Broken Promises
.o0o. Chapter Three - Jesse's Girl .o0o.

.o0o.

Jesse Swanson unwound his arm from around the brown haired woman he was currently sitting next to on the bench overlooking the small duck pond on the north park, close by to campus. He bent down to tie his shoelace.

It was a warm day, the sun relentless and the clouds that were usually spotted in September were non-existent. Jesse absentmindedly picked at the grass by his feet, holding the long, green blades between his fingers before mashing them together and rolling them into a ball. He sighed as he tossed the grass aside, leaning back heavily on the wooden bench, lost deep in his own thoughts.

The couple had met at the campus coffee shop a couple of hours ago and decided to take a walk to the park. Jesse turned his face to the sun, hungrily soaking up the heat and the goodness. He looked over at his newly acquired girlfriend who was rubbing sunscreen onto her pale skin. They had been dating for five weeks but Jesse was quite smitten with her. It still felt a bit new, and he felt slightly out of place with her, but he was trying.

She replaced the cap back on the sunscreen and turned to look at him, surprised to see such an intense look on his face.

"You okay there Jesse?" Elena asked, trying to get a read on his face. She was quite used to his moments where he stared off into space. Jesse was in his own little world, his emotions conflicting all over the place.

.o0o.

Accepting that Beca had just up and left him was one of the hardest things that Jesse had had to do in all of his twenty years. He got it; she didn't love him. He had seen the look of complete shock and horror on her face when, at her 19th birthday party, he thought it would be incredibly funny to get down on one knee to present her with her birthday gift. He'd had many things planned for the next day which included a trip to a recording studio and an afternoon at a petting zoo before a fancy dinner. He doesn't know what possessed him to get down on one knee. He thought she would have thought it funny to open the box he held towards her. He thought she would see the joke and laugh with him when she saw that it was only a pair of black musical note earrings, a comedic gift he had found just to mess with her head.

He thought he had known her better than that.

He honestly thought that with her sense of humour, she would have guffawed at him before calling him a weirdo and told him to get up. He didn't expect her to run from the room, with tears streaming down her face. To him, she had been acting weird since they first slept together. He knew it hadn't been the greatest of nights and he had been too drunk that night to have been at his best but he had hoped for a repeat performance to show her some of his moves. And he did know how to show a girl a good time. He did. But Beca had refused to talk about it, couldn't meet his eye for a week and found a lot of excuses not to be alone with him for a while. She was happy to spend time with him, but didn't want to stay over in his dorm or have him stay in hers. There was always an excuse and Jesse worried for quite some time that she had hurt her. She assured him he hadn't, that she was tired or not feeling well. He had to accept her words and judging by the peaky look about her, he knew she was telling the truth.

After she had run out of the room in tear on the night of her party, Chloe and Aubrey had followed closely behind her. He had slowly stood from his position on the floor, fully understanding the back-firedyness of his plan. He had risen awkwardly to hear soft murmurings and he had felt Donald's hand on his back as he leaned down and spoke into his ear.

"Dude. Embarrassment later. Go after her."

Jesse crossed the dance floor, fully aware of all eyes on him as he paused for a moment, intending to address the group and explain about the earrings being a joke, but realising that explaining it to Beca was far more urgent. He didn't care about anyone else. He'd fallen in love with Beca and had done something terrible to upset her. He couldn't fathom whether he had come on too strong, not done enough or had offended her in some way but all he knew was that he had to make it right.

He had left quickly after that, half running out of the door. He had looked left and right up the street but couldn't see or hear Beca. Knowing he had freaked her out, he cussed at himself for being so stupid. He had worked tirelessly to win over Beca and get her to break down some of her walls. And yes, the last month had been a bit weird with her being a little closed off to him and the past couple of days, she had all but ignored him, but he did love her. And he had needed to talk to her to find out what was going on.

He turned left and walked up the street to the crossroads, crossing over and heading back towards Barden University. As he approached the left hand side of the drama theatre, he could hear raised voices and followed the sounds. As he turned the corner, he immediately saw Beca pull away from Chloe's grasp on her wrists and run towards him. Beca hit him with a soft 'ooomph' and he saw the desperately sad look in her eye.

"Jesse ..." She said, suddenly looking very afraid.

"Becs, listen, we need to talk." He said, trying to grasp her shoulders so she'd have to look into his eyes and see that he was sincere.

"NO JESSE! I can't right now. This has all gone wrong. You've made a mistake in loving me. I'll ruin your life. This has got out of hand. I can't be who you want me to be. I'm a terrible person. Please leave me alone." Beca yelled, pushing him wildly away with her hands. She looked like a baby deer caught in the headlights of a fast moving car.

Jesse attempted to grab at her wrists, which was a big mistake. Beca pushed him harder this time and yelled as she ran away.

"I don't love you Jesse. Fuck this. Fuck you!"

She took off, running away as fast as she could. Jesse blanched at the words as he looked over to Chloe and Aubrey, who stood a few feet away watching the altercation. Chloe moved towards him as if to talk to him but he didn't need her right now. He needed to speak to Beca to find out what the hell was going on.

He saw Beca at the crossroads and turned to run after her, ignore Chloe's desperate pleas behind him and Aubrey calling out his name. He picked up the pace as he saw her cross the road, picking up the pace surprisingly quickly as she passed the intersection and made her way into through the park that was opposite Barden.

He reached the intersection himself and began to cross over the road, so completely intent on reaching Beca before she ran away again, that he hadn't noticed the pedestrian sign was on red. He didn't even hear the beer truck as it rumbled down the road, or the girls shouting at him to get his attention. He didn't hear the horn of the truck until the last second when he stood, frozen in the middle of the intersection. He just focused on Beca as she disappeared into the small wooded area by the entrance to the park.

He only heard the hiss of the brakes as the front of the truck came within two feet of his face. He remained glued to the spot as the truck ploughed into his chest, knocking him flat to the ground. Looking back, he was thankful now that his head had collided with the hard floor and that he was knocked out instantly as the rest of the truck passed over him, leaving his flat, unconscious body intact.

He found out later that from witnesses and the scores of people who had spilled out of the community hall that Beca had screamed his name as the truck hit him, had run back over the road, dodging the traffic before collapsing on his body, feeling for a pulse in his neck, calling his name and begging him to open his eyes. In her blind panic and disorientation, she couldn't find it because his body had gone into shock and his pulse was weak. To the untrained expert, they would have felt nothing. He also discovered that Chloe and Aubrey had run over to him, Aubrey pulling out her phone to call for help as Chloe dragged Beca away from him, wrapping her arms around her hysterical friend. He also learnt that as they were waiting for the ambulance, Beca covered him with her jacket before backing away from the crowd, and running away. And never came back.

.o0o.

Jesse shuddered at the memory and forced himself to focus back on his new girlfriend who was cupping his cheek with her hand, wiping away the tears he hadn't felt leak from his eyes. She was looking at him in a way he couldn't quite stand.

"Sorry. Flashback. Urgh." He said as smiled up at her, grateful she was there despite his inner thoughts.

He had loved Beca with all his heart, he'd fallen for her in a huge way and he had wanted to make it right with her, but the fact that she had run from him, even when she had seen the accident happen, that didn't sit well with him and he was now just angry at her for running.

Okay, that was a small lie.

He wasn't angry, just disappointed and so very, very sad. He knew that Chloe was searching for her, firmly believing that she was in trouble but Jesse had moved on. Or that is what he told himself when he woke up every morning.

He had been in the hospital for just over a week with severe concussion and bruising to his ribs and chest. He'd missed his final exams but Barden had agreed to an extension if he had taken the summer study programme and met the criteria for the next semester. He had met Elena on the first day there, ignored the fact that she was an identikit but taller version of Beca and had taken a chance on getting to know her better.

They spent most days together. Elena was on the same course as Jesse, her love of movies even stronger than his. She knew about Beca having been a fan of a capella for a while and a Barden Bella support for a couple of years. Elena knew about the love he had bestowed on Beca before they broke up. He was honest about that and she gave him time to grieve for his first love before they became an official couple. Despite Beca still holding a special place in his heart, he had had to move on. He wished her well in his thoughts, hoping that she had managed to start a new life away from Barden and that she was happy.

Turning his attention back to the girl who was currently snuggled into his arm, he kissed the top of her head. Elena was perfect. She was happy-go-lucky, enjoyed the simple things in life, loved spending time with Jesse, they never argued, she never questioned him or challenged him, she laughed at all his jokes, he didn't even have to think about anything when she was around. She was beautiful, her eyes were sparkly and her smile was genuine. She didn't hound him or plague him to take her places or want anything more than he had to offer.

And he decided to remain thinking about the positives in Elena as he wrapped his arm back around her shoulders. It wasn't fair to keep thinking about Beca when Elena was around. He would save his thoughts for when he was on his own, as he usually did when he would yearn for Beca. She was the girl who did challenge him, did question him, made him fight for her affections, argued her point, made him feel alive, the girl who he loved with all of his heart and ...

Jesse shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had Elena now. Elena. Some people were surprised that he had appeared to have moved on from Beca so quickly, after spending a year chasing her. But Jesse needed to move on. He was about to suggest they move from their spot to get something to eat when the phone in his pocket started to vibrate. He pulled away from Elena for a moment as he reached to grab his phone.

He looked confused.

Why would Chloe be calling him now when they hadn't spoken in weeks?