A/N: Hey, everyone. I'm sorry I haven't been writing as much lately. I just finished my first week of college so I've been kind of overwhelmed lately. For those of you reading Exigent, I'm working hard on getting the next chapter done. I'm about halfway through with it. Hopefully, I'll have it up in the next week. Thank you all for sticking with me with my weird updating schedules.
My favorite review of the last chapter goes to the only person who left a review, S.A.G-908. You usually leave reviews on all my stories, so thank you for keeping me motivated. You're the real MVP. Stay awesome.
TW: ABUSE
As always, I love you all! - Fox
That night Beca was in her room, looking through the rest of the texts Chloe and she exchanged until she fell asleep. As she read through them, the violinist couldn't wipe the smile off her face. They'd talked about their lives before they met each other and how happy they were to have each other in their lives. The last text that was sent was from Beca.
So, you found out about Sean...is there anyone that you like? :)
There wasn't another text from Chloe. Beca didn't think anything of it. She eventually put her phone down on the table by her bed and sighed with joy. The brunette didn't think she could be this happy. Even with Sean, she didn't think she could be. He was always so controlling and then when she tried to say something about it, he would just get angry with Beca and act hurt. The entire relationship was like walking on eggshells. In all honesty, she was glad that she was out of it.
Beca had started to drift off to sleep and had a dream about Chloe, Jesse, and herself. Beca was walking to the music store. She and Chloe were looking at guitars and Jesse came over to see if they needed help. Chloe started talking to Jesse and they were laughing, having a good time. Beca continued to look at the guitars. She turned around and they were gone.
"Hello?" she called out, "Chloe, Jesse, where are you?" The room started to get dark and she sees Chloe kissing him, "What are you doing?" Beca cries out, "Chloe stop it!" she was getting upset. The brunette tried running towards them, but they were getting further and further away the more she ran. Beca stopped and screamed, "Chloe!"
That morning Beca woke up in a cold sweat. The dream she had the night before was unsettling. She wasn't sure who she was more upset by, Chloe or Jesse. 'I mean, I did call out Chloe's name, but she's a girl so it had to be Jesse I was upset about, right?' She didn't know. She was so unsure. She knew that the dream was impossible, though. Chloe didn't even like Jesse.
It was about 10 minutes before her alarm was going to go off so Beca got up. Her hair was a knotted mess and she had no idea what to wear. Her phone lit up with a notification from Facebook. It said that today was Chloe's birthday.
"No way," Beca whispered to herself. She had no idea today was her birthday and she hadn't been able to get Chloe a gift. The brunette was starting to freak out. She started to pace back and forth, "Oh God, how could she not tell me something like that. Jesus, I need something...I need something," she muttered to herself.
Eventually, she decided she was going to go with her to the mall or something because she wasn't sure what to get Chloe for her birthday. She would try to look nice for her today, at least. Wait a second, look nice? It wasn't like she was her boyfriend or anything. She wasn't even a guy. Beca chose to look nice anyways.
The violinist looked through her dresser and pulled out a dress to match her dark blue eyes. She put it on, "This is too much..." she sighed. Beca had gone through most of her nice clothes before deciding that dressing too nice would look dumb. She ended up putting on skinny jeans with combat boots, a white shirt that had some weird font on it and her green army style jacket. Beca let her hair down today. She usually had it up and out of her face.
Looking out her window, she realized it was raining. Beca really didn't feel like walking a mile in the rain. She pulled out her phone and called Chloe. It rang for a while before she finally answered.
"Hello?" she said in a slightly tired, grumpy voice.
"Hey, Chloe? It's Beca."
"Oh, Beca, hey!" the brunette could hear the change in attitude when Chloe heard it was her.
"Hey, I have a question"
"Yes, it's my birthday. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry about getting me any-"
"I'm not calling about that, silly. But it would have been nice to know. I could have planned something for you!"
"Oh, then what are you calling about?" she was curious, "And no, I don't want you to get me anything."
"I was gonna ask if I could get a ride."
"To where?" she sounded confused.
"Um...school?"
Chloe started laughing, "Oh my God."
"What? What's so funny?" Beca could feel the heat crawling up her neck.
"You do realize it's Saturday, right?" Chloe choked out between fits of laughter.
"Are you serious? Oh my God, I feel like such an idiot."
Chloe continued to laugh, "You're not an idiot, Becs. I've done it before too."
"Guess I should probably let you sleep," Beca sighed. This was completely embarrassing.
"Okay. Do you think you can come over today? I'm having a small party, nothing too big. I'd just really love for you to be there."
"Of course!" Beca said a little too excitedly, "What time do you want me to come over?"
"Have you dressed and whatnot yet?"
"Yeah, but you're probably tired. You should probably sleep more."
"You're more important than sleep. Besides, I want you to be the first one here."
"You're sweet," the violinist smiled, "Okay do you know where I live?"
"No, I don't think I've been to your house yet."
"It's um 403 South Walnut," she said.
"What? Wait a minute. Did you say south?"'
"Yeah, what's the big deal?"
"Beca, that's like a mile from the school."
"Actually, it's a tenth less than a mile."
"Beca have you been walking in the rain and cold all this time? You know we could have picked you up, right?
"Yeah, I just didn't want to be a bother. I didn't want you to go out of your way to come get me."
There was a beating on my door, "Beca! Shut the hell up! I'm trying to sleep! What the hell is wrong with you!"
"Mom, I'm just on the phone with Chloe," Beca sighed. She knew she shouldn't have said anything. She knew she was going to regret it.
Her mother opened the door, "What the fuck did you just say to me? Are you gonna disrespect me like that?" She knocked everything off Beca's desk to the floor. A glass container shattered, "Are you? Huh?"
"I wasn't disrespecting you, Mom," Beca needed to stop talking. She was going to get myself hurt.
It was too late for that, though. The dark haired woman stormed over in a flash and cracked Beca hard in the jaw. She covered her mouth and tried her best not to scream out in pain.
"That should teach you to back talk me, girl," she stomped out of the room and slammed Beca's door.
"Beca, oh my God are you okay," Chloe screamed. She knew the ginger was trying to stay quiet the whole time so she didn't get caught.
"Yeah," I whimpered, "I have to go...I'll just meet you at the library."
"Beca, what did she do to you?" Chloe yelled. The brunette hung up the phone. She slowly opened the door. Her mom was in her own room. She left a note on the computer desk telling her mom where she was going and ran out of the house.
Beca could feel a bruise forming where her mother hit her. She should have stopped when she could have. This was the reason she got hurt all the time. She didn't know when to shut her mouth.
The library was a few blocks from her house so she arrived there in a short amount of time. Beca was drenched by the time she got there, though. She sat on a bench and waited even though it was raining. It had been a good 20 minutes before she realized that she still needed to get Chloe a gift. The violinist walked over to the music store and went inside.
She wasn't really sure what Chloe was into, but she knew that the redhead loved violin just like Beca did. The brunette walked over to the room full of sheet music. There were all sorts of different composers and whatnot. She decided to go with sheet music that was full of alternative music. Beca knew that Chloe liked that.
"Looking at sheet music, are we?" a voice said as she went to grab the music.
Beca jumped, "Uh, yeah," she said, turning around. It was Jessie, "Oh, hey!"
"Hey there, Utah," he flashed a smile.
"Oh, don't you call me that too," the violinist laughed.
"I just heard some people calling you that. Figured it was your nickname."
"Uh, no. A lot of people call me that, though," Beca smiled at him.
"Okay, okay, I won't. So alternative, huh? Didn't know you were into that kind of music." He pointed at the book of sheet music that was now in her hands.
"Oh, um, no. It's for my friend. Her birthday is today."
"I see. Well, what kind of music do you like?"
"Mostly classical, obviously."
"Wow, a violinist that likes classical music. Haven't heard that one before," Jesse chuckled.
"I know, right?" Beca laughed. She saw Chloe's mom's maroon car pull up to the library, "Oh, crap. I have to go. Where should I pay for this?"
"Over here," he said, walking over to a counter.
Beca searched for her wallet. Eventually, she realized she'd left it home, "Shit...I don't have my wallet." the brunette sighed, setting the book on the counter, "Sorry to waste your time."
"You weren't wasting my time. You know what? Here. Take it," he winked, "It's on me. Tell your friend happy birthday for me."
"No way," Beca grinned, "I'll pay you back next time I'm here. Thank you so much!"
"Don't worry about it," he flashed another smile at her, "Like I said, it's on me."
"Thank you so much, Jesse. I owe you one. How can I repay you?"
"How 'bout this? I do this for you, and you have to hang out with me."
Beca looked at him for a second and smiled, "Okay," she nodded.
"Great. I'll see you later."
"Bye!" she waved as she walked out the door.
Beca jogged across the street, making sure to hide her face from Chloe. She knew that she probably had a bruise on her face from her mother, and went to get in the backseat of the car. She was glad Jesse didn't say anything about it while she was in the music store, "Hey, no you can ride up front," Chloe grinned. She hadn't looked who was in the driver's seat. Chloe was driving.
"Oh my gosh, you got your license!" Beca exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's what took me so long, sorry."
"That is perfectly okay," the brunette grinned. She looked down at her lap and the music book was there, unwrapped, "So, um, I got this for you. Sorry, I didn't have time to wrap it."
"Oh, you shouldn't have got me anything. I didn't want you to worry about it."
"Well, I did. Oh, Jesse says happy birthday, by the way."
The look on Chloe's face darkened, "Why would he say that? He doesn't even know it's my birthday unless you told him."
"No, I didn't tell him who. I just said it was my friend's birthday."
"Why do you even talk to him?"
"Because he's nice to me."
"Well, he's faking. He's nothing but trouble. He just wants to get in your pants, dear."
Beca smiled at the fact that the ginger called her dear, "We sound like an arguing married couple," she laughed.
Chloe smiled, "We do, don't we?"
Beca gave her a grin, "Where are we headed to?"
"Wherever you want," Chloe looked at her.
"Excuse me, but it's your birthday, right?"
"Well, yeah, but-"
"No buts, you pick!"
"Well, okay then. You haven't been to my house yet have you?"
"No, I don't think I have."
"Then that's where we're gonna go."
The young violinist smiled at her friend, "Alright, then let's go."
The average size house that Beca lived in was worn down and break-ins happened all the time in the neighborhood. She was pretty sure that her neighbors were robbed just the day before. Someone broke into the shed that was in their backyard and stole a few items. She wasn't sure what exactly was taken, but they sure did put a lock on it pretty fast.
Chloe's house was in a much nicer neighborhood than Beca's. The large white house had a flower bed in the front covered with all sorts of different flowers. Beca stared at them and then looked at Chloe when she pulled into the driveway, "You live here?" she had forgotten about hiding the bruise.
"What happened to you?" the redhead frowned, "It wasn't your mother, was it? Is that what all that noise was on the phone? Is this what she did to you?"
"No, I fell. It doesn't really matter, Chloe. Just forget about it," Beca looked at the ground, covering it up again. She'd accidentally touched it a bit too hard and winced.
"I know for a fact you didn't fall. Let me see it," the tone of her voice was saddened, almost heartbroken.
Chloe moved Beca's hand away and looked at it. The brunette's eyes started to water. She didn't want to cry in front of Chloe, but one betraying tear rolled down her cheek. She reached over and wiped it away, "Oh, Beca. I'll get you out of there, trust me. I'll get you out and you won't have to live like this any longer."
"Please don't do anything. If she figures out that someone knows...I don't even want to think about what she will do."
"Beca, I don't want her hurting you. I don't want anyone hurting you. I care about you too much to just turn the other cheek and let this slide."
"If you tell her, the cops are going to take me away, shove me in foster care, and I'll never see you again!" Beca cried, "I have to be with you, Chloe. You're my best friend!"
Chloe's jaw clenched, "But I love you too much to just stand by and watch her beat you to death."
Beca ignored the fact that Chloe said she loved her. She didn't really think about it until later, "Please just promise you won't say a word. Please? I don't want to be taken to a stranger's home. Who knows what could happen to me there?"
"But what are you going to do?" Chloe's eyes were full of tears that she was willing not to pour out.
"I don't know," Beca looked at her, "I will try to stay out of the house as much as possible. I'll stay with you for as long as possible."
"That's a good idea. Maybe you can stay here tonight and we can figure more things out tonight."
The violinist nodded, wiping the tears away from her face, "Thank you for caring about me so much, Chloe," she sniffled.
"Don't thank me for that," she flashed Beca a smile. Beca just looked at Chloe for a moment, "Come on, Beca. Smile, it's pretty." The brunette couldn't help but return one at that comment.
"No, it's not," Beca laughed.
Chloe just grinned and opened the car door. They walked into her house and Beca was mesmerized. It was so beautiful. There were all sorts of pictures and different pieces of artwork that must have cost a fortune. One caught her eye, "This is absolutely beautiful."
"This?" Chloe pointed to a piece of a woman playing the violin. You could tell by the emotion on her face that she was definitely feeling the music.
"Yeah, this one. The artist captured the emotion on her face perfectly. She's feeling the way the music she's playing sounds. It's one of the greatest feelings in the world. Feeling so with the music that you lose yourself in it."
Chloe gave her a look and smiled, "I've never seen someone analyze art like that. I just look at it and thought it was pretty. I knew you'd like it, though. My parents just bought it the other day."
"Did they?" Beca couldn't take her eyes off of the amazing piece.
"I asked them to buy it," the redhead continued to stare at her.
"Why?" she looked at Chloe for a moment then back at the painting.
"It reminded me of you."
It was now that Beca realized that the woman in the picture looked almost exactly like she did, "It does look a bit like me, doesn't it?"
"Well, yeah it looks like you, but you look like that when you play. You feel the music just like she's feeling. I can tell just how much you love it."
"Do I really do that?" Beca asked, embarrassed.
"Yes, you do and it's beautiful. You're beautiful," Chloe looked right into Beca's eyes, her cheeks a light shade of pink.
"Do you really think so?" the brunette smiled.
"Yes, I do."
"Thank you," Beca grinned, "So what are we going to do today?"
"Uh...well, Aubrey and Stacie are supposed to come later, but you know all that went down yesterday so I doubt they're coming. So I guess it's just you and me. We can watch movies or something. Whatever you want to do, I'm up for."
"Chloe, how many times do I have to tell you, it's your birthday, you choose what you want to do and we both will."
"Darn," Chloe chuckled, "I was hoping you would forget."
"Why would I forget something like that," the violinist grinned.
"Let's play," Chloe pointed at the painting.
"Oh, I don't have mine," Beca said.
"I have a couple here. You can borrow one of mine."
"You have more than one?" the smaller girl gawked at her.
"Yeah," she smiled, walking over to a case and handing her one.
Beca took it reluctantly. Playing a different violin was an odd feeling. It felt foreign to her. You could say she hated it, but Chloe seemed really excited and wanted Beca to play with her. So she did.
The brunette grinned at Chloe, "What would you like to play?"
"I want you to play me something I've never heard before."
"I thought we were going to play together," Beca said, taking the violin out. It felt weird.
"Well, I'm not as good as you," Chloe smiled, "Come on, for me, please!"
She pretended to think about it while the redhead gave her puppy dog eyes, "Okay, fine, I guess. Only 'cause you asked nicely, though."
Beca tightened the bow and brought the violin up to playing position. It didn't feel right, but she was going to make Chloe happy. It was the least she could do for her. As Beca began to play, she closed her eyes. She was playing a piece that she had written a few weeks ago. The young violinist let her fingers find all the right notes and she was swaying with each stroke of the bow. She was feeling the music, every single ring of every single note was flowing through her. Beca's blood was pulsing with the music. This was where she wanted to be every single second of her life. This was a place that she actually felt like she belonged.
Before she knew it, her piece was over and she opened her eyes. Chloe was staring at Beca, grinning as her mom rounded the corner.
"I had no idea you could play so well, Beca," Debbie said, "Who is that piece by? I'd like to download it and make this one learn it!" She poked Chloe in the side.
"Oh, well, I kind of wrote it," Beca said shyly.
"You wrote that?" Chloe asked, surprised.
"Yeah, it's the first one that I've ever shown anyone. No one's ever really heard anything I write."
"Please tell me you're going to major in music and become some super famous orchestral composer."
"I'm thinking about it," the brunette looked at the ground. Her cheeks felt hot.
"Girl, you better," Debbie ordered, "Chloe needs a girl that has her life organized. The last few have not been doing so hot."
"Mom!" Chloe yelled. Her eyes widened and all the color drained out of her face.
"What? It's just that your last girlfriend, what was her name, Cas-"
"Shut up! Beca doesn't know!"
Now the color drained out of Debbie's face, "Oh my God, I'm sorry I thought you told her," Chloe stormed out of the house, "Honey, please, I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Beca stood there awkwardly for a moment. She wasn't really following the conversation very well. Was Chloe...? No, she couldn't be.
"I'm going to go follow her," Beca said quietly, walking out the door to look for Chloe. She was sitting on the front porch step, hugging her knees, "Chloe, what was your mom talking about?"
Chloe looked at Beca for a second. She knew the tears were stinging Chloe's eyes, "I'm gay, Beca. My mom thinks you should be my girlfriend."
Beca stared at her for a moment, "Oh...well, there's nothing wrong with that. You're still my best friend."
"But Beca, I like you..."
