Chapter Eight


After getting dropped off at a cheap motel and paying for a room, the girls opened the door to find a somewhat clean, but small, room.

"Looks like we'll be sharing a bed tonight," Chloe said as she tossed her jacket lightly onto the end of the double sized bed. Beca nodded, not seeing any other possible solution, and sank down onto the soft mattress. She shrugged out of her jacket, and began untying her Bella's scarf.

"Do you need the bathroom at all?" Chloe asked.

"No, go right ahead. I'm pretty much ready to get into bed," replied Beca. She glanced over her shoulder, watching the redhead enter the tiny bathroom, and then glanced down at her feet as she slipped her shoes off. Once they were removed, she placed them to the side, pulled her hair out of the elastic band binding it, and then stood up to pull the covers back.

Beca climbed back into bed, and reclined against the pillows, taking note of how silent the room was, compared to the evening. All she could hear was the sound of running water in the bathroom, which soon shut off and the door opened.

"Sleepy?" Chloe asked, as she kicked off her shoes.

Beca sighed. "Yes. No. Kinda, I guess." She glanced over, and saw Chloe pulling her skirt off. "Whoa. You're not going to sleep naked, are you?"

Chloe grinned, and shook her head. "Don't worry, no. There's no way I can sleep in a skirt. You don't seriously still have yours on, right? You'll be super uncomfortable. They're pencil skirts."

Beca rolled her eyes, but had to admit that the redhead had a point. Wriggling around under the sheet, she managed to unzip her skirt, and slide it off. "I swear, if it were anyone else but you," she said wryly.

Chloe lightly tossed her neck scarf on the beside table, and slid into the bed next to Beca, taking care not to touch the brunette – she didn't have an issue sharing a bed with another girl, but she knew Beca was still new to the whole sharing personal space thing, and didn't want to freak her out.

Beca reached over to the light switch conveniently located next to her side of the bed, and snapped the light off. They lay in the darkness for a few minutes, with only moonlight filtering through the window.

Chloe closed her eyes, but only lasted a few moments before opening them again. Her mind was too full to allow her to sleep. And for some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about the woman laying in the bed, half a foot away. She reached up to her neck and fingered the delicate treble clef charm that hung around her neck, her Christmas gift from Beca.

"Beca?" she said in a soft whisper, not waking to disrupt her friend if she'd already fallen asleep.

"Yeah, Chloe?" the brunette replied. She turned her head to the side, and caught Chloe's eyes.

"Can I ask you a sort of personal question? You can say no, though," Chloe asked quietly.

Beca nodded in the dark, not realizing that Chloe wouldn't be able to see. Chloe took the silence as a yes anyway.

"Do you honestly not like Jesse?"

Beca released a soft sigh. "As a friend, nothing more," she replied in an equally soft voice. "Other than you, he's the only other real friend I have here at Barden, and I don't want to lose that. But god, he knows how to piss me off, like tonight. And I wish Aubrey would get it out of her head already that I like him. And as for Jesse, I know he wants more than just friendship, but I don't, I really don't see him that way. He's definitely not my type."

Chloe felt a flutter in her stomach, feeling a strange surge of hope rise up. "Oh, okay," she replied lightly.

"Why? Are you interested in him?" Beca asked. She shifted in the bed to face Chloe, whose face was illuminated slightly in the moonlight.

"Jesse? God no. Not at all," Chloe replied immediately.

Beca raised an eyebrow. "Really? He seemed a little like that guy you were hooking up with at initiation. What is your type, then?"

Chloe thought for a moment, her brow furrowed. "I guess I'd like a person who's down to earth, loves music, and like me for me," she replied slowly. "Those frat guys I've been with didn't mean anything; they were just there and were good for a bit of fun. But I haven't even been with anyone for a few months now. I guess I'm just waiting for the right… person to come along." She glanced across at Beca, making eye contact in the darkened room for the briefest of moments before flicking her gaze back to the ceiling.

Beca wasn't quite sure how to interpret this, as the part of her that was hardcore crushing on Chloe made her feel quite hopeful – yet her realist side was beating her with a stick, protecting her from getting too hurt.

She couldn't help but take not of the fact that Chloe didn't use a male pronoun when referring to the type of person.


Chloe awoke the following morning, to find out that during the night, she and Beca must have subconsciously gravitated towards each other, as they were currently cuddled together. Beca's head rested on her shoulder, Chloe's arms wrapped tight around her upper body, their legs tangled together.

It felt…comfortable.

Chloe was always a cuddly person, and wouldn't think twice about snuggling up with her friends when watching movies or at a sleep over. Over the past few years, she and Aubrey had a close friendship, where they would crash on Aubrey's sofa together after a long night of practicing their Bella's routine, or Aubrey would sleep over in Chloe's room when Aubrey's dorm mate would bring yet another guy to the room.

Yet, as Chloe laid there, one of her hands absently coming up and slowly running her fingers through Beca's hair, she started to reflect on her friendship with Aubrey. She was starting to see how she had truly become the submissive one in their friendship, and how Aubrey took advantage of that to maintain control. Chloe basically let her, always justifying it in her mind with some excuse, like Aubrey was under a lot of pressure, or maybe her ideas really were better.

How things changed.

Choosing to follow Beca and not Aubrey last night demonstrated how Chloe was finally standing up for herself. She was extremely pissed at Aubrey, and it might take a little time for their friendship to recover, because Chloe was done with being walked on. From now on, she was going to stand up for herself, and follow her beliefs.

And it definitely helped knowing that she had Beca by her side.

"Chloe?" a sleepy voice broke the silence.

Chloe snapped to attention, stilling the hand that was in Beca's hair, and glanced down at Beca. The brunette was still in her arms, although felt slightly tense. Respecting that, Chloe released her hold on Beca, and sat up.

"Morning, Beca. I hope they have somewhere good around for breakfast, what do you think?" she asked, stretching before sliding out of the bed to retrieve her skirt.

Beca eyed the redhead, and internally sighed in relief. It had been surprising to her to wake up in Chloe's arms, but even more surprising to realise that she liked the feeling. When was the last time she had been held by someone and felt so warm and cared about? Not in a long time. But still, she felt awkward when she awoke and realized Chloe was awake too, although seemingly lost in thought, and she wasn't sure what she should do. She appreciated the redhead picking up on that, and ensuring it didn't get awkward. Yep, Chloe was definitely a good friend to have.

"Breakfast sounds good," she replied as she stifled a yawn. "I'd kill to have a shower first, though."

"Go ahead. There are towels in the bathroom. Just a shame that you don't have clothes to change into," Chloe answered. "Anyway. I'm going to go down to speak to the guy at the front desk. Enjoy your shower!"

Beca watched Chloe leave, and then swung her legs over the bed and stood up slowly, relishing in the feel of her muscles stretching. She made her way to the bathroom and turned on the shower, allowing the water to heat up while she undressed. She folded her clothes and placed them onto the closed lid of the toilet, before stepping into the steaming water and pulling the shower curtain across to stop splashes from soaking the tiny bathroom.

The water pressure was surprisingly strong, and felt so good against her back. She started to hum Bulletproof – the song that caused all the dramas the day before – and had just sung the first line to the chorus, when she heard the bathroom door open.

"Beca, don't freak out, it's just me," Chloe's voice called out over the noise of the running shower. "I am not going to burst in on another shower of yours, so you're good. I got us some toothpaste and toothbrushes from the front desk. I just need to brush my teeth, is that okay?"

"At least you're asking this time!" Beca called back, smirking. "That's fine, thanks for getting me one!"

The bathroom was quiet for a moment.

"Can you keep singing?" Chloe asked hesitantly. Beca barely heard her over the sound of the shower, but she grinned anyway.

"This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof…"


In no time at all, the two women were ready to get back to Barden. They had checked out, and the helpful employee at the front desk had directed them to the nearest car rental lot – conveniently a few hundred yards down the road. Chloe didn't hesitate to rent a bright yellow VW Bug, after confirming that there was a rental car drop off location quite close to campus.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!" Chloe proclaimed as she backed out of the rental lot and onto the main road. Beca, who had been putting their destination into the car's GPS system, glanced up.

"Actually, how about some breakfast, and then we get going?" she asked. "I'm starving."

Chloe nodded, and spied an upcoming donut place that had a drive thru. Within minutes, they were loaded with coffee, donuts and bagels.

"Mm, this is really good coffee," Beca moaned as she took a sip.

Chloe nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely." She placed her drink in the cup holder, and brought her hand back to the steering wheel "Man, this car is nice."

"Why am I not surprised you love this car?" Beca asked humorously. "It seems like just your type."

Chloe briefly glanced sideways at Beca. "So, you've got me all figured out, huh?" She winked as Beca turned to her.

"Well, I wouldn't say all figured out," the brunette said slowly with a smile. "I feel like I still have plenty to learn about you, Beale."

"Same for you. Oh!" Chloe suddenly squealed. "We should play twenty questions!"

Beca groaned. "Oh god, you're one of those people who love playing games during long road trips. How am I going to survive this….just kidding!" she added hastily at Chloe's raised eyebrow. "Look, I'll even start. Alright, are you a fan of long car rides?"

Chloe shook her head with a smile. "Depends who I am with. Usually I am just zoned out with music. But there are times when it's fun – like part of our trip to the semi finals, before the whole running out of gas thing, that was fun. But I do really want to do a proper road trip, like in the summer, drive to a few states with some friends, just having fun."

"Sounds like that could be fun," Beca agreed. "Okay, your turn."

"Um…" Chloe pondered for a moment. "What is the best gift you've ever gotten?"

"You mean, aside from my amazing journal that you got me?" Beca asked with a smile. Chloe grinned. "I suppose then, my headphones. Although the circumstances were pretty shitty, since it was kind of a present my parents got me to help them break the news of their divorce. But seriously, I've had these things for, what, six years now? And they're still the best."

Chloe grinned. "Maybe I'll have to borrow them sometime."

"Normally, I'd snap someone's wrist if they touched my headphones," Beca admitted. "But you always seem to get your own way anyhow, so I guess I might be able to let you use them from time to time." She chucked as she saw the beam light up Chloe's face. "Okay dork, your turn."

They continued on with the questions for a solid hour, progressively getting deeper with the questions and answers. Beca found she was actually having a lot of fun hanging out with Chloe and getting to know her better.

"Next question…here's an interesting one," Chloe said thoughtfully, a faint smirk on her face. "It's a two fold, okay? Have you ever kissed a girl before, and would you want to?"

Beca felt a light blush creep onto her face. Of all the questions Chloe could ask, she was asking this one. She cleared her throat. "Uh, no, I haven't kissed a girl before, but, um, yes, I might want to."

Chloe stole a glance at Beca. She would consider kissing a girl? Chloe wondered if she had any particular girl in mind. Of course, it'd be too much to hope for it to be her. Before she could ask, Beca quickly turned the tables on her.

"What about you? Same question," she asked curiously.

Chloe drew in a breath. "Well, yes I've kissed a girl before. There was a frat party last year, and I might have been a little drunk. I might have made out with a girl there, but I haven't seen her since."

Beca nodded slowly. "And would you want to kiss a girl again?"

Chloe considered this, trying to work out how to phrase her thoughts correctly. "If it were the right girl, then yes, I want to." She took her eyes off the road for a moment to give Beca a fleeting look. Beca could see a myriad of emotions flickering in those blue eyes, but wasn't sure how to interpret what she was saying.

At that moment, Titanium came on the radio.

"Beca, it's our song!" Chloe squealed happily. The slight emotion in the air vanished, and Beca reached forward to turn up the music. Together, they started rocking out to the song.


The rest of the road trip passed fairly smoothly, and the women arrived back at Barden somewhat tired, but happy despite the events of the previous evening.

Life resumed as normal, but with one major change – no more Bella's rehearsals. It wasn't until the rehearsals were over, that Beca actually realized how much of her time had been spent in that auditorium with the other Bella's. She was now able to spend more time focusing on her mixes – something that became particularly important, considering Luke was now giving her a few more late night shifts.

However, there was always time made to spend with Chloe. The two made time to hang out, like Chloe would bring coffee and muffins over after her morning run on the days where they both didn't have morning classes, or Beca would text Chloe during slow shifts at the radio station. As the weather warmed up, they spent time between classes hanging out in the quad; usually listening to music while Beca taught Chloe how to identify matching beats and how to lay songs over each other.

It was on one of these warm afternoons, when Beca realized that Spring Break was only half a week away. It had easily slipped her mind, considering she wasn't doing anything for it. She wondered if Chloe had already made plans. Maybe she hadn't, and they could hang out again, like they did over Christmas.

"Something on your mind, Mitchell?" Chloe teased. Beca snapped out of her daydreams, and turned her face towards the redhead.

"Nothing in particular. Just trying to decide how to spend the upcoming week with no classes and no radio shifts," she replied. "Do you have plans?"

A flash of nervousness appeared on Chloe's face for a nano-second – Beca wasn't sure if she had even interpreted the look correctly. "Uh, yeah, I think I'm heading home to see my parents," Chloe replied. "Oh, by the way, I uploaded your recent mixes to my laptop. Think you might have any others I could get?" She dug her hand into her handbag to find the flash drive.

"Uh, sure," Beca replied. Was it just her, or did Chloe not want to talk about Spring Break? That was fine though, she respected Chloe and wasn't going to push the issue. "Any requests for your next mix?" she asked with a smile.

Chloe withdrew her hand from her bag, empty. "Shoot, I must have left it on my desk. I'll try get it back to you before I go, don't worry," she said with a smile. "Um, how about you surprise me? That's what you do best, right?" She winked, and then emitted a loud chuckle as Beca started to blush. "God you're easy!"

Beca shook her head, her blush turning to a smirk. Only for you, Chloe, she thought to herself.


TBC…