I THINK YOU LOOK PRETTY EVERY DAY!

THANKS TO THEIR REGIONALS WIN, NATIONALS WAS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER AND THE NEW DIRECTIONS WERE PREPARING IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE. After raising money for both nationals and the brainiacs at a night of neglect, Mr Schue had started booty camp to help with their dancing.

However, when booty camp ended with Finn slapping Rachel straight in the nose, some insecurities seemed to be showing. As Rachel stood at the front of the choir room with her broken nose and a plan, the New Directions gaped round at each other, shocked at what they were hearing.

"Oh my god, you're getting a nose job?" Quinn clarified, being the first to speak up.

Not wanting to admit that was exactly what she was doing, Rachel pushed her shoulders back and stood up a bit straighter, "I'm considering having a minor procedure to repair my deviated septum."

"So, a nose job." Santana confirmed.

"Look, I'm happy with the way I look, okay? And I've embraced my nose." Rachel breathed out, feeling embarrassed, and avoiding eye contact with most in the room, "but let's say I wanted a more demure nose, like Quinn's for example." With a glance towards Quinn, she continued on, "I would never change my appearance for vanity, but the doctor said it could improve my talent, which would help us for nationals."

"Possibly?" Mr Schue interrupted quickly, filled with worry, "what about the risks? Your voice is amazing as it is, Rachel."

Fed up with watching everyone in the room shuffling awkwardly, swerving away from their own worries to focus on Rachel's, Santana sat forward in her chair to speak up, "hold up. Could we all just get real for a second?" She called out, grabbing their attention, "I hear that Rachel's got a bit of a schnoz, I mean, I wouldn't know 'cause like Medusa, I try to avoid eye contact with her. But can we all just stop lying about the fact that there aren't things we would like to change about ourselves?"

Looking round the room, Mr Schue was seemingly unimpressed as the glee club all avoided eye contact with each other, but before he could interrupt, Santana had continued speaking.

"I mean, I'm sure that Sam's been at the doctors office and rifled through pamphlets on mouth reduction. I'll bet Artie's thought about having his legs removed since he's not really using them anyway. I'll also bet Tess has considered asking me to be her personal stylist, because you know I love you girl, but would it hurt to put a skirt on sometimes? And I'm definitely sure that Tina's looked into an eye deslanting."

Looking down at her quickly put together outfit and slowly reaching up to pull down the scruffy bun she'd put her hair into, Tessa realized that Santana may be right. Taking a breathe, she looked round, noticing Sam self consciously trying to hide his mouth and sent him a reassuring smile.

Turning round to face Santana, a look of disgust came across Tina's face as she became quick to retort, "that's extraordinarily racist."

"I'm keeping it real." Santana shrugged, not bothered by the offended glances she was receiving.

"I'm sorry Santana, I'm a beautiful person. I'm in love with myself and I wouldn't change a thing." Tina retorted, stubbornly crossing her arms.

"Is that why you're wearing blue contacts today, Tina?" Mike pointed out, raising an eyebrow and leaning in towards Tessa for a disapproving whisper, "self-hating Asian."

Throwing Mike a look of annoyance, Tina shook her head, "not many Asian sex symbols, Mike. I'm just trying to be in fashion and mirror what I see in the magazines."

"My dancing kinda bothers me." Finn spoke up before an argument could break out, a guilty smile on his face, "I mean, it almost killed Rachel, but I like the way I look."

"Oh please, you have weird puffy, pyramid nipples. They look like they're filled with custard, or you could dust them with powdered sugar and they would pass as some sort of dessert." Santana scoffed, causing Sam to lean forward for a closer look, "look, maybe Rachel's fine with having an enormous beak, maybe she needs it to crack hard seeds. All I'm saying is that if you look into the mirror and don't like what you see, you should change it."

Hearing this, Mr Schue was now quick to intervene, "woah, guys. I'm really shocked at what I'm hearing here. It goes against everything this glee club stands for. I'm telling you, the thing that you'd most like to change about yourself is the most interesting part of you."

"Well maybe, but at this school, the thing that makes you different is the thing that people use to crush your spirits." Mercedes told him, sadly.

Upset as he saw the insecurity written across his students faces, Mr Schue quickly felt the need to go and the his favourite guidance counsellor, calling for them to all leave early.

Going to leave his chair, Sam held back for a second, knowing they were both feeling a bit self conscious after the glee meeting and took Tessa's hand in his, squeezing it warmly. Looking up to him, Tessa gave him a soft smile, "there's nothing wrong with your mouth, Sam. I should know."

Smiling down at her, Sam nudged into her shoulder lightly as they left the room, "you look pretty today." He whispered, using his free hand to rub the back of his neck, nervously, "I mean, I think you look pretty every day."

Beaming at the floor to hide her blush, Tessa chuckled lightly, shaking her head in amusement as the playful grin grew on Sam's lips, teasing her with the newest impression he'd been working on.

　　　　　　　 ☆

FINN HUDSON WAS LOVING THIS WEEK. Jumping to the front of the choir room for his number, he beamed at Mike and Tessa stood behind him ready to dance his heart out.

Pointing over to Mike, Tessa chuckled as she made eye contact with Tina, "remember the face of the man you love Tina, Finn might knock his nose off."

Gesturing right to her nose for proof, Rachel couldn't help the small laugh escaping her lips as Tessa and Mike over dramatically re-enacted the moment Finn had broken her nose.

Rolling his eyes, Finn kept the proud grin on his lips nudging Tessa into Mike, playfully and giving them a ready nod to start dancing alongside him. Throwing him an encouraging thumbs up and a wink, Tessa gave the band an appreciative smile so they'd begin to play.

[SONG — I GOTTA BY ME, SANG BY FINN]

Finishing with a bow, Finn spun round on his heels to face his back up dancers, who were cheering for him, full of pride and threw his arms around them. Patting him on the back, Tessa was quick to tell him how good she thought he was, even if he wasn't the worlds greatest dancer yet.

Standing up from his chair to join them at the front, Mr Schue kept the applause going, "alright, Finn! Perfect! See someone who isn't afraid to point out something that they're really bad at!"

"But I'm getting better, right?" Finn questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Totally." Tessa encouraged, thumping him on the back on the way to sit down on the chair next to Sam.

Looking down at her, Sam's attention was quickly brought to her outfit. Leaning in closely, he whispered, "you're wearing a skirt."

Tessa glanced down at her skirt, with an embarrassed laugh, "yep. Thought I'd take Santana's advise."

"Well you look beautiful, and you danced great up there." Sam smiled at her genuinely, becoming slightly awkward as he shifted in his seat, reaching round to try and discretely put his arm across her shoulders, "but I like you whatever you're wearing."

Smiling back at him, Tessa felt the butterflies inside her stomach flutter and a wave of relaxation come over her, but before she could say anything in return, Rachel had gotten permission to stand up at the front for an announcement. Seeing the slight slump in her shoulders made Tessa sad, so she laid her head against Sam's shoulder to listen along to what Rachel had to say, hoping that the glee club and herself could make her feel beautiful enough that she'd no longer want this nose job.

"So as you all know, I've had a few consultations with a doctor who specialises in rhinoplasty." Rachel began before she was swiftly interrupted by Tina.

"Yes, we know. It's all any of us have been talking about." She told her, "and we think it's a terrible idea."

Tutting loudly, Rachel rolled her eyes at the girl as she crossed her arms over her chest in retaliation, "okay, blue eyes, you're such a hypocrite."

"I admit, yes, I don't like my eyes sometimes — the shape, the colour — but your self hatred, Rachel, has helped me see the light."

"I love myself." Rachel insisted, quickly but unconvincingly.

"Not enough, clearly." She responded, moving into the words of wisdom that she'd come across whilst learning to love herself that week, "when you get a nose job, when you change your eyes, when you bleach your freckles, you're just announcing to the world, 'I don't like myself very much.' The drams of this week have made me realise that if I don't have many Asian sex symbols to look up to then I have an obligation to become one myself. My new mantra is 'be the change you want to see in the world.'"

Gazing at her in wonder, Mike had fallen in love all over again, "I am so in love with you right now." He breathed out, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend and pressing his lips against hers, which quickly developed from a peck on the lips to a passionate kiss.

Quick to move past Mike and Tina's affection as Mr Schue pulled them apart, Rachel continued on, holding her binder closer to her chest, "anyways, besides Tina's abrupt personal transformation, the compositions came back from the doctor showing what my nose would look like slightly altered and I must say, I'm really happy with the results. They're less Hebraic and more Fabrayic."

As everyone leant forward in their seats to take a look at the new image of Rachel, they found themselves glancing at each other with guilty frowns then up to Rachel, who looked delighted.

"Rachel that doesn't really look like you." Mr Schue commented.

"If Quinn dyes her hair they could be twins." Tessa whispered in wonder.

Next to try and persuade Rachel out of it, Puck spoke up, "every year, girls show up to my temple after their sixteenth birthday looking suddenly slightly different. And you know what? Even if it's easier to make out with them without constantly getting stabbed in the eye, they're not as hot."

"Well this isn't about being hot." Rachel argued, "it's about conquering your destiny and finding something about yourself they you'd want to change and change it. Plus they say it could improve my voice." She trailed off before looking up at the group, pleadingly. Seeing they weren't going to change their minds she shook her head and held it up higher, "look, if you guys won't support my decision then I'm pretty accustomed to making it on my own."

"Rachel please don't do this. You're beautiful." Finn begged her, quietly, his eyes flickering over to Quinn sat next to him as he attempted to compliment the girl.

Rachel stood there for a moment, taking in a sharp breathe of air as she processed what Finn had said. Pulling her gaze away from him, she looked forward and tried to keep her mind strong, "this isn't a discussion. Rachel Berry is getting a nose job."

　　　　　　　   ☆

NOBODY WAS HAPPY THAT DAVE KAROFSKY WAS STOOD AT THE FRONT OF THE CHOIR ROOM. Shouting over one another, the glee club were very quick in making Principal Figgins aware that Karofsky wasn't welcome on the room as he tried to calm them down.

After the torment he'd put Kurt through,  nobody could expect them to want anything to do with him and Tessa was feeling fierce, "we don't care what he has to say!" she spat, gritting her teeth, full of anger that anyone would let Dave into their choir room after what he'd done to her friend.

Shushing her loudly, Principal Figgins chose the short opening given to attempt to get them to listen, "now I know Dave has had some issues in the past, but I have great respect for what he's doing now, so please hear him out."

"How about we punch his face?" Sam suggested, earning ready nods from the group.

With a shaky, irritated breathe, Tessa slipped her hand into Sam's, rubbing her thumb across the palm of his hand, hoping for some comfort as they sat in their seats together, being forced to listen to Karofsky's apology.

Making guilty eye contact with the group, Dave felt nervous as he looked up at them. Usually, he wouldn't have been bothered standing up in front of them but apologising was different. He was vulnerable in front of the fiercely protective glee club. Quickly finding Santana's gaze, he took her reassuring nod as a sign to begin, "first of all I want to say how sorry I am for what I did to Kurt and for what I've done to a lot of you. I think I've slushied every one of you. But I treated Kurt the worst and I'm really ashamed of who I am and what I did."

"Why should we believe you?" Puck tested, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You don't have to. I know I'll have to earn your trust." Dave replied quickly, in an understanding tone, "all I can say is that Santana has really helped me to see the light. She showed me all these stories online about kids jumping off of bridges and hanging themselves because they were being bullied so bad. I couldn't believe that someone could make another person feel so awful. But she helped me realise that I was one of those bad people and I don't want to be anymore."

Shocked at what they'd heard, Quinn turned in her seat to point towards Santana sat at the back, "wait, Santana?"

Standing from her seat, Santana made her way to the front to stand besides Dave to explain herself, "this glee club isn't complete. Not without Kurt. So I've taken it upon myself to rehabilitate Dave to maybe see if Kurt would consider coming back and help us win nationals. I did this for us. But then something funny happened." She told them, linking her hand in Dave's, "something called love."

"I'm gonna barf." Tina whispered in disgust as the glee club stared back at them, mouths open in shock. Cringing at her best friend, Tessa tightened her grip on Sam's hand and used her other hand to run her hand through her hair, she knew how much better Santana could do.

　　　　　　　   ☆

KURT HUMMEL WAS BACK AT MCKINLEY. Standing in the auditorium besides him with her jacket zipped up, ready for their performance of 'Born This Way,' Tessa leant her head against her friend's shoulder, "how I've missed you." She sighed, contentedly.

Resting his head on top of hers, a soft smile came to Kurt's lips, he'd loved being a member of the Warblers, but stood here laughing and cuddling up with his friends, he really knew Mckinley was where he belonged, "I missed seeing this face every day."

Many secrets had been revealed this week at Mckinley and many insecurities had been sang about and put into light and so having Kurt back was a lovely end to a week of learning to love themselves.

Coming straight into the auditorium ready for the number, Mr Schue was the first to reveal his shirt, "alright, listen up guys, you've all done really good this week. It was tough but I think we came closer together as a team and I'm proud of you. Now I'd like to be the first to show off their custom tshirt revealing something I was self conscious about in the past, something I was born with, something I've come to accept about myself this week."

Ripping open his jacket, Mr Schue presented his T-shirt with the word 'butt chin' on it, smiling at the group, who clapped for their teacher in support.

Next, Rachel came through the doors of the auditorium and made her way up the steps and onto the stage, smiling at their hopeful glances, "thank you all for my Barbaravention. I have an announcement, I went to my doctor and I cancelled my appointment and I went home and I made this." Opening her jacket, she revealed her 'nose' tshirt, grinning shyly at them, "so unfortunately, I can't join in on today's dance number. My doctor says I have to stay away from vigorous choreography while my nose heals so thanks for being patient and Finn, next time watch out for the schnoz."

Rounding up everyone as they laughed, Mr Schue encouraged them to move to their places in the wings, giving Kurt a ready thumbs up to begin singing.

Standing apart from everyone else, Sam opened his jacket revealing him Trouty Mouth shirt, shrugging his shoulders as Tessa read it over. Meeting Sam's eyes, Tessa gave him a soft smile, "how many times do I have to tell you that I like your mouth?"

"Tell me again." He grinned back at her.

"Sam Evans, I like you and your mouth, a lot." She giggled gently, opening her jacket in return to show him her shirt, which read 'Messy.' Blushing, as Sam read it carefully, Tessa explained herself, "I'm just a bit of a mess. With my bulimia and my outfits and my dorky personality, I'm a bit all over the place."

"Well I think you're perfect." Sam replied, softly, zipping up his jacket and flashing her a wink before they made their way out onto the stage to sing.