Note: I'm sorry it took so long to get this posted. I've written and deleted it three times and then kept editing the fourth draft. I had some writer's block and nothing was coming out the way I wanted it. This may not be the best one, but it has the best parts of the various iterations; at least in my opinion for what it's worth.
This is a sequel to "Vying for Her Love" and picks up five years later. If you haven't already, you should probably read it. You'll be more familiar with the additional characters that have been added.
I don't own anything to do with the Pitch Perfect franchise, the characters, or the actors/actresses who play those characters.
Warning: There will be angst, probably quite a bit of it before things get better. Not enough for you to want to kill me (I hope), more than you would usually see in my fics. But, trust me, it will all be okay.
Here we go. I hope you enjoy it!
Beca Mitchell jerked awake when someone came into the studio. She yawned and looked at the custodian who was looking back at her.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Mitchell," the night custodian, Joe, said. "I didn't know you were in here."
"It's okay," Beca said as she stood and stretched. "Come on in."
Joe pushed his cleaning cart into the studio, and suddenly Beca's eyes got wide. "Shit," she muttered. "Um, what time is it?"
"It's almost midnight," Joe told her.
"Shit, shit, shit," Beca said over and over again as she started grabbing her stuff. "My wife is going to kill me."
Joe stood off to the side and patiently waited until Beca got all her stuff and started rushing out the door. "Good night, Joe!," she yelled as she ran down the hall.
Joe just shook his head and started cleaning the studio. Beca ran to the elevators and waited impatiently for one to finally show up. As soon as the doors to one opened she hurried in and pressed the button for the garage.
"Come on, come on, come on," Beca chanted wishing the elevator moved faster. The doors finally opened and she sprinted for her Porsche 911 convertible. She opened the door and threw her computer bag and everything else on the passenger seat and screeched out of her parking space. She hurried through the garage only to be stopped at the exit.
"I'm sorry, Miss Mitchell," the security guard said. "But you need to sign out before I can open the gate."
"Fine," Beca said as she grabbed the clipboard and completed the sign-out sheet. She practically throws the clipboard at the guard who checks it and then opens the gate. "Thanks!"
"Have a good-," Beca zoomed out of the garage, "night."
Beca speeds home, praying she doesn't get stopped. Lucky for her there isn't a lot of traffic. She makes it home about 20 minutes later and pulls into the garage. She jumps out of the car and hurries into the house.
"Shit," Beca mumbled as she walked in and found all the lights were off. She made her way through the kitchen and into the living room. She checked the couch to see if Chloe had fallen asleep waiting up for her. She wasn't there.
Beca let out a heavy sigh and slowly made her way upstairs. She checked on Sophie and saw that she was sleeping soundly. She kissed her forehead and pulled the blanket up over her. She quietly left Sophie's room and went to Dylan's room. She checked on him and he was also asleep. She kneeled down next to his bed.
"I'm sorry I missed your party, buddy," Beca said quietly. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."
Beca kissed Dylan and stood up. She ran a hand through her hair and let out another sigh. She knew it was time to face the music with Chloe and she also knew Chloe was more than pissed. Beca left Dylan's room and quietly closed the door.
She decided to check her phone and let out a quiet "Fuck." She had 10 missed texts, 6 missed calls, and 4 voicemails from Chloe. She also noticed she had texts from Stacie and Aubrey. She opened the one from Stacie first.
Stacie [6:15 pm]: If you're not home in the next 30 minutes, you might not want to come home at all.
"Dammit," Beca said and wiped a tear from her eye. She was afraid but opened the text from Aubrey next.
Posen [7:00 pm]: You are in deep shit.
"That doesn't sound ominous at all," Beca thought sarcastically. She held her phone and checked the texts from Chloe.
Wife [3:15 pm]: Hey, babe are you on your way? Can you pick up some ice?
Wife [3:30 pm]: Are you getting the ice? The party starts in an hour.
Wife [3:45 pm]: I really need to know if you're getting the ice. Hurry home. Dylan is asking for you.
Wife [4:00 pm]: Jesse went to get ice so don't worry about it.
Wife [5:00 pm]: Beca, where are you? Everyone's asking for you and Dylan keeps looking for you. Call me.
Wife [5:30 pm]: Dammit, Beca. Call or text me to let me know you're okay.
Wife [6:00 pm]: Call me. Please? I'm worried.
Wife [7:30 pm]: The party's over, and everyone went home. We need to talk. Call me.
Wife [8:30 pm]: The kids missed saying good night. Don't bother calling.
Wife [10:15 pm]: I see you haven't bothered to respond to any of my texts or calls. I can't believe you missed Dylan's birthday. I've never been so disappointed in you.
That was the last text. Chloe was disappointed in her. Beca leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. She knew she screwed up and screwed up bad. Tears ran down her face as she sat there, wondering how she let it get this bad.
Today was Dylan's first birthday. Today was Dylan's first birthday party, and Beca missed it because she got caught up in her work. She thought back to the day he was born. She was so happy and excited.
One Year Ago
"I can't believe we have a son," Beca said as she looked down at Chloe and their newborn son. She wiped a tear from her eye.
"He's so beautiful," Chloe said as Beca cupped her cheek and wiped her tears with the pad of her thumb. "Hi, Dylan. I'm your mommy and this is your mama."
"Hey, buddy," Beca said looking down at him. "He's amazing. You're amazing."
Beca leaned in and kissed Chloe. "We should probably let his big sister and his Godmothers in to see him."
"I'll get them and be right back," Beca said. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Chloe said, and Beca kissed her again.
Beca kissed Dylan's forehead and left to get Sophie and the rest of the family so they could meet Dylan James Mitchell.
Everyone fell in love with the newborn. Stacie and Aubrey were already Sophie's Godmothers, so it was safe to say they asked them to be Dylan's as well. The couple had moved to L.A. about two years ago when Stacie got a job doing research at UCLA.
Sophie was over the moon for her baby brother. She smiled and called him "Dylwin" and it was the cutest thing.
Beca frowned as she thought back to what happened two days after Dylan was born. Chloe and Dylan were both due to come home that day. Beca was supposed to pick them up, but Khaled had called a special meeting and Beca had to go in. She had only planned to stay for the meeting and then leave to go to the hospital to take Chloe and Dylan home. That plan was thrown out the window when Khaled promoted her to second lead producer and had taken everyone out to celebrate. Chloe had to call Aubrey to pick her and Dylan up from the hospital.
Beca got home a couple of hours after Chloe did that day. Chloe was not in a good mood, and Beca was feeling no pain from all the drinks she had.
"Chlooooooo," Beca called out when she walked in the front door. "Chloeeeeeee! I've got a surprise for you." Beca started laughing.
"Keep your voice down," Chloe said walking over to the drunk brunette. "You're going to wake the baby."
"Shhhh," Beca said holding a finger to her lips. "The baby's sleeeeeepppppppiiiiiiinnnnngggg."
"You're drunk," Chloe said with a look of disgust on her face. "Is this why you couldn't bring us home? Because you were getting drunk?"
"I was premated," Beca said and furrowed her brow. "That's not right. I was premoted. Pro-mated?"
"Promoted?," Chloe finally offers.
"Yes," Beca said. "That. I was...what you just said."
Beca heard a baby start crying. "Did you have the baby?," Beca asked with a look of wonderment on her face. "What did you have?"
"A boy," Chloe snapped at her. "God, Beca! I can't-"
"Chlo," Stacie said walking over to the couple. "Why don't you go see about Dylan. Brey and I will get Beca to bed.
"Thank you," is all Chloe said. She shook her head at Beca and turned and walked away.
"Come on, Becs," Stacie said taking the drunken girl by the arm. "Let's get you to bed."
"I don't want to go to bed," Beca said in a whiney voice. "I want to see the baby."
"The baby's sleeping," Aubrey said taking Beca's other side. "You can see him in the morning."
"Him?," Beca said smiling. "We have a boy? That is so awesome!"
Stacie and Aubrey manage to get Beca into some pajamas and into bed. She rolled over to her side and started snoring.
"She is in so much trouble," Stacie said, looking down at Beca. "I hope this is just a one-time thing."
Beca wished she could say it had been a one-time thing, but sadly it wasn't. Missing Dylan's party today was just the cherry on top.
Beca was already feeling bad so she decided to listen to Chloe's voicemails.
Wife [4:30 pm]: Hey, babe. The party's started and everyone's asking about you. Dylan looks really cute in that shorts set you got him and he keeps asking for his mama. [there was a pause, and the only thing she heard was Chloe's breathing]. Becs, I'm worried. Could you please call and let me know everything's okay. You promised you'd be home before the party started.
Wife [6:45 pm]: Beca, the party's almost over. I hope whatever you're doing is worth missing your son's party.
Wife [8:10 pm]: The kids were hoping they could say good night. It would be nice if you could tear yourself away from whatever it is you're doing to at least call and tell them good night.
Wife [10:00 pm]: I'm going to bed. Don't bother waking me when, or if, you decide to come home. I don't know what plans you have tomorrow but cancel them because we are going to sit down and have a long overdue talk.
Beca knows she isn't going to be able to cute her way out of this. She had let Chloe down so many times in the past year. She wishes she could blame it on the promotion, but that was just mostly for show. She made more money with the new title, but her job didn't change. And as much as Theo and Khaled told her she didn't have to, she felt like she needed to work longer hours to give the client what they wanted.
She remembered another argument she and Chloe had about six months ago. Beca had it written into every contract that she did not work on weekends. She also tried to keep the late nights during the week to a minimum.
The label had a new singer Khaled had signed and she was proving to be a bit of a diva without having released a single record. Beca catered to her whims and stayed late a few too many nights. Chloe seemed okay with it. But then she started getting calls from Blaze, aka Toni Daniels, on the weekends, pulling her away from her family. This upset Chloe to no end.
"I thought you had the weekend clause in all your contracts with the artists you work with," Chloe said. It was obvious to Beca she was trying to rein in her anger.
"I do, but-"
"No buts, Beca," Chloe interrupted. "You promised to take Sophie and Dylan to the park today. Are you breaking your promise again? And last weekend you promised to take them to the '50s diner they love so much for breakfast. I had to take them alone. Am I taking them to the park today alone as well?"
"It's my job," Beca said.
"It's always your job," Chloe said. She pushed a hand through her hair and turned her back on Beca. "You know what? Just go. I'll keep your promise to the kids for you like I always do."
"Chlo-"
"Just go, Beca," Chloe said sounding defeated.
Beca hated the way Chloe looked at her when she told her to 'just go'. Beca wiped at the tears that continued to fall. Today was supposed to be a happy day. All their friends and the Bellas were going to be there to celebrate Dylan's first birthday. Aubrey and Stacie had come earlier to take Dylan and Sophie to their house to play with Bella and Maddie. Beca was glad when their best friends moved to L.A. for Stacie's research job at UCLA. Their kids were best friends and they enjoyed spending time with their Aunt Aubrey and Aunt Stacie.
Beca was helping Chloe decorate when her phone rang. She hadn't bothered to look at the caller ID and was laughing at something Chloe said when she answered.
"Hello," Beca said still chuckling.
"Someone's in a good mood," the voice on the phone said.
"What do you want, Toni?," Beca asked her smile dropping.
"I need to get into the studio," Toni (aka Blaze) said. "I have a new idea for some of the vocals and we need to get them laid down while they're fresh in my head."
Beca didn't give in. This time she pushed back and was adamant that she wasn't going into the studio. Today was too important.
"It's Saturday," Beca said. "We've been over this before. The contract you and I signed said that I don't work weekends. You'll just have to wait until Monday."
"Come on, Beca," Blaze whined. "I really need to do it today."
"No," Beca said, and Chloe smiled at her. "My son's birthday is today and we're throwing him a party. I can't go to the studio. I'll see you on Monday."
"We'll see about that," Blaze said and ended the call.
"What the hell does that mean?," Beca asked looking at her phone.
"What does that mean?," Chloe asked.
"I told her I couldn't go to the studio today and that I'd see her on Monday," Beca said. "Then she said 'we'll see about that' and hung up. What do you think she meant by that?"
"I don't know," Chloe said. "Help me with the tables."
About fifteen minutes later, Beca's phone started ringing. Beca sighed and looked at the screen to see that Khaled himself was calling.
"Shit," Beca said. "It's Khaled."
"Answer it," Chloe said.
"Yeah," Beca said answering the call, putting it on speaker.
"Why did I just get a call from a crying Blaze saying you told her to fuck off when she asked about doing some vocals in the studio?," Khaled asked. Beca could hear the anger in his voice.
"I didn't tell her to 'fuck off'," Beca said letting her anger come through as well. "I told her my contract clearly states that I do not work on weekends and that we could lay down the vocals on Monday. I've already given up enough of my weekends to her already."
"I understand you have the weekend clause in the contract," Khaled said, softening a little. "But her album is already behind schedule. We need to get this done so we can have you focusing on other artists."
"It's Dylan's birthday today," Beca said. "I'm not going to work just because that diva bitch doesn't understand the concept of contracts."
"Look, Beca," Khaled said with a sigh. "I get it. I do. I have a son of my own, but you only need to work with her for a couple of hours. You won't have to miss the party."
"I, I," Beca stammered and ran a hand through her hair. "No."
"No?," Khaled said. "Do I need to remind you who signs your paycheck every week? It's just a few hours. Deal with it and call Blaze back and tell her you'll meet her in the studio. Today."
"I can't," Beca said looking at Chloe.
"You will," Khaled said. "Or don't bother coming back to the studio at all."
"You'd fire me because of this?," Beca said, really getting angry now. "The bitch hasn't even released a song yet and she's not that great a singer. I've been with you for years."
"It's strictly business, Beca," Khaled said firmly. "You either do the work you're given or I find someone else who will."
"This is bullshit," Beca said through gritted teeth.
"Just go, Becs," Chloe said. "Just be back before the party."
Beca looked at Chloe and saw a small smile on her face. She sighed and said into the phone, "I'll be there" and ended the call.
"I'm sorry, Chlo," Beca said.
"It's okay," Chloe said. "I know Khaled didn't give you much of a choice. Just go spend some time in the studio." She pulls Beca to her. "Just make sure you're back before the party starts."
"Promise," Beca said and kissed Chloe. "I'd better go so I can get back. I love you."
"I love you, too," Chloe said.
Beca had called Blaze and told her to meet her at the studio. She could hear the smugness in Blaze's voice when she said, "I knew you'd see it my way."
Beca left and was at the studio twenty minutes later. She pulled up to the security guard in the garage and signed in. She parked in her space (one of the perks of being the second lead producer) and took the elevator up to the studio. She turned on the lights and the equipment and checked her phone. She played around with some of the tracks they had already done and kept checking her phone.
After an hour and no Blaze, she called the girl.
"Hello," Blaze answered.
"Where the fuck are you?," Beca asked angrily.
"Whoa, Becs," Blaze said. "What's with all the hostility? I'm having brunch with some friends."
"Brunch?" Beca said. "Are you fucking kidding me right now? You have exactly twenty minutes to get your ass to the studio or I'm gone, and this can wait until Monday."
"You won't leave," Blaze said. "Do you really want me to call Khaled again? He didn't seem too happy that I called him the first time."
"Twenty minutes," Beca said through gritted teeth. "And I can't tell you how many fucks I don't give about you calling Khaled. Twenty minutes and I'm gone."
With that Beca ended the call. She threw her phone on the soundboard and rubbed her face with her hands. She sat back and waited. Blaze came breezing through the doors eighteen minutes later.
"I brought some friends," Blaze said as three others followed her into the studio.
"I don't give a fuck," Beca said. "Get into the booth and let's start. I'm out of here at 2:00."
"We'll see about that," she heard Blaze say but chose to ignore her.
"What song are we doing?," Beca asked before Blaze went into the booth.
"Friends," Blaze said as she went into the booth.
Beca pulled up the music tracks as Blaze put on her headphones.
"Ready?," Beca asked.
Blaze nodded her head and Beca started the playback. Beca nodded her head and then looked on with a WTF look as Blaze began rapping the song.
Ooh ooh, ooh ooh
Ooh ooh, ooh ooh
You say you love me, I say you crazy
We're nothing more than friends
You're not my lover, more like a brother
I known you since we were like ten, yeah
Don't mess it up, talking that shit
Only gonna push me away, that's it
When you say you love me, that make me crazy
Here we go again
Beca finally had enough and stopped the music and pressed the mic to talk to Blaze. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"I think it would sound better as a rap song," Blaze said.
"Oh, my God," Beca said. "No. Just no. That sounded like shit."
Blaze grabs the headphones off her head and storms out of the booth. She looks at her three friends. "Get out," she told them.
"Come on, Toni," one guy said. "Beca's right that sounded...bad. Really, really bad."
"I didn't ask you for your opinion," Blaze told him. She then got in his face and screamed. "Get the fuck out!"
He raised his hands in defeat and nodded at the other two friends. The three left and Blaze turned on Beca.
"How dare you embarrass me like that in front of my friends," Blaze yelled at her.
Beca laughed causing Blaze to get angrier. "You heard your friend," Beca said shaking her head. "It was awful. This is not a rap song. It's got some spoken words but definitely not a rap song."
"It's my song and I'll sing it however I want," Blaze said. "Let's just call Khaled and see what he thinks."
"Be my guest," Beca said. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
Beca sat back and watched as Blaze pulled out her phone. She glared at Beca the whole time and Beca glared back at her.
Blaze put the phone to her ear and, as soon as Khaled answered, she started in. She told him how Beca was ignoring what she wanted; she was the artist and Beca should listen to her. She ranted for about three solid minutes before she held the phone out to Beca.
"He wants to talk to you," Blaze said with a smug smile.
Beca takes the phone, and instead of saying anything, she just hit play on the vocals Blaze had just 'rapped'. She held the phone up so Khaled could hear what Blaze had done.
When the clip was done, Beca put the phone to her ear. "Still need to talk to me?," Beca asked. "That's what I thought." She held the phone out to Blaze and said, "Your turn."
Blaze grabbed the phone from Beca's hand and put it to her ear. She didn't get to say a word before Khaled started yelling at her. Blaze's face was turning red and she finally said, "Fine. I understand." She then ended the call.
"I guess we won't be making a rap song," Blaze said. "I still need to lay down the vocals so let's get to it."
She turned and went back into the booth. Beca just shook her head and started the music track. Blaze sang it better, but she kept messing up. They had been at it for hours when Blaze decided she had better things to do.
"I'll expect to hear a playback first thing Monday," Blaze said. "And, I'd better sound good."
"I'm good," Beca said. "But I'm no miracle worker."
Blaze decided to change tactics. "Oh, you're good alright," Blaze said going over to stand in front of Beca. She puts her hands on the arms of Beca's chair causing Beca to lean back as far as she can. "I see how you move your fingers over the soundboard." Blaze takes her left hand and cups Beca's cheek. "Just consider me your soundboard and show me what those fingers can really do." Blaze then slides her hand down Beca's neck and starts moving to her chest. Beca grabs her hands and pushes her away and stands up.
"No," Beca said. "What the hell is wrong with you? I'm married, and even if I wasn't, the answer would still be no. So whatever ideas you have in your head, get rid of them now."
"Come on, Beca," Blaze said stepping toward Beca. "You know you want me. Everybody does."
"Oh, God, you're delusional," Beca said. "You need to leave. Now."
"Is that what you really want?," Blaze asked, trying to sound seductive.
Beca laughed and said, "God, yes. That's exactly what I want you to do. Leave."
"This isn't over," Blaze spat out.
"I'll have your playback for you on Monday," Beca said. "And then I'll hand it over to whoever Khaled chooses as your new producer. Because we are done."
"You can't do that," Blaze all but screamed at her.
"Oh, but I can," Beca said. "Read your fucking contract."
With that Beca sat back down and put her headphones on. She started working on trying to piece together various parts of the many vocal tracks Blaze had done to try and salvage something decent. She ignored Blaze who finally stomped out.
Once Beca started working on the track she lost all sense of time. She finally listened to a playback that was pretty good and took her headphones off. She stretched and laid her head down on the soundboard, falling asleep in seconds. She didn't wake up until the custodian had come in to clean the studio.
Beca wiped her face and stood up. It was time to face Chloe. She walked over to their bedroom door and put her hand on the knob. She took a couple of deep breaths, letting them out slowly. She slowly turned the knob. It was locked.
"Shit," Beca muttered and laid her forehead against the locked door. She stepped back, debating whether to knock and see if Chloe was actually awake or going to the guest room. She opted for the guest room.
Beca put her hand on the door like she was trying to reach through it to Chloe. She made a silent promise that she was going to threaten Khaled and the studio with a lawsuit for ordering to go into the studio on a Saturday when her contract clearly stated that she had weekends off. She was also going to insist that Khaled give Blaze to another producer. She stared at her locked bedroom door for a few minutes before finally turning and slowly sliding her hand down the door and turning to make her way to the guest room. She opened the door and flipped on the light switch.
"Fuck!," Beca exclaimed when she saw two suitcases sitting open on the bed. Her clothes were neatly folded and packed inside. She walked over and noticed that her toiletries and makeup bag were sitting on the dresser. Chloe had moved her out of their room, and it didn't look like she was going to be inviting her back in any time soon.
This was definitely not Beca's night, and she was truly and utterly fucked.
Song Used: Friends by Anne-Marie