A/N: Hey all! So, here we go, another chapter. I really like this one, and maybe you'll figure out why as you read. That being said, Though I have been trying to feature every character every few chapters, and not focus too much on one, that may start to change. As I get deeper into these characters and begin to create more intertwining plots, I'm going to have to focus on some at times and not others. For example, Anya gets highlighted in this chapter, and not even as in depth as I had wanted, but you will see why. Sabrina also appears a couple times in the chapter. I also have a three chapter arch planned down the road that will focus ore on certain characters. I hope that's fine with all of you.

On a separate note (and I know this is getting very long, bare with me), I leave for school tomorrow. It's exciting and nerve-racking but it also means that I may not be on as much. I will try my best to continue with weekly updates, but I make no promises. I only hope you are as invested in this story as I am, even without updates every week.

Anyway, enjoy :)

"Evan, please."

Noah's eyes were tired and glossy, screaming for help in a way that nobody ever noticed. He did not look like Evan, what with his dark eyes and light hair, but his smile, when he had smiled, had been bright and full just like his brother's. That was how Evan remembered him, and yet now he frowned as he quickly retied a noose into the fraying rope he held in his thin hands.

"Evan, please, help me," he murmured.

Evan reached out to the younger boy, his body being yanked away just before he could reach him. Noah looked so small, so small and fragile. When had he become so thin? When was the last time he had eaten a proper meal.

Why hadn't Evan noticed? Why hadn't anyone noticed his empty eyes?

Noah reached upwards, hooking one end of the rope onto the ceiling fan, and Evan lurched forwards. "No!"

"Stop," Noah yelled, because even though he had always been kind and quiet Noah always yelled in his dreams. He had a right to yell. Noah recoiled, and Evan was snapped backwards again. "Don't touch me."

"Noah," Evan whispered, voice breaking. "Please, I'm trying to help you."

Noah bared his teeth, distorting his face in a way that made him unrecognizable. "You had your chance to help," he spat. "And you let me go. It's your fault, IT'S YOUR FA-"

Evan shot up in his bed, hand clutching his chest. He rocked back and forth, hands tangled in the sheets as he tried desperately to normalize his breathing. He glanced sideways at the clock, whose blood-red letters read 4:56. Evan ran his hands down his face and plopped back down on his pillow. He knew that there was no way he was going to be able to fall back asleep, so he just gazed up at the ceiling, waiting for the day to begin.

Anya sat in the back of the choir room, as she normally did, working diligently on some of her advanced functions problems. The math was not that difficult, almost boring in fact, but it was better to get some done rather than to just sit and wait for Glee to start.

A few minutes, and several equations later, Ms. Rodgers emerged from her adjoining office and into the choir room, stepping up to the front of the room.

"Afternoon, kids," she greeted brightly. "How's everyone this week?'

A weak chorus of voices answered her, though it was much better than the silence the teacher used to get. Ms. Rodgers grinned. "Well, let's get on with this week's lesson, shall we?" she questioned rhetorically. She spun around to face the whiteboard, grabbing a marker and quickly scribbling a single word upon the board.

Dance

"So, it's about time we incorporated dance into our songs," Ms. Rodgers explained. "And at the end of this week, we will all be performing a number together, with music and movement. All of us," she emphasized.

Anya's hand froze over her notebook, cheeks draining of the minimal colour they had. She held back vomit as the rest of the group chattered around her, some with apprehension, but mostly excitement. Anya's small hands balled into fists. She couldn't do this, not now, not ever.

Nobody seemed to notice her silent struggle, and Ms. Rodgers continued on brightly. "Is there anyone who dances in here?" she questioned.

Sabrina rose quickly from her chair. "I do," she exclaimed with a brightness that Anya had never possess when thinking about such movement. "Could I maybe...demonstrate?" Sabrina questioned, gesturing to the floor.

Ms. Rodgers grinned, stepping aside. "Of course you can."

Sabrina beamed, pulling her phone out of her back pocket and plugging it into the sound system before moving to the centre of the room.

Calling all my girls
There's an SOS tonight
Let's have some fun, yeah
One hundred percent
Every single trace of my weekdays are gone, yeah

There's gotta be a million faces up in this room, room
But the only one who gets my attention is you, you

The upbeat nature of the song perfectly fit Sabrina's voice, and as she danced side to side, it looked as if she had bee practising just in case a moment like this were to arise.

I got my best on
And I feel like dancing all night long
Nothing's gonna stop me
You're what I want
So, baby, come and get me
'Cause I don't wanna dance alone

Anya beat over at the waist, moving to fix the hem of her pants. She paused there for a moment, taking her eyes off of Sabrina's movements. How was someone able to move so beautifully, and with such ease? She took a deep breath as the chorus came around again, looking up.

I see a million silhouettes dancing in this room, room
I wanna be the one who gets the attention from you, oh

I got my best on
And I feel like dancing all night long
Nothing's gonna stop me
You're what I want
So, baby, come and get me
'Cause I don't wanna dance alone

Sabrina was a natural, beautiful in her movements. The move Sabrina danced, the more Anya sunk back into her seat, and the more she thought that maybe Glee club just wasn't for her.

"One, two, three, four," Speedy counted under his breath as he jumped around his room, chest heaving. He moved along to the music, arms flailing widely as he went. "Seven, eight. One, two..." he counted to count, though his steps didn't really match up to to movements of his feet, but Speedy didn't care, he was grinning ear-to-ear anyways.

"What is that noise?"

Speedy froze, biting his lip. He moved over to shut the music off before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, Grandma," he apologized. "Is the music bothering you?"

Gina softened at the sight of her grandson. "Oh, no it's okay sweetheart," she assured him, moving into the room and sitting on the side of his bed. "What were you doing?"

Speedy rubbed the back of his neck."Oh, just dancing," he explained. "Practicing, for glee club. It's dance week, and we're all preforming in a couple days."

"Oh, well that sounds fun, dear," Gina said with rapt interest. "Why don't you show me some of your moves," she suggested.

Speedy brightened, grinning. "Really?" he asked.

"Sure hon, besides, your dad won't be home for a while, so we've got the whole house to ourselves," Gina assured her boy with a soft smile.

Speedy nodded quickly, moving to turn the music back on. "Okay," he said as he got into place. "And five, six, seven, eight!"

"Okay, okay, and then it's right, left, ball change step," Sabrina instructed, displaying the movements once more. Dylan copied her, a scowl placed firmly on her face. "Great, good job," she praised, patting the boy on the shoulder before moving back around the room.

She came upon Speedy, who was jumping around in what Sabrina assumed was his attempt at dancing. She had to admit, it was kind of endearing though, wrong or not. "Speedy," she called.

The boy in question paused in his movements, looking up with a grin. "Yeah?"

Sabrina bit her lip, shaking her mind. "Never mind," she decided, turning around and clapping her hands together. "Alright, let's take it from the top," she announced. The group reformed around her. "Five, six, seven, eight!"

Sabrina moved into position, easily transitioning into movement as the music began. She did the first few counts with the rest of the group before turning around to examine them. She nodded as she watched, smiling to herself as the routine came to an end.

"Great!" Sabrina exclaimed, brushing a piece of dyed pink hair from her face. "I think that's probably good, see you guys at Glee!"

They grumbled goodbyes her way, turning to gather their things. Sabrina packed up her stuff, closing the dance room as everyone exited. Making sure the door was locked, Sabrina took off down the halls, catching up to Levi, who was just leaving.

"Levi," she exhaled, falling into step next to the boy. "You are really good," she complimented.

Levi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever," he scoffed.

"No, seriously," Sabrina continued, spinning around to walk backwards in front of Levi, facing him as she spoke. "You're like, seriously good," she informed. "Why didn't you say anything when Ms. Rodgers asked for good dancers?"

Scoffing, Levi crossed his arms defensively in front of his chest. "Because I don't dance," he snapped.

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "Is it because you think it's lame?" she questioned harshly. "Cause news flash, you're already in Glee Club, I don't think dancing will change any of your 'buddies' opinions," she said.

"Yeah, so what, I dance," Levi snapped, puffing up his shoulders as he stared Sabrina down. "But you better not say anything about it," he warned, pushing past Sabrina and out of the school.

Anya watched from the front row as everybody moved awkwardly around the stage, knees draw up to her chest the best she could. It was Friday already, and everyone was going over the last steps for the dance number they were going to perform for in about an hour. Anya had managed to avoid Glee all week, even dodging Speedy in the hall once, which was a feet in itself, but then Perry had been waiting for her after school and had dragged her to practice no matter how many times she protested.

She should've just told her parents that she was ill this morning, but that would've meant missing class as well. Besides, her Papa would've seen through it in an instant, he would've still let her stay home, but he would've known. She didn't need to give them any more reason to worry about her.

"Okay, now right, left, ball change back," Ms. Rodgers instructed. "Okay, that's good," she said with the most forced-looking smile Anya had ever seen her wear. "Then Levi and Sabrina will come into the centre and do their little part. Great!" she praised.

The shrill sound of a phone ringing cut through the auditorium, and Ms. Rodgers reached into her pocket, frowning as she glanced at the phone. "I have to take this," she explained and she moved towards the auditorium door. "I'll be outside, keep practising!"

Voices filled the room as soon as the door closed behind Ms. Rodgers. Sabrina went over to Speedy, her and Ashleigh showing him and Dylan the steps. Jordan had sat down in the back corner of the stage. Shay was checking her phone, and Levi looked bored out of his mind.

Perry hoped off the stage and walked over to Anya and sat down next to her. "Are you going to come and dance?" she asked.

Heat rose to Anya's cheeks as she shook her head, looking down at her feet.

Perry furrowed her brows. "You sure?"

"I-I just don't want to," Anya stuttered, wrapping her arms around herself. She appreciated Perry's concern, but really didn't want there to be any attention draw to her at the moment.

Perry nodded, sighing. "Alright, kid, whatever you say," she replied, patting the girl on the shoulder and standing up. She turned, hopping back onto the stage.

"What's wrong with her?" Shay wondered as Perry re-approached the group, jabbing a finger towards Anya.

"She doesn't want to dance," Perry explained simply.

Shay rolled her eyes. "Bullshit," she spat, jumping off the stage and stalking towards Anya, who could feel her hands begin to shake. Everyone followed slowly, almost fearful as they peaked around each other to get a better view. Anya would be fearful as well, she was, and she could feel her heart speeding up as all eyes turned towards her.

"Let's go," Shay said, standing over Anya. "Get up."

"I-I," Anya stuttered, not able to form words.

"Spit it out," Shay snapped.

Anya's jaw locked, eyes turning steely. The blood that was rushing to her face turned cold, everything quiet except the pounding of her heart and her small voice. She was not going to let Shay win, not with something this important. "No."

Shay raised a brow. "Why don't care how bad you are. I mean, look at Speedy," she said. Speedy made a noise from the back, but Shay ignored him. "Get up. Come on, everyone is dancing."

"No," replied Anya firmly.

"Leave her alone, Shay," Perry called.

Shay's eyes had gone cold, focused souly on Anya. "Get up," she demanded.

"No."

"Why won't you just dance?" Shay growled.

Anya opened her mouth to respond again, a clever excuse already forming on her lips, but somebody beat her to it.

"It's because she only has one leg."

Anya's eyes widened, bile rising in her throat. Everyone turned towards the voice. It was Jordan who had spoken so matter-of-factually, still standing on the stage, hands in her pockets. She stepped around Evan, eyes on Anya. "Well, it is, isn't it?"

Anya nodded slowly, mouth dry as the shock washed over her and away, fear filling her next. She glanced around the room, certain she was about to cry. She knew this was going to happen eventually, but why now, why so soon, and just when she was finally making friends here in America.

Whispers burst out through the crowd, confirming all of Anya's greatest fears, playing out the scenarios that had happened in her nightmares. Liz and Sabrina were murmuring to each other in confusion, Dylan was whispering something in Ashleigh's ear, and Sunny was glancing between Anya and Jordan, looking absolutely horrified. EJ was busy trying to shut Greg's open mouth.

Perry was nodding to herself, not looking surprised in the slightest. She regained her normal composure quickly. "Alright guys, that's enough," she announced, trying to round up the group.

"Wait," Jordan called out once more, again glancing at Anya. "Let's see it."

"Jordan," Evan scolded sharply, mouth wide.

"No, I agree," Shay interrupted. "Let's see it."

Fear rushed though Anya once more. It was painful enough for all her peers to know about her disability, but to be staring at her as well? The thought itself was almost unbearable. "No," she tried again, fairly certain that they wouldn't listen.

Jordan jumped off the stage, landing with a small thump and approaching Anya. "It's not like it matters now, we all know your stupid little secret anyway," she stated.

Shay stepped forwards, closer to Anya, and Perry's hand shot out, catching Shay's wrist.

"Don't touch her," Perry warned through her teeth. "Do not touch here unless she says it's okay."

Shay ripped her arm from Perry's grasp. "Really? You're defending her, when she's been lying to us this whole time?" she snapped. "I want to see the leg. Are you going to stop me?"

Yelling burst out among the group of teens, and Anya watched as Perry set her jaw before fear completely flooded the young girl's vision. Panic violently flooded her system, and Anya pushed herself into a standing position and stumbled towards the nears garbage can as quickly as she could -which wasn't too quick, even though she didn't have to try and hide her limp anymore. She reach the garbage, gripped both side, and vomited straight into its centre.

"Enough!' screamed Ms. Rodgers as she entered the room, but even with her stomach empty, Anya was still too dizzy to see where the teacher had come from. "What do you guys think you're doing?"

Head still bowed into the garbage, insides swimming, Anya took deep breaths, trying to focus on the voices around her instead of the buzzing in her ears. Her knees buckled, the weight of her prosthetic suddenly too much to handle, and she dug her nails into the rim of the garbage in order to hold herself up.

"She's been lying to us this whole time!" That was Shay, definitely, her voice filled with defensiveness. "We just wanted the truth. Did you know when you let her in the club?"

"Of course, it wasn't an issue" Ms. Rodgers replied, and embarrassment and thankfulness flooded Anya's stomach. The teacher had known. But, then again, all the teachers had access to medical records. She had known, but more importantly she hadn't cared, or said anything. "Now everyone, back on stage," she instructed sharply.

Shay again: "But-"

"Enough," growled a male voice. EJ, maybe? Anya took a deep breath, pulling her head back to watch the scene around her. EJ's blurry face came into view, dark eyes focused dangerously on Shay, who sighed and made her way back to the stage with the rest of the group.

Another wave of nausea rippled through Anya, and she tucked her head into her chest once more. She felt movement beside her, and a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Anya, are you alright?" Perry questioned softly.

Anya flinched away from the touch, eyes blurred with tears. "Do not touch me," she tried to murmur, but it came out in garbled Russian.

Perry furrowed her brows, drawing her hand away. She glanced back at Ms. Rodgers, who stood a few feet back, and then turned to Anya once more. "Please, come onto stage with us."

Anya glanced up to the stage, to the faces of her peers looking down on her, and then back to Perry. She swallowed, English failing her as she shook her head. The girl straightened herself on her good leg, turning and limping out of the auditorium. Once out in the hall, she held her breath until she was sure that nobody was following her, then turned and heaved into a nearby trashcan once more.

Levi stood on stage as the music started, surrounded by the rest of the group, backs turned to the audience. Levi spun around, smirking and popping his collar as he moved forwards. Sabrina jumped out of line and strutted around Levi as he began to sing.

Oh don't you dare look back

Just keep your eyes on me

I said "You're holding back"

She said "Shut up and dance with me!"

This woman is my destiny

She said "Ooh-ooh-hoo,

Shut up and dance with me"

The rest of the group spun around, pumping their fists to the beat. Evan stepped forward.

We were victims of the night,
The chemical, physical, kryptonite
Helpless to the bass and the fading light
Oh, we were bound to get together,
Bound to get together.

Perry strutted up.

She took my arm

The rest of the girls followed, forming a cluster and swaying their hips side to side. Hey

Perry grinned, arms raised up as she grooved to the music.

I don't know how it happened

We took the floor and she said,

Together, the club feel into the steps on the stage, moving side to side in what was almost unison. They all sung together, voices blending better than the still-awkward steps.

"Oh, don't you dare look back.
Just keep your eyes on me."
I said, "You're holding back, "
She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"
This woman is my destiny
She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo,
Shut up and dance with me."

Evan broke from the line, hand to his chest.

Deep in her eyes,
I think I see the future.
I realize this is my last chance.

Perry stepped up next to him.

She took my arm,
I don't know how it happened.
We took the floor and she said,

Everybody raised their hands, coming together once more. They formed a circle, hoping side to side, all grinning at each other. Shay even had a small smile on her face.

Don't you dare look back.
Just keep your eyes on me."
I said, "You're holding back, "
She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"
This woman is my destiny
She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo,
Shut up and dance with me."

Ooh-ooh-hoo, shut up and dance with me

Songs:

Don't Wanna Dance Along by Fifth Harmony

Shut up and Dance by Walk The Moon