What's a Raincloud without Sunshine?
She watches them. Watches him throw his arm over her shoulder while she beams in delight. Watches as he pulls her closely, almost as if he owns her. But then Jesse's voice brings her out of her stare and she's back to reality.
"Alright guys, let's get to recording!" He calls out to them, them being Luke, Beca, and Chloe. His gaze then falls to the brunette, "Beca?"
Snapping her head up, or more importantly from the redhead opposite her, Beca gives him a nod before standing from the chair she's slouched in. "Yeah, yeah... Let's do this." She claps her hand, grabbing the guitar beside her.
"You alright there, Becky?" Luke asks as they plug their guitars up to the amplifiers. He has a look on his face as if he knows. And then his eyes flicker over to the redheaded girl who places a kiss on her boyfriend's lips and he gets it, only tipping his head in understanding before adjusting the sound of his guitar.
Noticing that Chloe and her boy toy of the month have yet to un-lock lips, she ungracefully slams down on the guitar letting out an unmerciful screech causing the pair to jump back. The boyfriend, Chad, sending her a glare as he almost trips over the amp.
She sends him a cheeky smirk and a lazy shrug, "My bad."
Giggling, Chloe skips her way towards her. "Why?" Is all she asks, her voice low.
"You know I don't like him," Beca replies, now tuning up the guitar.
"I know... But he's my boyfriend, Bec." Chloe reminds her, her eyes watching as Beca's fingers fiddle with the tuning pegs.
"That doesn't mean I have to like him."
…
To: Beca Mitchell
From: JonathanHolland jukeboxbar
Hello, this is Jonathan Holland, owner of Jukebox Bar. I recently saw a video of you and your band performing through Facebook and would like to give you the opportunity of performing at my bar next weekend. I spend my time researching newer bands in hopes of giving them a push in this business and luckily for you and your bandmates, I found your Facebook page.
If you're interested in this offer, please email me back ASAP so we can talk about the details.
Jonathan Holland – Jukebox Bar
...
Rolling the van up outside the bar, Jukebox Bar to be exact, Beca and her friend stare up at the neon sign lit up above the building.
"You sure this isn't rigged?" Luke asks from the passenger seat beside her. Shrugging, Beca opens the door, "Guess we'll find out."
The pair load up their equipment onto the stage set up within the bar, having volunteered to be the two to do it before the rest of the band arrive later that night. As they set the gear up, an older man, around his mid 30's makes an appearance. The sound of his footsteps making them glance over.
"You must be The Trebles?" He guesses. His eyes glancing between them, "I thought there were more of you?"
"We are. And there is," Luke answers for them, looking over to Beca, "They'll be here soon."
"And you must be Beca Mitchell?" The older man says, his eyes falling onto the brunette. He holds his hand out to her.
"That would be me," She says, shaking the hand. She tips her head towards Luke, "And this is Luke."
"Pleasure to meet you," The blonde says, his British accent shining through as he shakes his hand after.
"I'm Jonathan Holland, owner of this place," Jonathan explains, gesturing to the bar around them, "I'll let you guys get set up and check in on you later." He says, backing away, "If you need anything, just let me know." As he then goes to leave, he pauses, turning round to face them with a smile, "Oh... And drinks are on the house for you guys tonight."
An hour later and the two have the stage set up with their gear. Beca sits on the stool situated on the stage, playing a riff on her guitar as she patiently waits for the rest of the band to arrive.
At first, she messes around with the notes, freestyling sounds before she finds it turning into a familiar riff. And she can't help but smile as she gets lost in the sound of electric.
Chloe and Jesse shuffle their way through the bar doors, the sound of a guitar taking over their ears. Before they even see who's playing it, they look to each other and mouth the word, "Beca."
Jesse ventures over towards Luke, who watches from the side as he sips from a drink whereas Chloe's eyes never stray from the brunette on stage. She closes the gap between herself and the stage, taking a seat at the edge of it as she stares up at the girl.
It's only then does Beca's eyes open from the trance she was in, them falling onto the redhead below her somewhat startled. But she eases back into the song, adding more volume to it.
"Sunshine of your Love, huh?" Chloe grins, sending her wink. Beca only chuckles before her gaze lands on Jesse hopping onto the stage and towards the drums. He adds a beat to the riff, and then before she knows it Luke's on bass. Which leads to-
"Get up here, red!" Beca calls down to her friend, tipping her head towards the mic.
Chloe stalls a second and looks like she's about to leave, but twists back around, jumping up onto stage and bursts out the chorus of the song. She beams wide as Beca walks over to sing along with her.
After a quick rehearsal and overview of the setlist, the bar suddenly becomes flooded with people; with some regulars, and some new folk around.
The band are off to side, Jonathan standing beside them.
"Okay Trebles," He says catching their attention from the 'audience' they have, "It's Friday night, which means the people are going to want good music. Now I know you guys are capable of delivering that, so go out there and put on one hell of a show!" He says, giving them a small pep-talk, hyping them as he does so. Beca and Jesse glance to one another before nodding.
"Let's do this guys!"
"Oh my god, that was insane!" Jesse gushes later that night after their set is over. There's a new band on the stag as the group of friends line up in a booth, drinks in each of their hands.
"You're telling me," Luke agrees in all his British charm, nursing his beer. He sits next to the brunette boy, with Chloe to his right and Beca beside her.
Tipping her beer bottle towards him, Beca nods, "Agreed." She chuckle's, their bottles clashing together before taking a sip. To her left, she notices Chloe on her phone.
"Watcha' up to red?" She asks.
"Oh, just texting Aubrey." She replies, setting the phone down before angling herself more towards Beca now that the boys seem to be in conversation.
"Posen?" Beca furrows her brow.
Chloe nods, "The one and only. She couldn't make it tonight and told me to text her how we got on." She explains. "We did aca-awesome." She then adds with a smirk.
"I knew I shouldn't have let you sign up for that acapella group." Beca says, her eyes downcast as she plays along, looking defeated.
She feels Chloe bump her shoulder, "Hey, I got you to sign up for that as well!"
"My biggest mistake was saying yes to that." She admits, taking another sip before setting the bottle down.
"As if you'd say no to me." Chloe teases, leaning in with a giggle. Beca brings her hand up to wiggle a finger in the girl's face, "You see those?" She gestures to Chloe's eyes, "Those are your killer weapons. No one could say no to those big blues."
"Awe, how sweet." Comes a new voice out of nowhere making everyone's head snap up. Stood at the end of the booth was-
"Chad!?" Chloe calls out, sounding confused. She slides her way out of the booth, purposely landing on Beca making her groan, before standing before her boyfriend. "What are you doing here? I thought you had work?"
She leans in to hug him and Beca can't help but notice that he seems to be sending her some kind of death glare.
She shakes it off by taking a nice large gulp of her beer.
"I was able to leave early." He says, bringing his gaze back to the redhead, "Besides... I couldn't miss my girls first gig, now could I?" He catches Beca's eye once again, but only for a split second. His grin looks way to proud as he brings his hand to Chloe's waist pulling her in close. "Hey, my friends are at this club nearby, I was thinking we could go down there?"
"What?" Chloe's brows furrow. "You... you want me to just ditch my friends for yours?"
"Well..." He trails off, rubbing at his neck, "Yeah."
And oh god, Beca wants to punch this douche so much right now, it's not even funny.
But she chooses to scoff, instead standing from the booth before making her way towards the bar, her shoulder shoving past Chad's rather roughly. She fails to notice Chloe's eyes following her as she takes a seat at the stool.
"So, what do you say?" Chad asks, his eyes hopeful, bringing her out of her daze.
"Chad..." Chloe sighs, taking a step back. She catches sight of Beca again, now conversing with the bartender and shakes her head no. "I can't... just abandon my friends for you."
"But I'm your boyfriend, Chloe!" He exclaims, his voice rising in tone.
"Yeah, but Bec-" Chloe stops herself, taking a deep breath. She then gestures to the booth, "But these are my best friends. I've known them all my life. They're my family and this was our first gig."
Beca now chooses to slowly begin walking back to their booth, keeping her distance but enough to hear the conversation.
"So...?" Chad raises his eyebrows, "My friends have got VIP access and-"
"You just don't get it, do you?" Chloe snaps, not caring that her voice is raised. "You know what?" She says side-stepping him, "If you're going to be like this, then maybe we shouldn't be together."
"Are you serious?!" Chad exclaims. "You're breaking up with me just because I want to hang out with my own friends and not with your mediocre band, not to mention that dyke of a best friend of yours?"
"You've stepped over the line there, mate," Luke voices from his seat, catching his attention.
"Fuck off, mate. This isn't any of your business."
Luke slams his drink down on the table, almost smashing it in the process causing Chad to flinch back.
"Okay, easy there boys," Jesse tries to diffuse, standing from the booth. He notices that a few people are staring at them, "We don't want to bring attention to ourselves."
Chloe shakes her head at Chad, "We're done." She says, moving past him towards the exit. Before she can make it, she feels a grip on her wrist pull her back. "Chad, let go of me!"
She glares at him and as he goes to mutter a word, a fist is flying in his direction, hitting him square on the nose. His hand automatically flies to the wound as he stares up at his attacker.
"You son of a bitch!" He angrily screams at Beca, who only smirks at him. "You broke my nose!" He whines out.
"You know..." Beca starts, "I've been wanting to do that for a while now."
Suddenly Jonathan makes an appearance from behind the bar, "What the hell is going on over here?"
"That bitch attacked me!" Chad cries out, point towards Beca as his nose continues to gush blood.
Jonathan turns towards the girl, "Is this true?"
"He was harassing Chloe." Beca explains.
The older man only nods, "Well, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you all to leave." He says to her, before turning to Jesse and Luke, "You two, go get your gear packed up." As he goes to leave, he twists over to them once again, "Oh and your set tonight was really great. The guys and gals in here loved it. So, I'll see you all again next week?"
"For sure," Jesse says, with a smile.
"Hey, do me a favour," Jonathan looks down to Chad, "Get the fuck out of my bar."
…
It's around midnight when the four of them stumble back to Luke and Beca's shared apartment. They'd stopped on their way at a 24-hour store to stock up on liquor and gas before deciding that it was best if they crashed together that night.
Beca and Luke had moved in together not long after high school, they both were the 'originators' of their band and had first started out as a DJ duo. Beca more-so than Luke. Then Chloe and Jesse sang in for vocals one day on a track that the brunette had produced and suddenly came to realize that they clicked well as a band.
Which leads them to now, 3 years later with only one gig under their belt as a band and crammed into a small apartment on the outskirts on New York.
Sitting around the small living area, they pass around a whiskey bottle, each taking a sip. They joke about their childhood and share inside jokes. Chloe leans her head on Beca's shoulder as Beca lays her feet across the coffee table in front. Luke's sat on the floor below Beca, his own head lazily bumping against her calf whereas Jesse's sat on the armchair beside them, the whiskey bottle in his hand.
"I think it's time we call it a night." He announces, his voice slurring slightly.
"I second that." Luke says. Ungracefully, he lifts himself off the floor, holding his hand out to the brunette boy who takes it. They lean on each other for support as they stumble their way to the Brit's room, leaving Beca and Chloe the couch to themselves.
A few moments of silence go by, the faint sound of the clock ticking in the background before either of them speak.
Chloe's the first as she raises her head to glance up at the girl, "Hey, Bec?"
"Hmm?" Beca responds, lazily drawing circles on Chloe's hand, which is splattered across her wait.
"You didn't have to punch Chad you know."
"Yeah, I know..." Beca nods, "But I wanted to."
"Why?"
"Cos' he's a douche and doesn't treat you right." Beca replies, not even needing time to think about it. "You're honestly incredible, you know?" She continues, her voice low, making this moment seem almost intimate, "You're Chloe Beale for crying out loud. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and probably will ever see. You're the sunshine to my raincloud, you're-" With a sigh, Beca pauses, her movements stilling.
"What?" Chloe eases, bringing her hand to Beca's.
"You just deserve so much more than him, that's all." Beca shakes her head, leaning it back on the edge of the couch as she shuts her eyes.
Chloe toys with her fingers as she replay's the girl's words in her head. Her eyes flicker over Beca's face, over the curve of her cheeks, her lips, her nose, her eyes and decides to make a conscious decision that could change the relationship she has with Beca.
For either worse or for good.
Raising her head from the brunette's shoulder, she leans ever so slightly up, so that she's almost level with her. Taking a shaky breath, she tips her head forward so that her lips gently fall onto Beca's.
She feels Beca tense up and her eyes snap open. Leaning back, she stares into Beca's confused wide eyes, they flicker between each one before gazing back down towards her lips.
Beca finds herself doing the same and without thinking leans in to capture Chloe's lips with her own. The kiss itself is fast and needy, nothing like either of them would expect their kiss together to go, but neither complaining.
Beca's hands hold onto the side of Chloe's face as Chloe's grip onto the collar of Beca's shirt. Her hands slip between the gap at the top, sliding over her collarbone's before creeping up to her neck to pull her in closer.
Sighing into the kiss, Beca's hands fall to Chloe's waist as she angles her head to deepen the intense lip-lock. Pulling back for air, she's left breathing heavy into Chloe's face, their breath mingling between them.
"What are we doing?" She asks, her eyes focused on Chloe's lips.
"Let's not think about that," Is what Chloe replies with before crashing their lips together again.
…
From that night on, neither said a word to each other about the kiss, yet they'd find themselves back in the same situation. Whether it was because they were drunk, or it was after a gig, or even when sober just hanging out in Beca's room, Beca and Chloe would always find themselves lip-locked again.
Which brings them back to the present. They just completed, once again, another successful gig at Jukebox Bar and are now inside the lady's bathroom.
Stumbling their way through the door in a fit of giggles, Chloe leans in to capture Beca's lips. "You were so good tonight!" She says into the kiss.
"Speak for yourself, red." Beca replies as she's backed into the door.
"I love it when you call me that," Chloe husks into her ear before kissing her way down Beca's jawline and neck.
"Is that so?" Beca smirks, "I'll keep that in mind." She says. Then suddenly uses her strength to back Chloe up against the counter, her hands flying to the girl's thighs to hoist her up onto the countertop.
"God, that was hot." Chloe can't help but say, her lips finding Beca's again. Her hands fly to the brunette's shirt, undoing the first couple at the top. She leans in to kiss the newly found skin, while continuing to undo the rest. When she reaches the bottom, she feels her hand hit the metal of Beca's belt and halts.
Pulling back, she stares into Beca's eyes.
"It's okay." Beca says, nodding her head.
Just as Chloe's about to undo the girl's belt, the door to the restroom flies open making the pair spring back from each other.
In comes a group of drunk girls, too drunk to take notice on what they just walked in on.
…
To: Beca Mitchell
From: dax residualheat
Yo, Beca! This is Dax from Residual Heat Records, based in Atlanta. I couldn't help but find your YouTube channel. Safe to say, I think your mixes are awesome. Not to mention your original tracks are pretty dope. I showed them to our head producer here, Sammy, and he believes you have some real potential to be a hit producer. He spoke to the head of department here and has managed to set you up for a Skype interview if you'd be interested in joining our label. If you wish to, let us know ASAP so we can begin.
Hope to have you with us soon!
Dax – Residual Heat Records.
…
Beca sits at the small kitchen counter in her apartment as she stares down at the screen in front of her.
She almost thinks this is a fake, but then she does research on the label and finds that it's real.
She's nearly 22 years old, her dream career is right in front of her but there's one thing that's stopping her.
Gentle arms wrap around from behind her as a head leans on her shoulder. And Chloe sighs into her neck before placing a soft kiss there.
"Good morning..." She mumbles, with a smile. Leaning back up, she reaches over to take hold of Beca's cup of coffee but halts as her eyes read over the email on the screen. Reading over it, once, twice, three times before letting out a shaky breath.
"Beca?"
Shaking her head, Beca turns in the chair to face, her. "I know, I know..." She says, running a hand through her hair. "I can't do this. I can't say yes-"
"Beca."
"I mean, how can I go work on music, solo, when I have a band-"
"Beca..."
"No, I won't do it-"
"BECA!"
Pausing, Beca brings her eyes to Chloe to find her beaming down at her.
"Beca, this is amazing!" She glee's pulling Beca out of the chair to bring her into a bone crushing hug.
"Wait, what?" Beca asks confused. "What about you guys?"
"What about us?" Chloe asks, once they've pulled back.
"You guys are my band members, my family... I can't go do music without you."
"Beca..." Chloe sighs, taking hold of her hands. "Ever since we were kids, this has been your dream. Not mine or Luke's or Jesse's."
"But-"
"No but's... you deserve this Beca. The reason the band ever got to the stage it's at now is because you produced our songs, you wrote the lyrics. You were the one who got us gigs and advertised us. You are who deserves this opportunity."
"So, you think I should go for the interview?"
"YES!"
"But... if I get this, I'll most likely be living in Atlanta." Beca reminds, her eyes downcast. "I..." Shaking her head, looks back to the laptop.
"What is it?" Chloe asks.
"I don't think I can leave you." Beca confesses, her gaze coming back to Chloe. "You're my everything..." She admits, her voice low almost distant.
It's been a wild ride, Beca thinks. Ever since that first night they kissed, her and Chloe haven't been able to keep their hands off each other. It's almost to the point where they'd consider themselves girlfriends but... unofficial. Chloe hasn't seen anyone else since kissing Beca and vice versa. Growing up, Beca always had had a crush on the redhead, the feeling only growing stronger as time went on. For Chloe, she'd always admired Beca. Her talents, her charisma, her charm, her love. And she'd later find in her late teen years that this was because she had fallen for the brunette but was convinced they'd never be together.
Now though, she knows that there is a chance that they finally could. But Beca's dream is more important than anything else. Or so she thinks.
"Becs..." She takes a step forward, "Please don't put me in front of your dream." She pleads, tipping Beca's face up towards hers.
"But-" Beca's interrupted by Chloe's index finger going to her lips. Chloe takes her finger away and replaces it with her lips, giving Beca a kiss fuelled with passion.
This kiss feels different from all their others. Those kisses were driven by hunger and lust, this is instead filled with love. This is what they thought their first kiss would feel like.
"I'm so proud of you, Beca." Chloe mumbles into the kiss.
...
The Skype interview went better than expected.
Beca got the job.
She flies out to Atlanta in 3 weeks.
…
Beca settles down into her new apartment in Atlanta one Friday evening. It's been just over a month since she left New York for her new job. Said job has been going really good for her, her boss, Sammy has shown keen interest in her after he heard a song she produced with a young girl named Emily.
Emily was a year or so younger than her, she was one hell of a lyric writer and singer. That combined with Beca's producing skills left for a great opportunity which they thankfully did not screw up.
Switching on the TV, Beca lets it run as background noise before searching for her phone. When she grabs hold of it, she taps the home screen and is met with a picture of her and Chloe.
The picture was taken a few months ago, just after a gig of theirs. They were sat in 'their' booth, Chloe's arm draped over her shoulder as she grinned into the kiss she had planted on Beca's cheek.
Beca smiles at the memory, but it quickly fades as she remembers that Chloe's currently in New York, probably with some new dude, having completely forgotten about her and is probably engaged and ready to have kids-
Knock, knock, knock...
Furrowing her brow, Beca glances to the door.
Knock, knock, knock...
Getting up, she makes her way towards the door with cautious steps. Reaching the handle, she twists it open only to find-
"Chloe?!"
"Becs!" Chloe squeals launching herself at the brunette. Beca catches her just in time, almost tripping over backwards.
"What the hell are you doing here!" Beca asks, holding Chloe tight to her.
"I wanted to come see you." Chloe says, pulling back from the embrace, "I have some exciting news for you."
"Yeah?" Beca eye's her warily. She then remembers that Chloe's bags are still out in the hallway- wait, bags? "Why... do you have these with you?" Beca questions, bringing the luggage into the room before closing the door behind her.
"That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about." Chloe says, looking sheepish. "After you left, I felt empty. Like there was a part of me missing and I came to realize that I made the wrong decision." She takes a step forward, "I shouldn't have just let you leave like that, I should've come with you." She says. Biting her lip, she then goes on to explain, "I did research and found that there's a teaching programme around here, so I applied..."
"And?" Beca dares to ask, too scared of what she might hear.
"...I got accepted!" Chloe beams.
"You did?" Beca exclaims, a smile on her face.
"Yep!" Chloe nods.
"So... does that mean..." Beca gestures between them.
"We can finally be together?" Chloe finishes. "Yeah, we can."
…
Author's Note: FYI... Jesse and Luke were totally fine with Chloe moving to Atlanta. They may have even insisted she did.