Author's Note: Here's the second chapter to my fan fiction series, Many Colors. May you all sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
Featured Pairings: Tike (Tina/Mike), Brittana (Brittany/Santana), Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Friendship!Tartie (Tina/Artie)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Glee. All of the rights to the show go to Ryan Murphy and Co., and Twentieth Century Fox.
Many Colors
Chapter Two
Okay, smile, Miss Tina Cohen-Chang. Tina had been at her locker for the past twenty minutes, staring herself in the little mirror inside the door. Stay relaxed. This is your day, remember that. No one's gonna take it away from you. The Asian girl gave herself a chance to breath for a second, and give herself some positive pep talk. Once she was done, the locker slammed shut, and Tina had everything she needed.
Tina didn't understand why school started at eight in the morning. It seemed too early for work, but what would she know? She hadn't received a job yet or anything.
Stay relaxed, Tina. It's early, but you'll make it through the day. Her conscious was the best at giving advice.
She continued to walk down the hall, trying to make it to breakfast before classes started. She turned a corner, and spotted none other than Rachel Berry standing about seven feet away, conversing with Mr. Schue.
Tina didn't like the idea of spying on people, but she had to see what was going on. So she hid around the corner, and made a cup shape with her hand to put up to her ear. Tina could make out a bit of what Rachel was speaking with Mr. Schuester about. It wasn't clear, but she got a good idea on what it was about.
"Rachel, we don't even know the theme for Regionals, or our competitors," Mr. Schue explained in a way that Rachel wouldn't be put down or anything.
However, Rachel was still literally on her toes, pleading in Mr. Schue's face. "Come on, Mr. Schue," she begged. "I missed Sectionals this year, and I have to be able to get into NYADA next fall. You don't know how much this means to me. My life depends on this – college, Broadway, pursuing my goals – everything!"
Tina deadpanned. She knew what this was.
It had been confirmed earlier on that Rachel, alongside Kurt, is trying to get accepted into one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in New York: New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, otherwise known as NYADA. Tina never heard of that school, honestly (and didn't seem to care, at the same time).
She wanted Rachel to get into college, though. She just didn't see why she had to get a solo at Regionals to do it.
"Rachel, I'm positive that you'll be fine," Mr. Schue responded with a chuckle. "And even if you don't get into NYADA, there are other colleges and universities willing to take you –"
Rachel literally shook Mr. Schue with rejection. "No, no, no," she replied. "NYADA is the right school for me – no, the perfect school for me! I can't go anywhere else; I have to be in New York. New York! This is my opportunity to perfect my skills and follow in Barbra's footsteps."
Tina inwardly rolled her eyes at Rachel's attempts to win over a solo at Regionals. The reason she had for it, too, didn't seem appealing, either. Kurt's trying to get in that school, too, but I don't see him whining and pleading like a five-year-old to get it. Tina really wanted to say that under her breath, but she knew she couldn't.
Every time Tina looked at Rachel, now, she felt her hopes in getting a solo getting lower and lower. Tina only had one solo in a competition – well, it wasn't a solo solo, but it was close to being one. And for the next few competitions, she might not get another one. She knew ultimately that this year, she won't get one due to everyone showing favoritism towards Rachel.
Just when Tina was about to continue eavesdropping on Rachel and Mr. Schue's conversation, she felt someone tap her should slightly. "Tina?" The junior girl turned her head to find her boyfriend of two years, Mike Chang. "What are you doing?"
Tina glanced up at her talented dancing boyfriend, smiling at him sweetly. "Nothing, I just…" Well, what was Tina doing anyway?
Mike's eyes narrowed at her. "Something seems up," he explained as he saw the expression on Tina's face. At that moment, his eyes were directed towards the glee club director and the female lead. "Were you spying on them?" he asked, pointing towards Rachel and Mr. Schue.
Tina furrowed her eyebrows, trying to fake everything as much as she can. "Them?" she asked for further clarification. "Oh, no. Why do you think that?"
However, Mike knew she was lying anyway. It seemed apparent.
Tina sighed, rolling her eyes. "Okay, fine. You figured me out." Mike smirked at her and offered to take her to breakfast.
Before they left that wing of the hallway, Tina turned her head towards Rachel, who had finally given up on asking Mr. Schue for a Regionals solo, and had gone to find Finn. "Do you find that irritating at all?" Tina asked Mike as they continued walking.
"Find what irritating?" Mike asked with a confused look on his face.
"Rachel. I mean, she sings in almost every competition, yet she still asks for more," Tina explained. "It's like solos are her daily meals or something."
Mike replied with a shrug. "It's her senior year, and she wants to get into NYADA. Is that her fault?"
"No, not necessarily. But what about the people that have been in the glee club for quite a while who haven't gotten competition solos? They might want one, too, you know."
"Tina, you'll get yours next year," Mike explained. "It's the seniors' last year at McKinley. They won't be here anymore afterwards."
"Yeah, but –"
The pair made a sudden halt, and Mike turned towards his girlfriend. "Does this have anything to do with what happened at Sectionals?" he asked, concerned.
Tina sighed yet again. "Mike, that was the first time I felt like I got a standing ovation for something I took a part in. Usually when I perform for the glee club or any other audience, I either get booed at, or I can't even finish the song! Sometimes, I even cry my eyes out, especially when it's one of those really depressing songs –"
"Tina, you've got to trust me," Mike pleaded. "This is only your junior year. I'm sure you'll get a solo next year. I promise."
The Asian dancer leaned in to kiss Tina on the cheek, which she didn't accept as well, and linked hands with her, leading her down the hallway to find the cafeteria.
Once they made it there, they made a few weave turns between the tables to sit beside members of the glee club that had already made it inside. Rachel was giving Finn some type of command about what happened between her and Mr. Schue that no one seemed to care about, Santana had her head rested on Brittany's shoulder, Artie was playing a round of Angry Birds on his IPhone, and Mercedes and Blaine questioningly eyed Kurt's brought-from-home breakfast, which looked like some eggs on top of French toast – he said they were croustades – and some apple juice in a glass.
Santana, who appeared to be annoyed by listening to Rachel's cries for help across the table, she lifted her head off of Brittany's shoulder, and folded her arms, deadpanning at her and the freakishly-tall quarterback. "Can you sound any more childish, Berry?" she asked dryly. "It's just a damn solo at a glee club competition."
"You don't understand, Santana. This is more complex than that," Rachel explained. "I'm literally competing with not only other show choirs in the nation, but also hopefuls that are willing to head on into NYADA and make their dreams come true. I want this – I need this. Do you know how many times I've mentioned achieving my goal in making it to Broadway?"
It was silent for nearly two seconds. Santana just rolled her eyes, and leaned into Brittany again. "I don't know, two-hundred?" she responded sarcastically, which earned a couple of giggles from Tina and Brittany.
Finn suddenly had a confused facial expression showing. "Do we even know the theme for Regionals…?"
"No, but you, of all people, should know how Rachel is when it comes to show choir competition," Santana directed her attention towards Finn. "You two already nuzzle into each other like you've been married for five years now."
Kurt rolled his eyes at the bitchy Cheerio. "Alright, Santana. Cut it out." She didn't say anything further, and Brittany continuously rubbed her arm for comfort. "Finn is right, though. We don't really know the theme for Regionals, but we can still prepare ourselves."
Blaine nods his head in agreement. "I agree; if we want to be stronger at Regionals, like Rachel mentioned earlier, we need to practice with a few numbers."
Mercedes had been leaning her cheek against her hand for the past few minutes already, deep in thought. "You know, New Directions needs to perform more Michael Jackson, especially now that the Troubletones returned to the group and the fact that we never got a chance to."
While everyone else nodded their heads, Santana was still laying there beside Brittany, disappointed in the Troubletones' second-placing against New Directions. "What really irks me is how the Troubletones could possibly lose Sectionals when they had the best singers." Santana's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and her head rose from Brittany's shoulder, eyes facing the blonde. "Was that judge high or something?" Brittany shrugged in response.
Mercedes rolled her eyes and leaned back on the bench, hitting Santana's back and making her jump a bit. "Hello? One word: Michael!"
While Mercedes and Santana were going back and forth, Artie sat there at the end of the table beside Tina, nearly daydreaming once the word Michael came out of Mercedes' mouth. "When I was one, I watched his Motown special on a VHS tape," he randomly spoke, dreamily. Everyone had their attention towards him. "He did the moonwalk across the stage for the first time in history, and then I uttered my first words: Hot damn!"
The Latina rolled her eyes once more. Tina felt bad for her, thinking of how she would look like years from now if she kept doing that. "You done living in your little fan-boy world yet?" she asked, unimpressed and opening a piece of gum she retrieved from her varsity jacket pocket. Artie's head fell a bit at Santana's reaction.
Rachel had been sitting beside Finn for the past few seconds, thinking about Mercedes' suggestion to sing more Michael Jackson solos. "You know, I never really got the idea of him, honestly."
Once that was said, everyone shot daggers from their eyes to Rachel's. Artie just rolled his eyes at his sudden loss of dignity in the Broadway-bound teenager. "And…we are no longer speaking to you."
"What? I mean, he's a great performer and all, but I never really got him." Rachel tried her best to get everyone's understanding, but she clearly knew that they had given up on her.
Santana shrugged. "I would really want to have a scalding cup of mocha to toss at your face right now," she responded to Rachel, earning another arm rub from Brittany.
Rachel held up her arms in defense. "Okay, since you guys are jazzed about Michael, it could probably be a good idea to perform Michael for Regionals."
Everyone nodded in agreement, especially Tina. She had a lot of Michael songs planned, if they agree to do it at Regionals. Sure, the theme is still undetermined, but Michael Jackson must have something related in his discography for New Directions to use.
Tina couldn't contain herself internally. I love Michael Jackson's songs. Maybe I can get a chance at a solo after all.
Things were more cheerful earlier in the day; but when classes started, the day started to become more lifeless as it passed by. Tina was stuck in fourth period with her American Literature teacher, Miss Winchester. She was sort of an older lady, relatively in her forties or fifties.
Tina didn't care as much for her, though. She made the day even more boring than it already was. "An example of…uh…" the English teacher turned behind her towards a sheet of paper with the lesson plan typed on it. "Oh, okay – parallel structure." She took a piece of chalk and wrote awfully slow on the chalkboard. "My…older brother, Nathan, is…better at…"
Tina rolled her eyes in boredom. She had enough of school already, more-so because the teachers were either annoying, flat-out rude, or they just so happened to drone the life out of completely everything.
Suddenly, she felt her phone vibrate in her purse. Who the hell was trying to call her during class? Tina checked the caller ID, and saw a familiar number. Her eyes then gazed around the room until she could see Artie near the front row of the classroom with his IPhone in his hands. By the looks of his slumped shoulders and his face almost falling to the desk, he probably needed to get entertained or get more sleep.
Glancing back at Artie's message, Tina couldn't help but giggle on the inside.
From: Artie Abrams (Nov. 20 10:55 a.m.)
Zzzzz…
Tina, with her hands and her phone under the desk so no one else would notice, sent a quick message to Artie's phone.
To: Artie Abrams (Nov. 20 10:55 a.m.)
Don't tell me. This lady's boring you, too, right?
The Asian junior almost regret it after seeing Artie giggle from what looked like three whole miles away. Miss Winchester turned her head as if she saw a ghost. "Anyone hear that? Was that a rat?" She sounded so awkwardly loud for no reason, and everyone took it as if she had really lost her marbles.
Artie glanced back down at his phone and typed on the touch screen keyboard as fast as his little fingers could go.
Tina inwardly smirked as Artie sent the message back to her. Her eyes suddenly fell down to the phone underneath the desk in her hands.
From: Artie Abrams (Nov. 20 10:55 a.m.)
Hells yes. Hey, you think Mr. Schue is gonna make us do Michael?
To: Artie Abrams (Nov. 20 10:55 a.m.)
How can't he? Michael is a legend, and we've never done his music in the glee club before.
From: Artie Abrams (Nov. 20 10:56 a.m.)
Mr. Schue has got to let me do a solo. Michael is the KING of all pop music, and I can do his music justice. Hashtag. #Don'tMeanToBrag
To: Artie Abrams (Nov. 20 10:56 a.m.)
I believe you, Artie. And MJ is your number one idol. No one else in the glee club can take that from you.
All of a sudden, Tina and Artie could hear an unattractive snort come from the front of the room. They both immediately looked up from their phones and looked around the room. Students were still trying to pay attention – well, some of them were. Others were giggling and nearly laughing their heads off at the teacher's unusual yet comical behavior.
Miss Winchester had fallen asleep at the chalk board after about five minutes of writing down some practice sentences for the whole class to work on. Tina rolled her eyes playfully at how she acted. It's not like she actually cared, though, because she really didn't.
Once the woman went back to writing, Tina glanced back down at her phone. She noticed that Artie had stopped texting her. She gazed over at him, and he seemed to be on yet his fifth round of Temple Run or whatever stupid game he was addicted to. Tina still wanted to talk to him, though, so she sent another message.
To: Artie Abrams (Nov. 20 10:56 a.m.)
Do you think Mr. Schue would give me an MJ solo?
Tina waited for about a few seconds until she got the notice that Artie replied, and then started reading what he had said.
From: Artie Abrams (Nov. 20 10:57 a.m.)
He should. You have a great voice, Tina. I don't see why not.
Tina smiled generously at the paraplegic's last comment. Tina and Artie were good friends and everything, despite them breaking up in the past due to Artie's Halo addiction, and Tina having the hots for Mike Chang. In their time of wonder or worry, though, Tina and Artie give each other great advice.
Class still wasn't over yet, so the two had to slave through the whole period watching Miss Winchester fall asleep and stumble over the leg of her wheelie chair. People around them started paying no attention to her, and some even laughed at the sight.
Yet Tina still didn't bother to care. She just wanted to get out of there.
Somehow, the rest of the school day passed awful quickly, and Tina and Artie found themselves walking down the hallway towards glee club practice.
"I seriously thought I was going to die in seventh period," Tina explained to Artie as she held onto the bars of his wheelchair, rubbing her aching back. "Coach Beiste is a lovable person, but we're not football players." Below her, Tina noticed the silent shrug come from Artie, and then remembered his acceptance into the football club last year. "Well, in your case, not anymore."
Still, Artie shrugged yet again and continued wheeling down the hallway, with Tina walking alongside him. "Doesn't matter," he responded. It was clear that he had something – well, one thing – on his mind. "I'm just pumped for glee club today."
Tina could easily agree. To the both of them, the glee club made every class in school irrelevant to them (not that they won't slip up and fall behind like Noah Puckerman did).
Once the two made it towards the choir room, they both could hear a familiar MJ tune playing inside. They were greeted by Brittany and Santana twirling around in their Cheerios uniforms, with Artie visibly getting the best view of Brittany's underwear, which had him crane back but look down at her long, slender legs at the same time.
Once the song playing inside got to the chorus part, Blaine Anderson hopped out and greeted Tina and Artie with a big smile on his face, his arms out, and his legs moving to create his best dance moves.
Blaine with New Directions
I said you wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
I said you wanna be startin' somethin'
You got to be startin' somethin'
The energetic former Dalton Academy Warbler had turned around towards the entrance to the choir room, and started dancing his way inside, with Santana pushing Artie's wheelchair and Brittany grabbing Tina's hand, nearly pulling her to an empty seat beside Mike Chang.
Blaine (New Directions)
I took my baby to the doctor
With a fever but nothing he found
By the time this hit the street
They said she had a breakdown!
(New Directions: Aaah) Someone's always trying,
(New Directions: Aaah) To start my baby crying
(New Directions: Aaah) Talkin', squealin', lyin'
Sayin' (New Directions: You just wanna be startin' somethin')
Blaine
Lift your head up high
And scream out to the world
Blaine with New Directions
I know I am someone
And let the truth unfurl
Blaine
No one can hurt you now
Because you know it's true
Blaine with New Directions
Yes, I believe in me
So you believe in you (Blaine: Help me sing it!)
Everyone in the choir room seemed to be having a good time dancing along to the music, especially Artie. Tina could just smile at his sudden fan-boying for the late pop artist.
New Directions (Blaine)
Mama se, mama se, mama coo sa! (Blaine: Sing it to the world!)
Mama se, mama se, mama coo sa! (Blaine: Sing it out loud!)
Mama se, mama se, mama coo sa!
By the time he had completed the number, everyone in the room applauded his performance. Both Santana and Brittany were out of breath from all of the back-up dancing they just did. Once the girls and Blaine took a seat, Mr. Schue had stood up from where he sat in the second row between Sam and Rory.
"I like the effort in your number, Blaine," Mr. Schue critiqued. "And what a wonderful idea it is to perform MJ for Regionals!" Everyone suddenly cheered once they heard that statement. "Michael Jackson is, in fact, a phenomenon and an inspiration to all of us. Speaking of inspiration…" He walked back to the dry-erase board, and wrote the word inspiration in big, black letters. "We finally know our theme for Regionals."
Another round of applause went around. People like Puck and Finn started high-fiving each other, and Rachel was giddily smiling and cheering in delight. Now that they knew what the theme was, Tina could easily find some inspirational MJ numbers she could take a part in.
Before she could find anything to suggest, Mr. Schue had his eyes set on the people shouting out things around the room. He heard Puck speak up first. "Dude, we have to do Beat It," he suggested. "He, like, inspired people to not be a wimp, right?"
Somewhere next to him, Santana rolled her eyes and glared at the absent-minded puck head. "The song is clearly about ass-kicking, you dork."
Brittany, Santana's dancing girlfriend, had her mind focused on something other than coming up with possible MJ numbers. "Didn't Michael play versus LA once?" she asked, dumbfounded as usual.
"That was Jordan, Brittany," Mr. Schue sighed as he took his attention away from the former jock-cheerleader couple.
The glee club director then spotted Artie with his left hand raised.
"Mr. Schue, The Earth Song has to be done!" he exclaimed. "I know that song like the back of my hand." Tina loved Artie's suggestion of The Earth Song. It was kind of a difficult number for anyone in the glee club to tackle, but Tina was confident in Artie killing it.
"Hey, Mr. Schue. How about Black And White?" the tall and quirky Frankenteen beside Rachel Berry suggested. "That's kind of an inspirational song, right?"
More people started to talk over one another, which was a pretty overwhelming feeling in Mr. Schue's eyes. And pretty much every song selection that was called out, Sugar stood up from her chair, attempting to sing a couple of lines from the different tunes, which made Tina smirk a bit. She never noticed Sugar much before, but she was a really cute and energetic person.
"Okay, guys," Mr. Schue called out with a smile on his face, "settle down." The room got quiet again as the students paid close attention to Mr. Schue. "I think I have a clear idea on what our set list should look like." Everyone suddenly got anxious as they watched him write in a yellow notepad that had been sitting on the black piano.
Tina turned to her right, and watched as Artie was nearly dying of excitement on the inside. No one could be more passionate about Michael Jackson than Artie was, especially at that moment.
Once Mr. Schue stopped scribbling words on a sheet of paper, he looked up to face everyone. "For our opening number, we're gonna have a mash-up of Beat It – suggested by Puck –" once his name was said, Puck took a bow where he sat "- and Bad, which will be a number done by the Troubletones."
Once they heard the name of their former group, Santana and Brittany gave each other high-fives, Sugar pumped her fist in the air, and Mercedes clapped for herself and her fellow Troubletones members.
Mr. Schue continued on with the list. "Then, for the ballad, we're going to have I Just Can't Stop Loving You –"
"Which, of course, Finn and I have to take a part in as well," Rachel spoke up, gesturing to herself and her future husband.
"And, for the final number, we're going to have Brittany, Kurt, Blaine, Finn, Rachel, Mercedes, and Quinn do Heal The World," Mr. Schue continued. Once he was done, more applauses were heard in the room.
Unfortunately, neither Tina nor Artie seemed to agree.
Tina couldn't help but look at the melancholy look on Artie's face knowing that he won't be able to do Michael at Regionals. Add that to the song he suggested not being considered by Mr. Schue, and that was two let downs of the day.
Just when Mr. Schue was about to announce something else, he saw Tina's hand go up. "Yes, Tina?" he picked on her to speak.
Once her hand went down, Tina gestured to her and Artie. "Mr. Schue, what about me and Artie?"
"What about you and Artie?"
Tina's shoulders slumped. "What if we want to do Michael at Regionals?" she explained. "Michael is literally Artie's idol, and I rarely get to solo at competitions. Maybe we would want to sing, too."
Just when this was heard by the rest of the glee club, Mike groaned inwardly, hiding his face from everyone but attempting to get Tina's situation. "Tina, please don't do this?"
Tina heard him beside her, and whirled around in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, especially from her own boyfriend. "Don't do what? Everyone in this room knows it's true. The only time I get to sing in a competition is when Rachel's not there to upstage everyone." Once her name was heard, Rachel leaned forward to get a better look at her. "There are other people in this room who can't even get one song out of their system without Rachel taking over."
"Tina, honey," Rachel spoke up, "you don't understand; I need this –"
"Need it for what?" Tina asked, turning in her direction. "You sing almost every week. You should be done with trying to stress your voice and taking away everyone's spotlight."
Rachel smoothed down the red school-girl skirt she was wearing, and stood up from her seat. "See, that's the thing you don't understand, Tina," Rachel explained. "I am glee's biggest star. I am literally the invincible. New Directions need me to perform so we can lead our way to victory, and I personally need it to get to Broadway in New York."
"You pretend like you need it, but you just want to be selfish," Tina barked back, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "There are people in here that barely get to sing in the group, and you want to take away their moments in front of an audience? Can you at least take consideration in other people, for once?"
The argument between the two girls was stopped by Mr. Schue, who clapped his hands together once and walked over to stand in between them. "Girls, that's enough," he said, and neither Tina nor Rachel said another word. "Now Tina, you were able to sing at Sectionals, remember? Besides, she's a senior, and she'll be graduating soon. When you come back to the glee club next year, it'll be your turn."
Tina's mood still didn't change at the moment. She still couldn't believe what she just heard from her own glee club director. She thought he was fair with people; but he showed just as much favoritism towards Rachel as the rest of the glee club. Tina couldn't take it anymore.
She felt a hand grab her wrist and tug her down, and she turned in Artie's direction right next to her. "Tina, it's okay," he spoke with a disappointed tone in his voice. "I'll get to solo some other time."
Tina wasn't going to give up on him. Tina and Artie have been friends ever since they joined the glee club, and they're currently the most neglected of the original five members of the glee club. Screw the grades of each member; that didn't matter, not at all.
"No!" Tina exclaimed, which pretty much everyone heard in the room. It was a deadly quiet in the room, but Tina didn't care. She had a chance to say what she had to say. Her hands balled up into really tight fists as if she was going to punch someone in the face, which made Artie let go of her.
Yep. Tina was extremely mad.
Author's Note: Ooh, looks like we have Tina rage! What did you guys think? I'm glad you guys like the story so far. Gonna write the next chapter later.
Featured Songs:
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" by Michael Jackson. Sung by Blaine Anderson with New Directions