Secret Pains and Brighter Days

When Artie always told his other teammates that his disability and being in a wheelchair didn't bother him, of course he was lying.

Of course his disadvantage bothered him. He even had caused the whole team the trouble of raising money and not buying a different bus to go to Sectionals with, just because of the stupid chair. Well, Artie couldn't take how much the chair restricted him from doing. He knew that he would never be able to live his life the way a normal teenage would.

Sure, he was used to people not understanding how hard life was for him, but that still didn't rule out all of the pain he felt.

Artie kept his pain to himself; the fact that he was deeply hurt by the way he wasn't able to do the things everyone else did and how they didn't even care. But it was his secret pain. He covered it up, not ever wanting to get special treatment or make someone feel sorry for him.

So no one knew what he was going through. Everyone thought he was fine with his disability. They couldn't have been more mistaken.

But, despite the others' insensitivities, the only one that ever cared about Artie, no matter how many times he said he was fine, was Tina.

She admired how he could live as normal of a life as he could with the wheelchair, but understood that when no one cared, sometimes it could be too much for him.

And she knew he wasn't okay. She could hear the hurt in his voice and see the feeling of exclusion in his eyes. So, she constantly rushed to his side, always knowing wordlessly that, no, he wasn't okay.

So whenever Artie would leave Glee at the time of dismissal, rushing out with the others in desperate need to conceal his sorrow, she'd call after him.

"Artie, wait up!"

Artie stopped, alarmed that anyone was calling him. Just when he thought no one cared, there came Tina, desperate to catch up with him and show that she did worry about him.

"Hey," she'd say casually, giving him a look that said she understood that he was hurt, but not a look that said she felt sorry for him. Tina knew that Artie didn't want anyone feeling pity for the boy in the wheelchair.

He only nodded with a small smile, afraid to say anything at all. He was grateful she didn't turn her back on him when he needed a friend, but he still had no idea what words to say.

"Want to walk and roll outside together?" Tina asked sheepishly, hugging her books to her chest.

Artie chuckled at her unintentional joke. He knew Tina was just trying to ask him to go outside with her, without sounding offensive.

"Sure," was the only response Artie could muster.

And with another smile, they both made their way out of the choir room, strolling down the nearly empty halls and heading outside.

They mindlessly chatted of familiar things, laughing here and there, enjoying each other's company.

That was when Artie knew that, even if he didn't want her to be, Tina would always be there for him. She accepted him for who he was, with or without the chair. She could see past the wheelchair and see the real Artie. Also, Tina was stubborn, so he knew there would be no getting rid of her.

But as they went outside, the sunshine hitting their faces and a wide smile forming on Artie's lips, he thought… maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

Tina always knew how to make him smile, even when she wasn't trying. It was just something about the way she was as a person… so accepting and kind, despite what her looks might say, what with her black clothes and dark accessories. And he loved the way he felt around her.

Suddenly, he knew there would never be another girl for him, even if she didn't have a stutter.

And the problems and angst that once boiled inside of him vanished as long as Artie knew he had at least one loyal friend who knew, or tried to relate to, what he was feeling.

As dark of a person as Tina Cohen-Chang could be, she sure knew how to brighten up his day.