Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect.
Beca walks slowly to the door to her father's home. Her knuckles rap at the door quietly as she taps her foot impatiently. She pulls her hand back, wringing them and fiddling nervously with her nail polish.
When she receives no answer, she promptly turns to leave but her father's smooth voice echoes behind her. "Who's there – Beca?" he calls out, forcing Beca to turn around and acknowledge him.
"Um, hi," she says weakly.
Her father's warm and inviting smile accompanies his gestures, beckoning for her to come in. "It's late, Beca, but it seems like you have something on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," she immediately answers, but she amends it. "No, I don't want to, but I kind of – it's better if I tell you."
Her father's face pulls into a worried expression, but, nonetheless, she steps inside to his heated home and out of the crisp night air. She takes off her jacket as she hears the door close and her father is suddenly pulling her to the kitchen, where she once spoke to him about leaving the Bellas. It's kind of become their talking place, although they've only ever used it once before this.
"What's wrong?" he asks again.
Beca holds up a hand. "Dad, I – Can you give me a moment? I've got to find the words."
Dr. Mitchell nods, leaning back a bit on his stool to fix his daughter with a stare. He watches her fidgety movements. "Beca – "
"No, I, uh, got it," she cuts him off.
She stands up from the stool. Her feet immediately find a pattern, a straight line, to trace as she paces back and forth. "Jesse and I broke up yesterday," she announces, running a hand through her brunette hair.
Beca' father raises an eyebrow. "He broke up with you? Did you not want to break up with him? You composed that musical number for him, right?"
Beca sighs, looking away from her father for a moment. She fixes her gaze on a picture of him and Sheila. "I broke up with him, actually," she clarifies.
Warren Mitchell doesn't get surprised too often (he's an English professor, he doesn't teach something like Chemistry). "Why? I thought you really liked the boy? Was he not… putting out?"
Her father says this with such an awkward tone and Beca chokes out a small chuckle. "No, no, no. I just – I didn't feel too much chemistry with him. Me and him – we didn't work."
"You seemed fine – "
"Trust me, we weren't."
A pause ensues and Warren reads it perfectly. "You like someone else," he declares confidently, his face holding a smug expression.
Beca's face drops. "Yeah. They don't like me back."
Warren doesn't notice that Beca purposefully didn't use a male pronoun (which he would have caught had he been reading, not listening). "Who is he? Do I know him?" he prods.
"Um…" Beca squeaks, muttering something Warren can't quite catch.
"Who?" he inquires again.
"…her," she mumbles, but Dr. Mitchell can finally hear it.
He's never been much of a religious man (he did commit adultery once) but he grew up with strict Catholic parents. He never followed a specific religion once he left the Catholic household, but he most certainly didn't approve of homosexuality. It was something his mother had drilled into him, and he probably would've done the same to Beca had he actually been there.
"Beca, you may want to rethink this," he cautions, leaning forward.
Beca shakes her head. "No, Dad. I've had enough time to think. I think – I think I'm really in love with her," she admits.
Warren stands suddenly, sending the stool into the counter. "I don't really of approve of this. Homosexuality – it isn't natural."
Beca turns away from him. "Dad, I really am sorry – "
"Why don't you just go get yourself another nice boy? Just because Jesse didn't pan out doesn't mean you're suddenly in love with a woman."
Dr. Mitchell almost spits out the last part – in love with a woman – and Beca's face falls even more. Tears leak out of the corners as she looks confidently at her father. "I have loved her since before I even thought about being with Jesse," she states.
The English professor scoffs. "You just like the idea of being in love with a woman. It doesn't mean you actually are. In fact, you aren't. You just think they won't hurt you as much as Jesse or me or any other man will. That's not true. They're just as, if not crueler, than us men. Rethink this, Beca. Really do."
"I don't need to rethink it," Beca forces out between clenched teeth. "I love her. And I'm going to tell her."
And, shit, Warren doesn't give a damn anymore that Sheila is sleeping upstairs. "No, you are not fucking in love with another woman," he roars, stepping forward.
Compared to Beca's tiny frame, he is much larger. He tries to use it to his advantage, but Beca stares right into his eyes even though she's got tearstains on her red cheeks.
Maybe Beca is doing this to irritate him. That was the reason she did much of her rebellious acts in her teenage years and probably why she continues to do them. "I am," Beca replies, her jaw muscles tightened.
He takes another step forward. His vision is almost red with absolute anger. "This is not a game," he hisses. "To piss me off. Tell me the truth, Beca. Who the hell are you in love with?"
"Her," she states simply again and Warren is enraged to find he won't find the name after he has exploded like this.
He raises his hand and brings it across Beca's face and she gasps – it's the first time he's ever laid a hand on her. He's never done it, even when she deserved a spanking as a child before he and her mother split up (she was always the disciplinary parent). The way her face is turning red and how she's holding it, Warren can see he's gone too far.
"Oh my god, Beca, I'm so sorr – " he starts pathetically, his anger slinking away and his hand lowering.
Beca holds up her hand, anticipating another hit, flinching again as his hand lowers like he was going to hit her again. "I think I should go," she says quietly.
He's still pissed she's homosexual – my daughter is a lesbian, he thinks bitterly – and he knows he may not be able to contain himself if they argue again. He just nods simply and she leaves.
It's the second time in Warren's life he's let a woman of the Diablo family walk away from him.
(Her mother did close to the same thing after their final argument of his infidelity).
He doesn't like it.
Beca runs.
She runs because she's just like him, a coward. Except this time she's running away from him, like he did to her. Maybe he had it coming.
Her phone is in her hands suddenly and scrolling through her contacts. Her thumb hesitates at Jesse's name (she's got him listed at Aca-Boy, which is kind of weird since they're not going to have aca-children anytime soon) but she scrolls past it to Chloe's name.
Her thumb hits it like it has thousands of times before and Chloe's voice picks up, soothing as ever.
"Hey, Beca," Chloe says cheerily through the line.
Beca clears her throat. "Hi," she manages, her throat raw.
Chloe seems to be processing what that sounded like before she finally speaks, in a worried tone, "Why are you crying?"
"Can I just – um, can I come over?"
Chloe's got a big apartment to herself just off campus while she attends Barden still to get her Master's degree. It's why Beca still sees her frequently, although Chloe isn't allowed to be a Bella since she's only there for her Master's.
"Sure," Chloe's voice replies quickly.
Beca nods, then she notices Chloe can't see it. "Yeah. And thanks."
"Whenever you need me, I'll be there," Chloe croons.
Beca cracks a smile, letting a choked laugh escape her. "Just get over here, Bug," Chloe says with amusement. Beca can still tell she's worrying, however.
Beca hears Chloe hang up and she presses the red button on screen to end her line. She wipes at her eyes and her eyes scan over the cars in the parking lot, looking for her and Amy's car (they agreed to share one as long as they both paid) and finding the rusty, rickety old '96 Honda Accord. Her hands slip over the keys in her pocket and she sprints to the car door.
She was kind of driving impaired, what with the tears blurring her vision, but she still makes it to Chloe's door.
(She may have also broken a few laws, including those dealing with speed, turning, and switching lanes.)
It's the second time in less than two hours she's knocked nervously on someone's door and she's glad when Chloe opens her door with a bright smile. Chloe is pulling her into her arms, grasping at Beca's shoulder blades. Beca just sighs and sinks into the embrace, savoring the proximity between her and Chloe.
When she finally pulls away, Beca doesn't meet her gaze. "Let's go inside," she suggests, pulling Beca slightly along to sit her on her couch.
A long silence follows and Chloe sits, content to give Beca time to gather her thoughts. However, she's surprised when Beca bursts into tears and leans over to her to give her a hug.
(It's probably the first time Beca's ever initiated a hug with Chloe, but Chloe and Beca aren't thinking about that.)
"I broke up with Jesse," Beca sobs. "And my dad and I had a fight."
Chloe is taken aback. She'd labeled them the 'perfect couple,' even with the ever-present ache of jealousy in the pit of her stomach. She isn't as surprised with the second.
"Which one is making you cry?"
Beca is surprised that's the question she asked first. "The second one," she admits, shifting slightly in Chloe's arms.
Chloe notices she's still holding Beca closely so she loosens her grip and Beca falls back against the couch. "Why is the breakup not making you cry?"
"I ended it for a reason. I didn't love him – I have a thing for someone else," she admits and Chloe's face falls.
Beca doesn't notice Chloe's expression, shutting her eyes tightly. She does, however, catch what Chloe's doing – focusing on the one that hurts less to get her mind off the second.
"Come here," Chloe mumbles, pulling Beca into an embrace again. "Do you want to talk about your dad?"
Beca shakes her head, but stops mid-shake to nod. "It's probably better if I get it out."
Their faces are dangerously close, but Beca's eyes are still shut and Chloe doesn't want to overstep any boundaries.
(Beca's probably straight anyway; Chloe's never heard her mention a girl.)
(Chloe's thoughts also make her feel even more surprised as the next words tumble off of Beca's lips.)
"I'm gay," she blurts out after she's stood up from the couch. "I tried telling my dad and he didn't accept it. He told me I should reconsider and I told him that I loved – "
She stops abruptly, eying Chloe precariously.
She doesn't continue from where she left off, which confuses Chloe. "He slapped me," she says quietly, her rant over.
Chloe gasps. "Has he ever hit you before?"
Beca lets out an awkward laugh. "No. He's never hit me before."
Chloe stands and wraps Beca up in another hug, and, despite it being yet another, Beca still finds herself melting into it. She sobs into Chloe's shoulder and Chloe whispers meaningless, soothing words in her ear. She probably looks terrible right now, makeup running and cheeks raw from tears. Her eyes hurt like hell now and she's rubbing at them, getting black eyeliner on her hands.
"Can I go – can I go clean off?" Beca manages, pulling away from Chloe's grasp. "I probably look like I just came back from the dead."
Chloe laughs softly, but her eyes are trained on Beca. "Go ahead. You know where it is," she says.
Beca gets to the bathroom and finds a few makeup wipes under the counter. She rubs it under her eyes and on her face, pulling off as much as she can. The door is wide open and she can see Chloe peering over her shoulder from the doorway.
Chloe looks like she's about to say something, but her mouth closes. It reopens again and she finally speaks. "Is that all you came here about? You seem to want to speak about something else."
Beca stiffens, but she shrugs. "I'll tell you once I'm done," she says monotonously.
Chloe nods. "I'll be waiting."
Beca wipes at the last of the makeup, but she doesn't immediately get out of the bathroom. She throws the wipe away and looks at her face in the mirror. Her hands curl around the corner of the sink as she stares at her reflection.
"God, get it together, Beca," she mumbles, rubbing her temples.
She pushes herself away from the sink and she makes her way over to Chloe, who is patiently pulling ice cream out of the freezer. Her back is to Beca, but Beca can hear her humming Titanium from the kitchen.
In a surge of confidence, she presses forward until she's right behind Chloe. She pulls her around and yanks her down to her level.
"Wha – "
Its all Chloe can get out before Beca's lips crash against hers. Chloe doesn't react, however, and she berates herself a few moments later when Beca pulls away.
"Um, sorry," Beca mumbles, taking a step backward and Chloe can see the walls coming back up again. "That was a bad idea. I just – I thought, maybe…"
She turns to leave and Chloe grasps her wrist. "Wait, Beca, am I… am I the girl you're in love with?"
Beca freezes. "Chlo… yes, I – I'm sorry."
Chloe's laughter cuts through the air, crisp and sharp. Beca's heart shatters and she stares, openmouthed, at the laughing woman. "Wow, thanks," Beca says, heartbroken, pulling away from Chloe's grasp as she walks out and down the hall.
Chloe stands straight up, sobering immediately. "Oh my god, I'm a bitch," she berates herself.
She sprints down the hall to Beca, catching her just as she's about to get on the elevator. "Beca, wait!"
She steps in front of the open elevator and Beca. Beca scowls at her, but Chloe can see fresh tears gathering at the corner of her eyes. "What do you want? You want to make fun of me more, go ahead," she says bitterly.
Chloe shakes her head, but words can't seem to find her. She was always good with words, but now she can't form a coherent sentence. She doesn't realize Beca's been waiting until she huffs. "Whatever. Move."
Beca tries to push past her, but Chloe grabs her waist and pushes Beca against the wall next to the set of elevators. Her hands firmly hold Beca's hips as Beca's back hits the wall hard.
She leans in close until their lips are just an inch apart. "I'm in love with you, too."
She captures Beca's lips in a rough, bruising kiss. Beca reciprocates quickly, arms wrapping around Chloe's neck to bring her closer. Their bodies are flush against each other as Beca moans appreciatively.
Beca's lips pop open almost as soon as Chloe runs her tongue against her bottom lip. Their tongues meet and they tangle as the two women grope and feel at each other's bodies, exploring the other in ways they couldn't do before.
Before long, Chloe pulls away and walks away without a word. "Hey!" Beca exclaims, feeling as confused as she is sexually deprived now.
Chloe throws her a wink. "You gonna join me in the apartment or not? We could always continue out here… in public."
Beca flashes a smile and doesn't have to be told twice.
WHOA GUYS. I have no idea what just happened. I was bored and I was supposed to be doing homework and... wow. This is 2,694 words long. As a one-shot. This is what Bechloe does to me; it makes me write a long angsty one-shot with a happy ending.
Bechloe plus boring homework plus me listening to depressing music and then switching to happier music results in this. Maybe you guys should just send me sad songs when you want me to update a story or write something new, haha.
-PPF