A/N: Hey everyone! Hopefully I have gotten out of the habit of only updating this story sporadically, as things are hopefully calming down in my life currently. I just wanted to say that I really love the response I've gotten to how I've been writing Beca. I honestly surprise myself with some of the things I have her say (although they're not that far off from what I'd have said in similar situations, so I guess I'm channeling a bit of myself into her whereas I related more to Chloe's character in the other major story I've written for the fandom). Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for everyone's continued patience/tolerance of me, and thanks again for reading!

Beca practically ran the entire way to Bellas rehearsal the following morning, cursing herself along the way for hitting the snooze button one too many times on the alarm that arrived much sooner than she would have liked. She knew that she most definitely could not be late to practice, she wasn't about to give Aubrey yet another reason to dislike her, even though she did seem like she was tolerating her presence the previous night. As she turned the corner around one of the academic buildings and approached the Bellas rehearsal space, she allowed herself to catch her breath as she made her way into the theatre, finding a majority of the singing group had already arrived.

Aubrey and Chloe were standing together at the center of the room, where a dozen or so chairs had been arranged in rows facing a bulletin board with pictures of previous Bella classes and a whiteboard that had yet to be written on. Chloe happened to look up just as Beca was making her way into the room, and immediately lit up and waved at the brunette, the gesture not going unnoticed by Aubrey. Beca froze in place momentarily, bashfully waving back at the redhead before making a beeline for Stacie and Cynthia Rose, who happened to be closest to her.

She wouldn't consider herself avoiding the co-captain; if anything she was doing herself a favor- that favor being preventing herself from turning red as Chloe's hair from the mere thought of the other girl's lips brushing against her skin if she held eye contact or conversation with her for even the briefest amount of time. Even if the action was completely unintentional which Beca strongly suspected it had been, she couldn't shake the lingering feeling Chloe's lips had left on her skin the night before. Combine that with the redhead's inebriated confession that she had heard her singing on the beach over the summer… it's not as though Chloe hadn't heard her sing before, but it certainly gave the brunette a lot more to think about. She was pretty sure this was the kind of thing Jesse would make a huge deal over if her life were a movie.

Beca was promptly snapped out of her thoughts as Aubrey's voice called the girls to attention as the remaining members of the group filtered into the theatre. Beca and the rest of her teammates made their way over to the seating in the middle of the room, sitting down as Aubrey and Chloe stood facing their way, ready to begin rehearsal for the day. While Beca had expected the first order of business for the day to involve their performance set-list or practice schedule, she found this assumption incorrect, as Aubrey went on to explain why one of the seats around them happened to be empty, the reasoning having to do with Kori, one of the new initiates, being what Aubrey called 'Trebleboned' the previous night.

"That oath was serious?" Beca found herself asking in mild disbelief; while she remembered the part of the oath involving vocal cords being ripped out by wolves had any of the girls decided to sleep with a Treblemaker, she didn't think one of them would actually get kicked out of the group for doing that.

"Dixie Chick serious" Aubrey confirmed, striding back across the empty space in front of the girls and standing next to Chloe. "You can fool around with whoever you want to just not a Treble."

Anyone, huh? A smirk slowly began to grow on Beca's face, amused by the blonde's phrasing. Much to Beca's horror, she had voiced that particular train of thought to the rest of the group instead of simply keeping it to herself, for Aubrey was now standing in front of her with an annoyed look on her face.

"Yes Beca, anyone that isn't a Treblemaker, I think I made myself quite clear on that" Aubrey retorted as she handed the brunette a stack of papers detailing the list of songs they would be singing throughout the year. Handing the remaining stack of papers to Lily, Beca looked up toward the front of the theatre, inadvertently making eye contact with Chloe who was looking at her in a strange yet entertained fashion. Beca felt her face go red, her eyes immediately darting down to the set list she all of a sudden had become interested in. What the hell Is going on with you? She asked herself; here she was, Beca cooler-than-the-flipside-of-your-pillow Mitchell, turning to an incoherent, blushing mess over a crush (and a one-sided one at that for all she knew), which never happened, she reminded herself. Keep it together, Mitchell.


"I think we're going to be aca-awesome" Chloe said to Aubrey at the end of practice, the two captains standing in the middle of the theatre after the new Bellas had left for the day.

More like aca-awful, Aubrey thought glumly. The blonde's expectations of how their first practice was going to go in no way resembled the reality of the matter. "We have our work cut out for us this year" she replied as they gathered up their bags before going outside to a beautiful fall afternoon.

"Come on Bree, we weren't exactly Bella-ready performers after our first practice" Chloe reminded her as they walked past one academic building to the next, making their way over to Barden's student union.

Aubrey pursed her lips as they continued to walk, knowing that Chloe was right. "You and I were not this terrible."

"What can I say, not everyone can be us" Chloe winked, holding the door open for the blonde as they walked inside the student union to grab lunch before going back to their apartment for the remainder of the day. "It's all going to come with time, we just have to be patient and ready to help if any of them are having trouble with anything."

Aubrey smirked. "Like your hands-on approach with Beca?"

Chloe glanced at her best friend from the corner of her eye as they decided what to order. "If that's what it takes, yes" she replied simply.

"Even if doing so isn't necessary at all since she actually knew the choreography you were helping her with?" Aubrey pressed further, a knowing smile growing on her face.

"She wasn't doing the choreography correctly at all" Chloe insisted, brushing off whatever point Aubrey was trying to make. The two paid for their lunches, walking out of the union shortly after as they continued on toward their apartment.

"If you say so" Aubrey replied, not wanting to argue further, "If we're going to win Nationals, we need to keep our distractions to a minimum this year, Chloe."

Chloe's brow furrowed as she looked over at the blonde. "Beca's one of us, she's not a distraction."

"The girl whose shower you invaded, who you happen to light up like a light whenever she's in the same room as you, who you practically were all over when I found you at the end of hood night before taking you home, isn't on your mind more often than she should be?"

Chloe bit her bottom lip, taking in what Aubrey had said. "We have a connection, what can I say" she replied, shrugging. "Did you know we have matching-"

"Bug tattoos? The basis of countless relationships from what I'm aware of" Aubrey deadpanned as they walked into the apartment building, making their way to the staircase leading to their apartment.

Is there a reason she said relationship and not friendship? Chloe thought, following behind Aubrey. She knew her best friend well, well enough to know that the blonde chose her words carefully in order to her get her point across. "Beca and I are friends" Chloe maintained, closing the apartment door behind them as they placed their bags on their coffee table. Chloe wasn't about to admit to Aubrey that maybe that wasn't the extent of her feelings for Beca, if anything because she wasn't ready to fully admit that to herself.


Beca was lying in her bed a few days, headphones over her ears as she listened to a rough cut of a mix she had been working on when she felt the familiar buzz of her cell phone beside her. Reaching underneath her pillow, Beca brought the screen to eye level, noticing she had received a new text message from Chloe. As she slid the lock screen open on her phone, it occurred to Beca that she had not given the co-captain her phone number, nor did she remember Chloe taking her phone at any point over the last few days during rehearsal. Does this really surprise you?

"Chem recitation in ten, Mitchell!"

Beca groaned at the contents of the text message, having forgotten about the class and having no intention of attending today, even if her co-captain was her teaching assistant. "Just sat down in the classroom, wouldn't miss it for the world." Beca placed her phone beside her once again, her head hitting her pillow as she closed her eyes and focused on her music. Minutes later, the faint sound of knocking interrupted her mix; sighing, she removed her headphones, walking over to the door. Considering Kimmy Jin was in class, the only person who would be bothering her would be Jesse, who lived in the adjacent building.

"Jesse, I still haven't watched that movie you lent me, nor will I ever-" Beca stopped suddenly as she flung the door open, looking up at the person standing on the other side.

"It's funny, I don't remember our recitation being in Baker Hall" Chloe said smartly, walking past Beca as she let herself into the dorm room without waiting for an invitation.

Beca rolled her eyes, running a hand through her hair as she watched Chloe walk deeper into the room. "Why?" Beca asked simply, at a complete loss for words for the situation that was currently unfolding in front of her eyes. "Also, how and why is your phone number in my phone?"

"Right place at the right time" Chloe grinned as she sat down in Beca's desk chair, swiveling around to face the brunette. "And if you had actually been in the classroom, you would have been waiting a very long time. Class starts at two, not one-thirty dummy."

"Had I known signing up for chem would entail Jedi mind tricks I would have rethought this class decision entirely" Beca replied dryly.

Chloe rolled her eyes at the brunette's dramatics, "Come on, Beca. Is going to class really going to be that bad?"

"Do you care about the attendance of your other students as much as you care about mine?" Beca retorted, walking over to her closet as she ruffled through the various items of clothing.

Chloe paused before responding. "You're a Bella, I have a vested interest" she eventually replied.
"If we leave now I'll have time to buy you coffee beforehand."

"Bribing a student to attend your class, spectacular" Beca took one of her hoodies off its hanger, putting it on as she gathered her backpack, reasoning that she didn't have a choice as to whether or not she was going to class today. "What do I need to bring?"

"Have you even looked at the syllabus?" Chloe asked, watching Beca as she ruffled through her various notebooks and binders. "Do you even have the syllabus?"

"I went to the first class" Beca said defensively, waving the very document in front of her for Chloe to see once she had found it.

Chloe smirked as she got up from the chair once Beca had packed what she needed into her backpack. They were out of the building moments later, walking toward one of the campus coffee shops.

"What were all of those things you had on your desk?" Chloe asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them since leaving Beca's dorm.

"Just some mixing equipment" Beca replied, "I make arrangements of songs in my free time."

"I didn't know you were into that stuff" Chloe commented, smiling to herself at the new piece of information she had learned about the brunette.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you?" Beca asked sarcastically.

Chloe shook her head, laughing lightly. "I didn't mean it like it."

"No it's okay" Beca replied, "If it helps, I'll just start sending you updates about everything and anything I'm doing every day. For instance," Beca walked over to the entrance of the coffee shop, "I am about to walk into Grind It Up where I will receive an undetermined beverage as a method of bribery to go to my chemistry recitation."

"Smartass" Chloe hit Beca's shoulder with the back of her hand as they walked up to the counter. "What do you want?" The girls placed their coffee orders, walking down the counter to where they would receive their ordered beverages.

"No milk or sugar?" Chloe asked as she stirred her cup of coffee after adding sufficient amounts to her own cup.

Beca shook her head. "I like my coffee how I like myself; hot, dark and bitter."

"Exactly what I look for in a significant other" Chloe joked, even making Beca laugh as they walked over to the string of academic buildings.

"Nah, you totally go for the athletic, totally into himself type" Beca replied, taking a sip of her coffee as they entered the science building.

Chloe smirked, knowing that Beca had accurately just described Tom without knowing it. "Having a type is boring; why stick with the same drink order all your life when you can try the whole menu?"

"Wow, okay then" Beca replied, stunned by the analogy as Chloe laughed at her reaction. "By the way, our little detour has made us five minutes late for class" the brunette noted, looking down at her phone as they walked down the hallway to their designated classroom.

Chloe shook her head as they stood outside of the classroom. "Class doesn't start until I walk into the room." She then took one step inside of the classroom, standing across from Beca who was still standing in the hallway. "You're late, by the way."

Beca grumbled as she took one of the remaining empty seats in the room as Chloe placed her bag on the large desk in the center of the room, immediately taking out her materials and going to the whiteboard. She's joking, right?