Dance With Me?

Chapter 27: The Boy In The Wheelchair

To: Kurt 😍💍
From: Blaine
'I love you too Kurt, I'll message you once my lesson is over and then head back over to yours x'

To: Blaine 🥰😘
From: Kurt
'Okay... Have fun x'

Blaine smiled sadly at his boyfriends text, Kurt had been released from the hospital this morning however, he was on bed rest till Monday and even after that, he was going to be on crutches and would still have to skip his ballet lessons and while Kurt knew things had to be this way to make sure his ankle heeled properly, he still wasn't happy about it and even tried to convince Blaine to take him to the studio so he could just sit and watch. After hours of pouting and begging to no avail however, Kurt reluctantly gave up and went back to watch 'America's Next Top Model'.

Burt had given Blain permission to spend the next two nights plus the weekend at their house in an attempt to give his son something to be happy about and, we'll mainly, to keep him distracted and the pair had happily agreed. Although, only Blaine knew the real reason for his staying, Burt had told him.

Blaine gently pushed his phone into his jean pocket as he walked however, he slowed down when he saw Mike and Sam standing at a studio window, matching sombre expressions on their faces as they looked through the window. Blaine walked over to them and looked in, he was surprised when he saw Tina with Artie. It looked like Tina was going through the moves, the faint sound of her clicking shoes making their way through the partly open door and Artie was watching her, seemingly asking questions before moving his chair in different directions, a less coordinated but still clear clicking sounding when he moved his wheels.

"What are they doing?" Blaine asked, turning to face his two friends.

Neither boy looked back to Blaine when they replied, their eyes focused on their friend, and girlfriend, in the dance studio before them.

"Tina's teaching Artie a duet for them to show the class..." Mike half smiled as he watched his girlfriend, her faint voice filling his ears with nothing but kindness in her tone.

"A duet..? He wants to be a dancer?" Blaine asked, looking back at the pair however, he quickly turned to Sam when the blonde spoke.

"No" he replied in a cold tone, clearing his throat to calm himself down, "Sorry.. it's just- Artie's a tap dancer, has been since he was little..." Sam said, sighing.

"But he's-" Blaine began, not wanting to sound rude.

"He was in an accident when he was eight..." Mike informed him, "His mum was fine just a few cuts and bruises, a broken wrist I think but.. Artie's lower spine was damaged and he was paralysed from the waist down..." Mike told him, remembering the day the boy in the wheelchair first returned to their tap class after being in the hospital. No one had been given permission to see him and he wasn't old enough to own a phone at the time, so the day his mum pushed him into the tap studio was the first any of his friends had seen him since he'd left that day.

...

*9 years ago*

Artie waved goodbye to Mike and Tina as he saw his mum's car pull up to the building, since starting at the school and becoming friends, the three of them would sit on the curb together and wait to be picked up after tap class.

Artie ran towards his mum with a smile on his face, his tap shoes clicking together now and again as they hit into each other but, Artie didn't notice, he was too excited to tell his mum about the dance they had learnt and even more so to show her it when they got home.

"Artie!" his mum greeted him and turned round in her seat to look at her son when he hopped in the backseat.

"Hi mum!" he smiled back, they exchanged light greetings as usual as Artie buckled himself in and put his bags in the seat beside him.