AN: Here is the second to last Christmas story. Not a lot of Puckleberry, but the whole gang is here! Artie is a focal point, and Mike is kind of the ringleader b/c he hasn't gotten much love yet in these one-shots! Please R&R! :o)
Eleven Snow Angels
(Okay, Make that Twelve)
It was the Thursday before school let out. The Glee kids were getting antsy, and Mr. Schuester knew they wouldn't be getting anything productive done. They were talking and laughing and having a mini jam session when Brittany came running back in from the bathroom.
"Guys! It's snowing!" she cried.
They all rolled their eyes at her. It had snowed a few days ago, but it was not enough to make much difference. It didn't even stick. Santana told her as much, but Brittany insisted it was different.
"I mean it! There is a lot of snow!" she persisted.
"Okay, Brittany," Quinn placated gently. "Let's all go look at the snow," she said nodding to the other students.
"Come on, Britt," Kurt said, looping his arm with hers, "I believe you."
Brittany smiled at him.
"Like he believes in Santa Claus," Mercedes whispered jokingly to Tina.
Brittany and Kurt spun around. Brittany's lower lip quivered.
"Why wouldn't he believe in Santa Claus?" she asked innocently.
Tina and Mercedes looked shell shocked. Kurt glared at them admonishingly.
"Of course, I believe in Santa Claus, Brittany. How else do you think I'm going to get this season's Prada loafers?" Kurt cooed.
He tossed a warning look back at the other Glee kids as he and Brittany made their way out the door.
The rest of them shrugged and followed soon after, except Artie.
"Aren't you coming, Artie?" Mr. Schuester asked.
"I'll be along, Mr. Schue," Artie said hesitantly.
"You sure you're okay?" Mr. Schuester pressed.
"Yes, sir. Snow is just hard for me to get around in, but I'll be fine," Artie explained. "I'm coming, I promise."
To prove his point, he started rolling ahead of Mr. Schuester down the hallway. Mr. Schue watched him go and felt ashamed for taking his ability to walk for granted. Artie was a strong boy, but sometimes Mr. Schue and the rest of the gang forgot about his disability. It was just that Artie was always in such good spirits that it was easy to forget.
Mr. Schue made his way outside where, sure enough, it had snowed a good amount. The kids were laughing and playing in the snow. Artie sat at the edge of the bank and smiled at his friends. Every once in awhile, he'd lean down and pick up some of the snow and toss it playfully.
One time, the snowball hit Puck in the back of the head. Artie pretended to act innocent when Puck whipped around to see who'd done the deed. He noticed Artie looking pretty suspicious so he crept toward Artie slowly.
"Oh, it's on, Abrams," Puck said, grinning wickedly.
"You sure about that, Puckerman?" Artie challenged.
Puck laughed and tossed a snowball at him which Artie deftly ducked.
"Snowball fight!" Mike cried.
All of the sudden, everyone began lobbing snowballs at one another. Tina used Artie as a shield until he reached behind him and let some snow down her back.
"EEK!" she squealed. "NOT funny, Artie!" she giggled.
"Oh, I thought it was!" Artie said matter-of-factly.
"Me too!" Rachel yelled as she flung two snowballs at them.
"Hey! Guy in a wheelchair over here!" Artie laughed.
"You started it, dude!" Puck yelled.
Then, the boys took to snow wrestling. Mercedes was snapping pictures on her camera. Santana and Matt were trying to build a mini snowman. Soon, they were all laughing too hard to even breathe. Even Mr. Schuester was wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. All of the kids had made leaps and bounds in togetherness since they'd first started this club.
Suddenly, Brittany launched herself in the snow and began making a snow angel.
"I love snow angels!" Kurt exclaimed, plopping himself next to Brittany.
Santana looked expectantly at Rachel, who grabbed her hand and dragged her over to a place in the snow. They giggled as they made their own angels. Matt and Puck watched the two in amazement. Santana and Rachel usually weren't very good friends, although they were much better in recent times. Puck figured the Christmas season had gotten the best of all of them. He shrugged and joined them, placing himself by Rachel.
Soon, the rest of the Glee kids were on the ground making snow angels in a long line. Artie gazed on them longingly. He really wished he could do a snow angel again. Just as if Artie had said that aloud, Mike popped up from his place between Finn and Mercedes.
"Guys! We need to help Artie make a snow angel!" Mike said.
The others chorused their agreement. They got up carefully, not wanting to ruin their angels. Mr. Schuester and Artie were talking and laughing.
"Hey guys," Artie said. "Nice snow angels," he said honestly.
Artie always told himself that he would never be bitter toward his friends for getting to do things he no longer could.
"We want you to join us," Mike said, silently appointed the spokesman for the group.
Artie looked at them in surprise. He didn't understand what they were saying. He couldn't make a snow angel. He knew some of his friends were a little slow at times, but he was pretty sure they understood he couldn't use his legs.
"Guys, you know I can't make a snow angel, right?" he asked not unkindly.
"Well, of course you can't! You can't even walk!" Brittany exclaimed in a duh tone.
Santana jabbed Brittany in the ribs for her lack of tact. Brittany realized that she said something wrong, so she continued.
"That's why we're going to help you," Brittany smiled widely.
Santana shook her head with a smile and shrugged at Artie. He didn't know what to say. He felt a surge of joy rush through his body. He had awesome friends.
"You guys would do that for me?" Artie asked, unbelieving.
"Of course! You're the man, Artie Abrams!" Mike yelled.
"Totally!" Finn agreed.
The others voiced their agreement before they turned to Mr. Schue.
"We can do this, right, Mr. Schue?" Puck asked.
"If Artie is cool with it, I don't see why not," Mr. Schue responded.
Everyone turned in anticipation to look at Artie. He was grinning from ear to ear.
"Let's do it!" he said, wheeling to the edge of the snow-covered grass.
"Okay, Matt and I will grab his upper body, and you guys," Mike said, indicating Puck and Finn, "can grab his legs."
"Got it," Matt confirmed.
"And girls and Kurt, you just follow us," Mike added.
"On it!" Mercedes approved, grabbing her camera again.
Mr. Schuester followed the kids as the boys gently lifted Artie out of his chair. Mike directed them to a spot at the end of the line of the other eleven angels. As they laid Artie lightly on the ground, he gasped. They stopped what they were doing in worry.
"No, it's fine," Artie assured them. "It's just…cold."
He began to chuckle and slowly everyone else did as well.
"Are you ready?" Mike prompted.
Artie took in a deep breath and nodded.
"All right, let's do this!" Finn cried.
The girls whipped out their camera phones as Puck took one leg and Finn took the other and began to sweep Artie's legs out and back in again. Artie was all smiles as he moved his arms up and down.
"Okay, that looks really good, guys!" Mike appraised. "Let's get you back in that chair."
The boys picked Artie back up and held him up so Kurt could brush the snow off his back. Santana and Tina held his chair steady as the guys lowered him down and settled him back in his chair.
"Can you move my right foot over a little more?" Artie instructed.
"Sure thing," Matt said, moving the foot to said position.
"Thanks," Artie said.
"No problem, man," Matt replied, slapping him gently on the back.
The students followed Artie as he rolled over to where his angel was. He looked at it in wonder.
"Wow," he marveled. "Guys, this was really cool. I will never forget this."
All the Glee kids took turns hugging and high fiving Artie. Then, they all gathered their things and wandered back inside. Mike was the last to go back inside. He took out his camera phone and took a picture of Artie's angel.
You see, there were eleven nice snow angels, but it was the twelfth angel that was especially beautiful.
AN2: I can't believe these are almost finished! I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas (for those of you who celebrate it!) So, my dad works all day tomorrow so I have to wait ALL day to open my presents!! LOL no fair! Haha! Anyway, Merry Christmas, everyone! Remember, R&R=Love (and a really awesome Christmas present for me!) :o)