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 46th cycle. Now cycle 47!

This is a shift day. There was another upload this morning: Troika, chapter 7.

"Summer Plans & Autumn Plans"
15yo Mike/Tina
Chang Squared series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

The last days of the school year has been counted down like their lives depended on it, and sometimes it almost felt like it did. They were not too far from the end already when Sue had made Tina the next captain of the Cheerios, ousting Quinn in the process, but that hadn't stopped them from making their dislike of the situation very clear. Everyone who valued their maintained positions when 'order would be restored', would follow Quinn to the ends of the earth, if she so demanded. They refused to listen to her when she had to tell them what to do, and if she didn't already know her promotion was payback, the look on the coach's face made it very clear. But no matter what happened, she didn't remove her from the squad or the position.

Tina was getting exasperated by the whole thing, but it hadn't taken long for her to know the best response to the whole thing was not to give up but to stick it out. "I'll get them all and they won't even see it happen. I'll be the best captain those pom poms heads ever saw," she declared to Mike one day as they sat huddled together, and he smiled down to her.

But that was all a couple months away, and now they had summer to look forward to. This included working as teaching assistants at their dance school. Mike had been so thrilled by the offer, never imagining that think he would have progressed far enough for that already. He could not have asked for a more welcomed opportunity. And if that wasn't enough, it gave him and Tina the chance to spend all this time together. When they weren't assisting, they were attending classes as well. They would end their days relaxing in the empty class space.

On the first week he didn't want to bring it up, and on the second week he never got the chance to do it. So on the third week, after a long day, the two of them sitting there, he had just come out with it.

"I know we've talked about it a couple times before, but now I think we should talk about it again." She looked to him.

"Talk about what?" she asked.

"I really think we should try out for Glee Club this fall," he told her... and she snorted. "I'm serious..."

"But it's Ryerson. He can't get anyone to stay that even goes and tries out, and he's got no one..."

"All the more reason," Mike nodded.

"I hear he touches them... I mean, really, touches."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"The boys, even," she added, and he frowned.

"I am. Period. Man, I hope that's not true.."

"The boys, even, open" she added, and he frowned.

"I'm... Man, I hope that's not true... The point is, we could be passing up something really good and we'll never know." She was quiet, which he knew meant he'd made a good point, as far she was concerned.

"If he tries something on you..."

"I'm a fast runner," he shook his head, and she smiled. "People should get to hear you sing, not just dance," he declared.

"You, too," she told him, already blushing.

"Well, I don't know about the singing," he bowed his head.

"Maybe not, but I can help you with that. We've got a whole summer."

"Yeah, I guess we do," he smiled, then, "So you'll do it then? We'll join?"

"Yes, alright, let's try," she announced, and he looked happy. "It might be a nice change of pace from having to deal with Quinn and the rest. Think Brittany might like to join, too?"

"Maybe," Mike nodded.

"So now we just have to wait for this fall."

She wished it worked out, she really did. If it had been almost anyone except Ryerson there would have been no hesitation. She loved to sing, maybe, no, even more than she loved to dance. For so long though she had been so painfully shy she'd even faked a stutter to be left alone.

But then Mike had come along, and... He hadn't changed her, not in so direct a way. He had just loved her, plain and simple. He'd loved her and, in doing that, he had made her feel more open, almost daring. With those propulsions she had already done more than she would have ever thought she could: she had actually joined the cheerleading squad. She had joined them, and then when it had been taken from her she had fought for her spot, taken the lead in ways she never would have the year before. Now she was actually in the lead, and it wasn't nearly as scary as she would have thought.

Glee Club would just be another challenge, one she faced with optimism. Ryerson had better watch out. This was as a dream long held, and she wasn't going to take putting it in someone else's hands lightly.

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!