Author's Note: I just got around to watching "Duets" and I didn't dislike it as much I had anticipated. Solid character development. The Bartie made my stomach turn a little but...well, I won't write an essay about that. By far, Quinn was my favorite in the episode. ANYWAY, this is sort of my...fanfic response to the episode but this is only part one. It obviously contains spoilers for "Duets" so you have been forewarned.

Something. Like. Love.

Part One - Something.

"I heard you and Artie broke up."

Closing her locker, Brittany turned slowly to Quinn, confused as to why the head cheerleader had asked her a question that had nothing to do with cheerleading. The two of them hardly ever talked about anything outside of the sport. "Oh…yeah. We did." Glancing down, Brittany tried not to let the guilt inside of her eat away. It happened every time she thought of or saw Artie.

"Why?"

Sniffing a little, Brittany bit her top lip, not sure how to approach the topic. She really didn't feel like telling Quinn the truth. "Something about…something," Brittany mumbled, starting to pivot and escape Quinn's pointed questions.

"Brittany, wait."

Pausing, Brittany kept her eyes cast to the ground, avoiding eye contact with the other girl.

"I don't know what happened but you shouldn't just…let him get away. Artie's not the type of guy any girl should let go. Tina did. She under appreciated him."

Wrinkling her brow, Brittany glanced at Quinn. "All I have to do stop Artie from getting away is pick up him out of his wheelchair."

"That's not what I meant, Britt. It's like this…Artie, he's special. He's not like other guys. It's hard to put into words, exactly. I remember the first time we had any interaction. We didn't even talk. It was weird. He was sitting in the choir room, waiting for the rest of glee club to come in. He was sort of introspective. I took the chair next to him and dropped my folder while doing so. Without hesitation, he picked it up and handed it to me. Our eyes met and it was like…kismet."

Not sure why Quinn was telling her any of this, Brittany scooted back against the lockers, actually interested in hearing it, even if it made zero sense. "You kissed him when you met?"

"No, no…fate or something, I don't know. Like there's a connection between us or whatever. Sometimes I feel like he really gets it, gets me, and I don't how know he does it. He's the kind of guy a girl could find herself falling in love with."

When Quinn quit talking, in the middle of a thought, Brittany stared at her, willing the other girl to continue. After several minutes she didn't, so Brittany decided to say something. "Did you forget what you were saying? I do that all the time…"

"No…I was thinking about when Artie pulled my name out of that hat, when we were supposed to do those ballads. We never actually sang together. Probably never will…"

Jutting out her bottom lip, Brittany thought hard. "I bet Mr. Schuester would let you."

"…I don't know if that's a good idea. Because once something starts, there's no turning back. And I'm not sure if that's a good thing. He's a great guy who deserves better than a girl like me. Plus...there's Sam now."

By this point, Brittany's brain was starting to hurt. It was worse than reading those Dr. Seuss books.

"You should go talk to him, Britt. He's in the band room."

For the rest of the day, Brittany searched for the band room, at last discovering it, after the final bell. Just like Quinn had told her, Artie was there, strumming a guitar and humming. Feeling sad, she made her way in, quietly taking a chair and just listening. He started to sing but immediately stopped upon seeing her.

"What do you want?"

Hearing the hurt in his voice, she frowned. "I wanted to say I'm sorry and I think I wanted to see if we could get back together."

"…okay. Well…you're sorry. I sort of think you really are but I don't want to get back together with you. I still like Tina and I thought dating you and being with you would change that but…it didn't."

Quinn's words from earlier echoed in her head and so she gave voice to them, although she was unsure of their meaning. "Tina under appreciates you."

"…what? You think so?"

Shrugging, Brittany stared at Artie's wheelchair, trying to figure out what to say. "I hope we can be friends. Quinn said that, about Tina." When she lifted her eyes to meet his, he looked genuinely shocked and sputtered a bit before responding.

"Yeah, we can be friends. I guess. I'm still a little hurt but…you coming here means something. And…Quinn said that? Quinn Fabray? About Tina not appreciating me?"

Cheered by the prospect of some sort of friendship with Artie, Brittany smiled wide and nodded emphatically. "Quinn Fabray said that. I don't know the other Quinn."

"I don't if there is another Quinn. But she said that? It's like she gets it or something. I mean, she does. Like last spring, when I was hurting about Tina choosing Mike to be her dance partner, she just touched my shoulder, like she understood. And I really think she did. No one else even noticed, not even Tina."

Placing her hands on her knees, Brittany stretched out her back, curious as to why everyone seemed to be wanting to tell her all these…things today. It was worse than Dr. Seuss. It was like when Santana made her watch that movie where the people were all speaking another language and there were tiny words at the bottom of the screen. "Mike's a really good dancer."

"Right…it still hurt. Quinn knew that. She's…there's something about her. She's special. She's like…she's the type of girl a guy could fall in love with."

His words seemed familiar to her, as if she had heard them before, but she couldn't place them. "Why don't you then? Cause you're a guy and she's a girl…"

"…I don't deserve a girl like Quinn Fabray. I know she's not perfect but that's what makes her so…perfect. …and I love Tina."

Figuring the conversation was over, Brittany stood up and looked down at him. "So we're friends?" Looking up at him, he barely seemed to register what she said but then nodded once. Happy, she skipped out into the hall, knowing Santana was at Brittany's house, waiting for the blonde. Talking with Artie had made her late but it was also something Brittany needed to do even if Santana didn't care.

Twenty minutes later, Brittany bounced into her room, where Santana was filing her nails. "I talked to Artie and he doesn't hate me anymore. I know I hurt him but he says we're friends. I really didn't mean to. I like him. He's nice. Quinn told me I should get back together with him but we're not going to."

"You're late to meet me because you had to talk to him?"

Sometimes Santana frustrated her, the way she acted as if nothing that was important to Brittany mattered. But she didn't want to argue so she changed the subject completely. "I think Artie is in love with Quinn."

"Figures. She's got Puck, Finn, that new kid, all sniffing after her. Now Wheels. I bet even Kurt's harboring some opposite-sex desires toward her."

After contemplating what the opposite of sex was, and coming to the conclusion that it was probably kissing, Brittany selected her favorite green, sparkly nail polish from her collection. "And I think Quinn is in love with Artie." She had painted three fingers when she realized that Santana hadn't replied to what she had said. Looking up, she met Santana's gaze tilting her head. At long last, the other girl snorted.

"Doubtful. Quinn goes after awkward jock types. Finn and now Finn 2.0. Artie does not fit in that category."

Though Brittany had never heard a caterpillar referred to that way she chose not to ask about it. Santana might be right about Quinn and Artie but the only way to find out was to lock them in together in a closet…

Author's END note: I hope Brittany doesn't come off as...without depth in this. I wanted her to be the Brittany we know and love but also with some added depth. She really felt bad about what happened with Artie...I wanted that to be portrayed. Anyway, the next two parts will be in a different format and not in Britt's POV.