The next three weeks went on in a similar manner. They met for coffee or lunch whenever their schedules allowed it and they went on a couple more dates, one to a fancy restaurant and another to the amusement park. They kissed and cuddled. But their relationship wasn't progressing.

Every time Chloe or somebody else mentioned the word 'girlfriend' Beca would get nervous and change the subject. And Chloe hadn't pushed her, but she was growing frustrated.

She had decided not to go to Stacie behind Beca's back and wait for the tiny brunette to come around. But it hadn't happened, so she decided to be straightforward with the producer.

She was, again, waiting for her to come out of work in the coffee shop nearby. She was a bit nervous, since she didn't know how the brunette would react and she didn't want to push her away. But all her nerves seemed to vanish when said brunette came into the shop, with a bright smile and a single, white tulip in her hand.

"Hey babe" she said, taking a seat next to her and giving her a quick kiss in the lips. "I bought you this this morning. It was the only tulip at the shop I didn't think was lame." She explained, and Chloe swooned a bit over the gesture.

"Thank you Bec" she gave her a kiss on the lips and a bright smile. "It's beautiful. I love it."

"So, I was thinking. When does the film shooting start?"

"Next Wednesday, why?" the redhead asked, confused as to why she was thinking about that.

"Well, we would see each other even less, and I was thinking, if you wouldn't mind, of course, if maybe I could drive you and pick you up? It's not far from the studio and I can make my schedule around yours. I could even go have lunch with you, if you're free. You don't have to, of course, and I totally understand if you think it's not a good idea, I just thought it could be nice an-" she was rambling, and Chloe had to interrupt her, as cute as she was.

"Baby! Stop, of course I think that's a good idea. I'd like that very much. I'll give you a copy of my schedule later." The redhead said, loving the idea and swooning once again. "I do need to talk to you about something, though." She added, with a serious expression.

"Okay… that can't be good. Did I do something?" Chloe chuckled.

"Of course not." She said, taking Beca's hand. "Please listen to me and don't try to change the subjet." Beca nodded. "Look, we've been… dating for almost a month now, and we spent a lot of time together, and I have a lot of fun with you but…"

"Dammit! Fuck!" Beca said, lowering her gaze with tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "It's okay. Don't say it. I get it and it'll only hurt more if you say it."

"What are you talking about? Beca! I told you to listen to me." The brunette finally look up, definitely crying by now, and looked the ginger in the eye. "As I was saying, we have a lot of fun, and I like you so much, but it's killing me not being able to call you my girlfriend. It's utterly ridiculous, Beca. We do everything girlfriends do, and we've been exclusive since the very beginning. So will you please, please be my girlfriend."

Beca was at loss of words. This was not what she expected. She thought the redhead was dumping her, not asking her to be her girlfriend. But the thought scared her. This would be her first girlfriend, and she didn't know a thing about it.

"Chloe, I… I don't know" She said defeated. "I don't know anything, really. I'm 25 and I've never had a girlfriend. I don't know what to do, or how to act. Why would you want to be my girlfriend anyway? I thought you were dumping me, and it made so much more sense than this… I'm sorry, I probably should have never agreed to that first date in the first place…"

"Oh my god, not again. We're coming back to that later. But now I need you to understand that I'm so, so happy that you did agree to that date. And you're everything I thought you'd be and more. I honestly don't see me dumping you any time soon, so you can relax. And I understand if being my girlfriend is not something you're ready for. I'm okay with keeping things the way they are if you'll feel more comfortable, but I'd love for you to be my girlfriend." Chloe said, cupping the brunette's face and wiping the tears that were still spilling with her thumbs.

"I… uh… Look, there's nobody else in the world I would even consider calling my girlfriend. I'm just… scared, I guess, of failing you. I want to be everything you need from a partner, and I really don't think I can offer that right now. So… think about it, all right? I won't be mad if you change your mind, and I'll try and be better for you. But think about it." The brunette said, still looking her in the eyes.

"Oh, okay then! By the way, you remember when I said five minutes ago that we're practically girlfriends except we don't call each other that? So yeah, you're kind of my girlfriend already, and you're pretty good at that, believe me. Now will you please officially be my girlfriend?" the redhead said, smiling. She should have known this was exactly how it was gonna go down.

"But… Chlo, we don't exactly do… everything girlfriends do." The redhead gave her a confused look and the brunette sighed. "Okay. I'm just going to say it. We don't have… sex." She explained, blushing and putting her head down again. "And I don't think I can give you that right now. And you deserve everything and more and I can't give that to you an-" she was interrupted by the sound of the redhead's laugh and when she finally looked up, with hurt written all over her face, Chloe immediately sobered up and moved to hug her.

"Sorry, baby, that was a dick move. I wasn't laughing at you though, I swear. But it's ridiculous what you're saying." She said rubbing circles in her back. "I know you're not ready for that. I figured as much. And I'm not going to hurry you. It's not important. We're not going to do anything you don't want to, okay?" The brunette pulled back from the hug at that and looked at her with a serious expression.

"Yeah, since we're in the topic, I'm also a virgin…" Chloe was truly surprised at that. She knew Beca had never had any relationship before, but she figured she would have had sexual experiences.

"All right. Then we'll make our first time together even more perfect, when that time comes, and I'll be as gentle as anyone can be. It still doesn't change anything. Can I ask why, though? You're very attractive, you wouldn't have any problem to have sex if you wanted to." Beca let out a breathy laugh.

"Yeah, right. I still don't know how you find me attractive, but whatever. And yeah, there have been people who… have shown an interest. But I wasn't comfortable with that. I mean, physical contact is something difficult with me, and they clearly just wanted to… I don't know, I felt like I was just a piece of meat they'd use and then dump. That's not… something I'm looking forward to." She finished with a sour laugh.

"I understand. And it's okay. All of that is okay. So please, be my girlfriend?" the redhead pleaded. Beca looked at her for a long minute before answering.

"Okay…"

"Okay?!" Chloe said, a smile already stretching her face.

"Yeah, okay Beale. If you're sure, I'd have to be stupid to turn you down." Chloe launched herself at the brunette, straddling her lap and pulling her into a bone crushing hug, squealing. "All right babe, please loosen your grip, I can't breathe." Chloe pulled back a little only to kiss her passionately. They kissed until they needed air, and Chloe went back to her seat.

"Okay, this is too public for all that, and we need to talk some more. Wanna go back to mine?" Chloe said, holding Beca's hand.

"Sure, my car's in the label's parking, come on, I'll drive us"

/

"Okay! What did you want to talk about, girlfriend?" Beca said, getting comfortable in Chloe's couch, and Chloe beamed, sitting down in her lap.

"That sounds so good" She said before giving her a peck on the lips. "Well, I've been stalling on the whole press conference thing because we only go to private-ish places and I don't get so much media attention, but now you're my girlfriend, so I'm doing it in a couple of days, if you're still okay with that"

"Sure. Was that all?"

"No." Chloe took a deep breath to prepare herself for what she had to say. "So, I know you're a private person, and I respect that, but… I was wondering if maybe you could start opening up to me a little? I mean, if and when you're ready. It just kills me sometimes that you don't see how amazing you are, Bec, and I really want to help you. But I can't if you won't talk to me." Beca sighed and wrapped her arms around the redhead's waist, pulling her closer.

"You're right. I owe you that much… So, wanna hear about your in-laws?" Beca said with a sad smile.

"Whatever you want to tell me about is fine, Beca." She said, planting a kiss on top of her head.

"Okay so… I really loved my dad. But she left me and my mom when I was four. I never saw him again until he made me go to college, when I was eighteen, claiming that music wasn't a real career and that I needed to have realistic goals. We never really reconnected. Last time I saw him was in my graduation, we never talked again and he's nothing to me." Chloe listened with a sad expression, noticing how much pain the subject brought to her girlfriend even though she claimed the man meant nothing. "My mom… is a more difficult matter. I don't want to get into it… yet. All you need to know is that she mistreated me and I haven't talked to her in six years, and I'm not planning on it. She tried to contact me a few times over the first year of college but I never answered. I'm sorry, I know this is vague, but it's not an easy subject."

"It's okay baby, thank you for telling me all that." Chloe said stroking her hair. "You know I'd never leave you like that, right? I'd never just cut you off of my life, even if we end up not working."

"I know Chlo" She said nuzzling her face on Chloe's neck.

"Okay! Enough serious talks for a day, let's have fun!" Chloe said getting up from Beca's lap and going to the fridge to get some drinks.

They spent the whole day in Chloe's apartment, watching TV, playing games or just talking, and Beca ended up spending the night.

They were woken up at 6:30 by Chloe's ringtone. She checked the ID and answered, while Beca mumbled and turned away to keep sleeping.

"Hey Bree, why are you calling so early?" She said sleepily.

"Hey Chlo, sorry to wake you, but this is important. Just google your name, okay? And stay calm. I'll be up in fifteen minutes."

"Okay… see you." Choe hung up, really confused, and googled her name in her phone. Her eyes widened with what she saw and she turned to wake Beca up. "Beca! Baby wake up, this is important." She said shaking her girlfriend.

"Mmm-kay, I'm up, what's going on?" Chloe put the phone right in her face and her mouth hung open at the sight of a picture of Chloe and her kissing in the coffee shop yesterday. "But… how? We've been there so many times, and they've never seen us."

"I know, I'm so, so sorry Beca. I should have made that press conference weeks ago. This is all my fault…" Chloe said, in the verge of tears.

"Hey, this is not your fault Chlo, besides, it's not that bad. You can't recognise me unless you know me, so it's all right. I do need to ask you to hurry up with the whole threatening the media thing though…"

"Yes. I'll see if I can do it today. I'm really sorry again." They were interrupted by the doorbell. "That's Aubrey, let's go, she probably already has a plan to do damage control." The both got out of bed and went to open the door.

"Beca, you're here, perfect. Take a seat." Aubrey said, storming into the apartment. "Okay, since apparently you two can't keep it in your pants in public, we have to work against the clock." She said, taking out some papers. "Read this. I already sent it to the main gossip magazines and TV networks, so your opinion won't matter, but you should know what it says." The two looked over it and nodded. "And now, Chloe, you have a press conference in three hours, go get ready. I already wrote you a speech. It basically says that you're seeing somebody and that you want her privacy to be respected or else."

"Actually, she's my girlfriend now, so maybe we should change that." Chloe said with a happy smile and Aubrey said rolling her eyes.

"About time, but I don't see the difference, you just want to say the word girlfriend. But do whatever you want, just don't change any of the big words or it won't have the same judicial effect. Okay, I'll see you in an hour and a half and I'll take you to the press conference. Beca, do whatever you want, I don't care, but you're not coming. Bye." The blonde said and left the apartment.

"Wow. She's efficient. It's 7 AM, when the hell did she do all that work?" Beca said bemusedly.

"I don't know, she does thing like that sometimes, I've learned not to question it. I'm gonna get in the shower. Do you have time for breakfast? What time do you have to be in the studio?" Chloe said getting up from the couch.

"At 11, I have time. I'll make us breakfast. Do you prefer eggs or waffles?"

"Whatever you want is fine baby, I'll be there in 30 minutes."

Beca ended up cooking waffles, bacon and eggs. This whole thing had made her hungry, and Chloe appeared in the kitchen ready to go just as Beca was putting the food in plates.

"Hey, there's coffee in the pot. I'll be done in a minute" Beca told the redhead.

They ate breakfast making small talk until Aubrey came to fetch Chloe.

"Ready? We need to leave now."

"Yeah, let me get my things." She disappeared into her bedroom and came back a minute later. "Baby, come back here when you're done with work. Here, take this spare key and let yourself in if I'm not back yet." She said, handing a set of keys to Beca and kissing her quickly in the lips.

"You sure? You don't need to give me this, I could just wait until you get here."

"Yes, I'm sure. Lock the door when you leave for work, okay? See you later." She said, and with a final kiss, she left the apartment with Aubrey.

Beca got ready and left for work. When she got there, she saw she had two missed calls, one from Stacie and one from Benji, and she called them back to explain the situation.

The rest of the day went by as usual, and when she got to Chloe's the redhead wasn't there yet, so she made herself comfortable.

Thirty minutes later, the ginger came through the door and she took a seat next to Beca after giving her a kiss.

"Hey, you. How was work?"

"It was okay. How did the conference go?" She asked, putting an arm over the redhead's shoulders, who wrapped an arm around the brunette's waist.

"All right. Aubrey said we shouldn't worry about anyone publishing any more pictures of you."

They cooked some lunch and settled cuddled on the couch, talking about their days and giggling like idiots. They were interrupted by Beca's phone ringing, and she answered without looking at the ID and put it on speaker, assuming it was Benji or Stacie checking up on her.

"Hello?"

"Rebecca. This is your father."

Beca froze. She hadn't heard that voice in years and she wasn't expecting this.

"Wh- What do you want?" Chloe looked worriedly at her.

"My students were gossiping about Chloe Beale's new girlfriend, so I took the magazine away. Imagine my surprise when I see my daughter on it, kissing a girl. I didn't know you were a lesbian."

"It's none of you fucking business, dad. We haven't talked in years and I was happy about that. If that's all you have to say, I'm hanging up."

"No, you're gonna listen to me. I'll have no dykes in my family, you hear me? You're ending that relationship and coming back home with me right now. I see you haven't made it to the music business and now you need a wealthy person to take care of you, but that's an unhealthy way to live your life, and you've brought enough shame to my name." Beca laughed bitterly at this and Chloe was fuming with anger. Who did that man think he was.

"Nah, dad, I'm good, you have no power over me anymore and what I do with my life is none of your business, as I said, so good bye. I'm changing my number, by the way, so don't bother trying to call me again." She said and she hung up. "Sorry you had to hear that, babe, I thought it would be Stacie or Benji, and I didn't want you to think I didn't trust you or anything, so I didn't turn off the speaker." She explained, hugging Chloe tight.

"Don't apologise Bec. Are you okay? That man really has no idea what he's talking about."

"Yeah, I'm all right. I mean, that wasn't exactly fun, but my father doesn't affect me anymore. I wasn't expecting him to be homophobic though." She said, smiling up at Chloe who smiled back.

"Well, as long as you're okay…" They were interrupted by Beca's phone ringing, this time it was Stacie.

"Hey Stace, what's up?"

"Beca? My mom just called… Don't freak out, but apparently your mother went by our house asking if I was still in contact with you." Beca mumbled something like 'you've got to be fucking kidding me' and hid her face in her hands "She apparently saw the magazine, and she's not that happy about it… My mom said she didn't know anything about you, you know she loves you like a daughter and she would never let that woman near you. But she wants to know if you would like to talk to her, you know, your decision…"

"No I don't. I already had a nasty call from my father, I'll tell you about it later. But I don't want to know anything from that woman. I'll call your mother later to let her know. We haven't talked in a while and I miss her. Thanks for telling me Stace."

"Okay, she'll be delighted to talk to you. She didn't want to call you in case you were at the studio. Bye Mitchy!"

"Bye Stacie" She hung up and sighed loudly. "Unbelievable…"

"Baby? Do you want to talk about it? News from two paternal figures you haven't talked to in years is kinda big…" Chloe asked concerned.

"No, I want to forget about this. I talked about them yesterday and they both try to talk to me a day later. It's like black magic." She said, nuzzling her face on Chloe's neck. "I have to call Stacie's mom though, and it's probably going to be a long talk, since I haven't called her in months and she's probably going to ask about everything. I can go home, but I'd prefer to do that here so we can relax later together, if you don't mind?"

"Of course baby, you can go talk in my room, I'll be here watching TV" Chloe told her with a smile.

"Thanks babe, you're the best." She said before giving her a kiss and getting up. "I'll be right back"

"Okay! I'll miss you!" Beca rolled her eyes and tried to keep a smile away from her face.

"You're ridiculous."

A/N: As always, thanks a bunch for reading and please review!