It was May. Several months had gone by since her broken ankle incident, but she still wasn't sure when she'd be brave enough for heels. She found some black ballet flats with straps that criss-crossed up her ankles and went with it. It wasn't like she needed to be tall tonight.
When her had parents paid her a visit a few weeks ago, she'd asked them to bring that gorgeous blue and black one-shoulder hi-lo dress that she'd worn to the Sadie Hawkins dance during senior year. (Her senior prom dress had, of course, been utterly ruined by the bucket of red slush.)
She'd slipped back into it pretty easily, thanks to the regular work out she'd been getting in the pool. Plus, she'd convinced Artie to make things that weren't grilled cheese and soup. Now he was usually tossing together a salad with light dressing, fruit and chicken, whenever they'd meet up for dinner or for one of the outdoor movies that were becoming more and more frequent, as the weather continued to morph into a beautiful spring, complete with blossoms on the trees outside the dorm. (And, okay, those made Artie sneeze a lot, so maybe that part they could have done without.)
"You look awesome," Lauren said, coming into the room as Tina was using her straightener to create loose waves that framed her face. "At least a year younger," she added.
Tina made a face. "Thanks, Lauren," she said. "Hey, did Artie already leave to get Kitty?" When Lauren nodded, confirming that she'd seen him leave, Tina turned back to the mirror and continued working on her hair. "Good. I want it to be a surprise."
Lauren sat down on her bed. "I'm confused," she said. "You told me he needed time. It's been... what, a little over a month? That's not a lot of time, Tina, are you guys going to get all weird again if this doesn't go well?"
"That's not what this is, Lauren," she said, with a shrug. "Back in high school, we broke up and got involved with other people way before we started going to dances. We've never even had a chance to be each other's dates at a wedding. I just thought it would be nice, even as friends. We've never danced together."
"Except that 'dancing' with him is sitting in his lap," Lauren said, cocking one eyebrow. "That's pretty intimate behavior for friends, don't you think?"
Tina shrugged. "If you see it that way," she said. "The way I see it, it's just how you dance with Artie. And anyway, it was actually his idea. He just doesn't know I've decided to go along with it. Kevin and Kitty are helping me keep it a secret."
"When you wear this," Lauren said. "Doesn't it make you think of how you tried to sway Blaine..."
"It didn't before," Tina frowned at her reflection. "Thanks, Lauren, for reminding me. I was trying to forget yet another spectacular fail in Tina history."
"I mean, would you have much left to remember about high school if you did that?"
"Okay, Lauren," Tina said, turning off her straightener and fluffing her hair, finishing with a dash of hairspray. Just then, Kevin texted to say he was waiting outside. What happened to chivalry? Artie, she knew, would have been at her door, even if it meant an extra disassembly and reassembly of the chair. "I gotta go, he's here."
"Okay, have fun," Lauren said, with a shrug.
Tina made her way down the hall, her dress swishing begind her as she walked. She never thought she'd be stepping out of her dorm to attend a high school prom, yet here she was.
She spotted them in a circle with some friends of Kitty's, just talking, when she entered the school's banquet hall with Kevin. No, not a gymnasium, like at McKinley. The Wheeler School was so fancy that Tina was surprised they even referred to this formal gathering as a prom. At least there was a dance floor in the middle. Tina wished they had a stage and live music, but sadly, this was lacking.
Artie had his back to her as she walked in. She was on Kevin's arm, but her eyes were on Artie, her real date for the night. Kitty turned and spotted them as they approached. Like Tina, Kitty had recycled the dress she wore for the Sadie Hawkins dress. Hers was a pink, strapless chiffon dress with a sparkly silver sash. She leaned over to say something to Artie, who promptly turned his chair and looked up to meet Tina's eyes, as she approached.
"Blast from the past?" she asked, smoothing out her dress as she walked toward him. He'd gone completely speechless, a rare moment for Artie Abrams. She leaned over to straighten his bow tie a bit. "I changed my mind. I liked your idea to crash this prom together."
"I think this is where we swap," Kevin extended his arm to Kitty, clearly pretty happy with the arrangement. Kitty took his arm and sent a meaningful look Tina's way that clearly meant you're welcome.
"Sorry, Artie, this is where I ditch you for another guy," Kitty said, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze as she left with Kevin. As she left, Artie's stunned expression was beginning to relax into a smile.
"You think they'll card us?" he asked Tina, as the other couple left them alone. "Throw us out when they find out we're old-ass college students?"
"I like to live dangerously," she said, putting one arm around his neck and the other on his chest, as she gingerly settled herself onto his lap. "The way I see it, we owe each other quite a few dances..."
"Finn and Kurt's parents' wedding, junior prom, Mr. Schue's wedding, the Sadie Hawkins dance, senior prom," he said, ticking them off on his fingers, after he'd finished using his hands to push them both out on the floor. "But who's counting?"
"I could use a do-over for just about all of those," Tina groaned. "Especially the Sadie Hawkins dance and senior prom."
"You had a nice time at junior prom," Artie pointed out. "With Mike." When Tina opened her mouth, he interrupted. "Stop. I'm glad you went out with Mike. I mean, at the time I wasn't, no, but I'm glad we both saw other people during high school."
"Me too," Tina agreed. "But I'm done seeing other people now, Artie." When he opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off. "Don't argue. I'm the one waiting on you now. You want to go start something with another girl who's completely wrong for you? Fine, do it. I'll be here when you get back."
Artie sighed. "Tina Cohen-Chang, you're a stubborn one," he said. "I'm here. You know I'm not going anywhere. Definitely not right now, you're sitting on me." He paused. "What even is this song? They could use a band, you know, and a live performer..."
"Shh," Tina said, closing her eyes and tucking herself against him. "For once, Artie, you're not spending most of your time at a dance onstage, performing for everyone. You're here with me."
They got about half a dance in before someone, presumably a school administrator, stopped to question the "students" she hadn't remembered seeing before. "Juniors or seniors?"
"Seniors," Artie had said, just as Tina blurted out: "Actually, we're guests of Kevin Nguyen and Kitty Wilde!"
"Then, I suggest you find them or leave," said the offended adult, who had clearly caught onto their scheme. Tina dissolved in laughter as she left, muffling the sound against his chest.
"Why did you say seniors?" she gasped, in between fits of giggles. "That was a bad lie. This school isn't all that big."
"I was thinking it was the closest thing to senior citizens," Artie said, before he too was no longer able to maintain a straight face. From a distance, the old lady who had cornered them looked over her shoulder, disdain dripping off her pinched face.
"She really wants us gone," Tina commented.
"Let's leave then," Artie suggested, wheeling towards the door with her still in his lap. "They have, like, a garden with paved pathways or something. Isn't that how the romantic chick flicks always end up? With the couple taking a stroll in the garden? Uh, door please, Tina."
He couldn't do much with her in his lap. She giggled and jumped up, getting the door for the both of them. She then followed him out as he searched for the poorly planned ramp that had been added to the older building, as an afterthought. But no matter. One way or another, they found their way to the garden.
Artie stopped by a fountain and turned to face her, patting his lap. As she took her rightful place again, he cued up some selections from his iTunes playlist, playing them on his phone.
"What happens now?" she asked.
"I shouldn't have rejected you," he said. "You're awesome. You always have been..."
"Does this mean you're willing to let me sign up?" she leaned back, to look at him, seriously, "I'm not afraid of whatever life throws at us, Artie. Not with you."
Artie paused, and she could see that he looked uncomfortable, either because of what she'd said or because she was squishing him. "Is this really called The Wheeler School?" he asked, by way of making a joke. "And mine was the only chair in there?"
"Artie, stop," Tina cut him off. "Stop talking about the chair." She cupped his face in her hands but stopped to search his blue eyes, to see if she was being shut down again this time. "Stop doing that thing where you change the subject, to avoid talking about something because it might hurt. It's just about you and me, okay? So? Do I need to get up?"
"Please don't," Artie said, a little breathlessly, as he covered her hands with his, pulling her towards him. He kissed her with all the excitement of someone who had been waiting a very, very long time.
"Artie?"
"Let's go."
"Well?" she said. "Now that that's happened, there's one less thing for you to worry about, right?" She leaned over and kissed him one last time, before climbing out of his bed and walking across the room, wearing nothing but the borrowed t-shirt she'd thrown on.
Artie was still sort of shell-shocked, she supposed, because he didn't answer her. She returned, after freshening up in the bathroom, and settled back down beside him to cuddle. He'd wrestled his boxers back on while she was in the bathroom. He wrapped his arm around her and drew her in close. He still hadn't said anything, though, about how it was. She sat up, eyeing him curiously.
"What... did it feel like?"
Artie seemed to realize he ought to speak now. "Well, I get this weird tingling sensation that's incredible," he said, letting out his breath, and propping up on his elbows. "Right here." He guided her hand to a spot on his stomach, above his navel. "And I can still feel your touch there. That's the sweet spot, for future reference."
"Ah, for future reference, eh?" Tina grinned, leaning back against the pillows. "That's good to know."
She still couldn't believe it. After Artie had said "let's go," they'd rushed back to the dorm, with very little of their usual banter and discussion. They'd then hurried past Brynn, who was scrolling through her phone as she perched behind the front desk, and around the corner, into Artie's room. She'd taken off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. He'd unzipped her dress. She'd asked, one more time, "Are you sure about this?" At which time, he'd just nodded and started unbuckling his belt. The rest was a blur...
"Hell yes, woman," Artie was saying. "If you'll have me, that is. Sorry if I'm being presumptuous, I mean, but we did just prove that six or seven years of sexual tension tends to yield amazing results in the bedroom."
"On one condition," Tina said, and Artie was hanging on every word now. He nodded vigorously. "You know how you confessed that you don't actually like me pushing your chair all the time?" (He nodded again, looking confused.) "Well, I'm not so keen on you calling me 'woman' all the time."
At this, Artie laughed. "I can handle that," he said.
Much later, after they'd hung out in Artie's dorm for awhile and then watched a little of Artie's latest independent film projects, Tina headed up to her room on the third floor, carrying her prom dress over her arm and wearing his shirt, boxers, and the fancy black ballet flats with the criss-cross straps, her hair a mess and her makeup smudged.
Lauren was there, of course, and Tina figured there was no sense in hiding something she was rather proud of anyway. (Besides, she'd nearly caught Derrick and Lauren last week, so now they were even.)
"Tina Cohen-Chang!" she jumped up, excitedly. "Doing the walk of shame. Except you don't even look embarrassed. I take it prom ended in the best possible way, with Artie?"
Tina nodded, laughing and covering her face as she sank down onto her bed. "Yes, the best possible way," she confirmed. "With Artie."