A/N

First post of the new year! Enjoy!

Disclaimer- I don't own glee or its characters

The three day suspension was tough for Santana. Her mom was furious with her and Santana couldn't help but feel guilty. She hated that her mom was disappointed with her and she hated that she let the glee club down. The only highlight of her suspension was the alone time she spent with Artie. After school, he would go to her house or she would go to his. Surprisingly, they grew much closer during those three days.

Santana tried telling Artie that she loved him, but it never felt like the right time. Someone or something would interrupt them. She was glad she didn't tell him how she felt. She wanted to say it when the moment was perfect, not while they're doing homework or talking about glee club.

On Friday morning, when Santana was walking back into school, people were whispering about her. She didn't care. More importantly, she wasn't going to address the numerous rumors that were swirling around about her suspension. A little mystery goes a long way. After grabbing her books, she spotted Artie joking around with a bunch of guys. She was a bit confused. These guys weren't his regular friends.

"Hi," Santana said uneasily as she joined them.

"Welcome back." Artie smiled.

"Can I talk to you for a minute…alone?" She asked while leading Artie away from the guys he was with. When they were alone, she turned to Artie. "Who are they?"

"Oh, the guys…we're just hanging out." Artie explained casually.

"I'm just a bit surprised you're friends with them. The football team doesn't seem like your type of guys." She shrugged. "Weren't they the same ones who flush your glasses down the toilet?"

"About that…" Artie smirked as he unzipped his hoodie to show Santana his football jersey underneath. "We're kind of cool now that I'm on the football team."

Santana shook her head slightly, unsure if she heard him correctly. "What? You're on the football team?"

"Yeah!" Artie said enthusiastically. "I made Brittany promise not to tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise!" He smiled.

"Um, but you're in a wheelchair." Santana stated the obvious.

"I know, but we talked to Coach Beiste about it and we worked something out. We checked the rules and we're doing nothing wrong." His smile faded a bit after noticing Santana's expression. "I thought you'd be happy about this?"

"It's a horrible idea. What if you get hurt?" She blurted out. Artie frowned a little bit. "Why didn't you tell me about this from before?" She argued while trying to keep her voice down. She didn't want draw attention to them.

"I just thought it would be a good idea to do things other than glee club. It'll look good on my college application." He explained. "I thought you'd like this."

The bell rang before Santana could say anything. She was a bit glad that the bell interrupted them because she didn't know what to say. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Artie's feelings, but she also wanted to be honest with him.

"Hey Artie, are you coming with us?" One of the football players asked. Artie smiled weakly at Santana before joining the rest of his new friends. Santana was left in the middle of the hallway, completely confused to what happened. She was not expecting so much to change in three days.

After Santana's first class, which seemed to drag on endlessly, she decided to go see the counselor.

"Santana, hi." Miss Pillsbury said as she looked up at her from her desk. "Have a seat." Santana sat down across the counselor. "I'm sorry. I think this is the first time you've ever come here. Is everything ok?"

Santana looked down at her hands before making eye contact with the counselor. She wasn't comfortable talking to her. "I'm sorry, but I'm out of options. Coach Sylvester isn't really happy with me now for me to talk to her."

"Well, Santana. First, you don't need to apologize. I'm glad you came to me." She smiled. Santana felt a bit relieved. "Does this have something to do with Artie?"

Santana's eyes shot wide open. "H-how did you know?"

"I just figured that you've been gone for a bit and a lot has changed." She explained.

"He's on the football team." Santana began, unsure what to think. "I think it's dangerous and stupid. He doesn't even like football."

"Did you talk to him about this?"

"He's probably mad at me. I wasn't very supportive."

"Coach Beiste and the school board don't seem to find it dangerous. There is no rule prohibiting a boy in a wheelchair to play."

"I always felt that Artie accepted his future in the wheelchair. Despite everything he's gone through, I love that he's always positive." Santana paused before deciding to continue. "Some times I feel like he's lying to me...or to himself."

"What do you mean?" The counselor pressed with a bit more concern in her voice.

"I think he puts up a front. It just doesn't make any sense why he suddenly joined the team?"

"Santana, do you mind if we call Artie in here. I don't want to speak for him, but maybe if I help you get across to him then maybe you'll feel better."

"I guess." Santana hesitated before she finally agreed. She was worried about how quickly and secretly Artie changed. A few minutes later the counselor came back with Artie following behind.

"San, is everything ok?" Artie said as he rolled up next to Santana.

"So, Santana and I were talking and we thought you should join us here." Miss Pillsbury began.

"Yeah?" Artie questioned. "Is this about the football team thing?"

"Yes." Santana blurted out.

"Do we have to talk about it here?" Artie looked at the counselor before looking back at Santana.

"I'm just trying to help both of you." Miss Pillsbury explained. She knew that Artie wasn't very accepting for guidance. As a counselor, she wasn't going to stop helping her students.

"I don't want your help." He argued back. "And why did you talk to her about anything?" He addressed Santana.

"I thought she can help us." Santana thought it was pretty obvious.

"Sorry, Miss P. but unless it's about college applications or which courses to take, then I don't want your help."

"That's fine, Artie." She answered calmly. "I just think you need to talk to someone."

"I'll talk to Santana alone. Not every couple in this school is going to come to you for advice. Some things will remain private." Artie added curtly before leaving the office.

"I'm sorry," Santana whispered before following Artie. She caught up with him in the hallway. "What's wrong with you? You were rude. I asked for her help." At this point, the two of them made it to a empty classroom.

"I don't like Miss Pillsbury." He paused and Santana gave him a look to indicate he should continue. He took a deep breath before going on. "Last year, she tried to get me to visit her regularly so we can discuss me being in a wheelchair. I had to convince my parents that it wasn't necessary."

"Did she have a reason to…"Santana started before being cut off.

"When Bryan Ryan came by the school last year, I wrote down that my dream is to dance. She found out and blew things out of proportion. She talked to my parents and I had to convince them that I am ok with being in a wheelchair. I didn't need to talk to anyone."

"I think she was just trying to do her job."

"Her job is to help students that ask for her help. She has no right to get involved in my personal issues." He defended.

"Ok, I understand." Santana decided not to push him any further. "As your girlfriend, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not completely thrilled with you being on the football team."

"I want to do it." He defended with a fake sense of confidence. Santana saw right through it.

"You don't like football. I thought soccer was the only sport you wanted to play. At least that's what you told me when we were in Cleveland."

"I changed my mind." Artie shrugged.

"You're being difficult." She snapped, finally being fed up. Santana was trying her best to control her temper and reason with Artie, but his attitude wasn't helping.

"I thought you'd like this." He argued. "I'm on the football team and you're on the Cheerios. It's a perfect match. You won't have to worry about other people talking about us." He explained.

"Is this what this is about?" She finally figured it out.

"At first, it was about us being popular." He admitted. "But now, I actually like it… and the guys are all cool and it's fun." The two of them were quiet for a bit. Santana wanted to say something but Artie beat her to it.

"I know you're just back to school after your suspension and won't be cheering with the Cheerios at the game because of missed practices, but I'd love it if my girlfriend would be at the game tonight."

"Ok," Santana said with a weak smile. She wasn't completely happy with the idea, but seeing Artie light up was worth it.

"Thank you, San." He added with a radian smile

"Anything for you, Artie." She just gave him a short kiss on the lips before the two of them went off for lunch.

Santana hated lying to Artie, but he needed her support. She still wasn't happy about him joining the football team. She wasn't happy with all of these sudden changes. Santana decided that the best thing she could do is just stand by Artie with whatever he is going through.

A/N:

First, I want to say I'm sorry about the delays in updating. I'll try not to go too long without posting. I have a very solid idea of where this story is heading and hopefully I will be able to put it into words.

Now, the important part…what did everyone think of this chapter? I was trying to develop Artie more. Even though Santana is my favorite character, Artie's storyline on the show needs to be explored. Let me know what you think. I'd love to hear it!

R&R, P&TY!