Quinn smiled, knowing that the only thing calling her back to Lima would be the simple fact that Artie was there — and, so was Beth, if she ever got the opportunity for a visit again. Puck had brought Beth over to cheer Quinn up while she was in the hospital in the midst of Artie’s visits, and it was more than she could ever ask for. Lima held good and bad memories, and she wanted to leave and never look back, but she would happily save that for later. Artie had another year before he was off to college, and Quinn would leave her heart in Lima until then. “Then I’ll be here.”
The blonde’s laugh echoed over Artie’s, caught in between wanting to race him and wanting to stay put for as long as she possibly could. With a shrug, she answered. “No..I just don’t want to..you know..die,” she said, shaking her head in response to her ridiculous answer, but now she was shamelessly curious if anyone had ever experienced such a death. Cringing slightly at the thought, she continued to make eye contact with him, refuting her previous statement in the slightest. “Well..would you let me win?”
Despite that he had told her that he loved her over and over that day, she had never found herself growing tired of the three words. In fact, she knew that she would crave them day by day when they weren’t side by side.. or wheel by wheel, so to speak. There would be phone calls, video chats, and all of that, but a whole lack of face-to-face conversation and kisses. She’d miss the feeling of his hand in hers, that’s for sure. Quinn squeezed his hand back once he had a hold of it, her smile widening brightly. “I’ll never get tired of that, you know..”
As much as Artie hated Lima sometimes, it was home. It was small, annoying, and held so many bad memories, but he couldn’t help but feel a certain fondness for it. The thought of leaving for college, however nice it was, was still daunting. It still hadn’t hit him that Quinn (and most of the New Directions) were leaving; it was pretty surrealistic to picture going to school without them. But it was only one year, he reminded himself. One year until there was nothing separating him from Quinn anymore. “And I’ll be waiting to welcome you home.”
A playful smirk spread across Artie’s face as he raised his eyebrows at Quinn’s remark. “I promise you won’t die,” he replied, holding back a laugh. “I’m pretty sure no one has ever died from rollin’ down a ramp.” His voice got quieter as he continued, adding, “I mean, you got this far, right?” He was tempted to continue to tease her and say that he wouldn’t let her win. It wasn’t like she could deny his advantage. But.. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t let you win?”
There was something so incredibly refreshing about hearing her speak those three words over and over. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, even though he still found it hard to believe at times; it was kind of the opposite. Hearing the affection in her voice never failed to make his heart race and cheeks heat. They could still see each other after summer, if you considered video chatting and occasional weekend visits seeing. Which he didn’t, really. So he was determined to hear it as many times as possible before she left. “Me neither,” he admitted. “I don’t want to.”
Um..

No, and, uh.. I dunno..
Rory nodded. Yes, it was quite complicated and he still didn’t have any idea if he would be able to come back or not, but he kept hoping for the best since it was the only thing he could do. “‘M crossin’ me fingers.” He said, doing said gesture before going back to finishing his drink as Artie spoke. If he had the chance to come back next year, then he knew it would definitely be a challenge to gather new people. People hated Glee Club, so that was like a big obstacle, and they needed at least twelve people to compete. Okay, maybe it wouldn’t be easy at all, but that was another thing that he hoped that would go well. “It’s insane. We’ll be ‘kay, ‘m sure.” New Directions were a family, they had to be able to go through anything that was thrown at them.
The Irish lad’s eyes went wide when Artie mentioned this being one of McKinley’s calmer years. Really? He didn’t know much about what had passed the previous years before he got there, but if everything that went on that year was considered calmer than the rest… It definitely was crazier than he thought. But he had to agree on something, they were definitely crazy, but still a big and loving family. Rory really felt like he had found an amazing group of friends in New Directions.
“Ya’re welcome, Artie, ‘m glad I could help.” He said, smiling and happy that he had been able to give some useful advice. His smile faltered a little when his friend brought up the distance that would be between them and the girls they loved. “Yeah… It’s scary ‘nd it’s hard, but I think we’ll be ‘kay. What ‘bout Quinn? Is she goin’ to spend the summer here?”
Artie laughed as Rory crossed his fingers, nodding. “We’re gonna need all the luck we can get, you’re right about that.” He couldn’t even bear the thought of not having a Glee club next year; it had been, through all of the ups and downs of High school, the source of almost all of his fondest memories. “It’ll work out, I’m sure of it.” They hadn’t expected to get new members this year, yet they had gotten quite a few: Rory, Joe, and Sugar (even though her singing abilities sometimes left a little to be desired). Artie reached for his cup, taking a drink of the still scalding liquid. “Ow!” he laughed. “I’m gonna wait a bit before drinkin’ more of that!”
Rory’s shocked expression made him laugh again. “You better believe it,” he insisted. “I mean, pregnancy scares are nothin’ compared to a real pregnancy. Or, let’s see.. Lots of relationship drama, tryin’ to get enough people, fightin’ over solos.. This year’s been pretty calm.” Crazy or not- and it was certainly crazy- Artie wouldn’t give it up for anything. All of his close friendships were forged in Glee club, plus all of his relationships. It didn’t matter to him if they were losers, because they had each other.
Artie sat in silence for a moment, listening to Rory speak. It would be hard and scary like the boy said, but it would also be okay in the end. “Yeah, she’s here all summer,” he grinned. “I have some plans an’ stuff, but it doesn’t really matter to me as long as I’m with her, y’know?” He was sure Rory could relate to the feeling of taking advantage of every minute. “I told her I’d visit her during every long weekend we have. Hopefully I can follow through with that.”
Every weekend. The thought really did sound fantastic, even if it ended up not turning out as planned. But, for her own sake, she hoped that it would turn out just fine. It couldn’t possibly be all that bad, right? Either way, she would still get to talk to him.. just not being with him was the hardest part. She wanted her own senior year to be perfect, however, and she would make sure that she would try to do everything she possibly could to make his just as flawless. “I wouldn’t mind visiting you,” she said, “I’m sure I’ll miss Lima…well, sometimes…” she added. Lima held good memories and bad, but it was home.
Quinn couldn’t possibly fight back the smile that was now wide on display due to the realization that he had confidence that she would be out of the wheelchair, knowing he had purposely hidden it in his comment. “Right, a race..” she said, “You mean that struggle to get to the top wasn’t a race?” she said with a playful frown, wondering if that could possibly get her out of some semi-dangerous race he had planned. She could trust him, though, he must have been the master of all wheelchair games — her safety was in his hands.
Once Artie had rolled back to her, she was welcomed by another kiss and a grin that seemed to be glued on his face. Quinn couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh of contentment once he brushed a blonde lock of hair behind her ear, enjoying how he had leaned into her touches once she placed a kiss upon his cheek. If you don’t mind, I’m gonna keep reminding you. Quinn knew that she would never, ever get tired of hearing him say those three words, easily making up that decision in a heartbeat. When he asked her to tell him that she loved him once again, she certainly was going to oblige. Whether he wanted her to scream it off the ramp, the roof, or whisper it in his ear, it would always hold the same meaning.
“I love you, I love you, I love you..” she said, pressing a single kiss to the side of his neck.
The thought of being able to see Quinn during the long weekends offered some relief, but Artie still wished he could spend every second with her. He knew, though, that it just wasn’t possible. Quinn had to go off to college, and he had to finish his senior year. If anything, the distance between him would act at a motivator; maybe he could get into a film school close to Yale. But McKinley just wouldn’t be the same without Quinn and the rest of the graduating seniors. He wasn’t even sure they’d have enough people for Glee club. That didn’t matter now. He still had three months with his friends. Three nice, long months to spend with Quinn. “You’d be welcomed back,” he replied. “I’m sure of it.”
Artie ducked his head shyly, looking up at her over the rims of his glasses. Guessing by the grin on her face, she had gotten the point of his comment. “Hm..” he thought. “I guess it does. Are you sayin’ you don’t wanna race me, Q?” His comment was followed by a quiet laugh, eyebrows raised daringly. “I see how it is!”
Everything Quinn did just seemed to make him love her more. It sounded crazy, but all he wanted to do was make her happy. Maybe it was the newness of their relationship still, or even the fact that they were still getting to know each other. Either way, he wasn’t afraid to shout his love off of the ramp or a rooftop or anywhere, much to her surprise; as long as she heard him, he didn’t care who else knew. He wasn’t sure why he asked for her to say she loved him again, given that it wasn’t an uncommon sentiment between them. But it still never failed to make his heart pound. I love you, I love you, I love you..He let his eyes slide shut as she kissed his neck, instinctively leaning his head to the side. After a moment, his eyes slowly opened, hand reaching out to find hers.
“I love you so much,” he repeated, thumb running over the top of her glove. “So much.”