Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch perfect. However, I do claim the plot and a few original characters.

Backstory: Beca and Chloe have been good friends since they both met in their freshman year at Barden. Chloe has been aware of her feelings for Beca but hasn't acted on them in anything more than a joking/flirtatious way. The story starts at the end of their sophomore year.

A/N: The story starts off dark but will be a little more lighthearted at some points during the story. I very much intend for this to be a realistic portrayal of life in general. It is not all roses, it is not all thorns. Most importantly, it is not all black and white. I'll be touching upon a lot of grey area issues. Especially concerning religion and spirituality. The relationship will start off rather slowly, but for good reason. Sorry for any punctuation errors. lol. I suck at punctuation. Thank you for taking the time to check this out. I hope you enjoy it! Please review! :)

Chloe couldn't remember when Beca's behavior began to change, and it was beginning to eat at her. How long had this been going on? Just how blind had she been to not see that Beca was in need? The lump in her throat was growing bigger, and the tears finally began to fall.

Her chest was heaving in desperation. She did not want to feel this guilt. More importantly she didn't want to feel this pain for her best friend. What could have pushed Beca this far? How much had she been hurting?

She couldn't get the image of Beca out of her head. She kept replaying the events of the last half hour over and over again. She hoped the images would change, but they never did.

Chloe stepped up onto the stairs at the Bella House and tried to catch her breath. Her lungs were burning and the smell of ammonia filled her nose. As disgusting as the smell was, it reminded her of just how hard she had pushed herself. She stretched her arms above her head then wiped the sweat from her face. She couldn't wait to run another marathon.

As she made her way into the house and up the stairs, she noticed that it was much more quiet than usual. None of the girls were downstairs and the house seemed to be empty.

Then she heard Beca's voice carry itself to her.

"I watch the work of my kin bold and boyful

Toying somewhere between love and abuse

Calling to join them the wretched and joyful

Shaking the wings of their terrible youths"

Chloe loved the song, and there was something in Beca's voice that creeped up her spine and left her curious. She climbed the stairs carefully as to not alert the other girl to her presence. The closer she got to Beca's door, the more curious she became.

"Feeling more human and hooked on her flesh I

Lay my heart down with the rest at her feet

Fresh from the fields, all fetor and fertile

Bloody and raw, but I swear it is sweet"

Now, right against the bedroom door, Chloe could practically feel the vibrations from the sound running along her skin. It threatened to carry her away. Beca had a way of making her nervous. She gently grasped the door knob and turned it as slowly as possible until she knew she could open the door without a sound. She paused for a moment when she realized the singing had stopped. She instantly changed her mind and decided to scare the shit out of Beca.

As the door hit the wall from Chloe throwing it open, Beca jumped and shrieked. When Chloe's smiling eyes landed on the brunette's lap, her entire world stopped. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. And she couldn't tear her eyes away from the grisly scene in front of her.

The girl who helped her build the Bellas and who held her when she cried over failed exams. The person who sometimes made her breakfast in bed and whose sarcasm made her smile. Her best friend. Beca Mitchell... with a syringe in one hand and a belt wrapped around the opposite forearm.

Everything was completely still in a very heavy way. Beca stared on in shock and unable to move. Chloe couldn't lift her eyes from the syringe. After a few moments, Beca threw the syringe down and screamed, "Get out!" The red head immediately looked up while her mouth opened and closed several times.

"Now!" Beca screamed again. Chloe nearly fell over herself clamoring to get away from the door and into her own room.

Chloe sat on her bed with her face in her hands as her heart tried to recover from the emotional whiplash. It had only been a matter of minutes since she'd walked in on Beca, and she was struggling to contain herself. She felt so lost and so unsure of who her friend even was. They'd been close, hadn't they? She was so disappointed in herself. She'd spent so much time romanticizing Beca that she hadn't seen anything that mattered. She briefly wondered if this was the reason that Beca never responded to her few subtle advances. She quickly chided herself upon realizing it wasn't the time to indulge her hopeful nature.

"Hey, Chlo." A quiet call of her name brought her back to the situation. Beca was still in her room from the sound of it. It made Chloe's skin crawl to think of going back in there. "Chloe, please." The desperation in the other girl's voice caused her to respond with very little thought. She was back in that doorway in just a matter of seconds.

Everything was still in the same place. Beca was still in the same chair. The syringe was still on the floor. And Chloe's heart was still in the bottom of her stomach.

There were tears running down Beca's face and she was shaking uncontrollably. Her voice was desperate and simultaneously authoritative as she spoke, "I'm... I'm going to ask you to do something. And you can say no. I-I won't be upset. But I don't trust myself to move right now." Her shoulders sank and her lips began to quiver. "The..." She glanced down at the syringe but was clearly having trouble finding a word for it. "The thing I threw on the ground. Could you just pick it up and get rid of it? Like, shoot the liquid into the sink or something? And throw it away?" She looked up to Chloe pleadingly.

She immediately picked up the syringe. Being careful to not touch the needle, she used the floor to bend it against the plastic so that it wouldn't be usable. Chloe kept it in her hand as she prepared herself for what she was about to do. "What else is here?"

Beca opened her mouth to speak but the redhead quickly cut her off, "And before you lie to me, please know that I'm not stupid. Everything you have. Tell me where it is. Now."

After a while of Beca insisting there was nothing else drug related in the room, Chloe took it upon herself to rummage through her friends things. Beca stayed still for the most part, but there was a gentle protest here and there. Mostly, she just kept quiet. As soon as Chloe approached the book case, Beca shot up and ran to her.

"Chloe, there's nothing here. Please. " The look in her eyes told Chloe that she was most definitely lying. She kept her eyes on Beca as she reached for different books. When her hand fell on the dictionary, the brunette tensed. The spine had separated from the leather backing. She noticed the small baggie with powder as soon as she opened the book and looked down the length of the spine.

"God, dammit!" Beca stomped her foot in frustration and put her hands into her hair and pulled. Her emotions were rising. She was frantic.

Chloe was prepared for what she knew was about to happen, but it didn't make it any easier when Beca tried to snatch the baggy away from her. Beca tried to pry it out of her hands. They ended up falling to the floor with Beca on top and Chloe face down. She kept her hands around the syringe and the baggy and locked her arms tightly between her chest and the floor. Beca continued to pull at her arms.

The enormity of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. Beca was so desperate. When had this started? Why had no one noticed? Her heart was breaking and she began to cry again.

Beca stopped pulling at her arms as soon as she noticed the body beneath her begin to shake. She was taken over by an enormous sense of shame and rolled off of Chloe and began to sob beside her. Although the redhead was still crying, she quickly stood and took her opportunity to dispose of the drugs.

She made her way to the bathroom and flushed what she had in her hand. Being thankful that the water carried away the syringe as well. Beca was still crying. In a way, Chloe was relieved. It meant that there probably wasn't anything left.

She took a deep and knowing breath. It also meant that Beca would most likely be in a great deal of pain soon.