A/N: I'm. So. Sorry. Again. I didn't mean for it to take this long, but I added something extra into here, which threw the rest of my plans out of whack. Plus, I've been super busy getting ready for a vacation, but now that I'm actually on vacation I have some time to post this. Though it certainly wasn't easy, because the internet doesn't seem to want to work for me, so it keeps connecting and disconnecting (conveniently when I hit submit on this fricking chapter). Ah frustrations of the worst kind. This chapter's longer than usual though, if that's any consolation:3
Review responses:
Coolerthanadesert: Haha it's okay, I find your annoyance toward Beca's father quite amusing xP Glad you liked the chapter btw! Here's the next one:3
Blakchloe: Haha I dunno, you'll have to wait and see:P
owlbeaks: Haha glad you like my fic so much:D Don't cry! Here's the next chapter to make you feel better:3
LovatoLove1996: Hey, glad you like my fic so far:) I'm planning on about four more chapters (including this one), but I'm not 100 percent sure yet; we'll have to see where my writing takes me xP Anyways, thanks for the lovely review! Here's the next chapter:3
Brookster27: I don't remember if I replied to you or not, so I'm just gonna do it again xD Thanks for reviewing; glad you like my fic so far! Don't worry, I think Ryan's an asshole too;P Aaand here's the next chapter; sorry to keep you waiting!
Librabelieber: So glad to see you like my fic so far! Thanks for the lovely reviews:) I don't think I'll ever like horror movies (they just aren't my thing, and I'm a total chicken). I like watching people play horror video games, just not watching horror movies xD And I've never heard of ramen before; is it some kind of food that's only in certain countries? Anyway, thanks for the support; here's the next chapter:3
Coffee Writer Girl: I'm glad you like my fic:D And BBQ ribs are very swoon worthy, I think;P
handsup (anon): I know, killing sweet and innocent Chloe would be like the most unthinkable thing ever:o Good thing it's only a fic, right;P I'm a very picky person, but I'm still like a human trash xD Surf and Turf is seafood, right? Anyways, here's the next chapter; sorry to keep you waiting!
Awkward Penguin (anon): What is ramen? You're the second person to mention it, and I have no clue what it is xD Anyway, here's the next chapter; sorry to keep you waiting:3
DCG-Charlie: I envy your non-yawning skills then xD And yes, pasta is a definite win! I don't like pasta salad though:/ I like my noodles warm!
R41N-bow: Peanut butter pancakes? I have not tried these before, and now I must *_* New bucket list food! YOU STARTED THE SHOUTING FIRST, I would just like to point out;P Hmm, a giant blueberry? I don't know what to think of this:/ And to answer your random question, I would say cupcake, cuz they're colourful and I enjoy them (even though I don't like icing):3
Reda V: Glad you like it! Here's the next chapter:3
DISCLAIMER: I still don't. I just. Yeah, no.
"Okay, wait," Beca said through giggles, propping her head up with her arm to look at the ghost lying beside her. "You actually ran across town naked?"
Chloe grinned sheepishly, blushing as she shrugged. "It was a dare! How could I not?"
"Here's a thought: say no."
"But... It was a dare, Beca," Chloe said again, pouting. The brunette chuckled, rolling her eyes. It was the next day, and Beca had once again come by to visit the ghost before she went to school. They were lying side by side on the mattress, Chloe hovering next to the brunette as they took turns telling random goofy stories and anecdotes they had gone through before. Beca's ankle was equipped with a walking cast, her mother having brought her to the doctor the night before once the two had calmed down. He had stated it was a simple sprain, but since Beca had put a little too much strain on it, most likely when she had run away after injuring it, he had said it had been worsened enough to be a concern. Beca hadn't really wanted a cast at all, but she was glad it was one she could at least walk in without crutches.
"Stop snickering," Chloe reprimanded playfully, her ghostly hand moving out to swat at Beca's arm. It phased right through, and the brunette involuntarily shivered, grin never faltering. "It's your turn to share a story."
"Okay, okay," Beca said, sticking tongue in her cheek to hold back her smile. "Um, let's see... Well, when I was four, my dad took me to my uncle's farm, and he had a really big golden retriever. His name was Toby, and like most dogs do, he started barking and jumping all over me. Since I was so little at the time he knocked me over in his commotion, and I got really freaked out because it was my first time seeing a dog in real life. My dad was able to get the dog off me, but ever since then I've been afraid of big dogs," Beca finished her story with a sheepish grin.
"That's kind of adorable," Chloe chuckled. "You know you're big enough now that dogs won't be able to knock you over, right? Though maybe you're not that much bigger," she said teasingly.
"Shut up!" Beca laughed incredulously at the short joke, rolling her eyes. "I can't always be a super bad ass."
"You realize you were cowering in fear the first time I saw you right? I think you lost your bad ass title that day."
"You're never gonna let me forget that, are you?"
Chloe giggled, sticking her tongue out. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm afraid of the dark."
Beca sobered slightly at this, raising an eyebrow. "Doesn't it get dark out here every night?"
The ghost averted her eyes. "Well, yeah, but I've gotten used to it. It doesn't freak me out as much as it used to anymore."
Beca stared at Chloe's bowed head thoughtfully. "I'll find a way to get you out of here eventually," she promised.
"Beca..."
"As much as I love spending time with you, you don't deserve to be stuck in this disgusting shed. You're too nice a person for that," the teenager spoke, and Chloe chanced a glance up at Beca, heart warming at seeing the pure concern on the brunette's face. She barely registered how close their faces had become as her eyes locked with Beca's, the inensity of her gaze taking Chloe's breath away. She absentmindedly began to admire Beca's eyes, getting lost in the varying shades of blues. Beca eyes were really pretty, she mused silently. Heck, Beca was really pretty.
"You have pretty eyes," she whispered to the brunette, watching Beca blush and duck her head bashfully.
"Um, thanks. They're nothing really amazing or anything though. I mean, your eyes are like so bright blue and breathtaking," she said, her voice low as she looked back up to stare into Chloe's bright glowing orbs. "They're really beautiful."
A slow smile grew on the ghost's face. "Beautiful?"
Beca nodded, a shy smile making it's way onto her mouth. That smile that Chloe loved to see. "Beautiful," she whispered back. The redhead felt as if she had melted into a puddle of goo, realizing Beca was no longer simply talking about her eyes. She once again yearned to touch the sweet brunette in front of her, wishing she could just pull the small girl into her arms, feel her body pressed against hers, feel her warm breath on her neck, but she knew she couldn't. She was a ghost. A ghost who still hadn't managed to master focusing herself into the real world.
Their intimate moment was interrupted by the sound of the school bell, and Beca pouted, breaking their intense eye contact as she rolled onto her back.
"I don't wanna go to school," she whined, exhaling loudly.
Chloe chuckled. "Poor baby," she said teasingly. "Though you realize if you're late it'll be twice as torturous, with all the teachers on your tail for being on time."
"Yeah, I suppose," she sighed, slowly easing herself to her feet with a groan, as if getting up were a difficult struggle. Chloe laughed at this, floating up.
"You're so lazy, you know?"
"I know," Beca grinned, moving towards the window. "Ugh, school should be illegal," she complained, leaning against the window sill.
"Aww, you'll be fine," Chloe teased, moving next to Beca to peer outside. "You sit there and pretend to learn for a few hours. At you'll get to see all your friends; that used to be my favourite part of school."
Beca hummed noncommittedly, pursing her lips. Chloe peered over at the brunette at this, eyebrows arching as questions about the DJ's social life began to surface again.
"Beca?" she chanced.
"Hmm?"
"How many friends do you have exactly?"
Beca glanced over at the redhead, raising a brow. "Um, why?"
Chloe shrugged nonchalantly. "I never hear you talk about any of them. I was curious."
"Oh, we'll you know," Beca let out a breath. "A few." At Chloe's questioning look, the brunette looked down, playing with her sleeves. "Um, a couple actually. You, and maybe Benji," she admitted.
"What?" Chloe asked disbelievingly. The brunette was so fun and nice, she could hardly understand why no one would want to talk to her.
Beca shrugged, giving a tight lipped grin. "The social ladder's a bitch. I was never that high up, but once I came out as gay I basically dropped to the bottom of the food chain. It doesn't really matter though."
"Well, if it helps I think they're all idiots if they can't see how awesome you are," Chloe said, offering a kind smile. "If I had been alive while you were in high school, we totally would have been fast friends." She was rewarded with a small smile from Beca.
"You're amazing, you know that?" the teenager chuckled. "There should be more people like you in the world."
"Stop," Chloe said, unable to hold back her cheesy smile, "you're gonna make me blush."
"Can ghosts even blush?"
The redhead laughed incredulously. "Shut it, you. You're supposed to be going to school, remember?"
"Yeah, I suppose," Beca chuckled, hoisting herself up onto the ledge.
"See you later Becs!" Chloe chirped, and the brunette only gave her a playful pout before leaping out.
School, as the DJ had predicted, was boring and tiring. The day had been uneventful for the most part, but when she had gone to hand in her English assignment, she realized with annoyance and anger that one of the jocks had stolen it, and with no evidence she had been forced to stay after school to finish her due assignment. Even though it didn't take long, considering she could remember the gist of her paper, she was still quite frustrated to be in detention in the first place, and she was quite happy when she finished the assignment, sauntering out the school's back exit with a sigh of relief. Unsurprisingly, the grounds were already barren, and she began making her way across the football field, trekking through the familiar trees as she made her routine trip to the abandoned tool shed. She had had to run home for lunch since she had forgotten it that morning, and she was excited to see Chloe again, even though it had only been a few hours since she'd seen her last.
However, as she approached the old building, her eyes caught sight of Benji on his front porch across the street, focused on a handheld videogame. Beca slowed to a stop, glancing at the shed once again with a thoughtful look. Turning her attention back to the curly haired boy, Beca hesitated before making her way across the street. She remembered Benji talking about his interest in ghosts, and considering the fact that Chloe had already said she wanted to meet him, she decided see if he wanted to visit Chloe with her.
"Hey stranger," Benji called out as he spotted the small brunette approaching. Beca gave a shy wave, stopping at the base of his porch.
"Hey, how's it going?" she asked, watching him put his gaming system away.
"Good. Beca, right? How'd you know I lived here?"
Beca gave a sheepish grin at this, mentally slapping herself as she realized how creepy this could be considered. "Well you know, my school is right... Over there and I saw, I mean. I'm sorry, is this weird?"
Benji chuckled, shaking his head. "Hey, it's fine. I've seen you a few times around here too as a matter of fact, climbing into the window of that old shed. How come you don't just use the door?"
"Honestly I'd prefer the door, but it's bolted shut," Beca said with a shrug.
Benji nodded. "Ah, okay. What's in there exactly?"
"Well, actually I wanted to show you," she said hesitantly, gesturing toward the old shed. "Wanna come see? I think you'll like it."
"You're not just leading me out into the forest to kill me, are you?" he asked jokingly, standing and hopping off his porch.
Beca grinned playfully. "Of course not, I'm more of an alleyway kind of girl anyway."
Benji laughed. "Okay I guess I'll come see. Is it haunted or something?" he asked teasingly, remembering her interest in ghosts.
Beca gave a cryptic grin. "You'll see," she said, beginning to lead him across the street. He noticed her slight limp, and his eyes fell to her ankle.
"Hey, what happened to you?" he asked, pointing to her cast when she looked at him questioningly.
"Oh, that. Long story short, I jumped out of a tree from too high up," Beca explained.
"Is it very serious? Did you fracture it?" Benji asked concernedly. He assumed it wasn't broken considering she could walk on it, But he also knew a sprain usually didn't require a cast.
"Mm, it's just a sprain, but I kinda ran on it right after it happened, so it got a bit worse," she said simply, averting her eyes. Benji, sensing he was beginning to hit dangerous territory, nodded meekly, accepting her answer and deciding not to push it further.
As the two teenagers approached the shed, Benji slowed his steps to analyze the mysterious building warily. Beca cast him a reassuring grin, not hesitating in the slightest as she strode up to the window and hoisted herself up, slipping into the building with practiced ease. Benji hesitated before following the suit, grabbing her offered hand to pull himself in. He stumbled slightly as he landed on the uneven mattress, but with the smaller girl's help he was able to gather his footing. Once steady, he looked around his new surroundings, instantly noticing all the garbage.
"Uh, you wanted to show me all this junk?" Benji asked, scrunching his nose in both confusion and disgust at the smell. "You don't live here, do you?" he said half-jokingly.
Beca chuckled, shaking her head. "No, I don't live in here."
Benji, hearing the emphasis in her sentence, raised his eyebrow, glancing around warily. "Then who-"
"Hey!" Chloe greeted, flying down from the rafters. Benji let out a rather girly shriek, clinging to Beca as the ghost came into view. The brunette girl gave Chloe a smirk, raising an eyebrow as the redhead gave an apologetic grin. Benji, taking in Chloe's glowing, floating form, allowed his jaw to drop as he registered what was in front of him.
"Whoa, you're a ghost," Benji stated breathily, staring at Chloe in awe.
"I am," Chloe giggled, nodding in agreement.
"Benji, this is Chloe," Beca said, giving him a slightly annoyed look as she gently pushed him off her person. "She won't hurt you, I swear. She can just be a bit eccentric at times."
"Sorry," Chloe said sheepishly, backing up slightly.
"This is what I wanted to show you," Beca continued, grinning at his slack-jawed expression. "Since you're so into the paranormal, I thought you might like it if I introduced you to my best friend," she explained, not seeing the way Chloe's face completely lit up at the term. Benji continued to stare at Chloe, completely at a loss for words, and Beca chuckled, waving a hand in front of the boy's face. "Hey Benji, you still here?"
"Is he okay?" Chloe asked, raising a brow.
Beca snapped her fingers in front of his face a few times, still getting no response. "Great, you broke him," she said. Chloe was about to retort when Benji seemed to snap out of his reverie, opening and closing his mouth a few times as he tried to form a sentence.
"Wow..." Benji finally spoke, "your best friend is a ghost? Wow. This is... Wow. Now I understand why you were researching ghosts the other day," the boy said, still staring at Chloe in curiosity. "This is just... so amazing."
Beca nodded, a small grin on her face as she locked eyes with Chloe. "Yup, she sure is."
The redhead laughed at this, biting her lip. "You're such a cheese ball," she said, scrunching up her nose.
Beca narrowed her eyes playfully. "Don't make that face, you love my cheesiness."
Benji, who was still staring in bafflement at Chloe, slowly grinned as excitement began to enter his mind. "Wow, I can't believe I'm talking to a ghost right now."
Chloe grinned. "Well believe it, because I'm about as ghost as you can get," she said, gesturing to herself with her hands. "Sorry I scared you by the way, I'm kinda bad for that."
"No, it's okay," Benji said, shaking his head quickly. "I'm fine. You didn't scare me too badly."
"Yeah, you seemed to handle it pretty well," Chloe said, her eyes flickering to Beca teasingly. "Much better than Beca anyway. First time she saw me, she was-"
"Ooookay," Beca interrupted. "Do we seriously need to bring that up again?" Chloe snickered at this response, pressing her lips together.
"Sorry," she muttered again, though she looked far from. Beca just shook her head. Her attention shifted as she felt the boy next to her almost shaking in excitement, and she grinned, turning her head to look at him.
"So, you get to cross 'make friends with a ghost' off your bucket list. Is this awesome or what?" Beca asked Benji, gently bumping him with her elbow.
Benji nodded enthusiastically, a wide grin on his face. "Uh huh. So awesome. Thanks for bringing me here, Beca," he said, pulling the girl next to him into a quick hug. She squeaked in surprise, awkwardly patting him on his shoulder once the shock wore off. She heard the ghost snicker at this, and Beca rolled her eyes as a grin forced it's way onto her face. When Benji let go, he turned his attention back to the ghost, practically bubbling in excitement, much to the two girls' amusement. "Chloe, um, can I ask you some questions? I've always wanted to meet a ghost, and I have so much I wanna know."
Chloe nodded. "Oh totes! Fire away," she said, winking at Beca with her reference to their song. The brunette chuckled, moving to sit down on the mattress with Chloe and Benji following the suit. For the rest of the afternoon, the three misfits talked, joked and laughed, simply enjoying each other's company. Benji had to leave after a little while to his library job, and after promising to visit again Chloe and Beca bade him a cheerful goodbye as he reluctantly slipped out the window. Beca, not having anywhere to be, stayed with the redhead for a bit longer, the two easily getting lost in conversation again. It wasn't until the sun disappeared over the horizon that they took notice of the time.
"Oh, crap," Beca said, checking the time on her phone. "I should probably be heading home."
"Okay," Chloe said with a pout, which quickly morphed into a sweet smile as Beca gave her an apologetic grin. "Well, thanks for bringing Benji by. He was really nice."
"What about me? I wasn't fun to hang out with?" Beca asked jokingly, jutting out her lower lip.
Chloe giggled. "Don't worry, your still my favourite."
Beca smiled, reaching her hand into her bag. "Good, because your favourite person decided to bring you something." she said, and Chloe felt completely touched as Beca once again displayed her sweet side, pulling a small Pokemon night light out of her bag. "It's my old night light, from when I was younger," the DJ explained. "I know it's not much, but I figured it might help a little bit. I hope this plug-in still works," she said, standing and making her way over to the nearby outlet on the wall. She wedged it in, and it instantly flickered on with a bright green glow. Chloe couldn't help but widen her smile as it illuminated the whole area, instantly feeling relief from the looming darkness.
"It's perfect! Much less scarier in here now. Thank you so much Beca," Chloe gushed, floating up to the brunette excitedly.
"You're welcome," Beca said, happy to see Chloe so ecstatic over such a small gesture. "Now you don't have to be afraid anymore."
"I guess that makes you my knight in shining armor then," Chloe said half-teasingly.
"I dunno, that's setting the bar a little high," Beca retorted. "Next thing I know you'll be expecting me to come in on a horse so we can ride off into the sunset."
"I don't think a horse would fit through the window, but I like the idea," Chloe said with a wink. Beca only chuckled, shaking her head.
"You are something else, Chlo."
"I try," Chloe said with a nod, grinning. Beca returned it with a lopsided smile.
"Well, as much fun as this has been, I really need to go. I told my mom I'd be home like half an hour ago," the brunette said, reluctantly moving away from the ghost as she slung her bag over her shoulder.
"Okay, see you tomorrow?" Chloe asked hopefully, floating behind Beca as the brunette made her way to the window.
"You know it," the DJ responded, leaping up into the window sill. "Goodnight Chlo."
"Goodnight, my good knight!" Chloe said in a terrible British accent, giving a mock curtsey. Beca rolled her eyes in response, shaking her head at the ghost's goofiness. The brunette playfully blew a kiss at Chloe, and the redhead's familiar giggles echoed through the shed as Beca slid down to the ground below, a wide dopey smile plastered on her own face.
A/N: I originally wasn't going to have Benji meet Chloe, but so many of you wanted it I squished it in. I had written out the chapter two ways, one with Benji meeting Chloe, and one without, but in the end I thought 'might as well' and chose this version. Not sure if I like that scene or not though, cuz to me it seems kind of rushed, but oh well. Tell me what you think!
Random question: what's your favourite season? Mine's winter:3 Mostly because I hate bugs (ugghh, bugs should be illegal DX), and I'd rather be hot than cold. If you're cold, you can just add more layers, but if you're hot, there's only so many layers you can take off:/ What about you?