Author's Note: Hey, it's almost New Years, and I couldn't resist playing with my favorite new cast! I do not own any of the Pitch Perfect characters, or any of the songs I used. But I really want to carry Jesse home in my pocket. Also, if you want to know what Beca's dress looks like, search Anna Kendrick What To Expect When You're Expecting premiere, and that's the dress. I also know that the mashup probably makes no sense, but whatever.
&&&&&&.
Beca had never really enjoyed New Years. Granted, it was easier to stomach than Valentine's day, which she found to be the sappiest and most irritating holiday in existence, but she'd still rather tune out the celebration with her headphones in her room. What was the point? It was just another year that would suck as much as the last one. Resolutions were all broken, and it was just another excuse for people to get drunk and party.
That was why whenever Chloe chirped in her cheerful way about the New Years Acapella Party, Beca wanted to groan and bang her head against a wall. When she voiced her reluctance to go, Aubrey had fixed her with a hard stare and said that it was mandatory.
Beca was almost positive that Aubrey only said that to torture her.
"So what do we do at this New Years thing, anyway?" She grumbled after practice with the Bellas, grabbing her bag off a chair. She slung it over her shoulder and walked out with Chloe as she explained.
It's sort of a tradition where all the acapella groups hang out together on New Years. We sing, we dance… but of course, there's always some kind of competition. It's an unspoken rule that every group will prepare a song to sing at the party."
"Sounds thrilling. I can't think of any way I'd rather be spending my Saturday night."
Chloe didn't take Beca's sarcasm to heart, taking the girl's arm, "Come on, Beca, don't be such a stick in the mud! It'll be fun, I promise—if you let yourself have fun, that is."
"I think your definition of fun is very different from mine." Beca said, but less harsh now. She knew that Chloe meant well, and decided to give in—but only this once. Besides, it was only one night, how bad could it be?
&&&&&&&&&.
How wrong she's been.
Aubrey had entered controlling bitch mode at the thought of competing against the Trebles again, fueling her crazy fire. She worked the Bellas like tyrannical slave-driver. Even Amy was terrified into doing modified cardio (switching from horizontal running to vertical speed walking around the room) and they all collapsed onto their chairs at the end, sweating and breathing heavily.
"Aubrey… this… is crazy." Chloe wheezed, clutching her side.
"My boobs have never hurt this bad." Stacie complained, massaging them after all the jogging. Cynthia Rose started to ask if she wanted any help, but Stacie silenced her with a look.
Aubrey glared at them all. "Do you want to beat the trebles, or not? Because we need to get our butts in shape if we have any hope of destroying them at the New Years party."
"I think we're all gonna have heart-attacks first." Amy whined, fanning herself with a hand.
"Ladies, we need to suck it up! This is war, remember? We need to be prepared, the party is only in two weeks! We still need to pick a song, go over choreography…"
"And I think you missed taking your meds this month," Beca interrupted. Her patience was virtually gone for their Bella leader, and it was time to put a stop to the boot camp.
She continued, "We need be using our voices, not our abs."
Aubrey took a deep breath, obviously trying to tone down her crazy a notch. "Okay, guys, you might be right, I have been going a little overboard lately. How about I let Beca and Chloe take over for a while?"
She crossed her arms and looked to the two girls, who exchanged smiles.
Beca got up first, saying affectionately, "Alright, nerds. Here's the game plan."…
&&&&&&.
"The Trebles aren't going to know what hit them." Beca grinned, poking a fry in the direction of her sort-of-boyfriend, Jesse. She didn't know why she could just loosen up and call him that in her head, but somehow that was like the forbidden zone for her. Labels meant commitment, and that could lead to too many broken promises and possibly a ruined friendship. And though Beca hated to admit it, she need Jesse in her life.
"O-ho, if I recall, we beat you at the riff-off, what makes you think the New Years Battle will be any different?" Jesse said from across the table, taking a couple of French fries for himself. They were at their favorite burger joint on-campus, hanging out (Jesse would teasingly insist that it was a date) and as usual, discussing everything but their relationship status.
"Because you only won on a technicality. We still beat your butt where it really counted—the singing."
"All right, Miss Cocky-pants, what female hit are you girls going to sing this time?"
"Not that it's any of your business, you little spy, but "Mercy" by Duffy."
"Good choice… But I don't think you can beat Cee Lo Green and the Biebs. No way."
"You really seem to have a thing for Cee Lo. You sang a song of his at nationals, too… should I be worried?"
"I think you're losing me to him, Bec. His voice is like sweet, sweet chocolate."
"And you're not going to get any of my sweet, sweet chocolate milkshake if you don't shut up."
&&&&&.
"Beca, I insist that you wear a dress the New Years party." Aubrey barked at her in Beca's dorm room.
Seriously, could this girl get any bossier? Beca thought.
"You've already condemned my "ear monstrosities", what else can you do to make my life miserable?"
"I'm serious, Beca, you are a girl, you have to wear a dress once in a while. I'm sure Jesse would like it."
Beca's eyes widened and she snorted. "Okay, first you forbid us from being "treble-boned", and now you want me to show skin for one?"
"I told you that we do not allow the Trebles to penetrate us because they don't respect us,"
Beca flinched at the word "penetrate" coming from the blonde's mouth. As Amy would say, definitely not a good enough reason to use it.
"But I think that Jesse has proved time and time again that he does respect you. I'm trying to learn to loosen the reigns her, Beca… and maybe making an exception for you is a step towards that. I'm trying, Beca."
As the blonde started to leave, Beca called after her, "You know what Aubrey? You were right. I do have a Toner for Jesse. And I think I kind of like it."
Aubrey shot her a smile and closed the door behind her. "Just don't let it get in the way of us stomping the Trebles tonight."
Chloe knocked on her door a half-hour later, as energetic as ever. Beca was barely awake, having mixed late into the night, and she was way to tired to deal with Chloe and Aubrey on the same morning. She started to close the door in the red-head's face, but the girl stuck her foot in the door before she had a chance.
"I'm here to make sure you show off that awesome body of yours tonight, Beca. You may try to hide it with all your plaid and goth-liner, but you can't fool me—I saw you naked, remember?"
Beca's brain screeched to a halt at the reminder of that thoroughly awkward encounter in the bathroom. She regained her mind as Chloe slipped past her and started going through her closet.
"Hey, what are you doing-?"
"You really have no dresses in here. This is so sad! Okay, don't worry, I came prepared." Chloe ducked back out of the closet, reaching into her oversized purse and pulling out fabric that Beca realized in horror were dresses. Lots of sparkly dresses.
It was officially her worst nightmare.
&&&&&&&&&&.
Several hairbrushes, mascara wands, and eye-shadows that were decidedly not grey or black, Beca was ready. In a dress that she wouldn't normally be caught dead in. Chloe had somehow just happened to have dresses that would fit Beca tucked away in her own closet (Beca had a sneaking suspicion that she'd actually gone through the trouble of buying one for her), and she'd been hassled into wearing a champagne colored short dress with elbow-length sleeves, and sequins in vertical stripes on the top, along with a shit-ton of glitter on the skirt. Beca had never worn so much glitter in her life. Not only that, but she felt naked without her "I-don't-give-a-crap, leave-me-alone" eye makeup. She was just shimmery. Sure, she felt pretty, but she almost didn't recognize herself in the mirror.
"I feel ridiculous. And I'm gonna trip in these heels." She said, eyeing the death-traps on her feet.
"I promise you, Beca, you look positively gorgeous. You'll blow everyone away."
Beca still wasn't sure how she felt about it, but she could at least still be gracious at how much effort Chloe had put in. She was grateful to have such great friends. Before she could change her mind, she pulled Chloe into a hesitant hug. Chloe seemed surprised at the intimacy, because Beca rarely hugged anyone, but she returned the embrace and beamed at her.
"I'm so glad that I met you, Beca."
"Me, too." And Beca realized that those were some of the most honest words she's ever spoken.
&&&&&&&.
"Alright, ladies, get your shit together. Remember, do it exactly as we practiced. Exactly." Aubrey lectured, pointing the last comment at Beca. She raised her hands in surrender, having no interest in shaking the performance up this time, but was amused at how short-lived Aubrey's relinquishment of control had been. Old habits die hard, she supposed.
The girls were decked out in their best. Fat Amy drew the most attention, letting it all hang out in her sexy glory with a hot pink strapless dress. The other looked perfectly appropriate (other than Stacie of course), though Lilly kind of looked like a fish in an aquamarine dress with frills. Beca was still trying to conserve her dignity, by wearing a long black coat, and kept it buttoned up.
"Okay, hands in!" Chloe called out. They all put their hands in for their usual cheer, which they still hadn't mastered. But it had sort of become a joke between them now. They were a ragtag group, but it was because they were so different that they worked as a whole. So what if they couldn't sing a note on three (after three?) at the same time?
They walked to the New Years Party room on campus, fooling around and belting Britney Spears at the top of their lungs. When they opened the door, they found that the other groups were there singing "I'm Glad You Came" by the Wanted. Beca could hear Jesse almost immediately. The big dork was standing on a table and pretending that he had a microphone as he sang.
Chloe came up behind Beca and took the coat off, winking and telling her, "I think that hunk of yours needs a duet partner."
Beca shook her head at the nosy girl, but took her advice. Being in the room was like a high, and the excitement was sort of infectious, even for Beca. She was so focused on not tripping as she made her way to Jesse's table-stage, that she didn't realize that Jesse had already noticed her. And she didn't know that she completely took his breath away. Sometimes, all it took was for her to glance at him in just the right way, and he was reminded of how totally blue her eyes were…
"Jesse? Hello, anybody home?" Beca waved in front of Jesse's face, which had suddenly gone blank.
The sun goes down, the stars come out, and all that counts is here and now. My universe will never be the same—I'm glad you came, I'm glad you came…
He snapped out of his daze, but found himself tongue-tied, which was rare for him.
He'd never seen Beca so pretty before. Not that she wasn't always beautiful to him, but he didn't know what to do with this angelic Beca. No ear studs, no cutting sarcasm, just Beca.
He slowly got down off the table just as the song ended.
"I think I'm sparklier than the disco ball," She said when he was still silent, "Am I blinding you?"
"I think my eyes are adjusting," He said, noticing that Beca was using that joking tone that she used when she was feeling nervous. "Beca, you look amazing."
In fact, Jesse thought that he'd just fallen in love all over again.
She gave him an unusually shy smile, crossing her arms uncomfortably. "Thanks. You don't look bad yourself."
"Do you wanna go dance?"
She laughed. "But there's no music!"
"Don't worry, I think the High Notes are going to take care of that." He grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the wall. Sure enough, the High Notes started of the New Years Battle with a rendition of "Hey Soul Sister" by Train. Jesse joined in quietly, singing to no one but Beca.
"Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains…"
She couldn't help but smile as he serenaded her, dancing in his dorky, shimmying way, holding both of her hands in his.
Your sweet moonbeam, the smell of you in every single dream I dream.
Before she had a chance to protest, he swung out one arm so that she was off balance, than pulled her in, supporting her in a pretty impressive dip.
I knew when we collided, you're the one I have decided, who's one of my kind.
"Woah, down, boy!"
"I took a few ball room classes when I was a kid." He explained with a grin, bringing her back to a standing position.
"And you're sure you're not gay?"
"Pretty sure." He said, glancing over her body. "Unless you're an extremely well disguised man underneath that dress."
"Last time I checked, it was all girl down there." Beca shot back, releasing Jesse's hand since the Trebles were singing next. He blew her a kiss as the Trebles got into formation, reminiscent of their exchange during a competition during the acapella season.
Beca went to go stand by the drink table with Amy and Chloe, gracing Jesse with her usual mocking half-smile.
"This song is dedicated to a very special girl. Even though the Acapella war threaten to tear us apart, I won't let it come between us." Jesse announced dramatically, and Beca snorted. He was taking center stage again, having officially replaced Bumper as the front man.
The boys joined in with a few chords, and then Jesse starting singing, and Beca swore that her heart didn't melt. It didn't.
It was just that when Jesse started performing, she couldn't take her eyes off him.
He began singing the lyrics in a clipped but soulful way, spinning around along with the other Trebles in perfect unison.
"What! That's real, that deep, that burning, that amazing unconditional, inseparable love
That feel like forever, that always emotional but still exceptional love
Can't nobody tell me nothing, it is what it is
And any mistake you make I, I just may forgive."
She recognized that the song was "Fool For You" by Cee Lo Green and rolled her eyes. If Jesse wasn't careful, the bad-boy image of the trebles was going to go right out the window.
"Right now, right now at this very moment I still love her
like I loved her then. I love her in and out and up and down and round
and round and over and over again."
Beca let herself move to the beat a bit, because goddamn it, Cee Lo was catchy. She made sure she stopped whenever Jesse was looking at her, though.
"So rare they swear that you just don't exist
And it's only one person I can think of that makes me feel like this
And I'm a fool, such a fool for you!"
The song slowed down with the last line, and this was normally wear Melanie Fiona jumped in with her own bluesy part of the song, but the Trebles changed the beat and started clapping. Donald whispered the words,
"If I was your boyfriend, I'd never let you go
I can take you places you ain't never been before
Baby take a chance or you'll never ever know
I got money in my hands that I'd really like to blow
Chillin by the fire white we eatin' fondue
I dunno about me but I know about you
So say hello to falsetto in three two swag."
And there was a collective groan among the men in the room, while the girls cheered. Beca was with the men—if she never heard another Justin Bieber song, she'd be perfectly fine.
Jesse came in with the pre-chorus and chorus, adding a couple of fancy dance moves. Beca couldn't stop a laugh from escaping her as Jesse struggled with the high notes that only a boy who escaped puberty could hit, but somehow still managed to look cute in the process.
"I'd like to be everything you want
Hey girl, let me talk to you…
If I was your boyfriend, never let you go
Keep you on my arm girl, you'd never be alone
I can be a gentleman, anything you want
If I was your boyfriend, I'd never let you go, I'd never let you go."
When the Trebles finished with a synchronized bow, the whole room clapped—even Beca, because she knew to give credit where credit was due. Jesse, still grinning like a little boy, went straight to her.
"What did you think?"
"You're such a sap." She said.
"Who said I was singing about you? I couldn't have been thinking about Cynthia Rose the whole time."
"It's pretty weird that you have a lesbian fetish. First Cee Lo Green, and now this."
Jesse pushed her in the shoulder and they both started laughing. He started to lean in the kiss her (he blamed his impulsiveness on the adrenaline from the performance, and the fact that she looked so damn kissable that night), and Beca turned towards him as well. That was progress, because normally she would divert his attention somehow.
Just as their lips were close enough that he could feel her breath on his, there was a loud popping noise from the drink table across the room, someone opening a bottle. Beca's eyes snapped open to see Fat Amy gesturing for her to come over, where the rest of the Bellas were gathered.
"I guess that's my cue." She got up and her mouth fell into her usual half-smile, though it was slightly apologetic this time.
She didn't hear as Jesse swore under his breath.
Taking a few breaths to calm herself down after her near-lip-lock with Jesse, she took a place in the Bellas circle next to Fat Amy.
"Sorry to interrupt your sexy-time over there, but Aubrey looked like she was about to pop a gasket." Amy whispered. She chugged half the bottle of sparkling cider that was in her hand, and Beca tried to ignore her annoyance with Aubrey. She was the one who pushed her to come to this stupid thing, and now she was cock-blocking her? Beca was horrified at how bad she'd wanted to kiss Jesse just then, and the strength of the urge scared her. She was always in control of her feelings, wasn't she? Or at least she'd tried, but Jesse had a habit of getting under her skin.
"It's show time. We're going to destroy those Treble Makers. Their little bromance up there was cute, but we're going to be better. We're going to be sexy." Aubrey hissed, shooting a glare at the Trebles her were watching them.
"I never have a problem being sexy." Stacie said, confirming this as she adjusted her cleavage in her bandage dress.
It was true, they were doing "Mercy" by Duffy… but Beca had neglected to tell Jesse about the little addition to the song. Beca was the queen of mash-ups, after all, of course she had something extra up her sleeve. Jesse was sure going to be in for a surprise.
Beca stepped out in front of the Bellas, trying as hard as she could to pretend that she was somebody else. Because god, this was going to be embarrassing. She spotted Jesse sitting with the other Trebles, and he gave her the thumbs up, which she responded to by closing her eyes.
She had to channel her inner Britney Spears.
The Bellas started with some woos, as per the beginning of "Mercy", and then Cynthia starting belting the words with her sassy voice.
"I love you
but I gotta stay true
my moral got me on my knees
I'm begging please stop playing games
I don't know what this is 'cuz you got me good
Just like I knew you would
I don't know what you do
But you do it well
I'm under your spell."
Beca just danced along with the innocent choreography, but then Beca jumped in with lines from Britney Spear's "Toxic". Then things got a lot less innocent.
"Baby can't you see I'm calling
A boy like you should wear a warning
It's dangerous, I'm falling"
She punctuated the words with as many sexy moves as she could muster.
Beca was getting encouraging signals from Aubrey, who sang along with her,
"Too high can't come down
Losing my head spinning round and round
Do you feel me now"
Cynthia Rose came back in with:
"You got me begging you for mercy
why won't you release me
You got me begging you for mercy
Why won't you release me
I said release me"
While Beca carried on with,
"With a taste of your lips I'm on a ride
You're toxic, I'm slipping under
Taste of a poison paradise
I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic?"
Beca was thoroughly out of her element, but there was no backing out now. Besides, it was kind of fun if she didn't think about it too much. The girls took turns flirting with the other acapella group members, especially the Trebles, shimmying and using their hips for all they were worth. Beca, who was the sacrificial lamb of the night, had been dared to give Jesse the closest thing to a lap dance that she could think of.
"And I love what you do, don't you know that you're toxic?"
She went over to where Jesse was sitting, and ignoring the hooting from the other Trebles and Jesse's panicked expression, she grabbed the front of his suit jacket and started to undo the buttons.
"Don't you know that you're toxic?"
It was almost worth it just to see how shocked Jesse was.
It was a musical trade-off between the main choruses of she and Cynthia Rose. Before the final part, Beca swung her legs over Jesse's while she kept singing over the Bellas who were singing "Mercy". He didn't seem to know where to put his hands, and his jaw had practically dropped to the floor.
"Intoxicate me now, with your loving now, I think I'm ready now..."
"You got me begging you for mercy…"
"Don't you know that you're toxic?"
"Why won't you release me?"
"And I love what you do…"
The rest of the girls finished with: "Don't you know that you're toxic?"
There was absolute silence for a few moments before everyone burst into applause. No one had expected the normally prudish Barden Bellas to come out like a sex machine.
Beca awkwardly removed herself from Jesse's lap, who still looked shell-shocked.
"Wow." He breathed.
"Shut up."
&&&&&&.
The minute countdown was starting, and Beca had let her hard exterior go, now just enjoying the night for what it was. In between sips of sparkling cider, she counted down with the rest of the aca-people. She tried no to think about the fact that Jesse was with her, and that he probably wasn't planning on kissing her at Midnight. They weren't dating, so of course he wouldn't go out of his way to find her and do that. Besides, she didn't believe in those stupid superstitions, anyway. It was just sappy and sickeningly romantic, and—
"Hey!" He appeared and sidled next to her by the wall.
"Hey." She tried not to sound overly-enthusiastic, which was really hard when her mouth felt like it wanted to split in two.
"I'm glad I got here in time—"
Five, four, three, two…
Before she had a chance to respond, because she really couldn't hear him over the yelling, Jesse had cradled her face with his hands and kissed her firmly. Beca was vaguely aware of the sounds of cheering, and she thought that some confetti might have fallen in her hair, but she really didn't care.
&&&&&&.
Jesse was walking Beca back to her dorm after the party, even though he was the tipsy one. He was taking her mockery like a champ as she sang "Boyfriend" a couple of times. Then she started humming the second part of "Fool For You" quietly, and he sensed that the atmosphere had changed. Being friends with Beca was always like holding your breath—sometimes there was just so much build-up and anticipation that you were left waiting for something amazing to happen. But sometimes, the moment never really came…
But tonight, Jesse was lucky.
"So Jesse… will you go out with me?" Beca asked.
After he got over his initial shock, he complained, "Wait, isn't the boy supposed to do that?"
"I got tired of waiting around. Besides, how can I possibly walk away from a guy who serenades me with Bieber?"
"Don't forget juice-boxes and Rocky," He grinned, putting his arm around Beca… his girlfriend.