She had been dating him for a couple months now. It had never meant as much to her as it did to him, something she felt incredibly guilty about. That guilt had been stopping her from breaking up with him even though she knew that each time she put it off she was making the upcoming pain worse. But she had to do it at some point. She had to do it soon, because she was certain he was going to as her to move in with him, and she couldn't move in with him because she lived with Chloe. And Chloe, she was certain, was the one. Her smile, her laugh, the way she made Beca coffee every morning so she could wake up to it's delicious smell, the way she wrapped her arms around her whenever she came home from a shitty day or a perfect day, the way they linked hands so casually. During a rushed late-to-work breakfast, a walk through the park, late at night when neither of them could sleep, Chloe's touch and giggle and presence was enough. Enough to make her feel safe, enough to make her warm, enough that she didn't need anything else in her mess of a life. But Chloe wasn't the one playing with her foot under the table of this big fancy restaurant, looking at her with that playful grin and fidgety bounce.

"Hey," he took her hand and held it a little tighter than he normally did, pressing their palms together. "If we don't make it through this, I want you to know-"

"Jesse, what are you talking about?"

He laughed and pressed the hand he was holding to his lips. "You know, in movies, when heroes are in that last, most dangerous moment and they finally profess their undying love for each other?"

"I don't watch movies."

"But you know what I'm talking about." Jesse was grinning and tilting his head and still clutching her hand so, so tightly.

"Fine." She tugged her fingers free and awkwardly crossed her arms. "I don't like movies."

"I'm just playing around." He pouted and jutted out his lip. "You're annoying."

"Thank you."

"You know, we could die here. And then what? We'll never get to admit our true feelings and we'll have wasted away a perfect love story."

"Jesse we aren't going to die."

"We are eventually."

"Yeah, but not now. In the middle of a restaurant."

"We could die of starvation." He shrugged and dropped his mischievous gimmick. "It's been an hour and I want to order. Where are they, anyway?"

"Relax, they'll be here soon."

"While we're waiting…" He raised a glass. "To us."

"Jesse-"

"To us and our death-free love story."

"Jesse, we should break up."

There was cold, hard silence and his face was cold and her heart was cold and her arms were cold and why didn't these damn restaurant-people turn the heat on?

"Jesse, wait-"

"What's this about, Beca?"

"I just…"

"I don't understand, did I do something wrong?" His emotions seemed to be jumping between hurt and anger and confusion and Beca couldn't tell if she was relieved or scared or washed with guilt and this whole situation honestly sucked for both of them. "Beca talk to me. Why?"

She just shook her head and he seemed to be determined to fix this.

"Beca." He reached for her hand. "C'mon, I love you."

"Jesse, let go."

He recoiled his hand. "Beca, I-"

She didn't know why she was acting like this or why she didn't plan out what to say besides I'm in love with my best friend, fucking back off dude but the thing is that was a lot easier to think than say because she looked at him and she did love him. She really truly did. But he was reaching for her hand again, because one no wasn't enough, and she just wanted everything to stop.

"Jesse, quit it!"

And at the moment Chloe Beale was reaching their table and saw the fear and hurt and anger in both parties. "What's going on? Becs are you okay?"

And Beca melted because here was savior and she needed an out but this might make everything worse because-

"It's because of her, isn't it?" Jesse stood up, throwing his napkin to the ground.

"What's because of me?" Chloe took a step back, shaken by the man's sudden actions.

Beca stood up too, tears welling in her eyes. "Jesse, no, I just-"

"What's because of me?" the redhead wanted to move to comfort her shaking friend but she still didn't understand the situation.

He stood, fists clenched, chest aching, as he spat the accusation. "You love her, don't you?"

And Beca was shaking and crying and Chloe pulled her into a hug and Jesse took a deep breath.

"Fine." he pressed his hands into his pocket. "See you around, I guess."

And he left and Chloe helped Beca into her coat and the led her to the car and they drove to their apartment and changed and sat down on Chloe's bed that they had grown accustomed to sharing. Beca wasn't hungry anymore.

"Do you want me to sleep on the couch?" Beca said, her tears had dried and she was just now realizing the awkward weight of the situation. She didn't know if Chloe understood what Jesse had been saying, and even if she didn't, how she would feel about-

"Of course not, weirdo, come here." And Beca climbed under the blankets and Chloe cuddled up against her. The redhead shifted her head into a comfortable position before whispering, right up next to Beca's ear. "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

Chloe didn't respond, and just let out a breath, tickling Beca's neck, and held her tighter. They stayed like that for several minutes and Beca wanted to grab her and kiss her but she didn't want Chloe to think it was a rebound, she didn't want it to be a rebound. So she stayed still and closed her eyes and willed herself to try and fall asleep. After several minutes of city noise from outside and air conditioning humming and steady breathing from beside her, Chloe shifted around again before mumbling.

"Beca?"

"Yeah?

"I love you too."

Authors Note: Thanks so much for reading! Feel free to leave comments, suggestions or criticisms. I love the feedback! :)