Chapter Two: Breaking Tradition
LP walked in the direction of the building he was assigned to. At first, the prospect of living in a dorm room sounded extremely promising to him. Then, the second he learned he'd have to share it with two roommates, he was automatically turned off.
All his life, LP had lived in his own room, sleeping alone. He rarely, if ever, had to share his room with anyone, save for June, but only when she was younger.
Nevertheless, he decided to keep an open mind, and walked toward the building to which he was required to sleep in, at least for the first year.
As he walked along, LP overheard many people talking, some people talking about rather strange things. He heard a chipper female voice say something about a 'rape whistle', and almost automatically looked in the direction which he heard this coming from.
He saw a blonde woman, probably in her 20s, talking to another young woman. The woman who was being informed caught quite a bit of LP's attention.
She was obviously new to the University, if she was being given information and having bags by her side. She had a pair of headphones wrapped around the back of her neck, just beneath the bun of her brown hair.
From what LP could take away only by looks and hearing things, she was into music, she was new, and she was very, very attractive.
He smiled a little, and shook his head, only to continue walking along, listening and not talking to anyone. And, at the same time, he was still thinking: "What in pluperfect Hell is a rape whistle? And why is it being given out to other people?! What kind of cuckoo's nest did I land in?!"
Eventually, he made it to the building, and started walking to his room, all the way on the second floor.
LP walked through the hall, looking for the right room. And, soon, he came across a door that had the same room which he was supposed to go to. "Home, sweet home. For now, at least." He said, before opening the door.
When he opened it, what he saw both confused him, and made him happy: two guys, both tall, but one with black hair, and the other wearing a cape, stood before him, one waving a wand around, and the other unpacking a bunch of movies onto his desk.
The thing that made LP happy? A bunch of Star Wars memorabilia, draped all over the room. Obviously, one of, or both of, his roommates was a big Star Wars fan.
As soon as he opened the door, the two guys stopped what they were doing, and looked at their new roommate.
The guy with the cape smiled, and waved his hand. "Howdy!" He said, before walking over to LP. He then outstretched his hand. "I'm Benji." LP smiled, albeit a bit awkwardly, and shook the guy's hand. "Nice to meet you. Who's the other guy?" He asked.
At that point, the other guy walked over, and offered his hand. "I'm Jesse. And you are?" He asked.
LP, not knowing what else to tell them, with the only other option being telling them his real name, said, "LP. It's nice to meet another guy who loves movies, as well as another guy who likes Star Wars."
Jesse and Benji took note of what he said, and looked around the room, though both looked in different directions. Jesse in the direction of his stack of DVDs, and Benji at the Star Wars memorabilia.
"Oh, that! Yeah, uh, don't worry, I'm not that big a nerd. I just love Star Wars, magic, Legos… okay, that came out sounding a lot nerdier than I intended." Benji explained, before going a little red in the face.
LP chuckled, and said, "It's fine, dude. Like I said, I'm one of you. I love Star Wars just as much as the next guy walking the street." This made Benji relax a little, as he sighed with relief, glad to not need to feel any embarrassment.
With Jesse, he took a quick look at the pile of DVDs, and smiled a little. "Yeah. In case you couldn't guess, I love movies. They're probably what got me through high school. Scratch that, they WERE what got me through high school."
LP smiled even bigger, happy that, contrary to what he feared would happen, his roommates seemed to be decent guys. A bit awkward, especially Benji, but still decent.
"Soooo… what are you waiting for, man? Are you gonna set down your bags, or what? I mean, you're our roommate now, right?" Jesse asked, somewhat sarcastically.
LP shook his head, and walked over to the only empty bed left. It was big enough to fit a guy his height, and would, hopefully, be comfortable to sleep in.
So, he set his bags down, and laid down on the bed, suddenly realizing how exhausted he was. "Damn. What a day. Leaving home, coming here, being stressed out about it all, only to have a couple of roommates who seem cool. Irony has officially kicked me in the ass." LP thought to himself.
"Hey, you're not going to sleep just yet, are you? We're about to go to the Activities Fair, man! You should come with us." Jesse said, as LP slowly got up.
"Activities Fair? You mean, like a bunch of clubs? Clubs that you can sign up for?" He asked. Jesse nodded his head. "Yep!" He said, excitedly. "We're going. You're more than welcome to come, if you want." Benji added.
LP put his hand on his chin, wondering if it was the best thing to do. He had barely even settled in, and already, these two guys were inviting him to walk around the campus?
"Well, it could be a good way to make friends. That, and I might be able to get to know a few people, especially these guys." LP thought to himself, before looking at Jesse and Benji.
"Are there any clubs involving music? Maybe, DJing, perhaps? Mixing music?" LP asked, curious as to what Barden had to offer in terms of music.
Jesse nodded his head once more. "Yeah! Definitely. Barden has a lot of clubs involving music in them. Come on, if you're interested!" He said.
"I am interested. And now, I'm gonna do what I want to do." LP thought to himself, before getting off the bed, and walking to the door. "Alright. I'm in." He said, before adding, "Autobots, roll out!"
This earned him confused looks from both Jesse and Benji. "Sorry. I just couldn't resist making that joke." LP said, sheepishly. Fortunately, the other two didn't seem to mind, and they shrugged their shoulders, before exiting the dorm room.
As they walked along the campus, and Jesse and Benji talked amongst themselves, LP admired the size of the place, all the while scanning for any sign of a club involving music. Much to his disappointment, he found none so far.
It wasn't until he heard Jesse's voice talking in his direction that he came back to the moment he was in. "So, what's your story?" Jesse asked.
LP looked at Jesse. "Hmm? Oh, me?" He asked. "No, the homeless man flashing people in the parking lot. Yes, you!" Jesse said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
LP smirked, and offered up some of his own sarcasm. "Aw, damn! I wanted to see that homeless guy! He owes me lobster money!" Benji and Jesse laughed at this comment, making LP smile a little.
"All jokes aside, I'm just a guy from LA. I grew up there my whole life with my Mom, Dad, and sister." He explained, as Jesse and Benji listened.
"Cool, cool. Anything else? You have any friends back home?" Benji asked, before Jesse followed up with, "A girlfriend?" LP chuckled a little at Jesse's question.
"A lot of friends. Tell you the truth, this wasn't my first pick for college. But, my Mom figured it would be the best place for me to be, considering the fact that she went here for college. So, I decided to go here. I'm hoping that it's worth it." He said, hopefully.
LP sighed, and asked, "So… any other questions about me?" Jesse, like a student in a class, raised his hand. As LP shook his head, he said, "Yes, Jesse?"
Jesse, slowly lowering his hand, asked, "Is your real name 'LP'? Or, is that just a nickname?" LP's smile dropped a little. "Um… let's not go there. For now at least."
As Jesse frowned a little, LP said, "Hey, look man, I'm kinda adamant about that stuff. I especially don't like to talk about it with people I've just met, or people in general. So, can we save that for later?"
Jesse pretended to pout, before saying, in a playful, childish manner, "Fine!" To add to the effect, he crossed his arms and stomped his feet, a little.
LP laughed, before asking, "So, what about you, Benji?" As if on cue, Benji's head looked in his direction. "Oh, um… I got nothing. Sorry." LP then shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Okay. Whatever, man."
As they continued walking, LP came across a sign that said "DJs." Obviously excited, LP walked over to the stand, only to realize that 'DJs' stood for 'Deaf Jews'.
Taking a huge sigh, LP walked off, and joined up once more with Benji and Jesse. "No luck?" Benji asked. "No luck." LP said, disappointed that he hadn't come across anything, yet. Nevertheless, he hoped he would find a group that would fit what he wanted.
Chloe Beale was exasperated. Four hours she and her friend, Aubrey Posen, stood on a platform, hopeful that someone, anyone, would be interested in joining the Barden Bellas, the acapella group that they were left in charge of. "Results as of right now: zero, zip, zilch, nada." She thought to herself.
"This. Is. Not. Good!" Aubrey said, panicking a little. "Don't stress, Bree. We'll probably find some good singers, soon. We have to find good singers. Everything will be-" Chloe started, before being interrupted by her blonde friend.
"If you say 'everything will be fine' one more time, I'm gonna go crazy. I mean, look around you, Chlo! We've had no luck finding anyone to join the Bellas! And, for God's sakes, we can't run the show on our own! We'd be a laughingstock!" Aubrey interrupted.
Chloe sighed. Ever since the… 'incident' the previous year, Aubrey had become even more neurotic and stressed. Being the new captain of the Bellas certainly didn't help. And the more stressed Aubrey became, the more Chloe worried about her.
Suddenly, Chloe got her hopes up when she saw a brunette with a small bun in her hair, walking around the campus. She looked disappointed, most likely stemming from the fact that she just walked away from the 'deaf jews' podium. Chloe rolled her eyes, realizing how easy it was to become confused by that.
She tapped on Aubrey's shoulder, pointing the girl out to her. "What about her? She looks like Bella material." Chloe said, hopeful to get the girl's attention.
Aubrey shook her head, not really wanting the girl to join the Bellas. For Aubrey, the girl had a look about her. And, whatever it was, Aubrey didn't like it.
"Chloe, I don't think-" But, before Aubrey could get her thoughts out, Chloe motioned to the girl. "Excuse me! Miss! Could you come here, please?"
The brunette walked over, much to Aubrey's dismay. Nevertheless, she decided to stay calm.
"Yeah?" She asked. "We were just wondering if you'd be interested in joining our acapella group." Chloe said. "Oh, because that's a thing, right?" The brunette asked, with slight sarcasm in her voice.
Chloe could see that Aubrey was slowly, but surely, losing her cool with this girl. Nevertheless, she persisted.
Beca Mitchell was bored. She didn't even want to be where she currently was. She wanted to be in LA, DJing, working at nightclubs, making mixes, living her life. But instead, her Father, who insisted that she get a college degree, forced her to go to Barden University.
Now, she was stuck here, with a roommate whom she was certain hated her, and was now listening to an (admittedly attractive) redhead and blonde explain to her the basics of their Acapella group, and other acapella groups.
Soon, Beca tapped back into reality, just as the redhead finished her sentence, and started introducing themselves. "We're the Bellas. We're the tits, if you couldn't guess." She said, as Beca smirked a little.
"Anyway, we're looking for new members, and we think, or, I think that you'd make a great Bella! So, are you interested?" The redhead finished, and Beca could obviously see that they were desperate for team players.
But, at the same time, Beca was uninterested in being in a big group of girls, solely for the purpose of singing for a bunch of people. And that wasn't Beca's style.
"Sorry, not interested. Honestly, it sounds kinda lame." She said, trying to be 100% honest with them and with herself.
Aubrey, clearly taken aback, said, "Aca-scuse me?!" "Oh, boy. This isn't gonna end well." Chloe thought to herself.
As LP, Jesse, and Benji walked around the campus, they came across a sight that obviously excited Benji, as he poked Jesse and LP's arms. "Guys, look! It's the Treblemakers!" He said, excitedly.
As Benji looked in excitement, and Jesse looked in milder excitement, LP looked in confusion, as a diverse group of guys, almost out of nowhere, burst into a rendition of Devo's 'Whip It'.
As the scene got stranger, with a few other guys in the group mimicking the beat of the song, while others sang the lyrics to it, LP failed to realize what the fuss was all about. It was just a couple of guys singing a song and its beats. No big deal.
"Jesse, do you know how to sing 'Whip It'?" Benji asked. "Hell, yeah. I do!" Jesse said, before joining in.
JESSE: I wanna see you whip it… soooo, let it whiiip.
"You didn't really know the song, didja?" LP asked. "No, not really." Jesse said, sheepishly. "That's okay. I have it on my playlist. I'll play it for you, later! That is, if we can find it." LP reassured him.
Then, Benji walked over to the Treblemakers, clearly not knowing what he was doing. "What is he doing?" LP asked Jesse. "Hell if I know." Jesse responded, before the two looked at each other.
"Should we help him out?" Jesse asked. "Probably, yes." LP responded. "Now?" Jesse asked again. "Now." LP said. "Okay, let's go." Jesse replied, before they walked over to Benji.
From the looks of it, Benji was introducing himself to the Trebles. Unfortunately for him, the conversation was… awkward, to say the least. It involved Benji performing one of his magic tricks on the head Treble, Bumper Allen, which, obviously, weirded both him and the other Trebles out.
"Yeah, um, listen, can you move away, please? You're invading my airspace." Bumper told Benji, rudely. LP was somewhat surprised by Bumper's attitude.
"What?" Benji asked. "Go away. Shoo. I don't need weirdos like you standing around me." Bumper continued, still being what LP liked to call a 'douchepool'.
And speaking of LP, he saw what was going on, and he absolutely refused to stand Bumper's attitude towards Benji. LP hated people like Bumper. He dealt with them all the time in high school.
There wasn't a snowball's chance in Egypt that he was going to stand by and watch a nice guy like Benji be treated the way he was being treated.
So, LP walked over, and stood next to Benji. "Hey. What the Hell's your problem, man?" He asked Bumper, who looked directly at him. "You talking to me?" He asked, trying to sound tough.
"No, I'm talking to the homeless man flashing people in the parking lot. Yes, I'm talking to you. Who the Hell do you think you are, dude?" LP said, angrily.
Bumper smirked and laughed, as he told LP, 'I don't know who you think you are brah, but, around here, I'm a big name. So, like your buddy over here, why don't you hop along, and go back to where you came from so you can fuck each other's brains out?"
As Bumper and the other Trebles laughed, LP smirked, and said, "A big name around here, huh? That's funny."
As soon as he said this, Bumper and the other Trebles stopped laughing. "And why is it funny?" He asked, clearly missing the point that LP was attempting to convey. So, LP stepped forward, cleared his throat, and began to speak.
"In LA, we get guys like you all the time. Assholes who don't have a clue about how dickish they actually are, and who think they're better than everyone else around them the second they get a little taste of the big life. Get real, you fucking clown. Outside of here, who are you, honestly? Because in my town, and my book, you're nothing more than a stuck-up, pretentious airhead. And I will not stand for you talking to other people that way. No chance in Hell. So, if I were you, I'd think twice about talking to him or anyone else that way again. Have a lovely day, Sir Douchebag." LP said, before bowing, and walking away, Benji in tow.
As they walked up to Jesse to continue walking around the campus, hopefully without having to deal with more assholes like Bumper, an awestruck Jesse said to LP, "That… was awesome." This made LP smile like he hadn't all day, not since breakfast, at least.
"Thanks for sticking up for me, LP. I didn't expect that." Benji thanked LP. "Don't mention it, Benji. I've dealed with enough bullshit like that in my life. I'm not gonna sit back and watch others go through it, too." LP said, smiling as they walked toward a podium.
Suddenly, at the exact same moment, Jesse and LP's eyes widened, for they both saw someone that they recognized: a certain short brunette with a bun in her hair named Beca Mitchell. "It's her." The boys thought at the same time.
As Chloe finally finished explaining what it took all but three minutes (Beca counted) to say about the Acapella groups at Barden, Beca smiled, not a real smile, more of an 'I don't care' smile, and said, "Sorry, but, it's not really my thing. So, I'll see you later." She said, before walking off.
As Beca left, Aubrey looked to Chloe, and just from the look on Aubrey's face, Chloe could tell that she was on the verge of panic.
"What… are we gonna do?" Aubrey asked, stress ever so evident in her voice. "Calm down, Bree. We'll figure things out. Hey listen, I was thinking-"
But before Chloe could finish her sentence, she saw someone. A guy, wearing a black beanie, a gray and black hoodie, and jeans, who was walking with two other guys. He was looking at something, or someone.
One of the other guys, a dude with black hair, was also looking at something, or someone. What it was didn't matter to Chloe. What mattered was the guy wearing a beanie.
At that moment, Chloe had an idea. An awful idea. A wonderful, awful idea.
She tapped Aubrey's shoulder yet again, prompting Aubrey to look at her. "Yeah?" She asked. Chloe pointed in the direction of LP. "See that guy?" She asked. "The one with curly hair and lame clothes?" Aubrey asked. "No! Not that guy. The other guy." Chloe pointed towards the three gents. "The pretty boy with a blue T-shirt on?" Aubrey asked once more, her eyebrows raised. Chloe rolled her eyes, and pointed directly at LP McDaniel. "NO! The one with the beanie."
Aubrey then looked in the direction of LP, and saw him. "What about him?" She asked. Chloe smiled, and said, "I had an idea. You might not like it, but, if you just listen-"
At that point, Aubrey had heard enough. She knew what Chloe was suggesting. And there was no way she was gonna go through with it. "No. We are not doing that, Chloe! We can't just start our run by breaking tradition! Do you not realize that there has never been a single guy in the Bellas?!" Aubrey frantically asked.
"Yes, I realize that, but, maybe this could be a nice change of pace, for once! I mean, he's not exactly unattractive, and, for all we know, he could be a perfectly nice guy with a good voice! Besides, we're running out of options, anyway." Chloe attempted to explain her idea, and tried to reason with Aubrey.
Aubrey was unsure of what to do. On the one hand, she knew Chloe had a point. On the other, having a guy of all people in the Bellas was something that had never been done before. Would it work?
"You know what? To Hell with it! Excuse me!" Chloe said, calling out to LP, who now looked in her direction, along with the other guys.
"Chloe!" Aubrey attempted to protest, but, at that point, it was too late. Chloe had LP's attention. "Are you talking to me?" He asked. Chloe nodded her head. "Yeah, I am!" She said.
"Okay, good. Now I know that it's me you're talking to, and not the homeless guy flashing people in the parking lot." LP joked, which earned confused looks from both Aubrey and Chloe.
"That was a joke." Jesse said, bluntly. "Oh. Okay! Hey, um, could you come over here for a minute? Just you, the guy with the beanie, please? We need to talk to you." Chloe said, with a chipper voice.
LP gave a thumbs up, and, before walking over to the stand, turned to Jesse and Benji. "I'm gonna see what this is all about. You guys go on without me, okay? I'll catch up with you, later." He told them.
Jesse and Benji nodded their heads. "Sure, man. See ya!" Jesse said, as he and Benji walked off. "Bye, dude!" Benji waved, and LP waved back, a friendly smile on both of their faces.
Then, LP walked over to the stand, and stood before Aubrey and Chloe. "Hi." He said. "Hi! I'm Chloe, and this is Aubrey. I called you over, because we're the captains of an Acapella group, the Bellas." Chloe explained, as Aubrey looked at LP uncomfortably.
"Bellas… doesn't Bella mean 'beautiful' in Italian?" LP asked. Chloe nodded her head. "Yeah! It does! That's kinda the point. See, we're part of an all-girls acapella group, and it's been that way for a while, now."
"But, in light of… recent events, we've gotten less and less people signing up to join the Bellas. So, naturally, desperate times call for desperate measures. And, against my better judgement, we're considering letting a guy join the Bellas. And, well, Chloe was considering you." Aubrey continued for Chloe.
As LP took in everything that was being told to him, he was starting to wonder what it might be like to be in a group full of girls, all of them doing Acapella, and he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to do it.
"I… I honestly don't know. I'm into music, but I'm not really sure if I want to sing in front of a bunch of people. However, I will keep it in mind, if that's okay with you?" LP said, genuinely conflicted on what he wanted to do.
Chloe nodded her head, and, at that point, LP could see disappointment in her eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, that's okay. Um, oh! Auditions are on Saturday morning. Maybe you could swing by?" She asked. "Sure! I can do Saturday! My schedule is, for now, totally clear!" LP responded.
"Great! So, Saturday?" Chloe asked with a smile on her face. LP chuckled, and said, "Sure. I'll be there! Goodbye!" He said, waving as he walked away.
As soon as he was out of sight, Aubrey walked up to Chloe, and said, "You do know that you have to take full credit for this idea, right?" The blonde asked. "Yeah, I know." Chloe responded.
"And if anything goes wrong, I will personally hold you responsible, right?" Aubrey prodded. "Yeah, I know." Chloe repeated herself. Then, Aubrey went back to where she was standing, as she continued to hope that more people would show up.
All the while, the only thing going through Chloe's mind was, "Who was that guy? I guess I'll have to find out."
Author's Note: To all those who followed and favorited, thank you! I really appreciate it! Also, for all who are reading this story, I want you to guess what LP's initials stand for! Every chapter, I'll drop a hint as to what it is, until I finally reveal his real name. Anywho, thank you all for reading, please leave a review with your feedback and thoughts on the chapter and, as always, take care, and I'll see you next time! Until then, I'm the Flying Hawaiian 001, and I'm going to bed!