AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The first half of this chapter (Artie's POV) was written by the amazing gigundoly! Enjoy! (And please leave a review!)

Chapter 9: Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?

ARTIE

Artie hoped that his uninspired date idea wouldn't drive Betty Pillsbury away. He'd just asked her to meet him at The Lima Bean, because it was next to the bowling alley, and they could just go next door for the second part of the date.

The reason for starting the date at the coffee shop was so they could talk first. Get to know each other. He knew next to nothing about her.

Truth be told, since the wedding, he hadn't given the date much thought. He hadn't agonized over it anxiously, like he did before the first official "date" with Quinn. Consequently, he wasn't sure that, deep down, he'd still really wanted to do this. He wasn't sure he was over Quinn yet.

He'd been sitting in the Lima Bean with his latte, noting that she was now late and he'd been early. He decided he'd go ahead and drink it, so it wouldn't get cold, and just maybe order another when she arrived.

He looked around the shop, glad to know that Kurt wasn't working there anymore. Artie knew that Blaine had finally convinced him to go to New York and live with Rachel until he figured it out, but that under no circumstances could he just remain in Lima. More of that "if you love someone, let them go" mentality.

"Artie?"

He looked up to see, not his date, but Kitty standing there. She was holding an iced coffee again, and Artie thought that was kind of amusing, given the cold front that had just blown in that day. He smiled at her, even though he kind of needed her to go away.

"Hi, Kitty," he said, getting more and more accustomed to seeing her. After their brief conversation on the field, she'd smiled at him in the hallway as she passed, he'd seen her at a Cheerios thing that he dropped Ella off at, and each time, she'd begun to seem more and more human. Not the stereotypical bitchy head Cheerio that she'd wanted them to think she was in the beginning.

"You meeting someone here?" Kitty stood on the opposite side of the table, in the place where the chair should be, though Artie had asked someone to move it when he first arrived.

"Uh, yeah," Artie said, not wishing to elaborate. She shrugged and left that alone, but she also didn't leave.

"Listen," she started in, perching on the edge of the table. She was wearing jeans and a pretty tunic type shirt instead of her uniform, since she wasn't at school, and it was the first time he'd seen her in regular clothes.

"I do want that part," she went on. "I do wanna play Rizzo. I don't know why you're even offering me a part at all, after what- what I did to you, but thanks." She got to her feet again. "I'm not too late, am I?"

"No, you're not too late," Artie confirmed, though he looked around her as he glimpsed at Betty through the window, parking in a handicap spot. She'd already opened her door and was in the process of assembling her chair.

Kitty followed his gaze over her shoulder, then grinned back at him. "Is she your date?" Her grin stretched even wider. "I know her. She goes to Belleview High. We were on the cheer squad together last year."

"Small world," Artie said, raising his eyebrows. "Listen. Can you, uh...?"

"Leave?" Kitty supplied, as Artie nodded emphatically. "Sure, I guess…" But she sauntered up to the door instead and seemed to be waiting for Betty to come in so she could say something. Artie just exhaled loudly and shot her an exasperated look. Kitty either didn't get it or didn't care. He was leaning towards the latter.

"Hi Betty!" he heard her greet the other girl, when Betty wheeled inside. "Long time, no see! Artie just told me you're his date."

"Uh, yeah. You know Artie?" Betty looked across the coffee shop until her eyes landed on him and smiled. "Good to see you again, Kitty. Excuse me."

"You two have fun," Kitty called out, as Betty wheeled around her, and she at least had the decency to leave then.

"Surprised to see me?" Betty asked, coyly, as she slid up to the empty place at the table with a devious grin, like she'd been late on purpose, so that he'd wonder if she was still coming.

"No," Artie replied, trying to sound just as aloof as she did. "I saw you two minutes ago. You took forever wheeling up here."

Betty smirked at him. "That girl used to cheer with me. So, how do you know her?" she asked. "She's... well, let's just say, I wasn't heartbroken when she transferred after last year."

"She's at McKinley now," Artie said, and then he decided not to go into the full details of how he knew Kitty, particularly not how she'd nearly sent him to the hospital. "My little sister, Ella, is a cheerleader, too. Sometimes we see each other when I give Ella rides to practice."

"Neat."

It couldn't have been clearer that they really didn't know what to say to one another. Betty cleared her throat and said she was going to go order, so Artie followed her, intending to get his second round and to pay for hers.

Two chairs drew the stares again, whereas one chair usually just got a glance. Artie knew she noticed, too, even though neither commented on the looks they got. After they'd ordered and Artie had paid, they returned to their table and Artie tried to learn more about her.

"So, Kitty said you go to Belleview," said Artie, before he remembered he really didn't mean to tell her he'd been talking about her with Kitty just before she'd arrived.

"Uh, yeah," Betty replied, clearly taking note of what he'd done. "I always have. It's one of those small towns where everyone makes the cheerleading squad. When I get nervous, I tend to brag. But that's the honest truth, if you were wondering."

"I get it," Artie said, thrown for a loop by the sudden humble vibes she was throwing out. But it was oddly refreshing, her being this real with him. "Glee Club was kind of the same thing for me. That's, um, what I do, I'm in Glee Club. I know that sounds lame but-"

"It doesn't," she interjected. "No, actually, I've seen some videos of your performances. My aunt showed me a couple of times. She showed me because of you, I think. She's always trying to encourage me like that."

"Do you sing?" Artie asked.

She nodded. "I've been in the school musical a few times," she said. "I was Ado Annie in Oklahoma! last year."

"That's awesome!" Artie said. That was what she ought to have been bragging about from the start. Not everyone who tries out for a musical gets the lead.

"This year we're taking on Wicked," she said. "We're a small school, but we have the talent for it. And I'm playing-"

"You better not say Nessarose," Artie cut in, hoping she was not, in fact, about to say that. He knew from experience what it was like to be type-cast, of course, after Mr. Schue had decided that he would be perfect for the role of Dr. Scott in Rocky Horror simply because he, too, used a wheelchair.

But then she laughed loudly and appreciatively at his interjection.

"Hell to the no," she said. "I'm Glinda. And we're not putting Nessarose in a chair. We're changing that mess. Instead of being in a chair, she's going to have really bad hair." And then, to further explain the idea, Betty sang: "Because I have this hair, and you felt sorry for me, well, isn't that right?"

Artie cracked up. Like, nearly-spit-out-his-latte cracked up. He hadn't seen it coming. Hadn't expected this girl to be so witty. He also noticed she had a great voice, even from that brief preview.

"Are you for real?" he asked. "Because- and no judgment- but that's a seriously huge rewrite. As a director, I'm not entirely sure that's allowed…"

"A director?" she arched an eyebrow. "And what do you direct?"

"Lots of things," Artie told her. "Last year, we did West Side Story, and I directed a Christmas special for our public access station. And this year, we're doing Grease. We just finished casting it, and we're about to start rehearsals soon."

"And do you direct because you're afraid to get on that stage yourself?" she challenged him, not afraid to ask a question that no one else would dare to speak, even if they were thinking it.

And, since she wasn't afraid to be honest, neither was he. "Possibly," he said. "But I also really like planning out the whole show and making all the creative decisions."

"You should think about getting onstage one of these days," Betty said. "And I'm not talking about Glee Club. I mean, for a musical. Or a play. Anything. It might help you out, as a director, if you know firsthand what it's like."

Artie told her he'd keep that in mind. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about it before. But he couldn't imagine himself in any of the parts in Grease, except maybe Eugene the nerd. And they didn't have an actor for him yet…

"I told Aunt Emma she should've had karaoke at the wedding," she said, changing the subject. "What with all of the good singers they'd invited."

"Karaoke would be fun," Artie agreed. "I wish I knew of a karaoke bar around here or something. That honestly sounds like more fun than what I had planned which is, uh, bowling."

"Bowling does sound pretty lame," Betty agreed, which Artie should have seen coming. "Almost every guy I ever go out with takes me to a movie or bowling. But then, given where we live, I'll give you a pass. There's not much else."

"Well, what would you like to do?" He'd put it back on her to see if she had an idea.

She shrugged. "Maybe drive around, karaoke in the car for awhile? I don't know, Artie, I just think you're a good guy and I wanna go someplace where I can get to know you better."

"How about you drive us around for a bit, then we go back to my place?" Artie suggested, feeling brave enough to be forward. "My car's not even here. Sebastian dropped me off, and I was gonna see if you'd give me a ride home at the end of the night."

"And if I'd said no?" She wore an amused grin, as she realized what he'd been up to all along.

"Then I was gonna be out of luck." Artie admitted with a sheepish smile. He had just been hoping all along that Betty would like their date enough to take him home, at least, and maybe come inside, too.

…

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian rolled over on his bed to check the time displayed on his alarm clock for what felt like the zillionth time in the last ten minutes. Artie had decided not to mention that he had asked Ms. Pillsbury's niece, Betty, out on a date until he asked Sebastian for a ride to The Lima Bean twenty minutes before he was supposed to meet her there. Sebastian, of course, was just tickled that his match-making skills were (once again) a hit with Artie. He was two-for-two so far, though he supposed that the Quinn situation hadn't ended very well for poor Artie. Sebastian was hoping to redeem himself with Betty, and now, he was waiting not-so-patiently for Artie to return so that he could hear alllll of the details.

With Ella sleeping over a friend's house, Griffin away at college, and the parents out at a work dinner, Sebastian was spending his Saturday night bored and alone. It's not like being alone was a new concept for him or anything- he'd spent most of his childhood alone. But now that he and Artie were like two peas in a pod, he'd grown accustomed to having the other boy around. So much so, that he often found himself suffering from a little bit of separation anxiety when Artie was gone.

Sebastian supposed that Artie's date taking longer than expected was just a sign that it was going well. This was particularly good because, if he was being honest, Sebastian had thought that the date sounded totally boring when Artie had told him that his plan was to take Betty out for coffee and bowling. Sebastian was just about to check the clock again when he heard the front door open and the familiar sound of Artie's creaky wheelchair.

Jumping up from his bed, Sebastian flung open his bedroom door and ran down the stairs, skidding into the kitchen as Artie was turning on the lights.

"Ah!" Artie practically jumped out of his seat at Sebastian's sudden appearance.

"Ah!" Sebastian had the exact same reaction when he saw that his step-brother had not arrived home alone. "Uh, hi, Betty."

"Hi," the girl awkwardly greeted him, clearly also surprised by the other boy somewhat crashing the second part of her date.

"I didn't know you were home," Artie said, trying to casually play off the fact that he may or may not have just nearly wet himself with fear. "All of the lights were off and your car wasn't in the driveway."

"Oh. I parked in the garage," he explained. "Well, I'm here, but I'll leave you two alone. What do you have going on?"

"Uh, we were just gonna watch a movie," Artie said, making strong eye contact with him and giving him a look that clearly said "Get out of here before you screw this up!".

"Okay, well, have fun! Let me know if you need anything!" Sebastian waved them off, overcompensating a little bit in an attempt to cover up the awkwardness that currently hung in the air. Artie gave him a weird look before pivoting and leading Betty from the kitchen into the living room.

Sebastian watched them disappear into the next room before debating what to do next. On one hand, he totally wanted to give those two their privacy, because he really didn't want to mess this up for Artie. But on the other hand… it couldn't hurt to stick around for a little bit, right?

He could hear muffled voices coming from the living room as the two lovebirds decided on what to watch. After a moment, the voices died down and the volume on the TV was dialed up. Sebastian quietly tip-toed over to the doorway that separated the two rooms, lowering himself to the floor and sitting with his back up against the wall. Though he couldn't see them, he could hear their conversation much more clearly now- as well as the Bee Gees' song "Stayin' Alive", which he could only attribute as being the opening scene of Saturday Night Fever. It was certainly an interesting movie selection to watch on a first date, but this is Artie we're talking about, after all.

"Did you see that?" he heard Artie ask. "The way that Tony's eyes followed that brunette down the sidewalk as the line 'I'm a woman's man' plays in the background? And it happened twice- once at the very beginning of the intro, and again at the end. That was creative on the director's part, because we get clues as to what kind of guy this character is before he even speaks."

Artie truly could not watch a single movie without making random, unnecessary directorial comments. Sebastian chalked it up to his habit of word-vomiting whenever he got nervous, but that didn't help with the secondhand embarrassment he was currently experiencing for the other guy.

Man, Artie! Just let the girl watch the movie in peace! Sebastian thought to himself, trying to telepathically transport his thoughts through the wall and save this date from ending in epic failure.

A few more minutes of silence, followed by random spurts of information went by before Sebastian came to the conclusion that he'd had enough. He decided that he needed to interject because this was getting painful to listen to. Quietly standing up, Sebastian made his way to the pantry and pulled out a bag of popcorn, sticking the package in the microwave. He prayed that the TV was loud enough that Artie wouldn't be able to hear the snack popping as it cooked. After the timer went off, he poured the popcorn into a bowl that was perfect for sharing, and grabbed two Sprites out of the refrigerator before heading into the living room.

Since the couch faced away from the room's entryway, Sebastian was able to watch them for a minute before they saw him coming. He noted the way that they were kind of cuddled up on the couch together, Artie's arm around Betty's shoulders. Their chairs were not parked out of reach, and Artie had his feet resting on the seat of his own. Sebastian noted that they did look awfully cute together, despite the fact that his step-brother didn't know how to shut up.

"Don't mind me, I don't mean to interrupt," Sebastian announced his arrival, even though interrupting was exactly what he meant to do. "I'm just bringing you two some refreshments."

"Thanks," Artie said through gritted teeth, accepting the popcorn bowl and drinks for himself and his date, while glaring in Sebastian's direction with a look that could only be interpreted as his way of silently saying "Get lost!".

Taking the hint this time, Sebastian exited the room and reluctantly retreated back upstairs to wait out the rest of the night by himself until he could bombard Artie with questions after Betty was gone.

…

An hour or two later, Sebastian was startled by his bedroom door opening.

"I hate you. I hate you. I hate you," Artie said from his spot on the carpet. He was a little pink in the face, and Sebastian didn't know whether to attribute it to the fact that he had just scooted upstairs using only his upper body, having abandoned his chair at the bottom, or anger. Probably a mix of both. Sebastian gulped and paused the music he'd been listening to, yanking out his earbuds and tossing them next to him on the bed.

"Was it horrible?"

"No," Artie admitted, pulling himself further into the room and arranging his legs out in front of him before leaning back on his arms. He sighed. "Far from it. It was great. Betty's awesome. She's super funny, she's a really good singer, and she keeps it real… You know that Little Shop of Horrors is her favorite musical too?"

"Yeah?" Sebastian asked, knowing full well that it was not normal to have a bonding moment over Broadway shows on a first date. He let it slide, though. "Well, it sounds like you had a good time. Remind me again why you hate me?"

Artie looked up at him with a look on his face that said, "Seriously?! Do I have to spell it out for you, dude?!".

"Besides the fact that you were totally spying on us the entire time we were here?" Sebastian bit his bottom lip and glanced away. Oops. Caught in the act. Artie let out another audible breath he'd apparently been holding. "I hate you because I did have a great time. Both tonight, and at the wedding. But Betty and I could never… end up together."

"Why not?" Sebastian asked, unable to think of a reason why, if their date went well, he couldn't see them working out long-term.

"Well, physics plays a large part of it…" Artie let his voice trail off, leaving Sebastian to create that mental image on his own. "And a number of other reasons that I don't really feel like divulging into right now."

Sebastian noticed that Artie really did look upset by this realization. He couldn't help but feel badly for him. After all, it had been his attempt at getting Artie over Quinn that had only ended up resulting in more heartbreak.

Sebastian lowered himself onto the floor next to Artie, pulling his legs into his chest as he leaned against the bed frame.

"You really need to quit it with the obscure directorial comments whenever you're watching a film with a girl, though."

As expected, this got Artie to crack a smile.

"Shut up. I know."