Swaying In The Background

Episode 22: Journey to Regionals

"At Regionals, didn't you hear? I'm one of the judges." Coach Sylvester stated, striding past Mr Schue. 

Mike turned to Matt with a horrified look as Mr Schue ran towards Figgins' office. "What the hell?" Santana and Britt joined them in the hallway. 

Santana looked at their pale faces. "What's wrong?"

"Sue's one of the judges at Regionals", Matt explained. 

"But that means we're going to lose," Britt said with wide eyes. 

"Sue's plan is coming to fruition", Mike stated. 

The bell rang, and the group slowly walked to the choir room; even Santana looked slightly saddened. 

It turned out they were the last to arrive, and everyone else looked very excited. Ever since they did the Funk number, they had been on a high, actually believing they could place at this thing. 

Tina frowned upon seeing the group. Are they not excited? "What's wrong?"

This caused the rest of the group to turn their attention to the four.

Santana sighed. "Coach Sylvester is a judge at Regionals."

There was a moment of silence before the choir room exploded in noise. 

"Oh hell to the no", Mercedes exclaimed. 

"How is that fair?" Tina questioned. 

"She's one hundred per cent going to skew the results, so we come last," Rachel said, causing everyone to nod in agreement. 

"Are you sure?" Quinn asked them. 

Mike nodded. "Yeah, we heard her tell Mr Schue."

"Well, I didn't, but I trust Mikey", Britt clarified. Mike sent her a smile when Mr. Schue walked into the room, looking defeated. 

"Is it true, Mr. Schue?" Mercedes immediately asked. She still couldn't believe that Sue might be able to bring down Glee after everything they've gone through. 

Schue looked at the group, confused.

"That Coach Sylvester is a judge at Regionals." Rachel continued from Tina. 

Mr. Schue let out a sigh, "Yes, it's true." The whole group became even more outraged after he confirmed it. 

Mr Schue hastily continued, "But we can't let this get us down. So I'm having a pizza party at mine while we decide on a setlist that is going to blow the socks off the judges, even Coach Sylvester."

The group, however, wasn't impressed. It seemed that their fight had gone. 

//////

Mike was on the phone with Quinn after he had returned from Regionals. They hadn't even placed, and it seemed like Sue was always going to be biased, no matter how incredible their performance was. 

"How are you feeling?" He asked while sitting on the edge of his bed. 

"Tired," Quinn replied, and Mike thought she sounded like it. "I held her in my arms for about an hour before they took her away."

"Did you want to keep her?"

There was a pause. "No. I wouldn't be able to give her a good start in life, but I could tell Puck did. He named her Beth after the song you guys did." Mike let out a small laugh. "And then Shelby turned up."

"Rachel's mum?" Mike said in confusion. 

"Yeah, I think she's adopted her. Rachel said her mum always wanted a baby girl."

"How do you feel about that?" 

"As long as she doesn't come back, I think I'll be fine. I'm just going to try and get my life back on track."

"You're Quinn Fabray. Next year, you're going to get back on the Cheerios and back on top. You don't need no man to be awesome." Mike grinned. 

"Thanks, Mike" Quinn giggled. 

There was a quiet knock on the door, and Mike looked up as his mum slipped into his room. 

"I gotta go. Get better soon, Quinn."

 "See you Monday," Mike hung up and placed his phone on the bed beside him. 

His mum came and sat down next to him on the bed. "Hey, honey. I haven't seen you since we got back."

"I wanted to check up on my friend," Mike paused and bit his lip. He had pushed his parents to allow him to stay in Glee but now they had lost, they hadn't been good enough.

"What is it?" His mum shuffled closer. 

"We didn't place, mum. The Glee Club is over." Mike felt like crying as his mum pulled him into a hug. 

//////

Of all the things Mr. Schue could have said on a Monday afternoon, him saying that they had another year of Glee was not what Mike was expecting. 

Of course, he was praying for it but didn't actually believe it would happen.
It was news that he almost felt like jumping out of his seat but managed to stay seated, only fist-bumping Matt while Mr Schue and Puck sang 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'.
They finished, and the group gave them a polite applause. 

Mr. Schue put the ukelele away and ushered Puck to his seat. "As you know, our competition year is over, but the school year is not. Feel free to use the choir room to have fun and do jam sessions, but I won't be here to supervise you, so behave. I'll see you after the summer."

Then Mr. Schue walked out the door. There was a moment of silence before the group burst into laughter at Schuester's abrupt exit. 

Santana suddenly stood up and faced the group. "Give me your numbers."

"Uh, why?" Artie questioned. 

Santana rolled her eyes "'Cause I want to set up a group chat."

"Why would we do that?" Rachel said. 

"Every club has a group chat." Quinn frowned as though she had realized something. "To be honest, I don't know why we don't already have one."

"But we see each other every day." Finn protested. 

"During term time, we won't see each other over the Summer," Kurt explained as though it was apparent, which it was. 

"I personally wouldn't mind having a group chat. It'd be nice to have group shopping trips." Mercedes chimed in.  

"Well, since my mum has let me back into the house, I'd like to host a pool party sometime this summer." Quinn offered. 

Everyone started muttering in excitement and agreement. Even those who were reluctant, like Rachel and Finn, seemed to be slowly coming around. 

"So that's sorted. Numbers now." Santana held out her hand in impatience.

Mike smiled at the group, which was finally coming together. He couldn't wait for this summer. 

A/N: We're finally at the end of Season 1. This has been so much fun, and I can't wait to continue. The next chapter is an intermission chapter before Season 2, but more on that later. For now, I want to thank everyone who's here and hope you continue on Mike's journey through Glee. See you in the next chapter.