A/N: To the kind guest who pointed out that I've misspelled 'marihuana' - actually I didn't, I looked it up before I posted the story and it can either be written with j or h. Yay, me because I did my research. I'm not saying I don't make mistakes, I'm sure there are still plenty in and I appreciate the help. And while we're talking research: the movie mentioned in this installment is actually real. I haven't watched it and don't know how good it is but it exists.

The next thing Beca consciously realized was a tap on her knee and when she opened her eyes she looked up at Jesse.

"Hey," he greeted while he was already busy spreading a blanket out on the lawn beside her and sitting down on it. "So, I thought, we're working together and maybe we could do something else besides stacking cds?" He pulled out his laptop and then a couple of dvds. Beca took the earbuds of Chloe's ipod out of her ears and looked at the stack of films suspiciously. Jesse pulled two juice pouches out of his backpack and handed her one, this made Beca smile again. It felt like kids meeting on a playdate and drinking these things - or trying to drink them because as a kid she hadn't been able to put the straw in without getting the beverage all over her, and she had tried many times.

"You wanna watch a movie?" she asked as she prepared her fruity drink.

"Yeah, I mean... that's what people do, right? They watch movies together," he smiled and she shook her head slightly. "No? People don't watch movies together?"

"People maybe but... don't you ever like to do things that people don't usually do?" She asked him.

"Yes, of course, I mean... no, not really. What do you mean?" She smiled at Jesse who seemed confused.

"I don't know. Just let your hair down," she leaned over at her words and ruffled through his carefully arranged short hair. "or... sit on the grass without a blanket, or... here..." she turned her juice pouch on him and pressed down on it. She hit him right in the face, some of the juice dripping from his chin onto his shirt.

"What did you do that for?" he breathed through the beverage as Beca couldn't help but giggle.

"I'm sorry, I thought you would open your mouth," she said and slipped out of the shirt she wore over her tank top. She handed it to him to dry his face and he did. "I'm so sorry," but she kept on laughing and he started to smirk at her amusement.

"You're a strange girl, Beca Mitchell," he said.

"You got that right, Jesse Swanson," she grinned.

"You really don't wanna watch a movie, then?" he asked and she once again shook her head. "Don't you like movies? I mean, everybody likes movies, right?" And again, she shook her head. "You don't like movies!" He actually seemed shocked at the revelation.

"Not really, they're too predictable for my taste. Especially those neurotically 'romantic' comedies... you already know how it ends because they all end the same: the boy gets the girl, cue climactic music, fade to credits," she summarized what annoyed her most about the movie industry, although it was by no means the only thing that she hated about it.

"But the music is key, Beca. Music makes movies, it's glorious, it heightens emotions, brings it all together. Music is key," he repeated. "That's actually what I want to do: I wanna score movies," he revealed what he had always dreamed of doing.

"So, you mainly sit through movies just to hear the music? Just buy the soundtrack," Beca told him and he rolled his eyes at her.

"You don't like any movies at all?" He asked just to make sure that he hadn't misunderstood her.

"I'm getting bored easy - though I watched one with a friend once... it was kinda interesting," she mused.

"What's it called?"

"You probably don't know it," Beca said evasively.

"Try me," he challenged.

"Sugar High Glitter City," she answered, barely able to contain her laughter.

"You made that up," he accused.

"No, I didn't. It's... a lesbian porn, actually." That's when she burst out laughing at the face he made. He stared at her open-mouthed, open-eyed, completely perplexed.

"You're...," he didn't finish but she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm a dyke," she told him.

"Wow, I'm... such an idiot. Man, when I said that I wasn't gay... I mean, I didn't mean to say that it was wrong, or anything. You got that, right?"

"Sure, I got it. Don't sweat it, dude," she said.

"Damn... I thought... why am I always hitting on lesbians?" He asked her quite seriously and she had to laugh again.

"I don't know, man, but it's cool. No hard feelings," she assured him. He sighed.

"Okay, so no movie-watching with Beca - unless you wanna get into that lesbian porn-thing again?"

"Not with you, sorry," she told him and he nodded, having expected the answer.

"Cool," he said and packed the dvds back into his backpack. "What were you listening to then?" He asked pointing at the ipod lying next to Beca in the grass.

"Erm, I'm not sure myself. It's Chloe's and she's got quite an interesting taste in music," Beca picked up the device and turned it thoughtfully between her finger.

"Chloe is..."

"The redhead from the Bellas, you know, she's..."

"Cute," he said instantly.

"That's her," Beca confirmed and grinned.

"She's got a boyfriend, though, doesn't she?"

"So?" Beca gave back. She looked at Jesse challengingly and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay," he mumbled and busied himself with his laptop. He put it back in his backpack.

It was then that Beca saw some people coming towards them, they were High Notes. They plopped down on the grass and Jesse's blanket and just engaged the other two into their conversation. Beca could see that Jesse wasn't at all comfortable with all these people crowding around them but he tried to be nice. When Louis pulled out a joint, though, the Harmonic got nervous. He looked around them to see if there was security or any kind of authority around.

"I think I better...," he started.

"Dude, relax," she told him. "It's okay."

"I don't wanna get into trouble. Erm, see you at the station tomorrow?" He got up and looked at the blanket like it was a lost cause now that it was inhabited by Beca's friends.

"Sure and," she caught his eyes. "I'm gonna get this back to you, okay?" She patted the blanket and he smiled.

"Bye, guys," he said to everyone and some of the High Notes waved or mumbled something. Jesse left and Beca looked after him. This wasn't exactly new behavior, some people weren't at all comfortable with 'drugs' but she was a little disappointed. Jesse was on the conservative side but was it really such a big deal. It was a joint, they weren't rolling up dollar bills and shooting coke up their noses. Beca shook her head impatiently, having no time for this kind of hypochrisy. And really, how was this any different than drinking - and she had seen Jesse do that.

The rest of the afternoon, Beca and her a cappella-friends spent lounging on the quad and smoking, and talking, and laughing, and they even sang a little. Nadine picked up Chloe's ipod at some point and listened to it, she snickered at some of the songs.

"Is this yours? I wouldn't have thought you like pink," and Beca wasn't sure if she talked about the color of the device or the music she was listening to.

"It's not mine, it's a friend's," she gave back.

"A lady friend's or does it belong to that guy who just left. He's gay, right?" Beca shook her head.

"Not his and he says he's not gay, so...," the DJ took the ipod from Nadine.

"So, who is she?" the blonde asked honestly through Beca's evasiveness. She looked up at the brunette with beseeching blue eyes that couldn't compete with Chloe's brilliance. Beca wondered if that was because Chloe's eyes were just exceptional or because Nadine's were dulled by her habit.

"Chloe from the Bellas," she said and pushed the ipod into her jeans pocket. She picked up her shirt which still lay on Jesse's blanket, it was a little sticky from the juice but Beca put it on anyway because it was getting a little cold.

"Ahhhh," Nadine said. "So, you guys are like... into each other?" She kept on going in her line of questioning.

"I guess," Beca said. "Yeah, we are." Nadine nodded and smiled a little self-deprecatingly. Darnell handed her the joint and she took a deep pull, letting the smoke linger inside before breathing it out through her nose.

"Hmmmmmm," she made and handed Beca the smoke. The DJ took it, thought for a second and decided that it really didn't matter. She mirrored Nadine's action and gave the joint to the next person.

Beca stayed with the Notes for another hour then she got up, asking Nadine to secure the blanket when they left. Nadine nodded and pulled Beca in for a small kiss before she left the group. They really were kind of a queer assemblage. There were ten of them right now but Beca was pretty sure that there were others who were linked to the group - whether they were all acas, she didn't know. It was just possible that some of these guys didn't even know there was something like a cappella singing on campus and just liked to hang out and smoke weed. But who was she to judge?

The thing was that... Beca would have really liked to make some music right about now. Sure, making mixes on her computer was great, it was the best, she loved it. But she also would have liked to hang out with some cool people - or just girls - and sing with them, make music with their mouths, as Chloe had said. Beca had to laugh, now how about that inuendo?

The brunette shook her head as she entered the library where Chloe had said she would be. She searched for the redhead in the study areas and there were quite a few, some with computers, some where you could stack your books and do research, some where you could take a nap. She finally spotted a mop of red hair but she wasn't alone and she wasn't strictly speaking studying either. Chloe sat on one of the couches with that guy from the party - Marc. They were goofing around, necking until Chloe pushed the guy away from her.

"We have to get back to this, I still have three more pages on this essay... here," she gave him a book and he took it together with a stolen kiss. Beca breathed deeply on seeing it. She had Chloe's ipod in her hands and should have just gone over and given it to the redhead. But she didn't want to... intrude on something that looked like so much more than 'friends with benefits.'

She turned around and left the library, heading for her dorm.

It was late, almost 11 p.m. and Beca was standing not too far away from the entrance to the auditorium where the Bellas practiced. Given, it wasn't really an auditorium anymore, it was a former auditorium that had become a storage place for all kinds of equipment until Aubrey had taken over the Bellas - the group had formerly rehearsed at captain Alice's crib - and had turned it into a rehearsal space not just for the Bellas but for every musical group on campus in need of somewhere to practice. Aubrey seemed to have resources like that and she was also the one organizing the schedule for the room.

Chloe had told Beca about this place. It was - if you could say so - on the outskirts of Barden University, even behind the small radio station where Beca herself spent much of her time and she knew that she probably shouldn't venture out here alone at this hour. But, coincidentally, it had also been where she had met someone earlier, someone who had provided her with some weed and so Beca had stayed around and watched some dark shadows blend in and out of what little light was provided here. It was rather spooky and the voices of the Bellas in their cozy little dwelling seemed very much out of place. But it was an interesting paradox to have strong female voices where no female college student would likely venture alone, not at this hour at least.

The door opened and the first of the Bellas cleared out in a group of five. Beca didn't know them other than from sight and she was rather too well hidden to be seen by them, so that there was no need to greet them. Next came Fat Amy - Beca had to once again grin at the name, it had so much sass and a personality all its own - with an African American woman. Beca remembered her from the party, she seemed to be into women, too, but she didn't get her name. The last group that exited the rehearsal space were the tall blonde, Aubrey, another blonde, smaller and as it seemed rather talkative, and Chloe. Finally.

Beca stepped out of her shadow as Aubrey locked the door. All three women turned when they heard someone approach.

"Hey," Beca greeted. "Just me," she added unnecessarily. Chloe smiled at her as she held up her ipod. "Didn't want you to spent a sleepless night without this."

"Don't worry, I would have just hunted you down and woke you in the middle of the night if you hadn't shown up," Chloe quipped.

"You don't even know where I live," Beca gave back and noticed Aubrey's rather severe look on her.

"I found out your phone number, I can find out your roomnumber... I mean I already know that you're in Baker," she grinned, reminding Beca of the second time they had met - in a shower stall at Beca's dorm. And now that the brunette came to think about it, wasn't it strange for Chloe to have been there since she didn't live there herself? Then she remembered that the redhead hadn't been alone at the time... which probably meant that Marc lived at Baker Hall. Great.

"It's 312, just in case you need to hunt me down at some point," Beca provided and handed Chloe's ipod to her.

"You ready to go?" Aubrey cut in before Chloe could answer and the redhead turned to her best friend.

"Uh, I...," she looked from Aubrey to Beca and back. "You know, why don't you head out, I'll take the bus later. You could give Jessica a ride, though," she said smiling at the smaller blonde who smiled back, quite delightedly.

Beca could tell that Aubrey didn't like this one bit, not the part about giving Jessica a ride but the one about Chloe spending anymore time with her. What was her problem? Was she jealous or just a tight-ass? No matter, the DJ smiled confidently at Aubrey and the Bellas captain turned toward Jessica.

"I'll see you later then," she threw over her shoulder and then engaged in a conversation with the younger woman who followed her larger steps, leaving Chloe with Beca.

"Don't mind Aubrey, she's a little overprotective of me sometimes," Chloe told Beca.

"And I thought she might have been jealous," the brunette said. Chloe laughed.

"No, not Aubrey. No." It sounded final but Beca already sensed that there was more to this relationship than the redhead let on.

"Hey, you hungry?" Beca asked.

"Ahhh, I'm... well, I guess I could eat. What did you have in mind?"

"There's a burger joint if we cut through here, just a block off the main road, actually. It's got good burgers, greasy but good," she said.

"Alright, let's go there then."