Chapter 8

Artie is never going to move again. He pretends it's true for a little bit, so he can save his strength for when he does have to get up and go to school in the morning because he doesn't like fighting and he especially doesn't like fighting with Sam. When he falls asleep, thinking about what the hell he's going to say tomorrow, he ends up having nightmares that he can't even remember in the morning.

As soon as he wakes up, he starts getting ready for school. His mom is up and going when he goes into the kitchen for breakfast.

"Was that Sam you were shouting at last night?" his mother asks.

"Yes," Artie says, getting some cereal.

"Has he finally found someone better?"

Artie sighs and looks for the milk in the refrigerator. It's up way too high.

"Mom, can you get the milk, please? I can't reach it," Artie asks quietly, steeling himself. It's a strange thing, but he has to have milk on his cereal. It tastes wrong otherwise. Anyway, maybe his mom will at least stop asking about Sam.

"Take it," she says, thrusting the milk at him and slamming the door shut. "You really should consider whether or not you need something before you inconvenience someone to get it for you."

"Yes Mom. Sorry Mom," Artie says, pouring himself some milk before placing it back in the fridge where he can reach it.

He pushes himself over to the table to eat his cereal, hopefully in peace.

"Artie. What about Sam?" If he hadn't known his mother, he would mistake this for concern about the status of a relationship that makes Artie incredibly happy. Instead it's "Whatever you messed up, you should go apologize before he smartens up and moves on. I'm sure there are plenty of cute cheerleaders just waiting to snap him up."

"Mom, Sam is gay. He isn't interested in the cheerleaders, and don't worry. I love Sam and he loves me. We'll work through it together. I know how to work our relationship," Artie says.

His mother's tone turns mocking, "You mean like you knew how to work your other relationships? Didn't both of them leave you? Wait- didn't they both cheat on you with better people and then dump you? You can't work your relationships any better than you can work your legs."

Artie swallows and keeps steadily eating his cereal. He refuses to react angrily.

"Sam and I are different," he says.

"You're such a child. There is no different. Especially for you," his mom sounds bitter, and Artie knows he's stupid for wanting her to feel better.

Artie nods and finishes his cereal. They are different, he reminds himself. Not just because of the pregnancy thing, but because they really get each other. Even from day one- no, before that, if day one is the day they finally got together- Artie felt that Sam understood him better than anyone else had. Not in some love at first sight kind of way (he didn't believe in that), but in a wow this guy is nerdy and sweet and cares even when he doesn't have to and is awkward in the good way and not the bad. Really he just wants to get to school so he and Sam can make up.

"Goodbye Mom," Artie says, when he sees Ms. Pillsbury's car outside.

Ms. Pillsbury offered him rides to and from school for play stuff, since it would disrupt everyone else's schedule. His parents aren't fond of having their schedules disrupted, especially on Artie's account.

His mom just waves him on with a shooing motion.


"Good morning, Artie," Ms. Pillsbury says as he gets in the car and collapses his chair to put in the back. When he turns to face her to greet her, her eyes widen and before he can say anything, she asks, "What's wrong?"

"Good morning to you too," Artie says, surprised at how perceptive she is. It's obviously going to be a day of honestly and feelings and Artie feels nauseous already. "I fought with Sam last night. We yelled and then I got so pissed off I hung up on him. Plus I didn't sleep well last night."

"Because you two fought?" she asks.

"Probably," he admits. "It doesn't feel right to fight with him. Some couples are all dramatics and fighting, breaking up and getting back together, but we've never been like that. Technically we broke up when he left over the summer, but that wasn't us. It doesn't even really count when you consider the fact that we stayed in communication almost constantly and neither of us even thought about anyone else."

"Are you guys broken up?" she asks.

"No. We're just angry at each other," Artie thinks about it for a minute, "Well, I'm not really all that angry with him. I'm angry at myself and my parents, mostly." He is still a little angry at Sam though.

Ms. Pillsbury nods thoughtfully.

"Maybe you won't want to talk to Sam about it, but you should. I'm sure he wants you to. Plus, you might not think so, but you'll probably feel better afterwards. At the very least because you and Sam won't be fighting anymore."

"Yeah. I want to try fixing it today. At least as much as can be fixed today. There's some pretty big stuff that can't be fixed per se, but as much as can be, will be," Artie decides.

She's looking at him in concern.

"Is everything okay? I mean not okay, but neither of you are being hurt, right?"

"It's... complicated, and I can't tell you about it yet, but no one is being hurt. When I can, I'll tell you all about it," Artie promises.

"Really? Artie Abrams promising to tell me all about something? Are you sure everything is okay?" she asks.

"It isn't that it's something bad. It's just something hard. We're doing it together though," Artie explains.

That seems to appease Ms. Pillsbury. They drive the rest of the way in silence


Artie is distracted while he's trying to help cast the play, but he still manages to lobby his case for his leads. He even promises to let Ms. Pillsbury and Coach Beiste cast the rest of the play just as long as he can have his leads to work with. Both of his co-directors look a little uncertain, but he also promises to handle any... unpleasantness and disputes that may arise as a result of their unexpected casting. Since Artie is so adamant and ultimately most of the scrutiny will fall on him, they let him have his leads and even let him help cast the rest of the play. When the casting is complete (and it takes all first period), they print the cast list out and give it to Artie to put up when he's ready.

He writes "Send all questions and concerns to Artie Abrams, director," on the bottom of the page and decides to hang it up after he talks to Sam.


When Sam passes Artie in the hall, Artie gives him a little wave and smile, so Sam knows that Artie is okay and that the two of them will be okay. Sometime between first period and lunch, Artie slips a note into Sam's locker telling him to meet him in an empty classroom during lunch.

Artie is already waiting for him in the classroom when he arrives with his lunch. He rolls forward, looking like someone kicked his puppy.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I know that I'm stupid for wanting them to love me like that, but I can't help it, and I wasn't happy about having to admit it," Artie says. "So I took out on you. That isn't fair."

"No, it isn't stupid. It's understandable. It's what we all want, and I'm sorry that I pried into things you didn't want to talk about," Sam says, closing the distance between them. Artie finishes the job and pulls him into his lap. Good. Now he's where he's supposed to be. "I just worry about you. A lot. They say such nasty things and I don't know how anyone can brush it off, especially day after day."

Artie bites his lip and nods. "I get that. If things were reversed, I would be worried about you. I guess I'm just kind of used to it at this point and it doesn't even seem like something to be concerned about anymore. People digging around it just kind of reminds me of how nasty it actually is."

Sam leans back against Artie, making sure he can still see Artie's face. It's closed off, but Artie doesn't look uncomfortable exactly. Just like he wants to be talking about something else.

"Maybe if things were normal, we could just talk it out when things got bad, and then you could just spend the night when you needed to get away. Things aren't normal though. Eventually, you're going to need a lot of help to get around. I don't know if your parents could do it even if they were willing," Artie and his parents are built similarly and Sam tries and fails to imagine either of them being able to lift and carry a very pregnant Artie.

"I know you want me to move in with your family when they get back- or at the very least get prepared for my parents to kick me out and make me have to move in with you- but I don't know if that will work either. Your house might not work for me. I know your room is on the first floor, but if there's no bathroom or only a half bath downstairs, I would be completely dependent on you to shower or pee. I don't want to be completely dependent on you for the next two years," Artie says. "I love you, but I can't do that."

Sam knows that much dependence for that long would make Artie absolutely miserable, probably more than being with his parents. The thing is Sam isn't sure about the layout of the house. It could be wonderful for Artie or else it could be impossible for him to maneuver around at all. He can't get into the house until his parents do, and he can't even go peer in the windows because the people living there haven't moved yet.

"How about you come over the day we move in? Then you can check out the house and we can come up with a good plan. Besides, everyone would love to see you again," Sam says. "They keep asking after you."

Artie nods. "That sounds like a good idea. There's no sense in worrying at this point. Either your house will work or it won't. I don't know what will happen if it doesn't, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Sam kisses Artie gently on the cheek, and Artie pulls Sam in for a real kiss.

"I love you," Artie says softly. "And I'm glad we talked this over some."

"Me too. I don't like fighting with you," Sam says, kind of glad they had reached the cliché part of this conversation.

"Same here," Artie says.

"Life is hard enough without fighting with the people you love," Sam says, trying to keep a straight face when he realizes how pretentious he sounds.

Artie laughs at him and kisses his cheek. "My wise, wise boyfriend." He continues on to tell all about the casting session he had that morning and some of his ideas, omitting names so technically he isn't telling Sam who was cast. Sam likes listening because Artie's face absolutely lights up. The bell rings for next class and they part for classes until Glee.


Artie posts the list after he leaves Sam to go to class. He's waiting anxiously for someone to come up to him and say something all afternoon long. When he enters Glee, a little later than usual because he got held up by the hockey team, the room goes silent. He braces himself. The usual Glee time nausea doesn't help, but at least he doesn't feel like he needs to throw up, which is good because he doesn't want to run.

With no one saying anything right away, Artie decides to pretend there is nothing different about today so he takes his place next to Sam and kisses him on the cheek in greeting. Sam looks worriedly at him, but Artie smiles reassuringly and Sam looks less worried.

"Artie Tyrone Abrams what is this?" Rachel demands, waving the cast list in his face.

Did she really have to take it down? They only printed one off and now he was going to have to go to the other part of the school and post it back up. Artie plucks it out of her hands and pretends to examine it.

"This is the cast list for West Side Story," Artie explains.

"Well this can't be right! Did you see who was listed as Maria? Is this some kind of joke?" she asks.

"No. I casted who I thought was right for the part. Then I posted the cast list so everyone could check for themselves," Artie says pointedly.

"What's Manhands upset about now?" Santana asks.

Artie rolls to the front of the room to face his fellow New Direction members. "I wasn't going to make an announcement like this, but for those of you who haven't checked the cast list yet, we have made our decisions. Maria will be played by Mercedes. Tony will be played by Kurt," there's some chatter. When it dies down, Artie says, "All casting decisions are final. If someone is unhappy with their part, they can either deal with it, or else they should let me know so they can be replaced."

Once he's finished speaking, he waits to see if there's any argument, really just wanting to go back to his spot because the nausea has really gone up another notch. But of course there is argument.

"Are you really going to put on a performance at this school without me?" Rachel asks. "I demand to be Maria! I need it."

Artie takes a deep breath to remind himself that he is the director, but Mercedes' voice chimes in, "You are not going to give in to her, are you Artie? Because I am not going to be pushed aside again."

"Mercedes, you'll be marvelous in whatever role Artie puts you in now that he's come to his senses," Rachel says.

Before either of them can say anything, Artie yells, "Quiet!" and continues on in a much more level tone, "Mercedes will make an excellent Maria. Rachel, you can either play your part or leave the show."

"Then I'm leaving," Rachel yells as she stomps out.

Artie waves a little and goes back to Sam's side. "Kind of sick, but we can stay for the day," he whispers, kissing Sam on the cheek. Sam squeezes his hand and nods.

"Good job," Sam whispers back, and Artie knows he means dealing with Rachel and not that he isn't as sick as yesterday.

Once rehearsal starts, the chattering behind him ceases. Mr. Schue asks where Rachel is, and Artie tells him that she's dealing with some personal issues. After that, rehearsal goes normally.

They don't exactly flee afterward, since Artie has to congratulate his leads and accept their thanks, but they leave as soon as they can. They start walking to the Hudmel's house.

"Okay, next time you're going to do something to flip Rachel out, you have to warn me first," Sam says.

Artie shoves him playfully. "Why? Scared?"

"Maybe a little," Sam says.

"No worries," Artie pulls Sam into his lap. It slows him down, but he doesn't mind. "I'll protect you."

Sam smiles and pretends to swoon. Artie runs his fingers through Sam's hair.

"Then I'll be safe," Sam says.

The trust in Sam's voice warms Artie to his core.