DUE TO MY BUSY SCHEDULE AND UNFORTUNATELY LOW AMOUNT OF INSPIRATION FOR THIS STORY, I'VE DECIDED TO JUST MAKE IT A SERIES OF NONLINEAR ONESHOTS IN THIS UNIVERSE. SORRY IF THIS TURNS SOME OF YOU AWAY.

IT'LL JUST MAKE IT A LOT EASIER FOR ME TO UPDATE STORIES AS THEY COME TO ME.

THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE, AWESOME NERDS!

ROOM 211A

BARDEN VALLEY HIGH- 2004

Beca stepped into room 211A. It was arranged like any other classroom... Rows upon rows of desks, all facing forward...one long window on the side wall...a single office desk at the front where the teacher sat...a white board on the wall behind the desk. It was like any other room, but Beca found herself more at ease in this room. It was a room in which she happened to spend a lot of time. Detention.

Mr. Graham, a retired Desert Storm veteran (now History teacher), looked up from his desk at the sound of the door opening and closing.

"Miss Mitchell," He greeted with a nod before turning his attention back to the laptop.

There were 3 other students seated in the room. "Lost souls" like herself, she thought with a smirk.

Beca continued on to her usual seat by the window. She shrugged out of her backpack and slid into the seat. It wasn't long before she'd pulled out her magazine and got lost in the articles. The ticking clock was the only sound in the room, other than the occasional tapping of Mr. Graham's laptop keys.

Beca would occasionally glance up at the clock above the white board, counting down the minutes until she got out. It seemed to fly by, really. Detention did nothing for Beca. It was really the only time she got to herself these days. Quiet, uninterrupted time to herself, which was happily spent doing the very thing that got her into detention in the first place: reading.

Mr. Graham glanced up as one of the students in the class began to rummage through his backpack, the noise seemingly loud in the silence of the room. As Mr. Graham was turning his attention back to the laptop screen, he caught sight of something. It was the cover of Beca's magazine. He smiled sympathetically.

Of the three years he had known Beca, he never gotten the impression that she was a "bad kid".

If anything, he thought she was gifted. Maybe she could have used a lesson on respect and common courtesy...and she could have put forth more of an effort with her assignments, but he could see that she had a bright mind.

She didn't speak like most of the kids her age. She didn't act like them either.

The teacher wondered why that was. He wondered if maybe there was something going on in her life that she needed to talk about. Something hindering her performance and causing her to act out at school...

The bell rang, signaling the end of Detention. Beca carefully folded a page over and closed the magazine, before sliding it into her backpack and throwing a strap over her shoulder. She stood, starting towards the door, but she was stopped by Mr. Graham.

"Rebeca? You got you a minute?" He stood from his seat and closed the lid of his laptop.

No, not really..., Beca thought, detouring towards his desk.

"I noticed the magazine you were reading, today..." Mr. Graham started once the other students had exited the room. "Is that the latest edition?"

"Uh...yeah," Beca responded surprised at the teacher's interest. "There's some pretty neat stuff in this one."

Mr. Graham nodded at this, smiling as his voice taking on a playful tone. "You'll have to tell me about it sometime. I used to be a pretty big techie myself, back in the day."

Beca snorted. "Maybe, I will Mr. Graham..."

"I'm going to hold you to that, Miss Mitchell. I've got to get with the times. The last computer I used ran Windows 1.0. I called him 'Old reliable'."

"Wow...," Beca's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's- You named your computer?"

"Sure, did."

"What happened to it?"

"Turns out it wasn't as reliable as I thought," The teacher chuckled at the memory of the little black cloud of smoke coming from his computer and the 'screen of death' that followed.

Beca considered offering to take a look at the man's computer if he still had it. She felt like that would be crossing some sort of line, though.

The teenager had just been starting to relax around the old man, feeling for once that all teachers weren't the same and that they all didn't hate her. Then it got quiet, and the teacher narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. Beca almost felt uncomfortable under his gaze. She could tell he was trying to read her. He was trying to figure her out and it made her feel as if she was standing under a big microscope.

When he finally spoke again, his voice had a different quality. It was a quality she'd heard many times before. The warm, soothing, nurturing tone with just a tinge of disappointment... "Why are you here, Rebeca?"

Beca frowned in confusion, not quite understanding the question. "You called me over here,"

"No, Miss Mitchell... Why are you in detention?"

"I was 'insubordinate' with Mrs. Dooley," Beca explained.

Mr. Graham cringed. "I've overheard some of my colleagues discussing you..."

This made Beca uncomfortable. "Why are they-?"

"It was nothing bad," The man quickly added, seeing the teenager's wall start to come back up. "A lot of them just wonder why someone as bright as yourself, spends so much time in detention and so little time on assignments... Mrs. Dooley, in particular..."

Beca checked her watch, realizing Chloe would probably get out of cheerleading practice soon. She didn't have time for this.

"Mrs. Dooley says you have a lot of potential. She says you're thirsty for knowledge...just not the knowledge we can give you here...and she's not the only one. A lot of your teachers seem to SEE something in you."

"That's nice," Beca forced a smile.

Mr. Graham could sense he had said too much. "I'm not trying to lecture you, okay?"

Beca shifted the strap on her shoulder, her bag suddenly seeming heavier.

"I just want you to know that there are people 'on your side'."

Beca nodded, unsure what to make of what Mr. Graham just said. Something about it struck home, though.

The teenager exited the classroom and started towards the gymnasium, before Mr. Graham could say anything else. She opened the door peeked into the gym, surprised to see the squad still practicing. With a sigh of relief, Beca made her way across the polished wood to the bleachers. Chloe smiled to herself as she heard the familiar thump and squeak of Beca's boots on the polished floor.

Beca began to move up the steps of the bleachers, unaware of the head that turned her way as she moved up to the third row and made herself comfortable. She looked up to meet her friend's gaze across the gym. There was a strange feeling in her chest as she watched the redhead. It left her feeling winded and

Why did she feel nervous, though? She'd known Chloe for over ten years. She was more comfortable with Chloe than she was with anybody else...

Beca didn't understand but she decided to sort it out some other time.

She and Chloe shared a smile before the redhead turned her attention back to the routine and Beca turned her attention to her bookbag, pulling out her magazine to help the time pass.

The rest of the week wasn't much different.

The two teenagers would make it to school in the nick of time... Beca would read something PC-related in class and/or mouth off to their teachers... Chloe would facepalm... Beca would go to Detention after school while the redhead went to cheer practice... the two would meet afterwards and go home...

Everyday was the same...

Everyday... except that one particular Friday.

Beca usually came squeaking through the gym with those boots to wait for the end of Chloe's practice. She'd smile or shoot a wink at the redhead and find something to do as she waited to give her friend a ride back home.

On that particular Friday, however, Beca never came to the gym.

Chloe moved to the bleachers and took a seat, waiting patiently for the brunette. Maybe she was just running late?

Beca was never one for punctuality. She got where she was going, whenever she got there...

Chloe really shouldn't have been as surprised as she was.

She scanned the gym as she watched her cheer mates round up their bags and file out of the gym.

One stopped at the gym doors, shooting a glance back at the bleachers before starting towards the redhead. She was a well-developed brunette with legs that went on forever. She had no problem passing as a woman in her early twenties, and she used this to her advantage when weekend parties and visits to downtown called for it.

Her name was Stacie Conrad. She'd always been nice to Chloe, even when she first made the squad...before the other girls accepted her. Stacie called Chloe her "baby bird" and took her under her wing, showing her all the tricks of the trade and giving her a brief lesson on the dos and don'ts of cheerleading.

There was no reason for Chloe NOT to like the girl after all she'd done for her. Stacie was her friend.

Her tall, busty, beautiful friend who could have any guy or girl in the school if she wanted, but still somehow seemed to be interested in Beca. Chloe couldn't understand why that made her as uncomfortable as it did. Maybe it was because of Stacie's tendency to have a different guy in her bed every week…maybe it was because she didn't' want to get caught in the crossfire if anything ever went wrong between the two of them… maybe she was just protective of her best friend and wanted to avoid a possible heartbreak.

Yeah, that must have been it…

"Do you need a ride home? I didn't see your girlfriend come through, today." Stacie grinned as she approached the bleachers, taking a seat beside the redhead.

"We're not-"

"I know," Stacie smirked, nudging the younger girl playfully. "I'm teasing. I reckon she plays for that team though, right?"

"Uhh-"

"Even if she doesn't...you have to admit she's pretty hot." Stacie continued, not noticing the redhead's discomfort. "I mean...the tattoos...the piercings...that whole dark and mysterious thing."

"If that's your thing," Chloe said, quickly changing the subject. "She should be here soon though. They usually get out before us."

"And that smirk...I swear."

Chloe sighed. She really didn't want to hear this. "I'm just going to call her and see where she is," She said, forcing a smile as she punched the girl's cell number and raised the phone to her ear.

"Hey, you've reached Beca. Just call back later. I don't check these... *BEEP*"

Chloe sighed, lowering the phone and sliding it into her duffle bag.

"Maybe she's still in detention," Stacie offered, standing and shouldering her duffle bag. "Come on...I can walk you there, before I head out."

"Thanks, Stace." Chloe smiled appreciatively, gathering up her bags before standing and starting towards the gym doors with Stacie.

Room 211A had been empty for quite some time now. Beca hadn't even registered that Detention was over. She was lost in the task at hand: Resurrecting "Old Reliable".

Mr. Graham watched in awe as Beca wiped the last few components and slid them back into their respective places within the unit.

"That should hold him together for now." Beca stated, shining her keychain flashlight into the open processing unit to inspect her handiwork."You really should get this to a professional, though."

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Mr. Graham turned to face the door, curiously. Through the narrow window, he saw a young redheaded girl and a tall brunette. The redhead opened the door cautiously, opening her mouth to speak, then stopping when her eyes landed on Beca. The tall brunette hugged the redhead before dismissing herself.

He quickly recognized the redhead as Chloe Beale. He'd seen her with Beca around the school and wondered if they were an item. He assumed that was why she came to the detention room.

Chloe stepped into the room and smiled politely as she greeted Mr. Graham.

Beca turned at the sound of Chloe's voice and she pulled her phone out to check what time it was before realizing she never turned her phone back on.

"Shit...," Beca grimaced, realizing how late it must have been. Chloe probably called. She probably thought Beca had blown her off. "I'm sorry, Chlo."

"It's fine." Chloe swatted, smiling at her friend. "I know how you are when you're doing your computer stuff. I was just a little worried, but...it makes sense now."

The two shared a smile...it was Chloe's way of showing Beca all was well. The brunette relaxed visibly.

This was something they did since elementary school.

Naturally, there had been arguments.

Beca would shuffle up to her friend after they had time to cool down, and she'd smile. It'd be a crooked smile with a question mark at the end of it...a smile that Chloe really came to appreciate. She couldn't help but smile back.

The teacher cleared his throat.

Beca jumped, remembering she hadn't closed the unit.

Once everything was closed up, the two girls rushed off and Mr. Graham lifted his ancient computer unit, excitedly. As he locked up and exited the school, he thought back over how poised and professional the young brunette seemed as she tried to revive his computer. He was beyond impressed with the student's work and couldn't wait to try out his computer when he got home.

MITCHELL RESIDENCE-

Chloe, Beca, and The Mitchell's were in the living room watching the evening news as they ate dinner, a weekly ritual for the four of them. Every Friday, they'd order pizza or takeout and huddle around the television. Chloe and Beca would sit on one couch as Warren and Anne sat on the other.

As the news cut to a commercial break, Anne spoke, breaking the silence.

"So, what did you two do at school today?"

"Same old," Beca shrugged, eyes flicking from the television to Anne as she sucked in a mouthful of lo mein noodles.

"Actually," Chloe beamed, turning to look at the older woman,"Beca did something pretty cool today."

"Is that so?" Anne smiled, amused by the redhead's excitement. Warren wasn't as amused.

"Yes, ma'am. She fixed Mr. Graham's computer after school." Chloe continued excitedly.

"Good for YOU honey!" Anne smiled even more brightly, praising her daughter. She never understood the young brunette's obsession with technology and gadgets but she'd always support it. At that age, there were much worse things Beca could have gotten into, and Anne was just thankful she chose something safe and honorable. "Warren, did you hear that?"

Warren snorted, not even looking from the screen. He wasn't fooled. Beca was no saint. She would never do something for a teacher out of the kindness of her heart. The kid was a delinquent and she and Mary needed to be reminded of this.

"Isn't he the one that runs detention?"

Beca rolled her eyes, already knowing where this was going. She could hear it in the condescending tone of his voice. "Yes, dad."

"Alright, you two," Anne warned lightly. Beca and Warren had grown apart over the years. They used to be so close, but these days could hardly stay in the same room without getting into a yelling match, especially since Warren started working more hours at the university. He was constantly comparing Beca to students he taught at the university or other teens.

"WOW...Detention." Warren continued, finally looking from the screen to meet his daughter's eyes. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"I don't know. It SHOULD, considering you're never here long enough to know what the norm is." Beca retorted.

Chloe's eyes widened as she sensed the building tension in the room. She reached across the couch, placing a calming hand on Beca's forearm as her light blue eyes darted worriedly between Beca and her father.

"I'm sorry, Beca," Warren chuckled bitterly. "Excuse me for trying to keep a roof over our heads."

"I said, ALRIGHT, you two." Anne repeated, sternly. She wasn't about to listen to this tonight and she wasn't going to subject poor Chloe to it, either.

"Unbelievable," Warren muttered, dismissing himself from the room.

Pinching the bridge of her nose as she took a calming breath, Anne turned her attention back to Chloe.

"Can I get you anything, dear?" The older woman asked, her voice much softer this time she spoke.

Chloe forced a smile, still processing what just happened. "Uh- No, ma'am. I'm fine...thank you."

Chloe glanced at Beca, noting the brunette's clenched jaw and distant gaze. The silence in the room was heavy and Chloe started to regret saying anything at all. She noticed the strain in Warren and Beca's relationship lately and she thought he might be happy to hear that his daughter was doing something good at school. She thought it would help, since it seemed like all he and Anne ever got were calls home about Beca's lack of ambition and her failure to participate in classes.

"I'm sorry," Chloe whispered, squeezing Beca's forearm to get her attention.

Beca shrugged wordlessly. Chloe knew that was Beca's way of seeming less hurt than she actually was.

"I'm just going to steal Beca for the night, if that's okay?" She turned her attention back to Anne.

Anne nodded. "That's fine, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Mrs. Mitchell," Chloe took Beca's hand as she stood, tugging Beca along with her. "You okay, Bec?"

Beca avoided Chloe's gaze as she got to her feet, trying her best not to break down in front of her friend. She didn't even know why she still got upset over fights with her dad. It happened more often than not. She should have been used to it…

Chloe led Beca down the hall towards the front door as she wished Anne a good night. Chloe's grip on Beca's hand not going unnoticed by the older woman. She quirked an eyebrow at the interaction between the teens, making a mental note to have a talk with Beca when she got back.