A/N: This is just a quick little one-shot that I put together to honor my favorite Barden Bella, Chloe Beale (aka Brittany Snow) on her birthday. I hope you enjoy it!
Chloe Beale can't believe that she was just a week away from turning 30. The big 3-0. It wasn't so much the age that bothered her, it was the fact that she wasn't where she thought she would be at this point in her life. After the USO Tour, and Beca being signed by DJ Khaled, there was nothing left for Chloe to return to in New York, so when Chicago asked for her to give him a chance, she gave it to him. A week after Beca left for L.A., Chicago received his transfer orders and so Chloe followed him to his new duty station at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina. She was happy because she was back in the good old USA. She found a job as a music teacher and loved working with the kids. And she loved Chicago, she really did. But, when Chicago was being transferred again to Spain the next year, she opted to call it quits and stay where she was because she wasn't in love with him. She felt he deserved better. Especially since her heart still belonged to one tiny little ball of sarcasm known as Beca Mitchell, even though Chloe had never told her.
So, here she was, just a week away from her thirtieth birthday and she was going to have to celebrate it alone. Her two best friends had job commitments that were going to prevent them from coming to see her.
Aubrey was still running the Lodge of Fallen Leaves and had a big group coming in for the weekend. So, even if Chloe drove to see her, she would be too busy to really celebrate. And, after three years, Aubrey and Stacie were engaged. Chloe was saving up to make it to their destination wedding in Hawaii next year. Aubrey had asked her to be her maid of honor and she couldn't wait to start planning the bachelorette party. Stacie had asked Beca to be her maid of honor since they had gotten really close during and after their USO Tour. The tour where Beca was discovered and signed to work for DJ Khaled. The tour where Chloe pushed Beca to take the deal and go follow her dream to make music. The tour where Chloe lost any chance with Beca when she decided to kiss Chicago instead of Beca.
Beca. The one person who she really wanted to see for her birthday. She hasn't seen her in person in almost two years. Beca and Aubrey had come to see her when she and Chicago broke up. To offer her emotional support. Beca was only able to stay for one day, but Chloe loved being able to see her and hug her. They talk and text, and sometimes even skype, but it's just not the same as seeing her in person. Where she can actually hug her and feel her warmth and smell the same fruity smelling shampoo she always used. Chloe sighed. She was still in love with Beca and found herself unable to get into any kind of relationship past more than a few dates. She thought Chicago would be the one to really get Chloe away from her feelings for Beca, but that didn't happen. She was hoping that she would get the chance to tell Beca how she felt one day, but fate always seemed to be against them.
The week leading up to her birthday was tiring. The kids seemed to be extra hyper, the piano she used to help with her class was in need of tuning and Mr. Smith, the Principal, wasn't sure they had the money in the budget to get it repaired. Chloe had texted her sister Bellas and they had all promised to send her some money to help get it fixed, but that would still take time.
She decided to go back to her college days and teach the children how to make music with their mouths. The kids loved learning all about acapella but all the extra time getting them to the point of sounding halfway decent was exhausting.
It was finally Friday and her birthday. Joan and Mary, two of her teacher friends, had made plans to take her out for dinner and drinks to celebrate. She woke to birthday texts from Aubrey and the Bellas. All except one. She knew Beca was busy with her newest tour but she had hoped to hear from her on her birthday. She knew having a famous best friend was going to leave little time for her, but, still, it's her THIRTIETH birthday. It takes less than a minute to send a text.
It was a long day of teaching and Chloe had been asked to stop by the office before she went home. She went in and Mrs. Lancaster told her to go right in to see Mr. Smith. She knocked softly and was told to enter.
"You asked for me to stop by, Mr. Smith," Chloe said.
"Ah, yes, Miss Beale," Mr. Smith said. "I'm going to get right to it. I'm afraid I have some bad news. The school district is reducing our funding so we have to cut some programs."
"Let me guess," Chloe said sadly. "Music is one of those programs."
"Unfortunately, yes," Mr. Smith said. "We would love to keep you, but we just won't have the funding. I'm afraid we will have to let you go at the end of the school year. I'm really sorry. I've prepared a letter of recommendation for you since we have three months left in the school year. I thought you might want to start looking now."
Chloe sat there looking down at her hands. She looked up when Mr. Smith was handing over the letter he had prepared for her. She took it and stood up.
"Thank you, Mr. Smith," Chloe said politely and shook the man's hand.
As she left his office she looked down at the letter once again and sighed. "Happy Birthday to me."
She stopped by Mary's class and found Joan with her. They were talking and both quickly got quiet as soon as Chloe walked in. She told them what happened and they were upset that Chloe would be gone after this year. She tried to cancel their plans because she really didn't feel like celebrating. They were quick to point out that losing her job was all the more reason to go out and get drunk. Chloe let them talk her into it and they agreed to pick Chloe up so she could drink the night away.
Joan arrived at 6:00 and she was driving them to Chloe's favorite Mexican restaurant. Chloe was in the back and Mary was riding shotgun. Mary's phone kept pinging with texts and Mary was responding to them.
"Hey," Chloe said from the back seat. "I thought we said no phones."
"We did," Joan said looking at Mary. "I made her promise that the phone stays in the car once we get there."
"Sorry," Mary said and put her phone away.
They arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later. The three women enter and Joan gives them Chloe's name. The hostess smiles and directs them to a back room. Chloe was in front of Joan and Mary and as they got closer Chloe heard music and stopped. She thought she recognized the song and who was singing it. She looked back at Joan and Mary who were just looking at her with smiles on their faces.
"What's going on?," Chloe asked.
She listened for another moment and that's when she knew without a doubt that it was her Bellas singing "Just the Way You Are." Chloe squealed and ran through the door the hostess had just entered. Chloe stopped when she saw the Bellas all looking at her, singing and smiling.
Chloe stood there with tears in her eyes as she watched her Bellas sing to her. The song finished and Joan and Mary clapped. Chloe looked at each of the girls for a second and suddenly the Bellas all yell "Surprise." Chloe laughs and then everyone was hugging and talking at once.
Aubrey and Stacie remain with Chloe after everyone else has settled down and returned to their seats. Aubrey gave Chloe only last hug before the three friends sat down.
"How did you all get here?," Chloe asked looking around the room. "Brey, I thought you said you had to work."
"Wouldn't be much of a surprise if you knew I was coming," Aubrey said with a laugh.
"When Beca called and told us it was for your birthday," Jessica said. "We all made sure to clear our calendars so we could be here."
"Beca did all this?," Chloe said with tears in her eyes. "For me? Where is she?" She looked around the room to see if she was hiding somewhere.
Everyone got quiet and they all looked to Aubrey. Aubrey looked back at them and sighed.
"She's still on tour," Aubrey said quietly. "She did send a video message for you, which we will get to later."
"Oh," Chloe said sadly and wiped at a tear that fell down her cheek. "It's okay. I know she's busy. That's what happens when you're friends with someone famous."
"She also wanted us to thank Joan and Mary for all their help," Aubrey said as she smiled at the two women.
"But, how did she know how to find them?," Chloe asked. "I know I talked about them but I don't remember ever tell her they were teachers with me."
"She called the school and spoke with a Mrs. Lancaster and asked if a Joan and Mary worked there with you. She explained that she needed to speak to with one of them as soon as possible," Stacie told her. "The lady told Beca that she would have one of them call her back."
"I remember I got the weirdest phone message about three months ago," Joan said picking up the story. "There was a message for me to call Beca Mitchell about Chloe. I thought it was some kind of joke at first. I mean, I only know of one Beca Mitchell and she was calling me? And, she knows Chloe? Yeah, right."
"Joan told me about it and said it had to be a joke," Mary said with a laugh. "I told her she should call the number just to see what happens. She did and it was actually Beca's number. She told us she wanted to have a surprise party for your birthday. She got us in touch with Aubrey and Stacie and we started to plan everything. They coordinated with the Bellas to get everyone here. Our job was to make sure we got you here. I was texting Stacie on the way here so we wouldn't get here too soon. And let me tell you how much I wanted to fangirl because you know THE Beca Mitchell and never said a word!"
"She's very private so I don't usually talk about her to people she doesn't really know," Chloe said. "Plus, I don't just know her. She's my best friend. She means so much more to me than I could ever say."
Chloe's smile faltered and she felt a pain in her chest. Unfortunately, it seems that's all Beca would ever be - her best friend. Tears sprang to her eyes and she looked down at the table. She took a deep breath and plastered her famous Beale smile on her face and looked around the table at her friends.
"Well," Chloe says wiping her face, "Let's order some margaritas and get this party started!"
Everyone throws out a cheer and the waitresses come to take their orders. Chloe smiled and laughed in all the right places. Aubrey could tell she really was sad that Beca wasn't there to celebrate with her.
Everyone is finished eating and are sitting around talking. Stacie pulls out a laptop and sets it on the table in front of her. Aubrey gets everyone's attention and Stacie stands up to speak.
"Before we get to the cake," Stace said and smiled. "Beca asked that we show the video for Chloe at this time. Are you ready?"
Chloe swallows a lump in her throat and nods her head. Stacie sets up the laptop so that Chloe can see it. Everyone else moves their chairs or stands so they can see as well. Stacie presses play and the screen shows Beca sitting at a piano.
"Hey, Chlo," Beca says as her face appears on the screen. "Happy Birthday! You know I'm not good at expressing myself with words, and end up stumbling over them or just shutting up and looking awkward, or just rambling until even I don't know what it was I was trying to say" Beca pauses and gives a small chuckle. "You also know that I use music to convey my feelings. So, this is for you. I hope you, um, I hope you like it."
Beca starts playing the piano and begins to sing:
Maybe I hang around here
A little more than I should
We both know I got somewhere else to go
But I got something to tell you
That I never thought I would
But I believe you really ought to know
I love you
I honestly love you
Beca looks directly into the camera like she is looking into Chloe's eyes as she sings. Chloe's tears are falling unabated, only being wiped away when her vision becomes blurry.
You don't have to answer
I see it in your eyes
Maybe it was better left unsaid
This is pure and simple
And you should realize
That it's coming from my heart and not my head
I love you
I honestly love you
I'm not trying to make you feel uncomfortable
I'm not trying to make you anything at all
But this feeling doesn't come along everyday
And you shouldn't blow the chance
When you've got the chance to say
I love you
I honestly love you
If we both were born
In another place and time
This moment might be ending in a kiss
But there you are with yours
And here I am with mine
So I guess we'll just be leaving it at this
Someone enters behind Chloe and the girls across from her glance up and and their eyes go wide. Standing behind Chloe is none other than Beca Mitchell, in the flesh. She puts a finger to her lips to get the girls to remain quiet.
I love you
I honestly love you
I honestly love you
Chloe is full on crying at this point and is wiping tears from her eyes. Joan hands her some tissues. The song ends and Beca smiles into the camera.
"If I've read this thing between me and you all wrong, then I am so, so sorry for embarrassing you in front of your friends," Beca said with a small grimace. "But, if there's even a small chance that you feel the same way, then it would be really great if you could turn around right about now."
The words don't register immediately and Chloe furrows her brows. She looks up to ask Aubrey and sees everyone smiling and looking behind her. Chloe immediately turns around and lets out a gasp.
"Hey," Beca says looking all kinds of awkward.
Chloe gets up and runs into Beca's arms. She hugs the brunette as tears continue to stream down her face. Beca puts her arms around Chloe and Chloe buries her head in Beca's neck. After a minute or two, Beca pulls back slightly.
"Chlo," Beca whispers causing the redhead to look at her. Beca wipes away some tears from Chloe's face and tucks a stray hair behind her ear. She smiles at Chloe and Chloe buries her head in Beca's neck again and mumbles something.
"I'm sorry," Beca says. "What was that?"
Chloe pulls back and looks at Beca and says, "I said, I honestly love you, too," and smashes their lips together. They pull out of the kiss and Beca lays her forehead on Chloe's. Both are now smiling and crying as they stare into each other's eyes.
The Bellas are cheering and clapping. Beca pulls Chloe into another hug. Aubrey and Stacie are the first to rush over and engulf their two best friends in a hug; the rest of the Bellas follow suit.
"Happy Birthday, Chloe Beale," Beca whispers in the redhead's ear.
Song used is "I Honestly Love You" by Olivia Newton-John. I don't anything pertaining to the song, the singer, or the Pitch Perfect characters.