We had just won our football game and we were all jumping around the field still. We couldn't believe how great this night was. First the glee club did an amazing performance and then we actually won the game. The stands were still packed with family and friends cheering with us not to mention all of my glee friends pulling us all in for a quick hug. It was hard to process everything with so much going on. The song Celebration was blaring over the speaker which caused Brittany and Santana to start dancing pulling me with them. I saw everyone start to separate and go their own ways or to help celebrate the night at some big party. Sam and Quinn looked like they were happy about the night but upset about something else, Puck and Rachel were doing their own weird celebration dance that looked horrible, and then in the back of the field, I saw my mom talking to Tina and her parents. What was my mom doing? I mean I got along with Tina and she was really nice but I didn't think we were on a friendly enough bases that we casually talk to each others' parents.

Both my mom and dad started to walk across the field to me then. My mom looked like she had never been more proud of me whereas my dad looked like I was an embarrassment to him. It was so hard to please that man because everything I did either wasn't good enough or something I shouldn't be doing at all. Not once had he come to any of the glee performances because glee would never help me get into Harvard and that was where I was destined to go. My dad seemed it necessary to plan every detail of my life and not let me live it on my own. Every time I brought this fact to his attention the lawyer came out in him with a rebuttal to everything I said. So I had just stopped trying to fight him and learned to just go with the flow of things. They had reached me then and my mom instantly pulled me in for a hug. "You were amazing out there sweetheart. I'm so proud of you." "Thanks mom that means a lot to me." She let go and took a step back looking up at my dad who had a disgusted look on his face causing me to remember I still had the zombie makeup on. "You did well in the game son but it would have been better if your face wasn't covered in clown makeup for the pictures." "This was a glee thing dad and the only way I could have played football tonight." "Well let's just hope you have a great season next year and Harvard will look over this one incident. For now, you need to go get cleaned up before we head to Breadstix for dinner." "Yes sir", I replied before I headed to the locker rooms leaving the rest of my team cheering still without me. I have never regretted my life and I know that my parents love me very much; I just wish they could love me less sometimes.

I had just turned down the hallway that led to the boys and girls locker rooms. The girls was down the first hallway to the right and in the middle of the long hallway which is where I saw Tina's parents standing as I stepped off the last stair. I wasn't sure if they would remember me from all of the glee functions we have or not because unlike my family, Kyle and Michelle never missed one of Tina's performances. She was there shining star which reminded me of how Rachel's dads act only less creepy. Kyle was actually the one that gave Tina the idea to dress up as a vampire last year and told her that he would too just to prove a point for her. "Well hello Michael, you guys did a great job out there tonight." Michelle said to me as she spotted me starting to walk past them. "Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Cohen." "Now you glee kids need to stop being so polite and call me Michelle. When I hear Mrs. Cohen I think of Kyle's mom and that isn't anything we want around here." She said with a smile but you could tell there was worry in her eyes. "Ok I will remember that. I just wanted to apologize to the both of you. If I would have ran a little bit harder I could have stopped that guy and Tina never would have been tackled." Just because Tina and I weren't great friends didn't mean that I wouldn't have tackled or even hurt someone for her. I would do it for any of the glee members because we really were like a family. "Mike, don't you dare beat yourself up for that. There wasn't anything anyone could do. Tina is very stubborn which is why we were hesitant to sign the form because we figured something like this would have ended up happening. We are just glad you mom was here to check her out and make sure she didn't have a concussion." "That is true. Well I guess I better get going." Michelle gave me a small hug then and Kyle patted my back before I headed back down the hallway to the boys locker room.

My parents and I had just ordered our food and were now just sitting in the booth trying to let it not be too awkward. "Mike, you will never guess who I saw today...Dr. Li and his wife Kim. They are in town for the weekend to visit with Kim's family. Their daughter Joy stayed home to work on a school project so you won't be able to visit with her this time around. They hoped you wouldn't be to upset about that." My dad told me with a little too much happiness in his voice. Kim and my mom grew up in Lima and were childhood friends and the person that introduced Kim and her husband Jon to each other. Surprisingly, my dad actually got along with them and they all spent every second they could together until they moved to Chicago about 8 year ago. Their daughter Joy is a few months older than me but is a senior this year and because of the small age difference, my dad sees her as my future bride. The only problem is that she is not even a little bit pretty and duller than a box of rocks. I would rather listen to Rachel talk for 20 minutes straight about anything than spend 5 minutes in a room with Joy. "Yeah what a shame, maybe she will come down next time they visit." I said half heartedly while playing with the straw in my soda. Who would have thought that catching soda in your straw my holding your finger over the top could be so fascinating? "I'll make sure they do bring her next time. She is constantly working on projects for the school and community which is probably why she got early admission to Harvard for next year. Jon and Kim are very proud of her." He said in a way that sounded like he was more proud of her than her own father. I knew Jon pretty well and he loved that Joy was a part of everything so much but wouldn't have cared where she ended up just as long as she is happy. I should be so lucky. "I bet they are that is a huge accomplishment." I told him hoping he would move on to another topic or just stop talking all together. "Just think, in about a year and a half, you won't have to worry about seeing her every couple of months. You two will be able to see each other every day and maybe even a few dates." I can't believe he actually said that. He had always hinted before but this is as close to tell me to propose to her as I wanted to get. My mom was looking down at the table I assume because she knew something big was going to be happening between my dad and I. "First of all, I don't like Joy as a girlfriend or even a friend for that matter, I only put up with her because of you two. I only ask about her because I want to make sure that you two realize you didn't raise an inconsiderate son. Second, I will ask someone out because I want to and not because you want me to so you can play happy family with your friends." I stood up so I could storm out but stopped in my tracks when I saw Tina and her parents walking up to the table that was in the row next to us and up one.

"Mike what are you doing here?" She asked me as she finally saw me standing next to the table I was sitting at with my parents. I must have looked like an idiot just staring at her because I was surprised to see them here. "I um am here with my parents for a victory dinner." I told her as I pointed down to them as they were now turned around and smiling at the Cohen family. "So are we but we had originally wanted to go to Pizza Please but they were packed. This was a nice second choice though." She told me with a smile before she started to sit down. "How is the head dear? No headaches or anything going on?" My mom asked her and Tina just breathed a quick no before she turned back to her parents. I went ahead and sat back down in my booth then just in time for our food to arrive. "So you decided to stay because you are hungry. That is typical for a young man who just raised his voice to his father to still expect stuff from him." My dad said before her started in on his chicken. "No I am staying here so that a friend of mine doesn't think I am fighting with my parents." I corrected him before I started in on my salad.

I was participating in a light conversation that my parents were now in the middle of but still had a good part of my focus on looking up at Tina. It was hard not to make it too obvious but I found it was easy to pretend to look at my salad and just lift my eyes up to look over to her. I don't even know why either. It isn't like I'm her boyfriend or anything; I'm just a concerned friend. Yeah that is it, I'm just a friend who is worried about her because she was knocked unconscious and I want to make sure she is ok. There isn't anything wrong with that. "Michael, what is so important that you keep looking over there?" My mom asked as she craned her head around the plant behind her to see. I hadn't realized that my dad had gotten up to go to the bathroom before my mom caught my attention; that is probably why she asked me now instead of earlier. I didn't have to answer her because she was already looking at me again with a knowing smile. "Tina is a very pretty girl. She is quite lucky to have friends with all the others in glee. At least she seems to be doing fine." My mom said as I looked back at her and saw her smiling widely at something her parents had said. "Yeah, she seems fine." I replied to my mom before I focused back in on my salad. My dad returned then and started talking to my mom again about a new case he was working on.

"I think I'm going to go get some fresh air outside. Don't worry, I feel fine just need some air." Tina told her parents as she started to stand up. "Ok sweetheart, we will come get you when the food arrives." Her mom replied before I saw her walk out the door. Where could she be going? If she told her parents she just needed fresh air, she could be feeling bad. What if she passes out in the parking lot? All of these questions were running through my brain at a warp speed. I didn't even know why I was putting this much thought into it. Figuring my head wouldn't be able to shut up until I found out, I decided to join her outside. "I think I'm going to go for a walk. I will be back in shortly." "Don't forget you coat, we are supposed to get some snow tonight and it is extra cold." My dad told me as I grabbed it from the booth beside me and hurried quickly to catch up with her. I saw her as soon as I opened the door. She was sitting on the patio step just besides the building where people eat during the summer months. "Hey, what are you doing out here? You do realize it is cold, right?" "Yeah, sorry, I just needed some air to really breathe. I don't feel dizzy or light headed but there is this feeling that I just can't simmer down. It is overwhelming and causing me to panic a little bit." She told me as I walked up next to her and sat down next to her on the step. "That is called adrenaline and it will eventually go away. It's just there because you had a wild night complete with you being knocked out." "Oh don't remind me that was so embarrassing." "Trust me that was the last thing we were thinking. Sam and I got to you first and we both tried to get you to snap out of it before the medic and Rachel got to you. She was hoping her voice would cause you to come out of it." She couldn't hold back laugh at my comment even though it was sadly true. "Thanks for coming to check on me." She whispered quietly as she looked straight I guess because she was afraid to tell me to my face or because she didn't want to show weakness. "You don't even need to say that. I will always come back to help you no matter what. We glee kids have to stick together." I kind of pushed my shoulder into hers then causing another chuckle to come from her. "I'm beginning to feel better now. Thanks for talking to me Mike." She said before she headed back inside as my parents were on their way out. "She would be an absolute lovely girl if it weren't for the hair and clothes. I would never let you act like that Michael." My dad said as Tina walked past them back into the restaurant.

We had made it back to the house and I had gone straight to bed. It had been a long day for me too and all I wanted to do now was collapse on my bed. I'm pretty sure I had fallen asleep before my head hit the pillow. Before I knew it I had seen a picture of Tina and me dancing around an apartment in pajamas. There were pictures all over the walls that had us in them in different places some included other family members or glee members. Tina looked quite a few years older and her highlights were no longer in her hair; it was straight black and had bangs now. She was slightly taller and leaner with the same beautiful face that made my knees go weak. I looked farther and saw some papers scattered over a kitchen counter that stretched out to an island that split the kitchen and living room. Tina was now getting stuff together to make some breakfast as I sat at the island looking through the papers. One of the papers had a letter head of Michael Chang, Director of Advance Dancing for NYU. I dropped the paper back down on the counter with my mouth close behind it. I was actually a dance instructor; I got to teach dance for a career, life couldn't get any better than this. "So I have to be at the theater in an hour to go through the two new songs before the manatee show this afternoon. Is it possible for you to go through the rest of the mail for me please? I'm so sorry to do this to you but I promise I will get home early to open all the wedding presents." She told me as she handed me a bowl of fruit salad. "Y-Yeah that is fine babe no problem." "Great, well I am going to go take a shower and get ready to go. I promise I will bring home some Dim Sum." While she was running to the bathroom, I had started to go through all the new info that was running through my head. Tina and I were married, she was an actress, and I was a dance instructor. I had known this whole time that this was a dream but the question now was is this possible future for us or an alternate universe?

I jumped up out of my bed in a panic trying to calm down after the intense dream. What should I do now? I started to think through the issue step by step. Did I even find Tina actually pretty? Yeah of course I did. She was actually very beautiful; most people couldn't get past the clothes but I actually didn't care about that. Was she nice and someone I could see spending a lot of time with? Absolutely, we were always able to get along pretty well even though we have always been opposites. Could I see us a relationship together? I think I could. Maybe she is the one thing I have been looking for. Tina could be the one thing I have been missing and it was right in front of me. Once I came to this realization, I couldn't stop smiling about it. I had felt better now than I had in a long time but my happiness stopped quickly when I realized that just because I felt this way about her but did she feel the same? Without even thinking about it, I found myself walking to my nightstand to pick up my cell phone and send her a message.

Hey Tina, how are you feeling today?

Pretty good actually, you do realize that you are texting me right?

Yes I am aware; I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to go on a date with me tonight. Only if you are feeling better though

I uh actually don't think that is a great idea but thank you for the offer though

What? Why did she not want to go out with me?

Can I ask why?

This is kind of awkward but I heard what your dad said outside the restaurant last night. I don't think it's a good idea for us to talk anymore. Bye Mike

All I could do was stare at my phone. I had an amazing dream about an amazing girl that I had never thought about asking out before and now she won't say yes because of my father. Yeah that sounds about right. Tina liked to make everyone think she was tough but actually she was very emotional and the idea of her over hearing my dad talking last night must have had her crying all night. That thought made my blood boil a little bit. It is one thing to have an effect on my life but when he interferes with my friends' life, which is one thing I won't stand for. Knowing the conversation wasn't going to end pretty, I went ahead and changed into some street clothes thinking I was going to have to escape for awhile. I opened my door and walked down the stairs to the dining room where my parents were finishing up their breakfast. My dad was still looking through his paper when I walked up next to him. "Why do you feel the need to say anything you want without any concern to who it might affect? I just sent a message to Tina asking how she is doing but she won't talk to me because she overheard your comment as we were leaving." "She heard that? That poor girl", my mom put her hand up to her mouth in shock. "Yeah she heard and is incredibly hurt. What makes you think you are so great that you can criticize everyone around you? You are just as bad as those football bullies that we had to work with this week." I turned on my heel not wanting to hear anything he had to say and made my way to the door deciding it would be best to drive around a bit.

I didn't have a destination in mind so I just drove around town. Thinking about going to Sam's but wasn't sure if Quinn would be there and I really didn't want to get in the middle of their drama. Puck would be visiting with his grandma at her nursing home and as much as I get along with Kurt, I really didn't want to have him give my advice right now and that means I couldn't go see Finn. After driving through another part of town, I found myself driving through Tina's part of town and saw her yellow bug sitting in front of her house. I had been there once or twice when I was paired up with her last year for the duets project. Without even thinking, I found myself pulling up in the driveway behind her mom's explorer and turned my car off. I need to talk to her and straighten this out because I couldn't stand the idea that she is so upset about this. Taking a deep breath, I opened the car door and headed to the porch that wrapped around the entire front of the house. There was a large flower garden in between the porch and the sidewalk that was made of a bunch of smooth stones that Tina and her mom had painted. I walked across the porch and knocked on the front door where her dad opened it up. This was not a good sign.

"Uh hello Michael, we really weren't expecting you today." Kyle said and I could just tell he already knew what was going on. "Listen Mr. Cohen, I am very upset with my father about what he had said and ended up causing an argument with him because of it. I do not feel that way about Tina and would never do anything to upset her. Actually, I want to ask her on a date but she turned me down because of my father. I was just hoping I could talk to her and explain." Kyle looked me over for a minute before he finally let out a sigh and moved back hollering for Tina. She came down the stairs wearing a pair of athletic pants and a small matching shirt with her hair in a messy ponytail. Walking right up to the door before realizing I was the one standing in the door. "Mike what are you doing here?" She asked as she started to fix her hair and straighten her clothes. "I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute and explain everything that really happened last night." It took her a minute but she ended up nodding her head and moved to walk outside with me to the porch swing just in front of the large living room window. "You didn't have to come all the way here Mike. I'm sure I would have forgotten about it by the time school started on Monday." She told me as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Yeah I did have to come over here. Just because that is how my dad feels doesn't mean that is how my mom and I feel. I think you are great and have recently wanted to ask you on a date to see what happens." She let out a small chuckle before shaking her head and looking back down at the porch floor. "What is so funny?" I asked her not knowing at all what she was thinking about right now. "You are joking right? You are a football player and I am the school goth. The only reason you even talk to me is because we are in glee together and you are actually a nice guy. So, please don't pretend that you want to seriously ask me out because I know it is just a way to make yourself feel better about your dad or you think it is owed to me." She answered and got up to walk back in her house before I was able to comprehend what she said.

After I thought through everything she had said, I picked myself up and headed back to my car. Even though I really didn't want to, I found myself heading back home to finish my homework. I pulled up into our driveway and saw that my dad's office light was on upstairs and knew that as long as I stayed downstairs or in my room that I would be in the clear. My mom had just came around the house then with a tray full of flowers to plant in her garden that she tries to do every year. "Need some help with that?" I asked her jogging up to her to help. "Yeah that would be great dear. I wanted to talk to you anyway. Your father sometimes doesn't know when to stop talking or realize the damage it can cause." She told me as we both kneeled down and started moving the soil around. "I know that but it is getting to be too much lately. Do you really know how much it sucks sometimes that he is more proud of other kids other than me? Or that he can make my life hell because he doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut? Or that the girl I want to go on a date with told me no because of what he said?" I said trying to keep my tone in check because I really wasn't trying to pick a fight with my mom. "You want to ask Tina out? I think that is great idea Michael." She looked at me with pride while I continued to moving soil and putting the flowers down. "It would be great if she would agree to a date but she thinks I'm doing it out of pity. What am I supposed to do?" I asked her hoping she would give me some advice. I have never gone to either parent for relationship advice in my life before this. Obviously my father and I didn't have the relationship for this sort of thing and I never really put that much thought into it because I was too focused on school and extra activities for my Harvard application. "All I can tell you honey is to keep at it and there will come a time when you will be able to prove her wrong and that you really are just wanting to spend some time with her. In that moment you will be able to prove her wrong." That was all she said before she went back to the flowers.

Somewhere in between finishing my homework and my mom bringing me up some dinner because I still didn't want to talk to my dad, I came up with a plan for Monday. I was just going to talk to her more and turn myself into a really great friend rather than just a guy she sees in glee. Once we get to a point that she believes everything I would tell her, then I would ask her out on a date again. That is what I kept telling myself over and over again in my head as I was getting dressed on Monday morning. I looked at myself in the mirror one last time before I grabbed my letterman's jacket and headed downstairs. There was an apple on the counter that my mom had left me for breakfast just like she did every morning that she had a early surgery and wasn't able to make waffles. I heard noises coming from upstairs as I grabbed the apple and knew that my dad was still home. Even though I would end up getting over this sooner than later, I still had no desire to talk to him right now and headed out the door.

I knew the school would be going nuts because of our big win Friday night but had no idea it would be this big. There were banners hanging everywhere on the outside of the building along with some balloons and streamers. I could only imagine what the inside looked like. I let out a sigh before I hopped out of my jeep and headed inside. Looking through the big glass windows to the front part of the school, I saw Puck and Finn in the middle of a mob of people cheering at them and they loved it. I'm pretty sure half the school was there even the cheerleaders that spent all of their time hanging out with the hockey team. "Shouldn't you be in there in the middle of all the attention?" I heard someone ask behind me and I turned around to see Tina standing there in a sleeveless black dress that was slightly form fitting with knee high boots. All I could do was stare at how truly beautiful she looked. Her long black and blue streaked hair looked amazing against the dress. "Uh yeah, no, that isn't my thing. I really don't care for the attention; all I wanted to do was win the game." "Well you are a very different type of football player other Asian. I'm heading to the library for independent studies if you want to walk with me to avoid the crazy crowd." She said with a smile as if this last weekend with all the drama with my dad didn't happen. "Yeah that would be great." I told her and we walked through the far door to avoid the mob as much as possible.

We were turning around the last corner before the library when we saw Rick and two other hockey players walking towards us. "Well if it isn't some glee freaks. I can see that you think you guys are all heroes around here but you are wrong. This is still our school." Rick said with an angry smile as he started to slowly walk closer. "Oh please. You guys have always been second best to the football team. Winning the game didn't change anything except the fact that your girlfriends are flirting with them now." Tina said causing us all to look at her in shock. "Well if nothing has changed Stutterfly, then I think this is for you then." He said and then there was three slushies being thrown at her. I pulled her out of the way so she was just hit by the first one and the other two just fell to the floor. As gently as I could, I pushed to back against the wall so she was hidden in between the doorway and a set of lockers. The first of the two henchmen came at me then and I was able to duck below his punch only to be hit by the second one causing me to stumble back to the floor. Knowing this wasn't over yet; I tried getting back to my feet but instead was pulled up with my arms pinned against my back. Rick was standing in front of me with a huge smile while Tina was screaming for help but nobody was coming. I prepared myself for the hard punches that I knew were coming. The first punch was straight to my gut causing me to try to topple over but couldn't because I was being held up. The second punch was to the jaw and I couldn't believe how bad it actually hurt. I had seen this move in hundreds of movies and never thought how much it would hurt in real life. Somewhere in all of this my arms weren't stretched behind my back anymore and I was on my hands and knees on the floor with the three guys laughing in front of me. I hope this is the end. "You jerk! Why did you hit him?" I heard from where she was standing next to me against the wall. Please don't let her do anything stupid, I kept thinking to myself but it was too late and she was already running up to the first guy. She kicked him in the knee causing him to fall over and the second one she kicked in the stomach causing him to fall backwards. It wasn't until she got to Rick that I started to get a sickening feeling in my stomach. I saw Tina put her tiny hand up in the air as if to punch him but before she could, Rick had put both of his hands against her shoulders and pushed her backwards into the lockers.

Tina just laid on the ground with her eyes on me while I small trail of blood started to appear where her hairline is. That is when I felt something snap inside of me. I noticed somewhere in the back of my mind the other students had started to appear as it was getting closer for school to start but I didn't care. The only thing that I was focused on was revenge for what Rick had done to Tina. I didn't make it in time to help her on the football field but I was going to be there this time. Without any warning, I stood up and lunged at them. I took out the first guy with a few good punches then the second guy with a foot to his chest. It was finally time to take Rick on and he looked scared as if he could see the blood boiling in my eyes. I pinned him down against the ground while I punched him about 3 times before he hit my shoulders causing me to fall back a little before he gave me one last punch straight to my left eye. There were no words to describe the pain it caused. I fell flat against the floor and could see into Tina's eyes again as she lay there just watching my. It was unclear if she was actually seeing me or if she was just staring at anything, if it wasn't for her still blinking, I would be afraid the something much worse had happened. "Mike, Tina don't worry everything is going to be ok!" I hear someone shriek just as the room started to spin and everything started getting real dark. It was then that I saw Brittany and Karofsky rushed over to Tina to check on her. They would take care of her until I could regain my strength. Brittany would never let anything happen to Tina since they were friends now and Santana would never let anything happen to Brittany. Everything started to get black faster now that I couldn't focus on Tina anymore and all I saw was Sam, Santana, and Azimio trying to see if I was ok. "Mike, are you ok? What happened?" I heard Sam ask but I couldn't answer. Everything was black.

The next thing I remembered was a familiar smell. It was a smell of cleaning products, plastic, and blood. The same thing my mom smelled like as soon as she got home from work. I slowly began to open my eyes thinking I would see my mom sitting next to me but knew I was wrong when I started to realize how bright the lights were. "Michael? Can you hear me son? Please wake up." My dad? What was my dad doing next to me and why was he begging me to wake up? Fighting against the bright lights, I opened my eyes to see that I was in a strange room with my dad sitting next to me on the bed I was laying on. "Dad? What happened? Where am I?" I asked him in a rough voice because my mouth was dry with a small taste of blood in it. "You are in the hospital son. There was a big fight at school today. Do you remember any of this?" He asked me just as his words were bringing a memory up in my mind. I faintly remembered getting punched in the hallway as if it had happened years ago instead of just this morning. Then I remembered looking at Tina as we were both on the floor and that memory was much stronger. "Where is Tina? Is she ok?" I hollered out then suddenly more concerned for her. "She is fine son. I believe she has a broken wrist from when she fell and a few stitches on her forehead but is fine other than that. She said that you saved her." My dad told me as he stared at me in a way that I had never seen before. "Your mother is in radiology right now getting the test results from your MRI to see if there is any damage to your brain. You were out for quite awhile and it scared her. I imagine she will be back very soon." He told me as he gave me another smile. "Michael, I want to apologize for everything. I know you get upset when I just speak what is on my mind or when I don't let you be your own man and I am sorry. After I got the call that you were in a fight, I couldn't help but think that you had started it over something stupid and not because you were protecting a friend. Once I got here and found out the whole story, I have never felt so foolish and hated myself for it. Your mother and I have raised you right and I see that now. You are grown enough to make your own decisions and face whatever consequences that might happen. I love you Michael and again I am sorry." He told me with tears in his eyes. I had never seen my dad let out so much emotion before and it was nice to know that I wasn't the failure in his eyes that I thought I was. "I love you too dad." I told him and leaned up to give him a hug. That was when I realized how sore and bruised up I must be because every muscle in my body was aching. After I pulled back from the hug, I laid back against the bed just in time to see my mom come running in the room with happy tears flowing down her cheeks as she saw me awake.

After about an hour of visiting with my parents in my room, I heard a small knock on the closed door. My dad stood up to open it since my mom hadn't let go of my hand since she entered the room. I saw him push the door open wide and then saw the wheelchair came in with Tina sitting in it and her parents pushing it. I instantly sat up because I was extremely happy to see her even if she was covered in scratches and bruises. "Tina wanted to come see how you were doing. Kyle and I were going to run downstairs to get something for us to eat. We will be back in an hour sweetheart." Michelle said as she looked at Tina but said it loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Kyle walked over to me then and bent down to shake my hand. "Thank you for looking out for her." "My pleasure sir" "Call me Kyle" He told me before the two of them left the room. We all kind of sat there in silence while Tina and I just looked at each other. "You know, I am quite thirsty, Michael do you want to come with me to get some tea?" I heard my mom ask and knew that they were leaving to so Tina and I could have some privacy. "Yeah that sounds great. We will see you guys in a little while." They both left and closed the door behind them.

"Thank you for saving me Mike. If it wouldn't have been for you, Rick would have kicked or hit me again. I'm sorry you got hurt to. This is my fault." She as she started to cry again. "Tina, none of this is your fault at all." I told her sitting up trying not to moan too much at the pain shooting across my back. "Rick is the worst kind of bully and he doesn't care who he hurts. Just so you know, I will fight with or for you any day so stop apologizing for that too. Seeing you lying on the floor caused something inside of me to snap making me want to kill Rick. At the same time, it felt like my stomach had just been ripped out of me as I saw you lying there. I never want to experience that again." I was sitting on the edge of my bed now with her good hand in between mine. "I felt the same thing when I first saw you on the ground. That is why I went after them instead of staying against the wall like you wanted me to. What does that feeling mean? Is it because I saw my friend hurt?" She asked me never breaking eye contact with me. "I think it mean that we should go on a date this Friday night." I told her and she replied with a quite yes and a smile that I had never seen before but hoped I would see it again many more times.

All four parents came back in the room then to see Mike laying on his right side and Tina lying on her left side on the bed facing each other fast asleep. Mike was gently holding Tina's right hand as the parents went ahead and turned the lights off and left the room closing the door behind them.

I don't own anything Glee just love the show! This was a very long one shot that I had been working on for awhile and just finished. I have many unfinished projects that I'm trying to finish and release out. I haven't updated lately do to a family tragedy and am now getting back into the swing of things. I really hope you enjoy this story and as always I love any comments or suggestions you leave me! Thanks