A/N: Thanks for the support and being so patient! I appreciate all of the reviews and kind thoughts. I've finally moved into my house and got a little settled in and now I can write! Which is great because I had a lot of fun with this one.
I own nothing...although I wish I owned Stacie so we could cast our Bechloe ship into the night together. Title comes from the Death Cab song (because Indie kids need love too).
Chapter Four: Passenger Seat
The trip over to La Casa de las Bellas was supposed to be an exercise in concentration. Supposed being the operative word because she had managed to get absolutely nothing done since arriving at the house and sneaking off to the empty dining room to work. And sure, she had her own place that she should have been adult enough to make into a functioning work space, but there was something kinda nice and familiar about coming back here.
She just hadn't planned on making it such a routine thing.
This was her third trip over in a week and if she admitted it to herself, perhaps she was going a little stir-crazy. But she wouldn't because that was just pathetic. She had friends and a job and that should have been enough. It had been enough for the past nine months. But it was getting old and she just couldn't stop herself from dialing the very cause of her frustration and grinning when she picked up the phone a few rings later.
"Emily texted me and told me that you've holed yourself up in her dining room again. The kid totally doesn't mind it, but the newbies think that you're kinda creepy and don't know why you keep coming over and taking over their home." Chloe laughed when Beca groaned into the phone and said "Those kids need to be taught about the origins of the Bellas' sound, then they'll respect and adore you."
"I don't want them to adore me, I just want to be left alone. And I like coming over here because my place is just way too distracting. I can't get any work done when there's food just asking to be eaten and music dying to be played on your fancy record player. And don't get me started on TV. How can I be expected to work from home when Food Network has the best shows on all the time? I should've been a chef."
"It sounds like you've really made yourself comfortable. I can't wait to see what you've done with my place."
"Excuse you?" Beca asked while closing her laptop and propping her legs up on the kitchen chair that was next to her. There was just no way that she could adult now that Chloe was on the line. "Don't you mean our place, Beale? We're kinda like roommates now, even though you don't really pay rent."
"I resent that, Beca Mitchell", Chloe gasped while flopping onto her own bed and staring up at the cracked ceiling. Sometimes it didn't feel any different from home, but the slight crackle over the line let her know just how far away she actually was. "Your place was in an awful location and was pretty slummy, so I basically rescued you from yourself by leaving. Consider me letting you pay the entire rent as a finder's fee. And besides, my pretty face will be home soon enough and then we'll actually be roommates. Enjoy these little moments while they last because we'll probably eventually hate each other."
"You were roommates with Aubrey and you guys are best friends."
"You're not Aubrey", Chloe replied with a chuckle and Beca couldn't stop herself from snorting as she tried to hold back her own laughter. "In more ways than just the obvious."
"Well, thank God for that. And I highly doubt that we'll end up hating each other. You're pretty much the most un-hateable person on Earth. You're like a puppy."
"Speaking of puppies, we should think about getting one. We could give it a cute name and everything!"
"You're still in Guatemala, so definitely not." Beca grinned while allowing herself to briefly imagine picking out a dog at the shelter with Chloe and okay, maybe it was slightly adorable. But it didn't mean Chloe needed to know that either.
"But soon…", Chloe trailed off while closing her eyes and releasing a soft sigh. She had loved her whole adventure in teaching and everything that she had experienced down here, but she was also counting down the days until she would be back home. Sometimes it felt like she was competing with herself and so she tried to just forget about both sides and get through her days. And conversations like these were definitely not helping. "Soon I'll be back in the USA. I should probably plan my victory tour."
"Not soon enough though."
"It's only six more days so I think you'll live. In the meantime though you should definitely think about the whole dog thing. Just imagine the two of us taking her for a walk and taking a picture with her for our Christmas card and going to the dog park…" She trailed off as a yawn took over her words and she blinked heavily as her eyes momentarily blurred and sleep felt like the most desirable thing in the world outside of staying on this line. "You'd be cute with a puppy. I probably would be too. Just consider it, ya know?"
"Yeah, I know. And you should consider getting some rest. That last yawn was so loud that I'm pretty sure the entire house heard it." Beca smiled a little when she heard Chloe sleepily chuckle in the background and she could imagine her fighting off sleep while holding the phone to her face. Six days seemed like an eternity. "I'll text you in the morning."
"Good night, buddy. Don't let the bed bugs bite."
"Night."
Beca waited a moment for Chloe to hang up first, hating the idea of her falling asleep and leaving her phone on all night, and smiled a little when she could still hear her breathing on the other end. She wanted Chloe to be well rested for her extremely hectic day tomorrow with her "kids", but she also just liked having her there even if it was only to listen to her breathe. She could count the number of times that they had just sat in comfortable silences on two hands and it never felt strange to her. She couldn't imagine herself doing that with any other person, but she had never had a best friend like this before and maybe it was normal.
She hoped that it wasn't.
"Chlo…?"
"I just miss you", Chloe whispered while tugging her blankets up to her neck and resting her phone under her chin. "A lot."
"Just six more sleeps and then you'll be home. My mom used to say that to me when I was a little kid", Beca admitted while staring down at the ring that decorated her right hand. She didn't wear much jewelry anymore, but she always kept her mom's wedding band on her hand to remind her of the woman that she absolutely adored. "I guess she said that because time goes by quicker when you're asleep. It always comforted me when I was younger."
"I like your mom."
"Yeah, me too."
"I guess I should go to sleep. My house family goes to bed pretty early and I don't want to upset them when I only have a few days left." She reached for the phone charger that was tucked between her mattress and the wall and softly said "Buenas noches, mi pequeño ratón."
"Oh my God, you're ridiculous. And I feel like I should be insulted by that so I'm saying good night." She listened to Chloe laugh into the phone and couldn't stop herself from keeping the conversation going for just a few moments longer. She wasn't quite ready to stop hearing that voice yet. "And Chlo?"
"Hmm?"
"I miss you too."
She hung up the phone before she could say any other stupid things and sighed while slipping it back into the pocket of her jeans. She looked down at her closed laptop and the notepad with crossed out ideas scrawled across the page and swore under her breath. She had been here for three hours and had accomplished absolutely nothing. She unplugged her Mac and was about to place it into her bag when she heard a soft cough come from the doorway and turned to see a smirking Emily Junk leaning against the doorjamb.
"It's not nice to creep, Legacy."
"Technically it's not creeping when you're kinda trespassing." Beca quirked an eyebrow at her and Emily couldn't stop herself from laughing as she took three confident steps forward and sat on the edge of the table next to Beca's bag. "Ya know, I see you more now than I did when you actually lived here. You're lonely, aren't you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Mm hmm, sure you don't", Emily replied while taking a grape from the plate that Beca had made for herself and popping it into her mouth. "I'm glad to see you made yourself at home. And speaking of home, how is Chloe doing? I can't wait to see her."
"She's talking about getting a dog", Beca started while taking her plate back from Emily and shooting her daggers. "Maybe we can convince Flo to keep her down there a little longer until she outgrows the idea."
"Uh huh. And soon you'd be taking up residence on our couch." Emily smiled when Beca seemed pleased with her sarcasm and just shook her head at the girl. It had only taken a few years, but she had finally come out of her shell and Beca was a huge part of that, droll humor and all. "I bet you can't wait until your girlfriend is back. Maybe I should talk to Flo about keeping Chloe down there because I won't see you once you guys are glued to each other's lips again."
"Girlfriend? You have me confused with some other sexually confused ex-aca person. Perhaps Stacie has found her Callie to brighten her days up at the hospital."
"And now Beca Mitchell is referencing TV shows in an effort to change the subject. I see you've replaced Chloe with Netflix. Jesse would be pleased."
Beca frowned at the mention of her ex-boyfriend and occasional text buddy and rolled her eyes as she tapped her fingers against the table beneath her. Her mind was screaming for her to shut her mouth and just take her bag and go home, but something stronger (probably her heart, but she would never admit to something that sappy) was telling her to just sit there and spill her guts. The kid had her figured out and she was probably better than a very late night spent on her couch with Netflix, cheap beer, and her old friend Leslie Knope.
"Okay, so I've been a little lonely." It was Emily's turn to quirk her eyebrow and Beca put her head in her hands while exhaling deeply and trying to get her shit together. There was probably no going back from this and however embarrassing it might have been, there was really no stopping it now. "Maybe I've been a lot lonely. But that doesn't mean anything. She's my best friend and that's a big piece of your life to just put on a shelf for a year, ya know?"
"Mm hmm, I definitely get it. It's kinda like Benji and me-"
"-We're definitely not like Benji and you", Beca cut her off quickly and felt a tiny bit smug at how fast the girl clammed up. "You guys are in a long distance relationship and I've never even kissed her."
"But you want to."
"Yeah but-"
Oh shit.
"Oh. My. God!" Emily practically screamed while reaching out to give Beca a hug and nearly falling over when she veered away from her. "I have to tell Stacie!"
"Not a word."
"And Cynthia Rose", Emily added while pulling out her phone.
"I don't care if you're a legacy and everyone loves you - I will end you."
"And Fat Amy too." Emily started to type out a message but was quickly stopped when Beca took her phone away from her and put it safely in her back pocket, which was definitely off limits. "Come on Beca, she owes me ten bucks now."
"First of all, I can't believe that you guys were betting on something so stupid", Beca began while glancing down at the phone and quickly deleting the jumbled mishmash of characters that Emily had hurriedly entered into her messaging app. "Secondly, we don't keyboard smash over our friends, that's just weird. And third of all, you never ever make bets with Amy because you won't see that money."
She handed the phone back to Emily and smiled a little when she simply nodded her head, composed herself, and slid it back into her pocket. Despite being easily excitable she was a good kid and if Beca had to have any of the Bellas find out, Emily was a pretty safe option. Still though, she couldn't let her cracks show and take it easy on her. Desperate times called for desperate measures and it was time to get serious to prevent an aca-nightmare from potentially developing.
"Em, please don't tell anyone", Beca softly spoke while turning in her best impression of a wounded animal and keeping her eyes downcast. "I don't beg, but I will if it'll keep this just between us."
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Beca. People experiment all the time." Beca frowned at Emily's awkward attempt to soothe her and was entirely unconvinced that the girl had ever experimented in college, outside of maybe taking part in some weird kinky magic shit with Benji and that was just too much to think about without gagging. "And besides, it's not like we all didn't see this coming."
"What?!"
"Well, I've gotta go", Emily began while edging quickly towards the door and avoiding Beca's confused gaze. "But I won't tell a soul, Beca. I promise!"
"So, you've gone full on lezzie with the ginger? Well, I can't say that I never saw it coming, but I'm honestly kinda surprised that you never tried to fondle me in all of our years as roommates. I'd probably be too much woman for you to handle - you have to work your way up to all of this." Fat Amy pointed theatrically at her breasts and Beca couldn't stop her face from turning bright red as the girl made no attempts to keep her voice down. "What's wrong with you? You look like you're going to be sick."
"I just can't believe that she told you. Does everyone know?"
"Well…Emily told Stacie and Stacie told Cynthia Rose and then she told me and then I made that Instagram post-"
"-Dude! What the fuck?! What Instagram post?" Beca asked while opening up the app on her phone and avoiding the stacks of furniture that surrounded her as they continued to briskly walk up and down the aisles of Ikea. "Oh my God. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to get a restraining order or a PFA against you. This is just sick. And everyone saw it."
"Everyone liked it Becs, which is the most important thing! I think you're making a much bigger deal about this than is necessary."
"I think I should be concerned that you have pictures of Chloe and me in bed together. And it's like from three years ago! Do you have a collection of them or something?" Amy simply shrugged and skipped away while Beca read through the comments below the picture and died a little inside. All of the Bellas had made cheesy remarks on it and it was just too much. This was not how she wanted them to be found out. And really, there was nothing to reveal. They were just friends and oh God, what if Chloe saw this too?
Beca Mitchell was gonna have to choke a bitch.
"But honestly, how many pictures of us in compromising situations do you have? I need to know so I can prepare myself for when they appear on the internet."
"Only a couple of them and you should really blame this on Chloe. I got most of them when she went through that boozehound faze during our senior year. The girl really threw herself at you and you seemed to enjoy it too." Amy looked down at the shopping list that they had put together while walking through the showroom upstairs and said "Where the hell is aisle 18? I've been on walkabouts that were more organized than this store is."
"It's two down from here and quit changing the subject. I can't believe that you just took pictures of me while I was sleeping or eating or drunk off my ass. I don't have any pictures of you or Bumper on my phone and I'm honestly pretty okay with that."
"Well, that's a pity for you because we're a pleasure to look at. And hey, I did it for your own good. I knew this day would come and now I'm $10 poorer because of it, but that's what happens when you live your life on the edge." They had stopped in front of the bed that Beca had picked out upstairs and Amy looked at the boxes while frowning a little. "Are you sure this thing is gonna stay in one piece when you two are going at it like dingoes? I'm pretty sure the display model was put together with particle board and dreams. You need a proper bed."
"I need a cheap bed and this works. Besides, I'm just giving off the illusion that I've actually been sleeping in my own furnished room instead of just crashing in her bed so it doesn't have to be beautiful, just believable. Now, where is that fiancé of yours? We need someone to pick this thing up and since we had to drag him along he can maybe be semi-useful."
"Hey, I am a very famous radio celebrity and I need to constantly have protection from my adoring fans. And he's on his way, he just texted me. Apparently he got distracted in the kid's section and then he got lost."
Beca just smiled at her friend and sat down on the stack of boxes while Amy flipped through her phone and looked immensely pleased with herself. It was hard to stay angry with her, especially since she had been more than happy to accompany her on the three hour long shopping trip, and she would just have to chalk it up to Fat Amy simply being Fat Amy. And yeah, it was maybe a tiny bit flattering that her friends were so supportive of the idea of her maybe dating Chloe and had made bets on when the whole thing would finally blow up, but it was way too early to put her eggs in one gigantic, gay basket. For all she knew, Chloe could have slept with every cute boy and girl down in Guatemala and it wasn't like she could even be angry about it because she had been the one that didn't kiss her when she had the opportunity.
She just hoped that she didn't.
"Ladies, look at all this cool shit that I found!" Bumper announced while showing the pair his armful of cute and kitschy stuffed animals that he had found up in the children's section of the store. "I think that Little Bumper would love this stuff. Or maybe Big Bumper because this is sick!"
"I still can't believe that you two are having a kid. It makes me feel old."
"I can't believe that we're having a boy", Amy replied while taking a stuffed fox from Bumper's arms and smiling at it. "I would have thought that my amazing female genes would have battled his male ones to the death, but I guess you can't predict these things."
"I'm pretty sure that it doesn't work that way and maybe it's for the best that you're having a boy because I don't think the world could handle a miniature version of you. Now, can we get this shit packed up and out of here? Chloe is gonna be home in three days and I'm pretty sure that it might take that long just to get this stuff built."
Bumper frowned down at the boxes and said "I don't know, Beca, all of this stuff is pretty heavy. I might need an incentive to load this stuff in the trunk for you…"
"I'll buy you all of those toys if you load it and help me build it."
"Deal! I never thought I would say this about a Barden Bella, but you're the best." He easily picked up the bigger of the two boxes that contained the headboard for her bed and placed it on her cart while winking at Amy, who just shook her head. "Besides, it gives me a chance to show off for my lovely lady. And if you weren't all about that gay life, I could show off for you too. Maybe have a three way with my baby mama and my baby's god mama."
"On second thought, maybe I'll just have them build it for me…"
"Why does it smell like a Home Depot in here?"
"Well, we literally just got my bed built this morning and once I got those two fed and out of my hair, I painted the office. The next time I need something done, remind me to not ask Amy or Bumper for help doing it. I'm pretty sure that no bed takes two days to build."
"I could have told you that asking them for help was a mistake, but what do I know? I'm not the godmother." Stacie sighed as she flopped onto the arm chair in the living room and stared up at Beca's flushed face. "No offense, but you look like you could use a nap. Or a beer. Which would actually be pretty great if you had one."
"I can't drink because someone has to pick Chloe up from the airport. But, believe me, if she was coming home tomorrow my ass would be getting wasted with you tonight." She opened up the refrigerator and fished a beer out of the crisper before tossing it over to Stacie. "Since when do you day drink?"
"Since I have the next thirty-six hours off and I fully plan to get my relax on. Try to keep the oral gymnastics between Chloe and you at a minimum though because you two are totally coming out to the club with me tomorrow night and I need you able to dance. Or really just able to walk because she does seem like her mouth could kill ya."
"That didn't take long."
"Yep, I guess it didn't. Oh, don't give me that look! You've been pinging for years."
"What are you even talking about?" Beca asked while opening up a bottle of water and gazing longingly at Stacie's stout. She had always found that conversations with the girl usually went better when she was a little buzzed and thanks to Chloe's evening flight that was not happening. "I don't ping…whatever that means."
"You are honestly so lucky to have me as a friend because you know nothing. Pinging is…", Stacie trailed off while trying to come up with the best euphemism to explain it to the girl. She took a sip from her beer and sighed in satisfaction before she said "Okay, pinging is like a warning sign that goes off in your head when you see someone that is uber gay. Like, sometimes I look at you and I just hear this tiny little ping in my head and die a little because you're in denial of it."
"I'm not in denial of anything! And that's just like gaydar."
"Exactly! See, you're not completely new. But, yeah, you ping pretty much constantly."
"I don't know what…", she trailed off as the screen of her phone lit up and she looked down to see a text message pop up from Chloe. She read over it a few times and couldn't stop a huge grin from appearing on her face and okay, maybe Stacie had a tiny point that meant nothing because Chloe was on her way to the airport.
"You're doing it right now, Beca."
Beca quickly sent Chloe a message back and looked up at Stacie who was grinning at her like a kid that had just been given a huge, expensive toy. She couldn't stop the blush that set her cheeks practically on fire and she looked down at her hands while Stacie just laughed. She shook her head and softly said "You're ridiculous. And this is really just a new development so don't get excited."
"A new development? Puh-lease! Honey, we've been calling this for years. It was only a matter of time before you dumped the aca-nil and hooked up with the aca-thrill."
"How long did it take you to come up with that?" Beca sarcastically asked while Stacie just shrugged and didn't venture a response. "And besides, he broke up with me so your timeline of gayness is completely off."
"No one that has a closet full of flannel, suspect tattoos and piercings, and trails after the prettiest girl at Barden like a tiny, adorable puppy is completely straight. We were only just waiting for you to move a tiny bit over to the left and into her arms. This is a good thing!" Beca looked away from Stacie as a cold sweat broke out across her brow and Stacie sighed while she took one of Beca's hands in hers and squeezed it gently. "Beca, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm sorry for giving you a hard time, it's just that I kinda know you and I know that you're going to hold back from this because you don't want to risk your friendship. Us being a little awful to you is our way of…cheerleading you to make that move."
"You should've been a shrink instead of a plastic surgeon. I just won't wanna screw this up." She looked down at her hands and started to chip away at the peeling black nail polish that decorated one of her thumbs. "Some people can date someone and still be friends when it inevitably ends but maybe we wouldn't be like that. She's the closest friend I've ever had and I don't want to lose that."
"You're already jumping ahead to breaking up with her and you haven't even kissed her yet! You can't set yourself up for a loss this early, especially when it's something you really want."
"How do you know we haven't-"
"-Don't tell Emily anything, the kid has a huge mouth. And that's really the whole point of this – you haven't given yourself a chance to really fall for her yet and to let her fall for you the same way. I think that maybe you kinda deserve to give yourself that opportunity." She smiled warmly at Beca and softly added "And it's not like she's not totally enamored by you so there's really no risk. Now, gimme another one of these because they're amazing!"
"I don't even know if I like her like that", Beca mumbled while rising from her chair and heading for the kitchen to fetch Stacie her beer. Her voice was uneasy when she said it though and she flinched a little as even she didn't believe her own lie.
"Ya know, sometimes I don't get home from work until like two or three in the morning and I see you online. I'll just be checking my e-mail and your little dot will be green next to your name. And I know you're not working because you stay super late like every night so I sit there and wonder why you're awake. And it kinda hit me one night that you didn't start doing this until Chloe went away."
"I need to get friends that don't stalk me."
"That's not the point, Beca", Stacie replied while opening up her fresh bottle of beer and running her fingers over the cold label. "The point is that those thoughts that keep you up that late are the important ones. What are you thinking about?"
"Food. Maybe getting a little weed." Stacie growled at her ambivalence and Beca shook her head before she softly added "And Chloe. Mostly Chloe. Pretty much all the time…it's Chloe."
"And you're pinging again!"
"I hate you so fucking much."
"No you don't." Beca flipped her off from across the room and Stacie drained her beer before placing it on the counter with a loud thunk and rising from her seat. "Anyways, I should head out so you can groom and clean and do whatever it is that you need to do to get ready for her big arrival. I have something for you out in my car if you want to walk me out though."
"What in the actual fuck is wrong with you?" Beca asked while looking down at the huge banner that Stacie unfurled on the front lawn with a flourish. "'Welcome home, sexy'. You could have made a really nice gesture for her and instead you ruined it."
"She is sexy though so it's not like I'm lying."
"If I hang this above the door she's going to think I made it and that I've been waiting ten months to jump her bones!"
"And you haven't…?"
"Dude, please just leave before I kill you. I need better friends." Stacie winked at her and gave her a quick hug before getting into the driver's side of her car and grinning at her through the open window as she idled. "Please drive safely and I'll see you at the club thing or whatever tomorrow."
"See ya later, Bec. And please, definitely do something that I would do!"
"Jesus Christ."
"As I live and breathe, is that Chloe Beale? Did you get taller?"
"Nope, only more beautiful. And slightly sunburnt." Chloe smiled at Beca as they faced each other in front of baggage claim and neither of them wanted to make the first move. Beca was running her sweaty hands on her jeans and Chloe was tapping her foot against the ground and they were both just taking each other in. It had been so long. "Get over here and give me a hug."
It had been like no time had passed between them.
"God, I fucking missed you so much", Beca whispered into the crook of Chloe's shoulder as the taller girl hugged her tightly into her chest. "And you smell amazing, which is clearly the only reason I'm hugging you in front of the eighty million people that are in this airport right now. Who knew that this was such a popular nighttime destination?"
"I missed you too, Beca." Chloe sighed into her hair, knowing the girl's tactics for avoiding emotional or personal moments, and held her tightly for a few more moments until she had at least partly filled her hug quota for the evening. "Now, take me home darling!"
"Okay, so I came up with a list of puppy names on the flight and I think you should let me go over a few of them on the drive home instead of listening to the radio."
"You can't be serious. I told you that we weren't getting-"
"-Yeah, but I know you're not really serious about that! Now, what do you think about Molasses?"
"A dog named Molasses?" Beca asked while putting Chloe's final suitcase into the back of the old Geo and trying not to burst into laughter. She had forgotten how nice it was to have Chloe and her perfect kind of insanity back in person. "I'm calling Flo and asking her what she did to you down in Guatemala. Clearly you're on drugs and I can't have that in my Christian household."
"What about Muffins?"
"Get in the car, Beale."
"Okay, I think you're really gonna like this one", Chloe began while shooting Beca a smile from across the front seat of the car. Beca couldn't believe it when she actually pulled out a long list of names written on the back of her puke bag, but she was serious about adding a new roommate to their family. "Bilbo Beale! We could get a little Cocker Spaniel with long floppy ears and dress him up for Halloween and it would be perfect. I'm gonna put a star next to that one because you smiled a little."
"I smiled because you're acting like a little kid. You literally have not stopped talking since I pulled away from the airport and it feels a little like I picked you up from camp." Chloe sighed and put the list back in her pocket while rolling down her window and letting the cool night air into the car. "You didn't have to put it away, but thank you. Awe, please don't pout."
"No it's fine, I'll be quiet. Maybe I'll go back to Guatemala where I was appreciated for my humor and lists…"
"Don't you dare! I don't think my heart could take that again."
"Your heart?" Chloe asked while smiling coyly at her. Beca blushed a little as she gripped the steering wheel a little harder and wished that she could take her words back, if only to wipe the smug look off of Chloe's face. "Well, if your heart's a factor in this then I'm staying put. I guess you win, happy now?"
"Oh, I'm ecstatic. Who else would I have to tease me endlessly?"
"You love it."
"Maybe. Maybe I also just kinda like having you here." Chloe flashed Beca a genuine smile before looking back out of her window and just taking in the sights around them. It was so much different than what she had grown accustomed to over the past year and it was a nice change. She had loved most of her time abroad, but there was just something soothing about tall trees, cold air on her face, and the hum of wheels on a highway. "And um…I'm glad you're back."
"Me too."
"Do you care if I play some music? I was up late last night working on some stuff around the house and I'm about ready to fall asleep over here."
"Do you want me to drive?" Chloe asked before yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Better yet, maybe we should just pull over for a little while. It's no use coming back home just to have something terrible happen."
"Oh, we're not that far from home and it looks like traffic ahead so that'll keep me up. I just wanna be more alert." She squeezed Chloe's worried hand that she had reached across the car and softly said "I'll get us home. And besides, I may have made you a mixtape the other night and this is my subtle way of getting to play it for you."
"You made me a mixtape? Well, I must be pretty special then." Beca hadn't made her a mixtape since they had graduated and she had missed them dearly. It had been one of her favorite things about their friendship and getting to know the girl through her favorite songs. "Yes, definitely play it."
"Look in the glove compartment."
Chloe opened the glove compartment up in front of her and squealed in excitement as a CD in a sleeve with a big red bow on top fell out into her hands. She tore the bow off carefully before flipping it over and reading the track listing that was scrawled in Beca's neat handwriting. She knew that Beca hated the kind of music that she put on it, but she loved every song and artist on it and it made her feel pretty special that she had gone through the effort of making this for her.
"An Emo Night Drive. Wow, Beca, what an inspiring title!"
"Hey, don't hate on your own music taste. And in case you haven't noticed, they're all songs about riding in a car to like welcome you home or whatever. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to figure out your Spotify password and then sort through that mess, but I guess that's the small price of making you something you'd really like." She studied Chloe for a minute as she read over the tracklist and softly asked "Do you like it?"
"It's amazing. No one has ever made me something like this before." Her eyes swam with unexpected tears and she blinked them away quickly before removing the disc from the envelope and sliding it into the slot above the radio. And as the acoustic guitar of the first song, Josh McBride, filled the car the tears came springing back into to her eyes. Of course Beca would choose this song. This was her favorite. "Damn you, Beca Mitchell. You're gonna make me cry, or swoon, whichever comes first."
"Well, hopefully it's the latter or my work was all for nothing."
"Keep this up and you're gonna have to peel me out of this car."
"Wake up sleepyhead, we're home."
Chloe slowly opened her eyes as Beca turned the car off and looked around with sleep filled eyes for a few moments while she got her bearings. It had been so long since she had been home that she misjudged just how long the trip took with the constant traffic around the city and couldn't stop herself from falling asleep halfway through their drive.
"When did I fall asleep?"
"Halfway through Incubus. You said something about that song reminding you of middle school and then you were out like a light. You ready to head in?" Chloe groaned a little as she stretched and tried to make her legs wake up from their awkward position crammed into the front of the tiny car. She had forgotten how much she hated the junky old Metro. "You better wake them up because while I like you, I don't carry people that are bigger than me."
"I'll just sleep out here then. Bring me a blanket and a pillow and maybe breakfast in the morning." Beca just shook her head as she unbuckled her seat belt and Chloe relented and took hers off too. As badly as her legs were tingling and how long the walk up to their little carriage home seemed, it was a much better option than sleeping out here. "Okay, okay, I'm coming."
While Beca started to unload her suitcases from the back of the car, Chloe stretched and took a few wobbly steps away from the cars and towards their house. As the motion lights lit up the front porch she saw the huge banner that had been strung over the door and couldn't stop herself from laughing as she read the big purple letters. Beca knew exactly what she had seen and growled a little as she flung the trunk closed and lifted the heavy bags up. She knew that Chloe would miss Flo, but it almost felt like she had packed the girl up in her duffle bag too.
"I just want you to know that I did not write that. And also that we have weirdos for friends and if you want to make a completely new friend group with me that would be really cool."
Chloe laughed while searching for her key in her purse, shaking her head as Beca offered her own because she kinda wanted to do it herself for the first time in an eternity, and sleepily said "You don't think I'm sexy, Beca?"
"I didn't…". She was blushing now which was just fucking fantastic. "I mean, you are really…can we just go inside?"
"Sure thing", Chloe replied, willing to take it easy on Beca to stop her from imploding all over their front lawn. "And by the way, I knew Stacie made me it – she sent me a snapchat before I got on the plane. You're too easy!"
"In more ways than one…", Beca mumbled as Chloe eased her way through the front door with a bag in her hands and fumbled for the light just inside of the door.
"What was that?" Chloe asked as Beca followed behind her and dropped all of the bags on the floor as her arms finally gave out. "God, it smells like a paint factory in here. Did you avoid doing all of your house work until this morning? That's not very responsible of you."
"I'm so glad you're home."
"So…" Chloe trailed off while leaning against her closed bedroom door and staring into Beca's shifting eyes. They had unpacked her bags and taken a look at the tiny studio that Beca had set up and now they were here, awkwardly staring at each other as neither girl wanted to make the first move and head off to bed. And if Chloe was being completely honest with herself, she kinda just wanted to be with Beca for a little while longer. It had been way too long. "Got any plans?"
"No, none in particular. I mean, as a human I'd love to get like eight hours of uninterrupted sleep so I can function, but I'm also pretty okay with this." Chloe chuckled a little as Beca rambled and Beca just sighed before she softly said "Stop smiling Beale. I'd ask you to come lie down with me in my bed so we could gossip or whatever shit that girls do, but I built it with Bumper and I think we'd end up on the floor."
"Hmm…well I guess I'll see you in the morning then. Thank you for walking me to my door, that was very romantic of you." She gave Beca a tight smile, feeling a little put off that Beca basically said that she didn't want to lay with her (and yes, she could fucking ask Beca to come to her room but she had been gone for a thousand years and had every right to be coy if she wanted to!), and started to open her bedroom door. "Good night."
"Wait I didn't mean that you should-"
"-I've been thinking about kissing you since I got on the plane to Guatemala."
"O…kay. Um, me too." A grin broke across Chloe's face that nearly sent her crashing to the floor as a rush of heat spread through her stomach and someplace lower that was definitely not unwelcome. "You know, just to see what it would be like or whatever. For science."
"You want to kiss me for science? You're so weird."
"Please don't say it again, I knew it sounded stupid as soon as it left my mouth. I can understand if you won't want to now since I kinda destroyed the mood. I'm just gonna go to bed."
"Wait a minute, Beca. You're cute when you're flustered and rambling and whatever. And I definitely don't want you to go to bed." She placed a hand on each of Beca's shoulders and squeezed them tightly while pulling her a few steps closer. "Especially now that we're kissing each other for science."
"Chloe I swear to God-"
And okay. Beca didn't believe in huge romantic moments where the guy swooped in and shut the girl up with his lips but this was nice. This was new. This was fucking amazing. And her back was against the wall and maybe there was a tongue involved and hands and…o-fucking-kay.
She was kissing Chloe Beale.
Finally.
"Hey hey hey, slow down a little Mitchell", Chloe mumbled against her mouth as Beca started to fumble with the drawstring on her pajama bottoms. "I've been gone for ten months and I've been thinking about this for like a million years and maybe we should stop here. At least for tonight, ya know? We have time and there's no use in rushing into it because we're caught up in everything."
"You don't want to?" Beca whispered as her face flushed and she reached up to swipe her sweaty bangs out of her eyes while she caught her breathe. "Oh God, I'm such a teenage boy."
"And I love that about you, but I am exhausted and I'd also kinda like to not be a cliché. You know, 'friend likes friend and then friend likes her back and they have sex immediately and it's not awkward or anything like that'."
"What…?"
"Hey, it's a thing! And I don't want to be caught up in the moment when it happens." She smoothed down Beca's rumpled sleep shirt and softly said "I just wanna be caught up in you. Please don't laugh."
"I won't, but that was very 90's boyband of you. And you're right, we should maybe wait until we're both slightly rested. I wouldn't want you to fall asleep while I have like three fingers in-"
"-Don't be dirty, Beca! But I get it. That would be weird."
Beca smiled down at her as she slowly eased herself off of Chloe's body and laid down on the mattress next to her. Chloe opened her arms a little and Beca hesitated momentarily before sliding into them and putting her head on Chloe's shoulder. She was never one for cuddling and was fighting herself from returning to her own bed so she could have control of her limbs and not be breathed on, but Chloe wanted this and she decided to stick it out for a little while. Besides, she had never done this with a girl before and maybe it would be different. There would be nothing wrong with trying this out too. For science, of course.
"So…in that scenario how long did the girl like her friend?" Beca asked to break the comfortable silence that had settled between the two of them. "I'm just kinda curious because I heard some weird stuff from Stacie and Amy about them knowing for a long time that we kinda liked each other. Apparently they've been thinking about this since freshman year."
"Yeah…me too."
Chloe's voice was hesitant as she admitted the truth to Beca and Beca swallowed a few times as she tried to get a handle on that. Chloe had brought boys, and sometimes girls, back to the Bella's house and had always seemed more than supportive of her relationship with Jesse. To think that she had wanted a moment like this with her for over seven years was kinda mind-blowing. And it made all of the tension that she had been feeling over the past three seem like nothing. No wonder she wanted to hold off on going any further than this.
"And you never said anything?" Beca murmured while leaning on her elbow and gently moving some of the hair out of Chloe's eyes. "That must've been really tough for you. I mean…seeing me with Jesse that whole time."
"It wouldn't have changed anything if I would have said something, so I just kept it to myself. You had him and I had Tom and the others so…we have each other now." She smiled a little at Beca as she took one of her hands in her own and whispered "Maybe we needed that time and everything that happened between us to get to this moment. Everything happens for a reason, I guess."
"And you're not scared? I know this may be hard for you to believe, because I'm just such a bad ass or whatever, but I was fucking terrified back there. And I'm still a little afraid that I'll wake up and this will have been one of those dreams again."
"No, not really. I mean, I never made the first move because I wanted to be sure that you wanted me back, but I wasn't ever scared. And I'm not now."
"Why?" Beca asked while leaning against Chloe's chest and breathing heavily against her skin as she fought off the sleep that had suddenly crept up on her. "Maybe if you tell me I won't be scared either."
"I just think that I might be right for you, so I have no real reason to be afraid." She kissed the top of Beca's head as she finally closed her eye and whispered "I've never been."
"Hmm", Beca trailed off while seeking out one of Chloe's hands and giving it a little squeeze. "I like that."
"I thought you would. It's simple, but I think it's enough. Now, go to sleep. We'll talk more about this stuff in the morning."
"Oh, I'm looking forward to it", Beca replied and Chloe laughed because of course Beca would find a way to be pithy while being half asleep. "And Chlo…"
"What now Beca?"
"I think I might be right for you too."
A/N: So I was bored at work and made the actual 'An Emo Night Drive' playlist which I have a link to in my profile!