Chapter 4: "Skipping school and catching trains"

"I'll hold you to that."

Beca could have sworn she noticed something about Chloe's eyes change as soon as she said that. Beca immediately felt self-conscious, despite the fact that it was Chloe who was the one standing in front of her with just her bra and jeans on in the dressing room. Chloe held out her hand, signifying for Beca to pass the belt. Beca complied, and averted her eyes away from Chloe and looked towards the reflection in the mirror of the changing room. Whilst Chloe began threading the belt through the loopholes in her jeans, she caught Beca's eye in the reflection and raised an eyebrow at her, instantly reminding Beca that she was probably definitely crossing Chloe's boundaries right now.

"I'll um... Let you finish changing now." Beca quickly swivelled around 180 degrees to give Chloe some privacy, wandering away from where she was getting dressed. She was almost certain she could feel Chloe's eyes fixed on her until she was out of sight again. She pretended to preoccupy herself with looking through the different costumes hung up in the Drama Club dressing room. "Real smooth, Mitchell," she quietly scolded herself for acting like such a dork.

"So..." Chloe had finished changing and had emerged from behind the screen. She was now dressed the way Beca had often seen her from afar at Barden; skinny black jeans with rips at the knees (which looked more trendy rather than the scruffy look Beca tended to go for) and she was wearing a dark red vest top underneath a blue plaid shirt. It was definitely slightly grungy, but all her clothes fit her body so well and accentuated her curves in all the right places. Her long red waves of hair complimented the blue so well, and Beca made a mental note of how much blue seemed to be associated with Chloe; her single feather earring that hung from her left ear, her shirt, and her goddamn eyes, "...Beca Mitchell."

"Chloe Beale?" Beca greeted Chloe's statement inquisitively.

Chloe walked up to her and folded her arms. "Last night was amazing."

Beca realised that this was it; Their first proper conversation. Hopefully she wouldn't screw this up. "It was the first time I'd seen Firewalk live. It was a fierce show for sure."

"We'll have to do it again," Chloe smiled and tucked a few stray strands of red hair behind her ear, exposing her single blue feather earring. "To tell the truth," she fiddled with the sleeve of her shirt, "I went to bed last night wishing it never had to end." Chloe looked to Beca who smiled back and took a gulp. She still couldn't really believe this was really happening. Did Chloe Beale really just say she wished the night she spent with Beca had lasted forever? The most popular girl in school with the school delinquent? Beca could feel some slightly inappropriate thoughts coming into her mind and mentally swatted them away. Chloe continued. "Whilst I lay in bed last night I kinda thought... Why? Why does it have to end?"

Beca felt her response come out almost automatically. "Maybe it doesn't. Maybe it doesn't have to end."

"Exactly!" Chloe was evidently pleased with Beca's response, "How would you like to join me on a little field trip today?"

"Ditch class?" Beca was definitely a little surprised. Chloe was a stellar student with straight A's across the board. Still, skipping class was something Beca did on a regular occasion and the thought of Chloe being her partner in crime was appealing. She raised an eyebrow at Chloe, "You mean it?"

"Is that weird?" Chloe hesitated a little, a slight look of disappointment evident in her eyes.

Beca was quick to reaffirm that she was never one to say no to ditching class, "No, it's... Awesome."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Chloe's smile had returned, "Now about that eye..."

Chloe's reminder made Beca conscious of the pain again. "It hurts like a bitch."

"It's definitely one hell of a battle scar," Chloe inspected Beca's black eye with pride and Beca could feel herself beginning to blush, "Do you want me to cover it up with some make-up?"

Beca remembered the panic on her mom's face and Jesse's questions about last night, "Yes, please. People won't shut up about it."

Chloe led Beca over to one of the Drama Club dressing tables, where there were various items of different face paints and make-up laid out in preparation for the drama rehearsals and the play of The Tempest that was coming up. Chloe picked up one of the bottles of foundation and Beca watched as Chloe rubbed some in her hands. The spotlights and fairy lights around the mirrors illuminated Chloe's eyes as Chloe turned around again to face Beca. She started lifting up her hand to apply the make-up to Beca's face; Beca flinching instinctively before Chloe had even touched her.

"Hold still," Chloe giggled slightly as Beca flinched again and mentally prepared herself for the pain that her eye was about to give her. "And turn your head," Chloe instructed firmly and Beca complied.

Beca turned her head whilst she felt Chloe's hand make contact with her skin. Long, slender fingers masked up the bruise around Beca's eye with skill and all her anxiety of the pain faded away as Beca realised how soft Chloe's hands were. Beca reached up to touch the area Chloe was working on and looked at the foundation on her fingers. "This is a lot of make-up," she protested.

"That's the price of courageousness, Beca Mitchell," Chloe picked up some powder and a make-up sponge off the table, "Now, close your eyes."

She did as she was told, and tried her very hardest not to blush or pull away as she felt Chloe's warm breath on her cheek whilst she dabbed Beca's black eye carefully with the sponge. Her heart was beating faster than it normally would and she wasn't sure why; she just hoped that it wasn't also beating loud enough for Chloe to hear. She thought for a second about opening her eyes, knowing full well that she would be met with ice blue eyes staring straight back into hers. There was something about the various looks that Chloe had given her in the past 24 hours; from panic, to concern, to pride, to happiness, to lingering looks Beca couldn't quite understand. There was something about them that made Beca long for them, and for the moment she was going to blame it on the fact that she wasn't used to pretty, popular, friendly people giving her the time of day. That must definitely be it. For now, she kept her eyes closed.

"Much better," Chloe withdrew her hand and Beca missed the soothing touch almost immediately. Opening her eyes, she looked at the reflection of her and Chloe in the mirror in front of them. Chloe put her hands on her hips, admiring her handiwork.

Beca had to do a double-take in the mirror. Her black-eye was nowhere to be seen, "Holy shit."

"Right?" Chloe grinned, pleased with herself at Beca's response. She touched the back of Beca's arm, surprising Beca and making her jump slightly. "Now, let's get the hell out of here."

Beca and Chloe had made it off of campus unnoticed. Considering that the bell for first period had sounded long before they had left and whilst they were still in the drama club room, their getaway was quiet thanks to the students and teachers of Barden already being inside their classrooms. Beca hadn't yet asked Chloe where exactly they were headed; Chloe was on a mission and Beca was more than up for the adventure. Chloe had led them straight up through the woodland path that began about a 5 minute walk from Barden Academy. The morning air was much warmer than it had been whilst Beca had been walking to the Firewalk concert last night; the sky was bright blue above them and the coastal breeze of Acadia Bay moved gently through the tall pine trees.

Neither of them had said anything to each other since leaving campus but it had taken a while for Beca to realise it; she hadn't noticed how comfortable the silence between them had been. She had noticed Chloe had seemed a bit lost in thought for the duration of their short walk, but she didn't want to pry too early on. They rounded a corner and passed the old water tower. They were heading towards the same train tracks Beca had walked along just last night to head to the Firewalk gig. Chloe came to a stop and looked down the tracks. An approaching freight train slowly rounded the corner and began to pass in front of them.

Beca suddenly worked out Chloe's plan, "You sure you don't wanna grab the bus, or-"

"-Nope." Chloe popped the 'p' and took a deep breath, "If we're gonna go rogue, we're doing it right." She gave Beca an encouraging nudge with her elbow and started jogging towards the train. Beca paused in surprise, watching Chloe head towards the train. Chloe called back to her, "Well?"

"What the hell am I getting into?" Beca shook her head and questioned the entire situation. She gave Chloe a shrug and ran after her; adrenaline beginning to flow through her body.

The train slowly began picking up speed. Up ahead, she saw Chloe take a jump onto the ledge of an open train car and pull herself up with ease. She stuck her head out and looked behind at Beca, holding out her hand for her to grab on to. Beca took it, pulling herself up too. Of course, the shorter girl wasn't as smooth as Chloe and of course, she struggled getting her legs fully into the train car. Chloe laughed and helped her; Beca awkwardly falling into her lap a little as she did so. Beca was eager to brush off her awkwardness, and took a step back from Chloe, dusting off her shirt.

"Where does this thing go?" Beca looked around at the train car which was full of wooden crates; graffiti drawn on the walls hinting that they weren't the first ones to hitch a ride.

"North? Maybe we'll end up in Seattle." Chloe seated herself down on some wooden pallets next to the open door of the train car, "Pull up a chair, Mitchell. The view is amazing." Chloe leaned back and crossed one leg over the other, letting the warm spring sun wash over her. Beca stood behind her slightly looking out at the view, finding her eyes drawn to Chloe. She noted how Chloe's long red hair still looked flawless as it moved with the breeze of the moving train car; her blue eyes lighting up at the view in front of them. Everyone always cooed over Chloe and said she looked akin to a model; Beca could see why.

Beca's thoughts were interrupted by a buzzing in her pocket. She unlocked her phone. Again, it was one of the very few people who regularly texted her: Jesse.

hey, why werent u in chem?

everything ok?

Beca stopped for a moment and wondered whether to reply properly. You know, just another typical day... Skipping school... With Chloe Beale. She thought it best not to get into that right now.

Yup!

looked like aubrey and her compadres were giving u a hard time earlier

Everything's fine, kinda busy right now though

Let's talk later

ok

"Messaging anyone I should be worried about?" Chloe gave Beca a look of curiosity before looking back out at the view of the passing forest in front of them.

"Oh no, um..." Beca shoved her phone back in her pocket, "Just my mom."

"Mmhmm..." Chloe eyed Beca with a raised eyebrow, seeing right through her, "Grab that crate over there and come admire the view."

Beca did as she was told; giving the crate a push and a kick as smoothly as she could so it was opposite Chloe. She felt Chloe watch her the whole time she carried out the task.

"Ok Beca," she thought to herself, "You're on a freaking train with Chloe freaking Beale. Play it cool..."

She sat herself down on the crate and looked out at the view of the forest that passed by in front of them, very aware of the fact that Chloe's eyes were fixed firmly on her and refused to leave. Beca felt that exposed, naked feeling again. Was this nervousness? Beca had never felt nervous around other people. She had felt frustrated, lonely, angry, and like she couldn't care less around other people. This feeling however, was completely new. She wasn't used to this kind of interaction; it had been 2 years now since her childhood best friend had moved away and the only other person she'd hung out with alone had been Jesse. Their interactions used to consist of awkward make-out sessions to some rubbish movie Jesse had put on, as well as drunken gigs and listening to music together. Nowadays, it's more her poking fun at him and awkwardly rejecting his occasional advances. She'd never felt nervous around him though, not once. Right now, she wished she'd had more experience of social interaction instead of choosing the whole "eff you" persona to everyone she met. She figured now was probably the time that people made small talk with each other...

"Nice Chloe we're having..." Beca felt her cheeks burn with regret almost instantly.

Chloe laughed loudly and gave her a look of confusion, "What?"

"I mean... Weather!" Beca wanted to leap off the train right there and then roll down the hill out of sight, "It's nice weather we're having."

"It sure is," Chloe smiled and looked away from Beca, back to the view of the world whizzing by outside. Beca was thankful for Chloe's mercy at her awkwardness, and made a mental note to never attempt small talk with anyone again like, ever. She looked out at the view then back to Chloe who, thankfully, had changed the subject, "So," she began, "It's kind of weird we're hanging out."

Beca couldn't help but feel a little pang of hurt at her comment. It was true though, "You mean, because I don't hang out with anyone and I don't have any friends?"

"You have friends."

"Well, I used to. Friend, singular," Beca sighed, "She left for greener, more northern pastures and hasn't bothered with me since."

"That sucks," Chloe's face looked genuinely sympathetic towards Beca. Chloe bit her lip as if she was going to say something else.

Before Chloe could say anything else, Beca was keen to change subject, "Hey, so..." Beca looked down at her shoes, "I wanted to say thanks."

"For pulling you out of school?" Chloe asked sarcastically, knowing that it wasn't exactly a challenge to get Beca to skip class.

"No, dummy. Thanks for last night."

"Oh..."

"If you hadn't shown up..." Beca fiddled with her shoelace. It was true. If it wasn't for Chloe swooping in out of nowhere, Beca wasn't sure how things would have turned out last night.

"Assholes abound in Acadia Bay." Chloe breathed an exasperated sigh which hinted she was as fed up with Acadia Bay as Beca was.

"Well, I owe you. That's for sure."

Chloe looked at her with some slight surprise, "Is that why you came along?"

Beca laughed at the question, "Are you suggesting I should need a reason to ditch Barden?"

Chloe laughed back, leaning forwards on the crate and towards Beca. She paused momentarily before changing the subject, "I bet you're wondering what we're doing."

"The thought occurred," Beca replied with caution. If she was honest, she was surprised at how swiftly she had followed Chloe out of school so blindly. For all she knew, this was a full-on kidnapping. Goddamn it, Mitchell.

"Well..." Chloe paused, thinking for a moment, "I wanted some company?"

"...that's it?" Beca laughed, "I'm not that dumb, Beale."

"Joy rides with me aren't fun?" Chloe pretended to look hurt.

Beca scoffed, "Joy rides to where, exactly?"

"Life needs a little mystery, Beca," Chloe replied dreamily. She narrowed her eyes a little in thought, before shifting down off of the pallet she was sitting on and onto the floor so she was closer to Beca, "Let's do something fun."