Chapter 1
Waiting. That's a word she would describe herself with. Even after the teacher tells her to please use adjectives because this paper isn't a joke and he will be grading it later, she clings to the word like her whole life depends on it. Because it kind of does. Beca Mitchell is waiting. Always waiting. Whether it be for a new season of her favorite TV show, for the bell to ring and announce she can finally go home, for high school to actually end, for her life to get a meaning, or for something that will make it easier, at least a bit. Beca is waiting for a lot of things.
For example, right now, she is waiting for her alarm to go off and remind her that in an hour, her life will most likely suck even more than it has before she moved to Atlanta and had to go to a new school. But she gets up nevertheless, hoping and praying that this day ends quickly and possibly without her getting pushed into a locker or whatever other stupid shit those kids do. She rolls her eyes at the thought and makes her way downstairs, where her father is already eating breakfast and looking at her strangely. She ignores the look and sits down, ready to eat and leave as soon as possible, without any conflict. But as luck will have it, her father speaks before she can even take a bite. "Beca, could you please take those things out? It hurts my ears just looking at that. And tone it down on all that eye make-up, will you? At least look presentable on your first day of high school." She'd be more than willing to argue with him over breakfast, if she didn't have class in half an hour. So she settles on being sarcastic. "Good morning to you too, dad." He takes a deep breath and doesn't say another word, knowing he can't convince his daughter to do anything, really. They finish eating in silence and continue to drive in silence until they're in front of Beca's new school. She stares at the building. It's big and sad looking and it almost makes her laugh because it is exactly what she had imagined. She says good-bye to her dad and gets out of the car, hating the place already.
She tries very hard to keep her head down and stay unnoticed by everyone around her but she can already feel a few pairs of eyes watching her, almost hungrily. She hurries down the hall and walks into the girls' bathroom, locking herself in one of the stalls and sighing with relief. She takes her schedule out of the bag and rolls her eyes. Of course, PE had to be her first class today. After two minutes of contemplating if she should just run and never come back, she unlocks the door and heads for the gym. She's right on time and only eight girls are in the changing room. All of them look at Beca when she enters, a few of them looking away immediately while others make their way towards her.
"Hey, you must be the new girl. I'm Jess." A tall, blonde girl is looking down at her with a smile. Two girls are standing behind her, looking over her shoulder. Beca nods and introduces herself and the blonde steps back, for which Beca is grateful only until she's met by the other two girls who are also taller than her. One of them's name is Brooke and the other one is Stacie. They both have brunette hair and green eyes and they look the same to her, which is about right since they're twins. When they walk away, Beca looks at the other girls in the room, none of them really seem to notice her which she thinks is great. Well, except for one. A pair of brown eyes bore at her from the other end of the room and even when they make eye contact, the girl doesn't look away. Her dark bangs almost cover her eyes and she look kind of scary, just sitting there and watching Beca as she tries to change. When she's done changing, the coach calls them into the gym and she follows the girls out of the room. The gym is not too big, the same size as in her old school. They start off with stretching and then the coach makes them run ten circles. Beca hates running. She doesn't get tired or out of breath or anything, she just thinks it's boring. Especially when she has to listen to some girls complain when she could be listening to music. She finishes the tenth circle with ease, outrunning others by two whole circles, so she sits on a bench to wait. Then, she notices someone. A woman is standing at the other end of the gym, watching her with a grin. When other girls finish, the coach waves to the woman and she walks over to the group, still eyeing Beca. She introduces herself as Mrs Beale and goes on to explain that she's the new cheer coach. She asks if any of the girls would like to try out for the team and five raise their hands. She writes down their names and smiles, but doesn't seem satisfied. Beca doesn't realize she's staring until the ginger turns to look directly at her, her smile growing a bit. "How about you? What's your name?" Everyone is looking at her now and she looks back at the coach nervously. "Rebeca Mitchell. And um, I don't really do cheerleading." The girls seem satisfied with her answer and lose interest, but the redhead doesn't and walks over to her, taking her a few steps away from the group. She looks down at her with that smile that doesn't seem to falter and speaks again. "Hey, I saw you out there. You're in really good condition. You should totally try out for the cheer team." The small brunette sighs despite the feeling of pride taking over her, "Look, I'm just not the cheerleading type. Thanks though." She regrets her words as soon as she sees the look on the redheaded teacher's face. Sadness? Disappointment? Beca figures it's probably both. "Oh, okay. I get it. Cheerleaders are just dumb blondes who love to show off their legs. Sluts, right?" Mrs Beale turns to walk away before Beca can even apologize. She watches the woman disappear behind a door. She huffs and joins the group of girls doing push ups.
The day couldn't go by any slower, Beca decides when she's sitting in math class. Her eyes are fixed on the clock above the blackboard. Four more hours. She's interrupted by a cough coming from the teacher's desk. She keeps her head down for the rest of the class, not daring to share another eye contact with Mr Angry Face. She already forgot his name but she's pretty sure it's related to a known serial killer because if looks could kill…
The bell finally rings and she checks her schedule before walking out of the class. Geography. Something Beca's actually interested in. She rushes to the bathroom, hoping the bell won't ring for another two minutes, at least. She has a bit of a trouble finding the classroom but she quickly discovers the big green door and walks in confidently. Her shoulders slump when she realizes everyone's already in their seats and the professor is staring at her sternly. Again, if looks could kill… "I'm sorry I'm late. I got lost." Not technically a lie. Better than the over-used "I had to pee." The blonde woman behind the desk stands up and wow, she is tall. And hot. "New girl, right?" Rebeca Mitchell?" The small brunette nods nervously. The blonde gestures towards an empty seat next to the weird girl from earlier. Beca sits down and takes out her things. The professor warns the students that if they make a habit of being late, they will be sitting through detention without excuses. And she does it while looking at Beca, the whole time. The brunette would probably get mad if she wasn't so confused as to why the woman seems to be looking at her with not so much anger but with… Hunger? Lust? No way, she must be imagining it. The blonde is obviously furious. Right? Probably.
Halfway through geography, she feels a nudge in her shoulder and she can barely take her eyes off of the blonde to realize it was the weird girl. She also seems to be looking at the professor. "Forget about it, Mitchell. She's taken." She looks at the tan brunette incredulously. "What? I mean… Duh, she has two last names and a ring on her finger. It's so obvious, ugh…" For some reason, she feels comfortable talking about the woman in front of her to the girl next to her, probably because she knows she's been staring and couldn't come up with an excuse. The girl nods and looks at Beca, as if she's waiting for something. The small brunette looks at the words on the blackboard. "Mrs Posen Beale… Huh." She frowns. "Hey isn't it weird that she and-" "Mrs Beale have the same last name? Yeah, they're married. We have lesbian teachers in our school. And they're married." Beca's eyes widen and they're both still watching Mrs Posen as she turns around. "Ms Ludgate, anything you'd like to add?" The girl next to her shakes her head and looks at Beca as soon as the blonde turns back around. "I'm April." "Beca." "I know."
The rest of the day is pretty uneventful. Beca doesn't even bother remembering her new teachers' names, let alone listen to what they have to say about their classes this year. April and her exchange a couple of words every now and then but apart from that, Beca sits quietly in her seat and stares at the clock. She thinks about how lame this school is and how she wants to go to LA and live her dreams, and how much she hates her dad for making her go here and how she just needs to graduate and then she'll finally be free. The thought of her future as a famous DJ excites her to no end but suddenly, she's interrupted by another thought. And although she does not want to think about it all that much, it still bothers her. It bothers her how today was supposed to suck and she was supposed to hate all her teachers and classmates but then there are those two teachers, who are married and are both women and Beca finds herself being very interested in that. The small brunette never gave much thought into sexuality. Her uncle came out to her and explained how he was in love with a boy when she was younger, and she remembers being very happy for him and not being bothered by that at all but it also didn't make her think about herself in that way. Beca didn't like girls. But she didn't like boys either. She's never liked anyone before. And she wonders why she's thinking about it now that she found out her teachers are gay. She thinks back to when Mrs Beale asked her to join the team. She remembers her long hair and her blue eyes and how she looked at her while she was running. A shiver runs down Beca's spine at the thought of that grin. She shakes her head, trying to stop herself from imagining things. But then it's hard not to imagine things when she remembers the look Mrs Posen gave her when she was late and how she already knew her name even though none of the other teachers even knew she was new and now she's wondering how the blonde knew who she was and if maybe Beale told her. But why? To give her heads up? Maybe she told her how bitchy Beca was because she didn't want to join the team. Maybe she told her how hot she looked when running… The brunette sits up straight, mentally kicking herself. Fortunately, the bell rings and she follows April outside.
She's sitting on a bench outside of school, waiting for her dad to pick her up when someone sits next to her. She looks ahead, not thinking much of it. Everyone had already left school and there was no one around, which left Beca alone with a stranger on one bench even though two other benches were free. Beca doesn't know what to think of that and before she can turn to ask, she feels an arm drape around her shoulders. She turns to look at the stranger and much to her disappointment, it's neither of the women Beca's been thinking about. A thought she pushes away immediately. Smugly staring down at her, is a boy. A teenage boy. She leans away from him and tries to get rid of his arm around her neck, but he stops her movements with both his hands pushing her back into the wooden bench. "Relax, new girl. Becky, is it?" She stops trying to escape but pulls the angriest expression she can muster, hoping to get rid of the guy. "It's Beca. And don't tell me to relax. Get the fuck off of me, yeah?" She pushes him back but he leans in even closer, whispering into her ear, "Easy, Beca. I'm not going to hurt you… Yet." He leans back and winks at her but her expression doesn't falter. He shrugs and offers his hand, "I'm Dylan. And I'm going to take you out. On a date, I mean. Not like, kill you or anything." She squints her eyes at the sudden change in his demeanor. After thirty seconds of him still offering his hand, she takes it and squeezes slightly. "Thanks for the offer but I'm not interested." She looks around in hopes of seeing her father's car but it is nowhere to be seen. He leans back into her, his hand wrapping around her waist now, "C'mon, Beca. You'd be missing out on some good things." She opens her mouth to object as his hand gropes her ass but she's cut off by someone clearing their throat behind them. She sees the fear on Dylan's face as he looks up and he's off her in a second. His head is down and he seems to refuse to look at either of the people. Beca's in too much shock to even bother looking at the person, she just stares ahead and waits for this to end. "Go home, Dylan. I'll deal with you later." A familiar voice comes from behind her and makes her sigh in relief. The boy looks up at the woman this time and rolls his eyes, walking away. Beca jumps slightly when Aubrey Posen sits down next to her. The blonde turns to look at Beca's face but the brunette is staring at the ground. She takes her hand and gently squeezes it. The smaller girl is amazed by how soft and warm her hands feel. "Did he hurt you?" She shakes her head and finally looks up at the green eyes staring down at her. "But he touched you. I saw that. And I'm so sorry, Beca. As his older sister, I am so ashamed of him. He's always been like this…" The blonde chuckles when she sees Beca's eyes widen, "Don't worry, he's not getting away with it. I was already planning on stopping by my parents' house this afternoon and I will not hesitate to tell them what a little shit he's being. And if they won't teach him a lesson, I will." Beca smiles up at her teacher. "Thanks, Mrs Posen. I appreciate it." "No worries. And hey, when we're not in class, please call me Aubrey." The blonde winks and stands up, straightening her back. Beca just nods and looks up at her. She quickly looks away when her eyes fall down to the blonde's exposed stomach. Aubrey seems to notice and chuckles, covering herself. " Who's coming to pick you up?" The question makes the brunette look up again. "My dad was supposed to. But I think he might have forgotten. It's been almost an hour." She stands up as well and picks up her bag. "It's fine though, I'll just walk. It shouldn't be far." The blonde rolls her eyes at the brunette. "Yeah right. I know you just moved here, Beca. And I am not letting you walk home alone. You could get lost or get hit by a car." She looks at her watch and up at the school building. "Chloe should be down in a minute. Don't worry, Beca. We'll get you home." The brunette nods and stares at the building. Two minutes later, the redhead walks out of school and towards them. She gives Mrs Posen a kiss on the lips and Beca stares at the ground, awkwardly swinging her foot in front of the other. She looks up again and sees the two women exchanging looks. First, Chloe's eyebrow quirks and she looks almost hopeful. But then Aubrey shakes her head and clears her throat. "Chlo, we're driving Beca here home. Her dad forgot to pick her up." The redhead nods slowly and smiles at the student. They make their way to the car and Beca sits behind Chloe. Aubrey turns on the car and pulls out of the parking lot. Beca can't help but notice Chloe's hand on the blonde's thigh. How her fingers are tapping the surface of the tall woman's jeans to the beat of the music coming from the radio. And then she's just drawing circles and patterns and Beca wonders how it feels. She starts drawing patterns on her own leg with her finger but she stops when Chloe's hand moves higher. The brunette bites her lip and watches the ginger's hand. She feels a pair of eyes watching her from the rear-view mirror and sure enough, Aubrey's eyes are on Beca. And there is that look again that makes the brunette feel weak in the knees. Both of the girls' eyes tear away from each other when the redhead speaks. "So, Beca. Where do you live?" "Oh um, Ranch Road. I don't know my full address yet…" "Ranch Road? Really? Bree, did you know this?" She looks at the blonde and then back at Beca, "We could be neighbors!" The brunette smiles, relieved. They drive for another ten minutes and Chloe's hand is back on Aubrey's thigh. This time it's just resting there. There's a weird feeling inside of her that Beca can't describe. It feels almost like she's sad but she's not. She catches herself wishing she could be in Chloe's shoes. Wishing she was in Aubrey's shoes. It freaks her out. She's never liked anyone before, let alone two people at the same time. But now she can't help herself. The two women are being so nice to her and it makes Beca think about how she hurt the redhead in the morning. She does not want to be a cheerleader. But she doesn't want to hurt Chloe's feeling either, and she did. So she mentally kicks herself before speaking. "Mrs Beale?" Both women chuckle in response and Chloe turns around to look at her, "We're technically both Mrs Beale. But I'm guessing you're addressing me, right?" Beca nods. "What is it, honey?" "Could I still try out for the team?" Chloe's eyes widen and she smiles widely. "Of course, Beca! Oh my gosh, will you really?" The brunette smiles and nods. The redhead squeals and pats her knee, then turns back around, receiving a smile from the blonde.
"Right there. On the left. The white house, not the blue one." Beca says before Aubrey turns into the driveway in front of the blue house. "Well, of course it's not the blue one. This one's ours." Chloe points at the house and laughs. Beca looks at the house and steps out of the car. "I can't believe we're actually neighbors. That's crazy." She says and accepts the hug the redhead offers her. The blonde pats her head and smiles down at her. "Don't worry, Beca. We won't ever bother you when you're home. We can do that at school." Chloe winks and laughs, "For serious though, I'm really happy you decided to try out for the team." She pulls at Beca's hands and leans in really close and the brunette glances at Aubrey but the blonde is just smiling at them. "I think we're going to be really fast friends." "Chloe, I think you're scaring her. Sorry Beca, my wife has no boundaries." The blonde laughs and steps closer when Chloe takes a step back. "Beca, if you ever need anything, you know where to find us. And really, anything. We're almost always at home so you won't be a bother. If you need someone to study with or if you just want a cup of coffee… Or if your dad ever gives you a hard time. I know how dads are." The tall woman smiles down at her and pulls her in for a hug. Her perfume makes Beca want to hug her forever. But she pulls back and smiles at the women in front of her. "Thank you guys. For everything. I'll drop by sooner or later. We're running out of coffee." She winks and the women laugh. Before she turns to leave, Chloe stops her and writes a number on her hand. "If your dad ever forgets to pick you up again." Beca smiles and walks to her house, waving goodbye to them. Maybe this school year won't be that bad.