"Chloe Beale. God, the stories I could tell about you." A small burst of laughter erupted from the reception hall. "But I can't embarrass you too much. Today's your special day, and I couldn't have been more happy for you."
Beca was giving her maid-of-honor speech. She had tears in her eyes. To everyone else, she was ecstatic for her best friend and was crying tears of absolute joy.
But to her, this was Beca giving her best friend, her love-of-her-life, away to someone else.
"When I first met you, I thought, 'this girl is a fucking-sorry-freaking psycho.'" Everybody laughed again. "I mean, what kind of girl just runs into strangers showers and begs them to sing while they're naked? No one but you, Beale."
Chloe was holding Chicago's hand, her eyes locked on Beca, as the brunette said her speech. She felt tears in her eyes as she remembered the day she ran into Beca's shower. The day Chloe's world turned upside down.
"Nobody in this room-in the world-has the same passion as you. You were passionate about the Bellas. For seven years, I might add." More laughter came from the crowd. "You were passionate about winning Worlds and reclaiming the Bella's name; without you, we all would've given up. You were passionate about me becoming DJ Khaled's newest talent; without you, I would've given up."
For a split second, everything went dark. Beca only saw the glow of Chloe's eyes and she was lost. She wishes that, instead of a maid-of-honor speech, she was saying her vows to the redhead.
"And now, you are passionate about Chicago. I saw the way you guys kissed that first night and I have never seen such passion and excitement coming from two people." Beca was crying now. She replayed the memory in her head and it burned her eyes to see Chloe falling in love with someone that wasn't her.
"Chicago. I don't know you very well, but you saved us that night we were on the boat. I mean, after letting us all get kidnapped, of course." Everybody laughed and Chicago shrugged. He smiled at Beca, knowing how her witty sense of humor worked. "But the moment we climbed onto land, you had a blanket open and ready for Chloe. She ran to you as soon as we were safe, but I knew she didn't really feel safe until she was in your arms."
Beca took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It broke every tendon in her heart to give this speech. "And I know you will keep her safe for the rest of her life. I trust you, Chicago, to take care of this girl because, even though she can be a handful every single day, you'll never grow tired of it. I trust you to protect her. I trust you to love her the way she deserves to be loved."
This was slowly becoming the best friend speech she gave to Chicago a few months ago.
"Listen up, Chicago. I don't care what you did for our country, how you saved us from Amy's dad, or any status you may have in the military. The second you hurt Chloe, give her even the tiniest paper cut scratch on her perfect body, I will end you. If you do anything less than love her completely, I will hunt you down. I don't care if she hurt you first, because that's my best friend you're marrying and that's my best friend you're loving. If she falls in love and you're not there to catch her, you better get on the next plane to the middle of nowhere because unless you're already dead in a ditch by the time I find you, I will kill you."
Beca stood six inches below Chicago, looking nearly straight up, and giving him the best friend speech.
Chicago visibly shuddered, knowing how much Chloe meant to Beca. "I know, Beca. I love her and I'll love her exactly how she deserves to be loved. You can trust me."
"I'm going to believe you for now. I trust you to love her and take care of her and never let her get hurt because that girl is just too fucking innocent for this bullshit ass world. If she ever calls me crying, I will not hesitate to hurt you. But for now, I trust you. I trust you to take care of her. I trust you to catch her when she falls. I trust you to defend her. I trust you to love her the way she deserves to be loved."
I trust you to love her the way I should have.
Chloe was crying at how well her best friend got along with her newfound husband. "And Chloe. I am so happy you've found someone who makes you this happy. I wish you two the best. I trust you, Chicago. And Chloe. I love you."
Beca raised her glass and the reception broke out into applause. Everyone cheered and anyone who knew the relationship Beca and Chloe had together was crying. Beca sat back down next to Chloe and the redhead enveloped her in an awkward side-hug.
"That was beautiful, Becs. Thank you. And I love you too." Chloe placed a small kiss on Beca's cheek. Beca's tears were falling off her cheeks and there was no stopping. She immediately excused herself and ran to the bathroom.
"Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. FUCK!" Beca slammed her head against the stall door and screamed. She was crying and her makeup was ruined and she's sure that her abrupt exit ruined the rest of Chloe's wedding too.
But in actuality, nobody noticed.
Except Aubrey.
"Beca? Are you okay?" Aubrey walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She stood in front of the stall door that Beca had locked herself in and placed her hands on the door.
"Oh shit, sorry. Yeah. I just got too drunk. I'll be right out." Beca sniffled and flushed the toilet, pretending to have actually thrown up.
Aubrey sighed and knocked on the door. "Beca, come out here, please. Let's talk."
"I'm fine, Aubrey. Go back out and have fun. I just need a second." Beca sat down on the toilet seat and used the thin toilet paper to try and wipe her tears. She sealed her eyes shut to avoid letting any more tears fall out.
Beca didn't notice when Aubrey had gotten down on her stomach and crawled under the stall door. Half her body was inside the stall when Beca opened her eyes to find a blonde girl in a baby blue dress on the floor of the bathroom.
"Posen, what the fuck?" Beca managed a small chuckle as she stood to reach over Aubrey's body and unlock the door. She pushed it open and stepped over Aubrey and towards the sink.
"Thanks." Aubrey stood up and brushed her dress off. She saw Beca's reflection in the mirror and was shocked at the sight in front of her.
Beca stood in her navy blue dress, her hair perfectly curled and pulled back on one side. But her makeup was smeared. Her lipstick was completely washed off and one of her false eyelashes had fallen off. Her mascara left stray marks all over her cheeks and her nose was red and running. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy.
Beca didn't look like herself at all.
"Beca…" Aubrey held Beca from behind, hugging her hard and felt the brunette break. Beca's body went limp and it took all of Aubrey's strength to keep her up. Beca was sobbing loudly and she could not handle herself.
"I'm sorry, Aubrey. I just-I love her." Beca managed to calm herself down after being held for about seven minutes. Aubrey didn't say anything, hoping that Beca would finally tap into her heart and let out the feelings she's kept buried inside.
"I love Chloe. And I know it's wrong and I know she's with Chicago and I know it's their fucking wedding, but I love her. And I can't stop loving her. I can't delete the pictures of her off my phone and I can't stop texting her everyday and I can't stop thinking about her laugh and I can't stop trying to come up with new ways to make her smile and I can't stop loving her. I know it's wrong and I know I've fucked up and should've told her a million years ago because now it's too fucking late. I know, and I'm sorry." Beca dropped to the floor and sat with her head against the wall.
Aubrey sat down next to her and didn't say anything. There was nothing she possibly could've said. So instead, the two girls sat in the bathroom and stared at the empty wall in front of them.
They stayed there for an hour, when Beca finally had the strength to get up again. Keeping their silence, Aubrey helped Beca fix her makeup and look more presentable. Her eyes were still puffy but anyone can assume that it was from happy tears.
Just as Beca unlocked the bathroom and was about to leave, Aubrey finally spoke. "I don't trust Chicago."
Short update. I might actually make this into a little series; share this and R&R with whether or not I should continue!