It was almost midnight when Kimmy JIn slipped into the room she shared with Beca and found a new thing to hate about her roommate: sleepovers. Given, this was better than having some random guy over like that Jesse-kid who smiled too much and tried to be pleasant but was really everything Kimmy Jin hated in an unconsciously priviledged white male but still... This room was already too crowded for two people, inviting a third person was just inconsiderate.
Kimmy Jin rolled her eyes, still she moved very quietly around the room so as not to wake either Beca or her friend. It wasn't long before she was settled and drifted off to sleep herself.
It was about two hours later when Chloe stirred. She hadn't meant to fall asleep with Beca. She had just wanted to make Beca relax, to have her fall into a restful slumber but then she had drifted off herself, quite unwanted. And she hadn't even been tired at all, knowing that she had an essay due by Monday and hadn't written a single word of it yet. Her whole mission of going to Beca and apologizing for Aubrey had taken longer than she would have anticipated, with Beca letting her listen to her music and eating pizza and... talking about things. She didn't even know where that confession about Aubrey had come from but she had felt that Beca wouldn't judge her, and that she would never tell anyone. Anyway, her feelings for Aubrey had changed so much during these last few weeks. There was little left of her infatuation, but she was still her friend. She would always be Aubrey's friend. But she also liked Beca. Chloe looked down at the sleeping girl, her face illuminated by what little light fell through the window.
Chloe smiled, then shook her head slightly.
'I should go,' she thought and tried to get away from Beca and off the bed without rousing her friend. But this proved to be an impossible task as she had been holding Beca in her arms, Beca's own left hand having gripped the forearm that lay across her stomach. Chloe tried to carefully extricate herself from Beca but her friend woke.
"What...?" She mumbled. Chloe leaned down to Beca's ear.
"Shhhhh, it's okay. It's just me, I should go," Chloe whispered. Beca blinked a few times, obviously wondering how Chloe had ended up in her bed, then remembering and turning toward her.
"Why? No, you can stay," she whispered back. "It's late, isn't it?" She looked over to Kimmy Jin who was sound asleep.
"Past two," Chloe said. "But it's okay, I really need to go." She tried to scoot to the end of the bed to get up but Beca grabbed her arm.
"Chloe," she said a little sharper than she had intended to. They were both sitting up now, facing each other. Kimmy Jin mumbled something but didn't seem to fully wake before she turned and fell back to sleep. "I'm not letting you walk over campus alone at this hour, so either lay back down and get some sleep or we're both getting up and I walk you to your dorm." Beca said.
"And who would be walking you back to yours after you brought me there?" Chloe asked, smiling a little about Beca's concern.
"Exactly my point, so lay down again, go back to sleep. It's not like you have places to be on a Sunday morning, or do you?" Chloe shook her head. "Good," Beca lay back down, and as she was still holding Chloe's arm, she pulled her with her. They settled back into the position they had lain in earlier, Chloe spooning Beca and holding her tight.
"Is this okay?" Chloe asked.
"It's okay and now shut up and relax," Beca groused but there was a small smile that played across her lips that belied her mood.
"Yes, sir," Chloe answered the command and they both closed their eyes, falling back asleep easily.
The next time Beca woke was when the door to her room closed. For a moment, she thought it had been Chloe but then she felt her warm presence behind her and a look at the bed across from hers confirmed that it had been Kimmy Jin who had fled the confined space of their dwelling.
Beca sighed, then she grumbled when she heard her telephone vibrate on the shelf behind her - and more importantly behind Chloe who woke from the sound, naturally.
"Mhhhhmmmm," she made. It was a comfortable sound, like a kitten being treated to her favorite kind of bellyrub. "Good morning," she murmured and gave Beca a soft satisfied smile.
"You look like you had a good night's sleep," Beca offered and Chloe nodded as her friend reached over her for her phone which was still vibrating. A call, at the break of dawn - okay, it was almost 9 but still, it was Sunday! And it was her mom. Beca frowned.
"Bad news?" Chloe asked.
"My mom," she answered the phone with a push of a button and put it to her ear.
"Hey mom," she greeted. Chloe was about to get up but Beca stopped her just like she did the night before. She gave a little shake of the head and Chloe settled back down.
"Hello, daughter of mine who never calls," Grace Thomas greeted Beca, she sounded altogether too cheerful for so early in the morning. But that was her mom, she was an enthusiastic person. It occured to Beca that Chloe and Grace would most probably like each other if they were ever to meet.
"I did call you last week, didn't I?" Beca asked.
"Yeah, well. As I hear, things have happened since then. My very own daughter got arrested and didn't deem it necessary to inform me of that fact," Grace sounded a little less cheerful now but not nearly as pissed as her dad had been when he had to bail her out of prison.
"Dad called you?" Beca groused.
"Yeah, well. There are those rare occasions when your parents do communicate," her mother gave back.
"That would be every time I screw up," Beca stated.
"Which is not often, fortunately. But what happened? Your dad said you got into a fight over some guy? That doesn't sound like you at all."
"I didn't fight over some guy, a friend needed my help and I... well, I lended a helping hand," Beca said and felt Chloe stifle a laugh behind her. She half-turned to look at her friend who smiled proudly at her.
"And that helping hand destroyed a window worth $ 600? Maybe we should insure that hand?" Beca rolled her eyes at her mother's words.
"Actually the hand just hit a chin, the trophy destroyed the window."
"You won a trophy? Ken never mentioned that," there was something akin to pride in her mother's voice now and the brunette hated to bust the bubble but she had to.
"Let's say I borrowed the trophy from the guys who won," she explained further.
"And you used it to smash a window?"
"That was an accident, and I'm pretty sure I mentioned that to dad," Beca defended herself.
"Well, I guess it couldn't have been helped then. You are okay, though, aren't you?" Beca smiled.
"Yeah, I'm okay. The hand is a little sore from the punch but otherwise... all good."
"Well, I'm glad. How was prison?" Beca once again rolled her eyes and as if in answer she heard her mother laugh.
"Prison was alright, much more comfortable than I would have thought."
"Tell her about your new friend," Chloe suggested with a smile.
"Who was that?" Her mother immediately asked, having heard a voice in the background.
"A friend," Beca answered. Chloe made a waving motion with her fingers. Beca slapped at them and Chloe laughed.
"A friend? Who happens to be in your room at 8.50 in the morning - on a Sunday? Since when are you entertaining that early?" Beca sighed.
"I'm not entertaining so early, I entertained rather late, so... Chloe stayed over," she already knew what would come next and she mentally prepared herself for the question.
"Chloe, huh? I thought it might have been that young man your dad mentioned. Are you hopping the fence, oh, daughter of mine?"
"I'm not you, Grace, no fence-hopping has occured here - yet," she added just to tease which earned her a raised eyebrow from Chloe. Beca only rolled her eyes again and Chloe giggled.
"Yet, that sounds promising. But seriously, you know that whatever kind of choices you make in your life, I'm right behind you, okay? So, if this girl rocks your boat, go for it, Beca," her mother assured her of her support.
"I'm so not having this conversation with you, mom. I know you will be supporting but... so far, this virginal mattress of mine has yet to see some action so don't hold your breath for any kind of coming out in the near future, okay?" Beca was aware of the blush that crept all over her face and body. She didn't like talking about her sex life, especially not with either of her parents (though her mom was decidedly more cool about the whole thing, having discovered that she herself swung both ways not so long ago) but having Chloe listen to this conversation was even worse. "I'll keep you posted, though," she promised her mom, ending this part of their conversation effectively.
"Just know that I love you - and I'm proud of you... despite your detour to prison," Grace offered.
"Thank you, mom," Beca breathed deeply, having steered the rough waters for now.
"Well, I don't want to keep you any longer... since you got company to get back to,"
"Mom!" Beca warned but the older woman just laughed.
"Your dad said that you haven't been to dinner with him and his family yet... keep up the good work, soldier. I cherish your loyalty. But maybe you can put in a lunch with just your dad one of these days?" Beca sighed.
"I'll see what I can do. I just don't want him all in my business, he tends to look at me like I'm still that 7 year-old that he left and is disappointed when I turn out to be a woman with a brain," the young woman complained.
"That's just him being a man and a dad... try to make your peace with him, Beca."
"It's not like you have," Beca reasoned.
"He cheated on me, not you. I appreciate your loyalty but your father is one of the good guys, okay? He tries, Beca, he really does." They had had this conversation before, and Beca could see her mother's point. The problem was that her mom didn't see her point: because her dad had cheated on her, too. He had made two step-children - and that, in Beca's book, was cheating.
"Whatever," she said and heard her mother sigh. "I'll see if I'm free for lunch one of these days, okay?"
"Thank you. And I'll call you in a couple of days to remind you."
"I'm sure you will. Love you, mom," Beca said as goodbye and received the same in return. She disconnected her phone and looked at Chloe who had a thoughtful expression on her face.
"You and your mom are close, aren't you?" She finally asked.
"We bonded over the fact that my dad is a cheating douchebag," Beca joked but Chloe's expression told her to please be serious. "Yeah, we are. My mom's great, very liberal. You would like her," she concluded.
"I think, I already do," Chloe said smiling.
"And you've got things in common, she likes chicks, too," Beca grinned. Chloe laughed.
"Your mom's bisexual?"
"Very much so since she found out a couple of years back. At least her taste in women is not as bad as her taste in men, but she likes to play the field. A morning after can be rather awkward but she deserves some fun. She had a hard time getting over my dad, and he left her twelve years ago. And as I said, her taste in men since..." Beca made a face.
"Your mom sounds great, maybe I'll meet her at some point," Chloe said. She sat up and lifted her arms over her head to stretch. "Ungh, now I have to get home. Aubrey probably wonders where I've been the whole night and I still got to write an essay," Chloe sighed.
Beca nodded though she had hoped that Chloe and she could get breakfast before the redhead would head back to her own dorm and the apartment she shared with the Bellas captain.
"Well, if you must...," she said and Chloe looked at her. For a moment it seemed they both wanted to say something - maybe about last night, the kind of comfort they had felt, or a reassurance that secrets shared with each other were safe, maybe they just wanted to say that they would like to do something like this again, but no words were spoken.
Chloe left a short time later and Beca felt something like loneliness settle into the space she had left.
