Hey Guys! hope you enjoy this new chapter!
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From and Youngstoryteller.007
Chapter 2: Feelings are Strong, Hearts are Delicate
Beca's senior year at Barden had just begun, and she and Chloe had become the best of friends. Their friendship was as strong as titanium; nothing could ever tear the two apart. Chloe was still madly in love with Beca, but she was happy for her and Jesse because she knew how much Beca loved him.
It was one month into the school year, the Bellas had been suspended from competing in the ICCAs due to a little...accident while performing for the president which resulted in lots of silk burn for Fat Amy and the Bellas being suspended indefinitely from competing at the collegiate level. However, they negotiated a deal with both the Dean and two board members of the Collegiate A Capella Association, and it was decided that the Bellas would be reinstated if they were able to win at the international a cappella competition taking place that year in Copenhagen.
There had to be a catch to the agreement, however. In addition to not being able to compete at the ICCAs, the Bellas were also not allowed to hold any auditions, which meant they couldn't recruit any new Bellas to the group. A few years ago, they added a transfer student from Guatemala named Flo, but she would also be graduating that year along with the rest of the seniors.
With no ideas on how to keep the Bellas afloat after the seniors graduated, that was when they found the perfect loophole in a freshman named Emily Junk. Her mother, Catherine Junk, was a former Bella, and the policy about children of former Bellas stated that all legacies had to be accepted into the group, no matter the circumstances. Naturally, both sides were happy because of the outcome. It had been Emily's dream to be a Bella, and now the Bellas had found someone to lead the group after they graduated.
After Emily's audition, the Bellas took her to her first hood night party. Amy took the new Bella under her wing, showing her around the Treble house and giving her the rundown on college life and life with the Bellas was like.
Beca arrived at the party a little late due to her first day at the internship. Chloe hadn't seen her all week since she was so busy with classes and other things. "There you are!" She said, hugging Beca with one arm while the other held Chloe's favorite yellow cup, which happened to be the same cup Beca had used in her audition for the Bellas three years ago. "I've missed you, you silly goose!" Chloe said, flashing the smile that was only on her face whenever Beca was with her.
Beca smiled. "Hey, Red. I've missed you too," she said, hugging Chloe back. "So, what have you been up to lately? I mean, what have you been up to that hasn't involved our nearly impossible quest at Worlds?" Beca asked with a chuckle.
Chloe shrugged. "Not a lot, really. We did add a new Bella, though. She came to us and begged us to let her audition. It turns out her mom was a Bella too! Her name is Emily and she has a really great voice," Chloe said, putting her arms around Beca's neck as they danced together to the music.
Beca just made Chloe happy nowadays. There weren't any arguments between the two unless it was over who was the better singer, Taylor Swift or Ellie Goulding or something silly like that. (As much as Beca hated to admit it, she was a real Swiftie at heart.) All their heated discussions had them laughing hysterically by the end of it. Needless to say, they were the perfect pair.
While they were dancing, Beca smelled the alcohol on Chloe's breath when their faces were close. "Wow, you've been drinking," Beca said with a laugh. "Speaking of people that have been drinking, have you seen my boyfriend anywhere?"
"Becaw!" Beca rolled her eyes when she heard Jesse squawk her name. He walked over to her, a plastic cup in his hand with some sort of alcoholic beverage mixed by Fat Amy. "Hey babe," he said with a slight slur to his words. Beca chuckled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Can I borrow you for a second?" Beca nodded and followed Jesse over to the tiki bar and sat on the stool next to his. "So how was the internship?" Jesse asked, genuinely excited for his girlfriend to an opportunity like this.
"It was really eye-opening. They do not mess around there. The boss had us sit around a table and give ideas for Snoop Dogg's Christmas album, and this guy named Dax suggested something involving dogs singing backup, and the boss made him run laps around the room while he was in his skinny jeans," Beca said, grimacing at the memory.
"You're gonna get to work with Snoop Dogg? That's amazing!" Jesse said with a smile.
Beca nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I won't work with him cause my job is just to get coffees and burritos and stuff for everyone else, but it's still gonna be cool to meet him and everything," she replied, fixing herself a drink and taking a sip.
Jesse took a sip of his drink, setting the empty cup down on the table. "Let me ask you one more question. Chloe asked where you were earlier. Why didn't you tell her about the internship?"
"Chloe's just been so preoccupied and stressed since the Bellas were banned from ever competing at the collegiate level. I didn't tell her because I knew that she'd freak out. She's completely focused on the Worlds, and I knew she would react badly if she thought I wasn't as committed as she was," Beca explained, "It just isn't a good time right now."
Jesse nodded and then said, "Well I hope you tell her sooner or later." He said shrugging. "She deserves to know." He then let Beca go rejoin her best friend on the dance floor. Beca and Chloe instantly resumed their previous dancing position and they laughed at how drunk Chloe was. Chloe bit her lip a couple times as she watched Beca dance with her, admiring how sexy and beautiful the short brunette looked. Damn she was stunning.
Chloe continued to dance with her for the rest of the party, and they all headed home around midnight. A couple of months passed and soon it was close to Christmas, Chloe was stepping out of the shower when she heard Beca yelling at someone. Chloe couldn't tell what was going on, so she got dressed and went to Beca's door, listening to the argument that was taking place.
The tension between the two Bellas had started when Emily had asked Beca for advice on how to improve her voice within the Legacy's first week with the group. Beca had brushed her off, telling the freshman that she had somewhere to be. Ever since, every time Emily had asked for help, Beca used the same excuse. Emily then asked where Beca was going every day, and Beca responded by telling the girl to mind her own business.
A few weeks later, Emily was in Beca's room looking for a shirt she had lost in the laundry when she saw Beca's ID badge for Residual Heat sitting on her bed. Beca had gotten home from a date with Jesse and saw her stuff sprawled out on her bed and a guilty-looking Emily holding Beca's ID badge.
"Give me that," Beca snapped, taking the badge out of the girl's hand and putting it in her pocket. "Why were you going through my stuff? This is my stuff! Give me some privacy!"
"I-I was looking for my favorite t-shirt. I think it got mixed up in the laundry, so I came up here to look for it. I swear that was all I was doing. I didn't mean to find the ID badge," Emily said, a look of worry and fear on her face.
"You still had no business to be up here in the first place! You should've waited until I got home. I would've told you if I had your shirt or not. You didn't have to snoop through my personal belongings!" Beca said with a raised voice.
"What was that badge for anyway? I saw it said 'Residual Heat' on it. Do you have a job or something there?" Emily asked the Bella captain curiously.
"Again, none of your business, Legacy."
"I just wanna know. I mean, why didn't you tell us? Or at least Chloe. It's not like she would've gotten mad or anything."
"Of course she would've gotten mad! She wants us all to be focused on the Bellas, and winning Worlds isn't my top priority right now. I have other things to worry about, like graduation!" Beca replied, both anger and frustration in her voice.
"Chloe is your best friend. She'd understand," Emily said, "You two are really close, and I figured she wouldn't mind because you've been working so hard lately." An awkward moment of silence between the two passed. Emily took a deep breath and spoke up, asking the question that had been on her mind for quite some time. "Do you have feelings for Chloe? I mean, I know you're with Jesse, but I can't help but notice how happy you make her and vice versa." As soon as those words left her mouth, Emily knew she had gone too far. She could almost see the steam blowing out of Beca's ears. Emily gulped, bracing herself for the full impact of an angry Beca.
"Let me get this straight. First, you go snooping around my stuff without my permission, and now you're insinuating that I have feelings for my best friend? In case you didn't know, I have a boyfriend named Jesse that I am very happy with, and our relationship is none of your business, and neither is my friendship with Chloe. If you want to stay in this group, learn to mind your own business. You know, I've never heard you sing, but Chloe said you're good. I'm starting to think now that the only reason you're even here is because your mom was a Bella. Maybe you should spend less time worrying about my life and focus on yours!" Beca screamed.
"Well maybe if we had a set list to sing you would get to hear me!" Emily said before tearing up and crying, making her way towards the door in a stream of tears.
Chloe heard Beca screaming and after she finished getting dressed she rushed over and opened the door to find Emily running out in tears. She watch Emily run down the hall to her room before turning back to Beca. "What's going on here? Care to explain why Emily just ran out, crying a river of tears?" She asked before crossing her arms and waiting for Beca to explain.
"Why don't you have her explain? She needs to learn to mind her own goddamn business," Beca snapped.
"Well I heard the part where you told her that the only reason she was in this group was because of the fact that her mother was a Bella. And that's a super fucked up thing to say." Chloe said. She then decided to hear Beca's part of the story, "Tell me why you yelled at her at least."
"Well, you see, there's this little thing called 'personal space' and ever since she joined, she has completely been violating mine. She's always, and I mean always, asking me about her singing or dancing or whatever. She doesn't know when to stop. I came up here and she was going through my stuff, so I felt I had the right to yell at her," Beca replied.
"She's only doing that because she knows that you're really talented and she wants to learn from you so she can get better. I know sometimes it can be a bit much, but you have to cut the girl some slack. She is trying her best to fit in. And I am with you when it comes to invading personal space, it was wrong of her to go through your stuff but you still need to apologize to her at some point." Chloe said calmly. She a lot of the times was the voice of reason in the Bella's, that's why they voted her co-captain every year with Beca. "And why were you yelling to her about me?" She asked.
"It's nothing. Forget about it. The whole argument was stupid anyways," Beca said, trying to get Chloe to drop the subject.
"It seemed like something since it was enough to make you yell at her." Chloe said sitting down next to Beca and offering her hand. She was a bit surprised when Beca didn't take her hand like she usually did when they were having one of their deep talks. "What's going on?"
Beca took a deep breath, sitting on the bed a few inches away from Chloe, her hands resting in her lap. "I've just been really busy and stressed out lately. I have so much on my mind, with graduation and life after college and the World's. I've been feeling confused, and I don't know what is causing it or why I'm feeling the things I feel," Beca admitted.
Chloe nodded, she was a good listener and Beca loved that about her. "What kinds of feelings have you been feeling lately, I promise it won't leave this room." She said crossing her heart with her fingers. She looked into Beca's eyes with a kind and loving look in her big baby blue eyes.
Beca looked away from Chloe and down at the floor. "Jesse and I haven't exactly been on the best of terms lately. He told me a few days ago that he's planning to leave at the end of the semester and go to California for film school. I feel kinda jealous and angry because I feel like he's leaving me behind to go chase his dream."
"I didn't know, I'm so sorry Becs." Chloe said. Becs was Chloe's personal nickname for Beca. She took Beca's hand and added. "If you ever need to tell me something, you can. I will always be there to listen to whatever problems you're having." She said entwining their fingers together and looking into Beca's eyes.
Beca started sniffling as tears threatened to fall. "I'm just so scared that he's going to go to California and leave me for some girl who's prettier than me, smarter than me, and who actually likes movies and isn't a prick," Beca said sadly.
"Beca look at me." Chloe said lifting her chin so they were face to face. "Jesse has the whole package when it comes to you. You're smart, you're funny, you're one of if not the most beautiful girl in the world. If Jesse leaves you for some other girl, it's his loss. Because Beca," Chloe smiling softly into Beca's eyes. "anyone who holds your heart is the luckiest person in the world."
Beca smiled and grabbed a tissue to wipe her tears. "Thanks, Chlo," she said, "You've always been here for me when I've needed you, and I can never thank you enough. I think I will just have to accept that this is how most college relationships die. Either one leaves the other, or they both go their separate ways. Maybe this is for the best."
Chloe pulled Beca in for a hug. "You know that I'd do anything for you, you're my best friend." She whispered in Beca's ear. When they pulled apart from the hug, Chloe noticed how late it was. "I'm gonna get to bed okay, let me know if you need anything." She said before starting towards the door.
"Wait!" Beca called out to the redhead. "Can you cuddle with me?" Beca asked when the redhead turned around to face her.
Chloe smiled widely and chuckled a little at Beca's cuteness. "I couldn't think of anything better." She said before she turned off the light and walked over to Beca's bed, wrapping her arms around Beca as they lay down together with Chloe's head on Beca's chest. Chloe could hear the way Beca's heart was beating, it soothed her greatly and she reconnected their hands. They lay there in silence just listening to the faint sound of each other's heartbeats. Chloe looked up into Beca's eyes and smiled, she noticed the way Beca's dark blue eyes made her get goosebumps. Chloe's eyes cycled back and forth from Beca's eyes to her lips as they gazed upon each other.
Beca looked into Chloe's eyes, smiling when the redhead was already gazing into hers. She noticed her gaze flicker from her eyes and down to her lips, then back up to her eyes. Their lips were merely centimeters apart now. Beca hesitantly looked at Chloe, then began to lean in slowly. When their lips were almost touching, Beca pulled away, shaking her head. "You need to go."
Chloe could feel her heart just drop as Beca said that. Her heart had started beating faster as their lips came close to touching, but when Beca pulled back Chloe felt her heart sink through the floor. She knew she had messed up big time for going in for a simple kiss. She got up and then said, "I'm sorry," she said trying to hide the huge lump in her throat when Beca told her to leave. She could feel hot tears start to build up in her eyes and she instantly turned around and left without saying another word.
Once Chloe got back to her room, which she didn't share with anyone else, she closed her door softly and then leaned against it. She covered her mouth and began to cry, letting the tears fall. What had she done? She had nearly kissed her best friend, who already was in a relationship. Now Beca probably thought that Chloe was a creep and didn't ever want to converse with her again. She felt like complete fucking idiot for what she had just attempted, but then again, she did notice that Beca leaned in as well. Could that have meant something? Did Beca have feelings for her too? A sudden thought pushed itself into Chloe's mind but it was quickly pushed back out. 'No, no!' she thought to herself, there was no chance in the world of Beca loving her back, that was a hopeless dream of sorts.
The next few days Beca and Chloe didn't really even speak to each other, not even at the Bellas' rehearsal and the whole group was wondering what was going on. The two were just awkward around each other, but no one could figure out exactly why.
One night everyone had gone to sleep, well except for Chloe. She was reading a book while she thought of Beca. So really, she wasn't reading the book at all. Much to her surprise though, Beca wasn't asleep. She pondering deep thoughts on how she felt about Chloe.
Beca was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. So many thoughts were running through her mind. "Why did I lean in closer? I didn't want to kiss her. Did I want to kiss her? I can't want to kiss her, she's my best friend. I can't have feelings for my best friend. I'm with Jesse. Oh god, what am I gonna tell Jesse? He's going to break up with me for sure now."
Chloe couldn't read the book anymore, all of her thoughts were drifting. Thoughts of what Beca thought of her. She set the book down and stared the ceiling, wondering if Beca felt the same way. She couldn't love Chloe though right? I mean, why else would she have chose Jesse? Because she didn't love Chloe. But then why did she lean in too? So many feelings and thoughts raced in and out of Chloe's mind, her heart was hopeful yet cautious, what was she going to do?
Beca ran her fingers through her hair. She had no idea what she was going to do. She couldn't avoid Chloe forever. Eventually, they would have to talk about what happened. Beca sat up in bed and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She slowly walked out of her room and down the hall to Chloe's. She stood outside her door for a few moments before softly knocking.
Chloe was a bit startled by a knock on her door this late at night. She looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 1:00 a.m. in the morning. She yawned a little before answering, "Come, in." She said, not knowing who it was. Chloe's heart then stopped for a moment when she saw Beca. What did she want to talk about? "Beca?" She started. "Can I help you with anything?" She asked when she noticed the puzzled look on Beca's face. "Are you okay?"
Beca closed the door behind her, and shook her head. "No, I'm not okay," she said softly. "I think...I think we need to talk."