Zap's Note: So I wrote this a few months ago and sent it off to Smeg to do his thing on. He's had a lot going on the last few months, so he was only able to get to it now. We ignore Pitch Perfect 2 because neither of us have seen it yet, even though I know a good portion of what happened. We will be working on Six Inches to the Left very soon, I PROMISE it will be continued. We also have other things in the work. Anyway, on with it
Smeg's Note: Sorry for not being around much. I'm trying to recatch the writing bug, but it's been slow to take hold.

"See I told you, endings are the best part" Jesse said as Beca ran out to the crowd. The roar of the audience's approval of the Barden Bellas ICCA Championships performance still booming throughout Lincoln Center.

"You're such a weirdo" Beca answered, pulling him to her, unaware Chloe was watching her every move. Wrapping her arms around him, Beca decided on the spot to slip out from behind the walls that she normally hid behind and enjoy her moment of triumph here in New York City.

~~~~ One week earlier ~~~~

"Ok Chloe, I admit, Beca's set list is aca-amazing." Aubrey said as she and Chloe entered their apartment after practice. The redhead, who was humming said set list, despite the two of them having just come from Bellas practice, smiled as the blond continued, "We're going to take Lincoln Center by storm."

"We so are." Chloe agreed, her humming trailing off just before she started to speak. Unless Aubrey was mistaken, it had stopped right around the part where Beca came in. And the blond had a feeling, thanks in part to her long friendship with the bouncy redhead, that that might have been the reason that Chloe sounded so conflicted when she spoke.

"Chlo, what's wrong?" Aubrey asked, turning to face her friend who was still standing by the front door looking a little forlorn. Putting down her bag beside the couch, Aubrey looked her friend over as she said, "I thought you'd be excited."

"Oh I am, believe me I am." Chloe said as she went to the kitchen to open up a bottle of wine and pour two glasses. Standing at the counter, cork in one hand, now open wine bottle in the other, she turned to look at the blond, who was standing in the door to the kitchen, and asked, "It's just... Why Don't You Forget About Me? Not that it's not a great song, it is. But... It feels like she's putting it in there for him."

"Oh dear god this again." Aubrey said, walking over to stand beside Chloe and taking the bottle from her hand. She poured them both a generous glassful of the deep, red liquid as she knew from experience that this could be a long night. Handing Chloe one, she took the corkscrew with the cork still attached to it from Chloe's other hand and, after taking hold of her best friend's hand, led them both over to the couch.

"You're the one that pointed out her toner for him." Chloe said, joining her roommate, as if she had a choice, on the couch. Looking down to hide her gaze from her roommate, which she knew would show the wateriness in her eyes that she could feel welling up, Chloe looked into the swirling red liquid in her glass as if it might illuminate an answer for her. When it didn't, she tilted the glass back and took a long drink.

"Yeah but that was before I knew her." Aubrey said, setting her glass down to turn to the redhead who just drank about a third of her glass in one go. Yikes, it looked like it might be heading towards one of those nights. Trying to head off this potential train wreck before it got started, Aubrey put forth her usual argument for whenever Chloe brought up that particular point, "Chloe, we both know my gaydar's not the greatest. Hell, it took Fat Amy pointing it out for me to pick up on CR."

"I'll say, you refuse to believe me about Ellen Page." Chloe added with a smirk. Aubrey was happy to see that smirk, so like the brunette hobbit about which they were just speaking, because it might indicate that there was a way to divert her redheaded friend.

"I'll believe she's gay when she actually says so." Aubrey said, rolling her eyes. She knew that her typical response would probably generate a chuckle from Chloe, which it did. Reaching out, she laid a comforting hand over Chloe's which was now sitting on the back of the couch. When the redhead looked up at her, Aubrey said, "Beca on the other hand, just might like Tegan and Sara more than I do."

"That's not possible." Chloe grinned, taking another sip of her wine, though not as generous as the first one. After swallowing, she turned her head towards their stereo and saw the stacks of Tegan and Sara CDs, and chuckled again.

"Whatever, as much as then." Aubrey conceded with a sigh as she followed the redhead's gaze to the stack of CD cases piled up beside the stereo. She could actually still recall the first time the Bellas had had a party here, seeing Beca flipping through them before making a sarcastic comment about how that sort of thing was what an mp3 player was for. Turning back to face Chloe, she saw her friend looking at her and added, "Besides, we've all seen the way she looks at you."

"You really think you can speak for the others?" Chloe asked, raising an eyebrow. She was somewhat skeptical. Ok, she was completely skeptical, especially with how terrible her roommate's gaydar was.

"Here, let me show you." Aubrey said, pulling out her phone and calling Stacie, putting it on speaker. She knew that Stacie would back her up on this, especially because the tall, leggy brunette had asked her just the other day why Beca and Chloe didn't just stop the eye-sex they'd been having and get to the real thing. At the time, Aubrey had had no response for her.

"Hey Captain Tight Pants." Stacie greeted playfully as she accepted the call. Aubrey rolled her eyes at the nickname. She wore some tight jeans to practice one time, just once, and Stacie hadn't stopped calling her that. Not that she really minded, to be honest, but still.

"Hey babe, you're on speaker." Aubrey informed Stacie, mainly so the brunette wouldn't say anything that might potentially embarrass Aubrey any more. She could already feel herself blushing a little, especially as Chloe was once again wearing that, as she called it, "traditional Beca smirk". Pushing on, she leveled a meaningful gaze at Chloe as she asked, "Chloe's being delusional, as usual. Beca's totally into her, right?"

"In other news, water is wet." Stacie deadpanned. Aubrey could almost see the freshmen shaking her head at the obvious question. It was evident to Aubrey just by her tone as she went on, "Beca, CR, you, all hail from a certain Greek island."

"But Jesse..." Chloe started to protest. She'd seen the pair of them together far too often for her to think she was imagining something between them. Before she could really get into her arguments, however, Stacie cut her off.

"Is her friend. Nothing more." Stacie assured the redhead. Aubrey could practically hear Stacie's eyes rolling through the speaker on her phone as she answered. Hell, Aubrey had a hard time not rolling her eyes in sympathy as the pair of them had often discussed this topic with Stacie pushing her to tell Chloe to chase after Beca because "she needs to get her some".

"Then why did she choose Don't You Forget About Me?" Chloe repeated the question she had asked Aubrey. Glaring at Aubrey as she did because she felt that, despite whatever else the pair was saying, there had to be a reason she put that song in the set list.

"I can't answer that, only she can." Stacie honestly replied. And, to be fair, Aubrey and Stacie had both questioned Beca's decision to include that song when they weren't around Chloe. Neither could come up with a good reason besides it's a moving song that many, many people would recognize. Instead of saying that, however, Stacie instead said, "But I promise you, Jesse is no competition to you. Mary Elise maybe, but not Jesse."

"Mary Elise?" Chloe asked, a bit surprised to hear mention of the former Bella. She'd seen the brunette former Bella around campus from time to time, but still felt bad about how Aubrey had removed her from the group for so trivial an incident, so she hadn't really spoken much with her over the school year.

"They have philosophy together, I see them talking some times as I'm heading to my history class that's just down the hall." Stacie explained. "Mary Elise seems to be a little flirty. But I wouldn't worry that much, Beca seems kind of oblivious to doesn't respond at all like she does around you."

"Then why hasn't she done anything?" Chloe asks, a twinge of sadness in her voice as they hear footsteps in the hall outside their door. This was the part that always hung Chloe up, despite how many times Aubrey and her had argued over this topic. It always came back to the fact that Chloe felt she had dropped plenty of hints, and Beca never seemed to want to do anything about it.

"Hey, let me in." Stacie says, and the two girls on the couch heard her the words through both the phone and outside the door as she knocked. Aubrey, after putting her phone down, jumps up off the couch and answers the door, which ends up with Stacie's arms around her neck and the brunette's lips pressed firmly against her own. A very welcome feeling, if one were to ask her. After breaking away from her girlfriend, Stacie turns to Chloe as she says, "Sorry, I needed that, it's been a long day. To answer your question Chlo, all I can do is guess. Maybe she doesn't realize she has a shot. Not everyone is as bold as I am, seducing their a capella team's co-captain after a drunken night of partying."

"Or, maybe it has something to do with how she wants to go to Los Angeles. And besides, it wasn't so much 'seducing' as tripping me into bed and taking off all my clothes." Aubrey offered, walking back out into the living room after having gotten a glass of wine for Stacie. Stacie's wolfish grin is answer enough for Aubrey, who turns to face Chloe to continue to argue her case to the redhead, "She might not want to start something if it'll end up ending when she leaves. You know that would break your heart. She could just want to spare that pain"

"I should have kissed her at hood night." Chloe mumbled, thinking back to her opportunity to be as bold as Stacie. It was something that, in all honestly, shocked her a little, because she usually was as bold as Stacie when it came to getting what she wanted. But then again, there were other factors at the time, she realizes as she continues, "I just...Tom. And I didn't want to scare her away. You have no idea how much will power it took."

"Well, you didn't. You kissed Tom." Aubrey reminded the redhead, shuddering a bit at the thought of the "relationship" they'd had. Walking back over to the couch she took a seat beside Chloe again as Stacie squeezed in on the other side of the redhead. With as much sympathy as she could manage, Aubrey added, "That can't have helped things."

"That's over now." Chloe pointed out, though she knew full well that Aubrey knew she'd broken it off with Tom months ago. Sliding over a little to make room for Stacie, Chloe went on, "You know I ended that as soon as I realized what I was actually feeling for Beca."

"But does she know that?" Stacie asked, only receiving a nod of affirmation from the redhead. "Ok, well that's good. Maybe I could talk to her?"

Chloe shook her head. She knew exactly how much Beca was trying to do right now, having seen how stressed out the brunette had been the last time they'd hung out for coffee. "No, please don't do that. She's got so much going on right now, it can wait till after nationals. I'll let her know then. One way or the other, something will happen."

~~~~ WBUJ ~~~~

"Hey it's my second favorite lesbian" Jesse greeted as Beca showed up for their shift at the station. She was carrying her practice bag, so Jesse assumed that his friend was coming straight from Bellas practice to her shift.

"I'll bite, who's your favorite?" Beca asked as she headed for the table with the milk crates of CDs and records. She didn't even try to hide her eye rolling either, but did hide the smirk at Jesse's amused expression to it. As much as it terrified her to admit it, she was actually having fun around this weirdo. At least, now that they'd cleared the air about her sexual preferences.

"Santana from Glee of course" Jesse said as he started sorting through another of the crates. He was expecting to have to dodge a flying CD case, but was taken aback a bit when Beca didn't even look up from her task.

"I'm beaten by a fictional character?" Beca questioned, not even bothering to look at him. Of course, it helped her that she was really only half paying attention to the conversation with Jesse. She'd been doing a bit of thinking lately, and had come to a decision, one she knew that her friend would no doubt support, and was trying to come up with a way to break the news to him.

"Hey Santana's awesome, she's got that killer voice and that snark." Jesse defended, finally earning the glare from Beca he'd expected. Especially because he knew that he had basically just described the brunette to a T. Holding up his hands in surrender he finally said, "Seriously though it's my Aunt Lisa."

"Alright, that's an acceptable answer." Beca said as she returned her attention to the crate in front of her, picking it up and heading for the shelves. Balancing the weight against her hip and one of the lower shelves she decided to just come out with her news, "So I've decided I'm staying."

"That's great Beca." Jesse said as he followed her. He had been wondering what she was planning to do. When they'd first started working at the station back in the fall, Beca had been all about moving to LA at the end of the school year. Lately, though, he'd realized that he hadn't been hearing much about LA, but he had been hearing a lot about a reason to stay at Barden. Deciding to see if his guess was right he asked, "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a certain redhead would it? I heard she and Aubrey will be doing grad school here at Barden."

"She's the main reason yes." Beca confirmed, taking out CD after CD and putting them on the shelf to give her hands something to do. She wasn't ever someone who was really comfortable with talking about feelings and emotions, unless she was talking to Chloe, and she knew that Jesse knew that. Of course, talking to Chloe about these particular feelings and emotions was out of the question, which she pointed out to Jesse as she said, "I'm not even one hundred percent that she's interested, but I need her in my life in a way I've never needed anyone."

"Rebecca Elizabeth Mitchell!" Jesse exclaimed in exasperation, his hand held over his heart pretending to cover the wound he'd just received. Of course, it was completely wasted as Beca was totally focused on what she was doing with the CDs, but it made him feel better nevertheless.

"Neither my first nor middle name." Beca replied in an annoyed tone without looking at Jesse. She didn't roll her eyes, but only barely. He kept trying to get her to tell him her middle name, and she kept refusing. There were only two people on this campus, aside from the school administration people, that knew her name. Her father and…

"Maybe not but it works better as an exclamation, plus I get to ask 'What's the frequency Kenneth?'" Jesse explained as he pulled R.E.M.'s album Monster out of his crate. As Beca finally looked at him though, her annoyed expression still on her face, Jesse couldn't help but return her earlier gesture to her and rolled his eyes. Sticking the case back on the shelf he said, "Seriously though, I can't believe you're that oblivious."

"It's just, have you ever fallen for a lesbian?" Beca asked, turning back to her CDs and thus missing the expression on Jesse's face as she asked her question.

"Well there was this one girl I met not that long ago." Jesse trailed off, trying to keep the pain from his face. He'd come to terms with Beca totally not being into him in the least, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt a little every once in a while.

"Right stupid question." Beca said, rolling her eyes as she did. Holding the now empty CD case in one hand she gestured between the pair as she went on, "This here, well what it was back when I had to break the news to you, that's what it's like falling for a straight girl. I'm crazy about her, but I don't want to make things awkward you know?"

"Beca, listen to me." Jesse said as he continued to work. He heard Beca putting down her empty crate and taking up another. As much as it pained him to know that the girl he wanted was into someone else, he also couldn't stand seeing his friend moping around all the time. Raising his voice to carry through the stacks he said, "I've seen the two of you at all the aca parties. I promise you she's crazy about you. Make a move, she'll say yes."

"Maybe after we crush your ass at Nationals." Beca said, leaning out from behind her shelf to smirk at Jesse. She knew that this comment would drive him nuts, he'd been trying to figure out what their plans were for Nationals for weeks now, since he'd heard they were back in the game with Beca at the helm.

"So what are you planning anyway?" Jesse asked lightly, hoping to glean some info on either their set list, or Beca's plans towards Chloe. He didn't expect to get anything for either, Beca was usually too guarded to fall for traps like that, but it was worth a shot anyway.

"Nice try Swanson." Beca laughed. Moving back behind the shelf she started slotting CDs and records back into their assigned spots as she smiled to herself about how everything finally seemed to be coming together at last. Catching sight of him through a gap in their respective shelves she added, "But I'm going to do it."

"You should, it'll be that perfect happy ending." Jesse encouraged. He barely noticed the twinge his words caused as he saw the happy look on Beca's face, before his words caused her to roll her eyes again.

"Seriously dude, life isn't a movie." Beca said, shaking her head and turning back to focus on putting away her stuff.

~~~~ ICCA Championships ~~~~

"Maybe but so are you." Jesse said as Beca hugged him, lifting her slight frame slightly which caused her to squeak. When he let her down she was glaring at him, but it faded from her face as he said, "Now what are you doing down here, go get your girl."

"I will, thanks loser." Beca teased with a grin, before heading back to where most of the Bellas were still standing, clustered just off stage. She felt her eyebrows furrow when she saw Chloe being consoled by Aubrey, and didn't understand why when they'd just rocked the house, and probably won the championship.

"Fix this Beca." Aubrey hissed at the brunette when she saw Beca approaching. Placing a soft kiss on Chloe's forehead, Aubrey let her arms fall as she turned to head off in search of Stacie who, with the rest of the Bellas, had moved off towards their seats when they saw Chloe breakdown.

"Why him Beca?" Chloe asked, refusing to look at Beca. She was furiously trying to get her tears under control, and wondered forlornly how she could have managed to go from the peaks of happiness to the darkest depths of despair in so short a time. Of course, the reason for her sudden, plunging emotions was right behind her, as Chloe was reminded when she felt Beca's hand on her shoulder, urging her to turn around.

"Because he's my best male friend and I wanted to thank him." Beca answered, reaching out to touch Chloe's shoulder, to try and get the redhead to look at her. She was completely baffled by this, as the last time she'd seen Chloe, the redhead had been practically glowing with excitement as they stood together on the stage.

"Thank him for what?" Chloe asked. Now that she finally had her tears under control, she let the pressure from Beca's hand turn her around to face the shorter girl who had just broken her heart. Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth to give Beca a piece of her mind, but was beaten to the punch as the brunette spoke first.

"For encouraging me to do this." Beca said, using her hand on Chloe's shoulder, along with a second on the redhead's hip, to pull her in close as she got up on her toes to plant a searing kiss on Chloe's lips. After a few seconds, or maybe a year or two, the need for oxygen finally pulled the pair apart, and Beca, her eyes shining in a way that Chloe had never seen before, said softly, "I'm crazy about you Chloe, I have been for so long, and I don't want this year to end without us being together."

"Really?" Chloe excitedly asked, her emotions all over the place as she didn't know what was going on, but thinking that she would definitely like where things were heading. The kiss had been spectacular, better than even her dreams about it had been. But there was still the matter of Jesse. Moving away from Beca a little, not completely out of the brunette's grasp, but far enough away that her soft breath wasn't tickling the skin of her neck anymore, Chloe looked down at Beca and asked, "So, you and Jesse…?"

"Are just good friends. He's been encouraging me to do that for ages now, but I just… I didn't know how you'd…" Beca answered shyly. Before she could go any farther, though, Chloe with a look of pure delight on her face, leaned back in and captured her lips for a second passionate kiss.

"We're going to have so much fun together this summer." Chloe said when the kiss finally ended. Gone were her doubts and worries about Jesse, and she felt lighter than she'd ever felt before. In fact, she was sure that if it wasn't for Beca holding on to her so tightly she would have floated off into the rafters of Lincoln Center.

"We will." Beca agreed, a mischievous grin on her face. Suddenly realizing that they were still in the wings of the stage, Beca finally, and reluctantly, let her arms drop from around Chloe. Somehow, though, her hand found its way into the redhead's as she led them towards their seats to await the news of the Barden Bellas first ICCA Championship win. As they started out, Beca looked over her should and said, "First thing's first, though. As soon as we get back to Barden, I'm taking you out to celebrate."

"To hell with that! We're celebrating tonight." Chloe insisted, looking over at Aubrey when the pair finally came out of the backstage area near where the Bellas' seats were. She knew that her friend saw their linked hands, and no doubt the expression on Chloe's face as well, because she saw Aubrey chuckle and lean to say something to Stacie, who turned to look at them and grin, giving them the thumbs up. With a smile for the pair, she said confidently, "Stacie and I are switching rooms."

"Ms. Beale whatever do you have in mind?" Beca asked, pretending to be innocent as they made their way to their row of seats. As she moved, she saw Jesse looking at her and Chloe, saw that he'd noticed their linked hands, and grinned back as he gave a rueful shake of his head and a hearty grin.

"You'll find out." Chloe winked.

Note 2: That's a wrap. Hope you enjoyed it. If you did, drop us a review, we love 'em.