Third chapter of You've Taken All You Can Bare. This is where the characters and storylines come together. This chapter does deal with some dark themes.

I tried to add some Brittany humour, because a Glee story would not be complete without it, even if it's an angst story. Everybody loves Brittany.

Also for the purpose of this story Bram did not happen, they are just friends, neither did Tina's insane crush on Blaine but the three of them are all best friends.

I do not own Glee or the song True Colors.


Brittany stood alone, staring in the direction Santana had ran. She didn't say anything. All she could do was hope that the woman she was in love with would return to her safely; along with some of the best friends she could ever wish for. She could feel the tears streaming down her face; but she didn't have the energy to wipe them away.

It was about ten minutes before the blond dancer was struck out of her day dream by a booming voice. "Brittany! Is that you? Thank God you're ok."

She blinked and focused her eyes to find Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman standing in front her. Oh, of course they stayed in Lima, they would be here. A look of sheer relief appeared on her face as she ran into Finn's open arms, and broke into tears. She felt Finn pull her closer into his arms and saw Puck stand protectively next to her, as if they were her older brothers in their little Glee family.

"I don't know if they're OK." She pulled out of Finn's hug and looked them both in the eyes, tears still flowing from her own. "We hadn't heard from anyone, and San said something about needing to be inside. She said had to go and get everyone out, so she ran in there. What if they're not OK? What if something happened to our Glee family?" Her voice had cracked on the last couple of words and she broke down into uncontrollable tears once more. This time however it was Puck who had pulled her into his arms.

Finn was staring at his phone, was he waiting for it to turn into a robot. Brittany had tried that once, but Santana told her to stop, that they wouldn't turn into their true forms if you were watching. She was about to tell the taller boy this before he interrupted her.

"I'm gonna call Rachel and Kurt. Tell them what's going on. Maybe they've heard from Santana or maybe Blaine." He said whilst pulling his phone to his ear. Puck just nodded in response.

They soon found that Kurt and Rachel already knew about the shooting as they were in contact with Blaine. Who said that everyone was in the Choir room, except Tina. At that Puck and Finn went crazy. They started arguing and shouting at each other, and down the phone to ask Kurt to find out what the hell was going on with Blaine.

But Brittany was paralysed. Her little asian Glee sister was in there alone, and the blond dancer was truly scared for her. She soon became lost in her memories of the former goth, the performances with the Glee club, the countless mall trips that had occurred with them and the rest of the Glee girls (and Kurt of course) and all the times they had danced and sang backup together.

By this time a very sick Joe and Sugar had arrived, along with Emma Pillsbury and Burt and Carole Hudson-Hummel. The boys had ended their shouting match and had began to explain everything, with Kurt and Rachel helping over the phone.

It was a comfort to them all that Kurt was still in contact with Blaine, and that Carole and Burt had heard from Sam as he was still living with them. But with still no news from Tina they were still very sad. However by this time Brittany was trapped in her memories of the 'Cell Block Tango' and 'Shake It Out' performances, when she was suddenly struck out of her daydreaming.

She grabbed the phone out of Finn's hand and spoke directly to Kurt and Rachel. "What about Santana? Ask Blaine if she's there." After receiving a negative response, she explained her realisation to the people surrounding her,and the ones over the phone, who had all become like family to her. "Maybe Santana will get Tina out. They're both in their still, maybe they will find each other."

Hope quickly overcame them all, and everyone began to talk amongst themselves. Then Finn turned to Brittany, and pulled her in for the biggest hug ever, he even lifted her off the ground and began to spin her round. "I know people call you dumb Britt, but sometimes you are the smartest person I know."

"Well duh!." She replied grinning.

Unfortunately their small celebration was short lived, as they were interrupted by a confusing yet familiar sound. Music had began to spill from the school's speakers, more specifically singing. From a voice they all knew.

You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh I realise
It's hard to take courage


Tina just stood there. She was in shock, before her was a man she knew. She liked to believe they had began to become friends after the events of the previous year, when she had gone to comfort and be there for him with the rest of the Glee club, after his suicide attempt. But now David Karofsky stood before her, with a gun in his hand. A gun he had fired in a school. In her school.

"Why?" Her voice was low and tough, but most of all hurt. If it hadn't had been just the two of them in that room with complete silence surrounding them, he would not have heard the question. But he had, he just didn't reply. So she tried again. "Why are you doing this? Answer me!"

"To show them all that they don't own me. That I'm not weak. And to get revenge. If it wasn't for this school, for Kurt and Santana and the rest of your fucking Glee club I wouldn't have had to come out. I wouldn't have to fucking deal with all of this shit. All the looks, the comments, the judgements. I can't deal with them. I shouldn't have too. And I wouldn't of have to if it wasn't for your damn Glee club!" He screamed at her, the whole room almost shock with the intensity of his rage.

Tina could see he was having some kind of break down. She couldn't say she was surprised though. To be able to hate yourself, and the rest of the world, as much as David Karofsky did, you couldn't be completely sane. Which meant he needed help, and Tina knew she had to try and give it to him. However she didn't really know just how unhinged he really was, until the next words came out of his mouth.

"I was originally gonna go to the Choir room, but when I saw you I thought it was perfect. I could get my revenge on the Glee club, and prove to everyone that I'm still a man. That I'm not weak, and I'm definitely not gay."

Her body went into shock. Terrified shock. "What do you mean by that? You are gay."

"No! No, I'm not! And I'm gonna prove that now." He roared menacingly, advancing towards her.

By this point the small asain was in full on panic mode, she could barely process what was happening. "Wait! I know you're angry, and upset. But, that... That won't help you. You would most likely end up hating yourself more, because you know that's not what you want."

Her breathing was ragged and her stomach felt like it belonged in the circus, the amount of flips it was doing. But she could see that her improvisation , to try and get Karofsky to stop was working. Slowing, but it was working. So she continued, a little more confident now.

"Despite what you and other people think, there is nothing wrong with being gay. People just don't understand it. But times are changing, people are more accepting, and understanding now. You can even get married, when you finally accept who you are, and find the right guy. One day you will love who you are, and it will all be because of one special guy. He will love you with all of his heart, and it will all be OK. I promise."

By this point, the man in front of her couldn't even face the younger singer, and just stared down at his shoes. She could see the tears in his eyes, threatening to fall down. After about three minutes of silence, he looked back up to her. His face was void of any emotion. "That song you sang in your freshman year, the one where you all wore different colored shirts, what was it?"

She was confused for a second before she remembered. "What, True Colors?"

"Sing it." He grumbled forcefully.

"Why?"

"Just sing it!" He bellowed. He pointed to the microphone that links to all of the speakers around the school, which he quickly switched on.
She turned towards the machine and began to sing.

You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged

In this moment, Tina couldn't help but feel sorry for the jock in front of her. His eyes were full of sorrow, and even with all the stuff he has done, no one should have to feel this way.

Oh I realise
It's hard to take courage
In a world full of people

All she could think of were the people she loved; the Glee club. Blaine, Mercedes, Kurt, Mike, the whole club, she even thought of Santana. But the person who kept flashing into her mind was Sam. How she would never be able to tell him her true feelings for him, and how strong they were.

You can lose sight of it all And the darkness still inside of you Can make you feel so small

And then she could help but realise just how small she was. She had no power in this fight. If Karofsky lost it, she was dead.

But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
Like a rainbow

Just like that she was pulled out of the song. Not by the person in front of her, but by another. A voice she knew well, who was currently screaming her name. Tina knew there was only one thing she could do.

"HELP ME!"

And then it all went black.


Ever since the event with the door, Sam had been mentally pacing the Choir room. He hadn't voiced his thoughts out loud, but he was almost certain the first set of footsteps had been someone in trouble. He had originally thought it was Tina, but if it was why didn't she just call out to them. So he had brushed that thought off, but he could escape from the weird feeling in his heart.

Mr Shue and Coach Beiste had immediately rushed to assure them it was OK, but from the look they shared after, the blond boy knew they were just as scared as the rest of them.

They were all happy when Blaine had managed to get hold of Kurt and Rachel, who at the same time, were on the phone to Finn and Puck, who managed to find Brittany. They were relieved the blond dancer was OK, but devastated to find out that Santana had ran back into the school in search of them, as she hadn't gotten there. Sam briefly wondered if it had been her at the door, but soon ruled that out. If it was they would have known, as the Latina would have gone, in her own words, 'all Lima Heights'.

When Blaine first told them of Brittany's plan, they just sat in silence processing the idea. It was a few minutes before anyone said anything.

"Are you sure it was Brittany who said that? Our Britt, cause thats actually quite smart." Kitty remarked

Sam frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, lets face it. Brittany's not the smartest person in the world, and..." But before the younger blond could finish, she was interrupted by the other cheerleader in the room.

"Can we please focus. Tina's out there, most likely on her own, and scared. She's my best friend and i can't stand not knowing if she's OK." Blaine then broke into tears, Sam crawled to his side and pulled the smaller boy into a hug. He hated seeing Blaine like this. The past year Sam, Blaine and Tina had become best friends, almost inseparable. He knew exactly how the other boy was feeling.

"I know Blaine. But I know that she's OK. You know how I know that, I can feel it, here." He said indicating to his heart.

However all of a sudden, they were shocked into silence. There was a voice travelling through the speaker on the wall. A singing voice.

You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh I realise
It's hard to take courage

"Please tell me that's not Tina signing. Someone tell me it's not." Sam cried, trying to convince himself he was wrong.

But Artie had to burst his bubble, tears flowing from behind his glasses. "It is. She sang that song Freshman year."

As the group listened to the girl, who was like family to most of them, singing the song, they could tell she was terrified and in tears. However they didn't have to listen to the whole song, as she suddenly stopped after the first chorus.

That was when they heard her scream for help. That was when they heard her silenced. That was when they heard the gunshot.