A/N: Over half of the content in this chapter was the contribution of my favorite guest author, QuinnAbrams. Thank you!

Kitty

"Breadstix before prom night," Kitty laughed as she opened the door to the restaurant and held it open for Artie, Jake, and Marley. The four of them had decided to get together and take pictures at Kitty's house before heading off to dinner and the dance. "How romantic."

"Would it really be a McKinley High function if we didn't start the night off here?" Artie asked, gesturing around at all of the other well-dressed high schoolers seated at tables and booths. It did not go unnoticed by Kitty the way he had chosen to ignore her semi-sarcastic comment about the night being "romantic."

"No, I suppose it wouldn't be," Kitty agreed, tucking a strand of her straightened hair behind her ears. Since she had curled her hair for the occasion last year, she opted for the opposite look this time around. Tina, who was still going strong with Hunter, had offered to let her borrow the blue dress she wore to last year's Sadie Hawkins dance and had come over to her house earlier to help with her hair and makeup.

Artie, ever the meticulous planner, had called ahead and made a reservation, so the hostess was ready to show them to their table, which already had a chair pulled away, when they arrived.

Dinner was as good as it could be for an Italian chain restaurant, and the naturally flowing conversation caused Kitty to think about how she wished that she had befriended Marley earlier on in high school. Artie already had this knack for being friends with everyone, and she couldn't help but imagine an alternate universe where this foursome had been a friend group last year- especially when Artie's senior friends were ditching him time and time again.

"Believe it or not, this'll be my fourth prom," Artie said, tugging at his collar and looking a bit guilty for now having attended the event twice when it wasn't even his own.

"Four times?!" Marley asked in surprise. "How did you manage to do that?"

Kitty, of course, already knew how he had finessed a ticket his sophomore year, but she leaned in to listen to his story just the same.

"Well, last year and now this year, with Kitty, obviously. Before that, I went my junior year with Rory and Joe. Uh, as friends!" he quickly clarified. "Single dude support group, I guess. I spent a lot of the night performing."

"And my sophomore year, I was dating Brittany, but then we broke up. When I heard she wasn't going with Santana, though, I had this crazy idea to ask her myself. I crashed Brittany's home-ec class to sing to her. But, she shot me down. Since she felt badly for me, Quinn brought me along. And then Puck tried to convince me to spike the punch bowl while we were there..."

Marley gasped as if to say, "Who would be stupid enough to do that?!"

"Yep. That sounds like my brother," Jake nodded with a shake of his head.

"Anyway, I, of all people, wasn't about to have a role in getting unsuspecting teenagers intoxicated and sending them on the roads to drive home," Artie said, leaning back in his chair to make his point. "So I dumped a flask full of lemonade in instead. Sue caught me, locked me in her office, and almost pulled out one of my molars before I told her it wasn't alcohol. After that, I got to go back into the gymnasium, just in time to have the last dance with Quinn."

"Why did you originally ask Brittany" Marley couldn't seem to stop herself from saying. "I'm sorry, you and Brittany dated? I can't even picture it."

"She, uh, taught me a lot," Artie shrugged, and at this, Kitty couldn't do anything but cringe. It kind of irritated her, to think of Brittany being Artie's first, but at the same time, she couldn't exactly get mad about something that happened long before she was in the picture. She agreed with Marley, though, that Brittany had been completely and utterly wrong for Artie. He'd gotten the blonde cheerleader part right, but she could never match wits with him. Not like, say, Kitty...

"Don't worry, I won't be trying anything crazy this year," Artie said, turning to Kitty and changing the subject. "Not with Amy and Sam as chaperones."

Kitty shook her head in disbelief. She had expected Amy to be a chaperone, yes, but not Sam. Though, if he was going to be a father in a few short months, it might do him some good to get some experience policing kids around, Kitty supposed.

After finishing the meal, Jake and Artie split the check, and the four of them piled back into Artie's car and headed for the school.

"Coach Sylvester's going to murder me," Artie said, as he touched his cheek delicately, as if protecting his molars. "When she sees I've come back for prom. I wonder if any other graduates are coming..."

"Well, there's one, Jordan Stern," Kitty said, as she spotted Ryder and his date. And actually waved at them. She realized she was happy for Ryder and completely indifferent about seeing him with another girl. And it pretty much confirmed, right there, what her heart had known all along. She'd never given it away to anyone else. Artie still had it, all this time...

She glanced down fondly at Artie, who had noticed Jordan and now seemed to be scanning the room, looking for others from the graduated class. It was ironic, that the thing that most people would expect him to be uncomfortable about, namely his chair, was not it. No, but he was definitely worried about being twenty and being at a prom.

"Artie, Kitty, hi!" From behind the punch bowl (which she'd probably been instructed to guard), Amy waved at them. She was wearing an emerald green dress with an empire waist and beside her, Sam had added a matching satin emerald green tie to his black dress shirt.

"Hey, guys," Sam added, as Kitty and Artie approached them. Marley and Jake waved but headed in the opposite direction. Artie, however, still seemed to be seeking someone his own age. Kitty hoped he'd let it go at some point and just relax.

"You should be fleeing from us," Amy told them. "We're the boring old people."

"He's looking for camaraderie," Kitty quipped, before she could stop herself, as Artie shot her a nasty look over his shoulder. "What? You just said it yourself. You feel weird being at prom when you've already graduated."

"Well, I feel weird being pregnant and at prom," Amy added, tucking her hand under her belly for emphasis. "But check it out, this was Sam's mom's prom dress. Isn't it timeless?"

"You look beautiful," Kitty said, sincerely.

"Thanks, so do you, Kitty," Amy replied, and Kitty could see the wheels turning in her head as she looked at the both of them. It looked like Amy wanted to say something else, perhaps maybe compliment how they looked together, but she held back. After a beat, she added. "Have fun, you two."

"Thanks," said Kitty. "Oh, by the way, I never got to congratulate you on the big win. First place at Nationals, that's a pretty huge honor."

"We're excited," Amy said, grinning proudly. "I, uh, only wish that the New Directions could have placed..."

"Fifth was a little disappointing," Kitty admitted, sadly. She was just thankful it wasn't her senior year. She felt bad for Mason, Madison, Harmony, Sugar, Rory, and Joe.

"Next year will be better," Amy added, optimistically.

"Yeah?" Kitty pursed her lips, thinking of Myron. At least Amy had already set a strong precedent, to ensure he only got the solos he actually deserved. "Who all are we getting from Next Direction?"

Amy blew her cheeks out. "About half my team, and most of my all-star players," she said, ticking them off on her fingers as she listed them off. "Gregory Meeks, Samantha Hayward, and Myron, of course..." she made a face. "Not Leah, though, oh no, she and I get another year..."

"I guess you have a lot of empty spots to fill on your stage," Kitty said, aware that they were now spending half the night talking about glee club. But she really liked glee club, okay?!

"I'm hoping this baby will be a little late," Amy said, at which point Sam looked at her like she was crazy. "I'm already planning on starting auditions the first week we get back, but it's also the week I'm due."

"Or you could hold off and leave that to your highly capable sub," he said. "Me."

Artie was already shaking his head and laughing. "You won't talk her out of it, man, once she's made up her mind," he said. "You should probably get used to that. Anyway, it's been great seeing you, but uh, Kitty and I need to go tear up that floor. They're playing my song."

Indeed, 'Hey Ya!' was starting, and everyone knew that was Artie's song.

The prom committee had actually hired a DJ for the dance this year, letting the Glee kids off the hook and allowing them to enjoy the night themselves. Kitty was grateful for Tina's flowy dress that she was wearing, for it allowed her to easily move around the dance floor, especially since Artie insisted on staying out there for the majority of the event. Even when the high heels she was wearing began to pinch her toes, she continued to dance, because Artie's self-proclaimed "sick dance moves" were too good to pass on.

"Greetings, McKinley idiots," Sue Sylvester boomed over the speaker as she tapped on the microphone to get everyone's attention. "The time has now come to crown the King and Queen of the Second Annual McKinley High Junior-Senior Brundle-Prom."

As Sue began to read off the nominees, Kitty was grateful that she hadn't been nominated this year. That evil Bree Westbrook had gotten her nominated last year — as a sophomore — and, if she was being honest, Kitty had no desire to become Prom Queen until she was a senior.

At some point, when she was lost in her thoughts, Kitty had absentmindedly rested her hand on Artie's shoulder. She hadn't even noticed what she'd done until she felt his calloused hand cover hers. The motion just came so second nature to her, as this small gesture was something she did all the time when they were dating. But dating now, they were not, and her heart began to race at the contact of their hands. She quickly squeezed his shoulder before pulling her hand back to her side.

"And your Prom King and Queen are…" Sue began, opening the envelope in her hands. "Well, isn't this just terribly incestuous. Mason and Madison McCarthy."

Kitty cheered and jumped up and down in celebration for her Glee and Cheerios teammates. She really was happy for them, even if it was a little bit odd that they would still be participating in the ceremonial slow dance together, despite being siblings.

As the slow song began, Artie gestured to his lap with his characteristic side smirk that Kitty loved so much. She smiled back at him before sitting gingerly in his lap like she had done countless times before. His new (well… new-er, to her, at least) chair sans the arm rests made the position much more comfortable for both of them as Artie placed his hands on his wheels and rocked them back and forth.

Not even a minute later, Kitty began to panic, remembering that Artie's back wasn't in great shape. Just then, the rational part of her brain reminded her that Artie was responsible and knew his body's limits better than anyone; he wouldn't do anything to cause himself more pain.

Relax, Kitty, she told herself. Just enjoy this time with him.Kitty rested her head on his shoulder and breathed in the familiar scent of aftershave mixed with his cologne.

"Thanks again for coming as my date tonight," she told him. "You didn't have to do that for me. Just… thanks."

"It was no big deal," Artie said, with a shrug. "I like any reason to go out dancing and get dressed up. You know, especially since my wardrobe has, um, evolved so much in the last year."

Kitty giggled at this. She had never had a problem with the way that he dressed back in high school, but she had to admit that his more casual way of dressing these days was a better look on him.

They went back to slow dancing in silence, and it wasn't long before Kitty's eyes landed on where Sam and Amy were dancing together. Sam twirled his pregnant soon-to-be wife as they both erupted into a fit of laughter. Artie must have seen them as well, because he cleared his throat just then, causing Kitty to look up at him.

"Speaking of being each others' dates… Sam and Amy's wedding is coming up," Artie nervously gulped just then, before continuing. "Would you, uh, wanna come with me? As my date? Just a platonic thing, of course. Julie and I only just broke up, and I'm not ready for a relationship yet, but —"

"Yes, Artie, I'd love to," Kitty cut him off, laughing at the way he always word-vomited when he was nervous.

"Great!" Artie grinned as the slow song drew to a close. Kitty stood up and rested her hands on Artie's knees as she leaned in and quickly kissed his lips.

As they parted, a shocked look appeared on Artie's face as his fingers shot up to touch his lips.

Oops. Kitty thought, shamelessly. Platonic dates don't kiss each other, do they? She wasn't the least bit sorry she did it. She'd been struggling with the temptation all evening. It was better just to be honest, even if she risked scaring him away.

But whether it was just because there were too many people surrounding them for him to move or whether it was something else that kept him there, Artie didn't move. He was still touching his lips, and if he didn't do something soon, Kitty was going to start apologizing, in spite of herself.

"That was..." In a rare turn of events, Artie Abrams couldn't finish a sentence.

"Completely inappropriate, Mr. Abrams," Sue Sylvester barked, effectively startling them both and causing them to jump. "She's a minor, and you most certainly are not."

Well, that did it. The moment she walked away, they both dissolved into fits of giggles.

"But she interrupted him and now you don't even know how he really felt about it?" Marley shrieked, hours later, as sat cross-legged on Kitty's bed while the two pajama-clad friends discussed Kitty and Artie's spontaneous kiss.

She'd invited the other girl over for an impromptu post-prom sleepover, just for the chance to gossip about their night. They'd started double dating that year, when Kitty began seeing Ryder, but even after ending her relationship with Ryder, she and Marley remained close. It was a shame she'd spent a long time hating and then merely tolerating the other girl. Marley had her faults, like anyone, but she was becoming something like a real friend to Kitty.

Kitty sighed. "I have reason to believe he didn't absolutely hate it," she said. "But I feel kind of bad. I didn't mean to, like, force myself on him or anything."

"Well, now you're going to his sister's wedding," Marley added, for Kitty had already filled her in on this detail. She braided her own hair into pigtails as she spoke. "Which is... a pretty big deal. I mean, he's the brother of the bride and you're his date..."

"I suppose I better not make out with him there," Kitty mused. "If it's really supposed to be platonic."

"No, but you should try to catch the bouquet," she said, as she finished off the second of the braided pigtails and tied it off at the end. "Kitty, I like seeing you in love like this."

"Why, because then I'm not trying to steal Jake from you?" Kitty asked, not bothering to correct Marley for saying she was in love.

"No," Marley said, and she could laugh about that. A little. "Because... because you become this really great version of yourself. He really does bring out the best in you, and I think you bring out the best in him, too."

"Okay, okay," Kitty cut her off, as she could only take so much mushy stuff from Marley. "Anyway, are we still going to watch 'Carrie' tonight, or what?"