#lightupchallenge

The lone benefit to always being the passenger in the car was the chance to space out and get lost in his thoughts. As the scenery flew by, scenery that he’d becoming quite used to in the last several months between his own home and that of Quinn’s, it reminded Artie of just how far they’d come in a relatively short time. Summer was coming to an end and in a matter of days he’d be back inside the walls of McKinley; only this time he’d be one of the big dogs on campus. A senior. The thought still threw him quite a bit, for as long as he could remember he’d always been the underclassman, the follower instead of the leader. This was going to be such an adjustment, to have people coming to him to ask what to do and where to go. And while he knew he was up to the challenge, it still left him feeling a little hollow because he knew things would ultimately be very different. There’d be no Finn and Puck on the football team, no Rachel taking charge in the choir room, and worst of all, there’d be no Quinn. She, like the rest of the graduates, were off to new directions of their own that didn’t involve singing songs and dancing. While it comforted him to know that Tina and Sam and some of the others would still be there with him, it was hard to really envision a choir practice without so many familiar faces.

And for Quinn, it was just hard to realize she’d be so far away at school. She was going to Yale, which made Artie crazy proud to know his girlfriend was going to an ivy league school, but also couldn’t help but gnaw at him too. He’d gone so long wishing he could have the perfect relationship, little did he know that the perfect girl for him was right under his nose the whole time. Only now that they’d actually become a couple and she was leaving did it all happen. Now they’d have to rely on skype and texting and phone calls, long distance was still better than nothing and Artie knew they could make it last anyways. Today he was headed to her home to take her to the train station for those last moments together that they could have, but it was hard to believe they were here already. They’d been practically inseparable all summer, after the camping trip with the rest of the group the weeks seemed to fly by. It was there they had taken the next step in their relationship, to actually be together in a cozy tent for two under the stars felt just like a dream. If it wasn’t love, it was at least something close to it that he was feeling for her, and unlike his previous experiences there was absolutely nothing he held back; they were together in every sense of the word now.

But, it turned out that his worries and doubts had been for nothing, turning up at the Evans’ home wasn’t at all what he expected, they were welcoming and loving and Sebastian had never experienced anything like that before. At first he found it difficult to break old habits, slipping into the exceptional young man he’d always been trained to be, standing tall, making polite conversation, sticking to formalities. It was all he knew, that was his world and he’d never been shown anything different. But, after his first night there, waking up and enjoying a relaxing breakfast with the family he finally felt like he could breathe. Sam had been right all this time. His family was different, but good different. Sebastian could see the love between them all, how much they cared about each other, how much they’d missed each other during the separation. He could definitely get used to this.

For two weeks, he wasn’t Sebastian Smythe - son of Michael Smythe, Ohio’s most successful attorney of law, he was just Sebastian, and he was accepted as such as well. He found himself volunteering to help with dinner, despite never having cooked a meal in his life, spending time with Sam’s brother and sister, joining in with their games, and seeing how happy just being here made Sam. Life was good, it was so good, and by the time it came to say their goodbyes, he knew that he’d never felt so Sam as he did right then.

Unfortunately, it was a sharp contrast to the trip with his own parents.

Of course, Paris was exceptional, as it always was. It was just a shame his parents weren’t.  

Sure, it started well, they landed successfully, had a car pick them up from the airport, and although tired and extremely jet-lagged, Sebastian asked the driver to take them through the city, pointing out all of the main points of interest, weaving an arm around Sam’s waist as he watched his boyfriend’s face light up with excitement. But, it was dinner where everything went downhill. Unlike dinner with the Evans’, dinner was a formal affair, the majority of it spent listening to his parents bicker amongst themselves, his father occasionally throwing an insult in his sons direction, and although he was used to it, he knew that Sam wasn’t. He put on a brave face, of course, shrugging it off, even making light of it when they went to bed that night, though he knew it went against everything his father believed in, but a part of him felt bad that he’d forced Sam into this situation, despite Sam knowing elements of what his family life was like. No one could have prepared themselves for this.

They spent their days mostly alone, occasionally members of the extended Smythe family would drop by, forcing Sebastian to play translator, if and when they decided to pay either of the two boys any attention. Then at night, they’d sit through yet another painful dinner, and Sebastian found himself actually counting down to when they could finally return home to Lima, something he’d never thought he’d do. Of course, he made good on his promise, taking Sam to Disneyland on their final day in the city, ignoring his mother’s wishes to spend the day with her instead, on what turned out to be the best day of the trip so far. But, he’d promised Sam that he’d meet his parents one day, and that was what he’d done, he just hoped it wouldn’t happen again for a long time to come.