AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thank you so much to everyone who has been leaving reviews on this story! I have been making notes of the storyline suggestions you leave and I plan on incorporating all of them! Special shoutout to gigundoly, who wrote some of Artie and Quinn's date for me!

Chapter 4: There's A Place For Us

ARTIE

"Quinn!" Artie greeted his date for the day as she opened the door on the passenger side of his car and slid in next to him. "You look really nice."

He'd had enough experience with girls to know that it never hurt to drop a couple of compliments when you're trying to get their attention, but he really meant it whenever he complimented Quinn. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was down and curled, framing her face and being kept out of her eyes by a small twist pinned up on her left side. She was wearing a pink floral sundress that Artie hadn't seen her wear before, and he noticed immediately that she was wearing the necklace he'd gifted her at her graduation party. He wondered if she'd agonized over every detail of her appearance that morning as much as he had.

"Thanks," Quinn replied, flashing him a smile that was sweet enough to make him blush. She took a moment to admire his outfit as well– the one that Sebastian had picked out the night before that Artie had been too worked up to veto in the moment. Now that he was actually under her gaze, though, he was beginning to regret the choice to wear the shorts. "You do too. I like this shirt. You look… comfortable. I mean that in a good way."

Artie chuckled. Truthfully, he originally had buttoned the shirt up all the way like he usually wore it, but Sebastian had stopped him on his way out the door ("You look too uptight! Chill out. You're gonna have a great time, but not if you're an anxious mess the whole time," he'd said). Sebastian undid the top two buttons and unfastened the ones on the cuffs of the sleeves too, rolling the sleeves and pushing them up to achieve Artie's more relaxed look. Even Artie had to admit, he did look a little more like an eighteen-year-old ready to go on a picnic than– as Sue Sylvester had once so eloquently put it– 'a ninety-year-old auditioning for the lead in a nursing home production of Awakenings'. Quinn didn't have to know that his look for the day had been carefully curated by his step-brother, though. Artie would accept the compliment.

"Well, thanks. I gave something new a try," Artie told her as she buckled her seatbelt and he shifted gears in order to back his car out of her driveway. "It's really nice out today, huh?"

"It is," Quinn agreed. "The perfect day for a picnic."

Artie grinned as he started off down her street. He'd texted her that morning and told her of his idea for their first date and asked for her meal preferences so that he could prepare and pack a lunch for them to share. Unlike his outfit of the day, this entire plan had been his own idea, and he was pretty proud of it.

He had been so nervous on his drive across town to pick Quinn up at her mom's house that he hadn't even turned on any music to jam out to. He didn't want to drive in silence and put so much pressure on their ability to make small talk though, so when he went to turn up the volume, he definitely was not expecting the West Side Story soundtrack to blare from his car's speakers.

Confused, Artie very briefly glanced down only to find that he'd never plugged his phone into the auxiliary cord. Until that very moment, he'd forgotten that the show's CD was still inserted from last fall when he'd been directing the school musical. He'd spent all hours of the day listening to the soundtrack, including when he was driving.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I thought my phone was plugged in," Artie told her quickly, embarrassed by the unexpected music selection.

Then he did what he almost never did, taking his attention away from the road and the task of using his hands to drive for just a millisecond, attempting to hit whatever button would hopefully silence the show tunes (or switch the audio output to the radio, whichever he managed to do first).

"No, no, Artie, it's great!" Quinn assured him, turning the volume back up as Artie returned his right hand to the hand control that worked the gas pedal and continued to blush furiously. "This was my favorite song in the whole show, actually, even though only a couple of lines actually make it into the script."

"There's a place for us, somewhere a place for us," she sang along to the music, and Artie found himself enraptured by her beautiful alto voice. "Peace and quiet and open air, wait for us somewhere…"

Artie joined in for the remainder of the song, harmonizing with the girl sitting next to him as she continued to sing along. All the while, he pondered the lyrics and the message they sent.

"There's a place for us, a time and place for us. Hold my hand and we're halfway there. Hold my hand and I'll take you there. Somehow, someday, somewhere!"

Was he delusional to think that it hadn't been an accident that this song played in the car at that moment? For thinking that they had been meant to hear these words? Artie didn't know, but he couldn't help but feel that way.

"You should have auditioned for a bigger role in West Side Story, Quinn," Artie mused after they finished their impromptu duet. Quinn shook her head, sending her curls bouncing. "I'm serious. You're much more talented than you think you are."

"I never could have beat out Rachel or Mercedes for Maria, and Santana was born to play Anita, of course," Quinn replied, humbly ignoring his compliment. "I was fine with being Graziella, even though the role was a smaller one. Plus, I missed the auditions, remember? I was still bumming cigarettes under the bleachers with The Skanks." She made a sour face and shook her head again. "I'm lucky you let me be in the show at all."

"Of course I would have," Artie told her gently. "There will always be a spot for you. Even if we hadn't had to beg Cheerios and football players to take on the ensemble parts. You could have showed up during the dress rehearsal asking for a role and I would have found one for you."

Too much information, Artie, too much! He mentally chastised himself for oversharing. But it was the truth. She deserved to know.

"Thank you for saying that," she told him. "But you're a professional! I wouldn't have asked that of you. It's okay that maybe me and West Side Story just weren't meant to be. But I do love that song, and that show did help to get me back into Glee Club after everything that went down. I do think I owe that to you."

He was flattered that she would say such nice things about his craft, but did she really think that there was a universe where he wouldn't bend over backward for her?

As a director, of course, Artie mentally added. He was still trying not to get his hopes up about where this first date would lead. They were taking things slow, at his request. Roots before branches. But he also had to keep reminding himself that she'd be leaving for Yale in the fall, come hell or high water, and she'd be leaving him too. He didn't know if by pursuing this, he was just setting himself up for potential heartbreak down the line.

But maybe the song was right. That somehow, somewhere, there was a place where they could be together. They'd have time together with time to spare, time to learn, and time to care.

Artie could only hope.

…

"I can't believe you put all of this together, Artie, what? I didn't even know you could cook. This looks incredible," Quinn commented, peeking into the basket while Artie spread the picnic blanket he'd packed out on the grass in the park. "Finn almost set the house on fire making a grilled cheese when I was over there one time."

Artie smiled and shrugged as he joined her on the blanket. The transfer wasn't the most graceful one he'd ever done, but Quinn was polite and didn't stare. He reached for the seat cushion of his chair as she began to unload the basket, distributing the disposable plates and silverware between the two of them and setting out the paninis he'd made at home that morning, as well as the Tupperware containers of pasta salad, fruit, and veggies.

"Well, I didn't really have to do much, to be honest," Artie replied honestly, deflecting the compliment she was trying to give him. "Picnic food is usually just stuff you can eat cold anyway. You'll have to come over to my house sometime and I'll actually make you something nice."

Smooth, Abrams, Artie mentally praised himself as he scooped some of the fruit salad onto his plate, noting that it was nice to be apart from his picky step-brother for once, so that he didn't have to worry about whether or not the different fruits were touching. Quinn was much more laidback, like Artie thought of himself to be.

Quinn looked pleased with his implication that there would be a 'next time'. The date had gone well so far, as he had expected it would. After all, they'd been friends for years, and they'd gone on casual outings just the two of them in the past– which Artie's siblings liked to tease him about by calling them 'dates'. Artie had always reasoned that they weren't dates because they didn't have feelings for each other… well, he wasn't so sure he could say that anymore.

"How'd you get into cooking?" Quinn wanted to know.

"Well, it was after my accident," Artie said, shifting his weight to lean to the other side a bit. He was working awfully hard at trying to look casual, sitting on a picnic blanket and his chair cushion. He probably wasn't fooling her. "I mean, obviously, right? 'Cause before, I was just a kid, doing kid things. Not a lot of time for things like cooking. But after the accident, when we remodeled the downstairs for me, our kitchen got some major renovations. Mom made sure it was accessible, and we spent a lot of time cooking together. You know, when I didn't go back to school."

Quinn nodded, tucking a loose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear as she munched on her panini. "Are you sad about having another year before graduating?"

"Well, I feel lucky to still be in Glee for one more year," he said thoughtfully, his usual habit of finding the bright side shining through. He bit into a raw carrot from the Tupperware container of vegetables after dipping it into the smaller side of ranch dressing he'd brought along. "I even kind of like the idea of sharing this whole senior year experience with Sebastian. Now that I've gotten to know him, I mean. Of course, he's at Dalton, and I'm at McKinley, but it's still a shared experience, I guess. I don't mind sharing the spotlight. Even if he kind of hogs it sometimes."

"Kind of?" Quinn raised her eyebrows. "Understatement of the year. I can't understand how you managed not to strangle the guy, let alone how you've managed to share your family and now your senior year with someone so… so…"

"He's an acquired taste, is all," Artie finished, shifting his weight.

"You sure you're okay down here like that?"

"Positive," Artie assured her. "It's, I dunno, nice being here and just having a picnic with you like a regular couple. I mean, not that we're a…"

Artie's face flushed and he ducked his head with embarrassment.

"Artie, can I say something?" Quinn asked, biting her lip, looking nervous all of a sudden.

Artie nodded, swallowing the sip of lemonade he'd just taken. "Sure."

Quinn took a deep breath, letting out a soft whoosh of air, before turning to face Artie on the picnic blanket they shared.

"I know… I know you said you wanted to take everything really slow, and I'm okay with that, I think. I just wanted you to know that… that these feelings aren't new for me. Since the beginning of this school year, I've known that I've felt this way about you." She began to nervously fidget with the hem of her dress, looking down at her lap instead of up at him. "But you were with Sugar for a while, and I didn't want to impose on that. Then, when I got to be your date at the wedding last weekend, it really hit me. There was a spark there. It felt right between us. Way better than any of my other failed relationships."

She laughed in a self-deprecating way, but truthfully, Artie shared the same feelings. He'd noticed the same spark between them, and that night had topped all of his failed relationships, too. That one night had been better than every date he'd gone on with Brittany and Sugar combined.

"I guess… what I'm trying to say is that… if you feel as strongly about me as I feel about you, I'd like to be more than friends. Officially."

Artie didn't speak. He just stared at her, wide-eyed and unsure of what to say.

"I don't want to keep those feelings to myself anymore, Artie. Not if there's a chance that we can be something more," Quinn told him, the words tumbling over one another as they exited her mouth. "And I'm sorry if this… is too much to hear. Especially with me having just graduated, and you about to start your senior year. I know this is kind of a lot. But I… still wanted you to know."

Artie sat there quietly and allowed himself to really absorb and process Quinn's words. Based on the signals she'd been sending him over the last week, he'd guessed that she felt strongly for him– at least in this moment, she did– but he didn't know if any of that was real. He didn't know if he was reading into their flirtiness too much, or if he was– as Quinn had put it in the choir room the other day– just someone she was currently using to fill the emptiness in her life.

In the past, he had surrounded himself with the kind of people he thought he deserved. The girls he usually 'fell for' were pretty, yes, but he didn't have much in common with any of them other than Glee Club. None of the girls he'd dated had ever prioritized him. Due to the failures of his relationships with Tina, Brittany, and Sugar, Artie had always had a hard time believing he was worthy of anything real and true. The kind of stuff he saw in the movies. Over the years, he'd tried to convince himself that he'd be okay alone, if it came down to that. He'd have his work. His movies. His awards, hopefully, one day. His family. He'd be okay. Even with all that had happened over the last week, he still had never imagined the scene that was playing before him right now– Quinn Fabray confessing her love for him. He'd have to be crazy not to jump at this offer. He loved Quinn. So much. Much more than any of the girls he'd ever dated. And yet, he wasn't jumping.

"Artie, please, say something," Quinn pleaded, alerting Artie to the fact that he'd been silent since she'd last spoken. He hadn't meant to be, he was just stunned.

"Sorry, I'm just…" Artie's voice trailed off and he shook his head. He was overwhelmed. His brain had turned to mush. "I'm just Artie. I-I-I'm not the guy people love. Not… not girls like you."

"Well… I do. Love you, I mean."

"You do?"

"I think I always have, in some form," Quinn told him. "You've been there for me in ways that most other guys haven't been. You've seen me at my lowest, and you didn't give up on me. You're someone a lot of people admire and care for." When she noticed the expression he was wearing that told her he didn't believe her, she added: "You're not… unlovable, Artie."

"Do you… really mean all of that?" He asked softly after a moment, staring right back into her green eyes. "That you've always felt this way? About… me?"

He had always felt something a little bit deeper for Quinn than he had for his other friends, but he had always pushed the thought away, never wanting to acknowledge it. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin their friendship, so he'd always told himself that she was a good friend of his, and that was all she'd ever be. But he had never thought that she could feel the same way about him.

"Yes, Artie, absolutely, I do."

"My love life has kind of been a dumpster fire thus far," Artie confessed. "To hear you talk about me like this, Quinn… you have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear someone say that. To hear you say that. I'm just… worried," Artie said honestly. "I don't want things to not work out between us and for these years of friendship to be destroyed," he added, leaning back on his hands and shifting his position again, trying to ignore the rapid beating of his heart.

"We won't let it be destroyed," Quinn assured him. "That's why I kept this in for so long. I didn't want to lose you in my life, even if that meant not being honest with myself. But… we're both single now, and if there is the opportunity for us to be something more, I don't want to miss out on that chance either."

Artie twisted his mouth to the side as he considered Quinn's points. He knew that taking things slow in order to protect his heart wasn't a bad thing. But he also knew that they didn't have the luxury of time on their side.

"I know how ridiculous it sounds for me to be the one proposing this since I'm going off to college in three months, but I just know I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't ask you."

Maybe she was right. They'd both had their fair share of significant others over the years, and neither had found much success in that area of their lives. It had been a shared source of misfortune for the both of them, but they'd both been single for a while now… maybe they could have some fun. At least for the summer.

Artie nodded and Quinn's face lit up, making him smile as well.

"Is that a yes?!"

"Yes," Artie agreed, causing Quinn to squeal and throw her arms around him, nearly throwing him off-balance.

Quinn pulled back a little bit, but didn't unclasp her hands from where they were linked behind his neck. He tucked a loose curl behind her ear, and they smiled at one another before Artie made the move to lean in and take her lips in his. They'd been doing that since the wedding, however this time was better than all of the others.

Everything just felt so easy and gentle and natural with Quinn. His love life had always been a source of sadness for him. He was a great guy, right? Nice, he thought. Funny, maybe. Caring, he hoped. What had he been doing wrong? Why did he always fall for girls who treated him poorly? But now he felt like everything had clicked into place. Every crappy girlfriend he'd had up until this point was a stop on the way to getting to the relationship he was entering now.

For the first time that he could remember, he felt like the girl he was with felt the same way about him as he felt about her. It was a beautiful thing, reciprocated love.