Author's notes:

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or anyone in it. Sad face.

Summary: This story will be a chapter fic spanning from Wheels to Sectionals, so there will be a lot of spoilers.

The rate and number of updates will slightly depend on the feedback I get, so if you like it, let me know!


Oh dear God. Why had he said that? Just two minutes ago she was looking at him with adoration. Then he had to go and give a little too much information on how functional his nether regions are. So now, instead of admiration, Artie was sure that Tina was only embarrassed and creeped out.

The past two days had been such a whirlwind for Artie. He was getting a lot of attention, which he partially appreciated. And yet he felt even more excluded. The glee club had shunned the idea of a bake sale to pay for the special bus to take him to sectionals with the rest of them. This was only slightly remedied by the fact that Tina was the first to object, and the only one who supported the idea, it seemed. Then, after secretly watching Artie sing about his woes, Mr. Shue had decided that to force everyone to relate, they would spend time in a wheelchair everyday. Artie had to admit he was amused at the total failure some of his fellow glee kids experienced. Then he found himself teaching them all wheelchair dance moves for a new wheelchair number. It was pretty cool, actually. Then as they were leaving, Tina stopped to tell him how much she admired him, and was the first person to take enough interest to ask how he ended up in the chair in the first place. And he was more than willing to tell her, his best friend. But then, some testosterone-driven idiot in his brain decided to share about his fully functional genitalia, to which Tina gave a confused and slightly disgusted face before she very hastily wheeled off the stage.

With a sigh, Artie left wheeled himself out of the now empty auditorium. His mind was racing. Of everything he could have said to Tina in that moment, he had to say THAT. He had just told Tina the story of what got him in the chair, and she was very obviously interested in what he was saying. Hell, she seemed very interested in HIM.

As he followed the usual routine of getting into his dad's car and driving home, getting back into the chair and into his room, Artie was silent, but no one bothered him because his contemplative thinking was all over his face. When he finally shut himself in his room, hoisting himself into his bed, he let out an exasperated sigh, covering his face with his half-gloved hands.

"Ugh, I'm such an idiot!" he finally groaned. Seriously, Artie? Seriously. As Artie's inner voices berated whatever part of his brain let that little gem slip, he finally came to the hard part. Well, hard for a guy, anyway. Why was this such a tragedy?

Artie reminisced about his friendship with Tina. Especially since they joined Glee, she was always there for him. In every sense of the word. She seemed to understand him better than the other glee kids, and was even there to push his chair around the school and the stage. But he didn't like her because she pushed him around, he liked her because she seemed to be the only one who didn't look at the chair as if it was a part of Artie. Like it defined him or something. He could understand that, considering her own speech impediment. Artie actually stopped noticing it, but he was trying so hard to find something in common with Tina, he seemed to fixate on it. That was it, he supposed. Not only were they outcasts for being in Glee, but they were the meta-outcasts, with differences setting them apart from that group, too. Yes, that would be the common thread that would bring them together.

A part of him asked if the stutter was the only reason he liked her. He mentally shrugged. She was undeniably beautiful and had an incredible voice, even if she didn't fully realize it. And the way she smiled, when she really smiled, was beyond stunning, the way it seemed to break through her dark exterior and shine through. Artie smiled a little just thinking about it all. But then he went back to the question at hand. She might be the most fabulous girl he'd ever met, but the stutter is the only reason she would be attracted to him, right? That meta-outcast thing. Artie decided he liked that new word he just made up.

Suddenly, like a swift kick to the shin (hey he can remember that hurts!), he remembered what had happened earlier that day. Ugh. That's right, he's a stupid idiot who just drove away the one girl that looked at him with anything but pity or indifference.

Artie sat up in his bed, looking down at his hands. He sighed in defeat, and resolved to at least try to repair his friendship with Tina. Even if he couldn't have her the way he wanted to have her, it was better than trying to live without her.

The next day crawled by like a snail on a lazy Sunday. Too many distractions that day. Usually such an eventful day would fly by, but Artie felt like he was going to die if the day lasted any longer.

Puck made fantastically delicious cupcakes and more than enough to pay for the handicap bus. Hooray.

Then there was the diva-off. Kurt blew it. Too bad, yet another solo for Rachel. Though, he was happy that Tina helped him sit next to her. They didn't say anything, but at least she wasn't sitting on the other side of the room gossiping about what a creep he was.

Artie gave up the cupcake money for a ramp to the auditorium. Ha, he's so noble. Though one thing of interest in this event was that Tina sat in the seat closest to him. And she was facing him, her legs hanging over the arm of the chair. Artie felt a boost of confidence from this and his super-chivalrous sacrifice for the good of the entire handicapped population of McKinley.

Oh. Ms. Sylvester paid for three new ramps. So he gets to take the bus with everyone anyway. Double yay? He wasn't quite sure. The irrational part of him was disappointed and bitter that Ms. Sylvester stole his thunder.

Finally the day was nearing its end and Artie began to panic. Not for any good reason, considering Tina wasn't avoiding him like the plague, but he had a plan. And he wanted to execute that plan.

Artie found Tina by her locker, her temporary wheelchair at her side for the moment. He was suddenly nervous, praying that some demon wouldn't possess him and make him say something stupid and inappropriate again.

"Hey… Tina?"

She was a bit startled, since she usually met him by his locker after she went to hers. They had a pretty static routine by now.

"Oh h-hey, Artie! D-did you already go t-to your locker?"

He smiled a little at the stutter, remembering his inner monologue the night before. Stop it, Artie, you're here to fix this, not make any more 'moves' on her. You don't want to scar her for life! He shook his head quickly, then looked up at her with a smile,

"No, I actually came here first to look for you. I… didn't know if you'd come to my locker today." By the time he had finished, his smile had faded, and he became very interested in his hands on his lap.

"W-why wouldn't I come t-to your locker t-today?" She asked, sounding quite confused. Artie looked up quizzically, wondering if she had some temporary memory loss. Maybe she was so traumatized that she erased it from her memory entirely. Now that would be nice. But Artie couldn't let this go; he had to set things straight.

"Well, I assumed that after yesterday… When I told you about… what happened…"

Tina held back a giggle. He was very obviously embarrassed about what he had said the day before. But before he could continue, she cut him off.

"Artie, do you want to hang out with me after school today? I c-could use some advice on moving a-around in the wheelchair, a-anyway."

Artie looked up at her face. Was she serious? Slightly embarrassed, he just had to ask, "You mean… like a date?"

Tina's face suddenly lit up with a smile- a real one. "Yeah, a date."