As the weekend passed and classes resumed, the inhabitants of the Bella house struggled to adjust to their new 'normal.' Trying to win the bet over the weekend with no other responsibilities was easy. Trying to win while going to class, staying on top of assignments and making post graduation plans was a completely different story.
Beca had been tossing and turning for three nights, struggling to find respite from the pressures weighing on her mind. She knew it was all in vain, because before long the other Bellas would begin their now daily wake up call for early morning conditioning. While Chloe remained chipper about their situation, (and Beca had no idea how the hell that was still happening), Beca's patience with Jessica and Flo's routines was wearing thin. She had to admit, however, that once the pain subsided, she had noticed a new spring in her step as they completed the exercises day after day. Damn it.
Still, Beca thought as she stifled a yawn, the other Bellas were also starting to grow irritated with the 5 a.m. wake up calls. She'd noticed the grimace on Stacie's face as Flo passionately coached them through wind sprints that morning. Stacie never had any trouble with activities that involved running, but she seemed more worn down than usual. The time was coming for Beca and Chloe to make a move, the only question was when.
Beca's phone chimed with a text message that snapped her out of her train of thought.
I'm at the table by the soft serve machine. Saved you a seat!
Beca scanned the crowd in the dining hall, her gaze flitting from table to table as she looked with no success. The doors opened behind her and suddenly crowds of people came pouring into the cafeteria.
"God, watch it!" Beca huffed and curled her arms close to her chest as a herd of particularly large freshman boys pushed past her. She swore they got bigger and bigger every year. Finally as the stampede seemed to subside, Beca spotted a mop of fiery red hair poking out from around the corner, right next to the soft serve ice cream machine. Beca hurried over and found Chloe seated comfortably with two cups of coffee.
"Glad you could make it," Chloe grinned, sliding a cup in her direction.
"I almost died, but it's no big deal," Beca feigned hurt, but smiled back. "Why did you ask me to meet you in the dining hall anyway? It's infested with eighteen year olds."
"I forgot how bad it was. I haven't been here in at least 5 years," Chloe chuckled, not noticing as Beca's eyes widened in alarm. Beca sometimes forgot just how long her co-captain had been at Barden. "But, on the plus side, it's also the last place any of the other Bellas would look for us. Except for maybe Emily, but I think we're safe."
Moments when she and Beca got to talk privately were few and far between. In any normal situation, they often went all day without crossing paths on campus. Chloe spent most of her time in the arts and sciences building, while Beca was almost exclusively regulated to the music building or radio station. But now, on top of the quickening pace of senior year, they had the bet to contend with. Beca had barely been home for the past few days, and the conversation she had overheard between the Bellas had left Chloe feeling uneasy.
"Remind me again why we're hiding from our friends?" Beca mused, taking a sip of her coffee.
"We're not hiding. We're being strategic. If they can't find us, they can't beat us." Chloe said, matter-o-factly.
"That seems like code for giving up," Beca remarked, her brow furrowed with concern. "What happened to 'trust me, Beca! We've got this, Beca. It's only a matter of time, Beca-
"First of all, I definitely didn't say your name that many times, you weirdo." Chloe shot back. "Secondly, I still think we can win this- we just need to retool a little."
"Retool?" Beca questioned blankly. Chloe waited expectantly for a few seconds, but it was no use. Beca clearly was not following her train of thought.
"Our battle plan, obviously."
"Battle plan?" Beca sat up a little straighter, feeling slightly overwhelmed. She hadn't wanted to get dragged into this stupid bet in the first place, and now it seemed like a certainty that things were getting out of hand. She reached out and poked Chloe in the shoulder.
"Excuse me?" The redhead laughed in disbelief, rubbing her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, I just had to make sure Aubrey hadn't snuck back on campus and snatched your body-"
"Snatched my body? Really, Becs?" Chloe asked incredulously, shaking her head with a small smile.
"You know, like a body snatcher."
"AS I was saying," Chloe ignored Beca's rambling, clearing her throat. The brunette smiled sheepishly, and decided to drink the rest of her coffee, who cared if she was already escalated. She really needed to get some sleep, she was running on fumes. "I may have underestimated their will power a bit, but it's not impossible to beat. All they've done so far is tried to annoy us into giving up. It's too simple."
Beca considered this for a moment, feeling a frown cover her features. Chloe was right and she knew it. Nothing was ever simple- or subtle- when Amy and the rest of the Bellas were involved. That was part of the reason they'd found themselves stripped of their ICCA titles in the first place. Either the girls were trying to lull them into a false sense of security on purpose, or they hadn't yet figured out how to up the stakes of the bet in their favor. Regardless, Beca knew she needed some way to tip the scales.
Before Beca could settle on a suggestion, she saw something that sent a chill down her spine: Dean Rockwell, the same man that had helped put the Bellas on probation, was headed right in their direction. Nearly knocking her coffee over, she lunged for Chloe's hand. The redhead's eyes widened and looked confused, tilting her head slightly as she attempted to decipher the meaning behind Beca's movements. Soon, she felt herself being pulled to the floor as Beca lifted the table cloth and forced her under the table.
"Beca, what's going on?" Chloe whispered.
"Dean Rockwell is in the dining hall and he's headed this way." Beca hissed, exasperated. "God, this couldn't get any worse, could it? We go to the one safe place away from our friends who are trying to annoy us to death, and we run into the one person who hates our guts? I officially hate Thursdays."
"Stay calm," Chloe placed a hand on her forearm pointedly. "Do you trust me?"
"I trust you," Beca agreed, "I don't trust that asshole. He's got a stick so far up his ass-"
"Don't stop on my account," A male voice said coolly. Beca froze as she noticed a pair of brown dress shoes right beside her. She clenched her teeth and began swearing profusely in her head. Chloe gestured emphatically towards the shoes, trying to get Beca to crawl from under the table, but she refused. Beca's arm jerked back quickly in a reflexive motion as she tried to avoid Chloe's grasp, but she didn't anticipate just how much momentum she had picked up until she felt her elbow connect with the man's leg. Chloe's mouth hung open in horror and she clapped her hands over her mouth in surprise. Finally, Chloe and Beca crawled out from under the table sheepishly, their faces bearing nervous smiles. Dean Rockwell had bent over to rub the spot on his calf, and looked particularly displeased to see the two girls before him.
"Adding injury to insult, at least that's a new spin on an old cliche," He huffed, eyeing them carefully. "Something you two are very well versed in, I'm sure, Ms. Mitchell."
"Dean Rockwell," Beca plastered a polite smile on her face, doing her best Chloe impression. "Sorry about your leg, I wasn't expecting to run into you in the dining hall."
"I also wasn't expecting to be attacked today, but life is full of surprises." Dean Rockwell replied, his lips pressed together in a thin line. Beca glanced over to Chloe, wishing emphatically that the red head would intervene.
"Dean Rockwell, I've been meaning to thank you for weighing in on the, um, controversy with the Bellas this year," Chloe piped up earnestly, earning looks of surprise from both Beca and Dean Rockwell.
"Really?" Dean Rockwell questioned, looking suspicious, but engaged.
"Yes," Chloe nodded resolutely, flashing a winning smile. "I didn't see it then, but now that I've had time to reflect, I understand. Now that we aren't competing on the ICCA track this year, we have so much more time to think and re-evaluate our priorities. Isn't that right, Beca?"
"Um, yeah, totally," Beca stammered, trying to get a sense of where the conversation was going. "We have really calmed things down. No more crazy stunts."
"Exactly. We're taking time to focus on our studies and looking for opportunities to do some philanthropy- the university has done so much for us during our time at Barden. Now we just want to give back before we graduate and go for one last hurrah at Worlds." Chloe stated confidently.
To Beca's surprise, Dean Rockwell's expression lightened significantly as he heard Chloe's comments. The frown had vanished from his face and was replaced with what Beca suspected was almost a smile. That was somehow more unsettling.
"Well, I am certainly glad to hear that you're taking this lesson to heart. I told you last fall that a pause in all of your activities would pay off in the long run." Dean Rockwell commented, looking pleased with himself. "I'm very impressed by your maturity, Miss Beale."
Beca breathed a sigh of relief. They were in the clear, until-
"Beca! Chloe!" A familiar, bright voice called out. Sure enough, it was Emily, who was hobbling to them at an alarmingly quick pace for someone on crutches. "What are you guys doing in here? You never come to the dining hall. I thought I wouldn't see you until practice later, this is such a fun surprise! "
"Practice?" Dean Rockwell questioned through clenched teeth. Emily seemed totally unfazed by his presence, and didn't even recognize him. Beca wanted to die right on the dining hall floor. Kill me, please. Someone take me now. This can't be happening, she thought.
"Not sure what you're talking about Em," Chloe tried to redirect her in a sweet, saccharine tone, but with no success. Emily's brow furrowed in confusion.
"We definitely talked about this yesterday with all of the Bellas at the house, remember? Stacie said we needed to practice so we can get a gig, so that we aren't screwed at Worlds?" Emily rattled away, trying to remind them. Meanwhile, Dean Rockwell's face contorted into a mix of frustration and anger. "Now that my ankle is better I can do whatever if they'll just put me in!"
"Emily, can't you see we're a little busy here?" Beca asked, looking pointedly from the dean to Emily repeatedly so she would get the message. Emily's eyes widened, and she immediately turned to the dean.
"I am so sorry, I'm being so rude!" Emily apologized profusely. "I'm Emily, I'm the new Bella. Beca and Chloe are doing a great job showing me the ropes, you must be very proud-"
"A new Bella?" Dean Rockwell seethed, crossing his arms. He turned to Chloe with disdain. "You haven't taken any of my advice after all, have you? You're all the same. You run around, singing songs and wreaking havoc on this university. You embarrass us and yourselves on a national stage, and when someone tries to help re-establish order, you deliberately go against every condition that is set. Clearly, you have not changed in the slightest."
"Dean-" Chloe tried to interject, but was cut off. Her shoulders drooped in disappointment.
"I don't want to hear another word. Until the Barden Bellas change their tune, I have no interest in supporting them as an organization."
"What about Worlds?" Beca asked, unable to stop herself. "We're still going, right?"
"I can't stop you from competing, you already know that. But you certainly won't be traveling to Copenhagen on the university's dime. You girls better start saving," Dean Rockwell said firmly, as he turned to walk away. "And another thing- you would do well to actually give something back to this campus, seeing as you've taken so much."
Dean Rockwell turned on his heel and disappeared into the faculty dining room, just around the corner. Chloe watched him walk away, unable to hide a small smile on her lips. Beca stood frozen, perplexed by the events that had possibly made their situation even worse. Emily stared blankly from Beca to Chloe, trying to connect the dots.
"This is bad. This is very bad," Beca repeated, sounding like a broken record.
"Did I- did I do something wrong? I feel like I did something wrong," Emily asked awkwardly. Part of Beca wanted to grab the freshman and shake her by the shoulders, but she refrained. It wasn't her fault.
"Em, how do I put this," Beca thought aloud, reaching up to place a hand on the tall girl's shoulder. "That guy we were talking to-"
"The angry one?"
"Yes." Beca nodded, "That was Dean Rockwell. The same guy who put us on probation last semester."
"Oh, shoot!" Emily cried out, earning glances from several students as they passed by. "This is all my fault- I thought he was your dad or something, Beca-"
"You thought he was my dad?" Beca asked haughtily, "How would that even be possible?"
"I don't know, you never talk about him or let anybody meet him and I knew he worked here, so I just thought- I don't know what I thought, okay! I'm just sorry!" Emily said apologetically. Beca softened a bit, seeing her expression. She knew Emily really was sorry, but man, did she ever think before she spoke? Probably not.
"I'm sending an S.O.S. to the girls," Chloe said, taking out her phone. "We need to tell them what just happened."
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Barden Bellas WhatsApp (whole group)
Chloe: We need to talk. !
Stacie: Don't tell me you're giving up already, roomie!
Chloe: I never said we were!
Stacie: Sureeeeeee
CR: Red, let's meet at the house when everyone is done with class.
Chloe: Sounds good!
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Jessica grinned as her phone lit up with messages to the Bellas WhatsApp. Ashley nudged her as they walked between classes with Lilly, who trailed slightly behind on Jessica's other side.
"What's got you so giddy?" Ashley asked, relishing the opportunity to tease the blonde. "Did you get a match on Tinder?"
"God, no," Jessica grimaced. "I swore that off after the last person I matched with turned out to be a forty-five year old telemarketer living in his mom's basement, you know that."
"I'm still bitter we couldn't get your story on an episode of Catfish. It would've been amazing," Ashley shook her head, clearly disappointed. Jessica rolled her eyes at her best friend.
"Your unselfish support means everything to me, Ash," Jessica said sarcastically. After three years, the brunette's sarcasm had certainly worn off on her. "Have you checked the group chat today? It's getting interesting."
"Interesting, how?"
"Interesting as in, we may have a victory on our hands, interesting. I can feel it." Jessica beamed, confidently.
"I can't feel anything on the left side of my body," Lilly murmured.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get to the house!" Ashley exclaimed, taking off down the sidewalk, the other two girls close behind.
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That evening, the Bellas gathered for a meeting in the living room at the Bella house. Emily sat in an armchair with her foot propped up on the coffee table. Stacie was perched casually on the arm of her chair, carefully weaving french braids into Emily's hair. Jessica and Ashley sat huddled on the couch next to Amy, while Lilly seemed content to lay across the back of the couch. The rest of the girls brought chairs in from the kitchen or simply sat on the floor. Finally, after several minutes of idle chatter, a hush fell over the room. Emily nodded to Beca, who cleared her throat and started to speak.
"Okay, so, we wanted to tell you guys about something that happened today," Beca began, feeling uncertain. "In the interest of the bet, Chloe and I felt like it was best if everyone was together so we could share this with you."
Jessica elbowed Ashley in the side and nodded confidently. She was certain they were about to win.
"We were having lunch in the dining hall when we ran into Dean-"
"Wait a minute, wait a minute- you two were in the dining hall?" Cynthia Rose asked incredulously. "Why?"
"Just, you know, nostalgia." Chloe beamed and shrugged, hoping that was a sufficient answer. "I wanted to make one last stop before graduation, so I dragged Beca along with me. It's kind of embarrassing or I would've invited everyone."
Cynthia Rose thought about this for a moment, then dropped it.
"Anyway," Beca cleared her throat loudly, regaining the attention of the group. "Dean Rockwell came into the dining hall while we were there, and we couldn't hide from him, so we had to talk to him. It was really awkward, but then Chloe smoothed things over."
"And?" Stacie asked, not looking up from her braiding as she smoothed strands of Emily's hair.
"Well, we almost made it out, but then Emily bumped into us and kind of blew our cover."
Stacie sat up straight and put a hand on Emily's shoulder. Emily pursed her lips together, waiting for the criticism to come, but no one said a word. You could practically hear a pin drop in the living room.
"So now Dean Rockwell knows that we recruited a new Bella and are still doing a cappella group things, and he's pissed. He said we have to pay our own way to Copenhagen and 'do some philanthropy' or whatever," Beca rambled, recapping her disastrous afternoon. "God, I really hate that guy."
The other Bellas nodded in agreement.
"How do we know that you're not just making this up?" Amy asked, speaking for the first time.
"Emily was there. She saw the whole thing happen." Chloe offered, staying calm.
"It's true, Beca's telling the truth. I blew it." Emily hung her head low, feeling ashamed.
Now that the stories had been verified, the other girls started to panic.
"What are we going to do? We're not independently wealthy!" Ashley yelped.
"We don't even have a setlist for Worlds yet, and now this?" Jessica moaned, clearly dismayed.
"Uh, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we can't argue about a setlist if we don't even have the money to go to Worlds," Amy pointed out. The other girls were stunned, but knew the Australian was ultimately right.
"You guys wanted freedom, you wanted to be in charge, so you have to figure this out." Chloe said, standing from her chair. "We'll see you at practice later. I'm looking forward to seeing what ideas you cook up! C'mon, Becs."
Chloe dragged Beca up the stairs and down the hall of the second floor until they were totally out of earshot. Beca scratched her head and examined her best friend closely.
"Maybe I'm totally spacing or just sleep deprived, but how are you not freaking out right now? Our group is basically bankrupt and now we have to leave it up to everyone else to figure out how to raise money for Worlds? On top of letting them run rehearsals?" Beca sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead.
"We already have the tickets, we just need to make that money back since Barden isn't going to reimburse us anymore. At least fundraising will keep them distracted enough to lay off us for a few days, though, right?" Chloe pointed out.
"True, I'm grateful for that. I just can't believe that of all the days you ask me to meet you in the dining hall, we run into Dean Rockwell AND Emily and manage to make things even crazier? I mean, what are the odds." Beca wondered, as a full grin plastered Chloe's face. Beca was suddenly hit with the realization that something was up. "What did you do, Chlo?"
"Nothing." Chloe smirked coyly.
"I don't believe you!"
"You said you trusted me!" Chloe pouted, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, well, now you're freaking me out, dude!"
"So do you remember Tom?" Chloe asked abruptly.
"Tom? The shower guy you dated and broke up with at least six times in the past three years? Yeah, I think so," Beca remarked sarcastically, not impressed.
"So, a few years ago, Tom used to work in the dean's office. He got to know his schedule really well, and because I was with him so much, I kind of learned it too. Dean Rockwell eats lunch at the same time every day in the dining hall. It's been this way for years. Let's just say I thought it might come in handy to organize a little run-in with our favorite faculty member," Chloe said conspiratorially. "I didn't know for sure if Emily would show up, that was just icing on the cake."
Beca's jaw hung open in complete shock as Chloe described her plan from the afternoon. Chloe was more than pleased with herself and Beca's reaction.
"I knew you had skills, but this is on a whole different level, Beale." Beca said.
"Like I told you, Becs. Trust me." Chloe beamed, and disappeared into her room to study.
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Hello! I know it's been quite a while since my last update, so thank you for your patience. I have had several crazy weeks in a row at work, so I needed some time to rest and decompress. I didn't want to throw something together just to update that I wasn't really happy with. It's good to be back!
Also, I couldn't remember the name of the dean in PP2 so I just made one up.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!