She's trouble in a tank top pretty little time bomb
Blowing up I'll take you down
Living in the radio lost in the stereo sound.

You ask anyone why Chloe was so obviously attracted to Beca and they'd each come up with relatively similar answers.

"Little chick's hot..." Cynthia Rose would nod appreciatively.

"They're not quite up to my level, but her boobs are pretty good." Stacie would nod, all the while clutching her own prized possessions.

"The midget has game. Wicked sense of humour and if I wasn't so busy with my boyfriend's I'd probably have time to appreciate how hot she is." Fat Amy would muse, a text from one of said boyfriends cutting off her thoughts.

"She has fire in her." Lilly would whisper, not that anyone would notice.

"She's not what Chloe's usually into, which is infuriating. I suppose she's talented though, even if it isn't in keeping with tradition. The alt girl thing she has going probably makes Chloe want to mould and shape her into something better as well." Aubrey would most certainly rant, probably not even finishing there.

Ashley and Jessica would more than likely have something to say on the matter too, but who cared. It's not like they'd been there since the start or anything anyway, right?

It's not that they were wrong. Beca was hot, Beca was extremely hot, and not to sound cheesy, but Chloe found Beca was at her best when she was curled up in front of her laptop screen with her hair pulled awkwardly out of her face, wearing her old tank tops that were frayed at the edges and an old pair of pyjamas with stains from just about every meal the younger woman had ever eaten. So yea, she was definitely super attractive, but it wasn't that.

Nope, wasn't that, and maybe not so surprisingly it wasn't her humour either. This was almost to be a given, as Beca's sharp dry humour was something that most would presume would clash terribly with Chloe's overall bubbly demeanour and eternal brightness. Chloe had always found a surprising charm to Beca's sharp wit however, shocking and all as that was, and had even picked up the odd trait such as eye rolling and occasional insertion of sarcasm into conversation. Though that had all come with time, so yet again, it wasn't her humour that had lured Chloe in.

In fact of all the perceived comments it would probably be Aubrey's that would be closest to the mark. Not the part about wanting a challenge, because no, that was just silly.

It was the part about the music, because let's face it, anyone would be hard pushed to find ad DJ – or musician in general – with an abundance of talent as great as Beca's was. The girl could take any mediocre pop song or out of date eighty's track and turn it into something that melted away Chloe's eardrums into an orgasmic mush.

Beca had a passion for it. Under those layers of earrings and eyeliner Beca had a passion for music that filled her to the brim and then spilled over into Chloe's life. That's what had attracted Chloe to her. It wasn't the looks or the humour and it certainly wasn't the challenge, it was the way that Beca composed a new mix or the way she committed one hundred and ten per cent to all her work – even if it was something as cringe worthy as a-cappella.

"You're doing it again." Beca's voice murmured softly, causing Chloe to be drawn from her thoughts with a jolt.

"Me? What? Why?" She stammered in shock, causing Beca to snort with laughter.

"Calm down. No need for the Spanish Inquisition." The younger woman told her with a bemused stare, pulling her headphones down until they draped her neck like her own custom jewellery. "I just meant you were staring at me again while I worked." She pointed out, indicating to where she had a new mix open on her screen.

"I like watching you work… it's like watching Santa make presents or something." Chloe replied simply with an innocent smile, allowing her head to fall on Beca's shoulder so she could get a better angle at the screen.

"Santa employs Elves slave labour to make presents… what are you trying to say there Chlo'?" Beca questioned mockingly, nudging her girlfriend lightly.

"Yes, that's exactly how that analogy was meant to be taken." Chloe chuckled, rolling her eyes at her girlfriend – see there it was, Beca's humour really was seeping into her.

"Well how else is it meant to be taken?" Beca laughed.

"I thought it was obvious." Chloe sighed then. "I mean with your height and everything that makes you an elf." She teased.

"Low blow Chloe, low blow." Beca commented, feigning hurt when she spoke.

"Well you know, with you being a midget it's hard to hit you any other way." The red head shot back with a smirk.

"Hey, is it pick on Beca day or something?" The brunette gapped.

"That's everyday babe." Chloe let her know with another grin, craning her neck then to plant a kiss along Beca's jaw, just above the skin her headphones were covering.

"Whatever." Beca grumbled indignantly. "I'm going to finish this mix now if you don't mind." She added with a "hmph."

"But Bec, it's like half twelve… come to bed." Chloe whined; sitting up straight again so Beca would feel the full effect of her puppy dog eyes.

"Please not the eyes." Beca pleaded with a sigh, hating the way her girlfriend could manipulate her like that. "I just really want to get this done before bed. I just got inspired on how to end it so I don't want to leave it now." She added then, knowing that Chloe didn't like falling asleep without Beca beside her.

"Can I stay up with you?" Chloe offered as a middle ground to their requests.

"As long as there's no more intense staring competitions with my screen then I suppose so." Beca agreed, actually kind of thrilled by the fact that Chloe liked watching her work.

Chloe sighed in contentment, allowing her head to fall back on Beca's shoulder as the DJ lifted her headphones to her head once more, having put a rule in place right back at the start - even before they were dating – that stated Chloe was never to listen to one of her mixes until it was done.

See, it was little things like this. Even though Chloe hated the empty bed that was waiting for her most nights when Beca was working late she still couldn't be mad at Beca for forcing her to go to the same empty bed on the nights she wasn't working. I mean look at her, lost in her music, bopping her head – something she would deny doing, even at gunpoint – the clogs in her head almost visibly turning as she thought of a mellow base beat or a snazzy hi-hat or snare sounds to blend in with the lyrics.

Chloe also knew that it didn't actually bother Beca when she watched her work. She was actually pretty sure her girlfriend got a kick out of it, which suited her just perfectly all things considered. She heard none of what was going on, yet watched as Beca dragged tracks across her laptop and pushed up and down dials on the screen for another few minutes before she finally heard the DJ give a content sigh and hit save.

"Done?" The red head questioned quietly as Beca pulled her headphones off.

"Done." Beca confirmed with a sleepy nod. "Bed now?" She added then.

"Definitely." Chloe laughed, standing slowly and dragging Beca with her. "Why music?" Chloe questioned softly as she pushed open the door to their room.

"What you mean?" Beca responded, wandering over to her own side of the bed and taking off the socks she'd been wearing.

"Like… I get that it's your passion; I mean it's my passion too. In fact it's probably part of the reason we work so well together… but like, it's more than just a passion for you, it's almost like it's your lifeline sometimes, if that makes sense." Chloe elaborated.

"You jealous of my relationship with music?" Beca teased softly, sliding into next to her girlfriend and wrapping her up in her arms.

"Oh of course, insanely." Chloe snorted. "Seriously though, I do want to know if you don't mind sharing." She informed her, knowing all the while that one thing Beca hated was being pushed.

"It's nothing you couldn't guess." Beca murmured against Chloe's collarbone, her breath tickling the older woman.

"Well then I guess you don't have to tell." Chloe replied honestly, knowing that was a signal that Beca wasn't really up for talking about it.

The room fell into comfortable silence for a few minutes after that, Chloe running her hands through Beca's hair, almost sure the other girl had fallen asleep – and quite close to slumber herself – when Beca did speak again.

"It really is something you could just guess." She reaffirmed. "I mean I suppose it is anyway."

"Oh?" Chloe pushed lightly.

"Yea." Beca sighed. "My parents split when I was fourteen and anyone will tell you that's the age you start to develop your own personal preference when it comes to music and stuff. I just… withdrew into it to a serious extent. My mom was actually really worried for a while and like, threatened to take me to a therapist or something, because all I'd do all day is listen to the weirdest and most depressing mix of stuff. Like I'm talking Slipknot style stuff for the days I wanted to just scream at everyone and break stuff and then like Enya for the days I just wanted to break myself, and I'd lie in bed crying."

"Yea you're right… weird." Chloe confirmed, already knowing about what Beca had gone through as a teenager, not feeling the need to offer up her sympathy for it again – because something Beca hated more than anything else in the world was pity.

"Yea I know." Beca snorted. "So anyway, I had this pretty cool friend at the time. She kinda knew what I was going through because we were friends before my parents split so she was just kind of… around to watch it happen if that makes sense. So yea, her cousin was a DJ and she suggested that rather than just depress myself I should get creative with it instead, so I did. I downloaded the first mixing station I could onto my laptop and started there, and just built it up."

"Smart kid." Chloe praised, both referring to Beca's talent, and her childhood friend for finding a safer way for Beca to express herself.

"Some would say I was a modern day Beethoven." Beca nodded. "Well yea, I guess ever since then it has sort of become my lifeline, or it's at least become like a window or something in the walls I put up. Whether I'm happy or sad I can just pour it into music and it just feels right and once I do pour it all in and burn a new mix any of the shitty emotions I've been having get put on the disc with it out or my head, or if they're happy emotions they get saved there for me to playback later."

"That's amazing." Chloe told her sincerely with a bright smile.

"No it's not, I just heard what I said… dear god I can be lame." Beca winced suddenly, burying her head into the crook of Chloe's neck.

"Well that too… I just thought you were having a genuine moment there and I should be encouraging." She laughed.

"The day I have a genuine moment and mean it is the day you should call a medic or something." Beca snorted.

"True that." Chloe agreed. "Thank you for sharing though." She added, placing a soft kiss in Beca's hairline.

"Thanks for not laughing when I said I listened to Enya." Beca replied, only half joking.

"I swear that took all my self-control." Chloe giggled then, earning her a sharp jab in the side from the fiery young brunette with the soul full of songs.

She's out of control, so beautiful
Lost in stereo, lost in stereo
I'm losing hope 'Cause she's so
Lost in stereo, lost in stereo.