It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H.I.M. Just put your paws up, cause you were born this way baby!

Will Schuester smiles to himself as Mercedes and Tina remove Kurt's jacket, revealing the t-shirt underneath. It said pretty much exactly what he had expected. Likes Boys. It was no secret that Kurt had struggled with people accepting his sexuality, and oftentimes, it could make his life harder. The glee club had done a lot of work to try to make it easier for him in any way they could. Seemingly, it had helped, but Will could understand why that could be something Kurt didn't like about himself.

When the next student revealed their t-shirt, Will was surprised. Lauren had opened her jacket revealing the word Adopted. He realises that he hadn't ever heard Lauren talk about her parents, and wonders if this may be the reason. He figures that maybe she kept it quiet because it was just easier for no one to know, that way, the bullies wouldn't find out and have even more ammunition to use on her. Will decided then that he was going to make more of an effort to get to know Lauren more, and hopefully help alleviate some of the shame she feels about her upbringing.

Rachel was next to reveal her t-shirt, emblazoned with the words Wants A Mum. Will had expected this one, over the past year or so, he had watched Rachel struggle with the revelation that Shelby was her mum, and also the endless possibilities of the type of relationship that they would have. He supposed it was only natural for a teenage girl to want her mum, although he didn't understand why Rachel would be ashamed of that.

Looking towards the left of the stage, he realises that Brittany has unzipped her hoodie, revealing the word Autistic. Now that he thought about it, it made a lot of sense. He now felt he understood the young girl a bit better. She had always been smart, albeit in an unconventional way. Now he understood why, her brain just simply worked differently to other peoples.

His attention was quickly drawn to Quinn, who was sniffling as she shrugged off her jumper. Wants Her Baby Back. To some, that may have come as a shock, seeing as she had spent the past year acting as if she was never even pregnant in the first place, but to Will, he had seen straight through the front she put up. Underneath he strong façade, was a scared young girl, who spent every day wondering if she had made the right decision for her daughter. He could tell she missed Beth, even if no one else could.

Upon noticing Mercedes voice crack, Will turned his attention towards her. She had a few tears rolling slowly down her cheeks. He felt defeated when he saw her top. Hates herself. He knew she has had some issues with her weight and appearance in the past, but she always seemed so confident. He thought she was full of self love. He never would have imagined that she could possibly hate herself. He hoped that he and the rest of the New Directions could help change that.

Tina was next, and the reveal was shocking. Her shirt bore the words Product of Rape. He couldn't even imagine what that was like for her. He was going to have a few questions to ask about this one, he needed more details, needed to make sure she was safe at home. He only hoped she trusted him enough to tell him the truth. He'd never forgive himself if something was to happen to her, when he could've stopped it. To any of them. He cared about these kids as if they were his own.

Suddenly, Tina let out a sob, and slapped her hand over her mouth. He followed her eyeline, and gasped when he saw what she had. Mike had removed his hoodie, revealing the word Abused. God how had he missed this. All the signs were there, the strange injuries, the bruises, the constant need for perfection. And that was only what could be seen at the surface, there must have been more hidden. He feels awful that this had been happening in front of him, and he hadn't realised or helped the boy.

Out of the corner of his eye, Will can see Emma crying, silent tears running down her face. He realises that she is probably blaming herself in the exact same way he was now.

They were just over halfway through the song now, and the singing and choreography was beginning to falter. Everyone was too worried about their friends to concentrate on a perfect performance. It didn't matter though, Will and Emma were just happy that the kids were opening up, and being honest.

He felt his breath hitch as Artie revealed his secret. Wishes he Died in the Accident. He knew that the car accident was awful for Artie, and that the aftermath must have been just as bad, if not worse than the accident itself, but he never would have imagined that Artie could wish that he was dead. He was really worried about this one, it could lead to a lot of possible problems. He needed to know if Artie still wanted to die, and if he would act on those feelings. He refused to let that happen.

Will is pulled from his thoughts when he hears Kurt gasp and mumble "Oh god", before beginning to cry harder than he already was. He very quickly realises what was wrong when he catches sight of Blaine's shirt. Self Harms. That was heavy, he could tell that from the way Blaine had tears streaming constantly down his face. He hadn't had the chance to get to know Blaine properly yet. He knew that Kurt had been a whole lot happier ever since they had started dating, so in his book, that meant Blaine was a great kid. From the few times he had met him, Will never would have guessed that the kid was hiding such a big secret. He decided then and there that Blaine was going to become one of his "kids", like the New Directions were. He was going to help the young man as best as he could.

In an uncharacteristically caring moment, Santana placed a comforting hand on Blaine's shoulder. He reached up and squeezed it gratefully before she let go. She shakily lifted her hand to her zip, and slowly pulled it down. She sighed deeply, and let her tears fall freely as she revealed her top. Drug Addict. And wow, Will didn't know what to say. He was well aware that there was a pretty prominent drug scene in Lima, but Santana, sporty, athletic, confident Santana had fallen victim to it. He didn't see that one coming. He wondered how she had managed to hide it so well, how he hadn't figured it out, how no one had. Looking around at the other kids, he realised some of them had a knowing expression underneath their tear. Puck, Quinn, Brittany, Finn and Charlie all looked as if this wasn't new information to them. Will realised pretty quickly that it probably wasn't. The six of them did everything together, He'd never fully understood their friendship, how one minute they could claim to hate one another, and be fighting like dogs, yet the next, they would go to war for one another. Now he was realising that they had probably been through so much over the past 10 or so years, that petty arguments didn't matter to them anymore. The six of them truly were a family.

Will snapped back into focus as he saw Charlie's expression change to one of horror as she looked towards her boyfriend. His face quickly resembled Charlie's own, as he saw the revealed word. Anorexia. He felt as if someone had just slapped him. How had he missed this? Sitting here now, he realised that he hadn't ever actually seen Sam eat anything. Quickly multiple seemingly offhand comments go running through his mind, and he realises how obvious it should have been. He's really messed up on this one, he should have seen it. He knows that.

Sam and Charlie haven't taken their eyes off each other since he revealed his top, and pretty quickly, he sees their roles reverse. Will see's Sam's expression change, morphing into one of horror as Charlie's had only moments ago. This reveal took Will's breath away, as he felt his heart break for the young girl. Attempted Suicide. He had known that Charlie had issues with her mental health in the past, not that she had spoken about it, but she had never bothered to hide her scars. They were all old, so he never thought he had to worry about them, about her. He didn't expect this though. Knowing that one of his kids had felt low enough to try taking their own life. That wasn't a nice feeling. He vowed then and there that Charlie would never have to feel that way ever again. He wouldn't let her. Wouldn't let any of the kids.

The kids has all stopped dancing now, most of them were still singing, although it was half hearted at this point. Will quickly noticed that Puck had not only stopped dancing, but had also stopped singing. He was stood completely still, over to the side of the stage. Will realised that there were tears streaming down his face. This was worrying Will, whatever could have their resident tough guy this broken up had to be bad, really bad. Cautiously, Puck shrugged off his hoodie, and once again, Will felt like all of the air had been sucked from the room. Molested. He heard Emma sob beside him, but he couldn't find it in himself to comfort her. This was something he didn't know how to fix. Much like with Sam, many comments he had heard from Puck over the years rushed to his mind, and he couldn't believe how oblivious he had been. Puck was begging for someone to figure it out. Will hadn't. He had failed the boy, and he hated that.

That left only one student to reveal their shirt, and god if Will wasn't terrified now. Finn was stood towards the back of the stage openly sobbing. He had his eyes screwed tightly shut, and his entire body was shaking. Will watched with baited breath as the young Quarterback hesitantly reached up and unzipped his jacket. Raped. That was the last straw, Will was openly crying now. He couldn't believe it, Finn was probably the kid he knew the best out of the club, and yet he had no idea that he was hiding such a big secret. Judging by the looks on everyone else's faces, no one else did either. So seemingly, this was something he had kept totally to himself. Will felt physical pain at the thought of Finn dealing with this completely alone. He could feel every bit of pain that Finn was in at that moment, it was radiating off of the boy in waves.

The kids were all crying now, as were Will and Emma. As the last notes of the song rang out, the only sound to be heard was the sniffles as the kids looked wildly around at one another, no one knowing who to go to first.

Sam and Charlie were the first to break the stalemate, moving quickly towards each other, each of them enveloping the other into a hug, holding on tighter than ever before. This seemed to spur everyone else on, as they began to break off into pairs. Rachel moved to Finn, and Quinn moved over to Puck. Neither boy seemed ready to move yet, and both of them seemed surprised when the girls wrapped their arms around them, before they each returned the hugs, and clung to their respective girlfriends. Kurt quickly pressed his face into Blaine's neck, as the younger boy held him close. Santana and Brittany gravitated towards one another, each holding on to the other tightly, for once not worried about who would see them. Tina and Mike were next, Tina burying her head into her boyfriend's chest, whilst he runs his fingers through her hair. This left Mercedes, Artie and Lauren to pull each other into a weird sort of group hug, as best as they could at the angle with Artie's chair. Pretty soon, the kids end up making their way into a big group huddle at the centre of the stage. Will doesn't know how it's possible, but they all seem to be touching one another in some way. He realised after a minute that they were not going to move of their own accord anytime soon.

He took a second to compose himself, wiping away his tears and taking a few deep breaths, before rising from his seat. He looked to his right, to see Emma doing the same. He quickly walked over and pulled her into a hug before they headed down to the kids. He tried to figure out what to say on his way down to the stage, however he quickly gave up on this, realising he was at too much of a loss for words to actually make a plan. Reaching the kids, he realised it was now or never, so he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. Once the group had broken up slightly from their huddle to look at him, he began talking.

"Wow guys ... I urm ... well ... I don't really know where to start. I mean, you guys just did amazingly, I'm proud of each and every one of you, for how brave you have just been. So now, lets ... uh I mean we should ... we need to talk about ... well all of it." Upon seeing lots of scared faces looking back at him, he added to the end of his statement. "Look why don't we all come and sit down, and then whenever someone is ready, they can talk, explain their shirt, and everything behind it."

That seemed to be an acceptable deal to the kids, and slowly, they moved around so that they were all sitting in a big circle, Mike helping Artie out of his chair so that he was on the same level as the rest of the group. They sat closer to one another than usual, most of them still holding hands or touching each other in some kind of way. Kurt was the first to break the silence.

"I think mine is pretty self explanatory, but I'll elaborate anyway. I've known I was gay pretty much all my life. And, uh, even before I told anyone, they all knew, I man it was kind of obvious, lets be honest, my closet was always made of glass." he chuckles quietly to himself, and quickly wipes away a couple of tears before he carries on, " The thing is, I'm not ashamed of my sexuality, I'm a proud gay man, it's just that well sometimes, it can make life a whole lot more difficult. You guys saw how bad it got here before I transferred. Sometimes, I just think that life would be a whole lot easier if I was just straight, if I could just not be gay, then maybe I wouldn't have to deal with the bullying. I know that's not how it works, and since meeting Blaine, I genuinely am the happiest I've ever been. I'm learning now that hard doesn't have to mean bad, or that it's something to be ashamed of. So I've decided to stop, I'm going to stop hiding. I've got to just be me, and know that you guys have my back if anything were to happen. So yeah that's my explanation." He finishes up awkwardly, eyes scanning the room before they settle back on his boyfriend next to him. He gives Blaine what he hopes is a reassuring smile, and squeezes his hand comfortingly, before turning his attention back to the room, though not letting go of his boyfriends hand.

"I was adopted," Laurens voice breaks the silence, " I guess you all figured that out already thou." She gives a little chuckle. "Look there's no sob story with it or anything, just my biological mum, well she didn't want kids and by time she found out she was pregnant, it was too late for a termination, so she put me up for adoption. Don't get me wrong, my parents are amazing, and I love them so much. But sometimes, I find myself wondering about my biological parents, what they were like, are they still together, did we have the same interests, do they look like me? Look the thing is, I'm not ashamed of being adopted, I'm ashamed that sometimes, I wish that I wasn't."

"You don't need to be ashamed of that sweetie," speaks Emma, "It's perfectly normal to be curious about your birth parents, anyone in your situation would be."

Lauren smiles and mutters a quick thanks Mrs P in return.

"I can relate to that," begins Rachel, "Obviously you all know I have two dads, and I love them more than anything. I wouldn't trade them for the world. But sometimes, especially whilst I was growing up, I wish that I had a mum. Someone to turn to about girly things you know, like when I got my first period, or my first crush on a boy, someone to teach me how to do my hair and makeup. It would've made things so much easier sometimes. Then when I found out that Shelby was my mum last year, I was so excited, I thought I was finally going to get that relationship. But, uh, well, it wasn't what I'd imagined it to be, and that makes me feel really guilty, because here I am, with the two best parents anyone could wish for, and yet I'm wishing for something else. I'm ashamed I feel that way. I know I shouldn't be, but I am, so, well, I guess that's it."

She looks towards Lauren, the two girls smiling at each other, safe in the knowledge that they are able to relate to the others story.

Brittany is the next to speak up, clearing her throat before she starts.

"I've known I was different pretty much all my life, as a kid, I never really fit in, I didn't really like public places and I just could never seem to concentrate in lessons. I found it really hard to make friends, kids didn't want to be around the weird girl. In fact, Santana was my first friend." Brittany looks to the girl next to her as she says this part, "She said that she didn't care what people thought about me, but that I looked nice, so she was going to be my friend."

"I stand by that." Santana smiles sweetly at her.

"I know you do darling," continues the blonde, "She introduced me to her friends, which is how I met Quinn, Charli, Finn and Puck, and they quickly became my friends too. I was so happy because I'd finally found people who actually liked me. I couldn't wait to tell my parents that night, but, uh, the only thing my mum had to say was that I better not tell them about my autism, because if I did, they'd leave, and not want to be my friends anymore, because I was different and wrong. So I didn't tell them. My mum, she would tell me all the time to keep it a secret, she still does, she acts like I'm deformed, broken in some kind of way. So I carried on hiding it, and people stopped leaving me, everyone just assumes that I'm stupid, and I let them, its easier than if people know the truth about me. Until right now, Santana is the only person I have ever told. Sometimes, I just wish I could be normal." Brittany finishes up, quickly brushing away a few stray tears.

"Britt honey," Charlie breathes out, "I never, we never would have left you then, and we certainly won't leave you now. This shouldn't change the way anyone feels about you, and if it does then that's their loss because you are absolutely amazing babe, and I'm proud to call you my best friend."

Brittany wipes a few more tears away, before shooting a grateful smile at her fellow cheerleader.

"I miss Beth." Quinn blurts out, Puck places a protective arm around her shoulder, and she looks up at him before continuing, "That probably comes as a shock to most of you, considering I've spent the past year trying to pretend it never happened in the first place. But truth is, I only do that because I thought it would make things easier. It doesn't work though, it still hurts just as much. Every single day, I wonder if I made the right decision. I question if I should have kept her, if she would have been better off with me and Puck. Moral of the story, I miss my perfect baby, and I want her back, I want the three of us to be a family. I know I shouldn't, because I'm still a kid myself, and it would make life so much harder, but I cant help it. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her, and if I'm being totally honest, there's a big part of me that regrets giving her up every single day."

She quickly turns her face into Puck's shoulder in an effort to hide the tears that have once again started running down her cheeks. He leans in to press a kiss into her hair, before whispering something that made her giggle, and lift her head up once again. She shifted her position so that she was leaning against him, and he tightened the hold he had on her.

"I know hate is a pretty strong word, but it's the best way I can think of to describe how I feel." Mercedes starts off, "I know I preach about self love and confidence, and I do a really good job at pretending I'm full of both. But, truth is, I'm really not. I don't like the way that I look at all, I'm overweight, my face doesn't look right, and don't even get me started on my natural hair. I'm too loud, brash. I'm just too much, and no matter how much I try to tone myself down, I just can't, and I hate that. Honestly most of the time, I wish I was someone else. I know I shouldn't, and I should accept myself as I am, but it's hard when you don't like yourself. I'm working through it though, and you guys are helping a lot. More than you know."

She takes a deep breath as she looks around at the others, making sure they know she truly meant that last bit.

"Sweetie, you are absolutely perfect the way you are, and I will remind you of that every day if I have to!" Kurt exclaims, locking eyes with his best friend.

"My mum was raped," Tina begins, voice wobbling (no one misses the way Finn flinches as she says raped), "It's how she got pregnant with me. She was on her way home from work one evening, she had had a long day, and just wanted to get home, so decided to take a short cut through a park, and, well, there was a man there, just waiting for someone and, well, it just happened to be my mum who was unlucky enough to walk past him. He started calling out to her. She tried to ignore him and carry on walking, but he grabbed her from behind and dragged her into a bush. She tried to fight but he was stronger than her, and she couldn't get away from him. He raped her." (another flinch from Finn), "then he left her laying there. Thankfully a dog walker found her after a few minutes, the lady asked her what had happened, and stayed with her until the ambulance arrived. Thankfully, my mum was physically okay, and he had left DNA behind, so the police were able to convict him. Mum thought it was all over, but then, after a few weeks, she found out she was pregnant. She didn't know what to do she thought about having an abortion for a while, but she couldn't go through with it. She decided to keep me, and raise me as a single mother. We're really happy, and it doesn't effect our relationship, but sometimes, I can still see the pain in her eyes, and I just wish I could take that away from her."

Mike pulls his girlfriend close into his side before he begins talking.

"So I come from a pretty traditional and old fashioned Asian family, which basically means that my dad is the boss. If things don't meet his expectations, there has to be a punishment. When it first started, it was just my mum, and it wasn't very often. But then as he carried on, it started happening more often, and the beatings got worse. After a while, he decided that it wasn't enough for him to just hit my mum anymore, and he started to hit me as well. At least it started out as just hitting. Now, he does whatever he thinks is going to cause the most amount of pain he can inflict each time. Sometimes, he uses his fists, sometimes its a belt, he, uh, he's even used a baseball bat a couple times." A ripple of gasps travel around the auditorium at that, and Tina lets out a loud sob. Mike pulls her tighter into his side, "I've had all sorts of injuries, bruises, cuts, broken bones. He even landed me in hospital once. He hit me in the chest with some kind of plank so hard, that it broke my ribs, and one of them punctured my lung. I remember laying on the floor afterwards, feeling like I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die, I really genuinely thought he'd killed me that time."

"Why haven't you said anything dude? I mean we could have helped you, or at least tried to." says Sam

"He told us that if we ever said anything to anyone, then he would kill us both. And, well, I believed him. I still do to be honest. I was too scared, but it can't carry on much longer, he's going to end up killing one of us anyway. I need help, but I just don't know how to get it." Mike looked around at at his friends and teachers now.

Will felt his heart breaking for the kid in front of him, he knew he had to help him in whatever way he could.

"Hey we're going to help you Mike, okay. The important thing is that me and Miss Pilsbury know now, and we are going to do absolutely everything we can to help you. We will make sure you and your mum are safe. I promise you that." Reassures Will.

Mike smiles gratefully back at his teacher.

Artie breathes deeply before launching into his explanation.

"I'm pretty sure you all know the story of my accident, but I'll sum it up quickly in case there's anyone who doesn't. When I was 9, me and my mum were driving home from school, when we got into a car wreck. We were hit by a drunk driver, who was driving at three times the legal speed limit. He hit the passenger side if the vehicle, so I took the brunt of the impact. I don't really remember much after that. I woke up in the hospital three days later, my parents were both there, crying and telling me they loved me , and that I was going to be okay. I didn't understand what was going on until the doctor came in. I tried to shift positions to talk to him, and realised that I couldn't make my legs move, then I realised that I actually couldn't feel them at all. That was the first time that I wished I had just died. I was released from the hospital a few weeks later, with my first wheelchair. I realised pretty quickly that my life had changed drastically, and I honestly didn't have any interest in continuing to live it anymore. I woke up every day, wishing I was dead. I never had the strength to act on it, but I hoped for it to happen. Over the years, I got more used to this being my new normal, I still have days where I wish the accident killed me, but those are quite rare now. And I know I would never act on it, the thought of my parents losing me after everything is enough to stop me."

Artie looks around at the group of his friends smiling at them all, trying to convey that he was not going to willingly leave them.

Blaine was the next person to build up enough courage to explain his shirt, though he continued openly crying whilst doing so.

"I was diagnosed with depression when I was 15. It started after a Sadie Hawkins dance at my old school. I had just come out, and at the time, there was only one other out gay kid at the school. So we decided to go to the dance together, as friends, for moral support. The dance itself actually went surprisingly well, and everything was okay, right up until we left. We were stood in the parking lot waiting for his dad to come and pick us up, when three of the guys from the football team came outside. They weren't happy with us being there together, in fact they said they found it offensive. Before I even knew it, I was on the floor being attacked. I don't remember much of the actual assault, they got me in the head pretty good, James' dad found us about 20 minutes later when he arrived to pick us up. He shouted out for help, and called for ambulances. James was relatively lucky when it came to his injuries, he had a broken wrist, broken ankle, a mild concussion and a few cuts and bruises. I, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. They broke both my legs as well as dislocated my shoulder, I had internal bleeding in my abdomen, 4 broken ribs which caused my left lung to collapse, and I had a small bleed on the brain. My injuries were so severe that I was unable to go back to school that year. I had to repeat my Freshman year. After it happened, I started getting really depressed, I lost all interest in doing anything I had previously enjoyed, I lost my appetite and had a lot of trouble with sleeping, even though I was constantly tired. My mum was getting worried, so she took me to see the doctor, and I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression. They prescribed me Lexapro, which I have to take daily. It was enough for a while, I was doing good. But then my nan passed away, and suddenly, the pills weren't enough. Everything became too much again, and i was in so much pain emotionally, I just needed something to take the edge off. It started out by accident, I dropped a razor, and it sliced into my thigh. I realised that whilst I was in physical pain, the emotional stuff all stopped. So I started doing it on purpose. It wasn't often at first, maybe once a week, but as I carried on, I started doing it more frequently. I ... uh, I can't go a day without it now. In fact, I can't usually go more than a couple of hours without cutting myself. I don't want to do it, in fact I hate that I do, but its the only thing that makes me feel normal, I can't function without it. I want to stop, but I honestly don't know how. I don't think I can,"

Blaine lets out a sob as he finishes up, the dam finally breaking. Kurt pulls his boyfriend into his side, and shushes him through his own tears. Will struggles to come up with what to say, but is beaten to the mark by Charlie.

"Blaine, have you spoken to anyone else about this?" She questions. She continues after Blaine shakes his head slightly, "You should, I know it seems scary, but it helps. Trust me, I know from personal experience. It doesn't matter who it is, your parents, your friends, Kurt, a professional, or even one of us. It really does make everything a whole lot easier. I know it may not seem like it now, but it does get better, I mean that."

Blaine nods at her and utters a barley audible thank you. This seems to satisfy Charlie, as she nods back at him smiling sweetly.

"I guess I'll get this over with now then," starts Santana, "For me, it started when I was around 14. I got injured pretty badly during a Cheerios practice, screwed up my knee. The doctors said it was going to heal fine, but that it was gonna hurt like hell. They weren't wrong. I was on some pretty heavy painkillers. The thing is, what they don't tell you, is that those pills, well, they're highly addictive, it's why they're such an effective painkiller. I found myself continuing to use them even after I was no longer in pain. I'd lie to the doctor, and tell them it still hurt, and that I still needed the pills. He prescribed me two more courses, but then wouldn't give me any more. I realised the first day without them just how dependant I was. I felt sick, couldn't focus on anything, could barely string a sentence together and couldn't stop shaking to save my life. I needed something to get me through the day, so at first break, I headed to the back of the bleachers. It's where one of the old seniors used to sell. I told him I'd take whatever he had, and that just so happened to be Oxy. I started out by taking one a day, but soon it turned into two, then three, four and, before I knew it, I needed a handful of oxy just to get through the day. I had become totally dependant on it. I didn't want to admit I had a problem though. I just thought that I was too good to be an addict. After a few months, Charlie and Puck confronted me, they staged an intervention, along with Finn Quinn and Britt. They all knew something was wrong and they were fed up of pretending that everything was normal. They went through a bit of a process of elimination, and figured it out. They asked me what I was taking and how much and things like that. I broke down and told them everything. I'd finally realised that I had a problem and needed help. They promised then and there that they would all do everything they possibly could to help me, and they did. They were all absolute god sends. They did a bunch of research, and made it their mission to get me clean. It worked, at least for a little while. Thing is, I just couldn't stay clean, a few weeks later, I relapsed. Badly. I ... uh ... well, I ended up overdosing. These guys hadn't heard from me that day, so the boys came to check on me. They found me unconscious on my bedroom floor, choking on my own vomit. Thankfully, Puck had read up on what to do in this situation when he was researching, and he had bought some Narcan in case it ever happened. He carried it on him all the time as a precaution. He got Finn to roll me onto my side so I would stop choking, and he gave me the Narcan. When I came round, I just remember crying and apologising constantly. Puck and Finn just held me, and when the girls got there they joined us on the floor. We stayed in that weird huddle for hours. I wish I could say that was the only time it happened. But it isn't. I've overdosed four times in total, and every time, these guys have brought me back from the brink. I'm doing good at the moment, I've been clean for about six months. It's still a process, and there are still days where I get the urge to use, but I try really hard not to. We have a system where I call one of these guys if I even feel the slightest need to use. It's worked really well so far. And I'm going to keep doing everything in my power to stay clean. For good this time."

At this point, Brittany pulls her into a hug, as Finn reaches out and joins from her other side. Quinn leans into Britt, with Puck and Charlie also reaching over. Somehow, regardless of the awkward angle, all 5 seem to have managed to place a touch to Santana in some way. It doesn't take much to figure out how hard this had been on the six of them. Yet somehow, Will thinks they seem to have come out the other side stronger than ever.

"Thank you for trusting us enough to tell us all of that Santana," begins Emma, "I'm very glad that you're doing better now, but if you ever find yourself in need of help again, I want you to know that you can always come to us."

Santana nods, and after a few moments, the six kids untangle themselves from one another, and resume their previous positions.

"Can I go next, it's just, I don't know if I'll get it all out otherwise," Sam sounds as if he is trying desperately to keep it together. When no one protests, he takes it as his cue to continue. "I've had issues with food for as long as I can remember, the thing is, my body, it's the only thing I have going for me. I'm not smart, not the best singer, I can't really dance all that well, and I'm pretty average at sports. But one thing I am good at, is keeping a great body. I became kind of obsessed with it. It started out innocently enough, I started exercising more often. I quickly realised that although that helped me build muscle, I wasn't dropping any weight, so I started to change my diet. Originally, I just cut down on certain foods. I stopped eating any kinds of candy, wouldn't eat fast food, or any other typically unhealthy things. I started to lose the weight, but it wasn't as quick as I wanted, so I decided to restrict my diet even more. I would only eat chicken, egg whites, fish but not salmon, oatmeal, brown rice but only before 6pm and under no circumstances would I consume any kind of butter, oil or soda."

Sam pauses for a second, in an attempt to compose himself. Noticing his shaking hands, Charlie reaches across and takes one into her own, rubbing circles across it in an attempt to help calm him slightly. Sam squeezed her hand gratefully, and after a moment, he continued.

"I also started working our even more. I'd do at least four hours of exercise a day. For a while, I was satisfied with the results that I was getting, but then I stopped losing weight. Once again, I felt awful about myself. I felt fat, ugly, disgusting, I needed to lose weight to feel better about myself again, and there was only one way left for me to do that. So I stopped eating pretty much all together. It was easier to get away with than I would've thought. I started going on runs in the morning, so I never really had time to eat breakfast anyway, at lunch, I'd just say that I'd had a big breakfast that morning, so wasn't hungry, and at dinner, I'd just tell my parents that I had eaten a lot at lunch. Weekends were harder, I had to get more creative with my excuses, but sometimes, they wouldn't work, and I would have no choice but to eat. I always felt so guilty after, and would find some kind of way to punish myself. I found a way that accomplished both loosing weight and punishing myself at the same time. Any time I had to eat, I'd go to the bathroom straight after. I'd force myself to throw up. It still wasn't enough though. I still felt fat, still felt disgusting. So I started to throw up more often, even if I hadn't eaten that day, I just wanted everything out of me, even water. I started to get really light headed and dizzy all the time. I could deal with that though, because it meant that everything was working. After a little while, the dizziness started getting worse, and I started passing out. The first few times it happened, I was on my own, so no one knew it was happening. The first time someone else was there, I was at Charlie's house. We were sat on her sofa watching a movie, when I started to feel really dizzy. I knew what was coming, so I tried to get somewhere alone, so that Charlie wouldn't have to see it."

Charlie lets out a sob and breathes out an "oh baby" as she remembered the day in question. Sam squeezed his girlfriends hand as he continued.

"I said I needed to pee, and stood up. The minute I did, I felt myself falling backwards. Thankfully, I was only out for a few seconds, I managed to convince Char that I had just stood up too quickly, and gotten a headrush. The next time it happened, I was at football practice. I was out for a bit longer this time, maybe like 30 seconds, but I had been off sick the week before with flu, so I managed to persuade everyone that I was still recovering from that. But then it happened again, a few weeks ago, and this time I was at church. There was no hiding or disguising it this time, I was walking towards the alter to sing when it happened. I literally hit the deck, there was no warning, I didn't even know it was coming. I just collapsed. I was unconscious for a good few minutes. I remember coming round to my mum hovering over me crying. She told me not to worry, that there was an ambulance on the way, and everything was going to be okay. I just started crying, because I knew it meant people were going to find out. Mum just held me, and tried to comfort me the best she could. When we got to the hospital, they ran a bunch of tests, and asked me a load of questions."

Sam pauses again, wiping at his tears with his free hand, and taking a few deep breaths to try and control his emotions. Will reaches out from beside him, and places a hand on his shoulder in an effort to bring some comfort to the boy.

"Once the results were all back, the doctor came back in and he diagnosed me with Anorexia. They told us a bunch of information about it, and then started to tell us about the different treatments available. They uh ... well they wanted me to go into a program. Check into an eating disorder clinic. They think that's the best way for me to get better. They said they couldn't force it, but that I should at least see a therapist, and work with a nutritionist. Thing is though, we don't have the money for any of it. The only reason I could even get checked out in the first place, was because there is a doctor in my congregation at the church. He insisted that we put the ambulance ride and tests onto his insurance. My parents are great, and they really are trying to help, but they don't really get it. I pretty much eat just enough so that I don't pass out, and they think things are getting better. They aren't though. I still feel fat and disgusting, and I hate myself anytime I eat anything. I ... uh ... I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this, I'm absolutely exhausted. I need help."

"Baby." Soothes Charlie.

That singular word is all it takes to loose the little composure he had left and fully break down. Charlie pulls her boyfriend into a hug, allowing him to bury his head into the crook of her neck. Whilst he bawls on her shoulder, she continuously whispers reassurances to him, and presses hisses onto his head. She holds him tight, fully prepared to stay here forever if that is what he needs.

After the boy's sobs have tapered off slightly, Will builds up the courage to begin speaking.

"Sam, bud, can you look at me please," Slowly, Sam lifts his head from its position on Charlie's shoulder. He twists his body so that he is facing his teacher, however keeps his arms wrapped around his girlfriend, whilst she keeps her protective hold on him. Once Will is satisfied that he has Sam's full attention, he continues talking.

"I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through, it must be so incredibly hard. And I'm so sorry that I haven't realised that something was going on. We're going to get you help okay, I promise you I am going to do whatever it takes to get you treatment. We can have fundraisers, and try to figure out other options as well. I promise you that."

"Mr Schue you don't need to do that," begins Quinn, "See one of the bonuses of having my family, is that we have really good health insurance. It covers all kinds of treatments, including those for eating disorders. I'm going to talk to my mum tonight, we can put you on it Sam, say you're my cousin or something. Whatever treatment you want, or need, you can have. You won't need to worry about the cost. And if there's anything any of us can do, all you have to do is ask, and we will find a way to make it happen. You're part of our family now." she says gesturing around at the rest of the glee club.

"I ... uh ... thank you! Just thank you!" Sam manages through his tears. Charlie cups his face, wiping them away with the pads of her thumbs before pulling him in for another hug.

After Sam has calmed down a bit, the young couple pull apart, though they retain a tight grip on one another's hands, squeezing for comfort and reassurance every so often. Sensing that neither Finn or Puck were quite ready yet, Charlie begun to explain her shirt.

"So I know you guys have all seen my scars. I've never bothered trying to hide them, I just don't see the point. It's also pretty obvious what they're from, I mean what else would make tons of straight lines across your wrists."

Blaine lets out a small chuckle at this point, the two teenagers making eye contact across the stage, sharing a knowing smile.

"See they aren't all self harm scars though. These two," she gestures to two vertical scars, one on each wrist, "Well they're from my suicide attempt. The year before we joined glee club was a really difficult year for me. Not only were we dealing with Tana's addiction, but I had a lot of my own stuff to deal with as well. It all started in the January. We had this weekly tradition, where every Wednesday after Cheerio's and Football practice, me, Tana, Britt, Q, Finn and Puck would go to Breadsticks and grab some dinner. One night, we ran a bit late, and the boys were waiting for us. I'd gotten muddy during practice, and wanted to take a shower quickly to clean up. So I sent the others ahead to the cars, with a promise I'd be there as soon as I had finished. What I didn't know, was that Josh Simpson was waiting around outside the locker rooms. Some of you guys might recognize that name, he was the captain of the hockey team before Rick Nelson. When he saw the girls leave, he came into the girls locker room. He was there when I got out the shower. He started getting closer to me, he backed me into a corner against the wall. He started trying to touch me, I knew what he wanted, I fought like hell to get away, but he was a whole lot bigger and stronger than me. He got me overpowered pretty quickly, and pinned me to the floor. He then proceeded to rape me. (Yet another flinch from Finn) He was done within five minutes, and he left me there on the floor. After it happened, I couldn't bring myself to move. I just laid there and cried. I don't know how long I was there for, but Puck came looking for me, wondering what was taking so long. He found me like that on the floor. He came running over, and wrapped me in his arms. He called the others, and they all came rushing back as well. They manage to calm me down enough for me to tell them what had happened. They asked what I wanted to do, if I wanted to go to the police or not. Thing is, I knew no one would believe me, I mean they never do. So I said no, I just wanted to forget it had ever happened. We all went back to Q's that night, and stayed there overnight. We didn't go to school the next day either, we stayed at the house and these guys spent the entire day just looking after me. We went back in on the Friday, we acted as if everything was normal, and thankfully, everyone bought it. Josh kept smirking at me all day, he thought he had gotten away with it. Thing is though he didn't bet on me having told these guys. Puck found him after school that day, he beat him, bad enough that he was hospitalised. Everyone knew it was Puck that had done it, but there was no proof, and Josh wouldn't press charges, knowing everyone would find out what he had done to me if he did. He transferred out straight after, and word spread that the Cheerio's were under Puck's protection, and that they shouldn't be messed with. Things were pretty good for a while, but I just couldn't seem to forget, no matter how hard I tried. I started self harming, I found that it let me forget. It became my way of coping. Eventually though, it stopped being enough. Everything became too much, and I couldn't carry on anymore. I made the decision to end my life. I planned it all out, and decided to go ahead with it before school one morning. I sent out a group message, saying goodbye, thank you and I love you. Puck and Tana hadn't gotten to school yet when they saw it. They knew immediately what I was going to do, and they drove straight to my house. They found me on the bathroom floor. Tana's aunt was in town, and she's a doctor so they called her. Thankfully, I hadn't lost too much blood, so she stitched me up there. She wrote up a therapy referral for me, and got me help. It took a while, but I got better, and even though I still cannot forget the incident, I've learnt how to live with it. Looking back now, I'm so thankful my attempt was unsuccessful. I mean look at everything I would have missed out on. I never would've joined glee, wouldn't have met you guys, and I never would have met Sam. I would've missed the relationship with the love of my life. I haven't thought about suicide in a long time, and I don't think I would ever get to that point again. I just love you guys too much. Oh and before anyone asks, Josh Simpson got his comeuppance, he got caught in the act at his new school with. A couple of other girls came forward as well, so they decided to try him as an adult. He's going to be in prison for a long time."

Charlie finished up, smiling through her tears. Sam, still crying, pulled her into another hug, telling her how much he loved her, and that he would never let anyone hurt her again. When they pulled away this time, Charlie lets her head come to rest on Sam's shoulder, and he keeps his arm around her shoulders.

"I guess I'll go next," There's a few moments of silence now as Puck attempts to ready himself to tell his story. Sensing his need for support, Quinn places her hand on his back, running it in circles. She placed a quick kiss to his cheek, whispering "You got this." This seemed to give him the strength he needed to begin.

"I was ten when my dad left, he literally just decided one night that we weren't good enough for him anymore. He was there when I went to bed, but when I woke up the next morning, he was just gone. I never saw him again after that day. After he left, I started acting out. My mum was pretty absent, and I was pretty much left to my own devices. I just desperately wanted attention, I wanted someone to notice me. At the time, there was this youth club in my neighbourhood, it was full of kids like me, with absent or abusive parents. I decided to start going, and it was amazing. We basically just hung out playing sports, but I got the one thing I craved from it. I got attention from adults. The guy who ran it, James Walters, he became a bit like a father figure to me. He taught me how to play football. The better I got, the more attention he paid me. Then one day, when I was about 13, he invited me to his cabin for the weekend. He said that he felt bad that I had never got to go on a bonding trip with my dad, and that he wanted to take me on one, teach me to fish and stuff you know. It started off normally, he actually did teach me to fish like he said he would, we watched movies, and just other normal things like that. On the first night, he poured himself a glass of wine, and then poured me one as well. He said that one glass wouldn't do any harm, and that he wouldn't tell if I wouldn't. After dinner, we sat down to watch another movie, as we were watching, he kept getting closer to me, until he was practically on top of me. He started running his hand up and down my thigh. I tried to ignore it at first, tried to convince myself that it wasn't on purpose. Only he didn't stop. He brought his hand up, and placed it on my crotch. He left it resting there for a few minutes, before he made his next move. He ... uh ... he ... well he started unbuttoning my pants. Once he had them undone, he reached into my underwear. I'm sure you can all figure out what happened next."

Puck's voice was trembling now, and his eyes were filling with tears, threatening to overflow and spill out at any moment. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths in an effort to compose himself. In an effort to bring her best friend some comfort, Charlie reaches out and takes hold of one of his hands, running her thumb across his knuckles. The silence continued a few moments longer as he desperately tried to keep the tears from falling.

"After he had finished, he just started talking about the next day, as if everything was normal. He told me that I should get to bed, because we were waking up early, so that's what I did. I ran to the bedroom, and climbed straight into the bed. I closed my eyes as tight as possible, and just wished that when I woke up in the morning, the whole thing would have been a dream. I was absolutely crushed when I woke up and realised it was real. It happened again that night. In fact, it kept on happening. He would take me up to the cabin for one weekend every single month. For two years. He did it every single time. He molested me until I was 15."

His voice cracks over the word molested, and the tears begin to spill over his cheeks, Puck no longer having the ability to keep them at bay. By this point, there was not a dry eye in the room. Every member of the New Directions, as well as the two teachers were openly crying now, all of them devastated for their friend.

"I stopped going to the youth club, I told people it was because I had outgrown it, that I didn't need it anymore. But truth was, I just couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't stand being in the same room as him. Every time I saw him, it was like I could feel his hands all over me, could feel his breath would be warm on my neck. It was torture, and I couldn't physically take one more second of it. Even now, sometimes, on the bad days, I can still feel it, and it makes me feel dirty. Used. Disgusting. I hate myself everyday for letting it happen. I should've been stronger, should've stopped it somehow."

Puck barely makes it through his last sentence before he breaks down, letting out all the emotions he has kept bottled up for the past four years. Quinn envelopes him into a hug, placing one hand into his hair, whilst running the other up and down his back. He buries his face into her shoulder, and wraps his left arm tightly around her waist, as if she is his lifeline. He leaves his right hand clutched in Charlie's strong and comforting grip. Slowly but surely, he lets his grip on the two girls tether him back to reality. As he begins to calm down, he realises that Quinn is alternating between pressing soft kisses into his hair, and whispering softly into his ear, saying "I've got you baby, just breathe, it's okay, you're okay."

He let her words wash over him, and focused on slowing his tears as much as possible. Once his sobs had tapered off, to the point that he felt composed enough to face his friends, he took one last deep breath and lifted his head. He met eyes with Quinn first. She placed both her hands onto his cheeks, and brought their foreheads to rest against one another for a moment. Puck allowed this to give him the strength to turn to the rest of the room. He wasn't expecting to be met with 15 faces, all conveying both anger and devastation for him, and his situation. There was another few beats of silence before anyone spoke up, no one really knowing what to say.

"Noah, I want to start by saying that I am so incredibly proud that you felt both comfortable and safe enough to tell us all of that," begins Emma, " I have to ask though, did you ever report this to anyone, say maybe your mum, or the police?"

"No I haven't, I, uh, didn't think anyone would believe me. I mean he's a respected person in our community, and I'm, well I'm me, a teenager who's notorious for always being in some kind of trouble. I know who I'd believe. It's a no brainer really." Puck manages to get out in between his tears.

"We believe you Noah," Emma continues, "Okay, every person in this room believes you. We're going to report him, and I promise you every single one of us is going to be there for you every step of the way. I'm so sorry you had to go through any of that, and I'm even more sorry you had to do it alone. You have my word now, that he will not hurt anyone else the way he hurt you. I wont let it happen, even if I have to go the ends of the earth to stop it. And Noah, the strength you have shown to make it through all of that and still become the amazing young man sitting in front of me, is absolutely remarkable, and I hope that you are as proud of yourself as I am of you."

Emma wipes away a few tears as she finishes, and smiles reassuringly at the young football player. Puck smiles back thankfully, letting his tears fall freely down his face. He allows Quinn to pull him towards her, resting his head on her shoulder, allowing himself to be soothed by the way she runs her fingers up and down his arm. He allows himself to remain grounded by the feeling of Charlies hand in his own, her intermittently squeezing, to remind him of her presence.

"Oh god, its my turn now isn't it," starts Finn, "I actually don't know if I can do this."

There was no disguising the way his voice was trembling over every word. He genuinely looked as if he were going to be sick at any moment.

"Finn, hey bud, it's okay, you're safe here with all of us. Just take some deep breaths, and take your time. We'll go at your pace here." reassures Will.

Finn nods at his teacher, and takes his advice. He draws in a series of deep breaths, closing his eyes and digging his nails into his palms in an effort to stay grounded. He continues with these processes for a few minutes, before he begins to explain his story.

"After my dad died, my mum dated a whole bunch of guys, none of them ever seemed to last very long, I think she just wanted the company really. But there was this one guy. She met him when I was six. She fell for him pretty quickly, and for the first couple of years, everything seemed great. They were filled with family days out, holidays and all sorts of great moments. But then one night, a couple of weeks after my eighth birthday, everything changed. It had been a normal day for us, we had been to the cinema after I finished school, and then we went for dinner at Breadstix. When we got home, I went to bed, and he and mum came up to say goodnight, the same way we did it every night. Only, about an hour later, everything changed. That night became the first time he raped me."

Once again, looking as if he was going to be sick, Finn had to take a few minutes to compose himself. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, as he repeated his ritual of deep breathing, and digging his nails into his palms.

Meanwhile, for the umpteenth time that day, Will felt as if there was no air left in the room as he realised the repurcussions of what Finn had just said. "First" meant there were more. It meant that it had to have happened more than once. It meant that Finn had to go through it more than once.

"It's the same as Puck said," Finn continues, "I went to sleep that night once it was over, praying that I'd wake up in the morning and the whole thing would have been a dream. But it wasn't. I woke up the next morning in the worst pain of my life, and when I pulled back by bed sheets, there was blood everywhere. I didn't know what to do, I just wanted to forget about the entire thing. So I had a shower, and put on new clothes. I gathered up my pyjamas and all of my sheets, and put them in the wash. At least I tried to. Thing is, I'd never actually used the washer before so I didn't know I was doing. I ended up flooding the laundry room. Mum was furious, she just kept shouting at me, saying she had no clue what I was thinking. I knew I couldn't tell her the truth, so I just told her that I'd had an accident, and was embarrassed so didn't want to tell her. She believed me, and that was the last we spoke about it. It didn't happen again for a few months, I started to think I was in the clear, that it really had just been a one time thing. But I wasn't that lucky."

At this point, Finn stops and carries out his calming rituals another time. From beside him, Rachel reaches out a tentative hand, and places it on his arm in an effort to bring some comfort to her boyfriend. When she was sure that the physical touch was okay with him, she began to run her hand up and down his arm, hoping the familiarity of her gentle touch would be enough to keep him grounded in the present.

"It was exactly four months to the day later when he did it again. It happened in pretty much exactly the same way. So did the morning after, only I didn't flood the laundry room this time. I still didn't tell mum. I was too scared of disappointing her. It carried on like that, only the gap between got shorter each time. By the end, it was happening at least once a week. When I was 11, he got arrested, he'd been involved in a string of robberies, and the crew got caught. A security guard got killed in the last one, so he and the rest of the crew were all charged with felony murder. He got sentenced to life in prison. Mum broke up with him straight away. I was so relieved, because it meant he could never hurt me again. I felt bad that I was so happy though, because someone had had to die for it to happen. Someone who had a family, a wife, a couple of kids. And my mum, well she was devastated. He was the first person she had loved since my dad died, she had been ready to make a life with him. I never told her, in fact I've never told anyone I know, until right now at least."

Once again, Finn completes his rituals, only this time, he places one hand on top of Rachel's where it had settled on his knew.

"It's why I've always been a bit weird about sex, and Rach, it's why I lied to you about losing my virginity. I know it sounds stupid, but I always knew that it would have to be Santana who I had my first time with. I mean, I needed it to be someone who was categorically 100% safe, someone who I was sure wouldn't hurt me, which left me with four options. Quinn seemed like the obvious choice, but let's be real, we've all always known that her and Puck were made for one another, plus there was the whole Christianity thing. Brittany, but she's always been too much like a little sister to me, that would have made it too weird. Charlie was a good option, but after her assault, after she was raped, I knew I couldn't do that to her, there would have been way too much trauma between the two of us. Which left Santana. She was the perfect person. She was safe, protective, stern but caring, and she was experienced in a good way. I knew that with her it would be a good experience, and I needed that. I needed to be able to separate the act of sex from the act of rape. Hopefully that makes some kind of sense, and Rachel, it's nor meant to be offensive to you. There is no doubt that you're a safe person for me now, everyone in this room is, but I needed it to be a safe person from my childhood, someone who was safe through the entire experience."

At this, Santana reaches out and takes hold of Finn's hand, the one not clinging to Rachel, and squeezes reassuringly, before running her thumb in soothing circles across the back of his hand. Finn looks up at Santana, making eye contact with someone for the first time since he started telling his story. He managed a small smile for the young Latina, which she returned ten fold. No words were spoken, but everyone understood the conversation between their eyes messages of "I love you's" "Thankyou's" and "I'm glad I could be that person", among other things. After a few moments, Finn continued on.

"That helped me a lot, I was able to at least start separating the two in my mind, but I knew I still had a ways to go before I was able to fully separate them. I could see how much talking about her experience had helped Charlie, so I decided that I would give it a try. I knew I wasn't ready to talk to my friends and family about it, so I went online to try to find someone. I managed to find this support group for victims of sexual assault, on an online messenger room, and it was totally anonymous. It helped a lot, I got to hear other people's stories, some of which were similar to my own. After a few weeks, I felt comfortable enough to start talking about my experiences. It was incredibly difficult, and took me a while to actually reveal everything, but eventually, I did. It's still something I struggle with, but I'm much better at dealing with it now. I know my triggers, and I know how to deal with them. I still haven't told my mum, but I'm getting there, and I know I'll be able to soon, when I'm ready."

As he finishes, Finn looks around at his friends and teachers for the first time, and he realises that everyone is crying. He turns to Rachel, and the young couple share a few moments just looking at one another, both unsure of who should move first. They seem to decide to break the stalemate at the same time, reaching to pull one another into an embrace all at once. They envelope each other into their arms, both pressing kisses onto whatever part of the other they could reach.

Will allows them a few moments whilst he tries to compose himself, before addressing the boy.

"I think I speak for everyone in the room when I that I am so terribly sorry that you had to go through all of that alone, and I am also sorry that you felt like you couldn't talk to anyone about it. No one should ever have to go through what you have, and you should be so incredibly proud of yourself for how you have dealt with it. I am so glad that you felt comfortable enough to share your experience with us. Whenever you do feel comfortable enough to tell your mum, if you'd like someone there for support, I am more than happy to be that person for you, and I'm pretty certain that everyone else here would as well, all you have to do is say the word, and we will be there."

The room is filled with with murmurs of agreement, and nodding heads, everyone eager to show Finn that they would be there if and when he needed them to be.

The room falls into a comfortable silence then, everyone taking a moment to process all of the news they news they had learnt in the past few hours. The silence is broken here and there by sniffles, and soft words exchanged between both couples and friends. Quinn is the first to break the quiet.

"I think it goes without saying," starts the cheerleader, "but I want to start with how proud we should all be of ourselves. What we have all just done, has taken a lot of courage, and that deserves to be recognised. I also hope that every single one of us has learnt something today. I hope beyond everything, that we have all realised that we are not alone, that at the very least, every single person in this room will be there for one another forever. I want us to make a couple of promises to one another now. First off, we promise that if we need help, or feel down, or want someone to talk to, that we call one another. We promise that we're going to answer those phone calls, and help in any way that we can."

Quinn pauses here, and looks around the room, meeting eyes briefly with everyone so they knew she meant everything she was saying. Once she was satisfied that they had all truly heard her, and understood, she carried on.

"And secondly, we have to promise no more secrets. I'm serious you guys, today has just proved that by keeping things quiet, it just makes everything so much harder to deal with. From here on out, we don't keep secrets, if you're struggling, tell someone, if you have a bad day, tell someone, because at the end of the day, as much as we all want to help one another, we can only do that if we know what's going on. I love every single one of you guys, and I don't want to lose any of you. So we talk, and we keep each other going, in every way that we can."

As Quinn finishes up her speech, Puck engulfs her in a hug. Brittany joins in from Quinn's other side, closely followed by Santana and Charlie. Within seconds, the entire group are bundled into one big group hug around Quinn. They slowly erupt into laughter as the bundle topples over, leaving them sprawled on the floor in a weird pile of limbs.

The energy in the room had changed drastically over the past few minutes. Although still heavy, there was once again a sense of happiness that had returned. Will and Emma watched on, knowing that although although the kids still had a lot of healing to do, for the first time in a long time, they were all at peace, knowing that no matter what happened, they all still had one another.