AN: This story is Beca-centric. It has small time jumps. It will have plenty of fluff, but also plenty of angst. It is inspired by someone's real-life story, mixed with my own experiences. However, this is its own thing, a Pitch Perfect interpretation with artistic liberties. If you don't like emotional extremes, this probably isn't the one for you.
Please enjoy my first story.
All my love,
- Selene
Dedicated to the man upon which this tale was based, and to everyone that believes in a love more powerful than we can comprehend.
Formatting Details:
Memories in Italics: Flashbacks (self-explanatory)
Emphasis in Bold: ex. (She didn't think the jeans made her butt look that big...)
Beca's Personal Thoughts in Bold Italics, Emphasis underlined: ex. (I don't think these jeans make my butt look that big...)
Prelude to Destiny
A Waking Dream
Beca wakes up abruptly, the ringing of a fading dream sounding in her ears. Whatever it was she was dreaming about, it was loud.
She rubs her eyes, not surprised to find that she was sweating. After a couple of deep breaths, she notices that the lighting in the sky is a little brighter than it normally is when she wakes up. Picking up her phone and checking it, Beca swears as she notices that she's half an hour late for work.
She sees missed texts and calls from both Jesse and Cynthia Rose, asking if she's coming in to work today. She shoots a quick text off to Jesse telling him that she woke up late and will be heading over in a bit.
Beca rushes through her morning routine, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge instead of the coffee she normally has. Since Jesse spent the night at Benji's, there was no pot warming for her to take advantage of.
As she rushes through the doors of the Los Angeles music shop, Cynthia Rose calls out a cheery greeting in her smoky voice. She leans on the counter and smirks at Beca.
"Hey Captain, I didn't think you'd make it!" CR notices the tired look on Beca's face. "Whoa, did you sleep at all?" Beca grimaces.
"Yeah, I just had a terrible dream right before I woke up. I'm okay though. What do we need to do today?" Beca asks as she walks to the back office to put her bag away.
"Just got some new instruments in, you can help Jesse with that."
Beca brightens up at the news. "Awesome! What did we get?" Cynthia Rose smiles.
"Some Gibson, Martin, and Taylor guitars, Pearl drum kits, and Stentor violins. " Beca's eyes go wide.
"Dude! No way!"
Cynthia Rose nods. "Way."
Jesse walks up. "There's my wayward rebel." He comes up behind Beca and messes up her hair. Beca grunts and pushes him away roughly.
"Yeah, hi to you too, ass." She bites out as she tries to fix her hair. He just laughs.
"I missed you so much. I thought you'd never return to us." Placing his hands over his heart, he furrows his brow at her. She scoffs and rolls her eyes.
"I swear, I'm an hour late and you guys think I'm never coming back." Having had enough teasing, she looks around for the new instruments. "Let's get to work. Where's the new gear?"
Jesse motions for her to follow and they head over to the guitars, where the instruments are waiting to be hung. He picks one up from its box and hands it to her as she steps up onto a step ladder.
Beca whistles. "This is a beautiful guitar." She runs her hand over the face of the Martin, imagining owning one. Working at a music shop is the next best thing, but she can't wait until she can call one her own. She hangs it up reverently and holds her hands out for the next one.
Jesse nods. "They use these pretty often when they record music for soundtracks. Hey, did you know that in-" Beca coughs loudly.
"Still don't care about movies, dude." Jesse looks personally offended and gears up for the traditional talk. Beca looks away from the Martin and across the room, completely missing his tirade.
She spots fiery red hair and the bluest eyes she swears she's ever seen. The woman is standing with a blonde as they chat by some sheet music. As her tunnel vision clears, she realizes that Jesse is still talking.
"-ca? Beca! Where did you just go?" Beca mumbles something about movies being painfully predictable as she looks back at the guitars and continues hanging.
Jesse gasps. "You seriously need another moviecation if you are still fighting the magic of cinema." She grumbles another bit about it not being magic if she knew what was going to happen.
"Girl meets guy, they have some trouble, maybe there's another girl. Still, heroine and prettyboy end up together. Luke has to fight his dad, whose name is father, but he's still surprised. Good always wins unless it's a horror movie." Jesse's eyes get wider the more she goes on.
"You, my friend, need help. We should go watch that new movie."
Beca puts on the fakest smile she's maybe ever smiled, including that time when her dad excitedly mentioned her studying Comparative Literature in front of some of his friends. Unlike her stint in college though, she's not going to even bother getting started on this 'education'. Humming, she replies, "Mmm, we should totally not do that and instead I'll just go home and fold laundry."
Jesse shakes his head sadly. "Beca... It's magic." As he's lamenting, Beca hears laughter ringing through the store. Looking away from Jesse, she sees it's the redhead again. Her head is thrown back in glee, music book clutched to her chest. The blonde rolls her eyes and walks off with an exasperated smile. A quiet whistle sounds from beside her.
"Wow, she's pretty, huh Becs?" Jesse is also looking at the redhead. Beca nods and steps away from the step ladder and boxes, all the guitars having been hung up.
"Yeah. I'm going to see if she needs anything." She puts her hand in her back pocket and jerks a thumb over her shoulder at the customer. "You got the clean-up on this?", nodding her head at the boxes beside them. Jesse smirks at her.
"Oh, I see how it is. Leave me to the slave labor while you go 'help the customer'" He puts his fingers up to make air quotations. "Okay Beca, I get it. I see what you really think of me." Beca just rolls her eyes at him.
"Thanks Jess."
Walking away, she notices that the redhead has moved from the sheet music. Beca glances toward the counter, where Cynthia Rose is organizing guitar string packages. Looking around, she spots her target by the ukuleles. She takes a subtle deep breath, shakes her hands out, and makes her way over.
"Hey, are you finding everything alright?" Her breath catches as the redhead turns around.
"Hi! Yeah, I'm good. I'm here with my friend. I'm thinking about picking up an instrument or something." The redhead nods, bouncing in place a little. Beca nods back.
"Okay, cool. Anything specific come to mind? Maybe we can get you something to try out. See if it feels right. I'm Beca, by the way." She sticks her hands back into her back pockets after she realizes that they're way too sweaty for a minute-long conversation.
"Oh yeah! Duh! My name's Chloe." Chloe shakes her head and giggles. "I don't know about playing anything right now, I only sing. Do you play any instruments?"
Beca nods. "I play a couple of things. I might be able to play an instrument for you, depending on what you're interested in. Maybe you'll like the way something sounds." She notices the blonde from earlier returning with a violin in her hands.
"Hey Chloe, what about the violin?" The blonde holds up the instrument in her hands. Chloe looks at Beca and gestures at her friend.
"Beca, this is my best friend Aubrey. Aubrey this is Beca. She works here." Aubrey nods at her and says hello. Beca waves and returns the greeting.
Chloe hums. "So, Beca, do you play the violin?" Aubrey raises her eyebrows at Chloe, but says nothing. Beca shrugs.
"Yeah, I play a little. Let me just get a spare bow from the back." She turns and heads towards the back, where the repair room is. Cynthia Rose winks at her as she passes.
"Hey Cap, looks like you're having a good time." She subtly leans her head in Chloe's direction. Beca sighs and rolls her eyes as she passes.
"You guys... do you always have to tease me?" Beca doesn't wait for a verbal response, letting Cynthia Rose's laughter suffice.
She returns to Chloe and Aubrey after digging out a recently repaired violin bow she found dumped by a book donation box. Tapping the spine on her other hand, she asks, "Ready to see if violin is for you?" Chloe's answering squeal pulls at something inside of Beca. She coughs a little to recenter herself and takes the violin from Aubrey.
"Okay, here goes nothing. Just let me know if it makes your ears bleed." She laughs shortly and places the instrument under her chin. Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath and places the bow over the violin.
As she plays, she thinks of the emotions the music convey, what they invoke, memories that bring up those feelings. Winter in Maine with her mother, building snowmen and enjoying the sunshine. Summers in Georgia by the lake with her dad and stepmother after they finally learned to get along. That one kid who always dared her to jump from the rope swing.
The song is bright and clear, like the first melt of snow on a cloudless day in March. It sounds like new life and it's refreshing. She briefly glances at the redhead, and it's a miracle she doesn't miss a note.
Chloe is staring at her with eyes as bright as the song she's playing. She's clutching the sheet music book to her chest tightly, her bottom lip trapped under her teeth. The sight is so breathtaking that Beca feels like fresh mountain water has just been dumped on her. She glances down to focus on her playing, a warmth rolling through her like a summer wave.
When the last of the song drifts from the violin, Jesse's voice fills the silence left behind. "Is this real? Do my ears deceive me? It sounds like you're a music girl, and I'm a music guy. It must be destiny. We must be destined to have musical chi..." Beca looks away from where her eyes have been caught in Chloe's, pulled in by their gravity. Curious about why Jesse has stopped talking, she turns to look at him.
His mouth is open, and he's staring at Aubrey unblinkingly. The blonde seems perturbed and leans away from him. "Umm, are you okay?" She hesitantly waves her hand into his line of sight. He sputters.
"Uh, hi, yeah, I'm Jesse, welcome to The Music Emporium." He shuffles around and scratches his head. Beca grins at him. This was gold.
"Swanson, are you okay? You look nervous. Also a little pale. Do you need to take a dump? Because you kinda look like you need to take a dump. You're sweating a bit too." Jesse's eyes get impossibly wide and he makes a weird choking noise before quickly shaking his head.
"No, I'm good. So, um, what are you guys up to? Do you need help with anything?" He sticks a hand into his front pocket and runs the other hand through his hair, eyes quickly darting to the blonde before looking back at Beca. Her smile only gets wider. I can't freaking believe this. Swanson likes the blonde, she thinks. Her eyes wander over to Chloe, who is glancing between her friend and Jesse with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"I was just helping Chloe find an instrument she might like." Beca nods her head in Chloe's direction. Chloe stares at Jesse as he shifts from foot to foot. Suddenly, her eyes glint and she smirks. Shifting over to Beca, Chloe loops an arm through hers and gently tugs her closer.
"Yeah, I think Beca is going to help me look at some guitars next. Aubrey could use some help looking at something else though." Turning to look at Aubrey, whose expression seems like she's about to vomit, Chloe asks, "Aubs, why don't you tell Jesse here all about what you were looking for?" With that, she tugs Beca away.
Leaving the two behind to sputter awkwardly at each other, Chloe giggles quietly. Beca shakes her head. "Jesse isn't too bad, I promise. He's just weird."
Chloe huffs. "Aubrey has been trying to set me up on blind dates forever, even though I tell her I'm not interested. This is just payback with the possibility of it ending positively for everyone." Beca laughs.
"Oh trust me, I get it. Swanson teases me whenever a woman asks for my help in here." She subtly exhales when Chloe doesn't react other than a slight raising of her eyebrows and a little nod.
"No lucky person in your life then, Beca?" Beca shakes her head.
"Nah, I just haven't found someone that feels right. I'm not interested in casual dating, y'know? I'd rather have fun and fool around with my forever person. More good memories." Chloe's eyes are bright.
"But how will you know if you don't do a trial run?", Chloe asks.
Beca studies the guitars in front of them, looking for a good balance between starter and quality. "I think, you don't know right away, but something always pulls you to them. The things that are meant to be, happen no matter how hard we try to fight it." She spots a decent one and reaches down to pull it from the rack.
Turning to Chloe, she offers it to her. "Wanna try?"
Chloe backs away with a small laugh. "I have no musical talent outside of singing, Beca." Beca lets out an echoing laugh.
"How are you ever going to learn if you aren't going to pick one up?" She teases the redhead before relenting. "Okay, how about I play for you, and you can join me in singing? That way you'll hear how awesome it'd be if you had guitar accompaniment."
Chloe nods. "Yeah, that sounds good."
"Cool. Do you know 'Titanium', by David Guetta?", Beca asks. Chloe scoffs in response.
"Have I been living under a rock? Yeah, that song is my jam." Chloe winks at her. "My lady jam." Beca blushes as Chloe throws her head back and laughs.
Beca shakes her head. "Dude, that's nice, but I so didn't need to know that." She pulls up a stool for them each. "Let's do this. Ready?" The redhead smiles and hums at her, also sitting. Beca plucks the strings, gently adding her voice into the stripped down version of the song. She looks up at Chloe, nodding for her to join in.
This time, as Beca's eye connect with Chloe, she actually does miss a note. She recovers quickly, but the sound of Chloe's voice has a firestorm erupting in her belly. The goosebumps that cover her arms must be painfully noticeable, but she can't perceive anything beyond Chloe and the way her singing is manipulating her.
They don't even get through the song, instead just staring at each other. At some point, they've drifted closer. Beca is leaning over the guitar, one foot on a rung and the other on the floor. Chloe has her hands pressed onto her thighs, at the edge of her seat. Beca notices her eyes dart down before coming back up. Without thinking, she moves the guitar off of her lap and leans forward.
Before they can get any further, Beca's phone chimes loudly, startling them both. Chloe blushes lightly and clears her throat while Beca laughs in what she feels like is a terribly awkward manner, as much as she tries to tone it down to just 'kinda-barely' awkward.
"So uh, yeah, that's what it'd sound like if you played the guitar and sang. Pretty nice, I think. You've got an okay voice. A nice voice. A lovely voice, I mean." Chloe giggles.
"Totes. It was great. You've got an amazing voice as well, Beca." Beca rubs the back of her head. "Thanks. Um. Are you- do you- d'you want to see about any other instruments?" She bites her tongue to keep from stuttering out more awkwardness.
Chloe shakes her head. "I need to think it over a little, but guitar feels like what I might decide on. You should tutor, by the way. You're really good." Beca laughs.
"I'm alright, but I'll tutor you if you want. Just let me know when you're free."
The redhead smiles at her. "Is that your way of asking for my number?" Beca shrugs. "Maybe, but I think everybody wins. If it goes well, we get to know each other better. If it fails, then you still pay me." Chloe's resounding laughter brings a smile to the brunette's face.
"Fair enough." Chloe smirks and pulls out her phone.
After they exchange numbers, they walk up to the counter, where Jesse and Aubrey are talking with Cynthia Rose. The trio look at them as they approach. Aubrey has an eyebrow quirked, studying them, and Cynthia Rose can't hide the smirkiest of all smirks she's ever smirked. Jesse looks lost but hopeful. Beca claps her hands together to break them out of whatever thoughts they might be individually having.
"Alright, so, just come back if you decide to get a guitar, and we'll set you up with a good one. All guitars come with replacement strings, since a lot of people touch them before they're actually bought." She smiles at Chloe, pointedly ignoring everyone else.
Chloe purchases the music book, and mentions possibly taking guitar lessons from her soon. After a promise to buy musical instruments from only them, she leaves with Aubrey. Beca sighs and clicks her fingers on the counter, tapping out a private beat. A low hum from Cynthia Rose draws her attention.
"So, I didn't know you were offering guitar lessons now, Beca. How much are you charging? Or is the price something only a certain redhead can pay?" Cynthia Rose rasps out around the gigantic smirk that has made its way back onto her face. Beca grits her teeth at her, the responding smile looking borderline painful. A quick glance at Jesse only promises more annoyance.
"I'm so proud of you, Becs. You're growing up so fast." He places a hand on her shoulder, acting like she's just won an award. She shrugs his hand off, rolling her eyes. Trying to change the subject, she pulls out her phone.
"Whatever guys. You're all jealous. Anyways, I just got a text from Ashley. She says she needs someone to fill in for music at the bar. What are you guys doing later?"
Cynthia Rose shakes her head. "I'm down. Not doing anything else later." She looks at Jesse, who nods at her before turning to Beca.
"Same here. I'll even scream your name so you can get used to being a celebrity. He tucks his hands into his armpits and mimics a chicken. "Be-CAW!"
Everyone laughs as Beca lightly punches his arm. She texts Ashley back to let her know that she'd perform that night, thoughts of a certain redhead on her mind.
Beca sits at the end of the bar with Jesse and Cynthia Rose, watching the hustle and bustle around her. The house band is playing something jazzy in nature. It's lively but relaxed.
At a nearby table, Flo is serving drinks, laughing with the patrons. A well-dressed man tries obviously to flirt with her while his friends giggle at the interaction. She politely puts her hand onto his shoulder and shakes her head, to which he places his hands over his heart like he's been shot. The raucous laughter draws the attention of some surrounding tables.
"Flo's as popular as ever, I see.", Jesse mentions as he takes a sip of his beer. Cynthia Rose holds up her tall glass. "I'll say. She's as popular as Stacie, but without the intimidating raw sex appeal." Beca nods.
Flo makes her way over, casually greeting people at the other tables. Upon reaching the bar, she places her things on the bar top and wipes it down with her rag. "That guy always asks for my number. I think I've said no ten times now. Back in my country, asking more than three times would be a death sentence. My brothers would have unleashed vipers on his house." She continues wiping the counter as Beca chokes on her beer. Jesse nods like the response was normal and mutters something about keeping reptiles off of airplanes.
Just as Beca's recovering from inhaling liquids, arms encircle her head and force it into rather generous cleavage. She flails as Cynthia Rose laughs in the background. Beca's cry for assistance is muffled in bosom. "Don't just laugh, CR! Help me!" She reaches out, but is only met with air.
After she frees herself, she comes face to face with the owner of her would-be suffocaters. Stacie's brilliant smile does little to dull the trauma. As Stacie opens her mouth, a loud and exuberant Tasmanian accent cuts in. "Hey Shawshank! Are you ready for round two for wrestlin' with lady parts?" Fat Amy opens her arms wide and shakes her chest at Beca. Leaning against the bar top roughly, Beca's eyes go wide and she puts her hands up in self-defense.
"Dude! No!" The group laughs.
"Eh, shame, that. You're missing out on the good stuff. Legs has got nothing on this. Sorry Legs." Amy waggles her eyebrows and Stacie shrugs good-naturedly. Jesse laughs and Stacie speaks again now that Beca has been suitably harassed.
"Becs, I hear you're performing tonight!" A round of low cheers passes through the group and Beca nods but rolls her eyes.
"I'm just playing the guitar and singing a couple of songs, no big deal. Ashley needed a fill-in last minute because the entertainment that she had to support the house band ducked out." She sips her beer and continues. "Though I hear that good things are happening for you. Tell us about it." Stacie looks at her, knowing she's changing the subject, but answers anyway.
"Yeah, it looks like we've gotten enough funding to take on the next project. I think that this will definitely take the research lab to the next level in terms of renown." Fat Amy returns with an obnoxiously pink drink with a fuzzy umbrella.
"What is it that you do exactly, Legs? 'Cause I know your brain is bigger than your jugs, and your jugs are big." She hums contentedly as she sips what Beca assumes must be a fruity drink, judging from the umbrella and the color.
"We do research and engineering on medical and biochemical technologies. Last year we were working on more resilient bionic arms and incorporating natural electricity. We hit a couple of snags as far as receptive materials, but are positive that with continued experimentation, we'll be able to develop a machine that nobody has seen before." Several pairs of eyes widen, not quite used to Stacie speaking seriously. Beca grins.
"Careful Stace, you might break some people with your brain power. I already smell some short circuiting going on." She and Stacie laugh. Fat Amy speaks up from around her drink.
"Oi, you're the only one that's short, Shawshank. Stop trying to lump us in together, yeah?"
In the middle of more teasing, Ashley slides over from behind the bar and taps Beca. Everyone greets her as Beca turns. "Hey Ash."
"Becs, you're on about 15 minutes after this last song." Beca nods and smiles at Ashley. Stacie leans over her shoulder to address Ashley.
"You're looking hot tonight. Waiting for something spicy to walk by?" She grins as the brunette blushes prettily, shrugging a shoulder. "Maybe."
The group erupts with excitement. Stacie pushes Beca aside to place both of her hands on the bar top and speaks over Beca's protests. "Whaaaat? Spill, girl. Give Mama Stace all of the deets."
"Just a friend, but I think maybe it could be more. Her name's Jessica." Fat Amy polishes off her drink and places it on the counter.
"What's she look like, eh? Is she as hot as this Tasmanian Lightning?" Ashley laughs fully and shakes her head.
"Nobody is as hot as you, Amy, but she's really pretty. She's blonde, little shorter than I am." A loud group to their side interrupts with cheers as a duo drains their glasses with gusto. They wave Flo over for more drinks. With that, Ashley departs to go check on the band and manage the bar. Stacie mentions hunting and stalks after a tall brunet, disappearing into the crowd.
Jesse sighs and holds his beer like a microphone, crooning into it. "Loove is in the air, toniggghhhtttt. The peace the eveeening bringggsss." Cynthia Rose Joins in with instrumental vocals as Fat Amy takes some lyrics. Beca's sigh just adds to the mood of the song, as much as she tries to kill it.
Before long, they have a little group of patrons surrounding their impromptu karaoke sesh, and since the band has finished playing, they serve as the entertainment, drawing more people to the bar. When the songs are done, Jesse nudges her towards the raised stage and everyone bolsters her with cheers.
"Hahaha, hi everyone. So I guess I'm doing introductions a little late since I've already started performing." A few people cheer and she winks into the crowd at them. She feels relaxed as the couple of drinks she's had loosen her up. "Thanks guys, you're not so bad either." She chuckles at the wolf whistles.
Beca grabs an acoustic-electric guitar and settles herself in front of the mic. As she's adjusting things and checking the sound, she says, "So, I'm Beca, and I'm gonna give the awesome house band a little break. If you recognize any of these songs, feel free to sing along. Or don't. You can just keep drinking." Some laughter rifles through the crowd, and Stacie catcalls loudly. Beca smirks, then it turns into a bit of a grimace as Jesse screeches out a "BECAW!" from the back. She leans into the microphone, looking in his direction. "Yeah, fuck you too." He shrieks a scream of adoration in response.
She takes a deep breath, adjusts herself slightly, and launches into a song. It's a country pop piece, and immediately there are a few takers on the singing offer. For the most part though, it's as quiet as a bar on a Friday night can get.
Beca rolls through a few more songs, performing for about an hour after several shouts for encores rope her back in. Finally though, she bows out as the saxophonist for the band jumps in to save her, blasting out 'Careless Whisper' and taking the crowd's attention away.
The brunette retreats to the bathroom. As she's making her way back, she's ensnared by a familiar pair of blue eyes and what Beca can only describe as perfectly tousled red hair. Her sight is drawn down to red lips. They pull into a smirk, alerting her that she's been caught out.
"Like something you see?" Chloe's black dress hugs in all the right places, pushing her cleavage up. Her heels put her a good six inches taller since Beca's in her Chucks. She sidles up and leans against the wall.
If she was fresh out of high school, she'd be incredibly awkward and probably choke on air before making a weirdly flirtatious insult. But she's older now, a reasonably mature adult-like person, who's comfortable with herself, kinda. So this evolved Beca just mirrors Chloe's stance and glances back down at a bottom lip that's nestled under white teeth. "Maybe I do. What are you gonna do about it?"
She can tell Chloe is pleasantly surprised from the light blush she can just barely spot in the lighting from the hallway leading to the bathrooms. Flustered, Chloe replies, "I'll demand free guitar lessons from you." Beca laughs and straightens up.
"Join me for a drink?" She jerks her thumb in the direction of the bar. Chloe nods and they settle in a booth. After insisting that Beca try something that she'll surely love, the redhead orders something that sounds like a vacation getaway package. "I bet this will have an umbrella in it."
Chloe shrugs. "Probably. What are the stakes?" Beca eyes her.
"If I'm right, you come in tomorrow for some music lessons, free of charge. I really want you to try out the guitar for yourself," she says as Chloe rests her head on her fist.
"And if I win?" The brunette shrugs at that.
"I dunno. Didn't you want free guitar lessons anyways? What do you want?" She pulls out a candy wrapper, a dollar bill, and some pocket lint and puts it on the table between them. "You can have this stuff. I'll be famous someday, apparently. This might be worth something." Chloe laughs and Beca grins cheesily. "Hey, Beca Mitchell's pocket lint will rival Elvis's used gum." The laughter gets louder.
"No thanks, I'm not weird enough to think such mundane things will be worth much. Besides, fame isn't all it's cracked up to be." Beca arches an eyebrow.
"Am I talking with a secret celebrity?" Chloe shakes her head.
"No, but my college a capella group won the national title my senior year." Beca leans forward, excitement written all over her face.
"I would never have pegged you for such a nerd. This is awesome. You're not cool at all. I feel so mislead." Her grin widens as the redhead smacks her arm.
"I, Chloe Beale, am not a nerd. Aubrey and I are cool and talented. Don't be jealous." Beca barks out a laugh. "Your friend from the music store was in the a capella group too?" At Chloe's nod, she laughs again.
"So what are your redeeming qualities? Because that kind of group singing takes away a ton of cool points. I don't know if you can come back from that kind of embarrassment."
Chloe shrugs. "Hey, I saw the tail end of your karaoke at the bar with your friends from work. That's basically what the Barden Bellas did, y'know." Beca goes quiet as she processes this information.
"Whatever, I'll bet you guys wore flight attendant outfits or something," she mumbles. Thankfully, their drinks arrive to save Beca from facing the reality of the trap she set up for herself. There's no umbrella in it.
"So, about that bet... can I get a raincheck?" Beca takes a sip and is pleasantly surprised that, even though it's fruity, it isn't cloying. Chloe hums in response around her own drink.
"Nope. But I haven't thought of anything yet, so we'll see what you have to do." The brunette groans at her.
"Anyways, what redeeming qualities do you have? I'm still not convinced." Beca is curious about what Chloe will say.
"Well, I speak Russian, and you already know I sing pretty well. I actually offer vocal lessons." She winks at Beca, who blushes around a nod. "Aubrey sings really well too. She can shoot a gun, and is a good enough lawyer that she can probably get herself out of any crime she might cause with that skill." She shrugs. "I also know my way around a car and a paintbrush. I'll let you know if I think of any other ways that I'm awesome." Beca chuckles and shakes her head.
"You're so humble, Beale."
As they trade stories and information, Beca tells Chloe that she shares an apartment with Jesse, but he spends a lot of time at Benji's house. The knowledge that she hates movies isn't met with the usual exaggerated disbelief but she still gets a surprised laugh.
"Are there no movies you like? What about The Notebook?" Beca rolls her eyes.
"I cried, but only because everybody who has ever seen that movie cries. I'm pretty sure even rocks cry if you put them in front of it. That doesn't mean I liked it, though. Just that I was forced to cry by some universal law." The redhead laughs at that, promising to find a movie that she likes.
"So tell me about all of your friends. How did you meet them?" Chloe's eyes are bright, but her posture is a little more relaxed than when they first sat down. She's on her second fruity mystery. Beca is just over halfway through hers, trying to pace herself after her other drinks.
"Jesse and I grew up with Stacie, who is somewhere in here but disappeared to go find a flavor for the night, or something." Chloe raises her eyebrows but remains silent, knowing Beca is still talking. Beca just smirks at her and continues.
"Anyways, she went to Stanford for engineering and runs a research lab a little ways outside of L.A.. Jesse and I went to college in New York for about a minute, then we decided to come cut our teeth on life out here. We both did random jobs, then ended up at The Music Emporium, where we met Cynthia Rose. We met Ashley through her, who owns this bar, and Flo is one of her bartenders and Cynthia's best friend." Beca pauses as she tries to think of a way to describe Amy. "And Amy, everyone calls her 'Fat' Amy, well... Let's just say she came in like a wrecking ball, and never left. She's great though." Chloe laughs suddenly in disbelief. "She got me arrested once." At Chloe's look, the brunette decides to take a sip of her drink and change the subject.
"Now your turn. Tell me about your sordid past and which one of your friends is a criminal. I'll bet Aubrey was a drill sergeant. She gives off that vibe. Plus she's a lawyer." She smirks at Chloe, who bites her lip in response. Butterflies start swirling low in her belly at the sight.
"Well, I grew up in Miami, and went to Barden University with Aubrey. I studied Russian and Russian Lit, we were in the Bellas all four years and our senior year, we won the ICCAs. After that, we moved out here to L.A.. Aubrey and I room together. We met our friend Jessica here in California after Aubrey stress vomited on her car after an accident." Beca makes a 'yikes' face at the mention of vomit. "The rest, as they say, is history. Jess actually wanted us to come out tonight to meet someone she's interested in. She wasn't really specific about it though."
That gets Beca's attention. "Wait, is Jessica blonde?" Chloe nods, brow furrowed.
"Yeah, how did you know?" The brunette leans forward.
"Because my friend Ashley mentioned a pretty blonde that she was interested in by the same name, who was supposed to be coming by tonight. What are the chances?" They both grin at the revelation and head towards the bar in search of their friends.
They're all seated at the corner of the bar and the nearest high table, keeping them grouped in a rough circle. Beca spots Ashley leaning over the bar top, talking closely with a blonde woman. Turning slightly towards Chloe who's walking behind her, she steps closer to speak in her ear. "Is that Jessica?"
Chloe's subtle inhale surprises Beca, who was focused intently on her friend's potential love life. She leans back a bit to assess her drinking buddy. She ends up swallowing loudly and biting her lip at the vision in front of her.
Chloe's hair is a little more tousled than before, but it only adds to the attraction. Her icy blue eyes contrast the red, looking like lighthouses in the dark. She follows the line of Chloe's throat after briefly stopping to admire red lips and is drawn downwards. She clears her throat and looks up, noticing that Chloe's been pointedly looking at her friend while chewing her lip.
"Don't stare so hard," she mutters, "Or I might do something impulsive." Beca's heart jumps into her throat at the same time that her stomach drops to her feet. She decides to be bold.
"Oh yeah? I dare you." Chloe's quick to snap her head back, eyes bright and sharp.
They're already so close, they can't get much closer without it being physical contact. Beca mutters, "Call me crazy, but I feel like you want to do something. And I know we just met, but I feel like I'm thinking the same thing." Her eyes flicker from Chloe's to her lips. Chloe nods just a bit, already tilting her head down.
"SHAWSHANK! WE NEED YOU. HURRY!" Amy's voice pierces through the haze that has surrounded them, and Beca growls throatily and she shuts her eyes in frustration.
"Damn it, that's twice now. I need new friends." Chloe chuckles breathily and runs a hand through her locks, the dusting of a blush evident in the low lighting.
"They've got great timing." Beca rolls her eyes at Chloe's words.
"If by great, you mean 'terribly inconvenient and only made worse by the fact that they constantly tease me over every aspect of my life', then yes. Great." The brunette starts walking over to the group, muttering about going before she's kidnapped.
"Okay you heathens, what do you want? This had better be good." Flo laughs and pats her shoulder while Jesse smiles widely. It's Amy who leans across the table and answers though.
"Weeeee... need you to play that song for us. It's important. Matter of national importance, that." The blonde is intoxicated, and sways slightly. Beca stares in confusion until Cynthia Rose pushes a yellow plastic cup towards her. It's the one Ashley kept her pens in before she switched to something more official. Among the usual group, there are also Chloe's friends Aubrey and Jessica, who is listening in but keeping an eye out for Ashley as she works the bar. Beca's eyes widen and she sucks her lips into her mouth.
"Must you bring this up again? How many different ways can I say no? Will it work if I put a resounding 'hell' in front of it? Maybe a 'fuck'?" There are several boos from the group. Surprisingly, Aubrey is the one to goad her.
"C'mon Beca, I've been hearing about this 'cup song' for the last thirty minutes. Everyone is saying it's amazing, but how good of an instrument can a cup be?" She smirks, knowing that it'll bother Beca.
"Just as good as making music only with your mouths. I'll show you." She snatches the cup off of the table, glaring. "I know you're just manipulating me into performing for you like a trained monkey, but it's working. I'm still going to resent it though." She positions the cup and starts clapping, effectively cutting everyone off as they listen.
Like every other time she's noticed Chloe while singing, her eyes are drawn over. Try as she might to resist, she can't. She finds that she doesn't want to fight it as much as she feels like she should. Her body is flooded with a warmth, and she notices that it adds a pleasant mellowness to her song.
When she finishes singing, she slams the cup back on the table before swatting it at Amy, who makes a whale sound as she tries in vain to dodge it. She goes down with a yell about being shot, reaching up from under the table to grab her drink. Cheers surround her and Stacie comes up from wherever she was to put an arm on her shoulder.
"Damn, Becs, that brings back memories. That was almost as good as you rapping." Beca scoffs, but out of the corner of her eye, she notices how intensely Chloe is staring at her.
"Okay, okay, enough performing. Somebody's buying me a drink, and then I'm going back to my corner. I'm sick of you guys." Beca's smile belies her words. Jesse brings over a couple of beers for her and Chloe. After she thanks him, Beca holds her hand out and pulls Chloe away from the group, amidst childish catcalls.
As they resettle at a small table, the brunette looks up at Chloe. "You've been kinda quiet. You okay?" Chloe nods.
"I think I found what I want as my prize, Beca." Beca hums curiously.
"What is it?"
"Rap for me." Beca spits her beer back into the bottle mid-sip, muttering about how gross backwash is.
"All of the things you could pick in this world, Beale, and you pick that?" The redhead smirks.
"Totes. I plan to collect before the night is over, or my prize doubles."
Beca sighs exasperatedly. "I could totally just ignore you for the rest of my life, you know. I'll just get a different job." Chloe laughs and then whines.
"That's no fun! C'mon Beca, don't be a wimp." Beca's look leaves no doubt that she can see through Chloe's plan.
They talk for a few more hours before they notice the group has dissipated. Only a few are left. Jessica is sitting at the bar with Ashley, Flo is picking up discarded cups and bottles. Amy departed an hour ago, mentioning snagging a dingo. Beca asks Chloe about how she's getting home if Aubrey left already. Jesse is napping with a half-empty beer bottle.
"I'll just call a cab. You're seriously running out of time to rap for me, by the way. Don't think I won't hunt you down and get double," she laughs as they walk outside. Beca waves to their friends and chuckles quietly. "You asked for it, Beale."
Gearing up, she starts rapping the lyrics to 'No Diggity'. Her courage being fueled by the alcohol she's had throughout the night, Beca gets a little sassy with it and flicks a strand of Chloe's hair. The redhead crinkles her nose and laughs at the antics.
When she drops into the singing, Chloe chews on her lip and leans against the building. Beca sees the cab approaching and decides to bring the song to a close. They start to head over to the cab, Beca grabbing Chloe's hand and swinging it between them. Chloe speaks.
"I had fun tonight. I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon. I thought I'd have to buy a guitar first." Beca laughs at that.
"Yeah, me neither. Must be fate though. What are the chances that your friend and my friend met earlier and were interested in each other? They really seemed to hit it off, by the way," Beca observes. Chloe agrees.
"Maybe some things are just meant to happen?" Icy blue eyes connect with dark ones.
"It seems to be that way. Maybe more than one thing was destined tonight." Beca winks. "Like my awesome rapping. Which, I totally deserve a reward for, by the way." The redhead laughs and leans down.
As they stand in front of Chloe's cab, the air around them thickens. "You totes deserve a reward. What do you want?" Chloe's eyes are on her lips, and she's completely unsubtle about it. Beca hums quietly.
"I think, I really want to kiss you." Chloe nods and closes the distance between them.
Beca has never been on fire before, but she guesses that what she's feeling now is pretty close. There's a wild heat, liquid and roaring, pouring down and rushing around. Suddenly there's no air and too much air and she feels lightheaded. Unthinkingly, she places her hand on Chloe's hip as Chloe threads a hand through her hair, anchoring them.
She believes in fate and destiny, soulmates and twin flames, but she didn't think that she would really be a part of such magic. What she's experiencing right now though? It definitely feels like all of the corny stuff she would have gagged at in high school. It definitely feels like magic.
Just as she's about to swipe her tongue across Chloe's lips, they hear a cough from inside the cab.
"Uh... guys, are you going to get in, or what?" The cab driver, an older gentleman in his 50's, seems slightly uncomfortable at being made an unwilling participant in this moment.
Chloe sighs breathily, a dreamy "Yeah, I'll be right there..." floating out. Beca groans at how cute the redhead looks. "Was that a good enough reward?" Beca's smile turns into a smirk.
"I don't know, I might have to think it over. We might possibly even have to have a redo." Chloe grins blindingly.
As she gets settled into the cab, she turns back to look through the open window. "Call me, Beca. We're definitely going to have to redo it. If you aren't a hundred percent sure, then we'll just need to work on it until it's perfect." Beca has to bite her cheek to stifle the grin that threatens to take over her entire face.
Making a completely cheesy 'I'll call you' motion with her hand and pointing at Chloe, she backs away and waves as the cab pulls from the curb.
While she's daydreaming, Jesse sidles up to her. Stumbling a bit, he plops his elbow onto her shoulder. "You liiiikkeee herrrr." He starts humming 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' again. Beca rolls her eyes.
"Dude, you're drunk." He nods, then shakes his head.
"I'm not drunk, you're just blurry."
Beca laughs and starts dragging him along, complaining about how fat he's gotten. He makes some remarks about her being unnaturally tiny.
Beca doesn't know exactly how destiny works, but she thinks that maybe she's stumbled upon something promising.
AN: The Lion King - Can You Feel The Love Tonight (Lyrics are slightly different from Elton John's version)