Chapter 7
"Ok everyone. Put your list of names in the hat," Aubrey ordered. Beca grabbed another slice of pizza first and frowned down at the scrap of paper in her hand.
Chloe
Fat Amy
Stacie
Legacy
Tomorrow was the Bellas' first flight and the group were currently in Aubrey and Chloe's dorm having another 'bonding night' and since they were doing short flights they had to split in half and cover two planes. Beca just hoped that she didn't get stuck with Aubrey.
"Beca! Your vote please," the insistent voice repeated. She mechanically dropped the paper and returned to zoning everything out. At least she would have if Chloe hadn't decided that was the perfect moment to poke her in the ribs.
"Hey! I almost dropped my pizza," she protested.
Chloe shrugged, feigning a hurt expression, "You were ignoring me."
"I wasn't ignoring you. Not exactly. I was just kind of trying to forget about everything," Beca clumsily explained.
"Huh?"
"I'm trying not to think that later Fat Amy will insist on some mortifying game that I won't be able to get out of and I'm trying not to think about… about the,"
"Flight tomorrow? Don't worry you won't mess up, besides Aubrey can't throw you off a plane."
"No, that's not…"
"Alright everyone listen up. Stop talking. Amy, stop chewing that pizza so loudly! I'm trying to tell you your teams here."
It took a while but everyone eventually shut up and listened to Aubrey. The first team was Lily, Jessica, Ashley, Cynthia-Rose and Emily which left Beca with Fat Amy, Stacie, Aubrey and Chloe. She didn't bother wondering why the co-captains were going together though, not after she heard where her flight was going.
Turning pale, Beca grabbed a cushion off the sofa she and Chloe were propped up against and silently screamed into it. No! Anywhere but there! Isn't just flying torture enough in itself?! Well she didn't scream all of that, she just yelled "FUCK!" once. Maybe it was a slight overreaction, maybe not but as usual she couldn't bring herself to care. She was going home.
Unfortunately, the cushion didn't appear to have the magic muffling powers she hoped it would. Everyone heard her. Chloe gently prised the cushion away from her face but Beca remained staring at the floor, utterly devoid of any emotion – especially any plausible embarrassment from the Bellas' hearing – but fear. The deep, dizzying, vast black hole that you're free-falling down kind of fear, with maybe a little bit of guilt mixed in too. Just the type that she was used to.
"Problem Beca?" asked Aubrey icily, "Do you want to switch flights perhaps? Or possibly just quit altogether?"
Slowly the cold shudders that were racking through her body unnoticed turned into her shaking with irrepressible rage. Beca fought to keep her already fraught and frayed emotions – though to be fair this was quite often how she was feeling – in check as the hot anger burnt away the fear.
Beca raised her eyes, pressing her lips together with the effort and looked Aubrey in the eye. Suddenly it was all too easy to smile and reply sweetly, "No Aubrey. Not at all. No problem at all."
A few more tense seconds passed before Amy, unable to bear it, yelled, "Alright! Now that the boring stuff is done it's time for games!"
Most of the girls agreed, joining in a loud and lengthy debate on what they should play. Suddenly Chloe squealed, "Truth or dare!"
Beca's heart sank but she was gratified to see that she wasn't the only one with reservations as Emily spoke up nervously, "Do we have to?"
Stacie replied, "Well seeing as it was Never Have I Ever last week, it's Truth or Dare tonight. Or Spin the Bottle. Your pick."
"Truth or Dare is fine," Emily decided hastily.
0o0o0
"Beca. Truth or Dare?" asked Cynthia-Rose.
"Dare."
"Arm-wrestle Fat Amy."
Beca arm-wrestled Fat Amy. She lost. Her arm felt like it was broken. A small sacrifice as long as she didn't have to spill her secrets.
0o0o0
"Beca. Truth or Dare?" asked Emily.
"Dare."
"Um… er, dance the er, macarena."
"That's a stupid dare," someone protested.
But Emily shook her head and smiled, "No it's not. Beca hates dancing. Ergo dancing the macarena is a sufficiently humiliating dare for her."
Beca couldn't deny that every word just spoken was the truth. It didn't stop her from mock-glaring at Legacy though. She danced the macarena.
0o0o0
"Chloe. Truth or Dare?" asked Beca.
"Truth."
"What's your favourite song?"
"Becaaaa!" Fat Amy wailed, "have you never played this before. Truths are just like dares. Well, less dangerous but at least as embarrassing. Pick another question. Pleeaase."
"Yes Amy I know how the game works. I just couldn't think of another question, besides I actually do want to know the answer," she turned back to Chloe, "So, favourite song?"
"Titanium."
0o0o0
"Beca. Truth or Dare?" asked Jessica.
"Dare."
Everyone crowded around, giving Jessica suggestions until she finally said, "Propose to Aubrey."
Beca gritted her teeth. She turned to face the Bellas' captain and got down on one knee.
0o0o0
"Beca. Truth or Dare?" asked Stacie.
"Dare."
"Kiss Chloe."
Beca's heart suddenly started beating really fast. This was one dare she actually didn't mind to much. She only wished no-one was watching. Knowing the whistles and cheers were only going to get louder she leant over to Chloe and kissed her on the cheek.
"No. On the lips," Stacie ordered, "Don't hold out on our favourite red-head."
Beca refused, "Sorry but no. I'm waiting for when you finally succeed in forcing us to play Spin the Bottle at another one of these evenings. Until then, you should have been more specific with your dare in the first place."
0o0o0
Three rounds later and the Bellas' still hadn't succeeded in getting Beca to answer a truth. They were despairing that they never would until Chloe suddenly had an idea, "Ok. I have a truth for everyone. Everyone," she emphasised as Beca started to protest, "you all have to say one thing that you love and the thing that scares you the most. Aubrey, go first please?"
"Um. Being a Bella. Being unorganised or late."
Beca rolled her eyes.
Emily said, "Writing I guess, and facing my mom if I hadn't gotten in to the Bellas. She would've been so disappointed."
Cynthia-Rose, "Gambling. Um er… come back to me?"
Lily whispered something that sounded like "Knives, laser beams and the twin that I ate."
Stacie answered, "Sex. No sex."
Fat Amy yelled, "Food. No food."
Chloe answered herself saying, "Also being a Bella. Not having any friends."
She was looking at Beca as she said it though making her look away and swallow before giving her own answer, "Favourite thing: sleep. Most scared of: answering truths in Truth or Dare."
"Come on Beca," Stacie cajoled her, "give us a proper answer."
She shook her head stubbornly, "I just answered a truth for you. Isn't that enough? I just faced my greatest fear."
"Hardly," Aubrey scoffed, "you're just being smart to avoid telling us. Why won't you tell us? What's the big secret?"
Beca tried to ignore her, "Ashley, it's your turn now."
But the Bellas' weren't having any of it. With the sole exception of Chloe, they were all yelling at Beca to give them an answer. She resisted the urge to curl up in a ball and cover her ears with her hands. Even harder to resist was the urge to just bolt. Beca tipped her head back against the seat of the sofa, pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them and tried to breathe deeply. Chloe rested her hand on Beca's shoulder and leaned over, breath tickling her ear as she whispered, "Wait it out. They'll run out of steam eventually."
This was the Bellas' they were talking about though. And they weren't giving up anytime soon.
"Come on Beca."
"Tell us Beca."
"Don't worry, we can keep secrets."
Slowly the begging turned to provoking. Did they really think that would make her blurt it out to shut them up? Fat chance. They weren't going to get anything out of her. At least, they weren't until someone took it a bit too far, she wasn't sure who.
"Is this big scary secret the reason you're so stand-offish with everyone? Why you're so messed up?"
After the whole evening she just couldn't face anymore. Beca snapped. She stood up and screamed.
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! WHY DO EVEN CARE? JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! WHY DO NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND THE MEANINGS OF THE WORDS 'PRIVACY' AND 'PERSONAL SPACE' OR 'RESPECT'? YOU KNOW WHAT, I CAN'T STAND THIS SHIT ANYMORE. I'LL BE THERE TOMORROW MORNING, UNTIL THEN GO FUCK YOURSELVES!"
Beca ran to the door and slammed it behind her. Then she slammed the door to her own dorm. Finally, she collapsed onto her bed, grabbing her headphones from the bedside table. Turning up the volume so it was sure to damage her eardrums Beca buried her face in the pillow and sobbed.
0o0o0
Chloe stared at the Bellas'. They all looked just as shocked as she was. Except Aubrey, who looked extremely offended. Silence hung thick and heavy in the air as every one looked at each other wide-eyed, scared to speak.
Just like Beca, Chloe didn't know who had spoken those awful and one look around the room made her pretty certain that no one would be confessing any time soon. Unlike Beca, Chloe was completely shocked that anyone would ever say something so mean and spiteful.
She felt so indignant on the behalf of her new friend – and possibly one day something more? – that when she finally broke the silence she could hardly recognise her own voice, "Thanks a lot guys."
Everyone still appeared to be completely bewildered but Stacie managed to string together a coherent sentence, "What do you mean? Do you know why Beca's so reserved and stubborn? Why she's silent one moment and screaming the next?"
"No," Chloe admitted, her usual bubbliness gone and sombreness in its place, "but I thought I might have been getting closer to finding out. Until you lot all started shouting and demanding answers. What little trust I did manage to build with her had almost certainly disappeared now and she'll never tell anyone."
"Sorry Chloe," the Bellas chorused one by one.
"What are you apologising to me for? Were you even listening to what either of us has just said? Who's the one reduced to tears?"
A/N: So this chapter was meant to be a key point in the plot - the Bellas' first flight. The pizza night was meant to just go up to the first set of stars. Then I got a bit carried away with the Truth or Dare. The next chapter will definitely be the first flight though. And after that it's the shower scene. What do you think of Chloe's PoV? Should I include it some more or not?
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