BOOM! Crack! Rumble! BOOM!
"Shit" Beca says jumping off her bed.
She races downstairs and knocks on Chloe's door. She slowly opens it when she doesn't get a response. Chloe's not in her room. Beca closes the door and heads downstairs where she finds most of the other Bellas.
"Does anyone know if Chloe has a date tonight?," Beca asks. "Or where she might be?"
"I don't think so," Stacie said. "When she left, she said she was heading to the library to study."
"Shit," Beca says and turns toward the door.
She grabs her keys and rushes out. The thunderstorm is really raging now and she hurries to the library. She parks and runs through the rain to the entrance. She looks around the library and then goes searching for Chloe. She finds her huddled in a corner amongst the shelves. She rushes over to her and pulls her into her.
"Hey," Beca says quietly. "It's okay. I'm here. I got you."
Chloe whimpers and holds onto Beca. She's shaking and Beca pulls her closer to calm her. Chloe jumps every time they hear the thunder outside. Tears are rolling down Chloe's face and she buries her head in Beca's neck when the library lights up from the lightning flashing outside. Beca continues to hold Chloe, running her fingers through Chloe's hair. She talks to Chloe, sings to her, and does everything she can think of to get Chloe's mind off the storm. The thunder continues for about 20 minutes when it sounds as if it has finally stopped. Chloe has calmed down some and Beca looks down at her and wipes the tears from her face.
"I have my car," Beca said. "Do you want me to take you back to the house?"
Chloe nods and wipes her eyes. Beca stands and helps Chloe up. Chloe leads the way to the table where she had been studying so she can collect her stuff. Once Chloe has everything they head out of the library. It is lightly raining now and they hurry to Beca's car. Beca takes them back to the Bella House and they go inside. Once inside, Chloe heads up to her room and Beca goes into the kitchen. She grabs a couple of bottles of water and heads up to her room to change into something dry. She then goes down to Chloe's room. She knocks and hears a quiet "come in."
"You okay?," she asks Chloe handing her a water.
"Yeah," Chloe said quietly. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Beca said.
Chloe just sits on the bed not saying anything. She just stares down at the water bottle in her hands.
"Okay," Beca says. "I'm just going to go now."
Chloe doesn't look at her so Beca turns and leaves. Beca heads back downstairs to the common area to find most of the girls sitting around watching some reality show.
"Is Chloe okay?," Stacie asks.
"I guess so," Beca said. "She isn't really talking to me much these days."
"Then why do you do it?," Stacie asked. "Why, whenever there is a storm, do you go find her and make sure she was okay?"
"Because," Beca says with a shrug of her shoulders. "I made her a promise and I still love her."
"You shouldn't do this to yourself," CR said. "She made a choice to break up with you so she could be with that dickwad, Tom. He should be the one taking care of her. She lost the right to have you constantly making sure she is okay."
"It's not like that," Beca says defensively. "Aubrey told me that Tom thinks it's stupid that Chloe is afraid of thunderstorms. I know how afraid she is of them and the reason why. I promised her that I would never let her go through one alone, ever. I don't break my promises. No matter how much it might hurt to keep it."
"You're a better woman than I am," CR said.
"Who's turn is it to cook tonight?," Beca asks, changing the subject.
"Chloe's," Jessica says.
"Let's order pizza," Beca suggests. "I'll buy."
"Sounds good," Jessica says.
"I'm in," Ashley, CR, and Denise say.
"I'll see what Chloe wants," Stacie says.
Stacie goes upstairs to Chloe's room and knocks lightly. She hears movement and then a quiet "come in."
"Hey," Stacie says as she enters. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Chloe says wiping her eyes. "What did you want?"
"It's your turn to cook tonight," Stacie says. "But since you were upset about the storm, Beca suggested we order pizza. Just checking to see if you wanted anything?"
"I'm not really hungry," Chloe said.
"Are you sure?," Stacie asked. "Beca said she's buying."
"I'll just have a slice of whatever everyone else has," Chloe said.
"Okay," Stacie said.
Stacie takes one more look at Chloe, and when she doesn't say anything more, Stacie moves to leave.
"Stacie?," Chloe calls out, stopping the busty brunette.
"Yeah?," Stacie says.
"Can you come back?," Chloe asks. "After you tell them about the pizza order. I really need someone to talk to you."
"Um, sure," Stacie says. "I'll be back up in about ten minutes or so. Okay?"
Chloe just nods her head. Stacie leaves and goes to put in Chloe's pizza request.
"Chloe just wants a slice of whatever," Stacie said. "I'll have the Hawaiian."
"Okay," Beca says. "We have requests for the Hawaiian, pepperoni, meat lover's supreme, and plain cheese. Did I miss anything?"
"Sounds about right," CR says.
"I'm going go get the pizzas," Beca said. "I need to clear my head and the drive will do me good."
"Be careful," Stacie said.
"Always," Beca responds.
Beca grabs her keys and heads out the door. Stacie makes her way back up to Chloe's room. She knocks and enters. She sits on the bed next to Chloe and Chloe puts her head on Stacie's shoulder.
"Does everyone in the house hate me?," Chloe asks sadly.
"Not everyone," Stacie says. "Although, most of us are really angry with you. Why'd you do it, Chlo? I mean, everyone can see how much Beca loves you and we thought you loved her just as much. What made you dump her to go after Tom?"
"Its stupid really," Chloe said. "Tom was my first love. He was the first person who said they loved me. When he left, I thought we were totally over, but I still love him. And then Beca and I got together and I loved her, too. Then Tom came back and wanted to pick up where we left off. I thought, since I still had feelings for him that I owed it to myself to find out if it was the real thing. If, maybe, he really was the one for me."
"That's messed up," Stacie said. "I thought you guys broke up because he cheated on you."
"I was going to," Chloe said. "But he left before I could. Then he came back and he apologized and said that he had changed and that things would be different this time. The only way I could be with him, is if I wasn't with Beca, so I broke up with her because I thought it was the right thing to do. I felt like I had to give him that chance."
Chloe starts sobbing. Stacie pulls her to her and hugs her.
"I fucked up so bad, Stace," Chloe says through her tears. "I should never had broken up with Beca."
"What happened?," Stacie said. "You seemed pretty damn sure about it when you did it."
"I know," Chloe says sniffling. "Tom was fine for about two days. Then he started talking about how if I would have had sex with him when we were together before he wouldn't have cheated on me. That if I was planning on holding out this time, I should just walk away."
"What a douche," Stacie mumbled.
Chloe jumped as thunder boomed outside. Stacie pulled her closer and murmured encouraging words to her. Once she settled a bit, Stacie started talking.
"Please tell me you didn't sleep with him," Stacie said.
"No, I didn't," Chloe said. "I thought about it. He laughed at me when I got scared during a thunderstorm the day after his ultimatum. Beca came through for me, again, and found me and made sure I was okay. I realized how unselfish it was for her to do that even after I broke up with her. It also woke me up to the fact that I loved her more than I ever loved Tom, but I didn't know what to do. I had broken her heart and here she was, keeping a promise she made to always be there for me during a storm. Even though I was sure a part of her hated me."
Chloe had to stop to get herself under control again. She cries and wipes her eyes. She swallows the lump in her throat and continues.
"The very next day, I broke it off with Tom," Chloe said.
Thunder cracked again and Chloe was getting even more upset. Tears were falling and she was shaking. Stacie held her to try and comfort her.
"That's been like three weeks now," Stacie said. "Why didn't you tell Beca?"
"I didn't know how," Chloe cried. "She'd been keeping her distance and we hardly ever talk anymore. I was embarrassed by what I had done that to her. What was I going to say, 'hey, sorry I dumped you because Tom wanted to get into my pants.' I'm a horrible fucking person."
"You're not a horrible person," Stacie said. "You messed up, big time, but that doesn't make you a horrible person."
More thunder rumbled through and the windows in the Bella House rattled. The lightning that followed lit up the room. Chloe was shaking so bad that the bed shook along with her. Stacie pulls her tighter to her and whispers encouraging words. Chloe is a sobbing mess and Stacie doesn't know what to do. She holds Chloe with one hand and pulls our her phone with the other. She finds Beca's number in her contacts and tries to call her. It goes straight to voicemail.
"It's okay, Chloe," Stacie says soothingly. "I'm trying to get Beca for you, okay?"
Chloe just buries her head in Stacie's neck as the tears continue to flow. Stacie tries Beca's number a few more times but it keeps going straight to voicemail. She finally calls CR and asks if they've heard from Beca. She gets a no. She sits holding Chloe, hoping Beca would get back soon. The storm had been raging again for about 30 minutes when Jessica came running into Chloe's room. She sees Stacie holding a shaking, sobbing Chloe and her heart breaks.
"What's up, Jess?," Stacie asks.
"Could you step outside for a sec?," Jessica asks Stacie.
"Does it look like I can step outside?," Stacie says sarcastically.
"Um," Jessica says, tears pooling in her eyes.
Jessica goes over to Stacie and whispers something in her ear.
"Are you serious?," Stacie yells
"Yeah," Jessica said. "We just got the call."
Tears start to form in Stacie's eyes. She pulls Chloe off of her and grabs her by the arms.
"Chloe," Stacie says looking Chloe in the eyes. "Chloe!"
Chloe's head jerks up when Stacie yells her name. Once Stacie sees Chloe is paying attention to her she speaks softly.
"Honey," Stacie says. "We need to go to the hospital. Beca's been hurt."
Chloe lets out a gasp and another sob. Her breathing quickens.
"Chloe," Stacie says. "Look at me. Look at me!"
Chloe's breathing becomes erratic and she starts to hyperventilate.
"Breathe with me," Stacie says. "In, out, in, out. That's it. We need you to calm down so we can get to the hospital. We need to get to Beca."
Chloe starts breathing better but she is still sobbing. Stacie gets up from the bed and pulls Chloe with her.
"We'll take my car," Stacie says to Jessica. "Can you get my keys and meet us downstairs?"
Jessica nods and rushes to do as Stacie asked. Stacie grabs a pair of sweat pants and helps get them on Chloe. She grabs a pair of sneakers and puts them on Chloe.
"Chloe," Stacie said. "We need to get to the hospital and find out what's happened to Beca. You said you still love her. Now's your chance to prove it."
Chloe suddenly jumps up and wipes her eyes.
"Let's go," Chloe says and heads out the door of her room.
Chloe hurries down the stairs with Stacie right behind her. Just as they reach the door, thunder booms and rumbles. Chloe stops for a moment and shivers. She shakes it off and heads out the door towards Stacie's car. As soon as Stacie unlocked the doors, Ashley and Jessica jumped into the backseat and Stacie and Chloe took the front seats.
"CR and Denise are staying behind to let the others know," Ashley told Stacie.
Stacie drove as fast as she could to get them safely to the hospital. They arrived about 30 minutes later. Stacie and Chloe jumped out and hurried into the ER with Ashley and Jessica following close behind. Stacie and Chloe ran up to the nurse's desk.
"We're here for Beca Mitchell," Stacie said.
"She's being examined," the nurse told her. "Please have a seat and a doctor will be out shortly."
"Do you know what happened to her?," Chloe asked through her tears.
"I'm sorry but I don't know," the nurse told her. "Hang on one second. Jake? Jake?"
"Yeah," a guy wearing a paramedics uniform called out.
"You brought in Beca Mitchell, right?," the nurse asked.
"Um, yeah," Jake said. "I think that was her name."
"These are her friends," the nurse said. "Can you tell them what happened?"
"Sure," Jake said. "From what we were told at the scene, Ms. Mitchell was walking to her car and saw about four or five kids standing under a tree, getting soaked from the rain. She went over to them and told them they should move inside because of the storm. She was hurrying them along, presumably to get them into the pizza shop when one of them fell. She went back to help and lightning flashed and struck the tree. The kid froze and Ms. Mitchell had to physically pick him up to try and carry him to safety. They were almost clear when the tree fell. Ms. Mitchell and the kid were knocked down and we think one of the branches got her in the head. She was unconscious when we got to her. We couldn't find any injuries except a gash on her forehead that probably needs stitches. The primary concern is that she may have a concussion. She was really lucky."
"How's the kid?," Chloe asked softly.
"He's fine," Jake said. "Barely a scratch on him."
"Thank you," Chloe said.
"No problem," Jake said. "I hope everything is okay with your friend."
"Thanks," Stacie told him.
The four girls found seats in the waiting room and sat down. Stacie called CR to let her know what they'd learned so far and that she would keep them posted. Chloe sat with her head in her hands. Ashley and Jessica were rubbing her back. She wiped her eyes and looked up.
"My grandmother died in a thunderstorm when I was eight," Chloe said to no one in general. "She was crushed by a tree that was struck by lightning. It fell on her while we were at the park."
"Oh, my God, Chloe," Stacie said. "I'm so sorry."
"Every time I hear thunder I know there will be lightning," Chloe continues. "And all I can think about is what happened to my grandmother. I've always been so afraid that it was going to happen again to someone I love. And, now it has. I fucking hate thunderstorms."
She put her hands over her face and started sobbing. Jessica grabbed her into a hug and held onto her.
"Beca's gonna be okay," Jessica whispered to her. "You heard that guy, Jake. She may have a concussion and she may need to get a few stitches. But she's still with us. You have to be strong for her."
The girls all had tears in their eyes. Chloe's sobbing had subsided to soft crying.
"Beca Mitchell?," a voice calls out.
All four girls jump up and rush over.
"Are any of you family?," the doctor asks.
"This is her girlfriend," Stacie says pushing Chloe forward. "She's the only family here."
"Um, okay," the doctor says. "Ms. Mitchell had to get six stitches to close up a gash on her forehead. She has a few scratches on her arms and legs but nothing serious there. She also has a concussion so we want to keep her overnight for observation. Other than that, she's fine. Do you have any questions?"
"Can we see her?," Chloe asks.
"She's a little groggy," the doctor says. "But, I don't see why not. Only two at at time though. She's being set up in a room as we speak. The nurse will be out shortly to take you to her."
"Thank you!," Chloe says and hugs the doctor.
"Um, well, you're welcome," the doctor says and takes his leave.
"Chloe," Stacie said. "You should go in and see her first."
"I don't think she'll want to see me," Chloe said with a sad smile. "You and Jess should go in."
"Nope," Jessica said. "You definitely need to go in. That girl will be hurt if she finds out you were here and didn't go in to see her. I think she's been hurt enough, don't you?"
"Jessica's right," Stacie said. "You owe it to her and to yourself to go in there."
Chloe wipes tears from her eyes again and nods her head. "Okay," she says.
About 20 minutes later, the nurse comes and tells the girls that Beca is in her room and that they can see her. The girls all follow the nurse to the elevators to get to the third floor where Beca is. She shows them where the waiting room is and asks which of the girls is going to see Beca first. Chloe stands up and looks at Stacie.
"Stace," Chloe says. "You should come too. If she doesn't want me there, someone else should be there for her."
"Okay," Stacie says and stands next to Chloe.
"We'll call the girls," Ashley says.
"Follow me," the nurse tells them.
The trio walks down a hall and the nurse quietly knocks on the door. A voice calls 'come in' and she opens the door. She steps in holding the door for the other two girls to enter. Stacie comes in but Chloe hangs back. Stacie looks at her with a raised eyebrow. Chloe slowly enters the room.
The nurse leaves and closes the door behind her. Beca is lying in bed with an IV in her left arm and a bandage over the cut on her forehead. Beca looks at Stacie and then at Chloe, and smiles.
"Hey," Beca says looking at the two girls.
"Hey, Beca," Stacie says. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm good," Beca says.
Stacie walks over and sits down in the chair next to Beca's bed.
"Hey, Chlo," Beca says looking at the redhead. "You okay? I know this probably brings back some sad memories for you."
Chloe just looks at Beca with tears streaming down her face.
"Come here," Beca says holding her arms out.
Chloe looks at her and sits on the side of the bed. She falls into Beca's arms.
"It's okay," Beca said. "I got you."
Chloe clings to Beca and Beca just holds her stroking the back of her head.
"I was so scared I'd lost you," Chloe choked out.
"I'm fine," Beca said with a small smile. "Did they say anything about the kid. Is he okay?"
"He's fine," Stacie said.
"Good to know," Beca said. "Hey, Chlo."
Beca pulls back and Chloe holds onto her arms. Chloe looks at her.
"I'm sorry I didn't get back to you before the storm started up again," Beca said. "I was going to the car to go back to the house when I saw those kids under the tree. Something told me that wasn't a good idea so I went to get them to move."
"I was with her," Stacie said. "She did good. And, I don't know if Chloe's even noticed, but since we got word you were in the hospital, she hasn't jumped or even so much as flinched when the thunder rumbled."
"I was so worried about Beca that I didn't even notice there was thunder," Chloe said.
"Well, as you can see," Beca said dropping her hands into her lap. "I'm fine. You can go back to Tom or whatever it was you were doing. The doctor says I should be able to go home tomorrow."
Chloe swallows and removes her hands from Beca's arms.
"I was, um, hoping we could talk," Chloe said. "If you're up to it."
"What about?," Beca asks.
"I'll leave you guys to it," Stacie said getting up. "I'll be back in a little bit to see you, Bec."
Stacie leaves and Chloe watches her go. She turns back to Beca.
"I know this may not mean much," Chloe says after a minute. "But, I am so sorry for what I did to you. I hope that some day you'll find it in your heart to forgive me. I know I have no right to say this, but I do still love you, Becs. Leaving you for Tom was the stupidest decision I could've made."
"Chlo," Beca says.
"No," Chloe interrupts. "I need to try to explain this. Tom was my first "real" love. He was the first person to ever say he loved me. I was going to break up with him because I found out he cheated on me, several times. But, he left so we never really did breakup. Then when he came back, he said he still loved me and that he was sorry for the cheating. I felt like I owed it to the both of us to see if what we had was real. I wasn't going to do that while I was still with you, so that's why I broke up with you, to give Tom a chance. A chance that I found out later he really didn't deserve. He, um, only wanted me back because I never had sex with him and he felt like I owed that to him. I was only with him for about 5 days before I realized I didn't want to be with him and broke up with him. I realized that I was still hopelessly in love with you and I screwed that up. I'm so sorry, Beca. I didn't think you'd take me back so I didn't say anything about no longer being with Tom. But now I realize that was stupid and I should have fought to get you to take me back. I just want to know if I'm too late? Is there even the slightest possibility that we could get back together? Could forgive me and maybe we could pick up from where we left off? You don't have to answer yet. Just think about it. Please? I'm willing to start from square one and rebuild what we had as long as we're together."
Tears are flowing freely down Chloe's face.
"You didn't have sex with him at all?," Beca asked.
"No, I didn't" Chloe said. "I think I only kissed him twice the few days we were together. Every minute I was with him, it felt like I was cheating on you even though we weren't together."
"Wow," Beca said.
"I'm going to go," Chloe said standing up. "I'll send Jess and Ashley back. They've been waiting to see you."
Beca didn't say anything and Chloe left the room. A few minutes later, Jessica and Ashley came in. They visited for a few minutes but Beca seemed distracted. They told Beca the others had arrived at the hospital and wanted to check in on her as well. CR and Denise came next, and then Fat Amy and Lily.
"What up, Shawshank?," Amy says as she enters the room.
"Hey, Amy," Beca said. "I don't want to be rude but can we make this short. I'm getting really tired."
"No problem," Amy said. "I just wanted to make sure you were still kicking."
"Glad to see you're doing okay," Lily said.
"Yeah, Beca," Amy said getting serious. "You gave us quite a scare. We'll let you rest and we'll see you tomorrow."
Amy and Lily head for the door. Beca calls Amy's name.
"Yeah?," Amy says turning back to Beca.
"Would you ask Stacie and Chloe to come back?," Beca asked.
"You got it, cap'n," Amy said.
A few minutes later, Stacie comes in followed by Chloe.
"Hey, Stacie," Beca says when Stacie comes in.
Beca looks over at Chloe and gives her the once over.
"Wow, Stace," Beca says. "Who's your friend?"
"What?," Stacie asks.
"She's really cute, and really hot," Beca said. "Does she like girls?"
"Um, yes, I believe she does," Stacie said catching on to what Beca was doing.
Chloe walked over and stood by Beca's bed with a smile on her face.
"So, introduce me," Beca said grinning.
"Beca," Stacie said with a smile. "This is my good friend, Chloe Beale. Chloe, this is one of my best friends, Beca Mitchell."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Beca," Chloe said shaking Beca's hand.
"Pleasures all mine," Beca said with a big smile holding onto Chloe's hand. "So, I'm getting out of here tomorrow. I know we've just met but I feel a connection to you. Would you like to go out on a date with me?"
"I'd love to," Chloe said her smile getting even bigger. "I think we're going to be something really special."
"Absolutely," Beca said smiling at the redhead. "I mean, I'm already in love with you, so there's that."
"Weird," Chloe said. "I'm in love with you, too."
Beca pulls Chloe onto the bed and starts to lean in for a kiss. Stacie clears her throat. The two other girls jerk back and look at her.
"If you two are done with your little theater production," Stacie said. "We should probably go so Beca can get some rest. We'll be back tomorrow to take you home."
Stacie heads for the door. Chloe stays where she is staring at Beca and chewing on her bottom lip.
"I'll give you guys ten minutes," Stacie says before she walks out the door. "Chloe, if you're not out by then, I'm sending in Amy to carry your ass out."
Chloe and Beca laughed as Stacie left.
"I'm guessing this means that you're giving me another chance," Chloe says.
"Yep," Beca said. "I do still love you, Chlo. Just promise me that you'll talk to me if there is anything going on that might cause us to break up again."
"I promise," Chloe said.
Beca pulls Chloe to her and gives her a kiss. Chloe leans into the kiss and deepens it.
"God, I missed that," Beca says leaning her forehead on Chloe's
"Me, too," Chloe said.
Nine months later, Beca and Chloe are sitting in the living room of their LA apartment listening to the rare thunderstorm that is raging outside. Beca has her back against the armrest of the sofa with Chloe sitting between her legs. Chloe leans back and Beca kisses the top of her head.
"I love you," Beca says.
"I love you, too," Chloe says turning over and kissing Beca fully on the lips.
"You know it was nine months ago today that another thunderstorm brought us back together," Beca said.
"I was so sure that I had lost you," Chloe said. "Just like I'd lost my grandmother."
"But, you didn't," Beca said. "And we're even stronger than we were before."
Chloe lays her head on Beca's chest.
"Thank you for giving me another chance and taking me back," Chloe says. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't."
"I feel the same way," Beca said. "Do you want some more wine?"
"I'll get it," Chloe said giving Beca another quick kiss before getting up.
Chloe goes into the kitchen and Beca jumps up and dims the lights. She uses her remote to turn on the stereo to some soft music. She sits back down on the sofa just as Chloe comes in with two glasses of wine.
"Oooo, how romantic," Chloe says noticing the dimmed lights and the soft music.
She hands Beca her wine and sits down next to her. She takes a sip and notices that Beca has put her glass on the table and is looking at her.
"Everything okay, babe?," Chloe asks.
"Everything's perfect," Beca responds. "Even better than I could have ever imagined."
Beca takes Chloe's wine glass and sets it on the table next to hers. She slowly slides off the sofa, getting down onto one knee in front of Chloe. Chloe puts her hand to her mouth and looks at Beca wide-eyed.
"Chloe," Beca says. "We've been through so much but we've managed to weather every storm. We've stayed together and come out stronger and more in love than ever before. I can't think about my future without you being a part of it. I love you, Chloe. Will you marry me?"
Beca holds up a velvet box and flips open the top. Chloe looks at it and tears come to her eyes.
"Yes," she whispers.
Beca takes the ring and places it on Chloe's finger. She stands up pulling Chloe with her. Outside the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed. While inside, Chloe and Beca happily kissed, causing a different kind of storm to rage.