A/N: Nobody asked about this, but I figured I would share anyway. There is a kid named "Yudai" (not Yudai Nguyen, something else...) at the school where I work. I hear his teacher calling out, "You-die! You-die!" down the hall every other day. It makes me laugh. Thus, this is where I got the inspiration for Yudai Nguyen, which people have yet to comment on. I'm going to work him in more! By the way, two chapters back, I've changed the names of the new members of New Directions that I mentioned. Just in case you notice and get confused...

Everybody was kung-fu fighting
Those cats were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they did it with expert timing

Artie glanced sideways at Mike Chang, who rolled his eyes and muttered something about Asian stereotypes. On stage now, Yudai and Tina energetically belted out Kung Fu Fighting, mixing in a few karate chops and kicks. Artie wondered if they had chosen this campy song to compensate for their voices which, although great separately, did not coexist without effort. Even so, Mr. Schuester was laughing and applauding, obviously impressed by their creativity. "Great song choice!" He praised them, reminding Artie of Simon Cowell.

It was Friday, and Tina and Yudai were the last to audition. There had been songs from every decade, every genre. Even though a few of the pairs had been oddly matched, everyone had made it work. Even Kinsey Pepper's duet with Finn (singing Alone by Heart) had been decent, although Finn looked a little frightened every time Kinsey got too close. Artie could tell they were going to have a strong team this year. They might even have a shot at winning Regionals now.

After auditions, Mr. Schuester announced that he and his assistant judge, Ms. Pillsbury, would need a few minutes to deliberate. They stepped out of the room, leaving the kids to wait in the auditorium. Immediately, the room was full of nervous activity. The competition hadn't been this intense since last year's battle of the sexes. Finn got onstage and started playing the drums. Rachel stood in the middle of the stage, practicing her fouetté en tournant.

"I think it'll be Tina and Yudai, Rachel and Isaac and... maybe Mercedes and Cole?" Olivia leaned over to whisper this prediction. Artie disagreed, thinking that Rachel had overshadowed Isaac too much to call what they'd done a true duet. They had done One Sweet Day, a song that was surely chosen so that Rachel could outsing every girl in the room. Unfortunately Isaac's smooth voice with its perfect pitch was still no match for Rachel, and she outsang her partner as well. Cole's rich, soulful voice complimented Mercedes' "chocolate thunder" very well, however, and they were the strongest contenders in Artie's opinion. They had belted Ain't No Mountain High Enough to the unanimous approval of the club. As for Tina and Yudai, Artie wasn't really impressed by their number.

"What about us?" Artie whispered back, grinning. "I thought we looked and sounded pretty great up there. And you nailed that wheelie."

"I thought I was going to tip over backwards," she replied, with a giggle. "But yeah, I guess I did."

Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury returned after less than five minutes with a decision. The room fell silent again as Mr. Schuester made the annoucement. "Great job, guys. I wish we could take everyone on Saturday. But know that even if you and your partner aren't performing, the whole team is invited to come. We'll be taking a bus that can hold everyone. And now, without further ado, drum roll please..."

Finn obliged, tapping the drums gently. Artie thought Finn didn't look too nervous, probably already resigned to the fact that he and Kinsey hadn't made the cut. Mr. Schue cued him to stop and Finn obliged, looking at his teacher expectantly.

"We've decided on Cole and Mercedes, Isaac and Rachel, and Artie and Olivia," said Mr. Schuester, as most of the students began nodding approvingly. Artie glanced at Tina, and it looked like she was disappointed. Then Mr. Schuester added, "And also, Yudai and Tina, we'd like for you to come as our alternates."

Tina looked slightly happier at this. She caught sight of Artie staring at her with a worried expression and quickly reciprocated with a reassuring smile and thumbs up. She exchanged a quick high five with Yudai as Artie sighed in relief. He looked around the whole room, trying to decide if anyone else looked upset about not being chosen. There didn't seem to be hard feelings here as everyone began throwing out their congratulations to the winners. And on that note, Mr. Schue dismissed them all, reminding them to be at the school by 8:45 AM the next morning.

"Not getting to sleep in on Saturday sucks," Tina complained, as Artie treated her to a massage. She marveled at how strong his hands felt as they caressed the muscles of her neck and shoulders. Their usual, laid-back Friday night was under way at Tina's empty house. She'd had been paid to babysit her three-year-old cousin while her parents were out celebrating her aunt's birthday, and Artie was happy to come over and help out for free. It turned out to be very easy money, especially when little Kayley fell asleep easily at 8:00.

"I just wish you were performing too, Tee," Artie lamented, bitterly. "I thought you deserved it over Isaac and Rachel."

"The last time I beat Rachel at anything, she quit on us," Tina said, with a laugh. "I think it's better this way."

"How did Yudai talk you into that song?"

Tina turned around, giving him a strange look. "He didn't," she replied. "He just suggested it, and we both agreed it would be funny. We couldn't pull off anything romantic or gentle. Yudai was born for comedy so we went for laughs instead. Personally, I thought it worked. It got us fourth place anyway. Are you gonna be like Mike and gripe at me for 'mocking my heritage?'" She concluded this statement with an eyeroll.

"No, no," Artie amended quickly. "I just thought that song didn't showcase your talent. But you did well, considering you were stuck with that kid, You-Die-Why or whatever his name is. He's okay, but you're so much better than he is."

"Yudai Nguyen," Tina corrected. "And believe it or not, he's a little sensitive about his name."

"Oh, I wouldn't say it to his face," Artie promised. "Speaking of sensitive, you were kind of right about Olivia."

"Oh, Artie, you didn't ask her..."

"I had to know," he said, defensively. "That kind of thing's important to me. But it turns out that she does have a shunt, and she doesn't like for people to know about it. Says they treat her weird, like she's sick. It makes me think, you know? I may be paralyzed... but I'm healthy. She makes me realize how much I take for granted every day. She's really amazing, the way she never lets it get her down."

"Can we not talk about her tonight?" Tina said suddenly, making Artie recoil slightly.

"Why not?"

"Because," Tina swept her hair over her neck, letting it fall over her shoulders, and got up off the floor. She moved back up to the couch to sit next to Artie, but he noticed that she kept her distance, sitting on the other side. He interpreted her body posture as a sign of trouble. Sure enough... "It's just that you've spent a lot of time with her lately, and it seems like you usually find a way to bring her into our conversations."

"Well, she's my duets partner," Artie protested, his brow furrowing in frustration. "Of course I spent a lot of time with her. You spent a lot of time practicing at Yudai's house."

"I know that, it's just..." Tina did not look at Artie as she traced the fabric on the couch, trying to find the words to express her feelings. Artie's interest in Olivia, to Tina, seemed like something more than mere curiousity over her disability. Maybe she was being paranoid, but it was more of an intuition than an actual, evidence-based theory. She saw something between them when she watched them onstage. Rachel and Finn's chemistry had always worked because it existed offstage as well as onstage. Could the same be true of Artie and Olivia? When Tina had suggested it to Mercedes, the other girl didn't exactly disagree.

"Tina, you're the only girl for me," Artie argued, firmly. He was tired of this, tired of Tina's suspicious behavior every time Olivia was around. Although, if he was really being honest now, it wasn't like he didn't understand what had prompted Tina's feelings. And even though he had tried, he had never really been able to take back what he'd said last year. I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry you get to be normal, and I'm gonna be stuck in this chair for the rest of my life...

"I can't help but think you deserve someone who understands what you're going through," Tina said, unable to keep the tears at bay now. Her eyes shone, threatening to overflow at any moment. "Artie, no matter how much I may want to get it, I just don't. I never will. I haven't sat in your chair, rolled a mile in your shoes. We both know that three hours a day for a couple of weeks doesn't really count for much. It kills me that I can't relate to you the way she does. And she seems nice, she really does, but now I wish we didn't know her at all. I see... I've noticed... I see the way you look at her."

"I don't -"

"Artie, please," Tina begged, holding up a hand. "Please. Be real with me."

Artie hesitated, just long enough to prove her point. He hung his head, disgusted with himself, as Tina edged closer and leaned against him. Wordlessly, he stroked her silky black hair. The words didn't come because there weren't words to fix this. Although they weren't fighting about it, they weren't happy either. Strangely, the strongest emotion he experienced now was guilt. Although outwardly, nothing had happened with Olivia, Artie had already cheated on Tina in his heart. His heart had betrayed them both. "I'm... sorry," he choked out, barely above a whisper. He didn't know what else to say.

Tina kissed his cheek, letting tears stream down her face. "I'll miss you, Artie."

"No... please..."

She cupped his chin in her hand, hating herself for giving in. But if she didn't do something, she would have to go on dealing with the green monster. As long as Olivia was in the picture, Tina would struggle with jealousy. And hadn't experience taught Tina to know better than to ignore a problem, in hopes that it would disappear on its own? No matter how much you didn't talk about it, no matter how much you acted as though it didn't exist, simply not acknowledging the problem didn't change anything. "Find out how you feel about her," she said, letting go of his chin to wrap him up in a hug. "It's the only thing you can do."

Artie broke down at the realization that this was Tina breaking up with him. In her mind, she was setting him free, allowing him to explore the possibility of someone else. He had never wanted anyone else until now. Wanting them both was so confusing, so painful. How could he move on? How could Tina be willing to just let him go? She should be protesting, yelling at him, anything besides quietly surrendering to the "other woman."

Or did she just want to go? Was this the opportunity Tina had been waiting for, a way to gently let Artie down without hurting him? But surely she wouldn't play with Artie's emotions this way. That wouldbe much too cruel, which wasn't like her at all. It wasn't until later, after Artie had reluctantly left Tina sitting alone in her livingroom, that this idea crossed his mind. Perhaps all the strain over being with someone like Artie had finally gotten to Tina. Besides You-Die, the Wonder Asian, there were lots of new guys in glee. They'd be spending a lot of time with these people now. Perhaps Tina had taken an interest in someone...

Whatever her reason, she'd ended it. Or maybe, in actuality, he had ended it. The relationship had been rocky from the beginning, it was true, but they were just getting comfortable. It was like being yanked out of bed too early in the morning. He wanted nothing more than to pull the covers around him tighter and never leave the comfortable place he was in. "I see the way you look at her." He knew he was foolish for looking, for thinking that anyone else could provide the comfort he'd found with Tina.

But it was too late to take it all back, now that the damage had been done.