Author's Note: If you have read my Finn/Santana stories Perfect Fit and So Perfect, you might have noticed that Quinn and Artie are dating in those works of fiction. But how? When did that start? Well, here it is. I think this will be two parts, this is Quinn's POV, the second part will be Artie's. It's pretty fluffy....especially toward the end. I adore QA fluff. 3 Please read and review. Seriously, make my day.
Somebody Good
College for Quinn Fabray is a way to escape little Lima where everyone knew her as the knocked up Queen of the chastity ball. It's a place where no one will know her name and she can fade into the crowd. No longer Queen Bee but just…nobody. It's what she wants.
Which is why she's disappointed when three of her friends from high school end up attending Ohio State University.
Artie Abrams, who she barely knows, Finn Hudson, one time boyfriend, and Santana Lopez, who she's sure will avoid her. Not that she minds. Santana hasn't been her best friend since sophomore year at McKinley High.
On her first day of classes, she is just a face among many but when no one even speaks to her, she starts to wonder if blending in was such a good plan. She feels…lonely.
On a break between classes, she sits in the crowded, smelly, disgusting cafeteria. Someone throws a wadded napkin in her direction and it bounces off of her head. It's like she's not even there. Sighing, she forks some lettuce and shoves it into her mouth, chewing angrily. She's not paying any attention to the person who is suddenly seated across from her at the table.
When he clears his throat, almost tentatively, she jerks her head up and gazes into his eyes. "Artie?"
"Hey Quinn," he says, setting the plastic wrapped sandwich (he selected tuna? He's braver than she) in front of him. "Mind if I sit here?"
"No," she says too quickly, relief flooding her chest. "I mean, if you want to."
Grinning, he prepares to take a bite of his sandwich. "I do. Want to."
Hunching over, she smiles. The day is suddenly better.
- - - - - -
Finn has Sociology with her and, despite their past history, it feels comfortable to sit by him and joke around. He mentions that he has Western Civ with Artie and how they all need to hang out. It's what she wants too so she suggests they all meet for dinner. It crosses her mind to invite Santana but she quickly dismisses it. Her relationship with Santana has been strained since high school and, anyway, Santana made it clear, before they graduated, that she planned on steering clear of all her McKinley High associates while in college. Quinn will grant her desire because she honestly doesn't care to see the other girl.
That night, the three of them meet at a pizza place, one that Finn has already discovered in a week's time, a place he claims he has the best pizza ever. She's inclined to agree after the first bite.
They're having fun when Quinn asks Artie about Tina. His smile droops for a minute before the corners of his mouth turn upward once more. "We broke up over the summer."
Glancing away, Quinn stifles the horribly awkward feeling that rises within her. "Oh, sorry."
"Don't be," Artie promptly replies, wiping his hands on his napkin. "We decided that we were better of as friends. We are better off as friends."
"Dude," intones Finn. "Break ups can suck though. I'm glad Rachel and I are still together. Cause, man, that would suck."
Rolling her eyes, Quinn dabs her own napkin on her slice of pizza, wiping away the grease. "Don't worry, Finn. I'm sure you and Rachel will be together forever."
Laughing, Artie agrees with her. "You had her at 'I've got chills,' Finn."
The rest of the night passes by quickly and soon they are saying goodbye, promising they will hang out again.
And then it's back to her dorm.
Yay.
- - - - - - -
Quinn's roommate is named Penny Lane. And not Penny Lane who's in my heart but freaky, wears all black make up and listens to satanic music Penny Lane. Who also goes to bed, at the latest, by nine every night.
Tip toeing in, Quinn makes her way to her bed, deciding that sleeping in her clothes, so as not to incur the wrath of her roommate, is okay for the night.
When her phone pings, Quinn cringes but, luckily, Penny Lane doesn't wake up.
Pulling her phone from her pocket, she sees a text from Artie, addressed to both her and Finn: Glad I found some friends here. : )
With deft fingers, Quinn responds: Me too.
- - - - - -
On Mondays and Wednesdays, Quinn and Artie eat lunch together while Finn is in class. At first, there are a lot of awkward silences but pretty soon it's easy to talk to each other, at least about superficial things, like music, movies, books.
She learns that his favorite band is the Ramones and he learns that she reads Wuthering Heights once a year.
One day she, with a slight bit of embarrassment, admits to sometimes writing poetry.
Seemingly surprised, he leans forward a little in his chair. "Really? I'd love to read your writing, if you were okay with that."
She's never shared it with anyone. She's not about to share it with him, even if they are friends now.
- - - - - -
Hanging out with Finn and Artie becomes a regular occurrence. They do everything together. Artie calls them The Three Amigos then balks when they miss the reference, insisting that they both need to watch the movie.
Unfortunately, due to an assignment in his Algebra class, that Finn calls completely mind boggling and "Do we really need to know this stuff?" he cancels on them at the last minute.
They both still want to watch a movie so they settle on The Princess Bride, her favorite movie and, apparently, one of his favorites too.
They hang out in his wheelchair accessible room on the bottom floor of one of the dorm buildings, both on his bed, watching the movie on his computer and munching on popcorn and licorice.
At one point, their hands bump into each other, when they both reach for popcorn at the same time. It should be one of those moments where it means nothing but something races up Quinn's spine at the contact. She glances at Artie but he doesn't seem affected in the least.
Biting her lip, she sits back and focuses on the movie, soon forgetting the strange feeling that had passed over her.
- - - - - -
One Wednesday, over a Taco Bell lunch, Artie tells Quinn about the accident that put him in a wheelchair. She's not sure why he brings it up but she can tell he doesn't just share the story with anyone so doesn't ask.
When he's finished, their food long gone, she's not sure what to say and he can't seem to look at her.
"I don't really…talk about it much, in that much detail at least," he finally says.
Pursing her lips, she tilts her head to one side, her hair falling over shoulder. "Thanks for telling me. I feel…honored that you chose to tell me about it."
Their eyes meet and for, the first time, Quinn notices how blue his eyes are. Blue, with inflections of green.
They smile at the same time.
- - - - - -
Artie has a Wii. He says it's the only way he'll get to play most sports. But he says it so matter of fact, as if he doesn't care all that much. Quinn thinks he must but understands that he doesn't want anyone's pity.
She gets that because when she was pregnant and everyone had the tendency to walk on eggshells around her, she wanted to scream.
Watching Finn play is funny, as he tends to flail a bit and, more than once, fall over when he's attempting to bowl or box.
It's sort of become Quinn and Artie's inside joke and they secretly make fun of him, in way that's not really mean. But they still don't want to tell him, in case it would actually hurt his feelings.
Quinn's favorite game is tennis because she can beat both Artie and Finn, no problem.
"You suck at this," she teases as Artie misses the ball again and she wins again.
"Hmmm…" Artie pauses then selects another game. "Maybe we should play baseball?"
Shaking her head, Quinn insists, "Let's play some more tennis."
Arching an eyebrow, Artie selects baseball anyway. "You just don't want to play baseball because you know you'll lose."
Shaking Finn, who is dozing on Artie's bed, Quinn responds, "Finn can help me out."
Finn wakes with yelp then eyes both of them with sleepy eyes.
"Not fair!" Artie exclaims. "I didn't have him help me out when we played tennis!"
Rubbing his eyes, Finn mutters something incomprehensible then goes back to sleep.
Pouting a bit, Quinn turns her attention to Artie, who is grinning. "Guess it's just you versus me."
He beats her, of course, and rubs it in. Halfway through his victory speech, in which she intermittently interrupts with playful banter, she realizes they're flirting.
When she blushes, she wonders why and can't come up with an reason. Except, maybe, that it's Artie and she's just not used to a back and forth type of conversation with him, at least not one that is like this. It's the easiest explanation and the one she settles on.
- - - - - -
Penny Lane asks Quinn if she can come home with her for Thanksgiving break, which takes Quinn completely off guard. The two of them have barely spoken over the whole semester and what little interaction they did have made it seem as if the other girl hated Quinn.
Stumbling over her words, Penny Lane mutters about how she's from Florida and her parents can't afford to fly her home and she doesn't want to be left alone on campus over the break.
It's the first time Quinn views her roommate as a real person. She's been living with the Hummel's since before her baby was born (she ignores the pain of thinking of the baby, being raised by other people) but she's sure they would be fine with it, so she says it's okay.
"And I won't get in the way of you and your boyfriend," Penny adds, tucking a dark lock hair of behind an ear and trying not to look grateful.
"My what?" asks Quinn, pausing in her packing to eye Penny.
"Your boyfriend. I've seen you hanging out with him a lot around campus."
Thinking that Penny means Finn, Quinn snorts. "No, Finn and I are not dat-"
"Not the freakishly tall one. The other one. Who's in a wheelchair."
Eyes on the clothes in front of her, Quinn feels frozen. "Uh, why did you think we were dating?."
"You two are clearly more than friends. It's kind of obvious."
Glad she's facing away from her roommate, because her cheeks are a deep shade of crimson, Quinn corrects her. "No, Artie and I aren't dating. And we are just friends. It's stupid to think we'd be anything else."
She doesn't see the look of skepticism cross Penny's face. "Whatever you say."
She packs robotically after that.
- - - - - -
"My mom wants you to come over for dinner Saturday," Artie tells her as the four of them, her, Finn, Artie and Penny, load their stuff into Artie's van, helped by Artie's dad and younger brother.
Her eyes locate Artie's mom, who is standing not far away, on the phone with her sister. Within earshot of Quinn and Artie, a knowing look enters Penny's eyes.
Pretending she doesn't see her roommate, Quinn shrugs. "Sure."
"Great, Finn said yes too." Beaming, Artie rolls in the direction of his mom, to tell her the news, just as she hangs up.
Quinn's lying to herself if she says she's not disappointed that the invitation was not extended to her only.
- - - - - -
The break is nice but, like always, she can't be in Lima without people pointing at her and whispering behind their hands about her high school indiscretion.
She vents about it to Artie Saturday night right before dinner, waiting for Finn, as he is running late.
"People are stupid," he tells her, while holding his guitar and strumming the chords, softly. "You should just ignore them."
"It's not that easy," she sighs, crossing her legs and leaning against the headboard of his bed.
"Sure it is." Artie plays what sounds like the beginning of Smoke On the Water before continuing. "Just pretend they don't exist. Them or their pettiness. It's not like people aren't allowed to make mistakes. Everyone in Lima has made plenty of their own. And, seriously, for them to judge you-"
"You're really angry about this," she says quietly, clasping her hands in front of her.
Huffing, literally, he relaxes a little in his chair, the expression on his face clearly showing his distaste of the attitudes of Lima's citizens. "Yeah, I guess." Putting his guitar down, he puts his hands on the rims of his chair and pushes himself closer to the bed. "I just don't think it's right for people to make you feel that way, Quinn. They never should have in the first place but now, after so long… It's just stupid!"
"They're just waiting for the next big piece of gossip. I mean, nothing ever really happens here." Dismissing it seems easy but, in reality, it still hurts. But Artie's reaction means a lot to her.
More than she thought it would. More than she thinks it should.
- - - - - -
When they get back from break, Penny Lane hangs out with The Three Amigos sometimes, which often throws things off balance. Except that Penny has a crush on Finn and directs his attention to her, leaving Quinn and Artie to have their own private conversations.
Which Quinn can confess, to herself, she likes.
It isn't until one week before Christmas break that Quinn can confess something else to herself.
Artie and Finn are singing Christmas songs in Quinn and Penny's room when Penny grabs Finn's arm and drags him out of the room, a horrified expression on Finn's face.
Giggling, Quinn turns toward Artie just as his eyes dart away. Confused, she frowns but doesn't breach the subject. "Poor Finn. Penny got him a present. It's a watch, lame. Still, poor Finn."
"Yeah." Fiddling with his hands in his lap, Artie still doesn't look at her. "Uh, I wanted to give you something. I know it's not Christmas yet but…well, I want to give it to you now anyway."
Now curious, she watches as he removes a wrapped gift item from his book bag. He hands it to her and she carefully unwraps it.
It's a journal.
"For you to write your poetry in," he tells her.
And after that, it's very clear what her confession is.
Her confession is that she likes him. As more than a friend.
But she has little hope for him to like her in return. She has far too much baggage, baggage which he knows about.
- - - - - -
Finn and Artie are mostly busy for Christmas break and she misses them. Most of her time is spent with Kurt, who takes Christmas very seriously and has about a dozen oddball traditions, including watching Gone with the Wind, which makes no sense to Quinn whatsoever. But she plays along because she actually likes living with the Hummel's and it's pretty funny when Kurt cries at the end.
On Christmas eve, she goes to dinner at her parent's, who she sees on occasion and has a somewhat decent relationship with, although things have been more than strained since she got pregnant at 16, destroying her father's image of his little girl. Things are weird, like they usually are, but Quinn makes it through. Afterwards though, she feels like crying, in typical fashion. Things will never be the same between her and her parents.
She finds herself on Artie's doorstep and she texts him that she's right outside.
In less than a minute, he's opening the door, looking fairly concerned. "Is everything okay?"
She nods and holds in her tears. She refuses to cry in front of him.
"I don't believe you," he says, mouth turned downward. "But you don't have to tell me. It's cold outside, do you want to come in?"
Baby, it's Cold Outside plays in her head as she steps into his warm home. He gestures for her to follow him and soon they are in his room.
"Mom and Dad are asleep."
"Oh."
The silence doesn't feel too awkward anymore, not like it would've in the past. But it does seem to last a long time.
"Hey, Quinn?"
Outside of his window, she can see the snow start to fall. "Yes?"
"You can talk about it, you know, your parents, with me, whenever you want."
The tears come then and she wants to stop them but can't. There are only a few but she's still ashamed. Turning her head, she starts to wipe them away when she feels his hands, cool and soft, with calluses on his finger pads, on her face, gently rubbing the tears away. She sucks in a breath then ventures a glance at him. He's close. And he gets closer, his knees pressing against hers and before she knows what's happening, he's kissing her.
Kissing her on the mouth, softly and sweetly.
Then he jerks his head back, something in his eyes she can't quite decipher. "Quinn, I'm sor-"
She cuts him off mid word, pressing her lips to his and kissing him back. When he tugs at her waist, she moves easily into his lap, feeling as if she belongs there.
She leaves later, without further discussing with Artie what had just happened. There had been talking, kissing, some more talking, then she had told him she had to leave. He looked crestfallen but she knew Kurt was expecting her at home.
In her car, she sits and thinks and can't figure it out. Can't figure her and Artie out, at all.
- - - - - -
They don't see each other again until New Year's and have little contact outside of text messages that are mostly nondescript and vague.
Rachel's having a party and everyone is there but Santana.
She is playing hostess, holding tightly onto Finn's arm, forcing him to be host. Quinn can only roll her eyes at the goofy grin adorning Finn's face. He's loving being back in Lima with his girl. He had really wanted her to come to Ohio State but when her dad's lost all that money in the stock market, she opted to stay at home and work, hoping that one day she would travel outside of Ohio with whatever money she made.
It seems the perfect opportunity to secretly mock Finn but her mocking partner is - across the room, staring expectantly at her. A knot forms in her stomach and she believes it's time to be brave. But when she reaches him, Tina's already there, talking about her experience at community college.
Artie's eyes apologize and Quinn's respond that's it's okay.
They will talk later.
By midnight, Quinn's lost track of Artie and is wandering around. Out of nowhere, a drunken Puck slams into her side, his hands touching places they shouldn't. "Get off of me, Puck," she half yells, shoving him in the opposite direction. Without word, he stumbles off, looking for a girl more willing.
From not far away, she hears the count down begin and she looks for Artie, feeling, stupidly, desperate.
Just as everyone screams one, she spots him.
Kissing Tina.
Heart plummeting, she spins away, walks blindly out of the house, gets in her car and drives.
Drives for awhile, music at full blast, trying to get that image out of her head.
- - - - - -
It's not hard to avoid him for the rest of the break. Ignores his text messages, his calls, won't let Finn bring up his name.
Quinn's not that girl, the one who sits and pines for the boy who she thought liked her but clearly has feelings for his ex girlfriend.
Eventually, he gets the message and gives up.
- - - - - -
She starts her second semester of college feeling less intimidated than she had in the first. Except The Three Amigos are no more.
Every time Penny Lane asks about why she's not hanging out with Finn and Artie as much, Quinn changes the subject.
She's not in the mood to talk about it, to talk about him.
- - - - - -
One day, she's eating dinner by herself in the cafeteria when he shows up, silently gliding up to her table and giving a small "ahem" to notify her of his presence.
Without lifting her eyes, she knows it's him and lets a mask of indifference slide into place before raising her head.
"Hey, Quinn, can I talk to you?"
He looks so sad that she wants to say yes. But she'll say no.
Before she can, though, he's talking again, his question apparently only one of courtesy. "I just want to know what's going on. I mean, last semester we got really close and I liked you, Quinn. Like you, a lot. Then that kiss…those kisses. But then after the New Year's party, you disappeared and started avoiding me and I couldn't figure out why. I gave you some space but I can't do it anymore. I like you, Quinn, and I don't want to give up on the possibility that we could be more."
Swallowing, Quinn configures response after response in her head but ends up remaining silent.
Dropping his head to his chest, Artie heaves a sigh. "Quinn, what happened?"
Finally she finds her voice and a biting tone accompanies her words. "Tina attached to you happened." She doesn't want to see the guilt in his eyes so she scoots her chair back and stands, prepared to exit.
When he grabs her wrist, she almost shuddder at his touch but that doesn't mean she's going to cease her trek to the door. Turning at the waist, she sneers at him but he is resolute. "Tina was so wasted she couldn't see straight. That kiss lasted for all of two seconds because I ended it, made sure she found a couch to sit on. You shouldn't assume things, Quinn. The only person I wanted to kiss that night was you."
Mask slipping to the floor (and to carry the analogy, shattering into a million pieces), she smiles and there is a lump in her throat. She's…happy. Very happy, all of a sudden. "Oh. That's...good."
His face is a reflection of hers and she thinks he must be happy too. "So...want to go on a date sometime?"
What else would she say but yes?
- - - - - -
On their first date, thye go to see an old movie at an old movie theater that appears to have been built in the 1930's. They share popcorn and this time, when their hands bump in the container , they let them linger there for a bit.
They share a smile and then hold hands. In the popcorn box. And Quinn's aware how cheesy it is but she doesn't care.
After the movie and a bus ride back to Ohio State, he walks (well, not really walks, of course) her to the entrance of her dorm where he grins up at her, clearly knowing what will happen next.
"I had a good time," she starts. "But I'm not sure if there will be a second date."
Smirking, he folds his hands in his lap. "Well, that's a relief, because I wasn't sure I wanted one either. This lets me off the hook."
Her mouth quirks a little. "Is that so?"
A short laugh comes out of his mouth. "No." And then, in a move that sort of surprises her, he yanks on her arm, pulling her into his lap. "I want a second date and probably one after that and after that…"
"I think," she whispers. "I'd be okay with that."
After that, he kisses her, just as a light snow begins. Slow kisses that she feels in tingles in her fingers, her toes, at the roots of her hair.
"All last semester, I wanted to that," he tells her, running his fingers down her face.
"Why didn't you?" she questions him, tickling the back of his neck with her fingers.
"I wasn't sure how you felt about me. I couldn't exactly picturing you liking me."
"That's ridiculous. You're sweet and caring and cute. Who wouldn't like you?" She kisses him lightly on the mouth to help make her point. "I didn't think you would like me."
If Artie's eyes could actually pop out of his head, they would have in that moment. "Me not like you? You're incredible, Quinn. Smart, funny, beautiful. You're every guy's dream girl but, more importantly, you're mine."
She figures she must be glowing. "Smooth talker," she teases, brushing his bangs off his forehead. "You forgot once pregnant."
Very serious, he captures her hands in his. "Quinn, I don't care about that. I mean, I do care because I know you did. I know it hurt for you to give your baby up for adoption, even though you believed you were doing the right thing. And I think it was the best thing, for you and Puck and her. But I…I'm rambling. I just mean to say that I don't care that you were pregnant. I like you for you."
All she can do is gaze at him at him for a moment, her voice lost. But eventually she finds it, her words coming out raspy. "I like you for you too, you know."
Grinning, he touches his lips to hers once more.
When she goes to sleep that night, she's happy. She remembers, as she lay there how when she started college, she wanted to be a nobody. That hasn't happened.
Instead, she has been found by somebody.
Somebody good.