AN: Written for ellatrobbie for the ArTina Ficathon 2010. Many thanks to troubadette for organizing the ArTina fun! My prompt was:

"Artie and Tina broke up during the summer after they lost Regionals. Though they remained friends, they became quite distant from each other. Now they're in senior year and facing the prospect of leaving Lima. (if it's too specific you can take any or all details from the prompt, I don't mind.)"

My story sort of took off with a mind of it's own, and it's mushroomed into a multi-chapter fic. Though it certainly is based on the prompt, and I will get to the point where they're in their senior year and thinking about college and leaving Lima, the back story since their breakup was just BEGGING to be written. I hope you forgive my liberties, ellatrobbie, and I hope you enjoy the fic!

Here's chapter 1, with the rest to follow suit soon after, and completed by September 10th :) Now enough with the long-ass author's note! Enjoy :)

August 21st, 2010. 10:30pm.

Artie rolls over in bed, and pulls his laptop towards him. Flipping it open, he logs onto Facebook as if on automatic pilot.

Artie scrolls through his feed casually, but the words "Mike Chang and Tina Cohen-Chang are in a relationship" stop him cold. The type seems extra bold, extra dark. For the first time in the almost-two months after their breakup, Artie's heart pings with a sharp pain.

She broke up with him on June 25th. She had broken down sobbing before she could even get the words out, telling him that she felt invisible. That she had tried and tried and tried to be supportive and attentive, but that he hadn't tried at all with her. When he had protested, she asked him if he knew where she wanted to go to college, what she wanted to major in – topics he knew in his gut had come up before. When he had stared back at her blankly, combing his mind for the answers, she stood up and left his room as quietly as she had entered it.

Since then, Artie went through his days, numb. He went to his summer job, tutoring kids at the Y, came home, played his guitar and went to bed. He saw Kurt and Mercedes a couple of times, they would awkwardly try to cheer him up and it got to be too much to bear.

Maybe it's because he's a bit of a masochist. Maybe it's because for the first time in a long time, Artie actually feels something other than numb. He does the unthinkable – Artie hovers his mouse over the "Like" button, and then clicks it. Snapping his laptop shut, Artie closes his eyes, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

August 21st, 2010. 11:00pm.

Artie's eyes are still closed, but they snap open when his phone rings. It plays "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," Tina's favorite Beatles song. She'd programmed it in his phone when they first started going out and he had never bothered to change it.

Artie sits up, clears his throat and answers. "Tina?"

"Hey…" Her voice is hesitant.

Artie squeezes his eyes shut and wills himself to sound casual. "What's up?" The golf ball-sized lump in his throat betrays him and his voice sounds way too croaky to be casual.

"I saw your response on Facebook. Artie, I'm so sorry I didn't get a chance to call you and tell you myself before you saw it." Tina's voice comes out in a rush, like she's just trying to get it over with. "Artie? It—it just sort of happened. I…I didn't mean to…I don't want to hurt you. If you're uncomfortable…with Mike and I…" Her voice trails off, and Artie knows he needs to say something, anything.

"Tina – it's cool. I'm happy you found someone who can give you what you…you know, deserve. For real." Artie's voice hitches and he doesn't quite believe himself. And he knows Tina doesn't either. But he's willing to pretend until it becomes real.

There's a long pause on the other end. And then – "Do you think we can ever be friends again, Artie? I miss us. As friends, I mean."

This time he's momentarily speechless. And then – "Yeah, someday, I hope. I want to be friends. Someday."

Artie catches a glimpse of Mike and Tina holding hands at the end of the hall. He spins around in his wheelchair and decides to take the long way to class.

September 3rd, 2010. 4:30pm.

Artie is sitting outside the choir room. He's the first one there – he wanted to be – so he could compose himself before they arrived. He still wasn't quite sure how he was going to feel at rehearsal, with both of them. He said a silent prayer: Dear God, please don't let me cry. I'll give up pizza for a month if you can just let me stay cool.

September 3rd, 2010. 4:35pm.

Everyone else files in slowly. Including Tina and Mike. Together. They don't sit together though, and Artie is grateful for the small mercies in life.

Tina obviously doesn't sit with him at lunch anymore. Artie sits with Mercedes and Kurt when Tina isn't, and when she is, he sits with the Jazz Club guys.

Hold up –Is Mike actually feeding Tina a bite of his candy bar?

September 30th, 2010. 12:46pm.

Artie loses his appetite. At least it was meatloaf day – his least favorite food.

They're taking a 5-minute break in Glee rehearsal, and Tina comes over and sits next to him on the stage.

"Hey, Artie."

It's the first time they've spoken directly to each other, just the two of them, since August 21st. Not that he's been keeping track or anything.

"Hey, Tina."

They sit in silence, Tina picking at the lint on her stripey glove. God, he's missed those stripey gloves.

"You coming to Rachel's Halloween party tonight?" Tina's voice stops him as they're packing up after rehearsal. Mike's already gone – run off to football practice, probably – and it's just the two of them.

"Yeah. I can't believe I'm voluntarily hanging out with Rachel outside of school, but there you go. You?"

Tina looks down, scuffing her boot against the floor. "Yeah…we'll probably be late though…Mike's friends are having a party too."

Artie nods mutely. "Well, I can't promise we'll save you any punch," he jokes, lamely.

Tina seems to appreciate his efforts and cracks a small smile. "Lemme guess…you're going as John Lennon, the early years. Again."

Artie laughs out loud, the first time he's been able to do that around her since they broke up 4 months ago. "Actually, I think I'm going to switch it up. I'm going as John Lennon, the hippie years. Gauzy shirt, colored glasses, the works. No clean-cut Beatles for me, this year. You?"

"Morticia Addams, duh." Tina rolls her eyes and smiles at him.

"Who's gonna be the Gomez to your Morticia?" Artie jokes back, caught up in their momentary camaraderie.

The look on her face tells him everything, and he wishes he'd never said anything. Good one there, Abrams.

He wheels out of the room quickly. He can't bring himself to look back at her for fear he'll spontaneously combust.

October 31st, 2010. 10:00pm.

Mike is the perfect Gomez to Tina's Morticia. His hair is slicked back, and he's dashing in a pinstriped suit. The best Artie could ever hope to do would be Uncle Fester…in a wheelchair. Great.

Artie spends the rest of the party feeling sorry for himself, and watching Finn and Puck gorge themselves on candy.

It's the last day of school before the holidays. Artie's grabbing the last few things from his locker when Tina and Mike pass by him. She looks back briefly, smiles, and simply says "Merry Christmas, Artie."

All he can do is nod back at her.

Artie makes a resolution – to stop feeling so sorry for himself. Tina's clearly moved on, and he can too.

March 21st, 2011. 4:00pm.

The new girl in Jazz Club – Cheryl? Sarah? – smiles at him, twirling a piece of her red, wavy hair around her fingers. Artie thinks she might be flirting with him, just a little. He grins back.

March 21st, 2011. 5:00pm.

Artie gets up the courage, wheels over and asks Sarah if she wants to go get some coffee with him before going home.

Sarah smiles brightly, says yes, and steps behind his wheelchair to wheel him out of the room. Artie feels a momentary pang of pain in his heart, but he quickly brushes it off.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Tina's voice comes from behind him, a little wavery.

Artie looks up at her. She's clearly been crying. Maybe…the rumors are true?

Mercedes stands up and pulls Tina down to a sitting position, and helps her unpack her lunch. "Girl, of course you can sit here. What kind of dumbass question is that? We're your friends!"

Artie knows Tina wasn't asking Mercedes or Kurt – she was asking him. Artie glances over to where Mike is sitting with his football buddies. He's despondently picking at his sandwich.

Artie puts two and two together and realizes that yes, Jacob Ben-Israel's gotten it right –for once. Mike and Tina have broken up.

May 17th, 2010. 6:00pm.

It was a particularly late and grueling rehearsal. Everyone's left – but Tina is still sitting motionless in the choir room and Artie just can't bring himself to leave her along.

He speaks first. "What happened? With…with you and Mike?"

Tina's head snaps up, finally realizing that she's not alone. She shrugs. "We…we were growing apart, I guess, and he-he has a lot going on, you know, what with college and everything. W-we just decided…that we shouldn't be together anymore." The corners of her mouth are determinedly turned down, and Artie desperately resists reaching for her hand.

"Was...was it because Mike's going off to college in a few months, and you guys didn't want to do the long distance thing?"

Tina shrugs again, and answers vaguely. "Yes…and no. Long distance was always going to be tough. But long distance when you don't even really like each other anymore…what's the point? He could sense…that maybe…I had someone-I mean-something else on my mind. So, we talked, and he broke up with me this morning."

May 17th, 2011. 6:10pm.

How long has it been since either of us has said anything? Artie is suddenly very aware of the tension in the room – it's so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Did she say someone else, or something else? Artie's holding his breath, and trying valiantly not to think about the fact that she could be talking about him.

She couldn't be talking about him, right? They've been over for months, and things are going well with Sarah. He's actually trying not to be a fuck-up of a boyfriend this time around.

But Artie can't help but feel just the littlest, tiniest bit happy.

May 17th, 2011. 6:13 pm.

Artie feels her eyes boring into his skull and he wills himself to look at her. Something in her eyes tells him that she could be talking about him.

May 17th, 2001. 6:14 pm.

"I'm sorry." It's all Artie trusts himself to say.

Tina smiles at him wanly. "Thanks, Artie. I…I think I'll be OK." She chuckles a little "And I used to call Rachel a drama queen. I guess I shouldn't point fingers."

May 17th, 2011. 6:15 pm.

Tina offers him a ride home, and he accepts. They spend the whole 5-minute drive in silence.

May 17th, 2011. 6:22 pm.

Tina holds his chair steady as he maneuvers himself into it. It's weird, but comforting at the same time. It's been almost a whole year since they've been in this position – her helping him out of a car – but she seems to remember exactly what to do.

As Tina gets back into her car, she says, her eyes a little teary, "Thanks, Artie. For—for being a friend."

He nods back at her and smiles. He watches as she pulls away from the curb and drives home, a lump in his throat.