AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This chapter wouldn't have been possible if not for several of my reviewers who let me know what they'd like to see from this story, namely gigundoly and crisptrepidation! I'm also bringing some more Quinn mentions into this story for many people, but specifically, WildeAbrams, who pointed out that I don't write nearly enough Quinn content for someone who calls themselves QuinnAbrams ;)

Please leave a review after reading! I love to hear what you think! (Also, read the PSA at the end of the chapter!)

Chapter 12: Big Brother(s)

ELLA

"Ice cream next," Ella reminded her brothers as they began loading themselves into Griffin's truck after finishing up their round of mini golf. The process was somewhat comical because shoving four young adults and a wheelchair into the vehicle sort of resembled the way that clowns stuff themselves into a clown car. "You promised, remember?"

Ella expertly popped one of the wheels off of Artie's chair and looked pointedly at Griffin as he gave Artie a boost up into the passenger seat of the lifted pickup truck. Sebastian stood close by, silently watching as the Abrams siblings efficiently tackled the task themselves. Ella could tell that he didn't want to be in the way by trying to help out, and she was sure it looked like they had it all under control– which they did, of course. This was far from their first rodeo.

"You're right, I did promise," Griffin acknowledged after shutting the passenger side door and walking around the other side of the truck so that he could climb in himself. "But I don't think we're anywhere near an ice cream place."

"Well, there's a frozen yogurt place down the street from McKinley," Artie suggested, buckling his seatbelt. "I know it's a little bit of a drive from here, but Quinn and I went there a few weeks back, after Glee Club. It's not ice cream exactly, but it's almost the same thing."

"You've sure been hanging out with Quinn Fabray a lot lately," Griffin observed, glancing at Artie after putting the key in the truck's ignition and starting it up. "Care to elaborate on that?"

"What? No! It's not– I mean, we're not–! We're just friends!" Artie quickly protested.

From where Ella was sitting in the backseat, she didn't have an ideal view of what Artie's facial expression looked like, but she could picture it. She could tell that his face was flushed red– as it does every time he gets embarrassed– based solely on the way that the tips of his ears turned a shade of bright pink.

"Wait, you went out and got frozen yogurt with a girl?" Sebastian asked, his curiosity piqued. "What kind of girl? Is she pretty?"

"She's-she's–," Artie stuttered, his embarrassment obvious to everyone in the truck now.

"Gorgeous," Ella supplied. "She's on the New Directions with him and she used to be captain of the Cheerios. As a sophomore. She was, like, the most popular girl in school."

"Until she got pregnant," Griffin cut in.

"Whoa, Artie, I wouldn't have picked you as the kind of guy to be into MILFs," Seb teased. "But to each his own. Get yours, I guess."

"She didn't keep the baby, you idiot." Artie rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, after she gave the baby up for adoption in May of her sophomore year, she was able to get back into the tip-top shape that Coach Sylvester requires her athletes to be in by the following August, and she was able to start her junior year on the Cheerios in September. Can you believe that?! It's, like, impossible. But Quinn Fabray did it."

"She's a genius too," Artie added. "Just a few weeks ago she got accepted early admissions to Yale."

"She's a legend. I want to be exactly like her someday," Ella sighed wistfully.

"Please don't go and get pregnant," Griffin warned, looking back at her in the rearview mirror. "Because I am so not ready to be an uncle just yet."

"Oh, believe me, you guys don't have to worry about me getting accidentally pregnant," Ella assured the boys with a nervous laugh. "I can promise you that."

Griffin made a particularly jerky left turn just then, and a hard piece of Artie's metal chair jabbed into Ella's side, causing her to squirm.

Griff's truck's bed didn't have a cover over it, and she knew better than to risk putting the pieces of Artie's dismantled chair back there without anything to keep them from flying out. That meant that when Ella had been taking apart Artie's chair, she had had no choice but to stuff its pieces in the backseat along with both her and Sebastian. The frame of Artie's chair was too wide to fit between them, so she had set it on the seat directly behind Artie on the passenger side. This meant that she had to sit in the narrower middle seat herself. It was a tight squeeze, but she and Sebastian managed just fine.

For a little while, at least.

"Seb, can you scoot over a little bit?"

"No. I barely have any room as it is."

"Your knees are all up in my personal space."

"It's not my fault that my legs are long!"

"Dear God, did you forget to put deodorant on today or something? Because you smell," Ella continued to complain, and Sebastian retaliated back by raising his arm and leaning closer to her (if that was even possible in the cramped backseat), forcing her face into his armpit. She shrieked and ducked away, her motion limited by the pile of wheelchair pieces taking up the seat beside her.

Sebastian laughed that wicked laugh of his and Ella groaned. Most of the time she was just fine with being the only girl among so many guys, but sometimes she wondered what it would be like to have a sister. Surely most girls didn't possess this immature sense of humor.

Ella didn't have to hold her breath for too long, though, because soon Griffin pulled into the parking lot of the frozen yogurt establishment. He parked in the accessible spot to the left of the blue diagonally-lined area to give Artie ample space to take his time getting in and out of the vehicle without having to worry about being hit by another driver because he wasn't visible to them.

"Um, is there anything I can do to help? I mean, will you show me how?" Sebastian hesitantly asked Ella as she began to piece together Artie's chair.

"Uh, yeah, sure, okay," She replied. If he was going to be a constant in their life from now on, it was crucial that he learned how to take apart the wheelchair and put it back together sooner rather than later. She'd only attached one wheel to the chair's frame so far and handed the half-assembled wheelchair to Sebastian. She reached into the backseat to fetch the remaining wheel, handing that to Sebastian as well.

"See the pin on this side of the wheel?" Ella asked him, pointing at the piece she was referring to. "Stick that in the hole right there on the side of the frame and push the button in. Okay, now, see these parts here? These are the side guards. They click into place on either side of the seat so that his clothes don't get caught in his wheels."

She demonstrated how to fit one of the side guards into place, then handed Sebastian the other one to try out.

"Last is his seat cushion. That just velcros in place like this, see?"

Sebastian nodded, but it wasn't hard to see that he looked a bit overwhelmed by all of the little parts of the chair that had to be meticulously taken apart and reassembled every time Artie wanted to use the car to go anywhere. Ella was just glad that Artie had chosen to forego his armrests today (they would have gotten in the way of his bat and golf club swinging), or else there would have been even more pieces to keep track of.

"Jesus, you two are slow," Artie faux-lamented from where he still waited in the passenger seat as Ella allowed Sebastian to push the chair over to him, showing Seb how to lock the wheels in place when it was beneath where Artie was sitting. Sebastian wore a dopey, proud look on his face, admiring his work.

Ella knew that it was much easier for Artie to get out of the truck than it was for him to get into it, and she also knew that he preferred to make all transfers himself, if he was able to, so Sebastian, Ella, and Griffin waited patiently as he worked his way down from the truck and into his seat.

"Remind me again why you had to lift your truck this high off the ground?" Artie asked Griffin once he was safely in his seat, a tone of annoyance in his voice as he adjusted his feet on the footplate and swiftly unlocked his brakes.

"So you wouldn't be able to steal my truck once you got your driver's license, duh," Griff replied, citing what Ella assumed was a fear most eldest siblings had about their younger siblings becoming able to drive on their own. "Also because it's badass."

They entered the frozen yogurt place Artie had picked out and each grabbed a cup for the self-serve machines. After getting creative with his posture, Ella observed that Artie was able to reach high enough to operate the lever of the machine without help. The toppings bar, however, was a little higher and several rows deep with every type of candy imaginable, making it much more difficult for Artie to reach what he wanted from where he was seated. Ella noticed the look on Artie's face as he eyed the toppings critically, and she recognized the expression he wore whenever he was mentally trying to figure out how to adapt to the situation he'd been presented with. Sometimes, though, he didn't have to overthink it because he had people who love him that were willing to help.

"Need anything?" Ella asked casually as she strolled over beside him, scattering some rainbow sprinkles over her own cup.

"Yeah, can you add some of those to mine too? Just a little bit. Like, a tablespoon, maybe," Artie directed her.

"Like this?" She asked, scooping some into the cup of plain vanilla fro-yo he'd rested on the ledge.

"A little bit more. That's about a teaspoon. I said a tablespoon."

Ella rolled her eyes at his intense specificity for something as silly as frozen yogurt toppings, but that was just to be expected from Artie.

"Good?"

He peered into his bowl and shrugged. "It'll do. Can you put some hot fudge on top?"

Ella pushed down on the button that dispensed the gooey chocolate sauce, but it was only a second before her brother held his hand up to stop her.

"No, no, that's too much!" Artie cried. "Now my fro-yo-to-hot-fudge ratio is way off! The subtle taste of vanilla will be overpowered by the much stronger taste of chocolate!"

"You're so bossy, jeez," Ella huffed. "It's only dessert, it's not the end of the world."

"I'm not bossy, I'm opinionated," Artie calmly corrected her. "And you would be too if you liked things done a certain way but couldn't do them properly by yourself."

Ella rolled her eyes again as she added a generous amount of hot fudge to her own cup before meeting up with her brothers at the checkout counter. Sebastian offered to pay with his credit card (he wasn't met with any protests from the Abrams kids, of course), then the four of them settled down at a table.

"Hey, Art, is this where you and Quinn sat when you went on your date?" Griffin teased, shoveling his first bite of frozen yogurt into his mouth to keep himself from smirking.

"No, we sat in a booth," Artie replied, and it took Griff and Seb snickering to themselves before Artie realized what the comment had insinuated. "But, wait, I already told you, it wasn't a date! We're just friends!"

"It's only a matter of time before that evolves into something more, I'm sure," Ella said, taking a bite of her dessert. "I, for one, would like to see you and Quinn together."

Artie's eyes just about bugged out of his head. "Seriously?"

"Based on what I've heard, it seems to me like the only pairing the New Directions haven't tried yet," Sebastian added, to which Artie scowled.

"And what is it exactly that you've heard about the New Directions?" Artie snapped back.

Ella caught Griffin's eye and he raised his eyebrows. Clearly, Sebastian had hit a sore spot with that remark, and Artie's sudden shift in behavior was a stark reminder that a few days of spending time together wasn't going to be enough to fix all of the tensions that lay between the two boys.

"Jeez. So touchy," Sebastian commented with an unbothered shrug, lifting his spoon to his mouth.

Just then, the bell above the door jingled as a trio of girls walked inside, and Ella felt the sudden urge to sink down in her seat. Their Lima Middle School cheerleading uniforms made them unmistakable (why were they wearing them on a Saturday?), but even if she hadn't seen them with her own eyes, Ella would know their voices anywhere.

"Hey, El, aren't those your friends?" Artie asked her quietly after a quick glance over his shoulder.

"They used to be," She replied with an eye roll.

"Used to be?" Sebastian repeated, wondering what the story was there.

"We had a… falling out," Ella filled him in, speaking in a hushed tone so that the three girls wouldn't hear them as they filled up their cups with frozen yogurt. "Last summer."

"Oh, those are the ones who–" Griffin began to ask a little louder than necessary.

"Shhh, keep your voice down," Ella warned. "Yes."

"The ones that what?!" Sebastian asked, his frustration appearing to grow upon realizing that he was the only one who didn't know the backstory.

Ella had been hoping that the girls wouldn't notice them. Unfortunately for her, going anywhere with Artie meant that you didn't have the luxury of being inconspicuous.

"Oh, hey Ella! I almost didn't even see you there!"

Ella grimaced at the boys as she recognized the sickeningly-sweet voice that called from behind her. She'd been pretty successful so far this school year at avoiding these girls when they weren't at cheer practice, but apparently, her luck had run out.

"Hi Natalie," Ella said flatly as she turned around in her seat, coming face-to-face with the three of them. Natalie was strikingly pretty, with dark blonde hair that trailed down her back in perfect curls. Ella may not consider her a friend anymore, but there was no denying her beauty.

"Nice sweatshirt," The tall Black girl to Natalie's right– Tara– said. Ella glanced down at what she was wearing, noticing that it was Sebastian's Dalton Academy hoodie that he'd offered her when she got chilly during their game of mini golf. "I totally wouldn't have even noticed you if I hadn't seen your brother first."

Ella didn't dare look over at Artie, but she knew he was probably turning bright red. It wasn't a secret that the extra attention that came along with the chair made him wildly uncomfortable.

"Well… Surprise. Here I am."

"I know these two are your brothers," Natalie said, looking between Griffin and Artie before focusing her attention back on Ella and tossing her hair over her shoulder. "But who's this? Did you finally get a boyfriend?"

"Um, no?" Ella shook her head furiously and tried not to look so repulsed by the idea. She glanced at Seb who was taking another bite of his peanut butter cup flavored fro-yo to hide how amused he was by that question. "That's Sebastian. My step-brother? Well, almost step-brother…"

"Well, whatever. He's cute," The third girl– a short girl named Claire with a brunette bobbed haircut– added, clearly not even caring that Sebastian was right in front of them and could hear everything they were saying.

Sebastian looked mystified– like he was torn between being flattered by their compliments (even if he doesn't play for their team) and wanting to be on Ella's side of whatever drama had gone down.

"We're going to Kate's birthday party later, so we've gotta run," Natalie said holding up her cup of frozen yogurt that had a to-go lid on top. "It was nice to see you, though, Ella."

"Yeah, bye, Ella," The other two girls told her in unison as the three of them turned to leave.

The four siblings watched through the store's front window as the three girls climbed in the back of Tara's mom's SUV that had been idling in the parking lot.

"Okay, now will somebody please tell me who those girls are and what they did?!" Sebastian asked in exasperation once they were finally out of earshot.

"I used to be friends with them," Ella explained. "Up until last summer, when they decided they'd rather chase after the boring boys in our grade than hang out with me."

"Yeah, and they canceled plans with you last minute," Artie reminded her, remembering that incident all too well.

"They're bitches," Griffin added, shaking his head. "I hated seeing you so upset. It killed me. Up until that point, I didn't really know how messy girl drama could be…"

Lima, Ohio

July 2011

Ella closed the gate to the patio a little more forceful than necessary, and it made a rattling noise that announced her presence and got her brothers' attention without her even having to say anything.

"Whoa. Everything good? You look angry," Artie correctly observed. He had a pool noodle across his chest, resting under his arms so that he could relax in the water and float without having to expend any energy.

"Natalie, Tara, and Claire were supposed to come over tonight," Ella told him, kicking off her flip-flops and taking a seat on the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water. "Mom was going to take us to go get our nails done, then we were going to have a slumber party and make cookies and watch a movie. But now, Cody's having a fire-pit-slash-party thing, and they just texted me and said that they're going to go to his house instead."

Ella rolled her eyes and held up her phone, which was still open to the thread of text messages. It took everything in her not to throw her phone into the pool. That would be satisfying.

"Nothing good ever comes from a trio," Artie warned, and it sounded like he knew from experience. "I'm sorry that happened, El. Do you want to talk about it?"

Ella shrugged. She didn't know how best to deal with the complicated emotions that had been brought on by her friends' actions, and turning to her brothers for advice had always been her go-to move.

"You had plans and then they canceled on you?!" Griffin asked, sitting up from where he had been tanning on a towel spread out on an outdoor chaise lounge. He pushed up his sunglasses so that they sat on top of his mess of curly brown hair. "Some friends you have. Want to send me their numbers? I have no problem texting them to tell them what a shitty move that is."

"No, don't do that," Ella said sadly. "I don't want them to be mad at me."

"You don't want them to be mad at you?!" Griffin repeated, as if that was the silliest thing he'd ever heard. "They're the ones in the wrong here!"

She could see that Griffin's 'protective big brother' side had been awoken and was coming out in full force. He was growing angrier by the minute on her behalf, and while it made her feel good to have someone like him on her side, the last thing she needed was him starting even more drama.

"Come on, Ella, let me at 'em," Griffin pleaded. "I'll give 'em a piece of my mind. And you'll never have to worry about them again, I can promise you that."

"Well, you could ask to go with them Cody's too," Artie suggested cautiously as he moved through the water, making his way over to where Ella was sitting. His solution was much more logical than Griffin's, as Artie had always been the more sensible brother out of the two. "You could go with them, then they could still sleep over after."

Ella shook her head again. He wasn't getting it. She didn't want to invite herself to a party where she wasn't wanted– but above that, she didn't care as much about the sleepover as she did about her three friends prioritizing the party that boys would be at over spending time with her. They'd gotten so boy-crazy this summer, and it seemed like Ella was the last to catch on to that fad.

"It's been like this all summer," She lamented. "All they want to do is talk about boys, and hang out with boys, and watch boys, and… Ugh! When did we become too cool to make up dances and swim and get our nails done?!"

"You're only going into eighth grade, El," Artie reminded her. "You'll never be too old or too cool for anything that makes you happy, okay?"

Ella swallowed hard and nodded. He had made it over to the pool's edge by now and patted her leg gently to show his support as their identical crystal blue eyes met.

"Well, I know that you're hurt because they keep ditching you to hang out with boys, and we're boys, but…" He glanced over his shoulder at Griffin who gave a nod. "We'll hang out with you, if you'll have us?" Artie shrugged as he grabbed onto the ledge. "I like to make cookies and watch movies too, you know."

Ella couldn't suppress the grateful smile that spread across her face at the way that her brothers were willing to drop whatever they were planning on doing that day to cheer her up. She couldn't resist messing with them a little bit, though.

"Are you going to let me paint your nails, too?"

Griff didn't look so sure about that one. "Art, that's all you, my man."

"Fine," Artie agreed without any extra pressure from Ella. "You can paint mine, but– fair warning– any manicure I get will be smudged almost immediately because I need my hands to push my chair. And I can't promise that yours will look decent if I try to return the favor. My hands aren't the steadiest."

"I'll just paint your toes then," She offered, eliciting a laugh from Artie.

"Now that I can promise I'll stay still for."

Ella couldn't wrap her mind around the lengths Griffin and Artie were willing to go to in order to make her happy. Recently, she'd always felt like the last choice for those 'friends' of hers that had dampened her mood, but her brothers never failed to show her just how chosen and valued she is by them.

That revelation caused Ella to take a mental step back and ask herself why she had spent so much time surrounding herself with people who treated her like a backup option, ditching her when a more enticing opportunity came around. Why didn't she choose those who chose her? Her brothers were excellent role models; showing her how she deserved to be treated, and how she should treat others in return.

"Okay, now put your phone down and come swimming with your brothers," Artie said, placing his wet hand on her leg again.

"In my clothes?!" Ella asked, her eyebrows shooting up at that outrageous suggestion. "Shouldn't I go inside and get changed into a swimsuit first? I wasn't prepared to be hopping in the pool– I just thought I was coming out here to sulk and have you guys give me advice."

"Who said you have to change?" Griffin asked, standing up and tossing his sunglasses onto the lounge chair he'd just vacated.

Before Ella or Artie could register what he was about to do, he took a running start and did a cannonball into the water, sending Artie scrambling to grab onto the ledge of the pool and causing Ella to cover her head in a poor attempt to stay dry.

"As you've already pointed out, you're growing up and you're only this young once," Griffin reminded her. "So come on! Jump in!"

Ella didn't have anything to lose, she figured, so with one last glance at Artie– who smiled up at her excitedly– she stood up and followed Griff's lead, plugging her nose and jumping into the refreshingly cool water below.

Ella leaned her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand as she mindlessly stirred what was left of her now-melted dessert. She'd nearly forgotten how her brothers had saved her that day until she recalled the memory for Sebastian. She'd been so upset and hurt by Natalie, Tara, and Claire's actions, and her brothers had rallied around her, getting angry over those girls on her behalf. She never took her protective (and sometimes even wise) big brothers for granted, but she was extra grateful for them during her low moments when they always offered their shoulders for her to cry on or were willing to go to bat for her.

"Well, El, take it from me– and I'm sure these two will agree– stay away from the boys," Sebastian warned. "You have the whole rest of your life to date. Enjoy being young. I wish I could go back to being… How old are you again?"

"Fourteen."

"Those were the days. What I would give to be fourteen again!"

Griffin snorted. "Dude, wasn't that only, like, two years ago for you?"

"Your point?" Sebastian replied, raising an eyebrow at Griff before turning back to Ella. "I mean it. Those girls have it all wrong– growing up too quickly is a trap. Don't rush it. Promise me?"

Sebastian held out his hand with his pinky raised toward her. This elicited a smile from Ella as she hooked her pinky on his, sealing their deal.

"Promise."

PSA:

If you're reading this chapter, it probably means that you came looking for it (thank you!) because, if you didn't see, FF. net made changes to their email alert system. They shut off everyone's email alerts and you have to turn them back on manually yourself in your settings. You now only get emails when a story you follow gets updated if you have email alerts enabled in your settings (and, to make things worse, it resets itself after six months)! I have a feeling a lot of people aren't going to realize this and it will make it more difficult for authors to reach their readers. So sad! Make sure to change your settings so that you never miss an update from one of your favorite authors.

xo QA