a/n: this is not my best writing, by any means. i just kind of spat it out last night. it was intended to be a one-shot, but i could be persuaded otherwise, as i really enjoyed writing it. all feedback is appreciated, positive and negative.
"I got it, Chlo," Beca huffed out, frustrated after practicing the same generic choreography for the hundredth time.
"Do you?" Chloe challenged, but at least she did it with a cute, kind smirk on her face.
"Well…I will." Beca rolled her eyes. "If I don't have it down by now, going over it for another hour today isn't going to help," she reasoned.
"It better. Aubrey will be here in a little bit and if you mess it up again she'll rip your head off," Chloe said, taking a drink out of her water bottle.
"She'll rip my head off anyway," Beca muttered. "Can I get a drink of that?" She eyed Chloe's water bottle hungrily.
"Sure," Chloe smiled, offering the bottle to her friend.
"Thanks," Beca smiled back. But just as she had almost gotten the bottle in her grasp Chloe squeezed it, hard and on purpose, sending a stream of cool water all over Beca's face and neck.
Beca gasped uncharacteristically, genuinely surprised by the action and by the cold sensation. Chloe burst into laughter.
"I can't believe you did that!" Beca said, wide-eyed.
"Really? Can't you?" Chloe raised an eyebrow as her laughter subsided.
"I'm gonna get you, Beale."
"You couldn't get me if you tried," Chloe said confidently, though she was already running.
Beca chased Chloe around the piano- twice – then between the rows of chairs, weaving in and out and trying to trip each other up.
"Your legs are too short, Mitchell. It's hopeless!" Chloe called behind her, not realizing that Beca had already stopped running after her and was now sitting on a chair, apparently admitting defeat. "Aw, did the baby get winded?" Chloe joked, approaching her friend, assuming that the little game was over and that she had won- she usually did.
"You wish," Beca said softly, tackling Chloe suddenly and sending them both rolling to the ground, laughing along the way.
Beca began to tickle Chloe viciously- she already knew all the best spots- sending the redhead into fits of breathless laughter and gasps. Chloe tried hard to fight her off as the girl tickled her ribs and stomach, but she had found that Beca was much stronger than she looked.
"Whatcha gonna do now, Beale?" Beca asked, pinning both arms above Chloe's head and feeling victorious. "'Legs are too short…'" she scoffed.
"We really should get back to the routine, Beca. You need to finally get it down," Chloe said, straight-faced, looking up at her.
Beca knew that when her friend meant business there was nothing that could get in the way of her determination. She sighed.
"Oh, Chlo. Seriously?" Beca said as her face dropped, letting go of Chloe's restrained hands.
"No!" Chloe laughed, diving on Beca and flipping them over so that she had the tickling advantage.
"You dick!" Beca yelled through her laughter.
Chloe was tickling her ankle with one hand and her stomach with the other, using her own body weight to pin the small girl to the dirty hardwood floor.
"It's not my fault you're so gullable," Chloe said, out of breath, retreating and rolling over to lie on her back, her head resting on Beca's stomach.
"I'm not gullable! I just happen to believe the things you say," she defended, watching Chloe's head rise and fall as her own breathing regulated.
"I know," Chloe admitted. "I appreciate that." She took a deep breath and sighed, relaxing as she felt Beca's body relax beneath her head.
A warm, comfortable silence fell over the two as they simply lay there, recovering from giggle fits and feeling like children. Beca watched as Chloe closed her eyes, visibly relaxed and peaceful, and she smiled. Without allowing herself the time to question it, Beca reached up and ran her fingers through the red tresses that were currently splayed across her torso. At the sensation, Chloe breathed in and sighed contentedly, which only prompted Beca to continue.
She ran her fingertips gently over the girl's scalp before weaving her hand through the locks and pulling gently, just the right amount of pressure. Chloe's mouth opened and just the tiniest sound came out, sending tingles through Beca's body. She wanted to hear every sound that girl made, and she wanted to be the cause of them.
Chloe reached up to her side and found Beca's free hand, entwining their fingers gently, unintentionally drawing Beca's attention away from her hair. Chloe's fingers traced over Beca's so lightly that Beca could just barely feel the touch. Her breath hitched and she looked from their tangled hands to Chloe's face. The girl's eyes were now wide open, staring at Beca's face and smiling with a look of pure love emanating from her, causing a blush to creep across Beca's cheeks (and through her body). And Beca freaking Mitchell did not blush. (Except for that one time that a girl had snuck into her shower. She blushed then.)
Beca's slight embarrassment (and confusion) caused her to tear her eyes away from the insanely blue ones boring into her, but she continued her attention to Chloe's hair. Beca swore it was the softest thing that she had ever felt. Well, aside from the girl's hand, which was still gently caressing her own. She boldly looked back to Chloe's face finding that intense look still in her eyes. Beca smiled, staring into her eyes as she ran her hand through Chloe's hair and tugged just a little bit more forcefully this time, causing the girl's eyes to close and her breath to catch audibly. Beca knew it wasn't out of pain. She felt herself gulp- actually, literally gulp- and prayed that Chloe hadn't heard it. Watching Chloe react to her touches and actions was igniting something inside Beca, like a tiny merry-go-round whirlpool spinning in the pit of her stomach. It was amazing and terrifying.
"Chloe, what the hell?!" Aubrey's voice rang out in its bitchiest tone, startling the girls out of their (loving?) dazes, causing Beca to sit up suddenly, essentially knocking Chloe off of her. "I tried to call you. Why are you here already?" she demanded, sounding like a mother.
"Beca and I were just going over the choreography before rehearsal," Chloe said, standing from the ground and trying to shake herself out of her fog.
"Yeah, looked like it," Aubrey scoffed, shooting a death glare at Beca who was suddenly all the way across the room, pretending to find the piano interesting.
"We were! She wanted to make sure she had it down," Chloe defended, but felt herself deflating as she spoke.
"Aca-bitches!" Fat Amy called out, walking in with Lilly and Stacie in tow. "I made brownies- Tasmanian recipe. Lilly wanted to put weed in them but Stacie said we shouldn't."
"It was your idea," Lilly said inaudibly.
"No time for brownies now, Amy. We have to get our shit together," Aubrey chided.
"Rehearsal didn't even start yet. Why are you already pissed?" Amy asked with a laugh as the remaining girls entered the room.
"I'm not pissed, I'm focused," Aubrey breathed. "Something I'd like to see more of from some of you," she added, looking to Chloe first, who looked sad already, then to Beca, who was still across the room, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
"Okay, let's do this one more time!" Aubrey screamed for the fifth time.
"Aubrey, it's almost nine o'clock. We should really let the girls go for the night," Chloe said quietly, hoping to cause the girl to see how unreasonable she was being.
"I said one more time, Chloe!" Aubrey narrowed her eyes, turning to the group. "And Beca? Try to get your head out of your ass this time, would you? For all the 'extra practice' you put in today it sure isn't showing," she added pointedly, finger quotes and all.
Beca didn't even have the strength or care to argue, and everyone noticed. She didn't react at all to Aubrey's rudeness. And Beca had to admit that it probably did seem like she had her head in her ass today. She had a lot more on her mind than another stupid Bellas rehearsal. She had kept her distance from Chloe all throughout practice, admittedly intentionally, and now she was really regretting it. Chloe wouldn't even look at her. Every time she tried to make eye contact with her, the redhead would turn away immediately, as though Beca were some stranger. Chloe was pissed- that much was obvious- but the worst part was that Beca couldn't even blame her.
The Bellas repeated the routine three more times before Aubrey finally excused them for the night, reminding them all that practice was still on for eight o'clock the next morning. Beca didn't care about any of that right now; she just needed to get Chloe to look at her again. Everyone gathered their belongings and began to file out, but Chloe stayed glued to Aubrey's side. Beca knew Chloe well enough to know that it was a defense tactic. As long as Chloe was with Aubrey then Beca couldn't approach her. Not about what she wanted to discuss, anyway. It was a safety.
After waiting nearly ten minutes for Aubrey to lock up, Beca finally exited, near but not too near Aubrey and Chloe. At this rate, she'd never get a chance to talk to the girl. The walk back to the dorms was painful. Beca lagged behind while Chloe and Aubrey discussed rehearsal as though Beca wasn't even there. Not once did Chloe even look back in her direction.
Finally, fate shone down on Beca. And by fate, I mean Fat Amy, who had called Aubrey before they reached the dorms in order to beg her to push rehearsal back to a later time the next morning. It allowed Beca the opportunity she needed to try to talk to Chloe.
"Hey," she breathed out bouncing a few steps nervously to catch up with the girl as Aubrey deviated slightly in order to tell Fat Amy through the phone how 'unmotivated' she was.
"What's up?" Chloe said coldly. To Beca it sounded more like, 'get it over with and get out of my face.'
"You won't even look at me," Beca said quietly, all tough guy, no emotion façade suddenly out the window when it was a matter of Chloe.
Chloe looked at Beca pointedly, then away, just to prove her wrong. Beca wanted that loving look back, not this sudden disgust.
"Chlo—" Beca grabbed the girl's arm softly, only to have it immediately ripped away from her.
"What, Beca?! Now that no one's around to see, you want to talk to me again?" Chloe asked seriously, her voice rising naturally, more upset than Beca had ever seen her.
"No, I…what? What do you mean?" Beca was lost, and Chloe just kept walking. "Chloe, wait!" she grabbed her arm again, this time succeeding in stopping the girl. "I don't understand," she said sadly, sounding like a heartbroken little girl.
"You wouldn't look at me for the first three hours of rehearsal. You wouldn't stand near me, or talk to me! So why is it okay for you to act like that but not for me?" Chloe asked, now looking directly into Beca's eyes with an intensity that scared the younger girl.
"It's not," Beca said, nearly inaudibly.
"When Aubrey walked into the room today, you threw me off of you like I was nothing! Like you wouldn't be caught dead that close to me if anyone else was around to see. And then, of course, the second you can be alone with me you're back. Are you that embarrassed of me, Beca?!" Chloe asked, feeling tears stinging the back of her eyes.
"Embarrassed of you? Are you kidding?" Beca was seriously at a loss. How could she ever be embarrassed of Chloe Beale? The fact that Chloe even wanted to be around someone like her astounded Beca every day. "I could never be embarrassed of you, Chloe. I'm happy every time you speak to me in public," Beca admitted. "Or not in public," she added.
"Then what happened today, Beca? Because it sure seemed like you were embarrassed to be seen with me," Chloe's face softened and she looked sad, and Beca realized that was where the anger had come from all along. She had hurt Chloe Beale.
"I wasn't embarrassed, Chloe," Beca sighed. "It's just, it's Aubrey, and she hates me so much already, and she's your best friend. So if she thought—" Beca paused, contemplating her words. "If she thought it was more than it was, she would hate me more and she might hate you too, and I don't want that."
"If she thought what was more than it was?" Chloe wasn't stupid; she just needed to hear Beca say it.
"You had your head on me," Beca shook, trying to be strong during this conversation even though she was terrified and crumbling. "I was playing with your hair. We were holding hands…"
"And?" Chloe challenged.
"And I know you're an affectionate person but we've never been like that before. I've never seen you like that with Aubrey or any of your other friends." Beca kicked the ground like a frustrated little kid as she fought off the tears behind her eyes. "If she thought we were together she'd probably be really pissed."
"So you're not embarrassed to be seen with me, but you'd be embarrassed if anyone thought we were a couple?" Chloe asked sincerely.
"Not embarrassed!" Beca prayed that she could maintain her strength, but it wasn't looking good. She really just needed to not be fighting with Chloe anymore. She had never fought with Chloe, let alone over something so serious. She didn't know where it was headed, but she felt like she could pee her pants out of fear at any moment. "I wouldn't be embarrassed if anyone thought we were a couple. But I don't want them to get the wrong impression, I guess," she breathed.
"Why do you care if they get the wrong impression?" Chloe challenged, taking a step closer to Beca, finally.
"It's not that I care, it's just…we're just friends," Beca said quietly, the question in the statement audible in her voice.
"Are we?" Chloe asked so quietly that Beca would not have been able to hear her had they been standing more than a foot apart. It was Chloe's turn to sound terrified.
"I…" Beca's eyes darted from Chloe, to the ground, to her own trembling hands and finally back to the scared, beautiful eyes in front of her. "I don't know."
Chloe rolled her eyes and turned away, her strength apparently failing her also. Beca jogged in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.
"I guess-" Beca breathed, hoping to grow some balls ASAP, "if people did think we were together, I wouldn't mind that. But I don't want them to think that if we're not," she admitted.
"What?" Chloe laughed through furrowed eyebrows, her face lightening for the first time in hours. "That made no sense," she smiled.
"No, it did," Beca promised, smiling back. "If people think we're together, I want it to be because we are together, not just because it looks that way," she breathed, looking deeply into Chloe's eyes.
"So…" Chloe started, relaxing visibly, "what would that mean, exactly?" she smirked. She couldn't help but love to see Beca all flushed and flustered, her cool front long gone.
"Chlo!" Beca whined, face-palming and shaking her head, trying to rid herself of the anxiety she felt, to no avail. When she uncovered her face she was met with Chloe's giant blue eyes, filled with the same intensity (and was it love?) that they held earlier. "I like you," she couldn't stop herself from saying.
"Do you?" Chloe smirked, quirking an eyebrow and taking Beca's trembling hand gently.
"You know I do," Beca breathed out.
"Do you like me in front of other people? Even Aubrey?" Chloe asked with her puppy dog eyes on as they began to slowly walk toward the dorms again, this time hand in hand.
"Well I like you all the time," Beca smiled. "As far as acting like it…" she stopped intentionally, earning a loving smack on the arm from Chloe. "I'll act the same way in front of everybody as I do when we're alone- if I know I'm allowed to," she told her, tracing the girl's fingertips with her own.
"You're allowed to," Chloe said without hesitation.
"Good," Beca nodded. "So I can hold your hand in front of everybody?"
"If you want," Chloe told her, her eyes lowering as she blushed slightly.
"I want," Beca told her. "And I can hug you in front of everybody, even Aubrey?" she asked, stopping suddenly and pulling Chloe into an almost desperate embrace.
"You definitely can," Chloe smiled, kissing Beca's head lovingly as the small girl nuzzled into her neck. "Hey, where is Aubrey?" she asked, suddenly looking around the deserted quad surrounding them.
"Well, I didn't hear the rape whistle," Beca smirked.