortably personal questions.
"So, uh, how far along are you?"
Blaine sniffed, dabbing his eyes with the heel of his palm. "Around eleven weeks."
"'Around'?" Artie repeated. "Haven't you seen a doctor or something?"
Blaine shook his head. "I-I can't! I haven't even told my parents and I can't afford an appointment on my own. And if they knew…I think they'd kick me out. I have nowhere to go, Artie."
"Blaine, they're going to find out eventually," Artie said as gently as he could. "And you need to get a check up to make sure that everything's okay with the baby."
"I've been doing the best that I can," Blaine said, sounding wretched. He rubbed his belly almost shyly. "I want to give my baby the best start possible and I've been doing everything that was recommended online. She keeps growing so I figure that I must be doing something right, at least."
"She?"
Blaine smiled fondly. "I think it's a girl," he confided. "I don't know why, I just do."
Artie returned Blaine's smile, trying not to cry as he saw the tears sparkling in Blaine's golden eyes.
"Your baby will be perfect Blaine," Artie assured him, heart clenching at the beautiful expression of joy that came over Blaine's face at his words. "But you can't do this on your own" he added firmly. "You need all the support and medical assistance that you can get. You have so many friends who will be there for you, you just have to let us all in."
He knew he was asking a lot. Letting people in didn't come naturally to Blaine. Despite his facade of openness, Artie found him to be a very reserved person. He never went out in public without his array of masks to hide himself from the world. Artie had heard through Kurt that the world had hurt Blaine and now Blaine won't let himself be exposed again.
"You're going to be okay," Artie said, squeezing Blaine's hand. "Everything is going to be alright."
Blaine smiled weakly, returning the pressure on Artie's hand. 'Are you sure?" he murmured, sounding scared but trusting.
"Positive," Artie affirmed. And he was.
After all, wasn't there always a little drama in Act Two, before everyone could live happily ever after in Act Three?