A/N:

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the long delay in updating. It's been a hectic week for me. Also, I want to thank everyone who reviewed and alerted this story- it means a lot. Thanks :) Anyway, I hope you like this chapter...Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its characters

Santana quickly made it home and made sure she had everything she needed for her Cleveland trip. Usually, she would spend her weekends with her dad and stepmother, but this time was different. Artie would be there.

Santana felt better after admitting her feelings for Artie, even if she only admitted them to herself. Then it dawned on her. She'll practically be spending a weekend with a boy she has a secret crush on. Normally, Santana knows how to attract guys but this was Artie and he's different. None of her other boyfriends (flings) were her friends first. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.

Her mom dropped her off at the Abrams' so Santana can drive their van. Artie just completed his adapted driving course, but he wasn't going to drive on the freeway. His parents were letting him go on his first overnight trip alone, he wasn't going to push his luck.

"Ready to go?" Santana said as she buckled her seat belt. Artie nodded as Santana put the car in reverse and backed out of the drive way. They both waved to their parents before hitting the road. There was a bit of a silence in the car, which only made Santana more nervous being around a boy she liked. She thought that she was being ridiculous and she should be herself.

"So are you excited?" Santana spoke up, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Yeah, I just wish my mom didn't cry when I left. It was kind of a downer." Artie laughed.

"I won't lie. It was a bit depressing, but my mom is used to me going away for a weekend." Santana reassured.

"Yeah, I'm sure my mom's just worried."

"Well she better get used to you leaving the nest every once in a while." Santana said as she pulled up to a red traffic light.

"Are you saying we'll be doing this a lot?" Artie questioned.

"If you play your cards right, Abrams." Santana flirted with a smirk as she turned to Artie.

"Oh." Naturally, Artie turned red.

"Ok that is going to have to stop. You can't turn all shades of red when I say something…flirty." Santana joked as she tried to find the right word.

"It's just kind of new that we're talking like…"

"Like friends?" Santana completed his thought and he nodded. "But, if it really does make you uncomfortable, then I'll try to tone it down and be more appropriate."

"No! I love that you're inappropriate." Artie defended.

"Good!" Santana laughed. "Maybe after this weekend, some of my inappropriateness will rub off on you. We need you to be more…"

"badass?" Artie completed with a smile.

Santana frowned. "Hell no! We don't need another guy in glee club talking about his badassness." Santana claimed as Artie laughed. "Seriously, throwing kids in dumpsters and getting a cheerleader pregnant doesn't make you a badass, it makes you stupid."

"Please, Santana! Don't hold anything back." Artie added sarcastically.

"Sorry." Santana shrugged. "What I meant to say is that we need you to be…"

"Hot?" Artie teased and Santana blushed as she remembered the 2 previous times when she called him hot. "Don't be embarrassed, you've called me hot before."

"I was hoping you would've forgotten about that." She added meekly.

"Never. It's not everyday that Santana calls someone hot…twice!" Artie boasted with a laugh and Santana smiled.

"It's just that those two times I said that, you were surprisingly honest with me. And it was true. It is true. An honest guy in McKinley is a rare thing." Santana explained.

"Well, we're friends so there is no reason not to be honest." Artie explained casually. Those words struck a nerve with her. Santana and Artie built a relationship (friendship) based on them being honest with each other. It was weird and they can't explain how it happened, but Santana feels comfortable around him so that she doesn't always have to keep her guard up. She liked she could be herself around him. She knew that her relationship with Artie is different than any other relationship she's had with any boy. She didn't want to mess that up.

"I have to tell you something, since we're talking about honesty…." Santana spoke a bit quickly as she drew in a deep breath.

"Ok," Artie was confused as he turned to Santana. "What's up?"

Santana found it would be easier to say this with her eyes staring right ahead at the road. "I don't know how to tell you this, but it's something I want you to know so that we stay honest with each other." Santana paused to turn to Artie for a second before turning back to the road. "A few days ago Puck and Tina apparently got into a fight and Puck came over to talk…"

"Ok…" Artie whispered as he fidgeted in his seat.

"I kissed Puck. Or he kissed me. It doesn't matter who kissed who because neither one of us stopped or pulled away." Santana hated that she rambled on the way she did. The car fell silent and the tension grew. Santana kept anticipating Artie to get mad since Puck and Santana both hurt Tina. "It as a stupid mistake and I just thought he and Tina were about to break up and not that…"

"I kissed Tina." Artie interrupted Santana. "Or she kissed me…we both welcomed it, I guess." Artie's voice was soft since he felt embarrassed.

"Do you still want to be with her?" Santana found herself blurting out loud. She felt her chest tighten while waiting for an answer. She would hate if Puck was right and Artie chose Tina over her.

"No." Artie shrugged. "It wasn't…right. It didn't feel right." Artie confided.

"Oh ok." Santana stated casually, trying hard not to crack a smile. This was what Santana wanted to hear.

"Sorry. You probably don't want to hear about me and Tina."

"It's ok." Santana shrugged. "It's cool that you two are friends though."

"Aren't you and Puck friends?" Artie asked naively.

"No." She scoffed. "We were never really friends. I mean I was best friends with Quinn and he was best friends with Finn, so when Quinn and Finn started dating then we just sort of were around each other. I wouldn't call it friendship…"

"But you like him?"

"Well I liked him more than he liked me." Santana found herself revealing. "Actually, he liked Quinn more than he liked me…" Santana adjusted in her seat, realizing she shouldn't mention her long and messy history with Puck.

"That sucks…" Artie replied.

"I mean he could have changed. Maybe Puck and Tina work in their own weird little way…" Santana decided not to be bitter and she didn't want to sound like she's interfering with Puck and Tina.

"No, I'm pretty sure he's still the same." Artie said as Santana let out a little laugh. "Tina was honest with Puck. She told him about our kiss. He didn't tell her that he was with you." Artie was a bit angry.

Santana tried to put her jealousy aside. She can't understand why he was so protective over Tina. "Artie, please." She began. "I told you about me and Puck since we are being honest with each other. I didn't tell you so can tell Tina."

"Me and Tina are friends…wouldn't you tell Brittany if Mike was cheating on her?"

"I would. But this is different. Me and you are friends and I'm asking you to please not tell her." Santana pleaded.

"Why not?" He questioned. "She should know."

"She should hear it from Puck. Do you know what will happen if you tell her?" She asked without waiting for an answer. "She'll confront Puck, they'll fight for a few days, but she will forgive him like he forgave her and then they'll go back to normal."

"Ok, then what's the problem?" Artie asked, failing to see Santana's point.

"Whatever, Artie…you tell her or Puck tells her. It's all the same." Santana muttered. "I really shouldn't care anymore."

"Santana, what is…"

"Forget it!" Santana demanded. "Let's talk about something else. I don't want Puck and Tina to ruin my weekend." Santana decided to end the conversation at this point. She really didn't want to get into the details.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Artie said doubtfully. The two didn't talk for a few minutes until Santana pulled into one of the rest stops along the highway.

"Want to grab something to eat?" Santana asked. "I told my dad we'll have dinner with them, but I seriously think we should eat something here instead of whatever my stepmother cooked."

"Ok." The two took a spot at a table in the diner. Santana ordered a salad as usual while Artie ordered a cheeseburger with fries. The two waited for their orders without talking.

"This is stupid." Artie started. "Our weekend barely started and you're pissed off at me for something I don't understand. I know you don't want to talk about Puck and Tina, which is fine. I just…"

"I'm sorry." Santana admitted while interrupting Artie. "I'm not pissed off at you and I don't want to ruin your first weekend without parents. I promise I'll go back to being inappropriate." She smiled while sipping her iced tea. "We'll pretend it didn't happen. The point of getting out of Lima is to leave the Lima drama behind."

"Sounds good." Artie said as the waitress bought their orders. Artie smiled as he looked at his burger.

"Do you want me to leave you alone with that burger?" Santana joked.

"This is one of the best burgers in Ohio. We've been to this diner before on our other road trips." Artie said as he bit into his burger. "So good!" He said with a mouthful and Santana laughed.

Artie watched Santana meticulously play around with her salad. It was all very systematic. She would pour the dressing carefully in a clockwise motion then run her fork counterclockwise through the salad to make sure everything was evenly covered.

"You're so boring." Artie blurted out, catching Santana off guard.

"Excuse me?" Santana looked up at him.

"All I've ever seen you eat is salad…"

"That's not true." Santana defended as she tried to remember a time when she hasn't eaten salad at school. She couldn't remember. "Whatever! Not all salads are the same…this is a good one."

"Here, try this." Artie said as he slid his plate across the table to Santana. "Look at this work of art!" He pointed at his burger. "You can't tell me you're going to turn down this delicious burger with its cheesy goodness, toasted sesame bun and these crispy fries…"

Santana looked at the burger and back at Artie. "It does look good…" She admitted as she bit her bottom lip.

"Try it!" Artie insisted. Santana considered taking a bite out of the burger in front of her. "Try it and tell me if I was lying about this being the best burger in Ohio." He pressed on with a smile. Santana returned the smile before grabbing the burger and taking a big bite out of it. "There you go!" Artie said proudly.

"That's really, really good…" Santana said while chewing. She didn't care that she looked unattractive. She just had her first burger in about 4 years. Finn never took her to a burger place after they slept together.

"It's better than that salad!" Artie argued as Santana took another bite out of his burger. The two talked a bit more while Santana finished his burger and he ate Santana's salad. They paid and headed back on the road.

"Sorry I finished your burger…" Santana started.

"And my fries. You finished my fries too." Artie reminded her.

"I just wanted to say thanks. It was one of the best meals I had in a really long time." She said.

"It wasn't so bad trying something different." Artie smiled. "Your salad wasn't so bad either."

"We'll stop by here tomorrow on our way back since I owe you a burger" Santana said as her cell phone rang. She had her headset on so she can talk while driving. She talked to her dad for a bit before hanging up.

"Everything ok?" Artie asked.

"Yeah, just my dad checking up on us." Santana started. "We're almost there."

"So, your dad is a lawyer and your stepmom is a doctor?" Artie asked. He wanted to know more about her parents so he'd know what to expect.

"Yeah, they got married this past summer. But I may have lied. She's not a doctor." Santana started. "She's a med student. She's doing her clinical or residency or whatever its called at the hospital. She'll be a full fledged doctor soon though."

"Oh, so how old is she?" Artie wondered.

"26." Santana sighed. "Only 10 years older than me. My dad is 18 years older than her…"

"So is that why you hate her? Because of the age difference."

"Hate is a strong word." Santana admitted. "It's just creepy…"

"Why? I mean if they both love each other…"

"Artie, he's 18 years older than her. I just wish he met someone who was more age appropriate. Can you imagine if I said I'll marry a divorced man who is 18 years older than me? My parents would flip out."

"That's like marrying Mr. Schuester!" Artie joked.

Santana blushed as she ran her hand through her hair. "Can I tell you a weird story about that?" Santana asked rhetorically. "So when my dad told me he'll be remarrying, I got into a huge fight with him. Out of spite, I ended up saying I'll marry someone who is 18 years older and divorced." Santana explained nervously. "So the next day at school, Mr. Schuester gave us that funk assignment. It was so weird because Mr. Schuester, who's like 18 years older than us, just told us he finalized his divorce, so…"

"Oh, that's why you said he was creeping us out." Artie put it all together.

"It was so creepy, like Sandy Ryerson creepy!" Santana exclaimed as Artie burst out laughing.

"Santana, I had no idea you were this neurotic." Artie added with a little laugh.

"What?" She looked at him with a little frown, wanting an explanation.

"I mean the way you always put the salad dressing the same way, or how you're notes for any class are always in the same format, or how the books in your locker are always symmetrical…"

"Oh," Santana turned red. She couldn't help that she was a bit embarrassed and Artie noticed.

"It's not a bad thing. It's a fascinating side of you…it's appealing." He reassured her with a comforting smile. The Santana that Artie knew was always headstrong and determined. He liked this new side of her because it was a side that Santana only let him see and made him feel closer to her.

Santana looked back at him with a little smile and her cheeks less red. "Thanks." She let out. Usually Santana was called hot or sexy, but this was a totally different kind of compliment. No one really paid attention to those things about her. She was surprised that Artie noticed, let alone actually liked those qualities about her.

Artie has slowly been breaking down the walls Santana always built and has begun to sweep her off her feet. That thought wasn't as scary as Santana thought it would be.

A/N:

I really want to know what you guys think of this chapter. I know it was longer than the other chapters, but I wanted to go deeper into their relationship and set up a few key elements for future chapters that would only make their relationship grow. Also, I would really like to know what you guys think of Santana's characterization in this chapter. Santana might seem to be too off-character, but hopefully it'll all become clearer in future chapters :)

I wrote a large part of this chapter at the airport and I was so into writing it that I almost missed my flight. No joke- they called my name over the PA system. So what I'm trying to say is that I would really appreciate your reviews!

R&R, P&TY!