AN: This story is short, but I haven't been able to make a 5,000+ story for Mikel like I did for Matchel. I feel like a bad person. It's awkward in places, but I just can't bring myself to change it yet. Let me know if it's awful.

The first time happened when he figured he was too nice. Really. When he learned Brittany was cheating on him with Santana, he didn't yell at her, or call her bad names behind her back. In fact, he didn't do or say anything, to her or anyone else, about what happened. He respectfully bowed out, and just sort of ignored the problem. Because, who could get mad at sweet, unassuming Brittany? She'd said sorry, and had probably explained why she'd done it, but he hadn't really listened, because he kept thinking the same thing-Was he really not enough for her?

And then an equally horrifying thought crossed his mind…Was he not good enough for ANY girl? This thought bothered him for a long time, but it didn't matter because he knew no one would care. He was quiet most of the time, so why would anyone notice him being quieter. No one in Glee really noticed. However, he hadn't counted on The Rachel Berry Factor. She shot him looks in the three classes they shared, various ones at lunch, several in the hallway, and one long four minute one at glee practice. It wasn't that creepy Rachel stare, the one were she was trying to: get what she wanted from you, intimidate you, or terrify you. No, it was worse. She looked concerned about him, and that was unusual, because no one really cared about him enough to…stalk was too strong a word…let's say, look after him, like a mama bear protecting her cub. (Which looking back, he realizes that particular analogy is so wrong)

She cornered him the next day, which he'd dubbed "The Day I Was Nicely Stalked/Protected By Rachel Berry", in front of the girls bathroom after school, before glee. He literally had no way to run/distract her, so he prepared himself to just sit there and take it. Puck had said something about Rachel once, during the week and a half they dated, and it was something like this: "Dude, when I see her coming toward me with that Crazy Berry look, I brace myself for the worst, and then slowly loosen up. Cause then, dude, we'd make out as soon as she was done. All around it was a good deal." While he couldn't look forward to making out with Rachel, he could definitely wait for The Crazy to pass.

However, she didn't yell, or rant, and she wasn't mean.

"Mike, it has come to my attention that you have been experiencing a…well, let's call it a melancholia. You don't speak very much, you don't meet people's eyes, and most importantly, you are slacking on your dancing, which is honestly despicable. You should not let heartbreak rule your life, Mike."

"I don't want to talk to you about this Rachel."

"Then talk to someone else! Or better yet, dance about it!"

"I don't want to talk about it at all!" losing his cool hadn't been apart of the plan, and he felt a little ashamed to be taking his anger out on her. "And you can't 'dance' about feelings."

"Why not? Trust me, it's good to express your feelings through things you're good at. It works, really!"

"And what would you know about that? Huh?"

"I've been through a lot, and every time I was slushied, or laughed at, or had pornographic pictures drawn about me, I would sing, or dance, and I'd feel so much better. In fact," she smiled sadly, "that's probably why I am so talented, because I've had all the time in the world to improve."

Now he felt like an ass. "Rachel-"

"Mike, I know you're talented. I know. You are an amazing dancer, and dare I say it, a much better one than I am." Mike was, in a word, flabbergasted. Rachel Berry did not admit things like this. Ever. "Please don't waste your talent over some girl. Girls, Boys, people in general? They come and go. But your talent is like your child. You have to nurture it, or it won't blossom and grow into something amazing. You can't give up Mike." She smiled then, and was so unlike any smile he'd ever seen, not just on her, but on any girl. It was kind of sweet, but there was some kind of power in it. Mike wasn't a poet by any means, but there was something in Rachel Berry's smile that shined, just like the sun, or her gold star stickers.

"There are other girls who will care about you. In fact, I'm sure there are a lot of girls who like you right now, for exactly who you are. In a few months, maybe even in a few weeks, you'll have forgotten all about this, and everything will be fine."

"I just kind of feel…worthless. Maybe that's a little dramatic, but it's how I feel."

"Worthless? Mike, worthless is the absolute last thing I would think of when I think of you."

"Thank you, Rachel." she nodded, and hugged him. He gently returned it, treating her like he would treat a bomb; she could explode any second. She wouldn't explode into a million pieces, she would drastically change moods, and that was scary stuff.

She backed away, smiled at him again, and walked away. That was the first time he ever thought Rachel Berry was awesome. Fifteen minutes later, when she sang 'Gives You Hell', and he realized that the pep talk she gave him was also to herself, and all day she'd been dealing with that Finn drama. So, the only way he could think to pay her back was to dance with her, proving her right, and enjoying himself in the process.

The fact that she was hot when she was angry was just an added bonus.

The second time Rachel Berry rocked his world was when he wrote down his dream. 'I want to learn every type of dance I can' probably wasn't a very 'good' dream compared to other people he could mention, like, say, Rachel. But that's why it was a dream, most times they don't happen in real life. His mistake was telling that to Rachel when they had to partner in Biology. He'd expected her to flip, not break down.

"What if I don't make it on Broadway? What if everything I've ever worked for has all been for nothing and I end up a waitress in some slummy diner?" she was talking so fast that he really felt like he had whiplash. She calmed down long enough for them to continue their project in the library. He waited until the very end to say something so she wouldn't be able to.

"Rachel, you of all the people in this school are going to make it. You'll get out of here and blow everyone away, cause you're kind of special. It's people like me who won't ever do anything." He walked away quickly, leaving her behind. But of course, she was Rachel Berry and she was always the one who delivered the punch line and walked away. AND she did the flippy hair thing. So it really shouldn't have been a surprise when she cornered him, again, but this time it was backstage in the auditorium. Alone. With no people. She pointed her finger at him and poked him, hard.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Before he could even be shocked over the fact that Rachel Berry had cursed, she was already trucking on.

"Are you clinically depressed, or just plain stupid? Seriously, what is wrong with you that you have such a bad view of yourself? Didn't we already have this conversation, a month ago? Do you have Alzheimer's? Hello?" He'd already been backed against the wall, so she thumped him in the head. "I thought you were supposed to be smart, Mr. Honor Roll!" That threw him off. Was she stalking him for real?

"Rachel, chill, I just-"

"You just? You JUST? Oh my god!" she slapped his chest. It probably would have been more terrifying had she not been drastically shorter than he was. The top of her head was level with his collar bone.

"Rachel. Again, chill. I wasn't-"

"Chill! CHILL! I most certainly will not 'chill', what-" his left hand clapped over her mouth, while the right cupped the back of her head, effectively silencing her. Apparently, you had to be physically forceful with Rachel to get her to be quiet.

"Rachel, I am not clinically depressed, I'm realistic. I really can't do the things you can, and I will never be successful like you. That is just a fact." She shook her head violently, and began mumbling into his hand.

"If I move my hand, will you promise to lower your voice and calm down?" she nodded slowly. He removed his hand, and was promptly jabbed in his stomach with Rachel's elbow. He grunted. She'd hit him pretty hard for such a tiny person.

He sighed, and slid to the floor. She followed, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hit you. But I am so disappointed in you, Mike. We've been over this, you are talented, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to get out of Lima, and I don't-"

"It's not that I doubt my talent. I just doubt that I can actually do it, because I don't really dance outside of glee." He set his hand on hers.

"If that is the only problem, then it's easily fixed. Enroll in dance classes, so you can learn the ones you don't know." Surprised, he looked at her. She blushed and looked down at her lap.

"I have a confession. I looked in the trashcan with Tina to read what everyone else wrote, and it was kind of easy to tell who's was who's. But maybe you'll be surprised that Matt's dream is similar to yours." he nodded.

"Do you dance at a studio?' she grinned widely and nodded. "What type of classes do you take?"

"Well, hip-hop, ballet, jazz, street, tap and ballroom are the main ones that are always taught, but then we have a few classes every month that are just wild cards. It's really fun."

"What kind of dance classes are wild cards?"

"Well, sometimes I teach clogging, and every now and then we teach things like Irish jigs and dances from period films."

"You teach a class?"

"Yes, ages 10-13. Noah's sister Sarah is in it."

"You can handle all of that, plus glee and school?"

"Michael, you seem to have forgotten who I am."

"Huh?"

"I am Rachel Freaking Berry, and I can do anything I set my mind to because I'm amazing, and 'kind of special'." he laughed. "You're right."

"You could come with me to class, we love visitors. If you like it, then first two classes you take are free." He nodded, but didn't really say anything. "Please Mike? Please? It's fun, and I know you'll love it. I know."

"I'd like that." He smiled, and stood up, holding his hand out to her. She took it, and walked to the parking lot with him.

Honestly, he wasn't a violent person. Not really. Compared to Puck, he was a saint. And it had been a month since the loss at regional's/loosing glee club, and since they got glee club back. Rachel and Finn had tried out their relationship, but according to her they "really care about each other as friends, but not enough to make a relationship work." She seemed happy, hanging out with Mike, Matt and Puck at the pool. Sometimes they'd meet Quinn, Santana and Brittany there, and sometimes the other 'gleeks' would come, but mostly it was just the four of them. Mike liked it that way.

So the level of anger he felt towards Jesse St. Douche Bag when he saw him in the grocery store should have made him a little nervous about his mental wellbeing. However, as he pounded Jesse's face into the ground, he was perfectly happy with his state of mind. When the police came and broke up the 'fight' (because it was totally an EPIC BEATDOWN) they said they wouldn't arrest him, but he just couldn't come into that grocery store anymore. Mike was fine with that. Puck and Matt laughed at him all the way back to Lima, poking fun about the 'Other Asian's Berry-moment", when Puck got this look on his face that made Mike a little uncomfortable. That look meant Puck was thinking, and that was never a good sign.

"So Mike," Puck said after a quiet minute, "do you like Rachel?"

If he'd used his nicknames for Mike and Rachel, Mike probably would have denied it, thinking he was joking and didn't really want to know, but this wasn't Puck talking. It was Noah, his friend, and Rachel's friend too.

"Yeah."

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"I've got a plan." In the review mirror, Puck could see that Matt's smile matched his own. When Mike had a plan, everything turned out good. Plus, he'd already called Rachel about the fight, and boy, was she pissed. He said as much, waiting for Mike's reaction.

"It's going to take time to get her, and it's going to be hard work." Mike said. "But when I do get her, she's mine for good, so it'll be worth it."

It took a two days after the fight for Rachel to stop being angry with Mike. She yelled at him, 'You can't use violence for absolutely no reason!' which led him to argue back with 'I had no choice, I tripped and my fist met his face a few times'. (Note to self-NEVER take advice from Puck about what to say when your girl's mad at you.)

It took him four days, after she forgave him, to kiss her.

It took a week after that kiss to get her to go out with him.

It took him two weeks after that date to get her to be his girlfriend.

Six months into their relationship, she beat him to the 'I love you'. but only took him a second to say it back.

Looking back, he's not surprised that they've made it as far as they have (five years going strong). But as juniors in college, he should realize that most of the time you don't really know who you're going to spend the rest of you're life with. At least that's what Matt at their monthly boys night. Puck agreed.

"Whatever losers, I just got engaged to Rachel Berry, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her and make lots of talented pretty babies and have huge successful careers. So Matt and Puck? Suck it, and get your own girls." He may have been slightly tipsy (completely trashed) but his words had the desired affect.