Oooh God. So this is quite inevitable, but I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY TIMES A BAJILLION AND A HALF WITH A CHERRY ON TOP WITH STRIPPER CAKE ON THE SIDE. The past couple of months have been down right chaotic for me, and I was actually going to post this chapter up a couple of months ago, except my STUPID, STUPID COMPUTER CRASHED AND I LOST ALL THE DOCUMENTS which equals = discouragment to say the least. Enough with the excuses though, here's chapter 8 everyone! :D I hope none of you guys have completely forgotten about me or this story just yet. D: I totally had an epiphany especially after reading the very last review for this story and whatever I start, I always finish, and this is one of them.
I'm really sorry if this chapter lacks, and the transition is veryyy off because I was originally going to write about the process of Tina and Mike moving Tina's stuff in the house, but after reading it, it was a whole bunch of blah blah blah bland bland stuff. So, I took it out, and left this part in which is why it seems a little short. I tried to write this as if this story didn't go on a hiatus because I didn't wanna make it seem so melo-dramatic since I'm planning to have 25+ chapters for this. I also don't like rushing things no matter what. But trust me, even though this is kind of a fun, light chapter, THERE WILL BE MUCH UNNECESSARY DRAMA IN THE CHAPTERS TO COME. And yes, I will be a lot more persistent with this and won't go on another long hiatus, but how fast I update will depend on the amount of review I get. So more reviews = less time to wait on the next chapter! It just shows me that more people are catching up with it and it's more exposed.
So pardon my hiatus once again, I beg you. l: This chapter is once again kind of light and more on the fun side, BUT I PROMISE I WILL NOT DISAPPOINT FOR THE FUTURE CHAPTERS. I've already started to write chapter 9 and trust me, it's all types of d'awwww. I do not own Glee. Enjoy!
Cardboard Cut Outs, Chapter 8
"All those years of her struggling greatly because he wasn't around to pick up the pieces, he'd been living his life quite fine without her."
"Two white hot chocolates coming right up!"
It was about six in the afternoon on a windy, chilly day in good ol' Lima. She had a small but honest smirk dancing across her face expressing just how unnaturally happy she was every time she had an excuse to be with the one and only Mike Chang. He'd been helping her settle back into their hometown for the past three days. The awkwardness between them died by a landslide, and she's thankful for it. Every time he was around, it was a difficult task to not smile; to not grin, laugh, giggle, or be content. And now, there she was, ordering hot cocoa ready to crash his work place and take him out to do whatever wherever to thank him for.. just about everything.
She would never admit it to herself, but she liked having him around; love, even. Troubling and stressing her mind with all-things Craig King is now in the rear of her mind, and she doesn't necessarily know if that's a good thing, but it allows her to sleep at night. That's why she came back in the first place, she supposed.
Her jacket pocket vibrates."Hey hun, where are you?"
"Hey mom, just picking up some drinks then do something with Mike."
It wasn't before long that her cell phone went ringing with excitement and joy she could sense even before opening the actual message."O really? Well you dont say. You two have fun. :)"
Even though her mom's texts aren't the most elaborate, she can pick up all the obvious implications. The thing about her spending time with Mike is that not only is she a little happier, but her mom, too. Probably a hundred times happier than Tina allows herself to be. And she doesn't admit it, but a part of her doesn't want him to be a reason for her happiness because her surviving, teenage instinct disallows her mother to be right about something. And Tina's a bit of a rebel if no one cared to notice.
"Pls don't send out wedding invitations mom. I just want to be polite since he helped out so much."
"Whatever you say hun. ;) ill see you later!" She did not just throw in a winky-face at me, she thought, baffled. Although she clearly adored her mom, she couldn't deny the many times she's wanted cover her ears, shut her eyes tightly and pretend no one was there.
"Two large white hot chocolates!"
She shook off her little conversation with her dear mother and snagged the two hot drinks. Regardless of what her mom says, she's doing this because she just wants to make it up to him. That's all.
Entering the huge building with a sign reading "Star-Shaped Studios", she muttered out a "wow", taking her precious time to examine this amazing structure in which Mike referred to as work. The center took up a relatively big space and had such a modern and fresh feel to it. The exterior was clean-cut, navy blue and had very precise bright yellow detail. And just because she's female, she couldn't help but notice the beautiful green trees and of course, the many flowers.
The place looked like it took at least five years plus a millennium to build. And from all places, Lima, O-freaking-hio created this.
It also looked a lot better in person than it did on the website. The day she had her awkward reunion with Mike, she immediately googled his work place and found out three things: one, that Star-Shaped Studios is one of the most popular recreation centers in Ohio. Two, that Mike Chang is "Most Valued Instructor" for both children and adults, and three, that a tan, Asian girl with vivacious black hair as well as a slim silhouette worked as the contemporary instructor named Erica, Ellen, or something. But did Tina care? "Hell to the no," as Mercedes would say.
Finally, she stepped out of contemplation-land and walked into the lobby. "Hi, I'm looking for Mike Chang?" she politely asked the receptionist.
The red-headed, Caucasian lady gawked at Tina, seemingly confused. "And may I ask who's looking for him please?"
Well she sure is polite. "Tina? Cohen-Chang. I'm a friend of his. I can always come in other time if he's too busy -"
"Oh! I see. I'm really sorry about that, I didn't mean to come off as rude. I just never see Mike here have any visitors for the four years he's been working here. I'm really sorry again, Tina! I'm Julie by the way."
She nodded and finally came into a care-free giggle. "Hi Julie, it's nice to meet you. You don't have to worry about it, I'd react the same way. You guys seem like a pretty tight-knit group here so I understand."
"I have to thank you for visiting Mike though. All I know about him is his work life which, as you can see, isn't much to know. It's nice to know he's not living under a rock," Julie smiles back. "Just make a right up that hall. He's in studio 6."
Saying her thank-yous and goodbyes, she made her way to the swallowing hallway following Julie's instruction. Right before she entered the room, a broad, clear window lay on the wall to show any students practicing in the studio. She took a peek expecting a lonely-Mike. But to her surprise, she found 12 energetic kids attempting to imitate Mike's fluid movement. His smile was the brightest she's ever seen, and if anything, the children were imitating his grin right on point. She saw as he glided across the room assisting a youngster who was having hard time. He was so patient; so compassionate.
Tina couldn't believe it. Well, she could, because she always believed that Mike's future would be a blurry vision of this, but now it was being put under a microscope. What he made out of his future was playing out right before her eyes. She smiled with gratification for her old friend, but she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He's out there doing what he loves to do with all his dreams serving as reality –
– Without her. It seems like all those years of her struggling greatly because he wasn't around to pick up the pieces, he'd been living his life quite fine without her. But besides that, she's nothing but happy for him. He deserves everything he got.
Wrapped up in her bitter-sweet thoughts, Mike spotted her and waved for her to come in. She shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do was disrupt such an important, stress-free time for him, but there he was, running toward the door and hauling her in.
All the kids stared, wide-eyed as she let him fight to get her inside. Finally, she stood at the front of the spacious room standing clumsily. "Everyone, this is Tina! Say hello!"
"Hi Tina," the class roared with enthusiasm. Some waved, some laughed, but most certainly did all of them whisper in each others' ears, probably wondering who she really was. "Is that your girlfriend?" one of the boys asked mockingly.
The other kids joined in laughter knowing that the same question was running through their little craniums. Mike smirked, fading into pink. "That's no way to behave around a guest guys, c'mon! But no, she is not my girlfriend. She's actually my assistant for the day, so when I can't help any one of you, don't be afraid to call for Tina, okay guys?"
She quickly spun around with worried eyes. "Are you crazy? I can't do that! I'll probably need more assistance than they do!"
He laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "You'll do great. There's only 15 more minutes left and this is my last class, so just be grateful that you didn't show up any earlier. Oh, and is this for me?"
Tina nodded begrudgingly. "White hot chocolate. But if I knew how sweaty you were, I would've just brought a bucket of cold water."
"You're the best," smiling affectionately. "Alright everyone, get into places! Let's show Tina what we have so far!"
With her pea-coat and cotton scarf stripped off her body, a coat of sweat unraveled around her forehead.
"Miss Tina! I need some help, please!" She jogged over to the tiny boy with the bowl-cut.
"Miss Tina! I need help too!" She rushed over to the little girl with a big, green bow pinned to her ponytail.
"Miss Tina!" Now she was running to the boy with glasses –
"Tina!" Now to the girl with a gap in between –
"Why do you talk like that? You sound like a donkey!"
Without any hesitation, she stopped dead in her tracks, scanning her surroundings to see who's mouth ran with that rude remark. Before she identified who it was, she already saw Mike picking up a little girl gently from a group of meddling, teasing kids. She had tearful eyes. It was a vague but at the same time vivid memory of how she was when she was a child. "I'll deal with you three later," he sternly assured them. He walked out with the poor girl outside of the classroom, and as if it was instinct, she ran outside as well.
"Hey Tina. Sorry about that, Jessica here was getting teased by some of her classmates again," he patiently smirked to Jessica. Mike gave her an odd look, averting his eyes to Tina then to the crying girl, but he shook it off. "They always give her a hard time, which always effects the class because I have to deal with them and it just goes all bad."
The tiny girl glanced at her for a moment with sad, red eyes. "You know, I could watch her while you continue your class."
He looked up to her as if she just told him she'd give him a million bucks. "Would you really?"
"Of course," she smiled.
"You're a lifesaver, T!" He stood up and patted her shoulder thankfully. Making his way through the door, he turned around just once more to assure Jessica would be okay. "Tina's going to stay with you for now Jessica. I hope you feel better, sweetie."
When he finally left, she blindly looked around unsure of what to do. She loved kids, that was a fact, and always wanted to do something revolved around that but the only ones she had to be around were hyper, giggly ones: not crying ones. Eventually she settled a seat down next to her. Smiling warmly, she simply asked, "Honey, are you alright?"
She shook her head.
Uncertain of what to say, she brushed her stray hair away from her face. "Don't let them get you down."
"How c-can I? They a-always make fun of m-me," she squeaked desperately.
Tina felt her own face form into frown. She could so easily relate to this helpless girl: stuttering, bullies, and the inability to believe in herself. "Well Jessica, you want to know the way I see it?" she positively suggested.
She nodded slowly, unable to look up just yet.
"The ones who are always trying to make you sad and the ones who try to make you cry are jealous."
"Jealous? J-Jealous of what?" turning her head curiously to Tina.
"They're jealous because of things you have. Like with you, they're just jealous because you're such a good dancer."
Her tears subsided little by little. "B-But .."
"No but's!" she interrupted. "I saw you dancing. You were so good, and you know what? You were the only one who didn't need help from me or Mike and you still nailed the steps."
"Really?" she questioned with hints of hope in her teeny-tiny voice. A small but noticeable smile spread across her face.
"I wouldn't lie. And if you don't believe me, just take your teacher as an example!" she giggled.
Her eyes widened. "Mr. Chang?"
Unbeknownst to Jessica, everyone knew what a hard time Mike had, everyone had, being in Glee club. "A little hard to believe, right? Yeah, everyone used to make fun of him because he danced. They would even throw slushies as him!" Jessica covered her mouth with her hands. "But look what happened to him: he didn't believe what the other kids said and now he's an even better dancer than before and he does what he loves."
" I c-can't even imagine that happening to Mr. Chang.. He's s-such a cool dancer and a cool t-teacher. Everyone l-loves him.."
Tina laughed. "Well it's true. And you are a great dancer, Jessica. You just have to believe that, too."
"Is everything going okay here ladies?" Mike interrupted, popping out from the doorway.
"Y-Yeah," Jessica smirked optimistically.
"Great," he grinned sincerely at the both of them. "So, Jessica, how do you feel about going back in there and showing them your kick-butt dance skills?"
"O-Okay," she stood up shakily. Tina beamed genuinely as she got herself up once again.
She knew it would take awhile for her words to set in for Jessica. After all, she was only a kid and she's not even sure if she practices what she preaches devotedly at the age of 26. All she can hope for is that this stranger of a girl will listen to what she says, because God-knows she doesn't want her to end up with the same, insecure life she still lives in now. It's a little deep and way beyond cheesy, but she tried. Just so she won't make the same mistakes.
Laying down on the cold, wooden floor, she panted out uneven amounts of breath. "I don't see how you can do this for a living. Seriously, I danced for 10 minutes and I feel like shooting myself."
Mike, covered in his own thick coats of sweat, chuckled. "Thanks again. You were a big help and the kids really loved you. Oh man, especially Jessica! You were really great with her. When she came back to finish the routine, she just killed it. What'd you tell her, the oh-so inspirational Tina-son?"
She glints at him before answering. "I told her everything I would've told the old-me. Even the new-me, too."
He raised his eyebrows in interest while nodding slowly. "Quite ironic actually. You guys kind of really, really remind me of each other."
She smiles because she actually agrees. She also likes the sound of it. "Hey, no one's arguing over here."
"Oh, so why'd you come here anyway? Not that I would ever mind. It was really fun. But yeah, it was a nice surprise."
Tina lifts her heavy head up to bat her eyelashes at him mockingly. "I'm a nice surprise?"
In response, he rolls his eyes teasingly. "Don't flatter yourself."
"Well, I was planning to take you out." He paid closer attention. "You helped so much with.. with moving, you know. It's the least I can do. Plus I'm very, very, desperately, extremely hungry, and I'm just going to assume you have nowhere better to be right now and that there's nothing in the world you want more than to spend your precious time with me, so.."
He laughs hysterically, cocking his head back while leading onto his elbows. "Didn't I say to not flatter yourself? Because if I actually say yes, you're going to have this big impression that all of the things you listed are true – Even if they are."
A big, cheesy grin winds up on her face. "I don't get why we have to make everything sound so much more charming than it really is. So that's a yes, right?"
"No," he says strongly and solemnly. "That's a hell yes."
