Well, hello again. Firstly - thank you to everyone who took the time to read the sort of prologue-y bit. Even more thanks to those of you who reviewed and/or favourited and/or followed. You guys are awesome, and make me extremely happy.
This chapter is longer... I'm not entirely happy with it, but given that you've been waiting for ever I feel like I might be being a little bit of a perfectionist. The time-line jumps around a little, as I suspect it will do throughout. I'm fairly sure there will be some pretty big questions - all will slowly be revealed. :)
I own nothing - not Pitch Perfect, nor either song used in this chapter ("There is only you" by The Xcerts, and "Titanium" by David Guetta). I'm purely writing for entertainment, not for any financial gain etc etc and everything belongs to its rightful owners etc etc.
This is completely unbeta'd. Apologies for any glaring errors and typos. I'm only human. And a British one at that, so I spell things with "s"s, not "z"s. :)
Right. I'll let you get on with it...
Beca woke up the next morning, to find herself eye to eye with a six year old Sophie Swanson.
"Daddy said I wasn't allowed to wake you," she greeted, matter-of-factly. "But I wanted to tell you that I saw you on TV and you were awesome."
"Oh, so you woke me up anyway?" Beca smiled at the child, wiping sleep from her eyes.
"Yes, but he also said that if you woke up in time, we could have pancakes before I have to go to school."
"Did he tell you what would happen if you wake a sleeping Beca?" She tried to hide her grin and added a disapproving tone to her voice.
"Noooo?" Before Sophie had time to finish the syllable, Beca pounced on her, shouting as she did so.
"TICKLE ATTACK!"
Sophie erupted into high-pitched giggles, kicking her legs gently as her Beca tickled her ribs and tried to grab a foot for the ultimate goal. "No, no, noooo!" She shouted through laughter, and Beca found herself in hysterics with the child. She stopped abruptly when she felt her stomach growl.
"What do you say, kiddo? Learned your lesson?" she grinned. Sophie nodded in response, trying to catch her response. "You wanna see if your dad's made us some pancakes yet?"
Sophie didn't reply, opting to bolt from the room, thundering down the stairs to supervise the addition of chocolate chips to the pancake batter.
As she pulled on clothes, Beca grabbed her phone and scrolled through her emails, looking for one from her manager. Before running through the whole "Big Reveal" plan, she had agreed that she would do one interview that day, and she had her fingers crossed that it would be on one show in particular. Seeing the email she was looking for, she beamed, ran from her room to the kitchen to share her news.
"Jesse, Jesse, Jesse!" she bounced in front of her best friend, unable to stand still or keep her excitement in, "Guess what, guess what!"
"Uhm, I don't know, could you be the proud owner of ten Grammys?" He grinned back.
"Yes, but that's not this exciting," she carried on bouncing. Jesse stopped, realising that there could only be one thing that could cause this.
"You got Ellen?" He asked, deadly serious.
"I got Ellen! I'm going to be on Ellen!" Beca ran around the room, doing a lap of honour around the breakfast bar. Sophie watched from her chair, chuckling at the "adults" of the room, not entirely sure of the cause of the merriment.
"You know, when we first met, I thought you were this really awesome, bad-" Jesse quickly stopped himself, remembering his daughter's presence, "A really awesome, un-phased by anything, super cool girls. Right now you're running round our kitchen emitting what can only be described as a fangirl 'squee'" he smirked at her, enjoying the sight. "Now, sit yourself down and have some breakfast and help me pretend to be a fully-functioning adult so I can get my daughter to school on time!"
"Yes, sir!" Beca saluted.
Three hours later, Beca's phone rang, and she dashed outside to the car that was waiting for her. She opened the door and climbed in, ready to have her appearance and speeches from the night before critiqued.
"Morning, Candice," she greeted her manager with a smile.
"Beca, hey," the blonde looked up from her phone making brief eye-contact before returning her attention to whatever was on her screen. Beca waited awkwardly for something more, not able to relax until she knew if she was in trouble last night. "So, you're going to have a quick chat, perform, chat again, then perform and close the show. She's unlikely to ask anything too outrageous, it'll probably be focused on how you've kept it a secret, what your family think... you mentioned Jesse and Soph last night, so she'll probably check who they are."
Beca stared at Candice, stunned. "Wait, you're not lecturing me on what I said that was outrageous or bad PR-wise last night?"
"No, I'm not," The blonde nodded, "I watched, you were quite endearing. Social media loved you, the press this morning love you, I'm proud," she smiled warmly for a split second then smirked, "Besides, if you had screwed up do you think I would have got you on Ellen? No, miss, I probably would have set you up to be a guest on The View."
Beca chuckled, shaking her head. "You're getting more and more like me, you know that, right?"
"Don't push your luck," Candice retorted quickly, an eyebrow arched. Beca smirked to herself, knowing that her manager was trying desperately not to let out a laugh.
Their first two hours at the studio was somewhat a whirlwind. They were ferried to and from offices and a dressing room, shown to the set and had their hands shaken by countless producers. They found themselves separated and reunited, until they were finally deposited in Beca's dressing room about an hour before show time. They had barely caught their breath when the silence was interrupted by a very business-like knock on their door. Beca and Candice exchanged glances, and watched with curiosity as the handle depressed and they door was opened a crack.
"Oh, great, you're in here," an extremely familiar voice exclaimed. Ellen walked over the threshold, holding out her hand to Beca. As soon as Beca connected with the older women, she immediately felt herself being pulled into a hug. "It is so great to meet you," Ellen gushed.
"It's pretty great to be here. I'm not exaggerating when I say I was bouncing around the house this morning when I found out I would be here," Beca gushed right back, talking nervously at the star. Ellen beamed at the little brunette, noticing how genuine the enthusiasm in her eyes was.
"I am so sorry, I really wanted to come and speak with you earlier just to get to know you a little bit before we go live."
"Oh don't worry about it," Beca started, "I deliberately set this up to be super last minute so that you couldn't plan any pranks." She removed any emotion from her face, wondering how long it would take before it was realised that she was joking. She saw Ellen's eyes flicker over her features, then over to Candice, to try to see how serious she was being, and took pity on her. "I'm kidding, you've been one of my idols since forever. Just being interviewed by you is awesome, let alone that you've come to say hi as well."
"I have a feeling this is going to be a fun one," came the reply. "This is your first interview, so I wanted to make it as painless as possible… We'll save the awkward and embarrassing questions for next time. Is there anything I need to avoid asking?"
Beca looked at her blankly, "Nah, I think you're good. I mastered the whole deflecting with sarcasm thing when I was a kid, so as long that's allowed, it'll be fine."
"We'll be fine," Ellen agreed. "We'll have a couple of commercial breaks as well, any problems then, just let me know."
75 lightning-quick minutes later and Beca made her way from an armchair to the bench of the piano that had been put out for her performance. She took deep breaths – as excited and happy as she was, she had been on edge all morning about her first interview, especially given that it had been with one of her teen-self's idols. Eight minutes on air had been painless, and she now had the joy of playing a song she was yet to release from her latest record. She rested her hands on the black and white keys, and felt a sense of peace; putting pressure on the keys, she heard the mellow sounds ring out of the strings and she smiled to herself. She lost herself as she opened her mouth and started to sing.
If it takes all night,
I'll be by your side
Her voice, it was shaking
She could barely even talk
Sometimes we will win and
Sometimes we will lose the plot
But you just float…
There is only you,
And I know that it's true
I can feel it in my bones
We must sink before we float
There is only you,
And I know that it's true
I can feel it when alone,
We must sink before we float.
Beca lost herself, thinking back over the years, to when times were simpler, back to when she had this crazy dream of being a producer. It was one of the songs she had started to write in the wake of her split with Chloe, before she had given up on them ever finding each other again. The despair seeped back into her, and she felt her voice crackle as she stifled tears. Through the second verse, she tried to think of happier times, and she let her mind wander to the how it had all started, when everything was full of lingering glances and subtle touches, never ending flirtation and lust.
"Told you, endings are the best part," Jesse smiled at Beca as she approached him, high on adrenaline and elation from the final Bellas performance.
"You're such a weirdo," she retorted, as he pulled her into a hug. "I'm really sorry, Jesse. I couldn't think of a way to make you listen, and I know I'm probably not forgiven just yet, but I was such a dick to you."
"You kinda were, yeah," he replied, causing Beca to tense up. He took a deep breath before speaking again, "Consider yourself forgiven, as long as we hang out tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? I thought you might want to watch a movie or something tonight," she queried. Jesse shook his head.
"You've got a party to go to, Beca," he started. He noticed Beca's mouth open to argue but he swiftly cut her off, "Your favourite ginger hasn't taken her eyes off you since you came over here. Go get your girl," he grinned.
"She is?" Beca asked excitedly, unable to hide the grin across her face. "I mean, oh, that's cool. I guess I can hang out with the Bellas tonight and then see you tomorrow?"
"Sure, call me tomorrow, munchkin," he nodded, hugging her again then pushing her away. He watched her walk away, lost in his thoughts. He wasn't entirely sure when he had realised that there was no way Beca would be interested in him. They got on great, they were both attractive enough, and comfortable in each other's presence. But there was no spark, and somewhere, he had started thinking of her like a sister – one he would bicker and argue with, ridicule and annoy the hell out of, but ultimately would look out for and protect fiercely.
Beca had barely walked ten feet when she found a redhead bouncing up and down in front of her. A pair of hands sent shivers through hers, a set of bright blue eyes dazzled her, an ear-to-ear grin took her breath away.
"We did it, Becs! I can't believe we actually did it!"
"What, like it was hard?" Beca quipped, speedily and sarcastically, a raised eyebrow on her face.
"I don't think we've ever had so much fun on stage. It was incredible, you're incredible!" Chloe gushed, not quite able to stop herself before the words fell out of her mouth. Beca remained silent as her heart leapt, not sure what to say. Chloe quickly filled the void, "Come on, we're all going to celebrate back at the hotel."
Most of the evening turned into a blur of giggles and sing-alongs, the decibels rising with the levels of alcohol in their bloodstreams. Beca felt her cheeks starting to ache, unable to remember a time she had ever grinned so much. She vaguely noticed when the giddy chatter turned to slurred, sleepy murmuring as the clock crawled past midnight and then 1am. She was deliriously happy, surrounded by the closest friends she'd ever had, and it dawned on her that maybe spending another three years at college wouldn't be so bad after all. Her thoughts were interrupted as a worse-for-wear Aubrey thrust a filled shot glass in her hand. Her attention back to the room, she noticed that everyone had been passed a shot, of what smelled suspiciously like vodka.
"Ladies," Aubrey began, quietly demanding the room's attention, "Tonight, we did something amazing. At the start of the year, I had reservations about the future of the Bellas, and I was hard on you all-"
"It was like you were a crocodile, and we were the prey you were trying to drown and devour," Fat Amy interjected.
"I was hard on you all," Aubrey continued, with a glare at the Australian, "but I would like to apologize now. I was wrong, about everything, about all of you. I wish I could say that I had led you all to glory, but I have to admit…" she paused, a deep breath as she stomached the words. "Beca, I owe our success to you. I judged you from the moment I first saw you, and I was wrong. Chloe and I have been dreaming of winning the ICCAs since we were freshman, and you made our dreams come true." She raised her shot glass, the rest of the girls following suit, "I'd like to formally announce that next semester, the new Barden Bellas Captain will be Beca Mitchell!"
Half an hour later, Beca found herself in Chloe's hotel room, snickering with the redhead about all the pranks they should have played on the rest of the sleeping Bellas. Both lay outstretched on the bed, an unspoken agreement that they were having a sleepover. Chloe flicked out the light, and the pair found themselves even more at ease than usual – their drunken giddiness receding, making way for emotion and honesty as they lay face to face, their breath tickling each other's cheeks.
"I'm really glad I met you, Bec," Chloe whispered, expecting nothing more than a sarcastic deflection.
"I hate that you're leaving," the words ran into each other, the admission uttered guiltily, "I'm really going to miss you."
"I'm not going for a really long time, you know. I'll be here for the whole summer."
"Hmmm," Beca pondered this, remaining wordless for so long that Chloe started to think she had drifted into sleep. "I'm sorry, you know. For how I was to you."
"Don't be silly," Chloe stopped her, "we're here now, everything's okay."
"You're my best friend, Chlo," the words were barely audible.
"And you're mine," Chloe paused, "See, and you thought I was a weirdo for walking into your shower!"
"Yeah, but you're my weirdo," Beca answered, immediately regretting the words. "Wait, I didn't mean like you're mine like you're my…" She trailed off as she felt Chloe roll away from her. "Shit."
"Beca…" Chloe started, swallowing hard, "I know what you meant. I think I do, anyway. I'm gonna…. I'm gonna do something, okay?"
Before Beca had time to respond, she felt movement in the mattress as Chloe moved toward her, felt Chloe's fingers graze her cheek just before she felt lips pressed onto hers. It took less than a millisecond before she reacted; parting her lips a little, in acceptance. Their mouths moved in synchronisation, allowing each other to be dominant before submitting, challenging and conceding to each other. Sparks flew, the electricity between them palpable; they lost themselves drinking each other in. They pulled away at the same time, breathless and wordless, neither knowing quite what to say.
It had been years since the first time she had kissed Beca, but Chloe Beale had never forgotten the taste of that first kiss. It was toxic; vodka and wine, strawberry lipbalm and the pizza they had devoured. Chloe had long pushed it out of her mind, and these days she was in control of her thoughts enough to stop the memory of the ICCA night haunting her, unwanted. Until today. The hospital where she had worked had been understaffed and she had ended up working late, missing her annual Grammy date with Aubrey. She had gotten back to her apartment at 1am and had turned off her phone and headed straight for her bed, the only place she wanted to be, having spent 32 hours at work. Late the next morning, she spent an hour soaking in the bath, luxuriating in her day off, relaxing every muscle, pruning her fingers and toes. Wrapped in her robe, she grabbed a wide toothed comb and noticed the TV remote on her nightstand. She quickly flicked on the TV set, deciding to catch a few minutes of Ellen before she made herself brunch.
She wasn't paying attention to the screen as she ran the comb through her damp hair, fingering the strands, debating whether to blow-dry or leave it to dry natural. Then she heard an unmistakeable giggle. Her eyes darted to the screen, hoping she had imagined it.
"A capella, really?"
"It's not as lame as it sounds, we sang all over the world and competed in national championships," the words from Beca's mouth sounded eerily familiar, and she couldn't help but let half of her mouth rise in a smile.
"Well, did you win?" Ellen beamed eagerly.
"You think I'd have admitted it if we didn't?" Beca responded without missing a beat, causing the older woman to chuckle.
"It's so strange doing the first interview with you when you've had so much success already. We're used to people doing promo before they've really made it big and I get to tell them that they've got a huge career ahead of them…" Ellen trailed off, allowing Beca to jump in with another quick retort.
"Oh, man, this is awkward. I didn't want to have to tell you, but the last three years of my life have been engineered to provide you this one interview to make one episode of your show just that little bit more exciting," the brunette grinned. "I'm kidding, obviously I'm kidding." The audience chuckled, and Chloe's heart felt heavier than it had done in years. She got lost in herself, lost in her thoughts of Beca and what could have been. It had been over four years since they had spoken – since she had walked out of their home for the last time, leaving Beca with rivers streaming from her eyes. Chloe had always, always wanted the best for Beca, but somehow it still stung a little to see exactly how well she was doing. The brunette on the TV in front of her was calm, confident, completely together… and apparently, had ten Grammys in her collection, countless other awards and accolades, statues and shiny framed discs. Not to mention, she was still devastatingly beautiful, with minimal make-up, a couple of extra ear piercings, skinny jeans and checked flannel shirt. It was, she realised, like going back in time five years. She cursed herself for zoning out whilst Beca had been chatting, refocusing her attention just in time to realise Ellen was wrapping up the chat.
"So you performed a track from your latest album for us earlier… and I was hoping, if you wouldn't mind, that you might play us out today as well?" Ellen grinned, barely even pretending it hadn't already been agreed.
"Sure, I mean, I guess," Beca smirked back. "I was considering doing something a little different, a song that people will know, but I've mixed it up a little."
"Okay... will you tell us what it is, or are you going to let us wait and see?"
"You'll figure it out, hopefully," Chloe noticed Beca's eyes darting to the ground, all of a sudden nervous. "It's kind of different, I hope you like it." The audience cheered in response.
"It sounds like we're fairly sure we're going to like it," Ellen reassured her. "Is this song, whatever it turns out to be, is it something you relate to? I mean, you've done different versions of other people's work before, and when you mix tracks together, it often seems like there's some kind of message?"
"Um," Beca took a deep breath, swallowing deeply before she really answered. "Yeah, this one is pretty important to me," she absent-mindedly twiddled with a pendant hanging around her neck, "it's a thank you, an apology, a "hey, you were totally right," and an I miss you," she trailed off.
"And whoever this is for, will he know? I mean, he has to know, right?" Ellen asked, causing Beca to wince.
"Yeah, they'll know," her eyes darted back to the floor, effectively ending the conversation. The camera angle closed in on Ellen as she looked directly at the home audience.
"Folks, join me tomorrow when I'll be joined by Jennifer Lawrence and Ben Affleck. But for now, I have the great pleasure of introducing Beca Mitchell – or as we're more used to calling her, DJ Arbie - as she plays out our show today. "
Chloe dropped to her bed as the camera panned across the set to a jet black piano, Beca sitting on its bench. She looked completely lost in her own world, barely aware of the mics and lights, as her fingers touched the keys, effortlessly ornamenting a delicate melody. Chloe knew that she knew the piece, but couldn't quite place her finger on what it was that Beca was about to sing. The uncertainty put her on edge, and as the auxiliary notes and trills ran into chords and a sudden diminuendo, she found her pulse racing. Beca opened her mouth to sing, and Chloe felt her jaw slacken, stunned as the words that came from the brunette registered in her mind.
"You shout it out, but I can't hear a word you say
I'm talking loud, not saying much
I'm criticised, but all your bullets ricochet..."
Thanks a million for reading, feedback is hugely appreciated :)
-s.