Popularity was a strange thing. You knew, you definitely knew, when you didn't have it. But now that popularity had finally found him, well, he hadn't noticed it right away. But as JBI had so keenly observed, Artie was sitting with Cheerios at lunch. He'd caught Tina staring at him from the separate table she'd started eating at with just Sam and Blaine. She'd frowned when he caught her eye, casting a disapproving look his way. He was pretty sure that any day now, she was going to show up in her cheerleader zombie corpse outfit and join them. (Okay, maybe that was just an amusing fantasy he'd cooked up in the middle of a rather boring lesson in class one day.)
The only thing that wasn't reflecting his newfound popularity was the number of names on the sign-up sheets for Glee and Grease. Marley was still their only new member of the New Directions, though she claimed she was working on convincing both Ryder and Jake to audition soon. And if anyone was going to get either of those guys in the club, she was the one who could do it. Both guys were vying for Marley's attention every day at lunch.
So, there were currently eight names on the sign-up sheet for New Directions and seven for 'Grease,' because of course Artie hadn't signed up for his own show. On Thursday, after reminding Lauren that she said she would play Jan and pitching 'Grease' one more time to the A.V. club, he had a grand total of nine people signed up. Lauren and Mohamed Omar had added their names to the bottom of his short list. And a few of the A.V. Club members also promised to run lights and sound for him again. It still was not enough people to do the show. He left school feeling a little defeated that day.
And this was why he needed this third party to be a success. He was just glad he'd chosen Sunday night to be the night. He'd nearly forgotten that his family almost always went to visit Mimi and Pops at Buckeye Lake for Friday and Saturday night of the long, holiday weekend. Amy and his mother planned to stay at the lake through Sunday as well, so as to spend more time with his mother's twin sister, his Aunt Nora, and the one cousin on his mom's side, Kerry Ann.
Had Quinn known they were doing that, she might would have reconsidered not coming home for the holiday. She'd loved her time spent at the lake with Artie's grandparents. The first time she'd gone, she had been nearly ready to give birth. But Artie's grandmother, a retired midwife and mother of twins, was equipped to take very good care of Quinn. When Artie looked back, he realized it was that very trip that changed his relationship with Quinn, turning them into more than just a couple of acquaintances in the same school club. That was when they'd become family.
"Par. Tee. Partie Paybrams," Sam sang, as he followed Artie out of the choir room on Friday afternoon, doing an impression of Artie's rap solo in 'Billionaire.'
"You can call me Partie-Claus, minus the ho-ho," Artie added, turning to smirk at Sam while wheeling himself backwards.
"Why aren't we just starting this party right now?" Sam wanted to know. "Seems like we could make good use of the entire weekend."
"Dude, this is not Woodstock!" Artie explained, with a laugh. "Seems like I'd run out of food, too. Besides, I have to go visit my grandparents at the lake tonight and tomorrow. I say have to, that makes it sound like a chore doesn't it? I love going to the lake. I'm just glad I didn't plan the party for tonight or Saturday night."
He'd said all this while still wheeling backwards, as it was just funny and was meant to sort of show people he didn't take himself all that seriously anymore. What it accomplished however, was causing him to back straight into someone, who let out a startled yelp. Artie frantically turned himself around to see who he'd just clobbered.
"Watch where you're going, Gimpy!" Kitty screeched, getting a laugh out of the posse of Cheerios with her, many of whom sat at their lunch table on a daily basis and regularly heard her little nickname for him. It had, of course, originally been the nickname he'd given her when she'd been hobbling around on crutches for a few days. He supposed she'd decided it was funnier when assigned to someone who was decidedly more gimpy. Kitty had a nasty side, especially when surrounded by other Cheerios. And yet, it didn't scare Artie. If anything, it kind of intrigued him.
"Of course," he said, calmly. "My bad, sorry. Let me make it up to you by reminding you that the party's kicking off at my house this Sunday night, and you're all invited."
The old Artie couldn't have addressed a group of Cheerios without stumbling over his words, but the new Artie sounded cool and collected. Despite having just clobbered a Cheerio with his chair and despite having to look at up the entire group, he spoke with an air of confidence that said he thought nothing of it. He was rewarded with a smirk from Kitty. If she was impressed, she was choosing not to show it, as she tossed her pristinely curled ponytail and spun on her heels. He didn't expect an R.S.V.P. or anything, but she didn't say she wasn't coming either. He supposed he'd wait and see. And he'd have to hope there were enough hotdogs and burgers to feed them all. Not many people watched JBI's weird vlog anyway, but Artie had been talking about his upcoming party all week, especially at lunch. He was of the mentality the more, the merrier. If more people came, that meant more potential singers and dancers for his show, and maybe a few of them would even join Glee.
And, speaking of which...
"Who is that over there looking at the sign-up sheets for Glee and the musical?" Sam wandered, diverting Artie's attention from the retreating forms of the Cheerios. He followed Sam's gaze to the lone figure, a heavy black guy wearing a striped polo and jeans. After the guys exchanged curious looks, they approached him.
"We'd gladly welcome new members for the Glee club," Artie told the guy. "Just come to the choir room any day next week during our club meeting and try out. And auditions for the musical also start next week, on Tuesday, in the auditorium. We'll do some cold readings and you should prepare something to sing and bring your own music..." Artie trailed off, as he got a good look at the other guy. Sam seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"You look familiar," Sam said. "Do we know you?"
"Well, my real name is Wade," he said, and then he sort of looked around, with a furtive grin. "But in the show choir world, I wear heels, a dress, and a fabulous wig. And everyone calls me 'Unique.'"
"Vocal Adrenaline's Unique?" Artie's jaw dropped as he exchanged a look with Sam. They both remembered meeting Unique in the hotel lobby before the competition. "What are you doing here in Lima?"
"My family moved," said Wade-or-Unique, with a shrug. "I was upset about leaving at first, but then I realized I'd be going to the high school that boasted last year's National champions, the New Directions!" Pausing, he looked at the list. "Is this really all of the people who've signed up?"
"So far," Artie said, weakly. "Listen... Wade.. you seem cool, and I'm personally okay with Unique, but like..." How do I put this?
"You can't wear makeup and stuff here," Sam said, putting it more bluntly than Artie would have. But Artie couldn't say he disagreed either, as Wade dropped his eyes to the floor and just nodded miserably.
"You have to understand how this stuff works," Sam went on. "It's like Game of Thrones."
"Yeah, the peace between us and the truly popular kids is weak," Artie added, nodding vigorously. "Winter is coming. It's not gonna take much for us to get smacked down to the bottom again."
"I get it..." Wade trailed off, looking sad to hear this. But Artie figured it was better he hear it from reasonable, kind people like he and Sam, instead of literally anyone else at their school.
"We'd be really happy to have you in New Directions," Artie told him. "By the way, this is Sam. And I'm Artie, I'm the one who will be directing the musical."
And please don't try out for a girl's part, he thought, but didn't say. He was imaging now that Wade might attempt to audition with 'There Are Worse Things I Could Do.' And, though there was a chance he'd do a good rendition of the song, Artie didn't much think McKinley would be open to Wade/Unique-as-Rizzo. And he wasn't ready to push the envelope with his show, either. Winter really was coming.
Against his slightly better judgment, he added, "And by the way, I'm having a pool party Sunday night. Here, let me give you my address..."
Artie loved spending the evening and the next day at the lake. His grandparents' house out at Lake Buckeye was a special place for him, for it contained many of the strongest memories from before his accident. There he had climbed all the wonderful trees on the property, ridden on the back of the jet ski as many times as his grandfather would take him, and gone tubing with his sister clinging to the other side as they laughed and tried to be the last one to fall off. He'd even slid off the pool slide that used to be attached to the dock, before his grandfather claimed the insurance company made him remove it. (Artie always suspected the actual reason was because of his accident and the fact that he could no longer climb it.)
Despite the fun they were having, he and his father packed up and headed out early. His mother stayed behind, so as to spend one more night with her mother, sister, niece, and daughter. Girl time. But, before girl time could commence, she had to give Artie a few choice words of warning before party number three. She approached Artie's side of the van as they prepared to drive off. Reluctantly, Artie rolled down the window.
"Make good choices," she said. "You are older than your friends, Artie, even if most of them don't know exactly how much older."
"Thanks, Mom," Artie muttered. He could have done without the reminder.
"I just bring that up so you'll remember that your actions are held to a different standard," she said, leaning over and giving him a serious glare before adding the next part. "You'd be tried as an adult."
"For what, exactly?" Artie wondered aloud, his eyes widening. At what point had his mother decided he was most definitely planning to commit a crime? Particularly while his father was occupying the same backyard, manning the grill.
"I'd visit you in prison!" Amy called helpfully, for she hadn't been able to resist following her mother out to the end of the driveway to witness this amusing exchange firsthand.
"If I had to put money on which one of us is going to prison someday, I wouldn't bet on me!" he fired back.
His dad then used those pesky safety locks to roll up Artie's window for him and make it so that he couldn't roll it back down. Amy stuck her tongue out at him as they pulled out of the driveway, and he returned the gesture. He'd really missed having his older sister around all summer; they were making up for lost time.
But now they could turn their attention to the party. On the way home, the guys made a stop at the grocery store. Earlier that week, Artie had collected a little cash from those who had been willing to help foot the bill last time. He opted for no burgers, just hotdogs (even though no one knew what exactly went in hotdogs), so that he could keep it super cheap. No fancy condiments either, just cheap mustard and ketchup. Cheese was for rich people. Store-brand soda and chips would be just fine for this. If his dad noticed they were buying a lot of food – cheap food but plenty of it – well, he never said a word about it.
When they got home, Artie realized he didn't have much time to get everything ready. He'd planned to start early, just because it was nice to swim while the sun was still out for awhile. Being a wheelchair and being in a hurry weren't two things that generally went hand and hand. He was pretty much forced to do things at a snail's pace, compared to the rest of humanity.
But that was where his dad and his friends came in. Tina, Blaine, and Sam all arrived early – and quite mysteriously, they all arrived together in Blaine's car. This trio of theirs was taking some getting used to, on Artie's part. Ever since they'd started their own lunch table, Artie felt less and less like a part of their group. He supposed that was his own fault, being that he was the one currently eating with a bunch of Cheerios, including one who had dubbed him 'Gimpy.'
"Where's Kurt?" Artie asked, as he watched them set up the karaoke machine. This time, Blaine had brought a laptop and some speakers and would be serving as their unofficial deejay.
"He's decided he feels a little weird hanging out with a bunch of high schoolers and being one of the only graduates," Blaine said, with a shrug.
"Yeah, I guess because Finn's not coming either," Artie reasoned. He had been counting on Rachel Berry being there, after her random phone call earlier that week, but quite predictably, she'd bailed on the party for the purpose of spending more alone time with Finn. They might make "an appearance," she'd told him, in her usual snooty tone. It was always two steps forward, three steps back when it came to Rachel.
"And Brittany said she's not coming because she wants to hang out with Santana alone while she's here. I haven't even heard back from Mercedes. I hope Mike's not mad when he realizes he's the only alumni attending tonight," Artie commented, at which point Tina dropped his guitar. "Hey! You break it, you buy it."
Artie wheeled over to see if it was all still in one piece, which it seemed to be, no thanks to Tina's clumsiness. After he had finished inspecting his baby and had determined that she was alright, he became aware of Tina's intense glare on his back and turned around to find her giving him that look that was reserved for all the times he did something stupid and had no idea what he'd done.
"You invited Mike without telling me?" she asked, incredulous. "Does he know I'll be here? Is he coming to see me? Well, I don't know what he expects me to do. He ignored me all summer."
Artie just bit his tongue, deciding not to risk accidentally saying the wrong thing. Probably Mike is coming to see all of us would not be the right thing to say. The only way not to say the wrong thing was to say nothing.
"So, ignore him," Sam finally said, breaking the silence. He then looked longingly towards the grill, where Artie's dad busied himself preparing dinner. "Hey, Artie, I'm starving. Can I have a hotdog?"
"No!" Artie hissed. "Wait until the party!"
"Now I'm going to have to wear shorts over my bathing suit because if I don't, he'll see my tattoo," Tina moaned, burying her face in her hands. "And I bet all the Cheerios will think it's because I don't get bikini waxes. Which is the exact opposite of the truth, I got one just for today!"
"There, there." Blaine went over and patted her shoulder awkwardly as she dissolved into actual tears over this. The three guys just stared at each other, at a loss for words.
"Artie, you could do some manscaping and it wouldn't even hurt," Sam finally said, breaking the silence. "That's like, a freaking super power."
"I doubt I'll ever do that," Artie said, rolling his eyes. "Short of like, if I were, let's say... competing in the Paralympic Games someday, I really can't think of a reason."
"You really can't think of a reason?" Sam echoed, aghast. "Dude... it's awesome... everything looks so clean and–"
"And this is a conversation I could really do without!" Blaine announced, as Tina nodded vigorously. "I'm gonna go help Artie's dad with the hotdogs." He paused, when he saw Sam's grin spreading across his face. "Dude, you're sick."
Even though they desperately needed to change the subject, Artie was glad to be included in all the banter. He hadn't spent just a ton of time with them over the summer, at least not until recently when he'd started the brief gig as Gabe's teacher. He was glad they had senior year, the musical, and Glee to look forward to as a quartet.
When five 'o clock rolled around, quite predictably, some of the Glee kids arrived first. Sugar arrived promptly at five, followed by Joe, who strolled in a few minutes after. If Sugar was upset about having not been invited to the other parties, she didn't let on. Next was Mike. Tina greeted him with a hug and a huge smile, like she hadn't just been fretting about his arrival this whole time.
"'Sup, Artie!" Mike said, surveying the pool as they exchanged a high-five. He'd only come a few times in recent years. For a long time, when Artie had tried to hate the guy over Tina, he hadn't invited him. (Tried to hate, because Mike was decidedly one of the friendliest and kindest guys in Glee, and Artie hadn't managed to hold a grudge for very long.) "I heard you're doing 'Grease' this year!"
"Yeah, sorry I didn't think of it last year," Artie said. "We could have used your choreography, considering how dance-heavy this is gonna be."
"Well, if you can arrange a Friday rehearsal, maybe I can make it home to host a little Hand Jive booty-camp." Mike grinned, looking proud of himself for having made that up on the spot.
"A what now?" said the voice of Kitty, as she, Bree, and three other Cheerios showed up, all but one of them wearing their tell-tale ponytails that indicated Coach Sylvester didn't really care enough about the holiday weekend to excuse her girls from practice, not even on a Sunday. Kitty was shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "You Glee kids are super weird. I take it this is another one of your super sad alumni, coming back to relive the glory days."
Artie frowned. Kitty's whole routine of being nasty and spiteful was starting to wear on him. If she could just be more like she'd been that time when she'd hurt her ankle...
"This is Mike," Artie explained. "He was our best dancer. I was just telling him we could really use his help with the choreography for 'Grease.' Speaking of which, I still need more people to sign up for auditions, which start on Tuesday."
Bree, who was the one with her hair down and curled, ignored everything Artie said after he'd dropped Mike's name. "As in Mike Chang Forever?" And she giggled, looking over his shoulder at Tina. Apparently, people did watch Jacob Ben Israel's vlog.
"Artie, I think we left the extra towels inside on the dryer," Tina said, weakly. "I'm gonna go get them. Be right back."
As Tina fled the scene, Artie suspected she might end up just shutting herself up in the laundry room while she had a good cry. But before Bree could explain to Mike what she meant by that, she was interrupted by Kitty. Kitty looked down at Artie first, so quickly that he might have missed it.
"Bree, don't you need to change into your bathing suit?"
"Oh, yes," Bree said, looking down at Artie. "Is there someplace I could go change inside? I just came from a hair appointment, so I didn't have time to before."
"Sure, Sam will you show her where the guest bathroom is?" Artie asked their other friend, hoping Bree wouldn't encounter Tina while in the house.
As Sam showed Bree where to go, three more people arrived. Kitty took her Cheerios over to the pool right as Marley walked up, followed by the guys she'd come with – Jake and Ryder. Ryder stayed by Marley but Jake instantly separated from them when he spotted the group of Cheerios. Artie supposed three was a crowd.
"Hi, Artie!" Marley said, brightly. "This is so nice of you to have another get-together. Already a lot of people here. Is that your dad?"
As she pointed to him, Artie's dad noticed and acknowledged her with a wave before returning to handing hotdogs off to Blaine, who was sticking them in buns, wrapping them in foil, and stacking them in a baking dish.
"Yup," said Artie. "I, uh, well I asked permission first this time. Thankfully, they were okay with it. Hey, Ryder, have you thought any more about the show? I could really use you."
"I'm thinking about it," Ryder said, seeming less hesitant this time. "Marley's been trying to convince me, too. So, if I do audition, what do I need to prepare for you?"
This was promising! Artie launched into an explanation of what all he wanted to see, from the cold read to the singing, which just needed to be something that showcased the singer's voice. He talked loudly and animated, hoping to draw the attention of those already in the pool, too. Now that he knew Jake could sing, he wanted him, too. Kitty hadn't sang the last time they did karaoke, so he didn't know if she had a voice, but of course she'd be a good dancer. So maybe a character like Patty Simcox would be a good fit.
As he talked, Bree returned from changing into her suit. She approached their group and didn't see any reason not to interrupt him. She cut Artie off while he was in the middle of explaining his expectations for the rehearsal schedule, which would have to be pretty intense to pull this off by the end of October.
"Artie, was that you?" she exclaimed. "Was that you in the picture in the hallway, standing up?"
All eyes were on him now, including those Cheerios who had stopped paying attention as he talked about rehearsals. Tina, who had chosen that moment to emerge with the towels, heard it too. Artie caught her eye as she froze behind Bree, looking horrified. She knew exactly how long it had taken him to even talk about the accident with her, and she was his closest friend.
"Yeah," he said, calmly. "Yeah, that was me before my accident." He didn't hate that picture or anything. It was a nice one of his family.
"Oh, my gosh, how sad!" Bree gushed. "What happened?"
As their eyes bore into him, he briefly contemplated what he could do. He could simply say he didn't like to talk about it, but that made people more uncomfortable. Tina opened her mouth, looking like she was getting ready to speak on his behalf.
"Motocross accident," he lied, deciding to go another route. Why not have a little fun with it? "It really is a thrilling tale, if you'd like to hear it..."