"John Arthur Abrams, the third."
Quinn watches as Artie wheels out across the stage from some hidden recess. She's not sure how he got up onto the platform. She wondered if someone had carried him, but the idea seemed absurd. Quinn could count on her fingers the number of times she'd seen Artie out of his chair.
First was that time when they were filming the mattress commercial and Matt and Tina had bounced by jumping. Quinn hadn't been entirely sure the adventure was a particularly safe one, but the look of joy on Artie's face had touched even her cold, pissed off, pregnant heart. She hated watching Artie constantly left out of everything. Even though she had acted pissed of and indifferent, Quinn was secretly angry when the Glee club threatened to make him ride with his father because of a lack of funds.
The second was during that awkward week when the Glist came out. She saw Artie, Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Brittany trooping into the library. When she went to the handicap locker room, trying to avoid the wrath of Coach Sylvester and a Beth-induced accident, she found Artie and Tina in a particular state of undress. She fled in embarrassment.
Christmas of their junior year, when Quinn was with Sam and Artie was with Brittany, her doppy friend made a ridiculous wish, trusting in Santa to make it come true. Quinn's heart had swelled when she had seen Artie "walking". Even though he was short (like, Quinn's own height), the sight of him up and round made her stomach jump a little. Artie standing was, well… interesting. She wasn't sure how to respond. He had used the mechanical device a few times, but not often. For some reason, he seems to prefer his chair.
Then, there was the time at sectionals this year. The rest of the team was on a high after their win. Mr. Schue had expressly forbidden any alcohol while they were at the school-sponsored event, and, surprisingly, Puck complied. The chaperones, however, had not said anything about midnight trips to all night diners. Britt, Tina, Mercedes, and a scarcastic Santana joined the ever hungry Lauren Zices, Puck and Finn for the milkshake run. Rachel, of course, remained behind at the hotel to sleep. Sam bowed out because he was watching his weight for wrestling season. Quinn toyed with the idea of joining the group, but ultimately decided against it. She hated sleeping in busses and was somehow not interested in a chocolate milkshake.
Rachel Berry is not a heavy sleeper, Quinn had discovered on more than one Glee club event. And, a tired Rachel is even more abrasive than usual, if such a thing could be possible. So, after trying, and failing to distract herself with homework (because who really wants to do homework at midnight on a Saturday?), Quinn found herself pacing the hall. She rounded the corner on the room she knew Finn, Puck and Artie were supposed to be sharing with some freshman. On a whim, she knocked on the door.
Freshman Dave, a name given to him by the haphazard Britt, answered the door.
"Who dat be?" She heard Artie's voice over the TV.
"Quinn." Dave sounded both awe-filled and a little nervous.
She wondered if the boys were as gossipy as girls. Did the freshman know how many of the guys in the club she had dated? (Three and a half at last count, if you counted Puck as one, and that time with Matt Rutherford in fifth grade as a half…) She knew that New Directions was an incestuously little group, but it didn't really bother her, until Tina and Mercedes had decided to map out all the relationships on the bus ride. It had taken a 12-pack of markers and three sheets of notebook paper. They had spent twenty minutes debating whether to include Jesse St. James, an argument which had given Quinn the beginings of a headache.
"Come in," Artie's voice called over the indistinct gun fire.
Quinn followed Dave into the room. The freshman threw himself onto one of the two Queen beds, and sprawled in the manner of most fourteen year old males. Artie grinned up at Quinn from the other, and patted the seat beside him. He held his right ankle in his left hand, and was rolling in around, gently. But, as she approached, Artie quietly scooted himself back against the headboard, giving Quinn room.
She perched beside him on the bed, primly at first. As the movie progressed, and Jason Borne killed a few more bad guys, Quinn got more comfortable. As the body count and pyrotechnics reached their inevitable climax, Quinn found Artie's arm around her shoulder, and her legs splayed next to Artie's on the bed. He was repeating every line of the movie to her, a trait she found more endearing than annoying.
When the credits began to roll, Artie gave Quinn a chaste squeeze, and suggested that she return to her own room. She complied, as Dave sleepily asked when he had to go to the bathtub.
A/N: My favorite part of debate in high school was watching six guys share a hotel room when the two most senior people in the room took the beds. The bathtub was a often fought-over spot for the novices. I totally could see Puck doing the same thing.