This is my first contribution for the Quartie Ficathon based on one prompt from the Quartie's forum. I hope you like it. I made a lot of corrections, but I'm sorry for any mistake I could have missed. English is no my first language , after all.
I'm sorry I haven't updated my first story in a really long time. I'm just stuck. Really stuck. I've been trying to write another chapter the entire last week...but anything seems right. I'll keep trying.
I'm planning to make this a multi-chapter...so let me know what you think
Review please! :)
I don't own GLEE, or any other characters. I Just love them.
I don't own the song either (In loving memorie-Alter Bridge)
Enjoy!
"So…Artie's coming tomorrow?-"Little Quinn Fabray , and his twin brother Anthon were watching Star Wars episode IV, for the fiftieth time, when the little girl found the courage to ask.
Artie was Anthon's best friend since they were 2 years old. Artie had always been really nice to Quinn, but Anthon had spent every single minute of his life with her…he didn't want to spend school hours with her too.
Flashback
"Do you want to play with us? We need a Princess Leia, you know? And the other girls are stupid, they think Princess Leia is some whining girl waiting in a tower for someone to rescue her…"
It was the first time Artie invited her to play. They were five. She tried to say something , but she just stared at him, shaking and grining…and before she could compose herself, her kind bother answered for her.
"We don't need a princess Leia, Art. All the girls are stupid, including Quinn."
"But she likes Star Wars-"Artie defended her.
"Yeah. She also likes ponnies, and pink , and Thinkerbell"he took Artie by the wrist and took him away.
End of Flashback
But now everything was different. The last year had been totally different. Who could have guessed that a little word would do such a difference?
Cancer
Quinn , now eight years old, still had no idea what that word meant. She just knew that since that word was pronounced her brother had gotten really sick, and bald, and scared. And that she loved him more than ever.
"You know he's" Anthon answered, laughing.
When everyone at school found out about him being sick, they stopped being friendly with him, they always ran away from him, like the cancer was contagious. Or like he was going to fall dead at any second. Everyone but Artie. And Quinn. They were the "Three Musketeers".
After his response, they felt silent. A really uncomfortable one. They weren't even watching the movie anymore. She was looking at his brother's bedroom door, trying to find a good excuse to leave , and he was staring at a picture of the three of them…they were in the park…it was taken the day the doctors told his parents the cancer was in remission
"They were so wrong"- he thought, bitterly.
"You know Quinn, is ok that you like him" He said softly, grabbing her hand, but without looking at her. She didn't look at him either. She was blushing…and felt really stupid. She didn't try to deny it. It was that obvious.
"I can't believe you said that" she didn't mean to say that out loud.
"I want him to be a part of this family. Mom and dad are gonna miss me when I'm gone. They need another son and he is the only one I can accept".
Quinn felt like she couldn't breathe. She couldn't believe he was thinking about dying. He was so young…he had a lot of things to do yet. He wanted to be a Jedi, he wanted to have a snake as a pet and to climb the Everest…dying was for old people. People that had made their dreams come true.
"Are you asking me to steal him away from his parents?"It was the smallest of her concerns, but she didn't want to argue with him. He wasn't going anywhere anyways.
"No, silly. I'm just saying my parents will get an awesome son when you marry him" He wasn't joking. In fact, Quinn had never saw him so secure , so serious. She let go his hand and kissed him on the cheek.
"Tony…do you know that you have fever?"
"Can you go get mom?"He said, trying to smile…and failing misserably.
"Of course" She got up , and just when she was about to leave the room…
"I love you, little sister"-He said, even when he was just ten minutes older than her.
" I love you too"She blew him a kiss.
She ran to her parents's room, somehow knowing that he was worst than ever. She was never able to find the reason that inspired that tought…maybe his expression, the way he talked to her, the way he was breathing…
"Mommy! Tonny has fever again"-she said, without suspecting that the talk he and Tony had…was his last .
"Anthonny Joseph Fabray was a loving son, caring brother…" Quinn heard the priest, but his voice seemed to come from the end of the sea. She was crying so hard that even breathing seemed difficult. She didn't understand why no other member of her family was crying. She knew they all cried the day before, when no one was watching, but still…being sad because of the loss of someone as important as Tonny wasn't something to be ashamed of.
"He 'll always live in the memory of his parents. Judy and Russell, in his sisters 's Victoria and Quinn…"
Why didn't he mention Artie? Quinn thought, upset. Artie was the only real friend Anthon had. The only one that stood by his side every moment of that awful year. Of course all his classmates were now there in the funeral, crying and hugging their mothers…but they were mean to him the day he came to class without hair. They never played with him , affraid of getting sick too.
Artie took her hand, and suddenly , breathing seemed so much easier. Without saying anything to prevent her, he let go her hand, but just to put that arm around her shoulders, then took her hand again. She put her other hand around his waist
He started singing, in a really low voice, in her ear , so she was the only one able to hear him. She smiled a little. She had singing lessons since she was five, and she thought she was good at it…but Artie…he was so good, without needing lessons, and without realizing how much talent he had. She always asked him to sing to her , but he never wanted to. He just sang when he tought no one was hearing.
I've never knew what it was to be alone, no
Cause you were always there for me
You were always there waiting
And ill come home and I miss your face so
Smiling down on me
I close my eyes to see
And I know, you're a part of me
And it's your song that sets me free
I sing it while I feel I can't hold on
I sing tonight cause it comforts me
I carry the things that remind me of you
In loving memory of
The one that was so true
Your were as kind as you could be
And even though you're gone
You still mean the world to me
I've never knew what it was to be alone, no
Cause you were always there for me
You were always there waiting
But now I come home and it's not the same, no
It feels empty and alone
I can't believe you're gone
She didn't know the song but the lyrics were beautiful. And perfect. And the fact he was singing this about someone that was so special for both of them , and that he was doing it just for her, made it so much better.
That night, she begged to her mother to let Artie sleep with her. She felt so scared of being alone in that room for the first time…when Anthon got sick, their parents thought it was for the best to make Quinn move to her sisiter's room, that way she wouldn't bother her brother and he'll rest better. That way he would get better sooner .
But now that he wasn't going to get better, they decided to gave her her room back. And it hurt. So many memories were left in that room…his Pictures, his books, his toys…his clothes, his bed…
The room had two individual beds, sepparated by a table that held a lamp.
Artie was trying to sleep in his best friends's bed , but at the same time, he knew he wasn' t going to be able to do it. Quinn was crying again. It was obvious that she was trying really hard to stop, or that she tried to hide her tears from him…but he knew it was the best for her to just…be sad for a while. She needed that.
He thought her parents shouldn't have let her stay in that room until they took away Anthon's stuff…but after a minute he also thought that maybe seeing that everything was gone…like his brother never existed ,would probably been harder for the little girl.
"Artie?"
"Yes, Quinnie?"
"I'm cold"
"Do you want me to go ask your mom for another blanket?"
"No. I have four already. Could you just…come and lay next to me? I don't wanna be alone…and you are always so warm…"
And it was true. His mother was always complaining about how anytime she was near him , she started sweating. He stood up and obeyed the little girl. She was laying in her left side and he just did the same, hugging her from her back.
"Much better" she said , closing her eyes. And after a minute or so , she asked him " Artie , do you believe in heaven?"
He didn't have to think about it
"Yes"
"Do you think Anthon is there?"
"I'm sure"
"Do you think he's a Jedi there?"
"He is, And he has a snake, and he's now reaching the top of the Heaven's Everest"
"And one day we'll see him again"
"We'll go find him someday"
"Toguether?"
"Toguether"
"Artie…could you sing to me again?"
He didn't need to ask her which song. It was "their song" now . It will always be. He closed her eyes and started singing.
And I know, you're a part of me
And it's your song that sets me free
I sing it while I feel I can't hold on
I sing tonight cause it comforts me
I'm glad he set you free from sorrow
I'll still love you more tomorrow
And you will be here with me still
And what you did you did with feeling
And You always found the meaning
And you always will
And you always will
And you always will
"You have the best voice ever" she said" You'll be a singer when you grow up. Promisse me".
"I promisse you, Quinnie"
"I'll be a singer too. And I'll marry you" she said, simply. He blushed but didn't dissagree…he liked Quinn since the first time they talked . But didn't think she liked him back.
"I love you" He said. And he meant it.
"I love you too"And after that, Quinn was finally able to sleep
The next morning Quinn woke up after hearing someone calling her name. But she remembered being in the bed with Artie. And the voice that was calling her was a woman's voice…her mom's voice.
She oppenned her eyes, and realized that Artie was no longer on her bed…he wasn't in her room either.
"Quinn , we have to go to the hospital"
"But I feel fine. Can we go to Artie's instead?
Her mom was shaking. Quinn didn't know what was happening but she was getting really scared.
"I know you're fine, sweety. It's Artie the one who's not."
"But he was fine last night…"
"He was. But earlier today his mother came to pick him up. They had to go his aunt's wedding"
"Did he broke a leg dancing or something?"She said, trying to think that whatever was going on , wasn't that bad.
" He never arrived to the wedding ,sweety. He and her mom got into a pretty bad car crash. Some drunk driver…"
But Quinn didn't listen anything about the drunk driver, he was crying harder than ever. Anthon was dead, Artie was the only friend she had left…
"Is he gonna die?" She asked.
"There's a big chance. He's really hurt" She admitted .
Quinn hugged her mom, whising she had been in the car with him. Or that she had woke up and begged his mom to let him skip the wedding, so he could stay with her.
"But he promissed…" He couldn't die. He said they would meet Anthon toguether.
And I know, you're a part of me
And it's your song that sets me free
I sing it while I feel I can't hold on
I sing tonight cause it comforts me