"I'm... what?"
Quinn's right eyebrow rises as she looks up quizzically at the tall Asian boy. He quirks his lips, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"It's just... you're not all that graceful are you? As a dancer, I mean. You're klutzy."
She rolls her eyes at him, smirking. "I'm a Cheerio. Not just any Cheerio, head Cheerio." She shakes her head. "Head Cheerios aren't klutzy." She rolls her eyes one more time, muttering about crazy people, before pushing past him to get to her locker down the hall.
"You nearly fell on your face just walking onto the stage during the last mash up." Mike's words are soft, but they carry quite well in the empty hallway. She stops, turning her head slightly to listen with her back still to him. "After that, you barely moved at all." She hears him walking slowly towards her, his strides long and graceful, just as always.
"During your funk solo last year, you held onto the microphone like it was some sort of safety net. And Sam had to catch you during Sectionals... it was almost undetectable, but I saw it." He's in front of her now, so she looks away, flitting somewhere between the space over his shoulder and the lockers directly to her right. "You don't have to be embarrassed... It happens."
She snorts, turning her head to look directly into his eyes in amusement. "Says the overly graceful dancer that, only a little over a year ago, never even danced outside his room!" She laughs, bemused, and he lets a small smile crawl onto his face. She pokes his shoulder good-naturedly. "I've seen you play football; that smooth motion thing you have going for you happens everywhere. How?"
He shrugs. "Martial arts. I quit, but mom made me do it for a long time." He says it like it's no big deal, because, to him, it really isn't.
Somehow, though, to Quinn, this kind of makes sense. She's had to sit through martial arts movies with both Finn and Puck before, and had marveled at the fluidity of the actors. After each movie, Finn and Puck both made the people in the film look like gods with their immature choppy movements.
"So you think you can help me?" He nods slowly, a growing smile crawling across his face. "I'll think about it." She nudges him lightly with her elbow and walks away with a smile on her face.
"I've thought about your offer."
Mike looks over in their shared home ec course. She has icing sugar on her cheek, and a wildly excited look in her eyes. "Oh?"
"Yeah." Quinn glances around quickly before leaning in secretively. "And I was thinking... maybe help all the Cheerios? I'm sure I'm not the only one with... problems, and if I talk to the coach about it, she'll probably even write you some sort of letter thing." She pauses to let her idea sink in. "It'll definitely help us Cheerios with our more difficult routines, and, it'll look great on your college applications later."
He looks relatively deep in thought. Everything she says is true, but he feels like it's all so she doesn't have to go through this herself. He smiles, deciding not to call her out on it. "Sounds like a good idea."
She smiles prettily at him, before going back to beating her eggs again. "Cool. Give me your schedule, and I'll talk to Coach Sylvester about setting up a good time for both you and the Cheerios."
He laughs at the mess she's making (because despite it all, she looks like she's having tremendous amounts of fun) before he goes back to crushing walnuts.
"Coach said yes, then complimented me on my initiative..." She looks away, slightly confused. "Well, I'm pretty sure she did... though there were a couple insults thrown in there too." He laughs, amused. "You're okay for Wednesday mornings, right? Before class?"
"Yeah, what time?"
"She says seven, but get here fifteen minutes before, at least. And, like, be ready right away or something."
He nods, then they part ways, she to meet up with Sam somewhere, and he to find Tina. His mom had told him last night to invite Tina over for hot pot.
It's Wednesday after practice. Quinn's absolutely beaming, and he is too. The other Cheerios are just getting into the locker room, chattering loudly about the new things they'd tried earlier.
"That was awesome! And probably the most fun we've had in practice for a while!" She turns to him, hands on her hips. "Thanks, Mike!" He just smiles. He's glad he could help, even if it was in some round about way.
"I was worried, you know, when you were pregnant." Her smile falls slightly, and her eyes harden. "I was afraid you'd fall while you were dancing, and you'd lose your baby."
She looks down, hands subconsciously moving to protect the now absent precious cargo that had lived in her stomach for nine months. Her eyes become sad, but she smiles towards him. "You're a good guy, Mike."
He shakes his head, moving slowly past her to leave.
Her hand catches his elbow as he's leaving. "No, really." She looks him in the eyes, completely sincere. "Tina's a lucky girl. She'd better know she's got a catch."