Lilly sat alone on the roof, looking down at where the Bellas had oh-so-nearly won the Riff-off. But now it was all over. They had failed the semi-finals, and once Becca had stormed off, Aubrey had wasted no time in telling the others exactly what she thought of their performance. The other Bellas had wasted time apologising profusely, and although Lilly had tried to cover it up by whispering that she would burn the judges to make it all better, she was upset. Hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face, Lilly tried now to block out the negative thoughts that echoed in her head, using Aubrey's face.

"You were useless!"

"I can't even hear a word you sing!"

"You weren't trying!"

"You're not good enough!"

"You're pathetic, the lot of you!"

Suddenly, the Bella became aware of a strange heat in front of her, a strange heat and...smell. A strange sound as well, come to that. Raising her head, she was bewildered to see, in front of her, two books stacked on top of eachother, both on fire. They looked suspiciously like class books and defiantly hadn't been there before. Curious, Lilly slowly uncurled one of her hands and reached for the flames when a familiar voice made her jump slightly.

"Careful, cutie. Don't want to burn those little hands, do we?"

Lilly looked up to see none other than Donald, the Treblemaker deputy, standing beside her with a lighter in his hand and a smirk tugging on the corners of his mouth.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered, so softly she didn't expect him to even know she had spoken, so she was surprised when he replied,

"I was looking for you, of course. You need cheering up, and I happen to know how to do that."

Now Lilly was more confused than before. "How can you hear me so well?"

"Musician's ear, sweetheart." Donald sat down beside her, dangling his legs and gazing at the rooftop stage as well. "No-one's got ears like these!"

The Bella just looked, unblinking, at the Treblemaker before his eyes darted sideways to meet hers and he broke into a chuckle.

"Alright, alright." Donald held his hands up in mock surrender. "I was deaf when I was little, ok? Ever since I got my hearing back, I listen to everything I can...and I'm also pretty good at lip-reading."

"That's quite impressive."

"Thanks."

"You can use hydrogen peroxide to wash blood off your hands."

Donald looked over at her and just said, "That's...actually quite cute" His expression was one of pure honesty to boot. Lilly turned and looked back at him, properly, with some confusement still in her eyes. But doggedly avoiding the obvious question, Donald leaned back on his hands and went on bluntly. "So what did that bitch say to you guys?"

"What do you mean?" Lilly hadn't realised her voice had reached a medium-volume murmer and she now dropped it back to a breathy whisper, hoping he wouldn't hear.

"You know what I mean, Silly Lilly." He rolled his eyes. "You have a bitch of a leader who just threw someone out before ranting at you guys."

Lilly curled her legs back up to her chest and hugged herself tightly before repeating in a flurried mumble all the things Aubrey had shouted. Donald listened quietly, eyebrows furrowed as he took in every word.

"She-she-" Lilly found she couldn't speak anymore and turned her face away to try and hide the tears that threatened to form.

"Hey hey, it's ok, don't you worry 'bout today." Even as he instinctively rhymed, Donald was more focussed on whether putting his arm on her shoulder was alright. Surprised, Lilly turned her face back to him, and he quickly brushed the tears off her cheeks.
"Hey Lil, it's ok, don't you worry 'bout today, cause the bitch may seem to rule, with those words, they're just so cruel, don't you listen to her Lilly, come on now, don't be silly, cause girl you may be quiet, while your singmate needs a diet, but I know you can sing and I wanna hear you roar, I know you can do better, into the skies you'll soar..."

"Did you really just make that up?" Lilly's normally wide eyes were like saucers.

"That's the skill of a beatboxer, baby!" Donald smirked.

"Can you teach me?"

Donald considered this. He had never taught anyone anything, nor had he been taught beatboxing. The rythm of a song had been the first music he could hear, so it had come naturally to him, but teaching it to someone else...

"Sure." He grinned at Lilly. "You weren't bad on the bus today. Just don't let Aubrey or Bumper know, ok?"

Lilly nodded, a tiny smile tugging on the corner of her mouth as she murmured, "When I was five I saw a squirrel die of cancer."

"...yeah, that's defiantly cute."

AN: So...I ship these two like there's no tomorrow XD XD XD! oh, and the Donald-being-deaf thing? I dunno, that just kind of came as a wierd headcannon as to why he listens so closely that he can hear Lilly easily; he knows what it's like to not hear at all.

This story is the first of a little trilogy I am writing, the second is already up (On the Grass), and the third will follow!