AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hi out there to whoever is still reading! It's hard to believe that I've been writing this story for just about a year now. This is the most time I've spent on a singular fic, and my story outline projects that this will also be my longest story, chapter-wise too! If you're still along for the ride, please sound off below by leaving a review!

Chapter 40: Blame It (on the Alcohol)

ARTIE

Sunlight burned Artie's eyes when he woke up quite disoriented the next morning. As spotty memories from the night before came to him, he was pleased to find that he'd woken up in his own bed– even if he had no recollection of getting there and was still wearing his clothes from the night before. He was even more pleased to find Quinn tucked in beside him, still snoring lightly.

She's so cute, Artie thought, smiling to himself as he watched her sleep. Up close, her eyelashes looked even more astonishingly long– if that was even possible– and her soft features seemed even more beautiful. She was curled up beside him, with one manicured hand pressed to her face, and the other resting gently on his arm. He couldn't help but wonder how he had gotten so lucky.

He knew that while they'd physically slept together last night, they hadn't actually slept together. They'd fallen asleep in the same bed, but everything was completely innocent– no different from any sleepover he'd had in the past with any of his guy friends (though, he'd bet good money that she hadn't taken advantage of his lack of sensation and messed with him by painting his toenails as he slept– that had happened one too many times with the guys, and Artie was now officially over that prank and had encouraged them to get more creative with their fun).

Artie didn't wake up with a headache, and he felt surprisingly alert for someone who'd spent the night before consuming an unknown amount of alcoholic beverages. Though, technically, Artie supposed that he'd been on the more tame side of last night's partygoers. As the host, he'd taken it upon himself to ensure that everyone else's nights were going well, leaving very little time for himself to partake in the messier activities. Plus, growing up with an older brother who liked to party meant that Artie was privy to every strategy known to man for how not to wake up hungover. He'd had enough good sense to drink a cup of water for every alcoholic drink he'd had– not enough H2O to prevent him from getting sufficiently tipsy, but enough to keep him from getting dehydrated. Or worse: winding up with a UTI. His arsenal of tricks hadn't failed him yet, and for that, he was grateful.

Reaching for his phone– which he'd even thought to plug into the charger the night before (thank you, drunk Artie of the past!)– he saw that it was just past eight o'clock. While that seemed to be ungodly early to most teenagers, for Artie, it counted as sleeping in. His only notification was from an hour ago– a text from his mother checking in, which he quickly replied to.

Wrap party was amazing. Can't wait to show you guys the finished product. Everyone stayed over here last night. Enjoy the rest of your trip without worrying about us. See you tomorrow! was the overly perky message he typed back before hitting send, hoping that she and Harrison wouldn't hurry home too quickly. Artie had yet to go down and survey the damage from the night before, but he guessed that he, Griffin, Seb, and Ella had a lot of cleaning up to do before the house was back to his mother's standards.

As the text message whooshed away, Artie turned his focus to tackling his next challenge: planning how he was going to make his exit from the bed he was sharing without disturbing Quinn.

The last thing he wanted to do was make any sudden movements and wake her from the peaceful slumber she'd managed to find after the alcohol-fueled night before. She was still cuddled up to his side, with one of her legs tangled up with his, which, once he noticed, made Artie's heart flutter. She looked so comfortable and peaceful beside him. He wished that he could lay here with her forever, satisfied by the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest and by the warmth of her body pressed against his.

Artie figured the slower he moved, the better. Holding his breath, he first took hold of her hand from his bicep and swiftly moved it to the comforter. She didn't seem to notice. Maybe she was a deeper sleeper than he thought. He wasn't sure how to go about moving her leg that was draped over his. He knew from experience that legs were heavier than they looked, and he wasn't confident in his ability to keep his balance on the mattress well enough to complete that particular motion without waking her up. Scrapping that idea entirely, Artie opted to push himself up to a seated position and cautiously attempted to shift his leg out from under hers without jostling her enough to wake her. It took a little longer than was probably necessary to be as careful as Artie wanted to be, but it was worth it in the end. Quinn didn't even stir when he pulled his chair closer and transferred over.

Breathing a sigh of prideful relief, Artie unlocked his wheels and moved as quietly as he could over to his closet. Having just slept in khakis and a polo shirt, his body craved something more comfortable. Artie piled a plain white t-shirt and a pair of navy blue joggers onto his lap before heading toward his bathroom to shower and complete his morning routine on his own before anyone else woke up.

When he arrived in his bathroom, however, he was met with a surprising sight. He wasn't alone after all. Before him, on the tile floor of Artie's bathroom, sat a slumbering Sebastian.

When had he gotten there? Artie wondered as he looked at him sadly. It was difficult for Artie to see Seb in his current state without thinking of their conversation on the patio the night before.

Artie had been having a conversation with Finn and Quinn when Sebastian's erratic gesturing caught his eye. Being that he was pretty tall, he wasn't an easy person to miss, and Artie seemed to catch the tail end of his conversation with Sam, Blaine, and Tina before Sebastian stormed upstairs and left the trio speechless in his wake. Artie's stomach had begun to do backflips when he realized what their conversation was most likely about, and was only half-listening to the rest of the conversation with Finn and Quinn before he wound up asking Finn and Puck for a lift upstairs. Through the sliding glass door in the kitchen, he could see Seb sitting on the patio drinking directly from a bottle of wine. He'd expected Sebastian to be outraged, as he had been every other time he'd complained to Artie about the three of them hanging out, but it wasn't until he got closer that Artie noticed that Sebastian didn't seem angry, but, rather, upset. What followed was one of the most honest conversations the two of them had ever had.

Sebastian had fallen asleep with his head on the toilet seat, evidently having gotten sick at some point during the night. Artie harbored a guess that Seb had selected his bathroom in particular because it afforded the most privacy.

He was slightly less gentle with waking Sebastian up than he had been with his girlfriend. Artie reached over and flushed the toilet, the noise of the rushing water startling Sebastian, whose head shot up as he looked around himself with alarm.

"A word to the wise: liquor before beer, you're in the clear. Beer before liquor, you'll never be sicker," Artie told him. "Lord knows what all you drank last night, but considering that you started the night off with the Bud Lights Griff bought, I think it's safe to say you drank them in the wrong order."

Sebastian's mind seemed as though it was lagging, though, as he looked as if he was still trying to figure out what he was doing in Artie's bathroom instead of listening to his advice.

"Now, scram," Artie told him. "I've really gotta get ready, and I can't do that with you in here."

Sebastian still seemed groggy as he rubbed his sunken eyes and gazed up at Artie in a way that couldn't help but break his heart. Regret for the previous night's actions was written all over his face, and Artie supposed that maybe that regret went beyond just what he'd drank.

"Tell you what," Artie said, softer this time, as he found himself once again overcome with empathy for his step-brother. "Go crash on the couch in my room. Be quiet, though. Quinn's still asleep."

Artie extended his hand, which Sebastian accepted, allowing himself to be helped to his feet before stumbling into Artie's bedroom and leaving Artie alone to complete his morning routine.

A bit of time later, when Artie emerged from his bathroom showered and dressed for the day, he found Quinn and Sebastian both still sleeping. He figured that everyone else under this roof was probably in a similar boat, which meant that– even though Artie had a rather slow morning himself– he had ample time to prepare a big breakfast feast for his friends.

As Artie strolled into the kitchen, he was able to notice some of the locations that his friends had opted to sleep in. There had been so many people at the party and not nearly enough beds, which meant that people sort of slept wherever they could find a spot. Sticking his head into the living room, he found Brittany and Santana cuddled on the couch and Finn sleeping sprawled across three of the chairs from the kitchen table that had been relocated for movie viewing. Funniest of all, though, was Puck, who had fallen asleep sitting straight up in one of the armchairs. Artie got a kick out of this, pulling out his phone to snap a picture to show people whenever someone asked whether or not he slept in his chair (He always gave some sort of sarcastic response to that, and now he'd be able to add, 'But, hey! Able-bodied people do the same thing! Look!'). He guessed the rest had opted to crash elsewhere in the house, probably upstairs in the bedrooms, or down on the couches in the basement.

Artie realized that he couldn't very well begin cooking until after he'd cleaned up a bit from the night before. The kitchen was a mess, with leftover snacks and sodas all over. More than anything, though, he was trying to be quiet. Their house had very few doors and plenty of open and unoccupied space to make it easier for Artie to navigate, but that also meant that sound traveled easily. He didn't want to start doing the dishes and risk waking any of his friends up. He settled for tossing the stale snacks that had been left out overnight in the garbage can and piling the dishes in the sink in the most efficient way he could. He'd wash them all later, once his friends had gone home, he decided.

Artie was still looking for ways to express his gratitude to his friends for all they'd done for him and his film, and there was nothing that said 'thanks' quite like a homecooked breakfast. The menu for this morning's buffet came straight from Artie's old handwritten cookbook he'd been working on for years. The main course would be pancakes– lots of 'em, in all different flavors, stacked high on different serving plates so they could be distinguished from one another– with sides of bacon, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs. As for beverages, Artie was serving orange juice, water to mix packets of Pedialyte into, and… Bloody Marys. He figured that a majority of his guests may be reaching for the Pedialyte and the 'hair of the dog' this morning.

Artie was sipping on a mug of coffee, sitting in front of the griddle as he tried to think of an easy way to keep all of this food warm until his friends woke up, when he was startled by a voice from behind him.

"This smells amazing."

Artie nearly jumped out of his skin after flipping the final blueberry pancake. He knew her voice anywhere, but when Artie glanced over his shoulder, he still couldn't help but be surprised to see that Tina was awake so early… and that she'd presumably come to the kitchen to seek him out. He was even more surprised to see that she had a gel-free, bed-headed Blaine and a drowsy Sam alongside her, but he supposed that he shouldn't have been. They did everything together these days.

"Whoa, dude, what time did you have to get up to make all of this?" Sam asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and reaching for a piece of bacon.

"Well, you know me," Artie told them, turning off the griddle and setting down his spatula once the final pancake was a perfect golden brown. "I'm always the first one awake anyway. I figured I'd go ahead and make something for when everyone woke up. I don't mind."

"Right," Blaine said, looking nervous as he took a seat on one of the barstools at the kitchen island. Artie could tell that there was something on his mind that he was trying to figure out how to bring up, and he had a feeling he knew what that was.

Here it comes…

"Artie, I– we– really want to talk to you," Blaine finished, confirming the reason for Artie's uneasiness. "Before… before everyone else wakes up."

"What's up?" Artie replied, deciding to play naïve as he reached for a dishcloth and wiped his hands before setting it on his lap. The three of them were on one side of the kitchen island, and he was on the other. It felt like a mile was separating them– not merely a yard– and Artie looked between his friends, wondering who was going to be the brave one to go ahead and rip the Band-Aid off.

"We're really sorry for the way that we've treated you this summer," Sam said (Artie should have known that Sam would be the one to step up– he wasn't always the brightest, but he had the biggest heart out of anyone Artie knew). "We never meant to make you feel bad, or feel like we don't want to hang out with you. That's not true."

"Couldn't be further from the truth," Blaine agreed. "You're a good friend, Artie. A great friend. While forming our little trio, we didn't think about how it would exclude you. That's on us."

Tina sniffled just then, as she tended to do whenever situations got a little upsetting or uncomfortable. Artie tried to push away the thoughts reminding him that this wasn't the first time Tina had betrayed his friendship and tested how far his trust would extend. First had been faking her stutter. Then, she'd cheated on him with Mike Chang at Asian Camp. And now, they were heading into their senior year, and she was still doing things to him that he would never, ever do to her. And he would likely forgive her over and over again because that was just the kind of guy he was.

"Artie, you're my best friend, I know you know that," Tina whimpered as her eyes filled with tears. "I would never leave you out, you have to believe me. Nobody can replace you."

"Even if it's not what we meant to do, we know now that that's what happened," Blaine corrected her, seeming to catch onto how Tina's 'apology' seemed to be anything but. Artie knew she couldn't help it. "But that's over. We won't make that mistake again."

"It wasn't cool," Sam finished. He made eye contact with Artie, and Artie could see that his remorse was genuine. Artie swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. "We're really sorry, Artie."

Artie– ever the people pleaser– fought against his instinct to tell them it was okay. Because, really, what they did wasn't okay. He knew that his chair made it easy for others to exclude him. Most of the time, Artie just chose to assume that his friends were protecting his feelings by not letting him know if they were doing something or going somewhere inaccessible. At first, that's what he'd assumed his friends were doing. But then it happened again. And again. Then it became clear that they just didn't care to have him around or want to take the extra steps of ensuring accessibility in the first place. And even though Artie had tried hard to conceal the way that their actions this summer had made him feel, at the end of the day, it had upset him. And that couldn't just be overlooked.

He sat in silence for a moment, glancing down at his clasped hands in his lap as he mulled over their apology. They seemed sincere, and Artie wasn't seeking to ruin their friendship over this– especially not right before senior year. He could tell that they were sorry, and he believed them when they said that it wouldn't happen again. Holding grudges never did anybody any good anyway.

Eventually, Artie nodded, lifting his head so that his eyes could meet theirs. "Thank you."

He was careful not to tell them 'it's fine' or anything of that nature. It felt strangely empowering– thrilling, even– to stand his ground (bad pun not intended).

"If I'm honest, yeah, seeing you all hanging out together all summer without me bummed me out," Artie admitted. "Even if I had my own things going on, I still would have made time to spend with you guys." He shrugged. "But I appreciate you waking up early to come talk to me, and I accept your apology. So… thanks."

It was very rare that Artie left his comfort zone. As someone who was probably too passive for his own good and would sooner let people trample all over him before getting confrontational, Artie was proud of the way that he'd gone about settling this situation and (hopefully) putting it to rest once and for all.

Tina sniffled again before wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Can I hug you?"

Artie smiled and nodded. "Sure, T."

Tina came around the side of the counter, stooping low to give Artie a long, tight hug. He could feel her tears soaking into the fabric on his shoulder, and he rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her. She may be a little self-centered and misguided sometimes, but she was still his best friend.

"You know, I think it would be pretty cool if we turned this threesome into a foursome for this upcoming school year," Sam suggested. "A friendly senior quartet. Maybe we could convince Mr. Schue to let us sing as a group at Sectionals."

"Yeah," Blaine agreed. "If memory serves, a quartet is twenty-five percent more powerful than a trio. We're just a little slow at the math."

Artie chuckled at that. From that very first afternoon way back in June, Seb had never been very subtle about his distaste for the way the three of them had been making plans sans Artie. Artie supposed he owed him one.

Sebastian.

Now that Artie pretty much had confirmation of his assumptions of what he'd thought he'd seen the night before in the basement, he was surprised to find that he was strangely grateful. Artie knew that he could be mad at Sebastian for going against his wishes, or he could just… choose not to be. What's done is done, and now, it seems like Blamtina has learned their lesson. More than anything, Artie was looking forward to putting all of this behind them for senior year. Whether Artie liked it or not, this resolution was in no small part thanks to Seb and his going behind Artie's back, as well as his insistence that this situation should not be something that Artie just swept under the rug and forgot about.

For the first time since he'd met the guy almost a year ago, Artie wondered if he'd misunderstood Sebastian. He'd always thought of him as a guy who felt too little– especially for others. An icy creature of sorts. But now, Artie was seeing a different side of him.

He wasn't a guy who felt too little at all. Quite the opposite. He was someone who felt so much that it overwhelmed him to the highest possible degree. It consumed him in ways he didn't have the vocabulary to describe. He needed some way to get all of that pent-up steam out, so he acted out. He inserted himself into the affairs and business of those around him, even (especially) when it didn't concern him. He was a bit morally grey and surely arrogant, but he went about his day with such a lack of concern that it seemed impossible not to be charmed by him– even when those same qualities made him easy to hate.

Artie should have realized sooner that the act that Sebastian had been fronting for so long was just that– an act. Seb had his own protective walls up, keeping a side of himself hidden away. Artie knew that he was guilty of doing the same thing. Now that he saw through Sebastian's façade a bit, it caused Artie's heart to soften a little toward the other guy despite what he had done.

It wasn't long after the friends had finished their conversation before the others began to wake up and amble into the kitchen. First, it was those who'd landed in the living room, awoken by hushed voices and the smell of the feast Artie had prepared. Then came the basement dwellers, and finally the ones who'd found their way upstairs to one bed or another.

Artie was just beginning to think that he may need to make more chocolate chip pancakes when the last two stragglers woke up and found their way to where everyone was gathered buffet-style in the kitchen.

"Well, good morning to you both," Artie said, amused by the way that his step-brother and girlfriend still looked half asleep standing before him. "Nice of you to join us."

"I remember going to bed next to you, but when I woke up, you were gone and Sebastian was on the futon," Quinn said, rubbing her eyes and tucking a loose strand of her messy hair behind her ear with a yawn. "I think I missed a few chapters of this story."

"Ha. That seems to be the consensus this morning," Artie replied, passing Sebastian the plate he'd set aside for him– plain pancakes with a side of blueberries– before pulling Quinn down into his lap in the crowded kitchen. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good," she said, clearly still tired as she put her head on his shoulder and made no effort to keep her eyes open. "Your mattress is comfy."

"Better be," Griffin quipped as he walked by, eavesdropping on their conversation as he popped a strawberry into his mouth. "It cost a fortune."

Artie rolled his eyes, but he couldn't exactly protest. Quinn didn't seem to be bothered by Griff's comment, though, nor his eavesdropping. It was then that Artie noticed something he hadn't before.

"Nice clothes," Artie told her, smirking at her mismatched outfit. Unlike himself, Quinn had changed out of her clothes from the night before– she was in a pair of plaid flannel pajama pants and one of his Beatles t-shirts. No matter how adorable he thought she looked, he couldn't resist poking fun at her.

"Oh, be quiet."

"I'm serious, I think you look great," Artie told her. "Better than I do in that. Hey, when did you put that on, anyway?"

"I found it in your drawer when we decided to go to bed," Quinn answered.

"When was that?" Artie suddenly realized that his ability to remember the smaller details from the night before had abandoned him.

"You guys turned in at around two-thirty," Ella cut in, chewing on a piece of bacon. "Which was on the earlier side. I think the flip cup tournament ended around four."

"Hey, Puck," Finn called to their mohawked pal. "Did you and Lauren do enough body shots last night?" The comment elicited several knowing looks and giggles from those around them.

"Not sure I know what you're talking about," Puckerman laughed before taking a sip of Artie's 'hair of the dog' before wincing and pushing it away. "I can't seem to recall."

Lauren also had the sense to look properly disgusted at that. While Artie had always thought Puck and Lauren were cute together, he knew that Lauren always told everyone that she felt otherwise. Puck never seemed to properly move on from her, though– aside from the relationship he'd tried pursuing with Ms. Corcoran, of course. Artie wouldn't be surprised if something had gone down between them last night.

"That was a lapse in judgment on my end," Lauren said, corroborating Finn's story, no matter how much she likely regretted her actions from the night before. "Artie's brother was a little heavy on the alcohol portion of my mixed drinks. I can't be blamed for whatever went down!"

"You know what they say. Drunk words– or, in this case, actions– are sober thoughts," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that, Trouty."

"Jeez." Artie shook his head. He'd thought he handled himself pretty well the night before, but his memory failing him just now said otherwise. He didn't remember any of this. Unless, of course, it had happened during his absence when he went off to go check on Seb.

Speaking of, Sebastian was being rather quiet right now, sitting on the countertop and taking impossibly tiny bites off of the plate Artie had made for him. With every nibble of his breakfast, he looked like he was concentrating on not throwing up.

The rest of the morning was spent sitting around and exchanging stories; a big group effort to piece together the night before based solely on stray memories from each person. Only Ella had been one hundred percent sober, and everyone else had gaps here and there in their recollections. Artie loved having all of his people together, eating the food he'd made as they groaned and giggled sharing stories. As he looked around him, Artie's heart soared. His movie had been a huge success– not only because it was the missing piece that he needed to complete his college application portfolio, but because he'd achieved this feat without leaving anybody out.

…

Late that afternoon, after everyone had gone home and the siblings had spent almost the whole day cleaning up and working to restore the house to its sparkling form, Artie knew that it was time for him and Sebastian to talk.

He found him lying on a lounge chair on the patio, glued to his water bottle as he worked on his tan… all the while still nursing his deathly hangover.

"Hey," Artie said, pulling up beside him and setting his brakes. "Mind if I keep you company?"

Sebastian raised his sunglasses, squinting as the sunlight hit him before replacing the frames with a shrug. "Do what you want."

A moment passed and Artie spread his towel out on the second lounge chair as he tried to figure out what to say to break the silence. He didn't even get the chance to transfer before Sebastian surprised them both by speaking first.

"Listen, Artie, I'm sorry about last night. I was so drunk, and… and so sad that I don't know what came over me," he said hurriedly, seeming like he was just trying to get the thought out before he changed his mind. "I have to tell you something, but before I do, just know that I know that I'm a horrible brother, and a horrible friend, and I get it if you never forgive me. I just… I'm sorry, okay?"

Artie just shrugged. "I know."

"No, you don't. Listen, Artie, last night, I–"

"I know, Sebastian," Artie cut him off. "All of it. I know."

"What…? You-you know? How?"

"I saw you talking to my friends last night." Artie shrugged. "I was with Quinn, but I looked up and saw you over there. I couldn't hear what was being said, but I… was watching you. I saw you storm upstairs and I saw Tina wiping some tears away. Then a little while later, I got Puck and Finn to bring me upstairs so I could go find you."

Sebastian stared back at him, slackjawed, looking the most alert and like his typical self as he had all day.

"Then, this morning before anybody else was awake, Tina, Blaine, and Sam came and apologized," Artie went on. "They told me that they could see things from my– our– perspective now, that they were sorry, and that it won't happen again."

"You knew?" Sebastian only repeated, still in disbelief.

"I mean, I guess I didn't know for certain what was said until this morning," Artie acknowledged. "But I had a pretty good guess."

"Wait… and you're… not mad?"

"I'm not mad," Artie confirmed. "I'm annoyed, because, drunk or not, you did exactly what I told you not to do. But… I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little relieved, too. It seemed like they really understood what you were saying. That… that it affected me more than I was letting on. So… thank you."

"Okay. Then, um, you're welcome?"

An awkward silence ensued between the two of them before Artie unlocked his brakes and pushed forward a little bit, getting as close to Sebastian's lounger as he could before his knee bumped the chair. He motioned for Sebastian to lean in and hug him.

Sebastian did so without hesitation, and Artie could sense the relief coursing through Sebastian's body.

"You can always come to me, okay?" Artie said repeating the point he'd made the night before. "Whenever you're going through anything, I'm here. I try to be a good listener."

"I know. I will."

"Okay. Love you."

Seb and Artie didn't throw that sentence around casually. Artie guessed it was because even after their relationship's rocky start, it just wasn't something that teenage boys typically said to one another all that often. But Artie had learned long ago that you would never regret telling the people you love that you love them. Life is short.

With that, Sebastian hugged Artie a little bit tighter.

"Love you, too."