A/N
So I have a lot of information I want to fit in this chapter, so it may turn out to be longer than usual. Sorry for the delay in updates. I try to update at least once a week, even if it's not the same day every week. But I recently got some very bad news that really just took my desire to write and threw it out the window. Writing is very hard when you're sad. *Sighs* Well, here it is; Chapter Seven….
EDIT: **Had to briefly remove chapter to fix major errors. For some reason Fanfiction didn't want to read the name 'Dr. Mitchell '. Sorry for the inconvenience **
EDIT 2: Shit. It STILL didn't want to read it. I had to go back and fix it word by word; save it each time I typed it in and go back and do that repeatedly. I just checked, and it's fine now. (Thank God! I don't know why it's being so temperamental with me today.
Chapter Seven
::
Jesse pulls his Jeep into a space near Dr. Mitchell's house, along the fence outlining the large property. Beca eyes the house for a split second before hopping out of the car, – hair a tangled mess from the wind – having only been to her dad's new place one, she feels strangely nervous; but shoves the thought away as she and Jesse near the doorstep.
Knock Knock! The door thumps loudly as she raps her knuckles across it. Perhaps she should have rang the door bell instead…
Her thoughts are interrupted as her father opens the door. "Beca!" he smiles warmly, crushing her in a hug. "I was wondering when you'd get here!" he notices Jesse. "And you have a friend…" he falters for a moment, but continues. "Well, come on in, I have plenty of food for lunch." He gestures the pair inside, and shuts the door behind them.
Beca takes her small purse off of her shoulders, hanging it on a rack near the door; looking around, she finds the house to be mostly empty. "Where's the stepmonster?" she asks jokingly, flashing a grin.
Dr. Mitchell rolls his eyes. "She's on a trip with some of her girlfriends. I opted not to go. I can't imagine being packed in a tiny convertible going to Vegas with 4 other women." He explains, laughing heartily.
Jesse nudges Beca's arm. "Imagine going to vegas with Fat Amy, Stacie, Aubrey and Chloe." He mutters; causing Beca to gasp and look over at him in mute horror.
"Oh my gosh, no! I love them to death, but no!" she shudders, making her way into the kitchen. "So dad, what're we having?" she asks casually.
shrugs. "I was just making hotdogs and Mac and Cheese."
"Hotdogs are fine." Jesse says enthusiastically, plopping himself down at a stool near the counter.
Beca nods as well. "Hotdogs will work."
"Great!" Dr. Mitchell claps his hands together. "Well the macaroni is still cooking, so it might be a few minutes."
"That's fine, dad. We're not really in any rush" Beca reassures him.
Jesse mumbles an agreement, and something about a bathroom. Dr. Mitchell gestures down a hallway splitting away from the kitchen, and Jesse wanders down it, looking at the wall décor as he goes; noticing several pictures.
After Jesse's gone, he leans forward over the counter. "Isn't that the boy who helped bail you out of jail?"
"Oh; er, yeah, that's him." Beca answers, shifting in her chair awkwardly.
He squints, face scrunching up as if he were trying to recall something. "What was his name again?"
"Jesse."
"Yep, that's it." He pauses, "I didn't know you had a boyfriend."
Beca's nostrils flare, and she smacks her hand against the counter in frustration. "Dad! He's not –" she's interrupted as Jesse walks back into the kitchen.
"Yeah, we're not-" he must have heard her from around the corner and comes to her aid.
"We're not a thing…" she finishes, lips stretched into an uncomfortable smile. "Just friends."
Jesse glances over. "Well…" he begins, but is silenced by a glare and an elbow to the ribs.
Dr. Mitchell's eyes dart back and forth between them, a strange look in his eyes. "Well you two can work that out later." He says, amusement evident in his tone. Behind him, the stove dings, and he turns to around to mix the cheese into the pot of macaroni.
()
About an hour later, they've all finished their lunches and are gathered in the doorway. "Have a nice trip meeting his parents." Dr. Mitchell teases his daughter lightly, eyes twinkling, before leaning in to hug her.
"And you…" he turns to Jesse, and leans in to whisper something into his ear. Jesse's eyebrows raise slightly, and he nods. Dr. Mitchell pats him on the shoulder, a pleased grin on his face.
Beca rolls her eyes. "If you two are done…" she says, coughing loudly.
Her father sighs in exasperation, and opens the door for them. "Have a safe trip!" he shouts, waving a hand as they head out. Beca waves back.
Jesse and Beca hop into the Jeep. As they buckle themselves in, she pulls out a CD she had brought with her from a bag in the backseat.
"Can we listen to this?" asks hopefully.
Jesse squints at the CD. "The Killers? Is this 2001 or something?" he jokes.
She punches his arm lightly. "Shut up, this band is great." She pouts, taking the disc out of its case, and popping it into the CD player. "And the early 2000's were great." She huffs.
"Oh really? Why is that?"
"Because the 90's didn't end until at least 2004, that's why."
He considers this for a moment. "That's very true…" he nods slowly.
As he pulls out of his parking space, she cranks the volume up, singing loudly.
Are we Human?
Or are we Dancer?
Jesse sighs, shaking his head. "That's not proper grammar."
Beca tilts her head back in laughter, and just sings louder.
::
When they finally reach Jesse's house and park, its three hours later, and the sun is sinking in the sky. Jesse shuts off the engine, and Beca starts to get out, but he stops her; holding an arm in front of her.
"Beca, wait."
She looks over. "What?" she asks in a worried tone.
Jesse shifts in his seat. "My parents are like, really… religious and stuff." He takes a deep breath. "So they might not like you – right away, that is. Even if they don't… just –" he searches for words. "I'd rather have you walk in like this-" he gestures to her dark outfit, her combat boots; her earspikes,"Than have you walk in as someone you aren't. So if they don't like you – that's it. They just don't like you." He finishes and puts his hands in his lap.
She remains silent for a moment, taking in his little speech. "Okay." She says quietly. "Let's go."
()
An older woman rushes out of the house, door swinging behind her. She hurries over and tackles Jesse in a hug. "Oh! You've brought a girl!" she looks over at Beca skeptically.
"Air, mom! Air!" Jesse shouts; and she releases him.
She looks over at Beca expectantly. Beca shuffles forwardly awkwardly, proffering a hand. In a moment of boldness, she says "Hi, I'm Beca… Jesse's – uh – girlfriend." She says, face flushing red when she utters the G word. Behind his mother, Jesse goes slack-jawed.
You could hear a pin drop. Mrs. Swanson looks at Beca's hand as if it were a snake, seeming reluctant, but shakes it after a moment. "Oh. That's…. – that's lovely." She says after a moment. Her smile doesn't reach her eyes. "I'm Audrey; Jesse's mom, and over there, that's Shane; Jesse's father"
Beca peeks around Audrey's shoulder to look over at Mr. Swanson, who is looking at her disapprovingly. She swallows nervously, heart speeding up in tempo.
Jesse is looking at her face intently, calculating her every move. He seems to sense her anxiety, and shoves himself in between his family and Beca. "So!" he claps his father's shoulder. "Why don't we all go inside?"
His father gives him a withering look, and turns around to head back inside.
'Well, he's very talkative." Beca mutters in Jesse's ear. He snorts, barely stifling a laugh.
"You can say that again." He mutters back.
Beca, ever the smartass, opens her mouth to speak again, but Jesse cuts her off. "Only don't, because we don't want him hearing that." Her mouth shuts again, a sullen look on her face at being denied a snarky comment.
()
Two hours later, Beca had brought her luggage into the house, and taken up temporary residence in one of the guest rooms – much to Mr. Swanson's chagrin. (To be honest, she'd planned on putting most of her stuff in Jesse's room; and he promised to help her sneak her stuff in later, when his parents couldn't see.)
::
Beca huffed as she struggled to carry her bag up the steps, glaring at the steep wooden staircase with malice. Jesse was right behind her and lifted the suitcase out of her hands in amusement and easily carried it up the stairs.
"Someone so tiny shouldn't be carrying a suitcase that weighs as much as them." He'd remarked with a grin.
Beca's glare deepened. "Shut up." She hissed through clenched teeth. "Now show me where I'm gonna be sleeping."
Jesse's grin widened at her anger. "Alright. I'll take the little princess to her castle." He knew he was venturing into dangerous territory, but didn't really care much.
Beca was practically fuming, and she blushed. "I am not a princess!" she insisted, stomping down the hallway, her boots making a very satisfying sound on the hardwood flooring. She crossed her arms and turned away from Jesse, to hide her face. (She wasn't a princess, she was a Queen. Although to say the remark hadn't pleased her just a bit was an understatement…)
Jesse waved an arm. "Uh, hello? Beca? Your room is over here." He laughed as she tried to maintain her glare, and ultimately couldn't.
Slumping her shoulders and throwing him a nasty look, she grabbed her luggage and dragged it into her room. "Thanks." She said grudgingly, sounding as if she were being tortured, as she flopped face-first onto the bed in the middle of the room.
"You're welcome." Jesse said smugly, and sat next to her on the bed. "By the way, since you forced me to see your room, I'm gonna force you to see mine."
Beca groaned. "I bet it's dorky."
"Oh, it is." Jesse said matter-of-factly. "You'll love it."
Beca made a noise of protest as he picked her up and carried her down the hall to his room, but was too tired to actually do much of anything about it. After a moment, she was set down again, and Jesse gave a big 'Tada!' and gestured around his room.
Beca looked around the room curiously. She'd always wondered what kind of room he had. And now she knew.
It was totally nerdy.
Movie posters lined the walls; Star Wars, Jaws, Lord of The Rings; the list went on. Little Pop!Figures lined a shelf on one side of the room; while records, books, CD's, and games lined the opposite shelf. The walls were dark blue, and he had a generic grey comforter.
"It's really dorky." She said after a long moment.
"Well I am pretty dorky."
"Yeah, you are."
"Do you like it?" he asked hopefully.
She looked over at him; at his puppy dog face, and his big brown eyes. Ugh. She'd have to say it, wouldn't she?
"I love it."
Jesse pumped his fist. "I knew it."
Beca kicked her shoes off, and leaned back on his bed. "To be honest, I thought for sure I'd be staying in here, considering you pretty much slept in my room every night you were in New York with me." She admitted.
Jesse sat down in a computer chair over by his desk and spun around lazily. "'You have a habit of making yourself at home, did you know that?'" he mimicked, smirking.
Beca blushed furiously and crossed her arms. "I said that months ago!" she protested indignantly.
"I have to say, you were positively prophetic." He snickered. "You do have a habit of making yourself at home!"
Beca glared at him, saying nothing.
"Okay, tell you what" he plants his feet up on his desk and leans back in his chair casually. "I'll help you sneak your stuff in later."
"Sneak?" she asked skeptically, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, my parents think that girls shouldn't be allowed in my room and shit like that." He replied, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Won't you get in a lot of trouble if I'm in here? I mean, I don't want to get you in trouble or anything…"
He shrugged again. "Yeah. So?"
Beca leaned back against his headboard, resting her arms behind her head. "My, my; when did you become such a bad boy?"
Jesse rolled his eyes. "God, I bet you find that attractive or something." He said, realizing his mistake.
Beca laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything about it." She said. "Yet."
With that, she closed her eyes, and took a nap on Jesse's bed.
()
Jesse's arm nudges her in the side. "C'mon Sleeping Beauty. Food's ready." He whispers in her ear; and she can hear the laugh he's suppressing.
Beca cracks open an eye. "I'll have you know I was secretly listening to you play your game." She flashes back.
"Oh, really?"
"DarkLord145?" she asks, snickering.
Jesse pouts. "My character is a Vampire." He says defensively.
Beca rolls her eyes. "I think you're just over compensating." She says.
"That's inappropriate."
"You know me; master of dirty jokes."
"Yeah, you'll have to keep that to a minimum downstairs." He warns.
"Yeah, okay, okay. I get it. You have super conservative parents." She snaps. "Let's just go downstairs."
"Beca, now is not the time to be lashing out because you're scared."
She flinches. "I'm not lashing out."
Jesse's face hardens. "Yes. You are."
She sighs. "Sorry. Let's just get this over with…" she mutters, shuffling down the stairs, Jesse close behind.
"There you two are!" Beca jumps, looking over in the direction of the voice. Mrs. Swanson has a huge smile on her face; and for the first time today, it looks real. She seems to be the friendlier parent.
"Yeah. Sorry about that." Jesse apologizes, squeezing past her. "Beca fell asleep."
Mrs. Swanson looks over at her sympathetically. "Long flight?"
Beca nods, relieved at the lack of unease between them. "Yeah. There was a screaming baby right behind me."
Mrs. Swanson laughs, and leads her over to the table, pulling out a chair for her. "Jesse, you can sit next to her, and Shane will sit over here with me." She says, fussing over the position of everything on the table.
"Mom," Jesse lays his hand on his mothers. "Everything looks fine."
"Yes, of course." She says, fixing her hair, and sits down. "Shane!" she shouts. "Get in here! The chicken's done!"
Mr. Swanson emerges from the living room, and takes his place at the table, still eying Beca disapprovingly.
"Shall we say grace?" Mrs. Swanson asks, voice polite, though she looks over at Mr. Swanson pointedly.
Mr. Swanson coughs. "Oh, er, right." They all take each other's hands; and Beca remains politely quiet – she notices that Jesse, too, is quiet as his parents say grace.
Once done, they all grab servings of chicken. Beca spots mashed potatoes, and adds some to her plate, delighted. (She loves them.)
After they all have food, Mr. Swanson starts up a conversation. "So, Beca; I couldn't help but notice you were quiet earlier." He says, thinly veiled disdain in his voice. "You're not religious?"
Beca shifts uncomfortably – this is what she was afraid would happen. "Uh, no. I'm not." She responds politely.
Mr. Swanson's face darkens. "Oh, that's nice. Glad to see our son is dating nice, catholic girls." He says through gritted teeth.
"Dad, I told you, I don't believe in that stuff." Jesse cuts in. "Can we just have a nice dinner, and not talk about this?"
Mr. Swanson looks at his son for a moment, but turns back to Beca. "I also can't help but notice you're… piercings." He continues his verbal onslaught.
Beca hunches her shoulders, hair falling over her face. "Oh, yeah. I like to express myself." She mutters uncomfortably, hiding her face behind her hair.
"Don't worry, Bec. He's all bark and no bite." Jesse whispers,hand ghosting along her knee.
"And what about the dark clothes?"
Beca stands up abruptly, chair scraping on the floor noisily, and slams her fork down on her plate. "I –I think I'm going to go to the bathroom." She stammers, walking down the hall swiftly.
()
Mrs. Swanson glares at her husband. "Shane!" she shouts. "That is no way to treat a guest!"
"Didn't you see her? With her dark clothes and makeup? And all of those piercings? There must have been at least ten in her one ear alone!" he shouts back.
"I did see that." She replies coldly. "But she was nothing but polite to us, and the things you were saying were very rude."
Jesse coughs, as if to remind his parent's that he's there. They look over, ashamed looks adorning their faces.
"I am so sorry your father was acting so childishly, Jesse." His mother apologizes.
"I know you are, mom." He says. "And dad; I hope you're happy – she's probably crying in the bathroom now." He raises his voice. "She's fragile. She's been dealt a bad hand in life."
Mr. Swanson looks down in shame. "But she looks so –"
"Yeah, I know what she looks like." Jesse cuts him off. "She's just projecting; as much as she'd hate to admit it. She wants you to think she's all tough." He explains. "Beca is vulnerable. She's sad; she's insecure."
"Ahem." Mrs. Swanson coughs, grabbing his attention. "Beca has 'been in the bathroom' for over ten minutes." She smiles uneasily. . "I think maybe you should go talk to her." She suggests, punctuating her words with a sharp glare at her husband.
Jesse sighs, and runs a hand through his hair. "You know; two months ago when I suggested her coming here, she ran off, and I had to find her." He says to his father. "Maybe I shouldn't have brought her here."
With that, he rises from the table, and walks down the hall to the bathroom. The light is off. Just to make sure, he turns the handle. It opens – so it's not locked either. Great – she's probably run off again.
He slumps his shoulders, and marches out the front door; but double takes.
Beca is sitting on the porch, swinging sadly on the porch swing.
::
"I told you they would hate me" she says bitterly when he steps outside.
Jesse walks over and sits next to her on the swing. "My dad would hate any girl I brought home." He says, trying to lighten the situation. Beca looks at him unhappily. "If it means anything, I talked to him; and he feels really bad about saying those things about you." He says softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Beca reaches up a hand to grab his in her own. "He might feel bad about it; but that doesn't mean he likes me. And your mom seemed pretty unsure about me, too. She just wasn't vocal about it." She mumbles, eyes locked on the ground.
Jesse is taken aback. He's hardly ever seen Beca like this – she's usually so adamant and headstrong about her opinions; self confident; snarky – but he realizes now that all was just a wall; a barrier to protect herself -The version of her that he sees now; The insecure, shy, anxious Beca.
"Well, who gives a fuck what they think? I don't need my parent's seal of approval to love you" Jesse says, hand curling into a fist. Beca looks up at him, surprise flickering across her face.
"You said you-" she starts.
"And I meant it." He adds. "To be honest, I'm surprised you said it first." He says, recalling Times Square. "But just because I only now just said the big L, doesn't mean I didn't feel it."
Beca fiddles with her hands for a moment, uncertain. After a moment, she relents, and leans against him. "I really needed to hear that right now." She whispers into his ear
Jesse smiles sadly, and pulls her closer to him, swinging the chair slowly. "I'm sorry my dad was such a dick."
"I was kind of expecting it."
"Even so."
"Are you still gonna sneak my stuff in your room?"
"Nah. I'll do it right now; where my dad can see." He jokes. "Maybe I can give him a heart attack."
Beca laughs. "We could put a sock on your door and make them think we had sex." She offers.
Jesse grimaces. "Ew; no."
::
A/N
Gah! Sorry this chapter took two weeks. I felt really bad about that, but I was having some major writer's block. Hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for it. It's 1,000 words over my preferred limit.
Well; I hope you enjoyed the banter. I made sure to add extra sass and humour. ;)
Until next time!
