So sorry for being the biggest bitch that has ever bitched and for not uploading for about 2 months. I just couldn't find a way to end this chapter, but I guess I did it now. Thanks for being patient and I hope you'll enjoy! Reviews are always welcome and very helpful!


Beca wouldn't say it out loud, but she loves a good stroll around the park. Especially at night. She loves the darkness, the stars, the moon. Everything about it makes Beca feel good. At peace. She doesn't know why. It helps her clear her mind. Sort out her problems. Evaluate her life. All of that deep and profound stuff.
Her dad is not so fond of it, Beca being out and about in the dark world. He's scared she'll get kidnapped or stabbed or something. But she can't help it. She feels drawn towards the charm of the night.

She stands at the foot of the lake and faces the sky. Closing her eyes as she inhales the cold air. It stings in her throat, but it makes her feel alive. Her cheeks are burned up by the cool breeze, glowing. She could sit here all night, just thinking.
This is the only time she isn't wearing headphones. She's always been a person who needs sound around her. Even if it's just radio static. It keeps her in this world, prevents her from wandering. Sure, music makes her wander too, but that's different. This, being in the silence, awakens a different kind of wandering. A kind that she can only face at night, when there's no one to judge her or expect something from her. No disturb-

She feels something pull her arm, then hears a growl followed by a cry.

She jumps a little at the sudden disruption and looks around to see where it comes from. She opens her eyes and looks for the source of the noise, even though she knows who made it. A force against her legs almost makes her fall straight into the water, but she recovers.
A goose is coming towards her with its wings spread, making a honking sound. The dog growls again, but with its tail between his legs.
Beca snorts. "I thought this war between you two was over."
She wants to pet her dog to calm him down, but he barks at the goose. He now waddles closer towards Beca.
That's her cue to leave.
She yanks at the leash to get her dog away from the goose. "No need for a bloodbath tonight."

They walk around like that for another ten minutes.
Beca grabs her phone out of her pocket to check the time when her dog, again, pulls on her arm. She loses control over her phone. It dances in her fingers and flies in the air. She stumbles forward, finally catching the damn thing.
She looks down to see what got her dog excited again. He's chasing a much smaller dog, trying to catch its tail or sniff its butt or whatever weird shit it is that dogs do.
"I'm so sorry."
Beca looks up to see to whom that familiar voice belongs to and is met with 2 piercing blue eyes, almost glowing in the dark.
"Chloe? What are you doing out here?" It sounds a bit harsher than she'd intended it to be.
"Hey," Chloe's eyes light up even more when she realizes it's Beca. She points towards the little dog and holds up her leash, "the little one needed some at-", she doesn't get to finish her sentence as the two dogs start to twirl around both the girls.
"Buddy, stop th-",
"Bella, come he-"
The dogs don't listen and soon the leashes are intertwined with Beca and Chloe's legs. The fact that it's dark making it even harder to tell the two leashes apart, but the dogs have ceased there chase and settle in front of their bosses. Beca turns on the flashlight on her phone so they can free themselves from the imprisonment.

They walk around in the park for several minutes after they untangled themselves. Not really talking about anything, and the dogs still chasing each other.
"That's a cute name."
Beca looks up at Chloe and frowns at her, although she can't really see that.
"What, mine? It's actually Rebeca."
She mentally kicks herself in the ass. You're supposed to thank people when they give you a compliment, not correct them.
To Beca's surprise, Chloe starts to giggle.
"No, I meant your dog's. But yours is cute too."
Beca looks down in embarrassment, Chloe's smile burning in her neck.

The giggling slowly dies and is replaced with a silence. The panting of the dogs and the calling of the owls the only things audible. It's a comfortable silence. Which is weird. Whenever this happens when she's with Amy of Emily, she stresses out, wanting to break the silence. More often than not failing at it. But with Chloe, she doesn't detect a hint of that stress at all.

"Thanks, again"
It's very faint, but Beca was so plunged in her thoughts that it still baffled her a bit.
"For what?"
"This morning."
Her mind is blank.
"Standing up for me. In the bus."
The same shy smile Chloe had this morning appears on her face again, including the hurt expression in her eyes.
"Oh! That's totally cool, don't mention it." She wants it to sound reassuring, but it comes out more as some mumbling than actual words.

"So you live in the neighborhood? I haven't seen you here before."
Chloe's expression vanishes, happy with the change of subject.
"Yeah, well I only moved here a few days ago, so I haven't had the chance to explore everything yet."

Beca finds herself keeping the conversation going, a skill which she hasn't fully developed. Yet, hopefully. It really isn't anything meaningful or worthwhile they're talking about, but she's enjoying it.

They reach the exit of the park. Beca automatically takes a right turn, still in the middle of their discussion whether or not Nutella is the best spread.
"I feel sorry for the people who are allergic to-"
"Beca."
It wasn't until then that Beca felt the emptiness next to her. She turns around.
Chloe is standing in the exit, pointing at the road behind her.
"I have to go this way."
"I don't think the dogs agree." Beca gestures to the dogs pulling the leashes trying to reach each other. Chloe giggles again, which makes Beca smile.
"Guess I will see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, uh, sure. Anytime."
Chloe waves at her and turns around, slowly disappearing into the darkness. As soon as she's out of sight, Beca closes her eyes and drops her head to the ground.
"Did I just really say that out loud?"