A/N: This will hopefully be a multichapter Bechloe fic. Reviews are adored.
Trigger warning: This story will deal with issues of assault and rape.
It startled her when there was a series of rapid, flustered knocks on her apartment door just after 2am but being who she was they didn't worry her. It was never Chloe's first instinct to leap to the negative. Some people would have heard that and instantly their heart would have begun a frantic rhythm in their chest, they would have been terrified before they'd even considered it. But instead she just uncurled herself from the nest she'd made from which to watch all the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies back to back and padded towards the door in her bedsocks and pajamas.
That nonchalance quickly dissolved when she opened the front door to find a distraught Beca on the other side, arms wrapped around herself like she hoped that could stop her shivering, and tears glistening silver on her cheeks.
"Beca what's wrong?!" she gasped, reaching forward instinctively and pulling the other girl into the apartment. She never had been one to consider 'personal space' and when one of her friends was so upset it was the last thing on her mind, even though she knew Beca was even jumpier than most people. Chloe let the apartment door swing shut behind them, her full attention on the younger girl who was now determinedly trying to wipe away the tears on her cheeks and failing in her attempt to not look tiny and miserable. "What is it?" Chloe asked in a quieter voice, moving towards her and placing her hands on the exposed skin of Beca's shoulders. It was only then that she realized Beca was wearing something extremely, well, un-Beca. A dress and heels, and even though they were black and still edgy looking, they just didn't look like her. She let her eyes flicker down the outfit skeptically for a moment before lifting to meet her gaze again quizzically.
Beca was clearly trying hard to pull back her usual controlled demeanor but a sob caught in her throat as she tried to get control of herself enough to speak. "It- I…he…"
This caught Chloe's attention in an instant. Jesse. Who else would Beca cry for? To be honest she was a little surprised to see her cry even over him, especially to the extent she clearly had been. She looked a complete mess, not at all the unbreakable and resolute girl Chloe was used to seeing. It wasn't hard for Chloe to pull on her caring, sympathetic expression. It was her nature to look after people around her. She wrapped an arm around Beca's trembling shoulders and pulled her towards the sofa.
"It's okay, Becs. Tell me what happened," she said in a soothing voice, running her hand rhythmically over Beca's back as she folded into the couch, instantly tucking herself up like she wished she could disappear. Chloe took a seat next to her but quickly pulled her hand away when Beca shifted uncomfortably under her touch, a shudder running through her. She wiped away her tears again and this time no fresh ones fell to replace them.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your plans…," she began, glancing around dubiously at the stack of dvd covers and the bowl of crips on the coffee table. Chloe pursed her lips, knowing exactly what Beca was going. It was obvious she hadn't interrupted anything, but now that she seemed to have gained some control over her emotions again she was putting those walls back up, protecting herself.
Chloe reached out and took Beca's hand gently but firmly. There had to be a bloody good reason the other girl was so upset and Chloe wasn't going to let her squirm her way out of this one. "Beca why are you crying?"
Beca shifted and looked away, her fingers playing with the edge of the blanket and pulling it nervously over herself, hiding the too short hem of her dress. Chloe understood and rose slightly, enough to pull the blanket out and tuck it around Beca. "Why are you dressed up?" she tried another tack. "Did you go out tonight?" She knew the dorms would have held Halloween parties, she'd been to a few wild ones in her time, but she was surprised that Beca would have gone. College parties just didn't seem like her scene.
But Beca nodded slightly though she still looked wary. "I was meant to meet Jesse at his dorm," she said carefully, not meeting Chloe's eyes. Chloe frowned, trying to figure out the context of her friend's misery. She'd assumed the two had had a fight, possibly even broken up (she tried not to the entertain that thought because she didn't want to be that horrible friend who secretly wished the relationship would shatter…even if she did wish that). She shifted and nuzzled in slightly to Beca, giving her an encouraging smile. Any minute really she expected Beca to push her away and return to her usual stoic aloneness. Chloe's instincts to comfort, to mother and sooth, were the exact opposite of what she sensed Beca usually allowed, but for some reason she didn't reject the closeness and even leant into her slightly, borrowing some of Chloe's warmth. Encouraged by this Chloe wrapped around blanket around the both of them and wrapped Beca in her arms too.
"Beca, seriously, what made you so upset?" she pressed in a quiet voice, staring the brunette down. She could almost physically sense the walls going up between them but she ignored it and lifted her chin stubbornly. Beca should already know that Chloe usually got her way, through sheer determined annoyance if nothing else. The memory of their encounter in the shower flickered through her mind but she dismissed it, now was not the time.
"I shouldn't have come here, I'm sorry Chloe, I don't know why I did, it's not your problem," Beca babbled, her distress at being cornered clear in her expression and voice. She shifted and tried to move out of Chloe's embrace, without any luck. Eventually she sighed and reluctantly met Chloe's gaze. "Chloe I don't want to talk about it."
"Well you turned up at my doorstep at 2 in the morning for some reason," she replied with a frown. "If you didn't have a fight with Jesse, why did you come here and not there?" It was a fair enough question in her mind. It was strange behavior for Beca, who had repeatedly rebuffed the red heads attempts at friendship…or anything more. And it seemed to her that the decision to knock on her door was a moment of weakness that Beca now regretted, and that hurt Chloe even if she didn't show it.
"I-I don't know," Beca replied, flustered, running a hand through her hair. Chloe jumped forward and grabbed Beca's hand, turning her wrist towards her. Beca tried to pull away quickly but it wasn't soon enough for Chloe to properly see the painful looking red marks sprinkling her skin.
"Beca, they look like fingerprints. Who did that?" she demanded, her voice low with worry as she frowned at where Beca had hurriedly withdrawn her hand into the folds of the blanket. She lifted her gaze to meet Beca's dark blue eyes which were once again glistening with threatening tears. She looked even more panicked than when she had arrived, as if she were torn between shouting at Chloe and storming from the apartment. Chloe braced for her to do both so she was shocked when instead Beca crumbled, her tense expression dissolving into more tears and sobs that shook her whole body as she caved in towards Chloe, whose arms went automatically around her as she pulled her closer. "Beca, who hurt you?" she insisted softly in her ear as she rubbed soothing circles on her back, unable to think how else to help. A small knot of anxiety was beginning to tighten in her stomach, dread and anger tangled together as she began to fear an answer to her question.
"I don't know," Beca managed eventually in a whisper between sobs. Chloe curled herself protectively around her friend, feeling helpless, so she just held her as she cried and closed her eyes and tried to exude positive energy like her yoga teacher taught her to. Eventually Beca's tears ceased and she lifted her head slightly looking nervously up at Chloe through tear matter hair. Chloe noticed strangely how her eyelashes clung together making her eyes look large and beautiful. She shook herself, furious at thinking such thoughts at a time like this.
Instead she met Beca's eyes with the most reassuring gaze she could summon. "Beca… do you want me to take you to the hospital? Or…or the police?" She held her breath, knowing Beca would understand instantly the real question behind her words. The real words hung heavy in the air between them. Rape. Chloe was pathetic. She didn't have the guts to outright ask her, so instead she twisted it into another question and left it up to Beca to confirm or deny the painful concerns growing inside her. When Beca nibbled at her lip and glanced away those concerns were confirmed and Chloe felt like ice had slipped through her veins. She pulled Beca to her in a bone crushing hug, not thinking that she might hurt her, and buried her face in her hair. "It's okay Beca, it's okay."
She felt Beca start crying again and before she could help it Chloe was crying too, crying at how angry and helpless she felt and crying for her friend. But a part of her was also overwhelmingly happy knowing that Beca had come to her tonight, instead of anyone else.