Disenchanted
Ok so seriously I held off on my barware tossing until the end montage when Artie was looking in on Tina and Artie 'dancing' cause that was a kick in Artie's stomach with the heels of Tina's combat boots…. Anyways I am a fan of all three characters individually and while my heart leans more toward Tina and Artie as the ultimate end game I do hope that the writers make a solid two sided triangle in the end where Tina is genuinely torn in the end…cause if I were Tina I'd forgive Artie's shortcomings cause he's so darn adorkable however at the same time be utterly shallow and lust after Mike's 'abs'. Anyway sorry for that little rant… anyway just a friendly reminder this is set AU post 'Dream On' so Matt is still in glee (I'm bitter over him leaving) and Jesse has already defected back to Vocal Adrenaline…. And now here's the latest installment….
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Was it just him or did the weekend just seem to fly by. It seemed like just yesterday that he had that sweet, fun, yet totally awkward date with Brittany but that was Friday night and now the sounds of the horn of Kurt's 'baby' echoed from outside his house.
Looking at his reflection in the full sized mirror that hung in his parent's room he looked at his reflection.
He knew Kurt was going to make a comment that he was 'back to the sweater vests' however this was a new one and not one of those 'argyle monstrosities' as Kurt would call it. No, this one was a solid navy blue and fit in with the whole geek chic preppy look he'd been trying to hone. He paired said non-offending vest with a white shirt and a pair of dark jeans.
Heading outside he spotted his friend who, true to his assumptions wrinkled his brow.
"and I thought we were making progress."
"It's monochromatic."
"I'm shocked you know what that word means."
"I know I'm not as fashion savvy as you Kurt, but I do have a higher GPA then you."
Artie smirked as he slid into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt.
Kurt couldn't help but laugh. Leave it to Artie to bring academics into the conversation.
"That's only because I got a B last semester in Chemistry if not I'd have a 4.0 same as you."
Artie smiled.
Kurt was probably right, no…he was definitely right however the subject of their conversation soon changed.
"So," Artie said, "do you think Brit will remember we went out on Friday?"
"I think so… I mean while the girl does change partners as much as Gaga changes her looks she still thinks I'm her 'totally gay non boyfriend' "
he simply nodded at that comment before turning back to Kurt.
"So, did Tina tell you how her date with Mike went by any chance?"
Kurt shook his head.
"No, which is odd because the four of us, you know you, me, Tina, and Cedes are so in sync."
"yes, but does Mercedes tell you in detail about her relationship with Puck?"
Kurt rolled his eyes.
"God know…but she does give me the lowdown on the softer side of Noah Puckerman you know…like 'Puck picked her favorite coffee drink at the 7-11 before school' that kind of thing."
Artie just nodded as they pulled into the McKinley High parking lot to begin their day.
x—x—x—x—
They had barely made it across the parking lot and up the steps of the schools front entrance when Artie and Kurt were stopped by the two cheerios.
The bubbly blonde was all smiles as she skipped over towards Artie and tossed her arms around him before placing a kiss on his cheek though she kind of wondered if his lips still tasted of pineapple….
"Nice sweater," she said with a smile as she pulled back from the kiss, her fingertips brushing the knitted material that covered his shoulder, "the blue totally brings out the color of your eyes."
Artie just smiled, his gaze moving to the other cheerio looking on.
If looks could kill well then the young Latina would be on death row for the murder spree her single glare was causing.
"Take a picture," Kurt said, "it will last longer."
"Who asked you to speak," she spat back to her teammate both in glee and on the squad. She didn't comment on the fact that Coach Sylvester let him dress in regular cloths as opposed to his uniform on a daily basis so he shouldn't comment on the way she looked at Brit and Artie with distaste.
This was real life, not some teen movie and while yea, sure at first she did kind of want to hook up with Artie she knew deep down that although he changed in the esthetic sense he was still the same Jazz playing AV clubbing Gleek and being in a relationship with him would totally kill her rep as Queen Bee and the fact that Brit was her best friend…well her 'association' with Artie was just as toxic.
She soon stormed off without her best friend at her heels. Instead Brit now had one arm tossed around Artie while the other was tossed around Kurt rambling something about being with her two boyfriends.
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While all this was going on Tina was sitting at the schools back entrance like she usually did sucking in a deep breath.
'Maybe if I joined the celibacy club things would be simpler,' she thought to herself before she remembered Quinn used to be the clubs president and she was now 'with child' and Santana and Brit… well they weren't exactly virginal.
'or maybe I can just forget about guys…' the thought of guys like Puck having fantasies of her kissing other girls quickly turned her off that idea.
She let out a scream as she opened up her book bag and pulled out her journal and looked at the notes she wrote over the weekend.
Mike: Caring, Smart, ASIAN, great dancer, likes same bands/movies as me, smoking body, great taste in Tacos, mocked my love of Frosties and Fries, no spark in his kisses….
Artie: Sweet, snarky, a voice that drives me crazy, killer dancer, hot headed, stubborn, a total dork, My Best Friend, AMAZING kisser
She had listed nine attributes of each guy and his turned up with seven pros and two cons for each of them…at least in her opinion.
Closing her notebook she watched as Mercedes was making her way toward the steps.
"Hey girl," Mercedes said, a smile on her face, "so last Friday was the big date with Mike….how was it."
"The concert was great," she replied.
That wasn't a total lie, that part of the evening was something she wouldn't soon forget.
"And Mike?"
She sat silently.
"Don't tell me Mr. Perfect has flaws."
"Nobody is perfect," she said with a smile as a familiar figure walked up behind her friend and tossed his arms round her.
"I beg to differ, I'm damn near perfect."
"You said so yourself," Mercedes replied, "NEAR…perfect."
Pantomiming a sward stabbing him Puck made a face.
"Ouch, that hurt me babe, and to think…I was actually going to take you to the Cineplex to see that chic flick you wanted to see after school today."
"Oh…you're still taking me," Mercedes told her boyfriend.
"Oh am I…." Puck said getting all-flirtatious with his girlfriend as she looked to Tina.
"So, you were talking about Mike…."
Tina wanted to tell her best 'girl' friend about her guy trouble but not in her boyfriend's presence, especially seeing as said boyfriend was Puck.
"Later."
Mercedes nodded as she and Puck headed into the building while Tina looked at her watch before standing up and doing the same thing.
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By mid-day he'd yet to see Tina or Mike around campus outside of class time to ask them how the concert went and as he entered the lunchroom with all intent to talk to them he felt a pair of hands gently grab his arm.
"Sit with me," she partially asked him, partially ordered him as she began to lead him to the corner of the cafeteria that usually was littered with a smattering of cheerios and jocks and not the kind of jocks like Finn, Matt, Mike, and even Puck were… no…these were the jocks that gave him and his friends slushie facials on a regular basis.
"They aren't going to bite," Brit said, "at least I don't THINK they will…maybe they are Vampires?"
she paused for a moment.
"Is Tina a Vampire?" she asked in a rhetorical manner as she flashed a smile to Becky Jackson, a sweet Cheerio with Downs Syndrome who was the blonde's friend before she joined the squad.
"Hey Brittany," Becky said.
"Hey Becky," Brit chirped, "Have you met my boyfriend Artie."
Becky shook her head as Artie held out his hand to her, a smile crossing him lips as he introduced himself to her before sitting down.
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As the period went on he looked across the room to see Kurt, Quinn, Mercedes, Tina and Mike all sitting together talking, laughing…probably about him being a fish out of water who at the moment was listening to David Karofsky converse with him as if the guy hadn't locked him in a port-o-potty and tipped it on at least three separate occasions when he was in the chair.
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His friends were talking and laughing during lunch however it was mostly about Rachel's cloths or a dance routine that Mike was teaching Finn for glee. The conversation ended with Tina asking Kurt if he would meet her in the rehearsal room during spare period to which her friend didn't ask why and instead simply nodded…that was until they got into the room.
"so, tell me, what's on the latest page of the Tina diaries?"
Letting out a laugh she looked at Kurt.
"can a guy and a girl truly be just friends?" she asked at the exact moment Artie was walking by the rehearsal room en route to the library.
The sound of her voice saying those words cut him like a proverbial knife. Ok so sure he was 'with' Brit but his heart wasn't into it, he still loved Tina. Pausing he decided to listen to more.
"Well we're friends Tina."
"Your gay."
"Valid point, what about Finn?"
"Finn and I are in glee together but I wouldn't say we were friends…and that goes for Matt and Puck as well."
Kurt nodded assuming he knew where she was going.
"This is about Artie, isn't it."
Artie listened in as Tina said.
"Well…yes…"
With that Artie moved along on his way thinking that his chance of Tina wanting to be more then friends was no longer in the cards, and the fact that she might not even want his friendship anymore…well that made his blood boil….god why did Mike Chang have to be so nice.
"…and no," Tina had continued, "you see Artie and I have been through allot, he's my best friend and well…I thought that was all he was, my friend I mean especially since I started to get to know Mike. I mean between the ballad assignment and our dance to Dream a Little Dream…"
"You were smitten."
Tina nodded.
"And then Artie's miracle of miracles gave you a change of heart?"
"Actually, no…between you and me I was falling for him even when he was still wheelchair bound however there was this little voice saying What If you got together with Artie and messed up…could you go back to being friends?"
Kurt listened.
"So I dated Mike and while I admit we did have fun… his kisses… it's like kissing my brother, well if I had one, while with Artie…."
"Say no more," Kurt said, "you want to know if you can be friends with Mike while Artie + You become 'Artina' "
She nodded.
"I think you can."
Tina smiled tossing her arms around Kurt as the bell rang.
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Glee practice rolled around and Artie took a seat in the back between Brit and Kurt. His fingers entwined with the blondes while his friend flashed a 'sorry' look to Tina who'd been sitting in front of him.
It was then that Mr. Schue entered the room talking about 'duets' and how although they had done that medium in the past he thought he'd shake it up a bit and pick partners at random like he did with the ballads.
Artie listened ad Brit made a comment about 'ducks' while Rachel raised her hand making some remark or another before the teacher continued.
"There is no set genre in fact other then me assigning your partners it's a free for all."
He walked over to the piano bench where his hat sat.
"Rachel, since you were the odd one out during 'Ballads' you can go first."
The petite brunette sauntered over to the hat and picked up a card.
"Matt," she said faking amusement. Sure it was kind of ironic in a way that he'd be her partner seeing as if he wasn't out for the week the last time she'd of been with him instead of Mr. Schue, but he wasn't a strong singer which wasn't good.
"No offence to Matt but can I get a different partner, preferably Artie or Finn."
The teacher shook his head as he motioned for Kurt to come to the hat.
"Mercedes," he said, his face lighting up.
"Ok, Artie."
Artie walked up and pulled up a name.
"Mike," he said faking a smile.
'Figures,' he silently thought as the teacher called Puck to the hat.
"Quinn," he said looking to the mother of his baby.
"Mr. Schue, if Rachel wants to trade I'll take Matt."
"Please, Puck is a far superior singer then Matt…again no offence."
The usually silent jock stayed just that…. Silent as Tina looked at who hadn't been picked yet.
Santana, Brit, Finn and Herself.
God she hoped it would be a repeat of the last time and Santana and Brit got paired up so she could have Finn as her partner as although Finn wasn't a good dancer his vocals made up for it, and besides he'd be the least dramatic option of the other three.
"Finn," Santana's voice rang as she flashed the young man a seductive glance as no one but her and Finn knew that during the whole 'Madonna' craze that overtook the school she'd taken the tall jocks virginity.
"Looks like Brittany and Tina are pairs," the teacher said and while the blonde was grinning widely as she rested her head on Artie's shoulder Tina silently wished that Santana and Mercedes hadn't already sung 'The Boy Is Mine.'
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TBC
Three Things: Number 1) I was Evil in this chapter wasn't I? Number 2) Snaps for using minor charactors like Becky and Karofsky this chapter! and Number 3) the only 'pairs' that matter this chapter are Mike/Artie and Tina/Brit in fact the other four duets were picked by myself at random by putting names in my own hat. Anyway thanks for reading.