Author's note: Ok, this plot bunny just would not go away. And although I have 3 other Glee stories that I am still working on (no fear) this one would just not leave my head, so I had to write it down so I could concentrate on something else. This is definitely the angstiest thing I've written to date, so hopefully you like it. It is not a one-shot, but is going to be quite long. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Nope, never mine, and will never be.
At the moment, Artie was sitting staring out of a window in New York, gazing out of a window in his apartment while waiting for Finn to finish whatever horrible concoction he was making. How, you ask, did he get to this point? He wasn't too sure either.
He knew a couple of things about his present situation: 1) Finn sucked at cooking, but he was just so excited about it that Artie didn't have the heart to tell him it was awful, 2) In Glee, a weird friendship had formed between them and although Finn thought Artie was letting him do a favor by staying in his apartment while interviewing for a job here, he was actually doing Artie the favor.
5 years earlier
The worst day of Artie's life was not in fact the day he ended up in his wheelchair. He had learned to deal with that a long time ago, and although it still sucked he couldn't do some of the things that other people could, he knew that he was lucky because he could do a lot of things that other people couldn't.
The worst day in actual fact was what Artie liked to call S-Day. Stutter-Day. The day he lost his best friend, the girl he had been in love with for half of his love, and the other part of him. When Tina had told him the truth that her stutter had been fake, he had lost it. He was terrified that there was nothing stopping her from being with anyone she wanted to be, and he would lose her.
But he lost her anyways. His mind was just so full of fear that he didn't know what to do, and he wheeled away from her, ignoring her crying and pleas. He had to get it sorted out in his head.
That night had been one of the worst of his life, constantly reaching for the phone, knowing he had to talk to her, but not knowing what to say. The finally reaching the courage to call, only to back out at the last second.
He wheeled to school the next day as fast as he could, desperately needing to talk to her. She wasn't at their usual spot, and he ignored the pang of disappointment, knowing he could find her somewhere in school. But, she wasn't there. He searched everywhere aside from the girls bathrooms, but couldn't find her.
He was determined not to let this get him down though, and knew that they shared Glee club together, and there was no way she would miss it. The rest of the day was one long agonizing wait, and he finally got to practice.
She wasn't there.
Other people noticed it too, and before Artie had change to say anything, Mr. Schue announced that a relative of Tina's was sick and she wouldn't be at practice for the week. Everyone sent sympathetic glances Artie's way, but he pretended not to notice, too ashamed of admitting the truth.
He sent her a text as soon as he got home and found his phone, keeping it short and simple, I'm so sorry Tee, I heard about what happened, and I hope everything's ok. We need to talk, I screwed up.
She didn't respond.
He sent her another text the next day. Hey Tee, I guess you're busy right now, but hope everything's going ok. We all miss you. I miss you. Do you know when you're coming back?
She didn't respond.
He sent her a text everyday that week, but nothing.
She finally came back the week after, and Artie finally saw her when she entered Glee club.
"Tee!" he smiled enthusiastically at her, and wheeled over to her to give her a hug.
"Hi Artie," she gave him a small smile.
Artie took a second and looked her up and down, she was wearing really different clothing. None of it was ripped, torn, or had any metal pins. She was wearing what every other person was typically wearing, and it looked weird. Tina never dressed like that. But the worst part? Her blue streaks were gone.
"How you doing Tee?" he said worriedly.
"Ok," she gave him another small smile and went over to sit with Brittany and Santana.
Artie just stared after her in shock. What had happened to her? The rest of the club filed in and gave him a couple of confused glances. He knew that he had screwed up, but they were best friends, and she wouldn't even really talk to him.
This happened every day for the rest of the month. He would try to talk to her and just get small-talk in return. He finally got fed up of it and asked her straight out.
"Look Tina, I know I screwed up. I just got so scared that I would lose you, and I know that I messed up, but can't we just talk about it?" he pleaded.
"Artie, look it's ok," she gave him another small smile which he hated. His Tina used to give him huge smiles, or secret smiles, not these small smiles. "I know I hurt you too, but let's just move on ok? It's fine, honestly."
"Ok," he agreed reluctantly. Something just didn't feel right.
It was never the same. She would only exchange small talk with him, and it was soon the summer holidays. They were friends, but not best friends the way they had been. During that time, Artie grew closer to the rest of the club, especially with Finn who was still hurting over Quinn.
Everything was different. They would still smile at each other, but that special bond was broken between them. Artie didn't know how to cross the space that had opened up between them, and Tina just seemed unwilling to try.
After they came back from the holidays, it was worse. They would just give each other those small smiles now, nothing else. They'd exchange a couple of word in Glee, but that was it. By the time graduation came, they were strangers. They exchanged a high-five, and a "See you!" but they both knew it wouldn't happen.
Artie found out from Mercedes who constantly tried to get them back together that Tina was going to New York for University, funnily enough the same place Artie was going too. They never saw each other though, no matter how many times Artie would wish it.
They saw each other at the occasional Glee reunion and would exchange a few small words and then move on. And each time crushed Artie a little more inside.
So, that would explain a little of how Artie ended up in this precise predicament. He had graduated with honors from New York, and was now one of the most sought-after computer programmers in the city.
Finn had called him about a month ago to tell him about the interview he got in New York, and Artie had invited him to stay in his apartment, and that's how Finn somehow ended up there. He had thanked Artie over and over for letting him stay, but Artie didn't care. Finn was doing him the favor. He would take any small connection to Tina he had, and he knew that Tina and Finn talked occasionally.
He could never get S-Day out of his mind, and constantly think about how he could have handled it differently, and how he might have kept his best friend and the girl he was still in love with.
"Hey Artie," Finn called from the kitchen, pulling him out his musing.
Artie sighed and wheeled towards the kitchen, the last time this had happened it was to put a fire out. "The fire extinguisher's on that side, Finn," he pointed to it on the wall.
"Nah, dude, I've got this under control," Finn smiled, "Just you might want to get ready for that party, this is almost done," he nodded at the food.
Artie groaned. He had forgotten all about the party he had been forced to by his boss. He had recently finished building the "most sophisticated pieces of computer equipment," for one of NY's big firms (he couldn't even remember what it was called), and they were throwing a party to officially open it. "Thanks Finn," he said distractedly.
He always hated being in big crowds. Whenever he was in them, he would think about how he didn't use to mind them because of who was by his side. When he was in them now, he always used to think he saw the flash of black hair, and felt his heart leap, only to sink lower into his chest when he saw a different face.
So, how'd we like it? Reviews = love.