AN : Hi, this three-part special is inspired by this really cute trailer for Star Wars Battlefront II trailer. It's on Youtube as PS4 Star Wars Battlefront II Live action trailer. Please see that before reading, if you could. It's the absolutely cutest. Dedicated to all Pitch Perfect and Star Wars fans. Big up to my JECA squad. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Part I
Jesse Swanson remembered the very first time he set his eyes on Beca Mitchell.
It must be just after his twelth birthday. Autumn had came early that year and there was a slight chill in the air. No matter. He was snug in his warm living room, playing with his Star Wars action figures. They were not new with some dents and paint chippe where he had been more than a little enthusiastic in his fights, but they were his favourite. His Uncle Jack gave them to him years and years ago and Jesse lost count of all the times he had happily spent re-enacting battles that happened in a galaxy far, far away. He might be in this warm living room, in a suburban house, on a suburban street but here was the epic fight of good against evil - he was a Jedi knight brandishing his blue lightsaber, protecting the good guys, fighting off the evil Empire.
"I am Luke Skywalker," Jesse yelled. "You can never defeat me!"
Then he sensed a disturbance in the Force.
There was a large truck outside. Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien next door had decided to sell up some months back and retire to Florida. Jesse missed the O'Briens - Mrs. O'Brien always have candy for him - but apparently their children were all grown up, the house was just too big for the two of them to be knocking about and the weather in the Sunshine State was just so much nicer. That was what Jesse heard his momma said. So the 'For Sale' sign was hammered on the front yard. Then the 'Sold' sign. And now this huge truck parked outside on the street could only mean one thing.
The new neighbours were moving in.
Jesse had wondered what sort of people would move in. He was not going to lie - it would be exciting if the new neighbours had a boy his own age. They could go to the same school together, be in the same class and totally hang out after school playing in the back yard. That would be so cool. Like he said, his Jedi senses had immediately picked up that ripple in the Force. He had a great view from the bay window. There were stacks of brown boxes on the lawn and a ramp was stacked against the back of the truck. A lone figure appeared at the top of the ramp.
Jesse frowned.
Huh.
By the looks of it, the new neighbours did have a kid his age after all.
But it was a girl.
Her long brunette hair was swept up in a high ponytail and she was dressed head to toe in black. That was….unusual. Girls liked pink, right? They were always dressed in pink or pastels or glittery stuff that sticks to everything. That much Jesse knew. Why was this girl in all black then? Jesse then clocked what the girl was holding in her hands.
In retrospect, he should have known it then. All that time, a long, long time ago, Jesse Swanson should have known at that very instant, what this all meant. The sign at the side of the truck was a huge red flag. Huge. Like Death Star huge. Imperial Movers? The logo on the side of the truck said Imperial Movers and Storage. It could not be more obvious. He did not need to see the Darth Vader action figure the girl was holding in her hands to come the inevitable conclusion.
His new neighbour was from the Dark side.
It was definitely autumn when the new neighbours moved in because the wind had picked up and brown leaves were fluttering down. The girl walked slowly down the ramp and without a pause in her stride, she turned her head towards his house. It was as if she, too, could sense his presence. Even under torture years in the future, Jesse would never admit it but at that point, he actually shrank back from the window. It was stupid. He didn't even know why he did it. With the daylight outside and him partly hidden behind the curtains, there was no way anyone could have seen him. But when her eyes locked in his direction, Jesse very nearly dropped his precious Luke Skywalker behind the sofa. And at that very moment, Jesse Swanson knew that he had finally met his nemesis.
She was introduced to the class as Rebecca Mitchell.
Jesse remembered how she stood straight and unforgiving at the front of the class as Mrs. Philips introduced her as the new girl who just moved in from New York. When asked to say a few words, she immediately corrected Mrs Philips, saying her name was Beca. There was an annoyed flash on her face as she reiterated her name and then she mumbled through the rest of the introduction.
Mrs. Philips directed her to the empty seat which was coincidentally next to Jesse's. He tried not to stare as the girl made her way down the aisle. She was staring straight ahead, not making eye contact with anyone and then sat down, flinging her bag to the floor next to her feet. It was a worn Darth Vader backpack, more grey than black with one strap fraying. The excitement of the new kid in class wore off as soon as she settled into her seat and Mrs Philips continued the class. Her droning voice was soporific enough to lull anyone to sleep. Except for Jesse; he was way too curious about this new girl.
He stole a couple of glances.
She was pale. Sickly pale. Like she had not seen any sunlight in a thousand years and Emperor Palpatine kinda pale. She must liked her hair up in a pony tail because that was how exactly she styled her hair again today. She was much smaller than she looked. Maybe he was just imagining things, seeing her strode down that truck jail last week. He thought she was way taller. But that scary expression was still fixed on her face - a mix of truculence and 'Don't mess with me or I'll choke you' look. Jesse decided this new girl was equally small and frightening. She must have felt him staring at her because the girl turned towards him, a blank look on her face. Jesse grinned at her and after a quick check to see whether Mrs. Philips was busy at the blackboard, he leant forward.
"I know you," he whispered, smirking at her, almost smug to hold something over this weird girl sitting next to him.
That blank look on her face morphed into a perplexed stare. She got very blue eyes. Jesse noticed that.
"No, you don't," she shook her head, her pony tail bobbing behind her.
"I totally know you. You are my next door neighbour," Jesse replied gleefully. "I saw you move in. You walked down that ramp from the back of that Imperial truck. Hey, did you ride the truck all the way from New York? Is your dad a truck driver?"
"No," came the shocked reply.
Mrs. Phillips had turned around from the board, scanning the classroom. The girl swiftly looked to the front and Jesse was smart enough to shut his mouth and hunker down. He really didn't want to risk detention. It took another ten minutes of history lesson before Jesse felt he should talk to the new girl again.
"So you like Star Wars huh?"
She was paying attention to the lesson, her brow furrowed in concentration. Just when Jesse thought she was ignoring him, she replied back, "Whatever gave you the idea?"
"I saw you with a Darth Vader doll the other day."
"They are action figures -" she practically hissed at him. "Not dolls."
Huh. She got the term correct. Jesse thought maybe because she was a girl, 'doll' would have been a better term but obviously not. Mrs. Philips had ordered everyone to take down the notes on the board and the new girl was now reaching into her bag searching for a notepad and a pen.
"Nice bag," Jesse snorted, giving her backpack a derisive look. This time she looked up at him, her eyes narrowing into slits.
"You got a problem with my backpack?" Her eyes then shifted to his desk where Jesse had his own folder opened. It was covered, absolutely covered with Star Wars stickers and one glance was all it took. "Ah." she said in comprehension. "Rebel Alliance."
"Evil galactic empire," Jesse nodded back in response.
They both stared at each other with equal loathing.
"Loser," he finally heard her muttering under her breath.
"No, you're the loser," Jesse snarked back.
"You are."
"No, it's you," Jesse nodded confidently. "Only losers wants to be on the Dark side."
"Excuse me, Mrs. Philips?" Beca immediately spoke up, putting her hand up straight. Jesse was initially confused at her sudden move. He then hurriedly swivelled in his seat, looking front and to his horror, Mrs. Philips was gazing suspiciously at him. Shit. He was in enough trouble with her already.
"Yes?" Mrs. Philips answered.
"Can I change seats please?" Beca asked.
"Is Jesse Swanson bothering you?"
Please say no. Please say no.
"Yes."
Typical no good, evil Sith.
"Ok. You can change seats," Mrs. Phillips nodded at that lying Sith princess. Her eyes then homed in on Jesse. "As for you Jesse Swanson, see me after class."
His mom thought they should be neighbourly.
Jesse saw his mum's famous cherry pie cooling on the kitchen counter, the one she made for special occasions and Jesse knew his mom was going over. About an hour later, he was hauled along to visit the new neighbours. Jesse tried to say he had homework to do but his momma was having none of that. He didn't really want to step a foot into that evil place where that evil girl lived. He had to put up with Mrs. Philips lecturing him for ten whole minutes about being nice and welcoming to new students and Jesse was now 100% sure that evil Sith lordling, Beca Mitchell, was sent to torment him. Who knows what her parents would be like?
The door was opened by a man in jeans.
He didn't look like a Sith Lord at all. In fact, he was reminded Jesse of his Maths teacher. His jeans were worn at the knees and he had an ugly brown sweater on with a stiff blue collar poking out of the neck. Jesse's momma was in her element, waving the cherry pie at the man, introducing herself and Jesse as the neighbours next door and welcoming him to the neighbourhood. The man smiled, introducing himself as Dr. Mitchell and then he called out someone. A lady with long brunette hair came up to the door, all smiles and twinkling eyes, and she promptly invited them in. His mom said something along the lines of not wanting to impose but they wouldn't hear of it.
Dr. Mitchell promptly disappeared once they came in and Mrs. Mitchell and his momma were chatting happily away. Jesse had stepped into the hallway in the wake of his mom. It looked like they did some redecorating. While his mom ooh'ed and ahh'd at the exposed wooden floors and dove grey wallpaper, Jesse stood at the bottom of the stairs. Then his scalp began to prickle. He did not need to look up to know someone was standing at the top of the stairs, staring down at him. It was creepy.
"Oh, you have a daughter, don't you?" Jesse heard his momma said. "Jesse mentioned he met your daughter in school. They are in the same class?"
"Yes, she is," Mrs. Mitchell replied. She then hollered up the stairs. "Beca!"
Jesse felt rather than saw the figure at the top of the stairs shrank back, almost like she was about to run away. It was, however, a little too late.
"Beca?" Mrs. Mitchell ducked her head towards the stairs. "There you are! Your friend, Jesse's here. Bring him up to your room. You can show him your Star Wars collection."
"Beca like Star Wars?" his mom piped up in surprise. "Oh my! Jesse's mad about that stuff."
He had tried to hide behind his mom but she had laughed and insisted he followed Beca up to her room. It was probably all of ten minutes but now Jesse understood how Luke Skywalker must have felt going into the cave in Dagobah. Her room was strong with the dark side of the Force and it was also the strangest girl's room had girl cousins - all girls' rooms were pretty much samey. Rainbow colours, unicorns, boyband posters on the wall and lots and lots of stuffed toys. No girls' room should be this dark, have stormtroopers figurines lining the shelves, Death Star blueprint posters on the wall and what looked like the sickest looking, half constructed Lego AT-AT on the table.
Jeez, that AT-AT was amazing.
He would have loved to take a closer look but Jesse knew how the Dark Side worked. It was trying to pull him in. He had to night, as a talisman, Jesse switched on his lightsaber. Safe in his room, he felt assured with the buzz of his lightsaber and the bright blue light lifting up the gloom. It was all going to ok. Light always win, right? He was going to vanquish the evil Dark force living next door. And almost like an answer, the window opposite his room was lit up in red.
It was his thirteenth birthday and because he was still obsessed, he got to have a Star Wars themed party. He was rocking the Jedi robes. He had his trusty blue lightsaber. He wanted a clip on braid like young Obi Wan Kenobi but his mom put her foot down on that. He did, however get that TIE fighter piñata and Jesse was gleefully hitting it with all his might.
That Beca Mitchell was watching him with daggers in her eyes didn't fazed him one bit. In fact he rather enjoyed that horrified look on her face and how the flimsy fork snapped in her hands. She had came to his party, dressed as a storm trooper and Jesse couldn't help thinking she was far too short to be one.
In the summer when he was fifteen, Jesse thought the Rebel Alliance needed a base and where better than his tree house? The guys are going to love it. They could hatch plans on how to bring down the evil empire while scoffing snacks all day. They could re-enact fights. Or they could just play with Jesse's growing collection of action figures. But of course the temptation to the dark side was too great.
Seriously? A Death Star tree-house?
Who could resist a Death Star tree-house?
With a working klaxon, no less.
Jesse stared across his backyard at Beca Mitchell standing triumphant. Even over the distance, he could see her smirking. The guys were already running over, eager to clamber up the ladder to Beca Mitchell's Death Star. Jesse didn't blame them. Heck, that treehouse looked supercool. Made his attempt to dress up his with just a Star Alliance flag seemed so puny.
That idiotic Death Star tree-house must have caused a bomb. Something perhaps only a guilty parent would fork out. Oh, Jesse Swanson heard things. He didn't mean to be nosy nor did he mean to eavesdrop; but his mom was a gossip and speak entirely too loud. There was trouble brewing at the Mitchells. There was gossip about Dr. Mitchell coming home far too late or none at all. Of loud fights and Mrs Mitchell going to the supermarket, face a little red and blotchy like she had been crying. But people fought all the time, right? Even adults. Jesse knew that adult relationships are complicated. At least, that was what Grampa told him and Uncle Jack too. His momma and dad fight sometimes but they made up just fine. Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell should be able to work it all out between them, right?
But how about if they don't?
What if things don't work out?
Maybe that was why he found Beca in tears just behind the library the other day.
He didn't exactly found her; and Beca Mitchell will probably denied ever crying. She was a tough Sith after all. He was walking by the building and just happened to see her alone with her back towards him. He was about to shout something rude about Darth Maul but stopped when he noticed her tiny shoulders were shaking. And he thought he heard a sob.
Jesse stood still, watching.
There was no mistaking it was Beca Mitchell. She was dressed in all black and that even more faded Darth Vader backpack was a dead giveaway. She was definitely crying. She had shifted in her seat and he could now see the profile of her face. She was crying quiet tears but her shoulders were racking so hard like she was trying to keep herself from sobbing out loud. He had kept quiet, thinking what he should do next. She might be evil incarnate but she was still human. Well, mostly human right? What with the pale skin and dark hair and tendency to hiss at him when he walked past. He should go over and ask her what was wrong. That seemed to be what friends do.
Then he saw Beca raised her hand, angrily dashing her tears. She was sternly telling herself to stop crying, vehemently wiping her face dry with her sleeve. That made Jesse's heart went out to her all the more. She than bunched her hair up into a ponytail and stood up, gathering her books and files. Jesse shrank further back into the alcove he was hiding in but there was not need. She didn't see him.
The image of Beca crying was in his mind all the way through Science period. She was sat a couple of seats away. He stole a look over but she looked nonplussed. Serene even. Like nothing happened. It was rather strange that he couldn't shake off that image of Beca's tear-stained face out of his mind and Jesse absent mindedly sketched an X-wing fighter during class. Of course, he had to embellish it with proton torpedoes all heading towards an exploding TIE fighter. He was quite proud of of the drawing. The X-wing fighter looked ace. And because he was such an ass, Jesse folded the drawing and asked Derek to pass it over to Beca Mitchell.
The look on her face as she unfolded the paper was priceless.
Quiet fury would describe it.
She glanced over, the familiar daggers in her eyes heading his way and he couldn't help doing an explosion gesture with his hands and giving Beca an insufferable smirk. Yeah he was a jerk. But him being one seemed to pay dividends because Beca Mitchell squinted dangerously at him and slowly and deliberately, crumpled the paper in her hand. They were on familiar ground now. He thought she was evil. She hated his guts. And maybe, just maybe her hatred for all things on Light might take her mind off other dark stuff going on in her life.
He got the new PlayStation for his sixteenth birthday and Jesse could not wait to play the new Star Wars Battlefront game.
His dad has said if he wanted extra games, he had to work for it and Jesse had carefully saved all his paper round, car wash and lawn mowing money to get the game as soon as it came out. He was dying to play it but his siblings were useless. So were the guys he hung round with. At this age, they were more into girls and other lame stuff like that. Not that he wasn't interested but this was THE new Star Wars Battlefront game after all. An awesome game like that needed to be played immediately. He had tried playing it alone but it was no good. The whole set-up was crying out for with someone else. Jesse tapped a finger against his phone, thinking, and then quickly typed out a text.
Got the new Star Wars game.
Before he could think about it too much, he sent it. Jesse sat back into the sofa, smirking to himself. She would answer, right? But as the seconds ticked by which turned into minutes, Jesse wasn't so sure. He didn't call or text her before. He just happened to have her number on his phone from the class list. She might not even know it was him. What was he thinking?
Then his phone beeped.
Dude, why should I care?
You should - he texted back - I could beat your sorry imperial ass. You won't last five seconds.
Don't talk about my ass - came the reply.
Jesse was about to apologise. Because he was brought up nicely and really why was he talking smack like that to a girl? Even though she was from the Dark side.
Think you can beat me, huh? - came the text from Beca - You should be so lucky.
She came over. The front doorbell rang and there was Beca Mitchell in her trademark ponytail and black clothes. There was not much pre-amble. Just Jesse tipping his head towards the basement where the games room was and when she followed him, he curtly pointed to the other end of the sofa and the controls on the table in front. They were about to launch into the game when Jesse's mom popped her head round the door.
"Kids, do you want any snacks?" she yelled. "I got mini pizzas in the oven."
"Mummmm -" Jesse whined. "We were just about to start."
Seriously, how did she even know Beca was here? They went straight to the basement from the front door.
"Jesse, where's your manners?" Mrs. Swanson barked at her eldest son. "You didn't even get Beca a soda. Go get Beca a soda."
He reluctantly asked Beca what she liked. Jesse thought he saw the corners of her mouth twitching but she must have bit down that smile. She wanted Sprite and he got a cold can out of the fridge. Of course his mom thought he should bring it down in a tray with a glass full of ice. Jesse would roll his eyes at his mom but he knew that will probably earn him a clip round the back of his neck. His mom also insisted he brought down piping the hot mini pizzas.
"Soda. Snacks," Jesse spoke up, placing the tray on the table. Beca nodded, eyes on the tv and Jesse realised she was already playing the game. "Hey, did you just start? That's not fair!"
"You're cheating!" Jesse yelled in panic, scrambling to his seat and picking up his controls.
She was trying to get ahead. That was why she started the game without him.
Typical cunning Dark side.
Not that it mattered, anyway. She lost badly that round. And the next one. And the next one after that. She lost like five times in a row. He was crowing. Of course the Jedi won. The Force was strong in him. He could take the Dark side anytime and whooped its ass. Like everyday of the week.
But Jesse had to give it to her. Anyone else would have throw down the controls in disgust especially with all the annoying showboating he was doing. But Beca just glared at him, controls in her hands. "Rematch" she would spat out, ready to do battle again. No matter how many times he trashed her, she came right back. She just kept coming right back. And despite his apparent hatred for all things in the Dark side, Jesse Swanson was actually rather impressed. It was certainly not easy to keep Beca Mitchell down.
Usually she would leave after all the mini pizzas were gone. She was polite enough to insist bringing the empty plate and soda can up to the kitchen and cleaning up. She thanked his mom very nicely, sometimes staying longer to have a conversation with her.
Huh.
It seemed like the Dark Side did have some manners after all.
The next week it was the same. She would saunter in and they will play whichever game but they will always go back to Star Wars. Jesse had put up a scoreboard on one of the walls, gleefully stacking up his wins and her losses. She would swear, of course. Jesse didn't know any other girl who could cuss as hard as her. He was sure he didn't know what half of the words meant.
He couldn't quite figure out why she would come back week after week to only get trounced. But Jesse wasn't complaining. He was enjoying it actually. It was not until he ran into Beca's mom did he found out why. Jesse had to do a quick trip to the supermarket to get some popcorn when he ran into Mrs. Mitchell. Well, technically not Mrs. Mitchell now. He heard (from his momma, of course) Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell were separated and Dr. Mitchell moved out. Apparently divorce was in the cards. Jesse didn't know for sure. Beca didn't talk about it much and he didn't ask. They didn't really talk much at all.
He was about to slope away towards the cashier, basket in hand, when Beca's mom called out to him. He was raised right so Jesse Swanson turned round with a smile on his face and said hello.
"Jesse, I'm so glad I ran into you," Mrs. Mitchell said, edging her trolley closer. She was thinner than he remembered. She was smiling at him but even at his young age, Jesse could figure out that smile was not a cheerful one. "I was trying to figure out how I could speak to you without it being awkward."
Jesse didn't have a clue what Mrs. Mitchell was referring to, so yeah this was already awkward.
"I just wanted to say thank you," Mrs. Mitchell continued.
Nope, still not a clue.
"- for inviting Beca over all the time."
Oh.
"She's been moping a lot and going over to your place brings her out of the house. Thank you. I really appreciate that."
He didn't recall what he said in answer. Perhaps some non-committal words like 'No problem. Mrs. Mitchell' or something polite like that. But what Jesse recalled was what Mrs. Mitchell said next.
"Beca is going through a rough time at the moment and I think she's ...finding it hard to talk to us'" Mrs. Mitchell spoke up hesitatingly. "Thank you so much for being there for her, Jesse. It's really good to know she has a friend."
The next time Beca was over, he tried to let her win.
Maybe that would make her feel a bit better. He should have known she would twig that was what he was doing. The controller came flying straight at his head. Good hing he had quick reflexes and ducked. The next thing he knew Beca Mitchell had launched herself across the great divide they maintained on the sofa. If he had thought Beca Mitchell was prickly before, Jesse obviously haven't seen her unleashed the whole might of the Dark Side. She was actually pummelling his side and ow, her tiny fists actually hurt.
"Oh my god, stop!" Jesse yelled, "You're hurting me."
"Did that hurt?" she barked. "Good!"
She let fly a left hook and Jesse swiftly shifted aside, letting her fall forward with her own momentum. He didn't really want to fight back. She was still tiny and delicate . He didn't want to harm her but that left hook was too far. He had to stop her somehow. She was coming back right up, probably trying to get a few more punches so Jesse quickly wrapping his hands around her, pinning her arms on her sides.
"Let me go!" she spat out, struggling against his hold.
"Not until you stop hitting me."
"No."
"God, you are such a child! Stop it."
"No, you stop it!"
"Me?" Jesse said. "What did I do?"
"You let me win."
"What?" Jesse replied. "No, I didn't."
"You did!" she spat like an angry ferret. "You let me fucking win. It's a fucking straight shot and you didn't even take it."
"Will you calm down?" Jesse shouted back. "The stupid thing was not working. Or my thumb must have slipped."
He was never any good at lying and the fury that was Beca Mitchell rained on him again and this time, she kicked him in the shin.
"Ow! Fuck!" Jesse yelped and he let her go. "Ok. Fine! I let you win."
She had scuttled backwards towards her end of the sofa, cursing under her breath. He scowled at her and rubbed his throbbing shin. What the hell? It bloody hurt where she kicked him. Those clodhoppers that she was fond of wearing on her feet must have metal heels or something. He rolled up the leg of his sweatpants, taking a look at the damage Beca Mitchell had done. Great. There would be a huge bruise.
"Why?"
Jesse looked up to find her eyeing him warily.
"Why what?"
"Why you let me win?"
Without a word, Jesse gestured at the pitiful looking paper pinned on the wall. It was coming down on one corner where the drawing pin had fallen off but there was no mistaking the towering tally of wins on Jesse's side. Beca's eyes followed where he was pointing at and she looked momentarily confused.
"I thought a win might cheer you up," he shrugged.
That seemed to take the wind out of her sails. For the second time since he knew her, Jesse saw how vulnerable the Sith princess could look. It was a shadow on her face which reminded him of that time he saw her crying behind the library. And just like that time, she recovered in a flash, turning away from him, tucking herself into the corner of the sofa, making herself as small as possible. Which was pretty small.
They sat in silence with only the hum of the suspended game on the tv. Jesse was still rubbing that sore spot where she kicked him and she was still tucked at the other end of the sofa, now biting her nails.
"Wanna talk about it?" Jesse spoke up first.
It took a long while before a croak came from her side.
"Talk about what?"
Jesse leaned forward to pick up the controls, careful not to look at her. He pressed a few buttons loading a fresh game.
"Nothing,'" he answered, eyes fixed on the TV. "Everything. I dunno. Whatever you want to talk about."
He heard her snort and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her picked up the control and joined the game.
"You're not making any sense." She shook her head, peppering shots at him on screen. "Just play the fucking game, will you? I don't need any pity shots."
"What I'm trying to say is -" Jesse answered, ducking from the hail of fire and lobbing a few incendiary devices her way. "- if you ever wanna talk, I'm here."
Beca Mitchell was not the type to talk unnecessarily plus she was busy trying to stay alive in the game. Jesse was not surprised when she didn't say anything back.
She never really talked to him about her parents' divorce.
At least not directly.
Jesse remembered that much.
It must have hurt and she must have been really sad because for a while, Beca stopped coming over. Jesse realised that he couldn't pushed her to open up. He didn't have a death wish. Forcing Beca Mitchell to do things she didn't want to do was a certain passport to harm. It would have to look like it was her idea.
He still see her around school and during one of the classes they had together, he had tossed a note on her desk. She had glowered at the offensive piece of paper folded like an x-wing fighter and then up at him but Jesse stood his ground. He waited for her to reach for the paper, gingerly holding it by the ends like it might burn her and then read the note. Her blue eyes flew across, reading what he wrote. Jesse knew she couldn't refuse the challenge he issued. Star Wars marathon Episode I - VI; dress-up encouraged, popcorn optional. Loser was the one who doze off first and have to do the other person's chores.
"Yeah, ok" she mumbled before crushing that note in her hand.
They argued and bickered throughout the whole marathon so yeah, they didn't exactly talk about her parents' divorce. But it was a start. And when they moved to talking about other things in the Star Wars universe, especially about this whole absent father figure thing, Jesse thought they were getting somewhere.
She finally trashed him soundly in one of their game nights.
It was a matter of time, really. She was seriously getting better. He didn't budge an inch nor did his hand slipped at the controls. She played so well that it made him sweat. Jesse was cursing hard as he desperately tried to tip the battle to his favour and failing miserably. All the while, Beca Mitchell was cackling wickedly beside him, sweet victory in sight. And when he finally lost, Jesse yelped out 'Noooooo!' and threw his controls in a fit of rage. Meanwhile, Beca Mitchell was whooping loudly beside him.
"In your face! In your face, Jedi!" she yelled, thrusting the palms of her hands, literally in his face. "Feel the power of the Dark side."
Jesse scowled as she went over to the wall and gleefully made a notch on their yellowing tally chart. Her winning score still looked pathetic next to his and seriously, she had to win like the next hundred games to be on par but she was already doing a few victory laps round the sofa, culminating by what could only be described as an awkward dorky shuffle of a winning dance in front of him. And watching the happiness on his nemesis' face, Jesse Swanson felt a curious, warm jolt in his chest.