Quinn didn't really know what to make of the meeting Rachel had called with her and Tina to talk about the Kurt-Karofsky situation. Sure, she was worried and she supposed Karofsky would be giving Kurt a hard time considering he was a homophobic troglodyte, but, as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't do much about it. She wasn't as strong as Karofsky so she would never be able to take him down physically and she wasn't sure how much he would care if she tried to argue with him verbally. Sure, she could take Berry's advice and ask Sam to do something, but Quinn knew Sam was a good guy and she knew she didn't need to ask him to do anything. If he felt like he needed, he would.

Besides, she wasn't really dating him anyway. And she had something else in mind. Actually, someone.

Seeing her, sitting alone in an empty classroom, Quinn was grateful for the privacy. Walking inside, she closed the door behind her and, unlike every other time the two of them were in the same room together, Quinn didn't smile as soon as Piper's eyes met hers. Quinn noticed how Piper opened her mouth to speak, but, before she could, Quinn started to speak.

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" She asked, causing Piper to frown as she placed her pencil down.

"What?" She asked, as Quinn sighed, walking closer to Piper as she stood in front of the desk she was sitting on.

"You wouldn't lie to me, right?" She repeated.

"No." Piper answered quickly. "No, why?"

"Is David Karofsky giving you a hard time?"

And, at that, Piper gasped, surprised.

"W-wait, what?" She asked, hoping her shock went unnoticed by Quinn. "W-what are you talking about? What brought this up?"

"P..." Quinn sighed. "Is he?"

"I-I mean, sure." She said. "But you know how he is."

"That's not what I'm asking, P." Quinn shook her head then, crouching down a bit so her bright green eyes were staring right into Piper's brown ones. "Berry called a meeting with some of us girls to talk about how Kurt is depressed about whatever Karofsky is doing with him. And I noticed it too. They haven't mentioned you. But I want to know. Is Karofsky doing anything to you?"

"Q..."

"Don't lie to me, Piper." Quinn pleaded, with a shake of her head. "Don't lie to me."

Piper sighed at that, unsure of what to do. She could feel the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She could feel that familiar dizziness that started to cloud her brain whenever she got too stressed. She could feel the need to open up to Quinn, to just let everything come out and to just let her hug her and tell her everything was going to be okay. But then, she could feel the fear creeping up all over her, unsure of how far Karofsky could actually go with his threat.

So, instead of opening up to Quinn like she wanted, she lied.

"No." She said, taking a deep breath as she tried not to cry just yet. "No, I mean... Just... Just the usual."

"Are you sure?" Quinn pressed a bit, frowning when she saw a flash of pure horror passing behind her golden-ish brown eyes. "P, are you sure?"

"Yes." She whispered, looking down at her sketchbook for a second before looking back up at Quinn when she was a bit calmer. "Yes, I'm sure."

Quinn sighed then, knowing Piper wouldn't say anything even if she wanted to and stood up, her heart breaking at the way Piper was visibly so tense but unable to do anything.

"Okay." She gave in, even though she didn't believe for a second what Piper was telling her right now. "But if he does, you'll tell me, right?"

"Right." Piper lied again, watching as Quinn gave her a sad look.

"Okay." She repeated. "Okay, then. I, hum... I have to go."

And with one last look at her, Quinn sighed, spinning in her heels to walk away, her body leaving the room, but, somehow, her heart staying behind, with the pretty girl she left in the empty classroom and that was certainly going through far too much more than she should at her age.

***

"Dude was a wild animal." Mike said, as everyone reunited in the choir room after the boys had, apparently, gotten into a fight with Karofsky.

As the girls tended to the boys, Piper stayed put in her place, sitting by Kurt and letting him hold her hand as the two of them tried to pretend neither of them was shaking as much as they both knew they were.

"Manimal." Artie said.

As Quinn took care of Sam's wound in his eyes, the boy looked over at her with a small cheeky smile.

"How bad does it look?" He asked her and Quinn hesitated for a moment before taking the ice pack from his eyes and smiling a bit.

"It's pretty hot, actually." She whispered at him and that was all it took for Piper to sigh, leaning against Kurt and seeking some comfort out of him even though he wasn't in the best position to give it to her in the first place.

"You have no idea how hard it was for me not to jump into that beatdown." Puck said, snapping Piper out of her misery and back to reality.

"Where were you, Finn?" Santana asked.

"I was still out on the field, okay?" Finn defended himself quickly. "I totally would have given him a beatdown if I had been there, though."

"The fact is, it shouldn't have gone down without you, Finn." Mercedes said. "You should have been leading the charge."

"Lay off Finn, everyone. It isn't his problem." Kurt spoke up, and, even though his voice was weak, everyone stopped as they looked at him. "It's none of your problems, actually. But thank you for what you did, especially Sam."

"Serious, an epitome of a leader." Mike praised as Sam smiled proudly to himself.

"What's going on?" Mr. Schue asked as soon as he walked into the room and noticed everyone gathered around. "What happened to Sam's eye?"

"He stood up to Karofsky." Quinn explained, sending Piper a quick side-eye that the girl was quick to avoid.

"All the guys did." Tina added. "Well, not Finn."

"Is everyone okay?" Mr. Schue asked. "Do we all need to go talk to Principal Sylvester?"

"No." Sam was quick to shake his head then. "I got in a few good licks, too, so we can just call it even. And maybe this will send a warning to Karofsky, telling him to back off Kurt."

At that, Mr. Schue frowned, turning to look at Kurt as Piper crossed her arms over her chest quietly.

"You okay, Kurt?" The teacher asked, nodding when Kurt did too. "All right, guys. Let's take our places. We got a wedding to prepare for."

And noticing Piper's bad mood, Kurt was quick to smile slightly at her, offering her a hand to help her stand up as everyone started to move around the room so they could rehearse for Burt and Carole's wedding.

***

"How come you didn't tell anyone?"

Piper jumped a bit, alarmed at the way Burt Hummel practically marched up to her in the middle of a school day. For a second, Piper frowned, incredibly confused, but when she noticed Kurt looking slightly terrified behind his dad and Finn nearby, she started to understand what this was all about.

"I..."

"Piper, this is serious business." Burt told her, sternly, as the girl but her lip. Because, yes. She knew. But what could she do? "He threatened you, honey. This is a crime."

"He... He didn't..."

"He knows, P." Kurt said. "It's okay."

At that, Piper let out a breath of relief, allowing her walls to come down for a second as her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, honey, come here..." Burt cooed, pulling Piper in for a hug as Kurt stepped closer to them and placed a hand on her back as well. "Does your dad know?"

Burt sighed gently when Piper shook her head silently.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna call him, okay? To tell him what's happening." Burt said, causing Piper to look up at him with wide eyes. "And after that, we're taking this mess up to your Principal."

***

"So it seems the situation has reached a boiling point." Principal Sylvester said, as everyone sat in her office in an awkward silence.

As Piper sat beside Kurt, the boy made a point of keeping his hand wrapped around hers to offer her comfort and get some security out of her at the same time. The two kids just sat there, scared out of their minds with their dads sat on each side of them as Karofsky sat in front of them on a couch, glaring at them both with his own father beside him.

"You're damn right, it has." Harry spoke up and Piper almost flinched, never in her life having seen her dad as angry as this.

"Nothing happened." Karofsky scoffed.

"I'll tell you what really happened." Burt glared at the kid before turning to his dad instead. "Mr. Karofsky..."

"My name's Paul." Mr. Karofsky said, as Burt nodded.

"Paul, your kid threatened the life of those two children right here." He said, rather angrily as well.

"Porcelain? Lady-Lover?" Principal Sylvester called, her voice as soft as Piper had ever seen it be before. "Is that true?"

At that, Piper and Kurt exchanged glances. Piper squeezed Kurt's hand again, jumping a bit when Karofsky interjected.

"That's not true." He spat. "I didn't say anything."

"That's what he said." Kurt ignored him as he nodded at principal Sylvester. "He said he would kill us if we told anyone."

"If you told anyone what?" Principal Sylvester asked.

Looking over at Karofsky, Piper sighed, fully aware of how hard it had been for her coming out and knowing she would've never wished being forced out on her worst enemy. Before anyone could say anything then, and before the silence got too suspicious, Piper spoke up.

"Just... That he was picking on us." She whispered.

"They're making all this stuff up." Karofsky scoffed, clearly not grateful at all for what Piper and Kurt had just done for him

"Oh, is that right?" Burt asked, clearly unamused.

"Hold on a sec." Paul spoke up then, turning to his son with a frown. "You have been acting differently lately, David. You used to get A's and B's. You're talking back, you're acting out, and now we're sitting here. So let me ask you: why would Kurt and Piper make that up?"

"Maybe he likes me." Karofsky spat as Piper and Kurt frowned at him. "And she's his little bitch anyway. She'll do anything he asks of her."

"What did you just say?" Harry raised his tone then going to get up, causing Piper to reach over to her father then and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Daddy, no." She shook her head then. "It's okay."

"I think we're wasting our time here." Burt said, watching as Harry threw a protective arm around his daughter. "It's your job to protect people."

"Couldn't agree more." Principal Sylvester nodded. "After hearing both sides of the story, you are hereby expelled. I will not have one student threatening the life of another. If you don't think this is fair, well, you can appeal to the school board. You'll leave campus immediately."

Disappointedly, Paul stood up, nudging Karofsky to follow him as well.

"I appreciate your time." He said, walking off with his son as Burt, Kurt, Piper and Harry stood up to leave as well.

"Thank you." Burt said, as he walked off with Kurt close behind him.

"Enjoy your wedding." She called after him before turning to Harry as she watched him helping Piper up to her feet.

"Thank you, Ms. Sylvester." The man nodded at her as the woman just smiled quietly at him and Piper.

"It was no problem."

With a thankful nod at Principal Sylvester, both Harry and Piper walked off. Piper was about to make up an excuse or another to try and slip away from her dad, but, before she could, Harry held her back by her shoulders.

"Bunny, look at me." He called gently, allowing Piper a few seconds to gather herself before smiling a bit when she lifted her brown eyes to meet his matching ones. "I know this is hard on you. Actually, I can imagine. But I don't want you hiding this stuff from me again, bunny, you understand? When Burt called me and told this Karofsky kid had been harassing you and he even threatened you... I felt so bad for you... If I could take this in your place I would, you know that, right?"

"I know that, daddy." Piper nodded with a small sniffle. "I just... I was so scared, I... I didn't know, I..."

"It's okay." Harry assured, pulling Piper into his arms again as she sobbed again. "Just... You have to trust me, bunny. I'll do anything for you, but I need to know what's happening. Okay? Do you promise?"

"I promise." Piper nodded as Harry ran a hand through her hair.

"Good. Now... Do you want to skip class and get some ice cream with your old man in that parlor we used to go when you were younger?"

At that, Piper giggled, wiping her tears away but nodding her head with a smile.

"I'd love that, actually." She said, as Harry smiled back at her.

"Come on then, bunny." He said. "Let's go get some ice cream."

***

Quinn smiled when she finally found Piper. She stopped by the door of the room where she was standing in front of a full-length mirror and she couldn't help smiling to herself. The red of her dress really did compliment her skin and the thin straps allowed Quinn to see all the little freckles she had scattered across her shoulders. Her long brown hair was curled a little more than usual and thrown all to one side with an orange flower as a hair clip to keep it in place and her eyes looked even more enticing with the light makeup that she had on. Quinn chuckled slightly when she noticed how Piper struggled with her dress and, deciding she had seen enough, she decided to make herself known.

"Need any help there, darling?" She teased with a small smirk as Piper widened her eyes a bit before spinning around in her heels and smiling at Quinn.

"I can't reach my zipper." She said, as Quinn nodded, walking up to her and spinning her around so she was facing the mirror again.

Piper kept her eyes on the mirror then, watching with a lip between her teeth as Quinn stood behind her, very carefully and very slowly, pulling up her zipper. Piper could swear she could feel the warmth radiating off of Quinn as they stood there, but as the blonde closed her friend's zipper for her, she frowned, noticing how loose the dress seemed to be around her.

"Didn't you have this tailored like a week ago?" Quinn asked gently, looking at Piper through the mirror as the girl widened her eyes.

"Why?" She asked then, panic raising to her tone as she took her eyes off of Quinn to look at herself up and down again. "It doesn't fit anymore? The zipper's not closing, is it? Oh my God, I knew it, I..."

"P, that's not what's happening." Quinn was quick to stop her rambles before Piper could even start crying. Holding her by the waist as she stood behind her, looking at the mirror, Quinn felt her heart skip a beat with the image in front of her. But she shook her head then, focusing on Piper and her slight meltdown instead as she pinched the sides of Piper's dress that were hanging loose when Quinn was about 100% sure they should be hugging her body instead. "Look, look. The zipper closes. But the dress is actually too big."

At that, Piper sighed, knowing Quinn was right, but not really on the mood to discuss this again with her. So, again, she lied.

"No, it's not." She said. "It's supposed to look like this."

"P..."

"It is, okay?" She snapped then, putting on her shoes as she turned around to glare at Quinn. "Thank you for your help, Quinn. But I need to go see Mercedes, okay?"

And, with a sigh, Quinn watched Piper go, knowing full well the girl was falling into old patterns again, but unsure on how to help.

***

The wedding had been beautiful. Burt and Carole were clearly in love and that was seen again and again all through the night — with their vows, with the way they looked at each other and now with their dance. Sure neither Burt or Carole were the best dancers ever, but as they shared their first dance together as Mr. Schue sang to them, it was undeniable how much fun they were having.

"You know..." Mercedes said, as she leaned closer to Piper to whisper in her ear so they could talk without bothering anyone around them. "If I get married and it's not like this, I don't want it."

Piper laughed then, looking over at the smiling newly-wed couple before her eyes fell on Quinn, across the table, sighing when she noticed how Sam kept an arm around her shoulders and she leaned against him with a satisfied smile on her face. Running her finger over the rim of her glass of juice, Piper sighed before turning back to Mercedes with a small smile of her own.

"I totally get what you mean." She said, before clapping as soon as Mr. Schue was done with his song and Burt and Carole sat down again.

"And now, I'd like to introduce one of the best men: Finn Hudson!" Their teacher announced, as everyone clapped while Finn stood up with a microphone in hands.

"Oh. Thanks." Finn started, already a little awkward, just like Finn Hudson usually was. "Hi. Hum, thank you. Best man. Right. Hum... Well, I want to propose a toast to my mom... Who is so awesome. I mean... Somehow even without one in the house, you taught me what it means to be a man. In Glee Club, hum, whenever two of us got together, we got a nickname. Rachel and I are Finchel. Rachel and Puck were Puckleberry. And today, a new union was formed. Furt. You and me, man. We're brothers from another mother. And quite frankly, no one else has shown me as much as you about what it means to be a man. And over the past few weeks, hum, some stuff's gone down. And I haven't manned up like I should've. From now on? No matter what it costs me, I got your back. Okay? Even if it means getting a Slushie in the face every now and then. You put this entire wedding together by yourself, Kurt. So as a thank you, I had the Glee Club put together a little number in your honor."

And so, the whole glee club stood up and performed Just the way you are to Kurt just as it had been requested of them by Finn. And, even if for a little while, Piper seemed to forget all of her problems that week as she danced and sang around with her best friends — with little found family that she would never trade for anything.

***

Burt, Carole, Kurt, Harry and Piper were all called to go a meeting in Principal Sylvester's office and the news were horrible.

"This is absolutely unacceptable." Carole shook her head as Piper bit her lip hard to try and stop her tears from falling.

"This psycho threatens these kids' lives, and some school board made up of a bunch of people I've never met tells me there's nothing they can do about it?" Burt scoffed.

"How can they not do anything about it?" Harry asked, very aggravated as well, as he pulled his daughter in for a hug as she cried silently.

"Oh, they could do something about it. They just decided not to." Principal Sylvester said. "No one reported witnessing him being violent, and there's no way to prove that he threatened them with violence. The school board president issued a verbal warning to Karofsky, and that's where we stand."

"I can't go back to being terrified all the time." Kurt shook his head then. "I jump every time a locker slams shut. I flinch whenever I turn the corner. I don't feel safe at the school. And look at P... She's terrified too."

Sue sighed as she watched Kurt placing a hand over Piper's knee as the girl just smiled at him while still keeping her head buried in her father's shoulder for comfort.