Hello everybody! I apologise for the delay on We Are Forever, college has been absolutely kicking my ass and so I haven't had the time to really flesh out the plot. Hope you enjoy this one-shot, though! Please review, it doesn't seem like much but it encourages me to keep going and that someone actually enjoys what I write.

If you have a prompt that you would like me to write about, feel free to drop it in my ask-box over at my tumblr!

pitchedperfectly

Thank you!

It was nighttime in Atlanta, Georgia when a pair of navy blue eyes burst open. The owner of these eyes sat up quickly in bed, breathing heavily as she came to a single conclusion, one that was coaxed to reality by her boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend, now.

She was in love with Chloe Elizabeth Beale.

This realization hit her hard. She was terrified, and didn't know what to do with this information. So as she sat on her bed in the dead silence of the new Bella House, she looked first towards her roommate and then towards the staircase that led to a door.

She contemplated waking Amy, but decided against it. So she pulled out her phone, squinting at the bright light that was emitted from it when she turned it on. Quickly turning down the brightness to a more bearable level, she traversed through her apps to her messages. With a guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach, she texted Jesse.

(1:07am) Beca: you were right.

She bit her lip nervously as the "Delivered" under her message turned to "Read 1:09 AM"

She saw a text bubble pop up, indicating that her ex-boyfriend (God, that still feels weird to say) was typing a message back to her.

(1:09am) Jesse: Are you surprised?

She began typing out a reply, but was interrupted by another message from Jesse.

(1:10am) Jesse: What are you going to do about it?

She leaned back against the wall and sighed. That, she had no idea. So she told the truth.

(1:10am) Beca: i dont know. im scared, jess.

(1:10am) Jesse: Don't be. She'd be silly not to like you back.

And there's that guilty feeling again.

(1:11am) Beca: jesse, im sorry. i wish things had worked out between us. its just…

She didn't finish the text. She thought about Chloe, and how Chloe was amazing. She was kind, and patient, and all around flooded generosity towards each and every person she interacted with. And with each thought, the realisation of her love towards the redhead hit her harder and harder.

(1:16am) Jesse: Look, Beca. I just want you to be happy, okay? That's all I've ever wanted for you. And sure, I'm sad that it didn't come in the form of being in a relationship with me. But trust me, you're amazing. And I'm sure she'll like you too.

She smiled inwardly at the boy. Even after breaking his heart, he was being so sweet. She internally grimaced as the thought of You don't deserve that kind of treatment invaded her mind.

(1:17am) Beca: thank you.

She set her phone down on the nightstand beside her and laid back down. She figured, if she was going to think about this and go all in, might as well sleep it out. A fatigued mind got no real thinking done.

With that, she settled back into a restless sleep.


Two Days Previous

Beca and Jesse had been fighting much more frequently than usual. Everyone noticed it - especially the Bellas.

"Yo, Shawshank," Amy said one day, as they sat at their respective beds. "You and your man have been fighting quite a bit."

Beca rolled her eyes at this. "He's just being insecure. As always."

Amy raised an eyebrow at this. "How so?"

The brunette sighed and moved her laptop off her bed and onto her nightstand. "I don't know, dude. He thinks I'm spending too much time with the Bellas."

Amy let out a short laugh. "The Bellas, or Chloe?"

Beca blushed. "I don't spend that much time with Chloe!"

The other nodded, this action from Beca only reaffirming her guess.

"So, he doesn't like you hanging around Chloe?"

"I guess not. Which I don't get!" she huffed. "It's not like I ditch him to be with her, I spend equal amounts of time with my boyfriend and my best friend."

"Maybe you should talk to him about it." Amy suggested gently. Beca sighed.

"You're probably right."

The blonde nodded and leaned over to turn off her lamp.

"I just want you to be happy, shortie."

Beca gave her a soft smile before copying her actions, turning off her lamp and laying down.

"Thanks, Amy."

The next day, Beca went to the Treblemaker's House and knocked on their door. She waited patiently for someone to answer. Benji opened the door and she gave him a genuine smile.

"Hey, Benji. Is Jesse here?"

"Yeah, he's just upstairs!" Benji returned her smile and let her in. "Third door on the left."

Beca patted the boy on the shoulder as a dove came flying into the room and made her way up the stairs. She paused outside of her boyfriend's room, having been here quite a few times in their three year relationship. Steeling her nerves, she softly knocked on the door in front of her.

"Come in!" called the boy's voice, which always seemed to be full of kindness. She opened the door and smiled at her boyfriend, who looked up with a surprised expression on his face. He was sitting on his bed, his laptop in his lap, earbuds now discarded and sitting on the bed next to him.

"Becs!" he grinned, gently moving his laptop and standing. "What're you doing here?"

Beca gave him a soft smile. "I wanted to talk."

His smile faltered a little bit, a crease of worry immediately shaping in between his eyebrows.

"Okay, what's up?"

Beca took a seat in his desk chair as he sat back down on his bed, looking at her with that look on his face.

"We've been fighting a lot, Jess." she sighed. She absentmindedly began twirling a strand of hair in between her fingers. "And it has a lot to do with the Bellas."

Jesse, who had opened his mouth at her first statement, snapped it shut at her second. His eyes searched hers, before he said carefully, "It's not to do with the Bellas, Becs."

"Yes it does," she sighed again before scooting the chair closer to her boyfriend. "Jesse, I know that I've been spending a lot of time with the Bellas, rather than with you lately. I'm just stressed out because of this internship that I'm trying really hard not to suck balls at and with the worlds and-"

"Beca, do you love me?" he interrupted. Beca closed her mouth and stared at the boy in front of her.

"Of course Jess, you know that-"

"Because I don't think you love me," he said. Beca immediately pushed back the chair, away from the boy, feeling her impenetrable walls immediately come back up.

"I think you love someone else." He added, unflinching when Beca suddenly stood.

"Is this about Chloe again?" she asked, her voice dangerously low. Jesse knew he might be pushing her a bit too hard, knowing that voice was a warning. But he didn't relent.

"Yes, Beca." he stood up with her, and reached for her hands, but the girl quickly pulled them out of reach.

"I should have known." she growled. "It's always about Chloe."

She pushed the desk chair back into its original position and made her way to the door. Jesse grabbed her hand before she could prevent it from happening.

"Beca, wait!" he saw her shoulders tense, but he led her to the bed anyway.

"I love you, Beca. I always have, always will. That first day I saw you, in the quad where I did the stupid little air guitar, I knew that I'd find you again. I felt that connection immediately."

He felt his eyes begin tearing up.

"I spent the entirety of freshman year trying to get your attention, and keep it. And so that night at the ICCA's, when you kissed me, I almost couldn't believe it. You were so captured by the moment that you didn't see what I saw, Beca."

Beca found a moment to calm her anger and raised an eyebrow quizzically at this.

"You didn't see Chloe. Beca, she looked absolutely heartbroken. You didn't see her run out of the auditorium, and I didn't tell you." his voice broke a little bit. "Because I was too selfish."

"Jesse, I don't know what you're talking about." her voice was soft.

"It's always been Chloe, Beca. Anyone could see the connection you two had. Hell, even I saw it. Whenever we were together and you saw her and Tom together. You would smile but your eyes wouldn't match it."

He paused.

"You're in love with Chloe, not me."

Beca felt a sudden surge of desperation. She grabbed hold of Jesse's arms and shook them.

"No, no! Jesse, I love you. I want to be with you. Chloe is my best friend, but you're my boyfriend. That's not just something you can change!"

Jesse smiled at her through watery eyes and finally let them loose.

"Beca." His heart broke as he saw the girl cry. "I love you so much. But we're over."

She let out a gasp as sobs wracked her body. Unsure of what to do, he wrapped his arms around the small girl.

"I'll always love you, Becs," he cooed softly. "But we both know that this isn't the destiny for us." he chuckled darkly. "Us ending up together is a movie ending, but life isn't a movie. Just like you've always told me."

He felt Beca sniffle beneath him, resting his chin on her head. She moved away from him, wiping her tears, turning her head away from the boy. Without a word, she walked towards the bedroom door and left, shutting it quietly behind her. And he just watched her go; the love of his life. And despite knowing he did the right thing, he drew his knees up to his chest and cried by himself in his room.

Beca made her way back into the Bella's house, desperately hoping no one would see her. Her prayers were answered when she saw that the house was vacant. It was only 6pm, but she went to her room and slept, exhausted from the tears that had fallen from her eyes. She curled up in the fetal position, and this was the way she woke up the next morning at 7am.

She groaned and stretched, feeling the tear stains on her face and grumbled quietly to herself before remembering the events of the previous day. A fresh set of tears threatened to leave her eyes, but she blinked them back before they could fall.

Careful not to wake Fat Amy, she rubbed her eyes and made her way to the bathroom, only to find it locked. She sighed and rested her head against the wall next to the door, knowing Chloe was probably behind the door. The redhead was the only one in the house who would be awake at this hour. To her surprise, Stacie was the one who exited a minute after. The tall brunette saw the smaller girl and smiled.

"Morning, Beca!" she then took in the sight of the DJ and her eyes furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"

Not wanting to explain, Beca forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bad dream."

Stacie didn't look convinced, but she knew the smaller girl would just recede back into her shell if she pushed the matter any further. So she nodded and patted her shoulder softly, and Beca made her way into the bathroom.

She sighed when she saw her face - eyes puffy from crying and a permanent frown etched on her face. She washed her face quickly and saw her face improve. As she brushed her teeth, she thought about last night again, about her boyfriend - ex-boyfriend.

Spitting out the toothpaste, she became determined.

(7:11am) Beca: can we talk?

Surprised to see the three dots appear so fast after she sent the message, she stared at his reply.

(7:11am) Jesse: Sure. Coffee?

(7:11am) Beca: yeah. at alice's?

(7:12am) Jesse: You know it :)

It was as if nothing had changed. But she quickly returned back to her room and changed, considering she had slept in her day clothes. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and changed into a pair of joggers and a navy blue t-shirt. She grabbed her lanyard with her keys, and made her way downstairs. Careful to be quiet, she slipped out the door and made her way to her car that was parked in the driveway and sat in the driver's seat for a couple seconds, pondering.

Did she love Chloe? They were just best friends. But the more she thought about it, the more the realisation dawned on her.

Yes, she did love Chloe. Everything about the way the two interacted screamed "I love her and she loves me" to the rest of the world. The way she would let Chloe embrace her and didn't waste a single second before wrapping her own arms around the redhead. The way she loved staring into Chloe's eyes when the girl smiled, because the corners of those crystal blues would crinkle up. The way Beca never let anyone get to know her, - the real her - not even Jesse. But in love? She knew she loved the redhead, but to be in love with her sounded so far off the mark.

So she started her car and drove to the coffee shop to say her final goodbye to her relationship, but hopefully not the friendship.

Beca spotted Jesse's car amongst the others and parked next to it. She took a second to gather her thoughts and sighed before exiting the car.

Walking up to the door, she already saw Jesse, who had his back towards her from the window. She opened the door and she saw the boy look up, a small smile forming on his lips when he saw her.

She smiled back, but it was weak.

"Hi." she said softly, and he nodded.

"Hey."

"So, I never thought this would happen, honestly..." she took a deep breath. "And I'm sorry."

Jesse took a moment to respond, lost in his own thoughts.

"Beca, it was all my fault from the beginning. I knew how you felt, and I very obviously knew how Chloe felt. All I did was prevent you two from getting your happy ending, because I was so selfish in trying to get mine."

Beca shook her head fervently. "Jesse, I was in love with you. And...and maybe I still am."

"You're not in love with me, Becs. And you probably never were."

"But I'm not in love with Chloe, either!" she protested. "You two both mean the same thing to me. You're my best friend, both of you."

"I'm not going to try to force you to believe something you don't understand yet," Jesse said sadly. "But I just want you to know that you're right. You are my best friend, and I never want to lose that bond we had, even before we started dating. But Chloe...you can't lose her, Becs. You both deserve much more than that."

The two talked for an hour after. Afterwards, Beca drove home with a lot on her mind. She went through the day avoiding Chloe and the rest of the Bellas as best she could, and she escaped to her room at night to lay in bed and think some more. She feigned sleep when Amy came in the room, her mind filled with thoughts of how her world had completely changed in two days.


Present Day

Beca awoke the next morning with a sense of finality. She re-read her conversation with Jesse from the night previous, and again smiled internally at how the boy treated her so sweetly, even after she shattered his heart.

Two days ago, she had been convinced she was in love with Jesse Swanson, and that she was going to eventually marry him. This morning, she knew of one thing, and one thing only.

She was in love with Chloe Beale, and she was the real one that Beca wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

And so she walked out of her room, checking the time as she went. It was 5am; the time of the morning where only the redhead would be awake. She made her way down the stairs of the attic bedroom and knocked gently on the door to Chloe's room.

She heard a soft voice say, "Come in," and smiled before opening the door.

"Good morning." she said as she walked in.

"G'morning, Becs!" Chloe said, quietly as not to disturb the other sleeping Bellas, but with as much enthusiasm as she did everything else.

"Can I talk to you?" Beca asked, and chloe nodded.

"Of course you can!"

Beca took a seat on the redhead's bed, and Chloe scooted closer to the smaller girl from her seat on her desk chair.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I, uh..." Beca took a deep breath. What she was about to start saying could change her life forever.

"Jesse and I broke up."

She heard a small gasp from the other girl, and when she looked up and into Chloe's eyes, she saw sadness, concern, and most of all...hope?

"What happened!? You guys were so happy together..." her voice trailed off.

"I realised something."

Chloe tilted her head in wonder, but waited for Beca to continue at her own speed.

"Or, I guess... technically, Jesse realised it and just told me about it. Y'know..since I'm a total idiot..."

"You're not an idiot." Chloe interrupted to say, but then waved her hand to tell Beca to continue.

Beca sighed again, staring at the floor instead of the girl in front of her, and took the plunge.

"Jesse broke up with me because I'm in love with you."

She was met with silence, and she kept her eyes trained on the floor. The silence dragged on for what seemed like an eternity.

"Say...something? Please?" she asked quietly, head still down.

And, ever so gently, she felt a pair of soft fingers under her chin, lifting her head slowly.

Beca looked into those blue eyes she dreamed about. The crinkles weren't there; instead, they were shining with tears. Beca frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but the fingers under her chin shut it again.

"I've wanted to hear you say that for the past four years, Beca Mitchell."

And just like that, Chloe's lips were on hers and everything else in the world turned to mush. She slowly brought up her hands to cup the redhead's face and smiled. For the first time in her life, everything felt whole.

They separated naturally, foreheads resting against each other, staring into each other's eyes.

"I'm in love with you, too, Beca."

Chloe had the widest smile the brunette had ever seen. And it was contagious, because Beca grinned even wider. She gave her another soft peck on the lips and they relaxed together.

"Come back to sleep with me?" Chloe asked, and Beca nodded. The two got into the older girl's bed, facing each other. The smiles were permanently etched onto their faces, and they fell asleep in the other's embrace.

Both happier than they've ever been.