Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect.
Beca wasn't introduced to music at a young age. In fact, her connection to music only started at the age of fourteen, when her father and mother agreed to a divorce. It tore her life apart. She had nowhere, no one but her sister to turn to.
Then she discovered music.
It wasn't a long courtship. She'd listened to music somewhat, but she'd never been immersed in it. One day, her older sister, Alice, was cranking up a tune from Guns 'N Roses (Alice always was a closet rock junkie) and she fell in love. The guitar, drums in the background, just the pure euphony echoing through her ears. She loved the way her body vibrated with sound when the music was blaring loud and how, when it was quiet, her ears could still pick up a guitar chord among the music.
Beca can remember her words to Alice.
"Turn it up, will you?"
And so began Beca's immersion in music.
Alice was the musical one. She always was, always will be. Beca loved music, she really did. However, Beca was more about the bass lines, mixing and mashing until she had a perfect beat. Alice was about the lyrics, listening for the words emanating from the vibrations music left. That was their biggest difference.
The two sisters had lived with their mother, but Alice visited their father much more frequently. Beca was closed-off to her father, blaming him completely for the divorce. Alice, age eighteen at the time, knew there were always two sides to an equation. She placed the blame on both sets of shoulder, but interacted with her parents the same way she always did.
Alice helped Beca cope as well as she could. She was really the only person Beca opened up to, having kept even their mother at an arm's length after the separation. The day her acceptance letter to Barden came was the day Beca realized she'd be fully alone soon.
"Beca, I'm going to be a Barden Bella!" Alice declared, pushing Beca's door open with a smile.
Beca scowled, turning her seat around to face Alice. "What have I told you about the door?"
"Just that I should open it after I knock," Alice said innocently.
"And…?"
"That's what I did," protested Alice. "I knocked and when you didn't answer, I pushed it open. Case closed."
Beca huffed, but Alice's grin was contagious. She began to smile, the corner of her lips upturning into a full-blown smile. "Why are you smiling like that?" Beca questioned.
"I said, I made it into Barden! I'm going to be a Bella, just like how I told you I would be."
Beca's smile turned upside down. "You're leaving?" she asked quietly.
Alice frowned slightly. "Yeah, Becs, I have to go to college. I can't get a good enough education from around here."
Beca shifted slightly. "I'm sorry, I just… I'm going to miss you," she blurted.
Alice smiled softly, leaning forward and capturing Beca in a big hug. "I'll miss you, too, Becs. But you can come visit and see my Bella performances."
"You aren't even in the Bellas yet. Hell, you're not even at Barden yet."
"I'll be in the Bellas, trust me."
Within four years, Alice had taken control of the Bellas and turned them into an ICCA Finals caliber a cappela group. With that, though, Alice's demeanor had changed. College studying and Bellas practice had taken a toll on her. She was no longer the happy-go-lucky sister Beca remembered. She was strict, tough, and proud.
However much she had changed, Beca was still there to support her. It was the day of the ICCA Finals and Alice was completely ready and confident the Bellas would win. Beca had helped a bit with the set, but not much. Alice hadn't trusted her judgment, saying using her mash-ups would be "too complicated with not enough reward." Beca had still helped prepare choreography and helped with the transition between songs.
In the seats, center of the third row, Beca watched as her sister chewed out two Bellas on the side. The Treblemakers, the other Barden group, were performing and they were blowing it out of the water. She had to admit, it was going to be nearly impossible to beat them.
When the Bellas took the stage, Beca cheered loudly, whooping and whistling at her sister. Alice gave her a small wink before blowing the pitch pipe and counting out the beats.
As they started, Beca stayed still, enraptured. Maybe it wasn't as entertaining as the Trebles, but it was amazing the set that had had everyone falling over each other when they started could turn into a real performance. Their steps were perfect and there was no stumbling over lyrics.
She spoke too soon. A girl named Aubrey from the Bellas, a junior, vomited over her and almost the entire row. She saw her sister glare at the junior, who looked absolutely embarrassed. She had taken a step back and looked about to cry before running backstage, the rest of the Bellas following.
Beca jumped from her seat and followed them, even though security was telling her to stop. She arrived backstage and was met with the redhead, Chloe. "Um, Chloe, right?" she asked.
"Yeah," she mumbled.
"Where's Alice?"
"Why?" she questioned sharply.
"She's my sister; I helped you guys with your set, remember?"
"Oh, yes. Alice is… back there, chewing Aubrey out."
Beca sighed, bringing her hand up to her temples. "She wasn't like this," she mumbled, slumping back against the wall.
"What do you mean?" Chloe inquired.
"Alice used to be funny and… in general, awesome. She'd make me feel better after bad days, especially after the divorce," Beca revealed.
Though Beca wasn't keen on talking about her personal life to a stranger, she needed to open up to someone. It was probably better she was talking to a stranger, anyway, since she wouldn't ever meet her again.
"Alice changed a lot over the last four years. I miss… I miss the old her," she admitted.
Chloe nodded slightly, gesturing to an area backstage. "Would you mind getting her to stop yelling at Aubrey, then?"
"Yeah, sure," Beca said with a smile.
She walked past Chloe and caught Alice with a red face, screaming at the cowering junior. "Alice!" she yelled.
Alice jumped back, startled. "Beca, let me –"
"No, Alice, stop. She just barfed all over the third row, you don't think she feels bad enough already?"
Alice looked taken aback, staring at Beca and then flickering her eyes back over to Aubrey. "But –"
"No. Alice, let's get out of here. Leave her be. The Bellas made it to the Finals; celebrate that, not your loss."
Beca guided Alice away from a scared Aubrey, where she was met with her father. "Oh my god, a family reunion," she muttered.
Alice snorted quietly, but her face was still scrunched into a frown. Beca's father, Warren, looked at her with a sad smile. "Hey, don't worry honey. It's fine," he cooed, which Beca found absolutely disgusting, stepping away from the two as Alice cried softly into her father's shoulder.
Their father guided them through the exit to the car, where Warren started the engine and left without hearing the Bellas score.
(And although Beca was still drenched in vomit and got Alice full of it, they made no comment.)
A few months after the incident, Beca got an acceptance letter from Barden, though she hadn't applied to go there. In fact, she wasn't planning on college at all, let alone the university her father taught at.
She knocked quietly at Alice's door, who was currently packing up to move to her own apartment in Chicago. "Alice, do you know what this is?"
A gloomy Alice turned her head to look up and her face immediately brightened. "Oh my god, you got in!" she breathed.
"Um, yeah, but I didn't apply."
"I got Dad to do it for you!"
"Wh-what?"
"Dad applied for you. I encouraged him to do it."
"I don't want to go to Barden!" Beca exclaimed defiantly, crossing her arms defensively.
"Well, you could become a Bella like me," Alice argued.
"Really, Alice? After puke-gate, you think I want to join the Barden Barfs?"
And, scene. So, just trying this out. Ignore the ugly writing because I needed to get this onto paper so I could have motivation for further chapters.
I'm still focused on Daylight, so this may not have many updates until Daylight is finished. I don't know, it probably depends on when I get inspiration. TIP (this story) will be my side story for the moment.
-PPF