No one driving by Barden High that morning would have known that something out of the ordinary was going to occur sometime later that day.
"Will you stop please? I'd like to be able to keep my breakfast down, thanks."
Stacie, who had her face buried in Aubrey's neck, lifts her face to smile at Beca charmingly, "We're not doing anything. I'd go check for a stomach bug if you're feeling iffy."
Beca rolls her eyes, shutting her locker door, before pushing at Stacie's shoulder, "Ass. Hey Aub, do you know if Mr. Sullivan is back? I need to talk to him about this assignment."
Aubrey, after adjusting her hold on Stacie now that she's standing upright rather than burying herself in her arms, shakes her head, "He's not, but he should be in tomorrow according to what he'd told us. Have you tried asking the sub about the assignment?"
Beca rolls her eyes and rests her head against her locker, "The sub is an idiot. He doesn't have a clue about anything. And where the hell is Chloe, she's late."
Aubrey shares a knowing look with Stacie, who isn't even trying to hide her grin as she asks, "Oh, were you hoping to finally tell her?"
Beca swallows as she nods, "Actually...yes."
Aubrey's jaw drops at that.
Beca usually rolls her eyes whenever either of them mentions her coming clean about how she really feels for the redhead.
"You-really?"
Beca smiles a little, looking between the both of them, "Yeah...I think I'm going to finally do it. I'm ready to tell her."
Stacie squeals and pulls Beca into a tight hug, "That's great! Oh my God! This is awesome! When are you g-"
Aubrey gently pats her girlfriend's arm, "Baby...Beca can't answer you if she can't breathe."
Stacie quickly lets go and grins down at the shorter brunette apologetically, "Oh, sorry Becs."
Waving her off, Beca grins at Aubrey in thanks as she replies, "Don't worry about it. And I mean...I had been hoping to do it before first period, but I guess it'll have to wait now."
Just then, as the bell signaling homeroom sounds, a streak of red skids past them, running towards her locker that's down the next hall, "Good morning!"
The others follow her at a more respectable paced walk.
"Cutting it kinda short, aren't you Red?" Beca quips, ignoring the heart eyes Stacie is throwing their way.
Chloe winks at her over her shoulder as she quickly enters in the combo to her lock and dumps her books before pulling out the right ones, "Don't have much to work with in that respect; you're tiny."
Aubrey laughs under her breath at the look Beca now has on her face, and has to stop herself from cackling when Stacie whispers, "Swerve."
"Whatever. See you in third period?"
Chloe shuts her locker and presses a quick kiss to Beca's forehead before breezing past them towards her classroom, grinning as she throws out over her shoulder, "Yep. You three are going to be late," causing all of them to scramble towards their respective classes.
xoxox
Beca rolls her eyes at Aubrey as they walk over towards their lockers before heading towards their next class, easily discussing their next required reading.
"Look, all I'm saying is, why did it have to be 1984? Why couldn't it have been Fahrenheit 451?"
Aubrey laughs as they slowly come to a stop and says "Only because you know there's a movie adaptation that you can check out of the lib-"
The rest of her sentence is drowned out by a loud blast echoing down the hallway, another quickly following the first.
The world seems to have been muted for a second before suddenly bursting into loud hysteric screams as students and teachers alike scramble to get away from the source of the blasts.
Beca grabs Aubrey and finds herself shoving both of their bodies into the tiny supply room that's across their lockers. She slams her body against the door as it shuts and locks it.
"Try not to stand there like a complete idiot next time." Beca snarks.
Aubrey is standing stock still, eyes wide and laced with fear and panic, her hands shaking as she whispers, "I-I'm sorry. Was...was that a gun?"
Beca tries to swallow down the urge to puke as she stiltedly takes a step so she's closer to the blonde and nods, not trusting herself to speak.
Aubrey reaches out for Beca and the younger girl allows her this as she tries to keep quiet and listen for any sounds coming from the other side of the door. Aubrey's heart is hammering against her ear and Beca's sure her own isn't fairing much better.
"Stacie...I don't know where she is." Aubrey whispers, more vulnerable than Beca has ever seen her before.
Her green eyes brim with tears and Beca wraps her arms securely around the blonde and she allows herself a moment to truly cry and fall apart in Beca's arms.
"I-I don't have my phone. What if...Stacie could be dead. I need. Beca I need to go find her, I have to," Aubrey gasps out and Beca holds her in place.
"There's someone out there with a gun! I'm not gonna let you go out there, are you fucking crazy?" Beca holds fast and harshly whispers. Her heart feels like it's in her throat, not wanting to think about what could possibly be happening out there, beyond their little room.
Aubrey shakes her head and whispers back, desperate, "Beca please-"
Beca doesn't answer her. Instead she just shakes her head no and just like that her arms are no longer comfort, but rather a cage keeping Aubrey rooted to the spot.
xoxoxo
Chloe was just reaching her locker, having left her class a little late, having stayed behind to talk to her teacher, when the loud cracks rip through the air, and her heart leaps into her throat.
Mark from fourth period History is yelling and screaming, waving a gun in the air and randomly firing shots in front of her and bodies are already strewn around the floor, blood pooling everywhere.
Mark, the boy who had been so sweet and flustered when asking her to go on a date with him last year.
Mark, the boy who she's known ever since fifth grade.
Chloe can't bring herself to move, or run for cover. She's frozen to her spot in the hallway, eyes wide, and heart hammering as she sees him turn towards her.
His eyes narrow slightly as he takes in the sight of her before lifting his gun and taking aim.
She can't help the yelp that rips through her throat, as the bullet rips through her body, nor can she stop herself from collapsing to the floor, hands flying towards her leg, her jeans already staining red from the wound.
Mark strolls towards her at a slow, calculated, pace and Chloe tries desperately not to cry out when he finally reaches her and stands over her with an almost bored and curious look on his face.
"I'm sorry about all of this," he states emotionless.
"Please stop this. Please don't hurt anyone else." Chloe finds herself pleading with him.
His eyes turn frigid, and suddenly Chloe feels a chill run down her spine.
She stares up at him, wondering if this was a long time coming.
She's still staring up at him when she sees him take a step back and goes to lift his gun again. She shuts her eyes immediately, preparing for the shot that will end her life, but it never comes.
She doesn't dare open her eyes for a few beats though, not wanting to see the scene around her just yet. She has to eventually, she knows this, but she needs a moment to gather her wits about her.
There are bodies of colleagues she's known all her life surrounding her, and she's fighting the bile that threatens to escape her as she urgently tries to stand up, knowing she must get away. Mark could, at any point, decide to come back and make sure she dies, and she doesn't want to be sitting in the same place, making it easy for him.
She realizes the library is just a little ways away and slowly, determinedly pulls herself towards it.
Xoxox
"I want to leave."
"I know," Beca murmurs, squeezing Aubrey's hand in her own as they both sit on the floor, backs to the back wall, facing the door.
"I miss her."
Beca nods, wrapping a soothing arm around Aubrey's waist, letting her cry, "Stacie's gonna be okay."
Aubrey chokes out sob, latching on to her words, hoping and praying for them to be true.
"Chloe's going to be okay too. She's too sweet to die."
Beca's eyes dart towards their feet, narrowing at the word 'die'.
"Give me a few more minutes…a few more minutes and then we can get out of here and go looking for them, okay?"
Aubrey snaps and shakes her head, "I'm done stalling Beca, I need to find Stacie now."
Biting her lip, Beca removes her arm from around her waist and whispers, "I'm not stopping you anymore," ignoring the words her mind is throwing her way.
Idiot.
Fucker.
Don't do it.
Unsafe.
Foolish.
You're going to get her killed.
Aubrey looks a little bit taken aback by Beca's sudden change of heart.
"I'm so fucking scared. I'm terrified actually, that if I let you go out that door, you'll get shot, like the others…But I get it. I get it. She's worth that risk."
Aubrey nods her head as Beca continues, "That's why I'm coming with you. You're not gonna get yourself shot and killed. Besides…I've got to find Chloe."
The blonde chuckles gruffly as she picks herself up off the floor and grabs Beca's hand and pulls her up behind her, "Don't do anything stupid while we're out there."
Beca rolls her eyes and punches her in the shoulder, "This is already stupid."
Xoxoxo
"I don't think any of them have their phones with them," Stacie says frantically as she paces around back and forth in the parking lot, hand gripping her phone, eyes staring out at the school in front of them.
Cynthia Rose waves her own and says, "I got hold of the others, they're inside. Jessica and Ashley are locked up in the second floor bathroom. Fat Amy is with the rest in the gym. The only ones not accounted for are your girls."
Stacie's heart drops and she feels her body start to shake as she thinks about what could possibly be happening on the inside.
"I have to go find Aubrey."
Before she can even take a step forward, Cynthia Rose has her in a tight hold, shaking her head, "Nuuh. No you don't. You're not going anywhere."
Stacie can't even argue, she just slumps against her and cries as she prays that nothing has happened to her girlfriend, or Beca and Chloe.
Xoxox
The only sound Beca can hear is that of her heart hammering in her chest.
The silence that surrounds them as they quietly make their way down the halls is eerie and unnatural. The bodies that they pass are scattered around in odd positions and they make no sense to Beca, who refuses to truly accept that this nightmare is actually happening.
Aubrey slips across the floor with a loud squeak, sending her sprawling, and if not for Beca's quick reflexes keeping her upright, she'd have fallen. Looking down, they both see the dark pool of blood that stains the floor and Aubrey's shoes and Beca's stomach churns in disgust and horror.
"That's…that's Chloe's locker."
Aubrey's heart clenches, and she whispers, "That…That doesn't mean this is her bl…she's okay, I mean she isn't here."
Before she can say anything else, Beca's eyes take in the smear of blood that leads from the floor towards the library. She squeezes Aubrey's hand and says with some trepidation, "I'm…I'm going to follow the trail. You should-you should go find shelter."
Aubrey shakes her head, "Not until I find Stacie."
Beca doesn't argue. She doesn't really say anything really. Instead she pulls Aubrey into a tight hug and holds her tightly, hoping that action alone will let her know what she's trying to say.
"I know," Aubrey whispers into her shoulder before pulling away and giving her a little grin for good measure, trying to put on a strong front before continuing past the library doors.
Beca takes a deep breath and follows the trail, quietly inching her way through the tiny gap she manages to create in the door to slide through. At first glance the library seems to be completely empty, save for the bloody trail staining the carpets. She follows quietly, until the trail comes to an end, and just as she's about to inspect the floor there, a hand flies out and grabs her hand, tugging her into a desperate hold against her neck, muffling any sound she would have made.
Beca pulls away and sees a terrified Chloe sitting in front of her, she blinks and wants to throw up as she takes in the bad shape the redhead is in. Her normally sun kissed complexion is replaced with pale skin, her eyes are rimmed with red and lower still, a bloodstained leg. Chloe's hands don't stay still. They shake as she sits there in front of her, darting towards her wound time and again, like she's trying to suppress the hurt.
She's been shot, Beca thinks in shock. She's been shot and she dragged herself here from her locker.
"Chloe," Beca whispers, unable to truly comprehend that she's been hurt. Chloe Beale was shot and could die right in front of her.
"Hey you." Chloe's voice is slightly hoarse as she croaks out the words, gritting her teeth after and exhaling deeply, trying to smile at Beca, but having it come out more as a grimace than anything else.
Xoxox
Aubrey moves down the halls quickly, hardly daring to breathe or break her stride as she searches for Stacie. The more bodies she passes, the more desperate she becomes until she's practically flying through the school.
She's just about to pass by the gym when she hears a voice hiss out her name, "Aubrey!"
Not saying anything, Aubrey tries to catch her breath as she stumbles through the doors, hurrying inside and quickly gets wrapped up in a hug from the rest of the girls as Fat Amy shuts and locks the doors behind her.
"What part of your brain thought it was a good idea to waltz around during a lockdown?" Fat Amy asks, not even bothering to hide the fact that she's furious with Aubrey's, albeit stupid, decision.
"I'm trying to find Stacie." Aubrey says, eyes narrowing, daring the other blonde to say anything about her need to find her girlfriend.
"For fuck's sake, don't you look at your phone? She's fine. She's not even in the building."
Aubrey deflates at that, relief rushing through her, "She's not?"
Jessica shakes her head, "She and Cynthia Rose are both outside. Do you know if Beca and Chloe are okay? They're the only two left that aren't accounted for. You were too until just a second ago."
Aubrey's heart hammers in her chest at the mention of Beca and Chloe, the relief she felt moments ago disappearing just as fast as it arrived.
"Y-yeah. Beca's okay, she was with me."
"You split up?" The question comes from someone she's never met before, and the incredulous tone is enough to have her baring her teeth.
"Stacie is important to me, I had to find her. Beca wanted…she was looking for Chloe."
"Did she find her?" Fat Amy asks quietly, coming closer and sliding down to sit beside Ashley.
Aubrey shakes her head slowly, regretfully saying, "I don't know."
Xoxox
"Aubrey's fine! Stacie, Aubrey's fine, she's with Fat Amy." Cynthia Rose calls out to the taller woman, drawing her over quickly with her words.
"Oh my God, is she hurt? Is-she's okay right?" Stacie asks, taking the phone from Cynthia Rose and sending a barrage of texts to whoever is texting Cynthia Rose.
"She's fine, yeah. She was out looking for you though."
Stacie's heart stops, "She's an idiot."
"You're important to her…" Cynthia Rose trails off before quietly saying, "this just leaves Beca and Chloe."
"God, I hope they're alright."
Xoxoxo
Beca has her arm around the redhead, running her hand up and down her arm as she hums quietly.
"What's that?" Beca whispers, refusing to let the other girl stop talking to her, needing her to stay awake.
"Hm? I-I don't know," Chloe says as she shuts her eyes, shushing Beca when she panics, "I'm fine…the light is just hurting my eyes."
Beca looks around and wonders what she could possibly mean. All the lights in the room are turned off. The only source of illumination is from what little sunlight is filtering through the blue blinds on the windows, and that's hardly enough for her to properly see the woman that's sitting right beside her.
"You turning into a vampire or something?" Beca asks, relieved to see Chloe crack open an eye and chuckle at her.
"Or something," she whispers before turning further so she's curled more into Beca. She winces as she tries to get comfortable and Beca finds herself squeezing her closer still.
"Please don't give up Chloe…please, for me, don't you dare give up."
Chloe nods against her neck and murmurs, "'kay. I won't."
Xoxoxo
Mark smirks as he makes his way back towards where he last left Chloe, knowing she must have gotten up and moved, but not far enough away.
He fires another shot into the air, just because he can, imagining all of the people that are still on lockdown in the building jumping at the sound, smirking wider as he imagines how scared they all must be of him.
He really hopes Chloe isn't dead yet.
He has a few things he'd like to say first.
Xoxox
"No, you're wrong," Chloe argues quietly, slightly frowning at Beca as she does so, "Hermione and Harry would have made much more sense than Ron and Hermione."
Beca agrees, entirely, but this is the most animated Chloe's been since she's found her, and if it takes arguing fictional relationships to keep her focused then she couldn't care less.
"I'm pretty sure Rowling knew what she was doing when she decided to have them end up together."
Chloe struggles to lift herself up off of Beca's shoulder for this as she stares at her, "And I'm pretty sure you're the one that came to me with the news of her saying that she may have gotten it wrong when she made Hermione end up marrying Ron."
Beca goes to respond but is interrupted by the sound of a gun going off some distance away and then silence.
The both of them stare at each other, neither of them daring to breathe as they try urgently to hear what's going on outside.
It's like a movie scene, Beca thinks, as she hears the double doors rattle a second, before hearing the chair she had slid in place in front of it get pushed aside.
Chloe's hand slides into hers as they both listen with bated breath as the sound of footsteps get closer to where they're sitting.
"Hello Chloe. Beca. Fancy seeing you here."
Beca is sick to her stomach, noting that Mark sounds gleeful, as if he hasn't been doing unspeakable things.
"I don't know if I'm surprised to find you here with Chloe actually," Mark continues, hopping onto one of the lower shelving units in front of them, aiming the gun at them as he does so, "I mean, you're practically everywhere else in her life, why not also be there when she's going to die. It makes sense."
Beca clenches her jaw, and if Chloe hadn't been holding her hand, she probably would have tried to swing a punch at him.
"What I don't understand is…Why her?" Mark asks, looking at Chloe then.
Beca's eyes dart towards the redhead by her side then and wonders what he's talking about.
But Chloe doesn't seem to be having the same problem following his line of questioning, "I didn't have…much of a choice."
Mark sneers, "Right, like you can't choose who you love. Such bullshit."
Beca growls lowly, but manages to keep quiet as Chloe squeezes her hand even harder.
"It's how I feel Mark. I thought I told you this, and I thought you understood." Chloe says quietly, a melancholic air surrounding her now as she looks up at the shooter.
"What I understood is, you were hung up on this alternative asshole friend of yours who couldn't see how in love with her you've always been," he shoots Beca a look before focusing back on Chloe, "What I understood is, you were willing to never get to have her the way that you want, when alternatively you could have been happy with me. What I understood is, you would rather have an unrequited love, than give someone so willing to be everything for you a shot." Mark's words start off calm and collected, and end up south of that.
Mark then rounds on Beca, "And you! Look at you. This fantastic girl is so obviously in love with you, and what have you to say about it? Nothing, because you're too blind to see, or you don't care enough to notice! And it's your fault she kept saying no to me when I'd ask her out. It's your fault!"
He roars suddenly, lifting up the gun and firing another shot.
Xoxoxo
The relief that fills Stacie when she finds out that the first floor was clear and was being evacuated is something she's never before felt in all her life.
But it's nothing compared to how relieved she feels when she sees Aubrey walking out of the school, and no one can stop her from jumping the barricade and running right towards her, wrapping her arms around the blonde tightly and hugging her close, refusing to let her go any time soon.
"I was so scared," she whispers into Aubrey's neck, after they've made it back behind the barricade in the parking lot.
Aubrey nods her head and chuckles darkly, "I know the feeling Stace."
"You haven't heard from either Beca or Chloe since you split with Beca?" Stacie asks quietly.
Before Aubrey can answer, one of the cops walking by radios in to the rest of the unit, "It's over. Move in."
Xoxox
Beca scrambles up and crawls over towards Chloe, lifting her towards her, "Chloe?! Chloe…"
"I'm right here, you don't…have to shout," Chloe rasps out, eyes barely focusing as she speaks to Beca.
The cacophony of noise and movement that surrounds them barely registers with Beca as she cradles Chloe in her arms.
Mark is surrounded and is being apprehended by the SWAT team that had burst through the doors and through the windows moments too late.
"Why the fuck did you do that?" Beca asks, angry tears welling up in her eyes as she stares down at the redhead in her arms.
"What-you thought…I'd just let him…get away with using…that tone of voice on you?" Chloe has to pause to catch her breath after every few words and Beca is shaking madly as she cries.
"You're such a fucking idiot."
Chloe had thrown herself at Mark when she noticed him moving to shoot his gun again. The gun went off between their bodies and she's now sporting a second gunshot wound.
"People do…crazy things, when they're in love," Chloe murmurs, a little smile on her face, hoping that Beca will get the reference.
At the surprised gasp of a chuckle that escapes Beca's lips, followed by a sob, Chloe knows she does.
Beca bends over her and presses her lips to her forehead, "I love you, you frustrating idiot. I love you and I need for you to not give up. And stop quoting Disney movies you weirdo."
Chloe laughs breathlessly, "Aw, you do love me."
Beca's face turns serious, just as an officer comes by towards them to try and get them out to the help that's waiting, "Of course I do. So much. I…I was going to tell you this morning."
Chloe smiles as she's lifted up out of her arms and into the officer's, "Well, I'm glad…that I know now. I love you too Becs."
And the officer turns away from Beca then and is quickly taking the redhead farther and farther away from her, leaving her with a sense of dread and an urgent need to follow them. Except she really can't bring herself to get up. Her legs are jello and won't move.
It takes the efforts of an officer along with herself to get her standing.
"You done good kid," the man tells her gruffly, once they're outside, in the sun, behind the SWAT cars, still a distance away from the rest of the crowded sea of people and news crews.
Beca swallows dryly, her eyes tearing up as she looks down and sees all the blood that she's covered in, remembering that it's Chloe's.
"Will…do you know if Chloe, the girl I was with, is gonna be okay?"
Beca watches as his face subtly shifts, and wonders just how badly things must be for her.
"I don't know kid…I'd go ask at the hospital though."
He walks away from her then and Beca feels worse after that.
She turns away and pushes past families embracing and sobbing, and only breaks down once she's being held by Stacie and Aubrey.
Aubrey is the one to pull away first, and manages to calmly find a ride to the hospital, knowing that the other two will want to go now.
She wonders to herself if Beca is aware of how gruesome she looks, and whether or not she even cares about anything other than getting to the redhead.
When they make it to the hospital, they find Chloe's parents being led to a quiet room, and Beca already knows what's coming next, and her heart stops beating as she slides to the ground, tears streaming down her face as she shakes her head, garnering concerned looks from nurses who come up to her, asking if she's hurt when they take in the blood on her clothing.
Stacie wraps her arms around Beca as she sways them gently, allowing Aubrey the opportunity to talk to the doctors.
"What am I going to do?" Beca chokes out, clutching to the back of Stacie's shirt, hot tears streaming down her face at the prospect of never seeing Chloe's smiling face again.
Stacie doesn't have a clue as to how to respond to that, and instead she simply continues holding Beca as they both try and find some meaning to this horrible event.