A/N: There weren't any Benji fics so I thought I'd be the first xx
All in Benji's POV.
Chapter 1- Plea
I ran my fingers over the cold, monochromatic keys, brushing over them ever so lightly; only enough so that they depressed slightly under my touch. Breathing in, I let my finger firmly sink into one.
A Flat.
And after a sharp inhale, I echoed the solitary note with my own distinct bellow, both sounds filling the desolate auditorium.
Perfect pitch.
As the last breath left my lips, I felt my breath catch, my voice straining out the last bit of air to a quiet diminuendo.
And the room was silent again.
I found myself spending another dreary Wednesday afternoon alone in the theater before practice. It wasn't so bad actually. It was nicer than spending a dreary afternoon alone in my dorm room. Especially since I think my hamster ran away and died somewhere... I grimaced at the thought.
But not only that, I was also practicing for our next big performance at the Homecoming Dance this Friday, where we'd be duetting with the Bellas. 'It's going to be my first time going to dance too,' I thought, smiling. 'Even if it was by myself...'
The comfortable silence was broken by the quiet rustle of someone pushing through set equipment behind the curtain.
"Hey Benji! Sounds great, man." I jumped up, surprised, catching the figure bounce into my left view before I could say anything. "Hey, so can I ask you a favor?" The figure thumped my back.
"Uhh sure, Jesse... what's up..." I rambled, confused. I wasn't accustomed to Jesse coming in for practice so early.
"So, here's the thing. Beca's kind of pissed at me right now..." He leaned over the front of the baby grand to rest within my proximity. "Apparently she thinks I stole the Bella's Sectionals setlist so I could use it for the Treblemakers'..." His foot tapped nervously on the floor, awaiting my reaction.
"And did you?"
"... Well, ok, I kind of sort of borrowed it just to look at it." He threw his hands about, waving the matter off. "But that's not the point. She's really mad at me, and she doesn't want to talk to me for a while, and the Homecoming Dance is in two days..." He circled manically on the stage, watching his feet pace about. "And if she's still mad at me, she won't sing, and neither will the Bellas. And I promised Nate O'Neal that the 'two best aca pella groups in the Nation would peform a rare duet' at the dance." He airquoted sarcastically, as he slumped onto the bench beside me.
"So can't we just do it ourselves... We have material..." I stared at him blankly.
"I doubt it. O'Neal is the biggest douche bag on campus... and he's in charge of mass funding for ALL the student groups. So that means if we don't go through with the gig, he'll have incentive not to give us good funding." He let out a sigh. "And since we didn't win any prize money at Nationals last year... we're pretty much broke without funding." He thumped his head onto the piano, deflated. "We'd only have enough money left to travel to Regionals and Sectionals..."
"I see." I mumbled, trying to calculate where my favor would fit in amongst all this. Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I caught Jesse's gaze.
"I need you to help me, man. I need you to talk to Beca."
I flinched. "Uhh... what..." I stumbled backwards and off of the bench, almost falling to the ground.
"C'mon man, I know she gets along with you. You're probably the only person she would actually listen to! You're the voice of reason, Benji!" He stood up and neared me, cornering me at the edge of the stage.
"But I-I... I really don't think it's my pla-" He grabbed me by the shoulders before I took another step back.
"Please Benji. She literally won't even stay in the same room with me long enough for me to explain. And I have no one else to go to. The fate of the Treblemakers is literally depending on me... and on you." He deepened his stare. "This is your chance to be Luke Skywalker and save the day."
My eyes darted on the floor helplessly, looking everywhere but his face. I'm not going to lie, girls in general, let alone Beca, pretty much scared the living daylights out of me. Quite frankly, I would rather be swallowed by Sarlacc, the carnivorous monstrosity from Star Wars, and be digested slowly and painfully for a thousand years than have to moderate between Beca and Jesse... But maybe that was just me.
I looked up to his face again to see his bottom lip quivering. I winced at the words I knew were about to come out of his mouth next... "Please help me, Benji. You're my only hope." I let out a sigh and shrugged, defeated.
"Okay." I mumbled, as Jesse jumped up in joy and patted me on the back. I gave him a half-hearted smile in return.
"All I'm asking is for you to just tell her the story, and tell her how sorry I am. And, oh, if that doesn't work, tell her O'Neal is in charge of the funding, and that we need them to still com-"
As I watched his mouth move, but no words seemed to reach my ears, I started to wonder if this was a good idea after all.