A/N: I don't own Pitch Perfect, the characters, or the songs mentioned.

That dance season, Beca and Chloe seemed to take turns being in first and second place. Beca always excelled in artistry and emotion while Chloe always had nearly flawless technique. It seemed like the judges would give first and second depending on whether they valued artistry or technique higher. Both dancers qualified for nationals that year. Beca beat Chloe by 0.3. Chloe's group number beat Beca's by one point.

The girls themselves really didn't talk much to each other. Beca worried that Alyson might get angry if she was seen talking to Chloe, and Chloe didn't want to get Tracie upset either. Tracie had never told Chloe that she couldn't speak with anyone from Alyson's studio, but she didn't encourage them to socialize with those students either.

The next year, Beca and Chloe were in different age divisions. They still saw each other at a lot of competitions, but there wasn't any pressure to beat each other. One competition also had a workshop component to it. The day after the dancers competed, they had a day-long dance workshop. They took classes in different styles of dance with guest teachers. It was a great opportunity to learn from people with different teaching styles and philosophies. Beca and Chloe ended up in the same group for the convention and finally got to know each other a little without the pressure of competition and their teachers watching. They found they had a lot in common, and struck up a friendship by the end of the day. They exchanged phone numbers, and would occasionally text each other after their dance classes were over. The exchanges never went for very long because both girls were tired from a full day of school and three or four hours of dance. Most weekends were spent at competitions or shows. Neither one spent much time with anyone from their regular school because the other kids generally didn't understand that dance had to take priority over just about anything else.

The following year, Beca and Chloe were in the same age division again. While Beca had been working harder on her technique, and Chloe on her artistry, the scores still generally reflected Beca as the artist and Chloe as the technician. The girls decided to keep their friendship a secret from their teachers. Alyson had never further explained the problems between Tracie and herself, and Beca had long since decided she didn't care anymore.

Beca's solo competition piece this season was a sassy jazz number to "We Got the Beat" by the Go-Go's. She showed a lot of personality, and she was a real crowd pleaser. Chloe did a tap routine to "Bang Dem Sticks" by Meghan Trainor. It was a hoofer-style piece, and she was great at fitting the intricate sounds in with the rhythm. The girls were still competing against each other in the high score category. Usually, both would win for their styles, but they were neck and neck in the high score category. They had never scored more than a point apart.

One night after the competition, Chloe texted Beca to call her immediately. Beca's mom was asleep in the hotel room, so she quietly tiptoed outside to the balcony. She kept her voice down because her mom was a light sleeper.

"Hey Chloe, it's Beca. What's up?"

"Tracie finally told me why she and Alyson aren't speaking."

"I thought we decided we didn't care about that."

"I didn't until I heard the story."

"What happened?"

"Alyson and Tracie were competition rivals when they were growing up."

"So are we. Who cares?"

"Well, they were rivals off the dance floor as well. It started with Alyson doing some light trash talking, but things quickly got ugly." Chloe continued "Alyson would trip Tracie backstage. Tracie never got hurt, so Alyson moved on to 'accidentally' bumping into her on purpose. She knocked her down one time, and Tracie sprained her ankle. She had to miss an entire month of competition!"

"Are you sure? That doesn't sound like Alyson, and it could have really been an accident."

"That's what I said, but Tracie said it happened enough times that it wasn't likely. Dancers aren't exactly clumsy, you know."

"I don't know. I have no problem staying on my feet when I'm dancing, but I swear I trip over nothing while walking often enough."

"Okay, but explain this one. Tracie got thrown out of a competition when she was seventeen. They found a beer in her dance bag, and there's been a zero-tolerance policy on underage drinking at dance competitions for years. Tracie swears she never even touched the beer, and that Alyson must have planted it."

"That's weird. Alyson doesn't drink, and she doesn't even like beer. Why would she want Tracie out of the competition? She's always telling me a rivalry is healthy. She says it will help push me to work hard and do my best."

"Maybe you're right. I guess it's possible Tracie is just covering up a mistake and blaming Alyson. Anyway, I thought you should know."

"Thanks for letting me know." Beca yawned. "I'm really tired and we have the workshop tomorrow, so I'm going to hit the sack. My mom would kill me if she saw I was still up."

"Okay, good night." Chloe hung up. She was really confused. It seemed like a strange story for Tracie to make up. She hadn't even told Chloe she'd been thrown out of a competition before tonight.


A/N: Chloe's tap number is a reference to a YouTube video. Look up Christopher Rice on YouTube. He and many other Broadway dancers have a really cool routine up on his YouTube channel to the same song. It's called Bang Dem Taps. Totally worth watching, and more or less what I pictured Chloe doing.