I haven't written in forever and this is my first story on this account, or for Glee, period. Quartie is my OTP, and I finally decided to just write a fluffy little one-shot to start off with. This is pretty simple, and probably not my best, but I hope you all enjoy it. I'd also like to thank kristinamariee for a little help, and I dedicate this to her because she's the best. :)
Artie groaned as he heard the announcement come over the PA system informing students that this week would be "Matchmaker Week," and that the school would be selling those silly questionnaires that you fill out to find your "perfect match." First of all, he hated Valentine's Day. After being dumped by both Tina and Brittany respectively, he was kind of losing his belief in romance.
"Another lonely Valentine's Day," he muttered to himself. He never once had a valentine to buy for, unless you count that one time in the second grade when he bought Santana Lopez a teddy bear that said "Be Mine" and he found it shredded to pieces in his locker the next day. Apparently, her "boyfriend" Puck wasn't too happy about it.
Quinn heard the same announcement and furrowed her eyebrows as she listened. There is no way that a silly one dollar questionnaire will help you find your perfect match, she thought to herself.
As Artie wheeled through the hallways, everywhere he looked was a heart, or a cut-out of cupid, or some sort of pink or red decoration reminding him of the day he was dreading. As he was waiting for the giant football player whose locker was above his own, he heard an annoyed scoff behind him. "If I see one more heart, I might rip someone's out," Quinn Fabray's husky tone announced.
"I hear you, there," Artie replied quietly, figuring she probably wasn't paying attention to him anyway.
"Thank you, finally someone who agrees with me. All I heard last period were people gushing about what candy to buy and flowers to choose. I feel so out of the loop," she groaned, placing a few books into her locker.
"Well at least it's time for glee," Artie offered, trying to be a little more positive.
"True. At least I can vent for a while," she agreed, silently walking alongside him as they went to the choir room.
At lunch the next day, Artie wheeled up next to Mercedes and Kurt, unwrapping his sack lunch. "Artie, does your mother still pack your lunch for you?" Mercedes teased, popping a tater tot into her mouth. He frowned slightly but took a bite of his sandwich, ignoring her comment. "It was just a joke, cheer up," she chimed, suddenly feeling guilty for ragging on him. "You've been so down since you and Brittany ended."
"Don't be upset about Brittany," Kurt interrupted. "I've dated her too—temporarily," he added with a cough. "Not worth getting upset over. Sure, she's sweet, but it's like dating a toddler."
Artie couldn't decide whether to bash his ex out of spite or if he should just keep his mouth shut. Before he could make up his mind, Quinn Fabray plopped down between them in a hurry. "Can I just… sit with you guys for a minute?" she asked, mostly directed toward Mercedes. They had some tight friendship thing going on since last year that Artie had definitely picked up on... mostly because he picked up on lots of things about Quinn; her cute little head bands she wore when she wasn't in uniform, the smell of her perfume...
"Sure," Mercedes smiled, and Artie couldn't help but match it, breaking out of his reverie. He did know why, but he liked being around Quinn. Sure, she could be tough, and sometimes people referred to her as the "head bitch in charge," but he just thought she was honest. And not an honest bitch like Santana, just honest.
"So, what makes us so lucky to be in your presence, Miss Fabray?" Kurt smirked, enjoying an "off campus" lunch from Dalton.
"I'm trying to hide from Karofsky," she sighed. "He keeps asking me to be his valentine. I thought he was joking, until he followed me around the school begging." At that very moment, Artie laughed so hard he almost choked on his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He quickly covered his mouth and Quinn raised her eyebrow at him. "It's really not funny," she whined, trying not to crack a smile. "I finally get asked and it's… him," she shuddered dramatically.
Mercedes eyes flickered back and forth a few times between Quinn and Artie before they lit up. Once she realized that Artie was distracted by Kurt going on about how soft Artie's hair was for a straight guy, she began whispering into Quinn's ear. "I totally have a valentine for you."
Quinn's eyes brightened at the prospect. "Like who?" she whispered back curiously.
"Like… Artie." Mercedes snapped back. "He's been down and he's a nice guy, and I think you two have more in common than you think," she continued.
Quinn didn't reply, but instead raised her eyebrows, giving a sideways glance to the boy in the sweater vest, who's hair was now being petted uncomfortably by Kurt. "Hmm…" she remarked quietly, considering it for a minute. "I just really can't believe us having anything in common."
"Just think about it," Mercedes winked at her as she glanced at her watch. "C'mon Kurt, lunch is over, we gotta get you back to the Warblers," she announced, standing up with her remaining trash.
"And then there were two," Artie joked, still eating his lunch. "Are you hungry? I have lots of stuff in here…" he rambled, digging through his lunch sack nervously. He wasn't sure why he was nervous, this was just Quinn Fabray. The Quinn Fabray… the most popular girl in school.
Suddenly Quinn's voice popped up. "Do you have anything sweet?" she asked. "I feel like I need some sugar."
While Artie really wanted to reply with something suggestive, he held back and searched his bag, finding a homemade cupcake sealed in plastic wrap. "Wanna split it?" he asked, pulling it out.
"Sure," Quinn smiled, picking up the cupcake to inspect it. "Did you make this? It looks like a child did it," she teased, noticing the messy frosting on it.
"My little sister made it," Artie chuckled. "I can do much better than that," he joked confidently. Quinn peeled the baked good from the sticky wrapper and pulled a small piece of it off, stuffing it in her mouth. It was weird, normally she wouldn't eat junk like this that might add a few pounds on her, but suddenly, she didn't care. And it was the sweetest cupcake she had ever had.
That night, Quinn thought about Mercedes's suggestion. Artie Abrams. Quinn always thought there was something cute about him. Aside from a few chauvinistic remarks, he was a sweet guy. And she was tougher than Tina, she wouldn't put up with that kind of stuff… but she just didn't know if there was any spark there.
She further pondered the idea… all she had dated was jocks; which had never worked out. As much as she hated to admit it, filling out one of those matchmaker forms was starting to sound ideal at about this time; she definitely didn't want to be alone on Valentine's Day. However, it was past midnight, and she considered that maybe she was just delirious.
The following day, Quinn marched up to the table selling the matchmaker forms and bought one. Only a dollar, was her thought. She shrugged and grabbed her form, tucking it into her folder to fill out when no one was around. Worst case scenario: I'm stuck with Karofsky, she sighed.
Artie couldn't believe it, but he was sitting in front of the very same table Quinn had been at only half an hour ago. "Why am I doing this again?" he glanced up at Mercedes, who had forced him into the line.
"Because, I don't like mopey Artie," she quipped. "He depresses me." Artie shook his head and reluctantly bought a form.
"I don't see how this," he waved the form in front of her face, "will help." Mercedes scoffed at the boy. "If it helps you find someone compatible, it might," she smiled sweetly, pushing him to their daily table.
It was finally Friday, the day the matchmaker results would be passed out. Each boy was to receive a paper heart with their matches' name written on it and they were to wear them in order to find their match.
Artie wheeled to his locker between classes to switch his books out, and as he opened his locker door, an envelope slid out. He reached down to retrieve it, suddenly anxious to find his "match." Just remember, this is probably not very accurate, he thought to himself. He eventually pulled the envelope open, almost dropping the paper heart as he saw the name neatly scrawled across in permanent marker: Quinn Fabray.
Artie couldn't decide what to do. On one hand, he was ecstatic. His so-called match was the most beautiful girl in the school, whom he secretly had crushed on since the first day of kindergarten. On the other hand, what if he was putting himself out there for rejection? Artie didn't exactly run around in the same crowd as her, and they never talked that often. But those few times that they did, he felt a connection. Should he wear his heart on his sleeve (literally) and hope that she felt the same?
Artie wheeled into the choir room nervously. He almost ripped the heart off of his clothes to throw in the trash, but he decided to be brave. He had kept his jacket on all day long so that no one would see who his match was. Once settled, he finally removed his jacket, placing it on the back of his wheelchair and sat there quietly, not noticing the smirk on Mercedes' face as she noticed the name displayed along his arm.
Quinn had paced the halls all day long, looking for her match. Every guy whose chest she checked that day was missing her name. Maybe I'm just meant to be alone, she considered. Defeatedly, she entered the choir room with a heavy sigh, completely ignoring everyone in her presence; not knowing that a couple seats away from her, a brunette boy in a duck sweater had butterflies in his stomach.
Artie was hoping Quinn would have noticed her name, but glee was almost over and she hadn't even glanced over there. Should he go up to her and show her, or maybe just forget it? No, he decided. I'm not going to just give up on this girl.
As he contemplated, Artie completely missed Mr. Schue's dismissal of the class. Finally breaking out of his trance, he quickly gathered his things, accidentally catching the paper heart on his jacket. He watched as it fluttered across the floor and landed at a pair of shoes he recognized to only belong to her.
"Artie, I think you dropped this," Quinn said, bending down to pick up the paper. She was curious and decided to turn the paper over, revealing the name of his match.
Artie watched her anxiously, hearing a soft gasp escape her lips, following by a sincere smile. "You're my match?" she asked airily, pleasantly surprising Artie. He was speechless.
Quinn looked up into Artie's bright blue eyes and gently placed the heart on his chest. "Were you hiding from me?" she asked, a teasing tone wavering through her voice.
Artie just sat there for a moment, trying to respond. "I um, I didn't want you to reject me," he replied honestly, biting his lower lip. "You know, you're the prettiest girl in school and well, I'm just... me," he continued.
Quinn softened her gaze and leaned down to press a lingering kiss to his cheek, causing Artie to blush a bright pink. "Well I think you really may be my perfect match," she said, a smirk spreading across her lips. "And I don't just mean because that piece of paper says so."
Artie was distracted; partially by her golden eyes and half dazed as to what was even happening. "So um, would you maybe like to… hang out sometime or something? Not glee related I mean…" he asked nervously.
Quinn batted her lashes for a moment, leaning in close to him. "Breadstix, seven o'clock, Valentine's Day," she instructed him, not leaving room for argument (not that he would).
Artie could not stop the huge grin that spread across his face, and he nodded eagerly in reply.
Quinn flashed him a final smile as she begin walking out of the choir room, but dipped her head back in for one last comment. "And don't forget… a gentleman always pays on the first date."
Thoughts? :) I may write a sequel one-shot including the date if requested. I'm so excited to finally join in with the rest of the Quartie shippers, I have been lurking on here for a while. -Carrie