AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sebastian's POV for this chapter was inspired by a suggestion PM'ed to me by Quartie4Life, and Artie's POV for this chapter was entirely written by gigundoly! I absolutely can not take all of the credit here! :) Big thank yous going out to both of them!

Chapter 14: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian was settled into his bed and reading via the soft light of the lamp on his bedside table when he heard a quiet knock at his door. He glanced at the numbers displayed on his alarm clock. It was late… who could possibly be needing him right now?

Confused, Sebastian bookmarked his page and set his book down beside him on the bed. "Come in."

The door creaked open and Griffin slipped into his room before quickly shutting the door behind him. "Oh, good. You're awake."

"Uh, yeah?" Sebastian said, still confused by what his step-brother was doing in his room at the current hour. "Is there a reason why we're sneaking around, or do you just like pretending to be on a secret mission or something?"

"Haha, very funny," Griffin replied sarcastically, sitting down on the edge of Sebastian's bed. Noting the way that the older boy looked as if he planned on staying a while, Sebastian got a nervous, queasy feeling in his stomach.

"Is everything okay?"

Griffin didn't answer his question. Instead, he presented Sebastian with a question of his own. "Has anyone told you what tomorrow is?"

Sebastian quickly racked his brain, but nothing significant came to mind. He shrugged and shook his head.

"It's the anniversary of Artie's car accident," Griffin said, a somber mood coming down over the two boys.

"Oh," Sebastian said, sitting up straighter in bed, showing that he was listening intently to whatever Griffin was about to share with him next.

"Yeah. Tomorrow's ten years," Griffin shuddered at the thought. "I don't know how much he's told you about what happened that day…"

Sebastian thought back to the conversation he and Artie had had last year when Watson was in the process of auditioning for a spot on The Warblers. This had been before they were close by any means, but Artie had completely opened up that afternoon, pouring his soul- along with the details of some of the darkest moments of his life- out to Sebastian.

"He told me about it. All of it." Sebastian nodded.

Griffin raised his eyebrows at this. "Really? He usually just says that it was a car accident and leaves it at that. But you're family, so I'm glad he told you. You should know the whole story. That makes this conversation way easier on my part." He laughed a little, but Sebastian knew his step-brother well enough to be able to hear the lingering sadness behind his chuckle.

After a moment, Griffin continued.

"Well, anyway, since this is the first time you'll be around for the anniversary, I wanted to prepare you."

"Prepare me?"

Griffin nodded. "His reaction is different with each year that passes. There used to be tears. Lots of 'em. The first few anniversaries were horrible. Mom would crawl into bed with him and they'd stay there all day. They would just… cry together," Griffin recalled. "The rest of us just stayed out of their way. We weren't there, we couldn't understand. But Ella, Dad, and I… we were grieving too. Because his legs weren't the only thing that was lost when that truck smashed into the car. The Artie that we knew was gone too."

Griffin took a moment to swallow a lump that was visibly building in his throat. "He had to grow up overnight. He was this scrawny little eight-year-old when it happened, but by the time he was released from the hospital, his entire demeanor had changed. He was much more serious; way more mature than me. I probably would've cried every single day if the roles were reversed."

Sebastian nodded. It was strange, hearing the events of that day being told from a different point of view than the first time he'd heard it. Other than probably being grateful that it hadn't been him in the car, Sebastian didn't know if, or how, Griffin had been affected by the accident. Nobody ever really talked about Artie's disability, not that Sebastian cared. Sure, he used to see Artie as "different", but that felt like ages ago. Shortly after they'd moved in together, Sebastian had stopped noticing the chair, the various daily meds he had to take, the ramps, the transfers… He was just Artie to him now.

"Were you scared? When you got that call that there had been an accident?" Sebastian found himself asking the older boy.

Of course he was scared, you idiot! What kind of question is that?! He mentally scolded himself before Griffin could reply.

"I thought he was gone," Griffin answered simply, staring blankly ahead and not meeting Sebastian's eyes. "I thought we were going to get to the hospital and they were going to tell us that he was dead. All my dad said when he was herding me and Ella into the car was that there'd been an accident. Ella- she was only four- she didn't understand anything. But I was eleven. I knew better. I thought there was something my dad wasn't telling me. I… I really thought he was dead." His voice cracked at the end of that sentence, and Sebastian could see the tears welling up in Griffin's eyes as he relived the fear he'd experienced a decade ago over potentially losing his brother.

Sebastian opened his mouth with plans to say something, anything, to comfort the older boy, but no words came out. He couldn't imagine something that horrible happening to somebody he loved so much. His mother's death wasn't the same. She was sick and her passing was peaceful, however heartbreaking it was. It was easier to comprehend something like that than it was a young boy being crushed by a car on his way home from gymnastics practice.

"He was in daily rehab for a while after he was discharged from the hospital, and I swear, the only time I ever saw him cry was out of frustration whenever he couldn't do something that had previously been super simple. Leaning over to tie his shoes, using the bathroom on his own, that sort of thing," Griffin continued. "Exhaustion was a big one too- he was an athlete before, but having to use his upper body for everything wore him out quickly at first."

Sebastian remembered when Artie had shown him pictures of himself in the hospital and at the rehabilitation facility. He had all of these tubes and wires and braces and monitors holding his frail little body together and keeping him alive. Just seeing those pictures, even after all these years, had been gut-wrenching, so Sebastian could only imagine what it would have been like to watch him endure it firsthand.

"And through the whole recovery… he never cried. Can you believe that? He's tougher than we all give him credit for. Which is good, because if I had to watch him cry every day I don't think I could've handled it. I'm his big brother, you know? I'm supposed to look out for him and protect him. But… I couldn't. Not from this." Griffin's face crumpled and Sebastian watched a tear slide down his cheek before he wiped it away. "And it's so horrible that he had to go through it alone."

Sebastian scooted closer to Griffin on the bed and put his arm around him. He was close to tears, himself, but he wanted to stay strong for Griffin's sake. He could tell that he needed a rock right about now.

He composed himself quickly, sniffling and rubbing his eyes.

"Don't get me wrong, November 24th is still awful year after year, but over the last three years or so- ever since he joined Glee Club- the anniversary's been easier for him to handle. Thereby making it easier on all of us, too. I think making a close group of friends changed everything for him. He'd never had that before, and I think those kids became a support system for him, without any of them even knowing."

Sebastian nodded. He knew exactly what being surrounded by the right people could do for a person. It was life-changing.

"He doesn't cry anymore when the day comes. Usually, he's just quiet. Maybe a little distracted. We know how to read him- when to step in with a supportive hug, and when to give him his space. That's mostly the reason why Dad's staying for the weekend. It's easier to all be together because we know how easily we could have lost him. And you and your dad, you're family now too. Hell, I'm sure my mom's telling your dad the same things right now," Griffin said, pausing a moment before adding: "I'm surprised he agreed to go on that date with Betty tomorrow."

Earlier that evening, Artie had announced that Betty asked him on another date and he'd said yes, even going so far as to invite Art, Sebastian, Griffin, and Ella to meet them at the bowling alley later on in the night.

"I was surprised too," Sebastian admitted. "Maybe this'll be the year where it doesn't affect him so much. I mean, ten years is a really long time."

Griffin could only shrug. "I guess what I came in here to say in the first place is… be patient with him tomorrow. It's always a hard day for him, and he'll need your support. Even if he acts like he doesn't. He'll try to tough it out, but he'll be hurting. We all are."

"Don't worry," Sebastian assured him. "I'll look out for him."

…

ARTIE

"Is it my imagination, or am I schooling you here?" Betty asked after she'd rolled yet another spare to follow Artie's embarrassingly low score of two that round. She wheeled up right next to him. "Hey, loser, your turn."

"Sorry, I…" Artie looked at the scoreboard and realized every round had looked nearly as bad as the last. "Sorry. This was practice. When my brothers and sister get here, I'll show you what I'm really made of."

"Let's hope so." Betty grabbed his ball for him and pushed it towards him rather forcefully. "I like winning, but only when I have real competition. Otherwise, it's just pathetic and sad. Are you, like, okay? You seem really out of it tonight."

"Sorry." He realized he'd said that three times now. It was then that he figured he might as well tell her why he was so lost in his own thoughts that night. "I've never been great at handling this day. As of today, it's ten years since the accident that put me in the chair. It's all I can think about each year on this day."

Betty processed that quietly as he took his turn and continued his streak of doing poorly. When she then went up and took hers, Artie found himself getting a little annoyed. Was she really that unwilling to talk about it? But after she'd gotten yet another strike, she turned to face him, forgetting completely to celebrate.

"I was only two," she said, softly. "So I don't remember. I don't know what it was like to walk. It would probably bother me, too, if I remembered anything about my life before."

"It's fine with me if you don't want to talk about that kind of stuff," Artie said, as he lowered his ball back into the ball return. Betty looked down from it and back up to him.

"I honestly don't mind," she said. "I'm sorry if I did something to give you that impression. Maybe we should talk about it. It's a big part of our lives. It's one thing we have in common, which led everyone to believe we should go out."

Artie could laugh at that and so could she. She put her ball down, too, turned her chair to look him square on, and folded her hands in her lap.

"Do you hate talking about it?"

"I guess the answer to that is 'yes' or maybe just 'I used to,'" he said. "Because the more time that passes, the less it hurts. And then, I dunno, something small happens. Like my dad visits and we throw a ball around and I catch myself staring at my step-brother and how easy he makes it look and this feeling of intense jealousy passes over me…"

Betty nodded and wheeled a pace closer. "I have a younger sister," she said. "I don't think I've told you that… or much at all, really, about my life. But I have a younger sister who looks a lot like me. And I catch myself looking at her and imagining I'm her and that it never happened."

Artie opened his mouth to say more, but before he could, they were interrupted by someone approaching their lane. Several someones. He looked up to see his siblings and his dad joining them, as planned.

"Whoa!" Sebastian commented, as he stopped and studied the scoreboard. "Please, Artie, tell me there was some kind of malfunction and that's not your actual score."

"I forfeit," Artie said, with a laugh. "She's too good for me."

"In more ways than one." Ella was never found without a quick retort these days. Now that she was in high school, it was becoming less like having a little sister around, and more like having a friend. She could hold her own. "I'm Ella, his sister. I'm fourteen."

"Betty." She shook Ella's hand. "My sister's your age. Maybe I'll bring her over to meet you the next time I'm at Artie's."

Artie found himself grinning stupidly at the fact that Betty had just said there would be a next time. Up until that moment, he hadn't been sure the date had been going well, what with him being so distracted over the anniversary.

After Griffin and his dad introduced themselves to Betty, the rest of them got bowling shoes and balls, and they restarted the game with the whole group. Artie would have probably experienced feelings similar to what he'd felt when they played catch the other day. Except he went after Betty, and each time, he watched her modify the sport for herself without a second thought. He resorted to being more like Betty.

As she straightened back up after bowling, she fussed with something around her midsection. Artie knew, thanks to an intense makeout session that time he'd gone to her house after her rehearsal, that she wore a brace around her torso. It was needed to help hold her body upright, she'd explained, and it was then that Artie had learned she was paralyzed from her chest down. He'd never been properly grateful for the ease of movement he enjoyed from his chest to his waist until that moment.

This time it was Ella who schooled them all, even Sebastian and Griffin, who looked both stunned and annoyed by their little sister's newfound talents, but they congratulated her all the same. They played a second game, and this time, Griffin seemed to be overcompensating. He stuck his tongue between his teeth with intense focus every time and hardly even talked between turns, to ensure he brought his A-game and won.

Sometimes Artie wondered if he'd be intensely competitive, like his siblings, if he hadn't been hurt. He was fairly competitive about some things, but there were other times when he'd sooner bow out than really take part. The New Rachel competition came to mind.

Then he remembered Betty, who seemed to be getting tired after her third game and wasn't doing as well. In fact, she asked Ella to bowl her last few frames. At the end of the night, it was time for his family to go and he would be taking Betty home. As they parted ways, Artie watched Ella give Betty a huge hug. Griffin caught his eye and directed a small nod of approval his way.

He'd had an amazing time, so much so that he'd forgotten all about hating the day and feeling sorry for himself like he usually did. Even so, there was something left unsaid between them. And as they drove, making small talk about Ella and Griffin, Artie felt it and he knew she did, too. Finally, when they were turning onto her street, she said it.

"Artie," she said, looking extremely remorseful for what she was about to tell him. "Look, I feel really wrong for doing this, but I have to tell you why I don't see us working out. And it's because of your chair. And my chair. And I hope you already understand, so I don't have to say any more than that…"

"More than you know." He glanced at her and heaved a huge sigh, as he pulled into her driveway and parked the car there. It was exactly what he'd been too afraid to say. Because, how hypocritical would that be? And yet, here they were, both loving the fact that they could relate on this level. And yet, Artie struggled to imagine a future of dealing with twice the usual amount of mobility issues.

"Good." He could see the relief wash over her. "I just…" She'd said she wouldn't say more, but the words spilled out anyway, and he listened. "I just really want you to know how amazing it is to have another person who knows exactly what this is like. How you want people to forget about the chair, yet you simultaneously need them to be able to anticipate problems with you and accommodate along the way. I know you get it, and it's been incredible to have that."

She leaned over and he met her halfway, as they shared a kiss. "This isn't goodbye, though," he told her. "Look, I know how cliché this sounds, but I mean it when I say that I can't lose you as a friend."

"Likewise," she said. "And I wanna come to see Grease and I hope you'll be there when we do Wicked."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything."

I hope you enjoyed this update! If you have any suggestions for this story, feel free to private message me! And please leave a review if you're enjoying this story!