Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 42nd cycle. Now cycle 43!

INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!
Go to: gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet

** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 43 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about shift days!

This is a shift day [see above]. There will be another upload this afternoon: Familiar Strangers, chapter 4.

"Put On A Happy Face"
15yo Mike/Tina
Chang Squared #19 (following 'Broken Down & Out')

He hadn't anticipated that this would upset her so much. As sad and broken up as she'd been about getting kicked off the Cheerios by Coach Sylvester and her amazing powers of randomness, he thought she'd bounce back and move on. But it had now been nearly a month, and he could still see they were far from her having surpassed a whole lot. She still missed the Cheerios, still hated the way she'd been thrown out, still had no idea how to accept that this part of her life was done and she had to move on.

For now all she could take in was probably closer to anger and resentment, with a dash of self-pity. The rest of the squad still spoke to her but, with the exception of Brittany maybe, unless it was prompted by them coming into contact, it was as though she'd stopped existing to them again. So now all this bad blood was directed at spiting the coach who'd tossed her aside. This became apparent with the appearance of the blue streaks in her hair, which she had wanted to do for some time, but restrained knowing the coach wouldn't allow it, not even if she made them Cheerio red. Mike did find it suited her, which he'd complimented her for.

But then he could see her grow restless at times when she used to have practice. And game days were just not to even be mentioned. So on one of those days, he'd decided the best place, the only place, for him to be, was by her side. He'd gone to her house, unsure whether the best thing to do would be to stay in or go out. When he got to her house, hearing the loud music from her room, he wasn't sure going out was anything she'd be interested in.

He knocked at her door. "Tina, it's me," he spoke against the wood. The volume came down, so he imagined she'd heard something but wasn't sure, so he repeated himself. "It's Mike," he announced. There was a beat, and then…

"Come in," her voice sounded, so he pushed the door open and looked in.

Tina sat up on her bed, the sour expression on her face having such a hold on her that his arrival, and the relief it inspired in her, only grazed the surface. He moved to sit in front of her, saw her chance a smile. "So… how are we doing?" he smiled back, and was pleased to see this made her laugh. She leaned forward so to rest herself against him, and he put his arms around her. She breathed deep.

"Am I pathetic?"

"Not even a little," he promised. "I know how much it meant to you." She sighed, burrowing closer, so he responded in sort and drew his arms closer around her, kissing the top of her head. "What do you want to do?" he asked after a moment.

"I wouldn't say no to more of this," he heard her voice, muffled against his chest, and he smiled.

"You got it." So he kept on holding her, alternating with a back rub at times, brushing at her hair, or just holding. He could feel her grow calmer with each minute that went by, to the point where he almost wondered if she had fallen asleep or would soon. He drew his finger along the curve of her ear, and she twitched – awake.

"Guess we might as well work on that project for history class," she spoke after a while.

"I don't have my things," he reminded. "Want to come to my house to work on it?"

"Okay," she agreed, then, "Just give me another minute here." He smirked, waiting out the hold.

Tina had gotten her things together and they'd headed off toward Mike's house. The walk had involved discussing the project, focusing on that so not to think about the thing she was trying to ignore. When they did get to the house, work on the project was made priority, though it took getting by Mike's little brother first. Joey loved hanging out with Tina because she was showing him how to play the piano, and when she'd show up, he'd want to show her that he'd been practicing, that he was getting better. He still didn't talk much, if at all, but he'd whisper at her ear, the way he did with Mike, and she'd go with it.

If anything, the brief moment taken to listen to Joey play had made Tina happy, put them both in a better head space to work on the project. They worked their way through the afternoon, not leaving space for any sort of distraction, so that by the time Mrs. Chang extended an invitation for Tina to stay for dinner, the project was done. When asked what she wanted to do with the time they had left until dinner, Tina had told Mike she owed his brother a new lesson.

"He'll love that," Mike smiled.

"So will I," Tina nodded. Joey was a very good student, and a fast learner. His demonstration earlier had reminded Tina how rewarded she felt, helping him, and it reminded her of something else, too. It reminded her of life before the Cheerios, how good it was, with her dance lessons with Mike, and singing… If anything could help her remember this turn of events with Coach Sylvester wasn't the end of the world, no matter how much her fifteen-year-old mind insisted it was, it was Joey Chang and the piano.

Joey had been thrilled by the lesson, and then dinner was ready. By the end of the night, Mr. Chang would drive her home, so she and Mike sat in the backseat, texting each other to talk 'in private.'

"What about the next game?" he asked.

"I don't know." After a beat, she sent another. "How about a triple play at the movies?" He could see the edge of her smirk from beyond the curtain of hair.

"You're on."

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!