Not the New Rachel

By Maureen Anson

Standard Disclaimers Apply.

"Why do you hate strong black women?"

The question rang in Artie's ears, echoing around and he tried to distract himself at practice, through dinner that night at home and as he got ready for bed. It didn't work. Laying in bed he sighed as the digital numbers changed from 12:54am to 12:55am. The question plagued him. Well, no. It wasn't the question specifically, it was the implications of it and the meaning behind it. That bothered him greatly.

Reaching for his glasses, Artie slipped them on before disconnecting his cell phone from the charger. Now, did he save Wade's number as Wade or as Unique? Scrolling through, he found it under Unique Wade. Aha! That was a good way to save it. Wade was Unique after all. Pun intended. Selecting the name, he sent a text message not expecting an answer, Can we talk? Tomorrow after school, Lima Bean. – Artie

The next day in school, classes seemed to drag forever, which was both good and bad. On the one hand, it put the conversation off and Artie had no idea what exactly he wanted to say. He kept rehearsing things in his mind and came up with zip. Nada. Plus, he hated confrontation, which this could easily turn into. On the other hand though, he needed to get this resolved, if only for his own subconscious. The question was still plaguing him and driving him nuts. At least Unique had texted him back that morning that she'd meet him there, which took the stress of wondering if she would even show off his back.

After school, Artie had to wait for his dad to pick him up to take him to the coffee house so when he arrived Unique was already there with a drink and a table. Giving her a smile, he went to the counter to order his own drink and then joined her. "Thanks for meeting me," he said with a genuine smile. He didn't know Unique very well (or Wade), but he did want to get to know her better.

"What's this about?" she asked, curious. She hadn't expected to wake up to a text from anyone, much less Artie. He was nice enough in Glee, but she didn't know him yet.

She cut right to the chase. He could respect that. "Your comment the other day, after I announced the new Rachel," he replied, meeting her eyes squarely. "It bothered me."

Unique waved it off with a hand, "I was angry," she dismissed it.

Artie nodded, "Be that as it may," he replied, "you wouldn't've said it if you didn't believe it on at least some level and that says a lot about you…and how you see me. And it bothers me, a lot." To the point where he had lost sleep over it, though he didn't mention that. "I've been thinking all day about what I could say or how to make you believe that the colour of your skin or anything else about your physical person or personality had no bearing on my decision at all and…there's nothing I can say to prove it. It's my word against your beliefs and I can't argue that."

He took a breath and a sip of his coffee, aware that he had Unique's attention now, "Part of me also says that I don't need to justify my decision to anyone, you asked me to choose and you all competed and I made my choice. You don't know me though and we're going to be in glee together for the year. I don't want to start it off with you thinking I'm racist."

"Artie!" Unique interrupted, shocked that this bothered him so much. "It was just a stupid comment. Ignore it. I can be a drama queen."

Touché. She most definitely was something of a diva, but that seemed to come with the Glee territory. She wouldn't have been the star of Vocal Adrenaline and performed at Nationals in a dress if she wasn't something of a diva. "I can't ignore it, no matter how much if a queen you are," Artie's lips quirked into a smile. "See…this is my family," he reached for his cell phone, pulling up a picture of him with his parents. The contrast between the dark chocolate tones of his parents and his paleness was dramatic.

For once, Unique had no idea what to say. That was unexpected to say the least. "Albino?" she finally hazarded, though Artie didn't look like he was, even if he dyed his hair.

Putting his phone away, Artie shook his head, "Adopted," he explained, though albino was not an uncommon assumption. "It's a long story, but I know all about strong black women and how you don't cross them without risking serious bodily harm. I don't know how well you knew Mercedes last year…" he knew she'd done something with Wade or maybe it was Unique, but he wasn't sure what it was.

"Oh, Unique knows ALL about Mercedes," she assured him, feeling more in control now.

"Good," Artie smiled, "Well, we basically grew up together. Our parents are good friends and we sang in the church choir and all that. So anyways, I don't hate strong black women actually," he reached out, taking her hand, "I admire them."

Was he flirting with her? This was so far out of her experience, she had no idea what to do! Of course, Unique had always imagined her prince charming and being swept off her feet, but at the same time, she had never pictured the first guy to make a move to be Artie Abrams, here and now.

In truth, Artie hadn't ever considered this part. It was all ad libbed. It was also all the truth, too. "You're beautiful, Unique. And I want to get to know you better," something stopped him from asking her on a date just yet. Maybe it was her slight deer in the headlights sort of look.

"What about being the new Rachel?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

"I'm not changing my decision," Artie stated firmly. "But why would you want to be an imitation? Your name is Unique. Be Unique and forget Rachel." He understood why the other members of New Directions wanted to be the star and felt they had to compete against each other to be the star instead of sharing the spotlight because that was how Mr. Schuester had run things for the past three years. He had always disagreed with it, even if he had never said anything. He'd considered a lot of things in his decision before choosing Blaine and talent was the least of those factors. They were all talented in their own way.

Artie made a good point, she had to admit. "I bet you tell all the girls they're beautiful," she chided, giving him an out. As far as she knew, Artie was straight. And she might be a women, but there was a man still under those curves.

"No," Artie disagreed, "Only the ones who are beautiful, especially on the inside. Dinner tomorrow night? Breadsticks? " It was the date restaurant after all. Part of him wondered what the hell he was doing, asking Unique on a date and part of him just didn't care because she was a beautiful woman. And well…he did like strong, black women. It was too bad that Mercedes had never been interested in him or he would have been all over that!

Oh God, he WAS asking her on a date. There was absolutely no denying it or the sheer, unadulterated terror the idea generated. Very unexpected terror. Swallowing, Unique pulled her hair from his, "Artie…" she spoke quietly, steeling herself for the blow she knew would come, "Are you asking Unique or Wade?"

The question made Artie pause. "Does it matter?" he asked after a moment. "You're the same person. Different outsides, but the same beautiful insides. I'll meet you at Breadsticks tomorrow night at 7pm. You dress however you are most comfortable. I am sure you will look amazing either way."

The blow didn't come. Unique had no idea how to deal with this. Blinking for a moment, she stood, towering over Artie. Wade might not wear heels, but Unique did regardless of her height. "Alright," she agreed. "Tomorrow, 7pm."

And with that, she left.

Artie sat there a while longer, watching her leave before relaxing a little. She'd said yes. He wanted to cheer and shout to everyone that she'd said yes! She hadn't made a comment about his wheelchair or his lack of height compared to her or his skin or his sexuality or anything. She'd simply said yes!

The pressure from earlier was gone and replaced by an entirely new set of butterflies in his stomach. These were the familiar ones though, the ones brought on by a first date. Texting his dad that he was done and headed out to the parking lot to wait, Artie wanted to make sure that the date went absolutely perfectly.