Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything associated with Glee, whatsoever. This is for pure enjoyment. (:
Note: Totally Quartie. Deal.
May Angels Lead You In
Artie often found himself thinking about her.
He wouldn't ever admit it to anyone he knew, most would laugh at him. He was the boy in the wheelchair; she was the girl who had at one point ruled it all. It was evident that almost every boy in William McKinley High was crushing on her. But, to him, crush didn't even cover what he felt for the petite blonde. Crush was such a second grade word. Did that word even belong in high school language?
No, Artie was full-blown in love with Quinn Fabray.
He knew that the feelings he had for Quinn would never be reflected by her. He sometimes pushed the thoughts and feelings away, pretended like they didn't exist. He hated when he saw her in the hall, talking with Puck or walking alone with her head down. It didn't help that he wanted to help her, to walk (or wheel in his case) her to class, to talk with her. But Quinn Fabray give him the time of day? It didn't matter that she lost her rep; that she was in Glee club with him; Quinn couldn't ever love some guy like him.
When he looked at her now, after she had settled down in Glee club fully, he could see how much Quinn had changed. She had once been the Ice Princess, the ruler of William McKinley High. She had the star boyfriend; she was captain of the squad and was envied by almost every girl in the school. Now, she was Quinn with the baby bump. She was Quinn with a boyfriend that won't change despite the fact that he'll become a father. And even though she didn't know, she still had admirers.
Artie admired her. Looking at her from afar, he saw the strength that Quinn held inside her. Despite the fact that she had lost her title, Quinn knew that that wasn't what mattered anymore. Artie liked to observe her, secretly of course, as she sat in Glee club and watched as Mr. Schuester talked. He often caught her caressing her stomach, he saw her smile slightly as she did it a few times. He knew she cared for what was growing inside her and that made Artie's heart ache. He knew that she deserved a man that would take care of her baby like a father would. He knew that Finn still loved her but didn't know if that relationship would ever patch up. He knew that Puck wouldn't ever change or even be remotely close as a father, regardless of what he said about wanting a family.
Artie would take care of it. He found himself thinking of that one day. Artie would be a good father, he had thought. He would have the skills to do it; he was use to taking care of himself sometimes. He had the heart to do it. He understood where Finn was coming from when he was mad at Quinn; but Artie would never back down. People make mistakes, Puck wasn't going to man up and change his ways, so Quinn had no one to help her with it. Artie couldn't see Quinn becoming a single mother. No, no, he didn't want to see that.
Artie couldn't help but stop thinking about her. He loved seeing her laugh in Glee, sing or dance. She seemed to be able to hold herself up, not caring about the fact that she was living through hell. She had that small spark of Ice Quinn but the new Quinn, the one that seemed to fit in with the underdogs, well that was always showing.
But even though Quinn had climbed down from her rung as top dog at McKinley, Artie was still lower then her on the chain of society. He didn't even remember the last time Quinn had a conversation with him. He remembered the ballad that they were suppose to sing for Glee Club, there wasn't much practice nor talking when that happened. It was like they had mutual feelings on whatever concerned it that a conversation wasn't likely to be held. She had a gift of singing, no doubt. Artie knew that, he understood that. He sometimes wished that Mr. Schue would give Quinn some solos. Artie just wanted to hear her beautiful voice.
There were so many things about Quinn that were amazing to him. Her smile was one too. Her smile made his heart light up, no matter if the smile wasn't directed to him because it normally wasn't. Her smile made his heart squeeze tightly. She was beautiful, not in a hot, sexy I-totally-wanna-bang-you kind of way. No, Quinn was beautiful. She was the type of beautiful that no matter what mood she was in, she still looked amazing. Artie had seen all he could of the sides of Quinn from off in the distance. He saw bossy Quinn, he saw sad Quinn, he saw serious Quinn, he saw angry Quinn, he saw smiley Quinn, and he saw confused Quinn.
Artie noticed the little things. The things that made him love Quinn, no, made him fall in love with Quinn. He noticed how she tossed her hair before she spoke. He noticed the way she bit her lip when she was focused on something. He noticed the expressions she made, which were just adorable to him. He noticed how much into singing she was when she did sing. He noticed her bigger smiles came from touching her stomach or accomplishing something.
Artie noticed and thought of all things about her. He knew he loved Quinn with every part of his heart. Yet, the feeling – at least he thought – was nothing more than a slight feeling of acquaintances on her part.
Quinn liked to watch him when she could.
It hadn't been just recently. It had been before she joined Glee club, to be honest. She remembered seeing him wheeling himself down the halls. People would purposely bump his chair or shout things at him. She remembered feeling slight sadness for the boy in the wheelchair. But that feeling always passed on, she made it pass on. She couldn't dwell on a boy that was at the bottom of the high school food chain when she had to worry about cheerleading practice.
That was before the baby. The baby changed everything. It especially changed on how she looked at the underdogs of William McKinley High. It especially changed on how she viewed Artie Abrams.
She knew to everyone else that Artie was a nerd, someone to get to do your homework for you. Someone to pick on and tease. It had been that way ever since that accident plunged him in that chair. She couldn't even begin to remember what Artie was like before, in grade school. Had she ever interacted with him at that time?
It didn't matter. She had seen Artie grow as a stronger person throughout high school. She never acknowledged it but she saw him conversing with Tina or another Glee clubber whenever they were in the Glee room. For some reason, she knew that Artie wasn't one to let things take him down, to let things get to him.
She also knew that day she had fallen for Artie. Yes, she fell for the one that she wouldn't have given the time of day if she had been top queen again. Artie was a different person to her. He was sweet and kind, not caring about what other people did to him. People were cruel and yet he still managed to see the better side of people.
To be truthfully honest, it had been the day that Glee had sung 'Lean On Me' to Finn and her. It had started right when Artie opened his mouth. Why hadn't she ever known his voice before? He had several small parts in singing but why was it then when she realized that Artie had one of the most beautiful voices she had ever heard? Quinn couldn't answer that question to herself. She knew that Artie's voice was a voice she would love to fall asleep at night too. Even hearing him speak after that made her heart melt.
When Artie started to sing the verse for that song, Quinn felt that he was singing it just for her. They were but she felt as if it was just Artie. She wanted it to be just Artie. She felt safe and cared for after that. Truthfully, the one person she wanted to talk to was him. The way he had put his heart and soul into singing those lines made Quinn feel as if he meant it. It made her feel as if she could lean on him and talk with him.
Quinn Fabray never got that courage to though. Artie was so sweet and she didn't want to lay her problems out for him. He had enough on his own. He had his life to try and live, he had to survive high school and he had to survive life after that.
Quinn would watch Artie during Glee; because that was the only time she had a clear view of him. They shared 4th period English but he was behind her. She would watch him and watch him interact. She hated watching him talk with Tina, she knew the standards of that relationship and sometimes wanted Artie to speak to her, to look at her the way he looked at Tina.
She had a little game every time she looked at Artie. She would pinpoint his actions to try and determine his feelings. When he was nervous, he would twist his hands back and forth in his lap. His bright smile would take his face when he was passionate about something. His nose would scrunch up when he was confused. He would look down when he was embarrassed. It was amazing how much Quinn got out when she watched him from across the room.
She couldn't lie to herself, the way she thought of Artie and the way she watched him. She knew that she loved him. Too bad that Artie was infatuated with Tina and had feelings even though she lied. She had thought she heard something about Artie liking someone else other then Tina, she had heard it from Rachel. The thought excited her but Artie Abrams liking her? Quinn never had doubts about a boy liking her, because she didn't need to have doubts before. But there was something Artie that made her doubt that. Artie could go for someone better. Someone who wouldn't make mistakes, someone would make him feel the way he needed to feel.
Quinn knew that Tina was a good girl for Artie. As much as it pained Quinn to think that, the way Tina held herself through high school was much like the way Artie held himself. Sure, he couldn't stop bullying as much as Tina could but the two didn't seem to care about that. Quinn didn't know how Artie could stand being picked on every day. She had a hard time trying to control herself when it happened to her.
Artie was stronger than she was. He held his head high and did things that made him happy, not others. He didn't seem to care what others thought. Sure, his wardrobe looked like something his grandmother picked out but Quinn, herself, thought he looked adorable in the goofy sweaters or suspenders. He was smart and he knew that. He put his two cents in when he felt that it needed to put there. She wouldn't tell anyone this but she found his wheel gloves completely cute as well. He wore them occasionally but she found them Artie-like. It wasn't because he was in a wheel chair because if he wasn't, she could still see him wear them.
Quinn saw these things as she watched him sometimes. Deep in her heart, she knew that Artie was the one she wanted but the feelings that she felt were something that he could never give back. It was impossible for Artie Abrams and Quinn Fabray to be completely in love.
Right?
Read and Review? That's what I'm suppose to stay here.