"And then the day came that changed our lives forever..."
Quinn could almost hear the excitement in her footsteps as she scuttled her wedged heels up to the movie theatre. This would most likely be her last time seeing a movie as a spectator before The Wild Party hit theatres and she became a movie star. And if that wasn't exciting enough, she could also see the silhouette of her old friend Mercedes Jones standing in line at the ticket booth. She was taken aback by the sight. Mercedes hadn't changed too much, but they hadn't seen each other since high school. And though they kept in touch over the phone, seeing her in person was such a throwback. Five years of friendship via telephone was hard to keep up, but you don't just forget a friend whose family took you in when you were pregnant and alone. Quinn made certain that Mercedes would never be able to escape her friendship and gratitude.
Over the years, Quinn would turn to only two people besides Artie in times of hardship. And while Santana's quips were greatly appreciated sometimes, Mercedes was the kind of friend who gave brutally honest advice, as well as words that were almost as good as a warm hug. And finally, the two of them were within reaching distance of each other. Quinn and Artie had their LA apartment, and Mercedes and her boyfriend Sam Evans stayed only a half-hour away. She was surprised, to say the least, when her friend proposed that they see a movie together. It was abrupt, and Mercedes should have been packing for her first national tour. But she told Quinn that she couldn't leave LA until they finally hung out.
As she slowed to a walk, Quinn felt her purse vibrate. She checked her phone to find a text from Artie.
At the movies yet, beautiful?
She couldn't help but giggle at the glowing screen of her cell phone. He was elated to hear that she was reconnecting with Mercedes , and she'd even invited him to join them, but he couldn't make it because he had to do some publicity for the movie. He'd be going out of state...he'd been out of state a few times in the past few months, actually. But their relationship was still as strong as ever. Quinn answered a quick "Yup. xoxo. Try not to wait up. ;)"
When she finally accosted Mercedes, she was buying her ticket. When she left the line, Quinn made sure that she was the first face she saw. Mercedes' eyes lit up when they met Quinn's, and the girls (oh God, they weren't girls anymore were they? They were women!) embraced, screaming and jumping up and down like school girls.
"You look fantastic!" Quinn gushed at her friend. Mercedes was definitely living the Hollywood dream. Her hair was amazing, her makeup, her clothes...Her stilletto boots were to die for.
"Girl, not as fantastic as you!" Mercedes beamed back. Quinn found that hard to believe.
She embraced her once more. She was filled with so much nostalgia, she could have cried. Quinn never really noticed how much she missed her high school friends until now. Five years of being friends with thespians (Kacie was delighted when she found out that Quinn and Artie actually worked out, by the way) could really make a girl miss those who kept her grounded in her toughest years.
"Let me buy my ticket, and then I'll never leave your side." Quinn chuckled as she pulled back. Thankfully, there was no line for the ticket booth. She slid ten dollars through the cash slot. "One for People to See, please?" She and Mercedes had decided to see the mushiest, most sickeningly sweet romance movie that was out. Quinn had even brought tissues in case it was a cause for water works.
Once she had the ticket in her hand, Quinn placed her change in her purse and quickly linked arms with her friend. "So, what, you didn't bring the Grammy?" she teased.
Mercedes gave a chuckle. "I told you, Q. It's only a nomination. I haven't won it...yet." Quinn gave a sigh. Here she was with a movie opening in a few months, and Mercedes nominated for a Grammy. Mr. Schuester would be proud. She had no doubt that Mercedes would win. She was a fan-favorite in the R&B categories.
"Well, I happen to have heard of a little thing you may or may not have promised Sam concerning this Grammy. So for his sake, you'd better win." Sam Evans, Quinn's ex boyfriend and Mercedes' current boyfriend, had nearly shouted from the rooftops that Mercedes told him that she'd consider getting married after she won her first Grammy. And knowing Sam, he wasn't one to just forget things like that.
Quinn studied Mercedes' face, which was smiling shyly and pondering something Quinn could only imagine. "Well, like I said. I haven't won it just yet. Now, enough about my relationship. What about yours, Miss One Half of the Most Unexpected Couple of the Century?"
"Artie's perfect. As always." she felt a grin spread across her face. "You should come see our place because it, like him, is perfect." Whenever Quinn had to think of ways to describe Artie, she always found herself at a loss for words. How do you sum up someone who's amazing and funny and patient and great in bed and talented and loving and selfless and not afraid to call you out on your bullshit? The only word that ever came to mind was "perfect".
Mercedes gave an exaggerated "Awwww" in Quinn's ear as they approached the concession line. Quinn couldn't help but laugh. Mercedes bumped shoulders with her and let out a giggle. "I know how you feel, girl. Being in love is a trip."
"Tell me about it." she sighed dreamily. Being in love...it was definitely a feeling. Not one Quinn could say she'd ever felt before. In no way was she denying that she ever loved any of her ex boyfriends. Okay, perhaps saying that she was in love with Puck was a bit of a stretch...But the kind of love she felt for Finn Hudson and Sam Evans was different than what she was feeling now. It was a kind of love that she could tell from the start that she would eventually grow out of. But with Artie, it was like the two of them were on a roller coaster of discovery. She never stopped learning new things about him- about herself- when she was with him. She never wanted to stop. And though they occasionally had their squabbles, Quinn was never afraid to admit she was wrong around him. Because unlike most people, Artie never judged her. They had this undeniable comfort together that Quinn could never see herself growing tired of. She could spend the rest of her life on this roller coaster.
Quinn had to stop herself from thinking so much about Artie because, believe it or not, it made her start to miss him. She had just now noticed that it had been forever since she'd gone and saw a movie with someone besides him. But then she reminded herself that she was with Mercedes and was instantly in the moment again. The two bought their popcorn, candy, and drinks, and made their way to the theatre. They discussed their relationships, their careers, and everything they could in that walk down the hallway. Like Artie, Quinn felt this sort of comfort around Mercedes, too. They were soul sisters, they had said it themselves. And Quinn didn't even feel the slightest bit of discomfort when Mercedes spoke of her relationship with Sam. And though she knew it was probably her own relationship with Artie that clouded her vision to disable her from feeling anything other than happiness for other happy couples, she knew how in love Sam and Mercedes were. He may have been her ex boyfriend, but she was so happy that they had each other.
"I swear, Sam has me knowing the entire Na'vi dictionary." Mercedes chuckled as they tread up the stairs of the theatre to find good seats. "I can't tell you how many times I've heard 'Oel ngati kamei.' " Quinn could hear Mercedes' tone become less complaining and more gushing. "...It means 'I love you.'"
She couldn't help but laugh openly. "Our boyfriends are such nerds!" she exclaimed before turning to meet Mercedes' eye. "Artie has three loves: Me, directing, and Star Wars. He's fluent in Ewok." The two burst into laughter at how ridiculously adorable their nerdy boyfriends were. "Though, I suppose there are perks."
"Like what?" Mercedes challenged as they sat in seats in the back.
Quinn gave a shrug. "Let's just say I can get anything I want if I put my hair in Princess Leia buns." Once again, they burst into loud, obnoxious laughter that only two girlfriends could muster up together. Even the fourteen-year-old girls down the aisle were in disbelief.
It was as if they hadn't been apart for more than five weeks, let alone five years. Quinn made a mental note that she and Mercedes should hangout whenever possible. It was nice to take a break from her career and the pressures of adult life and just be a girl again.
When she raised her head from Mercedes' shoulder, the two girls realized the lights were dimming.
"Sssh sh sh...The previews are starting." Mercedes gave Quinn's hand a pat. Quinn examined her friend's face and found a faint glow of mischief in her smile. But she shrugged it off and simply placed a hand in her bag of popcorn. Every time she ate popcorn, she was reminded of hers and Artie's first date, where they had a popcorn food fight and slept under the stars... Darn. There she went missing him again.
The two girls sat and watched two trailers for movies. One looked like a romantic comedy that was bound to be a box office flop, Quinn could just tell, and the other looked like a semi-decent drama about a family's secrets and revelations. Quinn shared "Ugh, that looks awful" and "Hm. I wouldn't mind seeing that. Channing Tatum's in it! "with Mercedes, but only received half-hearted "Mm hmm"s and a wry smirk. That wasn't like her at all, to be holding back an opinion on anything. Quinn let her skepticism show as she turned her attention back to the screen, in time for the third movie trailer.
As the third trailer came up, it showed a pair of wheels rolling down a hallway. No face, just wheels on a hallway floor. The tiles said it was a high school, and they scratched Quinn with familiarity. She could swear they were the McKinley High School floor tiles. And, if she wasn't mistaken, those wheels looked just like Artie's. Quinn gave a squint and shook her head, trying to shake out her thoughts. That couldn't be possible.
"This is where I first saw her." The wheels stopped at a locker. "Right here. This was her locker. Number 104. She was touching up her makeup when I first laid eyes on her and her red and white cheerleading uniform."
Quinn clutched Mercedes' arm, nearly choking on her popcorn. That was her locker number her sophomore year. And more importantly, that was Artie's voice doing the narration. "Cedes, what is g-" The girl gave a laugh that Quinn could tell she'd been stifling for a while.
"Sh sh sh...just watch." Mercedes tipped Quinn's chin to look back up to the screen. Her heart fluttered with anticipation and curiosity. What was going on? What did Artie do? She blinked a few times before giving the screen her utmost attention.
The next shot showed the wheels at the courtyard of the Yale campus. Quinn's heart did a dip, and she felt a smile spread across her face. She was finally catching on.
"This was where we met up four years later. Funny how serendipity works, isn't it?" Quinn gave a hearty laugh at the inside joke, the only one in the movie theatre. All of the spectators were convinced this was a real movie. Quinn leaned back in her seat to shield her knowledge of the shenanigans, and felt Mercedes' shoulders shaking next to her with laughter. She gave the girl a nudge as the "trailer" continued on.
The wheels rolled through a different hallway, now. The dorm rooms of Yale. They stopped in front of room 16A. "This was my dorm room. Me and her spent so much time in here...studying, watching movies, and then some." The "narrator" gave a chuckle, and Quinn's stomach flipped. Yes, that was definitely Artie's voice. His laugh. The next shot showed the wheels at a duck pond. Quinn bit her lip with excitement. That was the duck pond. Just as she'd remembered it, that day that they said their first I Love Yous. "She and I fed ducks here one day. She told me she loved me for the first time here. I wasn't prepared for it at all, yo. But, well, I gotta say it was one of the greatest feelings I've ever felt. To this day."
Her throat closed up, and she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. As if she sensed Quinn's emotions, Mercedes took her hand and rested her head on her shoulder. Quinn leaned her head on top of Mercedes', not once taking her eyes off of the screen. She had to see where exactly this was going. She was still bewildered and confused, but of course, Artie's romantic shenanigans never failed to behoove her.
"And this," the wheels were in LA now, wheeling down a sidewalk. The camera panned upward to reveal the movie theatre that they sat in right now. Quinn's grip on Mercedes' hand increased ten-fold. Her heart was beating out of her chest, anxiously awaiting what was coming next. "...This is where I'm going to ask the biggest question of my life...Of our lives." All of the confused looks in the movie theatre's audience couldn't mask Quinn's shocked doe-eyes and wide-open mouth. Mercedes was laughing, now, and Quinn couldn't contain herself any longer.
"What's going on?" she asked her friend, shaking her head with excitement. It couldn't have been what she was thinking...No, not possible.
All Mercedes did was laugh, as the lights in the theatre let up from the dimness. The heads of the audience looked around, confused by the situation. But none of them could have been more confused than Quinn.
Then, a blinding light came from the corner of the theatre. Everyone knows that terrible bright light, when someone comes into the room through the emergency exit and the light from the outside shines into the theatre. Quinn's head whipped around. Artie wheeled in, followed by a guy with a camera. Quinn could feel her breath get knocked out of her. He was there, in a white dress shirt with black suspenders and a bowtie. Almost involuntarily, Quinn's hands left Mercedes' and covered her mouth. She was in awe. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be in New York. Not here, in LA, in the movie theatre, crashing her movie date with Mercedes.
Artie stopped at the large plateau of handicapable seating and found her with his eyes. She could see his emotions from that far away. He looked hopeful and excited and like the happiest guy in the world to be looking at her right now.
Slowly, Quinn stood, unsure if she should go down there and ravage him like she wanted to or stay in case he had anything else to throw at her.
"Quinn Fabray," he shouted, "Get down here." Artie's voice shook, but his smile never faltered. Quinn felt the lightest of pats on her butt, and looked back to Mercedes.
"You knew about this." she accused, beaming all the while. "You were in on this."
Mercedes beamed back. "Just go, girl. You will not regret it, I promise."
Quinn knit her eyebrows and clutched Mercedes' hands once more. "What's happening?" she questioned once more, not being able to mask the franticness of her voice. She knew this was much more than just romantic shenanigans, now. Mercedes shook her head, took Quinn by the cheeks, and looked her in the eye.
"Just go."
At that, Quinn bounded down the stairs, her dress puffing up in the wind of her speed to meet Artie.
"What are you doing?" she asked, laughing. The suspense was killing her. Artie shook his head, and shushed her. She was being shushed an awful lot today.
"Just listen." he smiled up at her. The blue in his eyes sparkled with nervousness. He gestured for her to take a seat in one of the chairs. Silently, she complied, and he took her by the hands.
"Quinn Fabray." he began. His thumbs traced small circles on the backs of her hands, something he did when he was nervous. "Looking back on all the times we've had together over the last three years...I'm just...In shock and awe that you have even stayed with me for this long." he laughed. Quinn laughed, too, but she wanted to tell him just how perfect he was, and how she couldn't leave him if she tried. "And well, this relationship is definitely something I'd never felt before. You do something to me that...man, I don't even know. I love you, Q. And I'll love you forever. So in my life, whether I'm making movies...or making babies...I want that to be with you." Quinn's mouth went dry. Her heart did somersaults in her chest. This was really happening. She lifted a hand to her mouth, and felt hot tears spill out of her eyes, over the back of her hand. Artie could tell she had just had the realization, and his expression became even happier. He beamed at her and strengthened his grip on the hand that wasn't over her mouth. "I've fallen head over wheels for you, Q. And now I have something to ask you." still in disbelief, all she could do was giggle into the palm of her hand at his play on words. "Quinn Fabray." he said once more. Quinn stomped her feet on the floor rapidly, unable to contain herself anymore.
"Oh my God." she let out through a sob, her voice still muffled by the palm of her hand. Realizing that, Quinn lifted her hand from her mouth and wiped her tears.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, Quinn saw the image on the screen switch. She looked up, and there, in white cursive font over a black background,
"Will you marry me?"
By the time she looked down, Artie held a ring in his hands. It was nice-sized, but not too big. He knew how she hated ostentacious jewelry, and the ring was just the right size. Quinn hardly got a look at it before her eyes were blurred once again with tears.
"Will you marry me?" he asked, his voice quivering. Quinn covered her face with her hands as the rest of the movie theatre "Awwww"ed. She hoped to hide her face, now flushed with pink, but all she wanted to do was kiss him. Artie Abrams had just proposed to her. And she was speechless.
Finally, Quinn was able to choke out a "Yes". Through tears. "Yes." she repeated louder, before leaning in to place the most passionate of kisses on her lovely boyfriend...fiance. She was getting married. She was going to be a bride. A wife.
As they kissed, Quinn could see out of the corner of her eye an image of an explosion of fireworks on the movie screen. Artie was all for the theatrics. He was perfect. She pulled back to laugh and admire the fireworks on the screen. Artie took advantage of this by taking the opportunity to put the ring on her finger. And at that moment it all became so real. Quinn was flooded with happiness. She stood and held up her ring finger to the audience. And as they applauded, she could see Mercedes running down to hug her.
"I'm so happy for you-u-u-u-u." she said as she shook Quinn into her embrace. Quinn didn't say anything, and hoped that Mercedes would take her silence as the biggest thank you possible. They pulled back, and Mercedes wiped Quinn's tears with her thumbs. "You're getting married!" she exclaimed. Quinn gave a nod. That was all she could do.
Quinn watched as Mercedes exchanged words with Artie, but couldn't hear what they were saying. Her ears were too overcome by the sound of her heart pounding. She placed her left hand on her chest, and caught a glimpse of her engagement ring. She reached down and took Artie by the suspenders, placing another kiss on his lips. Her mind was so clouded. All she wanted to do was kiss him. Forever. And ever. Every day of her life.
"I love you so much." she muttered into his lips. Artie gave a chuckle, and pulled her onto his lap. Quinn wrapped her arms around his shoulders and nestled her head into her usual spot, in the nape of his neck.
She was getting married.