Summary: Post "Wheels". Tina is determined to fix things with Artie, even if he feels he can't trust her anymore. Tina/Artie. FUTURE FLUFF!

Disclaimer: I WISH I owned glee, then life would be amazing. I would totally snag Artie for myself, because he's just so darn cute! But alas.

'This is stupid' Tina thought to herself as she crossed her legs while sitting on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the choir room during practice. She looked over to the boy in the wheelchair and cocked her head in a confused fashion. 'Why do I like him anyways?'

She knew perfectly well the reason why she had a crush on Artie. He had always been kind to her, flashing her a smile in the hallways, and constantly striking up a conversation with her in rehearsal. She had always been shy, but she didn't have to be around him. She returned the favour by pushing him around and keeping him company. As outcast-ish as they were, they could always rely on each other for support. The related to each other because of their "flaws". She didn't see them as flaws, however. She saw her stutter as a shield because she was too shy to establish conversations with her peers. She didn't agree that Artie's disability was a fault, though. She admired his struggles in everyday life. She believed that coping with what you have makes you a stronger person, and Artie was a clear-cut example. He beat himself up because of it, but Tina didn't see it that way.

He noticed her looking at him, and quickly looked down to adjust his suspenders. She sighed heavily and fidgeted with a couple strands of her hair that was dyed a neon shade of blue.

'Now I don't know if we can even be friends', she contemplated the situation to herself. Only a week ago, they had shared a kiss after an intense wheelchair race down the hall. It was a magical moment for both of them, she was sure of that. She remembered his sheepish expression after she had pulled away from him, satisfied with that had happened. However, it all went downhill from there. She confessed her stutter wasn't real, and she would never forget the look on his face.

'Now you get to be normal, while I stay in this chair. I really thought we had something in common.' And with that, he wheeled himself angrily down the hallway, leaving her in the dust.

Tina mentally kicked herself as she remembered the incident. Kurt, shot her a worried glance, which she chose to ignore. She didn't like the attention, even if she had started to form bonds with the rest of the members from New Directions.

"Everything alright, Tina?" Mr. Schue has popped her daydream bubble, and she quickly sat up straight in her chair. She looked around and saw that everyone was now staring at her, which made the situation more awkward.

"Y-yes Mr. Schue. E-everth-thing is gr-reat." She stuttering, slumping back in her chair. Mr. Schuester nodded and continued rambling on about whatever it was that he was talking about. She looked over to Artie, and saw that he was giving her a disapproving looking. More like a disgusted look, which translated the fact that he knew she was faking and was majorly guilt-tripping her.

She was not going to let this get to her. She has built up a friendship with Artie, and was determined to get it back to how they were, with or without the romance. If all she could get out of this was a friendship, she was fine with that. He would be too much to lose, otherwise. And as much as he would hate to admit it, she knew that he needed her too, in some way.

"So this week we're going to be singing ballads. It's the perfect way to express our emotions through songs." Mr. Schuester rambled on. There was a buzz among the other kids, indicating that they were excited by the idea. Tina watched as Rachel bounded from her chair and joined Mr. Schuester at the piano, ready to demonstrate how to properly sing a ballad to your partner. Once they started, she couldn't help but get caught up in the words and emotions.

My love,
There's only you in my life
The only thing that's right

My first love, (yeah)
You're every breath that I take
You're every step I make

And I
(And I-I-I)
I want to share
All my love with you
No one else will do...
(uuuuuh uuuh)

She looked over at Artie. To her surprise, he was listening intently, swaying along to the beat. He then looked in her direction, which caused her automatically to look down in embarrassment. With reddened cheeks, she looked back, and saw that he flashed her a toothy grin, which quickly disappeared. She smiled at this bittersweet sentiment. As the song drew to a close, Mr. Schue dismissed the club and everyone headed to the door. Tina quickly got up and shuffled over to Artie and grabbed the handle of his wheelchair so that he couldn't escape.

"Hey, let go!" he grunted, trying to wheel away, but was unsuccessful. He looked up to find Tina staring at him. "Oh, it's you."

Her heart immediately sank at his monotonous greeting. However, she was determined to make things right. "I saw you smiling back there" she commented softly. "Does that mean you forgive me and we can be friends?"

He looked pensive for a moment, then turned to face her. "I don't know, faking a stutter and lying about it is pretty big. At least you get to be normal now." He tried to push her hand off the handle, but her other hand landed on top of his, preventing his actions. Both stopped to look at one another, and they're eyes locked. For a moment, all Tina wanted to do was brush Artie's hair out of his eyes and kiss him, but was unsure of how he would react. After a couple seconds, he pulled his hand out from in between her palms. "I have to go", he mumbled.

"O-o-okay" she managed to spit out, a little stunned by his response.

"You can quit that you know. You're not fooling me." And with that, Artie wheeled himself out of the choir room, leaving Tina in silence.

Hey guys! This is my first glee fic, so go easy! As much as a love a good Puckleberry story, I have to admit there is a lack of Artie/Tina fics out there, and I just love the pairing. What will Tina do in order to get Artie back in her life? Stay tuned to find out!

*pip