Sitting at the edge of her bed, surrounded by stacks of boxes containing everything she owned, Quinn stared vacantly at the floor. There was only one thing on her mind. It wasn't her parents (or more accurately, her parent and the man who didn't want her) that she couldn't stop thinking about. It had nothing to do with cheer routines or glee songs. It didn't even involve the biology test that she failed to prepare for all weekend. No, the only thing inhabiting her thoughts was him.

She kissed him.

She kissed him.

She kissed him.

She kissed him?

No matter how many times she repeated it and no matter where she placed the infliction, it was always the same. She kissed Artie Abrams. On the lips. On purpose. Because…she wanted to? That was the most shocking thing. There were millions of excuses she could employ as to why she leaned in and pressed her lips delicately against his.

She suffered from a momentary lapse of sanity.

She was feeling overly vulnerable and her need for comfort took control.

She tripped and fell into him…while sitting on his lap. She recognized that one was a bit of a stretch.

There were an endless amount of explanations, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she kissed him because…she wanted to.

That's right, Quinn Fabray was kind of…sort of…into Artie Abrams.

He made her feel special. He made her feel like everything was falling into place even though everything in her life was in shambles. It was a little crazy, sure. A little unconventional, but the beautiful head cheerleader found herself falling for the school's resident geek.

All weekend, Quinn split her time between pacing her room and chewing on her nails as she tried to sort through her mess of thoughts and find exactly what had caused her to flip all of a sudden.

Was it because he seemed to genuinely care and listened to her?

Was it because he told her she was pretty and called her a princess?

Did it happen when he told Puck to back off or when he called her father an idiot?

Did it happen when he said 'trust me' and she found herself no longer despising the words?

Maybe it happened after he got her to open up and she admitted to wanting someone she could be who she was and who she wanted to be with, only to realize that she already had it?

The correct answer? All of the above. Things were happening so fast (she had only intended to befriend him and be there for him if he needed someone to relate to) that almost every sign blew right past her, but after her admission and after his hand fell to her knee, things slowed down.

They were no longer Quinn and Artie: two completely different people living on opposite ends of the popularity spectrum. They were simply Quinn and Artie: two surprisingly similar people who enjoyed each other for exactly who they were and who they wanted to be.

Though she successfully sorted through most of her thoughts, her feelings beyond what she felt about the kiss were still a little murky. Sure, she could admit she was falling for him, but she had a reputation to protect and she wasn't fully convinced that she was ready to jump in head first. Not to mention, she had no idea where he stood (sat) when it came to all of it. He didn't try to contact her all weekend and she didn't try to contact him. For all she knew, he hadn't been fazed by the kiss at all.

She didn't know what she wanted exactly. What he was feeling exactly. What he was going to say or what would happen between them, but she did know what she was going to do. She was going to go to school, find him and tell him the only thing she was positive about.

She didn't regret kissing him.

Once she arrived at school, Quinn made a bee line for the library where she knew Artie would be studying. It was where he always went the morning of a major test.

As she made her way to the back of the library, she spotted him sitting at the corner table. With a small timid smile, Quinn silently approached and took the seat next to him. "Hi…"

Blushing, he closed his text book and turned towards her. "Hi…"

"So…"

"So..." He repeated.

She bit her lower lip as she began blushing herself. Diverting her gaze, she took to staring at her twisting hands. If she had glasses, she probably would have adjusted them. "…I guess we should talk…about…what happened."

"Don't worry about it." He sat perfectly still; hands motionless, gaze un-diverted and glasses unadjusted. "You don't have to say anything."

She looked up at him confused. Out of all the different scenarios she thought would play out, him saying 'Don't worry about it' wasn't among any of them. "But…"

"I get it." He swallowed hard as he appeared as though he was struggling to keep eye contact with her. "You were feeling vulnerable and we both got caught up in the moment."

"Right…vulnerable…" Her voice was shaky and uncertain.

"It was…nothing." At that, his eyes slipped from hers and he adjusted his glasses. "You don't have to worry. I won't tell anyone and we can go on pretending it never happened." Keeping his head down, he offered a small smile and placed his books on his lap. "I-I'll see you in class. Bye…Quinn."

Quinn sat frozen and more confused than ever as she watched Artie wheel himself out of the library.

He was an idiot. He didn't mean anything he said. It wasn't nothing. It was quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to him. It was three days later and he could still smell the vanilla scent of her shampoo and he could still taste the sweetness of her kiss lingering on his lips, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her. She probably would have laughed at him and that was something he didn't think he could handle.

All weekend, Artie spent his time gathering the courage to call her and then immediately talking himself out of it. It was a wash, rinse, and repeat scenario. He didn't know what the protocol was when it came to a girl, who he found himself falling for more and more every day, kissing him and then promptly running away. It wasn't like that sort of thing happened to him very often…or ever. All he knew was that he liked her.

He, Artie Abrams, had a thing for Quinn Fabray.

She was so beautiful and so easy to be around. She made him feel like there was more to him than just the chair and that he could do just about anything. They had so much in common, it was surprising, and he wanted more than anything to tell her how he felt and express how much the kiss meant to him, but when he saw her enter the library, he panicked.

She was Quinn Fabray, the head cheerleader and most popular girl in school while he was just…Artie, he who ranks below the lowest on the totem pole. He was well aware of his position on the social rankings compared to her, and he knew that there was less than a chance that anything more would come of their friendship…no mattered how much he may or may not have wished for more.

As she got closer and closer to him, he began to worry more and more. What if she was coming to tell him too much had changed? What if he was going to lose the friendship he had grown attached to? She was most likely mortified over what happened and was seeking him out to tell him something he knew he didn't want to hear.

He didn't want to lose what little he had of her so he did the only thing he thought would help the situation. With a stony expression, he told her not to worry about it; that it was nothing and left before she had the chance to say anything in hopes it would make any uneasiness vanish. He told her he would pretend none of it happened and nothing's changed.

It was all a lie.

Sighing, Artie wheeled himself down a long stretch of hallway and came to a stop at the school's bulletin board. Finn was standing there with a bewildered expression as he examined a bright blue flyer for the upcoming winter formal. It was early, more than a month in advance, but dances cost money and Principal Figgins wanted to start ticket sales as soon as possible. That way if the school didn't sell enough to cover the expenses, they could cancel it outright without taking a huge loss. From an economical standpoint, it made sense. From a student's, not so much.

"Hey Finn." Artie greeted politely.

"Oh, hey Artie." Scratching his temple, Finn remained focused on the flyer.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not sure..." Finn furrowed his brow. "Rachel dragged me over here, pointed at the board and then kinda stormed away." He shrugged. "I think she's trying to tell me something."

"She probably expects you to ask her to the dance." Artie commented with a complete lack of enthusiasm. The last thing he wanted to do at that moment was play relationship guidance counselor to an oblivious quarterback.

Finn's expression widened as he slowly caught on. "Huh…that does make a lot of sense." In order to get a better look at it, Finn removed the flyer from the board. "Are you going?"

Shaking his head, Artie shrugged lopsidedly. "I don't think so."

"C'mon man." Finn smiled and nudged him in the arm with the back of his hand. "There must be a special girl out there you want to go with."

"Yeah, but…" Artie adjusted his glasses. There was a girl, and she was more than special, but Artie knew that wasn't going to happen. "I doubt she wants to go with me."

"You never know unless you try, right?" With a shrug, Finn handed him the flyer. "I should go find Rachel. I hope she doesn't make me write an essay about what it means to be a good boyfriend…again."

As Finn left, Artie spotted Quinn standing by her locker at the end of the hall. His breath hitched and everything around him seemed to slow down as Finn's words repeated over in his mind.

There must be a special girl out there you want to go with…

He glanced down at the flyer, before lifting his gaze and focusing on the only girl he wanted to go with. Softly, he began to sing...

"She's blood, flesh and bone
No tucks or silicone
She's touch, smell, sight, taste and sound"

As the hall began to fill with students, each of them holding a bright blue flyer, Artie listlessly propelled himself down the hallway. Through the sea of students, he watched her. She was staring blankly into her locker and chewing on her lower lip; something he always found to be adorable. He stalled in the middle of the hall when he saw Sam walk up to her. Sam was perfect. She was perfect. They looked perfect. When he saw her smile, he turned down a different hall and took the long way to class, keeping his head down the entire time.

"But somehow I can't believe
That anything should happen
I know where I belong
And nothing's gonna happen
Yeah, yeah

'Cause she's so high...
High above me, she's so lovely
She's so high...
Like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, or Aphrodite
She's so high...
High above me"

The morning passed by as though he had missed it entirely. Before he knew it, he was in biology and staring impassionedly at the back of her head while she concentrated on the test he wasn't concentrating on. Everything and everyone fell to the background. No one seemed to notice him or the fact that he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

"First class and fancy free
She's high society
She's got the best of everything"

"What could a guy like me
Ever really offer?
She's perfect as she can be
Why should I even bother?"

After the bell rang, he somberly followed her to the cafeteria, staying far enough behind that she didn't take notice of him. As soon as she sat down, she was immediately surrounded by a flash flood of red and white. Cheerleaders and jocks alike were crowding around her and she seemed to be enjoying herself; laughing and smiling with those of her level. Knowing his place, Artie left the cafeteria and took to roaming the empty halls.

"'Cause she's so high...
High above me, she's so lovely
She's so high...
Like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, or Aphrodite
She's so high...
High above me"

The rest of the day went on seemingly without him, as he paid no attention to any of the teachers, any of the assignments, or any of his classmates. As he headed for the choir room, he spotted Quinn coming down the hall towards him. When she waved at him, he smiled brightly and waited for her. She didn't look like she wanted to run away or wanted to tell him something he didn't want to hear. She just looked like Quinn…his Princess Quinn.

"She comes to speak to me
I freeze immediately
'Cause what she says sounds so unreal

But somehow I can't believe
That anything should happen
I know where I belong
And nothing's gonna happen
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah

'Cause she's so high...
High above me, she's so lovely
She's so high...
Like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, or Aphrodite
She's so high...
High above me"

When they reached one another, Artie knew Finn was right. He wouldn't know unless he tried.

"Quinn…" Shyly, he captured her gaze with his own. "Can I ask you something…?"

A/N: So yeah, that ended weirder and more abrupt than I initially planned. Sorry for that. It was supposed to be "Dancing with Myself"-esque, but it didn't really turn out that way. Oh well =P. The song btw is "She's So High" by Tal Bachman.