On a roll with this story! Seems I enjoy writing it when I'm sick because I can't stop. To note, I will basically be using all the deleted and extended scenes in this story. I now have them all (Hannagh with a G, as usual, big love to you my creepy friend) and in one way or another, they will be included and/or referenced. It's not really a big deal if you haven't seen them all, it makes very little difference because any lines I used are in this anyway (obviously, disclaiming again).

So yes, to stop rambling and let you get on with this. Audition and Hood Night time!

4 - THE BET

She is awoken by someone poking her harshly in the leg, and her first thought of the day is that today is the day she gets arrested for murder.

"Beca. Wake up." She turns her head, lazily opening one eye to see her father sitting on the edge of the bed, his brow furrowed. She can see the headline now: PROFESSOR KILLED ON CAMPUS BY OWN DAUGHTER. "Funny, this doesn't look like your Intro to Philosophy class," he says dryly, looking around the room in mock confusion.

She pushes herself up, out of the warm cocoon she had created for herself in the blankets and duvets, and just as dryly says, "I'm posing an important philosophical question; if I don't actually go to that class, will it still suck?"

"That's actually pretty clever but that's not the point." Dr Mitchell is evidently not in the mood today, and she can tell by the term of apparent endearment he uses next that sounds more condescending than anything. She climbs out of bed lethargically, regretting her decision to stay up until 6am mixing songs on her computer, as he starts to lecture her. "Look, honey, college is – It's great. You get to create memories here, I see it every day! You just have to give it a chance."

Not really fancying being treated like one of his students, Beca rifles through her wardrobe simply to have something to do other than wring his neck.

"You've been here, what, a month now? Do you have any friends?" he asks, and she sighs.

"I have Jesse," she points out, fiddling with her bathrobe. Maybe he'll get the picture that she wants him to leave.

Of course her father never leaves when she wants him to, and that murderous rage is beginning to boil again as he wiggles the mouse of her computer. No one touches her computer and gets away with it. "You can't just be friends with Jesse," her father says in a tired voice. She is well aware of how wary her dad is of her best friend, but she doesn't care. Jesse had been there when he wasn't, so her dad has no valid opinion on the matter. "You gotta get out there Bec, you gotta try something."

"I got a job at the radio station," she informs him, leaving out the part about it being with Jesse.

"Oh great, that place." He rolls his eyes as he sees her mixing program up on her screen, minimising it like he can't bear to look. He instead sits down in her desk chair. "It's dark and dirty and has like, what, those three weirdos who work there?"

"Well, four, now," she responds dryly again. She doesn't understand why her father has always been so discouraging to the things she wants to do. He refuses to have faith in her dream to make music and never shows any enthusiasm for things she does; aren't dads supposed to encourage their kid's dreams? Aren't they supposed to help them and guide them and offer their full support? Maybe, her father hasn't been her dad for too long to see that anymore.

"You gotta try something new, Bec!" he protests, "Join one club on campus. And if, at the end of the year, you still don't want to be here? If you still want to go off to LA, be P. Diddy" – she rolls her eyes at his ignorance – "Well then, you can quit college. And I will help you move to LA."

Her interest is peaking, because is he seriously serious right now? "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. But I really need to see it, Beca. This is college! Join in!" He walks towards the door but it opens before he can do it himself, and her roommate walks in, looking her dad up and down in disapproval before strolling to her desk without a word. Her dad nods his goodbye and leaves, and Beca sighs, completely flummoxed by what just happened. Did he really just offer what she thinks he did?

A smile breaks out across her face and she grabs the rest of the showering things. This she has to tell Jesse.

One highly disturbed hour later, Beca knocks incessantly on Jesse's door, a habit she has annoyingly picked up from him. She is bouncing on her toes, full of restless energy at her dad's compromise, and Jesse answers the door with an easy smile, watching her dive straight past him without even noticing his state of half undress until she's sat in his desk chair and let her force twist it round slowly. She squeaks quietly in surprise when she finally realises he's only wearing his jeans slung over the deep v of his hips.

"Something you like, Bee?" he teases when he sees where her eyes are aiming, and she drags her eyes away quickly. She doesn't know why she made that ridiculously girly noise – it's not like she hasn't the boy topless before, after all she's known him for two and a half years – but somehow it catches her off guard. She berates herself for her silliness, trying to remember why she's here and not on what she wants to do now she is here.

"I have had the weirdest morning," she tells him, fixing her gaze firmly on his face (which is still rather cockily smirking at her) as he moves to his wardrobe to find a shirt. "So my dad woke me up this morning –"

"- Your dad?!" Jesse interrupts in surprise, his teasing gone now that the topic of her father has been breached.

"I know right?" She sighs but carries on. "But anyway, so he told me I don't get involved enough or whatever, and so he's made a compromise." Jesse raises an eyebrow to encourage her to continue, pulling out a shirt she bought him for his birthday two years ago. "He said if I join a club and put the effort in, then he'll help me move to LA at the end of the year."

Beca doesn't really know what reaction she expected from this news, but she is surprised by how he does. He turns abruptly away, pulling on his shirt over his head. But she can see how his shoulders sag, how he seems to slouch at her news strangely. A small part of her thinks that maybe he is disappointed, but she shakes it off. This is good news, right?

"That's great, Beca," he says quietly, his back still to her. "You going to take him up on his offer?"

"I guess…" She frowns, looking down at his worn carpet. "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

Facing her again, his smile is quite obviously faked. He falls down onto his bed, wrapping his arms around one of his pillows that he drags into his lap. "Well let's get brainstorming! Got to find you something appropriately moody and not-fun. Maybe there's a German club?"

The memory of her morning strikes again. "Oh that reminds me! So I just went to have a shower, and you will never guess what happened in there." He smirks inappropriately and she groans, throwing the nearest object at him that he deflects easily with his pillow. When it falls on the blankets she notices it is one of her CDs that she's given to him over the years. "You're gross – though not actually far off. You remember the activities fair last month?"

"Sure."

"Well remember that table you dragged me to, with the bitchy blonde and strange redhead?"

He looks away as he tries to remember, snapping his fingers when he gets it. "The all-girl acapella group!"

"Yeah! Well the redhead intruded on my shower, both of us naked" – Jesse smirks again, his eyes glittering, and she wishes she hadn't thrown that CD without such probable cause– "And she made me sing with her. Said she wants me in the Bella's."

Beca laughs at the absurdity of it, but Jesse actually looks thoughtful, tapping two fingers absently on the CD case. "Well why not?" he speaks up, effectively ending her amusement.

"What?"

"You have a great voice, you know you'd be good at it." He shrugs. "You need a club to get to LA and get out of here. Why not join the club that actually really wants you?"

She watches him in amazement. He can't be serious, can he? "You think I should join an acapella group?" she asks in disbelief.

"Yeah, I think it would be cool." He perks up suddenly, a genuine smile washing over his face. "Ooh, you know, if you join the Bella's and I join the Treble's…"

He raises his eyebrows suggestively but she doesn't understand. "Are you going to make a stupid joke?" she deadpans.

He grins; so yes. "You'll be one of those acapella girls, I'll be one of those acapella boys, and we'll end up having beautiful aca-children. It's inevitable."

She rolls her eyes despite her pounding heart. "You're an idiot; have you been drinking? Dude it's only ten in the morning."

"I'm serious!" he says through a laugh at her comment. "You gotta join the Bella's! It'll be awesome!"

She shakes her head adamantly. "No. LA is not worth that kind of humiliation."

"You were a member of the glee club in high school," he points out, and she buries her face in her hands in shame.

"For like five minutes! Because you made me!"

"Don't pretend like you didn't love it."

She huffs, pushing some of her hair out of her face that has fallen out of her messy ponytail. "Shouldn't you be discouraging me from joining if you're going to become a Treble? The Bella's are your competition, and if I join you won't stand a chance."

He raises his eyebrows at her cocky smirk. "Oh really, Miss Mitchell? You think that highly of yourself?"

She shrugs, inspecting her nails as she fakes disinterest. "Not to toot my own horn, but yeah, basically. I've got all my hidden musical talents just waiting to be shared."

He throws the pillow at her, laughing at the stunned expression on her face as the pillow falls to the floor. "You willing to place a bet on that confidence?"

She gages his offer, squinting her eyes at him suspiciously. "What's your angle here?"

"No angle." He gets up from the bed and walks towards her, his hand out ready to shake. "I just think you're awful cocky for someone who doesn't stand a chance against the Treble's."

Narrowing her eyes, she gets up slowly, still tiny in comparison to his height. "I could crush you like a bug without even trying."

"Then lets shake on it." His hand is still there, taunting her, and she wants nothing more than to shake it and wipe that smug look off his face.

"What's the bet?"

"Which ever team gets the furthest in competition."

She steps closer, trying to be intimidating. "The stakes?"

"When I win, you…" He pauses, thinking it over, his face lighting up cunningly when he comes up with it. "You have to have my name tattooed on you."

She narrows her eyes again. "And when I win, you have to get my face tattooed on your arm." She trails a finger over his bicep and for half a second he looks nervous. "Right… Here."

"That's far worse than mine," he points out.

"You too chicken?"

"No, I just want to change mine." She rolls her eyes but nods. "Bumble bee. Right… Here." His fingers dance on her hip and she can't help her eyes fluttering closed. They're so close she can feel his breath, and the fell of his hands is almost too much.

"D-Deal." She grabs the hand from her hip and grips it tightly, shaking twice. "Be ready to lose, Swanson."

"Don't count on it Mitchell." He pulls her sharply by their joint hands so she collides with his chest, and he looks down at her, trapping her helplessly with his dark eyes. "You better start preparing; auditions are tomorrow afternoon."

She tries not to let him see how flustered she is, instead hoping her gaze is just as challenging as his. "Please, I'm practically in already. The only preparation that needs to be done around here is by you, for when you lose."

They glare at each other, locked in their stance against each other, until Benji stumbles into the room, his eyes widening at the sight before him as the two spring apart guiltily. Beca smiles and greets him quietly, her stomach in knots, and quickly excuses herself. It is not until a few hours later, when she is on her way to the station for her evening shift, that she realises Jesse may have just challenged her for reasons different to what she had presumed. That maybe, he just bet his arm away to encourage her to take the leap and join a club, kick starting her journey towards getting to LA by the summer.

She hopes not. She somehow can't bear the thought.

Beca stands outside the auditorium nervously, staring at the closed door like it might bite her if she touches it. She can hear someone talking, and she knows Jesse is in there with Benji, probably laughing it up that he's about to win that stupid bet. She shakes her head. No, she can't let him win this. There is no way she's letting him get the satisfaction of seeing her being inked again – especially with a bumble bee.

Why is she so nervous about this? All she's doing is going up and singing on a stage, in front of a bunch of people she doesn't know. She's done it before; it's not like it's a really big deal. She's done far scarier things.

She's not really scared so much as she is worried. She can't stop thinking about why Jesse made the bet in the first place. She can't back out, she knows that, but it makes her anxious that he challenged her in such a way. She remembers how he had turned away when she told him about her dad's offer. Had he been sad about it? She doesn't think so, but then she had essentially begged him to choose Barden instead of all the other places he was accepted. What if he thinks that her leaving after the first year is like her abandoning him?

No. She shakes her head again before the thought can manifest. She needs to get a grip on her feelings for Jesse. It's pointless and pathetic. Jesse is her best friend – nothing more – and thinking of him as anything more is just a delusion. If he liked her, then he would have made a move. Jesse's just that kind of guy.

She waves away the memories before they can trap her.

Instead, Beca turns away from the doors, heading to a new set. She walks through the small backstage area, dodging ropes and beams as she quietly makes her way in. She peeks out and sees three crowds of people in the chairs, and she distantly recognises a few from the activities fair. The blonde is glaring at the douchiest Treble in the back, and the redhead is smiling at her in amusement. A boy walks on from the other side of the stage, calling the place to order, and she tucks herself into the darkness as she sees a small crowd of people waiting to take the stage.

"Here's the first one up."

"Whenever you're ready, dude," a guy with thick glasses calls from the Treble Makers. Taking off his – no, her – hat, the girl tuts at his presumption.

"Yeah, hi, my name is Cynthia Rose," she introduces, before she starts making a strange "zoom" noise as a beat. Beca watches from the sides as the girl belts out a hell of a voice to a Kelly Clarkson song, and she's impressed. Maybe acapella requires more talent than she originally thought.

She watches a few of the auditions, realising that maybe the song is less a personal choice and more just the audition song (one that she has not prepared and doesn't know well enough) and that there are also some strange people at this college. She recognises a tall brunette – Stacie, she thinks her name is – from one of her classes when she rarely attends (who sings in a very scary way). She notices the large blonde auditioning, the one she remembers from the activities fair that saved her from the Barden DJs (who introduces herself by calling out, "Fat Amy, representing Australia! No pressure, just got the hopes of a nation on me."), and she claps along with the crowd when Benji hits his final note.

Which is ultimately what catches Jesse's attention as he walks onto the stage to do his audition. He winks at her and she raises an eyebrow in amusement at his cocky strides. He has always been most confident on the stage.

"Hey, I'm Jesse," he tells the groups in the audience, introducing himself with a friendly wave. He starts singing and she can't help smiling. His voice has always done funny things to her stomach. He jokes about struggling to reach the high notes, and she sees him peaking at her out of the corner of his eye. It feels strange to see him sing but not have him sing to her. Ever since she has known him, he has always done that, which she complains about but secretly loves.

When he finishes, he grins at her, and the audience seem confused when he does not walk off the way everyone else did. She shakes her head as he approaches her.

"Oh no, no no no no," she says in a panic as he grabs her wrist. He pulls her onto the stage and she stumbles a little with his force. "Jesse!" she hisses as he puts his hands on her shoulders, his back to everyone else, smiling at her softly.

"You got this, Beca," he whispers so only she can hear. "Stop thinking you aren't good enough."

She just glares at him. "I hate you," she mutters.

"No you don't." He grins and then leaves her alone, centre stage. She looks out, the redhead catching her eye and giving her a thumbs up. Beca takes a deep breath, and she turns her head to see Jesse standing in the wings. She can do this.

"Hello, I'm… I'm Beca." She waves awkwardly, tapping the toe of her boot behind her other ankle. "I didn't know we had to prepare that song…"

"It's okay, sing whatever you want," the redhead assures, while the blonde just stares at her in confusion. Beca hesitates, but then she spots it; the yellow plastic cup on the table. She glances again at Jesse and he seems to know what she's thinking because he nods eagerly, so she walks closer to them. "Um, may I...?"

She kneels down to tip the pens out and then crosses her legs, holding the cup awkwardly. The room is too quiet, too tense, but she reassures herself that Jesse is there, he believes in her, so she lets the beat come to her, clapping, tapping and slapping for the different tones.

"I've got my ticket for the long way round, two bottles of whisky for the way…" she sings, trying not to look at the girls who are scrutinizing her. Jesse's gaze is warm on her back and she remembers how they learnt this silly thing together, one rainy Sunday afternoon during junior year. She tries not to smile at the memory, how Jesse had struggled and complained for a good two hours to her great amusement.

She finishes and the redhead is grinning at her happily, the blonde pulling a strange face, and she hands back the cup with a forced smile. Getting up, she brushes off her jeans and raises her hand in a motionless wave as she walks quickly away towards Jesse. He's smiling at her like an idiot, and he throws his arm around her as they walk towards the exit.

"That was great, Bee," he enthuses. "I told you you're good."

"Whatever," she mumbles, wrapping her arm around his waist. "Can we please go get cheesy fries now?"

He chuckles, tightening his grip against the back of her neck. "As long as you're paying."

Beca's not really clear on the specifics of how she got here; all she knows is that there's a hood over her head, and either she's been kidnapped by a cult and is about to be killed, or she's been kidnapped by a cult and is about to experience initiation.

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your stand point), it's the latter.

She is introduced as an "alto" – whatever that is – and she jumps when she sees the creepy candles beside her. Looking down the line, she can see Stacie there, and the large blonde – Fat Amy, as she introduced herself at auditions. There's about ten of them standing there, dazed and confused, and again Beca wonders if this stupid bet is worth it.

"Welcome," the blonde says mysteriously. She raises her arms, palms up, and gestures around the large space like its not just a candlelit old gymnasium. "You have all been chosen to become Bella's; a role that comes with great responsibility. I am Aubrey Posen, captain of the Barden Bella's."

"And I am Chloe Posen, senior member." The redhead – finally identified as Chloe – waves with a friendly smile. Beca can already see the good cop/bad cop thing they got going on.

"We're all going to be spending a lot of time together, so to start we are going to go around in a circle, where you will state your name, where you are from, and something about yourself." Aubrey looks around the room, and Beca wonders if she's always like this or if she's just being strange to put the fear of God in them. Safe to say, it's not working on her (okay maybe a little).

"Well I guess I'll start," Fat Amy says when there's an awkward pause. They gather round in a circle as she speaks. "I'm Fat Amy, I'm from Tasmania. I can sheep wrangle." She starts counting things off on her fingers as Aubrey raises a hand, trying to get her to stop. "Um, I'm really good at breeding beagles, and um, I'm good at troll doll collecting. Just so you don't think I'm a one trick pony" - she flicks at her hair pulled away from her face - "tail."

"Wow, that's uh, that's great, I see what you did there," Aubrey says slowly before turning to someone else. "Next?"

"I'm Denise, I'm from Ohio, and I really enjoy doing charity work." A small girl smiles shyly at the rest of group.

Beca recognises the next girl from the auditions earlier today. "Hey, I'm Cynthia Rose from New York, and I have a pet snake."

The introductions continue around the circle – pausing awkwardly at a small girl who seems to be incapable of talking at a normal volume, who is only identified by the name Lily after Jessica listens really hard by her mouth – until they reach Beca last, who shuffles her foot awkwardly.

"Uh, hi, I'm Beca, I'm from North Carolina – well, originally I'm from California but… Uh, yeah." She nods, hoping someone will draw the attention away from her, which thankfully, Chloe does.

"That's great guys! It's really nice to have you all here." Chloe grins at them all. Beca is beginning to see that this is a regular thing, and she oddly reminds her of Jesse in that way.

Jesse… Did he get into the Treble's? She tosses the thought out as quickly as it appears; she needs to stop thinking about him so often.

"Now," Aubrey begins, picking up a mirrored ceremonial wine glass, "we shall begin by drinking the blood of the sisters that came before us."

She hands the glass to Chloe, who approaches her first, and Beca just stares at it in horror. "Dude, no!"

"Don't worry," Chloe whispers, winking, "It's Boone's Farm."

Beca still isn't convinced, but the thought of farms leads - in a roundabout way - to bees, which makes her take the glass and take a sip of the drink. Jesse isn't about to win this one.

The glass is passed along to each member and soon enough Chloe is coming back down the line, this time handing out neatly folded yellow and blue scarfs. Beca holds it gingerly, looking at the ugly pattern and wondering if she's actually going to have to wear this, because at least with the bee tattoo she can hide it from the public.

"Now if you'll place your scarfs in your right hand."

Oh my God they're really going to swear us into a cult, she thinks in a mild panic, what the hell am I doing here?

"I, sing your name," Aubrey says. A strange collective sound that sounds a lot like 'I, Silly' reverberates around the candlelit space. "Promise to fulfil the duties and responsibilities of a Bella woman."

"Promise to fulfil the duties and responsibilities of a Bella woman," they repeat in monotone.

"And I solemnly promise to never have sexual relations with a Treble Maker" – Beca doesn't miss how Aubrey pointedly glares at her – "Or may my vocal chords be ripped out by wolves."

Shit.

She repeats it, because she has to, and really why is it such a big problem? Her and Jesse will never amount to anything, and it's not like this oath means anything; it's just a stupid thing to give the new kids a sense of sacred belonging, right? So she repeats it, trying not to smile at Stacie, who has her fingers crossed under her scarf beside her.

"You are all Bella's now," Aubrey announces with what might just be her first genuine smile. The group around her scream happily and Beca flinches away as the lights flick on. This may just be the weirdest thing she's ever done, and all she can think of is how much she hates Jesse.

After a small celebration of their own (which mostly just involved Beca trying not to cringe away from the conversation Amy was trying to have with her) the new group heads down to the amphitheatre. Beca looks around, seeing a large amount of people gathered in the bottom, and she hopes Jesse is here. Otherwise she's going to have to find some way of sneaking away.

"Ladies, welcome to Aca-Initiation Night," Aubrey says proudly at the front. "Prepare to soften the beach."

Beca slows down – because the closer she is to the top, the quicker she can escape – and turns to Amy who is beside her. "I don't know what I'm doing here," she admits.

"Living the dream," Amy replies with a big grin. "I still can't believe they let my sexy fat ass in."

"Beca!" She turns with a relieved sigh at the sound of her name being called, barely noticing Amy walking away as she spots Jesse. "Bee!"

"Wow." She bites her lip as he climbs over the seats, still calling her name. He's wearing a red hoodie, one she doesn't recognise, and as he gets closer she notices the Treble Maker logo sewn into it. She smiles; she's proud of him, even if it does mean the bet is now officially on.

"BeCAW!" he calls again, and she sighs again. Jesse is drunk already. "Do my ears deceive me-"

"You okay?" she asks when he seems to stumble slightly, but he recovers well.

"No it's okay, I just have to get a better look." She puts on her best show of 'you're really not that funny' as he makes stupid noises, rotating his sleeve in the air in front of her face.

"Are you miming a window?"

He clambers over the last seat, mumbling to himself, before he straightens up with a giant grin. "Do my eyes deceive me, Miss Mitchell, or are you a Barden Bella?"

"No."

"I'm so excited for this bet right now, you have no idea, I can't wait to see you sporting that tattoo."

"Jesse," she says as she tries not to laugh (she fails). "You are drunk. How are you already so wasted?"

He shrugs, his grin softening into a shy smile. "I'm totally fine, not drunk at all."

"You okay?" She laughs again. "Can you pass a sobriety test right now?" She pushes him and he leans back, rocking back towards her.

"See how I come right back? And I come right back."

"You're so drunk," she teases as he grabs her hand. Beca is used to this – he gets very touchy feely when he's had something to drink, and she always has to peel him off her before things get too far past a certain line.

"Can I get you a drink?" he asks with wide eyes.

"That'd be great."

"I'm going to get you a drink," he continues as if she hasn't spoken, "I think you need to get up to this level."

He begins to climb again over the seats and she shakes her head in amusement. "You don't need to walk that way!"

"It's the best way to walk!" he calls over his shoulder, and before she can think to watch him carefully to make sure he doesn't fall, Chloe is suddenly in front of her, grabbing her hands and leaning in close.

"Hey buddy," Beca says, trying to sound peppy.

"I'm so glad that I met you," the redhead says happily. "I think that we're going to be really fast friends."

"Yeah, well, you saw me naked," she replies with a wink.

"I did!" Chloe says like she's only just remembered. "You have really great tattoos you know, I especially love the lowest one on your back."

Beca cringes at the thought of it. Stupid Jesse. "Super."

"So you excited about joining the Bella's?"

Chloe's face is so close to hers that she's a little fuzzy, so Beca tries to pull back a little to see her expectant gaze a little better. "Yeah. Totally."

"You're going to love it, it's aca-awesome."

Beca pulls a face at the use of 'aca' as a prefix, but manages to recover it into a positive grimace.

"And don't worry about Aubrey, she's a good girl." Chloe nods but Beca is doubtful. "Her parents just didn't take her out of the shrink wrap."

Beca pauses, trying to figure that out, trying not to let two of the Treble's calling out not-even-remotely-attractive remarks to girls disgust her too much. "I don't know what that means."

Chloe shrugs it off. "Alright, I'm going to go get a drink." She lets go of Beca's arms, turning to go. "This ginger needs her jiggle juice!"

"Make good choices!" she calls after her quietly, and she stands there awkwardly, wondering where Jesse has gotten to – until she spots him almost immediately making his way back to her over the rows. She rolls her eyes, half expecting him to take a tumble. At least the trip to the hospital will be a valid excuse to leave.

A new song swells and the mingling crowd below cheer with their arms raised. Jesse gets distracted talking to a girl she presumes is from another of the groups, and she ends up in short conversation with one of the new Bella's, which is awkward enough for her to be thankful to Jesse when he finally approaches, singing along quietly to the song pulsing out of the speakers.

"Thank you," she says as she accepts her long-awaited cup, but Jesse seems more interested in something else because he's turning around, looking out at the crowd.

"This is awesome."

"Definitely something."

Beca can spot it just before he does it, and she doesn't manage to grab his arm and stop him before he's shouting "We are the kings of campus!" as loudly as he possibly can. She expects this is something the horrible Treble captain put in his head.

"Jesse?" she calls, grabbing his arm anyway. "Jesse please stop being an idiot."

He turns around and climbs over the final row so he's standing beside her. His arm snakes around her waist and he presses his cheek against her hair, so she takes a large gulp of beer to keep herself from smiling too much.

"You know what happened tonight?" he asks quietly.

"Not unless you tell me."

"I may have committed a minor felony." His tone is casual, too casual to be genuine, and she nudges him playfully in the ribs, his beer sloshing over the sides with the movement.

"Again?"

"We spray painted this group's van. Apparently they still do acapella after college and that's wrong."

She nods, his head moving strangely against hers. "So the Treble's asked you to deface their van as punishment for that?"

He shrugs the best he can with her head on his shoulder (she doesn't even remember putting it there). "I guess."

"Did you at least do it well?"

"Of course."

"Then sure, okay, I forgive you," she says, figuring that's what he wants to hear. It seems she's right, because he relaxes against her with a contented sigh.

"You're the best."

"That I am." She spots Aubrey staring at her with a stormy expression, and realises their position may not be viewed appropriately by the outside world. "Hey Jesse, come on, lets go somewhere else."

He seems to be too inebriated to argue, so she puts her arm around him to keep him steady as they make their way up the stairs to the top of the amphitheatre. He's heavy against her and she'd probably struggle more if she hadn't done this many times before, but she knows to keep him steady by allowing him to ramble on about something – in this case, his initiation.

"They gave me this really cool jacket," he tells her as they walk along a pathway towards her dorm. "And Donald says they have loads of them –"

"Which one is Donald?" she cuts in.

"The glasses guy?" She nods when she puts the face to the name. "But Bumper – the leader one with no sense of when to shut up – was very cross at him for that, because apparently he 'does not like it when you undermine my authority.'" Jesse badly mimics Bumper's voice, and she smirks as he slurs the last word. "And they said we had to get crazy stupid drunk…"

She tunes him out as they walk, nodding every so often when he turns to look at her, and soon they reach her dorm. Jesse pries the keys out of her hands to unlock the door himself. When he flings open the door, he gasps, because lying there sound asleep in the darkness is Iris.

"Looks like we're going to your room," Beca whispers, easing the door closed again quietly. Jesse begins to tell her a new story about something Joel told him once – an event for which she had actually been present so already knows about – while she walks him out of the building and towards his a few minutes away.

"I miss Joel," Jesse says sadly as they walk through the door. "He was amazing."

"He's not dead you know, you don't need to refer to him in past tense."

He shrugs and pulls her impossibly closer. "Yeah, but he's so important, and I don't know, it feels like he's not with us anymore, now we've left."

Beca climbs up the stairs with him with a little difficulty. "Tell you what, when we go home for the holidays, we'll go see him every day, yeah?"

"That sounds great!" Jesse says in excitement. "Oh man, we're going to have so many good stories to tell him!"

"Definitely." They reach his floor and she begins to pat down his side, looking for his pocket to pull out his own keys. He jumps a little when her fingers gaze a little too far over.

"Woah, Beca, not so fast, you haven't even got me to the bed yet," he says in a sultry voice, leaning his mouth close to her ear, but she just rolls her eyes, pulling his keys out of his pocket when she finds them.

"In your dreams, Swanson."

The door is already unlocked as it turns out, because Benji is still up, sitting on his bed playing with some different coloured napkin things to do with his magic. He stands up when they enter, and Beca smiles at him in greeting as she deposits Jesse on the bed. He falls heavily, grinning at his roommate.

"Sorry Benji, you're going to have to give us some privacy, Beca is trying to get me to sleep with her," Jesse says lightly, winking suggestively. Benji looks between them nervously and Beca pushes his shoulder in disapproval.

"Like you'd even think about saying no," she tells him as he grabs her hand, lacing their fingers together loosely.

"Well, have you seen you?" he asks, and Beca flushes, turning to Benji to avoid seeing the way he's looking at her.

"You'll get used to all this," she says, gesturing to Jesse vaguely with her free hand, realising her mistake too late when Jesse grabs that too and pulls her to sit on his lap, resting his chin on her shoulder so he can see Benji.

"I'm sorry about the Treble's," he says quietly. Benji looks away, shrugging, but Beca see his disappointment; how hurt he is by their rejection. She bites her lip as Jesse's hand slowly makes its way around her until he's securely wrapped it across her stomach. She leans back into his chest a little, watching Benji try to form words.

"It's not even that big a deal," he finally says, forcing a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. She feels bad for him, and she's mad at that Bumper guy for not letting him in when Benji is obviously crazy talented.

"You know what will cheer you up?" Jesse says hopefully. Benji looks at him, waiting for him to continue. "Let's watch Star Wars!"

Beca pats Jesse's hand in the hopes he'll let her go. "That's me out."

But Jesse grips tighter to keep her there, and she can feel his cheek moving against her neck with his grin at Benji's confusion. "Beca hates movies," he supplies to him roommate.

Benji looks appalled. "She doesn't… Like… Movies?"

She smirks; time for payback for getting drunk without her. "Saw a porno at a high school party; I liked that movie."

Benji's eyes widen and Jesse splutters, lifting his head to try and better see her. "Beca! Why would you tell him about that?"

She just laughs at both of their expressions. "What, you find it embarrassing that we watched porn together?"

Benji's eyes grow impossibly wider and Jesse rushes to explain, his leg bouncing underneath her. "Not like that, Benji! We were just at this party and these guys were mucking around and we were… Within the range of the screen."

"We learnt a lot." Beca's smirk grows; she's sickly enjoying the discomfort of the two boys in the room with her.

"You are disgusting," Jesse says in a low voice. "Why am I friends with you?"

"Universal rule. You have to be friends forever with any guy you fall on top of," she quotes him and he doesn't seem to be intoxicated enough to not remember, because he chuckles, his chest vibrating against her back.

"Come on, Bee, watch one movie with us," he pleads. She looks up at Benji who nodding hopefully, and she sighs. Her weakness for Jesse is a real issue.

"Fine," she groans, "But if you draw on me again when I fall asleep, Swanson, I will kick your ass."

Bless, how cute are they?!

Next chapter introduces the first dramatic turn of their friendship, so should be pretty exciting! I'm going to set about drafting it up tomorrow (today is well, technically Saturday morning, and I know I won't post this for a few more days, but so you know that my updates should be pretty regular for at least two more chapters while I work ahead of schedule).

Was wondering what you guys thought of the chapter lengths? I normally only do chapters that are about 2000-3000 words long, but for this story they've all so far been between 5000-7000 words. Do you guys prefer this length?

Also, to anyone who has seen the deleted/extended scenes: In one (set in their first training session), Beca makes a joke about sopranos, but I can't tell for definite all that she's saying. If any of you know, please leave it for me in a review or PM me, as I really want to include it! Thank you :)