A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story! I hope that everyone has had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. It means a lot to read all your kind words and I hope you enjoy this final installment as well. The title for this section comes from the song "Stop the Bus" by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Enjoy!
"Get Out the Old Flare Gun and Throw It to the Sky. Tonight You're Sleeping Next to Me"
In spite of the few bumps in the road, life continues on almost as it has before. They decide to splurge a little and use the money that Beca's dad gave her for food and fun stuff instead of bills. Beca also uses some of the money to take Jesse out to dinner and a movie for his birthday; even though it's nothing spectacular, he still tells her that it's the best birthday he's ever had. "That's what you said last year." Beca reminds him, laying her head against his shoulder as they lay together in bed.
"Well, last year I had an awesome birthday. This year I had an awesome birthday." Jesse shrugs. "I'm easy to please."
Beca makes the effort to call her father at least twice a week to check up on his health and his week and she even spends an arduous ten minutes making small talk with Shelia just so it's clear that she's "making an effort." They've also started trying to put a few extra dollars and coins into a jar on their kitchen counter labeled "Visiting the Parents Fund" so that Jesse can see his family sometime before he turns thirty.
Jesse continues to try and make connections and Beca continues to hound local studios and radio stations, determined not to let her meeting with Sterling Spencer impact how she feels about her music. "That's just one person's opinion." Jesse reminds her one night when she feels like throwing the equipment right out the window. "You're going to let one single person's opinion influence the rest of your life?" Beca figures that if she has to be influenced by a single opinion, it might as well be her own.
On one of the few days that they both have off, they make a plan to head down to Venice Beach and enjoy some free entertainment, but wake up to find the sky grey and pouring down rain. Still, they don't have to work and it's not like there's a shortage of movies around the house, much to Beca's exasperation. They started watching Inglourious Basterds but Beca fell asleep before Shoshanna even escaped the cellar and now Jesse is stretched out on the couch with her head in his lap, running his fingers absently through her hair as he continues to watch the movie and listen to the rain beating against the window. When his phone starts ringing, he considers ignoring it because he feels so comfortable that he really doesn't want to move and he really doesn't think he can fish the device out of his pocket without waking Beca up. But in the end he manages to twist around so that he can reach his back pocket while Beca snoozes on, unbothered by the movement.
"Is this Jesse Swanson?" The number and the voice on the other end of the line are unfamiliar. "This is Bradley Parker, I work over at Magnolia Film's music department. Your résumé ended up on my desk and I was wondering if you were still interested in coming in for an interview. We've got an internship opening up here and it's not much but I actually went to Barden U. myself back in the Stone Age so I thought I'd give you an interview."
Jesse can hardly believe what he's hearing. He almost asks the guy to repeat himself but he doesn't want to blow the interview before it even happens by giving off the impression that he's a total idiot. "Yeah. Yes, yes sir. Absolutely."
They set up the interview for later in the week and when Jesse hangs up the phone, he just stares down at the device in his hands. It seems hard to believe that finally, finally he's getting a shot. He wouldn't be surprised if he woke up and realized the whole thing was just a dream.
Beca lifts her head, blinking her eyes and looking disoriented. "What did I miss?" She mumbles, glancing toward the TV. "Did they kill the Nazis?"
"I got an interview." Jesse says, his voice hardly above a whisper, like he worries if he says the words too loud it's going to jinx everything.
Beca sits upright, her eyes wide. "What?"
A slow smile spreads across Jesse's face. "I have an interview. On Wednesday. With a movie studio."
Beca lets out a very Chloe-like squeal of delight and throws her arms around his shoulders. "Oh my God!" She's practically vibrating with excitement and Jesse feels his smile growing wider. "Oh my God! I can't believe it!"
And, honestly, neither can he.
Jesse goes to interview and feels like he and Bradley really connect and not just because they spend twenty minutes arguing about which John Hughes film is the best. Jesse's not sure he can work for someone who thinks Pretty in Pink is better than The Breakfast Club but if he actually gets the internship he'll do his best to get over it. But he tries not to get his hopes up or count his chickens before they hatch. He and Beca try and go on as though the interview never happened but there's an air of anticipation hanging in the apartment now and Jesse doesn't miss the way that Beca jumps every time his phone rings. The anticipation is nearly killing him but he's trying to be good at waiting.
Going on about life as normal includes spending hours standing around the video store, wondering if anyone was ever going to come inside and give him something to do other than contemplate putting the movies in different cases and then watching as his co-workers tried to figure out how to put everything back to normal. Not that Jesse would ever really do that. Unless that sixteen-year-old punk Bobby was working. He might do it just to mess with Bobby.
Jesse's phone rings as he's trying to convince his manager that they should ditch the kid friendly movies they show in the store for some David Fincher and his heart leaps in his chest when he sees Bradley's number on the caller ID. He turns away from his manager without offering an explanation and tries to sound nonchalant when he answers the phone.
"Hey Jesse, sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you." Bradley's tone is warm and easy, like he's chatting with an old friend. "I had to interview a few other people but I think that you're our guy. Like I said, I can only offer you an internship right now but if you play your cards right, there's no telling what might happen in the future. It seems like you'd be a really good fit for our department."
Jesse knows that he's grinning like an idiot and he honestly doesn't care. If he didn't think that Bradley would probably recant his offer, Jesse figures that he'd break into song right there in the middle of the video store.
"Thank you, thank you so much. I promise you won't regret it." Jesse gushes, wishing that there was someway that he could make Bradley really understand what's happening here. Because it's not just an internship; it's an opportunity, it's the chance to finally make money working in his chosen field, it's not having to eat ramen noodles every night. Maybe just every other night.
"Yeah, yeah kid. I'll see you Monday."
Jesse hangs up the phone and turns to face his manager. "I just got a job. Well, an internship. A paid internship. Holy shit." He just stares at the other man, still feeling a little bit stunned.
His manager gives him a clap on the back and a genuine smile. "Good for you Jesse." He says with a nod. "Now I don't feel so bad telling you we're going out of business."
Beca is standing in the kitchen eating a bowl of ramen noodles when Jesse comes running into the apartment and lifts her off her feet (not that that's too difficult to do, seeing as she's all of five feet) and knocks her bowl out of her hands. "I got the internship!" He spins her around, giving her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "I can't believe it!"
Beca laughs and hugs him tighter when he sets her back on her feet again. "I knew you would get it." She kisses him. "I'm so proud of you." She kisses him again and then once more for good measure.
Jesse grins at her. "I have a good feeling Bec. About this, about your music, about all of it. Things are changing."
Beca really hopes that he's right.
While Jesse dedicates himself to his internship, Beca continues to slave away with her music. She's not sending out so many mixes or flash drives, concentrating instead on making music for herself, like she used to do when she was in high school and college, when it was more about her own enjoyment and less about who was going to hear her tracks and what job she was going to get. There's no denying the fact that it would definitely be amazing to get a job making music but Beca has come to accept and appreciate the fact that if she's not enjoying what she's doing then there's no point in doing it at all. Seeing how happy Jesse is, listening to him talk about his day, it's all made her realize that she wants to be that happy and she's never going to have that if her music is all about trying to make something that she thinks other people will want to hear. Beca finds that she enjoys sitting down at her computer a lot more after she comes to that conclusion.
Jesse has been working with Bradley for a little more than three months when he gets invited to a studio function and forces Beca to get all dressed up and tag along with him. "I think you'll have more fun without me." She protests when Jesse tells her that she can wear a fancy dress and curl her hair and wear heels. He's partly teasing her because he knows that she's not the type of girl to go crazy over the excuse to dress up but a part of him really wants to see her all dolled up so he can show her off. "You can talk about movies with all your work buddies and not have to worry about keeping me entertained."
Of course, in the end, Beca doesn't need much convincing to go with him. She wants to support him and if that means wearing heels for the first time since she left the Bellas, then she guesses she can do that. She puts on a slinky black dress and does in fact curl her hair and put on eye shadow and when Jesse sees her he lets out a low whistle. "You clean up nice Mitchell." He sings a few bars of Timberlake's "Suit and Tie" until she threatens to throw her shoe at him.
Jesse does, in fact, spend the majority of his time talking about movies with most of the partygoers but Beca doesn't mind because it's cute to see him so nerdy and in his element. She's hanging off to the sidelines as she watches her boyfriend rant about the genius of David Fincher's art direction when one of the other plus-ones comes to stand beside her. Beca tries to remember his name but can't really drudge up much other than the fact that he's the date of the woman who does a lot of set design work for the studio. He seems about as interested in the rousing film debate as Beca feels so they start talking about L.A. (he's a native and is interested in the views of an outsider) and the merits of modern day music. "So what is it that you do, Beca Mitchell?" The guy, who's name is apparently Hal, asks during a lull in the conversation.
"I want to make music." Beca tells him, tapping the sides of her now empty wine glass. She wants a refill but she doesn't want to walk away from the only person in the place not currently geeking out over movies.
"Oh, so you're a singer?" Hal arches an eyebrow. "I wouldn't have guessed that. Though they say everyone in L.A. either wants to sing or act so…"
Beca shakes her head. "No, I want to produce music." She clarifies. "I make a lot of my own tracks, working with different styles of music and stuff. That's what I like to do."
Hal looks impressed. "My brother manages 99.7, you ever listen to that station?" Beca shrugs. "They play a lot of different stuff, not just all that crappy pop Justin Bieber shit. I can give him some of your music if you want."
"Really?" Beca gives him a suspicious look. "Why? You just met me."
Hal just shrugs. "I was in your shoes once too, kid. Starting out, trying to make my mark. I might have been born here but I still had to fight my way to the top just like everyone else."
Beca agrees to send him some of her tracks and they exchange contact information and even though she thinks that it's thoughtful of this perfect stranger to take an interest in her budding career (or lack thereof), she tries not to get too excited about it. After all, Beca is sure things like this happen all the time. He doesn't owe her anything after all, so there's no guarantee that he'll even care about their conversation in the morning.
"Sorry I sort of left you on your own." Jesse apologizes as they walk back to their apartment sometime way after midnight. He's carrying Beca's heels in one hand and making sure to watch where he steps because apparently the consequence of dragging her to the party in heels and then deciding not to get a taxi back to the apartment is giving Beca his shoes and going barefoot through the Los Angeles streets. Not that he minds so much, because watching Beca trying to walk in his shoes is worth it. "I kept getting caught up in all these conversations."
Beca shrugs, slipping her hand into his free one. "It's okay. I started talking to this one guy; he said his brother worked for some local radio station or something and he said he'd pass along some of my stuff." She shrugs again, trying to make light of the situation. "I might e-mail him."
Jesse nods. "Yeah, Julie's husband, right?" Beca gives him a how the heck would I know look. "You should definitely e-mail him, it could be your big break." He smiles at her.
"I doubt he'll even remember me." Beca points out but she agrees to at least give it a shot anyway.
Three blocks away from their apartment Beca agrees to let Jesse have his shoes back if he carries her the rest of the way and she's not at all surprised when he agrees to give her a piggy-back ride back to their place because that's just the type of guy that Jesse is. She rests her head against his shoulder and closes her eyes, listening to the sounds of the still thrumming city all around them and thinks I love this, I love this city, I love you and a feeling of contentment sets into her very bones. It's easy to believe that everything will work out in moments like this one.
When they get back to their building, Jesse tries to set Beca down but she tightens her grip on him and makes a grumble of protest and he rolls his eyes but carries her up four flights of stairs. "Next time, you're carrying me home." He tells her as he manages to unlock the door without dropping her on the floor.
Jesse tries to drop her on the bed but Beca pulls him down with her and she kisses him as she slowly starts to undo the buttons on his shirt, sliding the fabric off his shoulders. Her lips taste like red wine with just a hint of the lip gloss she put on before they left earlier in the evening and Jesse never wants to stop kissing her. "I love you." He whispers against her lips as he reaches up to unzip the back of her dress.
"Ditto." Beca breathes, arching her back off the bed in order to make it easier for him to unzip her dress.
But Jesse pauses, pulling away slightly so that they're face to face. Beca makes a soft sound of disappointment. "Wait. Did you just willingly quote a line from a movie?" He questions. "This is monumental."
Beca groans and tries to pull him in for another kiss. "I thought we were in the middle of something." She protests, even though she knows that she brought this on herself by uttering that one stupid word. She should have known that Jesse never would have let it pass unnoticed and uncommented on.
"I need to remember this as the moment that Beca Mitchell finally embraced the awesomeness of movies."
"You are such a weirdo." Beca leans up and kisses him, sufficiently distracting him from his excitement over her discovering the joy of movies. Which, for the record, has not happened. She just happened to really like Ghost.
Jesse wakes her up the following morning whistling "Unchained Melody" and Beca hits him with her pillow and pulls the covers over her head in an effort to block him out. It works for a little while and then he wakes her up again in a different, far less annoying way and she can't bring herself to complain.
Beca emails a few of her tracks to Hal and tries to put it out of her mind because she really doesn't expect anything to come of it. She continues to work the breakfast and lunch shifts at work so that she has evenings off to work on her music and spend time with Jesse. She gets put in charge of training the new girl at work; she's eighteen and from a small town in Iowa, fresh out of high school and determined to make her name as an actress. It makes Beca think about her conversation with Hal and how he pointed out that everyone in L.A. just wants to be someone else.
The new girl and her slightly annoying idealism remind Beca of Chloe and she starts e-mailing her old friend more actively. She finds out that Chloe is still living with Aubrey and helping run the dance studio and has been acting in a few local theatre productions. Chloe seems much happier than she was when she left L.A., which is a relief. Beca figures that there's a way to get exactly what you want regardless of where you are, as long as you have the right people with you.
Much to Beca's surprise, she gets a call from Hal's brother Scott, who wants to use her mixes to fill the eight to midnight time slot on the station. It's not exactly Beca's dream job, which still involves working in a studio and producing music, but it's still going to give her the opportunity to let people hear the tracks that she's been working on and she's finally, finally getting paid to do something with her music. "I told you that things were doing to start changing." Jesse remarks when Beca tells him about the radio station. "You did it Bec."
"We did it." Beca corrects. "I seem to remember hearing that someone else in this room is working his dream job."
Working for Barden's radio station made Beca pretty comfortable around a soundboard and she picks up the ropes pretty quickly when she starts at 99.7 and before too long she's allowed in the booth without any sort of supervision. There's always someone hanging around the station but for the most part Beca is by herself, listening to her music fill the corners of the studio. Knowing that there are other people out there listening to her tracks fills her with this odd feeling of gratification and Beca figures that there are worse things to be doing with her life.
She keeps working her waitressing job a few days a week just because if she didn't have something to fill her time with during the day while Jesse's at work she'd probably go crazy. Beca doesn't really like the fact that their schedules aren't aligned anymore but it's not like she's going to start complaining about the first real job that she's managed to get since moving to L.A. Yeah it sucks that Jesse is usually already asleep by the time she gets home but they've worked through this sort of thing before and she's confident they can get into a grove again.
Everything changes when Beca gets a phone call from Joy Benson, who is one of the studio heads for Ink Records, which is an independent label that has a reputation for ferreting out emerging talent. Apparently Beca's show is popular with the interns who work for the label and Joy happened to overhear one of her broadcasts one night and would it be possible to convince Beca to leave the station to come work for their production team? "I like your sound. It's edgy and fresh and raw. I think you'd fit in nicely with the rest of our team." Joy tells Beca, who can't help but think back to her interview with Sterling Spencer and how he made all those qualities sound like bad things. Clearly Jesse was right; everything is just a matter of opinion.
Beca finds working at Ink Records to be everything that she'd always imagined as a teenager when she dreamt about going to L.A. and working for a real studio. She gets to jump right in and start working with other producers and artists on various projects and Beca is glad there's no awkward "new girl" stage because she feels like she's waited long enough to really get involved in this sort of thing. The hours are better than what she was working at the station and so is the money, which isn't Beca's primary motivator of course but it's nice to have actual food in the cabinets and the refrigerator. Everyday Beca wakes up and just feels happy. She's in L.A., she's working on her music and she's got Jesse. It's better than the life she imagined for herself at eighteen when she accepted her diploma from her high school principal and envisioned herself getting the heck out of this town and going to the big city. It's funny how life has a way of working out like that.
Before they know it, the holiday season is upon them once more and streetlamps are wrapped in garland and store windows are panoramas of Christmas cheer before Halloween is even over. Even though Beca is generally opposed to holiday cheer of any kind, she does agree to go to their neighbors' Halloween party when she runs into Tess in the hallway one afternoon and, of course, drags Jesse along with her. She refuses to do a couples costume however, because she has to draw the line somewhere.
They celebrate their second Thanksgiving in their little apartment and once again they decline to try and cook a turkey because Jesse really doesn't want to have to make the fire department work on a holiday and Beca wants to take his comment offensively but she's pretty sure he has a point because it's not like she has a lot of experience with cooking. They order takeout again and spend the day enjoying one another's company. This year when Beca's father calls she doesn't decline his call and she even lets herself get roped into participating in Jesse's hour-long Skype with his parents, though she does find an excuse to leave when Jesse's mom starts bringing the family dogs up to the camera to say hello to Jesse.
Beca has never been one for cheesy traditions but she can't help but think about everything that she has to be thankful for that night as she tries to fall asleep next to an already snoring Jesse. She couldn't be happier with her job and their financial situation has definitely improved from where they were last year. And Jesse is getting the chance to work on scoring an actual honest to God film, under the careful direction of Bradley of course. But it's still a start and Beca can tell that he's never been happier either. She's never been the type of girl who dreamt about her Prince Charming when she was a little kid or who spent hours planning her wedding or factoring a boyfriend into her future plan for herself but Beca couldn't imagine her life in L.A. without Jesse and it's hard to want anything past what she already has. Beca realizes that, despite all the bumps in the road, she has a lot to be thankful for.
For Christmas that year, they decide to forego exchanging presents once again and instead take a road trip back to Atlanta so Jesse can see his parents and Beca can visit her Dad and Shelia. They decide not to tell his parents they're coming, though Jesse almost caves when his mom starts guilt tripping him again and seems incredibly disappointed that yet another Christmas is going to go by with him on the other side of the country. Beca mentions the trip to her dad just in case he and Shelia have some sort of Christmas tradition that doesn't involve his wayward daughter but both Robert and Shelia sound genuinely happy at the idea of having her and Jesse stay with them for a few days. "This will be our first Christmas together since you were fourteen." Robert remarks after Beca tells him the news and Beca feels a little stab of guilt. She's not perfect, not by a long shot, but she's definitely making an effort to improve and that has to count for something.
Beca should have guessed that taking a road-trip with Jesse would be a lot like doing anything else with him: dorky, a bit annoying and a lot of fun. He's the type of guy who insists that they have to honk the horn whenever they cross over a state line and he's full of so-called fun facts about different movies that were filmed in each state and insists that they have to check out "national landmarks" like a state park full of albino squirrels or a nuclear fallout shelter. Beca finally puts her foot down and decides that the only time they're going to stop is to eat, sleep and go to the bathroom. "There's always the drive back." Jesse points out and Beca groans.
When they get to Jesse's house, his parents go ballistic, like it's the Second Coming or something happening in their front yard. Beca would find it a little terrifying if she didn't find it so adorable. Jesse's mom is crying and there are dogs jumping around everywhere and Jesse looks pretty happy himself and she feels like it's worth the epic cross-country drive and all the landmarks.
Beca has never been to Jesse's childhood home before and doesn't waste any time poking around in his old bedroom, which has remained largely unchanged since he left for college. There are movie posters all over the walls and books about film stuffed into the shelves and a few "you gave it your best shot" type medals and trophies on top of the book cases. Jesse shrugs and puts one of the trophies in a drawer, a slightly sheepish look on his face. "I wasn't exactly the athletic type as a kid."
Jesse's bed isn't big enough for both of them to sleep in without one of them undoubtedly knocking the other onto the floor at some point in the night so Jesse's mom suggests they take the pull-out couch in the living room. Beca figures this is his mom's way of saying "I know that you two are living in sin together but hopefully you'll refrain from having sex in our living room." Janet and Christopher Swanson are exactly the type of people Beca would have expected them to be after knowing Jesse for the past six years. It's easy to see how these two people raised someone like him. They make Beca feel right at home and Janet has no shortage of embarrassing childhood memories or recipes to share with her.
"I like your family." Beca remarks after the house has gone to bed for the night. The pull-out couch isn't exactly the most comfortable mattress in the world but she figures she can make do for a few days, though she has the feeling that she's going to have trouble adjusting to the sounds of silence after becoming so used to the constant noise of the city outside the window.
The white lights from the Christmas tree make the living room shine, bathing Jesse's face in a warm glow as he smiles at her. "They like you too." He brushes a lock of hair off her check, tucking it behind her ear. "Thank you."
"For what?" Beca questions, snuggling closer to him.
"For this, for coming with me to visit my parents, for making all of this work." Jesse tells her. "I've missed being here."
"I know." Beca kisses his cheek. "I'm sorry."
Jesse kisses her softly. "You know I wouldn't trade anything, right? That crappy apartment, the city, that's home." He kisses her again. "With you."
Beca can't keep a grin from stretching across her face. "You're such a sweet talker." She teases. But she doesn't mind.
"I watch a lot of movies, I've picked up a few tricks." Jesse tells her.
They spend the next three days with Jesse's family and Beca can't complain about the fact that someone else is taking care of things for a change. It's nice not to have to cook dinner (even though she offers to help Janet with every meal and often ropes Jesse into helping her with cleanup duty) or worry about anything aside from whether they should go to the Botanical Garden's Christmas light show or drive to Lake Lanier. Beca's never been a holiday person, but after spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with Jesse and his family, she understands how some people can be.
The day after Christmas, they drive to Beca's dad's house and even though Jesse has run into Robert on a few occasions, it's the first official time that he's been over to his house and Beca can tell that Jesse is trying to make a good impression, even though he doesn't need to bother. Beca knows that her father loves Jesse because he's been taking care of her in the big, bad city, even though she feels like she's been doing a decent job of taking care of herself.
Robert and Shelia take them out to dinner and put them up in a guest room that feels bigger than their entire apartment back in L.A. Jesse feels a little bit like he's staying in a hotel and he's definitely not going to complain. The only disappointing thing is the lack of Beca anywhere in the house; aside from a few high school pictures, there's not a lot of proof that she exists at all. "We should visit your mom." Jesse remarks. "I've never met her and I want to hear embarrassing stories about you."
"There aren't any." Beca tells him frankly. "I was the perfect child."
Jesse rolls his eyes at her. "Nice try. Seriously, we should go visit so I can pump her for information."
"Well unless you want to know what my favorite color was when I was ten I don't think she's going to be very useful." Beca tells him. "You know way more about me than she ever will." There's a bitterness to her tone that she wishes she could get rid of but it's not like Jesse doesn't already know that things aren't ideal between them.
Jesse puts his arms around her waist and pulls her to him, kissing the side of her neck. "Good. I like having the monopoly on your secrets." Beca relaxes against him, instantly feeling better. He's the only one who can do that to her. "So what was ten-year-old Beca's favorite color?"
"Pink." Beca shrugs. "I wasn't always so original."
They stay with Beca's parents for two days before getting back in the car once again and driving to Charleston. When Chloe found out about their holiday plans, she begged and cajoled until Beca agreed to extend their route to include Charleston for a day trip. Aubrey seems genuinely happy to see Beca and listens intently while Beca talks about L.A. and how things are going in the City of Angels. Chloe and Aubrey's apartment is pretty much exactly how Beca would have expected: feminine and extremely tidy, with everything coordinated right down to the plates in the kitchen cabinets. Aubrey cooks dinner and Chloe handles the dessert and Beca can tell that they both seem sincerely happy and content in the life they've chosen. It's good to see Chloe finally in her niche and Aubrey finally happy and relaxed. Beca and Jesse's plans to get a hotel room are tossed aside after a few glasses of wine and Beca makes herself comfortable on the couch while Jesse makes a pallet on the floor beside her. They wake up in the morning to the smell of Chloe making waffles and fresh-squeezed orange juice, which is a pretty heavenly combination.
They aren't due back at their respective jobs until after the first of the year, so they don't face the same time crunch that they did when they left L.A. Jesse still insists that they stop at a few roadside attractions, in spite of Beca's protests. She eventually learns to just shut up and let Jesse have his fun and just tease him about the amount of souvenirs that he's accumulating later on.
On New Year's Eve they get a hotel room in Kansas and plan on doing nothing more exciting than ordering room service and watching the ball drop on TV. If they can even stay awake that long.
Jesse lounges around on the bed, channel surfing, while Beca showers off a day's worth of travel. He turns the volume on the TV so he can listen to her sing Janis Joplin to herself and he's almost positive that this is what perfect feels like.
They order way too much food and a bottle of champagne and Beca is pretty sure that she's not going to make it to midnight. She's already feeling a little bit drunk and laying with her head on Jesse's chest makes her want to close her eyes and sleep until it's the new year.
Beca eventually does fall asleep and Jesse decides to try and stick it out until midnight because he's always been a fan of ushering in the New Year, as cheesy as that sounds. At midnight he wakes Beca up by kissing her and returns the sleepy smile that she gives him. "Happy New Year."
"It's not the new year in L.A." Beca tells him, yawning. "We're finally ahead of the game."
"Do you have any New Year's resolutions?" Jesse questions as he clicks off the TV and the bedside lamp. He doesn't bother setting an alarm because tomorrow is a holiday after all and he feels like they've earned a little break from driving.
Beca thinks for a minute and Jesse can already imagine one of many snarky remarks she can offer up on the subject of resolutions. But she surprises him by answering, "I want to be as happy this time next year as I am right now."
Jesse smiles slowly in the darkness. "I think we can do that."
Beca has no doubt that they can.
End
