The next day at school was hard on Rachel. She tried to smile, to pretend she wasn't phased. Her teachers smiled back, even Mr. Schue. She bounced into Glee and Santana beamed. Rachel cheered silently to herself - she had fooled Santana. Her happiness faded as she met Kurt's gaze as he seemed unconvinced and furrowed in worry. She took a seat next to Santana, who unexpectedley slung an arm over her shoulder. Rachel was a bit shocked, but was just happy to have someone there.
"Glad you're okay." she whispered smiling.

Rachel's stomach twisted and she gripped it subtly.

I'm not okay.

She wanted to say it. To shout it. She wanted everyone to know how Jesse made her feel. What he did to her.

"I'm so proud of you - all of you. These past days have been absolutely incredible for me. To hear what Jesse had to say about each and every one of you took my breath away. Congratulations to you all. Thank you." Mr. Schue quickly swiped at his eye then clapped his hands together,
still smiling. He was genuinely happy.

"We wouldn't be what we are with you, Mr. Schue. We owe everything we know to you." Tina smiled. She was right. He was always there, and was always going to be there. He knew what he was talking about and we kind of took him for granted.

"I appreciate that, guys. On a lighter note, how about we take a little break? You guys can talk, sing, play...it doesn't matter to me. You really deserve it." Everyone stayed silent for a moment before realizing he was in fact being serious. Rachel could hear Kurt walking down the risers toward her and Santana and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and exhaling.

"Rachel? A moment?" She stood up and stepped to the far corner of the room, following Kurt. "You're not okay." he said bluntly.

"Kurt, I'm fine. Trust me. You have nothing to worry about." she tried to assure, yet he still wasn't on board with her whole charade. He placed his hands around her shoulders.

"Listen to me, Rach. You're not alone. I'm here for you and so is Santana. Don't feel like you need to hide anything." Kurt's voice was so serious and sad, but she was comforted. No one ever cared that much about her, or at least none that she knew of. A friend.

"Thank you, Kurt, but I'm fine. I appreciated all you're doing, though. It's nice." she smiled again, trying to make it reach her eyes, but she couldn't quite do it, but he seemed convinced for the moment. He took her in a tight hug, rubbed her shoulder after releasing her from his grip and walked away after pecking her cheek. She touched where he kissed and held back her sobs.

Rachel felt sick. She was looking in the mirror again at home while her dads were on vacation.

"Unpretty." she whispered, her eyes dripping. She contemplated a thought that had popped into her head before heading to the kitchen. Maybe it wasn't her thing, but maybe it would help make her feel better. She reached into a drawer and heading back to the bathroom. She rolled up her sleeve and stared at the skin covering her tiny wrist. Finally deciding, she slowly moved the object closer to her skin until reaching it, then slowly moving it towards her.

She winced in pain, shutting her eyes, then opening them to see the red liquid draining into the sink. She continued the cut before cleaning up and heading out. She returned with something else to help ease her mind: Pills. Diet pills to be exact.

Over the days, it was obvious everything wasn't okay with Rachel, but only Kurt seemed to notice. He pulled her aside before Mr. Schue began Glee and interrogated her.

"Rachel, what's happening to you? You don't eat at lunch and you always seem so tired and...and you're just not you. Normally, I'd be all for that, but I don't like what you've become. Please. Talk to me." Rachel stared into his tear-filled eyes and thought for a moment. Slowly, she rolled up her sleeve to show the damage. He gasped in horror, but quietly enough that no one else heard. He reached for the scars slowly, but pulled back, unwilling all of the sudden.

"Take your seats, please." Mr. Schue announced. Rachel yanked at her sleeve and headed towards the chairs, Kurt slower paced. She glanced back and him a few times, each time he was staring at her with sorry eyes. After class, she wanted to wait for him, but she couldn't risk him making a scene or speaking too loudly. Someone grabbed her wrist and she sighed an annoyed sigh.

"Kurt-" Rachel turned to see Noah Puckerman standing in front of her, still holding her wrist. She winced as his fingers dug into where her cuts were. Instantly, he loosened his grip.

"W-What do you want, Puckerman?" she whined, fear and exhaust clearly in her eyes.

"Listen I know..." he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I heard you and Kurt talking a while ago. I know something's up with you. You've gotta tell me, Rachel. I may act like a total badass and ridicule you, but the truth is I am seriously concerned about you. Please, Rach. I want to help." Puck's words were sincere, but Rachel didn't want to risk anything. But she did need to tell someone...

"I don't think you can help me, Noah. I'm sorry." A sad Rachel left Puck in the middle of the hallway alone while she hurried to her next class. Her stomach dropped and her heart felt heavy again knowing she just turned away an opportunity to talk to someone.

"Mr. Schue..." Puck called walking back into the choir room.

"Yeah?" the older male said as he put down the music he was organizing and focused on his student who didn't seem okay.

"I need to talk to you. It's about Rachel."

Rachel sat in her room, bawling her eyes out after shattering her mirror. Her phone buzzed at her bedside and she picked it up, swiping away the tears that she was drowning in.

"Hello?" she whispered, hoping her voice wouldn't let her secrets show.

"Can I come in?" Rachel paused.

"Noah? Wait, what?" Before she could ask anymore, she heard her front door open. She ended the call and ran downstairs.

"Hey-" Noah didn't get his sentence out before Rachel took his hand and pulled him up the stairs into her room. They stood, staring at each other for the longest time until she threw her arms around his strong body and cried. He held her, stroking her hair and rubbing her back. She pulled back after the longest time, her face and his T-shirt soaked in tears.

"I-I'm sorry, Noah, I-" she sniffled, touching the wet spot on his shirt. He touched her face, wiping at the tears gently. Slowly, she made her way to sit on the edge of her bed.

"Can you please tell me? I'm worried, Rachel." She stared into his eyes and he looked genuinely concerned. She took a deep breath before looking away and pulling up her sleeve to show her sliced wrist.

"Who did this?" he whispered after staring at it for a moment, tracing it lightly with his fingers.

"What?" she asked, although she heard what he said.

"Who did this?" he said louder, angrier, as he shuddered, his body racketing in anger.

"It was Jesse. He told me...that I sang badly and I wasn't meant to be a star and...and he even called me fat. He...he just totally broke me. I haven't slept or eaten in days, Noah. Look at me. I'm pathetic." Noah stood up and paced, his fists clenched in anger. He was dead-set on beating St James's ass.

"I'm sorry." she whispered on the verge of tears again.

He forgot how upset she was. He quickly sat down and placed his arm around her, letting her hold him again.

"No, Rach. No. Don't be sorry." he whispered into her hair.

"Noah?" she looked up at him innocently.

"Yeah?" he looked back, eyes gentle again.

"Will you...uh...would you mind...ya know...staying, maybe?" she was so afraid of what he'd say. She almost didn't ask at all. She dismissed eye contact after spitting the sentence out.

"Of course, Rachel." he held her in his arms tightly before allowing her to finish her nightly routine. When she finally was finished and returned to her room, he was exploring, seeing what he could see that he didn't before. There was more to Rachel then passion and being obnoxious. She was real. She was more than he'd thought. He suddenly regretted picking on her so much. He watched her crawl in to bed and followed her, laying by her side. Instead of there being awkward tension between them, she filled the space and laid on his chest. His arm soon held her there tightly and both were a little more than content.

"Noah?"

"Yeah Rachel?"

"Thank you." Noah smiled, holding her just a little tighter before closing his eyes. But he wasn't okay yet. He wouldn't be okay until Jesse was punished and Rachel could be okay.

This wasn't over.