Part Twelve: Make It Official

By Friday morning, the Juniors and Seniors of McKinley were practically buzzing with excitement about the prom, which was only a day away. As Quinn walked down the hall, she couldn't help but feel more than a small amount of exuberance herself. It wasn't necessarily due to the prom itself but the thought of going with Artie, who had practically been a stranger to her only a few weeks beforehand. Now, he was a friend. And only a friend. Still, she couldn't help but question her feelings for Sam…not that that had anything to do with Artie. They didn't seem as strong as they once had. Slowing, she rounded a corner, coming face to face with the boy who had just entered her thoughts.

"Sam."

Arching an eyebrow, he nodded at her. "Quinn."

She quickly cast her eyes to the ground. "How are-"

"What's going on Quinn? Do you like me anymore? And what about Artie? Were you…with him, like with him with him, the other night?"

The questions came in a rush and Quinn blinked several times, mind trying to process. "Um…what? What?" Jerking her head up, she glared at him. "Why would you even think that, Sam? With Artie? I spent the night in the guest room and I can't believe you of all people would assume that something would happen. Especially since we're not officially broken up! I made that mistake once and it's NOT going to happen again."

Swallowing, Sam recoiled. "Oh…okay." Stretching out a hand, he brought it up to rub the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Quinn. I know that you wouldn't do that but lately things have been so weird between us. I don't know what's going on. I'd like to know."

"I…don't know how to answer that, Sam." While gently biting her bottom lip, she took a step backward, the urge to run overcoming her.

He moved toward her, closing the distance between them. One hand touched her waist and she jumped. "I deserve to know if you're with me or not, Quinn."

Back against the wall, she gazed up at him and gulped. "I'm not sure. Can we talk about this after glee?" She didn't give him a chance to answer, slipping away from him and darting down the hall, not even glancing over her shoulder as she did so.

At lunch, Artie rolled himself into the cafeteria, eyes immediately landing on Brittany. When she spotted him, she stood, smiling and waving him over to her table, where a glowering Santana and sulking Puck were also sitting. Shaking his head, he backed up, turned around and headed for the double doors that led to the outside grounds of the school. He hadn't gotten far when he spied a familiar blonde head leaning against a willow tree that stood on the perimeter of the school, right across from the locker rooms. Wheeling himself her way, a smile broke out on his face.

"Hey, Quinn!" he greeted, coming to a stop next to her.

Inclining her head, she grinned up at him, hazel eyes shining. "Artie! What are you doing out here?"

Removing a sandwich and apple from his bag, he told her, "It's such a nice day, I didn't want to be cooped up inside. What about you, what are you doing out here?" Without thinking about it, he good naturedly nudged her head with the back of his hand.

Giving him a look at the contact which morphed into a smile, she shrugged. "Nice day."

Not entirely believing her but not wanting to push it, he gave a grunt of agreement. "Just like I said."

For a few minutes, the two of them ate their lunches in silence, Artie enjoying his ham on wheat while Quinn munched on pita chips and hummus, when Quinn lifted her eyes to his again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he responded, not bothering to chew up his bite of sandwich.

Laughing, Quinn pushed his knees. "Why do you always do that?"

"Be super adorable?" To emphasize, he winked down at her, very amused when the slightest hint of pink tinged her cheeks.

"No, talk with your mouth full." Stretching out her legs, she glanced up at him, raising both eyebrows and tucking her hands under her knees. "I guess it is kind of cute, in a gross way."

Spreading out his hands, as if to show himself off, he said, "You know you find me irresistible, yo."

Her lips parted slightly and her cheeks flushed even more at his words.

Almost choking on his sandwich at the adoration in her eyes, he stuttered, "W-what were you going to ask?"

Grazing her fingernails along the bottom of her cheerleading skirt, she directed her line of vision away from him. "Never mind."

Clearing his throat, Artie started at the rest of the sandwich in his lap. "You sure? You can talk to me about anything, you know."

"I know," she practically whispered, resting her chin against her upper chest. "But I figured it out."

Having no idea what she meant and, thus, not sure what to say, Artie took a savage bite of his sandwich. After a little while, he brought up Will Ferrell's guest spot on the Office and pretty soon, any awkwardness that had arisen was forgotten.

When Quinn entered the music room, rather hesitatingly, for glee later that day, Finn was talking loudly to Sam about their date for the next day. Even though Quinn wasn't looking forward to the conversation that would occur shortly after the meeting, she couldn't help but giggle as Finn said, "It'll be kind of romantic."

Balking, Sam replied, "Romantic? Dude, this is NOT a date. You're aware of that, right?"

"Dude," Finn shot back, quickly. "I was just saying." Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn saw Finn huffily fold his arms over his chest.

Sam let out a dramatic sigh and slumped in his seat.

To keep from laughing, Quinn had to cover her mouth.

"What's so funny?" came a voice on her left.

Swiveling her head, she smirked in Artie's direction. "Finn."

"Oh," Artie said, without missing a beat. "All excited about his man date with his man crush?"

"His man crush," she echoed, laughing loudly and drawing attention from everyone in the room. "Um, yes," she went on, in a hushed tone.

Merriment flashing across his blue eyes, he half grinned at her, starting to speak but was cut off when Mr. Schuester clapped his hands, signaling the beginning of the meeting. Under his breath, Artie said in a rush, "If we don't get a chance to talk later, I'm picking you up at five tomorrow. I'll be the hot guy in a top hat and a wheel chair."

Snorting a bit, Quinn focused as well as she could on Mr. Schuester, picturing Artie in his tux and hat which it made it far too easy to completely zone out.

As soon as Mr. Schuester dismissed the teens, Sam bounded to Quinn's side, an expectant expression on his face.

Taking a breath, Quinn stood, said goodbye to Artie, who appeared disappointed, and trailed along behind Sam into the hallway. Before he could say anything, she blurted, "Sam, I really liked you but things have changed and I can't really explain it all to you but they just have and this has nothing to do with Finn or anything like that. I just-"

"It's Artie, right?" Sam interrupted, looking at his shoes.

Wanting to be honest, Quinn lifted one shoulder. "Maybe. Partially." When Sam just stood there, quiet, Quinn continued. "I think we need to officially end this, Sam. I'm…I'm sorry." Turning, she ran down the hall, leaving him alone.

Except he wasn't alone. Popping up from seemingly out of nowhere, Finn attacked Sam in a giant bear hug. "I heard everything, man!"

Face blank, Sam accepted the hug, secretly grateful that Finn was there in his moment of heartbreak.