Chapter one – know your enemies
Beca wasn't one for academics; but she spent one year at Barden university in a music theory class, but it just wasn't for her. Instead of committing to her plan to move to LA, she compromised with her Father; he paid for an apartment and paid the bills and she would stay in Barden and get a job and would stay out of trouble. He agreed almost immediately.
So here she is, standing on one side of a desk in a funny smelling office at the back of a club, listening to a nerdy looking boy called Jesse go on and on about "Company policy".
15 minutes after he began his lecture, he extended his hand out and spoke,
"So Beca, when can you start?"
Beca took his hand and replied, "When do you want me?"
"Tonight at 6pm, if that's okay with you?"
"That's great, thanks I guess. Cya later."
When she turned to leave, she was almost ran over by a tall blonde who was stood in the doorway.
"Excuse me." Beca motioned to door for permission to leave.
"Whatever." The blonde replied, moving in the direction of Jesse.
"Oh, Beca," Jesse spoke, "This is Aubrey, my girlfriend. Stay on her good side when she's here and we'll be good, okay? Btw, her group will be performing here later so I hope you like music."
"Have I ever heard any of your stuff?" Beca directed her question to Aubrey.
"Probably not, we make music with our mouths… Singing and the instrument side of things."
"Sounds painful."
"It's pretty fun to watch." Jesse commented.
"I guess I'll look forward to it. See you guys later." Beca put two fingers up to sign peace and then left the office.
"She was nice?" Jesse asked Aubrey.
"We'll see." Aubrey was kind of jealous of how gorgeous the miniature brunette was and that jealousy irritated her.
"I gotta go meet Chloe, we'll be here about 5ish."
"Okay babe, love you." Jesse pecked Aubrey on the lips.
"Love you too." Aubrey replied before she left.
Jesse spent the next few hours either napping or playing solitaire; he had done all the business stuff prior to his meeting with Beca and there was no point going home to go back to the club, so that left him with those two options.
At 4:45, a fat girl graced Jesse with her presence.
"Yo boss."
"Hey, Fat Amy, you're here early."
"I wanted to know if it was true."
"What's true?"
"We have finally filled the bar person position."
"Yeah the girl seems pretty cool."
"Whoa whoa whoa! You hired a girl?" Fat Amy screeched.
"Yeah…so…?"
"Aubrey is gonna be like hella jealous. Is she pretty?"
"Aubrey? Of course she is."
"No, you idiot, the new girl?"
"Beca? I guess so, you'll see for yourself later. She's working while you Bella's perform. Luke offered to be on the door tonight so you can enjoy yourself, he said he owed you anyway."
"That's true I guess. I'm gonna grab a drink while I wait for the others. Want one?" Amy offered.
"No thanks, tell Aub to come get me when she gets here."
"I'll let her know, but she'll be here soon if she isn't already. It's a nice feeling to be here before her though, but I won't be doing it again." Amy winked before heading back to the bar.
It was 5:58 by the time Beca got into the club. Luke (the bouncer) wasn't told by Jesse that they hired someone new so she had to wait like everyone else.
As she walked towards the bar, she noticed Jesse and Aubrey talking to a group of girls. But the one that she couldn't stop staring at was the stunning red-head, who was stood there, with a glass of wine in hand, laughing at whatever Jesse just said.
The redhead noticed the staring, and she smiled at Beca. Whilst Beca debated smiling back, Aubrey looked in her direction and nudged Jesse. Jesse looked and saw Beca so he waved her over.
"Hey guys, well girls, this is Beca, my new barmaid. Beca, this is Fat Amy, Stacie, CR, Lilly, Chloe and of course you know Aubrey."
There was a chorus of "heys" off the girls, Beca just smiled at them all, her eyes lingering on the red head she now knew as Chloe.
"Okay, well, us Bella's need to get ready. I'll see you later Jess." Aubrey squeezed his arm before ushering the group of girls backstage.
Beca looked at Jesse, "Bella's?"
"Aubrey and Chloe co-captain the Barden Bella's; the a cappella group Aubrey mentioned earlier." Jesse explained.
"Ah okay, where shall I put my stuff?"
"C'mon I'll show you. Have you ever worked at a bar before?"
"Yeah, I worked at the bar near Barden's campus, but they only employed students and since I'm no longer a student, I had to go."
"That's a cool bar. Stacie works there when she doesn't have Bella rehearsal."
"I thought she looked familiar." Beca commented.
"Okay well here is the staff room for all intent and purposes." Jesse pushed open a door to reveal a comfy looking sofa, a games console attached to a big tv with a cool stack of games beside it, and a fridge. "Don't go through other's stuff and they won't go through yours. You can keep your phone in your pocket if you want to, and you can help yourself to soft drinks while on shift. After shift, if you wanna stay you are welcome to free drinks all night. But if you come in on your night off then you pay… Comprende?"
"Got it." Beca nodded.
"Well let's go see what you've got short stack." Jesse joked.
"I'm not short dude."
"If you insist. Are you sure you'll be able to see over the counter?"
"Har har, let's go." And off they went.
During the Bella's performance, Aubrey can't help but notice that every time the brunette barmaid glances to the stage, she immediately looks at her best friend. She can't confirm it but she's positive that Chloe's eyes always end up looking back at the brunette. She was kind of glad that their performance was almost over, that way she could interrogate the barmaid and if she went too far then she could blame the fact that her and wine don't mix.
The Bella's sung Chandelier by Sia then Blow me (One last kiss) by P!nk and then there performance was over.
Fat Amy, Stacie, Cynthia Rose and Lilly went straight to the bar when they were done however Chloe got a lecture backstage off Aubrey regarding her performance.
"What was that?" Aubrey demanded.
"What?"
"You practically eye fucked the barmaid all through our performance!"
"I did no such thing!" Chloe feigned disgust, but couldn't control herself and ended up smiling at Aubrey's discomfort.
"Keep it in your pants." Aubrey warned
"What's the problem? I'm single, she's gorgeous, I'm gorgeous…."
"Is she single?"
"I guess I need to go find out. C'mon Bree." She grabbed the blonde's hand and pulled her towards the rest of the group, Jesse and Beca.
"….And that is why you shouldn't grab a Joey out of his mother's pouch." Everyone laughed at the end of Amy's story as Chloe and Aubrey rejoined them.
"Can I get you ladies a drink?" Beca asked.
"Two large glasses of white wine please, and your phone number if you're offering." Chloe requested with her sexiest smile.
"Smooth Red." Stacie whispered.
"Two white wines coming up." Beca went and poured the wine while the group went back to their conversation.
She had tried ignoring it, but her phone kept vibrating in her pocket. She took her phone out and switched it off, Beca didn't notice the redhead that had moved down the bar and now stood in front of her.
"You okay there Beca?"
"Yeah, just an ex that won't leave me alone. Sorry, its none of your business." Beca grabbed the glasses of wine and handed one to Chloe.
"It's okay. Is he stalking you?"
"Naa, she's just annoyed that I won't accept 'you weren't around' as an excuse to cheat and thinks I will accept her apology."
"Do you love her?"
"I think I could have, but I didn't get the chance to find out." After a few seconds, Beca began to laugh, "Isn't this supposed to be the other way round; you give the bar person your life story and tell them all your problems and they just listen and pour the drinks?"
"You're half way there Little one. You are pouring the drinks, and if you keep pouring then eventually I will tell you my life story if you like." Chloe winked.
"Thanks Red."
Chloe just smiled, a lot of people called her 'Red' but hearing it from the brunettes voice, and the sincerity behind the 'thanks' just made it so much more special to her.
The redhead grabbed the napkin that Beca had just handed her for the drink, and they walked back to the group. That's when she noticed something written on it.
"I don't give my number out to anyone so feel special Red.
Feel free to text me anytime, you intrigue me and I wouldn't mind talking to you some more.
Have a nice night! xo"
Chloe smiled to herself, Aubrey thought she was smiling at Jesse's joke so she didn't get an earful from her strict friend.
"Oh, Beca I forgot. That dude on the door is Luke, and you have Jake and Caleb behind the bar with you. On busier nights, Chloe tends to hop behind the bar and Fat Amy is the bouncer on Luke's nights off and when we don't have bands booked I hope you don't mind doing the DJ'ing."
"I can do that." Beca smiled.
"You can DJ?" Chloe interrupted.
"Yeah, it's like a second nature to me." Beca replied.
"Anything worth listening to?" Amy asked.
"I mix songs, occasionally add my voice onto them to make the harmony better and even rarely add my own songs to a set." She explained.
"When is the next free night so we can hear her?" Chloe wondered.
"Tomorrow." Jesse smiled.
"Cool." Beca glowed, she could finally have her chance to show off her talent.
Amy, Chloe and Aubrey stayed behind to help Beca and Jesse tidy up after closing; yeah, they were pretty tipsy so they kept tripping over and laughing for no reason but it was entertaining for Beca and Jesse who were perfectly sober.
Whilst Beca was out back, getting bottles to refill the fridge, she turned her phone on to see 6 missed calls and 10 messages off her ex, Shay.
"Urgh." She groaned, put her phone away and proceeded to lift the crate.
"Problem?" Chloe whispered from behind her.
"Why are we whispering?"
"Aubrey hears everything." She giggled, then hiccupped.
"Nothing, I just turned my phone on to find 6 missed calls and an excessive amount of messages."
"Off your ex?" Beca nodded, and tried walking through the door frame past the redhead.
"Um I kinda need to get through." Beca nodded in the direction of the bar.
"I know, I just, why did you give me your number?" Chloe asked
"Why did you ask for it?"
"You're hot and you look all mysterious."
"Thanks."
"Answer my question." Chloe teased.
"I did on the napkin that the number is written on." Beca laughed. Chloe started looking for the napkin but she couldn't find it.
"Shit, it's not here." Chloe sounded genuinely upset, and if Beca could, she may have hugged the redhead. Instead she laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" Chloe sounded hurt.
"Don't get angry, Red. Check your bra…" So Chloe did and she found it.
"OMG Thank you so much Beca, I would have died if I'd lost it after I so smoothly asked for it."
"No problem, just text me when you get home safe okay?" Chloe nodded, then moved out the way so Beca could finish her job and possibly get home before 3am.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, DJ."
"That you will, Red. Goodnight."
Beca walked off with her crate while Chloe went backstage and grabbed her bag and coat and met Amy outside who was waiting for the cab.
"Good night then Chloe?" The Aussie asked.
"Definitely." Chloe smiled.
"Did you enjoy your first shift then Beca?" Jesse asked.
"It was good, yeah. Looking forward to mixing tomorrow though."
"I hope you like good music." Aubrey warned.
"I haven't come across music that I don't like yet." Aubrey smiled at Beca's honesty and nodded in agreement.
After a few minutes, Jesse spoke again.
"Go home Becs, me and Aubrey have it from here."
"You sure?" Honestly, Beca was exhausted and she knew it would be 3am when she got home.
"Course, it's been a busy night and you've done great. Cya tomorrow, same time?"
"Same time. Night guys." Beca shouted as she went back to get her coat, she left the club from the back door and walked home in the cool September night.
Beca was just getting into bed when she heard her phone beep. She had a message off an unknown number.
"Thank you for supplying me with drinks and a good view for the night. Can't wait to see you mix tomorrow. Goodnight DJ xoxoxo – Chloe."
Just then, her phone beeped again and it was the same unknown number.
"Btw, I'm home safe and sound xoxoxo – Chloe."
Beca laughed at the tipsy girls antics. She got comfy in bed before responding.
"Glad you enjoyed your night Red, I'm looking forward to it also ;)
Goodnight Red xoxoxo –Beca."
Beca knew she was screwed, she had never felt this comfortable around someone since she met Shay and that ended up badly. She had to be careful, but the Redhead had some kind of hold on her and she knew that she would do anything the girl would ask… and that scared her.
A/N I'm back folks. And I kind of have a plan for this fic, it will be a multi-chapter one and (once I catch up with my coursework which I've already managed to fall behind on) I shall update regularly. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and look forward to chapters to come.
Peace.
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