Beca decided that Valentine's Day sucked. It was ridiculous- everything was pink and covered in roses, and there was a never ending stream of pictures of couples doing cutesy things on all the social media she could think of. Also, as far as she was concerned, Valentine's Day was more of a corporate scheme to steal the wallets of the non-single population (also known as herself). On the bright side, the day after Valentine's Day meant a huge sale in chocolate prices- and who was she to pass that up? If Beca was going to wallow in loneliness, she might as well do it eating some cheap chocolate.
Beca shuffled into CVS, passing makeup, cards, beverages (she rolled her eyes when she saw the pineapple juice sold out), until she got to the junk food aisle in the back. She grimaced, looking at the heart shaped boxes adorning the section. Deliberately ignoring them, she absentmindedly picked candy off the shelves, and sighed when she realized that the Hershey's chocolate was on the top shelf. "Well, this is fantastic." Beca thought to herself. She stood on the toes of her shoes, trying to reach, but came an inch too short. Always having been a vertically challenged person, this situation merely frustrated her further.
"Oh, for the love of all that is–" Beca began, as she tried once more, determined not to let the shelves get the better of her. She used the bottom shelf as a ladder to give herself more height. "Got it!" She cried triumphantly, gripping the box of candy in her hand. Thoroughly underestimating how high the bottom shelf was, Beca's foot slipped and she landed on the ground, hissing a string of profanities. Her face contorted, back stinging in pain. That was definitely going to leave a bruise.
When she opened her eyes, she didn't recognize the figure in front of her. All she could make out was that they offered their hand to help her up, which she took gratefully. As she got to her feet, she got a better look at this person. It was a woman with luscious red hair, looking at Beca with a half amused, half concerned expression. Beca noticed that she was trying not to laugh at her predicament.
"Thanks," Beca said sheepishly.
"No problem." replied the other woman. "You taking advantage of the sale too?" She gestured to the pile of chocolate on the ground.
"Yeah. The only people I spent Valentine's Day with were me, myself, and I. Better to wallow in loneliness with some chocolate." Beca started to pick up the candy. The woman bent down to help, and Beca smiled gratefully.
"Really? I wouldn't thinking someone as cute yourself would be spending the day alone." The other woman said with a smile. "But who am I to judge?"
"Good question." Beca managed, composing herself. She cocked an eyebrow at this woman's compliment, but the pink tinge on her cheek betrayed the sardonic look on her face. She had been hit on before, but this time it seemed more gentle. "Your Valentine's Day wasn't too different from mine, was it?"
The woman chuckled. "Ah, not at all. I got home from work and had a bucket of ice cream and binged Netflix with the volume all the way up. My roommate had a date, so I had the apartment to myself."
"Nice. Mine involved a lot more of Single Ladies on repeat, among other music." She paused. "Anyways. Ice cream? In February? Are you crazy?"
"Maybe a little." The redhead shrugged. "Not crazy enough to climb the shelves at CVS only to fall and maybe break something for a candy bar."
"Hey!" Beca protested playfully. "It was worth it. Besides, you're still the crazy one."
"Really?" The woman raised her eyebrows. "And why is that?"
Beca gestured to the bag of Almond Joys under her arm. "Those," she paused. "Are absolutely disgusting."
"Don't knock it till you try it! You could say that eating them brings me…" she gestured to the label of the bag. "Joy!". She grinned, waiting for a reaction.
Beca admired her a bit in that moment, wondering briefly how one could so happy on a simple trip to CVS. Snapping out of it, she quickly understood the pun and groaned dramatically.
The redhead plucked a king sized pack of Reese's cups from the shelf. "C'mon, that was good. You're being…" she pointed at the bag. "Un-Reese-onable."
Beca laughed a little, and was rewarded by a delighted look on the woman's face. "Okay, that was pretty good." she admitted.
"Awww! You're too-" the redhead lifted the candy she was holding. "Sweet!"
Beca shook her head, but cracked a smile. "You're ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I'm gonna pay for my candy." She turned and headed for the cashier, and was followed by the other woman.
Seeing the two approach, the cashier asked, "Are you paying together or separately?"
"Oh. Uh," Beca stammered, not expecting the question. "Separately."
The cashier looked at the pair skeptically, but didn't argue. After paying for their food, Beca turned to face the redhead.
"Thanks for helping me out. It was really nice talking to you."
"Anytime. It was really nice talking to you too." The redhead smiled again. Beca could tell it was a genuine smile, as her eyes crinkled at the edges.
Beca was turned to leave, but quickly spun back around. "Wait. I never got your name. I'm Beca."
"Chloe. Chloe Beale." The redhead stuck out her hand, and Beca shook it. She liked the way that warmth flooded her fingertips at Chloe's touch. Maybe Valentine's Day wasn't that bad after all, if Chloe Beale was involved.
Author's Note: Alright! All done! I wrote this completely on a whim. I saw a prompt on tumblr, and something went off in my head. I enjoyed writing it. Fanfic is fun, my dudes. As of now, this stands as a one-shot, but if people want it to continue, then it shall.