A/N
This story is my first fanfic, but not my first time writing. Tell me what you think of it. Anyway, this story starts out during the movie, but continues post movie. Enjoy!
Chapter One
::
Beca had fucked up – badly. And she knew it too.
And instead of fixing it, here she was, moping, sitting in the dark, watching The Breakfast Club. (And totally not crying. Okay, maybe she was crying, but it had a sad ending, okay? This totally had nothing to do with Jesse, and how he hadn't talked to her since Semi-Finals.)
She pops another disc in the CD rom on her laptop –Rocky, ignoring the pang of loneliness in her chest.
::
"You must really sweep your girlfriend off her feet." Beca says sarcastically, as Jesse pulls out a bunch of classic movies, and tosses her a juice box.
"Oh, I don't have a girlfriend." Jesse says matter-of-factly, and wearing a grin. (A grin that doesn't make her face feel warm. Not all all.)
For some unknown reason, her stomach flipped. (Okay, maybe she did know; but she would never admit it to anyone, not even herself.) She covers up quickly with a witty reply.
"What?! You have Juice Pouches and Rocky!" she says with a smirk.
::
She's totally not crying. Nope, not at all.
()
She can't believe she actually went to her dad for help. Her dad. Although, she has to admit, it's nice to actually have someone to talk to for advice. (Not that she'd ever say that out loud, of course.)
What's even harder to believe is how she's standing at Jesse's door, about to apologize. (It took a lot of swallowing her pride to get her here, okay?) She takes a deep breath and knocks on the door.
No answer.
"Come on, Jesse! I know you're in there. I can smell popcorn. " She yells.
After what feels like an eternity, but was probably only a second, she hears the click of a lock, and the door opens.
"Uh, hey." She says hesitantly, fiddling with her hands. "I, uh, tried to call you. I left you a bunch of messages."
"Yeah, I got them." He says flatly.
"I'm sorry that we fought – I was mad, and I over reacted, and I just – Aubrey drives me crazy." She says lamely, shifting her weight from foot to foot, giving him an unsure smile.
"Seriously?" The smile falls off her face. "You think I'm mad because you yelled at me?" Jesse asks her incredulously.
She sighs. "No, I know-"
He cuts her off. "No! You don't know. You think you know, but you don't. You push away anyone who could possibly care about you – why is that?"
She hesitates. "I- I don't know." She mumbles quietly. (Only, she does know. Her parents got divorced, and put her in the middle of everything. So she just shut everyone out. It was just easier.)
'Well, you better figure it out." He tells her. "Because I'm done – with – whatever this is."
"Jesse…" she pleads. But the door shuts in her face.
::
She gets the text when she's watching movies. And not just any movies; all of the movies that Jesse wanted to watch with her. (She's totally not wallowing in self-pity and crying, mind you.)
Text from Chloe
1:30 PM
Hey Beca. Good news, the FootNotes were disqualified. We're back in the competition. Come to practice if you feel up to it.
She considers the text for a moment. Do I want to go back to the Bellas? (Maybe she does miss Fat Amy a little bit…. and Stacie….. and Cynthia…. And Lily…..
Beca shuts her laptop, and throws on some clothes, ridding herself of the sweatpants and baggy shirt she was totally never wearing. (Nope. Totally didn't wear the same pants for three days. Not at all.)
After that, she puts her make-up on. Maybe if she wears enough eye-liner she can cover up the hurt that she's (totally not) feeling.
::
Beca arrives to a room full of screaming, fighting girls. Aubrey, Chloe, and Amy are all wrestling on the floor, reaching for the pitch pipe. Cynthia has her hand mysteriously close to Stacie's ass; and Lily is making a snow angel in a puddle of….. vomit?
()
"Okay, there's something you might not know about me." Stacie says, taking a deep breath. "I have a lot of sex."
"Yeah, we know, Stacie." Amy mutters.
"Only 'cause I just told you." She flashes back.
"Wait, no- this… this is a good idea." Beca says. "Probably not the best example – but this is a good idea." She drags a chair over and starts to sit down. "Why don't we…. All go around and say something about ourselves that nobody else knows?"
Cynthia stands up. "Okay, I got something. This is hard for me to admit to you guys…"
Amy is practically bouncing up and down in her seat, and Beca shoots her a calm-the-fuck-down glare.
"But I have a pretty big…. Gambling problem." She continues. "It probably started about two years ago when I broke up with my girlfriend."
"Whoop, there it is…" Amy says in a loud whisper, pumping her hands in the air; to which everyone responds with a glare.
Lily pipes up next, giving a quiet murmur that sounds disturbingly something like "I ate my twin in the womb." But she isn't sure (No one is, really, so they just continue with the conversation.)
"Fat Amy?"
Amy scoffs, saying that 'she's an open book.' But she mutters "My name is actually Fat Patricia…."
Beca goes next. "Okay, uh…." She thinks for a moment, about what she should say. "Well, I've never really had a lot of friends who are girls…. And – now I do. Which is pretty cool." She admits with a small smile. After a moment of silence, she says "So that's me…..someone else please go."
They continue to go around the circle. Chloe removed her nodes, and can no longer sing above a G#.
Suddenly, Aubrey stands up, locking eyes with her. "Beca?"
Beca hurriedly stands up.
"What do we do?"
(She might have a few ideas…..)
::
FINALS
The Bellas gather backstage a few minutes before they're scheduled to perform, talking excitedly. (Even she can't deny the adrenaline that's flowing through her viens.)
Beca catches sight of Jesse, standing with the Trebles. She walks up to him. There's so many things she wants to say to him, but the words die on her tongue. She doesn't have the time anyway.
So instead she goes with "Good luck."
Jesse turns around to face her, and she can see hurt behind his eyes. "Thanks…." He says tentatively. "Uh, you too."
She nods, and backs away, into the throng of Bellas as the announcer calls the Trebles up to the stage. She watches sadly as Jesse sings, quite obviously showing off to the female members of the crowd. But even still, she can't deny that it's attractive.
::
All too soon, it's their turn to perform. She turns back to them as they huddle in a circle. "Love you, awesome nerds." She says, flashing a grin. Fat Amy adds in too, saying that 'even though some of you are really skinny- (Which was so pointedly directed at her, but she'll ignore it. For now.) that they have fat hearts.'
"Please welcome the Barden Bellas!"
They walk onto stage, poised and elegant (She might just be exaggerating a tiny bit, but still.)
She takes out the pitch pipe, and blows into it. "One, Two, Three, Four…" she whispers, counting them off.
As per usual, Aubrey starts them off.
Seems like everybody's got a price…
I wonder how they sleep at night
When the sale comes first
And the truth comes second
Just stop for a minute and… smile
Chloe takes over, continuing the first verse of the mash-up.
Everybody look to the left….
Everybody look to the right
Can you feel that, yeah?
We're paying with love tonight.
Cynthia Rose takes over then, hopping and swaggering about the stage like she owns it, (And she does.) making the crowd roar in approval. In the crowd, Beca can just barely see Jesse. He's looking down, holding his head in his hands. This is my last chance…. She thinks as she walks back to her position as the Bellas form two lines.
She begins to sing as she walks in between her friends.
Won't you, come see about me
I'll be alone
Dancing, you know it, baby.
She swears she can see him looking up at her, shock on his face. She makes eye contact with him, and continues her solo; the words flowing out of her mouth freely. (Normally, she'd feel vulnerable, but up here, on the stage, it feels natural.)
Tell me, your troubles and doubts
Giving me everything, inside and out
She feels her lips curl into a huge smile as she sings.
Don't you forget about me…..
Don't you forget about me…
Beca joins the Bellas in a sort of conga-line setup, and they walk in place.
As you walk on by…..
Will you call my name?
She sees a fist raise into the air, and she just knows that it's Jesse's. In response, she raises hers too.
The Bellas absolutely nail the rest of their performance, and they jump up and down excitedly as the crowd roars in approval. They walk of stage, still squealing.
She approaches their seats – the ones they were given so they could watch the other teams – only to see Jesse standing there, a smug grin on his face.
"I told you, endings are the best part." He says to her.
()
"What, do you not like movies or something?" He asks her in disbelief.
"I don't hate them, I just get bored and never make it to the ending." She says defensively, fighting back a smile.
"But the endings are the best part!" He insists.
()
"You're such a weirdo." She says breathlessly, placing her hands on his shoulders. ( She's still winded from the performance, okay?!)
()
"So what's your deal?" Jesse asks her, tossing some CD's onto a rack. "You're one of those girls who's all dark and mysterious, and then she takes off her glasses and that amazingly scary ear spike, and you realize that, you know, she's been beautiful the whole time?"
She blinks, deadpanning at him. "I don' wear glasses."
"Then you're halfway there." He says, making his way around the large rack and back towards the semen-smeared desk.
"You're a weirdo." She responds, hiding her tiny smile behind a curtain of hair.
"Yeah, I am." He says with a huge grin. "And so are you."
()
She stands on tiptoe, simultaneously pulling his face down towards hers and kisses him deeply, wrapping her hands around his neck, just as his wrap around her waist.
(Okay, so maybe this is the happiest she's been in a long time. But she's not ever going to say that out loud.)
::
A/N
Sorry, more author's notes. I will continue this story. I just wanted to get a foundation chapter out there before I start writing what happens after. How did I do for my first fanfic? Oh, and thanks for reading!