From the author: I don't own Glee, Ryan Murphy and his gang in Fox does. :) English ain't my first language, so there may be grammar errors - I apologize! If the feedback is good, I'll continue this story, otherwise it will just have to stay as a one-shot. :s
The ball bounced at a rhythm. Something that was foreign in football. His sweaty hands gripped tightly around the orange basketball; He concentrated, aimed and took a shot. The ball bounced off the backboard, teetered around the hoop and dropped through the cottoned net with a swish.
He gave out a long sigh.
The school's basketball court was empty and dim, with only a few lights switched on. He picked up the ball and went to the stands where his duffle bag sat. He took out a small towel and wiped his face and neck dry, while he quenched his thirst with the cold bottle of water he bought earlier. Watching the huge clock in the auditorium ticking, he saw that it was nearly 5 o'clock. Mike wasn't really sure what time they lock up the school, but at that moment, he didn't really care.
He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the showers. It was eerily dim, the light above his head flickered, casting quick shadows against the corridor. The boys' locker room smelled of stale sweat which Mike was used to, he set down his bag on one of the benches and undressed himself, turning on the shower in one of the cubicles.
It has been two weeks since he became single. The thought of it left a bitter taste in his mouth as he pictured Tina back with Artie. He would be lying if he said that he didn't feel animosity towards Artie, at the same time, Mike somehow accepted the fact that Tina and Artie were… meant to be. He clenched his fist, shut his eyes as he stood under the torrent of hot water.
He was happy when he was with Tina, but at the same time, he had that fear when he was with her. Fear of losing her so quickly - and that was what happened.
After thoroughly shampooing his hair and soaping his body, he cleaned and dried himself.
He left the auditorium area, rolling back his sleeves up to his elbow and checked his cellphone; 6:25pm. He wound up at the corridor where the glee club room was. To his surprise, it was still lit, the strip of light from the rectangular window of the door illuminated a section of the hallway.
The teenager approached the room slowly and peered through the vertical window on the door. Behind the piano was Quinn Fabray and she was playing a simple piece of music. Part of him wanted to leave her alone, as her face etched with deep sadness and loneliness. Mike knew it was hard for her, being dumped twice in a year, having to burden pregnancy, stripped off from the Cheerios twice. At the same time, he knew what it was like to feel so alone in the world that sometimes a friendly company was the only thing that could help.
He wrenched the door open and she immediately looked up, looking alarmed. Quinn quickly stood up, thinking that it might be a burglar or someone dangerous.
"Don't come any closer! I have pepper spray!"
Mike hurriedly threw up his hands, "Whoa! Chill. It's… It's only me."
She recognized that voice and her eyes finally focused on the tall stranger.
"Oh, Mike…"
"Yup, it's me, the Changster."
They looked at each other and they both knew, in their heads, asking each other, What are you doing here?
Mike put his bag down on an empty chair of the choir room and walked towards the piano, while Quinn sat back down.
"You've been here the whole time?" asked Mike, leaning forward against the black shiny instrument.
Quinn nodded, her fingers sweeping the white and black keys, "Was trying to take my mind off of things. Clearly didn't work."
He knew it, she came here for solitude. There was a sense of tension afterwards, the awkwardness that came when none of them knew what to say. The girl looked up at him, his face trying to mask the emotional heartache. She suddenly knew why he was still at school. They both lost important people, stranded on a deserted island with no one to help them.
"Come and sit with me," said Quinn.
He obeyed and went around the piano. As he sat next to her, Quinn caught a whiff of fresh fragrance from him, as though he recently stepped out of the shower.
"You play?" asked the black-haired teenager.
"A little bit," replied the blonde, "My mother used to teach me simple pieces like 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' or 'Mary Had A Little Lamb'. Though I wished she had taught me more complex ones."
"I'll teach you a simple piano piece. Easy to learn and it's definitely one of those music where you can just play it and easily impress people with it," he brushed his fingertips upon the surface of the keys, the familiarity of the huge instrument under his power, he muttered, "Fur Elise."
Mike started playing the piano with grace, with both hands, his fingers fluently hitting the notes. The sound travelled, reverberating from within, a harmonious melody flowed and transfixed in the air around them.
Quinn, fixated by the skill Mike revealed before her. She couldn't help but scowl at him.
"Are you showing off to me, Chang?" she asked, a little too coldly.
He stopped playing ending the music with garbled, jumbled up notes, "I'm-I'm sorry?"
"You're trying to impress me," she said sternly.
"I'm not…" he faltered, suddenly looking lost. "It's just been a long time since I haven't played the piano. I've forgotten how overwhelming it was to play such a beautiful thing."
Guilt shot through her body as she heard the hurt in his voice. Sometimes she detested the way she was too accusing. Quinn had to be, she could never be too careful around boys. However, right then, she was feeling slightly regretful.
"OK, then, so show me how to play," she said quietly, it was the closest thing she could say to an apology.
He smiled.
