Just a tiny one-shot I wrote so long ago based on a one-worded prompts list that I don't remember. Prompt: beginning.
At first, she doesn't notice it. He's not acting any differently. He still stacks records the same, making faces at her while she pretends she's not having fun, insisting on the movie-cation, hanging out in her dorm despite the rest of the Bellas 'chaperoning' (Chloe admits that "We just like to tease the adorable couple!"—"We are not adorable!"). But then she begins to notice. All of her aca-nerds are suddenly all busy at the same time during the week, sometimes even the weekends. Jesse is distracted during movie nights- she even uses The Breakfast Club as a last resort, to no avail. He stuffs his face with popcorn- though that's nothing new- and packs away his DVDs before leaving without so much as buttery fingers on her back as they hug. She wipes it off and sighs. What the hell is going on? The next day, when she arrives in the auditorium for Bellas' rehearsal, a hush falls. This doesn't happen again in the next few weeks, however Jesse's behavior does. Leaving early, arriving late, not really looking her in the eye, fidgeting. Beca starts to worry.
When the hush falls again, she's had enough. "All right someone tell me what the fuck is going on!"
Complete silence. Stacie stands up. "It's time to rehearse."
"No." Beca's hand shoots out and gently pushes Stacie's shoulder, indicating for her and the rest to sit back in their circle. Towering over them, - well, as much as her short stature allows her to- she walks along the perimeter of their circle with her arms crossed in front.
"Now," she begins, her voice rising in pitch so that it carries across the room, "I know something's going on. The real question is: who will be the first to tell me?"
Beca looks each of them in the eyes. Aubrey's are absent, as she's sitting in a chair, filing her nails and rolling her eyes. Chloe's and Stacie's have the same cold determination. Then Fat Amy's. They dart from left to right, careful not to catch Beca's.
"Amy," Beca begins, "what's going on?"
Amy nervously meets Beca's eyes before looking into her own lap, hands twiddling up a storm. Seeming to gather courage, Fat Amy looks at Beca. "You don't want to know."
"Like hell I don't want to know!" Beca shouts. "You've all been acting fucking awful for the past couple weeks, including Jesse. You need to tell me what the fuck is going on. Now."
Stacie looks almost pityingly at the Bella leader. "Becs," she uses the nickname to calm the tension in the room, "it's really not our place to tell. Talk to Jesse. Then come back to us. We'll be here for you." The other girls nod in agreement.
Beca sighs. "Fine, but I expect you to be rehearsing when I get back." With that, she exits the auditorium, thoroughly confused and more than a little suspicious.
Standing outside his dorm, Beca becomes more confident.
He's probably just trying to get me to go on some road trip with him, she thinks. He always gets weird when he wants to do something that I don't want to do.
She raises up her fist and pounds on the fort once, twice, three times. No sound from inside the dorm. Another three times and she hears someone stir, and the doorknob turns.
Jesse is standing at the door, pajamas and headphones on, laptop in hand with a movie paused on screen. He slips his headphones down. "Beca, what's up?"
"The girls told me to ask you the same thing," she says, pushing past him to sit on his bed.
He looks at her with a fake confusion. Jesse looks nervous. "What d'you mean?" He asks, slipping his headphones completely off and setting the laptop down.
Exasperated, Beca gesticulates wildly as if that proves her point. "You've all been acting different. The girls are quiet, and things just seem. . . off when we hang out. What's going on, Jesse? This is getting annoying."
"Shit, Beca. I'm sorry." He sits next to her, takes her hands. "I was going to tell you sooner, but I just didn't know how-"
"Jesse, just tell me. Please. I'm starting to worry."
He looks to the ceiling as if looking for answers. "I'm breaking up with you." Silence. "Hey Bec, you okay?"
She looks from her hands to the ceiling, trying to look for what he must have seen up there. She finds nothing. Slowly, she stands from the bed and turns toward Jesse.
Jesse's forehead scrunches up. Beca used to love that, it always meant he was thinking hard about something, usually a new movie score. Now, though, she simply kisses the wrinkles he creates, says goodbye, and leaves.