AN: Don't you worry your pretty little heads. This is a completed fic. It has four chapters and an was just way too long for me to call it a one shot. I'll update every Tuesday if you guys like this. This fic is centered around Beca going to L.A. at eighteen instead of Barden. It's a weird AU, and they'll be a lot of familiar Sendrick stuff in this. You'll see why. I have two more finals, and I'm free to write all summer. Updates to everything are coming. I promise. Be patient.
Only Human
Chapter 1 : Kryptonite
The critics called her a show biz legend, a five foot two force to be reckoned with, invincible- -bulletproof. She was a Grammy nominated music producer and an Oscar nominated actress. There was no other way to put it, Beca Mitchell was a media darling. It didn't matter how inappropriate she was or how much she talked about getting trashed. To the public, she could do no wrong. Beca wasn't even trying to be adored. She just was. She was painted as if she were Superman by the tabloids. Keyword: painted.
That was the thing about the media- Though there was truth within their stories, it was hard to see through the thick facade of lies and rumors.
"Superman" rolled off her bed with a groan. She winced at the light that poured in through her trailer blinds. Last night was a blur, and her head was pounding. She stumbled to the fridge, and grabbed a water bottle from the inside, cracking it open. She popped a few Tylenols, already knowing today was going to be a bitch. Despite all the lies the media fabricated making it seem like she was from Krypton, Beca Mitchell couldn't hide from the truth. She wasn't invincible, her life was a full court mess, she was anything but glamourous, and unfortunately for her, she didn't have a super-human immunity to hangovers.
Hungover at work, what a great employee I am came her inner musings. Might as well be honest about it. She took her phone off the charger and tweeted: aDirectorJensen May or may not be hungover at work. Blame it on Stacie and Amy. #BecaEffinMitchell is a shoe in for employee of the month #the runs are the worst.
She didn't even bother checking the comments. Knowing that she mentioned Stacie and Amy, the Sendrick/Bechloe fandom would probably jump all over that and mention her. They always did. Fan comments shouldn't bother her, but given recent self-developments, and the fact that the fandom had been creepily right lately about whatever she was feeling, she didn't dare look. She swore some of her fans were psychic. She just wanted to get today over with and take her flight back to Baton Rouge.
They were wrapping today. It was a small scene that she wished they would just cut. It's not like it was that important. Twelve hours, Beca. That's all and you're done. She couldn't fathom another day working with these people. Beca was so happy to get out of there when they yelled, "That's a wrap!" and started cheering, she didn't even wait to celebrate. She made a beeline to the airport and slept all eight hours back to Baton Rouge.
She was so impatient to get to her hotel, she hailed a cab instead of the limo because the limo guy was running late. The cab driver either didn't recognize her when he dropped her off or was too nervous to say anything, because he didn't say a word to her. Just a simple, "Where to Miss?" and a "Y'all come back now, yah hear, Miss?" She loved it when that happened. It meant she could just shove on headphones and not make small talk or answer questions. She wasn't sure she could handle it right now. She felt like she was going to die. She checked into her hotel fast, and slumped into her bed…grateful at least the movie was over. No matter what the fans wanted, she was not doing a romantic comedy again. Every fluffy scene reminded her of Chloe. She might get the Pitch Perfect trilogy done and never act again.
An ironic thing about Beca? She was an actress that hated movies and hated working on them. She just couldn't say no to anything her fans asked her to do because being a DJ had been her dream from day one when she told her dad she was not going to Barden and bought a one way ticket to L.A. Fans were a part of that dream. She was to the point where if a fan asked her to tattoo the word boobs across her ass, she would do it, no questions asked.
At first, she was solely a music producer…until her favorite fan 'convinced' her to audition for the role in Pitch Perfect; it was a set of bizarre circumstances that did three things: it inspired the film's arguably most iconic scene, it gave her one of her best friends, and it was the beginning of the bane of her existence (no matter how much she loved them, because really, she did)- - The Sendrick/Bechloe shippers.
She was producing what would become the 2013 Album of the Year with singer/songwriter Cynthia Rose when one of Cynthia's friends came into Beca's studio. This friend was to be featured on the album's title track called Invincible.
She dreamt she was in a meadow with a piano in the middle of the tall grass. Moving her fingers along the keys in a rhythm that was familiar to her, an oddly ghetto voice for a peaceful meadow resounded from the sky—
"Beca! Beca! Awwe, man did you fall asleep here again?"
Beca jerked awake to Cynthia Rose shaking her head at her. She had fallen asleep on her lab top keyboard. She was up until four in the morning last night trying to make the bass line to Rio work. Cynthia Rose's mouth moved, but Beca couldn't understand her. "What?" Beca asked.
"I said Chloe was supposed to be here five minutes ago, you know, my friend, who's going to be singing the bass part?"
"Ohhh no! No! No! Noo!" Beca sprang from her seat, and grabbed clothes off her studio sofa, the clean clothes she kept for emergencies. She stunk, and there was a guest coming to her studio. That's not how Beca did business. She was serious when it came to music. She needed to shower and get dressed. She didn't hear the, " Calm down, girl. It's just Chloe. She's a big fan of yours, and she's kind of ecstatic to meet you," as she flew to the cramped bathroom. "White girls," Cynthia mused, sighing.
Beca stripped off her clothes and hopped into the shower, turning on the hot water. She didn't realize that she forgot to close the bathroom door. Like most people, Beca had a habit of singing in the shower, and she started singing David Guetta subconsciously.
"I'm bulletproof!
Nothing to lose!
Fire Away!
Fire Away!
Ricochet,
You take your aim!"
"I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD SING!"
That was the moment in her life Beca Mitchell swore she heard the high pitched horror movie violins playing in the background; her shower curtain was ripped across her tub to reveal an overly cheery redhead in a white V-neck t-shirt and short shorts, looking like she was just there to enjoy life.
"DUDE!" Beca yelped as she jumped back, flattening her front against her shower wall, trying to cover everything up.
"How high does your belt go?" the redhead asked, reaching over to turn off the water, but she wasn't quick enough to avoid getting her white shirt drenched. Beca Mitchell's eyes widened as she realized the girl's shirt was now see-through, and she could see everything.
"B-Boobs—belt—I mean what?" Beca stammered, trying not to stare at the girl's chest, but her eyes went down for a split second. "Oh my god! What are you doing in here?"
"I had to pee," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I knew you could produce music, but I didn't know you could sing! Gail's going to LOVE this! You have to audition for Pitch Perfect!"
Beca looked down, trying once again, not to stare at the girl's junk. "I c-can't concentrate on anything you're saying until you cover up your tits!"
"Just consider it. We'll be filming in Louisiana, and I heard they were going to be bringing in that black guy from Scrubs. Plus, the music will be great, the script is insane, and I'm sure you'll be able to help with the song choices, and get this! There's this chick that pukes when she's nervous, and a girl who calls herself Fat Rebel."
The girl was so excited at this point that she knocked Beca's shampoo bottle off the wall, and it scared Beca so bad she whipped back around the shower wall, covering her chest. "I'm nude, and you're very..er..friendly and all, but I don't know who you are," Beca announced.
"Chloe," she waved, "You were singing Titanium, right?"
David Guetta was all it took to calm Beca down. She smiled, staring sheepishly into Chloe's bright blue eyes. "You're a fan of David Guetta?"
"Oh totes! That song's my jam." She leaned closer, "My diddle jam!"
Beca almost fainted…almost. "That's…that's nice."
"It is…The song really builds," Chloe winked.
"Gross," Beca gasped, swearing this wanted to give her a heart attack.
"Can you sing it for me?"
"Dude no! Get out!"
"Not for that reason. I'm not leaving here until you sing..so," Chloe let out a long sigh, and stood there, still soaking wet, nipples still showing, signaling to Beca that she wasn't kidding about not going anywhere.
Reluctantly, except not really, Beca turned to face Chloe. This girl knew who Beca was and was treating her like a normal human being…at least she thought. She could be some psycho crazy fan, but Beca's instincts told her that Chloe was just trying to get her to audition for the film. She began to sing, her dark blue eyes locking with Chloe's bright ones.
"I'm bulletproof!
Nothing to lose!" Beca began, her voice quivering.
To the DJ's immense surprise, Chloe joined in harmonizing with her.
"Fire away!
Fire away!
Ricochet,
You take your aim!
Fire Away!
Fire Away!
Shoot me down,
But I won't fall!
Subconsciously, Chloe had told Beca later, that she dropped her arms, and was singing to Chloe like she was fully clothed. They were smiling at each other.
I am titanium!
Shoot me down,
But I won't fall!
I am titanium!"
They stood there, staring at each other, Beca naked, Chloe drenched, with matching firework beams on their faces. They connected instantly. They didn't even know each other, and they already had a song and about a billion inside jokes. The two girls were shamelessly checking each other out.
"Oh yeah," Chloe said, noticing the other girl's slip up, "I'm pretty confident about all this," she gestured to her body.
Beca blushed, her eyes following Chloe's hands, grazing her perfect body, "You should be."
"Oh!" Chloe said, like she was remembering something important. She turned around and bent down, opening the cabinet under the sink to grab a couple of white towels. Beca stood there awkwardly, naked, trying not to look at Chloe's butt, before Chloe turned around and handed the towel to the small brunette.
Again, they just stared at each other as Beca covered herself and Chloe dried her shirt off. Chloe was beautiful, everything about her. That hair, those eyes, that heart shaped face, even that cute little scar on her forehead. Whoa, where did that come from, Beca? Calm down.
"You'd be perfect for the role of Anna Kendrick. She doesn't wear eyeliner, and she doesn't have tattoos or piercings, but maybe Gail will like that idea, make her a little more alternative, ya know?"
Beca nodded, not able to keep the heat from rising in her cheeks or a giant grin from stretching across her face.
The door barged open, and Cynthia Rose entered, "Chloe have you seen B—OH MY GOD—WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?" Her eyes looked as if they were watching a tennis match, bouncing back and forth from Chloe to Beca, not believing how not straight her friends were being at the moment. "I'm waiting! Explain yourselves!"
"Well…what it is," They both began at once.
Cynthia Rose didn't believe them. She just took them both to Gail. Beca didn't even have to audition with scenes. All she did was audition with her quirky Cups song, and she had the role. Gail even insisted on using the Cups song in the movie. When she found out about the shower incident, she laughed so hard she was in tears and was like, "Brittany has to do that to Anna to get her to join the Bellas!" Apparently, the name Bellas came from the a capella group the cast were in in college. They casted all former Bellas but Beca.
The only things that changed in the shower scene, aside from the obvious, was the word diddle. They changed it to lady because Gail didn't want little kids asking their moms what diddle meant, and she made them both naked and had a guy interrupt them instead of a girl.
Oh yes, Beca got revenge on Chloe, but regretted it once she had to spend a day naked in front of a bunch of camera guys. Chloe didn't mind because, of course, she really was confident about all that…as she should be.
Beca smiled sadly at the memories, feeling like there were shards of glass entering her chest. She wasn't going to cry. Her phone rang, and a tear ran down her face as Your Favorite Fan flashed across the screen.
Chloe must have seen the script for the third movie, the reason Stacie and Amy took her out drinking the night before wrap. God kill me. In all reality, she wanted to kill Gail for even going there. She wanted to kill the studio for even allowing Gail and Kay to go there. Above all, she wanted to kill the tabloid people who sparked the Sendrick hookup rumors before the second movie. That propaganda was the reason the studio gave the green light on canon Sendrick in the first place. She briefly wondered whether the media would still call her a hero if she did kill those people. They probably would. Knowing them, they would even find a way to General Zod the victims. She didn't know who was going to kill her first—this movie or Chloe.
Her eyes begrudgingly found her phone again. A soft squawk came from her lips. She stuffed her ringing phone in between the cushions of her hotel couch and sat down on them, thinking that if she couldn't see her phone, it wasn't actually going off. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to Chloe Beale about how her tongue was soon going to be down Beca's throat. It made her tremble and break out in goosebumps at the thought of it. It also made her want to throw up.
Why did the fandom have to be so damn abnormal? Seventy percent! Seventy percent of the fandom wanted the characters Anna and Brittany to get together. Even the cast and crew rooted for it. It seemed Beca was the only Kastin person on the cast. Beca abhorred the idea of Sendrick. She hoped it wouldn't happen despite what the fans demanded. Don't get her wrong...she loved the fans, and how enthusiastic they were. It's just that the Pitch Perfect fandom was so gay. Unfortunately, despite what the media said about her love life, Beca was convinced she was probably gay too. Beca knew she was at least gay for one girl.
What the media said: Lovebirds and costars Beca Mitchell and Jesse Swanson were seen showing some serious PDA after a movie. They are so in love.
The Facts: Beca and Jesse were dating, and they were spotted making out after they went they went to see the Breakfast Club which was showing at a local drive in.
The Lie: They were in love.
The Sendrick fandom was right where the media was wrong. Beca Mitchell was in love with Chloe Beale soon to be Chloe Price, if she so chose to take his last name. If Beca Mitchell was superman, tall, dark, and bald Barrett Price was Lex Luther.
Beca made out with Jesse with tears running down her face. That was the night after Barrett broke the news he was going to propose to Chloe. Chloe was engaged to be married, but Beca couldn't get over her. That was the one true fact. She would rather be single for the rest of her life. She was going to have lunch with Jesse when she got back and confess everything to him. She was just going to avoid Chloe until Pitch Perfect forced her to or until death—death sounded nice too. They were getting married next week, and Beca couldn't tell her. Beca couldn't tell Chloe how she felt. She wasn't even going to the wedding.
The reason she was so opposed to canon Sendrick? Imagine kissing the love of your life knowing there was no way you could ever be with them. Imagine how painful that would be. She couldn't say no to the third Pitch Perfect because she loved her fans. But baby, if the media was right about Beca being Superman, Chloe Beale was most definitely Kryptonite. Shit was about to hit the fan.
Beca jolted awake in the morning at thunderous pounding on her hotel room door, and a familiar shriek rang out.
"BECA LOUISE MITCHELL, OPEN YOUR DAMN DOOR! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! I CALLED YOU FIFTY TIMES! YOU DIDN'T THINK I WASN'T SMART ENOUGH TO CALL THE HOTEL?"
Did Beca say shit was about to hit the fan, because it's not about to.
It just did.