Yay, another chapter! Thank you to everyone to reviewed, favorited or put this story on alerts. It means so much to me 3
This is a little bit of a filler chapter, but I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think :)
The first Tina noticed when she woke up was that it was raining. And not just a summer shower either, it was pouring. She was surprised their house hadn't flooded. From her bed she could reach the curtains, and she pulled them slightly open so she could see the drops rolling down the glass violently.
The second thing she noticed, as she turned over to check her alarm clock, was that it was early. Too early. Tina had this knack of sleeping completely through her alarm, but she couldn't remember the last time she had woken up an hour before she had to. Sighing, she dropped her head to the pillow again, snuggling under her duvet even though it wasn't that cold.
She loved doing this, lying in bed listening to the rain. She had loved it since she was little, when she'd get one of her books and just read in bed for as long as her mom would let her. When she got a bit older, she replaced her book with her iPod. But she only ever kept one headphone in, so she could hear the rain at the same time. Didn't matter what the song was, it was always the greatest source of comfort to her. Older still, and most recently, she'd do it with Artie. Although not lying in bed, but rather on it. Or, even more likely if her parents were home, lounging on the couch in the living room.
She closed her eyes, humming a familiar tune because she couldn't be bothered to get her iPod from her bag. When she started sophomore year, she never would've believed that she'd be where she was now. A member of Glee club, friends with Mercedes and Kurt, someone who spent an afternoon shopping with Quinn Fabray! And most importantly, she never would've thought she would get together with Artie. Not cute, smart, hilarious Artie that was in her English class freshman year. And she never would've thought she could be this happy.
A small smile spreading across her lips, her eyes sprung open at the sound of a knock on her door. Opening it slightly, her mother popped her head through the gap. "Oh good, you're awake. Your dad can give you a ride this morning, so you don't have to walk. But you'll have to leave early."
Tina looked at her about to acknowledge the offer, when a yawn suddenly overcame her.
"There's coffee in the pot and I'm making eggs, so come get some," her mother chuckled and closed the door behind her.
Tina sighed, knowing that if this rain didn't let up, she did not want to walk to her father's office. Pushing the bed covers off her, she stretched and got out of bed. Checking the time once more, she grabbed some clothing and made her way into the bathroom for a shower.
20 minutes later, she could hear her parents talking down the hall, as she looked at herself in the mirror. She was only wearing a black T-shirt, but knew she needed another layer for the day. Especially since it was still raining, not only cats and dogs, but also small children.
Looking around her room, she found her bag on her desk chair and pulled Artie's jumper from it. It was light blue, with a white v-neckline. And on her, it was very obvious it belonged to someone else. She put on her big, white Docs for good measure and headed out to get some breakfast.
Artie carefully balanced his tray on his lap as he manoeuvred around the cafeteria tables. It was much easier to get around than in school. For one, the tables were spread a lot wider apart, and for another there were far fewer chairs in the way. Still, this was another time he'd accept the term lucky. All around him he could see kids his ages that needed someone to simply hold their plate, or worse, their fork.
He spotted Sean across the large room, and made his way over there. If he was going to make friends, he may as well do it right.
"Hey, can I join?" Artie asked, and Sean, who was seated next to a few other kids, grinned and nodded.
"Art! How are you doing?" he asked. Artie answered, although he wasn't much different than he was last night.
They ate for a bit, Artie munching thoughtfully on his toast. It was no accident that he'd covered it peanut butter and honey, remembering full well that that was Tina's favourite spread.
"So," Sean started, and Artie quickly swallowed his bite, "That Asian chick your girlfriend?"
Artie's eyes widened a little, and he could feel himself start to blush. He nodded, maybe a little too vigorously.
"Nice! She's hot!" Sean said excitedly.
At this Artie blushed even more. Yes, he was aware of this fact. Had been for quite some time now.
"Um... thanks?" he said, unsure of what was appropriate.
Luckily Sean had the rest of the conversation all planned out. "I dated this chick for a while. Hannah, she was hooottt," he dragged out the word as if that increased its value. "Said she was fine with the whole thing."
Now, Artie saw where this was going.
"At first, she was awesome, as if she didn't even notice it," Sean continued, "but then she just got weirder and weirder around me. Kept saying she was busy, didn't want to be alone with me."
"I'm sorry -" Artie mumbled, staring at his plate.
"You know who her next boyfriend was?" Sean asked, his voice had turned incredibly bitter and Artie had no idea what to do except shake his head.
"He was a jock. He was a runner, and a swimmer. I saw them together two weeks after she dumped me."
"That's really horrible, Sean, I'm sorry." Artie said, swallowing the awkwardness of the situation.
Sean pushed around the food on his plate, and Artie wondered thought about how this whole macho ruse was just sort of shelter for him. It actually had him feeling bad for Puck for a moment, before Sean spoke again and brought him back to reality.
"Dude, just watch out. You never know when a girl is gonna kick you in the balls."
"Oh, Tina wouldn't-" Artie started, but couldn't quite make himself finish the sentence.
Sean nodded, "I thought the same about Hannah."
Artie stared down at his place, his breakfast suddenly become so unappetising; he wanted to throw it in the bin. He made up some sort of excuse and went back to his room, before his first session. He was angry, furious. He was angry at Sean for putting doubt into his mind. For blackening his thoughts, that were once so sunny and bright, if only about her. But mostly he was angry at himself, for believing it.
