InsaneJournal

Tina waited patiently in her living room, idly playing with her dog while she waited for Mike to pick her up for their second official date. She was looking forward to it while at the same time almost dreading it. She knew eventually she was just going to have to choose between Mike and Brittany, and she also knew that someone’s feelings were going to get hurt. She hated the idea of hurting either one of them but she knew she couldn’t just date them both... No, definitely not. Pushing thoughts of Brittany out of her mind, she hopped up when she heard the doorbell ring and grabbed the coat hanging over the side of the couch. “Be good while I’m gone,” she said, before rushing to get the door.

“Hey,” she said, shyly when she answered before stepping out and locking up behind her. “Ready when you are.”

Mike was perhaps even more nervous than before their previous date (or before Homecoming) because now he had not only to do his best but be better than someone else as well and he wasn´t certain he could do that. He would bet Brittany wasn´t all awkward and didn´t say stupid things... or when she did, it was adorable rather than embarrassing. How was he even supposed to compete with a girl? They were in completely separated categories, weren´t they?

"Hi," he said, when she opened the door, smiling at her. "Always ready," he added, offering her his arm once she closed the door behind herself, trying not to blush. "Ready to be kidnapped?" Didn´t she just say she was ready? You´re not making sense already.

Tina giggled before looping her arm through his. “Is anyone ever ready to be kidnapped?” she asked teasingly. But so he didn’t feel silly, she grabbed his other hand and placed it over her eyes. “Okay, this is more like it. But let’s just hope my neighbors don’t see and get the wrong idea,” she said with a laugh.

"Now that would really complicate things," Mike laughed a little though the situation did actually make him feel a little sillier. "Can you walk like this?" he asked, leaving his hand over her eyes, but feeling considerate about her safety. He wondered if it would be easier or more awkward if he simply picked her up and carried her over to his car. With his luck, he´d probably drop her or something.

“Hmm, I am investing an awful lot of trust in you,” she mused, reaching up to separate two fingers so she could peak through them. “There. Less pressure on you,” she said laughing still at how ridiculous they were being. But her and Artie were hardly ever this ridiculous. It was kinda nice. Which kinda summed up what she liked most about hanging out with Mike. Things were just fun and silly and there was very little drama. She should have included that on her list... “But I guess either way it’s not kidnapping unless I’m being taken against my will. Which definitely is not the case.”

"I´m glad it´s not," Mike laughed, moving towards the car. "I don´t think I´d have a chance if I tried to kidnap you against your will. Not that I would," he added, just to make things clear. He really had a talent to sound weird.

“No way,” she joked. “I got my feisty Ninja skills. Though I guess you do too, so maybe,” she mused. Except she knew Mike would never do anything even remotely of the sort. “I think I could still take you down though,” she teased. As the reached the car, she was about to reach out for the door, but she was technically being kidnapped, so... “Not that I would either.”

"You probably really could," Mike agreed, uncovering her not-really-covered eyes so he could open the door for her. "But I´m really happy you´re not planning to," he added, waiting for her to get into the car so he could close it behind her. This was a really weird way to kidnap someone, but then, Tina was really cooperative "victim". And it wasn´t really kidnapping.

Tina found she kinda missed the feeling of his hand there when he moved it away, but she tried not to think about that too much. Climbing in the car, she smiled at him before he closed the door and waited patiently for him to get in the driver’s side. “That makes two of us,” she said before the went on their way. “So what movie did you pick out for tonight?”

"I was thinking..." Mike started, taking the car onto the road. The trust was, he didn´t really manage to pick one. "I narrowed the choice down to two movies. You´ve said you enjoyed Disney and I haven´t seen Mulan in ages, ´cause the twins were obsessing about other ones and I like it and then... Um, Step up is probably a little too close to the cheesy romance? Though it´s a dance movie, not like a romantic comedy or something." Mike sighed, looking at Tina. "If you could like not tell people I collect dance movies, that would be nice." Yeah, this was going so well. Five minutes in and he was already making a fool of himself.

Laughing, Tina mulled over the choices in her mind. Mulan was totally her favorite Disney movie, she couldn’t deny that. “I haven’t seen that in ages either,” she said fondly. “And I’m sure if I told people you collected dance movies, they wouldn’t be surprised,” she teased. She wondered though if Mike’s sisters were going to be... hanging around. Not that she didn’t like kids, because she totally did, but she was hoping for some alone time. “Let’s do Mulan then. I’m kind of excited for it now.”

"Maybe they wouldn´t be surprised, but they´d never stop teasing me," Mike grinned. "Mulan it is, then," he nodded, smiling, and trying to pretend it wasn´t because it was his own favourite Disney movie of all times. "I´ve borrowed the tv set and stuff from the guest room," he added. Mike´s parents were kind of weird in not wanting him to have his own TV in his room, which meant he had to spend most of the afternoon moving the TV set from the guest room to his own - and how unfair was it that there was one in the guest room when he wasn´t allowed it? "The house´s empty at the moment, ´cause Mum took the girls out but I don´t really know when they´ll come back so I thought my room may work better than the living room... if that´s ok with you." And now that he thought about it, it sounded kind of weird and maybe they should have just watched it in the guest room or something... "I´m excited for it, too," he added, though, happy she seemed to like his choice.

Tina couldn’t deny that being in Mike’s bedroom was a little... mind boggling. But it wasn’t like anything was going to happen. She really shouldn’t have even been thinking about it, but now she couldn’t stop. “Oh, uh, no, that’s cool,” she said, fighting a blush. And the house was empty, which she had wanted, but that just made her even more nervous now. But Mike was upstanding, so she told herself she didn’t have anything to worry about. Yeah, nothing at all. “I’m kinda curious to see your room.” It was the truth, but it just felt kinda awkward to say.

"Um... yeah," Mike said, not blushing. "It´s... nothing extraordinary," he shrugged, pulling the car onto the driveway of his own house. He really hadn´t thought this through. Now he seemed as if he was trying to get her into his bed - which, if he was going to be honest with himself, he was, but in the long run, not at the moment - and that was not what he wanted to make her think. He would have facepalmed, but she´d see that.

Tina chuckled to herself. “I’m sure it will be fine. As long as there isn’t anything, like... living in it, that shouldn’t be there, we’ll be good.” When her brother had lived at home with them, his room had been ridiculously dirty. Tina came to expect most teenage boys bedrooms to be like this ever since.

"The only thing living there should be me," Mike grinned, parking the car, turning off the engine and trying to get out of it fast enough to open the door on Tina´s side before she did it herself. He was rather tidy for a teenage boy - not overly so, but just enough - and he had also made certain there was nothing too embarrassing laying around in preparation for Tina´s visit.

“Well that’s good,” Tina said with a laugh before getting out and muttering a quick ‘Thank you’ to Mike. “And I’m sure you hid all your porn and bongs and whatever other embarrassing things you boys don’t think we girls know you have,” she teased. Tina found she rather kind of enjoyed teasing Mike. He was really good natured about it and he was super adorable when he blushed. Except it sometimes made him kind of hard to talk to since he babbled more when he was nervous. But then again, she could do that too.

"Yeah... um," Mike muttered, blushing fiercely at that, even though there was no real reason to. Everyone had some porn and stuff, right? And his was pretty tame and normal and it was not like he had to really go out of his way to hide it since it never left the depths of his computer. He shook his head and offered her his arm to lead her to the front door. "I guess I´d cover your eyes again, but you know where my lair is anyway, so..."

And there was that blush. Giggling, Tina shook her head. “Yeah. You’re not very good at this kidnapping business. But that’s probably a good thing.” Taking his arm, she followed him up to his house, idly glancing around his house when she was inside as she toed off her shoes. “You have a nice house,” she said simply. It seemed like the thing to say. She’d been there before, years ago when they were kids, but not that often. Her and Mike had never really been friends until recently. He had just always been one of the many kids she’d gone to Asian Camp with.

“Yeah, I´ll be forever a minion,” Mike said, shrugging. “Or I´ll have to look for a proper job or something.” He led her to the living room, from which led the stairs to the upper floor, scanning the room for any possible toys that could be laying around and shouldn´t be stepped on. “Thank you. Can I offer you something to drink?” he asked, swallowing the before we go upstairs part, because the less he thought about his damn bedroom - and really, what kind of idea had that been - the better. “Soft drinks only, though,” he added, joking. He was rather nervous, now, which was strange since he was at home in the familiar environment so everything should be less scary, right? But it also meant that he was actually responsible for Tina´s well-being and comfort and all that and that scared him a little. A lot.

“Every minion has a master. Who’s yours?” she asked, sounding amused as she followed him taking in her surroundings. “Pop is great actually. Nothing diet,” she said with a smirk. Even though she’d been here before, it had been a long time, so nothing really looked familiar. But it felt nice being inside Mike’s house. She wasn’t too nervous about going up to Mike’s room, but she did kinda wanna see more of his place.

"I thought me being Kurt´s ninja was, like, a common knowledge," Mike said and then hesitated. "When I say it out loud it sounds rather weird, doesn´t it? Because it doesn´t mean... Um, I think I´m just going to shut up about that now..." He shook his head to clear it. "Nothing diet," he nodded. "That works really well for me. Kitchen?" he suggested, pointed at the open door to his left and, subconsciously, reached his other hand to take Tina´s - and once he realized he was doing that, it was too late to stop the movement without it being even more awkward.

Tina narrowed her eyes slightly, but there was still a small amused smile on her face. She had noticed that Mike and Kurt had been awfully chummy lately. And ever since her breakup with Artie, Kurt had really been putting in a good word for Mike. Tina knew that’s what he was doing, and she didn’t actually think it would work on her, but here she was. She was glad though, that she’d given Mike a chance. “It doesn’t sound that weird,” she said finally. “I guess Kurt’s just awesome like that.” Glancing down at Mike’s hand, she smiled and let him take it to lead her to the kitchen.

Quite relieved that it didn´t sound that weird and not going to comment on whether Kurt was awesome or not or anything, and rather pleased that she let him take her hand, Mike led her to the kitchen. He didn´t let go of her hand - even though the situation made his heart race uncomfortably - even when he was opening the fridge. "Coke, Sprite or 7-up?" he asked, wondering if he should have gone shopping to make the selection wider.

“Hmm,” Tina said, taking her time to decided so her eyes could roam over the rest of what was in his fridge. The lack of Pepsi was slightly disappointing, but not terribly. “Coke is good,” she settled on. It was just pop after all. She was also a little bit hungry, but she didn’t want to seem like she was mooching. But they were on a date, so she should be able to ask for food. “Do you want to make some popcorn or something? Anything we can like, snack on.” Tina wasn’t really a picky eater.

"Popcorn was part of the plan," Mike nodded, handing her the coke, a little disappointed that she mentioned it before he had the chance to. He was not the best host, was he? "There´re chips as well," he added. "I´m really bad at this hospitality thing," he sighed, "so if you want anything, just ask... which you just did... um, yeah. Popcorn," he nodded, turning around to get that done. That made him realize he was still holding Tina´s hand and that he probably would have to let it go. He didn´t like that idea much...

Tina looked down at their still entwined hands and smiled. “You can let go. It’ll still be here when you get back,” she joked. “Chips are also good. And I think your hospitality is fine.” Smiling at him, she leaned idly against a counter while he got their stuff together. She would have helped, but she didn’t know where anything was and didn’t want to get in the way.

"I hope so, because I don´t think i could kidnap you second time tonight," Mike laughed. It took him a while to get prepare everything but he managed to without destroying half the kitchen, which was good. "So..." he said slowly once he had a bowl of popcorn in one hand and one with chips in the other.

Tina laughed but didn’t say anything while she waited. “I can grab the drinks,” she offered, quickly rushing over to grab them. “Lead the way,” she said happily.

Mike nodded, smiling at her, before leading her upstairs to his room. He had to open its door with his elbow, since his hands were full, but he managed. "So," he said again, before grinning a little shyly. "This´s where I live... And hopefully nothing else does... Anyway..."

Tina watched, amused as he tried to open the door, and looked around the room as they entered. It was tidier than she thought it would be. Which was a plus. And it seemed to suit him. “Hopefully,” she said with a smile before passing him. She didn’t want to come off as being nosy or anything, but she did kind of want to explore. Nothing invasive or anything, but just get a feel for the room. “I like it though. It’s very... you,” she said, turning around to walk back to him.

Unfortunately for Tina, she didn’t see that there was a sneaker poking out from under Mike’s bed. It was almost as if everything was going in slow motion. As her foot caught on the sneaker and she felt herself lunge forward, her eyes grew wide. And she was still carrying both the sodas so she could reach out to catch herself. Luckily, she still had somewhat of a dancer’s grace, so she did manage to prevent herself from completely toppling over, but not before splashing Mike square in the chest when one of the cups slipped slightly from her grip. “Oh... my god! I am so, so sorry. I’m such a klutz, I... I... I’m really sorry. Sorry,” she said, over and over again. She could feel herself blushing furiously now and she kind of wanted to bolt.

Mike blinked. "Are you ok?" was the first thing he asked, before realizing that his shirt was uncomfortably wet and sticking to his skin. "It´s ok," he said, taking the cups from her hands - having set the bowls aside while she was looking around - and putting him on the nearest flat surface which happened to be the top of his wardrobe. "It´s my fault. Mum says I´ve got too many sneakers and I guess she´s right..." No way had he just admitted he had more pairs of sneakers than was reasonable. Twenty pairs was not that many. "I´ll just..." he hesitated. He needed to take the shirt off and get a new one, that much was certain, but he didn´t know how to go about it without it being weird... Retreating for it into the bathroom would be just as awkward as taking it off right there.

Tina felt her face soften when he asked her if she was okay. The fact that he was concerned about her, even though she’d totally spilled on him was really sweet. “Uh, yeah, I’m alright. Just feeling like an idiot.” Stepping back, she looked around the room nervously before glancing back at him. “Um, sorry about your shirt. I can just...” she moved over to the door awkwardly. “Or I can leave.” She meant leave the room, but they way she worded it kind of made it sound like she meant leave the house in general.

"No! I mean... You can´t just leave, you´re kidnapped... I mean," Mike sighed, shaking his head. "I´ll get this off if that´s ok with you," he said, pulling at his shirt. "And get a clean one, I mean," he added, feeling really awkward.

Tina nodded, feeling herself already start to relax. That was until Mike started taking his shirt off... It wasn’t like she’d never seen him shirtless before, but it always caught her a little off guard. Feeling her breath hitch slightly, she didn’t say anything at all. She meant to turn away to give him some privacy, but she kind of forgot about that. “You have really nice abs,” she said suddenly, without meaning to. Feeling herself start to blush again, she stared at him for a moment before clamping her mouth shut. What the hell was she supposed to say now after that little outburst?

Mike froze, feeling a blush creep into his face. "Um... thanks?" he said uncertainly, before setting his shirt aside. He grinned then, though he still felt his cheeks burning, because his brain started processing that Tina just said he had nice abs and maybe it was not the most coherent compliment he had ever gotten, but it certainly felt like the best one. And he knew he should probably move to get a clean shirt and get dressed but his mind was kind of blown.

Tina was feeling like an idiot, but Mike was smiling, so apparently he took it as a compliment. Though why wouldn’t he? But he wasn’t weirded out, which was good. Tina started to feel herself walk closer to him, even though she had little control over it. “And you’re just really nice in general,” she started saying. “I really like... hanging out with you.”

"Thank you," Mike said, which was a kind of stupid reaction. "You´re really nice, too. Pretty awesome." He felt himself moving in her direction, the lack of shirt forgotten, even though he didn´t feel as if he was actually controlling the movement. "I like hanging out with you, too."

Tina only half realized Mike was moving toward her as well until they were right in front of each other. “Thanks,” she said quietly, her eyes quickly moving down to his still unclothed chest before glancing up again. “I’m really glad we’re getting to know each other better.” Tina could feel her entire body getting warmer, and she clenched her hands tightly together to prevent herself from reaching out to touch him. Because that probably would have been inappropriate. Except she really wanted him to kiss her right then. She tried silently sending out some “kiss me” vibes, but she wasn’t too sure if it was working.

"I´m really glad, too," Mike said, feeling his heart go all crazy. He felt like a crushing schoolgirl. With abs. And he really wanted to kiss Tina and she was so close and they were on date, right? He could kiss her. Only he wasn´t really certain about that and he felt himself leaning in before he forced himself to stop, freezing in the position he was in. "I..." Um yeah, because saying he wanted to kiss her wouldn´t be the weirdest thing ever.

Tina felt her breath catch when he moved in, but then he stopped himself! But this was Mike, and he was usually nervous around her by default, so she was going to have to be a bit more direct with him. Which she could do. Before he could say anything more, or possibly even change his mind, she reached up quickly to pull him down for a kiss. It was definitely odd, her kissing him while he wasn’t wearing a shirt. But also exciting. She hoped he wasn’t completely freaked out by the fact that her hands were kind of sweaty and now on his back. After a few moments, she pulled out of the kiss, but kept her face close to his. “Um... I hope that was okay.”

Tina kissed him. Tina kissed him. And then she asked something. Oh. Mike opened his mouth, closed them again before smiling and finally said: "Yeah... Yes, more than ok." And yes, he was being completely awkward. But he was also incredibly... happy? He wasn´t certain that was the right word, but... He rested his hands on her waist, because that seemed like a good place for them and leaned in for another kiss. If she was allowed to kiss him, he was allowed to kiss her, right?

Tina smiled before he was kissing her again. This was considerably hotter than their first kiss had been. She couldn’t complain though. Except he was much taller than her, so she had to stand on her toes as she reached up to place a hand on the nape of his neck. After a while she pulled away and giggled. “Um, aren’t we supposed to be watching a movie?” she asked, even though she didn’t mind this alternative.

"Um... yeah, movie," Mike said, blushing. He had kind of forgotten about that. And the fact that he was supposed to get a clean shirt. "I should probably..." he started to move away from her, then he leaned in to press another, though really chaste, kiss against her lips. "Um... movie. Right," he said, when he finally pulled away. "We´ve decided on Mulan, right? Yeah. Shirt, first, I guess..."

Tina could prevent the huge smile that spread across her face at that little kiss. How adorable was he?! “Yeah, Mulan. No need for a shirt though,” she joked. “Kidding,” she added quickly, laughing nervously. Hopefully he took that as a joke and didn’t think she was totally weird or anything.

Mike, desperately wishing he could stop blushing, grinned at her, taking her words for a joke, though deciding to understand it as a compliment and a good sign, too. He got a new shirt from the drawer of his wardrobe and quickly put it on before taking the DVD case from where it was laying on his desk. "I´m afraid there´s not much of a choice where to sit," he said, as he was putting the DVD into the recorder, "but..." Make yourself comfortable sounded a little weird in his head so he cut himself off there.

Tina looked around the room before shrugging and setting herself on the edge of his bed. She didn’t want him getting the wrong idea, she was definitely not that kind of girl. But she didn’t mind just sitting in bed with a boy watching a movie. They could keep it PG. “Alright, well, ready when you are,” she said with a smile, until realizing how that sounded. “For the movie, I mean,” she clarified. Except that kind of made it worse. Blushing, she just smiled and shrugged before moving back to get more comfortable.

"Right, movie," Mike nodded, completely not thinking about anything else, yeah, right, taking the remote into his hand and moving to sit next to Tina. He did consider the computer chair or the floor for a moment, but this was a date after all and sitting on the bed wasn´t that weird, right? Right. "Ready," he grinned at her and pressed the "play" button.