Chapter 4: Am I Caught In a Hit and Run

Author's Note: This chapter includes a character being drugged and intentionally cut. Read with discretion.


Monday morning found Beca sitting at her desk as she alternated between working on music and glaring at that stupid white and blue envelope with her invitation to join Beta Epsilon Lambda Lambda Alpha. After about 20 minutes of that, she agitatedly huffed and grabbed it out from under the pile of papers stacked on top.

Snow white paper with baby blue lettering for the Bella's logo, she noticed that her name and address were carefully handwritten; overall it was pristine. Compared to the other invites she'd received—basic cardstock, printed labels, etc.—the Bella's invite looked like something that would be sent out for the Grammys or the Oscars. It made her feel kind of special.

She turned the envelope in her hands some more; studying, considering, debating it.

She thought about whether she would even have time to commit to a big group like that. She thought about whether spending that extra time with Chloe was worth having to be a joiner. Beca had spent so much time being anti-club, anti-group, anti-most people in general that it would usually take something major to convince her.

And then she realized that "something major" had already come along and convinced her. That "something major" had her so whipped already it was ridiculous. That "something major" had a name, and that name was Chloe Beale.

"Stupid beautiful girl," Beca grumbled and glared at the envelope again before she opened it.

Inside she found a smaller baby blue envelope and card with white and gold trim that read:

The sisters of Beta Epsilon Lambda Lambda Alpha are happy to extend to you, Beca Mitchell, this invitation to join our sacred sisterhood. Please sign and return this card to us by October 8, 2012 if you accept your bid into our prestigious and celebrated sorority.

She grabbed the nearest pen and felt the need to take a deep breath. For some reason she felt like she was about to sign her life away. She shook it off and placed her signature next to the tiny x at the bottom of the card.

Placing the card carefully in its blue envelope, she checked the clock and saw she had just enough time to drop it in the intercampus mail before her math class.


"Benji is so bummed, man," Jesse said during their shift at the station Tuesday afternoon.

He and Beca were stacking on shelves that were back to back, so they were able to see one another as they moved down the row.

"Did they even give him a legitimate reason?" Beca questioned. "From what you've told me, he's got a good enough voice."

"He totally does! He practiced in our room for hours."

"Well, I've heard the Trebles are a bunch of assholes. It's probably for the best that they didn't let Benji in."

"Yeah, true," Jesse acknowledged. "I still feel bad, though. He wanted to perform with them really badly. That was one of the biggest reasons he even came to Barden."

Beca gave him a skeptical look.

"You're not serious."

He nodded, "Totally serious. He said Bumper—that's their captain's name—actually said to him that the smell of Benji's weird was affecting his vocal cords. And that Benji didn't have the necessary killer instinct."

"Killer instinct? For a cappella?" Beca questioned. She couldn't believe that was even a thing now. "See? Assholes."

"Yup," Jesse agreed as he moved to the next shelf. "I'm going to take him out for some pizza. Nothing soothes the burn of a cappella rejection like a nice-a pizza pie!"

He added his horrible fake Italian accent on the end which made Beca chuckle.

"Aww, look at you, being a good friend," she teased kindly.

Jesse beamed, "I'm a catch, I know."

"And humble, to boot!" she said with faux surprise. "It's a wonder I didn't overcome my severe case of the gay to fall for you."

He smirked, loving that he and Beca had a repartee steeped in heavy sarcasm. It was rare to find someone with which you could unabashedly joke around in that way.

"So, you wanna join us? Hanging out with a gorgeous girl, even one he has no chance with, could only do him good."

"Can't," Beca replied, going back to the desk for more CDs. "I have a Philosophy reading that I've been putting off. Plus, I have some Bellas pledge assignment I have to do."

Jesse practically squealed his excitement.

"Why are you so excited? It's literally just a big ass packet asking about my hobbies, class load and prior arrests."

"Because that means we're one step closer to being the Fearsome Foursome!" he explained as he joined her at the desk, plopping down in the chair.

Beca looked horrified. She was sincerely rethinking this whole thing.

"Oh relax, weirdo," Jesse quipped. "I know how averse you are to cliquey names. And, you know, fun in general."

Beca flicked his forehead as she walked past him, "You're such an ass. Maybe you should have joined the Treblemakers!"

It was Jesse's turn to look horrified.

"Beca, don't even joke about that. Not only would Benji have been completely betrayed, which would have made rooming with him incredibly awkward, but then I would've never had a chance with my boo thang."

Beca gaped at him over her left shoulder, "Did you just say 'thang?'"

"This is no time for Mean Girls quotes, Beca," he said severely. "Aubrey absolutely detests the Trebles."

"I wasn't-" Beca started to correct him about referencing a movie she had only seen once, but thought better of it. "Nevermind. And wow, something Aubrey and I agree on? Alert the media!"

He clasped his hands together, staring dreamily into the distance. "It's truly a miracle. I feel like I should start singing Deep Blue Something's 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' in this moment."

Beca practically fell over herself as she ran over to the desk to clasp her hand over his mouth.

"I beg of you, don't."

Jesse shrugged his shoulders, acquiescing for the moment. He checked his watch, noting it was time to call it quits.

"Enjoy your homework assignments while Benji and I are devouring deliciously unhealthy pizza," he said as they exited the station building.

"Oh, I'm already buzzing with anticipation," Beca retorted. "Enjoy your outstandingly heterosexual man date."

She gave him a small wave and they parted ways.


Friday night had arrived; Initiation Night.

Beca—wearing a pair of black jeans and a navy sleeveless tee under a fitted black leather jacket—stood uncomfortably outside the door to the Beta Epsilon Lambda Lambda Alpha house, debating internally whether to actually knock or to turn tail and run all the way back to her dorm.

Before she even had the chance to turn around, the door opened and Chloe smiled at her. She had a gold and blue scarf tied around her neck.

"Were you planning on taking your initiation outside or…?"

Beca instantly blushed. She wasn't about to tell Chloe that thoughts of bailing were looking favorable.

"Uh, no. I was- I just-" she stammered.

Chloe looked at her sympathetically.

"Nervous?"

Beca nodded.

Sure. That'll work.

Chloe stepped out and wrapped her arm around Beca's shoulder and guided her into the house, past a three sided statue with what appeared to be the same woman carved into it on each side. Chloe locked the door behind them.

"Don't worry," she said. "I won't let anything happen to you. This year's pledges are a great group of girls!"

As they entered the living room, Aubrey glanced up. With a tight but still somewhat friendly smile, she greeted them.

"Beca, you made it! Great, now that everyone's here we can begin."

After brief introductions, they headed down to the basement, which seemed more pit-like and cavernous than Beca had anticipated. There were what seemed like hundreds of candles, varying in size, providing the only light to the room.

"I can't believe they let my sexy fat ass in," a larger blonde girl—Fat Amy, she recalled—whispered to her in a thick Australian accent.

"I don't know what I'm doing here," she replied. She couldn't explain the wholly uneasy feeling she had being in that basement, but she knew she didn't like it.

"Livin' the dream!" Fat Amy said excitedly, granting her a large smile.

Chloe walked to the long table on the side of the room opposite the stairs where several scarves lay. She picked them up and began handing them out to the new pledges while Aubrey and the previous year's sisters—Kori, Mary Elise and Denise—pulled out two goblet looking cups from under the table.

When everyone had their scarves, Chloe returned to the front of the table and exchanged a nod with Aubrey; Kori, Mary Elise and Denise stood off to the left.

"We shall begin by drinking the blood of the sisters that came before you," Aubrey said as she picked up the half full goblet and handed it to Chloe.

Beca's eyes widened, terrified she'd accidentally signed up for a Heaven's Gate-like doomsday cult.

Oh, God. I'm going to die here and this scarf is going to be my pair of Nikes, her brain groaned.

Chloe stopped in front of her first and handed her the glass.

"Dude, no!" she refused quietly.

Chloe looked her in the eye and smiled.

"Don't worry, it's Boone's Farm," she whispered with a wink.

Beca relaxed a little at Chloe's reassurance and took the glass. She sniffed the contents first—it definitely smelled like Strawberry Hill wine. She took a bracing breath and tipped the liquid into her mouth and swallowed. Relieved would have been a severe understatement to how she felt when her taste buds registered that distinct Boone's Farm-y bite rather than the copper taste of blood.

Chloe moved down the line quickly, and then returned the glass to the table.

"Now," she said, looking at the seven young women before her. "If you will place your scarves in your right hand."

She mimed the motion for them while Beca casually glanced over at the others to make sure her scarf was, indeed, in her right hand.

Nailed it, she thought proudly.

"Now, repeat after me: I—state your name." Aubrey waited for the pledges to follow her instructions. "Promise to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of a Bella woman."

Beca noticed Chloe was staring pretty intently at her, a strange look on her face. She also noticed that she felt weird—her stomach churned, she felt hot and her head felt fuzzy.

"And I solemnly promise to never ally myself with anyone who fights against feminism and equality for all; but most especially will I only work to destroy the Treblemakers or may my lady parts be ripped out by wolves," Aubrey continued.

Wow, Jesse wasn't kidding. She really hates them- was Beca's last semi lucid thought.

As the girls finished repeating her words, Aubrey beamed with pride.

"You are all Bella women now."

The room erupted in ecstatic screams, but Beca's head swam. The room spun rapidly.

"Iterum incipiat," Chloe recited from behind.

Beca's eyes fluttered for a second and ultimately rolled back and shut as she fainted into Chloe's waiting arms.


"So how does this work exactly?" Fat Amy asked as she, Cynthia Rose, Jessica and Ashley lifted Beca's limp body onto the table while Lily placed Chloe's jacket under Beca's head. "We bleed the little tater tot, we Hulk out and witch slap those Trebles so hard that their man boobs concave?"

Stacie presented Aubrey with a medium sized, rectangular wooden box.

"Thank you, Stacie," Aubrey said, and rested it next to Beca's leg. She opened the top and removed a long, thin blade with a dark leather handle from its blue velvet lined resting place, carefully handing it to Chloe. "Not quite, Fat Amy."

Aubrey took a sliding step toward Beca's shoulders and lifted her so she was in a sitting position. "Stacie and Lily, will you please take her jacket off?"

Stacie and Lily quickly removed the tight jacket and Aubrey laid Beca back down. She looked out at the girls in front of her and proceeded to explain.

"The sisterhood of Beta Epsilon Lambda Lambda Alpha is sacred and we have been entrusted with abilities uncommon to the laypeople. With these abilities come great responsibilities. By taking the oath, you promised to commit your lives to protecting those who need it. Chloe?" Aubrey turned her head to her best friend, who looked on the verge of throwing up.

Chloe handed her the dagger and moved over to Beca's arm and carefully took it in her hands, turning it over.

"How the ritual works is we bleed the vessel—in this case, Beca—a little at a time, while reciting the incantation that will allow the spirit of our goddess, Hecate, to inhabit Beca's body, and then we drink. Her blood fortifies and strengthens our powers, but we only do a little at a time because any more would overwhelm both the vessel and us. The further along we go, the stronger we get, and the more Hecate takes control of the vessel, until finally we go and stop the Trebles," Aubrey continued to explain while placing a shallow cut down Beca's wrist.

Denise, who had stepped forward to grab the empty chalice, handed it to Chloe, who tilted Beca's hand just so, allowing the blood to drip into the glass. When it was about a third of the way full, Chloe turned Beca's wrist back and bent her elbow so Beca's forearm was vertical. Aubrey dabbed the cut with antiseptic and placed a small pad of gauze over it.

Chloe laid Beca's arm palm up on the table and she felt overcome with guilt. She took what she hoped to be a calming breath, cleared her throat and raised her hands to hover over Beca's body.

"Aperire mente; anima aperiat," she began. Aubrey signaled for the rest of the group to encircle the table and repeat after Chloe.

Hecate, we call you. Your humble servants bring you the vessel to allow your entrance to this mortal coil; the plans of our enemies we seek to spoil. Use this vessel, let your will be done; inhabit the body, let two become one.

The glass of blood was passed to each of the girls until they had all had a small amount. Chloe allowed her hands to hover over Beca once more, and she closed the spell.

"Allow no transgression to touch this vessel; make our enemies quake and tremble. Allow no memory of this to see the light; give the vessel the feeling of right. Porta clauderetur; mente lenire."

A beat of silence passed over the room before Aubrey clapped her hands once.

"Ok, ladies. We need to get Beca upstairs quickly before she comes to. Amy and Cynthia Rose, can you please carry her up? Denise and Ashley will help. Make sure to put her coat back on and we'll do a minor healing spell on her wrist, too."

"You got it, Chief," Fat Amy responded, giving Aubrey the classic finger gun and acknowledging wink combo.

"The rest of us will blow out these candles before we've got the fire department breaking down our door," Aubrey instructed.

She noticed Chloe's robotic like movements as she cleaned the dagger and returned it to its case.

"Hey," she spoke gently. "You ok?"

"Fine," Chloe deadpanned, not even bothering to glance in her direction, and closed the wooden box's top.

Aubrey grimaced at her and tried to offer a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Chloe-"

"It's fine, Aubrey," Chloe snapped. She shrugged one shoulder and glimpsed at her friend. "It has to be done, right?"

Chloe blew out a few candles and then headed up the stairs, flipping the light switch on her way.

"Yeah," Aubrey replied sadly, though Chloe was out of earshot. "It has to be done…"

If the Trebles weren't such douchebees and had just stuck to a cappella instead of trying to ruin everyone's lives by summoning Rahknar, this could've all been avoided, Aubrey thought bitterly and finished cleaning up.


"Beca?" Chloe's voice sounded far away. "Beca, you with me here?"

Beca shook her head and blinked a few times.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" she said, perplexed.

"Am I that boring that I caused you to go all space cadet?" Chloe laughed.

"No, never!" Beca hurriedly denied. "I think I just…" She looked down at her cup. "Too much punch, I guess."

Chloe nodded, "I completely understand. I have been on the receiving end of this punch's ability to sneak up on a person."

"I'm gonna go to the-" Beca started to say as she stood up, but immediately wobbled. The color drained from her skin.

Chloe was up off the couch like a shot and braced her so she didn't fall. She knew what this was, and it wasn't entirely the result of too much punch. Sure, Beca had had a couple of cups of the stuff in between when they initially woke her and now, but the after effects of the ritual were really harsh at first. They would lessen with time; at least she hoped.

"Woops!" Beca giggled, not hating the feeling of Chloe being this close.

"C'mon, drunky. Let's get you home."

Chloe guided them through the rest of the girls towards the front door and grabbed her coat. She caught Aubrey's eye from across the room and exchanged a grave look before leaving into the cool night air.


"Beca, where are your keys?"

"Mmmm," Beca thought really hard, tapping her finger on her lips and tilting her head to the side. "In one'uv my pockets?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. Clearly drunk Beca was also extremely unhelpful Beca. She patted the other girl's coat pockets and found nothing but her phone, so she stuffed her hand into Beca's jean pocket, which elicited some squirming.

"Whoa there, buy a girl dinner first!" Beca joked through an inebriated snicker.

Having successfully retrieved the keys, Chloe unlocked room 224's door and helped Beca inside.

This is the first time I've been in here with an actual pseudo invite, she thought to herself. And the lights on.

"Can I get you anyth'n?" Beca asked as she toddled in what Chloe assumed her drunken mind thought to be a smooth way to the mini fridge. "I've got water and soda and…tha's about it," she grinned.

She's a messy drunk, Chloe mused with a tiny, but fond smile. But she's a cute messy drunk.

Beca almost took another tumble, so Chloe stepped forward to stabilize her and sat her on the bed.

"I think you're the one who's gonna be needing some water, Beca," Chloe replied as she began divesting Beca of her jacket and shoes.

She looked around the room for some pjs, but as soon as she felt her shoes removed from her feet, Beca slid immediately under the covers and closed her eyes, only mumbling an acknowledgement of Chloe's suggestion.

Chloe grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and the aspirin off of Beca's shelf and set them on the desk, just above where her head rested. She wasn't sure what the remedy might be for the supernatural hangover Beca would likely experience in the morning, so she went with the old standbys.

She was just walking toward the door—confident Beca had fallen asleep—when she felt a tug on her arm. She looked down and saw Beca's eyes were still closed, but it was definitely her hand gripping her arm. Chloe kneeled next to the bed and pushed a little hair that had fallen in front of Beca's face behind the girl's ear.

"Stay," Beca whispered.

"Beca…" Chloe said warily.

It was one thing to stay the night when they were both sober and knew what they were saying, but Beca was-

"It's late and there are probably creepers running around campus," she said, one eye partially opened.

Chloe laughed lightly, if only Beca knew how right she was about that.

"Alright. But I'm sleeping in your bed. I don't care what people say: the floor is not good for anyone's back."

Chloe took off her shoes, jacket and long sleeved shirt so she was in just her jeans and tank top. She turned out the light and then carefully climbed over Beca and rested on her back.

After about ten minutes, Chloe was sure Beca was fast asleep—her breaths had evened out and she'd made no other comments. Chloe glanced over at the back of Beca's head and a fresh wave of guilt washed over her.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, pained.

"Why're you sorry, weirdo?" Beca tiredly mumbled, rolling over so she faced Chloe, but didn't open her eyes.

God damn it…

"Don't worry about it. Just get some sleep," she replied and closed her own eyes as well.


Days and weeks passed by, slowly and quickly, and Beca and Chloe grew closer.

They spent hours in the library together, studying—midterms had creeped up on them—or just hanging out, enjoying each other's company.

They laid outside under Beca's tree and listened to music. Sometimes Chloe could coax a conversation out of her, other times they basked in amiable and comfortable silences.

Some nights Chloe would surprise Beca—and Jesse, on a couple of occasions, when they were having bro time—with pizza or some other kind of take out. Chloe had devised a plan to try every restaurant around the Barden campus so Beca would know where to definitely go and avoid when she needed a break from the dining hall's standard and usually over processed grub.

Chloe would sporadically pop in to the station and bring Beca and Jesse coffee.

"Dude, why haven't you made your move yet?" Jesse all but interrogated once Chloe had left for class.

Beca rolled her eyes, "Because. It's just…"

She trailed off because, honestly? She didn't have a reason. Not a good one, anyway. Was she afraid of rejection? Naturally. That fear was common with any crush situation. But she was also pretty sure—like, 92%—that Chloe was into her.

Jesse threw her a knowing look. "Exactly. If you don't do it soon, someone else will," he said as he took a sip of his latte and walked off, leaving Beca to stew.

All the while, the ritual continued.

Once a week, the sisters of Beta Epsilon Lambda Lambda Alpha would gather for a progress meeting. They began the same: Aubrey asking for updates from everyone on their efforts to raise money for local animal shelters and offering suggestions on how those efforts could be better executed. Then, at some random point, she would simply say somnus and Beca would trance and be left susceptible to suggestion.

"Having Beca walk herself up and down the stairs for the ritual makes things much easier," Aubrey tried to rationalize.

Chloe absolutely hated it, but also didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

So, the group would follow Beca down to the basement where she would lay herself upon the table and the bleeding and recitation of the spell would commence.

Bleed. Heal. Repeat.


The weekend after midterms, Chloe and Beca were enjoying a well-deserved night in, full of mindless internet quizzes and YouTube videos and milkshakes.

Chloe had been asking Beca for weeks to share some of her music with her, but Beca would shy away from it. That night must've been special, though, because her request was met with a small smile and a nod.

Beca didn't bother asking Chloe to move from her seat at the computer desk. Instead she just worked around her and pulled up her extensive mix folder and opened a mash-up she was still working on of "Titanium" and La Roux's "Bulletproof" and put her headphones on.

"So, uh, I just find songs that have the same chord progressions and create a track that blends them together," she said relatively loudly, while animatedly gesturing with her hands. "So, like, this is the new bass line," she continued and pointed to one part of the screen. "And this is matching up down beats…"

Beca glanced over to make sure Chloe was following and was greeted with a smile and barely contained laughter. She gently removed her headphones and realized the volume of her voice.

"Oh, I'm talking really loud aren't I?"

"Maybe a little," Chloe granted. "But you're excited, so I'll forgive you this time."

"Gee, thanks," Beca replied sardonically. She glanced at the bigger monitor and quietly pointed out, "Uh… That's me, singing."

Chloe motioned for the headphones, which Beca gladly passed along, and put them on, immediately immersed in Beca's world.

She closed her eyes and let herself get lost for a moment, feeling the beats and rhythms and harmonies spread through her body. It was incredible. She felt the smile on her face grow to the point where she thought her cheeks might have split open, and when Chloe opened her eyes, Beca's smile mirrored her own.

"This is so good!" Chloe said, about as loud as Beca had when she wore the headphones. "Let's see what else you've got in here."

She spent the next 20 minutes scrolling through Beca's seemingly endless mix folder. Chloe noticed there were quite a few mash-ups with "Titanium," as well as a lot of Bruno Mars's songs. Of the ones she clicked on, her favorite had to be the one titled "Just the Dream You Are."

"These are amazing, Beca," Chloe told her genuinely as she removed the headphones and placed them on the desk.

Beca glanced away while a blush creeping up her neck threatened to pop out of her black and gold sweater. "They're alright, I guess," she responded modestly. "I kind of just threw them together."

Chloe shook her head. "No, I mean it! You are so talented. You're amazing," she said, placing her hand on Beca's and squeezing a little.

Beca looked at their joined hands and then at Chloe's eyes.

Those stupid, perfect blue eyes, she thought.

She heard Jesse's voice float around in her head, too: Why haven't you made your move yet?

A beat filled with perfect silence, aside from the tiny crackles of what Beca determined to either be the electricity between them or her brain's warning that she was about to do something stupid—she decided to go with the former—passed before Beca leaned forward.

It was soft and hard, gentle and rough all at once. The moment had been building for quite some time. Jesse was right—if Beca didn't make a move, then Chloe would definitely have other people who wouldn't chicken out.

She cupped Chloe's jaw as they kissed and only pulled away when she felt Chloe pull back first.

"Wow…" Chloe whispered; her eyes still closed.

Beca panicked a little.

Oh, my god. What if she didn't like it? What if she's not into me? What if I'm a terrible kisser?! Get it together, Mitchell.

"Was that ok? I mean-" she said, unsure.

Chloe finally opened her eyes and smiled softly at her. "Yeah," she replied. "More than."


A few days later, Chloe and Aubrey were in the midst of a yoga routine—Aubrey swore it would relax her—discussing Beca, their kiss and how Chloe was dealing with everything.

"I can't let this go any further, right?" Chloe asked while stretching her arms high above her head. "That would just be wrong of me. I feel like I'm taking advantage of her or something!"

Though she'd kept her emotions pretty well guarded that night, when Beca kissed her Chloe had felt so guilty she almost threw up in the other girl's mouth. In fact, on her walk back to the sorority house, she actually had vomited. And cried. It was a horrific scene.

Aubrey inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to formulate the nicest response possible.

"While she's not my top choice of romantic partners for you, for an innumerable amount of reasons, I also know that when you fall for someone…you fall hard." She turned to look Chloe in the eye, "And I've never seen you fall this hard, Chloe. Like my dad always says, 'If you're not here to win, get the hell out of Kuwait.'"

Chloe sighed heavily and sat down on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest.

"I have to tell her what's happening though. It's the right thing to do. God, Aubrey," she whimpered. "She's been telling me how awful she's been feeling lately, and you can see it! She's dropped weight, and she was already thin! She's getting some severe dark circles under her eyes…"

Aubrey sat down next to her friend.

"You know she'll just freak out and run if you tell her, though. The Trebles know who she is and, if she runs, we won't be able to protect her."

Chloe's face took on an even more pained look than before, which Aubrey didn't think was possible.

One of the downsides of the ritual they were performing—and if you asked Chloe, there were many—was that the vessel was spiritually vulnerable for 24 hours after each bleeding. So, the Trebles, if they really wanted to, could easily steal Beca's soul in that time period. Thankfully they were usually too busy coming up with their competition arrangements. They were aca-idiots for not capitalizing, but Aubrey wasn't about to complain.

"This sucks," Chloe pouted.

Aubrey gave Chloe's arm a supportive squeeze and her most sympathetic smile.

"I know, sweetie. I'm lying to Jesse, too, and I hate it."

Chloe nodded and added, "At least you're not bleeding him and letting his soul and body be temporarily taken over by an ancient super power. You have a good chance of being forgiven if he ever finds out."

"Thanks for being an optimist for my sake," Aubrey laughed humorlessly.

"That's what friends are for," Chloe smiled sadly.


Jesse noticed Beca hadn't quite been herself the last few weeks. If he wanted to be honest—he didn't—it had started when she joined the Bellas nearly two months ago. He'd been able to look past the mood swings—Beca could be grumpy, or borderline ornery, more often than she'd be willing to admit—and the initial appearance of the dark circles—it was college, no one slept well or near enough. But the noticeable weight loss had put it over the top.

Her features were harsh and sharp, with her sunken in cheeks and cheekbones threatening to tear through her skin. The dark eye makeup she typically wore now gave her raccoon eyes when mixed with the dark circles underneath. They were a few days away from winter break and he hoped that would help.

"Beca?" he said cautiously. He flinched slightly when she turned and looked at him. "You don't look so good… Everything ok?"

She nodded and went back to stacking.

"Yeah, it's just a cold or something."

"Beca…" he stressed his doubt. "You've been off for weeks, months now."

He heard the snap and crunch of a jewel case breaking.

"Don't worry about it, boy scout," she nearly growled.

Jesse stood from where he was seated at the desk and walked over to his friend.

"What is up with you?" he asked, setting his hand on her shoulder.

As soon as she'd felt the contact, she slapped his hand away. She gave him the deadliest glare he'd ever received in his life before grabbing her backpack and heading for the door.

"Beca, wait!" he called after her. "I'm just concerned! If you don't want to talk about it, fine."

Beca paused and took a deep breath. She honestly didn't know why she was so testy and on edge lately, but she didn't like it. The other day she snapped on Chloe, too. Chloe, of all people. Her fucking girlfriend. She had felt so guilty and apologized profusely. But…she was just .tired.

"I'm sorry, ok?" she said remorsefully and turned around. "It's this cold, it's really messing with me."

He gave her an understanding nod.

"You wanna hang out tonight? I'll stop by the café and get you some soup and we can just watch a movie or something?"

He had plans with Aubrey that night, but he'd gladly cancel to make sure his best bro was ok.

Beca rubbed her face in an attempt to wake up a little bit.

"I wish, man, but I have my last Bellas meeting before break in a little bit and then I still have to pack."

Ugh, so much to do, she thought.

She checked her phone and saw she had 45 minutes to change and grab her things for the meeting and then get to the sorority house.

"Look, I gotta go. I have to change and grab a couple things before the meeting, but we'll hang out before I leave, ok? I promise," Beca told him with a wave and headed out of the building towards Baker Hall.

Jesse didn't know why, but he had a feeling that whatever was going on with Beca had something to do with the Bellas. He just hoped Aubrey and Chloe weren't part of it. He loved Aubrey, and Chloe really seemed like a cool chick, who also happened to make Beca really happy. But anyone who hurt his friend that badly couldn't and wouldn't get away with it.

So, he decided to follow Beca to the Beta Epsilon house and find out what was going on once and for all.


Jesse kept a good amount of distance between Beca and himself as he followed her to the sorority house.

After he saw the front door shut, he made his way into the bushes in front of the living room window as stealthily as possible and peered in. He was thankful it got dark so early, because otherwise his cover would have been blown immediately.

Everything seemed fine. Aubrey and Chloe were next to Aubrey's large dry erase board, markers in hand, surrounded by various mock ups of flyers and pictures of adoptable animals, while the rest of the girls sat on the couch or floor. He couldn't hear anything, but it was pretty obvious they were plotting out the adoption drive they had scheduled for the first week of February.

He'd been there, crouched in the bushes, for about 30 minutes and was ready to give up. Beca was alright—she looked like hell, but she'd looked like hell for a while and still hadn't seen a doctor.

Maybe she does just have a nasty cold bug, he reasoned.

Jesse was just about to go when the mood shifted in the house. Beca's face went from exhausted, but probably invested to completely void of emotion. It was subtle, but he'd noticed.

He watched as she stood from the couch and walked into the foyer, then out of his sightline. Wherever she went, the rest of the girls followed.

He waited about five minutes—just long enough to be sure everyone had left the room before he sprang from the bushes and hurried to the door.

Jesse pressed his ear against the hardwood, but once again couldn't hear anything, so gently, he tried to doorknob. To his surprise, it gave easily and he opened the door and quietly stepped inside. He took one small step to allow himself enough room to shut the door as much as he dared without making much noise, and then turned his attention back to the foyer.

He deduced immediately that the girls were no longer on the main level and mentally ran through a list of possible places they could have gone, when he noticed a door down the hall slightly ajar and a tiny amount of light coming from behind it. He tiptoed his way to it and found it to be the way to the basement.

He wasn't prepared for what he found as he crept down the stairs.

Beca lay motionless on a table surrounded by the rest of the Bellas reciting God only knew what, while Aubrey held a cup under what looked to be a pretty bad cut on Beca's wrist, which Chloe was preparing to bandage.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted as he ran down the remaining steps and pushed his way through the circle of girls.

"Jesse, I-" Aubrey froze immediately. She didn't know how to explain what he'd just seen.

"Beca? Beca?!" he called out, trying to wake his friend by lightly and repeatedly tapping her face. "What the hell did you do to her?!" he yelled at everyone and no one in particular. "Bec, c'mon. We gotta go."

Chloe looked to be on the verge of tears, Aubrey was still in shock and the rest of the Bellas weren't sure whether to try and stop him or not.

"Evigilo," Chloe whispered brokenly, to bring Beca out of her trance.

Jesse swung Beca's uninjured arm over his shoulder and picked her up like she was an infant. With how small she felt and looked in his arms, she may as well have been. He got her up the stairs quickly and all but ran out of the house.

He was still confused as hell about what he'd just seen, but he wasn't going to stop until he and Beca were back in Baker Hall with the door locked behind them.


It took Beca about an hour to fully come out of her stupor.

It took her another 20 to 30 minutes to fully comprehend what Jesse had told her.

She cradled her now bandaged wrist and stared blankly at her wall, conflicted.

She felt hurt, betrayed, used, violated… At the same time, she also just wanted Chloe there to hold her and tell her it was just a bad dream.

In the end, she and Jesse agreed to not speak to Chloe, Aubrey or any of the other Bellas. They figured it would be easy with Beca heading back to Seattle for winter break and Jesse headed home as well.

Too bad they underestimated just how deeply they were involved in the supernatural shit storm that loomed ominously above Barden.