A/N: Thanks everyone who reviewed/favorite this story, I really appreciate it! It drives me to write even more. That, and I have an excuse to watch these episodes again to make sure I don't make any glaring context mistakes. And any excuse to watch Glee is a good one!
Oh my, two chapters in one night! I didn't think I'd get two chapters out of Ballads, but it seems like I'm going to.
Usual Disclaimer. Glee ain't mine!
Chapter 3 : No Air
The next day, Glee rehearsal was all about Proud Mary, the wheelchair number. It was great. Really. Good thing Tina was good at acting; she was positively perky during her brief solo in the song. But what really ate at her was the fact that Artie seemed to be carefree, and she knew if he was upset, it would come through it his voice. His voice was perfectly sultry, not a glimmer of doubt. Tina internally cursed herself. It seemed like it was all over, just like that.
The next couple days drifted by for Tina, not really noticing what went on around her. Finally, she was intercepted after school at her locker by the dynamic duo- Mercedes and Kurt. As she closed her locker, she jumped at the sight of them. They looked pretty serious, almost glaring at her.
"Oh, hey guys…"
"Girl, what is wrong with you?" Mercedes cut her off. "You've been like a ghost for days. Come on, spill. What's going on?"
Tina was a bit taken aback by this sudden interrogation, and just as she was about to fabricate some story, Kurt cut her off as if he could read her mind,
"And where's Artie? We haven't seen you two together recently, so don't try to lie to us. What happened?"
Tina sighed in exasperation, wondering if she'd actually get a chance to answer the barrage of questions. Finally there was a moment of silence, which Tina took as an invitation to speak.
"Um… well, Artie doesn't want to be my…" she paused, not really sure how much she should reveal to the two gossip mongers, "friend anymore."
"What you talkin' about, Tina? You and Artie were practically glued together. What happened?"
"And we're not going to let you go without telling us." Kurt added, raising a brow as he conjectured about what could have happened to separate the two best friends.
Tina, defeated, slumped against the lockers behind her, hiding her face in her hands. "I don't have a stutter" she mumbled. When she just got incredulous looks from her friends, she lowered her hands and sighed. "I lied. I don't actually have a stutter. I started in the 6th grade to get people to leave me alone. And it worked. So I couldn't just stop. I'm sorry…" Tina didn't want to lose any more friends, but they would figure it out anyway. When she finally got the courage to look at Mercedes and Kurt, she was surprised to find expectant looks on their faces, not at all phased by Tina's confession.
"But what does that have to do with Artie?" Mercedes pressed. Tina felt a sense of gratitude. Though, considering Kurt lied about his sexuality until recently, she felt a certain kinship with him. However, this didn't change the fact that the two were still bearing down on her like hawks.
"Well when he found out that I had lied about a disability he… left me"
Tina barely finished the statement when Mercedes gave a victorious "Yes! I knew it!" and Kurt rolled his eyes and procured a ten dollar bill and shoved it at Mercedes.
"Wait, you guys bet on us?!" Tina asked in disbelief. There was no shame on Mercedes' grinning face. She simply nodded, while Kurt was sulking. Tina looked at them carefully, wondering what this was all about. "You guys don't see what I see in him, do you?"
"It's noble you find Artie attractive despite the chair, Tina. But even without the chair, I just don't see it." Kurt was blunt, to say the least. But instead of getting angry, Tina thought for a moment. They still saw the chair before Artie. Sure they were his friend, but it was difficult to see past it.
"Fine. I have a challenge for you, then. Tomorrow at Glee practice, I want you guys to look at Artie. Not his chair or his legs, watch his face. Then we can talk about it, okay?" Tina smiled slightly. This was going to be good.
Mercedes and Kurt were slightly confused. It seemed like Tina was confident that they had missed something. They shrugged and agreed to the little dare.
The next day, Glee started out pretty interesting. Brittany thought a Ballad was a male duck. Tina had to admit that the blonde cheerio was adorable in the dumb blonde sort of way. She was happy to have her in Glee, even if she spies for Ms. Sylvester. But really, what kind of damage could Brittany do to the club which she had obviously grown to enjoy.
Despite Brittany's duck comment, Mr. Shue had explained that they would be paired up to sing ballads to one another. Tina thought the idea was pretty weird and just crossed her fingers that she didn't get Artie. She didn't want to face him with that kind of emotional assignment just yet. First up to pick was Puck, who got Mercedes. Tina tried not to laugh; the personality conflict there was just too much. Next up was Artie, who very excitedly drew Quinn's name. Then Finn drew Kurt's name, and about half the room eyed Kurt, wondering how he would take advantage of the assignment at hand. But then it was Tina's turn to pick and she drew 'other asian'. She felt bad for Mike, but his face was priceless. Santana drew Brittany (lucky girls), and everyone was about to be very amused as Mr. Shue's plan came back to bite him in the ass. Since Matt was out sick, he had to do a Ballad with Rachel.
Tina eyed Mercedes, who shrugged, then nudged Kurt. They had their challenge to do. Luckily, Artie asked about the songs, and Rachel volunteered herself and Mr. Shuester to demonstrate.
As Rachel was falling in love with Mr. Shue, Artie suddenly felt like he was being watched. He chanced a glance in Tina's direction, but she seemed to be looking everywhere but at him. Confused, he tried to figure out who would be staring at him. Finally he saw that Kurt was staring at him with an intensity that he thought should be reserved for Finn or something. Then he discovered that Mercedes was watching him, too. That couldn't be good. Did those two have something on him that he didn't know about? In an attempt to get away from the prying eyes of Mercedes and Kurt, he turned to look at Quinn, his assigned partner. Instead, he saw Finn was staring at him, too.
"Finn… why is everyone staring at me?" Artie whispered, a little freaked out.
Finn, who had been caught looking at Rachel's butt, had averted his eyes from the weird scene going on around the piano, only to find that people were staring at Artie like he was the most interesting thing they've ever seen. So, Finn joined suit.
"I don't know, man. That's what I'm trying to figure out."
Tina met Mercedes and Kurt the next day in the hallway between classes. Tine had a knowing smirk as her two friends walked up to her, looking slightly embarrassed. Tina wasted no time, "So?"
Mercedes and Kurt looked at each other, and with a sigh Mercedes started them off,
"You're right Tina, he's a cutie"
"Especially when he asked about the songs, his confused face is undeniably adorable"
"Not to mention he has a really great smile and nice teeth"
"And the most innocent blue eyes you've ever seen"
Tina was a little overwhelmed by the two exchanging their Artie notes, and Tina waved her hands a bit, "Okay okay, so you get my point?" When hey both nodded, Tina smiled, though there was a hint of sadness. She was about to speak again when the voices of Quinn and Finn broke through the silence, arguing about baby drama yet again. At the same moment, Artie appeared, perhaps to approach Quinn about their ballad. But apparently Finn told his mom about the baby, upsetting. And Quinn ended the argument with,
"You're wrong, I'm right. I'm smart, you're dumb," before storming off.
Kurt volunteered to 'see what he can do' for Finn, which Mercedes and Tina knew meant more than just giving advice. Kurt was up to something.
But Mercedes noticed that she was suddenly alone with Tina and Artie in the hallway. "Um, I'm going to go… over there…" Mercedes mumbled before disappearing to leave Artie and Tina to themselves. Tina found that she couldn't look directly at Artie.
"Hey Artie" She said softly, taking sudden interest in the linoleum floor tiles.
"Hey Tina" He said brightly, which did grab her attention. She finally looked him in the eye, and what she saw broke her heart all over again. He looked at her the same way he looked at everyone. Kind, intelligent, and innocent. But the light was gone. The light that used to be in his eyes when he talked to her. The light that shone only for her, his best friend.
Before she could say anything else, he was gone.
