"Is this a shopping list or a scavenger hunt?" Artie wandered aloud, as they parked in the closest accessible space by Dick's Sporting Goods, the huge super store where they would find everything Kitty needed for two weeks at Cheerios camp. He was leaned over to look at the very long list she'd been studying. He mouthed the words as he read 3 red sports bras, 3 black sports bras, 3 solid black razor back tanks, 3 solid red razor back tanks, 3 black bike shorts, 3 red bike shorts, no show ankle socks.
"Kind of feels like that, doesn't it?" Kitty said, folding the list back up and tucking it in her pocket. "Highly specific. You can go to Walmart and buy it all much cheaper, but apparently it's not exactly same shade of red and black, and it's not forbidden or anything but it'll for sure mean you're a spotter and you're in the back. As captain, I can't do that."
"Why so many outfits?" Artie wanted to know.
"Because we have six days of camp the first week, Monday through Saturday, one Sunday off in between for the beach and doing laundry, and then we have six more days," Kitty explained. "It's pretty intense."
She got out of the car first, so he could pull his chair out of the back and assemble it, in record time, before hauling himself into it.
"You're getting fast," she observed, falling into place alongside him as they headed into the overpriced sports superstore.
"Yeah, well that's due to spending the last three days with Amy," Artie said, referencing the three days they'd just spent apart while Artie visited his sister in Columbus. "She's never once waited for me. It's her idea of tough love."
"So, what all did you guys do?" Kitty wanted to know. She would have missed him, but as captain, she'd spent a lot of time planning out camp with Roz and Sue, which was about as pleasant as a root canal. Actually, Kitty would have preferred the root canal.
Artie smirked a little, his eyes looking straight ahead as he nonchalantly answered. "We made the final arrangements for me to go to Ohio State this year."
Kitty whirled around, stopping right in front of the store, as he did the same, wearing a smug look. "You did?" she shrieked. "And you are? Officially?"
"It's official," Artie said, beaming proudly. "I also called Brooklyn and turned them down. It was a little easier to do it, after I finalized my new plan." He paused. "I mean, I couldn't disappoint Sam..."
Kitty laughed. "No, of course not," she said, leaning over to hug him. Straightening up, she said, "I mean, I would have supported you, no matter what, and we could have made it work, but..."
"But this is a lot easier," he supplied, to which she gave a sheepish nod in reply. "It's okay, Kitty. This really is what I want to do."
Now, Kitty felt like she could relax a little. She felt like she'd been holding her breath, waiting for his final decision, for a long time now. She really didn't know, to be perfectly honest, if she believed that they could have made it work with him in New York. But now she didn't have to worry about that.
They headed into the store, and as Kitty went to find the stuff she needed, Artie headed off the other direction, saying he wanted to look at some stuff, too. They parted ways and Kitty found what she needed pretty quickly. Her dad had given her some extra cash for this stuff, but she'd unfortunately had to tell him it wasn't quite enough. Her sweet older brother, Hunter, made up the difference, which she knew was a generous sacrifice on his part. She was probably the only member of the Cheerios who was even having to think about this stuff. The rest of them probably threw around daddy's credit card without giving it a second thought. Not that any of them would ever know that she was poor. Of that, she would make certain.
After throwing the clothes over her arm, she went looking for Artie. She quickly worked out that he'd gone to look at stuff for swimming. When she spotted him near some men's swimsuits, she called his name and he visibly startled, dropping what was in his hands.
"I'll get it," Kitty said, quickly, leaning over to grab what was on the floor and then straightening up with the most amused smirk stretched across her face. She held up the item she'd just retrieved and enjoyed watching him blush furiously.
"Sam says real swimmers need to wear speedos," he mumbled, staring at the item Kitty now dangled in front of his eyes. "Put it down," he hissed, looking around.
"You would need to do some manscaping," Kitty remarked, as Artie gave her a blank look. "Do you even know what that is?"
"No, of course, I know," Artie said, finally grabbing the tiny bathing suit from her and hurriedly jamming it onto the rack, causing several others to fall. Kitty dissolved into giggles, at which point Artie, in turn, did the same.
"That guy, Doug, was just wearing normal swim trunks," she pointed out. "And I think you could wear, like, one of those one piece things with tight shorts or something, when you swim competitively. It'll be fine."
"No manscaping needed," Artie added.
"None needed, in that case," Kitty agreed. "Although, you know, it still has its value..." she trailed off, as she reached down to pick up the stuff that had fallen off the rack just then. "Not so sure you should attempt it on your own though."
Artie gave her a wide eyed look that cracked her up. "No, probably not," he agreed, leaning down to get what he could reach. As he straightened up, he made eye contact with someone behind Kitty. "Oh, hey, Bree."
Kitty was jolted abruptly out of this amusing conversation by the presence of her sworn enemy. She maintained her cool, on the surface, as she turned around to face the other girl. "Oh, hi."
"Hi, you two," Bree said, her eyes on Artie. "I cannot get over how adorable you are. And still going strong, right? Even though Artie's headed to New York..."
Bree seemed to be paying an awful lot of attention, for someone who didn't like Kitty. Then again, that kind of made sense.
"Oh, um, no," Artie said, also seeming caught off-guard by Bree's random knowledge of his plans. Or rather, former plans. "No, I decided on Ohio State instead."
"Oh!" Bree looked surprised, genuinely, by this information and she looked to Kitty, almost as though asking the other girl to confirm what he'd just said. "Well then! I guess we'll still be seeing Artie at the games then. How sweet is that?"
"Ready for camp, Bree?" Kitty asked, keeping that sickly sweet fake smile that matched Bree's on her face, too.
"Oh, yeah, just getting everything on this list," Bree said, gesturing to the cart she was pushing. "Plus, I couldn't resist splurging on a few other things while I was here. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow at the airport, bright and early! Bye Artie!"
As Bree left, Artie shrugged. "Maybe she's not so bad anymore..."
Not so bad?! Had Artie forgotten that this was the same evil girl who tried to sabatogue Tina's prom and tried to take Kitty down every chance she got? Did graduating give you some kind of special amnesia, in which you just blocked out all the bad parts of high school?
"She's still a stone-cold bitch and she's out to destroy me," Kitty said, frowning in the direction of Bree as she headed to check out. She'd wait until the other girl left, so that Bree didn't see her paying with a wad of fives, tens, and twenties.
"You know," Artie said, as they left the swimsuit section of the store, pausing only to study the bathing caps. "The last time you said that, it was because she shared an Instagram picture of the two of us together. The one you untagged yourself in."
"Order that online," Kitty advised him, checking the price tag of the bathing cap. "Your point being?"
"My point being," Artie went on. "You said that back when you didn't want anyone to know you were dating a guy in a wheelchair."
"Hold up," Kitty stopped abruptly, turning to face him. "Fix what you just said. I said I didn't want anyone knowing I was dating a glee club geek."
"Mmkay," Artie said. "You didn't want anyone to know you were dating a glee club geek in a wheelchair."
"Can we leave the wheelchair out of it?" Kitty huffed in frustration. "And Artie, look, I thought I already apologized for that, but if you want it again, here it is. I'm sorry. Still. Okay? I'll never stop being sorry for trying to hide my relationship with you."
Artie sighed. "No, I'm sorry," he said. "I guess I'm just extra sensitive because you're going to camp for two weeks and... nevermind."
"And Tina dumped you for Mike Chang because they hooked up at Asian Camp," Kitty finished it for him, as he proceeded to look completely shocked by what she'd just said.
"You know about all that?"
Kitty felt only slightly remorseful, because it hadn't really been her fault that she'd learned all of this recently. Tina liked to talk, a little too much.
She'd been feeling much more comfortable with hanging out with Tina, and the two had been spending time together, especially when Artie had gone to visit his sister for a few days. And, even though Kitty suspected Tina might've been always insisting they hang out at Kitty's place in order to flirt with Hunter, she didn't mind her anymore.
So, when Kitty had innocently asked Tina about when she and Artie had dated, the entire history of their freshman year and the summer after came out. So Kitty knew, at least from Tina's perspective, that Artie had been sort of immature and had ignored Tina, so much so that she didn't even bother making it official that they'd broken up before getting together with Mike at camp. She told Kitty that, to this day, she still insists that Artie dumped her, though Artie swears it's the other way around.
"Figures," Artie muttered, even though Kitty hadn't really answered him. She didn't have to.
"Look, Artie," Kitty told him. "This isn't Asian Camp, or whatever that was. I am going to a camp with a bunch of obnoxious, insufferable cheerleaders. All the male ones are gay or they're complete weirdos that do everything with their sister. And I'm going to be too busy sweating my ass off to even think about hooking up with someone, okay? Unless you want to visit."
Artie cracked a smile at that. "Well, I already checked into it, but you do only have Sunday and a plane ticket is wicked expensive. So, no sorry, I won't be showing up unannounced."
They went to buy her stuff just then, and Artie invited her afterwards for one more swim. This time his mom really was gone, as in out of town, as in, wouldn't be coming home unexpectedly. His dad wasn't home, either, and being that they'd be having two more weeks apart, Kitty figured she'd give him something to think about while she was gone...
She was still thinking about that, and him in general, as she waited to board the plane with her fellow Cheerios and coaches the next morning. She remembered how he'd randomly told her he loved her right before try-outs for captain, and how that had been the first time he'd just said it out of the blue like that, not just when they were making love. Something about the context made it more special. She realized, suddenly, that she'd never exactly returned the gesture. Since she was going to have to board the plane and turn off her phone soon, now was the time.
"Artie?" she said, when he answered the phone, forgetting that it was 7:30 in the morning and Artie really liked sleeping in, anytime he could.
"What's wrong?" he asked, groggily.
"Oh, um..." She felt a little shy, now, and didn't know what had come over her. "Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking of you and me and how much I loved you and I realized I haven't ever just randomly said it to you during an ordinary moment. So, I just wanted to call and tell you. I love you, Artie."
"I love you, too."
"Even more than sleep?" she asked, with a giggle.
"Almost just as much," he replied, already witty, even this early and having been freshly woken up.
"Mmkay, well, I'll let you get back to it," she said. "I'll call you when we land. Talk to you later."
"Later, Kitty," he said. "And... thanks."
Bree Westbrook had some kind of Artie and Kitty radar. Of course she was right there, pretending she'd been coming over to ask Kitty something, so that she might eavesdrop on the conversation.
"Sounds pretty serious," she said, placing her hands on her hips. Kitty said nothing, merely fixing the other girl with an expectant look. "Oh, I just came over here to tell you the Coaches want to see you, Captain. Apparently, they need someone else to sit next to one of the wonder twins, so they'll stop keeping to themselves all the time and start acting like members of the team."
Bree skidded on her heels, clearly happy about leaving the not-so-glamorous tasks to "Captain." Kitty could tell already that it was going to be a long couple of weeks.