A/N: This is my first attempt at writing Glee fanfic, and I thought it'd be easier to write a less-explored character to start off. I'm definitely more of a Klaine person, but I do really like Mike, and this sort of fell out of my head the other day, so here it is. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or this guy would already be singing. I also don't own the song featured in this fic.
The Voicedancer
As he was walking out of Glee rehearsal, hand in hand with Tina, Mike's only thoughts were of the upcoming football game, and whether or not the club could hold off on its seemingly inevitable drama long enough to win. But as they were nearing the door, Mr. Schuester called Tina back, along with Brittany, who, Mike noticed as he turned around with Tina, was still sitting, and looking rather vacantly at the wall. Tina pressed a kiss to his cheek, giving him a 'see you later?' look. When he nodded and smiled, she skipped over to the piano, where Mr. Schue was waiting.
He walked slowly out of the choir room and down the hall but before he was out of earshot, he heard Mr. Schue's carrying voice say "If you two are interested, I'd like both of you to sing lead vocals for our next group number", followed by the two girls' eager assent. Mike stopped in the now empty hallway, listening to them discuss possible songs. He knew Tina would be especially pleased, she hardly ever got so much as a line of a solo in any of the numbers the glee club did. And now that he thought of it, Brittany didn't get to do much singing either. He grinned, happy for the two girls, and was about to continue towards his locker when he heard his name.
"…ask Mike if he'd like to choreograph some of the routine?" Mr. Schue was clearly asking Tina, "…is one of our best dancers, and I think it'd be a good step for us as a team…" Mike started to tune his teacher out, as his mind was suddenly filled with conflicting emotions. On one hand, he knew he was good, he was glad Mr. Schue had recognized him, and he could teach dance fairly well (his bout of teaching the kids at 'Asian Camp' had had mixed results, but the fact stood as it was that he could teach.) On the other hand, he was trying to keep a low profile at school, and in the club. Being the shy, quiet one meant fewer slushie facials, less drama and less being yelled at by Rachel, all of which were a huge bonus. Though not all of the shyness was put on, to be fair; he wasn't genuinely outgoing, but he also wasn't afraid of people, the way he came across as to some. Pretending to be shy made his life easier, so he went with it.
Really though, was it so much that he couldn't even help out his teammates? He started to wonder whether his pretend shyness was being rather selfish. Not to say selfish in the way Rachel was, always needing to have her way, get all the solos, have everyone look up to her. Actually, he was at the extreme opposite end- having something to give but withholding it. Mike had no desperate desire for the spotlight, but he figured it was his turn to step up- if not for the team, then for himself.
Besides, it wasn't putting himself out there to the world. Just the lively, dramatic, bickering, dysfunctional family of his 12 best friends.
Smiling to himself, pleased with his decision to agree to help, he continued walking down the hall, humming a tune subconsciously. His locker was pretty far away from the choir room, and since glee club was for an hour after school, the hallways were deserted. Adding a little skip to his step, he dance-walked away and before he knew it, he had started full-out singing the chorus of the song he had been humming:
"Ha-la-la-la-la
Listen closely to the verse I lay
Ha-la-la-la-la
It's all about the wordplay
Ha-la-la-la-love
The wonderful thing it does because
Because I am the wizard of oohs
And ahhs and fa-la-las, yeah,
The Mr. A to Z they say
I'm all about the wordplay"
He approached his locker, did a little spin in time with the song before collecting his books and his bag. Still beaming in an inexplicable good mood, he launched into the second verse of the song as he closed his locker.
"…when it's time to get Ill I got your remedy
For those who don't remember me
Well let me introduce you to my style
I try to keep a jumble
And the lyrics never mumble
When the music's making people tongue-tied…"
Mike sang out confidently, his voice more articulate than Finn's, fuller than Artie's, stronger than Puck's and clearer than Sam's. Kurt had him beat in terms of lofty, floating songs but the rapid lyrics and complex rhythms of this particular songs were much more in Mike's playing field.
"…You want a
New song like a new religion, music for the television
I can't do the long division, someone do the math
For the people write me off like I'm a one-hit-wonder
Gotta find another way to keep from goin' under
Pull out the stops
Got your attention
I guess it's time again for me to
Mention the wordplay"
Walking across the field to the parking lot where he'd meet Tina, Mike belted the chorus, reveling in his ability to do so without being judged, as there was no-one in sight. He moved into the bridge, pitching into his higher register but entirely on-key
"Well, I built a bridge across the stream
Of consciousness that always seems
To be a-flowin', but I don't know
Which way my brain is goin'
Oh the rhyming and the timing
Keeps the melodies inside me and
They're climbin' till I'm running out of air
Are you prepared to take a dive
Into the deep end of my head?
Are you listenin' to a single word I've said?"
He let the last note hover for a bit, to be whisked away by a breath of wind that whipped past in the cool air. He felt so free, singing for the sake of it rather than for performance, or to let out his emotions like some of the other club members did. He never cried when he sang, but he often laughed. He was just singing for love of doing so. The final chorus burst forth as he stepped onto the tarmac:
"…Ha-la-la-la-love, I love
The wonderful things it does because
Because of the oohs and aahs and
Fa-la-las fall back in love,
For the Mr. I-K-E (He changed it on whim) they say
Is all about the wordplay."
The last words faded off into silence, and he saw Tina's waiting figure over by his car. He hurried over to meet her, a smile stretched effortlessly over his face.
The next day in Glee rehearsal, Mr. Schue announced that Tina and Brittany were going to sing leads for the next song, to general approval from the group. Even Rachel kept quiet, which was a feat in of itself. He also announced that Mike would be teaching the group some of his "amazing dance moves" (as he'd put it) for this number- when Tina had asked him, he'd agreed without hesitation. Then Mr. Schue told the group that they'd need a male lead vocalist as well, and asked for volunteers. There was a pause, and then Mike raised his hand hesitantly.
"Mike? You- you want to volunteer to sing?"
"No, Mr. Schue, I wanted to say that I think Artie would do a great job singing that song. It'd be his range, and I think I could incorporate his wheelchair well into the routine. If Artie's ok with it, that is." Everyone looked at him, surprised. It was probably one of the biggest speeches he'd done in the club, which was sort of sad, if you thought about it. But it was only a second before Rachel was talking again, taking the attention away from him.
"Yes, Mr. Schuester, Mike's right, Artie's pitch and timbre, together with Tina's and Brittany's harmonies…" She continued her nearly incessant chatter for the few people who bothered to listen. Artie flashed him a grin and Tina linked her arm in his, laying her head against his shoulder. Mike smiled to himself, and thought; not quite yet… not this time…
A/N: Just to be clear, I love all of the guys' voices, and they're all amazing singers, but I think it would be funny/cool if Mike was actually the best singer of all of them, and just pretended to be bad.
This fic was sort of inspired by an interview I watched with Harry Shum Jr. where he said he actually can sing, and in fact he sang at his audition, but didn't dance. So he must be good, or so I conclude.
The song featured is called "Wordplay" and is by Jason Mraz. I put the link in my profile, and strongly recommend you listen to it, if only because it's an amazing song. I've always imagined Mike to be a Jason Mraz kinda guy, for some reason.
Reviews make me happy!