As it turned out, Artie's parents didn't freak out when the party was a little bit more than they'd anticipated. Instead, Amy just went to the store for some more hotdogs, chips, and sodas. Kitty figured their good spirits after graduation had earned him a little leniency.
Once they got inside the house, they quickly changed into their suits and joined their friends in the water. Kitty was stunned to see Artie, who usually swam in a shirt and his trunks, take off the shirt and bare his chest. He was still smaller than the other guys, but considerably more toned than he used to be. It was no wonder he needed a new chair by now, as he definitely didn't have the same body he'd started with, at the beginning of senior year.
As Artie eased himself into the water, Rachel Berry walked up to him and crouched by the edge of the pool.
"I wanted to thank you," Kitty could hear her saying, as she placed a hand atop his, as he held onto the side. "For what you said about Finn..."
"I think it would've embarrassed him," Kurt said, walking up behind her and also crouching down. He smiled. "But in a good way. I wanted to thank you, too, Artie. That was really great."
Tina, Blaine, and Sam showed up late, just as Kitty noticed they were missing. They entered the backyard, their arms linked, laughing about some private joke as they came in. When Artie asked them about the hold up, Sam explained that they'd stopped to get something to eat together first.
Artie raised an eyebrow, as he hoisted himself out of the water, so that he was sitting on the edge of the pool. "I told you, didn't I? There was no need to do that. My dad's grilling hotdogs."
"Sorry," Tina interjected, quickly. "Blaine just insisted we do something before the party to celebrate my good news."
"Good news?" Artie repeated.
"I got the letter today!" Tina squealed, looking around to ensure she'd gotten everyone's attention. "I'm not wait-listed anymore! I got into Brown!"
"That's awesome!" Artie said, holding up one arm for a hug from Tina. As she hugged him, Blaine and Sam promptly joined in. Kitty noticed, as she drew back, that Artie wore a look of complete relief. He'd never stopped feeling guilty, over winning Valedictorian over Tina, especially when he'd thought it kept her from her dream.
"Now you can stop feeling bad about getting a better grade," Kitty said, swimming up to him and grabbing hold of the side of the pool, speaking softly so that no one else heard. "You can stop feeling like you owe her an apology, okay?"
Artie nodded, as Tina turned to hug Mike, and it looked like he really would take what Kitty had said to heart.
"Sam's got some news, too," Blaine suddenly announced, at which point, Sam jabbed him with his closest elbow. "Ow, dude, come on, share your good news. Everyone, listen up!"
"Thanks, Blaine," Sam said, reddening as he took a seat and dipped his feet in the pool. He had the attention of the glee club, the graduates, and the alumni who were present — Mike, Rachel, Kurt, and Mercedes.
Sam took a deep breath, as he eased himself into the shallow end. "Okay, uh, well Finn used to tell me it wasn't a good idea to broadcast it, for the sake of my rep, but here goes. Ohio State is giving me a scholarship if I'll come there and do synchronized swimming. I'd be the first male student ever to join the team."
"They've won twenty-eight National championships since 1977!" Blaine interjected, as he sat and dangled his feet into the water. "Sam's being super modest. This is the best school for synchronized swimming, he's the first male competitor they've ever had, and they've offered him a full ride!"
"Oh, really?" Rachel, who'd added a goofy bathing cap before dipping into the pool, paddled over. "But Sam, I thought you were considering coming to New York to pursue modeling as a career."
"Don't talk him out of it," Blaine argued, quickly. "I'd love nothing more than to have my bro with me in New York, but he can do modeling anywhere. He can't do this anywhere."
"Sam, this is great news," Artie told him, swimming up to pat him on the shoulder.
"Well, maybe you'd like to join me, Artie," he said, at which point Artie dropped his arm and looked confused. "Not synchronized swimming, but I was reading up on the great adapted swimming program they have at OSU. It could even take you to the paralympics. And who better to train with you than me?"
"Uh, but Sam," Tina interrupted. "Artie's going to the Brooklyn Film Academy. He's known that for awhile now."
"That's not what Mercedes said," Sam added, furrowing his brow. Mercedes, hearing this, looked alarmed. "She said you're considering Ohio State."
"Uh..." Tina looked at Artie, quizzically. "That's news to me. You never mentioned that to me."
"Or me," Amy Abrams interjected. She'd just finished bringing out the extra hotdogs for the grill. Now, she moved towards the group that was huddled around Artie and fixed her brother with a hard stare. "Since when, Artie?"
"Kitty told me," Mercedes said, answering before Artie could. "She told me at Nationals, that Artie was reconsidering going to Brooklyn and thinking about staying closer to home."
Artie, trying to make light of the situation, ducked under the water and proceeded to swim away from them. Eventually, though, he had to come up for air. When he did, the rest had moved to corner him on the other side of the pool, still awaiting his answer.
"I'm scared of going to New York, okay?" Artie seemed to decide he was going to go with the original excuse he'd given Kitty. He sighed and made a show of hoisting himself onto the side of the pool. "Getting around New York isn't going to be easy for me. I don't know if I'm up for that, every single day."
Amy wasn't buying it. "Come off it, Artie," she said. "I know that's not the real reason. And don't try to say it's because you don't want to leave Mom either. We know why you want to stay."
Kitty felt all eyes on her now, and she pretended to be very interested in watching Mr. Abrams grill hotdogs across the yard.
"Well, Kitty or no Kitty, I vote for Artie staying here with me," Sam piped up. "And training for the paralympics. Maybe he can make it to Rio in 2016. That's where the next summer paralympics will be held, as well as the regular Olympics."
"And I say Artie needs go to Brooklyn," Tina said. "Artie, I've known you since the seventh grade. Longer than anyone here, I think. Well, except for Amy, of course. And you've been making movies the whole time I've known you. Is a girl you don't even really know that well or a trip to Rio worth giving up everything you've dreamed of?"
"He knows me pretty well!" Kitty said, blushing when she caught a stare from Mercedes. "And I know him well enough to know he won't do anything without thinking it through. That's why you're undecided, right Artie?"
"Well, then you need to send in your application to Ohio State pretty soon," Amy spoke up, taking a seat by the edge of the pool. Artie really listened when his sister spoke. "I mean, obviously you'll get in, but you still need to do that, before it's too late."
"I did," Artie said, quietly. "I'm already accepted." At this, Sam let out a big whoop and pounded Artie on the back, so hard that Artie winced and offered a small smile in return.
Tina continued to look angry, which annoyed Kitty. Afterall, she was going to Rhode Island. She wasn't going to be looking after Artie in Brooklyn. No one would, they'd be too wrapped up in their own thing to care if Artie had issues on the subway. Truth be told, Kitty sort of thought he ought to worry about that. She'd seen the way he'd gotten so worked up over their trip to L.A., and that had just been a single weekend.
The conversation ended with an announcement from Artie's dad that the hotdogs were ready. (Kitty always tried her best not to think about what was in a hotdog.) Rachel and Mike both turned it down, both owing it to the fact that they were on strict diets, due to their respective performance schedules.
After the food ran out and everyone had their fill of swimming, one by one, each of them started to leave. And once they were all gone, Kitty changed back into her periwinkle blue dress, which was comfy enough to lounge around in, and Artie got comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt. At some point, he'd actually decided he didn't mind the shorts Kitty picked out for him, and he'd gone and ordered a few more pairs online.
When the party finally ended, Kitty and Artie spralled out on the loveseat in his bedroom, with the door open, of course. Kitty wanted to take advantage of being alone with him to resume that conversation about his future. She noticed he was busy looking at something on his phone.
"What'cha doing?" she asked.
"Looking up that program Sam mentioned," he said. "The adapted sports program at OSU." Artie really did look excited. "He's right, this would be amazing. I think I wanna do this."
His excitement was contagious, but Kitty still tried to remain neutral. She didn't want to sway him at all. If he made a major decision about his future all because of her, or even partially because of her, and it didn't work out between them, she'd never be able to forgive herself for it.
"You're sure," she said. "You're sure you aren't doing this because of me? Artie, please be honest with me and with yourself. What is it you want?"
"To go to Rio," Artie said, sounding confident. "Kitty, my whole life... well, since I was eight, I've been trying to decide what I could do, in spite of my disability." That ear-to-ear grin was back. "It never occurred to me, to find something I could do because of it."
Kitty couldn't resist that smile. She cupped his face in her hands. "I'll be a graduate, too, by 2016," she said. "If you go to Rio, then I'm coming, too."
"Do you see us together still, in 2016?" Artie asked, daring to look hopeful. Like everything in their relationship, they took it one step at a time. They never talked much about the future, not until Artie's impending college choice had forced the conversation.
"I hope so," Kitty said, leaning in to kiss him.
As she did so, there was a small knock, although Amy was already in, standing there and knocking on the door frame since the door, of course, was wide open.
"That makes three of us," Amy said, with a wry smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to overhear. Well, okay, maybe I did. I heard you guys talking about college. Sorry, I... can I come in?"
Artie nodded, and she came in, taking a seat in his wheelchair, which was something only his older sister would do without a second thought.
"I think you should choose OSU, too," Amy said. "I didn't want to say it before, because you were so stoked about Brooklyn. Artie, I know you always say making movies is your dream. But I've always felt like it was your plan B."
"And what was plan A?" Kitty wanted to know.
"Well..." Amy looked at Artie, who just nodded, as though he was giving her permission to say it. "Artie was pretty good at soccer. More than good, actually. He was awesome. He was on a competitive, select team that played year round. He and mom were traveling the weekend before Thanksgiving, to get to a tournament, when the accident happened."
"Well, let's call this one plan C," Artie said, moving past this conversation before Kitty could comment. "And plan C is, in a sense, a return to plan A." He grinned again. "Still might get me to Rio in 2016, right? The regular Olympics will be happening there, too. Maybe... I'll get to see some soccer."
"You'll need a cheerleader, right?" Kitty asked, looking hopeful. With a laugh, Artie assured her that he would.
"Artie, just take a little more time to think about it," Amy said, rising to her feet again. "And know that we support you no matter what you choose. Oh, and Mom wanted me to come tell you that she's fixed a chicken Caesar salad, if you want it, to balance out the junk food we had earlier."
"Thanks," Artie said. "Maybe in a little while."
As Amy left, Kitty leaned over and tucked her head against his shoulder. "Something else you never mentioned," she said. "That you played soccer. You're just full of surprises, Abrams."
"I don't like to start conversations that end with the other person feeling sorry for me," he said, with a shrug. "Soccer was a long time ago. And also, Amy's giving me too much credit. At any rate, I doubt I could've made it to Rio. That's a stretch."
"Someday, when you're comfortable with the idea," Kitty began, timidly. "I'd love to see videos of you playing. I know your love of making videos came from your dad, so I'm sure they exist."
"Okay," Artie said, nodding. "Sure, someday."