Just the Way You Are.
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine and neither are Anna Kendrick and Skylar Astin. Darn. I'm imagining now like a pet named Anna and a pet named Skylar and—back to the point.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Jesse really wants to take Beca to see a movie, because, well, she just doesn't even like movies, and ugh, it just- he just- he doesn't want to contemplate how that's even possible. The only problem is, er, Jesse doesn't really have a car to get from here to the local theater, so they're kind of stuck.
"Dude, you don't even know how to drive? You're like, eighteen years old." Beca laughs at his hurt face.
"Well, not everyone can be as incredibly badass and tiny as you are." Beca rolls her eyes dramatically. "You're in a league of your own."
"Are you incapable of coming up with any other witty comebacks besides cleverly- albeit rudely- mocking my size, nerd?" She raises her eyebrows sassily in his direction.
"Are you incapable of calling my anything besides nerd or weirdo?" He shoots back, not missing a beat."
"I confess, nerd, I am." She smirks, he laughs, and suddenly they're both laughing so hard Jesse's crying and Beca's trying her hardest to bite back a smile (and it's worth noting that she's failing miserably). "Come on, there's a great hole in the wall drive in movie place like three blocks from here. Think you can manage to walk all the way there, weirdo?"
"There you go with the name calling again Beca, I think I should get out now before things get too complicated." He teases.
"You're leaving?" Of course he's leaving, it's just like when her dad left, and her best friend left and her aunt tried to like disown her or something. She should be glad he's leaving now and-
"Woah, Beca, it was a joke, a bad one, but still, I wasn't being serious." Beca nods in response with a "Yeah, I totally knew that" and an eye roll that Jesse can see right through. But instead he chooses to ignore it, and asks which way they're going so he can diffuse the sudden tension that reminds him of her unresolved issues. He made a joke referencing her unsatisfying family life. He. Is. A. Total. Asshole.
"I'm sorry I freaked out, I don't want things to be so serious all the time. Like, I kind of have a past, and I don't let down walls easily." Beca sighs and looks at the ground.
Jesse looks at her seriously, and just when Beca's thinks she's done something wrong, that she screwed up everything, Jesse's face breaks into his trademark boyish grin. "It's fine. I like you Beca. We're going to be best friends, and/or lovers." Beca shakes her head vehemently.
"No. No. Never say that to me again. In fact never use the word 'lovers' again. Period." Jesse nods and holds his pinkie out to Beca. She nods and shakes her head at childishness. "So, dork, how about that movie?"
...-...-...
"It wasn't that good."
"What? 'Jaws' is a classic!"
"It was so boring. The music was cheesy and predictable."
"It's one of the best scored movies of all time."
"Whatever, it still sucked."
"Beca! How could you say such a thing?"
"Jesse! Can we do something else now?"
"No. I need to change this whole anti-movie thing."
"No more movies."
"Mini golf?"
"Fine."
...-...-...
"We are the oldest people here," Beca whispers in Jesse's ear. She looks around at the chaotic, child filled scene in front of her. Countless kids are running around without parents, a few unhappy teens who look like they'd rather die than be here right now are stuck with their parents, and Beca's pretty sure one little boy just fell in the water trying to reach a lost ball. Beca giggles a bit, which startles her, because Beca Mitchell (aka a badass), doesn't giggle. Like ever.
"We are the oldest people here, because the others are losers who don't know the magic of mini golf." He gives her a lopsided smile, and Beca rolls her eyes. Such a child. Beca mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, 'such a weirdo', under her breath.
The line lurches forward, and Jesse and Beca finally get to start the first hole. "And so the magic begins," Jesse mutters. Beca laughs loudly, because really? This dork? A voice reminds her in her head not to get attached, because she's going home in five days and so will he and after that they won't see each other ever again. So Beca stops laughing, straightens up, and plasters the 'bored as hell' look back on her face.
Jesse goes to hit his ball. In order to get a hole in one, you have to hit the ball over a series of hills and around a curved hill. (And it's worth noting, that Jesse spends a full four minutes lining up his shot and pretending to stretch. Beca counts. And no, she definitely did not take a video to blackmail him later.) A couple of angry moms look about ready to blow and the line behind them has reached maximum capacity. "Jesse, would you hurry the hell up! Three soccer moms are about to throw their sodas, fanny packs, or both at you." Jesse quickly lines up the shot, hits, and gets stuck after the first hill.
Beca gives a short laugh and Jesse has taken four strokes just to get remotely near the hole. Beca, on the other hand, hits the ball as hard as she can the first time and it bounces off somewhere too far away for them to bother going to find it. Jesse comments, "I thought I was bad, but you make me look like the master."
Beca smirks, "I guess we both suck."
Jesse scratches his head. "Yeah, but you suck worse."
"Okay, that's it. You're going down. I'm not going to go easy on you anymore."
"We've only played one ho-" But Beca ignores him.
"We need to go find that fucking golf ball. Pronto."
"Okay then," Jesse says loudly. "Let's go find that golf ball."
It turns out that lost ball was three holes to the left; it ricocheted off of the fake blue waterfall. "Told you I could find it. And…" Beca pulls her phone out of her short's pocket. "It only took seven minutes to find it. Pay up." Jesse slaps down a five in Beca's palm.
"Whatever. Let's go back to the second hole." They walk back to the second hole, only to find a major commotion because a four year old had an accident and took a shit right on the green. Least to say both had a hard time keeping their food down. It even smelled.
"Okay, now that I've been scarred for life, let's get the fuck out of here and to somewhere that doesn't reek of things, things that I'd rather not discuss ever." Jesse takes Beca to the fourteenth hole, and after that they just go to whichever hole they want. There's never a line, probably because that child's odorous- er, waste, has scared all of the mothers and teens away.
When they finish their game (with Jesse losing his ball once, and Beca losing hers a whopping four times) they begin to walk back to their hotel (Beca will deny this if you ever say anything, but Jesse winked when he said 'their hotel' and Beca turned the slightest bit pink).
"I totally won," says Beca.
"I tallied the points. I scored a fifty five and you scored a sixty one. Here, check if you don't believe me." He shoves the mini golf card in Beca's direction.
"No, no I believe you 'cause you're such a nerd." Beca yawns. "You tired me out nerd, and that's saying something. I'm practically made of steel." Jesse shakes his head. "Fine…I'm made of….gold? Soft but still badass. Very valuable." Jesse nods.
"Yes, gold is the metal I would use to describe you. That or titanium. Never giving in. All tough even under impossible odds."
Beca gives him a breath of a laugh. "Yeah...I am pretty tough aren't I?"
"You are, especially at only five feet. This is your room."
Beca sighs, "Oh, would you look at that. See you around?"
Jesse grins, "Sure, nerd."
Beca walks into her room, sitting on the bed and sighing. It was nice to have someone to actually talk to, rather than being alone. Beca knows her mother is probably upstairs making more decisions about her future. She surveys the almost empty hotel condo.
It's spotless, no dust or dirt in sight, not a sign that it's ever even been used. The side of her mother's bed where her dad used to sleep every night is empty. It is silent. Beca is used to silent. Silent is comfortable. Silent is normal. But maybe Beca doesn't like silent anymore.
Maybe she's wants her voice to be heard. Maybe she wants to go to Los Angeles instead of going to Barden. Maybe she wishes she didn't have a Barbie stepmother she has to deal with on a daily basis. And maybe she just wants to have someone to talk to.
And maybe, just maybe, she thinks she may have found that someone.
Jesse walks into his condo to five pairs of waiting eyes. There is his sister (Maxie), his brothers (Brayden and Shane), his mother (Claire), and his father (Steven). His mother is the first speak. "Where have you been all day Jesse?"
"I was hanging out with someone I met at the beach yesterday, why?"
"We just didn't know where you were, was all. What if you had gotten kidnapped?" Jesse rolls his eyes at his overprotective mother.
Maxie jumps in. "That poor kidnapper would give Jesse back in an hour as long as he kept rambling off random movie facts." Claire shushes her and turns to Jesse.
"Just be careful, okay?" Jesse nods and walks to his room. He wishes his family would leave him alone sometimes. He loves his family a lot, they're very close, he just sometimes wishes he could be alone. He looks around him. They had been there for less than twenty four hours and already the entire place was covered in clothes, electronics, and girl stuff (Jesse never bothered to ask what it is all called). The place was a mecca for loud and annoying noise. Maxie blabs on her phone nonstop. Brayden is always on his laptop playing Minecraft. Shane brings a lot of girls home. His parents, occasionally engage in such behavior. Jesse almost throws up when he hears those noises.
The condo is busy and loud. There is always something exciting or scandalous going on, she did this, or he did that. But maybe, just maybe, Jesse wishes he could put life on hold for a second and to just be free of everything.
Maybe Jesse likes silence. Maybe Jesse wants to go to college far away from home. Maybe Jesse wants to compose music instead of working with his father's construction company. Maybe Jesse just wants someone to talk to that will listen.
And maybe, just maybe, he thinks he may have found that someone.
A/N: If any of you were wondering, I left the setting vague so you imagine this taking place wherever you wanted to, but, when I write this I picture Ocean City, MD. I was there when I had the idea for this Fanfiction and started writing.
Ugh, guys sorry this took so long, I was at a two week drama camp and I was Pocahontas in Pocahontas and it was a lot of work. We had our third and final show today, and now I can get back to writing and updating more quickly than I have been.
THANKS SO MUCH for all the reviews, follows, and favorites, all of my readers so far rock and I love you guys. Keep reviewing! Reviews motivate me so much and that allows me to update more.
Another Side Note: I am getting an extremely minor surgery (also my first surgery) on my head this Thursday to remove a large mole. I am super nervous for this, and if I could have your support that would be amazing. I am going on vacation the week of August 9th, and I am bringing my laptop and I hope to write then. I can't swim on vacation because of my stitches (FML). Whatever. Life is life, I guess.
I referenced a couple other fics in this:
Credit for the names Maxie, Brayden, and Shane go to my favorite Pitch Perfect Fanfic of all time. (Barden and Beyond) Go read it now if you haven't!
I do not remember which author gave Jesse's dad a construction company as his job, but credit for that idea goes to them.
Also, I personally enjoy Jaws. :)
If you read this far, congratulations you deserve a gold star and this extra scene:
"I scored a three on this hole. Umm….number six."
"Uh, Beca, I'm pretty sure you scored like a ten on that hole. You hit the ball into the water three times. I remember because you were cussing really loudly, and a mom got so pissed she actually threw her fanny pack at you."
"Whatever. What about hole number ten?"
"On that one you scored a…" Jesse starts laughing uncontrollably. "Y- you scored a fifteen. How is that even possible?"
"Shut up."
"No."
"Shut. Up."
"Beca."
"Don't say it."
"I just-."
"I don't want to hear it."
"You suck at mini golf."