Prompt for nopethatsmydick: During a late night discussion Chloe reveals to Beca that she once had a fling with a married man, but never quite learned his name. After questioning about said man, Beca realizes the married man was in fact her father.
This prompt was really hard. Sorry it took so long and it's not very long.
Disclaimer I do not own the rights to Pitch Perfect or the characters, if I did I wouldn't need to write fanfiction because it would be canon… Just sayin'.
Would You Run?
"What's the worst thing I've ever done?" Beca repeated as she sat back against the couch in Chloe's dorm, wrapping her arm around her recently acquired girlfriend. Being a senior had its perks and a single dorm room was definitely high on that list. The redhead leaned against her, her hands playing with the younger girl's. To end their second date, the two were discussing past experiences. Chloe was more than ecstatic to learn more about the mysterious Beca Mitchell.
"C'mon Beca, there has to be something." No matter what the ginger said, not one instance came to the DJ's mind. She had done some bad things in her past, but nothing stuck out as the absolute worst.
"What about you? Maybe hearing yours will make me think of something." Chloe's smile instantly vanished, she could remember a time when she had done one of the worst things imaginable.
"Uhm, I'll tell you on one condition." Her story would make Beca run, she was sure of that. It had taken some time but the brunette had finally let Chloe in quite a bit, just enough so that the redhead could understand why the younger girl always distanced herself.
Chloe didn't really know the specifics, she only knew that Beca's dad had cheated on his wife and that had led to their divorce. A divorce she assumed occurred when Beca was a preteen. The brunette took her mom's side with no hesitation and was quick to block her father out of her life. Chloe briefly wondered if Beca would do the same to her after she found out.
Beca was staring at the ginger with wide eyes, she hated seeing the ever jovial senior looking so down. So she leaned down, tenderly pressing her lips against the redhead's temple in an attempt to make the older woman calm down.
"What I'm going to tell you stays in this room, it's a huge secret." Beca grinned and scoffed slightly.
"Chloe, everything we talked about tonight has been a secret." That was true, many of the topics they had chosen to talk about were serious. "Plus you say that like I blurt out random facts for a hobby." It was a very well-known fact that Beca was extremely reclusive, but it was only obvious to Chloe that her father had played a big part in causing that. To have so much trust in someone only to find out it had been misplaced would be horrible. And hopefully Beca wouldn't feel that way again.
"Okay then. Well, it was my freshman year and I went to my first party. I only had a few drinks, but not enough to even be tipsy much less drunk. I remember everything about that night which almost makes it worse." Chloe bit down on her bottom lip hard, the only person who knew about this was Aubrey. Hesitant light blue eyes wandered up to lock with dark blue and the singer paused slightly.
Beca was staring at her rather intensely, her expression looked sympathetic. That was sure to change.
"Well this guy comes up to me, he's older than me but I didn't really care. My boyfriend and I had recently broken up and I was having a hard time so I didn't push the guy away. He seemed to be genuinely interested in me, one thing led to another and we ended up at his apartment. It wasn't too far off campus and I remember wondering if he was some kind of professor. He did talk all official, kinda like a Literature Teacher." There was a slightly amused smile playing on Beca's lips.
"So you hooked up with some teacher here?" The very idea caused Beca to chuckle. It wasn't until Chloe added onto that sentence with a soft, almost inaudible statement that the brunette stopped.
"A married one." The silence that ensued after that caused Chloe to internally panic. A sob worked its way into her throat and she didn't dare look back up at Beca. "I-I didn't notice until his wife came in the next day. Luckily I was dressed but she still knew what we did. H-he wasn't wearing a ring but she was. I apologized so many times before I finally just left. I couldn't even look at her, she was so upset and she was crying but I didn't look at her… God, I should have at least had the decency to apologize to her face instead of the floor." Tears had begun to flow freely down the ginger's cheeks, her frown deepening as the silence seemed to drag on.
"What did the guy look like?" Out of everything the brunette could have said, this wasn't what the redhead had expected. Her voice was even, almost cold. That was a bad sign, but it was too late to take the words back.
"He was tall, light-ish brown hair and hazel eyes." There had to be more but Chloe couldn't think of anything else.
"What else?" Her girlfriend's voice was steely, her grip on the redhead's shoulder loosening. Panic began to build up in the ginger's mind.
"He never told me his name." Was the scared response from Chloe. Beca didn't want to jump to any conclusions but the man described sounded exactly like her father, and Chloe would have been a freshman three years ago, the same time her parents got a divorce.
"When was this exactly?" Chloe could see where this was going and she was dreading the reaction to her answer. Above all else she wanted to Beca to know how much she regretted that night.
"It was over winter break. Like the first week of break." It was spoken in a whisper but the brunette had flinched like it had been screamed in her ear. Suddenly her arm was retracting and she was standing up, fully intent on leaving. Chloe moved quickly, her hand reaching out to grasp at the retreating girl's wrist. "Beca wait."
"Chloe, do you know what happened to that marriage?" Beca seemed so aloof and far away. Chloe knew she had brought this on herself but that didn't stop the tears rolling down her cheeks. The way deep blue eyes were staring hard at the wall, avoiding her completely, hurt more than the redhead would ever admit.
"N-no I just left, I was too stunned to even tell him what I thought of the way he acted." Red hair fell into light blue eyes as the senior looked down at the ground in shame. Mistakes make you better, little hiccups in your relationships are good but this was one mistake Chloe would give anything to erase.
"And what would you have said?" Pained cerulean eyes snapped up, practically begging for the conversation to be over. This little piece of Chloe's past was especially terrible to remember because there were so many things she should have done. So many regrets all wrapped up in one horrible experience.
"I would have told him how wrong he was, how he was a bad person. I just hope his wife did." Chloe sighed, wiping at the tears on her face. Beca finally turned to face her girlfriend, tears clearly gathering in her dark eyes.
"She did." With that cryptic sentence, the brunette as gone, leaving behind a bewildered ginger. Chloe was hoping her thoughts were wrong, that she hadn't slept with Beca's father and ruined her girlfriend's parents' marriage. But somewhere deep down, she knew that she had.
Where she was going didn't matter to Beca, she just had to go somewhere. She hadn't realized where her feet were taking her until she wound up standing outside her dad's house. A gentle knock against the door was all she gave, if her father didn't answer then she was free to leave and move on. But he did answer, surprise and fatigue clearly etched across his face.
"Beca, not that I'm not glad to see you, but what are you doing here so late?" The older professor asked, his confusion worsening as his daughter didn't answer immediately.
"That girl that you had an affair with wasn't the step-monster, was it?" Her voice was completely devoid of emotion, not even her eyes gave away the storm that was raging inside her. Her father slowly shook his head. "Who was it?"
"I never got her name." Dr. Mitchell prided himself on being an astute person but at that moment he was completely unaware of anything that his only child was thinking. Why was she even bringing this up?
"What did she look like? Did she have red hair?" The question was desperate, the façade the brunette had created was beginning to crumble under her father's intense yet stricken face.
"She… Did. Do you know her?" Beca didn't answer in the form of words, she didn't have any to say. Later she would blame it on the anger, just a moment of boiling rage. That would be the only reason she would ever rear back and punch her dad in the cheek. The man stumbled back, holding his reddening, swollen face. Beca paid no attention to the throbbing in her hand, her body was still fueled with adrenaline.
"Her name is Chloe and she's my girlfriend." Mr. Mitchell stood there stunned, he had no words to say, were there any words to say? He should have yelled at her for hitting him, he should've demanded her to leave, threaten her about L.A. but he couldn't. Looking into her dark blue eyes, he realized that for the first time in a very long time he understood his daughter. He knew that she was hurting badly and he wanted to be able to comfort her. But he couldn't find the words to say.
Long after she had run off he still stood in the doorway, his mind trying to process what exactly had happened. It wasn't until his wife came by that he realized he was not staring into angry navy eyes, he was looking at his bare front yard.
The DJ didn't know where to go, she didn't know what to do. Could she be in a relationship with the person who had been the direct cause of her parents break up? Even more, did she want to be in a relationship with someone her dad had been with? Somehow Beca had wandered her way to her favorite tree. She had spent many hours working on her mixes underneath the tall maple, maybe she could spend some time thinking. The brunette slid down the wood, resting her chin against her knees as she wrapped her arms around her legs. Her entire body felt numb, the only feeling she felt was the occasional throb of her hand.
Was she wrong to leave Chloe? It was obvious the redhead was upset and her angry girlfriend storming out of her room definitely didn't help that. She leaned heavily against her legs, not noticing the rain that was beginning to fall. The temperature also seemed to be dropping but the brunette didn't seem to care.
A loud, sudden song broke her out of her trance and she rooted around in her pocket, looking for her phone with her good hand. Her left hand looked much worse; the knuckle was swollen, an angry purple and blue bruise growing steadily down around it. Perhaps punching her father wasn't the wisest course of action. When she finally found the device she stared at it for a few moments before deciding to answer it. If she didn't, her mother would probably continue calling. She slowly flipped open the phone, bringing it up to her ear.
"Heeey mom." She flinched at the guilty twinge in her voice.
"Beca Marie Mitchell, what is going on with you?" It was clear that her mom was not in the mood to joke around. "Your dad called me, at midnight might I add and said you showed up at his house questioning him about his mistress. Why on earth would you bring up any of that old news? I thought we had both moved passed that." So her mom didn't know about the punch? That was good. Beca reasoned as she slouched further into the tree.
"Mom, do you remember anything about her?" Beca had to know if her mom still held a grudge, maybe if she had moved on then the DJ should too.
"Well… She was… She was sorry. I assumed she didn't know he was married. I could tell it really freaked her out." Her mom laughed slightly before continuing. "Poor thing just ran out and had to avoid even looking at me." That was the thing about Beca's mom, she was always so calm and understanding whereas Beca was just the anger first, think later type of person.
"Do you blame her?" There was the million dollar question. Beca leaned her head against the tree.
"In the end it was your father's choice. I could blame her, I could blame the "step monster" as you so affectionately call her but I only bear ill will towards your father. It was his choice, he was responsible. I blame him and him only. Why is this important all of a sudden?" Beca hesitated in answering, she didn't want to burden her mother any further but she had to tell someone. Something stopped her though, she had told Chloe she wouldn't tell anyone. The DJ wondered if her mother was included in that talk.
"Just the girl I'm with." The brunette hesitated, hoping that sentence would be the only thing she needed to say. Dark blue eyes looked up into the stormy sky, the rain falling down in sheets. It only took seconds for the water to completely drench the landscape and the DJ.
"Are you dating that girl?" Beca nodded before realizing her mother couldn't see it.
"Yeah, I am." Her voice was soft, almost meek.
"Dear, you don't hold it against her, do you?" The answer Beca was looking for came to her without much thought.
"No." She couldn't hold Chloe responsible when it was so obvious the redhead was sorry. Pouting pink lips and tearstained cheeks flashed through the petite brunette's mind. She had to talk to Chloe. Black boots splashed in a nearby puddle as the brunette hopped to her feet, intent on setting things right.
"Then what's the problem?" That question caused her to halt, it was the question Beca couldn't answer herself.
"I don't know." Tears finally began to stream down the brunette's face, getting washed away in the rain. The DJ didn't even move to wipe them away. She hadn't noticed the presence of another person. "I know, I know. I'll talk to her, I should go do that. Bye mom. Yeah, love you too." The DJ returned the sentiments before sliding her phone back into her pocket. With the wind and rain it was almost impossible to hear the footsteps coming up from behind her.
"I'm glad I found you, it's supposed to turn to freezing rain." Dark blue eyes snapped to the new presence. She was surprised to see Chloe standing there, clutching an umbrella and sweatshirt. The ginger's boots were soaked, as well as parts of her pants. "You should go to your dorm, I can walk you if you'd want… It's up to you." There was a barely noticeable twinge of apprehension in the usually confident girl's voice. Beca smirked slightly before nodding.
"Walking with you wouldn't be so bad." With that, the brunette moved closer to the redhead. Chloe eyed her girlfriend, noticing the way the girl seemed to be shivering.
"I grabbed the jacket you let me borrow a while back. I figured you'd want it. Here, it's obvious you're cold." The smaller girl couldn't deny that she was freezing, she wasn't aware she had been out so long in the cold. The redhead handed over the clothing, watching as the short girl pulled it on.
Beca flinched when her left hand came in contact with the fabric, she had forgotten about the swollen appendage. The redhead, of course, noticed the move and tried to see what was wrong with the brunette. But Beca surprised her when she grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers.
Chloe immediately stopped what she was trying to do in favor of holding onto the brunette's right hand. Holding hands meant forgiveness… Right? The rest of the walk back was silent, not the comfortable silence they had grown accustomed to but not an awkward one either.
Beca was content with simply letting her mind wander for a bit while Chloe was running through hoops in her head trying to figure out what it was the brunette was thinking. When they got to the brunette's room Chloe immediately noticed the absence of Kimmy-Jin. At least they could freely talk about their issues. She also observed how Beca sat on her bed, looking up at her girlfriend expectantly.
"Did you want me to, you know?" Chloe didn't want to say leave, something about that word made her grimace. She gestured to the door, silently asking if she should go. Dark blue eyes followed the movement, the smaller girl frowned at the obvious hurt radiating from her girlfriend's entire being.
"You can stay, c'mere." Beca patted the bed next to her and Chloe took her spot on her girlfriend's right side. She tried to leave space between them, just in case.
"Beca I don't know what you want me to say." The brunette shrugged lightly, she didn't have the words either. Out of all the possible issues, Beca never expected something like this.
"There's nothing really to say. I mean this is the sort of stuff that doesn't really happen to me often." The brunette grinned half-heartedly, her eyes glancing over to meet the light blue pools she loved.
"I hope not. I wish it didn't happen." Chloe responded just as softly, her eyes roaming over the familiar room. "Do you want to break up?" The redhead asked solemnly, ignoring her tears and the choking feeling she had in her throat.
"What? No way! My dad has ruined a lot of things in my life and I won't let him ruin another." Without thinking, Beca brought her left hand up to cup the redhead's cheek. The brunette flinched slightly at the feeling, forgetting about her injury.
"You hurt yourself." Chloe responded, gently taking the injured appendage away from her face. "Jesus, what did you do Beca?" Cerulean eyes stared hard at the red-ish purple mark slowly growing across Beca's knuckles and down the back of her hand.
"It was stupid. I was just mad." That did little to appease the worry from Chloe's face and the ginger quickly sprang up to go get some ice. She was surprised when she was pulled back down.
"Beca, you need ice." It was true, the swelling hadn't gone down and the DJ was aware of the way her hand seemed to be warming and the blood went rushing to the injured area.
"No, I just need you." Beca hugged the taller girl, wanting her close despite what had transpired. "Only you."
"You still want me? Even though I was the reason your parents broke up." Her voice was scared, her arms loosely wrapping around her girlfriend's smaller frame.
"That doesn't matter to me, your past doesn't matter to me. The only thing that matters to me is how I see you. And that hasn't changed because of this, okay?" Chloe nodded, her arms tightening around the incredible freshman. They could get over this little hiccup, and the both knew they would.